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A Harry Potter Christmas | ||||
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Category: Post-OotP Characters:Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley Genres: Fluff Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 19 Summary: Harry hopes that on Christmas Day he can find the opportunity to tell Ginny how he feels about her. However, this is Harry, and nothing is ever easy for him. Will true love win in the end, or will his dreams remain just dreams? Hitcount: Story Total: 5908 Author's Notes: A/N:
I hope that everyone has a marvellous Holiday and that all of your wishes come true.
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing. JKR created this wonderful world and Iām just borrowing it. My only reward is the review left by the reader, so please leave one.
Professor Scroll
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Harry woke with the events from his dream curving his lips into a happy relaxed smile. As the memories fade, he slowly opened his eyes and for a moment, he couldn’t remember where he was. Although it was still dark outside, the moon was almost full and the walls of the room were glowing as if they were on fire. Harry jerked his arm out from under the down comforter, and in spite of the cold temperature of the room, he stretched out and felt along the top of the bedside table searching for his glasses. He picked them up and shoved them into place on the bridge of his nose, ignoring the frigid metal arms that wrapped around his ears. Harry smiled and relaxed. Instead of flames licking up the walls, the glow was the moon reflecting off the Chudley Cannon orange walls of Ron’s room at the Burrow. Turning on his side, he pushed the hand that had reached for his glasses under the pillow to warm it and tried to go back to sleep. He hoped to return to the dream that had been playing. It was a recurring dream that came most nights, but he hadn’t taken the necessary steps to make the dream a reality. He hoped that today, Christmas, it would come true. Listening to the Burrow’s normal creaking and the Weasley family Ghoul rattling its chains up in the attic, he heard a faint click as if someone had stealthily closed a door. A few minutes later, he heard water running and smiled. Nothing nefarious, someone had just needed to go to the bathroom and hadn’t wanted to wake the entire household. The sky lightened as he waited expectantly for the door to open and close again signalling that whoever was up had returned to their room. When it didn’t come, Harry couldn’t go back to sleep. Sighing quietly, he shoved the quilt aside, slid to the edge of the bed and sat up. With a shiver, he thrust his arms through the sleeves of his warm robe and belted it around his waist. Pushing his feet into slippers, he tiptoed to the door. After five and a half years sharing a dormitory with Ron, Harry knew that it would take much more than walking, to arouse one of his best friends, Hermione Granger being his other best friend. After all this was Christmas and Ron deserved a lie in. On the landing outside of the Twins’ room, he heard snoring. It wasn’t the gentle snoring that Mrs Weasley made when she put her feet up, to catch a few winks. No, this was a thunderous storm or the sound that Grawp made when he was unearthing fully grown trees and bashing them against the ground. Harry pressed his ear against the Twins’ door and realised that like everything else that they did the Twins took turns snoring. His emerald eyes shone with mirth as he stepped away from the door and continued down to the Burrow’s kitchen. He could smell cinnamon and apples and knew that Mrs Weasley was already hard at work fixing breakfast for her large family. A smile stretching his lips wide, he entered the kitchen and whispered, “Happy Christmas, Mrs Weasley. What can I do to help?” A much smaller figure straightened from setting another pan in the oven and with a gasp, she spun around to face him. One hand shoved her hair back from her face as the other clutched the edges of her robe together. “Harry, what are you doing awake?” “Sorry, Ginny. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said as his gaze travelled over her. She was dressed in a pink robe and much to his amusement she wore big fluffy ‘bunny’ slippers, their ears standing straight up. Her glorious red hair was tousled and the heat from the fire had tinged her cheeks with pink. ‘Merlin, she’s beautiful,’ he thought. “It wasn’t you. I just didn’t expect anyone up this early. I was getting a jump on breakfast to give Mum a treat.” Harry took a step nearer. Like a moth to flame, this beautiful witch drew him to her. “Sounds good, what can I do to help?” “I don’t know, Harry.” Ginny looked sceptical. “Are you sure that you can cook?” Raising a hand to cover his heart, he grinned. “You wound me. I’ll have you know that I cooked breakfast for the Dursleys most mornings. Or at least I had to help Aunt Petunia.” “Have you ever gathered eggs?” “Ginny, I’ve spent part of the last five summers here. Of course I know how to gather eggs,” he said, rolling his eyes. She giggled at his antics and handed him an empty basket. “Off you go, then,” Ginny said. Grinning mischievously, she spun him towards the door. A short while later, a frozen Harry returned to the kitchen with almost two dozen eggs. His hands shaking from the wintry air, he carefully set the basket on the counter. Giving a stiff, but courtly bow, through chattering teeth he said, “Your eggs, madam.” Staring at him with dismay, Ginny cried, “Harry, you’re freezing! Why didn’t you use a Warming Charm?” She pulled him towards the fire. Holding him so that his back was to the hearth, she pushed him closer, her small hands briskly rubbing his arms. He could get used to this. Though Ginny no longer behaved shy around him this was the first time that he could remember that she touched him without embarrassment. After a few minutes, as if he were a roast on a spit, she spun him around and began rubbing his shoulders and back. He stood quietly in front of her and let her take care of him until her hands slowed and then stopped to rest on his shoulders. Gathering his courage, he twisted around to face her. Ginny didn’t drop her hands. As he moved, they trailed a warm path across his body. Capturing her gaze, his hands rose and settled on her waist. She was so tiny and her waist so narrow that his fingers almost met at her spine. Emboldened by the glow of her eyes, eyes that he could get lost in, he took a half step nearer and his hands slipped around to encircle her, one hand sliding up to cradle the back of her head. With a sigh, she nestled into his embrace, her head against his chest. Going up on tiptoes, she folded her arms around his neck. Now, Harry could feel her pressed against him from his shoulders to his hips. His arms dragged her even closer, as his fingers tugged gently on her hair so that she would raise her head and look at him. “Ginny?” “Yes, Harry,” she breathed, lifting her head to meet his brilliant emerald gaze. His eyes dropped to her mouth as he began to lower his head to kiss her for the first time. “Ah Hem!” They guiltily sprang apart. With a blush of embarrassment blazoned across their cheeks, the couple turned towards the sound. Not one, or two, but all six of her brothers were crowded into the doorway; their faces ran the gamut of expressions from glee to angry snarls. Bill and Charlie were standing in the front scowling, while the Twins and Ron grinned evilly at him. Percy, who had made peace with the family only last night was blinking sleepily. Bill and Charlie strode across the room to loom over Harry. “Aren’t you a little underdressed to be downstairs hugging my baby sister?” asked Bill. “Um - ” This wasn’t how he had envisioned this scene to play out. In his dreams, Ginny’s brothers didn’t interrupt. “Leave Harry alone!” Ginny demanded. Stomping one small dainty foot, she added, “None of you are dressed.” With one finger stabbing in her direction, Charlie growled, “You stay out of this, Ginny. We’re family.” Then he glared at the younger boy, one eyebrow raised in question. “Well, Harry?” Enjoying the show, the rest of her brothers sat down at the table to watch the fireworks. Ron grabbed a cinnamon roll off the platter and took a huge bite. Having six pairs of eyes fastened on him, as if he had done something terrible, Harry wasn’t sure what to say. “I — um — I came down because I heard a noise. I thought your Mum was downstairs starting breakfast. I was just wishing Ginny a Merry Christmas.” Bill’s frown hardened, although if Harry had looked deeper, he would have seen a merry twinkle in his eyes. “Oh, so if Mum had been down here instead of Ginny, we would have found you hugging our Mum?” He could feel his cheeks blaze with heat as he stammered, “No — I mean - yes.” Seeing the glower that he got from everyone, including Ginny, he stated firmly, “No!” Charlie leaned around Bill and poked Harry on the chest. “So that was a ‘special’ Christmas greeting?” Harry tore his eyes away from Charlie’s and glanced quickly at Ginny. She was staring at him, her lips parted, waiting for his answer as much as Charlie was. “Yes, it was only for Ginny. Now, may I go up and get dressed?” Bill clapped a hand on Harry’s back and led him towards the table. “No need. You’re family.” Charlie wrapped an arm around his head and wrested him into a headlock. Mussing Harry’s untidy hair even more, he said, “Yeah, but remember that she’s our little sister.” Mr and Mrs Weasley and Hermione had just entered the room, when someone knocked on the back door. Hermione and Molly joined Ginny at the stove, while Mr Weasley answered the kitchen door. “Happy Holidays,” said Professor McGonagall. Behind her stood Dumbledore, Hagrid and Snape, their breath visible in the morning air. “Happy holidays, to you.” Hugging her, he pulled her into the warm kitchen and beckoned to the gentlemen with Christmas cheer. “Come in. Is every thing all right?” asked Arthur. “Yes, we just thought that Molly could use some help for the holidays. We’ve brought Dobby, Winky and Kreacher,” said the Headmaster. The four professors entered the warm room, the smell of cinnamon and baking apples making them salivate. Molly set a tea service in front of Professor McGonagall. “Minerva, will you please pour everyone a cup of tea. You’re just in time for breakfast. It’s almost ready, thanks to Ginny.” “I didn’t do it alone. Harry gathered the eggs.” Glancing at Harry, Professor Snape sneered, “How domestic.” Harry just shrugged. After having Ginny’s brothers questioning his actions, Snape’s comment didn’t faze him. “Since we have company, why don’t you all go up and get dressed. I’ll call you when you can come back down to eat,” Mrs Weasley said, shooing them all towards the stairs. As one, the young men rose and began to head for the stairs. Ginny and Hermione filing in at the back of the line meekly, only for the younger ones to stop as Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. “If I may, Molly?” At Mrs Weasley’s nod, Professor McGonagall turned towards her students. “I took the liberty of bringing next term’s schedule with me,” she said as she approached. Minerva handed each of the Hogwarts students a slip of paper. “I know that you usually get these at the beginning of term, however, as I was coming to visit, I thought that you might appreciate them early.” Glumly, Harry turned to trudge up the stairs. It wasn’t bad enough that Mrs Weasley had banished them; now their Head of House reminded them that the holiday wouldn’t last forever. All too soon, they would have to return to Hogwarts and their studies and from Ron and Ginny’s expressions, they agreed with him. “Oh, this is wonderful,” gushed Hermione. “Ron, why don’t you and Harry come into Ginny’s room? Don’t you want to see what courses you’ve been assigned?” “Hermione, we’re on holiday. You can’t want to think about lessons.” Grabbing his arm, she tugged Ron into the bedroom. “Don’t be silly. We have an opportunity to get a head start on next term.” Ron threw himself across the foot of Hermione’s bed. Tossing Hermione his schedule, he growled, “You can look at it, but keep it to yourself. I don’t want to know.” Harry and Hermione sat side by side. Hermione raised the two she held and Harry held up his. Nothing had changed. He and Ron still had eight courses. However, it looked as if Hermione hadn’t learned her lesson in Third year because she had ten. Harry stood. Taking Ron’s sheet of parchment from Hermione, he stuffed them both into is back pocket, before he moved over to Ginny’s bed where she was looking at her own schedule. Gingerly sitting on the very edge of her bed, while making sure that he didn’t touch her, he asked, “May I see your schedule, Ginny?” Ginny nodded, but instead of handing the scrap of parchment to him, she turned it slightly so he could look at it. Throwing a fleeting look at Ron and Hermione, he saw that Ron looked as if he had fallen asleep. He lay supine, his mouth slightly open, his breathing slow and deep, while Hermione was focusing all of her attention on her schedule. Harry shifted closer to Ginny, his weight causing the mattress to dip. Ginny rocked even nearer until their shoulders were touching. When Ginny didn’t move away, Harry turned and rested his hand behind her on the bed. Leaning even closer he stared at her lesson schedule, although because of her proximity, he couldn’t understand a word that Professor McGonagall had written on the parchment. They sat like that for forty seconds. Harry knew exactly, because he counted them off as he held his breath. Releasing his pent up breath, he noticed a tremor in Ginny’s hand making the parchment shake. ‘Was she as nervous as he was?’ His eyes slid to her face and he noticed how she was nibbling on her bottom lip. He had studied her since the beginning of school and knew that that meant that she was unsure about what to do next. Daringly, the hand he was leaning on lifted and settled on her waist. Harry could feel her tremble under his hand. He squeezed gently giving her a friendly hug before he stood up. Stepping over to the other bed, he shook Ron roughly and said, “C’mon Ron. Wake up. We need to be dressed when your Mum calls us.” Grumbling, Ron rose and stumbled still half asleep towards the door, Harry and the girls following. As Hermione pulled it open she said, “Happy Christmas,” and hugged Ron and then Harry before turning away. Ron sidled out the door and began climbing the stairs to the next landing, but Harry didn’t move. He wanted to see if Ginny would wish him ‘happy holidays’ and give him another hug. He hoped that she would reach out to him. The other two times he had made the first move. “I didn’t tell you Merry Christmas downstairs when you thought I was Mum,” she said with a small smile. Leaning forward she snaked her arms around his waist and said, “Merry Christmas, Harry,” before she quickly stepped back and closed the door between them. * * * * After lunch, everyone except Hermione and Percy decided that it was too nice of a day to stay indoors, so wearing boots, gloves and warm woollen Weasley jumpers, the others gathered in front of the broomshed before going to the orchard to play Quidditch. Because there were only seven of them, they decided for Bill and Ron to Keep, with the Twins and Ginny as Chasers for Bill’s team, Charlie, and Harry on Ron’s. They didn’t keep score, however two hours later as they trudged back to the Burrow, the teams were having a heated discussion on which team won. They were locking up the brooms, when a red Stunner barely missed Ron’s ear. Bill grabbed Ginny and shoved her into the broomshed, as everyone pulled out wands. Spinning to face their attacker, both Charlie and Bill stood in front of the door to protect her. After shoving Ron and Harry to the side, Fred and George had dropped to their knees in front of their older brothers. Thirty feet away twelve Death Eaters stood grinning at them malevolently from beneath their masks. With a small wand movement, Bellatrix attacked. Bill countered easily, but the group of friends was outnumbered almost two to one. Wanting to keep his friends safe, Harry turned to Ron. “Ron, in the Room of Requirement last week when I had you split into four pairs to duel during our DA meeting, do you remember what we practiced?” At Ron’s nod, Harry continued, “Great! Go around to the other side of the broomshed and conjure a Shield Charm. Make it as large as you can and still maintain its integrity. I will cast one from this side. Together, we should be able to protect everyone.” “Brilliant. That will leave Bill, Charlie and the Twins to fight.” Ron crouched and crept around the tiny building. When he was in place, he cast his Shield Charm and Harry quickly repeated the Spell. The two Shields overlapped, doubly protecting the occupants within the circles. Jets of red, orange, purple and blue were bouncing harmlessly off the conjured protection, while allowing offensive spells through. Hunkered down behind the rock wall surrounding the Burrow’s back garden, the Death Eaters were now aiming the majority of their spells towards Ron and Harry. From their vantage point, they couldn’t see the kitchen door, so they didn’t see Mr and Mrs Weasley, Percy and Hermione come out and approach the corner of the Burrow. After peeking into the garden, Mr Weasley wrote an intricate pattern in the air, sending a message to both the Auror department and the Order of the Phoenix. Hermione nodded when she saw the double Shields surrounding her trapped friends. None of the DA had been able to penetrate Harry’s shield during practice. She whispered quietly to Percy and Mrs Weasley as they waited for reinforcements. Within five minutes, the fight was over. The Ministry sent Kingsley Shacklebolt and ten other Aurors, while Lupin, Tonks, Mad-Eye, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and five others came from Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. The Death Eaters, who disliked it when the odds weren’t in their favour, left their fallen comrades behind and Apparated back to Lord Voldemort with dread, knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that he wouldn’t be pleased with the shoddy outcome of today’s surprise attack. The three Weasleys and Hermione rushed forward and surrounded the grinning group of Quidditch players. Everyone was hugging. Hermione congratulated Ron and Harry for conjuring such strong defensive shields. Mrs Weasley almost squeezed the air out of Harry. Harry had received hugs or handshakes from everyone present, Aurors, Order members, Hermione and most of the Weasleys, when the smallest Weasley launched herself into his arms. “I knew everyone would be safe when I heard you and Ron cast Shield Charms from either side of me. Harry, thank you for protecting my family,” she said with a smile. “You’re welcome, Ginny. As Bill and Charlie said earlier, you’re my family,” Harry said cradling her close. However, he kept a careful eye on the Weasleys to see if they were upset over him holding Ginny. ‘Merlin, life was getting better all the time. Who would have thought this morning that I would have received four hugs from Ginny today?’ * * * * Supper was over, and the dishes washed and put away. Because the days were short, the sun had set and stars glistened in the velvet sky. Unsettled by the day’s events, the least of which was the attack by Death Eaters, what kept Harry on pins and needles were the four hugs he and Ginny had shared. Though they had played Quidditch earlier, he felt the need of some exercise before settling in the family room for a game of Wizard’s Chess. “Would anyone like to go for a walk?” he asked the room at large. “Sounds good,” said Ron. Hermione and Ginny nodded. Molly said, “Dress warmly. Now that the sun’s down, it will be cold.” “Yes, Mum,” muttered Ginny ominously. She waited until her Mum and Dad had entered the living room. “You would think that we were still children. Did she really think that we would forget our coats?” Hermione hugged her. “Ginny, she loves you.” “I know. I just wish that she would realise that I’ve grown up.” Harry grabbed a muffler off the hat stand and wrapped it three times around Ginny’s neck. Then pulling on one of the ends, he led her unresistingly outside. “C’mon. Let’s go.” Walking briskly, Harry and Ginny soon left the other couple far behind. Ron and Hermione were holding hands and just strolling along, while Harry was trying to relieve his nervous tension. He had marched relentlessly through the garden and orchard and was in the center of the meadow, when he felt a small hand on his arm. “Harry, is this a race?” He stopped as quickly as he began. “No.” “Are you trying to outrun me?” “No,” he said, turning towards her. “Then what are you trying to do?” Reaching out, he grasped the end of her scarf and began to fiddle with it. He wasn’t sure of the answer. ‘Why was he almost running? Where was he going? What did he want to happen?’ He looked into her eyes and was lost. His answers were there, in the warm glow shining from her soul. ‘He wanted someone to love him. Love him and not because he was famous. Infamous was more like it.’ He wrapped the scarf around his hand, tugging her gently forward until the only thing keeping them apart was his fist tied in her muffler. “I guess I was looking for some privacy.” Ginny pointedly looked completely around. They were standing in the middle of the meadow. There was at least fifty feet surrounding them covered in new fallen snow. The only disturbance to the smooth surface was their two sets of tracks ending where they now stood. “I think that you found some,” she said with a small smile. Harry grinned. “Yeah, me too. What do you think we should do with it?” “This was your quest. You get to make that decision.” Very slowly, he pulled his hand from the knot of her scarf and closed the distance between. One arm circling behind her, the other hand rising to cup her cheek and lift her face. In the light of the full moon and the multitude of stars, he saw his hope for their united future mirrored in Ginny’s eyes. Her arms rose to surround him with her strength. Finally, he lowered his head to taste her lips for the first time, his mouth slowly settling over hers. To his wonder, this kiss was better than any he had dreamed. Breaking the kiss he whispered, “I love you, Ginny,” before gathering her even closer. Taking advantage of their solitude, he sealed the pledge the way that lovers always do. For Harry Potter’s Christmas, the Wizarding World gave to him, Twelve Dark Lord’s Minions Eleven Ministry Aurors Ten Order Members Nine D A Students Eight Lessons at Hogwarts Seven Quidditch Players Six Weasley Brothers Five Shared Hugs Four Hogwarts Teachers Three House Elves Two Best Friends And Ginny and Harry’s first Kiss |
| Reviews 19 |
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