DISCLAIMER: I own nothing – it all belongs to JK Rowling.
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Christmas Day dawned crisp and cold, with a crackling layer of ice over everything and snow threatening. Grimmauld Place looked fairly festive, with pine logs burning furiously in every fireplace and garlands of holly and tinsel on every door.
Harry and Ron were woken by loud thumping on their door, before Ginny and Hermione erupted into their bedroom.
"Merry Christmas!" they yelled togther.
"Mmph?" mumbled Harry, groggy and barely awake.
"Come on," said Ginny impatiently, tugging on his hand to pull him into a sitting position. "Mum's got breakfast on the go and she wants us down there pronto."
Harry pulled back and lay back on the bed. "Just five more minutes …" he said, turning over. Ron, however, had been persuaded out of bed by Hermione and was shrugging into his dressing gown.
"Better move it, Harry," he said grumpily. "You know what Mum's like. If we don't get down there right now, she'll send up the twins and then we're in trouble. Merlin only knows what they keep up their sleeves these days and they'd be only too keen to use us as guinea-pigs."
Harry groaned, then got up. Ron was right, unfortunately. He took a few minutes, however, to thoroughly kiss Ginny under a piece of mistletoe that he found hanging in the passage outside the bedroom. Ron and Hermione were similarly engaged on the next landing down.
"Oh, come on!" yelled Fred's voice from the entrance hall. "I can see you, you know. That's disgusting! Get down here NOW!"
With a reluctant sigh, Harry took Ginny's hand and they followed Ron and Hermione into the kitchen. A huge fire was burning merrily in the fireplace, and the room was already full of people. The mood was festive and Harry couldn't help but smile at the sight of Tonks, transformed into an elf with a red and green outfit to match.
"Love the pointy ears, Tonks," he muttered to her as he passed.
"Mmm," she said, grinning. "So does Charlie. D'you think he's got a little fetish?"
Harry winced. "I'd rather not think about it, thanks. That's a bit more information than I needed to know …"
Mr Weasley was wearing a Father Christmas hat with a huge bobble on the end, and was happily handing out gifts from a massive pile underneath a brightly decorated tree. Harry received a book from Bill and Fleur, entitled Shadows and Light – The Defeat of Dark Wizardry through the Ages. He got the usual Weasley sweater – in crimson with a black dog on the front this time – and a tin of fudge from Mrs and Mrs Weasley. From Tonks and Charlie, a new pair of Qudditch gloves, and the usual box of Chocolate frogs from Ron.
Hermione had provided a new bookbag, which had an interesting feature – a magical false base that could only be opened by the owner. "Thought it might be handy for keeping the Marauder's Map and your Invisibility Cloak close to hand," she whispered to him, with a gleam in her eye.
"Why, Hermione!" Harry said, pretending to be shocked. "I can't believe you'd encourage anything illegal!" She smiled wickedly at him, and then turned to kiss Ron as thanks for the pretty topaz pendant he'd just given her.
Harry looked up to find Ginny sitting in front of him. She smiled shyly at him and handed him a slim rectangular box. He rummaged under his seat, and handed Ginny her gift, which was a small square parcel wrapped in gold and red paper.
She opened it eagerly, and found a handsome, leatherbound diary with a lock on the front. She swallowed, and looked at him with tears in her eyes.
"I thought you might be ready to keep a diary again," he whispered in her ear. "You can keep your thoughts secret with that lock. No-one will ever know what you write in there but you – only the person who owns it can see what's written there."
Ginny kissed him softly. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I've always enjoyed keeping a diary, but I was scared to after … after Tom. But you're right – I'm ready to put that behind me and try again."
Harry turned her gift over in his hands, and then opened it. Inside a simple green box, was a watch. But it was a watch with a difference.
It was like Mrs Weasley's grandfather clock, but in miniature. It had five hands, each named: Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Luna. The points around the watch face were simple: At School, At Home, Safe, In Danger. The hands for Ginny, Ron and Hermione pointed to "Safe", while Neville and Luna's pointed to "At Home".
Ginny was watching him closely as he fought to control tears that were burning behind his eyes. "Is it OK?" she said softly.
"This is fantastic, Ginny," he said quietly, pulling her into a tight hug. "Thank you – so much. You always seem to know exactly what I need."
If I'd had this watch last year, with a hand for Sirius on it, he might still be alive today, he thought sadly. I'd have known he was OK, and I wouldn't have been fooled by Voldemort…
The sadness stayed with him for the rest of the day, although he did his best to get into the Christmas spirit. Fred and George were on top form, sneakily testing their new products on unsuspecting subjects. Everyone had thought it was hilarious when their new Feline Fudge gave Hermione a pair of pointed cat ears and bright yellow eyes ("Oh no! It's second year all over again" she moaned) but the laughter came to an abrupt halt when Mrs Weasley found herself obeying an insane urge to chase after a ball and bark, after eating a piece of Canine Candy. She didn't find it funny at all and punished her errant sons by making them wash up after a huge Christmas lunch – without magic.
Percy was thoroughly enjoying himself, and some of the lines around his young eyes seemed to have been erased over the last few hours. He roared with laughter at the twins' antics, helped his mother whenever he could, and was thrilled just to be included again. He spent a good amount of time just sitting watching the goings-on, and smiling. As an outsider at the Dursley's all his life, Harry understood exactly what it must mean to Percy to be a part of a big, happy family again after a long period of exile.
Everyone was sluggish and lazy after lunch … after all, consuming that much turkey, ham and Christmas pudding would turn anyone into a sloth. Ginny was involved in a game of chess with Ron, who had received a new chess set from Bill and was now bullying the pieces into submission.
"For goodness sake!" he shouted at a cowering pawn. "When I tell you to get to E5, I mean NOW! Not next week! Move it!"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come on, sweetie," she said kindly to the pawn. "Don't mind him. If things get too tough, you can just lead the other pawns on strike and then Ron's stuffed. He needs you more than you need him, you know."
Harry took the opportunity to sidle over to Lupin. "Remus, can I have a quick word, please?" he said quietly.
Startled, Lupin nodded, and then motioned him over to the other side of the kitchen where he pretended to make a big fuss over making tea.
"What is it, Harry?" he said, concerned, whilst spooning what looked like a ridiculous amount of tea into a pot.
"Do you remember when you started teaching me Legilimency – you told me about the dangers of becoming a psychic magnet?" Harry said. Lupin nodded, looking at him inquiringly. "Well, it's happened – more than once – and I think it's getting stronger. And it's awful, Remus – I hate it. Please … you need to help me to shut it out."
Lupin stopped fussing with the teapot and leaned back against the counter. "How long has this been affecting you?" he asked sharply. Overhearing this, Bill drifted over.
"What's up?" he said.
"Oh, not much," said Lupin, glaring at Harry. "Just that young Harry here has been picking up emotions and psychic debris for some time now, and has only just decided to mention it to me."
"Well, it's only been bits and pieces for a while now, but yesterday – when we met with Percy – it was really strong," Harry said, irritated. "Before, I could handle it because it was only flashes now and again. But yesterday it just about knocked me out, so I thought I'd ask you for a bit of help. Sorry to have bothered you."
He started to walk away, but Bill grabbed his arm. "Hang on, Harry," he said softly. "Stick around. This is quite a development, you know. Remus is just surprised you didn't mention it before, that's all."
"What's the big deal?" Harry said, turning back to them. "It's just a side effect of the Legilimency training, isn't it?"
"Well, yes and no," said Lupin, frowning at him. "What it means is that you have exceptional talent at it. Can you do it intentionally, or does it happen by accident?"
"Accidentally, mostly … I think," said Harry.
"OK, so try this," said Bill abruptly. "Close your eyes, then clear your mind. Then I want you to try and feel what's happening in the room around you – not by listening, by really feeling. Got it?"
Harry nodded, and then closed his eyes, clearing his mind. For a few seconds, he could hear what was being said and what was going on around him – a shout of triumph from Ron as his knight thumped Ginny's castle, low murmurings from Mr Weasley and Percy, and a scuffling sound as Crookshanks chased after the cards Fred and George were bewitching to scuttle away from him like crabs.
He concentrated hard, and the sensation of cotton wool stuffing his ears started again. Slowly, the sounds around him started to recede, and he began to pick up on emotions.
"What do you feel?" he heard Bill say, as if from a long way away.
"Percy … he's happy and content," Harry whispered, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Ron's chuffed because his pieces are doing what he wants. Your mum and dad … they're really happy to have the family back together … Remus, you're worried … Hermione's also worried – not sure about what. Ginny … OK, I'm not telling you that. It's private."
Bill and Lupin chuckled. "Anything else?" said Bill.
Harry concentrated even harder. "Um … Fred and George are up to no good – they're plotting and they think something's going to be really funny. Remind me to stay away from anything they offer me. Fleur … she's a bit upset about something, but it's not too bad because it feels quite low-key. Right … this is weird. I'm not getting anything from Bill or Tonks."
"OK, that's enough for now," said Lupin's voice. "I want you to start using your physical senses as much as you can – focus on scents, or sounds."
As Harry did so, smelling the lingering aroma of leftover roast potatoes and the sound of Hermione giggling at Crookshanks, the fuzziness left his hearing. He opened his eyes, dizzy and disoriented.
"I need to sit down," he said woozily, grabbing the kitchen counter. Bill quickly pulled out a chair for him.
"How come I couldn't get anything off you?" Harry asked Bill, blinking a bit as his sight was still quite fuzzy.
"Well, I got special training when I joined Gringotts, to help mask my emotions," said Bill, pouring them each a cup of tea. "You see, many of the curses that protect ancient tombs feed on fear and other feelings, so I had to learn to block them so as not to set off any booby-trap triggers."
"And Tonks?"
"Auror training," said Lupin, as he vigorously stirred sugar into his tea. "First line of defense: emotional masking. A really good Legilimens – like yourself, Harry – can pick up emotions and use them to overpower an Auror."
Ginny came over and sat on the arm of Harry's chair. "What have you lot been up to?" she said, looking suspiciously at her brother. "Harry looks like death warmed over."
"Just checking out Harry's talents – the ones you haven't found yet, anyway," said Bill airily.
Ginny blushed violently, and suddenly busied herself in tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Seriously, Harry, it's a fantastic talent to have," said Lupin, watching him over the rim of his mug. "You'll never have to use Veritaserum – you should be able to pick up if someone's lying to you or not."
"But Remus, I hate it!" said Harry desperately, looking from him to Bill. "How can I shut it off?"
"By doing exactly what you did just now," said Lupin. "Focus on your immediate physical surroundings – prick your finger with a pin, if you have to – and it should ease off."
Harry nodded, relieved that it could be so easy, and allowed himself to be dragged off by Ginny.
"What was that all about?" she hissed, handing him his cloak.
He pulled it on and followed her outside, to the bench in the middle of the square. It was cold and crisp, and already starting to get dark. Lights were coming on in the windows around them, making the gloomy area look inviting. Sitting down with her, he leaned back and pulled her into his arms, explaining what had just happened.
"And, Miss Weasley," he concluded, "I got some very interesting stuff off you just then."
She looked up at him, startled, and blinked as a stray snowflake landed on her eyelashes.
"What?" she said, beginning to blush.
"Well, let's just say I wouldn't tell Remus and Bill about it, but I'd like to make sure that you were thinking about me when you were feeling like that," he said, grinning at her embarrassment. "I sincerely hope it wasn't someone like Crabbe or Goyle …"
Ginny batted his arm. "Harry – of course not!" She looked outraged. "But … how could you dig around in my head like that? I can't believe you would …hmmph."
Sometimes, the best way to shut her up was just to kiss her, Harry thought. Nice way to resolve what could have become an argument, too.