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The war, such as it had been, had ended in Harry Potter's seventh year at Hogwarts with the final defeat of Voldemort at the hands of the Boy Who Lived. Dumbledore's strength had faded quickly afterwards, as if he had solely been keeping himself alive in order to see Harry through the struggle. He lived just long enough to know he had failed. In concentrating on Voldemort and re-fighting the wars of his younger days, Dumbledore had completely missed the reorganization of the Death Eaters into a cooperative force which dealt as easily in politics as in terror. Within a month of Voldemort's death, the entire Ministry was controlled by his former followers, and any who resisted the new order found themselves being scattered to the four winds.
Harry Potter disappeared, the only clues as to his location held in whispers of "redirection camps" for hard cases. People who were willing to accept the change in government received a certain degree of favor, but everyone was watched and no one could forget what side they had been on. No one felt safe, except perhaps the higher echelon of those in power... Except they had far too many spells to prevent against ambush and poisoning and the like for anyone to really believe they felt protected. It was almost like the awful days of Voldemort's rise, only worse, because there was no one target for fear and hatred, and no end in sight.
It was six months to the day after Voldemort's death when the first of the owls arrived, bearing Christmas cards from persons unknown. They showed a picture of the Diagon Alley annual tree from the year before and bore two words only: "Adeste fideles."
The Ministry was in an uproar. Every day more cards were delivered, until they numbered in the thousands. There seemed to be no method for the choosing of who would receive them; "guests" of the Ministry were as likely to receive them as the highest of officials, and ordinary wizards and witches of all classes and affiliations had been chosen. Still, there were many who cried out "terrorist plot!" and "subversive activity!" It was ultimately decided that the annual Christmas Eve ceremony lighting the Diagon Alley tree would not be held, despite public protest, and there would be Ministry troops deployed to enforce the edict.
Christmas Eve came, and the Aurors and Unspeakables and the newly created Enforcer divisions turned out as ordered, only to face what seemed like every citizen of magical Britain. A small party of upper-level Ministry staff were called in to assess the situation and arrived just in time to see the tree flare with light and illuminate a single figure.
Everyone in the crowd who wasn't aware of the girl's identity was quickly informed of Ginny Weasley's history - a member of an old family whose patriarch was muggle-mad, a known fighter for Dumbledore's Army, and sometime girlfriend (or so rumor said) of the vanished Harry Potter. She tucked her wand away and stood quietly under the massive tree's branches, a small red-haired woman wearing white and not showing the slightest urge to resist the Enforcers who were moving towards her.
One of the Ministry officials stepped forward to intercept them, and again the crowd murmured as they recognized one of the players in this strange play. That was Draco Malfoy, son of the Minister and a rising star in his own right, one of the deadliest fighters on the side of the New Ministry during the war. The ancient enmity between his family and the Weasleys was brought up and the crowd waited breathlessly to see what would happen.
Those standing closest could hear him berating one of his subordinates, for it seemed he was in charge, and hissed mention was made of the disastrous public relations that would result from any harm being done to a fragile-seeming girl in front of all the people. Then he turned to her and sneered. "Is this your side's big plan, then? See if I'll protect you while you preach sedition and martyr yourself if I don't? Where's the bravery of hiding behind a little girl?"
Her words were soft and only those who were being crushed to the very front of the crowd could hear, if they strained very hard, as she said, "It's just me."
"Are you mad?" Malfoy held up a hand, indicating the Enforcers nearest him should stop moving towards her. "What could you possibly hope to gain?"
She smiled with all the enigma of the seraph she resembled and walked slowly towards her opposite. Leaning forward, her hair brushed over Draco Malfoy's shoulders as she whispered something in his ear and then walked away, towards the edge of the small platform at the base of the tree. No one dared touch her without Malfoy's order and he seemed disinclined to give it, so she had time to cast a sonorous charm on herself and face the assembled masses.
No political speech followed, no rousing call to fight or resist until the bitter end. Instead she sang, prettily enough but nowhere near perfectly, the words of the carol that had brought them all here. She only sang alone for one phrase before her voice was joined by others, only a few at first but then dozens, hundreds, thousands of voices joining together to create something off-key and deafening but also beautiful. Candles and lit wands flickered in the night and the tree glowed overhead, filling the night with an ethereal beauty.
No one ever found out who fired the hex. The violet light almost seemed like it belonged as it moved towards Ginny Weasley, who was turned slightly away and didn't see it coming until it was too late to draw her wand. Before she could scream, before she could even take a breath, it was gone, deflected away from her to earth in base of the tree. A deep slash appeared and the crowd could see a deep shudder run through her body, but she turned back to them and smiled, even if some thought it looked a bit shaky.
Her elbow was caught by Draco Malfoy, who moved her to his side and cast his own broadcasting charm before assuring the audience that Christmas was a time for peace, and that everyone needed to think about the meaning of coming together on this night. Gesturing to one of the other officials, he removed the charms from both himself and Ginny Weasley, pulling her to one side while the other official, who had a fine tenor voice and a much truer sense of melody than Ginny, led the crowd in singing "Silent Night".
No one, except for the two of them, understood the words that were exchanged between the scion of the Malfoys and the Weasleys' only daughter that night in the shelter of the massive Christmas tree. Shielded from the majority of the crowd, they stood apart and faced each other, with only the cold night air around them.
"I surrender," she said, looking at him gravely and with dry eyes. "With no conditions or hesitations, I surrender to you."
He nodded and took her by the hand, and some watching thought she looked fearful, while some thought her expression conveyed hope. He bent over that hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles, and no one was quite sure what he said, because it made no sense for him to say, "I missed you."
That was the night when their world's scars began to heal, when the rift between factions stopped seeming insurmountable, because if a Weasley and a Malfoy could stand in front of thousands of wizards and witches, wrapped in each other's arms, then maybe anything was possible.
Harry Potter disappeared, the only clues as to his location held in whispers of "redirection camps" for hard cases. People who were willing to accept the change in government received a certain degree of favor, but everyone was watched and no one could forget what side they had been on. No one felt safe, except perhaps the higher echelon of those in power... Except they had far too many spells to prevent against ambush and poisoning and the like for anyone to really believe they felt protected. It was almost like the awful days of Voldemort's rise, only worse, because there was no one target for fear and hatred, and no end in sight.
It was six months to the day after Voldemort's death when the first of the owls arrived, bearing Christmas cards from persons unknown. They showed a picture of the Diagon Alley annual tree from the year before and bore two words only: "Adeste fideles."
The Ministry was in an uproar. Every day more cards were delivered, until they numbered in the thousands. There seemed to be no method for the choosing of who would receive them; "guests" of the Ministry were as likely to receive them as the highest of officials, and ordinary wizards and witches of all classes and affiliations had been chosen. Still, there were many who cried out "terrorist plot!" and "subversive activity!" It was ultimately decided that the annual Christmas Eve ceremony lighting the Diagon Alley tree would not be held, despite public protest, and there would be Ministry troops deployed to enforce the edict.
Christmas Eve came, and the Aurors and Unspeakables and the newly created Enforcer divisions turned out as ordered, only to face what seemed like every citizen of magical Britain. A small party of upper-level Ministry staff were called in to assess the situation and arrived just in time to see the tree flare with light and illuminate a single figure.
Everyone in the crowd who wasn't aware of the girl's identity was quickly informed of Ginny Weasley's history - a member of an old family whose patriarch was muggle-mad, a known fighter for Dumbledore's Army, and sometime girlfriend (or so rumor said) of the vanished Harry Potter. She tucked her wand away and stood quietly under the massive tree's branches, a small red-haired woman wearing white and not showing the slightest urge to resist the Enforcers who were moving towards her.
One of the Ministry officials stepped forward to intercept them, and again the crowd murmured as they recognized one of the players in this strange play. That was Draco Malfoy, son of the Minister and a rising star in his own right, one of the deadliest fighters on the side of the New Ministry during the war. The ancient enmity between his family and the Weasleys was brought up and the crowd waited breathlessly to see what would happen.
Those standing closest could hear him berating one of his subordinates, for it seemed he was in charge, and hissed mention was made of the disastrous public relations that would result from any harm being done to a fragile-seeming girl in front of all the people. Then he turned to her and sneered. "Is this your side's big plan, then? See if I'll protect you while you preach sedition and martyr yourself if I don't? Where's the bravery of hiding behind a little girl?"
Her words were soft and only those who were being crushed to the very front of the crowd could hear, if they strained very hard, as she said, "It's just me."
"Are you mad?" Malfoy held up a hand, indicating the Enforcers nearest him should stop moving towards her. "What could you possibly hope to gain?"
She smiled with all the enigma of the seraph she resembled and walked slowly towards her opposite. Leaning forward, her hair brushed over Draco Malfoy's shoulders as she whispered something in his ear and then walked away, towards the edge of the small platform at the base of the tree. No one dared touch her without Malfoy's order and he seemed disinclined to give it, so she had time to cast a sonorous charm on herself and face the assembled masses.
No political speech followed, no rousing call to fight or resist until the bitter end. Instead she sang, prettily enough but nowhere near perfectly, the words of the carol that had brought them all here. She only sang alone for one phrase before her voice was joined by others, only a few at first but then dozens, hundreds, thousands of voices joining together to create something off-key and deafening but also beautiful. Candles and lit wands flickered in the night and the tree glowed overhead, filling the night with an ethereal beauty.
No one ever found out who fired the hex. The violet light almost seemed like it belonged as it moved towards Ginny Weasley, who was turned slightly away and didn't see it coming until it was too late to draw her wand. Before she could scream, before she could even take a breath, it was gone, deflected away from her to earth in base of the tree. A deep slash appeared and the crowd could see a deep shudder run through her body, but she turned back to them and smiled, even if some thought it looked a bit shaky.
Her elbow was caught by Draco Malfoy, who moved her to his side and cast his own broadcasting charm before assuring the audience that Christmas was a time for peace, and that everyone needed to think about the meaning of coming together on this night. Gesturing to one of the other officials, he removed the charms from both himself and Ginny Weasley, pulling her to one side while the other official, who had a fine tenor voice and a much truer sense of melody than Ginny, led the crowd in singing "Silent Night".
No one, except for the two of them, understood the words that were exchanged between the scion of the Malfoys and the Weasleys' only daughter that night in the shelter of the massive Christmas tree. Shielded from the majority of the crowd, they stood apart and faced each other, with only the cold night air around them.
"I surrender," she said, looking at him gravely and with dry eyes. "With no conditions or hesitations, I surrender to you."
He nodded and took her by the hand, and some watching thought she looked fearful, while some thought her expression conveyed hope. He bent over that hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles, and no one was quite sure what he said, because it made no sense for him to say, "I missed you."
That was the night when their world's scars began to heal, when the rift between factions stopped seeming insurmountable, because if a Weasley and a Malfoy could stand in front of thousands of wizards and witches, wrapped in each other's arms, then maybe anything was possible.
The End.
Mynuet is the author of 71 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 17 members. Members who liked Adeste Fideles also liked 1303 other stories.
This story is a favorite of 17 members. Members who liked Adeste Fideles also liked 1303 other stories.
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