A/N: Day 8 of the 12 Days of Shipmas - the prompt was "Christmas Jumpers" and boy things got angsty. Hope you enjoy!
A week before Christmas, Harry glances at the stack of presents under the Weasley tree, then takes a closer look. Most of the presents are bright, shiny, with fresh, perky bows on them, but there are three that look...old. Faded, a bit rumpled, saggy.
He frowns and moves closer. There is a fine layer of dust coating these three gifts, and they are somehow wedged between two of the tree's branches, almost like they grew in that spot, although Harry knows this cannot be. He kneels in front of the gifts and reaches for a tag, visible off the gift on the left. "To Hermione," it reads in very familiar handwriting, "love from Molly and Ginny."
Brow furrowed, Harry feels around for tags on the middle and right-hand gifts. He finds them: "To Harry" and "To Ron" the tags read, with the same signature as the first, except Ron's says "Mum" instead of "Molly."
Harry drops the tag and considers the gifts. Three presents, addressed to him and Ron and Hermione, with faded wrappings…
"Harry?" A soft voice interrupts his thoughts. He twists and sees Ginny coming towards him, concern and...is that sorrow on her face? She drops to her knees next to him, reaches to take his hand, and her eyes never leave his face.
"I meant to move these," she murmurs, searching his face.
"Are they...from last year?" he asks quietly, guessing the answer from the pain in her eyes. She nods, and he squeezes her hand, hoping she gets comfort from it as much as he does.
"They're your jumpers," she whispers. "I wrapped them and put them under the tree, right in front, because-" her voice falters a bit, and she swallows and takes a breath before continuing "-because I had to prove to myself that I believed you would come home." Her voice is barely more than a breath by the time she finishes, and Harry reaches to wipe a tear from her cheek.
"I'm glad you believed, Gin," he whispers back, leaning in until their foreheads are touching. "There were days when I didn't believe it, but I'm glad you did. I know it was hard," he adds, feeling her grip tighten on his hand, "but sometimes I think… I think you believed enough for both of us, and I didn't realize how much I needed that until it was all over."
There are more tears on Ginny's cheeks, and Harry cups his hand under her jaw. She lifts her head from his, shifts her legs, and wraps both arms around him, presses her head against his chest. His arms go around her immediately, and for a while they kneel there together in front of the jumpers.