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Starting Traditions
By fadedrainbow

- Text Size +

Category: Boxing Day Challenge (2004-6)
Characters:None
Genres: Fluff, Drama, General
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: G
Reviews: 22
Summary: Old traditions are brought back, new ones are started, and a Christmas Ball takes place. Everything seems perfect, but Ginny cannot help but feel lonely.
Hitcount: Story Total: 4602







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The Gryffindor Tower was filled with people, all gathered around the warmth of the fire on one frozen evening in late-November. Several students were talking amongst themselves, but they were quickly quieted. Once more, the Gryffindors turned their attention back to Hermione.

"As I was starting to say," she said firmly, glaring those who had dared to interrupt her. "Ginny and I were talking the other evening, and although we love the idea of staff putting together a Christmas Ball to raise our spirits, we think we need to do something more to keep our minds off of ... You-Know-Who. As the Christmas holiday is not that far away, we were thinking about Boxing Day; why not bring the old, original tradition back?"

Hermione was interrupted by a murmur of approval filling the room.

"There is one thing, however," Ginny spoke up, with an air that demanded the students' attentions. "We want you to do these boxes in groups of two or more, if at all possible, as it promotes a sense of unity." Noticing several faces that appeared to be confused, she quickly added, "Hermione will be filling in anyone who is unfamiliar with the old tradition of Boxing Day in a few minutes. Also, invite your friends in other houses to join the holiday fun."

' "Holiday fun"?' she thought. 'Did I actually say that? Ugh, I must be going insane. That must be why Harry—'

Ginny shook her head, reminding herself that she and Harry were friends, in an effort to convince herself that she no longer had a childish crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. Or rather, the Boy-With-Attractive-Features. Over the past year and a half following Sirius' death, Harry had become quite the runner, running and working out almost every morning. Something deep within Ginny longed to reach out and run her hands over his muscular chest. Ginny shook her head, trying to rid her mind of thoughts of Harry. Especially a shirtless Harry. Instead, she diverted her attention and her gaze to where Hermione was giving an elaborately befuddling description of the old Boxing Day tradition to several first-, second-, and third-year students.

"And then one would—" Hermione was saying, but was abruptly cut off by Ron covering her mouth with his hand.

"You don't want to get her started, mates," he affirmed. "She'll never stop on her own. Basically, what you do is fill a box with small gifts and food and give to a teacher, servant, merchant, or milkman type of person. Any other questions, ask Ginny; you'll never get a direct answer from Hermione."

Hermione glared daggers at her boyfriend, who suddenly pulled his hand off her mouth.

"You licked me!" he exclaimed, shocked.

By this time, Ginny had meandered over to where her brother and her closest friend were standing.

"The both of you act as though you're still first-years. I, only a year younger than you, and a sixth-year, am more mature than the two of you combined."

"I'll second that," a voice behind her muttered.

Whirling around, Ginny found herself face to face with Harry, who was grinning broadly.

"And just where have you been, young man?" Ginny demanded in an attempt to sound motherly.

"Doing some Christmas shopping," he said without a trace of guilt.

"I'd like to hear about that one," she remarked, raising an eyebrow.

An undeterminable emotion flickered in his bright eyes, but it quickly disappeared. Ginny opened her mouth to ask Harry about it, but was interrupted before she even started.

"Ginny," a quiet voice behind her said. "Who are the boxes for?"

Turning around, Ginny smiled as she explained to the second-year girl.

"They're for almost anybody, except for students. It doesn't even have to be someone you know; it could be Madame Rosmerta at the Three Broomsticks, if you'd like."

The young blond thanked Ginny and left. Turning back to Harry, there was a rather confused expression upon his face, making Ginny laugh as she took a seat.

"What were you talking about with that girl?" Harry asked.

"You don't remember the idea Hermione and I had for Boxing Day?"

"Oh, right ... that."

A sheepish grin covered Harry's face, and Ginny laughed again.

"Did you go through with your 'partners and groups only' plan?" Harry questioned.

"Well, yes, if you could call it that...." Ginny said. "What are thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I don't want to be around Ron and Hermione when they make their box, because I'm sure they'll be doing more than just that." Ginny giggled, and Harry continued. "Why don't we do one together?"

Ginny felt her heart flutter as the words came out of Harry's mouth, and she silently told herself to stop dreaming.

"That could fun, I suppose," she said, pasting a fake smile on her face.

'Or heart-wrenching,' she added to herself.

Ginny forced herself to push these thoughts away. The joy on Harry's face was reason enough to do what he wanted. Harry leaned closer, and her heart leaped. His warm breath on her cheek sent a shiver through her spin, but Harry failed to notice the affect he had on her.

"We should give a box to Neville's grandmother," he whispered.

Was that all he thought about? The bloody boxes?

"Sounds like a plan," Ginny replied, smiling weakly.

Harry pulled away, gazing at her quizzically.

"Is something wrong, Ginny?" he asked worriedly.

"No, I'm just exhausted from Quidditch practice."

'And you've been haunting my dreams.'

Ginny stood to leave, feeling as though she was unable to withstand holding all her hidden emotions any longer, after several long months.

"In fact, I'm going to bed now. 'Night, Harry."

"Good-night, Ginny."

She went up to her room and lied on her bed. For the first time since her first year at Hogwarts, she cried herself to sleep.

----------

Within the next week, word spread throughout Hogwarts of the Gryffindors' plan, and Dumbledore even arranged for additional Hogsmeade weekends to accommodate the students' needs. That very weekend was one such designated trip, and Harry and Ginny took advantage of the opportunity. They walked along the street at a distance of over two feet from each other.

"What should we put in the box?" Ginny asked, breaking the silence.

"Cheese is always good!" Harry declared.

"Cheese?" Ginny restated, unbelieving.

"It's a Muggle-thing, I suppose," Harry muttered, shrugging. "When they don't know what to give someone, they give them cheese.

Ginny smiled up at him, meeting Harry's grinning face. They had stopped walking, and Ginny realized that they were much closer now. Her grin faded as she gazed up at Harry, her heart fluttering with anticipation, although she did not know just what it was she was anticipating. Harry suddenly pulled out of the trance, breaking off Ginny's dreaming.

"You have something on your cheek," he said softly.

"Oh," she mumbled, hiding her disappointment as well as possible. "Thanks."

Ginny wiped at her check, her heart sinking. Her feet mechanically kept her walking alongside of Harry, but she did not realize it.

'Stop thinking about him,' she commanded herself. 'Stop obsessing over him. He's not interested in you, so it's not worth the heart-break.'

No matter how hard she tried, she never could convince herself of that.

----------

That evening, Ginny sat in the Gryffindor common room with Harry, Hermione, and Ron, all packing their boxes, as the foursome was also doing a box as a group.

"Ginny and I already bought everything we need for our own box," Harry commented. "What about you two?"

Hermione and Ron exchanged embarrassed glances, and then turned back to Harry and Ginny.

"Not yet," Hermione stated, although hesitantly.

"Did you at least buy things for this box?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Not ... yet," Ron said tentatively. "Well, no. But we can just use whatever you have in your box and reimburse you later."

Ron stood and reached for the box near Ginny's feet, but Ginny was faster, and she pulled wand out and trained it on her brother.

"I wouldn't touch that box if I were you." she whispered harshly.

Ron's eyes grew several times larger than normal and he immediately retracted his hand, and Ginny returned her wand to its usual pocket.

"Well, since you didn't get your things yet, will you two bring some food up from the kitchens for me? I had detention with Professor Snape, so I haven't yet eaten."

Ron appeared amazed that he had escaped further conflict with his sister. Ginny knew that she had just given her brother and his girlfriend additional time to snog, but she cared not. More than merely hungry, she also desired some time to talk with Harry. Much to her disappointment, however, as soon as Hermione and Ron left Gryffindor Tower, one of her roommates, Nicole Springston, rushed over to her.

"Ginny! I need to tell you something." Nicole said urgently.

"Well, all right."

Nicole took her by the arm and dragged her into a secluded corner. By the look in her eyes, Ginny knew that she was excited about something. But with this girl, Ginny knew, anything could be exciting.

"Colin asked me to the Christmas Ball!"

By the look of pure ecstasy on her friend's face, Ginny knew that this was important information. After all, this was her friend, and Nicole had been crushing on Colin for months. Ginny plastered a convincing grin on her face, pretending to share her friend's delight.

"That's wonderful, Nicole!"

"What about you? Is there someone you want to ask YOU? Have they asked you?"

"Yes, there is someone ... but he won't ask me. He doesn't think of me that way."

Nicole nodded knowingly, but with a glint in her eyes.

"Don't give up, Gin. There's always a chance."

Ginny nodded, but internally, she disagreed; there was no possibility of Harry asking her, unless if it was as a joke, or as friends. She returned to her seat, where Harry smiled curiously at her, yet did not ask questions. Ginny answered nonetheless, grinning at the handsome young man before her.

"Sorry, Harry. My roommate just wanted to tell me something about that Christmas Eve Dance-thing that Dumbledore brought up at the beginning of the year."

"Oh, all right," he said, and paused for a moment. "About that ball ... why don't we go together?" Ginny felt as though her heart had just stopped. "Friends go to this type of thing together often, don't they?"

Ginny nodded, smiling despite her great disappointment. "Of course I will, Harry."

The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence, putting the finishing touches on their box. Before she shut the lid, Ginny removed a pair of magical 'Scent-Away!' slippers.

"I love this," Ginny said softly. In response to Harry's raised eyebrows, she continued, grinning. "Not the slippers, Harry. Bringing back old traditions and the start of new ones; it just all seems to be so perfectly wonderful."

"You like starting traditions?"

"Sometimes," Ginny replied, a smile playing at her lips.

Was that mischief that flickered in his eyes? The expression disappeared before Ginny could tell. Before either could say anything else, Ron and Hermione returned, both with slightly disheveled appearances. Ginny exchanged a knowing glance with Harry as the young couple made their way back to Ginny and Harry.

"Here's your food, Gin," Ron stated simply.

Ginny reached out to accept the proffered tray, longing for a particular something that, while she could not eat it, was much more desirable than the scrumptious foods before her. At this thought, she cast a quick glance at Harry.

----------

"I can't go with him alone, Hermione," Ginny told Hermione in secret that night. "I can't spend the whole evening alone with him, tormented by the thought that he'll always think of me as a friend – or worse, as a sister."

"We both know that it would be wrong, and unfair, to cancel on Harry now; it's too late for that. I'll tell you this; Ron and I will go with you, and it won't be so bad if it's the four of us there together."

"But, you and Ron ... I don't want you to sacrifice your evening on my behalf."

"There will be plenty of nights for me to spend with Ron, but that ball is going to be your night, and I am going to be beside you. I'll just tell Ron that I want to spend time with you and Harry because it's been so long since the four of us did something together."

Ginny smiled and embraced Hermione, wondering how she had been so lucky as to have such a wonderful friend.

"I'm just sorry that that's an actual reason; I've been neglecting our friendship, and I apologize."

"Well," Ginny said, grinning mischievously. "You've been busy. I think I can forgive you."

"We should tell those boys our plan," Hermione decided, abruptly changing the subject.

The girls stood, grinning at each other, although Ginny inwardly dreading the ball the following week.

----------

A week later, Ginny surveyed herself in the full-length mirror. She lifted a hand to touch her hair, admiring Hermione's work, fingering one of the few loose curls. Smiling, she turned on her heel, her gold dress robes sparkling in the light, and she left the room with Hermione. They whispered a few words to each other, neither actually hearing what the other had to say.

Ginny swallowed hard, her stomach doing flip-flops, at the sight of Harry. He looked ravishing, Ginny thought, in his green dress robes.

'Stop it, she scolded herself. 'He's not yours to admire.'

She tore her gaze away from Harry and followed Hermione as they approached the young men, smiling despite her nervousness. The group exchanged greetings and left the common room, Hermione and Ron leading the way to the Great Hall. Ginny walked behind them next to Harry, she did not dare chance a glance at him.

"You look nice," Harry whispered, not loud enough for Ron and Hermione to hear.

"Thanks," Ginny said, blushing and turning away.

They walked mostly in silence, listening to the sound of Ron and Hermione's hardly audible whispers.

'Merlin, how am I going to survive this all night long?' Ginny thought desperately.

She did manage to live through the evening, but only by inviting her dateless roommates Jennifer and Katrina to join the foursome, ignoring the subtle, disapproving look she received from Hermione. She talked and laughed amongst the group, almost momentarily forgetting that she had, once again, fallen for Harry. Hermione and Ron left the group occasionally for the opportunity to dance. Late in the evening, after one song ended, the young couple returned, and both appeared particularly happy about something. Hermione turned to address the rest of the group, an action that, coming from Hermione, demanded their attention.

"Ron and I decided that we're leaving now, as it is getting late – nearly midnight, in fact. You can stay if you would like to, but we're leaving."

Jennifer quickly jumped in to speak.

"Katrina and I want to stay a while longer."

"I think that I'll stay a while longer," Ginny said. "Harry? What about you?"

Harry looked ... distant, in a way, Ginny thought, so she had felt the need to pull him back down to earth."

"No..." he said faintly. "I think I'll just go now, as well." Casting a teasing grin at a disappointed-looking Ron, he added, "Don't worry, I'll leave you two with plenty of privacy."

As the night wore on, it became apparent to all, except for Katrina, that the punch had been spiked. Katrina, however, drank more than one too many drinks. When Ginny returned from a bathroom break, it was obvious that her friend was drunk.

"Find a guy for me; I could do with a good shag," Katrina proclaimed loudly, her words slurred and her lips forming a lopsided smile.

Jennifer giggled at her friend's outburst.

"You should have heard what she said earlier."

"We should get her to bed," Ginny said in an undertone to Jennifer.

----------

Christmas, for Ginny, consisted mostly of avoiding Ron and Hermione, who were acting even more sappy than usual, and also avoiding Harry. Harry was much more quite than normal, which suited Ginny just fine; she was in no mood for conversation. Not even Fred and George's box of tricks given to her gave her any please at the moment. She mostly stayed in the common room, pretending to be social towards Harry, who was acting rather antisocial, himself. The thought most prominent in Ginny's mind was that Harry had not given her a gift, while forgetting that she not given him a present, either.

----------

The next day, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, and Harry could be found riding the Knight Bus, rattling around, desperately clinging to their chairs.

BANG.

The Knight Bus stopped with a jolt, and the foursome quickly hobbled off the bus, eagerly taking in their surroundings.

"The magical side of London is especially nice after a bouncy ride, isn't it?" Hermione commented.

The others nodded their heads in agreement, and Hermione led the way up to a house with confidence. After she knocked, she turned her head to look nervously at Ron, who smiled back at her. The door opened as she turned her head back, and she smiled softly.

"Hello, Mr. Diggory," she said, the recognition causing Ginny's jaw to go slack, and she noticed the same happened to Harry. "I don't know if you remember me, but we met you about three and a half years ago."

"At the Quidditch World Cup," he said in a would-be-cheerful voice, but came out as somewhat hollow. "Yes, it's nice to see you again."

"We brought a gift for you and your wife, Mr. Diggory," Hermione informed him.

Ginny cast a sideways glance at Harry, missing Amos Diggory's reply, wondering if Harry thought himself guilty for Cedric's death. Harry grabbed Hermione's arm as they entered the Diggorys' home.

"Should I wait out here?" he asked, his face twisted in worry and hidden pain.

"Nonsense!" Hermione declared. "There's no reason for that, as you should have known by now."

Hermione gave him a reassuring smile and followed after Mr. Diggory and Ron, with Harry and Ginny not far behind.

"It'll be fine," Ginny whispered comfortingly.

Harry smiled a small smile at her, and then turned away. Ginny did the same, taking in the many elaborate paintings and pictures, many that were obviously from the Muggle world, as they did not move. Mr. Diggory led the group into a sitting room. In one corner, there was a grand piano that looked untouched. On the walls there were photographs of the Diggorys Cedric, and the shelves held miscellaneous other photos and objects.

When Mrs. Diggory entered the room, she immediately greeted the students each with a hug. She acted cheerful, but Ginny could see that her eyes were slightly red and swollen. They engaged in small talk for a while before Ron brought forth a white box.

"Are you sure that's the right box?" Hermione hissed under her breath.

"Of course I'm sure," Ron whispered back fiercely.

Inside the box was a mixed assortment of candies and chocolates, as well as several books and some other odds and ends. Soon after giving the couple their box, the foursome left the house and made their way towards the house of Neville Longbottom and his grandmother. The house was almost superficially clean, Ginny noted, and had very simple decorations and curtains. On one wall, a large, old photograph of Frank and Alice Longbottom waved at the group. Ginny grinned at the surprised, yet delighted, look on Mrs. Longbottom's face at being given a box filled with cheese.

----------

Back at Hogwarts, the group went to Professor Flitwick's office. When they were let into the room, Ginny saw that there were several shelves filled with books. On the wall opposite the shelves, however, were shelves filled with magical – and Muggle – action figures, a few books on the martial arts, and many trophies. Upon closer inspection, Ginny could see that they were from being a dueling champion. Several weeks before, Ginny had been in here, so that was how she had known instantly want the foursome could for their charms professor.

Professor Flitwick's eyes grew wide with excitement, joyous as he saw the contents of the box; a collection of old Muggle "Star Wars" action figures.

"I don't know how you knew that I am familiar with the Muggle movies," he said, his voice even squeakier than normal. "But this is magnificent! Thank you very much!"

"We're glad you like them," Ginny said, smiling at the short, eccentric man.

The four quickly left, separating and going their own direction; Ron and Hermione using the excuse that Hermione needed to use the library. Harry and Ginny laughed as they walked towards Gryffindor Tower, as both knew that Ron and Hermione were far from the library.

Entering the empty common room – most students were out in the snow or snagging the moment for a snog – Ginny seated herself on her favorite couch near the fire, feeling the warmth of the fire on her face. She felt the couch sink a little lower and turned to see Harry sitting on the other end. A worried expression covered his face, yet there was also sense of determination. She watched him as he stared at the floor, obviously thinking hard.

"Don't think too hard," she said quietly. "It'll hurt your head."

Harry smiled a little, although nervously. He hesitantly reached into his robes' pocket and pulled out a white, slender box.

Handing it to Ginny, while not looking her, he added, "Happy Christmas. I meant to give this to you yesterday, but I never got the chance."

Ginny opened the box and could not keep from gasping. She removed from the box a delicate, elegant, silver bracelet.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "I don't have a gift for you, Harry. I'm sorry."

"That's all right Ginny; I don't mind."

She began to fumble with the clasp, but, unable to close it with only one hand, she looked at Harry, somewhat expectant.

"Harry, would you help me with this?" she asked quietly.

"Sure," he muttered.

He clumsily shut the clasp of the bracelet, and Ginny felt her face go hot at the touch. Harry, whose face had also turned red, met her gaze.

"You told me once that you enjoy starting traditions. This is one tradition I would like to start."

Harry slowly closed the gap between the pair, and, after a moment of hesitation, gently kissed her on the lips. He quickly pulled away, nervous.

Ginny sat in shock for a moment, and then shifted in the couch until she was nearly touching Harry. She touched his cheek and kissed his lips, savoring the feeling of absolute bliss. She gently pulled her lips off of his and rested her head on his shoulder as Harry wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I think I like your new tradition," she said softly.
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