- Rating:
- PG-13
- House:
- Astronomy Tower
- Characters:
- Ginny Weasley Harry Potter Hermione Granger
- Genres:
- Angst Romance
- Era:
- Multiple Eras
- Spoilers:
- Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire
- Stats:
-
Published: 12/22/2002Updated: 12/22/2002Words: 1,903Chapters: 1Hits: 796
Christmas
Jesabelle
- Story Summary:
- It's Christmas time, and Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron are spending it at the Burrow. It has been a year since Harry and Ginny split up, and this is a bit of a fluffy story about their reunion.
Chapter 01
- Posted:
- 12/22/2002
- Hits:
- 796
- Author's Note:
- Dedicated to Ginny
Chapter One
Hermione shut her eyes tightly and shuddered. It was absolutely freezing outside, her boots had sunken into the deep snow, and even half a dozen layers of clothing underneath her huge duffel coat weren't preventing her skin from growing numb. But a promise was a promise, and she would stay out here until Ginny was satisfied that she'd helped her enough with her astronomy. Silently, she prayed that Ginny would be able to spot Pluto through the telescope soon. The wind was whipping at her face and she could no longer feel her face when she spoke, and her mouth had difficulty forming the sounds. It was usually cold in December in England, but this was ridiculous.
"Hermione, is this it?"
Hermione's eyes flew open as Ginny moved away from the telescope, her brow furrowed deep in concentration. Glancing through the telescope, Hermione let out the breath that she was holding in, relieved.
"You've got it!" she grinned at Ginny, and started to pack the telescope away before she could ask any more questions. Ginny sighed noisily and folded her arms over her chest.
"Sorry for dragging you out here Hermione, I just really seem to struggle with astronomy...unlike Miss Top Mark N.E.W.T In Every Subject," she said, a note of teasing in her voice, as she poked Hermione in the ribs.
"Stop, you're killing me," Hermione said, sarcasm dripping from her tone, as the two girls crunched their way across the snow.
Hermione opened the kitchen door and as soon as she stepped in, she was awash in a blanket of warmth and light. She flicked her wand in the direction of the kettle, and red hands fumbled with the buttons on her coat as she kicked off her boots. Ron walked into the kitchen, his cheeks flushed, wearing a huge grin.
"How are my two favourite witches?" he said, slipping an arm round Hermione's waist and planting a wet kiss on her cheek.
"Ron," she said, flushing deeply -she wasn't used to being publicly affectionate with Ron, but being the festive season, and seeing Harry again after so long, he was becoming extremely 'relaxed' with the aid of Madame Amaretta's Wizard Amber night after night. She didn't mind of course, he never got silly, just a little too confident for her liking.
It was Christmas at the Burrow, and it was just Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny. Arthur and Molly were visiting Bill in Egypt, who simply couldn't leave Gringrotts at the moment, due to the hope for a big promotion in the New Year, which left the house empty. Fred, George, Percy and Charlie were all Apparating to Egypt on Christmas Day, but Ginny was still about eight months away from being able to even consider taking the test for her license, so Ron had offered to stay at the Burrow with her. Naturally, Hermione was staying with Ron over the Christmas period, as was Harry, and Remus, Sirius and Mr and Mrs Granger were due on Christmas Day at noon to eat lunch with them.
The foursome hadn't been together since the end of Harry, Ron and Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts. There had been many occasions where Ron and Hermione would meet up with either Harry or Ginny separately, but never all together. Hermione knew without a doubt that it wasn't a coincidence on Harry and Ginny's part. The two had avoided each other like a curse ever since it had happened...
Hermione, along with Ron and Harry, was nineteen now, and Ginny, eighteen. It was Ginny's first Christmas away from Hogwarts; she was due back there in a couple of week's time to begin her N.E.W.Ts, and the first Christmas that Hermione had spent alone with Ron. Alone without parents around, that is.
Christmas and New Year held happy memories for all four young witches and wizards, but, for Harry and Ginny in particular, it also held some bad ones.
Exactly a year ago on New Years Eve, Ginny and Harry had been celebrating their two-year anniversary. Hermione for one had never seen them as happy, Ginny was positively glowing around that period, and it brought a smile to her lips at the thought. But that evening, Harry had made the biggest mistake possibly in his entire life.
They were celebrating New Years Eve similar to the Muggles, there were a lot of strange-smelling drinks going around that Hermione had no doubt contained a great deal of alcohol. She didn't deny that, along with everyone else, she had become a little...merry. But no one had become as 'merry' as Harry. By the time midnight came, all Harry could make out was blurred figures - even with his face inches from theirs. They were all celebrating at Seamus Finnigan's, whose inherited wealth during his sixth year had brought him a house just as big.
The pounding music and bright lights had all combined into one mass of noise and colour in Harry's brain, and neither could he think or talk straight. He only had one thing on his mind at five to twelve: to find Ginny and be with her as they began the new year. As he stumbled up the stairs of Seamus' mansion, voices coming from a room on his far right, and though Ginny's might be one of them. Upon entering, he was greeted with another crowd of partygoers, although he wasn't totally sure where they had come from, beginning the count down to midnight. Seeing the person whom he could of sworn on his life at the time was Ginny, he staggered over and gripped her tightly, whispering nonsense in her ear about how much he loved her. He remembered Ginny laughing loudly, and, in an explosion of party poppers, cheers, and hugging, he began to kiss Ginny rather roughly. He remembered feeling that Ginny was kissing him differently, and mildly pondering on the reason why, then something happened which made him sober up within seconds. The room had gone awkwardly quiet and Harry blindly let go of Ginny and spun around to be faced with...Ginny? Confusion punched him in the face and he looked dumbly from person to person. As his eyes became more focused and stopped betraying his thoughts, he began to realise exactly what he had just done. The female to his left, the one he had just kissed, he saw now was a rather plain looking girl with washed out, waxy red hair in a top that left nothing to the imagination and ridiculously short skirt. She wore a bemused smile on her face, and laughed dryly before flouncing off to join her other friends. The female to his right was his Ginny.
His beautiful Ginny, with her stunningly bright eyes, gorgeously flushed angel-like cheeks, and fire red hair which fell about her shoulders, with a few rouge strands in her eyes. Harry didn't think it sounded dramatic to say that his world came tumbling down and lay in rubble around him simply looking at the expression of hurt, confusion, and anger in Ginny's eyes. Harry opened his mouth to say something, although he hadn't planned what. Her chin was trembling and her eyes were already glazed over as she said in a wavering voice "Don't bother Harry - I don't want to know. I just saw everything."
With that, Ginny had turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, Harry attempting to catch up with her in vain, half running and half falling down the stairs. He remembered it well, he had run half way down the long street before he realised that he was probably running in the wrong direction, and he had collapsed in a heap on the pavement, a sobbing wreck, allowing tears to flow freely down his cheeks and dissolve into the puddles on the floor beneath him.
Ginny had refused to talk to Harry until March, when she explained curtly via a letter that she wasn't interested in anything to do with Harry any more, so he could stop trying to contact her. Everyone, including Hermione, had tried to convince Ginny that Harry was drunk, and he hadn't realised what he had done, but no one really understood the extent of Ginny's upset apart from Hermione. Since she and Ron had got together in their fifth year, she and Ginny had become very good friends, and Ginny had confided in Hermione that she had become infatuated with Harry ever since she first set eyes on him. It must have been devastating for her to have seen what she did, after all those years of longing and wishing. Her dream had come true, and then been snatched away from her by Harry's stupid mistake.
Stupid as it was, the break-up had broken Harry's heart, and Hermione, having experienced their break up through both sides, knew that even though it was nearly a year later, neither of them felt any differently towards each other than they had when they were at their happiest. Hermione wasn't one to believe in soul mates a great deal, but she truly believed that Harry and Ginny were made for each other. It had taken a great deal of convincing to get Harry and Ginny to spend Christmas together, and it was highly frustrating - especially as she knew for a fact that both of them really wanted to.
Hermione walked over to the kettle, which, by now, was whistling away invitingly. Hands still numb, she poured out four mugs of steaming coffee, heaping two teaspoons into Ron and Harry's, making it extra strong in an attempt to clear their heads. Tutting, Hermione put the empty glasses in the sink that Ron and Harry had left lying on the surface, took out a tray, and carefully carried the coffee into the sitting room. Settling herself on the large, squashy sofa, next to Harry, Hermione lent forwards and gave out the four mugs.
"What've you been up to then?" Harry said, taking a large gulp, and then immediately regretting it as he felt the liquid burn his tongue and slide painfully down his throat. A smile tugged at the corners of Hermione's mouth.
"I was helping Ginny with her astronomy, Harry, I told you that before we went. She's having difficulty with it. You didn't find it too easy either, did you Harry?" Hermione said hopefully, silently congratulating herself for making such a subtle invitation to involve both Harry and Ginny in a conversation. However, Harry just shook his head silently, and gave a fleeting glance in Ginny's direction.
Hermione pulled her legs up onto the sofa and rested her head comfortably on its back, sighing quietly to herself. It was impossible, getting those two to actually communicate with each other. And it wasn't helping the atmosphere in the Burrow either. Harry had only been here for two days and the rate in which his and Ginny's relationship was 're-developing'...well, it was at standstill really, and Hermione admitted defeat. She thought as soon as the duo had met up it would be like old times, and she'd just have to give some encouraging starters to help them along. She was wrong. Hermione had her work cut out for her here, and she wouldn't even have bothered unless she was positive that Harry and Ginny were meant to be - there was no other way, for either of them.