Written for The Sober Universe Yuletide gift Exchange
For: ToManyLetters- I read you love Ginny/Harry and wrote for you. Enjoy your present!
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Four years after the war.
The Yule log rested on the table half eaten, the gravy bowl was completely gone, as well as the Christmas goose. Harry sat back as he felt his full belly. Molly Weasley had out done herself again and he was stuffed. He loved Christmas at the Burrow. Loved spending time with family he knew so well. He smiled as he saw Ginny coming in through the kitchen. Ginny's hair was up in a small pony at the top with a green ribbon tied in a bow. the rest was let down. She wore a tight black skirt, and dark black panty hose. She had a dark red sweater that made her look more like a woman than a teenager. She had just dropped off her plate and was making her way back when a knock at the door made Harry turn around.
Everyone was there, so why was someone knocking? Ginny looked excited, and made her way to the door playing with her necklace as she walked. She greeted the unknown guest, and brought them back to the dining room table where everyone was eager to see who was there. Harry's heart sank. He knew they had wanted to take a long break after the war, but he hadn't expected Ginny to be in a relationship with anyone. A tall redhead smiled holding Ginny's hand.
"Mum, dad, this is Donnigan, my boyfriend," Ginny said. Hermione looked over at Harry as he turned away from Ginny. His heart dropped. He wanted to get out of the room and out of the Burrow. Ginny didn't turn to Harry at all. She completely ignored him which was fine with Harry because he did not want to talk to her.
Harry stared at Ginny. She was arm and arm with Donnigan as she smiled and nodded at every question her parents threw at her. Hermione kept glancing in Harry's direction. Harry avoided her sympathy stares. He didn't want them.
He stood up from the table, said a very quick 'thank you' for dinner and left with out saying anything to anyone. He left completely. Went home to his home where Kreacher was waiting for him instead of staying at the Burrow like he had planned to do on Christmas night. He didn't even bother getting the gifts that the Weasleys and Hermione had given him.
Harry was a mess. He was full of emotions. He went around the house looking for things to throw. He picked up a green pillow and threw it at the mantle. He turned away from it, but turned back when he heard glass break. Harry went over to the lit fire place where the glass had fallen, picked up the glass and noticed it was a picture frame.
Sixth year, a few days before Christmas break.
Harry paced the common room waiting for Ginny to return from one of her classes. She came in looking like snow had fallen on her. Her red hair made the snow shine. She came to him with a big smile on her face. He held out her present. He had wanted to give Ginny an early Christmas present before they left for the Burrow. He held out the silver frame. Ginny accepted it with a "wow" escaping from her lips.
The picture its self was "wow" Harry had managed to have Colin take the picture for him and Ginny. They were outside by the lake during the first snow fall of the year. Harry promised Colin an autographed scarf if he took the picture as the snow was falling down. He took the picture with a Muggle camera so the moment could last forever. Harry timed everything just right. A picture of them kissing in the snow. The photograph stood still so they could capture the memory forever.
Ginny couldn't stop staring at the picture. She traced her and Harry with her fingers. She hugged the photograph and smiled up at Harry. She noticed G & H at the top of the frame and the words Forever at the bottom. Harry had had this engraved specially for her.
"What a wonderful present," she exclaimed. She leaned in and gave him a kiss.
"So you like it?" he asked her calmly already knowing the answer.
"Like it? I LOVE it!" she exclaimed. "What a thoughtful gift." Her bright eyes stared at the present again. "How did you take the picture?" she wondered.
"I bribed Colin that I'd autograph his scarf if he took the picture for me. I wanted a still picture because it was the first snow fall of the year. Remember?" Harry said sweetly.
"Of course I remember! I just don't remember seeing him there."
"With Muggle cameras you can zoom in to get the picture you wanted. Which is what he did. We worked hard on this," Harry admitted taking a step back.
"Dad's going to love this picture. You know him, he loves anything to do with Muggles," Ginny exclaimed. Harry grinned and imagined all the questions Arthur would have for him.
His finger getting sliced by the broken frame brought Harry back to reality. He hadn't realized he was tracing the frame.
"Ouch," Harry said out loud.
"Are you okay?" a voice said making him drop the frame again and turn around. He hadn't heard anyone Apparate in his home for he was too busy lost in his thoughts.
"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" he glared and gritted through his teeth. The blood oozed through his finger spilling slightly onto the floor. Harry put the finger in his mouth to stop the bleeding.
"Ew, Harry that's gross, let me help you clean it up," Ginny said calmly pretending nothing was wrong between them. She moved closer to him, and tried getting his finger out of his mouth. He backed up close to the fire, he pulled out his mouth. It had stopped bleeding momentarily.
"Harry what the hell?" she asked.
"I don't need your help. You obviously don't need me so I don't need help from you. I can mend my own finger, thanks," Harry said as he shoved past her.
He stormed downstairs to the kitchen and pulled a towel out of the oven rack where it was hanging. He then got so mad at the oven he jerked it open. It made a loud thud as it landed on the floor. He took the towel off the oven and watched the door fall. Ginny stared at him. The picture from the frame he broke held tightly in her hands. She was careful not to bend the picture. He stared at her not knowing what to do.
Out of anger he had broken the frame. Out of anger he had broken the oven door. It wasn't the first time Harry had broken something out of anger or damaged something.
"Gin," he said quietly. He said her nickname he gave her years ago. He knew it would make her melt, and wondered if it did.
She threw the picture down, she looked horrified at what she witnessed and at the picture. Her eyes grew wider at Harry and she stormed out of the room crying. He picked up the picture from the frame, and then ran looking for Ginny. He knew she was still there, he just didn't know where.
He found her in his bedroom on his bed crying. Harry cleared his throat standing in the doorway letting her know he was there. He crossed his arms against his chest still holding onto the picture trying his best not to mess it up.
"Gin?" he said. She slowly sat up from the bed, and stared angrily at him.
"You broke our picture," were the first words out of her mouth. She didn't ask about his finger, but the picture.
"Out of A(a)nger(,) Gin. And if you must know it is your fault," he said, instantly regretting that he stated it.
"My fault? Bloody hell(,) Harry, how is it my fault?" Harry uncrossed his arms.
"Mum, dad, this is Donnigan," he mocked her voice. Her eyes grew full of hatred towards him.
"You expected me to wait for you?" she said firmly, careful not to let her guard down.
"Yes, we had agreed that after you got out of Hogwarts you would date me."
"You're sounding like a father more than a want to be boyfriend," she replied.
"Well we did agree on that," he admitted finally moving close to her, he sat on the chair next to the bed. She moved slightly back and fell off of his bed. He quickly jumped over the bed to make sure she was okay.
"I'm fine," she said as he offered his hand. Ginny accepted his hand with out realizing what she was doing. The moment she took his hand she jerked it away from him remembering she was still angry with him. She pulled herself up and chose to sit in the chair instead of the bed where Harry now sat. Harry crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap waiting for her to talk to him.
"Harry, I decided that I wanted to see what else was out there for me. Donnigan is a member of the Hollyhead Harpies all female Quidditch team. He's their manager. He heard about me through the grape vine and came to watch me play Quidditch at school. He then asked to speak to me which Professor McGonigall allowed and arranged a meeting in Hogsmeade," she looked at the floor, not wanting to see his face. "And things went from there before I could stop them," she summed up.
Silence hung in the air making it feel less like Christmas day and more like a horrible Monday. Harry didn't know what to say. All he knew was his face was red with anger and for the first time in his life he felt like he wanted to cry over a girl. He turned around feeling the tears flow. He had hardly cried in front of anyone and he wasn't going to start now.
"I'm going downstairs to make some dinner. Lunch seems like hours ago. You're welcome to stay if you want, unless you have to get back to him," Harry emphasized him to let her know he was talking about Donnigan.
As soon as he left the room he shut the door not wanting Ginny to follow him. Tears flew from his face as he flew down the steps taking them two at a time. He almost ran into Kreacher at the bottom of the stairs. Harry quickly took off his glasses, and wiped the tears from his eyes. He then placed his glasses back on.
"Master, is everything alright? I heard a thud upstairs and was about to check it out," the noble house elf questioned.
"Everything's fine Kreacher. How come you're not at the elf party at the school?" he asked.
"It got canceled. Winky's still weeping over how she got let go. And she's been crying over Dobby. It's four years later and she's still annoying everyone," he admitted as though it didn't bother him.
"Oh," was all Harry could say.
"Would you like for me to make some French Onion soup for you and our unknown guest?" Kreacher offered eying Harry's eyes, and knowing his master was in no mood to cook.
"It's Ginny, but yes that sounds wonderful," Harry tried being cheerful. Kreacher raised his eyebrows out of excitement.
"Don't get too excited. We're fighting," Harry said honestly. Kreacher nodded and left the end with out another word.
Harry sighed. He decided he needed to go for a walk to clear his mind. Harry grabbed his coat, and hat and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?" he paused, and did not bother to turn around.
"Out for a walk. Kreacher's making dinner," Harry said still not turning around.
"Mind if I come?" Harry turned around. Ginny had her dark green pea coat on with a hat that matched. White mittens covered her hands. He wondered how she knew he was heading for a walk because she was all ready to go.
"You weren't really wanting to go for a walk were you?"
"No, I was ready to leave with out saying goodbye, and then saw you were about to head out yourself," she was being honest with him. Ginny came down the stairs gracefully, and headed to the door. Harry sighed. He had wanted to be alone, but Ginny was pushing her way again.
Out they stepped into the starless, moonless night. Muggle light posts lit their path as they walked along the sidewalk. Harry breathed, allowing himself to see his breath. He loved seeing his breath when it was that cold. A silly thing to love he knew that, but he still enjoyed watching his breath. He kept making him see his breath till Ginny looked over at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked trying not to laugh.
"Breathing," Harry replied. Ginny eyed him in a funny way letting Harry know she was confused. Harry laughed.
"I love seeing my breath when it is cold outside. Try it," he said smiling. She shook her head no.
"I don't want to," she said. As she spoke, air from her mouth came out. Ginny frowned.
"See? It happens even when you don't try to make it happen. It's more fun when you're not talking," Harry showed her again. Ginny rolled her eyes making Harry's face fall.
"What's wrong?" he asked her.
"You're trying to make me laugh," she accused him.
"No, I'm not. You're always blaming me for things I don't do," Harry said quietly. They came to a bench along their walk and sat down. Life passed before them as they sat still on the bench.
"What happened with us?" Ginny said quietly as she watched the passers by driving to their destination without noticing the two on the bench. She folded her hands in her lap and met his gaze.
"What do you mean?" Harry forced himself to look over at her. The lamp post next to them shown down on her beauty. Her eyes sparkled in the night making Harry wish he were with her as a couple. His heart ached inside knowing it wouldn't be true.
"Where did we go wrong?" she said.
"When you decided to date other people with out telling me," he replied, not trying to sound rude.
"That's not fair Harry," she said.
"How? It's the truth and it is what happened. You can't handle the truth." He was angry again, he stood up no longer wanting to be beside her.
"That's uncalled for. I can handle the truth," she stood up quickly making Harry jump. They glared at each other.
"Why can't you be happy for me?" she asked him. She moved her arms up, and then down out of anger sighing an unhappy sigh.
"Because, you're suppose to be with me Gin, not some other guy," the truth came out of his mouth before he could stop it. She stepped back.
"Excuse me?" she replied. "I'm suppose to?" Ginny looked around them. All the Muggles seemed to have reached their destination for Christmas evening.
"Good-bye, Harry," Ginny called out to him. She Disapparated right there in front of him.
Harry cursed under his breath and walked back to the house angry. He hated this. He hated how she over reacted, and hated everything about their situation. He suspected that would be the last time he would ever see Ginny with out whats-his-name. He sighed as he opened the door, and grumbled as he threw his coat on the ground.
"Master, dinner is ready," Kreacher said. He peered around Harry.
"Where is Mistress Ginny?" he asked.
"She left me. She has another boyfriend and left me alone in the cold. Some Christmas,' Harry stated.
"Sir, might I ask why you didn't go after her?" Kreacher said kindly. Harry paused.
"Go after her?" he stated.
"Fight for her. She wants you instead of the other man. She's playing hard to get. I wonder why you didn't pick up on that," Kreacher said. Harry looked confused.
"Wait, you got all that from her standing there earlier?" Harry was impressed.
"Yes. I can pick up things easily. She's madly in love with you, but is trying to prove otherwise," Kreacher smiled his crooked smile when it finally dawned on Harry.
"You know, you're right," Harry picked his coat up off the floor. "Will you keep dinner warm for me please? I'm going to get my girlfriend back," Harry said smiling a goofy grin.
The Burrow- Christmas night
Harry Apparated right as the small feast of snacking began. He knew people would be in the kitchen getting the food they ate earlier. The Weasleys had their big supper in the afternoon promptly at twelve, and they had a small Christmas supper full of leftovers around Nine at night once everything got settled.
He saw her with him through the window. She turned slightly, and looked out the window. Harry ducked behind the shed not wanting to be seen. Ginny came outside a few seconds later.
"I'll be right back," she called to her mum. Soon as the door was closed, Ginny raced to the shed right where Harry was standing.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded.
"I came to beg forgiveness. Gin, I'm sorry about this whole thing." He pulled out his hand and showed her the fixed picture frame.
"Mum thought you left ages ago," she stated honestly. "She was mad because you left suddenly, but one look at Donnigan and she understood," Ginny said leaning against the shed. Ginny looked down at the picture.
"I fixed it Gin," Harry said calmly. His dark messy hair moved in the light as he handed her the picture.
"I saw," she replied coldly accepting the picture only because he offered it to her.
"Oh, come on Gin, I know you still love me! Why can't you admit it?" He stepped back knowing she wanted her space.
"Harry, how in the Bloody Hell can you guess that?" she breathed pocketing the picture frame in her coat pocket.
"So it is true?" the look on his face made her step close.
"Donnigan's gone," she said quietly. "When I came back he assumed I went to find you. He noticed the love you had for me in your eyes when he showed up he caught me glance at you. Said that he didn't want to stand in the way of the one I'm suppose to be with,"
"The one you're suppose to be with? Careful you might sound like a mum saying things like that," Harry smiled playfully. She stepped closer to him till she was a few inches away from his face.
"Shut up," she smiled. She leaned in to give him a kiss when the door from the house opened suddenly.
"Oy! Ginny, where are you? Time for presents," Ron spoke out loud.
"I'm right here," Ginny said coming out from behind the shed. "I thought we did presents already," Ginny stated.
"No, mum found some she forgot. There's some for Harry too," he said quickly regretting it. 'Oh, Gin, I didn't mean-," he started.
"It's okay Ron, I'm here," Harry said coming out from behind Ginny.
"Harry!" Hermione called standing right behind Ron. She raced to him giving him a hug.
"Mione, I'm fine, let go of me you're choking me," he replied as she let go.
"Sorry, everyone was worried about you when you left," Hermione filled him in. "Wait a moment, what were you two doing behind the shed?" she questioned remembering Ginny was still there.
"Making up," Harry and Ginny said smiling. Harry reached for Ginny's hand. Hermione looked at Ron.
"Thank goodness you said making up and making out Harry or I would have had to hurt you," Ron smiled. "Come on, presents!" Ron said acting like a kid. Hermione rushed back inside leaving the two alone.
"You coming?" Ron asked them.
"Of course," Ginny said turning to Harry. White snow began to fall just as they were going in the house. Ginny stepped through the threshold, but Harry gently tugged her back.
"Harry, we're late," she said sweetly.
"Mistletoe," he said as he pointed to the mistletoe under the door. Harry beamed at her.
"Forgive me, Ginny?" he said sheepishly.
"I already have," she smiled.
"Come on Harry and Ginny! We're waiting," Ron's voice called from the living room. Harry looked as if he wanted to kiss Ginny all night.
"You can kiss me after presents," Ginny smiled letting go of his hands.
"Damn," Harry whispered to her as he followed her into the house shutting the door behind him.
Author's note: Special thanks to my super fast beta reader who beta'ed it the same day I wrote it. Thank you so much Slytherin Head.