Chapter 14

A Mixed Christmas.

His first weekend back from Hogwarts had been wonderful, just him and Ginny. There was no homework that had to be done immediately, and best of all no Head Boy duties that had started to become irksome at Hogwarts. In fact they did very little except visit the Burrow for Sunday lunch. Monday morning, and real life, came around far too quickly for Harry's liking.

There were few people about that early in the morning in Diagon Alley, but the atmosphere was relaxed, even the Goblins at Gringotts seemed almost welcoming to everyone. All four of them withdrew money without fuss but getting out of Grabbit's office, his personal manager took more time than Harry would have liked.

"I'm sorry we took so long," Harry said to Hermione and Ron in the Gringotts Foyer, "but he insisted in updating us on every little decision that he's made in the last three months."

"Everything's all right then?" Hermione asked. Harry knew that she was only being polite. For someone who usually wanted to know about everything, she found money to be distinctly unimportant, and rather beneath her.

"Everything's great," Ginny answered, "I think that's why it took so long. I'm sure if he'd messed things up we'd have been out of his office in seconds flat. He just wanted to tell us how clever he'd been."

"That sounds like Goblins to me," Ron said. Now that he had a few galleons of his own he seemed to have come to terms with Harry's and Ginny's wealth. "So did he tell you who owned the Daily Prophet?"

"No he just gave us the name of the bank that the money came from," Harry answered. "It's a private Italian bank with a branch based in London. The cheque was drawn from an account called Gathman Investments."

"That's all you've got?" Ron said looking disappointed.

"Gringotts have no links to them. Even if they wanted to they couldn't find out anymore than that. Grabbit suggested that if we wanted to find out more we'd have to use Muggle methods."

"That's disappointing," Hermione said, "but not really surprising. Did he suggest a good lawyer?"

"He said that Greg Widdick was more than adequate for a Wizard, so we'll stick with him. I don't see what else we can do at the moment."

"In that case it's time to start Christmas shopping," Hermione said. "Come on Harry cheer up this is meant to be fun."

"I never know what to get," he said. Shopping had never been fun to him, unless it involved Quidditch equipment.

"I do," Ginny said, "leave it to me." A huge weight lifted from Harry's chest. He had always found it difficult to buy presents for the Weasleys, especially balancing how much he could spend on them without causing offence or embarrassment.

"Thank you. You are truly the most wondrous person I know."

"All you have to do is buy me a present," she said with a beaming smile.

"That'll be easy," Harry said with a fake smile on his face as he had no idea what to get for her either.

"Why don't we split up? You boys go together, and we'll meet up at Fred and George's in an hour," Ginny said.

"Great idea," Ron said and dragged Harry to one side before Hermione could say anything different. "That was a narrow escape I didn't fancy shopping with those two all morning."

"Well I was really hoping Hermione could give me a clue on what to get Ginny," Harry said looking wistfully at the departing backs of the two girls, as they walked out of the bank.

The intention had been to get most of their shopping done early before the crowds turned up, but with the delay in the bank it was already mid-morning. Once Ron and Harry had walked out into the pale winter sunshine they could see that Diagon Alley had become packed with shoppers. Harry stopped, as a wave of uncontrollable panic swept through him. He didn't want to mix with the crowd. He was worried about people's reaction to him after the recent bad press about him.

"Come on Harry," Ron said when he saw that Harry wasn't following him.

"Perhaps I'll go back home and come back when it's less busy," Harry replied eyeing the crowd for any signs of hostility.

"Ginny warned me this might happen," Ron said sighing. "Look Harry the Prophet and the Ministry are run by a bunch of morons, people don't care what they're saying."

"Says who!" He couldn't stop himself and immediately regretted snapping at Ron.

"Says everybody I've spoken to, and everybody they've spoken to as well. Now get a grip and let's go shopping." Ron grabbed Harry by his arm and pulled him down the steps from the bank, but Harry shrugged him off and stood still again.

"I just don't know what to expect anymore."

"Well there's only one way to find out. Now come on if it goes pear shaped just apparate out of here, or have you forgotten that you're a Wizard."

"Fine I'll come with you, but if things turn nasty I'm gone." Harry could see the logic in Ron's argument, and in his discomfort he had forgotten he could apparate away quickly. "Ron can I ask you a personnel question?"

"You can ask, but I don't promise to answer."

"Has what we've all been through affected you in any way?"

"What you mean like Hermione's nightmares, and Ginny's uncontrolled outbursts of anger?"

"Yea."

"No. I don't think so."

"Why is that, do you think?"

"I don't know really. Hermione asked me that once. She reckoned after she thought about it that I didn't have enough imagination. I've never worked out whether that's a good thing or not." Harry suspected that Hermione had been trying to insult him, but it had clearly gone straight over Ron's head. Harry found he was slightly cheered that Ron probably had a lifetime ahead of him of being intellectually insulted, and he would never realise it.

"So what am I going to get Ginny?" Harry said as they began to walk down towards the main thoroughfare of Diagon Alley.

"Never mind her. What am I going to get Hermione?" Ron retorted

"What! That's easy you get her a book or two."

"But what book. She's already read thousands of them. I don't want to get her something she's already read. Besides it's hardly romantic."

"Not to you or me, but it is to Hermione. Just search the shelves until you find some obscure or weird book that you wouldn't touch with a barge pole. Now more importantly what about Ginny?"

"Get her some jewellery, girls love that," Ron said.

"You really don't know your sister do you mate. She doesn't wear ear rings. She dislikes fancy rings because they get in the way of playing Quidditch. The only thing she will wear round her neck is the medallion I gave her last year, and I don't want her taking that off for anything else. My over all knowledge of jewellery is limited, and as far as I can see this leaves me with buying her a Tiara, which is quite out of the question."

"Yea point taken," Ron said laughing at the thought of Ginny wearing a Tiara. "What about clothes?"

"I know less about clothes than you do."

"Perfume."

"She's never worn it, or bought any, besides I like the smell of the shampoo she uses, and I'm not about to insinuate that she stinks."

"Fair point," Ron said, "chocolate, she loves chocolates. Especially those fancy assortment things."

"Brilliant, I'll get her the largest box I can find," Harry's gloom lifted now the decision had been made.

"Good morning Mr Potter," a passing man suddenly said. "It's good to see you out and about." The man then raised his pointed hat and walked on. It had all happened so quickly that Harry hadn't had time to respond.

"See I told you people don't believe the Prophet," Ron said amused by the surprised look on Harry's face. "Hermione reckons that they've told so many lies about you over the years that when they have a go at you, everybody believes the opposite of what it says."

"That was one person," Harry said, but despite what he had just said he felt happier inside. It didn't end with one well wisher. More alert to the other people in the Alley he saw many of them acknowledge his presence by smiling at him, with the odd person making a personnel greeting. Harry didn't really know how to respond, so he just smiled back weakly, and nodded his head back in return.

Despite the spate of bombings the Alley was in good shape. The buildings had all been rebuilt, magic really was a wonderful thing, but many of them were still closed. Harry assumed that they had had trouble restocking or had just given up.

It took Ron twenty minutes in Flourish and Blotts to buy Hermione's book. It was so covered in dust that it had clearly been a long time since it had seen the light of day. While he was waiting Harry had found a new book on Chaser moves, which he bought. They then moved on to Calcao Confectioners. In previous years they had both walked past it many times but had never entered. The exorbitant prices in its small window displays had always been a disincentive.

The smell that hit them though when they entered was indescribably wonderful as the chocolate assaulted their senses and all thoughts of price vanished. On a central display was a magnificent chocolate fountain spewing white, brown and dark chocolate into the air. There it intertwined in spirals settling back into the reservoir basin where the three types of chocolate magically separated again.

It was at moments like this that Harry remembered why he loved magic. If it hadn't been for a discreet cough from behind the counter Harry would have probably have gazed at the fountain in fascination for hours.

"It is a real honour to have Mr Potter in my little shop, and I believe you are his friend Mr Weasley," the man who had coughed said. Tearing his eyes away from the hypnotic sight Harry saw a small grey haired man wearing half moon glasses, in a similar style to the ones Dumbledore used to wear.

"That's a wonderful piece of magic," Harry said.

"It is, isn't it, if I do say so myself. The Chocolate's not real I'm afraid, but the smell, and everything else in the shop is."

"That's a shame," Ron said, quickly withdrawing his hand which had been hovering over the basin.

"Is there anything specific you're looking for?" the man asked.

"I'm looking for a large box of assorted chocolates," Harry answered.

"If you'd come this way then sir." The little man led them to the back of the shop where there were shelves of pre-packed chocolate boxes.

"I'll take the largest one you've got," Harry said trying to ignore the huge price tag attached to it. He knew that he could afford them easily, but it still took his breath away. Ginny would probably curse him if she found out how much he was spending on her. Her frugal upbringing had made her very careful with money. He began to count out the correct number of galleons, but was cut off when the little man interrupted him.

"There'll be no charge Mr Potter. Consider it a small gift for making the World a safer place."

"No I insist I pay you. I couldn't accept such a generous gift," Harry said shocked at the gesture. Harry then spent the next ten minutes trying to pay for the chocolates. In the end he managed to pay for the large box in full, but he came away with another two smaller boxes for free.

"I see your negotiating skills are as good as ever," Ron said laughing as they shut the door behind them. "It must be all that practise you had with Dobby."

"Yea, yea very funny. Look I can't give Ginny all these, she'll think I'm fattening her up or something. You take one box for Hermione, and we'll have the other one on Christmas day." Ron frowned, and Harry thought for a moment that he was going to explode about getting a free gift.

"Alright Harry but it'll be a joint present to her from both of us ok," Ron said instead. "It's the least we can do for all those years of help with homework." The street was becoming more and more crowded, despite that Harry found that people seemed to magically part in front of him giving Ron and him an easy passage.

"You're right… just a minute," Harry said as something caught his eye in a window they were passing. Taken by a sudden impulse Harry dived into the store followed by a bewildered Ron.

The store inside was dark and gloomy and seemed to sell a wide range of strange artefacts. It reminded Harry of Borgin and Burkes, but as far as he could tell none of the items seemed to be dark. There was only one other person in the place and all Harry could see of him was his back. He was a big man, although Hagrid would still have dwarfed him, but his hair seemed to be just as black and wiry.

"What're we doing in here Harry?" Ron asked gazing around.

"I saw a large safe in the window."

"You've already got one back at your house."

"Yea but I can't open it. There are no keys that I can find to fit it. I don't even know if there's anything in there."

"Do you know the make of the safe sir?" Harry was asked by the man who had turned round when he heard voices. Sometime in the past he had been in a nasty fight as there was a large jagged scar that ran from his forehead through his left eye, which was now covered with an eye patch, and ended on his jaw line. The whole effect gave him a piratical look. Harry wondered if he did much business looking like that. It would certainly put off most people.

"I think it said Clarkson five thousand and something."

"That'll probably be the Clarkson five thousand and forty. A top of the range safe in its day Sir." The man then proceeded to rummage around in a large drawer sending parchment all over the place, until he pulled out a poster size piece which he slammed onto the main counter. "Here you are. Does that look like it?" Harry moved over and stared at the picture.

"That's what I've got," he said recognising it instantly.

"Good grief you're Harry Potter," he suddenly said. "I'm sorry I didn't recognise you sooner, the lighting in here is atrocious."

"Do you know a way of opening it?" Harry asked ignoring what the man had said. He had given up on the safe months ago, now there was a glimmer of hope."

"Ah I'm afraid not. I'm assuming that this was your parents," he said pointing at the picture again.

"Yes," was all Harry said.

"In that case there's no chance I'm sorry. Not only do you need a key, but you need the blood of whoever has access to it. No-one else's will do, not even yours." Harry let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

"Ah well, never mind. I don't suppose there was anything interesting in it anyway. What can you tell me about the one you have in the window?" Harry asked.

"No keys or blood needed for that one Mr Potter. Its password protected."

"What's the password?" Ron asked.

"Whatever you like. You just need to do the right charm to set it. I should tell you though that they've fallen out of favour. What with the number of these new extendable ears in circulation. It makes it easy for someone to overhear you saying the password. That said it's of the finest quality."

"You better forget it Harry. With Fred and George around you might as well not bother locking it." Harry though had a way to get pass that. The thing that had caught his eye as he had walked past hadn't been the safe, but the engraving of a snake on the front of it. A password in Parseltongue would be virtually unbreakable, and Ginny would be able to access it as well.

"How much do you want for it?" Harry asked the store owner.

"I couldn't accept less than three hundred and fifty galleons for it Mr Potter sir." Harry smiled inwardly at the 'Mr Potter sir'.

"You just told me they've fallen out of favour. How about two hundred galleons?"

For the next few minutes both of them bargained, eventually agreeing on three hundred, with free delivery by commercial Portkey. After paying and helping to create the Portkey, so that it would arrive in the exact position he wanted in their room at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron walked back into the Alley. Harry though didn't set the password in the store, as he had no intention of advertising his snake talking abilities any more than he had to.

They hadn't taken more than a half dozen steps outside when a witch in well worn and tattered robes wielding a wand and with wild staring eyes began to shout at them.

"Abomination, abomination murderer of the blessed pureblood," she screamed. Everybody in the Alley suddenly stopped what they were doing and stared in shock at the crazy witch. "How dare you tarnish us with your polluted blood, you revolting half breed." It took Harry a few seconds to recover from the surprise, but his wand appeared in his hand without him having to even think about it.

The rest of what the witch said became incoherent, and despite being ready for it Harry was still taken by surprise when a wildly aimed blue curse was flung at him. He ducked his head underneath it and it cracked past him hitting the guttering of the shop he had just left. He sent a disarming spell wordlessly back. She blocked it with ease by casting a shield. Almost instantly the area emptied of people much to Harry's relief as he didn't want anybody to get hurt by a stray spell or worry about one of his doing the same.

"Something's never change, hey Harry," Ron said beside him his wand already out.

"Try not to hurt her, ok she's clearly mad or under an enchantment," Harry said moving away from Ron so that they could divide her fire. The witch had thrown several more spells at Harry ignoring Ron altogether. These had been easy to dodge as her mad rage was putting off her aim. Harry didn't look but he could hear windows smashing behind him.

"What the great Harry Potter not fighting back, afraid to hurt me are you," she taunted, but Harry had been taunted by Bellatrix and didn't react.

"Put the wand away," he said quietly, "and then nobody will get hurt."

"Nobody will get hurt," she yelled. "I want to see you suffer. I want to see you screaming in pain. I want revenge."

"Well I want the Cannons to win the league," Ron said now ten paces away from Harry, "but we don't always get want we want." His flippant reply seemed to send the witch into higher levels of fury.

"Crucio," she shrieked. Ron tried to leap out of the way but the curse hit him in the leg making him cry out in pain as he landed on the ground. Harry took the opening that Ron had given him and stunned the Witch who was busy pouring all her hate into Ron. She collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap, where Harry quickly bound her and summoned the wand. It had only been a few seconds, but the Unforgivable had left Ron panting for breath.

"Merlin that bloody hurts," he said on all fours between taking large gulps of air.

"Honestly Ron you're an idiot sometimes, still that was very Gryffindor of you," Harry said putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him rising. "Get yourself together before you try and stand up. It leaves you with shaky legs."

"How can you stand that."

"You don't. That's why you should stay down," Harry said putting a hand on his shoulder as he refused to stay down.

"And that bastard did that to Ginny," Ron said his face still pale.

"Yea," Harry said simply, not wanting to dwell on what she had been through.

"I'll never complain about her taking the mickey out of me again."

"Of course you will. In fact you'd better. She won't thank you for treating her any differently."

"Harry," Ginny shouted on the run.

"Hey Gin," Harry answered. "You missed all the fun." Now that it was all over it seemed only right to make light of it.

"You're not hurt then?" she asked with a piecing gaze worthy of Mrs Weasley.

"No, not a scratch. Ron had a touch of the Crucio curse. That's all."

"That's all," Ron exclaimed.

"You ok Ron?" Ginny asked genuine sympathy on her face.

"Yea it wasn't for long," Ron said ashamed at his outburst.

"I'm sure Hermione will kiss them better, if you ask nicely."

"Kiss what better?" Ron asked looking confused.

"That very sensitive part of the male anatomy, Harry told me what it's like for you blokes." Ron's face suddenly went a deep scarlet when he realised what she was talking about. "Look here she is now."

Hermione had appeared out of breath from running from the twin's shop, while Ginny showed no sign of it. Rather than stay and look at Harry and Ginny in his embarrassment Ron hurried over to her.

"You can be really evil when you want to be," Harry said.

"Well he's not thinking about the lingering pain anymore is he?" she answered. Harry had to concede the point, but he wasn't sure that Ron would appreciate it any time soon.

"Mr Potter in the thick of it again I see." Harry turned around and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt appear with three other Aurors who he didn't know by name, but did recognise.

"It's good to see you Kingsley," Harry said shaking his hand. "We ran into a spot of bother. Mad old witch had a go at us." Two of the Aurors went up to the bound and unconscious witch checked her over for injuries, and then levitated her up in the air.

"Anybody hurt?"

"She used an Unforgivable on Ron, but he'll be fine. Oh and here's her wand," Harry said passing it to him. "Go easy on her she's lost her mind."

"We'll need a statement from you all, but I don't see this incident becoming a problem."

"Oh I expect somebody will find a way."

"Not when I've finished writing the report. Is there anything we can do to help you?" Shacklebolt asked in a low voice.

"There is actually," Ginny said in a low tone. "We want to find out who owns the Daily Prophet. The Goblins have told us where the money came from but to get any further we need some Muggle connections." She then handed him a copy of the letter Gringotts had given them earlier that morning.

"Leave it with me, but it could take some time. I'd like to know myself anyway."

"There is one more thing," Harry said. "Can you find out more about Urquhart the Defence Professor?"

"Why is he giving you any trouble?" Shacklebolt asked.

"No, that's just it he's been really good. One of the best we've had. It's just I've had trouble with all my Defence Professors, including Remus. This time I want to be ready."

"Ok Harry I'll see what I can do. That may take a while as well." It only took a few minutes to make a statement, and then they were all allowed to finish their shopping.

XXXXX

"Stop hogging the potatoes Ron," Ginny bellowed. The noise was so loud at the table it was the only way of being heard. The entire family had made it to the Burrow for Christmas lunch, and the house seemed to be bursting at the seams. Magic was all well and good but fourteen around a single table, however long it was extended to, was still a crowd. For the first time ever Hermione had joined them for the meal, but she was eating sparingly because she and Ron were off for another Christmas meal with her parents in the evening. Ron though wasn't holding back and had a small mountain already on his plate, and was trying to add more.

Harry as the only non male Weasley was sitting next to Mrs Weasley who was at one end of the table while Mr Weasley sat at the other end with Fleur and baby Alastor in a high chair. The surprise guest was a woman called Sarah that Charlie had brought back with him from the Dragon reserve. He hadn't had a chance to talk to her before they sat down to eat so he knew very little about her. The only thing he was certain of was that whatever type of family she came from, it wasn't as large or as boisterous as the Weasley's. She looked to be in a complete state of shock at the chaos around her.

The potatoes finally made their way to their end of the table allowing Ginny to pile several on her plate, and even more on his. The disorganised nature of the whole thing somehow worked, and before long everybody had a full plate in front of them. What Harry loved most about the Burrow, and its inhabitants, was how unlike the Dursleys they were. There was no higher praise in Harry's mind.

"Before we start this wonderful meal," Mr Weasley said a glass of wine in his hand, "we must toast the providers of this meal, to Mum the best cook in the Wizarding world, and her able assistants Winky, and Dobby." The whole table raised their glasses, and Harry was happy to see that both elves were smiling broadly at the praise instead of cringing in embarrassment.

"Come on, everybody tuck in," Mrs Weasley said beaming in pleasure at having all her family surrounding her.

"There's one more toast that I'd like to make first Molly." Mr Weasley said. "To peace long may it reign." This was followed by a chorus of 'to peace' from all except baby Alastor who slammed his bottle down as though in agreement. The meal passed almost without incident. Fred and George were on their best behaviour, although they were giving Charlie and Sarah a hard time. Sarah, who seemed to have finally gotten over her culture shock, had obviously been warned about them and refused anything they offered her.

Half way through the meal Ron was hit on the back of his head by a plate of mashed up vegetables thrown with surprising accuracy by Alastor. Fleur waved her wand cleaning up the mess trying not to laugh, everybody else though made no effort to hold it in, and poor old Ron was once again the butt of the joke. It didn't get any better when, once the laughter had died away, Ginny yelled in her best imitation of Madeye.

"Constant vigilance Weasley, constant vigilance." The table again erupted although Sarah looked a bit confused at the reference.

There was only one other incident a deliberate one. Harry and Ginny had decided before coming, to offer the spare box of chocolates they had been given around after Christmas lunch. In most households this was a normal, and risk free event. Not so in at the Burrow. For many, many years it had become a game of Russian roulette, to the extent that few were willing to risk playing. Ginny though was a great salesman, and after she and Harry had tried one each, chosen by someone else, and with no adverse effects, everybody relaxed.

Fred and George were one of the last to take one, and for a little while nothing happened after they ate them. Ginny told Harry later that she had placed an invisibility charm on the offending chocolates so no one else would pick them by chance. When it came to Fred and George she removed it, and placed a notice-me- not charm on the rest of them, forcing them to choose the doctored ones. Harry was stunned. The slight of hand to achieve this was worthy of the best muggle magician.

Fred's head, without warning and a loud popping noise, turned into a donkey with a Weasley red stripe down the middle. George who was sitting opposite him burst out laughing only to have his own head pop into a donkey, again with the red stripe. Fred no doubt trying to laugh, brayed instead, and produced a short burst of blue flames out of his mouth. George followed suit and before long the table had to be abandoned as some of the more elaborate decorations on it caught fire.

Mrs Weasley rebuked Ginny, but not Harry, even though he had helped her prepare the chocolates, and the fire breathing had been his idea. Her heart though wasn't really in it, and it seemed to be done more out of habit than anything else. Harry suspected after all the years of mayhem the twins had caused she considered them fair game, and their prank fairly low key. For the rest of the afternoon Harry and Ginny were plagued by Fred and George for the recipe. Harry refused to say anything, while Ginny kept giving them tiny little clues to wind them up even more.

The Burrow thinned out as the afternoon wore on. Charlie and Sarah were the first to leave for her parents, followed shortly by Ron and Hermione. Alastor became tired and cranky and was taken home for a nap with Bill and Fleur. Fred and George then said they had been invited somewhere but refused to say by who, or where. This left Harry and Ginny in the company of Mr and Mrs Weasley, and the dubious pleasure of Percy. He was a lot less of a git than he had been, but he was still the self obsessed crushing bore he always had been.

"How are you both getting on at Hogwarts?" he asked as they sat down in the sitting room with a cup of tea, and a large slice of Mrs Weasley's legendary Christmas cake.

"Oh things are fine," Harry said. "Not much changes really."

"Not getting into any of your usual trouble then." Even when he was trying to be jocular Percy could still sound disapproving, and Harry felt a flash of irritation from Ginny.

"The only trouble we're getting at the moment is from your blasted Ministry," Ginny snapped.

"I know, and I wanted to have a quiet word with you about that. I have no actual proof, but I think a group of people are trying to set you two up for something."

"We'd worked that out for ourselves thanks Percy," Harry said a little more tersely than he meant to. He'd spent the whole day happily ignoring what was to come and here was Percy dragging it up again.

"I thought you might have, neither of you are stupid. Anybody who can pull one over Fred and George must have a brain cell or two. I really enjoyed that by the way."

"Is there a point to all this Percy?" Ginny said.

"I want to help you both, if I can."

"How are you going to do that?" Harry asked.

"I would become, as Ron so delicately puts it, Percy the Prat again. If I can convince these people that I disapprove of you and Ginny being together, and I want to break you up, maybe they'll let me in on what they're up to."

"I don't see that working Percy. I think everybody knows that you've made up with your family. They're not going to believe that you've fallen out with them again so quickly," Harry said.

"If there's something I have learnt over the last few years it is that people will believe what they want to see. I am after all living proof of that. If they like the idea of me betraying my family again, then with enough evidence, that is what they will see."

"So you want us to have a public row condemning me for corrupting your baby sister," Harry said.

"Something like that, but only if you two agree."

"And if this is all a storm in tea cup?" Harry asked.

"Then no harm done."

"Your mum and dad won't like this."

"We let them in on it. Any information I find out I can pass on to my father at work, and he can tell you."

"What about everybody else?" Ginny asked. Harry could tell she wasn't happy about the family being divided again.

"Tell them by all means. It won't be for long, but not until after we've fallen out in public. Their reactions will be more genuine." Harry thought through what Percy had said, and despite misgivings knew deep down that he would accept Percy's offer. He looked at Ginny and could tell by what she was feeling and her resigned expression that she agreed.

"Ok Percy we'll go along with it. When do you suggest we have this falling out," Harry said eventually.

"No time like the present. You maybe surprised to hear but Christmas day is the most popular day of the year for family disagreements. So if I have to go to St Mungo's with a holiday related injury that would be a good start." Harry couldn't help but smile at the memory of a witch with a Satsuma jammed up her nose.

"I'm not surprised, but do you really want a piece of fruit shoved up your nose," Harry said. "And what if nobody you know sees you."

"Well that's the clever part," Percy said with a smug smile. "It's traditional for the Minister of Magic to visit the Hospital every Christmas, and I happen to know that he will be arriving there at six o'clock this evening."

"Tell me Percy why weren't you sorted into Slytherin?" Ginny asked. Harry could tell that she was impressed with his deviousness.

"I nearly was, but I managed to persuade the hat to put me in Gryffindor. I was appalled at what mum and dad would think," Percy said shuddering at the memory and looking at the carpet in front of him. "I've never told anybody that before."

"Me to," Harry said.

"What!" Ginny said looking at him in surprise along with Percy.

"The hat wanted me to go to Slytherin, but I'd met Malfoy on the train and demanded it put me anywhere else but there. The only person I ever told was Dumbledore. I thought I might have been the heir of Slytherin at one time because of that." Ginny's face paled at the thought that she was the cause of that. "What about you Ginny, were you always meant for Gryffindor? You can be quite devious when you want to be."

"Well um…" Ginny muttered.

"Spill it wife," Harry said with mock seriousness.

"Oh alright it wanted to put me there as well. I asked it to put me in the same house as you Harry." Harry couldn't help himself and burst out laughing. "Satisfied now." Her face had suddenly turned bright red.

"A right bunch we are. Maybe we should start plotting and take over the Ministry like true Slytherins," Harry suggested still laughing.

"And just what would you do with it," Ginny said annoyed that for once in her life she was the source of Harry's amusement.

"It doesn't matter. It's not going to happen."

"I hate to break up your plans for world domination, but one of you needs to send me to the hospital," Percy said. Harry thought he looked different, and then realised that the usually serious young man was actually smiling.

So it was that at a quarter to six Percy apparated away from the Burrow with bright green hair, boils all over his face, and his ears transfigured into Satsuma's. Harry couldn't resist doing that. The rest was all Ginny's work closely supervised by a disapproving, but resigned, Mrs Weasley.