Chapter 18: When We Were Happy

Time passed quickly, and soon it was the week before the Christmas holidays. Ginny sighed contentedly at the prospect of two weeks of uninterrupted time with Draco. She glanced up over the foot-high stack of papers before her and surveyed the room. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor third-years were bent over their desks, scribbling frantically. They were taking their midterm exams, and she was on the lookout for cheating quills. She had placed a charm on the exams that was meant to recognize the use of such tools, but McGonagall had warned her that she could never be too careful.

Ginny turned back to her papers. She flipped back through the assignment she was grading and totaled the score, circling the number in red ink at the top of the first page.

Tap tap tap! Ginny's head snapped up. A second-year stood at the door, knocking softly on the doorframe and holding out a scrap of parchment. She walked over to take it.

Dueling practice at 4? I have class until then. – H

Ginny grinned. She'd almost forgotten that she would be helping Harry demonstrate for his inter-house competition. She scratched a response on the back of the note and handed it to the second-year, who scurried away.

Perfect. I'll come by your classroom. Prepare to have your bum kicked. – G

At four, Ginny collected the exams in a big pile on her desk. "Congratulations on completing your midterms!" she said cheerfully as the third-years gathered their bags. "No homework tonight, of course." There was a whoop of appreciation, and Ginny smiled. The term had been going exceptionally well. She had the occasional problem with tardiness on assignments, and of course she had to incinerate a contraband copy of Witch Weekly about twice a week, but other than that….

Swinging her bag over her shoulder and heaving the stack of exams into the crook of her arm, she followed her students from the room, locking the door behind her. Harry's classroom was two floors down. When she arrived, Harry was just finishing up class. His students, seventh-years by the looks of them, were filtering out of the classroom. She stood just outside the door to let them out into the hall.

"Professor Potter, can I ask you a quick question about the assignment that's due at the end of the week?" Ginny watched a girl she didn't recognize – she must not have continued with upper-level Charms – approach Harry's desk, smiling brightly and batting her eyelashes. Ginny smirked amusedly.

"I just don't really understand what you're asking here, in the second question," the girl said, holding out a page of parchment and leaning over quite unnecessarily so that her cleavage was in full view. Ginny had to suppress a snort. The girl was trying awfully hard. But Harry didn't even seem to notice. She saw him take a small step back to put some distance between himself and the girl, but he answered seriously.

"Well, Miss Ingram, I think it's pretty self-explanatory. I want you to think, really think, about what your happiest memory is. Try to write down as many details as you can. It'll be important when we start working on the Patronus Charm after the holidays."

The girl looked a little disappointed that her antics didn't seem to be having much effect, but she persevered. "I'm having trouble figuring out which memory to use," she said, pulling her long blonde hair around her shoulder and smiling sweetly. "Maybe I could tell you some of my ideas and you could help me pick one?"

Harry's brow furrowed, and Ginny decided to step in. This had gone on long enough. "Unfortunately," she said, smiling widely and stepping into the classroom, "Professor Potter and I have a date this afternoon." She held the scrap of parchment up between two fingers to illustrate her point.

The girl scowled momentarily, then recovered herself. "All right, well maybe some other time. Thanks, Professor. Have a good night." She smiled, tossed her hair back over her shoulder, and pranced from the room. She joined the group of her friends that were waiting for her in the hall, and the sound of them giggling loudly filtered into the classroom before Ginny shut the door firmly.

"You shouldn't have phrased it that way," Harry said, his voice surprisingly serious. Ginny watched his expression as he drew his wand and, waving it wordlessly, rearranged the desks to make a long, narrow dueling court. His brow was furrowed and he was concentrating just a little too much on everything. Something was wrong.

"What way?" she answered carefully, depositing her bag on the floor and shrugging out of her sweater. Convenient that she'd worn jeans and a tank top today.

"That we have a date. They'll probably go prattling to the Prophet now."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well we're already having sordid sex all over Hogwarts," she grumbled.

"And you're pregnant with my child," Harry added, laughing mirthlessly.

"And I think I've had about five secret marriages in the past month."

"You should really check up on that. I don't think that's legal."

"Well you know me," Ginny said, grinning and hoping she could get him to smile, "I like to live on the edge." Nothing. He was very upset about something.

He was pulling off his own sweater and re-adjusting the t-shirt beneath. "Is everything all right with Helena?" Ginny asked tentatively. Harry had brought his new girlfriend to two more Weasley family dinners over the past few weeks. They had seemed happy, but maybe….

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" he said, walking over to his end of the dueling court.

"No reason," Ginny said, twisting her hair up into a ponytail as she made her way to her own end.

"Ready?" Harry said, twirling his wand between his fingers expertly. Ginny sighed. He didn't want to talk about it. She shrugged. Maybe the duel would help him vent his frustration.

She nodded, and Harry looked right at her, a determined set to his face, before shooting a surprisingly strong stunner straight at her chest. She raised her wand to block it just in time, but the force of it made her stumble back a little. He was serious about this. Shaking herself, she lifted her own wand. She needed to concentrate.

With a minute flick of her wrist she sent a jinx flying his way, which he dodged to avoid. He sent another stunner, stronger this time, and blocking it nearly forced her off her feet. "Bloody hell," she muttered, steeling herself. He was venting alright.

In minutes they were sending curses hurtling across the length of the room, and Ginny's heart was pounding powerfully in her chest as they ducked and twisted to avoid the blows. Harry still had that determined gleam in his eyes; he was sending spell after spell flying her way without taking his eyes off her.

As the minutes passed, Ginny became less and less amused. This wasn't the friendly game she'd been expecting. Something was bothering him, and he was venting his anger in a very physical way. He wasn't out to hurt her, she knew that. If Harry Potter had wanted to injure her, he could have done it easily. She didn't have too much pride to admit it. But she was getting tired letting him take out his anger in their duel without knowing the reason for it. Finally, as she dodged a curse that cracked loudly against the wall behind her, she yelled, "Enough!" He stopped the downward arc of his arm so immediately that Ginny realized he had actually been in a complete control of himself the entire time.

"All right," she huffed, "What's wrong, Harry? Spit it out."

Harry ran an agitated hand through his hair. He was flushed, and his skin was covered in a sheen of sweat. "Nothing's wrong," he growled, flicking his wand. Two water bottles flew out of the cabinet behind his desk, and he tossed one to her.

"Bullshit," she said, grabbing it with one hand but not taking her eyes off him. "You're angry about something. I'm happy to let you duel out the aggression, but I want to know what I'm dealing with here."

"I'm not angry," Harry insisted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought we were supposed to be dueling here."

Ginny sighed and raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you really going to try that with me, Potter? I think I know you a little too well."

Harry held her gaze for a full five seconds, his green eyes defiant. Then he exhaled sharply and walked straight to his desk, pulling out a piece of parchment from the top drawer. He held it out to her and sank into one of the student desks as she unfolded it. It was from Ron.

Hey mate,

SHE SAID YES! You knew she would, of course, and so did Gin, but bloody hell was I nervous when the time came. I'll tell you all about it on Friday. Don't say anything to the family yet (only Ginny knows) – we're gonna tell them when we're all together for Christmas dinner.

Ginny looked up, beaming. "But, Harry, this is wonderful news, isn't it!"

Harry smiled tightly. "Of course, it's not that…keep reading." Ginny turned her gaze back to the page.

But fair warning, mate – I want to tell you this before Kingsley sends you his update. You're not going to like it, so you'd best sit down. They found a finger, with a note attached. Medical examiner said it was cut off no more than two days ago. It made all the usual demands – they want Kingsley to step down, they want you dead, one of theirs in power – all that. Parents are distraught, of course, but remember – this is actually a good thing. It means they have demands, and they haven't killed him yet. He's still alive.

Don't do anything rash. You're the best man at my wedding – I need you alive and in possession of all your limbs for that!

See you at the end of the week,

Ron

Ginny dropped the paper to the desk. "Oh, Harry, Ron's right. It means he's still alive."

"As of two days ago," Harry said harshly, "And they're torturing him."

"No, it doesn't mean that…," Ginny insisted.

"They cut off one of his fingers, Ginny!"

"To make a statement. They're not torturing him regularly. He's their only bargaining chip."

"Great. A seven-year-old boy is the bargaining chip of a bunch of dark wizards. Am I supposed to be happy about that?" he snapped.

"Of course not!" Ginny snapped back. "But getting angry about it isn't going to help."

"That's right," Harry said, barking out a mirthless laugh, "Nothing I'm doing is going to help."

Ginny fell silent. So that was it. He was blaming himself. Maybe he thought that if he had just joined the Aurors, he could have saved the boy? Maybe he was even thinking he should give himself up so Danny could go home? Did he truly believe that he hadn't done enough for them all? Ginny sighed. She should have known – Harry always thought everyone else's suffering was his fault.

"Come on," she said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out of his chair.

"I'm not really in the mood for an adventure, Gin," Harry sighed, but he let her lead him from the room.

"Just shut up and come on, will you? Bloody hell," she muttered, guiding him to the staircase.

They went up and up and up. Ginny led him through the door at the top of the turret – the highest point of the Astronomy Tower. The sun was setting at the horizon – the days had gotten so short – and the Forbidden Forest was swathed in shadows. On the Quidditch pitch below them, some team (she thought she could make out the Hufflepuff colors on the darting blurs) was practicing. They could hear the yells and whoops of delight filtering up from the pitch. And off in the distance, Hogsmeade was bathed in the warm golden light of early evening. They could see the tiny shape of the last of the day's shoppers milling around the streets.

Harry was silent beside her, looking out at the view and breathing deeply.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said softly, taking his hand in hers.

"Yeah," Harry replied quietly, intertwining their fingers. "It really is."

Ginny leaned her other elbow on the stone rampart, leaning forward and resting her head on her hand. "You know," she said, not looking at him, "There was no Quidditch here while you were gone. They used the pitch for public punishments whenever students stepped out of line. That's why my mum didn't send me back. Too dangerous." She heard Harry's sharp intake of breath beside her.

"And Hogsmeade," she continued, "Death Eaters everywhere. The shops all closed early and no one went out after dark."

"Why are you telling me this, Gin?" Harry asked. She turned to look at him. She glared at him, holding his bright green eyes with her deep brown ones.

"Because look at it now," she said seriously. "It's beautiful now because of you, Harry, and what you did. So don't you dare – don't you dare – tell yourself that you haven't done enough."

Ginny watched him open his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. "Just look. Don't say anything." He swallowed and turned his gaze back out to the view before them.

They stood there for an hour, watching the sky darken by degrees and the sounds of the night fill the air around them. The lights of Hogsmeade flicked on until the town was a patch of glowing yellow in the landscape. Quidditch practice finished up, and the students retreated, giggling and talking loudly, back to the castle.

Finally, Harry gripped her hand and squeezed.

Ginny turned and smiled at him. He was looking at her with the strangest expression on his face. She sucked in a breath. For a moment, she thought he was going to lean in and kiss her, and she felt panic rise in her chest. She didn't want him to ruin everything.

But he just smiled. "Let's go, dinner will be over soon," he said.

She grinned and started back down the stairs. "Gin," he added suddenly. She turned back to him. "Thank you," he said.

"For what?" she said.

He shrugged. "Somehow, you always know what I need to hear. You always have."

"No problem," she said, waving it off. "But I swear to Merlin, Harry Potter, if you pull any of that I-haven't-done-enough crap with me again, I will hex you from here to the Burrow."

Harry laughed, a real, full laugh this time. "You did almost get a few hexes in earlier."

"I went easy on you," she teased.

Harry snorted. "Just keep telling yourself that, Weasley."

Christmas morning dawned bright; the sunlight shimmered off the snow that had fallen lightly throughout the night. Ginny stretched lazily, rolling in bed and savoring the feeling of her new silk slip on her skin. It was a creamy color – not too white to make her skin look paler than it already was. It had been a present from Draco for Christmas; they had exchanged gifts last night, knowing that there wouldn't be much time for privacy in the frenzy of Christmas at the Burrow. She had gotten him a new set of business cards and gilt holder in honor of his promotion at Gringotts. He was climbing the ranks faster than anyone had expected.

"Happy Christmas to me," Draco said, turning over and gathering her close to him. He ran a hand up her thigh, pushing the light fabric up her leg. She smiled, rolling them so that she was sitting upright, straddling his waist. She raked a hand through her messy hair.

"None of that, mister," she said, her voice mockingly stern. "You know we have to be at the Burrow by noon."

Draco groaned, reaching up to take her hands. He intertwined their fingers and pouted pleadingly. Ginny smirked. "I have you wrapped around my little finger, don't I?" she teased, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.

He turned his head to capture her lips in a full kiss. "Yes, and I hate you for it," he grumbled.

She giggled and swung her leg over him, turning away from the bed and padding to the shower.

At dinner, they sat down at the end of the table across from Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Hermione looked exhausted, but Ginny noticed that she kept fiddling with the ring finger on her left hand and smiling to herself. There was nothing visibly there, but Hermione had always been good at glamour charms.

"You look tired, Hermione," Harry said when the family had broken off into little conversations around the table. "Is something wrong at work?"

Hermione let out a huffy sigh. "Well they cut funding to my department. They need the money for other departments during the rebuilding," she said. "We were going to hire five more caseworkers, but now that's impossible, so we all have more on our plates than we ought to." She punctuated this last statement by viciously stabbing a potato with her fork.

"And I wouldn't mind that," she said, "You all know I don't mind lots of work, except this is all happening at a time when there are more cases of house elf and other magical creature abuse than ever! I just can't give them all the attention that I should!" She let out another huff and Ron reached over to rub her back.

"So overall nothing wrong, then?" Harry said, trying tentatively for humor. Ron glared at him, and he fell silent. Ginny looked at him sympathetically.

"How much has your funding been cut?" Draco asked nonchalantly.

"Five hundred thousand Galleons annually."

Draco nodded slowly, and Ginny could see the cogs whirring in his mind. What was he up to?

"My father's been making charitable donations to a variety of funds," he said, almost as if he was changing the subject. "He's trying to rebuild the Malfoy reputation."

Ginny saw Hermione stiffen across the table, and she suddenly understood. She turned to Draco, eyes wide. "So three million would keep your department going with new caseworkers for another six years. That should get you through the rebuilding process until the Ministry can afford to raise your budget again, don't you think?"

"Malfoy…," Hermione said, voice low, "Are you offering what I think you're offering?"

"Your father's going to drop three million Galleons just like that?" Ron said, shock evident on his face.

"I'll speak with him," Draco said.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Malfoy," Ron said warningly, looking nervously at Hermione openly hopeful expression.

Draco met his eyes. "Malfoys never break promises," he said seriously, and Ginny remembered the first time, all those years ago, when he'd said that to her.

Hermione swallowed, a wide smile forming on her face. "Thank you," she said.

Draco smiled at her. "It's for a good cause," he said.

Ginny took his hand under the table and squeezed it. He was wonderful.

After dinner, the whole family retreated to the sitting room to lounge for the remainder of the evening.

"I definitely ate too much," Fred groaned, leaning back and rubbing his bloated belly.

"It was the dessert," Bill chimed in. "I was fine until the dessert." He turned to his daughter, who was dressed in an adorable green and red dress and her patent leather shoes. There was a little bow in her hair and she gurgled happily as her father leaned over her. "And Victoire liked the dessert too, didn't she?" he said in a high baby voice. Ginny grinned; her brother had melted into a sentimental blob ever since becoming a father.

Ron cleared his throat awkwardly and Ginny's smile widened. This was it; he was going to make the announcement. She tried to keep her facial expression neutral. Beside her, Draco squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.

"Well," Ron said slowly, "Hermione and I have an announcement to make." Everyone fell completely silent, and Ginny watched the blood rise in her mother's cheeks in preparation for an eruption of joy.

"Yes, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley prodded shakily.

Ron stood and pulled a beaming Hermione up beside him. "Well…."

"Come on, Ronniekins," Charlie said, grinning in anticipation.

"We're engaged!" Ron finished, and the room erupted in shouts and cheers. Ginny held back as the other members of her family engulfed Ron in a huge group hug. She glanced over to Harry, who was grinning broadly. She realized he hadn't brought Helena aroudn this time. He caught her eye and winked.

"Wait, wait!" Hermione was yelling over the hubbub. "We have another piece of news. All three of us."

The family backed away a little to give her room to speak. She gestured to Harry, who stood awkwardly to join them in the announcement. Ginny cocked her head at him, but he just smiled.

"The three of us," Hermione said slowly, "Have been awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class!"

The happy shock hit Ginny like a physical wave. "What!" George was yelling. "Why didn't you tell us sooner!"

"Well, you three, this is wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley said, dissolving into tears from all the emotion. Mr. Weasley put his arms around her.

"The awards ball is this upcoming Thursday," Ron said, "It's formal dress, and of course if any of you can't make it, I'll hex you."

Ginny stood and went to give them all congratulatory hugs. When she got to Harry, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He wrapped an arm around her lower back. "You should have told me sooner, you prat," she chided him. As she pulled away, she caught Ron looking at them, brow furrowed, and she was reminded of Hermione's strange look from a few weeks before. What was going on with everyone?

They left at eleven in the evening, and Apparated into the center of the park near their apartment. The snow was powdery on the ground, and Ginny stumbled a little when her boot sank into a particularly high pile. Draco steadied her and pulled her up against him.

She laughed and kissed him on the tip of the nose. "This has been a lovely Christmas," she said softly. He nodded, smiling.

They started walking arm in arm through the park, but when they came to a little hillock, Ginny slipped again against the side of it. She grabbed onto Draco's arm, but he couldn't keep them upright, and they tumbled laughing to the ground.

"We need to get you new boots, Gin," Draco grumbled.

"Oh, these are fine," Ginny replied, laying her head down so that she was spreadeagled on the snow. She looked up through the line of trees that ringed the park; the sky was clear and the stars twinkled cheerfully above them.

"Not if you don't want to twist an ankle," he said wryly.

They were silent for a moment; she studied the stars, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see him studying her.

"You look beautiful," he said suddenly, reaching over to twist a piece of red hair around his finger. "All your hair sprayed out on the white snow. Very artistic."

"Mmm, thank you," Ginny said, grinning.

He lay down beside her, and she clasped his hand.

"I can't believe you did that for Hermione," she said softly, turning to look at him.

"It's a good investment for my father. Charity is good for the Malfoy reputation at this point," he said, waving it away like it was nothing.

"No," Ginny said seriously, "It was really wonderful of you, Draco."

"It wasn't anything to do with me," he said, "My father's the one who'll be donating the money."

Ginny smiled and leaned over to kiss him deeply. She held his gaze. "You're better than you give yourself credit for, Draco Malfoy. Don't ever forget that."

Author's Note: Review, please! The next chapter will be the Order of Merlin ball, and things are going to really start coming to a head. So I hope you savored this last moment of calm :) Much love, mugglehugger.