Chapter 36: tis the season

Harry's arms were laden down with packages as he stepped out into Muggle London from the doorway of the Leaky Cauldron. It always amazed him how the muggles could bustle on by the pub without even noticing it and had to constantly remind himself that was the point.

The snow that had begun that morning was still falling heavily and he had to tread carefully as he made his way down the street and through the many muggles doing their last-minute Christmas shopping. Ginny had gone to the Burrow early that morning to meet up with Hermione to go over some of the wedding details and to help her mother get everything ready for Christmas so he took that opportunity to do some shopping.

Harry knew that Molly wanted to do everything in her power to make this Christmas the best ever. He thought that just maybe it was her way of trying to fill the void left by those who were lost in the war. He let his mind drift momentarily to Fred. No matter what Molly did, Christmas just wasn't going to be the same without the twins cooking up some sort of mischief. And then there were Lupin and Tonks who would not be able to spend the holiday with their son. Molly had asked Harry to see if Andromeda wanted to come to the Burrow for Christmas so the last time he visited with Teddy, he had made it a point to invite them, and after much persisting, she agreed to come.

Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of someone calling his name. He spun around to see Dudley standing across the street, waving his hand in the air. Before he knew it, Dudley had crossed the street, accompanied by a very pretty girl Harry had never seen before.

"Dudley," said Harry. "How are you?"

"Good, good. I want you to meet my girlfriend," said Dudley, indicating the girl standing at his right. "This is April Cassidy."

Harry held out his hand to shake April's. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you as well," said April. "I've heard so much about you."

"Really?" said Harry, surprised. He looked over at Dudley who just shrugged.

"I told her how we grew up together and everything," said Dudley. Harry gave him a significant look and Dudley discreetly shook his head which Harry took to mean that Dudley hadn't actually told her everything.

"We really need to stop meeting up like this," said Dudley.

"Yeah, I know. I've been meaning to call you and have you over for dinner but things have been kind of . . . crazy lately," said Harry. He knew he couldn't divulge the exact reason why things have been so crazy around April. "So, how long have you two been seeing each other?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Just about six months. We're spending Christmas together with Dudley's parents," said April. "You should come."

Harry nearly burst out laughing. He could just imagine now what would happen if he showed up at the Dursley's front door on Christmas day.

"Uh . . . well . . . the thing is . . .," sputtered Dudley. Obviously he had told April much less then Harry had originally thought.

"I'm actually spending Christmas with my fiance's family," said Harry, saving his cousin from trying to explain Harry's relationship with Dudley's parents. "But tell them I said hello and that I wish them a happy Christmas," he added with a sidelong glance at Dudley. He could see the corners of his cousin's mouth twitch.

"Well, we must be going," said Dudley. "Happy Christmas Harry. And give Ginny my best."

"Happy Christmas Big D," said Harry, shaking Dudley's hand. "It was nice to meet you April."

"You as well."

Harry stood for a moment and watched his cousin and his girlfriend walk away. The last time he had seen Dudley, he knew that he was seeing someone. But if he was completely honest with himself though, he never imagined she would be anything like the girl he just met. He always imagined Dudley would wind up dating someone more like Aunt Petunia. But April seemed like a very nice girl, not to mention very pretty. She was a petite girl with long blonde hair and striking blue eyes and a very kind smile.

Once he was done with his shopping, Harry made his way back to his flat. He rarely used the front door and fumbled with his key for a moment. He could have used magic to unlock it but had decided against it incase one of his neighbor's were watching. Once inside, he deposited his packages by the front door and made his way down the hall and into the bedroom to change. He had promised Ginny that he would come by the Burrow that evening for dinner. Before he left, he flicked his wand at the presents he purchased that day and set them to wrap themselves before levitating them under the small tree he and Ginny had picked out. He knew Ginny would try everything short of actually unwrapping them to find out what Harry bought her, so for good measure, he cast a few charms on the gifts to try to deter her from snooping.

When Harry stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow a moment later, his nose was immediately assaulted by the sweet smell of pies baking in the oven. His stomach gave an audible growl and he heard Ginny chuckle from where she was seated at the table with Molly, Hermione, Ron and George. Molly jumped up from the table and began bustling around the kitchen preparing a tray of sandwiches.

'Dinner won't be ready for a while dear," she said as she placed the plate on the table.

"Thanks, Molly. I forgot to grab some lunch," said Harry, taking a seat next to Ginny and reaching across the table for a sandwich. He could always count on Molly to make sure he didn't go hungry.

"Ronald, you just ate!" said Hermione when Ron made to grab a sandwich.

"I'm hungry!" said Ron, taking a huge bite.

Harry almost choked as he started to laugh. He would have thought that Hermione would be used to Ron's eating habits by now.

"Did you get all of your shopping done?" asked Ginny.

Harry swallowed and took a drink of his pumpkin juice. "Yeah, and I ran into Dudley again."

"Dudley? Your cousin Dudley?" asked George, who had been unusually quiet up til this point.

"Yeah. He's really changed since the war," said Harry. He turned to Ginny. "I met his girlfriend. She seems really nice."

"We really need to have them over for dinner," said Ginny.

"And this is the same Dudley that used to terrorize you when you were kids?" asked Ron in disbelief.

"He's really different. I mean . . . I don't see myself going to any family functions . . . ever . . . but I wouldn't mind hanging out with Dudley," said Harry.

"Well . . . just let us know if he gives you any trouble. I'm sure we have something at the shop that would set him straight," said George.

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * * * *

Harry and Ginny had decided that they wanted to spend Christmas Eve by themselves at their flat. Usually they would have spent the evening at the Burrow after dinner but as it was their first Christmas together, they decided that a quiet, romantic evening was what they both really wanted.

Harry had lit a fire and a few candles and poured them both a glass of their favorite wine.Wordlessly, they sat cuddled together, sipping their wine and watched the snow fall throughout London from the window in the sitting room. This was one of the things Harry loved most about Ginny. She wasn't the kind of girl who needed to fill every silence with endless chatter. And right now, neither of them felt the need to talk. The moment was just perfect.

Ginny leaned over and sat her wine glass on the small side table and twisted in Harry's arms to face him. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and cup her face in his hand. Slowly, he brought his lips down to meet his.

"I love you, Gin," he murmured against her lips. She opened her brown eyes to meet his emerald ones.

"For ever and ever," she whispered before they were completely lost in each other.

* * * * *

Harry awoke first the next morning and lay watching Ginny sleep. It was Christmas morning and he decided upon waking that this Christmas was the best he could ever remember. Growing up, Harry never looked forward to Christmas like all the other kids. He knew that there would be no gifts waiting for him under the tree. He was always made to make breakfast while he listened to Dudley's excited squeals from the sitting room as he unwrapped toys that Harry would never be allowed to play with. He always spent Christmas day cleaning the house and preparing for a Christmas feast he would never get to eat. It wasn't until his first year at Hogwarts that he begun to actually enjoy the holiday. That year he found out how families were supposed to be and he would later find one he could call his own in the Weasley's.

Ginny started to stir when the weak morning light began filtering in through the curtains. Her eyes fluttered open and she grinned up at Harry, who was propped up on his elbow, watching her.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," she murmured sleepily.

Harry leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss. "Happy Christmas, love," he said. "Do you want some breakfast first or do you want to open your present?" he asked playfully.

Ginny pretended to think about it for a moment before sitting up in bed. "Hmmm . . . I think I'll take the present."

Harry chuckled to himself and leaned over to pick his wand up from the night table, levitating Ginny's gift into his outstretched hand. Quickly removing the charms he placed on them, he handed the small, wrapped package to her.

"You know," said Ginny, grinning at him. "You didn't need to add those charms."

Harry laughed. "Yeah right, Gin! I saw you under the tree pretending to do something else while you were trying to figure out what I got you!"

"I did not!" said Ginny in mock hurt.

"Go ahead, open it." said Harry.

"Don't you want yours now too?"

"You first," said Harry. He had gone from store to store both in the wizarding and muggle communities. He wanted to get her the perfect gift. Something to show her how much he loved her. He wished Ginny would let him buy her more things but she always told him that she had all she needed in him.

Harry watched as she ripped the paper from the small package and opened the small velvet box. Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as she gasped. Inside the box lay a golden bracelet with two charms. One a lightning bolt encrusted with emeralds and diamonds, the other a miniature firebolt.

"Oh Harry. It's beautiful," breathed Ginny as she lifted the bracelet from the box.

"It's a charm bracelet. We can add different charms to it to represent different things," said Harry as he helped her fasten the bracelet around her wrist. She held it in the air, admiring it for a minute before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love it," she said.

Harry smiled. He knew he didn't want to get Ginny the generic gift of mass-made jewelry so he had searched high and low once the thought had occurred to him for a jeweler who would custom make the charms.

"Come on," said Ginny, grabbing Harry by the hand and dragging him out of bed. "I want you to open yours now."

Once the two of them were settled under the tree, Ginny handed him his gift. He unwrapped it to reveal a brand new broom servicing kit like the one Hermione had gotten him years before.

"This is great Gin. But I don't have a broom. I lost it last year," said Harry, examining the kit.

"That's why you'll need this." Ginny pulled from behind the tree a wrapped parcel that Harry hadn't noticed. He excitedly unwrapped it to reveal a brand-new firebolt.

"Ginny! You didn't have to do this!" he exclaimed as he examined the broom.

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to," said Ginny, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Now you don't have an excuse to go flying with me."

It was true. Every time Ginny brought up the idea of going for a fly, Harry would always decline with an ever-changing list of reasons. He could have borrowed one of the Weasely's old brooms but none of those were fast enough. What Harry wanted more then anything else, was to be up in the air, flying as fast as he could. He always felt like the problems of his life couldn't touch him while he was zooming through the sky.

"Look at the handle," said Ginny. Harry obeyed and found that his name was engraved in gold letters, just like the brooms of professional quidditch players.

"You know, I used to dream of becoming a quidditch player," said Harry as he ran his fingers across his name.

"Really? I never knew that. I thought you always wanted to be an Auror."

"No. Not always. I think it was the summer before my forth year," said Harry, screwing up his eyes in an attempt to remember. "Yeah. It was before the Tri-Wizard. I think it was because we went to see the World Cup that year."

"What changed your mind?"

"Well, I met who I thought was Moody that year and he said I'd be good at it. And then everything that happened at the end of that year. I don't know. I still loved to play, it just wasn't that important after that," said Harry, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, we always have two-aside at the Burrow. Maybe you can take that thing for a fly today," said Ginny. "Charlie will be there. He's always up for a game of quidditch."

Harry smiled. "We better get ready to get over there. Everyone's probably waiting for us."

* * * * *

The Burrow was loud when they entered through the kitchen after apparating into the back garden. They followed the noise into the sitting room where the entire family was gathered. The noise level escalated when everyone spotted Harry and Ginny standing in the doorway and they were quickly pulled in. They made their way around the room to greet everyone. Ginny was engulfed in hugs while Harry shook hands with everyone and received many slaps on his back.

"Oh good. You're here," said Bill. He stood and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, Fluer and I have an announcement to make. We're going to have a baby . . ."

The rest of what Bill was going to say was completely lost when Molly stood up and gathered both of them in a hug. "I'm going to be a grandmother!" she exclaimed happily. Cheers erupted around the room and Arthur levitated in a bottle of firewhiskey and some glasses into the room to celebrate.

Once the excitement died down, they all gathered around to exchange gifts. Harry noticed after closer inspection of the tree that the angel was once again a stunned garden gnome. He laughed to himself as the wondered if this was going to become a tradition.

After all gifts were exchanged and they all donned new Weasley sweaters, they gathered in the kitchen for some of Molly's wonderful cooking and an evening of joy and laughter. Harry thought back to how he thought earlier that morning that this was the best Christmas he'd ever had and decided that without a doubt, he was right.

* * * * *

A/N: I was starting to get into the Christmas spirit this weekend after I went shopping and saw all the Christmas decorations in the stores. I hope you enjoyed. As always, let me know what you think by hitting that little review button down below!!!! :)