Chapter 271: Ends and Beginnings

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I make.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 271: Ends and Beginnings

"We are here once more… to say goodbye. Another year has come to an end," the Headmaster began his speech.

Harry was not paying much attention. He was thinking about the next step.

Everything was indicating that Voldemort's return was imminent. If he was bold enough to get that close to London and retrieve his Inferi, that meant he was done or at least very close to be done with whatever preparations he had been working on.

His eyes scanned the Slytherin table.

Pansy had not returned to school.

'If he is back… her family is going to be in great danger.'

It did not take much to anger Voldemort. He could only imagine what he would do when he came back and found that Parkinson had been acting as Dark Lord in his place and deceiving everyone in the process.

The other Death Eaters would either hurry to return to his side or be killed for their betrayal.

Things were about to change. He was sure of that, but didn't know what the best thing to do now was.

Neville was still here, and Voldemort would surely come after him. So as long as he kept a close eye on the Boy Who Lived, it would be a matter of time before he stumbles upon some of his followers at least.

"And the winner of this year's Quidditch Cup is… Gryffindor!" Professor McGonagall proclaimed with joy.

Everyone at his table started to celebrate and cheer.

Harry stopped his inner musings and glanced at Ginny. She looked so happy right now. But how long would that happiness last?

He was willing to do whatever it took to protect her. And not only Ginny, but now he also had a family. And there were also Luna, Astoria, and… Daphne.

He moved his eyes to the podium…. Dumbledore was standing next to McGonagall with a smile on his face, but Harry could tell that the man was very worried.

They had decided to avoid informing the Order yet. At least not directly… the old Headmaster had shared some ideas with him about how they could get more information about what is happening in the Ministry.

That was very possibly the first place that Voldemort would try to control. Because as long as he held a firm grip on the Ministry, there was not much that the Aurors could do against him.

It was the same thing that Parkinson had done and it worked great for him. Of course, Parkinson did not have the ability to remain in power for much longer.

The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers again when the Headmaster announced that they had also won the House Cup.

Apparently, it had been a long time since the same house won both trophies.

"You look very grumpy." Hermione touched his shoulder.

"Do I?" Harry glanced at her.

She gave him an inquisitive glance.

"You usually look very serious but there is something more this time…"

"You are always too observant," Harry admitted.

"Did something happen? Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch Cup and the House Cup. You also have one of the highest grades in our year. I bet they would make you a prefect next year if you were a bit older, so…"

"I suppose that something did happen… but I can't talk about it right now," Harry said.

"You can't? I mean, what could it possi-"

"Harry, come on!" Lyra pulled from his other side. "We are making a toast!" She handed him his cup.

He will have to leave his worries for another day.

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"Ouch!" Harry grabbed onto the girl and lifted her up.

"Ahh!" Holly yelled when she was tossed over his shoulders.

"Harry, be careful." Lily gave him a side glance.

"You are getting a bit too big to throw yourself at me like that, Holly. Next year, you may bring me to the ground." Harry shook her a bit and this made her giggle.

"I'm only six!" she said defiantly.

"Almost seven," Harry reminded her. It would only be two months before her birthday.

"Stop it, Harry! Everyone is looking!" Lyra was becoming embarrassed. They had just gotten off the train and all their classmates were still around.

"Bah… leave it. She looks so happy now," Lily said. She knew that this year had been particularly difficult for her youngest daughter as she had spent most of her time alone in the house.

"Yes, and you have no reason to complain." James glanced at his daughter, who was still clutching onto his arm.

"You did the same to me."

Lyra became more embarrassed. "But you didn't lift me up like that…"

"Ahh, I see… if that is what you want…" James went to lift his daughter up.

"No, stop!" Lyra panicked and began to struggle, trying to free herself from her father's grip.

"You are all very lively." Molly Weasley approached them. All her children were right behind her.

"Molly! So good to see you." Lily greeted her friend. They hadn't seen each other that much during this year.

"Your family is also very lively. Especially those two." Lily pointed at the twins.

"Hey, we haven't done anything," George exclaimed.

"Not today, that is for sure," Fred added.

"You put a spider on my breakfast!" Ron shouted.

"Come on, Ron. It wasn't even a real spider," Ginny chuckled. Her youngest brother was often the target of the twins' pranks, but they never took it too far with him.

"Still, you did not hesitate to crush it…" Lyra glanced at her friend. "It was kinda scary…"

While the children were talking, Molly got a bit closer to Lily.

Lily noticed this. "Is something wrong, Molly?"

"No. Well… there was something I wanted to discuss with you and James, when you have time," Molly said, looking a bit nervous.

"Of course, you can come visit any day you want. James is usually home after five in the afternoon, if you need him there too." Lily wondered what could have the fearless Weasley matriarch so preoccupied.

"Then, I'll visit you in a couple of days…"

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