The loud 'pop' that accompanied Harry's Apparation startled a bull frog off of his lily pad and into the murky green waters that constituted the Burrow's 'garden pond.' Harry could not help but laugh aloud as the dejected creature climbed out of the water.
An easy smile graced his features as he allowed his gaze to encompass the haphazard structure of the Burrow. This was the place that felt the most like home to Harry, the place the symbolized what was good and right about the world. It had held a special place in his heart ever since the first time Ron had brought him here in a flying car. Now, some eleven years later, he was unsurprised at the familiar warmth filling him as he looked upon the old building.
"And now, let the games begin." Harry slid his father's invisibility cloak out of his pocket before sweeping it around him with a dramatic twirl. Using all of his Auror training in stealth, he crept up to the back door of the Burrow, managed to open it without the tell-tale squeak of hinges and made his way inside the comfortable and familiar sitting room.
His target didn't seem to notice when he crossed the room toward the warmth of the kitchen, she was engrossed in her latest Holiday cooking task. Using a trick he'd learned from a Muggle, Harry threw his voice so that it sounded as if he were coming up the front steps.
"Hullo! Can someone get the door; I'm drowning under heaps of gifts!" Harry had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing aloud as Molly Weasley jumped in reaction to his call. Muttering a spell that continued her careful work of icing her gingerbread masterpiece, she began to bustle over to the entryway. Harry cut her off midway, sweeping off his cloak and pulling her into a tight hug with a grace that was reminiscent of his days as a Seeker. He heard Molly's laugh of surprise before she returned the hug with earnest.
"Harry James Potter, that is completely unfair of you startling an old woman like that! One of these days you're going to pull a stunt like this and I'm just going to faint dead away. And if you think you're sneaky young man, I have the pleasure of informing you that you are wrong. You've been at the Burrow no more than five minutes I'd suspect." At Harry's raised eyebrow she pointed over his shoulder to a familiar Weasley family object. "Consider it an early Christmas present, dear. I've been meaning to do it for years..."
Molly's voice trailed off as she watched Harry walk over to the family clock, disbelieving. He pushed his nose against the glass, backed away and took his glasses off to polish them. Resetting them on his face, Molly bit her lip, awaiting his reaction. A breath of wonderment escaped Harry, followed by a huge grin and tears of joy lining his cheeks.
There, before him, on the infamous Weasley family clock were two new hands. One was inscribed with Hermione's name, and the other—though he was having trouble actually believing it—held his own. Harry turned to Mrs. Weasley to thank her, and being unable to find the words he wanted to describe how much this gift meant to him he scooped her up once again into a vicious bear hug. Spinning her around a few times, he finally set her down to tell the sole mother figure he had in his life how thankful he was.
"Oh Mum-Weasley, I don't think anyone has ever given me something more wonderful. It just . . . truly, I don't know what to say!" Gratitude shone out of Harry's bottle-green eyes, even if he did have to keep blinking back tears. Molly gently reached up and patted his cheek before wiping at her own eyes with a flour-free corner of her apron.
"Well dear, I've been meaning to do it for years, and given that this year is something of an anniversary, I'd decided I'd put it off long enough. I know Ron looks at you like another brother and you've been so wonderful to our family. . . Although I would be willing to bet that my daughter's feelings for you aren't all together like those expected from a younger sister." Molly tried in vain to keep a serious expression on her face, but was thwarted when Harry threw his head back in laughter. Her own eyes crinkled in a wide grin as she reflected on the man standing before her.
Of all the things she had expected to occur after the Final Battle, Harry's sense of joy was not one of them. Being the least expected gift, it was one of the greatest, as was often the case in such matters. He had gone from a brooding young man with the fate of the world on his shoulders to someone who sought out the joy in every situation. Molly welcomed the change, and credited him with helping her own family through the dark days that followed the end of the war.
Recovered from his fit of laughter, Harry ran a hand through his shaggy black hair, chuckling to himself. "Now come on then, Mum-Weasley, it'd be a bit odd if my fiancé thought of me as an older brother. I mean, I know the rest of you already thought of me as a member of the Weasley clan. Come to think of it, maybe that's the reason Ron hauled off and gave me a black eye when we announced our engagement!" The last had been said with a teasing note, as it was common family knowledge that the black eye had been an accident. Ron had been in a rush to be the first to congratulate the couple, and in his tumbling hurry and planted the fist holding his biscuit smack onto Harry's eye.
"Did you ever consider, Mr. Potter, that my darling brother was just defending my honor? Honestly, had I known about your penchant for sneaking into the house to scare my mother, I don't think I'd have agreed to marry you." Ginny stood on the bottom of the stairway, her right hand on her hip and head cocked to the side. Her red hair fell nearly to her waist, free of its normal constricting braid, and Harry longed to run his fingers through it. Molly rolled her eyes at her daughter's 'put upon face', knowing full well she was trying to get Harry's attention. Chuckling to herself at the actions of young people in love, Molly resumed decorating.
Harry whirled around and strode over to the staircase, grabbing his fiancé's hand and pulling her into the sitting room. Before she could utter a word of protest, he had pulled Ginny into his arms. After a week of training the latest batch of new recruits from Hogwarts, Harry was tired of spending all his time with other Aurors. It felt ridiculous that he had only been away from Ginny for seven days, but heedless of that foolishness he allowed himself to spend he spent a moment luxuriating in the feel of finally having her next to him. He ran his fingers slowly through her hair, and cut off the next part of her 'lecture' by giving her a proper kiss hello. He felt her body relax into his as she returned his kiss, lacing her fingers through his hair. A slight groan escaped his throat and he pulled her tighter too him, scarcely believing that he had actually been brave enough to ask her to finally be his, that she had accepted, or that such happiness was even capable in this world. He desperately wanted to deepen the kiss, to just hold her against him like this and get lost in the love he felt for her. He felt, as well as heard, her breathless sigh against his lips, and nearly lost his will to behave, despite the fact they were standing in the middle of the sitting room where he had spent so many happy moments of his childhood.
She broke the kiss and the two of them spent a long moment just looking at one another, silently communicating the love that had flowered between them over the past five years. Harry allowed his eyes to roam over her face before going back to her warm brown eyes. His breath caught in his throat at the love and devotion he found shining there, as well as the mischief. It was most definitely true that Ginny shared more than the set of her jaw with the twins: she also had their quick wit.
"One would think, Mr. Potter, that if you were going to steal into the house to see anyone, it would be your fiancé and not your future mother-in-law." A cheeky eyebrow arched delicately as Ginny smiled winningly at him, and Harry felt his stomach do a happy flip.
The two of them were so absorbed in their own world that Harry didn't notice that Charlie Weasley had burst through the backdoor until the hardy dragon-tamer threw an arm around his shoulder. "Well, Ginny, I know you forget it sometimes, but you do have five brothers who would throttle him if he so much as tried!" Charlie pulled Harry into a hug and laughed as his sister's face turned a brilliant shade of crimson in her frustration at her family's typical overprotective nature.
Charlie was followed in by Bill, who cut off his sister's impending tirade with a deep chuckle. "Honestly Gin, I don't know why you still react when he says things like that. He's only doing it to get a rise out of you. One would think you were having less than pure thoughts about young Mr. Potter."
Harry laughed at the good natured teasing, as well as Ginny's predicament. Having successfully dodged one of her rants, Charlie had grabbed his sister into a bone crushing hug before throwing her unceremoniously over his shoulder. Ginny squealed, somewhere between irritation and glee, as her brother spun her around the room like he had when she was a toddler. Their antics gave him the ability to give a brotherly hug to Bill and ask about Fleur and Victoirie. He hadn't even minded the mild teasing, having received much worse at the hands of the Weasley brothers.
Charlie only set Ginny down when the top of a pine tree began gliding through the back door. Rushing over to help guide it on its path, Harry heard him mutter something under his breath about 'Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee' not being able to wait for anyone else's help.
Charlie barked orders to his younger brother through the mass of branches, "OI! PERCY! GEORGE! I really hope you shrank the tree so that it'll fit through the damn door!"
Harry had to bite his tongue from laughing as branch after branch of the tree pushed through the door. It was quite obvious Percy and George had charmed it to enlarge as it came through the doorway, forcing Charlie to move backward from the oncoming branches until he was nearly pinned against a bookshelf. A duet of laughter could be heard from the two wizards who were now maneuvering the tree to where it would serve as the featured decoration of the sitting room. Harry smiled to see George and Percy laughing to one another over their cleverness.
"Really now Charlie, you work with Hungarian Horntails, I think a simple thing like a Christmas tree wouldn't be too much for you to handle." George feigned innocence as he spread his hands before him.
"Now then, dear George, perhaps brother Charlie here has some kind of horrible allergy to pine sap that causes him to break out in painful, disfiguring pustules . . ." Percy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in sympathy with his brother's probable allergy.
"Not painful, disfiguring pustules! That would keep him from snogging that lovely girl of his! Do you think she'd go for another Weasley instead, just to help her through her grief, you mind." George had to duck behind his father's old leather chair to keep Charlie from throttling him, as the other members of the family laughed uproariously at the idea. Charlie eventually caught George in a headlock and was reacquainting him with the concept of 'knuckle-bumps' on his head, all the while grinning at his younger brother's joke.
Harry was grateful to see the Weasley clan in high spirits this evening; he had worried that the milestone holiday without Fred would have everyone feeling rather morose and solemn. Instead, they seemed to be celebrating much the way their lost loved one would have wanted; of that Harry was confident. He put an arm around Ginny's waist and pulled her closer to him, glad to be here with his family.
Percy had somehow managed to avoid the attack and went to the kitchen, where sibling battles were not permitted. Leaning over to kiss his mother's cheek, he began to admire her handiwork loudly.
"Mother, I do believe this is your finest gingerbread creation yet," as he praised her work, Percy managed to nick a bit of homemade icing out of the bowl. Harry had to laugh as Molly rapped her wooden spoon across Percy's hands as if he were a child. His future mother-in-law was blushing at the compliment, and apparently needed to draw attention from that fact. Harry looked down at Ginny, recalling the number of times she had emulated her mother's behavior in such a manner. Ginny caught him gazing down at her, and used it as an excuse to give his cheek a quick kiss.
"You haven't even seen what she's making yet this year, have you, Harry? It's absolutely beautiful," Ginny took his hand and tugged him back toward the kitchen and her mother's labors. There on the kitchen table was a recreation of the Burrow in gingerbread, to include a collection of gnomes made from icing enchanted to wander around in the confectionary's garden.
Though it was one of the newer Weasley family Christmas traditions, Molly's 'gingerbread house' was one of Harry's favorites. In truth, such a mediocre term as gingerbread house did not cover the brilliant creations Molly made each year. She had begun it to celebrate the growth she saw in every family member, and to provide something that they could remember as being apart from their lost love ones. Past creations had included scale models of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, the Holyhead Harpies' Stadium and even a working miniature of the restored fountain in the Ministry of Magic.
Molly had always kept the subjects of her work vaguely impersonal, a fact that seemed to be changing this year. Lovingly constructed, the miniature version of the Burrow looked like something from a child's pop up book, charming and full of the same love that surrounded them here. The shadow of what was supposed to be a ghoul crossed the attic window, and the window to Fred and George's former room occasionally opened to emit a puff of sugary smoke. Molly had not spared any details in her creation, down to the stack of 'old' boots she had constructed out of what appeared to be licorice. It was a loving and honest look at the home of the Weasleys, and it was one of the most gorgeous things Harry had ever seen. He did not miss the tear-filled look George gave his mother once he saw the inclusion of his twin's memorial in the confectionary, or the tears that ran silently down Charlie's face. Only Ginny seemed to be able to say what they were all thinking.
"It's perfect, Mum."
Molly Weasley stopped twisting her apron between her hands, and drew in a deep breath. Looking at her assembled children, she gave a tearful smile and said, "It was time."
A brief moment of solemnity passed, only to be interrupted by George nicking some of the uncooked gingerbread from the dough, which didn't escape Molly's notice. She grabbed her spoon to discipline her son, but decided instead to pull him in to a fierce hug. What followed was another round of Weasley laughter and familial hugs, and Harry felt completely at home surrounded by the members of his family.
Well, almost.
Looking around the room Harry realized that there was one rather important member of the family missing, one he had known since his first ride on the Hogwarts Express. As the rest of the Weasleys resumed lovingly teasing each other and stealing food from their mother's kitchen, Harry gestured Ginny over to him. She leaned against him comfortably, and he kissed the top of her head before speaking again.
"Any particular reason Ron's no where to be found?" To his surprise, Ginny burst into a fit of giggles and was accompanied in this by her mother. From their smiles, Harry knew something was up, but he couldn't seem to get a word in between their fits of laughter.
"All right, what have you all done to my best mate? Percy, George, if you've tested a new product on him I swear. . ." Harry was only half-teasing, knowing full well that Ron got used as a guinea pig for their experiments. He knew Ron allowed it to happen because it reminded him of when Fred had pushed George to do the same thing, but it tended to get a bit out of hand. He figured it must be something really good to send both Ginny and her mother into hysterics, and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his fiancé.
"Ron…Ron's upstairs in his room." Another girlish giggle—one entirely unusual for this woman—escaped Ginny. "If you want to know what it's all about, you should probably go ask him, I imagine you're the only male he'll speak to about it."
Harry must have sent a confused look at the assembled Weasley brothers, who all made exasperated faces. A raised eyebrow in Percy's direction got Harry only one response.
"It's the bloody secret of the day, Harry. These two know something's up and they've been tittering about it on and off all day. And what's worse, they won't even share the fun." A mischievous twinkle lit Percy's eye as he shared mock looks of hurt with George.
"Ah, wise older brother, I wish I knew the cause of their betrayal to the family. This must be something that would allow us to take the mickey out on Ron like never before. D'ya think it might have something to do with Pygmy Puffs?" George's innocent expression only contributed to the laughter that exploded in the room as Harry's face turned bright pink.
"Right then, I'll just go see what Ron's on about, shall I?" With that, Harry tried to save as much face as possible as he ran up the stairs, nearly tripping over himself in the process. Damn Percy and damn George! They always knew what to say to get him going. And if he really wanted to get down to it, this was all Ginny's fault for insisting on telling that story to her family. . .
Harry was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he walked right into Ron's room without even knocking. One glance at his best friend, and Harry understood the situation fully. How could he not? There, on the bed that was significantly too short for him and in the room the vibrant orange of his beloved Canons, sat Ronald Weasley with a contemplative look in his eyes. The source of his consternation was all too apparent to Harry, who had already noticed the item Ron was turning over and over in his hands—a ring!
Trying hard to contain his enthusiasm, Harry flopped down on an old bean bag and sought Ron's gaze, "Hey, mate."
"Hey." Ron's only reaction to Harry's arrival was a quick cursory glance at his friend and a slight head jerk. Harry gazed at his best friend expectantly, silently refusing to be the one to mention the ring in Ron's hand.
A shuddering breath escaped Ron, and he placed the ring back in a wooden box. Harry watched his friend run his fingers through his hair before flopping back onto his bed.
"I don't know if I can do this, Harry. What if she," with seeming urgency Ron sat up at full attention. "Harry, what do I do if she's fallen in love with some diplomat?"
Harry leaned forward and placed his forearms on his knees, unbelieving how self-doubting Ron truly was. "Ron, did she ever mention seeing anyone in her letters?"
"Well, no but—" Harry cut off his friend with a look. The blue eyes met the green over the clutter of the room, communicating in the way that only truly best friends can. After a moment, Harry could see the tension fall away from Ron's shoulders, and his look of terror was replaced with one of anticipation.
"Do you want to see it, then?" Without waiting for a response, Ron stretched his long arm across the tiny room and handed Harry the box. Harry watched his best friend's face—the rawness of the emotion he found there refreshing in its honesty.
Opening the box with something bordering on reverence, Harry gazed down at the ring that would finally bring his two best friends together. It seemed such a delicate thing to represent what the two of them had, but Harry knew it was perfect. Hermione would love it, both for its beauty, and the ring's history that Ron was now telling him. As Ron trailed off into silence, Harry looked up at him and flashed him a brilliant grin.
"Ron, mate, this is absolutely stunning, and she's going to love it. When are you going to ask her?"
"Tonight." Harry jumped in surprise at the confidence and purpose that filled Ron's voice. The only other time he'd seen his best friend like this was at work, and then, only on assignments that were of great importance to the red-head. Even if he knew nothing else about Ron and Hermione's history, the look on Ron's face at that moment would have been enough to know how much Ron cared for their bushy-haired friend.
With a snap, Harry placed the ring back in its box and walked it over to Ron. As he lay the box in Ron's waiting hands, he took the time to catch Ron's gaze and said with surprising seriousness, "I've known you for almost twelve years, mate, and this is the best bloody idea you've ever had. It may be enough that I'll forgive you for telling the family about the damn Pygmy Puffs mess. But hey at least Hermione doesn't know. . ." Harry's words trailed off as a lop-sided grin came over Ron's face and his ears turned a slight shade of pink. Ron put the box away in his nightstand before giving Harry a guilty look and laugh.
"You…you PRAT! I can not believe you told her about that!" Harry, laughing, tossed a pillow at Ron's face only to have it sail back and nail him straight in the nose.
"It is not my fault that you decided to marry the woman who got the better of you, big time. And how was I supposed to not tell her—she'd be bound to ask and figure it out on her own. OI! That was my eye you cheeky bugger!" The two broke off in a friendly wrestling match, and didn't notice when the door opened and someone else entered the room.
That is, they didn't notice until a familiar laugh filled the room and another familiar ball of ginger fur jumped onto Ron's bed to curl up on his pillow. Immediately the play-fight came to a halt, and Ron straightened nervously, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. Hermione was biting her lower lip in laughter, and her fingers twisted together slightly nervously.
Harry suddenly realized that he could be wearing nothing but Dobby's tea cozy and the two of them wouldn't even stop to laugh. He watched as blue eyes met chocolate ones, seeing the depth of love between the two of them. In actuality, he was hardly surprised when Ron crossed the room in one stride and pulled Hermione into a deep kiss. The two of them come together completely naturally, and Harry was left shaking his head.
"It's the bloody Room of Requirement all over again," he muttered, slipping past the two of them, and shutting the door gently behind him.
A/N: Whoooo's the best Beta ever? That would be hgfan1111 who was a huge help with this chapter. And who are the best reviewers ever—YOU GUYS! I cannot believe the kind words this story has garnered; it makes me smile on the inside. Writing this was difficult and took much longer than I had anticipated, so I hope you enjoy it! Next Chapter: The Kiss. And yes, I know I'm evil for making you wait.
Oh, in a general response to a random anonymous e-mail I got—should you desire to draw and/or make something from the story, that is fiiiiine by me. Just give a shout out and link to the story, and show me your work as well! I wish I could draw. . .
