A Christmas Homecoming by HPFangirl71
Part 14:Harry's Eventful Trip to Harrods
Harry rolled over with dread in his bed as he heard the loud pop of the floo opening. Who the hell was bothering him now? For a week, Harry had done nothing but wallow in his grief over Draco leaving. Hermione and Ron had done everything in their power to cheer him up and he thought in the last day or so that they had finally given up, but that apparently wasn't the case. He pulled the covers over his head as he heard the person invading his home walking down the hallway.
"Get up Harry, pity party's over!" he heard a voice say as the shades of his bedroom were violently wrenched upward.
The bright sunlight hit him full force even beneath the blankets and he burrowed down further to try to avoid the light. That wasn't to be as the intruder ripped his bedcovers down next, exposing his naked chest and coming close to exposing just a tad bit more. He looked straight into the eyes of Ginny Weasley who wore a determined look upon her freckled face.
"What the hell Gin? Ever heard of a little thing called privacy?" he griped halfheartedly.
"Oh for the love of Merlin! I've seen it all before or have you forgotten already?" she smiled at him wickedly and he gave a wan smile despite himself.
"Besides, I'm not here after your bits especially after you let Malfoy at them."
"How did you know…?" Harry began. "Wait… don't tell me, a little bird named Hermione told you right?"
He couldn't believe he'd trusted Mione with this kind of secret and now she was blabbing it all over the family.
"She only told me because she thought I was the only one who could lift you out of this funk you're in. She and Ron are worried about you and by the way, Ron doesn't know its Malfoy you're pining for so my sister-in-law is keeping your secret."
Ginny poked Harry in the shin with the toe of her high heel, prodding him to get up.
"Fine, I'll get up but you have to turn around because I don't have any clothes on under here." Harry clearly informed her.
The redhead reluctantly turned around and Harry got up and put a pair of sweats on to hide his bits from her prying eyes. Ginny giggled at his modesty, shaking her head back and forth with mirth. Using her peripheral vision, she got a glimpse of Harry's naked bum just before he hid it under the grey sweats.
"I don't get all the shyness Harry, we have a past after all." she said as she turned around to face him.
Harry looked her up and down fondly. If ever he'd been inclined to want a female that female most definitely would've been Ginny Weasley. The buxom redhead was beautiful; there was no doubt about that. Harry had probably been a fool to have broken things off with her but their newfound friendship was the consolation prize of all prizes. No one knew him more intimately than Ginny, not even Ron or Hermione. It was no wonder Hermione had sent for Ginny to come cheer him up, if anyone could it would be her.
"Well just because we were one another's firsts doesn't give you an automatic right to ogle my bits." he jokingly informed her.
Harry hollered for Kreacher and asked the elf to bring him some strong black coffee. He was going to need it to keep up with Hurricane Weasley as he liked to refer to the curvaceous redhead before him. He sat down at the edge of the bed and Ginny planted herself firmly next to him.
"Thanks for coming Gin, I do really appreciate it. I can't believe you came all this way, weren't entertaining the boys of Spain or something?" Harry kept his voice as playful as he could which was hard under the circumstances.
Well I wasn't entertaining the whole country… just a select few." she said with a naughty giggle before letting her tone take on a more serious tone. "Malfoy? What were you thinking Harry? The man's really only got one foot out of the closet from what I've heard. Did you really think it would end well for you?"
Harry looked at her with a bitter realization that she was right but hated admitting it aloud. He'd loved Malfoy and that had clouded his judgment when it came to the handsome blonde man, he had set himself up for this fall.
After some serious talking and a lot of joking around, Ginny finally convinced Harry to get out of the house. They both needed to get Rose birthday presents since February was fast approaching so they decided to check out Harrods Department store for gifts. They'd only chosen Harrods because Harry hadn't wanted to venture into Diagon Alley for fear of bumping into someone they knew.
After perusing the aisles of the various toy departments, Harry decided to treat Ginny to a milkshake at the chocolate bar two floors down. The two were having an enjoyable afternoon despite the pain that still cut sharply into Harry's chest every time he thought of Draco, which was often. Loaded down with purchases the two entered the eatery and ordered. Ginny was perusing a book of muggle fairy tales she'd pulled out of her bag.
"Are you sure Rosie will like this Harry?" she asked him as she eyed the pictures of princes and princesses adorning the pages.
"You forget how much she's like her mother; she'll love just about any book." Harry joked.
Ginny put the book back when the waiter approached with their drinks. She took a deep sip of her white chocolate shake and gave a deep sigh. Yes, there was nothing like chocolate to make everything seem completely blissful. Harry had ordered a milk chocolate and coffee flavored shake that he was quickly devouring. Harry looked up and saw Ginny watching him.
"Its okay Gin, I'm not going to break at any moment. Much as I hate to admit it, this outing has been good. I promise to stop moping, I'll go back to work at the store on Monday morning and somehow I'll make it through this whole Malfoy mess. Thank you, for being such a great friend. You may be a bit pushy at times but I love you. You really have helped me today." he gave her a genuine smile that she immediately reflected back.
After the two finished their drinks, they wandered around in the various house wares sections on the second floor. It was there that they ran into the only two people guaranteed to destroy the ending to this wonderful evening. When Ginny saw the platinum haired woman in the luxury gifts department she tried valiantly to pull Harry away but it appeared he'd already seen them.
When a little blue haired boy came barreling down the aisle straight into Harry's arms yelling "poppa" there was no turning back. Harry picked Teddy up, tickling the boy's ribs as he did, eliciting a stream of giggles from the boy. He then took him over to where his grandmother and her sister were both looking at several ornate mirrors. He set Teddy down in the aisle near the two women, tousling the little boy's hair, which had immediately become a darker shade of Harry's own brown.
"Andromeda. Narcissa. Good to see you both." Harry said as he approached the women.
"Harry, what a surprise it is to run into you here." Andromeda said as she pulled Harry into a tight embrace. Narcissa just nodded politely at him.
"We're shopping for birthday gifts for little Rosie." he informed her.
Narcissa seemed uncomfortable with seeing Harry in the muggle surroundings.
"My sister insisted we come here." The Malfoy matriarch tried explaining.
"Yes well I do have a fondness for the muggle stores." the darker haired sister said a bit defensively. "Besides I wanted to get Draco and Astoria something unique that one wouldn't find in a wizarding shop."
"You're shopping for Draco?" Harry questioned her.
Andromeda answered him in the affirmative.
"We're shopping for an engagement gift! It seems my dear nephew has finally decided to make the young Greengrass girl an official part of the family! Isn't it wonderful?" she gushed.
Harry's breath caught in his throat as he heard her words. Draco was marrying Astoria; it was his worst nightmare come true. Please don't let it be true? As he listened to Narcissa join in the other woman's joyful chatter, he knew it was. He turned to Ginny, grasping her hand hard as he bade the two women and Teddy goodbye. Turning his back on them, he fell into Ginny's waiting arms. She pushed him toward the exits, not letting go of him until they were outside in the cold fresh air. Harry gasped as the cold hit him hard. He slid down the side of the building, oblivious to the onlookers. Burying his hands in his face, he let Ginny's fingers comb soothingly through his hair as the unbearable pain enveloped him once again…