AN: One reviewer made a very good point yesterday. Does the summary still work with this story? Let me know what you think! As always, thanks to all the readers out there. Tons of thanks to the 564 favorites and 838 follows on this thing. Really, I thought it was okay, but not THAT good! Lots and lots of thanks to reviewers Valentina Alexandrea Sparrow, AyumiFallassion, Beloved Daughter, Kairan1979, mudbloodpotter05, magitech, Spring Raine, MariusDarkwolf, RRW, B00kw0rm92, serialkeller, and geetac. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
"Wake up Ron!" Harry shook his best friend by the shoulders. The red head snored and rolled away.
"C'mon Ron, it's Christmas!"
"Christmas?" He said blearily, sitting up straight and rubbing his eyes.
"Ron, you have to-oh, hi Harry!" Ginny blushed as she stormed into Ron's room. "Well, um, presents are downstairs, we'll be waiting!" She fled the room, her pink dragon slippers sliding on the wood floor.
"Can't believe she's still like that around you," Ron grumbled, swinging his legs off the bed.
"At least she can actually talk to me now," Harry said optimistically.
Harry was positive he hadn't seen this many gifts since Dudley's last birthday. There were presents in all shapes and sizes, all brightly wrapped. Ron whispered to Harry that Ginny had slapped a bow on every present she had bought. Harry's of course, had the biggest bow of all, almost engulfing his present. From Oliver came an oddly shaped package covered in crumpled up brown paper. From Hermione came a gift that looked as though it could have come out of a movie; it was done perfectly. Percy's presents were methodically measured out and cut so that all the edges lined up exactly.
Shockingly, even McLaggen had gotten Harry a present. True, it was thrown into a bag and covered with tissue paper, but that was more effort than the Dursleys had thrown in.
"What do you think, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked excitedly. "Is it like a muggle Christmas?"
Harry paused. Truth be told, he didn't have all that much experience with muggle Christmas. He tried to model a normal Christmas over the display windows in the stores by downtown. "Yeah, sort of. 'Cept we didn't have fairy lights. And our wrapping paper didn't move. And we didn't have Quidditch tree ornaments…but other than that, yeah," Harry added after Ron kicked him in the shin.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Mrs. Weasley cut in.
"We were supposed to wait?" The twins asked, half their presents already open.
From Hermione came, quite predictably, a book. Harry felt bad as he realized that he'd never finished the last one she'd gifted him. Percy had also gotten him a book: 100 Ways to Improve your Seeker Skills.
"Oliver said if I got you a 'boring, dusty old tome' then he'd withhold my present. This was our compromise," Percy explained, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
The package from Oliver turned out to be a snitch "for practicing." Harry shook his head; Oliver had tamed his obsession with winning, but once in a while, his competitive nature shined through.
The twins handed him an envelope with an I.O.U for a "Deluxe Pranking Package" from Zonko's, redeemable after the next Hogsmeade trip. The remaining presents mostly consisted of candy, which Ron was more than happy to help Harry polish off.
Ron himself had gotten Harry a book as well. Upon opening it, Harry's eyes were assaulted by the bright orange of the Chudley Cannons uniforms.
"It tells you everything you need to know about the Cannons," Ron told him through a mouthful of chocolate frog.
"Time for breakfast," Mrs. Weasley trilled from the kitchen. "Oh, Ron," She sighed after seeing just how much he'd already eaten. "You've ruined your appetite."
"No, I haven't," Ron said, scrambling up from his seat and hastily swallowing.
On the Weasley table was a huge assortment of food. Pancakes, eggs, toast, bacon, waffles, sausage, fruit, and more were spread out on Mrs. Weasley's favorite plates. Everyone settled in quite happily to dig in to the heaping piles of food. Mrs. Weasley beamed as Harry took seconds.
"I wish Bill and Charlie were here," Ginny said glumly.
"They couldn't get out of work," Percy explained.
"On Christmas!" Mrs. Weasley cried in outrage. "They couldn't just let the family get together for one day!"
"Now Molly," Mr. Weasley began sensibly. "Goblins and dragons don't celebrate Christmas. At least, not like we do. They didn't see any reason for the boys to get the day off."
Mrs. Weasley harrumphed and put an extra helping of fruit on Ron's plate. "Aunt Muriel will be coming over for Christmas dinner."
Ron choked on his sausage. Fred and George pretended to puke. Percy rolled his eyes and pulled at his collar. Ginny stared down at her "bony wrists."
"Who's Aunt Muriel?" Harry asked.
"My aunt," Mrs. Weasley replied conversationally. "Wretched woman. Always tells me how I ought to be running my house and disciplining my children. We're her only relatives left though, and it would be cruel to leave her alone on Christmas."
"But mum," The twins whined. "She's the worst!"
"Oh hush! Aunt Muriel will be coming over for Christmas dinner, and that's that," She snapped.
In the afternoon, the kids had a snowball fight out by the orchard around the back of the Weasley house. Luna Lovegood came down and joined them.
"Luna!" Ginny squealed, racing over to hug the dreamy blonde.
"Hello Ginny," She said softly. "I have a present for you back home."
"I have one for you in my pocket," Ginny giggled. "Let's go!"
"Where are you going?" Percy called out to his sister's back.
"To the Lovegoods'!" She shouted back.
The two girls escaped out of the orchard and into a garden overgrown with weeds. Luna's mother had always maintained the garden. Luna had tried to keep it going, but she discovered she was much better with animals than with plants. A large weeping willow hung over a small, frozen over pond. Luna pulled open the back door to her home. Ginny noted with amusement that even the door was curved.
"Hi Daddy," Luna chirped. Xenophilius Lovegood sat at a kitchen table made into a writing desk, scribbling down symbols Ginny had never seen before.
"Hello girls," He said genially. "I don't suppose your brother is home?" He asked Ginny.
"Bill? Oh, no, the goblins had him stay in Egypt to help Gringotts."
"A ministry cover up, I'm sure," He muttered, scrawling a note at the bottom of the page.
Ginny glanced around the house curiously. Every room in the Lovegood house was curved, and it appeared as though the family had bought furniture to fit in. The counters, the table, even the stove was slightly curved, molding to the shape of the walls. The fridge was a bright, cheery yellow, and the counters were a peculiar shade of blue.
"Ginny, come up to my room." Luna beckoned her up the spiral staircase in the center of the floor. On the second level was a sitting room. A red couch that wouldn't have looked out of place in the Gryffindor Common Room went around half the room, looking as though it fit perfectly into the wall.
"Like a puzzle piece," Ginny marveled.
"One more floor," Luna said eagerly.
Ginny kept climbing, reaching Luna's bedroom and wallpaper covered in clouds. A picture hung on the wall, showing Luna and a woman who looked almost exactly like her hugging. Ginny realized with a pang that she must be Luna's mother.
Along the top of the walls was a border. Coming closer, Ginny could see tiny people there. One with flaming red hair was almost certainly Ginny herself. There was also a boy with mousy brown hair and a girl with auburn hair. "Is that us?"
"You, Colin, and Demelza," She said quietly, slipping towards her bed. "I'm going to put another part on later today."
"I didn't know you painted," Ginny said, feeling a fierce warmth crawl up inside her.
"Only when I have something important to paint," Luna said simply.
The warmth crept up to Ginny's throat, forming a lump and staying there. "That—that's really nice, Luna," She told the girl, feeling as though nice didn't even begin to cover it.
Luna smiled and rummaged around underneath her bed. "Here it is!" She gave a triumphant grin and pulled a brightly wrapped box out. It was tiny, and jingle bells were placed directly on top.
"Oh, wow!" Ginny reached out and gingerly took it from Luna. She took the bells off and set them in her lap. Slowly taking the lid off the box, she was greeted by a glint of silver. She pulled out a small chain with a few charms on it.
"It's a friendship bracelet," Luna clarified. "I thought that you'd like it. I have one too," She pointed to a nearly identical chain around her wrist. "It took me forever to find all the charms. I had to have the Blibbering Humdingers help me find them. This one was all the way in muggle London." She touched a lightning bolt on the bracelet.
"Thanks, Luna," Ginny said, impulsively leaning over and hugging Luna. The other girl squeezed back.
"Oh!" Ginny exclaimed. "I almost forgot about your present!"
"Having friends is the best present of all." Luna inched back onto her bed and leaned against the wall.
"Still," Ginny insisted lamely. "I want you to have this." She revealed a small pamphlet. "It's called 'A Pocket Guide to Fantastical Creatures'. I hope you like it."
Luna carefully opened up the book. "They have Nargles in here!" She gasped. "And Moon Frogs! And Blibbering Humdingers! This is the first book I've ever read that has them all."
"It took me ages to find something that was just right," Ginny smiled shyly.
"It's perfect!" Luna declared.
"Everyone get down here!" Mrs. Weasley screamed up the stairs. "Aunt Muriel is going to be here any minute!"
Percy had informed Harry that he should wear the best clothes he had when he met Aunt Muriel, because it would eliminate at least five insults she would throw at him otherwise. Ron had said that it wouldn't really matter if he was the most perfect person on the planet; Aunt Muriel would still complain.
Harry and the other boys all wore a white shirt and black pants. Ginny pulled on an itchy dress Aunt Muriel had bought her for Christmas the year before. Apparently, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were the only people Aunt Muriel bought for. Fred and George said that they preferred it that way.
The Weasleys and Harry got in a straight line, as Mrs. Weasley went down and fixed each of them as best she could. She smudged dirt off Ron's nose and straightened George's collar. She tried to flatten Harry's hair, but it persistently stuck up.
The fire turned green and an old woman with a cane stepped forward. Despite the fact that she was incredibly short, she managed to intimidate Harry, with her steely eyes and no-nonsense expression. Her hair was a light ginger streaked with grey, and the wrinkles on her face only served to make her look like more of a fighter.
"Auntie Muriel," Mrs. Weasley twittered anxiously, rushing forward to kiss the elderly woman on both cheeks.
"Molly," She said severely. Her gaze moved down the line, from Ginny, to Ron, to Harry, and it stayed fixated on his mop of black hair.
"When did you get a child like that?"
"Pardon?" Mrs. Weasley sputtered indignantly.
"I may be old, but I'm not color blind. I can tell that he doesn't have that blasted color of your husband. Who is that one?"
Silence reigned through the Burrow.
"Well? Speak up boy!" She shouted at him.
"Er, I'm Harry Potter, ma'am." He stepped forward cautiously.
Aunt Muriel's beady eyes never once wandered toward his lightning scar. She carefully inspected him. "Why didn't you comb your hair?"
"I did, ma'am," He said diplomatically.
"Really?" She asked dryly. "Hmmph. Girl!" She snapped toward Ginny, who inched forward meekly.
"I see you're wearing that dress I gave you."
"Yes, Auntie Muriel."
"Well don't! It's much too short on you. You're growing too tall. The men don't like their women gangly, dear. You'd best put a stop to that. It's a good thing I bought you a new dress." Aunt Muriel shoved a bag in Ginny's hands. "Go upstairs and change immediately."
Next she turned to Ron. "You," She snarled.
Ron gulped audibly.
"Still rooting for the Cannons?" She sniffed.
He nodded.
"Fool!" She spat. "They were losers when I was a girl. And why do you have dirt on your face?"
Ron flushed and stammered, "Well, uh, I-"
"Never mind! I swear Molly, you really must educate your children better, they can't even do simple eye contact," Aunt Muriel berated her niece.
Mrs. Weasley began to puff up, but Mr. Weasley put a gentle hand on her arm.
She moved on to the twins. "You need to cut your hair. It's unseemly! Boys in my day would never go out the house with hair that long."
"Bill's hair is longer," Fred pointed out.
Aunt Muriel scowled. "William is getting much too reckless with those goblins as his co-workers. I expect better of you. Perhaps that's a mistake on my part. Are you still indulging in those childish tricks?"
As if on cue, Ginny screamed. "What IS this?"
Fred and George kept quiet.
"Percival!" Muriel barked.
Percy stood straighter, head up, hair combed, face clean. "Hello, Aunt Muriel." He dipped his head politely.
"Still wearing those horrid glasses, I see. No girl is ever going to want a man with glasses like that. I'm sure you're still without a partner. I know a lovely girl from a village outside of London."
"Actually, Aunt Muriel, I've been courting Penelope Clearwater," He said, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face.
"Don't descend stairs like that, you stupid girl!" She yelled. Ginny slowed down until her steps could no longer be heard.
"There! Isn't that dress much better than the last one?" Muriel said proudly.
Ron had a coughing fit.
Mrs. Weasley glared daggers at him until he stopped.
Harry was certain this was going to be one of the longest dinners he'd ever sat through.