A Reflection of Himself

Weeks began to fly by. In that time, Snape healed and went back to teaching classes, and Draco returned to Malfoy Manor for several days to visit his mother. Narcissa Malfoy was shocked beyond words upon her first glimpse of her lost son, but then the tears flowed freely. If Draco could have embraced her, he would have. In the meantime, life at Hogwarts continued on as it always had.

November ended, and December began. By this time, the students were growing excited for the Christmas holiday. This year, Harry would be spending Christmas at the Burrow. Grimmauld Place was no longer safe, but especially because Mr. Weasley worked for the Ministry, the Burrow was protected better than most places. When even the safety of Hogwarts was in question, its purpose of being a safehaven was not very impressive.

So, with their bags packed, several of the students boarded the Hogwarts Express and returned home for the holidays. Being back at the Burrow was a big comfort to Harry and his friends, and he couldn't think of a better place to be or with better people to spend the holiday with. He even had brought Sirius along.

The few days that remained before Christmas passed quickly, full of laughter and excitement, especially with the Weasley twins showing off their latest gimmicks and games. A few members of the Order stopped in from time to time to say hello or share a delicious meal with the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione. Now, though, Christmas Day itself was dawning.

The first rays of the morning sunlight reflected off the blanket of freshly fallen snow, illuminating the ground and sky with their combined beauty. To the west, a few stray stars remained in the sky, slowing, steadily, seemingly blinking out of existence as the sun rose higher. The streets were empty of vehicles, just as the sidewalks were devoid of people, adding to the calm of the early day. Although bare for a couple of months, the trees displayed their glory in a way that cannot be described properly with mere words, for the whiteness of the snow resting upon their many dark branches was so beautiful, especially on Christmas morning, that is was as if the heavens had sugar-coated the world when it had smiled down upon the earth with snow.

Such simply beauty is seldom acknowledged for what it is, oftentimes overlooked by passersby, who seem far too occupied in going about with their daily routines, duties calling, demanding to be fulfilled. Such a dire shame and utter loss it is for those whose hearts and minds are ignorant to natural beauty, which transcends the physical world, penetrating the insides, filling those who truly see beyond what the eyes can, with peace.

A sigh emitted from his mouth, fogging the frosty window. Even though he was watching the world outside as if it had stopped, his heart and mind were not at ease, for he would not allow himself to be so. The house was quiet, but the silent solitude would not endure much longer.

Harry looked away from the window, now focusing on his best friend's sleeping form in the rumpled bed across the room. Soft snores came from that corner, which brought a small smile to Harry's young face. Here he was, surrounded by everyone who had become an important part of his life, but yet, something felt out of place.

Turning his attention back to the window, Harry did not hear Ginny as she entered the room and padded across the dusty floorboards.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," came her gentle voice. "What are you doing?"

Still gazing out the window, a small, sad smile formed across Harry's face. "Happy Christmas, Ginny," he murmured.

When he did not say anything further, Ginny gingerly took a seat beside him on the window's wide ledge. She, too, looked out the window. After a few moments of silence had passed, Ginny's curiosity, or perhaps it was more concern, overwhelmed her, and she asked, "What are you looking at, Harry?"

"I... I don't know," he replied quietly. "Er, nothing, I guess."

For Harry, the more suitable question was "What are you looking for?" Without saying anything, Ginny's hand entwined with Harry's, and she gently squeezed his cold hand with her warm one.

"You're so cold," she remarked. "Harry, please, come away from the window."

"I'm fine," Harry insisted.

Ginny regarded him skepically and said in a voice very akin to her mother's, "Now, you listen to me, Harry. I won't be hearing any of that. What's the matter?"

Finally, Harry removed his eyes from the window and faced Ginny. In his green eyes was such a desperation that Ginny felt scared for a moment. She knew Harry was an intense person, but what she saw in his eyes at that moment in time was more than she had been expecting.

"What do you suppose he's doing right this very instant?" Harry asked.

"Who?" Ginny asked, truly vexed, her brow creased.

"Voldemort."

"Oh," she hesitated, shuddering at the name. "Oh... well... I don't honestly know, Harry."

"Do you think he's ruining another family as we speak, killing more innocent people, tormenting their children or parents? Do you think he's getting pleasure out of it? I do, Ginny; I do."

Harry was entirely serious, and his face seemed set in stone, immovable.

"Harry-"

"No, Ginny. Don't bother. I learned a long time ago what loss feels like, and as the time draws nearer to that day when all the world will expect me to defeat him, I can't help but to think about all the lives he's ruined. At Christmas time, when people are supposed to be thankful for loved ones and happy in their company, how can they just forget the losses they've suffered as well? They can't, Ginny."

"You're absolutely right, Harry," Ginny sighed heavily, "but don't you go forgetting everything you've gained, too. In a few minutes, we'll both be downstairs, surrounded by everyone we love and who love us. We're all together."

"Yes, I know," Harry whispered softly. "Sometimes, I guess I just get to thinking, you know, about all the years I had to spend with my relatives while growing up, never knowing my parents, and then I finally find out the truth, but that doesn't make the loss any less. If anything, it's grown over the years. Growing up is just so strange, Ginny."

He laughed mirthlessly, and when Ginny said nothing, Harry continued, "I used to think when I was a kid that I'd have everything in my life figured out when I was an adult, and now, here I am... nearly an adult, but I feel like I have more questions than I ever did."

"I know what you mean," confessed Ginny. "But there's one question you should know the answer to."

Harry watched as a sneaky smile appeared on her face, and he ventured, "Oh? And what's that?"

Bringing her lips to his, Ginny kissed him longingly and deeply. Almost instantly, they each had their arms around each other, and when the kiss ended, they were still locked in an embrace.

"You are loved," Ginny simply said.

Harry smiled as Ginny rested her head on his chest, and together, they gazed out the window, enjoying each other's company and the amazing view in front of them. Perhaps, if only for a little while, the world truly had stopped that morning.

After a few moments of being seemingly lost to the physical world, Harry withdrew his gaze from the wonderful scene outside the window and turned to face Ginny again. He took her hands gently in his own and squeezed them. "Thank you, Ginny."

"What for?" she asked softly.

"For just being here."

With those words, Harry placed a kiss on her cheek and then proceeded to kiss her on the lips. As the kiss deepened and lengthened, Ron was suddenly awoken by the sound coming from across the room. Rubbing at his eyes, his vision slowly unblurred, but his head still felt groggy. At first, he thought he was having some sort of weird dream.

Why would I be dreaming about Harry snogging my little sister senseless? he wondered, but then, the reality of the situation struck him.

"Harry!" he exclaimed, stumbling out of bed, dragging the bed covers - quilt, blankets, sheets, and all - with him, and then unceremoniously toppling onto the floor in a big heap and with a loud crash. Harry and Ginny simultaneously unlocked lips and literally jumped, facing where Ron now lay on the wooden floor with a pile of bed coverings.

Ginny giggled at the combination of the look on his face and the sheer hilarity of his position on the floor as he pathetically and vainly struggled to remove himself from the pile of linens.

"Be careful, Ron," Ginny mock-warned. "I've heard that over-large piles of blankets have been known to be unnaturally aggressive and swallow their victims whole."

Harry stifled a laugh. Groaning, Ron finally managed to pull himself out of the tangled mess and stood to his full height. "Ha, ha, very funny," he said dryly. "Maybe if the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes hadn't been my best friend lip wrestling with my little sister, none of this would have ever happened." He gestured toward the mess on the floor.

Ginny rolled her eyes and playfully chucked a pillow at him. "I'm not 'little' anymore, Ronald, and I'm plenty old enough to - How did you phrase it? - ah, yes, lip wrestle." She smirked.

With one last groan, a pitiful attempt to regain his sanity, Ron proceeded to pick up the bed covers and place them sloppily on the bed. "C'mon, you two. I can smell breakfast cooking." Ron headed for the door.

Casting Harry a quizzical glance, Ginny reached for his arm and led him toward the door. "Just what you needed, Harry," she reckoned as they walked along. "A good laugh."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "The look on his face was priceless. Oh, wait!" he suddenly exclaimed. Going back to his bed, he located his bag and removed Sirius's portrait from it. Sirius was asleep.

"We can't forget Sirius," Harry remarked.

With one last giggle, Ginny led Harry down the stairs and into the kitchen, where most of the Weasley family was gathered around the table, plus Hermione. Both Bill and Charlie had managed to make it home for the holidays, but Percy, being wrapped up in the Ministry and insistent in living his own life, was not present.

"Tuck in, tuck in!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed merrily as Harry and Ginny joined them. "We were waiting for you."

"Sorry, Mum," Ginny murmured, sitting down at the end of the table. Harry slipped in next to her, across from Ron and Hermione.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Hermione said in way of greeting. "You look, er-"

"Like I just rolled outta bed?" asked Harry wryly.

"Yeah, pretty much," Hermione laughed.

"Happy Christmas to you, too," Harry replied. Looking around the table, Harry noticed that everyone was still wearing their nightclothes, but the women had brushed their hair, and none of the men had. Harry could only imagine how disheveled his hair must have looked that moment, in comparison to the Weasleys' hair.

Breakfast went over splendidly, and then the time came to open presents. He received yet another Weasley jumper from Mrs. Weasley, along with several other goodies. He opened presents from Lupin and Sirius, Hagrid, and a few other friends. From Ron, Harry got enough candy to thoroughly rot his teeth and give him an ulcer the size of his entire stomach. From Hermione, Harry received a couple of books about becoming an Auror and one with interesting stories about some of the most exciting adventures from some of the wizarding world's most famed Aurors.

"Mad-Eye Moody is in there," Hermione said knowingly. "Plus, I thought you could get an early start on preparing for become an Auror."

"Harry doesn't even graduate for another six months," Ron said.

"I know that," Hermione replied pointedly. "I just thought it would be helpful."

"Well, at least Harry knows what he wants to do after school," Ron countered.

"Oh? And what's that supposed to mean?" questioned Hermione heatedly. "Do you have any idea what you want to do, Ron?"

Everyone else had stopped talking and had their full attention on Ron and Hermione as they argued.

"Well, no," Ron stuttered, "but am I supposed to? I mean, you're the one-"

"Who's supposed to have it all figured out?" asked Hermione. "We've been through this before, Ron."

"Exactly, and I don't hear you telling us what you wanna be after Hogwarts," Ron challenged, his blue eyes regarding Hermione shrewdly.

With a huff, Hermione scoffed, "For your information, I was thinking of being a mediwitch."

Ron scrunched his brow and hesitated, "But- but you said you didn't know. You just made that up just now. You had to have-"

"No, I didn't," Hermione insisted, glaring down at Ron as she made to stand. "Now that you've made a right ass out of yourself and me in front of your whole family, I'll leave you to pick up the mess you've created." With those harsh words, Hermione stomped out of the room and up the stairs.

"Uh, does anyone mind telling me what that was about?" Sirius asked.

Most everybody was at a loss for words, but Mrs. Weasley was lecturing Ron about how to properly treat a young lady, and the twins were teasing him about his lack of finesse when dealing with the opposite sex. To make matters worse, Mrs. Weasley proceeded to make Ron feel about an inch tall by reminding him that she expected him to earn at least five N.E.W.T.s and choose a worthy career - here, glaring at Fred and George for their lack of choosing what she believed to be a worthwhile career.

Ginny and Harry removed themselves to a little room off the main living area. In the quietude, they discussed what they had just witnessed, neither of them realizing how serious the issue had been between Ron and Hermione. Finally, Ginny said, "Well, enough talking about them. Here's a little something for you, Harry." She pulled a small box out of her pocket.

Harry fidgeted in his pocket for her present and awkwardly handed it to her. "You go first," he said.

"All right." Ginny's small fingers worked along the seal, finally ripping the paper away from the box. Gingerly lifting the cover, Ginny released a tiny gasp when her eyes came to rest upon its contents. Setting the box down on the floor in front of her, she carefully lifted the necklace out of the box. Its pendant was a dazzling ruby, encased in solid gold, hung from a golden chain.

"Harry-" she said is hushed tones. "It's- beautiful, but it's... it's too much."

Harry could hear the shakiness in her voice and watched as her hands fumbled. Gently taking the necklace out of her nervous hands, Harry slipped the necklace over her head and regarded the result. The red ruby shimmered with the red of her hair.

"It reminded me of you," he explained simply and sincerely.

A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks, and Ginny flung her arms around Harry's torso, hugging him closely. "Thank you, thank you so very much, Harry."

Harry hugged her back, kissed the top of her head, and slowly released her. "You're welcome." He wasn't sure what else to say, as words didn't seem adequate in moments like these.

Wiping the tears away, Ginny said, "Now it's your turn. Open yours."

Harry tore the paper off the box in a much less delicate manner than Ginny had and opened the box. He lifted out a tiny Golden Snitch.

"Wow," he murmured, his green eyes locked on the ball in awe. "Ginny, you didn't have to-"

"Yes, I did," she insisted. "I wanted to give you something special, and, well... I thought of how much Quidditch means to you - how it's like your chance to be free and forget all your troubles, if only for a little while."

Harry listened, knowing that Ginny was absolutely right. "Thank you, Ginny. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas."

"Neither could I."