CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Weasley's Holiday Recipe For Disaster

Ginny was lying under the covers of her bed, skimming through the latest issue of Witch Weekly before turning in for the night. Hermione had come in earlier to borrow something and had ranted on about how Ginny could read some of the rubbish they wrote in there. Ginny had politely pointed out that it was a lot more reliable then what had been written in the Prophet in the past, but left it at that. She knew Hermione read the occasional copy of Witch Weekly, but had neglected to mention that for the very same reason Hermione had snapped at her for reading it. Ron. The two of them seemed to be stuck in some sort of a row, and yet it wasn't a row. But anyone who knew them could tell things weren't right and it probably had a lot to do with her leaving.

"Anything good in there?" She heard a voice ask, snapping her from her daze.

She put down her magazine to see Harry standing in her doorway. She had forgotten Hermione hadn't closed her door again when she left, otherwise he would have kept on walking.

"Not really. Just the same old stuff," she replied, closing it up and placing it on the covers.

"I guess that just means they've ran out of stories about me to write. What a shame," he said sarcasticly.

She wondered how long he planned on standing there. "You can come in Harry," she said at last, when it became clear he wasn't going to move without an invitation from her.

He crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed. She was beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea inviting him in. She was wearing only a thin nightgown because it was always so warm in the house and anyone who walked by would wonder what Harry was doing in her room – because he never came to her room. She realized she was giving herself too much credit. Harry didn't see her that way.

"How was your date with Dean?" He asked, his eyes not quite meeting hers.

She brought herself into sitting in a cross-legged position on her bed, with the comforter covering just below her stomach. "That was two days ago!" She exclaimed. "Of course, you haven't bothered to talk to me 'til now."

He opened his mouth as if to argue but he thought better of it and closed it firmly. He couldn't lie his way out of this. He had made a rather obvious point of not talking to her unless it was necessary. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly. "I didn't mean for what I said to come out the way it did. I know you're not like that Ginny."

It was good to hear an apology from him, but what was curious to her was that he was making it seem like he knew her. When in reality, she and Harry weren't that close at all. "You're forgiven," she said after several drawn out moments, not wanting it to seem like she had given in so easily.

The sound of a door slamming shut made Ginny nearly jump out from under her bed covers, while Harry looked serene and calm. She didn't know how he could stand it. They both knew it had been Ron who had slammed the door. Over the last few days he had made a habit of slamming doors shut wherever he went. It was getting to be a bit much for Ginny. "I think I'm going to kill him if he keeps this up much longer," she told Harry.

"You should give him a break. He's having a rough time right now," said Harry.

"You don't want Hermione to leave either but I don't see you slamming every door in sight."

"It's different for Ron," Harry said in a low voice, and there was no need for him to say more. Changing the subject, he said, "you didn't answer my question about Dean."

"We had a good time together," she said, not giving him any more details then that. Harry wasn't entitled to know the details of her personal life. When it didn't look like he was buying into her answer, she added, "I know Dean made mistakes but he's a decent guy, Harry."

"I'm a decent guy," said Harry.

With the dim lighting in the room she couldn't tell if his face was red or not, but it looked like he hadn't meant to say the last part out loud.

"What I meant," Harry began, correcting himself, "is that you deserve better than someone who's just decent."

She wondered how much the shock of his words showed up on her face. This was by far the most personal, almost intimate conversation she had ever had with him. When had Harry Potter become so concerned with her love life? "Why did you really stop by my room tonight, Harry?" She asked with some curiousity.

"I just wanted to say goodnight," he said, getting up. "Goodnight, Gin."

"Goodnight, Harry."

There was only one thing that could put Ron in an even fouler mood than he already was and that was being woken up at seven thirty in the morning by the sounds of his parents yelling at each other downstairs. He rolled onto his stomach and grabbed his pillow to cover his ears, but that did little more than muffle the shouting. The sound of sheets rustling in the bed next to him told him Harry was awake also. Fed up, Ron tossed the pillow aside and dragged himself out of bed wanting to know what all the yelling was about. His Christmas Eve was looking even bleaker now. He had been on a short fuse for days and on top of that he was going to be even more of a prat for having his sleep interrupted. Without waiting for Harry, he made for the hallway, finding the girls already at the top of the stairs listening.

"What's going on?" He asked his sister.

"Something to do with Percy," she whispered.

That made sense. There were only a few topics that could get his parents this upset and Percy Weasley was one of them.

Harry emerged from the bedroom then, adjusting his glasses on his face. He opened his mouth presumably to ask the same question Ron had, but Ginny put a finger to her lips to silence him.

"Maybe we shouldn't be listening in," said Hermione.

"They should have thought about that before they woke everyone up," Ron said.

Hermione didn't miss how he purposely avoided looking at her, even when he was speaking directly to her. She wanted to be angry at him, but couldn't. He was as upset about her leaving as she was. The difference was he was reacting in typical Ron Weasley fashion – being short tempered and snappish with anyone who came within three feet of him.

All the shouting had set off Mrs. Black's portrait. She was screaming up a storm, but as of yet no one had bothered to calm her down.

"Let's go down," said Ginny, obviously in agreement with her brother.

While the group of them took the stairs down, they could now hear Moody's voice join the conversation.

"You can't bring him here," Moody was saying, his tone unbending. "I won't have the security of this house and what goes on here comprised, just because you think your son has had a change of heart."

"You make it sound like Percy was in league with You-Know-Who," Mrs. Weasley said outraged.

"Molly, Mad-Eye is right – we can't take any chances," said Arthur Weasley, his voice much more calmer. "Not until we know more."

"Mum, he chose to believe Fudge over his own family," said Charlie, who had just arrived at Grimmauld Place the night before. "And now that the ministry has finally admitted the truth he comes crawling up to dad at work, saying he wants to work things out and you're just going to let him. He wouldn't even come visit dad when he was in St. Mungo's last year. Didn't you read those letters he wrote saying how we were no longer his family? Mum, he doesn't deserve to be forgiven this easily."

"Charlie's right," said Ron, stepping into view of the adults, and raising his voice to be heard over Mrs. Black's wails. "He left us, so it serves him right."

"Ron, Charlie, that's enough," said Arthur, his voice stern. "Percy may have done a lot of things we didn't like but he's still your brother and our son. Maybe you can't understand, but that doesn't change the fact that Percy came to me wanting a chance to set things right. However, I do agree with Alastor that it's prudent to proceed with caution. But what he forgets is that the decision isn't up to him – it's up to Harry. This is his house after all."

While all eyes fell on him, Harry tried not to look at anyone. He had forgotten up until that point that the Black house was his now. He had told Lupin that he hadn't wanted it, but it didn't change the fact that it was still his and whatever decision he made the adults would abide by it. He tried not to let what Percy had written about him in a letter to Ron last year impede his judgment. "There's nothing wrong with being careful," he said slowly. "Can't we just spend tomorrow at The Burrow and Percy could come there?"

Ron, Charlie, and Moody were all nodding their heads in satisfied agreement. Harry couldn't bring himself to look at Mrs. Weasley. He hadn't actually come out and said it but he had admitted he didn't trust Percy either.

"Good call, Potter," said Moody. "I'll talk to Tonks about setting up some barriers around The Burrow for tomorrow. If your son still wants to spend Christmas with his family, that's where it'll be." Moody excused himself without another word to anyone. Mrs. Black's screaming drowned out the sound of the front door closing. Mrs. Weasley left soon after to try and calm her down.

"You made the right decision," Mr. Weasley assured Harry, clasping him on the shoulder before leaving to help his wife.

Despite his assurances, there was nothing Harry hated more then having to distrust a member of the Weasley family, even if that person was Percy. The Weasley's had been so good to him he felt like he had betrayed Mrs. Weasley somehow by not allowing Percy into Grimmauld Place. Even though they all had good reasons to distrust Percy, it had torn Mr. and Mrs. Weasley up so much to have one of their children alienated, he hoped Percy proved them all wrong.

Christmas Day was supposed to be a cause for celebration for families. They weren't supposed to spend the day waiting anxiously for an estranged member of their family to show up. Mrs. Weasley had been a wreck from the moment they had gotten up and started opening presents. She was easily distracted and unable to sit still. She ended up spending most of the morning in the kitchen cooking and baking. It didn't escape Harry that though Mrs. Weasley was as friendly and warm to him as always, she wouldn't meet his eyes. He didn't think it was possible to feel worse about not allowing Percy at Grimmauld Place, but he just had to look at Mrs. Weasley and it piled on the guilt.

By the time Percy arrived around noon, she had made enough to feed them all well into the new year. Every member of the Weasley family was present at The Burrow, along with Harry, Hermione, Tonks, and Lupin.

Percy actually knocked on the door instead of just walking in. Mrs. Weasley answered it before anyone else could move. Surprisingly, he was not alone. He had brought along his long-time girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater.

"Hello, mum," Percy said, from where he stood on the front steps.

Mrs. Weasley wasted no time in embracing him. With tear brimmed eyes, she hugged her son fiercely. It was the first time she had laid eyes on him in almost a year. "I'm so glad you're here," she said when she finally let go and Percy was able to breathe again. "We all missed you so much."

"Speak for yourself, mum," Fred muttered under his breath. That earned him a steely gaze, which served as a warning to say that he better behave if he knew what was good for him.

"Mother, you remember Penelope?" Said Percy, un-phased by his brother's comment.

"Of course I do," she said smiling brightly. "How have you been, dear?"

"Fine, thank you," she said politely. "I hope you don't mind but Percy said it would be all right if I joined you for Christmas since my parents are out of the country."

"Of course it's all right," she said embracing the woman in much the same way she had Percy.

"He couldn't even face mum alone. He had to bring his girlfriend along," said George out of the corner of his mouth. Bill, Charlie, Fred, and Ron all snickered.

"Not that I blame him," Fred added quietly.

"Boys, that's enough," their father warned, while Mrs. Weasley turned a reproachful look on them.

"Come on, you lot. Say hello to Percy," she said to her other children. Her tone suggested there was no getting out of it.

Almost as one, they muttered a chorus of greetings, but none of them moved closer to her brother.

"Let's get you inside," said Mrs. Weasley, ushering them in. "It's freezing out here." One by one, she took their cloaks and magicked them into the closet.

"Can we go now, dad?" Said an impatient Charlie.

"Yes, all right then," he answered, though he was clearly distracted. This was hardly the happy reunion he had been hoping for.

The twins sighed in relief and bounded upstairs, while Bill and Charlie took seats in the living room and turned on the wireless, looking for a match to listen to. Ron grabbed his jacket and gloves, heading for the back door. No one even dared to ask where he was going. Hermione tried not to look concerned but Harry could see through the act. It must have been killing her not to go after him.

"Well, isn't this a cheerful Christmas," muttered Ginny under her breath.

Harry was inclined to agree with her.

Of all those present at The Burrow, it was only Harry who dared to venture outside and confront Ron, who was mercilessly throwing snowball after snowball against the side of the house. Compared to the tension inside, it was a lot easier to breathe out there. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were engaging Percy in polite but non-threatening conversation, while his siblings did little to interact with him. To Harry, it didn't really seem like Percy had changed at all. Sure, he had finally come around to see the truth but not once had he offered up an apology to his family for his behaviour. The only person this didn't seem to bother was Mrs. Weasley, who was just happy to have her son back in her life.

As he watched Ron, who continued to outright ignore him, he wondered what he should say. Ron had been in such a rotten mood lately, he felt if he opened his mouth the wrong way the other boy would snap his head off. The only thing that stopped him from going back inside was he had promised Hermione he would see if Ron was all right, and since she was unable to do it herself that left him to do the job.

"Are you ever going to give that up?" Harry dared to ask his friend.

Ron glanced at him briefly before squatting down to pick up some more snow. "Go away, Harry."

"Believe me, Ron, I'd love nothing more than to do that, but Hermione's worried about you so I told her I'd check on you."

Ron raised a menacing eyebrow. "She can't even talk to me herself now? She has to send you to do it?"

"You wanker," said Harry, losing his temper. "She thinks you're angry with her, and it's no wonder considering the way you've been acting around her."

Ron opened his mouth to object and then shut it. He took the snowball in his hand and hurled it against the wall. "I'm not mad at her," he said, still facing the wall.

Harry gave a snort of disbelief. "If that's true then you're acting like the biggest selfish bastard I've ever met."

Ron walked over to Harry until their faces were almost touching and then shoved him backwards. Not enough to send him stumbling back, but enough that Harry got the message loud and clear. If he came out here looking for a fight, Ron was going to give it to him.

"I don't need this shit from you, Harry, because you have no idea what I'm feeling."

"Oh, I don't?" Harry shot back. "I think I know a thing or two about sulking, which is exactly what you've been doing for days now. You've been too busy walking around here feeling sorry for yourself instead of making the most of the time you have left with Hermione. Stop punishing her for this. Do you really think she wants to leave?" Harry shouted at him.

Ron shoved Harry away from himself, but where Harry thought it was going to come to blows right there, Ron gave no other hints that he wanted to do bodily harm to his friend.

"It's not fair," said Ron, raking his gloved hands through his hair.

Harry sighed in understanding. "I know it's not. Nothing about this war is."

Ron, who appeared much calmer now, stood in silent contemplation for a short while before saying, "I've seen you going through that spell book with her."

Just when Harry had thought the fighting was over, he was sure it was bound to start again. "I know how dangerous it sounds and I was completely opposed to it in the beginning, but I don't think there's anything we can say to stop Hermione from doing this."

"She won't have a spell to do if we don't participate," Ron reasoned, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

"You're right," Harry agreed, "but then she could go and try something even worse without telling us."

Ron wondered how anything else could be worse. "You know why she's obsessed with this, don't you? She lost her mum and she thinks she's going to lose us too, and there's nothing we can say to her to convince her otherwise."

"I guess we agree to do it then," said Harry, though not any fonder about the idea than Ron.

"I guess so," Ron agreed. He turned to Harry, his expression unreadable. "You do realize how horribly wrong the spell could turn out?"

Harry acknowledged Ron's concerns with a nod, but didn't think it was necessary to add his own to the mix. He was sure Ron shared them as well.

After their conversation, Harry was only mildly surprised that Ron decided to give up his barrage of snowball throwing and follow him back into the house.

The instant Harry pulled out the back door, it was like The Burrow had disappeared and had been replaced by a family war zone. The twins, Hermione and Ginny, were off to one side, watching Lupin and Penelope trying to calm Mrs. Weasley down, while Mr. Weasley and Tonks were attempting to diffuse what had started it in the first place. Bill and Percy were the centre of it all. Bill, who was a good three inches taller and quite a lot bigger in build, towered over his younger brother.

"How daft do you think we are?" Bill yelled. "You think we wouldn't figure out why you were asking dad all these questions about his job and running for Minister?"

"Once again, Bill, you've jumped to the wrong conclusion," Percy said smoothly.

"Oh, I have, have I? Come off it, Percy. You know that once Fudge is out of job, you're going to be right there with him and no decent wizard is going to hire anyone who ever supported that bastard."

"Bill, that's enough!" Mr. Weasley shouted firmly. "You're upsetting your mother."

"Dad, Percy's the one whose upsetting mum," Charlie spoke up. "He's the only one of us she spent most of last year crying over."

"Charlie, don't involve yourself in this too," his father said, madder than Harry had ever seen him.

"You're using mum and dad to save your own arse," Bill went on, ignoring his father's request.

"I don't need to stand here and listen to my own family accuse me of things beyond their comprehension," Percy said, showing the first signs of anger.

"Family?" Bill snorted in disbelief. "You lost your family when you turned your back on us last year."

"Penny, we're leaving," said Percy, turning and heading for the door.

Penelope followed after him, avoiding the angry glares of his brothers. Percy threw open the front door, before she ever had her cloak on.

"Percy, please don't leave," said a frantic Mrs. Weasley coming after him.

"I'm sorry mum," he said, walking outside with Penelope. "Happy Christmas."

Then he was gone, leaving a sobbing Mrs. Weasley behind in The Burrow's doorway.

Mr. Weasley rushed over to comfort his wife, talking in a low voice to try and calm her down. He led her in the direction of the stairs, and turned back to face Bill and Charlie. "You two stay right there. When I come back down we're going to talk about your appalling behaviour."

Even after Ron's parents had disappeared up the stairs, The Burrow was silent. No one seemed to have any words for the spectacle that had just happened. Ron, having had enough family fun for one day, and not wanting to be around when his dad came back and rounded on his older brothers, walked back towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bill snapped at him in a similar tone he had been spoken to Percy in – one that annoyed the hell out of Ron.

"I'm going outside. I'm not the one dad's coming down to yell at," he said and yanked the back door open.

The bitter cold was preferable to the muffled shouting he could hear starting up again inside. They probably set the record for the worst bloody Christmas in wizarding history.

Hermione had just finished changing into her nightgown and was about to climb into bed with her copy of Hogwarts, A History, which had been helping her get to sleep recently, when there was a knock at her door.

She pulled it open to find Ron standing there looking rather anxious. "Can I come in?" Not that I blame you if you say no because I've acted like a bastard for the better part of the week as Harry put it, he added to himself.

She didn't answer his question, but she did move aside, giving him the room he needed to walk in. When he was in, he shut the door softly behind him so as not to wake anyone. They were back at Grimmauld Place. His mum had gone straight to her bedroom and had not come out since. His dad was the angriest Ron had ever seen him – and it wasn't often that his dad got mad. He was furious with each one of his children, except Ginny of course. She always seemed to get out of everything because she was the baby.

Though Bill had been the one to make Percy leave, none of them had welcomed Percy with open arms to The Burrow. In Ron's opinion, Percy got what he deserved. He had abandoned them all and put his parents through hell. He hadn't done anything to prove to them that he was worthy of their forgiveness.

When he dragged himself away from his thoughts long enough to look at Hermione, he saw she had her arms folded across her chest, clutching her favourite book there, but she didn't appear angry. However, she did look as though she were waiting for him to give an explanation for showing up at her room in the middle of the night.

"I saw the light on under your door, so I figured you'd still be up," was the explanation he offered to her.

"I was just going to do a bit of reading before bed," she said, dropping Hogwarts, A History onto her nightstand.

"I'm not mad at you," he stated abruptly, hating how bad things had gotten between them – and it was all his fault. "I'm not," he repeated, more convincing the second time. "I'm just angry with this whole situation and I didn't mean to take it out on you. I know it's not your fault you're leaving. I'm sorry for being an incredibly selfish and insensitive git."

For once in his life he had said the right words to her – when she needed to hear them. She was no longer able to hold herself back – she launched herself into his arms.

He gladly enveloped her in his arms, holding her close. "I keep thinking how unfair this is," he murmured, letting his fingers run absently through her hair. "You and me, we've just – we've wasted so much time…"

"I know," she said, understanding exactly what he was feeling because she was feeling the same way.

Ron broke the embrace first and pressed his lips to hers in a quick kiss. "Have I told you already that I don't want you to go?"

"Is it okay if we don't talk about that any more tonight?" She asked him. They had barely spoken in days, the last thing she wanted was to spend the time making up for it by discussing when she would be leaving.

Ron nodded in agreement, and given the late hour he figured he should probably let her get some sleep. He could tell by looking at her she wasn't sleeping well. "I should probably go. It's pretty late," he said after a moment.

"You don't have to," she told him.

He really didn't want to leave either. "I could spend the night in here with you," he said without thinking. When he saw the briefest hesitation flash in her eyes, he quickly said, "I don't have to. I should leave," he said and turned to go, but she caught his hand and the look she showed him was one of absolute trust.

She pulled back the covers and they both got in. She laid nestled against Ron's body with her back to him. He hesitated a second before draping a hand over her waist. When a few moments had passed and she still had not objected, he left it there and relaxed – or relaxed as much as he could with Hermione lying next to him.

He moved his face closer to her hair, breathing in the scent of it, and whispered for the first time, "I love you."

He didn't know if she was still awake, but she had heard him clearly and fell asleep for the first time in what felt like forever with a smile on her face.