A/N: Day Two of 12 Days of Shipmas! Today's prompt is "Christmas Tree Decorating." Enjoy!
Despite Kreacher's continual grumbling, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was almost cheery on Christmas Eve. Mr. Weasley was expected home at any moment, and what with Sirius's whistling and Ron and Hermione's constant bickering and the twins Apparating in and out of rooms, Harry found himself seeking a moment of silence in the parlor.
Given the grandness of the room, it had made the most sense to put the largest Christmas tree in the parlor. Kreacher had lit a fire in the fireplace, and with a few candles lit on the mantle, the room was actually cozy and almost festive. Harry sighed as he sank onto the sofa across from the fireplace. The tree was just to the left, in the corner between the mantle and the window, and the smell of pine filled Harry's nose.
Movement caught his eye, and he bolted upright. Someone was at the window. Harry gripped his wand and took a step closer, squinting at the glare in the pane.
Suddenly Ginny's face appeared before him, and he stumbled back.
"Harry!" she cried as he caught himself on the arm of the sofa. "You scared me!"
"Sorry, I thought I saw someone at the window," he said, slightly dazed. "But I guess it was you?"
Ginny flushed and nodded. "I was just sorting through this box of ornaments," she explained, motioning behind her. Harry saw the corner of a brown box through the boughs of the tree. "I didn't hear you come in, and then I looked up and you were right there…" she trailed off, not meeting Harry's eyes.
"I'm sorry I startled you," he said gently. He did feel bad for startling her, and he was embarrassed to admit that she had startled him. "Want some help?" he offered.
She looked at him then, and Harry felt like she was studying him, looking for something, though Harry couldn't guess what. "Alright," she said finally. "Come on, let's decorate this tree."
She stepped back and knelt to move the box so it was not in the corner but out in the open. Harry joined her and looked in the box. Bright, handmade ornaments filled the box; it looked to Harry as if a Muggle craft store had exploded and this box had been used to clear the wreckage. Tinsel, glitter, yarn, and even more glitter lay in a mess in the box.
Ginny reached in and picked up some yarn that had, Harry saw, letters pasted on to read "Our First Christmas Together."
"This is from Mum and Dad's first married Christmas," she told him as she stood to drape it on a branch.
Harry just looked at her, aghast.
"What?" she asked. "Does it need to go higher?" She stepped back, tilted her head. "Yeah, it needs to go up higher." She moved to reposition the yarn.
"Ginny," Harry finally found his voice, "where did this box come from?"
She looked at him as if he had asked her where Father Christmas lived. "From the Burrow, of course."
"But… but how did they get here?" Harry persisted. If he couldn't leave the first floor without Mrs. Weasley knowing it, how on earth had Ginny escaped to the Burrow and back without notice?
"I asked Tonks to get it for me," Ginny answered matter-of-factly. "I figured since these are homemade, even if she dropped them, they couldn't look any worse." She looked at Harry seriously, and Harry looked back, and they stared at each other for a moment before they both cracked up laughing.
When they finally stopped laughing long enough to catch their breath, Harry turned to her and grinned. "This is brilliant," he said in awe. "Excellent idea, Ginny." He reached out and squeezed her hand briefly, then dropped it.
Ginny regarded him. "It's not Christmas without our ornaments," she said firmly. "Now let's get this tree decorated before Mum comes looking for us."