Title: Christmas Surprises

Chapter: Four – Going With Who, Ron?

Author: SnakeEyesHannah

Spoilers: OotP

Disclaimer: I do not own anything involving Harry Potter. This does all our favorite author, JK Rowling, bless her soul.

- - -

Dear Harry,

How are you? Classes all going well? I hope so. You keeping yourself out of trouble? I wouldn't want to see you in detention, young man! Neither Ron. I should tell him to behave too… Will you do that for me, Harry dear? No, don't. He'll take it the wrong way… Oh, do as you please, dear!

Harry laughed at this. He knew Molly Weasley was slightly disoriented at times, and this really proved him right.

Just checking in on you, dear. See if you're all right. You know, you don't have to stay at Hogwarts this holiday. No one will blame you if you want to go somewhere else! Our home is always open for you, Harry. You know that. And Ron wouldn't mind coming home, either, I believe. And I think there would be one more who'd be thrilled to spend the holiday here with you…

Yes… That was it, I think. Well… Keep out of trouble until the holiday, dear. Dress warm and make sure Ron and Ginny do their homework. Write back if you have the chance, dear!

Love

Molly Weasley

Harry laughed at the letter. It was rather amusing having Ron's mother writing to you, telling you to stay out of trouble and asking you if you were all right. But he knew Molly Weasley was worried about him, Christmas was the toughest time for Harry. That was when he missed Sirius the most.

"Doing your homework properly, Ron?" Harry teased his friend with a grin on his face. Ron looked stupidly at him for about two seconds, then rolled his eyes.

"What? Mum owled you and asked if I'm doing my homework?" he asked. "That's not fair. Not asking Hermione if she's done them…" he muttered. Hermione looked like she was about to reply to that, but she seemed to come to think of a better things and kept her mouth shut. Harry raised an eyebrow at her, but she shook her head and returned to her Daily Prophet that she'd received this morning.

Harry grinned and placed the letter in his pocket, making a mental note to himself to reply to it as soon as possible, just as Mrs. Weasley requested. It was nice to have someone to care for you, especially when it was Molly Weasley. She treated Harry like her own son, not that she didn't have enough of them, and it always made Harry so happy. The Weasleys was the closest thing to a family he had ever had, if you didn't count the few glorious months he had had Sirius.

- - -

The few weeks left until the Christmas holiday flew by fast, and soon the departure of those who were going home for Christmas had arrived. The meal they had at the Great Hall was better than anything they'd ever tasted and they were all full, happy and excited about the break (most the talk concerned the Yule Ball which Harry, and Ron, had completely forgotten about!). Dumbledore stood up at the teachers' table and the Hall fell silent.

"Another semester gone?" he started, getting a few nods and a loud 'yeah!' from the students. "A rhetorical question, Mr. Johnson", Dumbledore chuckled at the blond Ravenclaw who sank deeper down in his seat. "Anyhow, it has been fast, hasn't it? Your minds all filled with new knowledge…"

"Well, at least for a day, professor!" the same boy, Johnson, said. "In one ear, out the other!" He earned a few laughs from the students, a pat in the back from his friends and an amused look from Dumbledore.

"Well then, Mr. Johnson, maybe you should take extra classes to refresh your memory", Dumbledore joked. The boy paled and looked terrified. Dumbledore chuckled and the boy relaxed. "Now, can I please go through at least four sentences without your interruption, Mr. Johnson?" Dumbledore asked, receiving a nod from the Ravenclaw. "Well, all I really wanted to say was that it has been fun this semester. Now I wish all of you that are going home a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" Dumbledore looked around on the students, smiling at each and every one of them. "I trust you all to have a wonderful holiday. And you'd better come back with a truck load with gifts!" Dumbledore ordered them.

"No problem there, professor!"

"Was that four sentences, Mr. Johnson?" Dumbledore asked, amused. Harry covered his mouth with his hand, trying to avoid laughing out loud. He saw Ginny was fighting the same urge. Even Hermione had a small smile on her face. Ron was openly grinning at the Ravenclaw. Harry understood his best friend had found an idol.

"On the dot, professor", Johnson replied.

"I shouldn't be longer then, what do you say Mr. Johnson?" Dumbledore laughed. "Merry Christmas! And for those of you who are not staying for the Yule Ball, which I seriously think you will miss out on a great deal of fun, have a wonderful Christmas, and I will see you in a couple of weeks. To you who are staying. See you there…" With that he sat down. The students all got to their feet and clapped their hands for their slightly crazy headmaster. The one who clapped the most was Johnson. Harry got the feeling the Ravenclaw was to take over from the Weasley-twins and Lee Jordan as Hogwarts troublemaker and clown.

- - -

"Ron?" Harry said suddenly. His best friend looked up from the chessboard to look at Harry. "D'you have a date for the Ball?" he asked. He and Ron had really been trying to avoid the matter of dates for the longest, and since they had completely managed to forget about it for the last week, none of them had really been thinking about dates. But since Christmas Eve, and the Yule Ball, was only five days away; they needed to find someone to go with!

Ron blushed deep red and quickly looked down at the board again. He took a great deal of time in moving his knight so it could demolish Harry's pawn. When his face had gone down a couple of shades he nodded and mumbled 'yes'. Harry looked in surprise at Ron. Who? And when did he ask?

"Oh really?" he asked. Ron nodded again and refused to look Harry in the eye. "Who?"

Ron mumbled something barely audible and his ears turned a bright shade of pink. Harry bit the inside of his cheeks not to laugh out loud. Of course! Who else could it be?

"Beg your pardon? Didn't catch that…" Harry said with a slightly too innocent smile on his face. The torment Ron was going through now was just hilarious to watch. Harry heard a very quiet giggle behind him and turned his head. He found Ginny looking at Ron, both her hands pressed over her mouth, her eyes sparkling with joy. Harry knew the redhead also knew who her brother was taking, but she wasn't going to let Ron get away easy either.

"I'm going with…" Ron looked up and Harry and Ginny quickly straightened their faces and tried their very best to look extremely interested. Ron took a deep breath, like the name was so hard to say. "With 'Mione."

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed and patted Ron's shoulder. "So you finally asked her, eh? Good on you, mate!" Ron looked positively shocked. "We knew you were taking 'Mione, just wanted to see if you could actually grasp it yourself!"

"You git!" Ron spat, not in any way evilly, and lunged for Harry. He knocked the chair over, wrestling Harry on the floor. Harry couldn't defend himself very good due to the fact that he was laughing too much and Ginny was standing next to the boys, holding on to the chair next to her for dear life, clutching her stomach, her silver bell-laugh ringing through the common room, not lifting one hand to help Harry.

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Author's note: Yes… Another chapter finished. Next one up soon!