A/N: Ok, so I totally know that I am now overwhelming myself, seeing as I have two other stories that I really should be working on, but I am so in love with this story, that I decided to post the first chapter. I hope you like it. I started it at Christmastime as a one-shot Xmas story, but I continued it, so here is where the original stopped and you can tell that I just had to continue. Please let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: None of them are mine, though I totally wish some of them were... ; )

Harry hated Christmas shopping. He had never really had any of the Christmas spirit before he had gone to Hogwarts and by his last year, he had been so caught up in trying to defeat Lord Voldemort, that he hadn't had time to think about Christmas.

He wasn't a complete Scrooge, he always made an effort to send his friends gifts. But the fact that he had never accompanied the packages to their recipients, he knew, made it seem that way. Of course, that never stopped Molly Weasley from sending him an invitation to the Burrow for the holidays. It was just that Harry preferred to spend Christmas alone. He never went seeking company on Christmas, and no one had come looking for him on Christmas after he had sent people away in a very drunken state three years prior.

The circumstances were hazy enough on the issue. Of course the Daily Prophet had a field day with it, the headline reading something to the effect of "Drunken Hero Burns Up Apartment" and had gone on to explain how the Boy-Who-Lived had royally fucked things up. Probably under the influence of one too many Firewhiskeys, he had turned everyone he had invited over out of his flat and then set fire to it. And then he disappeared.

Now here he was, three years later shopping for Christmas presents at Harrods. He was decidedly nervous about showing up at the Burrow for Christmas this year, after the last time he had encountered any of these people. Hermione had insisted that everything was forgiven and forgotten, but Harry just couldn't see it. And he could not yet bear the thought of reentering the wizarding world, so he had chosen the largest of Muggle destinations for his annual one stop Christmas shopping extravaganza.

The crowd was fierce and since Harry was not particularly motivated to move quickly, he was often shunted aside by the many shoppers who were in a hurry. This didn't really bother him however. Most of these people were too busy to stop and look at him and this pleased him. That was why he liked the muggle world. Harry could go about his business without every single person he came in contact with recognizing him and singling him out. These muggles were far too wrapped up in their own lives to give a fig about some young man with black messy hair and a lightening bolt scar on his forehead.

But Harry only allowed himself to revel in this thought for a moment as he was struck across the head by a large stuffed bear. A young man turned around and apologized hastily before rushing off again, but it was enough to remind Harry that he was here for presents, not for the anonymity the store provided. He pulled a paper out of his pocket and examined it. First on his list was Hermione. But there was a small check next to her name and he remembered he had bought her a red coat he had seen a girl modeling in a shop window the other day. He sighed gratefully as he mounted the escalator going up, squashed in between a small child carrying a dollhouse larger than she was and an old lady who smelt like mothballs.

As he was dumped out at the top, he decided he would first look for something to give Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. He felt slightly guilty, as he had no idea what on earth to give them. The Weasley's were the closest thing Harry had felt to having family and he felt more than slightly guilty about completely removing them from his life for three years. Not keeping his eyes on the path in front of him, but merely on the shelves for signs of inspiration, he ran into something rather solid.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" an angry voice could be heard from the floor in front of him. Harry looked down to see a pretty young woman sprawled on the floor. Her face was flushed and there was a shopping bag spilled out at her feet.

"I'm really sorry. Here, let me help you with that," he said, kneeling down and helping her put the small wrapped packages back into the bag. The girl was on her knees, her long brown hair swept in front of her face. Harry straightened up, holding her bag in one hand and her arm in the other, helping her up. She regained her balance and brushed off the front of her coat.

"I really am sorry. You're right, I should have been looking where I was going. Are you all right?" Harry said, handing her bag back to her. She smiled.

"I'm fine, really. It was bound to happen at some point today. I just-" suddenly she stopped. Her eyes darted quickly from Harry's up to his forehead. Harry felt his stomach drop and his hand automatically went up to flatten his fringe. He hadn't had to do that in quite some time, and it rather unnerved him.

The girl was now staring at him. Her large brown eyes were wide. Suddenly, another customer rushed by, causing her to bump into Harry. She looked away again, her hand running through her hair nervously. "Um…Harry?" she asked quietly. Her eyes traveled slowly back up to his forehead, but his hand was still there.

"Do I know you?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse. His heartbeat started to quicken. She looked so familiar, but he didn't want to say anything that might drive her away. She looked like-

"Its uh, wow this is hard to say…um, it's me, Harry. Ginny." They were still standing in the middle of Harrod's food counter and if it hadn't been for the massive crowd surrounding them, Harry might have fallen over.

It was her. Now that he had the name to put with the face, he was shocked with himself that he hadn't seen it right away. And all of a sudden, Harry's mouth felt rather dry. He cleared his throat and stared at her, his mouth slightly open in surprise. He seemed to have lost the ability for intelligent speech.

"But…Ginny, your hair. Its-its-"

"Different. Yeah, I know," Ginny said, smiling as she pulled at a lock of her dark brown.

Harry reached out his hand and touched it. It was soft and he could smell it as he was standing so close to her. Then, as quickly as he had reached out to her, he drew his hand away, feeling rather awkward. "I'm sorry. I just-well it looks nice. But why did you do it?" he asked quickly, trying to steer the conversation away from any more awkward moments.

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose I just felt like a change," she said slowly. Harry's eyes caught hers again and she faltered. "Well, ok, let me put it this way. If you have distinct red hair as I did, in the wizarding world, people come to two conclusions. You're either a Prewett or a Weasley. And seeing as the Prewetts pretty much died out with my mother's brothers, they'll know I'm a Weasley. And because I am the only girl Weasley in generations, most people know exactly who I am. I was Ginny Weasley, present at the last battle against Voldemort. People asked about that, there were stories rumours. Don't get me wrong, everyone got hit with that one. But most frequently, they asked about you. I had gone out with Harry Potter. I was the Girl-Who-Shagged-the-Boy-Who-Lived. So they brought it out into the open. Spread it across the front of the papers for everyone to see. And people like Rita Skeeter and other finely distinguished reporters of the Dailey Prophet couldn't get enough of my private life even after your leaving the wizarding world died away. And I'll bet it bothers me as much as the whole scar thing bothered you. That is why you left isn't it?" she finished, looking down at her bag.

Harry didn't quite know what to say. He'd sort of pictured Ginny's life after him as nice, quiet even, seeing as she didn't have to defend herself against Voldemort or Death Eaters. She no longer had to hide herself for her own protection or worry about whether or not any of them would die the next day. He never thought about his being with her affecting her future. 'Perhaps because while we were together, there was no thought of us ever not being together,' Harry thought to himself. This only made him feel even guiltier about the whole situation that lay ahead.

Leaving her had been one of the hardest things about severing contact with the wizarding world. And Harry didn't particularly relish diving head first into this discussion in the middle of a large department store, so he ignored her last question. "Actually, I'm here to buy presents for people. But…I have absolutely no clue as to where to begin. I uh, I haven't seen any of you in so long that I don't know if I'm the best judge at what to get everyone." He laughed nervously and watched her carefully.

Ginny held his gaze for a moment, eyeing him shrewdly. She had the feeling that he had pointedly changed the subject, so as to avoid ensuing awkwardness. And for the moment, she was going to let it slide. She looked around. "Well, it's not as though they've gone through any large drastic changes. You still buy everyone presents every year, even if we never see you. What's so different this time?"

Harry raked his hand through his hair. "I suppose I'll just feel weird this time if I get the wrong thing. Seeing as I'm going to be there to hear what you think of the crap presents I get you," he turned away quickly and started looking at a case of wine. He continued, "I was thinking of getting your parents a bottle of wine. And uh, do they like fruitcake or something?" he turned back to pose the question to Ginny.

Ginny stood there staring at him, nonplussed. "I haven't the faintest idea. But…well Harry its not as though this is some big formal deal. This is-that is, you're family, Harry! I think they would find a bottle of wine insulting!" she said, her voice raising slightly.

Harry felt himself grow angry at this. "Look, I'm not saying that this is easy, Ginny! I can't simply walk in on Christmas and act as if nothing happened!" He turned away, slamming a bottle of wine back onto the shelf.

Ginny grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Why not? Trust me, Harry, no one cares about what you've done. In fact, seeing you would be present enough for them. They miss you, Harry. We all do." Her gaze turned downward again for a moment before she continued, looking up at him once again. "And the idea of forcing you to bring them a bottle of wine as a courtesy gift would be insulting to them after all the years you've known them. If you want to show them you care, just show up!" She let go of his shoulder and stopped staring into his eyes. They unnerved her, they always had, they were so startlingly green and she was more than frustrated that even after all that time, they still had that effect on her.

She was a bit flushed now, that famous Weasley blush creeping into her cheeks. Her brown hair would never cover that up. Harry found himself laughing at the thought.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, hands on her hips and looking very much like her mother.

Harry stopped laughing, but his eyes were still alight with amusement. "Nothing," he tentatively reached out his arm and ran a hand through her hair. He heard her take in a shaky breath. He leaned closer to her as he reached the tips of her hair. "God I've missed you, Gin."

Ginny stepped back a little, her eyes darting nervously up to his and then looking away quickly. "I've missed you too," she said quietly. Harry tried to catch her eye again, but she refused to look at him and his hand fell from the side of her face.

"Ginger! There you are! I've been looking for you for twenty minutes." Harry followed the direction of the unfamiliar voice and physically started at the sight of a large stuffed teddy bear talking to Ginny. But as the bear drew closer, Harry saw a handsome young man holding it.

"Oh Jeff, I'm so sorry. Jeff, is that the bear? It's perfect! Alice will love it!" Ginny kissed the man on the cheek and took the bear from him, looking at it.

Jeff laughed. "She better. I had to fight a middle aged woman who looked as though she'd just been released from prison to get that bear. It was the last one. You'd better buy it quickly. I wouldn't put it past some of these people to jump you for it."

Ginny laughed lightly as she leaned over and kissed him again, this time Harry noted, on the lips. "Thank you," she said, smiling slightly.

Jeff reached out and caught her hand, holding it fast, when he finally noticed Harry was standing there watching them. "Hello there! I don't believe we've met," he said cheerfully, extending the hand that wasn't holding Ginny's out to shake. Harry took it stiffly.

"Oh my god, where are my manners? Harry, this is my boyfriend Jeff. Jeff this is Harry, we were at school together and he's a family friend," Ginny said, shifting the teddy bear in her hand slightly.

"Ah, so you can confirm that Ginny in fact does have a family then? Its odd, she says she has such a large family, yet I've never seen nor heard anything of them," he said jokingly, "But really, its great to meet you."

Harry smiled but said nothing. He seemed to have a large lump in his throat that was keeping him from speaking. Ginny looked at him and then back at Jeff.

Checking her watch, she gasped. "I didn't realize it was so late!" she let go of Jeff's hand and moved towards Harry, pulling him into a hug so that he was pressed between her and the large bear. "We have to go, but it was so great to see you, Harry! I'll see you soon." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her there for the shortest moment, suddenly remembering what it felt like to hold her.

And then they were gone. Lost among the dozens of people in constant motion around him. Harry sighed as he realized he was back to his least favorite task ever. It hadn't seemed so bad while he was talking to Ginny.

A/N: Again, let me know what you think, I have more written and I will post it soon...perhaps. Oh yeah, and all will be explained eventually...I think. Thanks for reading!