"This tea Fleur brought back from France is really quite good," Hermione commented, sitting down next to Ginny in the sitting room of the Burrow, where Weasley-Potter families were currently gathered for their traditional Christmas Eve feast. "Have you tried some?"

"No," Ginny mumbled. "I'm not really in the mood for any."

"You should go out back to the yard and see the cutest snowmen Lily, Hugo, and Roxy have made," Hermione continued.

"I saw them already," Ginny said. "They're nice."

"Teddy managed to turn his hair red and green," Hermione went on. "Have you seen? It's very festive."

Ginny didn't reply.

"He'll be back soon," Hermione said softly. "Any day now, I'm sure."

"It's been four weeks," Ginny said heavily. "He's never been gone on a mission this long. He was supposed to be home by now."

"I know," Hermione said. "But sometimes the Auror missions have to be extended. Things come up."

Ginny clasped her hands together tightly. "I hate it when he's gone like this. I know he has to go, I know it's his job, but I hate not having any contact with him or knowing where he is…I-I would be told if something happened to him, wouldn't I?"

"Yes," Hermione said at once. "They would notify you immediately. But Ginny, you mustn't think like that. Harry's fine; he's just as anxious to get home."

"He's never been gone for Christmas," Ginny sighed. "The kids were expecting him to be home for Christmas, and now they're hardly looking forward to the morning at all…Hermione, you work in the department. Isn't there something that you could do?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't even know where he is," Hermione said gently. "It was a top secret mission. Not many people know much about it."

Ginny nodded silently.

"There you two are," Molly said, walking into the sitting room. "Dinner is just about ready. Would one of you mind going out to the yard to tell the others to start washing up?"

"Of course," Hermione said, getting to her feet. "I'll do it."
"Thank you, dear," Molly smiled. She turned to her daughter, who was still sitting miserably on the couch. "Still no word at all then?"

"He can't write me, mum," Ginny muttered. "So no. I still have no idea when my husband's finally going to be back."

Molly gave her a sympathetic look. "He'll be back soon, dear. Don't you worry."

"Right," Ginny sighed, getting to her feet as the rest of the family filed into the house from the yard. She tried to compose herself as her children came padding in pulling off their coats and hats as they did. "Teddy, do you mind helping Lily with her mittens? James, Albus, be sure to wipe your feet before you come any further in."

"You missed the snowball fight of the century, Ginny," Ron said, helping Hugo out of his coat.

"I'll catch next year's then," Ginny said simply.

"Alright everybody, dinner's on the table," Molly called from the kitchen. "Come sit so we can eat while it's hot. I'm sure you all need to be warmed up after playing out in the cold."

The family headed into the kitchen and began gathering around the table, which, over the years, had been magically lengthened to accommodate the growing family. As Ginny took her seat, she caught a whiff of treacle tart, and she felt a pang of sadness knowing that Harry would've been reaching for that dish even before he had meat on his plate.

"Dinner looks great, Molly," Arthur commented as everyone began to serve themselves. "You've outdone yourself this year."

"Yeah mum," George nodded. "It's delicious."

"Thank you," Molly smiled.

Just as Ginny reached over to begin to help Lily cut her roast beef, the sound of the front door opening came rolling through the kitchen.

"Who's that?" Bill frowned as they heard footsteps approaching. "We weren't expecting anybody else were-"

"Daddy!" Lily suddenly exclaimed as none other than Harry stepped into the kitchen, snow still on the shoulders of his robes and in his hair. Lily leaped up and ran over to her father, with James, Albus, and Teddy not far behind her.

"Hey, you lot," Harry grinned as he tried not to be toppled over by the force of the four of them.

Ginny's jaw dropped, and she felt too stunned to move.

"You're finally back!" James said excitedly. "Is your mission done? Did you catch the bad wizards? Did you use any cool curses? Did you-"

"Breathe, James," Harry chuckled as he picked Lily up in his arms. "My missions' done; I'm back home for now."

"Good, we missed you, dad," Albus said. "We were worried you weren't going to be home for Christmas."

"Yeah, you cut it close, you know," Teddy said.

"I was worried I wouldn't make it myself," Harry said. "Er, sorry to barge in during dinner like this, by the way."

"Nonsense!" Molly said, jumping at once and kissing the top of his head. "We're all so glad you got back in time!"

Harry set Lily back down, looking directly at Ginny, who was still sitting at the table, looking as though a bludger had hit her over the head.

"Hi," Harry said, smiling.

At once, Ginny unfroze as she jumped up from the table and rushed over to Harry, throwing her arms around him.

"Thank Merlin you're home," she said, hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, love," Harry whispered in her ear. "Killed me being away this long."

"Yes, well," Ginny said, blushing slightly. "You owe me big, you know. Four bloody weeks of worrying about you…"

"I know," Harry smiled. "I'll figure out some way to make it up to you."

"I suppose managing to come back before Christmas is a start," Ginny said playfully as she stood on her toes to kiss him. "You can figure out the rest later."