Chapter 21, I hope everyone enjoys!
Chapter 21
Harry had a week more of silence before he had to speak. First it was the aurors. Then his family. He was hounded with questions when he first saw them, and answered every one of them patiently, even if they all asked the same ones. He woke up a few days later, to find a letter from the ministry on the table.
'Dear Mr. Potter,
While we have heard your story, and know that you acted in self-defense, a trial will be held November 23 to determine the punishment of your actions. Please be at the Ministry of Magic at Nine O'Clock that morning.
Christina Brown
Department of Magical Accidents'
He read the letter over again and again, until Ginny came down.
"You're up early today. Everything alright?" He handed her the letter, and she read it over.
"Department of Magical Accidents, huh?" He nodded and sighed. She sat across the table from him, and put the letter down.
"Well, I think you're pretty okay. I mean, you did act in self-defense, and they did organize this beforehand. I don't think the consequences are going to be too bad." He huffed.
"Well, I did kill them. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it just did." Ginny looked at him.
"Harry, can you look at me?" He looked over at her, and she ran over to him. She stared into his eyes, and he started to get uncomfortable.
"Um, is there something wrong?" She narrowed her eyes.
"How does knowing that you killed two people make you feel?" He was taken aback by this question.
"What?"
"Just tell me." He looked away, thinking about it.
"I don't exactly feel mad or sad about it. I actually don't feel anything towards it. I find it weird that I don't care." She looked into his eyes again, and he tilted his head away from her.
"Why did you ask?"
"Your eyes. They have those flecks of red in them again. Ron's right. It kind of does remind me of Voldemort's eyes." He closed his eyes.
"My eyes look like Voldemort's?" His voice sounded shaky.
"Yes. Does that bother you?" He nodded, still keeping his eyes closed. She touched his face, and he opened his eyes.
"It's gone." He narrowed his eyes.
"I'm serious. They were just red, and now they're green." He stood up, walking down the hall into the bathroom. He looked at his reflection, and his eyes were the same emerald green as always. He frowned, and Ginny walked in behind him.
"See? I told you." He sighed, and walked back into the kitchen, and started to cook breakfast. They enjoyed some food, and then spent the day relaxing.
"You know, Christmas is coming up soon." They were sitting in their living room, Harry reading a book and Ginny lounging next to him.
"It's the seventeenth, right? That means Christmas is thirty eight days away. That's not that soon." Ginny looked up at him.
"Yeah, but it's close." He smiled, looking at her.
"So?" She snuggled up closer to him, closing her eyes.
"I don't know. I mean, it's our first Christmas together." He nodded.
"I know. We get to decorate the house together, and give each other presents." She grinned.
"So it's like every other year?" He nodded.
"Yeah, but we're married this year, so it's slightly different." She eventually fell asleep next to him, so he put his book down and carried her up to bed.
The trial date came, but Harry was not worried. He waited where he was supposed to, hearing the trial from his spot. They called him in, and he calmly walked and sat in the chair in the middle of the room. He looked around, seeing some familiar faces, and the rest just unknown people, sitting packed together in the room. He saw his judge, an older man, by the name of Franklin Pervierious. He looked at Harry with a smug look, and he could tell he did not like him.
"Mr. Harry Potter, you sit before us today to decide the consequences of your actions. You have committed two murders, claiming that they attacked you. Is this true?"
Stay calm, don't say anything you don't need to. Hermione had told him this the other night, knowing that his temper wasn't the best. His stomach jumped as he glanced around the room, and he answered.
"Yes." He sounded bored. Pervierious caught onto that, and smirked.
"It states here that you said there was five attackers, all attempting to take your life. Is that correct?"
"Yes." He shuffled some papers around, and looked around the room.
"We all have heard the evidence, and know we will take a vote on what his consequences." Harry looked around the room, and someone stood up.
"Minister? What are you doing here?" Kingsley answered, smiling at Harry.
"Well Pervierious, as Minister, I would personally like to vouch for Mr. Potter, and cancel all of the chargers against him." The older man looked mad, looking at Harry.
"And why is that? He deserves to be punished." There was whispers around the room, and Kingsley spoke again.
"Well, we concluded that these attackers were ex-death eaters. And while murder is still wrong, Harry's life was in danger, and we all know that his life is very valuable." The old man sighed.
"Fine. This trial is now over. Mr. Potter, you a free to go, as all charges have been dropped." Harry stood up, leaving the way he was directed. He saw Kingsley wink at him, so he smiled. He left the ministry, and apparated to the Burrow, where Ginny was waiting.
"Well?" Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley were sitting in the kitchen.
"Well I'm here, aren't I?" He sat down next to Ginny, and she smiled.
"What happened?" Hermione asked, as they were all eager to find out.
"Kingsley vouched for me." Ron looked surprised.
"That's the second time you've gotten out of trouble with the ministry." Hermione looked amused.
"Well, of course Ron. He did defeat Voldemort. He should be let out of trouble sometimes." Ginny smiled.
"Are they still mad for you breaking in?" The three of them laughed. Mrs. Weasley had a stern look on her face.
"You three shouldn't be laughing. That was dangerous what you did." Ron rolled his eyes.
"Well, it was for a good cause, mum." She gave him a disapproving glare, and went inside.
"So are you still, you know, gonna be an auror?" He asked, and Ginny glared at him.
"Of course." She huffed. Hermione looked uncertain.
"Harry, just because you didn't die this time doesn't-"
"Stop. He isn't going to die. If he wants to go out there and risk his life then I'll let him do it. But if anyone touches him then I will personally kill them." Harry grinned.
"Mate, you look crazy. Your wife just said she'd kill anyone who'd touch you. Doesn't that bother you?"
"Not at all." Ron frowned, glancing at his sister.
"Well, let's hope there won't be a mass murder any time soon."
Christmas was just around the corner, and soon sneaked up on them. Harry was sitting alone, thinking about the perfect gift for Ginny, sighing loudly and almost giving up. He glanced around, spotting the Resurrection Stone on the shelf above their fireplace. He walked over, picking it up. Throughout the past weeks he had seen Ginny holding it, talking with loved ones who passed. He smiled, thinking of the perfect gift.
Hermione and Ginny were out shopping, and had picked up around half of their lists of presents.
"What are you getting Harry?" Ginny shrugged.
"I don't know. I ask and he doesn't really give me an answer. What are you getting Ron?" Hermione smiled.
"Well, he's pretty easy to shop for. I could get him a plate of food and he would be happy." Ginny grinned. They walked around, heading into all of the shops in the mall they were in. They were walking passed an expensive looking jewelry store, when Hermione poked her.
"Is that Harry?" Ginny looked. The clerk behind the counter stood laughing with a man, who from where they were standing, looked like Harry. He turned around, looking around the shop.
"What do you think he's getting?" Ginny pulled Hermione into earshot of the conversation, making sure to not be seen.
"I'm sure she would love what you got her." They saw the clerk smile.
"Well, she is sure hard to shop for. I hope your wife isn't this hard." Harry shook his head.
"Nah, but she does have a good taste in jewelry." The clerk laughed again, and the girls looked confused.
"We missed the joke, didn't we?" Hermione nodded.
"C'mon, we should probably stop eavesdropping." Ginny shook her head. She was just like her brothers, and wanted to listen in on the rest their conversation.
"This is a beautiful stone." Harry nodded.
"So no incisions? And try not to mark it. Okay. What color do you want the chain?" Harry looked away to think about it.
"Silver." The clerk nodded, writing it down on a piece of paper. He started to sketch something, and Harry watched.
"So it'll look like this. Is it okay?" Harry smiled.
"I'm sure it'll come out beautiful." The clerk smiled. He turned around, placing the said stone on the counter behind him.
"Anything else?" Harry walked around the store, and bought other jewelry, and the clerk was very pleased.
"Well Mr. Potter. I hope you have a wonderful day. Your piece should be ready by five o'clock tomorrow." Harry nodded, picking up the bag of his purchases.
"And if I'm not here tomorrow, I hope you and your wife have a very happy Christmas." Harry smiled.
"The same to you." Hermione pulled Ginny behind a post, making sure Harry didn't see them. He walked out, and lucky for them, turned the other way. Hermione looked at Ginny.
"He bought a lot of jewelry in there." Ginny grinned.
"I know." They continued their shopping as normal, and a few hours later bumped into Ron and George.
"Hello Hermione, Ginny." George smiled at them. Ron awkwardly hid a bag behind his back, and they said hello.
"Done with Christmas shopping?" They nodded.
"Now all that's left is to wrap everything." They said goodbye, and Hermione and Ginny left the mall. They said goodbye, and parted ways. Ginny got home, expecting to see Harry, but he wasn't home yet. She decided to wrap all of the stuff she got, and was halfway done when Harry arrived home.
"Hey." He walked in, empty handed, and she frowned for a second.
"Hey. Have a good day?" He smile and nodded, sitting down next to her.
"Need any help?" She nodded, and handed him some things to box and wrap.
"I see you had a shopping filled day." She nodded. He frowned.
"What?" She shook her head.
"I can tell something's bothering you." She smiled and shook her head.
"Nothing's bothering me." He frowned, but wrapped the rest of the presents without questions. They had a late dinner, and went to bed afterwards. Harry watched Ginny, and she sighed.
"I know something's bothering you." She turned away from him, and he grinned.
"Guess we'll talk in the morning."
The next day, Harry went out again, and Ginny decided to hang out with Luna, having been invited to. Harry went to the jewelry store, and the same clerk was there.
"Ah. Mr. Potter. Nice to see you again. The necklace is in the back. I'll go get it for you." He came back with the necklace, and Harry smiled.
"It was the last piece I worked on last night. I think I was up too late though. I thought my mother was talking to me. I guess I was a bit too sleepy." Harry nodded, smiling slightly.
"It looks wonderful. Thank you." He had paid yesterday, so the clerk placed it in a box and a bag, and Harry left.
"Luna. It's so great to see you!" Ginny hugged her, and they sat down to eat lunch.
"It's nice to see you to. I love to see my friends from time to time." They ordered, and Luna looked around dreamily.
"This is a very pretty place to eat." Ginny smiled, nodding.
"Neville took me here on a date once. I loved it so much." Ginny smiled more, happy to know her friends were happy.
"How are you and him?" Luna smiled.
"Very good. I can tell he likes me a lot." Ginny nodded. Luna looked at her.
"How are you and Harry? I hear he got into a little trouble." Ginny nodded.
"Yeah. He was attacked." She frowned.
"Well, I hope justice was served." Ginny nodded again. They chatted for a bit, eating and talking for a little over an hour.
"Well, it was so nice to see you Ginny. We must talk again soon." They stood up, and Ginny hugged her.
"Yes. I hope it works out with Neville. I can tell you like him too." She blushed, and they parted ways. Ginny returned home, and Ron was sitting on their couch, Harry laughing.
"You did deserve it mate." Ginny walked in, and saw Ron nursing a bleeding nose.
"What happened?" She ran over to her brother's side, and he glared at Harry.
"Harry and me had to take public transportation. You know, those metal boxes that run underneath the ground?" Ginny nodded, looking at Harry.
"Well, it was quite crowded, so we had to stand. Of course, he didn't tell me to hold onto one of the poles." Ginny sighed.
"So, it lurches forward, and I fell into some big bloke, and he decided to fight me. Harry pulled him off of me, but he was kind of the one who started it."
"You left out the part when you called him a blundering git." Ron flared at him again, and Harry broke into a fit of giggles.
"Can you fix his nose?" Harry nodded, pulling out his wand.
"Hold still, okay?" He was about to do the spell, when Ron spoke.
"Wait, is this gonna-" He moved at the last second, and a gash appeared across his cheek. Harry started laughing again, and Ron got mad.
"This isn't funny Harry. I'm gonna have a bloody scar on my cheek now." Ginny sighed and left the room, and Harry held up his wand again.
"I told you not to move. Hold still this time." He didn't move, and his nose and the gash were fixed.
"Thanks for not injuring me more." Harry started to laugh again.
"Well, you shouldn't have gotten punched." Ron gave him a look.
"You should've gotten the spell right."
"You shouldn't have moved." Ron glared at him, and Ginny came back in.
"Oh, we're having Christmas dinner here. So get ready to cook all day." Harry frowned, but went along with it.
"Ah, your nose is fixed." Ron nodded.
"Got the spell right this time, didn't you mate?" Harry rolled his eyes.
"So how many people are going to be here?" Ginny thought about it.
"I don't know." He sighed, nodding.
"And what time will they be coming?" She shrugged.
"Don't know that either." He shook his head.
"This is going to turn out wonderful."
Harry and Ginny were snuggled up by the fire, their house nicely decorated. It was Christmas Eve, and Ginny was excited to find out what necklace Harry had gotten made for her.
"So Ginny, do you want to get one of your presents tonight?" Her lit up, and Harry smiled. He stood up, and offered her his hand. He put a sweater over her shoulders, and led her outside.
"Harry, it's amazing!" She walked around the shiny new sports car sitting in front of their cottage.
"Can I drive it?" Harry smiled.
"Well, you'd need to get your license. I can take you for a drive though." He held up his license and she grinned. They got into the car, and he started it up.
"It sounds so cool." Harry grinned.
"Oh, watch this." He pressed a button, and the top reclined. She watched in awe, and buckled herself in. He revved the engine, and they were off. She loved every second of the ride. Her hair blowing in the wind, the sound of the car, the fast speed they were going at. They got back to their house, and some neighbours had come out, looks of jealousy going across their faces seeing the new car park. Out of the few months of living in Godrics Hallow, they has barely seen their neighbours. They had met the old couple who lived a few blocks from them, but that was it. Their next door neighbour came out, and approached Harry.
"Nice car you've got here." Harry smiled.
"Thanks. It's a Christmas present to my wife." He nodded.
"Quentin Carr." He held out his hand and Harry shook it.
"Harry Potter. Nice to meet you." Quentin nodded.
"You can call me Que by the way. I always hated the name Quentin." Harry nodded.
"Well, it was nice meeting you. Hope to see you around sometime." Que nodded.
"Happy Christmas." Harry smiled.
"You too."
Ginny woke Harry up the next morning, looking excited.
"C'mon, it's Christmas!" Harry laughed, putting on his glasses.
"You're like a little kid." She grinned, but pulled him up. They went downstairs, and Ginny opened her presents eagerly. She seemed to be looking for a particular one, but was extremely happy to see all of the clothes and jewelry. She got to the last present, and opened it excitedly.
"Harry, you got it made into a necklace?" He nodded. She picked the Resurrection Stone out of the box, a chain attached to it.
"This way, you can always be close to the people you love." She hugged him, and he put it on her. The stone wasn't too flashy, and the silver chain attached to it made the darkness stand out. They lounged around for a bit more, enjoying some breakfast, before they had to start getting dinner ready. There was ten people coming, twelve in total, so they also had to figure out seating arrangements for everyone.
"Why are we having dinner here again?" Ginny shrugged.
"Mum said she didn't want to cook, and then within a few minutes, dinner was pushed onto us." Harry grinned.
"Our house isn't big enough to have twelve people to comfortably enjoy dinner." Ginny laughed.
"Well, next year someone else can do it. Oh, mum also said there may two extra people. I don't know who though." Harry nodded.
"So cook for fourteen. Got it." Around two o'clock, there was a knock on their door, and Mrs. Weasley had shown up to help with the cooking.
"Hello Ginny. I see you have already started cooking." Ginny invited her mother in, and led her to the kitchen.
"Harry's actually doing the cooking." Mrs. Weasley hugged him, and he sat down with them.
"Do you need any help? You are cooking a big meal." Harry smiled and shook his head.
"I got it all down pat. Don't worry." She helped anyway, and the family started arriving around four. Hermione and Ron had gotten there first, Ron looking ticked off about something.
"Ginny, that's a beautiful necklace." Hermione looked at it closely, seeing the markings on it.
"Is that the Resurrection Stone?" Her voice quivered with excitement and slight fear." Ron came over and looked at it.
"Bloody hell mate, I never knew you went back for it." Harry nodded. Hermione slightly touched it, but then took her hand back.
"What's the Resurrection Stone?" Ron looked at his mother, shocked as she had told them the story hundreds of times before.
"It's one of the Deathly Hallows." Hermione answered, and a look of shock came across her face.
"You mean, it's from that children's tale I told them when they were kids?" Harry nodded.
"They're real." She looked at him.
"So, if they are real, where are the others?" Hermione glanced at Harry, and he answered.
"I have the invisibility cloak, and the elder wand is with Dumbledor." She looked at him.
"Why is it with him?" He smiled slightly.
"Because I didn't need it." She blinked, and looked at the other three.
"He didn't want the most powerful wand in the world?" Ron nodded.
"That's exactly what I asked him." Harry grinned.
"I really don't have a need for it. My own wand is good enough." Mrs. Weasley looked at the stone around Ginny's neck.
"So that can actually bring people back?" Ginny sighed.
"Not exactly." Her face changed to sadness, and she was obviously thinking about Fred.
"You can use it if you want." She shook her head.
"That wouldn't do any good." Percy walked in, and stopped.
"Um, hello. Sorry if I was interrupting anything." Harry smiled and shook his hand.
"It was nothing." They all greeted him, and Percy introduced him to his guest.
"This is Penelope Clearwater. Me and her have actually became quite close." He seemed happy, so they welcomed her with open arms. Soon enough, everyone was there, and they had sat down to eat. They had just started, when there was another knock on the door. Ginny got up to answer it, and was excited to see who it was.
"Charlie!" She hugged him. She led him to where everyone was, and they all got up to greet him.
"This is my girlfriend, Natalie Holkman. I met her Romania." They all introduced themselves, and her eyes grew wide when she saw Harry.
"I thought Charlie was kidding when he said his sister married Harry Potter." Harry grinned.
"I told you the truth." Charlie and Natalie sat down, and they all enjoyed dinner. When they were finished, they moved to the living room to exchange presents and lounge around until it got late. Everyone admired Ginny's necklace, not noticing what it actually was, and no one said anything. It was after midnight when the last few people left, and Ginny sighed and flopped down on the couch.
"What?" She shrugged.
"I just felt like sighing." Harry grinned. He sat down next to her, and she grinned.
"You know, I have another present for you." He looked at her and smiled.
"And what may that be?" She stood up.
"It's upstairs. You'll have to come see yourself."
He awoke next morning, Ginny sleeping next to him. He looked at his watch on the bedside table. It read five in the morning. He sighed, only having going to sleep three hours ago.
I feel like going for a walk. He remembered everything that had happened last time, and sighed. He looked over at Ginny, deciding against it. He fell back to sleep eventually, and woke again later in the morning. He checked his watch again, and was happy to see that he had slept another four hours. Ginny looked up at him and smiled.
"Hey sleepy head." He smiled at her and kissed her.
"How long have you been up?" She rested her head on his chest.
"I don't know. I've just been laying here." He smiled.
"I don't feel like getting up. It's nice to lay here with you." She sighed.
"Mum wanted us over before twelve. She wants everyone to hang out with Charlie and Natalie." Harry sighed also.
"I know. I just want to stay in bed." She wrapped her arms around him. They laid there for a while, before Ginny nudged him.
"What time is it?" He reached over, letting his eyes focus a bit, before grabbing his watch.
"I think ten thirty." She grinned.
"You think?" He sighed.
"Well, I don't have my glasses on." He looked down at her, seeing her smile, and kissed her.
"C'mon, we have to get up." He smiled.
"Couldn't we stay in bed just a bit more?" She grinned up at him.
"And do what?" He kissed her, and his hand trailed down her back.
"You know what." She shivered, and pushed against his chest.
"As much as I would love to, my brother is in town. And mum would probably curse us if we didn't show up." He sighed.
"Would she curse us if we showed up a little late?" She laughed, and stood up.
"I don't want to find out. Now up." He reluctantly got up, and they were off within a half hour.
"Harry, Ginny, come in. I thought you two weren't going to show." They walked in, and Ginny was confused.
"I thought you said to be here before twelve." Mrs. Weasley shook her head.
"I said ten." They walked into the sitting room, and some of the Weasleys were sitting there. They all looked annoyed, and clearly did not want to be there.
"Hey Charlie." Ginny gave her brother a hug, and he shook Harry's hand.
"Fun morning?" George shook his head.
"Ron and Hermione aren't here yet. She thought they were coming with you. She's been going crazy since I got here." They sat down, and the room was silent.
"So Charlie, how long are you in town?" Ginny asked, sick of the silence.
"Another two weeks." She sighed.
"So why is mum crazy about us being here today?" They all shrugged.
"Just don't say anything when she comes into the room." George said, clearly having made that mistake before. Harry looked around. There was five of them sitting there in total.
"Anyone else supposed to be here?" They shrugged.
"Percy and Dad had to go to work, go knows why. Bill and Fleur may come, they may not. Mum doesn't care because 'Fleur's pregnant, and she needs her rest.'" George mimicked, and Harry sighed. They sat in silence, before Hermione and Ron walked in. Ron looked behind him, before whispering.
"What's up with her?" They shook their heads, and sat down. After a few minutes, Mrs. Weasley came in with her coat on.
"I have to go somewhere really quick, so all of you, just stay here. Make yourselves at home, I'll be back soon." She left without another word, and everyone looked at each other. Ron looked at Charlie.
"How long are you here?"
"Two weeks." Ron nodded.
"We give her half an hour and then we leave." Hermione rolled her eyes but everyone agreed.
"You're just going to leave? Your brother is in town. You should be spending time with him." Charlie looked at Natalie.
"We can spend time together in a few days. Me and Nat were going to spend time by ourselves today, but then mum said that we had to be here." Harry sighed.
"Well, if you guys want to spend the day together, we could just leave now." They all looked at him and agreed. Everyone stood up and said their goodbyes, parting ways. Harry and Ginny apparated to an area by their house, hidden from sight.
"You want to take a walk?" She smiled and nodded, taking his hand. They walked around Godrics Hallow for a while, and Ginny stopped.
"It's snowing." Harry looked up. He smiled and looked back at Ginny. She had snowflakes in her hair, and the smile that was on her face made his heart melt. He walked over, and kissed her. She looked at him and smiled.
"What was that for?" He grinned.
"For being so amazing." She grinned up at him, but shook her head.
"But why'd you kiss me like that?" He shrugged.
"You deserve to be kissed like that." She kissed him, and they walked back to their house, hand in hand. Their block was relatively empty, but the neighbour they had met two nights was standing by his mailbox, checking what mail he had. He saw them and waved, and they waved back. They went inside, and headed back up to bed, doing nothing for the rest of the day. Around five o'clock, there was a knock on the door, and Ginny nudged Harry.
"Harry, wake up." He had fallen asleep, and as much as she hated to, she woke him up.
"What?" He groaned, and opened his eyes.
"Someone's at the door, go answer it." He huffed.
"Why do I have to answer it?" She grinned.
"Because you have pants on." He sighed, but went downstairs to answer it. Hermione and Ron stood there, shivering slightly.
"It's a bloody blizzard out here. Let us in, mate." He stood aside, and shut the door behind them. He walked into the kitchen, and sat down, rubbing his eyes.
"Mum's gone absolutely mental." He said, and Harry laughed once. Ginny came down, fully clothed now, and said hello. The three of them sat, and Harry rested his head on his arms.
"What's wrong Harry?" He sighed, and looked up at them.
"You two woke me up." Ron shook his head.
"Well, as I said before, she's gone crazy." Ginny looked confused.
"Who?"
"Mum." She smiled, getting up to get a drink.
"You two want anything?" They shook their heads.
"Harry?" He lifted his head up.
"Yeah?"
"Want anything?" He shook his head and rested it back on his arms. Ron continued talking.
"So, it happened after we left. Me and Hermione went to get some breakfast, then went back to her place. Well, we were just, sitting there," Harry laughed.
"Sure, sitting there." Hermione poked his arm. Ron glared at him then continued.
"Well, there's a knock on the door, so I go to answer it, and mum is standing there. So I let her in, and Hermione had gone inside because of" Ron glanced at Hermione.
"reasons. So she looks kind of angry, and Hermione comes out." Ginny sat down, and saw Harry was barely staying awake. She pinched him, and he jumped.
"Ow." Ron looked at him, but continued his story.
"So she starts getting all angry, and she asks why we all left. So I told her the truth." Harry raised his eyebrows.
"And the truth you told was?" Hermione answered for him.
"He said that everyone wanted to wait, but you said we should just leave." Harry groaned and leaned his head back.
"So you blamed it on Harry?" Ron shrugged sheepishly.
"Not exactly. I also mentioned George. She was still all angry, but now I think she went to hunt him down, and she may come after you soon." Harry shook his head, and looked at him.
"How long ago was this?" Ron shrugged.
"An hour maybe." Harry groaned again.
"I just want to sleep." He rested his head on his arms again, and Ginny sighed.
"You've been sleeping for four hours. How could you possibly be tired?" He shrugged.
"I just am." They sat there for a minute, and then there was a knock on the door.
"I'm going back to sleep." Harry stood up, and Ginny grabbed his arm.
"No you are not. Sit down." Harry groaned, but sat. Hermione looked at him, and he looked up at her.
"What?" She shook her head.
"Nothing." Ginny came back with Mrs. Weasley, and they sat at the table with them.
"'Ello." Harry sounded tired, and his face showed it. Ginny poked his side, and he jumped.
"Will you stop with that?" She smiled.
"Wake up." He sighed, rubbing his eyes. Mrs. Weasley looked at him.
"What?" She raised her eyes. He looked around, and Ron looked away.
"Couldn't help but notice how tired you are." He nodded, not really sure what was going to happen.
"Well, why is that?" He looked confused, but answered.
"Well, I got to bed really late last night, and woke up pretty early this morning." Ginny rolled her eyes, at least he told most of the truth. Mrs. Weasley nodded.
"And why'd you go to bed so late?" He glanced at Ginny.
"Cleaning. I was cleaning." Hermione rolled her eyes, and Ginny looked away. Ron made a quick face of disgust, but kept a relatively straight face. She sighed.
"Well, alright. I just wanted everyone to spend time with Charlie." Ginny frowned.
"He's in town for two weeks. We can spend lots of time with him before he leaves." Mrs. Weasley cocked her head.
"He told me that he was leaving in two days." Ginny looked away.
"I guess he had a change of plans." Ron nodded.
"Change of plans." He said, and Harry coughed. Everyone looked at him.
"What?" Ginny grinned.
"We thought you wanted to say something." He frowned.
"I coughed." He stood up, and stretched his back. He leaned against the counter, and looked around. They were still watching him.
"What?" A look of pain came across Ron's face, but no one said anything, so he sighed and went into the other room.
"His eyes. They're red again." Ron said, and Ginny nodded.
"He doesn't like it. That's why I kicked you so you wouldn't say anything." Ron gave her a look.
"I wouldn't have said anything, I was waiting for someone else to bring it up." Mrs. Weasley stood up.
"How about we have dinner." Ginny nodded, and stood up.
"I can cook mum, it's not a problem." Mrs. Weasley shook her head.
"No, it's alright Ginny." For the past few months, she had started to get depressed, as there was only her husband to cook for. She loved cooking for a lot of people, but all of her children had moved out. Ginny shrugged, and sat back down.
"Oh, I wanted to ask Harry a question. I'll be right back." Hermione stood up, and left the room. She walked into the living room, expecting Harry to be there, but he wasn't. She search the entire first floor, before returning to the kitchen.
"I can't find him." Ginny raised her eyebrows.
"We don't have that big of a house, how did you lose him?" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"I didn't lose him." Ginny grinned.
"He probably went back to sleep. He's been so lazy today." The four of them enjoyed dinner, and Hermione and Ron left soon after. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny sat in the living room to talk, and she noticed she kept eyeing her necklace.
"Mum, here. It will do you some good." She took the necklace off, and handed it to her mother. Mrs. Weasley held it in her hand, and Ginny left the room. She heard her mother cry, but went upstairs. She went into the master bedroom, and Harry was sleeping still. She sighed and sat down on the bed next to him, watching his chest rise and fall. She laid down next to him, and a few minutes later, her mother came into the room.
"Ginny, thank you." She stood up, and took the necklace from her mother. She gave her a hug, and Mrs. Weasley left. She set the necklace down on her bedside table, and laid back down.
"Hello Ginny." Harry opened his eyes, green once more. She smile and poked his chest.
"You couldn't have stayed awake to talk with us?" He smiled, closing his eyes.
"I'm so tired. I feel like I could sleep forever." Ginny curled up next to him.
"You better not, we wouldn't be able to spend time together." He wrapped his arms around her, and the two of them fell asleep once more.
Ron and Hermione were throwing a New Year's party at their house, so of course they went. There was a huge turnout, and everyone was having fun. Ginny said it reminded her of the last day of Hogwarts, and Harry agreed. That party had been fun, but this was much bigger. They rang in the New Year, 1999 gone, and 2000 there. The party lasted until after four am, before all of the guests went home. While they had a great year, they were ready to make 2000 an even better one.