Duct tape was honestly like a kind of magic.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
The break had an inauspicious start, but Ginny could feel tension simmering under the surface of most of her interactions with her family. As freeing and hopeful as the reopening of WWW had been, they were still wrestling with a lot of pain. No days were easy after losing a brother, but they made it through most of them unscathed. But the holidays brought a new wave of emotions and hurt.
Ginny was sitting on the sofa with Hermione one afternoon, watching Harry failing miserably at chess against Ron, when she glanced up at the angel on top of the tree, and her breath caught in her throat as she remembered the last Christmas when they were at least mostly all together.
It wasn't bloody fair. Why the hell did Phlegm have to share a room with her for Christmas? Bill was the moron who'd proposed to her, not Ginny, so shouldn't he have to be the one putting up with her? If only her mum wasn't so damn conservative about fiancees sharing a bed. But because of that, Ginny was stuck going to sleep every night smelling her suffocating perfume and waking up every morning when Phlegm slipped gracefully out of her bed at sunrise, with her hair somehow already perfect.
By the morning of Christmas Eve, Phlegm's sleeping patterns had completely decimated Ginny's own habits. After Phlegm left the bedroom, no doubt trying to prove how good of a wife she'd be by how early she woke, Ginny tossed and turned restlessly, punching her pillow every couple minutes as if it was to blame. Finally, she had to resign herself to the fact that she simply wasn't going to get any more sleep.
In an incredibly foul mood, she pulled on the jumper her mum had knitted for her last year and started to go downstairs when she heard her mum and Phlegm politely arguing about the proper way to prepare a Christmas dinner in the kitchen. She stewed at the bottom of the stairs for a minute or two before deciding that eating wasn't worth interrupting that mess, but there was no point in returning to her room when it reeked of Phlegm.
Some Christmas this was turning out to be, she thought. Her mum had been so busy that they hadn't even had time to decorate the living room. It was annoying. After everything that was going wrong in the world right now, Christmas at least should've still felt happy and hopeful. If her family didn't want to help with that by decorating, she'd do it herself.
Thankfully, her mum had a rather large store of crafting stuff in the closet off the living room beyond her knitting supplies. Ginny found paper of various colours in a box at the bottom of the closet. She remembered seeing decorative chains made out of paper like this in a Muggle magazine her dad had read from cover to cover several times, so, inspired, she borrowed her mum's knitting scissors and took them and the paper outside.
She walked out the door and was immediately thankful that her dad had placed a warming charm on the porch, considering there was thick snow on the ground. She sat down to begin assembling the decorations and cut the first sheet of paper into strips. She began trying to make the first link in her chain when she realised that she'd rather stupidly forgotten that she needed something to attach the ends of the strip together. The only problem was that she didn't know of anything that her family had that would do the job. If she could've used magic, it wouldn't have been an issue, but she still had a year and a half before that would be possible, and she wasn't really in the mood to go inside for help.
Ginny had begun experimenting with twisting the ends of the strip together to form a kind of crumpled loop when she heard the door open. She turned back around and was a little surprised to see Harry standing there, looking rather tired.
"Morning," she said, clearing her throat when her voice came out an octave lower than usual.
His mouth flickered into a small smile, even though he looked a little uneasy. She supposed they weren't alone very often, but she hoped he didn't feel uncomfortable with her. "Morning," he replied, sitting down near her on the porch and relieving her concern.
"Nice jumper," she commented, wondering if he knew that she was the one who had decided that green should be the colour of Harry's jumper every year when she was only ten and her mum had asked for her opinion.
He smiled wider now and nodded at her royal blue jumper. "Same to you." He looked down at the crafting project gone awry in front of her. "Er– what are you doing?"
"Trying to make some decorations for the living room. I saw these paper chains in a magazine of my dad's once, and I thought it'd be fun to do something like that since we didn't really decorate other than putting up a tree. It's stupid, I know, but I just thought–"
"It's not stupid. It's a great idea," Harry interrupted, looking rather seriously into her eyes before blushing slightly and turning his attention back to the paper. "But how are you attaching them together without tape or glue?"
"Tape or… I don't know what those are. I can't use magic, so I thought I might twist them together, but you can't really tell that it's supposed to be a circle now," she explained, holding up her first failed attempt.
"Surely your dad's got something somewhere that we can use. Did you check his shed?" Harry asked.
She shook her head. "No, I figured that anything I could use would be with my mum's crafting stuff."
Harry stood up. "I bet there's something in your dad's shed that would work."
She stood and was about to follow him off the porch when she stopped. "Isn't it gonna be cold out there?"
He smirked a little, something she rarely saw him doing. "Never thought I'd see the day Ginny Weasley was stopped by a little cold weather," he quipped sarcastically before stepping out into the snow.
She didn't hesitate now, never one to back down from a challenge. Without thinking, she followed him and found that it was very cold, but it wasn't a long walk to the shed. The only issue was trying to step in Harry's footprints so she wouldn't get her shoes wet. He took longer strides than she did, so she had to hop from footprint to footprint until she reached the shed, where Harry was laughing at her.
She swatted his chest before starting to open the door to the shed. "I'd like to see you manage on legs as short as mine."
He held his hands up innocently. "I'll never take my height for granted again," he responded as a smile tugged on the corner of his mouth. She rolled her eyes and pretended like that didn't make her smile too.
Once they were in the shed, Harry found whatever it was that he was looking for rather quickly, holding up a grey circle of something. "This is duct tape. It'll do the job."
"Duck tape?" Ginny asked, a little confused and wondering if it was somehow made from ducks, but he shook his head.
"Duct tape. It– actually, I'll show you when we get back up to the porch."
So he pocketed this not-duck tape, and they exited the shed, walking back to the house while trying to stay within his original footprints as much as possible. When they were close to the porch, they found that the ground underneath some of his first prints was frozen and slick. Well, Harry found that out the hard way when he slipped and went flying into the snow dramatically.
Ginny couldn't stifle her laughter, but she still tried to be a good friend and rushed forward to make sure he was alright. His cheeks were incredibly red, and she knew that wasn't just from the cold.
"It's a good thing the Prophet can't see you now. Imagine the headlines: 'The Boy Who Lived Killed in Tragic Snow Accident'," she laughed.
Harry burst out laughing as she apparently relieved him of some of his embarrassment. "How about 'Death Eaters Training with Snow After Learning The Chosen One's Weakness'?"
Her grin faltered. That one wasn't as funny. She'd been trying to forget that all their lives, especially Harry's, were in constant danger, this year more than any other. She sometimes had nightmares about finding out about the death of someone she cared about through the newspapers.
Harry must've seen her face because he sat up, looking apologetic. "Hey, I was just kidding…"
She shook her head. "I know. It's alright. Just don't– don't you dare let snow be what gets you," she responded, trying to make light of it.
His smile partially returned, and he held his hand up, requesting help. "I wouldn't dream of it. After all, snow's gonna be what gets you!" Harry exclaimed as he pulled her down into the snow with him.
She tumbled face first into the snow, and Harry was cracking up when she sat up and wiped the snow off her face. She tried to glower at him, but his laughter was infectious, so she laughed with him instead as she threw piles of snow at his face. He responded similarly, and pretty soon, they were flinging snow all over the place and laughing hysterically the whole time. It wasn't until they were both out of breath and had cleared most of the snow around them that Harry raised his hands in surrender.
"Truce?" he asked hopefully.
"For now," she agreed, and they both stood up without trying to help the other, recognising the danger in that. They were both grateful when they reached the porch and felt the warming charm beginning to thaw their frigid extremities.
Harry was still grinning when he sat down with her, and, after shaking his hands out a few times, he demonstrated the duct tape to her. He pulled a piece off and let her feel how sticky it was, and then he showed her how to fold it back on itself to make it sticky on all sides, which would make the paper chains much easier to loop. Duct tape was honestly like a kind of magic in its own right.
She almost expected Harry to go back inside after helping her, but, instead, he cut strips of paper for her while she made the chains. They worked very well together, and the chains were lengthening rapidly. After they'd finished a second long chain, Ginny asked a question she'd been wondering about since he'd come outside.
"So what got you up so early? I'm pretty sure Mum and Fleur are still the only other two awake."
"Couldn't sleep," he said simply.
She looked up at him. "Like at all or… you woke up and couldn't get back to sleep?"
He shrugged. "Not really sure."
She nodded and went back to the chains without pressing him any further. A minute later, he sighed. "There's just a lot on my mind, you know? Between Dumbledore and Malfoy and bloody Voldemort and everything else–" he gave her a meaningful look that she didn't understand "– I just can't sleep. I wish… I wish I could talk to someone, but it's like every person I talk to either thinks I'm too stupid or too young to know what I'm talking about or they just look at me pitifully because Sirius died and have a death sentence hanging over me. It's so damn frustrating!"
Harry had gotten progressively louder and was almost shouting by the end of his rant. He seemed to realise this because he shut his mouth quickly and glanced towards the door as if someone would come outside any moment. Ginny kind of suspected that her mum and Phlegm were still at each other's throats though and likely hadn't even noticed a shout from the porch.
"Seems like you were talking pretty easily just then," she commented as neutrally as she could, casually taping another link closed in the chain.
He sighed. "That's because you're you."
Ginny was trying to wrap her mind around what that meant when he quickly continued. "I mean, you're easy to talk to. And I don't think you think less of me for anything that's happened. But also… I dunno, it's almost easier because I can't tell you everything. Dumbledore won't let me tell anyone other than Ron and Hermione."
She felt conflicted. She was jealous that there was secret knowledge, available only to Dumbledore and the Golden Trio, but she was also curious because Harry seemed like he'd almost be willing to tell her about whatever it was if he hadn't been embargoed by Dumbledore.
Trying to maintain that neutral voice, she said, "I mean… I am here… if you want to talk about anything."
He nodded and cut a couple more strips of paper. She thought they would be sitting in silence for a while when he spoke again.
"Have you ever felt like it didn't matter what you did, things were still gonna go badly? Or like– like you know something is happening, but nobody believes you because you don't have proof? I guess those are two different things, but… I dunno, forget it."
"No, I actually completely get it. You're gonna hate it, but it sounds… it sounds like me with– with Riddle's diary. I felt totally stuck and didn't think anyone would believe me if I told them I thought a diary was making me do things I didn't want to do. It was horrible."
Harry nodded solemnly. "That's how I feel now. Stuck. I know… like I know Malfoy's up to something that involves Death Eaters, but Dumbledore doesn't seem concerned– he's more worried about the memories, and nobody else believes me. And I– I just have a feeling that something bad is gonna happen if that doesn't change."
Ginny tried to process what Harry was saying. "But… why is Dumbledore more worried about your memories than Death Eaters?"
He shook his head. "Not my memories." He didn't elaborate any more on that though, and she decided not to push him.
"I wish I knew what to tell you, Harry. I mean I fully believe that Malfoy could be up to something with Death Eaters, but I don't think that helps much. I guess… if you trust Dumbledore, it's gonna be hard, but you have to believe he's doing what's best, right?"
"Yeah… I guess so. Wait, you believe me about Malfoy?"
She nodded. "Yeah, why wouldn't I? You're my friend and are convinced, and I don't have any reason to doubt it."
He nodded too, looking a little happy and deflated at the same time somehow. "Yeah… you're my friend too, Ginny."
She hoped the cold weather hid her blush, but it definitely didn't when she looked down at the chains and saw that she must've made a couple hundred links in the time they'd been talking. Harry saw it too and laughed loudly, looking like a different person than the one who had just been carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Guess it's gonna be extra festive in the living room," he said with a grin that she returned, thinking she'd gotten her wish about having plenty of decorations for Christmas.
It was incredibly festive in the living room, as her paper chains covered almost every spare inch of wall in the living room. She didn't see much of Harry after they'd hung the chains– the rest of the family had come downstairs, and they'd been swept away into different activities to prepare for the festivities ahead.
After dinner, the family was in the living room, and Ginny started playing Exploding Snap with Fred and George. All three of them were closely matched and typically traded winning hands. She did notice Harry talking rather seriously to her dad and Lupin at one point, and she wondered if it had anything to do with the secretive business that he'd referenced that morning.
"Keep your hands back, you cheat!" Fred exclaimed, smacking George's hand with his wand.
"Keep your hands back!" George responded, returning the blow.
A matching card flipped over, and Ginny tapped it quickly with her wand, winning yet another hand. "Maybe you two should focus more on the game. You wouldn't want your little sister to beat you, would you?" she asked innocently.
They both snorted. "We're used to you beating us at this point," Fred said.
"We're more concerned with beating each other," George added, and Ginny took that as an invitation to play harder, winning several hands in a row before they made her leave so they could decide who was better between the two of them.
"Sore losers," she muttered sarcastically as she stood up, and they both shot her a grin before she walked over to sit alone on the loveseat, looking around at all the paper chains. She finally felt the Christmas spirit, even if it was being threatened by Celestina Warbeck.
Ginny attempted to look unfazed when Harry sat next to her, so close that their legs were almost touching. The thought made her skin tingle excitedly. She looked now at the tree, which had turned out rather nice.
"It's a gnome," Harry whispered conspiratorially.
She turned and furrowed her eyebrows, confused by what that could possibly mean. He nodded subtly towards the top of the tree. She followed his gaze and realised that the angel looked a little lumpy.
"It bit Fred, so he stunned it, and we painted it gold," Harry explained in a low tone.
Ginny laughed but managed to disguise it as a cough. Now that she knew it was a gnome, it was incredibly obvious and hysterical. "Only Fred," she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
Harry grinned before locking eyes with her. She found that his gaze was becoming very intense, and she could literally feel her mouth drying as they stared at each other. Harry's eyes flicked down to her lips for a fraction of a second before returning to her eyes. Ginny could feel the breaths coming faster as her heart accelerated. Her palms were certainly sweating when he opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then the most horrid sound in the world interrupted whatever this moment was.
Fleur was apparently mocking Celestina Warbeck's singing, which Ginny knew would just go over brilliantly with her mother. Sure enough, her mum looked irate, and literally everyone scrambled to get out of the living room and up the stairs before things blew up.
"Happy Christmas, Harry," Ginny said when they reached her landing.
He turned and nodded, looking like there was still something he wanted to say but knew he wouldn't. "Yeah… Happy Christmas, Ginny."
That night, as Ginny struggled to fall asleep with the smell of Phlegm and her high-pitched breathing, she kept replaying her interactions with Harry in her mind. He'd been oddly open with her today, and the way he'd acted– blushing and almost trying to initiate physical contact, not to mention whatever it was that had happened on the loveseat– made it hard not to think about what Hermione had said over the summer.
Hermione had assured Ginny that Harry really fancied her now, and there were admittedly a lot of things that she'd seen from Harry that pointed to that conclusion. But she wasn't completely positive, and she wasn't going to break up with Dean in the hopes that Harry would fancy her, acting like a naive little girl in the process. If Harry really liked her, he'd have to man up and tell her. If he did that… well, she'd probably find it incredibly difficult to stay with Dean.
On Christmas morning, Ginny went through her presents alone– Phlegm had miraculously left to open presents with Bill. She pulled on her new blue jumper and headed downstairs, having come to the decision that she could at least try to help Harry along in admitting his feelings, assuming they were real.
Her first opportunity came quickly, when she was taking an innocent glance at Harry at the table and saw something white in his otherwise jet black hair. It looked like a maggot, which was a little revolting, but it also presented a chance she was eager to take.
"Harry, you've got a maggot in your hair," she said, maybe a little too happily, and leaned over the table to pick it out, allowing her fingers to linger for a second longer than necessary on his head before pulling away and dropping the maggot on the ground. Bill thankfully vanished the maggot before saving the gravy that Ron had spilled in another pathetic attempt to impress Phlegm.
Ginny noticed that Harry kept looking at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention, but she proudly saw every glance. She was content to let him keep looking for now without letting on that she knew and making him uncomfortable. She finished her lunch and joked with Fred and George about Exploding Snap for a moment– George had apparently bested Fred last night– before her mum loudly announced something about Percy.
Ginny could hardly believe her eyes when she stood and saw both Percy and the Minister for Magic walking up to the door. Before anyone knew it, both of them were inside the kitchen, and the Minister made up some blatant lie about Percy wanting to stop to see the family. It was very obvious that Percy was not happy to be here when he could barely hug their mum.
The awkwardness only increased when the Minister asked if Harry would take a walk with him to keep him company, apparently because his plate was empty, which was obviously bollocks considering Ginny had an empty plate as well. Harry looked very uncomfortable as he followed the Minister out the door, even though he assured Lupin and her dad that everything was fine.
Percy stood at a distance from everyone else, clasping and unclasping his hands nervously as he avoided looking at any of them. Somehow, things got even worse when her mum insisted that Percy take Harry's seat and have a bite to eat before leaving. Percy looked like he'd rather face a charging Graphorn than do that, but apparently even he wasn't entirely immune to their mum's requests.
The silence grew as Percy gingerly nibbled at a roll. Somehow, her dad thought it would be a good idea to break the silence by asking Percy how work was. Ginny didn't know how he could stand to speak to his son after the horrible things Percy had said the summer before her fourth year that had led to him leaving the family.
Percy puffed out his chest, as if thinking they should all be impressed that he was personally working with the Minister. "Work has been incredibly busy, as I'm sure you can understand, Father. The Minister has had me working tirelessly to ensure that our relations with all departments in the Ministry are positive and we are all working towards a common goal."
"And what's that goal, Perce?" Bill asked, seeming very disappointed with his younger brother.
Percy looked peeved that he had to answer such a stupid question. "I should think that's obvious. The Ministry is the sole line of protection against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. We are deploying endless resources to bring him to justice, and, frankly, it's only a matter of time. Even he will not be able to resist the power of the law forever. And of course, the Minister will likely promote me once that's taken care of."
Ginny almost laughed out loud, thinking that Percy was completely delusional. Even she had a better understanding of what was happening in the war than he did, and she was only fifteen!
"Promote you?" Fred asked sarcastically.
"What, from Junior Assistant to Senior Assistant?" George laughed.
Percy flushed scarlet. "This is exactly why the two of you couldn't finish Hogwarts and are running a joke shop now instead of doing something important. You never understood the importance of anyone other than yourselves. Yes, I will be promoted as an essential piece of the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Ginny was livid at his insult towards the twins and wanted to make him pay. When she thought nobody was looking, she used her spoon to scoop some parsnips out of their serving bowl.
Ron snorted. "You? The Ministry's done nothing to stop anything. If you wanted to be a part of the fight, you should've stuck around here."
Percy was growing redder and redder. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, brother. The Ministry is the only thing keeping everyone safe right now. No frivolous band of middle-aged wizards and witches in the Order of the Phoenix is going to protect anyone. And the Minister is currently convincing Harry to stop posing as a hero so the Ministry can get more work done. Only those who are delusional think of him as anything other than a fraudulent child who loves the attention of the media, and it's up to–"
Whatever he was about to say was cut off by three globs of parsnips hitting his face simultaneously, smearing on his glasses. Ginny grinned proudly at Fred and George, who'd had the same idea she did and also hadn't been able to resist after Percy insulted Harry.
Enraged, Percy shoved away from the table and stormed out the door without another word. Everyone else was in shock, except her mum, who broke down crying and quickly left the kitchen. Her dad went to comfort her, and a moment later, Harry walked in.
"Percy seemed mad," he commented wryly.
"Oops," Ginny said patronisingly.
"Guilty," Fred added with a wide smile.
George nodded. "Ditto."
"Some Christmas," Ron said, but he was smiling at what had happened too, even if it had broken their mum's heart.
"At least we're all mostly together," Bill offered.
Ginny nodded in agreement. It seemed like the longer the war went on, it became more and more of a blessing to spend time together as a family. And even though Charlie was still in Romania and Percy was a complete prat, everyone else was here. And Phlegm was here. Which sucked, but apparently she'd be family next year.
She glanced across the table again at Harry, wondering what he'd really talked to the Minister about. He seemed put off, but he'd clearly appreciated seeing Percy covered with mashed parsnips. She wasn't entirely sure that Harry would be as open with her again as he had been yesterday, but she hoped that whatever was bothering him, he didn't keep losing sleep over it. There were people he could talk to, like Ron and Hermione, that could help him. And if he needed it, she'd be there to talk through anything that bothered him. That was what friends did, right?
"Face it, Harry. You're cornered. I've got my bishops on either side of you, a knight next to that bishop, and a rook in front of you to put you in check. There's nowhere to run, and I didn't even need to use my queen or king," Ron said proudly, declaring his victory in another chess match.
Ginny glanced back at Harry, who still seemed baffled at how he lost, and Ron, having completely forgotten that they were playing a match. "I hate to tell you, Harry, but I don't think chess is your game," she joked.
"That won't stop him from playing," Hermione commented without looking up from her book.
"I'm gonna win one day," Harry promised, making Ginny smile. She adored seeing him optimistic. If he could be optimistic about chess, which he had no hope at ever winning, maybe everyone else could be optimistic about making it through the holidays.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
It was two days before Christmas when Andi brought Teddy over. She was going to bring him back for Christmas Day, but she actually needed them to babysit while she went out for some last-minute shopping, and Harry and Ginny were more than happy to oblige. Molly accompanied her, so the two of them were alone with Teddy.
They were obviously very comfortable with taking care of him, but they were a little disoriented when Andi explained that Teddy was teething and would often cry out of nowhere because growing teeth hurt. Harry could imagine, if growing teeth was anything like regrowing bones. She gave them a ring that she said would help him, but she also recommended rubbing his gums to soothe him when he got worked up.
Teddy began crying almost as soon as Andi left, and Ginny was brave enough to stick her finger in his wailing mouth. The change was noticeable, and, gradually, he began calming down. Harry grinned at Ginny, thinking it incredibly impressive, as usual, that she was so good with him.
The door opened, and they were surprised to see Ron walk in. "Doesn't he have his own fingers to suck on?" Ron asked as he took off his gloves and knit cap.
"His teeth are growing in, and this makes them feel better," Ginny explained with an eye roll for good measure.
"I thought you were working today?" Harry asked.
"Oh, I was, but we cut practice short to give the team a longer break for Christmas. They're gonna need it since we've got the match the day after."
"Boxing Day matches are always the best," Ginny said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, we're hoping that we can take the match to Falmouth and surprise them with some new tactics. You're still coming, right?"
"Definitely, mate," Harry answered. Ron looked visibly relieved.
A second later, the door was thrown open again. This time, Hermione came through the door, shivering as she took her mittens off.
"Do you two not actually have jobs?" Harry asked, only partly joking.
"It's nice to see you too, Harry. My boss made this a half day for us since we've been working so hard on the goblin communications. Oh, is he teething?" Hermione added, looking at Teddy, who still looked very pleased to have Ginny's finger in his mouth.
"Very much. His little chompers are sharp," Ginny replied with a wince as Teddy tried to giggle.
"Poor thing," Hermione said sympathetically before sitting down on the floor by them. Her sympathy apparently caught Teddy's attention because his eyes went wide and he started trying to wriggle out of Ginny's lap.
"Okay, okay, Teddy," she said, setting him on the ground. He took off, crawling over to Hermione, and he only slipped twice before he reached her.
"Wow! That was impressive, Teddy!" Hermione praised him, and he giggled again as his hair turned brown and curly.
"Whoa, I didn't know he was crawling," Ron said breathlessly, sitting down near Hermione. "Can he crawl over to me?"
Hermione smiled at Ron and turned Teddy towards him. Teddy looked interested enough, so she set him down.
"Come here, Teddy. Come here, boy," Ron called, and the other three started laughing.
"Please," Ginny began before giggling again, "Don't talk to our godson like he's a dog."
"Well how else do you want me to call him?" Ron asked defensively, but he didn't need to call him again. Teddy was very determined to make it to Ron.
"Just pick him up, mate," Harry said, seeing Ron's apprehension. Apparently he hadn't thought through what would happen after Teddy crawled to him.
"Like this?" Ron asked, almost holding Teddy like one would hold a dangerous creature that might bite.
Hermione laughed. "Ron, you've seen us holding him before. Here, hold him closer to your body, like that," she said as she adjusted Ron's arms and hands until he was holding Teddy in a much better position.
"Huh. This isn't too bad," Ron commented in a surprised tone after a moment. Hermione was apparently transfixed by the sight of Ron holding Teddy, whose hair was now bright red, and Harry exchanged a look with Ginny. It was honestly great to see Ron warming up to Teddy. He'd always seemed a little uncomfortable with him, but apparently, now that Teddy was moving around, Ron found him more approachable and interesting.
"Almost time for his first visit from Father Christmas," Hermione said a couple minutes later, smiling at Harry and Ginny like they were proud parents, which they almost were.
"Father Christmas?" Ginny asked, and Harry was reminded of just how little the Weasleys knew about the Muggle world.
"You don't know about Father Christmas?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"You didn't know about Babbitty Rabbitty," Ron shot back. "Who's the Father of Christmas?"
"He's a Muggle myth, I guess. He's also called Santa Claus, but my family always called him Father Christmas. Harry will know about him. Muggle children believe that he's an old man with a white beard and a red coat who flies around the world on a sleigh pulled by reindeer. On Christmas Eve, he's said to visit the house of every boy and girl and give them a gift if they've been nice or a lump of coal if they've been naughty. So every Christmas morning, children look forward to seeing what special gift they were brought from Father Christmas."
Harry stifled his laughter as Ron and Ginny stared blankly at Hermione. "Muggles are absolutely mental," Ron finally said.
"How does he know if kids are good or not? And how does he give them presents?" Ginny asked questions that Harry knew would only lead to more ridiculous answers.
"Oh… well, they say that he sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake and has a list of which children are naughty and which are nice. And he enters every home through the chimney to deliver presents."
"Somehow, this bloke's gotten even more mental. Why the hell would Muggles tell their kids that some creepy old guy is always watching and will break into their house on Christmas?" Ron asked.
Hermione was surprisingly defensive of Father Christmas. "It's meant to teach children to behave well when nobody's watching. And almost every parent gives their children gifts and says they're from Father Christmas and that they were nice this year. It's fun!"
"It sounds like Merlin, but way weirder," Ginny said, shaking her head like Muggles had messed things up with Father Christmas.
"Merlin?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. Most wizarding families tell their kids that Merlin uses magic to make the best toys, and at Christmas, they write to Merlin if their child was good enough to deserve a present. Then Merlin apparates around the country to deliver gifts on the doorstep of all the houses with good children. No… flying reindeer or breaking in required."
"That… does seem like a better option," Harry said thoughtfully.
"It is. One year, I got a toy broom from Merlin," Ron replied with a happy look of memory in his eyes.
"I got a stuffed dragon that actually breathed fire. Of course, I lost it after I set Ron's broom on fire," Ginny laughed, and Ron shot an annoyed look at her.
"Come on, Harry. You know how great Father Christmas is! It's such a fun tradition for Muggles! You must have some memories of getting gifts from Father Christmas," Hermione pleaded.
Harry hesitated, much too obviously, and Hermione's expression softened. "Oh… Harry, I'm so sorry. I didn't even think…"
Harry shook his head. "It's fine, Hermione. Don't blame you for not thinking about it. Father Christmas did seem nice in films they showed at school and stories I heard from other kids."
"Those Muggles never let you get anything from Father Christmas?" Ron asked, so upset about the idea of that that he didn't even hesitate to say the name.
"Er– not exactly. I got stuff. It just…" Harry trailed off, and he saw a similar look of shock and horror in both Hermione and Ginny's eyes as they came to the same realisation.
"They didn't… Harry, they didn't give you coal every year, did they?" Hermione asked softly.
Harry opened his mouth to answer but then closed it again, shrugging resignedly. Not like there was any use hiding it.
"I'll kill them," Ginny growled, and Harry quickly looked over to see that she was red with anger. "How dare they treat a child like that?"
He quickly reached out and touched her leg. "Hey… it's fine. I'm okay. See? It's almost Christmas, and I'm excited and smiling. No lasting damage done, I promise."
Ginny exhaled slowly but didn't lose her irate expression. "And I'm happy for that. Extremely happy. But still…"
"That's horrible, Harry. I'm so sorry that's how Christmas was for you," Hermione said as she wiped a tear from her eye.
He shrugged again. "It's fine. It was just another day. I realised when I was like seven or eight that I wasn't ever gonna be good enough to get a gift from Father Christmas, so I stopped worrying about it. It's been a really long time since I've thought about it."
None of them looked satisfied with that answer– Ron still seemed more shocked than anyone– but he really did feel fine. It had been ages since it had bothered him.
"So, is Teddy gonna be getting gifts from Father Christmas or Merlin this year?" Harry asked, relieved that Hermione and Ron were willing to argue about the merits of both candidates for his sake rather than continue talking about his Christmases at Privet Drive. Ginny watched the playful argument as well, but she held Harry's hand tight, and he knew she was looking at him with a sad and angry expression. He just squeezed her hand to let her know he was fine and kept egging on the argument.
After an incredibly lengthy debate that Teddy somehow slept entirely through in Ron's arms, it was decided that, in the future, Harry and Ginny would give Teddy a gift from Merlin while Ron made the sacrifice of his and Hermione's gift being from Father Christmas. It was so ridiculous and fun that Harry was able to put the entire conversation about his upbringing in the back of his mind, and the rest of the day passed rather quickly before the rest of the family arrived.
Molly and Andi were the first ones back, but they were quickly followed by Bill and Fleur, then Charlie, and finally George, Percy, and Penelope. The older siblings had agreed to come back home the day before Christmas Eve in order to have extra time together, and everyone was clearly grateful for that. It didn't seem like anyone was struggling too much yet, but from experience, Harry knew that the smallest things would cause emotional breakdowns over the next couple days, and it was good that everyone was going to be here for each other.
Arthur was the last to arrive, and he'd brought a surprise with him. Kingsley entered the house right behind him, and he greeted everyone warmly with handshakes and hugs, including a handshake that turned into a hug for Harry. He was very happy to see Kingsley, whom he hadn't actually seen since before the term had started at Hogwarts.
As if he read Harry's mind, Kingsley said, "Sorry it's been so long since we've seen each other. It's been difficult making time to get away from the office recently."
"It's no problem. I've been pretty busy too."
Kingsley laughed and took a seat at one head of the table, just next to Harry. "I believe you. I've read about what's been keeping you so busy in the Daily Prophet."
Harry felt a little tongue-tied. "It was probably an exaggeration," he said finally.
"Oh, I'm sure it was. The fun part of reading the Prophet is never knowing which parts of the unbelievable stories are actually factual. Although, I wasn't too surprised to learn that you clashed with Adrian Grimhall, to be honest."
"You weren't?" Harry asked.
"Not exactly. I tried to recruit Adrian to the Order a few years ago, and he made it clear that he wasn't interested in being a part of any defensive organisation without some level of personal glory. He took being passed over for the Head of the Auror Office about fifteen years ago badly. He's a prideful man who didn't help at all in the war efforts, and you're the opposite."
"In his defence, Grimhall started it," Ginny interjected like it still made her angry. "Slandering Harry in front of the whole class and provoking him into a fight."
"That makes much more sense than the Prophet's version of events. I am surprised that it escalated to that level though; even at his most proud, I wouldn't have ever thought he'd stoop so low. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Harry."
Harry shrugged, used to hearing people say that to him at this point. "It's fine. I survived."
As dinner progressed, different conversations broke out around the table. Near them, Kingsley expressed an interest in learning about what else had been going on at Hogwarts as well as talking to George about the shop. Kingsley had been very intrigued to learn that Harry was teaching Defence to everyone now, but he made Harry smile shyly when he said that Harry was an excellent choice for the position.
Kingsley seemed to remember something before they ate dessert. "I meant to tell you earlier, but we caught Avery and Nott this morning, hiding in an abandoned house in Yorkshire. We'd had a team of Aurors tracking their movements for several weeks after they were spotted by a wizarding family in Leeds."
"That's great news," Ginny said enthusiastically.
"We're happy about it. Obviously, the job's not done yet, but–"
"How many are left?" Harry interrupted.
Kingsley sighed. "Assuming our count is correct, we're still missing six."
Harry clenched his fist under the table, almost unable to believe there were still that many Death Eaters on the run. It was possible that some had died at the battle and their bodies had never been recovered, but… it was unlikely.
"Six?" Ginny asked quietly.
Kingsley nodded. "We may be wrong, but we believe Rookwood and Travers are together somewhere, and the same goes for the Carrows. We're still confident that the Lestrange brothers fled the country, but they remain a priority. We're not stopping our hunt; I can promise you both that. There's just not a lot to go on, so it's taking time."
Harry nodded, but he was wondering if he could've somehow made things different. Over the summer, Kingsley had offered him the opportunity to bypass training and immediately become a full-fledged Auror and begin preparing to become the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Maybe if he'd accepted, there'd be less Death Eaters out there right now.
He felt torn because he didn't regret his decision to return to Hogwarts. His relationship with Ginny had somehow continued to improve over the last three months, and even though they'd had some difficult times, he was happy at Hogwarts. And he still believed he made the right decision in turning Kingsley down. He'd needed a break from fighting dark wizards nonstop, to learn more about who he was when his life wasn't constantly in danger. And most importantly, he'd needed to ensure that his relationship with Ginny wasn't ever at risk again. Still though, a small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he could be doing more than the current Aurors.
"Will they have a trial too?" Ginny asked when Harry didn't respond to Kingsley.
"They will, but we expect it to be a fairly simple case like most of the ones over the summer. They're being held in Azkaban until their trial as well, so there's no chance of escape with the new security measures we've put in place."
Harry came back to attention at that. "New security measures? Beyond the dementors?"
Kingsley shook his head. "We're planning on phasing the dementors out of Azkaban. They pose too much of a risk of being corrupted by another evil wizard, and, frankly, they're inhumane. We're in the process of training human guards, but we've already implemented far more magical protections around the prison to make it virtually impossible to find. And if people do manage to find it… well, I'm not really supposed to discuss it, but I will say we've decided to be much cleverer with our defences than we used to be."
Harry was surprised but not upset at that news. "That's… impressive, Kingsley. You're not wrong about them being inhumane. Nobody should have to deal with that constant misery, even prisoners. If there's a way… I guess it'd be best to get rid of them."
For the second time in the evening, Kingsley looked like he'd suddenly remembered something important. "That reminds me, Harry… I don't remember exactly when, but you asked me once about sending messages with Patroni. I didn't get to explain the whole thing to you, but I was wondering if you ever asked someone else about it."
"Oh, yeah. I figured it out a long time ago, not long after I asked you about it. It was just like you said. Cast the Patronus and think about what you want it to say," Harry replied, remembering the first time that he'd managed to get it, practising with Ginny in George's flat above the shop.
"It's been a while since I've tried, but I couldn't ever get the hang of it," Ginny added disappointedly.
Kingsley frowned. "I don't understand. I didn't finish explaining how you use it to send messages."
"What do you mean? You told me to cast the Patronus and use your mind to guide it to who you want to speak to and tell it what to say. I just do that. Cast Expecto Patronum and then–"
Kingsley shook his head now, still frowning. "That's not the incantation."
"What?" Harry asked, positive Kingsley was mistaken.
"That was the part I left out when we were interrupted in my office. Dumbledore created a variation of the charm to have it carry messages. Instead of Expecto Patronum, you say Voxpecto Patronum."
Harry stared, totally confused. "But… that doesn't make sense. I've been able to send messages with it using the regular incantation."
Kingsley looked puzzled as well. "I'll admit, it's unusual. But that's the incantation. Most people wouldn't notice a difference because they sound so similar, which was part of Dumbledore's cleverness in making the charm what he did. I have no idea how you've managed to do it without knowing that incantation, Harry."
Harry drummed his fingers on the table, wondering how it was possible that the Patronus had delivered messages purely by his will when the spell he was using shouldn't have been able to do that.
"This is good news for me at least," Ginny said, interrupting his thoughts.
"How do you mean?"
She grinned. "It means I'm not stupid because I couldn't figure it out before!"
He and Kingsley both laughed at that. "That definitely makes more sense. I never got why you had such a hard time with it," he said.
"Well now that we know why, I'll try it out after we finish in here," she told him.
Harry tried not to think too much about the question nagging his mind about the Patronus. Maybe he could ask Dumbledore's portrait about it when he got back to Hogwarts. Actually, that was the perfect solution, since Dumbledore invented the spell. He decided that he'd definitely pay Dumbledore a visit soon after he returned to school.
After finishing a delicious pie that Molly had deemed "not good enough for the real Christmas dinner," everyone progressively moved into the living room, and Ginny announced that she was going to try out casting a Patronus message. She was braver than him– he would've wanted to practise with far fewer people watching. It did also make him wonder why they'd never asked any of her older brothers or parents for help when Ginny struggled with it over the summer, considering they all knew how to do it from the Order. The best explanation he could come up with was that they'd simply forgotten, which seemed a little silly now.
Regardless, Ginny had him stand in one corner of the living room while she stood in the opposite one. She looked at everyone else, most of whom seemed to be not very interested with something they'd seen a hundred times before, but she was unfazed. She turned to him and winked before raising her wand.
"Voxpecto Patronum," she cast.
Harry saw a burst of silver shoot out of her wand and looked up towards the ceiling, expecting to see her phoenix flying around the room. When he didn't see anything, he looked back at her, noticing two things at the same time. First, Ginny was staring in total disbelief at something in front of her. And second, that something was a silver Patronus, pawing at the floor and looking around the room before fixing its eyes on Harry.
His jaw dropped.
Standing between him and Ginny was a silver doe.
HGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHG
Ginny wasn't really sure what possessed her to demonstrate to her whole family, plus Kingsley, Andi, and Penelope, that she could send a message with a Patronus. It was something a lot of her family could do. But standing in front of them, with most of her brothers wearing bored expressions and her parents doing their best to seem interested, reminded her of when she was little and would put on 'concerts' in the living room. The problem was that she wasn't a particularly good singer as a five year old– or as a seventeen year old, for that matter– and she only knew Celestina Warbeck songs that her mother played, meaning that her brothers hated the performances even more.
At least she knew, or thought she knew, that she'd be able to do this, now that she understood what she'd been missing. It didn't make any sense that Harry had been able to do it without the correct incantation, and she could tell that he'd been stewing on it at the dinner table, trying to understand how it had been possible.
She looked at him and winked, very happy that she wouldn't feel dumb for not being able to match him on this anymore. Then she pictured their trip to Weymouth. She didn't even have a specific memory in mind. She'd just never been so overwhelmed with happiness for so long. That week had fundamentally changed their relationship for the better, and it was one of the happiest memories she could muster.
"Voxpecto Patronum," she cast as she waved her wand, thinking that she wanted her phoenix to fly to Harry and tell him that she loved him.
Silver shot out of her wand, and Ginny was thankful that at least the first half of the spell had worked correctly. Although, something seemed to be off because her phoenix never flew down to the ground when she cast it. It always flew up. As the Patronus formed, she could feel her mouth opening involuntarily. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Instead of seeing the phoenix she'd been producing for the past three years, she was staring at a silver doe in front of her.
She couldn't take her eyes off of it as it lightly trotted over to Harry, apparently delivering her message. Every single eye in the room was watching the Patronus. Harry reached out to pet the doe's nose, and, as he touched her, the Patronus disappeared.
She slowly slid her eyes upward to his face and saw that he seemed surprised too, but there was also a smile creeping onto his face that seemed… proud, almost. For a moment, she was very confused about how someone had played a trick and changed her Patronus and why Harry would be happy about it. And then she put the pieces together.
It was like the living room itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to give, for someone to say something. Ginny wasn't particularly proud of how she handled it, but she couldn't really think of anything else to do.
"I– er– just a sec– yeah," was all she got out before she very awkwardly walked out of the room and darted up the stairs, quickly shutting the door behind her. She leaned back against it, panting heavily from whatever had just happened.
Ginny had about ten seconds to try and begin gathering her thoughts when she was startled by a knock at the door. Merlin, she hoped it wasn't Harry.
"It's me," Ginny heard Hermione say from the other side of the door. Without saying anything, Ginny opened the door and let her in before shutting it again.
"Indicens," Hermione cast an Imperturbable Charm on the door, effectively ensuring that anything that happened in her room would be private.
Ginny flopped down on her bed while Hermione sat at the foot of it, looking at her curiously. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked after a moment.
Ginny didn't even know how to respond to that question. She didn't really have any idea what had actually just happened.
"What just happened?"
It looked like Hermione was biting back a smile in favour of being empathetic, which she appreciated even if Hermione wasn't doing a good job of it. "You cast your Patronus in front of everyone, but instead of a phoenix, your Patronus is now a doe."
"That's not possible," Ginny whispered.
"Try it again then," Hermione suggested, a bit arrogantly, like she already knew the outcome.
Realistically, Ginny knew what was going to happen too, but that didn't stop her from casting, "Expecto Patronum."
Sure enough, a beautiful doe emerged from her wand, looking around for a dementor to fight. Seeing none, it fixed its big eyes on her. It looked so innocent and pure, and Ginny felt awful for being ashamed of it. She reached her hand out, and the doe tried to nuzzle up to it, but it disappeared just before it touched her.
"Convinced?" Hermione asked.
Ginny groaned and flopped back on the bed. "How could it have changed? A phoenix makes sense for me! I thought they were only supposed to change when you fell in love with someone you knew didn't love you back, like Tonks and Snape. Why did mine change?"
"That's not the only reason they change. If we'd been taught properly about Patronus theory instead of just the practice from Harry, you'd know that Patroni can also change when you experience deep emotional growth with someone else. Like when you find love in its truest and purest form. Like when you find your soulmate."
Ginny sat back up. "Soulmate?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, apparently done trying to spare Ginny's feelings. "Come on, Ginny. Don't tell me you don't think you and Harry are soulmates."
Ginny frowned and looked down at her bed, considering the question. "I don't… I guess I've never thought about soulmates, really. I love him, obviously, but… I don't like thinking that he's my other half, like I'm incomplete without him. I guess it sounds dumb, but I don't…" she trailed off, finding it hard to verbalise her thought that she really didn't like the idea of being told that her life only mattered because of another person, even if that person was Harry. She'd been through too much to believe that she didn't matter outside of him.
"I don't think that's what soulmates are. To me, they're two separate and complete pieces that make each other better when they're together, but they're not two halves of a whole, if that makes sense. I think you're so independent that you're worried about being defined solely by your love life. And your Patronus changing… it probably feels like you're submitting to Harry somehow, like you're changing for him."
"Yeah! Why didn't his Patronus change into a phoenix like mine instead? Because that's beyond messed up if it's supposed to be the woman's that changes. I don't think I've changed for Harry– I've tried to just be myself, but I don't know– have other things changed? Merlin, why did I even cast that Patronus?"
Hermione patted her leg as Ginny spiralled in confusion. "I don't think it has anything to do with gender roles. If I had to guess, the stag seems to run in Harry's family. I wouldn't be surprised if more of Harry's ancestors beyond his father also had a stag Patronus. And your phoenix, while it was beautiful, didn't have any other connection to you. Just like I'd be very surprised if Harry's mum's Patronus was always a doe. I'd bet that it was something else before she fell in love with his dad. And honestly, I think a doe makes sense for you anyways. They love to run free, just like you, but they're sweet and kind. More than anything, they symbolise love and protection, and I think that's pretty much exactly who you are.
"And Ginny, you've been completely yourself with Harry. It's exactly what I told you that you needed to do a couple years ago. He fell in love with the real you. The only change I've seen in you is that you're so obviously happy and full of love, and as your friend, I am so thrilled for you because it's amazing to see."
Ginny nodded, feeling reassured that at least she hadn't changed more of herself than her Patronus. "But… why doesn't every couple's Patroni change then? I mean, Dad's is a weasel, and Mum's is a bear, so…"
Hermione was apparently ready for this question. "True soulmates are incredibly rare, Ginny. Most couples love each other deeply without being soulmates in the magical sense of the term. Your parents do love each other, even though their Patroni are different."
Ginny was wondering just how much Hermione had looked into this love and soulmate stuff, and she repressed the urge to gag, thinking that Hermione might've been doing research due to her relationship with Ron.
"I just–"
"What are you afraid of, Ginny?"
Ginny took a breath. That was a loaded question if she'd ever heard one, but she still thought about it. She wasn't afraid that Harry didn't love her or would stop loving her. She was more sure of that than anything else– the bracelet she was playing with absently was proof of that. She wasn't afraid of what other people, including her family, would think about it.
"I'm worried that all I'm going to be defined as and remembered as is the girlfriend of Harry Potter. This Patronus… it's like it's saying that the independent me is gone now, and I'm defined by the fact that I love Harry. Maybe my Patronus was just the first thing to change, you know? What if more things start changing? I don't want that. I'm still my own person," Ginny said, almost like she was trying to convince herself.
Hermione's response was immediate. "You're wrong, Ginny. That won't ever happen because Harry doesn't want that to happen just as much as you don't. He loves you for who you are, and he doesn't want you to change. I promise you, he feels really conflicted about this because he knows it's bothering you. Harry loves you for your independence and your… you know what? Have you ever looked at Harry, and I mean really looked at Harry, when you're mad about something?"
Ginny shook her head, thinking that when she was angry, she usually couldn't focus on anything but the subject of her wrath.
"You should take a look some time. Because when you're mad, even if you're mad at him, he looks at you like he's just fallen in love with you all over again. It's really adorable, and it's something that no man would ever do if he wanted his girlfriend to abandon her identity and submit to him and whatever he wanted and thought best. Harry loves you for you and wants you to keep being independent. That doe is just a very beautiful way of showing how much you two love each other. Because love like that is rare, Ginny."
They sat in silence while Ginny processed Hermione's words. She didn't know about the whole soulmate thing, but she actually knew that Hermione was right about Harry loving when she was mad. One of the first things on his list was that he liked how passionate and angry she got about the things she cared about. He'd even told her that he didn't think she needed a makeover because he loved her the way she was.
"You're right," Ginny finally said.
Hermione didn't hide her proud smile now. "Believe it or not, I usually am."
"I need to talk to Harry."
"I'll go get him for you," Hermione offered, standing up to go downstairs before Ginny stopped her with a hug.
"Thanks. I– I needed this," she whispered. Hermione hugged her tighter, and Ginny saw her wiping her eyes when she left the bedroom.
Mere seconds later, there was a knock at her door, and she felt a pang of guilt. Harry hadn't knocked to enter her room since May. She opened the door and felt even more guilty, seeing how worried he looked, like he'd done something to hurt her when it was really the other way around.
"Hey," he said quietly.
"Hey," she responded, letting him walk in before closing the door behind him and casting another Imperturbable Charm.
Harry stood uncomfortably in the middle of the room. "I wanted to… I'm sorry. I– I know you didn't want your Patronus to change, and I loved your phoenix. I know it really upset you, and I'm sorry that it changed."
Ginny sat on her bed and patted the bed next to her, extending an invitation that he accepted.
"When I saw that it was a doe… I panicked. Not because I was scared of you or of love or anything else. I was just worried that this was showing me that I was destined to be second to you in everything. That I'd be known only as Harry Potter's girlfriend in the papers and the history books. And I thought that more things were going to change about me because my Patronus changed for you, so who knew what would be next?"
Harry reacted quickly. "I don't want you to change at all. I love you, and you're perfect like you are right now."
She smiled and put a hand on his thigh. "I know that. Hermione reminded me that you love that I'm independent."
He nodded. "I do. I love that about you. And… I mean, I'd be okay with being known as Ginny Weasley's boyfriend if you want to switch things up. I really don't think you'll have to worry about that though. You're gonna be a famous Quidditch player a year from now, and people will forget that we're even together."
She kept smiling at his joke and kind words. "Oh, I don't have any problem being known as Harry Potter's girlfriend. I just don't want it to be the only thing I'm known for."
He nodded. "I know. But I think you're selling yourself short. You're a member of the Order of Merlin, and you're going to be a professional Quidditch player next year. You're gonna be just as well-known as I am."
She laughed. "I don't care about being famous, especially after seeing it with you for so long. I just want to know that there's more to me than just our relationship, even though it's the most important thing to me."
"And… do you know that?" Harry asked curiously.
She paused for a second before nodding. "Yeah… yeah, I do. Hermione helped remind me of that. She also… well, she said that she thought the reason my Patronus changed was because we're… soulmates."
Harry didn't look surprised by the gravity of that statement. "Yeah, that makes sense," he agreed plainly.
"That doesn't surprise you at all?"
He furrowed his eyebrows, apparently wondering why that was unusual. "No… I've thought that for a long time. You're the only one for me, Gin. Sounds like a soulmate to me."
"I guess… Hermione made it sound super rare. Like she said what we had was somehow the most pure sort of love– the love of two souls destined to be together… like magic."
Harry nodded. "It's a good thing we found each other then. I mean, you'd probably be doing fine without me, but I know I'm a lot happier with you than I ever would be by myself."
She took his hand. "I most definitely would not be fine without you. I'm a strong, capable, and complete person without you, but I'm a better and happier person with you, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."
He smiled. "I love you, Gin."
"I love you too. So now you can be happy about my Patronus changing. I know you were excited about it until you saw my reaction."
He shook his head. "I wasn't… well, I was excited to see it, but not because it meant you had changed for me or belonged to me or anything. It was cool because now our Patroni are the same as my parents'. And I liked seeing something… real that– that shows how much you love me."
He must have seen Ginny raise an eyebrow curiously because he continued. "Like you heard me, when I was hopped up on Veritaserum, say just how much I loved you. There was no possible way for me to fake that. It was just kind of nice to see something similar even though I already know how you feel. Like you couldn't have possibly faked that Patronus, so it shows how much you love me too."
She hugged him now because that was so bloody sweet that she couldn't stand it. "I try to show you that every day."
He nodded against her head, holding her tight to him. "You do. You do. But that's not gonna stop me from putting your Patronus on my list of the reasons I love you. Both of them, but especially your doe."
Ginny smiled against his chest, and they stayed like that for several moments before Harry said, "Oh, I guess I should mention that Kingsley invited us to the Muggle Prime Minister's New Year's Party. So if you wanna go…"
She looked back up at him and saw that he seemed excited about the possibility. "It sounds like fun. Especially if there's dancing!"
He laughed. "Believe it or not, I wouldn't complain about dancing. I think my whole perspective's changed on that."
She nodded. "I think my perspective's changed on a lot of things too. Like this… Expecto Patronum."
The silver doe that she was loving more and more with every reappearance stood in front of them, looking amazingly tranquil.
"Expecto Patronum," Harry cast quietly, and her doe was joined by a larger stag.
Ginny watched as the Patroni saw each other and looked like familiar lovers. The stag stepped right next to the doe and gently nuzzled his head on hers. The doe closed her eyes before leaning against the stag's chest and snuggling up to him. Maybe Hermione had been on to something about soulmates because the stag and doe in front of them looked like the epitome of the word, yet they were just extensions of Harry and herself. The whole thing was absolutely beautiful, and all Ginny could do was lean against Harry's chest while he kissed the top of her head, convincing her beyond a shadow of a doubt that being soulmates was definitely a good thing.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
A/N: I think it's impossible to overstate just how much thought I put into my writing. There's the actual writing itself- my estimation is it takes me between 8 and 10 hours, minimum, to write a single chapter, and there's at least an hour or two of editing and revising each chapter. But the thinking takes way more time. I feel very lucky to have this world that I can kind of slip away to in my mind, playing around and juggling ideas, and it happens all the time, from driving to watching TV to trying to fall asleep. I'm just constantly thinking and adding things to my plans. I've got 30 pages (and counting) of notes for Book 3, and I've got another doc for plans beyond Book 3 with close to a hundred bullet points that I'm constantly adding to.
The point is, for every chapter you read in about an hour, I've spent loads more time on it, and I'm not sure there's ever been one thing that's taken up more of my thought than changing Ginny's Patronus. I understand it might be controversial, but I hope this chapter and note explain my reasoning.
Hermione is my stand in for explaining the change, but it all started with my opinion that it doesn't make sense that Lily's Patronus was always a doe. First, it's way too convenient- like practically a sign they belong together, which makes more sense to me as something that happens once a relationship has formed rather than something predictive of the future. And if we accept that premise, there has to be a way they change when the love is returned as opposed to the two examples we have (Snape and Tonks) being when love isn't returned. And that introduced the idea of soulmates.
It's not perfect, I'll admit. I'm not writing a soul bond fic or anything, clearly, but I do believe that the wizarding world lends itself to the existence of soulmates in the magical sense of the term. And I kept coming back to the feeling that, if Lily's Patronus changed to match James, there wasn't a reason that Ginny's wouldn't change to match Harry's. I will note that Ginny's Patronus actually changed after their week at Weymouth at the end of the summer because that was the end of all the emotional and physical barriers between them, and I very intentionally didn't have Ginny cast a Patronus any time after that until now. Beyond that, Hermione covers my explanation pretty well, so I won't belabour the point any more.
Also, for what it's worth, you can go all the way back to C. 22 of SoR and see exactly where Kingsley didn't tell Harry the incantation. I chose Voxpecto Patronum as the incantation because it felt like the kind of clever thing Dumbledore would do. Vox means voice in Latin, and it sounds similar enough to Expecto that anyone listening probably wouldn't notice a difference, which is how it stayed a secret. I also want to mention that we never find out what Molly's Patronus was, and I found it so hilarious to make hers be a bear because she embraces the 'mama bear' role perfectly.
Aside from Patronus stuff, I considered breaking up Ginny's memories of Christmas in HBP, but after I wrote the whole thing, I felt like it flowed too well to break it up. The whole idea for it came from a tiny, tiny line in HBP that says Ginny decorated the living room like it was a paper-chain explosion. I figured there wasn't anything contradicting the idea that Harry helped her with it. Everything else about that memory is framed around the context of that chapter in HBP too, like a mention that Fred, George, and Ginny played Exploding Snap. I take what I can and look for the smallest details to work in the memory where possible, which is another reason this is one of my favourite memories.
I also feel the need to say that this chapter contains my first conscious deviation from canon since C. 5 of SoR. Ron and Ginny have no idea who Father Christmas is in my story; however, in CoS, Ron describes gnomes as looking something like Santa Claus. I'm sorry, but I find it impossible to believe that wizards actually raise their kids believing in Santa Claus, and I especially don't think a pureblood family would have any idea about him, so I just pretend that line doesn't exist because it doesn't make sense to me, and I really liked the scene with them discussing Father Christmas too.
And that's all I've got for this chapter, which is also, for those of you keeping count, the sixth guidepost plot point of the story of their first year, although that sort of extends throughout the rest of the holiday. And, as much as I love this one, I can't help but tease that the next one is the one I've personally been looking forward to the most since I first started releasing SoR. But for now, I've absolutely loved the Christmas vibes of these chapters, and I'm excited to keep it going with our next one!
Coming Friday: First Christmas- "I think I'm in love with Father Christmas."
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
Finnspa: Haha, I definitely was not intending for Ginny's dress to look anything like the WWW robes! I was thinking more of a dark purple, like somewhere around a grape or an eggplant, but now I can't get that image out of my mind either!