A/N: Thanks to my beta ZephyrDragon. This was the last chapter she betaed for me before school overtook all of her time.

Thanks to my new beta Arpad! This is his third chapters he betaed for me and starting with the next chapter, he will be flying solo!

Thanks to all of you who are following me and my stories. I really appreciate you.

And thanks to those who left reviews. I like them and appreciate them!

I don't own Potterverse but I do own my OC characters. The McKeithans are very dear to my heart, that is why Connor's story is already all written (believe it or not). I should post it sometimes in the future...

ENJOY!

CHAPTER 20 – Christmas Holidays

Despite their best efforts, Harry and Hermione returned home for the Christmas Holidays with no answers concerning the type of ring being sought. Hermione had spent long, frustrating hours in the library and had come up with so many potential options they hadn't known where to look next.

"This is pointless! There are hundreds of different magical rings, Harry," Hermione had said. "We've got to find a way to narrow it down."

The only useful information they found was the confirmation that Dennis Lewison was in fact bewitched. Effectively, Hermione had found an obscure book on Unforgiveable Curses in the restricted section which explained in gruesome details the results and consequences of the Curses.

Hermione and Harry had discussed long and hard about what to do with Dennis but came to the conclusion that doing something may do more damage than doing nothing. Hermione had pointed out, and rightly so, that if Dennis was no longer bewitched or if he was otherwise isolated, the people who were behind all this may actually go after another student. Harry had not liked it but he had to concede Hermione had a good point.

Harry was still contemplating their lack of progress in their investigation when he apparated to Grimmauld Place that Friday afternoon. He had received an owl from Ginny the day before telling him that Mrs Weasley wanted to invite the McKeithans to their New Year celebration party. Ginny had proposed they meet with the McKeithans at King's Cross Station to personally extend the invitation. Harry wondered why this had come about as he didn't remember Mrs Weasley meeting the McKeithans before.

Harry and Ginny arrived at King's Cross Station and were walking towards the couple when Connor appeared through the wall from platform nine and three-quarters. With a smile, Harry extended an arm towards Ginny and stopped their progress, giving the McKeithans a moment to enjoy their reunion.

"There he is," Mrs McKeithan pointed out to Mr McKeithan as Connor came towards them.

Mr McKeithan hadn't seen his son in six years and his eyes brimmed with tears when he saw the little boy run towards them.

"Mum! Dad!" yelled Connor, throwing himself in his mother's open arms.

Mrs McKeithan hugged him fiercely and then let him go. Connor looked up at his dad, whose clear eyes were looking back at him.

"Dad," he said tentatively. "Dad! You can see!" he exclaimed excitingly.

"Yes, Connor," said Mr McKeithan, ruffling his son's hair. "I can see."

"How?" asked Connor.

Mr McKeithan looked up at Harry and Ginny who were waiting a few metres away.

"Professor Potter? Professor Potter, you cured my dad?" asked Connor.

"Well, not exactly," said Harry, approaching with a smile. "But I made sure he saw the right Healers."

Harry looked at Mr McKeithan and shook his offered hand.

"What brings you?" asked Mr McKeithan, smiling.

"My parents, actually," answered Ginny. "They wanted us to invite you to come and spend a few days with us to celebrate the New Year at the Burrow."

"The Burrow? What's the Burrow?" asked Mrs McKeithan.

"It's the house where I grew up," answered Ginny. "Will you come?"

Mr and Mrs McKeithan looked at one another and seemed to communicate silently for a few seconds. Connor looked up at them with hope in his eyes.

"Why not?" said Mrs McKeithan to her husband.

"We gladly accept your mother's invitation," said Mr McKeithan to Ginny with a sincere smile.

"Brilliant!" said Harry. "We'll come and pick you up on the thirtieth at eight in the morning, if that's okay with you," he quickly added.

"That would be our pleasure," said Mrs McKeithan.

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Harry and Ginny spent the first week of their Christmas Holiday enjoying each other's continuous company, having dinner with friends, and taking the McKeithans to Diagon Alley to show Mr McKeithan the marvels his wife and son had seen during the previous summer. Mrs McKeithan also tried to take the opportunity to buy Connor a wizarding gift but it proved rather complicated as Connor was very curious and didn't let any of the adults out of his sight for very long.

At the end of the week, Harry and Ginny took the Floo Network to the Burrow. To Harry's surprise, there were only Mr and Mrs Weasley in the living room, and Mrs Weasley was looking rather distraught.

"Where..." began Harry about to ask where everybody else was.

He was stopped by a shake of Mr Weasley's head.

"Molly!" he said joyfully. "Harry and Ginny are here. I bet Ron and Hermione will be here any minute now."

Mr Weasley brought them to the kitchen.

"Dad?" asked Ginny, indicating her mother in the next room.

"Charlie and Percy are not coming," he said quietly. "She was hoping to have all of you here."

"I'll go talk to her," said Ginny, leaving the kitchen.

"Harry, come with me," said Mr Weasley, opening the back door.

Harry followed Mr Weasley to his shed where he kept his Muggle objects. They went inside and he offered Harry a stool. Then he went to the cabinet and removed two glasses and a bottle of Firewhiskey.

'Firewhiskey? At nine in the morning?' thought Harry, getting nervous.

Mr Weasley gave a glass to Harry and walked to his work table with his.

"Harry," he began, turning a funny shade of red. "You know we love you like a son, don't you?" he asked, grabbing some of the tools on his table.

Harry nodded once.

"And, overall, I think Ginny could not have found herself a better man. But I'm her father and I have to ask: what are your intentions towards my daughter?" he asked, looking up at him.

Harry could not fail to see the wide variety of heavy tools and electric devices stewed about them. He was particularly weary of the car battery and the jumper cables Mr Weasley was now holding.

"I intent to marry her, sir," answered Harry seriously. "And try to make her as happy as possible for the rest of her life."

Mr Weasley smiled, visibly reassured.

"Children?" he asked.

'Chidren? Now?' thought Harry.

He was barely 19.

"Eh," he said. "We haven't talked about it, sir. But – but I don't think we're – we're quite ready," answered Harry nervously.

Mr Weasley smile widened.

"Wise boy," he said, approvingly. "You know, last Christmas was a very sad time for Ginny. She didn't tell us about how she felt but we knew..."

Harry looked at the still full glass of Firewhiskey he was holding in his hand.

"It wasn't easy for me either, sir," said Harry sadly. "I thought she had moved on. I thought it was just a question of time before she had someone else in her life, if she hadn't already."

"Harry, she loves you since she's 10 years old!" said Mr Weasley, strangely sounding like Mrs Weasley all of the sudden. "You don't move on that easily when you've loved and waited for somebody for that long.

"Now, let me ask you: when do you intend to make an honest woman out of her?" he asked, sounding like his old self again.

"I..." began Harry, suddenly looking up at Mr Weasley and the cables in his hands.

But he was interrupted by Ginny opening the shed door.

"Hermione and Ron just arrived," she announced.

She then saw the glass of Firewhiskey in Harry's hand and glared at her father. Harry took the occasion to stand up, put the untouched Firewhiskey on the stool and grabbed Ginny's hand.

"Soon, Mr Weasley, soon. Was there anything else?" he asked with a smile at Ginny.

"No, son, you can go," said Mr Weasley.

"What did he want?" asked Ginny as they walked towards the house.

"Nothing!" answered Harry quickly. "But... your timing was impeccable!"

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That night, Ron and Harry had just turned off the lights when Harry turned to Ron and said: "Ron, why don't you and Hermione Commit?"

"What? Us? Commit?" asked Ron surprised.

"Well, yeah!" answered Harry as if it was obvious.

"I don't know, mate," said Ron. "I don't think Hermione's ready."

"Ron, you've been dating for two years now," said Harry. "If she's not ready now, when will she be?"

Ron stayed silent for so long Harry thought he had fallen asleep.

"I'm scared, Harry," Ron finally said. "You know, Hermione is pretty headstrong. What if she doesn't want me to ask her? I mean, she's never hinted that she wants us to be Committed or anything. What if she says no? I'm not ready to be told off, mate."

"Ron, take my word for it and ask her," said Harry seriously. "You're more likely to be told off if you don't than if you do."

"Why do you say that, mate? Did she talk to you?"

Harry did not answer and Ron did not ask again.

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It was Christmas morning.

The sun was not yet up when Harry heard the door to the bedroom he shared with Ron open. A few seconds later, he felt somebody sit on his bed and kiss the lightning scar on his forehead. He recognized the flowery smell of Ginny's hair and smiled, lifting up the blankets so she could slip under them. He pulled her close and enjoyed the feel of her against him. He looked at Ron's bed and even with his blurry vision he could see it was empty.

"He and Hermione disapparated about 5 minutes ago," said Ginny, chuckling. "I think my mother's rules are driving us all crazy."

"Yeah!" said Harry, kissing her hair. "You think he asked her to Commit? I sort of told him to last night."

"It would make sense," answered Ginny, yawning. "It sure would be a Christmas gift to remember."

Harry was about to fall asleep when he heard: "Ginny Weasley! What are you doing upstairs?"

It was Mrs Weasley from the first floor landing.

"Molly, shush! You'll wake them," said Mr Weasley in a whisper but loud enough for them to hear.

"Wake them? She's not supposed to be up there in the first place!" snapped Mrs Weasley.

"Molly, let them," said Mr Weasley. "It's Christmas."

"Christmas or not, they're not married!"

"Come now, Molly," said Mr Weasley. "We weren't married either when we slipped away to your parents' attic..."

"Ouch!" whispered Ginny to Harry, putting her hands on her ears. "I didn't need to hear that!"

"... and we were younger than they are," continued Mr Weasley.

"But she could get pregnant!" protested Mrs Weasley.

"Molly, dear, you showed her all about the protection charms when she was 15..."

"Protection charms?" asked Harry intrigued.

"Hush!" said Ginny who was still listening.

"... trust her. Our Ginny is not a little girl anymore. She's 18 and she knows what she's doing. Besides, these last two years were hard enough on both of them. Let them find comfort in each others' arms if it makes them happy."

"I don't like it," said Mrs Weasley.

"I know you don't but they're grown up now, and they deserve it," said Mr Weasley. "Come now, let me make you some tea."

Ginny grabbed her wand and flicked it to close the door.

"I think Ron would have paid a lot of galleons to overhear that conversation," she said.

"I didn't know your dad ever stood up to your mum," said Harry.

"Neither did I," she said. "I guess he really feels strongly about this."

"Ginny, what charms was he talking about?"

"Charms so I don't get pregnant," she answered sleepily. "I just cast them once a week. It's a lot more efficient than the Muggle ways."

Harry had never really thought about it, and felt guilty when he realised he could definitely have got Ginny pregnant.

"Don't worry about it," she said, yawning. "I want to sleep and I can't do that while you're worrying about something."

Casting all thoughts of pregnancy out of his mind, Harry kissed her hair and closed his eyes.

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"Where have you been?" Ginny asked her brother when he and Hermione walked in the front door, late that afternoon.

Fleur and Angelina were helping Mrs Weasley prepare the dining table while Bill and George were with Mr Weasley in the back garden. Ginny and Harry were tidying the living room and adding chairs so they could all open gifts after dinner.

Glowing, Hermione walked over to Ginny and showed her the ring on her right hand. Ginny looked at it for a few seconds and when she realised what her friend was showing her, she hugged her in delight, all the while laughing.

"About time, you big loon!" said Ginny, releasing Hermione and turning to her brother. "She's been pining for you for over a year! If Harry had made me waited that long, I would have beaten him bloody before I condescended to say yes!"

"Well, actually, now that you mention it," said Ron, rubbing his left cheek.

"Come on, Ron!" said Hermione. "I only slapped you!"

Ginny gasped in surprise. Obviously, she hadn't expected that.

"You did not!" she exclaimed.

"Of course, I did!" said Hermione proudly. "Right before I threw myself in his arms and said yes."

Grinning, Harry looked at his friends.

"Congratulations!" he said, shaking Ron's hand.

"Congratulations for what?" asked Angelina, walking into the living room followed by Fleur.

Harry hadn't seen Fleur in a while and wondered if she had gained weight. She looked a little rounder somehow. But again, it might only be the loose-fitting clothes she was wearing.

"Ron and Hermione finally Committed," announced Ginny.

"About time!" said Angelina. "I was beginning to fear we would all be married before you got around to asking her, Ron," she added, looking at Ron who blushed furiously.

"Committed? Who got Committed?" asked Bill, walking into the room with the rest of the family.

"Don't tell me you finally worked up the nerve!" said George behind Bill.

"Well... Yeah! I did," answered Ron.

"Oh! How wonderful!" said Mrs Weasley, hugging Hermione and then Ron. "About time too!" she said sternly to Ron.

"Mum," said Bill who had found his way to Fleur's side and was beaming at her. "We've got news too."

Mrs Weasley looked at them and suddenly gasped, putting her hands in front of her mouth.

"No?" she said.

"Yes!" answered Fleur, smiling radiantly.

"You're pregnant!" exclaimed Mrs Weasley in tears. "A little baby," she added, hugging Fleur in a bear hug. "A little Weasley! When?"

"Soon. End of April, beginning of May," answered Bill.

"I should have seen it!" said Mrs Weasley, looking at Fleur's loose clothes. "I should have seen it right away. Why did you wait so long to tell us?"

"We hadn't had a chance," said Bill. "We spent most of the last two months in France, remember?"

"Your mother must be so happy!" said Mrs Weasley.

"Yes, she is," said Fleur.

"Well, if there are no more announcements, let's proceed to the kitchen," said Mrs Weasley. "Dinner is ready!"

Dinner was as boisterous now that they were all grown up as it had been when they were all children. Harry enjoyed himself very much and could not remember the last time he had felt so much part of a real family.

"We finally decided on a date for our wedding," said Angelina to Mrs Weasley.

"When?" she asked in the silence that followed the announcement.

"April 1," answered George, grinning.

"It can't be!" said Mrs Weasley. "It's your birthday!"

"We thought it would be fun," said Angelina.

And Harry had no doubt it would be. It certainly would be better than Bill and Fleur's wedding, no questions there. He looked at Ginny who was looking back at him with a mixture of joy and anticipation.

"This time, I'll be able to go with you," she said, smiling.

"Yeah!" he said. "And I won't have to pretend to be somebody I'm not, fending off suitors who want to dance with you."

"What?" said Ginny surprised. "Who?"

"Viktor Krum," he answered.

"What did you tell him?"

"That you had a big, jealous boyfriend."

Ginny laughed, amused.

"Poor Viktor," she said. "He's a lot luckier at Quidditch than in love."

"I agree," said Hermione who heard the last part of the conversation. "Maybe we should try to find him a girlfriend," she suggested.

"And I know just who!" exclaimed Ginny. "Let me see if I can invite her to the game tomorrow. She would be perfect for him. She's a Harpy."

"He doesn't know her?" asked Hermione.

"He may but I doubt it," said Ginny. "She's fairly new."
"What does she play?"

"Chaser," answered Ginny.

"Not Adira Glendale?" asked Ron surprised.

"Yes," answered Ginny.

"That girl is hot!" said Ron. "She can't not have a boyfriend!"

"Ron!" protested Hermione.

"She's very shy," explained Ginny. "And I know she doesn't have one because she told me! Besides, from what I hear, we will be one Chaser short tomorrow. I'll go see her after dinner and ask if she wants to come over."

And right before desert was served, Ginny did just that. She grabbed her winter coat and walked outside by the front door. She came back ten minutes later with a huge smile on her face.

"It's all set," she said, sitting back next to Harry. "She was happy we thought about her. She had read about us in the Daily Prophet and had been dying to come and play with us.

"By the way, I think the Lori Carlton article has triggered another group to form with the Irish teams, mostly. Maybe it would be nice to play them sometimes."

"Maybe we should find ourselves a name," suggested Ron.
"What about the Burrow Red and the Burrow Black?" suggested Harry.

"I love it! And I think it's only fair to my parents that we do call ourselves 'Burrows'," said Ginny. "We do play here, after all!"

It was very late when they finally made their way upstairs. When they arrived at the first landing, Ginny said "Night", grabbed Harry by the front of his shirt, pulled him into the bedroom with her, and closed the door firmly behind them.

"Hey! My things!" said Hermione indignantly through the door.

"They're upstairs!" answered Ginny, who, during the day, had moved Hermione's things while Harry had moved his.

"Ginny, that's not funny!" protested Ron. "We'll get in trouble."

"No, we won't!" said Ginny.

In light of the conversation they had overheard, Ginny had decided she would no longer put up with her mother nonsense. Her dad was right: she was of age, she was Committed, and she knew what she was doing.

She looked up at Harry and grinned mischievously.

"Now, Mr Potter," she said, walking to him and removing his glasses.

She put them on the bedside table, grabbed her wand and cast a Muffliato spell on the door. She put her wand next to Harry's glasses and turned to look at him.

"Now, Mr Potter," she whispered in his ears, giving him goose bumps. "Would you please give me a Christmas I will remember for the rest of my life?"

Smiling, Harry was happy to oblige.

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Eyes still full of sleep, Harry walked out of Ginny's bedroom the next morning to go to the loo when he came face to face with a blurry figure on the landing. The figure had red hair and was too small to be Ron or his dad.

"Morning, Mrs Weasley," he said with what he hoped was a winning smile and not a stupid grin.

"Hmf!" she said and stormed down the stairs.

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