Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the amazing J.K. Rowling, not me.
2nd Disclaimer: I have tried to make this with as little cliche as possible, but it's Christmas, so everything's cliche.
"You're taking me with you, right? And Andromeda and Teddy are coming? I can't believe you weren't able to go see Hermione and Ginny for their Hogsmeade trip. And that you couldn't go over to the Burrow until today. And you and Ginny are dating, so-"
"Will you be quiet!? You've been following me around all morning like a puppy that just discovered an open bag of biscuits!"
"Well, I'm technically a dog…"
"Sirius!"
"What?"
"If you want to come, you should consider being quiet."
"Okay."
"You are the exact opposite of your name," Harry mumbled. Sirius laughed. "What is it now?"
"Lily used to say that."
Harry sighed as he watched his tea steep. Sirius had taken Christmas as an excuse to be extremely annoying, and Harry was done with it. He had to be at the Burrow by 9:30, and still had to get all this glitter off his robes. And bed. And carpet. And hair. And pretty much his entire room. The glitter in and of itself was not good, but the message it carried was. It had exploded out of a present from George, and though Harry had yet to find the actual gift, he could assume it meant that George was doing much better.
As Ginny had predicted, George returned to the shop before Hogwarts started, but had stopped inventing things. And as far as Harry was concerned, he'd never seen anything from either of the twins explode with glitter before, so that must mean he'd invented something.
Sirius, who had been quiet enough, was moved into a small frame and stuffed into Harry's pocket along with his shrunken broomstick which he was almost certain he would need it. The Weasleys did like Quidditch.
"The Burrow!" he shouted, throwing the Floo into his fireplace.
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Ginny and Ron were sitting at the table playing chess, and Molly was cooking in the kitchen. Harry took Sirius out of his pocket and set him on the table, propped up against an unlit candle.
"Hi Harry," said Ron. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!"
"George is outside doing Merlin knows what. Hermione's not coming for awhile, but she'll probably be over by eleven."
"Aren't her parents coming too?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Yes," said Ron. His expression had immediately changed into something unrecognizable, either as embarrassment, nervousness, or overall confusion. Behind him, Ginny had burst into silent fits of giggles. She had clearly noticed the change and thought it was hilarious. Either that, or it had sparked some memory of a funny conversation.
"Ron, could you go find George? I think he stopped degnoming the garden already," Mr. Weasley said.
Ron glanced back at Ginny, who was recovering from her laughter, and Harry, who shrugged.
"Alright," he said, and stood up to leave.
"Hi Harry," said Ginny, standing up and hugging him. "Merry Christmas. Awesome Quidditch set."
Harry grinned. As soon as he'd seen the practice set at Quality Quidditch Supplies, he'd known it would be the perfect gift.
"Thanks for the…" Harry paused. He honestly had no clue what to call his gift from Ginny. It was a small, blue-ish silver stag that pranced through the air with the fluid movements of a Patronus. Harry had spent about five minutes just watching it in the palm of his hand before setting it down on the dresser top, where it trotted circles around a book.
"I don't know what it's called either," Ginny admitted, shaking her head. "But I thought you'd like it."
"You thought right." There was silence for a minute, but not necessarily the uncomfortable kind. Mrs. Weasley had made the mistake of moving Sirius into the kitchen, and he could now be heard chattering non-stop.
"Wanna sit down?"
"Sure."
They sat next to each other, a little farther away than Harry would have liked. Ginny was looking at Harry in an odd sort of way, with an expression Harry was sure only girls could achieve.
"You've got glitter in your hair," Ginny told him, and leaned forward to try to pick it out.
Harry laughed. "It's never going to come out."
"You're probably right," Ginny agreed, retreating. She oddly disappointed. "It's from George, isn't it?"
"You got one too?"
"I think everyone did. Chocolate toilet seats. I bet he'll start selling to Honeydukes now."
"I don't know," said Harry. "I'm a little scared to eat it."
"That's probably for the best."
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"Hermione'll be here soon!" Ginny alerted Ron and Harry, who were playing chess. Ron got so startled he knocked over his pawn, which stood back up grumbling.
"We don't have to finish," Harry assured him. "You're going to win anyway."
"Thanks," he said hurriedly, standing up and knocking more of the pieces to the ground.
Harry sighed and bent down to pick them up. He kind of felt bad for Ron, who didn't know Hermione's parents at all. Because Harry already knew the Weasleys, it was less of a I-don't-know-you-and-therefore-don't-trust-you scenario, but more of a I-will-send-subtle-hints-that-you-will-die-if-you-hurt-her scenario.
Hermione rushed in from the Floo, parents stepping precariously out behind her.
"Merry Christmas!" she said cheerily, brushing her frizzy hair out of her face. "Hi Teddy!" she added, and lifted the squirming baby from Andromeda's arms. "Mum, Dad this is Teddy. Remus and Tonks were his parents, and this is his grandmum, Andromeda…" She rushed through the rest of the introductions so fast that Harry was half-expecting her to pass out from lack of oxygen.
"And this is Ron, my boyfriend," she finished triumphantly. Ron seemed to shrink as she said this, like a spring that had been stretched and allowed to bounce back unexpectedly. Hermione's dad sent Ron the evil eye, and Harry was surprised Ron didn't perform a Disillusionment Charm on himself. Hermione's mum didn't seem at all surprised - well, of course Hermione would have told her parents who she was dating - but she looked like she had known they were dating for years. Harry wondered exactly what Hermione had told her about Hogwarts. They must have a good relationship.
"And that'll be Percy," said Mr. Weasley as the doorbell rang.
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The Weasleys, it turned out, had not managed to get Hermione her present yet, and shortly after she arrived, they decided to give it to her.
"Sorry we couldn't get it to your house," George apologized. "We couldn't figure out how to get it there."
"And we wanted to see the look on your face when you open it," Ginny added. "Mostly that."
"Ickle Ronniekins wants to kiss his girlfriend," George teased.
Ron responded with his traditional "Shut up" and red ears. Ginny sent wide eyes Harry's way. First the glitter, and now he's calling Ron "Ickle Ronniekins" again? Something was up. Presumably, it was something good. Which inevitably meant it was also something bad. It depended on if you were on the receiving end or not.
"Sorry, Mr. Granger," Percy said in lieu of George's teasing.
"It's from all of us," Ginny said. "Bill and Charlie included. But it was Ron's idea. Well, mostly his. You should just be glad he convinced George not to booby trap it with the entire joke shop."
"Stop with all the preamble!" Sirius shouted. "Just have her open the bloody present! Oh, wait. Teddy's here. Just have her open the present, then!"
Mrs. Granger looked at Sirius fearfully. It must be her first encounter with a talking portrait, then. Harry would not recommend having Sirius as a first encounter with a talking portrait.
"Here it is," said Percy, handing a suspiciously long, slightly triangular package to Hermione.
She opened it carefully, not fully convinced it was pure of pranks. It was. Relieved, she it the rest of the way more enthusiastically. It was a broom. A Nimbus 2004, or so claimed the gleaming letters on the handle. It was, Harry remembered, the perfect training broom, at least according to Which Broomstick?
"A broom?" exclaimed Hermione. "I haven't ridden one since fourth year! And a Nimbus 2004?"
"Better than Malfoy's," Ron said with a smirk.
"Oh, eat slugs," she said dismissively, turning the broom over in her hands, but she couldn't hide the laughter on her face.
"Oi! That's not fair! You know my wand was broken."
Mr. and Mrs. Granger watched this with utmost interest. They clearly could not understand why their daughter would be dating Ron. Harry rolled his eyes. Why in the world had he ever thought Ron and Hermione dating would stop their bickering? Harry was almost certain that it had made it worse for him to bear. Now, not only did they bicker, but they did so flirtatiously. Harry found it annoying.
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"Food!" Mrs. Weasley called over the loud din of several games of chess, Exploding Snap, and Hermione shrieking at finding a long, flesh colored string dangling between her and Ron. The noise stopped, and everyone hurried to the magically expanded table.
Harry grinned as he sat down between Ron and Percy, Ginny across from him. Hermione was next to Ginny, and she and Harry shared a significant look. This was the exact opposite of their last Christmas. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Granger, and Sirius had carried their conversation about Muggle motorbikes to the table, and Mrs. Weasley and Andromeda seemed to have become fast friends with Mrs. Granger. George was nowhere to be seen.
"And where are Charlie and Bill?" Andromeda was asking, spooning yams into Teddy's mouth.
"Bill and Fleur went to the Delacour's, and Charlie had to work shifts all yesterday and just couldn't make it today."
"That's not the real reason he's gone," whispered Ginny. "Mum just doesn't want to admit it. Charlie's not here 'cause- 'cause, you know…"
Because they wouldn't all be here. Harry knew. George returned to the table then, looking too satisfied with himself for Harry not to assume that someone was in danger of a trip to St. Mungo's.
Near the end of the meal, a solitary snowball shot through the air and landed on Ginny with a spalt. Silence followed the spalt. Then,
"WHO DID THAT?" Ginny exploded.
"Self-throwing snowballs," George explained in tiny voice reserved for explaining what he had done to his mother. He glanced back to the door, beside which set a bucket, filled with said snowballs.
"I'm gonna hex you into the stomach of whatever dragon Charlie's stuck with!" Ginny screamed, jumping up from the table and grabbing her wand. George made a beeline for the door, picking up a bucket of snowballs on his way out. Ginny ran after him, casting a Warming Charm over herself.
"Well?" Hermione asked Harry after several long moments of silence, during which Ginny could be heard screaming hexes. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Harry shrugged, and stood up to follow her outside. Ron did too, but Hermione shook her head.
"You'll want to stay here," she said, with a less than reassuring pat on his shoulder. Her dad had just moved into the seat across Ron, who looked terrified.
"He'll be fine," Hermione assured Harry, as she charmed herself into winter clothes. Harry cast a Warming Charm like Ginny had done, and they walked outside the open door.
The snow was a little too cold and icy, not as fluffy as it had been when it had fallen, and the cold December sun made it nearly impossible to look at for the glare. It'd been tramped through before, deflated, and looking a little like a sad hot-air balloon. All together, less than perfect, but good enough, or so Harry hoped. Ginny and George were pelting each other with hard, icy snowballs, and no matter how much Harry wanted to join, he wasn't sure if it was the best idea. But Hermione already had, and so Harry did too.
Harry soon learned that Warming Charms do not melt snowballs on direct contact, but melt them slowly, so that freezing-cold water trickled down from where he had been hit for an uncomfortable amount of time. He was starting to wish he knew Hermione's charm.
Ron came outside then, holding Hermione's broom. "Come on, 'Mione!" he called. "We need to teach you how to fly this thing!"
"I know how to fly," she grumbled. "I'm just awful at it, and haven't tried in years!"
"Therefore, you need to be taught," concluded George, taking the broom from Ron and handing it to Hermione. "I'm assuming you know how to mount?"
"Yes," said Hermione, swinging her leg over the handle. "You'd have to be insanely stupid to not know how to sit on a broom."
"Hold on," said Ginny suddenly. She disappeared around a corner and returned with four brooms. She handed one to Ron, one to George, and offered one to Harry.
"I actually brought my own," Harry admitted rather awkwardly. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Of course you did," said Ginny, and went to return the broom to the shed.
While Harry unshrunk his broom, Hermione took off. The broom certainly was fast. It was clear that Hermione had not expected the broom to go this fast, and she hurried to level herself before she flew into the clouds. Ron, George, and Harry all mounted and took off after her. The air was crisp and clean, the cold sun penetrating through the cloudy sky, but still failing to warm them. Cold radiating from the snow below burned Harry's throat and lungs, but he didn't care. The thrill of flight pushed all other thoughts from his mind, and he swooped and swerved through the air.
All of this was interrupted, however, when a rather hard chunk of what Harry assumed to be the icy snow hit his shoulder.
"Gotcha!" Ginny called, speeding away. Harry dove for the ground, skimming the snow with his finger tips to collect his own snowball. He shot off after Ginny, hurling the snow at her.
"And here I thought you liked me," she pouted.
"Not when you're pelting me with ice," he remarked, and in the time he was doing so, she threw a snowball back at him, flying away once more. For another ten minutes, Harry, Ginny, George, Ron, and Hermione flew through the cold air, attacking one another with the occasionally painful snow. They soon learned to fly close to the ground, so as to make creating the snowballs easier, and the throwing of them thus more effective.
Ginny, Harry noticed, somehow managed to look graceful despite the snow splattered on her face and robes. She threw the snowballs with a Chaser's skill, and dodged the one thrown at her like Bludgers. Hermione was pelting Harry with snow when he remembered what he'd learned from the letters.
"Accio," he said, twisting his wrist, wand pointed at the snow. With the perfect sphere floating at the tip of his wand, he reared back and- wham hit Hermione with a perfect shot to the arm.
"Hey!" she yelled. "That's cheating!"
"No more than Confundus!"
"Ooh, Ron would love to hear that story," Ginny cooed, flying in a low loop. She winked at Harry. She must have noticed that too. Interesting. Hermione's face, already turned pink by the cold, turned pinker.
"Please don't," she said. "No more wands, though. Agreed?"
Harry sighed. "Agreed." It was still good to know the trick worked.
"Can we call a truce?" Ron asked, breaking free of George and flying toward the rest. "I've got so much snow down my back I actually think I might freeze." Harry landed in a circle with the others, panting slightly with the excursion and very much wishing for a better charm. Hermione muttered drying and warming charms under her breath for each of them in turn, and Harry sent her a silent thank you as he felt the last of the cold water leave his skin and his temperature rise.
Harry stared down at the snow, contemplating. They all had their brooms, and he was sure hoops could be Conjured, so why not play Quidditch?
"I've got an idea," he said slowly. "Accio." Again, he directed his wand to the snow. But instead of the intention of a snowball, he forced another thought into his mind. A few seconds more of concentration, and it was SnowQauffle.
"We don't have an even number," Ron pointed out.
"It's alright, I won't play," said Hermione, stepping back. "I'm awful at it."
"No, you should stay," said Ron. "You're not as bad as you think. We'll have to find someone else. Maybe one of the gnomes…"
"I'll play." Everyone turned to look at the door, wherefrom the voice had issued. It was Percy. Holding his broom. George feigned fainting.
"Okay," said Ginny brightly. "Harry, Percy, and I can be on one team, you guys on the other."
"Sure," said Ron, shrugging.
George stood back up out of the snow. "Sounds good to me." Hermione wordlessly followed the others to strategize.
Percy automatically turned to Harry for a plan, but was looking at Ginny. "You decide. You've been Captaining all year, which is more than I can say."
"Oh," she said, a little off-guard. "Well… I guess I can be Keeper, and you two can be Chasers. Oh, wait, that's an awful idea. Percy should be Keeper, he's played Keeper tons of times. Harry, we just need to catch Ron when he least expects it. That means long-distance throws. You can do that?"
"Of course," said Harry, nodding. Brilliant girl had the perfect plan already. He was almost certain Gryffindor was halfway to winning the Quidditch Cup by now.
Thank you for reading! Good news (at least I think it's good)! This isn't the entire plot I had planned for this chapter, meaning that we now have two chapters left. Gime'SS, Cassandra30, ragsweas, delia, thank you for your reviews! This is now the longest chapter, at 2852 words. Once again, thank you for reading, and please review!