This has the Weasley's Christmas in it too, and the Twins add some humor.

Chapter 4 Harry is Missing

The months passed and Christmas vacation came after an uneventful winter. Ginny was extremely excited to see Harry at last. In a letter their mother had mentioned that Remus and Harry had written, explaining that they were returning as planned for Christmas. It was a wonderful feeling to think about it.

"Hurry up!" Ron ordered behind Hermione. "We need to get a compartment."

Hermione turned and glared at him from the platform. "You know, whether I hurry or not, we will still get there at the same time."

"Whatever. Harry will be waiting for us."

Ginny hauled the remaining luggage that she had and closed the door of the Hogwarts Express. At once steam bellowed from the smokestack, and they were finally on their way home.

"I can't wait!" Ron exclaimed as he shut the door to their compartment. "I wonder if they destroyed the next horcrux. He should write to us more often so that we can stay in touch and up to date now and then."

"Well, they aren't just finding the horcruxes," Hermione put in. "They are still trying to get some of the creatures away from Voldemort. Hagrid wasn't as successful as he could have been."

"Nah, giants are just stubborn like that. I think Hagrid was out of his league."

"Especially when it came to Grawp." Ginny said smiling.

"No kidding," both Ron and Hermione said aloud.

A knock came from the window and the three of them turned to see Neville's worried face, carrying a recent copy of the Daily Prophet, and Luna stood behind him looking quite content.

"What's up with you, Neville?" Ginny asked as she let them inside.

Neville wrapped his hands nervously around the paper and stuttered incoherent words that wouldn't come out of his mouth. He seemed on the verge of having a panic attack.

"Did you get today's news?" he finally spewed out.

Hermione felt her breath hitch in her chest. Across from her she noticed that both Ron and Ginny were also alarmed. "No, why? What happened?"

"Death Eaters attacked a settlement in Leeds," Luna replied nonchalantly. "A lot of people died."

"That's terrible!" Ginny gasped. "Why were they there? Who died?"

"It didn't say about anything like that," Neville muttered. "But it did say that both Professor Lupin and Harry were seen fighting."

Ron leaped to his feet and snatched the paper out of Neville's hands. "When was this?"

"It happened yesterday!" said Luna happily. Everyone stared at her in disbelief.

"What makes you so jolly about it?" Ron asked in a flare of anger.

Luna sighed dreamily and stared out the train window. "I'm just so blown away that dear Harry is fighting so bravely. Makes me so proud to call him a friend."

Ginny, who had become steadily more crimson, exploded, "And I'm sure that if Harry died you would be glad to say that you knew him! He doesn't mean anything to you at all, Luna."

She seemed unabashed. "Indeed not! Unlike most people, Harry never called me Loony Luna. All of you worry about him, like you should, but I am proud to see him fight for what needs to be fought for. He is so wonderful!" Another smile was slapped across her face and the silence following her statement was cut off with Ron's nervous voice.

"It says that Harry and Lupin were there for "unknown" reasons and were luckily in the area while Aurors were called in. Either they aren't working for the Ministry, or the Ministry itself is saying nothing about it at all. I guess they don't want the Death Eaters to know too much.'

"Or anyone for that matter." Hermione said lightly.

"Do you think Harry will still come for Christmas?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

Ron seemed to jump out of his thoughts. "Of course he will! He may not be there today, but later he will. He said he would."

Hermione hoped that he was right.

The Hogwarts Express pulled into Platform 9 ¾ and parents were waving furiously from the outside. Ron and Ginny found themselves crushed in their mother's arms as they tossed their belongings out the door.

"Oh, finally! Hurry now, we must get back. Is Hermione here?"

"Right here, Mrs. Weasley," she called from inside the train. "Just saying goodbye to Neville."

"Good, good, now let's run along. Your father is waiting outside."

"Mum, we heard about yesterday," Ron said nervously. "Harry and Lupin are okay, right?"

Mrs. Weasley shrugged hopelessly. "They have not written, but I assure you they are fine. We cannot talk here, so hurry up and let's get home."

The mood inside Grimmauld Place was dead. Tonks arrived later that day and gave news that no one had heard from either Harry or Lupin. Everyone was restless.

"Don't worry about them," she said almost definitely. "If they were dead, the Ministry would have known about it. Death Eaters will be excited to share that if it were true."

Ron whispered under his breath to Hermione. "I don't know if I should be content with that or not."

If there was one person who wasn't content, it had to be Ginny. Every day that passed pushed more of a burden on her shoulders thinking about what Harry was going through at the exact moment. Was he in pain? Was he captured? More importantly…. Was he dead? No! she screamed in her head. Of course he isn't. Don't ever think of that again.

To pass the time, Molly gave them an endless list of chores that included getting rid of the annoying doxies in the curtains, to scrubbing the wooden floors by hand. None of it made anyone feel any better.

"Does she think we ought to be regretting something?" Ron gasped as he scrubbed a stain repeatedly. "What did we do to deserve this? It's worse than anything Filch could think of."

"She doesn't want us thinking about it," Hermione replied in a whisper, glancing over at Ginny far off, who was weakly scratching at the wood. "You know what I mean?"

"So," he retorted. "It's not like I CAN'T think about it. Just staring at this stupid wood makes me think about it. Mum wants us to believe that everything is fine, but I know that she cries at night. Heard her the other day."

There was a brief silence where the only thing heard was the grazing of the brushes. Troubled, Hermione stopped and threw the brush gently on the ground. She sat against the wall and blinked back the tears that threatened to leak out of her eyes.

"Oh, but Ron, what if something did happen? I don't want to see Harry hurt again. I just want all of this to be over."

Immediately, Ron came to her side and out his hand on her shoulder. "Nothing happened, Hermione. Both of them are fine and are making their way back. They'll come, I promise." He wondered if he made a mistake, promising something like that. He knew how it felt now to guarantee something that you had no control of. He suddenly realized how fragile Harry's own promise to them was.

It was the twenty-fourth of December, and still there was no sign of Harry or Remus. In her despair, Ginny locked herself in her room and didn't come out the entire day. Mrs. Weasley was at the end of the rope. She could no longer hide her fear in public, and no one else could think of what to do. The Christmas tree was lazily constructed near the main staircase, and decorations were fixed loosely around the banisters and doors. No one was in the Christmas spirit.

Tonks and Mad-Eye arrived late in the afternoon with Fred and George. The mood lightened up a bit from the twins' new products for their shop. One was mistletoe that squirted blubber pus at any couple who stood underneath it, and another had a stuffed elf that did back flips saying, "Happy Christmas!" Mrs. Weasley wasn't entirely thrilled when the cute little elf suddenly bent over and dropped its pants to reveal a rosy bum.

"I have some candy canes for everyone!" Tonks said after the "Happy Christmas" fiasco. "Sorry, but they're all peppermint. Tried to get a variety but the places are either sold out or out of business."

"It's fine, dear," Molly smiled. "As long as it makes everyone happy."

"I won't be overjoyed until I see Potter and Remus," Mad-Eye grumbled. "It's been long enough."

A stabbing silence befell the kitchen. "Alastor, please! Not on Christmas Eve."

"Molly, why must you insist on pretending that it isn't a problem? Obviously your children need someone to talk about this with." He responded.

She sniffed and put a plate of mashed potatoes on the table. "If they talk they worry more because none of us have answers. Why should we dwell on bad thoughts if they may be perfectly safe?"

No one replied. When the table was set, the meal began quietly, and even Fred and George couldn't add anything interesting to the conversation. Mr. Weasley came through the door with bottles of sparkling cider and firewhiskey.

Mrs. Weasley leaned over and whispered into his ear, "Have you hear anything?"

He shook his head sadly and gave her a quick reply. "Nothing at all."

Ginny paled at the response and stared miserably onto her half-eaten plate. Ron noticed and kicked her underneath the table. "It will be okay," he mouthed. Her face showed that she doubted it completely.

That night Hermione lay in bed staring out the window, thinking about the early morning when Harry had waken her. She wished that he would do it again. That he would appear suddenly and laugh about how they distressed about him when he was safe.

"You always did worry too much," he would tell her as his green eyes flashed mischievously. But as the evening drew longer, and colder, she knew he would never come.

Ginny awoke to a loud crack, and two people landing on top of her. "HAPPY CHRISTMAS LITTLE SIS!"

Shrieking, she bolted upward and saw the faces of Fred and George smiling at her. "Wakey wakey!"

"Don't do that!"

"Aw, come on, where's your sense of humor?" Fred laughed. "Here's your present from us. You've got a lot down on the floor too. I think you kicked them off."

Ginny was afraid that they had given her something that would blow up, but when George opened his hands, she saw a squirming puppy. It was a brown daschund that yelped in excitement and licked his fingers.

"Oh, it's so cute!"

"Of course it is," George said matter of factly. "It looks like what Muggles call a hot dog. Its stubby legs are pretty funny too."

"What are you going to name him?"

Ginny didn't know. "I'll have to think about it."

"I think you should name him Mr. Squiggles. He won't sit still for anything."

She snickered. "Really? I think I'll name him Wallace. Don't know why."

Fred put on a Scottish accent. "Ah, the name o' the fierce Sco'ttish wa'rrior! I'm sure the stubby legged beast'll tear te shreds his enemies!"

Ginny shrieked with laughter. Wallace jumped into her lap and kicked his legs wildly to reveal his belly. "Did you tell Mum about him?"

"No," George snorted, as if it didn't matter. "But how could she dare to take away your cute little Christmas present?"

"Anyway," Fred added. "He's potty trained."

"Thanks, you two." She said, and grabbed them both into a hug.

The first thing Ron saw when the door opened was a brown, ear-flopping creature scuttle across the floor. A little dog jumped at his legs and barked ecstatically.

"Ron, meet Wallace," Ginny said with a giggle.

"Who gave it to you?" he asked with a smile. Bending down, he let the dog lick his hands and nibble his thumb.

"Fred and George. They did it without Mum knowing. I wonder how that will go with her."

"She can deal with it."

Ginny came forward and grabbed Wallace into her arms. "What did you get?"

Ron shrugged. "Just stuff. Thanks for the Bertie Botts beans. I already ate a weird flavor that tasted like crap. I'm staring to wonder…."

"Nothing from him?" She asked nervously.

Ron fell silent. Shrugging, he replied quietly, "No."

"Didn't think so."

"Hey, you two," came Hermione's voice. "What did you get?"

Ginny showed her Wallace and a loud coo came from her mouth. "He looks like a weenie dog!"

Ginny saw a smudged parchment clutched in her hand that looked as if the person who wrote it was covered with mud. "What is that, Hermione?"

"What? This old thing?" she asked apprehensively. "Just a piece of paper I found lying in a pile of dust upstairs. In Kreacher's old room."

Ginny wasn't sure if she believed her.

"Well, let's go down for breakfast. I'm starving." Ron said as he bolted out the door. Ginny put her dog on the ground and it barked in excitement as everyone scrambled down the stairs. Of course, the moment they entered the kitchen, Molly's voice screamed in alarm.

"What is it? How did it get in here!"

Ginny couldn't help but laugh as her mother aimed the frying pan in front of her in defense as the little puppy bounced around her heels.

Fred and George claimed responsibility. "Our present for Ginny. Don't worry, it won't pee and poop everywhere."

"His name is Wallace." Ginny said with her eyes gleaming with joy.

"Well, all right, fine. Just keep it away from me right now. But seriously, you two, how could you bring something in like that without telling me first! Really!"

Surprisingly, the day went rather well. Spirits were high and Ginny couldn't remember the last time she felt so blissful. It turned out that Wallace wasn't as potty trained as the twins had thought, because after everyone was done cleaning the attic, the house was aware of Mrs. Weasley's scream from the kitchen.

"Ginny! The animal relieved itself in the potato sacks! Take care of this immediately!"

It was later that afternoon that it was shattered. Lunch had ended and the company had left moments before. Cleaning the plates and silverware was a chore, and Mrs. Weasley forced everyone to help.

"Mum, why do we have to do it the Muggle way?" Ron complained.

"It takes longer. What else do you children have to do?"

Hermione was cleaning the counters when she discovered something under the Daily Prophet. "Mrs. Weasley, Tonks left her bag here. The one with all the Auror paperwork."

"Oh," she sighed, "She'll come back for it, don't worry."

"She always loses stuff." Ron said with a smile. "That woman would lose her head if it wasn't attached."

She glared. "Ron, please."

Far off the doorbell rang. Once, twice, three times.

"That's probably her. You all keep cleaning, I'll get it."

"Here, take her bag with you."

Ginny dumped a large pile of dishes into the sink and attacked them with a sponge. The soap was running low and it would be awhile until they would get more.

"How do Muggles live without magic!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Really, Ron, sometimes you can do stuff on your own."

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the hallway. The three of them froze in terror, and Ginny's had trembled under the faucet.

"What--?" Ron whispered apprehensively.

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the darkness and Mrs. Weasley threw open the door. At once, they gasped. Remus Lupin stood ragged and pale, unable to support himself without Molly's arm. His breathing was irregular, and his body shook like a leaf.

"What are you doing? Get him some tea!" She hollered. Ginny bolted for the cupboard and Hermione put the teapot on the stove. Ron, not knowing what else to do, put food on a plate and slid it in front of the man.

"What has happened?" Molly asked with her hair flying loosely across her face.

"The battle at Leeds…"Lupin's voiced wavered threateningly. "It sent us on the run. Voldemort knows what we're doing now."

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked anxiously. "Is he okay?"

Remus' eyes grew round in fear. "He's not here?"

A hushed silence caught them in their chest. Ginny felt the panic rise as she cupped her hands over her mouth. What did he mean?

"No," Mrs. Weasley whimpered. "Is he supposed to be?"

"The full moon was three days ago. I forced Harry to go on alone while I took the potion and remained behind. We were to meet up here, but he should have arrived before me. It doesn't make sense." Lupin rubbed his hand through his matted hair and gave a short moan of grief.

"He better not have been caught. Not now."

Mrs. Weasley served him the tea that Hermione gave her and pushed the plate closer. "Harry will be fine, Remus. Eat and drink up. You need rest."

That night Ginny laid in bed in the arms of Hermione, weeping loudly in sorrow of the news. Harry was now definitely in danger.

"Hermione, what could have happened?" she cried in a cacophony of sobs. "Do you think he's okay? What if he's hurting somewhere and we can't reach him?"

"Shh, don't think about it. Harry will be fine, you know how he can get out of bad situations." Hermione replied, trying to also convince herself. "There is nothing we can do."

Ginny moaned and shoved her face into the sodden pillow. All she could think of was how Harry could be lying dead in the snow alone. No one was there to make him feel at peace. "He'll never come back!"

Ron was at the door, pressing his ear to listen to his sister's crying. It made him increasingly depressed. Never come back? He wished that he could give her comfort and know the answer to their worry.

"Damn it, Harry," he whispered against the door. "Where are you?"