Harry Potter and the Loss of Innocence

Chapter Twenty-Five: Newest Addition

God bless the ruler of this house,
And send him long to reign.
And many a merry Christmas live to see again
Among your friends and kindred
That live both far and near.
~ Last Stanza of "God Rest Ye, Merrye Hippogriffs"

Harry heard Ron stirring; he was finally waking up. Harry shut his eyes and feigned sleep. He didn't want Ron and the others to know that he had slept little that night. As he lay there with his eyes closed he heard Ron jump out of bed and quietly walk over to Harry.

"Wake up, Harry!" Ron shouted in his ear. "It's Christmas!" The twins threw pillows at the boy and slid out of their beds lazily. "Where're the gifts?" Ron cried, frantically searching the room for the normal pile of gifts. "They aren't anywhere!"

A laugh came from the door and Ginny stepped in with Hermione. "Didn't you hear mum last night, Ron? She said we're all opening them down stairs this year, just like we used to until basically everyone was at Hogwarts."

"Oh," Ron said, the panic draining away, allowing his ears to turn a bright red. The girls went downstairs and the boys followed. Bill and Charlie were already up and had taken seats at the couch. Overnight a Christmas tree decorated for the season had been set-up in front of the main window in the room.

"G-good morning," Bill said trying, but failing, to stifle a yawn.

"Who decorated?" Ginny asked her brothers.

"We di-id," Charlie answered her with a huge yawn. Harry noticed that all the decorations were up around the house. Garlands hung from the windows and doorways. There were stockings hung on the fireplace and Harry noticed a piece of mistletoe in the far corner.

They heard sounds from the kitchen and Ron went to investigate. "It's mum, Tonks, Thia, Mrs. Granger, and Melissa cooking breakfast. We just need the guys to get-up to start opening the gifts." Ron turned to sprint up the stairs but Bill stopped him.

"You're not even going to look in your stocking?" Bill asked, laughing. Ron turned around and leapt towards the fireplace. Charlie caught him before he fell into the fire itself.

"Hold on there, little brother," he said, laughing. "They aren't going anywhere." Ron pulled out of Charlie's grasp and grabbed his stocking. Ginny and the twins joined him along with Bill and Charlie. Hermione and Harry hung back, feeling just a little left out.

"Aren't you guys going to look at your stockings?" Ron asked incredulously. Harry realized that the other three stockings had his, Hermione's and Melissa's (Bill's girlfriend) names on them. He took his down and went through its contents. There were some chocolates, two nice quills, a few cheaper toys (which completely amused the twins), and a small book with funny quotes. Everyone seemed to get basically the same thing.

Melissa entered the room and smiled at Bill. She walked over and took her own stocking down. "Thanks, Billy," she said to him. The twins went crazy with laughter. Bill's ears and face went slightly red, but Harry couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or anger.

Before Bill could attack the twins, Mrs. Weasley and the other ladies walked in. "Is your father still in bed?" Mrs. Weasley asked, dumbfounded. "Someone go wake him and the others up." Ron sprinted up the stairs and started pounding on doors. Harry had to smile; Ron got so worked up over gifts.

"I wrapped your gifts for you, luv," Ginny whispered in his ear. He smiled down at her and hugged her.

"Thanks, Gin," he whispered back. "Did you manage to find yours?" She shook her head in disappointment. "Good, because I'm going to give it to you later."

"Luv, you can't do that," she scolded him. "Everyone gives their gifts at the same time." Harry blushed; he'd never live this gift down then. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Harry lied. "I have to go get it though." Harry headed back up the stairs and searched through his trunk for the small box her gift was in. He had wrapped it back at Hogwarts before break had started. He didn't want Ginny to find out about it early.

"Is everyone here?" Mrs. Weasley asked once Harry had arrived back downstairs.

"Yes," Ron said hurriedly. "Get in here, Harry!" Harry slowed down and took his time putting the gift under the tree. "Harry, I'm gonna kill you!"

"You can't," Harry joked. He saw a few shadows pass over faces, but he ignored them.

"Ok, Ginny, you hand out the gifts," Mr. Weasley told his youngest.

"I think Bill should have to," she argued sweetly with her dad. "He hasn't had to in ages. Since Charlie was three or so."

"I think Harry should," Bill said before his father agreed with her, as he normally did. "He is after all the newest addition to the family." Harry looked at them all dumbly. "The tradition is that the youngest, or in your case, the newest addition to the family, hands the gifts out each round."

Harry watched as a quick look passed between Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and they nodded. "That's a good idea, Bill," Mr. Weasley said with a grin. "Harry, you'll hand them out."

"What do I do?" Harry asked to Ginny. She laughed and led him to a spot near the tree.

"We'll sit here and you need to find everyone a gift," she said, sitting down. He sat next to her and looked at the huge pile. He passed out presents until everyone had one. "Good, now guests open first, youngest to oldest." The three Grangers, Melissa, Tonks, Thia, and Remus each opened their gifts in turn. "Ok, now you open yours and then the rest follow in order."

Harry opened his gift from Remus first. It was a great book about different types of shield magic. Harry had never known so many shields existed. Next, he opened his gift from Ron; he gave Harry the normal stash of chocolate and a great book about seeker moves. Thia gave him a book on dueling technique and Harry knew it was more for teaching the D.A. The Weasleys gave him the normal sweater; this year's was a deep blue color. Bill and Charlie gave him a pair of slippers. He was about to put them on when he saw the smiles on their faces. He put them aside and was rewarded with their disappointed faces.

"Harry Potter," Tonks said, laughing at his gift to her and Remus. "Are you trying to tell us something?"

"Well, you know," he said with a shrug, "you can be kind of dumb at times." Tonks laughed and threw the book at him. Harry caught it and tossed it back to her.

"I want you to read that," Harry said seriously, "because as soon as break is over, I'm testing you on it." He opened Tonks' gift next and found a huge book on defensive magic. "There's a test on this I'm guessing." She nodded. "Ok."

Charlie loved his dragon and almost hexed Ginny when he discovered her ploy to hide it from him. It seemed that she had become attached to it while Harry was in the hospital. Harry promised himself to buy her an animal the next time he got a chance to.

Hermione got him a bookmark (though he didn't know why he needed it) and a replacement broom kit. The twins gave him another large stash of WWW stuff, because Dean had "borrowed" his birthday stash and hadn't bothered to replace it.

He gave Ginny, Ron, and Hermione their gifts next, wishing that everyone wasn't there to watch. He grabbed the second gift from the Weasleys and waited for his turn to open it.

"Oh, Harry, it's wonderful," Hermione said happily. She had Ron put it on and laughed as he blew on the back of her neck. "Thanks."

He opened his gift after Mr. Granger was finished and looked at it, feeling completely stunned. Sitting in his lap was a clock hand. Ginny smiled and hugged him. "It's for the family clock," Mrs. Weasley said with a tear running down her face. "I figured that it was about time you got your own."

"Thanks," he said appreciatively; he had never felt more like a Weasley before. He turned to Ginny. "Don't get the wrong idea about your gift." He turned and looked at her brothers. "And I'd like to get a chance to explain before you all try to kill me." They looked at him worriedly as Ginny pealed the paper away with absolute curiosity on her face.

She opened the small jewelry box and gasped. "It's that ring from the store! I didn't know you got it!" She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You got her a ring?" Ron sputtered. Hermione hit Ron, shocked at his insensitivity.

"Let him talk," she told him quietly.

"It's actually a ring that belonged to my mum," Harry said quietly. She looked up at him, surprised. "Remus gave it and its mate to me this summer as my birthday gift. My dad gave it to my mum before they were dating and he told her that he would marry her." He smiled at her sadly and whispered the rest into her ear. "I can't give you a promise like that, Gin. But I wanted you to know that you've saved my life in many ways and you do mean a lot to me." She slipped the ring on her right ring finger with a smile and hugged him again.

"I already knew that, luv," she whispered in his ear. "But thank you, luv."

Ron opened his gift and realized that it was a part of the same necklace Hermione was wearing. They connected it and noticed that it was missing a third piece. "Where's the other piece?" Ron asked looking at Harry.

"Right here," he said taking it off. He slipped the thick twisted metal circle into the other two. Harry felt some magic wash over him and looked at the other two curiously.

"Let me see those," Remus said curiously. Harry got up and handed them to him. He examined them slowly. "They have several charms on them. Do you mind if I take a look at them before you put them back on?" Harry shook his head, recognizing the hidden command.

His last gift was from Ginny. He opened it and held it in confusion. It was a book entitled Unfinished Thoughts. There was no author and when he opened it up it was completely blank.

"I thought you needed something to write in," Ginny told him quietly. Harry was startled, and looked at her completely confused. "To write everything down in so that it doesn't overwhelm you." Harry nodded in understanding and kissed her thankfully on the cheek.

"Ginny, open your gift so that I can," Ron told Ginny impatiently as she stared into Harry's eyes.

"Fine," she said irately. She opened her gift from her parents. When Ron had started with his gift, Harry leaned his mouth close to her ear so that she'd be the only one to hear.

"Thanks, Gin," he whispered. "I think I'll try and use it. I hate making you listen to everything."

"That's not why I got it for you, luv," she told him sternly. "I still want to be told everything, but sometimes writing helps more." He nodded again. "Luv, I'm serious. I want you to tell me stuff. How else will I be able to help you?"

"Ok, Gin, I'll try," he promised, hoping that he'd be able to live up to his word.

"Breakfast is ready, everyone," Mrs. Weasley said, once the gifts were all opened. "Let's dish up in the kitchen and then anyone out of Hogwarts for more than a year can eat in the dinning room. Everyone else is in the kitchen."

The twins smiled and nodded in agreement. "Ok, mum," Fred said happily. "We don't mind eating with the kiddies one more year."

"Anyway," George said carefully. "There's no adult supervision and all the food's kept in there." Everyone laughed and headed to eat. Except for a small food fight the meal went smoothly and the feast tasted as delicious as always. Afterwards, Harry went to get dressed for going outside. Last night's storm had passed and had left a wonderful amount of snow on the ground.

They spent the rest of the morning and much of the afternoon outside. They had a huge snowball fight that lasted several hours. Fred and George charmed three snowballs to chase Ron around. He spent ten minutes yelling at them (at one point his mother had to yell at him for his choice of words). They didn't stop until Hermione had pity on Ron and charmed six snowballs to chase the twins. They didn't out run them and got hit in the head three times each. Everyone laughed as the twins brushed snow out of their ears.

Then they had a competition to see who could build the best igloo without magic. (Fred and George declared themselves the winners, though they used tons of magic.) Ginny made snow angels with Hermione and they spent a lot of the time giggling together. Melissa joined them and the three girls fell to the ground laughing hysterically. Harry, Ron, and Bill eyed them nervously because the three girls kept giving them strange looks.

They even went ice-skating on the pond, which was a first for Harry. It took him a while to learn, in which time he fell on his bum several times. Fred and George loved his shaky skating and would play chicken with him. He always seemed to end up back on his bottom when they had passed. He was beginning to get angry, not only with them, but also with himself, when Ginny and Ron decided to help him out a lot.

"Thanks, you guys," Harry said once he was skating properly. Skating was great, especially with Ginny on his arm. Skating with her gave him a good reason to stay out of the races too. He didn't think he'd be able to stop if he joined one.

"So, did you sleep well after we all left?" Ginny asked him curiously. He didn't really want to answer, but he remembered his promise.

"No, not at all," he replied truthfully. His answer caught her by surprise and she stopped, pulling Harry back. This sudden stop caused Harry to lose balance and fall, bringing Ginny down on top of him.

"Gees," Bill yelled from across the pond. "Can't you guys control yourselves?"

Harry got up shakily with a lot of help from Ginny. He was blushing a deep red and trying to ignore the jokes her brothers were making. Well, all the brothers, but Ron, were making jokes at their expense. "At least they aren't trying to kill you, luv," Ginny said with a smile. "What was so bad about last night?"

"Normal dreams, plus a new one or two from the vision," Harry answered slowly. "I didn't sleep much because of them."

"I'm sorry," she told him softly. She kissed his cheek and continued looking at him. "You don't look so good," she said after awhile.

"Yeah, I don't feel very good either," Harry said in return. "I didn't get a lot of sleep these past two nights, so it's catching up with me.

"I wish you could sleep better," she said thoughtfully. They skated in silence for a little while. He didn't notice it, but Ginny had increased their speed slowly and they were now going quite fast.

She let go of his arm and speed off yelling back at him, "Beat you to the log!" Harry took off after her, but he knew her head start was impossible to beat. As he approached the shore, he tried to stop, but couldn't. He flew through the air and landed in a thankfully soft snowdrift. Harry heard the laughter, but decided to ignore it until he was out of the drift. There was only one problem with that: he was completely stuck.

Melissa was the only one who noticed his predicament and hurried over to pull him out. She helped steady him and then skated back to Bill, laughing. Harry glared at them and then felt his face betray him. "I'm done," he declared loudly, which only caused more laughter. He sat down and started to un-lace the skates.

Ginny walked over to him with his shoes, her face covered with an impish smile. "Can I have my boots?" Harry asked, knowing the answer.

"What are you going to trade for them?" she asked.

"How about these skates?" he asked holding them up. She shook her head no, so Harry looked around for an idea. He noticed that they were a long distance away from the others. "How about you give them to me and I won't tackle you."

She smiled at him mischievously and started to walk away. Harry got up, his socks getting soaked in the process, and tackled her to the ground. He tried to get his boots, but she held them just out of his reach. "Don't make me tickle you," he warned her quietly, but Ginny just laughed harder. He tried to, but her thick cloak protected her.

Twenty feet away the others watched the two teenagers fight for the boots. At one point Harry had one of them, but Ginny managed to get it back. "Should we be worried?" Charlie asked the others as Harry kept Ginny pinned.

"Nah," Thia answered. "He's good at not hurting those he's tackled, right, Remus?" He nodded stiffly and everyone knew that they were still angry at each other.

"But he's climbing all over her," Charlie stated worriedly.

"And wouldn't you, if she took your boots, Charlie?" Fred argued back. Charlie nodded.

"Then let them play," George replied. Harry finally got both boots back from her and started to put one on. Ginny quickly grabbed the other one, which he had placed next to him.

"Gin, give that back!" they all heard him shout as she took off running. He leapt up and chased her down. He tackled her, not because he wanted to, but because he lost his balance when his half-tied boot fell off. Ginny laughed and handed him the boot she had. He rolled off her grumpily and started to put it on. She got up and retrieved the other boot for him. He grabbed it roughly out of her hands when she handed it to him.

"Now should we be worried?" Charlie asked as they watched an argument brew.

"Nah," Hermione said with a shrug. "Ginny'll win. Harry can't stay mad at her for long. It's actually funny to watch them fight."

"Hot chocolate for anyone who wants it!" Mrs. Weasley's voice called out over the white landscape.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry stomped into the kitchen, passed everyone at the table, and bounded up the stairs. Ginny followed him inside, silently and pensively. Harry heard Ron ask, "Watcha do now, Ginny?"

Harry barged into his room and deposited his outer layers on his bed. He took a look at his ankle once he peeled the last sock off. It was completely swollen and was sprained. His burnt arm was covered in bloody bandages and his side hurt from where Ginny had accidentally elbowed him.

He wasn't angry with her because of the injuries; he'd been hurt a lot worse before. He was angry about something she had said. And he was angry with himself for yelling at her.

He sat down placing one of the boots he'd just wrestled from her next to him. He started to lace up his right boot when she grabbed his other one. She started running towards the orchard.

"Gin, give that back!" he yelled after her. When she didn't stop, Harry took off after her. It was awkward running with only one boot on. Every time he lifted his right foot he felt the boot slip off slightly. When he caught up with her the boot finally came off.

He fell on her, landing hard. She yelped in pain and gasped as the air was knocked out of her body. He heard her laugh when she got her breath back and he rolled off of her angrily.

"Thanks," he grumbled as Ginny handed him his boot.

"What's the matter?" she asked him as she retrieved his other boot. He didn't answer her and grabbed it roughly from her. "What's the matter, luv?" she asked again, slightly hurt.

"Nothing," he replied tying the second boot.

"Then why are you angry?" she countered smoothly. Harry stood up and faced her angrily.

"Let's see," he said pretending to think. "You just made me run in my socks across a snowy ground just to get the boot back that I had managed to wrestle from you," he finished angrily. He didn't mean to be cross, but he hurt too much to think clearly.

She had her hands on her hips and Harry knew that this was going to be a full-fledged argument. "One would think you've never played keep away before," she told him angrily. He stared at her surprised. She had not just said that.

"I have, plenty of times," Harry replied in a huff. "That was Dudley's favorite game when we were growing up." He heard her gasp, but he turned his back on her. Everyone was heading inside and Harry was going to change his socks.

Harry couldn't believe she had said that. He hated the game keep away and he knew why. Years of humiliation flooded down on Harry. The Christmas break after his first year of school came to mind. Their teacher had given each student a little goody basket for Christmas. Dudley was a sweet little angel at school, but once they got home he turned into a demon. He begged and screamed for Harry's candy and Aunt Petunia had given into the boy, as normal. Dudley spent the whole break slowly eating the candies in front of Harry, just to rub it in.

"Luv?" Harry heard Ginny's sorrow-filled voice come from the door. He turned his back to her, but he heard the door open all the way. "I'm sorry." Harry ignored her, though he knew he wouldn't last long. "I didn't mean to hurt you, luv."

"Why do you call me that now?" Harry asked, turning around quickly. He was surprised to see that she was standing right behind him. He looked up at her reflective face.

"I started calling you that when I was talking to you," she said quietly. "Back when you were close to dying. It seemed to help, I don't know," she said shrugging. "I'll stop if it bothers you."

Harry thought about it for a minute and shook his head no. "Gin, I'm sorry..."

"No, you shouldn't be," she said, putting a finger up to his lips. "I'm the one who put my foot in my mouth. The only thing you did was try to get your boots back." She smiled. Harry was stunned by the love and beauty in that one smile. He pulled her down next to him.

"Apology accepted," he whispered into her hair. "Did you tell your brothers?" She shook her head no and then rested it on his shoulder. She ran a finger up his left hand and realized that there was blood flowing through the bandage.

"Madame Pomfrey will kill us if we don't let this arm heal," she said with a laugh. "I'll be right back." She jumped off the bed and ran down the stairs. Harry smiled at her exuberance. As hard as he tried he couldn't free himself from the thoughts of his cousin and all the humiliation he had made Harry suffer.

One summer right around Harry's birthday, Dudley and his gang had decided that it was Harry-hunting season. He had run and hidden all over the neighborhood for about three weeks. The neighbors would call Aunt Petunia if they found him hiding in their plants or under porches. He had preferred her shrieks to the beatings the gang gave him. One time they caught him in an alley and each member took a swing at Harry; Dudley took several. He went home with a broken nose, a few broken and bruised ribs, and a sprained ankle. Aunt Petunia was horrified and by the time Uncle Vernon had gotten home she had an elaborate story made up. She told him Harry had joined a gang and had taken part in a gang war. Neither would have ever believe nor accept that the gang he'd crossed paths with was led by her precious Diddy-cuns.

"Luv, are you alright?" Ginny's voice came from next to him. He jumped slightly but nodded. "Here, give me your arm." She efficiently unwrapped and rewrapped the bandage, putting more burn salve on. Harry couldn't help but think that the only reason Madame Pomfrey had let him out of the infirmary so soon was that it was Christmas. This arm was no where close to being healed.

"Thanks, Gin," he said once she was finished. She smiled at him. They sat in silence for a long while thinking their own thoughts. "Thanks for..."

"I was..." They laughed and Ginny let Harry continue.

"Thanks for teaching me to skate," he said smiling at the girl next to him. "It was a lot of fun."

"No problem, luv," she said with a smile. "Tomorrow I'll teach you how to stop." He laughed with her and wrapped his right arm around her. He was surprised at how odd it felt with her on that side. He had never realized how accustomed he had come to have her on his left. He was never really sure how they ended up kissing, but they were when Hermione's voice interrupted from the door.

"I was going to ask if Harry was going to hide up here all day," she said trying to keep her face straight, "but I see why you two disappeared." Ginny stuck her tongue out at her and Hermione left with a laugh. They straightened themselves out and followed Hermione downstairs.

Dinner was served later that evening and it was a wonderful banquet. Harry wondered how Mrs. Weasley could always out do herself. They spent the time after dinner talking in the living room. Several people started a chess tournament, but Harry opted to just watch. He was happy to find Ginny playing her dad for the championship. He cheered her on and felt her pain when she lost. Harry knew she absolutely hated losing.

At one point Melissa and Bill disappeared. When he got back she wasn't with him. He explained that he had taken her home and she wouldn't be back that night. The other Weasley boys teased him about it, but Harry left him alone. He was glad that Ginny wouldn't be leaving. Ron was slightly quieter about it too, because Hermione was thinking about spending the last week of break at home with her parents, or at least the days when they wouldn't be visiting Neville.

Neville still hadn't written them about the dates and Harry was getting curious. He had never been to Neville's and had only seen his grandmother in real life twice. He wondered what the house was like and what Neville's family was like.

He turned his attention back to the conversation Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were having. They were talking about Quidditch and the unbelievable news that England had asked all seven of the Holyhead Harpies to play on England's World Cup team. The players hadn't made any statements about it, but other teams were already complaining.

"They're just jealous," Ginny said contemptuously.

"Why is that?" Ron asked heatedly. "There has never been an English team made completely of one team before. It has always been a blend," he argued with her logically.

"But they're the best players," Ginny told him. "They have the best stats in each of their positions and they haven't been beaten once."

"She's got a point, Ron," Harry told him. Ron glanced at him and looked back at Ginny. "Their chasers are even better than the last Irish team's chasers. And they have a Seeker that rivals Vicky." Ginny laughed and Hermione colored slightly. Vicky was a nickname Ron had given Victor Krum, an international playing Seeker, during their fourth year while Victor competed in the Triwizard Tournament. Hermione kind of went out with him that year and the following summer.

"Harry, don't bring up old news," Ginny said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "You don't need to cause trouble."

"I was only stating facts," Harry said in his defense. He couldn't keep the smile off his face though.

"Sure you were," Ron griped.

"I was," Harry said quickly. "Vicky is one of the best Seekers out there and their Seeker is just as good as he is. It's not my fault if Herm...."

"Harry Potter," Ginny said angrily. "Don't you dare finish that one."

"All I was going to say," Harry continued, "it's not my fault if she broke up with him last year and ruined his season." The three stared at him in surprise. "I read a letter you left lying around last spring," Harry confessed. "I watched his stats this summer and noticed that they nose-dived." Hermione punched him hard, causing her to receive a reprimand from her mother. She just shrugged the scolding off and glared at Harry.

"Why'd you read it?" she asked angrily.

"I was just as curious about what was going on between you two as Ron was," Harry answered, messaging his right shoulder. "You've got a good punch."

"Yeah, with best friends like you two," she said sarcastically, "I get loads of practice." Harry tried not to look at Ron and he knew Ron was trying not to look at him. He was too close to breaking out in laughter, which would be inappropriate, to risk even a short glance at Ron.

Ginny came to their rescue, though Harry doubted that she knew what was going on. "Hermione, I need to talk to you for a second." The two girls left the room and Harry took one quick glance at Ron. As he knew would happen, both boys snorted.

"I never realized she blames us," Ron said between laughs.

"I never realized how often she hits us," he returned.

"I have a very abusive girlfriend," Ron said wiping the tears of laughter from his face.

"You know," Harry said trying to calm down. "After Hermione and Ginny, Voldemort will be a breeze." This caused both boys to crack up laughing again.

"Mr. Potter," the angry voice of Mrs. Weasley sobered them instantly. "Do not joke about something so serious!" Harry looked at her surprised; he hadn't realized that everyone was watching them. He shrugged his shoulders; something any of the Weasleys could have told him was a bad idea. "Don't take that stance with me, young man!" Harry looked at Ron confused.

"Your shrug," Ron mouthed to him.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry apologized quickly. "But joking about it, I don't know." Harry stopped and thought about why he joked about it, absently running his fingers through his hair. "It makes it more real, but at the same time less daunting, I guess." He shrugged without thinking. "It's helped me to accept it."

"And why is that?" she asked still cross with him.

"'Cause I talk about it then," Harry replied after a moment's thought. "Some things become too hard to handle without a joke or two at its expense. Like when Katie and I make the team practice in the rain, we let them complain and joke about us behind our backs." Harry noticed Ron's evident shame. "We know it makes the practice better for them and we laugh at them afterwards because it helps us."

Mrs. Weasley stared at the boy sadly. "I still wished you wouldn't compare the girls to You-Know-Who."

Harry felt a smile cross his face. He stared up at the ceiling to avoid any of the Weasley boys' eyes. When he got himself back under control he spoke to her. "Half the fun of being friends with Ginny and Hermione is that they are very forceful and slightly violent women." Ron choked out a laugh. "If I can survive dating Ginny and being best friends with Hermione, I can survive anything." All the men in the room laughed, along with Thia and Tonks. Harry realized that Ginny and Hermione had re-entered the room at some point and he couldn't tell if they were angry or pleased with what he had just said. "I'm sorry if I've offended, but I believe it's true." This caused a whole second round of laughs with the two mothers looking slightly affronted.

"Dear," Mr. Granger said to his wife before she lost her temper. "You know Hermione has your temper and your right hook, so give the boy a break." Mrs. Granger looked at him thoughtfully and then smiled appreciatively.

"And, Molly," Mr. Weasley said quietly, "Ginny's your daughter and a wonderful red head. It takes a lot of guts to live with one." Mrs. Weasley hit him on the shoulder and Harry had to control his face to keep the smile from betraying him. In the end Mrs. Weasley relented and the room fell back into its calm.

Hermione and Ginny went to a corner and talked quietly together. Ron and Harry eyed them warily; they could be planning anything. Eventually, the room emptied until only the twins, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were left.

"We're going to bed," Fred announced. "Don't stay up too late."

"And when you two go to bed," George told Ron and Harry, "keep the noise down." All four of them said good night to the departing twins.

Harry and Ron started a chess game that Ginny and Hermione watched. Harry begged Ginny for some help, but she wouldn't give in. Hermione was fighting back yawns, until she too went to bed. Harry and Ron looked at her retreating back in surprise.

"She woke up about an hour before you did, Ron," Ginny explained. Ginny went to bed soon after, but Harry didn't feel tired at all. In fact, he was dreading the nightmares he knew he was going to have that night.

After their second game, Ron stood up. "'Night, Harry. Don't stay up too late." Harry nodded and went to sit by the fire. He wished that sleep wasn't the torture it was. An hour went by without his knowledge.

"Luv?" Ginny said, taken by surprise as she entered the living room. "What are you still doing up?"

Harry was staring at the fire, but didn't comprehend anything he saw or heard. He was too deep in thought to be brought back by that simple question.

"Luv?" she asked next to him. He still stared into the fire. "Harry, wake up!" she said loudly right next to his ear. He jumped and almost fell out of his chair. "Sorry."

"That's ok, Gin," he said with a smile; he was glad that he was startled out of his train of thought. "What are you doing up?" he asked curiously.

"I've already asked you that, so you have to answer," Ginny argued back at him. He smiled at her and laughed.

"Alright," he answered, "I wasn't tired so I stayed down here. I got lost in thought and would have stayed that way except you got me out of it. Now, why are you up?"

"Getting a drink of water," she replied pulling him up out of his chair. He walked with her into the kitchen and watched as she filled a glass of water. He then walked up the stairs with her, hand in hand and kissed her good night at her door.

He slowly walked down the stairs back to the room he shared with the twins. It was one of the best Christmas's he'd ever had. His only wish to make it better was to hear, just once more, Sirius singing, "God rest ye, Merrye Hippogriffs" at the top of his lungs.