Chapter 6:

Christmas at the Burrow

Harry and Ginny continued dating for the next couple of months. The feelings got more intense the more they saw each other. They even got to the point where Ginny was staying at Harry's place most of the time. Only two or three days out of the week did she actually sleep in her own appartment. Their relationship was slowly becoming more public, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were so thrilled to find out the two of them had been dating. Molly whispered to Ron one day and said, "He just may be an official part of the family soon enough!" Ron shook his head, smiling. "He already is family, Mum. He's been family since the day he asked how to get onto platform nine and three quarters. He's always been a brother to me." Molly gave a warm smile. She knew Ron was right--Harry always was family the moment they met him.

Every Saturday, Harry and Ginny would meet everyone at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade for drinks and laughs. On Fridays, if they didn't have any real plans, they would babysit Claudia together. Harry secretly enjoyed "playing house" with Ginny. He could picture it so clearly in his mind: Ginny, his beautiful wife, and two or three children. He decided a long time ago that his first son would be named James Sirius Potter. Harry imagined a beautiful house out in the country; a place where he imagined living with his godfather for a glorious half hour. Having a family with Ginny seemed so wonderful--even better than how he imagined it with Kaylie. Once in the middle of Harry's sixth year, Kaylie told him she never wanted to have children. Harry never said anything to her, but deep down, it broke his heart. He wanted to be able to raise the family that his parents never got the chance to do. More and more, Harry began to realize that even if Kaylie never cheated on him, things would have never worked out between them. Harry often wondered if he and Ginny would have a bunch of red-headed children, or if they would have messy jet-black hair like him. He smiled when he thought of his future children bearing the same green eyes Harry got from his mother. They probably would inherit he and his Dad's terrible habit of getting into trouble. He would probably pass down the Marauder's Map and invisibility cloak to his first child.

That year, Harry had one of the best Christmases ever. Not only did he finally have a date to big Christmas party at the Burrow, but his date was part of the family that he loved as if they were his own. It was almost too perfect. There were tons of family and friends at the Burrow that year. There was all of Molly and Arthur's children and grandchildren, plus Lupin with his girlfriend Sophia, Hagrid and Madme Maxime, whom were finally engaged to be married, and most members of the Order--even Dumbledore.

The day before the Christmas party, Christmas Eve, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had her children over for a nice holiday evening before the big party the next day. Ginny invited Harry along, which Mrs. Weasley did not mind one bit. Mrs. Weasley and Hermione were in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies and got a head start on tomorrow's big meal. The smell of sugar cookies that drifted into the living room made Harry's mouth water. He, Ginny, Ron, and the Weasley twins decorated the tree together. Harry realized a long time ago that untangling strings of lights was no problem if you were a wizard. All you had to do was wave your wand and say solvo. And these stringed lights were much different than what muggles used, because these had no plug. Instead of using electricity, a simple charm would light them right up. Fred and George pleaded with Harry to let them just use magic to put up the lights and ornaments, but Harry insisted they do it the hard way. "We go through this every year!" groaned Fred.

"Why can't we just do it with magic?" complained George.

"It would be so much easier," said Fred.

"And quicker," added George.

"But that's no fun," said Harry. "I never was allowed to be a part of Christmas while growing up with the Dursleys. I'm making up for lost time."

"I think it's kind of nice doing it this way," said Ginny, giving Harry's arm a gentle squeeze.

"I've always thought it was the fun part about Christmas," said Harry.

"Well, I don't know about you, but George and I prefer the part where we get presents!" said Fred. Harry shook his head, smirking at the quirky twins, and went back to adding red and green bulbs to the Christmas tree. Cassandra, Evelina, and Peneolpe decorated the house with garland, Christmas stockings, candles, and statues of Santa and his elves. Moments later, through the front door came Mr. Weasley, Charlie, and Bill, carrying logs for the fireplace. Being at the Burrow during this time of year was so warm and cozy for Harry.

The holidays made Harry miss Sirius the most, and that was the only bad part that Christmas ever brought. Every year, he remembered how happy Sirius was when everyone was together at Grimmauld Place. It was a wonderful Christmas, and everyone seemed to be so joyful together. Harry knew though, that no one was more happy than Sirius that night, who loved so much to be around people again, after lonely months with his horrible house elf, Kreacher. Sirius was always happiest when he was around the people he cared about, just like Harry. When Sirius lost his best friend James, he had spent 12 years alone in Azkaban. The only company he had was the soul-stealing Dementors. Finding his godson, Harry, brought his spirits higher than they'd ever been. It was almost as if James came back to him. When Sirius died, Harry was a complete mess. He never did get over it. But during Christmas time, Harry promised himself he would remember the Sirius Black that was happy when he was with people he cared about, and carefree when he was with his best friends, James Potter and Remus Lupin. It took Harry a long time to learn that the only way to move on is to remember the good times, not the bad.

Harry took yet another cookie from the plate of Christmas cookies that sat on the coffee table. Ginny was sitting between Harry's spread legs on the floor, comfortable in his arms. They happily watched Isabella, Charlie's four-year-old, try and roast a marshmellow in the fireplace in her mother's lap. All of the other kids were upstairs in the spare bedrooms sleeping peacefully. A charmed statue of Father Christmas and his elves were softly playing some holiday music. She was snuggled on the loveseat comfortably with her husband Arthur. Ron and Fred were playing a game of Wizard's Chess. Harry laughed as he heard the pieces dueling each other. Hermione kept muttering about what an awful game that was. "Saved your life, don't forget," said Ron. Charlie was admiring a quill that turned every word you wrote into curse words that George was showing him. He explained it was the hot new item at their joke shop in Diagon Alley. He chuckled as he told Charlie that their joke shop was making more sales than Zonko's that year. Bill and Cassandra sat on the couch with Percy and Penelope. Penelope was excited to talk about she and Percy's wedding plans. Cassandra was one of Penelope's bridesmaids, so they talked at length about the green dresses Penelope picked out for her bridesmaids. Bill and Percy just shook thier heads at each other as the girls talked. "Women," Bill muttered jokingly. It was a very relaxing night for all of them, and it was exactly what they needed, since Christmas day would be hectic with the many guests that would arrive.

When it got late, most of the Weasley children slept at the Burrow. Both Harry and Ginny decided to go home, though. They kissed Mrs. Weasley goodbye and said they would be there early tomorrow. While they had Ginny's parents thinking they were going to their seperate appartments, they really were just going to stay at Harry's. They each had a special Christmas present in store for the other. The two of them apparated to Harry's appartment, hand in hand.

The minute they appeared, they were passionately kissing each other. Harry held her close, not wanting to let go of her for a second. This was going to be the best Chistmas Eve he had in a very long time. Ginny somehow pulled away from his lips, and put her fingers gently over Harry's mouth. "I have an early Christmas present for you," she said seductively.

"Really?" Harry asked with a mischievous look in his eye.

"Yup. Wait for me in the bedroom. I'll be right back," said Ginny, strolling slowly to the bathroom with a tote bag holding her overnight clothes. Harry walked into his bedroom and waited impatiently for Ginny to come out of the loo. He went to the mirror and tried to straighten his messy black hair. Like his father, Harry was never able to get his hair to flatten out. Finally, Ginny slipped out of the bathroom, wearing a silky, red lingerie dress. It hung just below her curvy hips, giving Harry a rush. Her long, blazing red hair framed her face and brushed along her arms as she moved. She's so beautiful, Harry thought. She slowly walked up to Harry, wrapping her arms around his body and kissed him firmly on the lips. "Happy Christmas," she whispered, leading Harry to the bed. "I..." Harry began as they sat down on the bed. He took a heavy sigh and looked into her eyes. Harry could feel his heart pumping in his throat. "What is it?" asked Ginny.

"I love you," he whispered. Ginny smiled warmly and inched closer to him as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you, too," she replied. Ginny fought back the tears that were threatening to spill, out of the simple joy those words brang. Their lips met and kissed softly, and they slowly laid down on the bed, wrapped in the intense passion they shared. It was the perfect ending to a perfect Christmas Eve, and at that moment, Harry never felt so alive.

The next morning, Harry and Ginny rushed around his appartment, gathering up their Christmas gifts they were going to bring to the Burrow. The family had agreed to meet early in the morning to exchange presents.Ginny and Hermione offered Mrs. Weasley help with cleaning and cooking before the other guests arrived in the late afternoon. Ginny and Harry had accidently slept in from their long night together, and they were frantically trying to get ready as fast as they could.

At around 11am, Ginny and Harry arrived at the Burrow. The rest of the Weasley children were there. The presents were still in tact, and the children were waiting impatiently to open the packages they recieved from Father Christmas. Isabella was begging her father, Charlie, to let her open the big gift first. "That one's for last, sweetie," said Charlie to his oldest daughter. She groaned and continued to walk around the Christmas tree, snooping for the gifts that were for her. "Happy Christmas, everyone!" Ginny said to her family, as she and Harry walked through the door. Everyone in the room waved happily and gave Christmas greetings. "Happy Christmas Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry!" Isabella said sweetly. Claudia giggled with joy, and sqirmed in Hermione's lap. Harry and Ginny made their rounds giving hugs, kisses, and handshakes to the family. Harry picked up Claudia and swung her up in the air. "Hey there cutie pie!" he cooed. "How's my little goddaughter?" Harry said, tickling her belly. Claudia giggled as Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Let me see my beautiful little niece!" Ginny said to Harry, taking Claudia from his arms. Harry began to unload his bag of presents he and Ginny came in with, and set them under the tree. Mrs. Weasley finally announced to everyone, "Okay, time to open the presents!" Isabella scurried to the tree, followed by her mother behind her. Everyone went over to the tree to find their gifts.

There were two items that everyone already knew they would be getting: a sweater, knitted by Mrs. Weasley, and an item from Fred and George's joke shop. Harry thought it wise to never eat any food items recieved from Fred or George. The first gift he opened was from Mrs. Weasley. He pulled out a blue knitted sweater, along with a matching scarf and a pair of mittens from a box. "They're lovely," said Harry. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Molly smiled warmly at Harry. "Well," she said. "It's supposed to be a very cold winter this year, so this way you'll be able to bundle up. You don't want to catch cold, dear." From Ron and Hermione, Harry recieved a Quidditch ball set--something he'd been wanting for a long time. Ron suggested sometime they could get together a group and go to the park out in Hogsmeade to play a few games. It had been so long since Harry played Quidditch. How he longed to ride on his Firebolt, and feel the breath of freedom in the cold London air. Fred gave Harry what they called a "Future Auror Kit." In it were extendable ears, so Harry could hear conversations from a long distance, a sneakoscope, to detect untrustworthyness, and a secrecy sensor, to detect lies and secrets. Of course, these were all items from their shop, so they wern't as good as the real thing, but Fred said to Harry that it would be useful, nonetheless. Harry decided to test them out before using them, knowing how the Weasley twins were. From George was a new item from the twins' joke shop: a book of disguise charms, so Harry could hide his identity when trying to discover any magical misconduct. Harry knew that book was going to be very helpful not only as an auror, but even just working in Misuse of Magic. Charlie and Evelina gave Harry a gift certificate for the Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley, which Harry couldn't wait to spend. From Bill and Cassandra, Harry recieved a brand new Wizard Chess set. Harry had been wanting to try to improve his game, since it was difficult to beat Ron. Percy and Penelope had given Harry an agenda notebook trimmed in gold. It was very fancy, but Harry still found it kind of boring. Percy was the type of person who believed that people should live very organized lives, and should live by a certain schedule everyday. He believed this because this was the way he lived. Percy never seemed to realize that just because it worked for him, didn't mean that it would work well for anyone else. Mr. Weasley's gift was two tickets to go to a Quidditch match that was coming up in a couple of weeks: the Chudley Cannons against Puddlemere United. He thought of taking Ginny, but decided he would take Ron. The Chudley Cannons were Ron's favorite team, and Harry liked Puddlemere ever since Oliver Wood joined them, so he thought it would be a fun day for the two of them. Isabella had drawn Harry a picture of a Christmas tree decorated in golden snitches, which he thought was adorable. He decided he would stick it on his refrigerator when he got home. Claudia presented Harry with a framed picture of her handprint in red paint. Harry couldn't wait to hang it on his wall and proudly tell everyone that his godchild made that for him. The last gift he opened was from Ginny. As he pulled back the gift wrapping, he revealed a silver wristwatch. It was the kind of watch Harry knew Ginny couldn't afford. He smiled warmly, admiring the glimmer of the silver in the light. "Do you like it?" she asked nervously.

"Of course I do, Ginny. It's very lovely," he said, kissing her on the cheek. Ginny helped Harry put the watch on his wrist. He then handed her a gift wrapped in shiny red paper with a silver bow on top. Her eyes widened as she opened the small, rectangular box. Inside, she saw a sparkely, gold chain, with a ruby heart charm in the center. The ruby sparkled and shined with the light from the fireplace. "Oh Harry, it's beautiful!" she cried. "You didn't have to do this!" Harry smiled and lightly kissed her lips. "I wanted to," he said. "Let me help you put it on." He took the necklace from the box and wrapped it around her neck. It gently dangled on her collarbone. She turned around and kissed Harry. He wrapped his arms around her, letting her lean on his shoulder. Mrs. Weasley smiled at the couple, wiping a single tear from her eye.

Once all of the presents were opened, the Weasleys got the Burrow ready for guests to arrive. Molly, Hermione, and Cassandra were busy in the kitchen preparing food for the many people that would arrive that afternoon. Mr. Weasley and Charlie gathered up the open gifts and put them in one of the spare bedrooms so they would be out of the way.

It was a few hours before everyone began to show up. The first person to knock on the door was Remus and Sophia, carrying two overflowing bags full of presents. They greeted everyone as they came in. Lupin gave Harry a hug, patting him on the back. "Hey Stranger! Where have you been hiding out?" he asked Harry.

"Well... I guess you can say I've been busy..." sighed Harry.

"So what's this I've been hearing from Molly about you and Ginny?" Harry smiled warmly and shrugged.

"I s'pose for once, the rumors are true!"

"Well, I'm glad you're doing well. How's work at the Ministry going?"

"Same as always. Still in Misuse of Magic. I've been waiting for an opening in the Aurors, but I have no idea how long that's going to take."

"Well, we all know you deserve that job, that's for sure."

"I hope you're right."

Throughout the day, other guests showed up. Hagrid walked in with his fiance--carrying a pie he made himself, Dumbledore came to the Burrow with bundles of presents, and most of the members of the Order came over. The party was great, just like every year. It didn't take long at all for the Weasley twins to get into the cider and egg nog, making Mrs. Weasley red with fury. Harry swore he thought smoke was going to come out of her ears. Regardless, Fred and George didn't care. They just fell on top of each other, laughing hysterically. Harry and Ron joined in a few card games with the twins, betting sickles and knuts. The entire house was filled with voices of friends and loved ones sharing the holiday. Harry was thrilled to be with all of his friends. Dumbledore looked like age was creeping up on him, yet still had that youthful smile as always. He had presents for everyone. Somehow, Dumbledore had this way of making everyone feel a little warmer.

It was past midnight by the time people were beginning to head home. Harry and Ginny apparated back to his appartment together, holding bags filled with opened gifts. "Ginny," said Harry as they walked through his appartment door.

"Yes?"

"Why don't we spend the rest of Christmas night at your place? We've been dating for a couple of months already and I still haven't seen your place."

"Harry, there is nothing special about my appartment. My living room is filled with boxes. I'm still living out of my suitcase practically. I haven't had much time to make it look like home."

"What does that matter? We're probably only going to be spending time in the bedroom, anyway!" joked Harry. Ginny laughed, but her face turned serious again.

"Honey, it's not that big of a deal, is it? I like your place better."

"Ginny, there just something not right about dating someone for over two months and never seeing what their appartment looks like."

"Well, if it means that much to you, we can go there sometime. But tonight, I'm tired, and we're already here. Let's just go to bed."

"Oh alright. But promise me I'll see your place soon."

"I promise." Harry kissed the top of her head, and then walked over to the kitchen to make a cup of tea before they went to bed. All of a sudden, an owl swooped through the living room window and dropped a folded piece of paper into Ginny's hands. "Who's sending you an owl at this hour?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just a note from Mum. I probably forgot a parcel there or something. Excuse me, I'll be right back." Ginny then ran into the bathroom with her note before Harry could ask her another question. He just shrugged and poured his tea.

Dear Ginny,

"Harry Christmas" as you English folk would say. France just isn't the same without you. Everyone here has been asking me about you. I told them you're back in London, working as a nurse in the hospital. I got your presentl last night--which I love, by the way. I was just wondering if you got yours. I sent an owl last night, so it should have arrived by now. I know you've been busy at the hospital, though, and you were probably with your parents tonight, so just let me know when you got it.

By the way--when are you going to come pay a visit? I miss you. I really hope to see you sometime soon. Maybe you could come here for New Years Eve. If you have to work, though, I understand. Let me know.

Love you lots,

Pierre

Ginny took her wand and whispered a spell to make the note disappear. She took a deep sigh, splashed water on her face and began to open the door.

What am I going to do? Ginny wondered silently, as she brushed a tear from her eye.