The sun rose Christmas morning, in exactly the same manner it had risen every day since time immemorial. It rose over a world that had changed slowly over the centuries, and a Wizarding world that had changed even more slowly over time.
It rose over a very changed Ginny Weasley. The difference between her rising on the morning of Christmas Eve and her rising Christmas morning was the difference between night and day .. black and white .. Gryffindor and Slytherin. The day before, the sun had peeked in her curtains, and she'd groaned and pulled her pillows over her head.
Christmas had begun, under cover of night's darkness, with a breathtaking kiss .. from Draco. As Ginny stretched her limbs under the comforting weight of her duvet, she treated her ceiling to a sunny smile. She could feel her brain turning to treacle and oozing out from her ears at the way this made her feel, and oh Merlin, she just didn't care.
After all that had gone before, she deserved to be this happy.
~*~
The cacophony of sound Ginny met when she walked through the front door of the Burrow could have knocked her over. From the sounds of things, all six of her brothers, plus assorted girlfriends, fiancees, and wives had gathered in the living room of the home they'd shared in their childhood, and every one of them had noticed her arrival.
"Wait, wait," she yelled as she was tackled by no fewer than three tall redheads. "Let me set this down," indicating the bag of gifts she'd brought with her, "before you oafs crush your damn Christmas presents."
"Ginny! You really shouldn't use such language -" she heard Percy from the couch, only to be interrupted by the oafs in question.
"Presents?" chorused Fred and George. They poked about in the bag while their sister was lifted off her feet by her third "assailant".
"Let's see if I can give you a proper hug," Charlie said as he squeezed his little sister fondly, "without causing a family rift this time."
"The name Weasley is always synonomous with 'chaos'," Ginny sighed as she hugged her brother tightly in return. He set her down so that she could attempt to greet their parents before being accosted by the remainder of the people in the house. "Where's Mum?"
"In the kitchen, last I checked," Charlie replied.
"Thanks." Ginny headed in that direction, only to be intercepted by Bill and Fleur half-way to the door. She accepted a kiss on the cheek from her brother and a tight hug from her sister-in-law, while their two-year-old daughter Elise wrapped her arms around her Aunt Ginny's (or, as Elise would screech, A-tee Dinny) knees. It was only when Ginny picked Elise up and settled her on her hip that she was allowed to continue to the kitchen unimpeded.
And it was only when she crossed the threshold between the kitchen and living room that she realized that the only brother not to greet her at all had been Ron.
Refusing to think about it, she moved to greet her mother with a kiss. "Happy Christmas, Mum."
"Happy Christmas, dear."
~*~
Ginny rejoined her siblings in the living room after speaking with her parents. Finding all of the available seats taken, she elected to sit cross-legged in the middle of the floor. Elise immediately toddled over to claim rights of ownership; she sat down squarely on her aunt's legs, and reclined her head against her aunt's shoulders. One hand's thumb in her mouth and the other hand clutching the stuffed dragon her Unca Jarvey gave her for Christmas the previous year, Elise was perfectly comfortable.
The beloved auntie smiled - she was more than happy to serve as a chair for her first niece. She looked down at Elise's little face, her breath ruffling her niece's white-blond hair. Her hand automatically moved to smooth it back down; as her fingers coaxed the soft strands back into place, she couldn't push away the remembrance of another's hair in her fingers.
She looked up to answer the question Percy had directed at her, the barest hint of pink in her cheeks.
"How are you enjoying Auror Studies, Ginny?"
"I'm enjoying work very much. My classmates seem to be competent, and I like all the instructors." She would like all the instructors, as they were members of the Order.
"What have they been teaching you?"
"At this point, just the very basics. Right now we're in the middle of a unit that's basically a very advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts - up until last week we'd been learning about the theory behind defending against hexes and Dark spells, now we're actually practicing advanced shield charms, and rumour has it that starting in February we're going to be working on non-magical but still thoroughly practical means of defense."
Everyone in the room looked quite impressed, except for the sullen redhead in the corner. "So how do you like working with the Amazing Bouncing Ferret?" Ron asked in a clipped tone.
There was a knock on the door, and Charlie sprang to answer it as Ginny composed an answer. She'd resolved to put aside the misunderstanding with her brother, if at all possible, for Christmas, and she forced away all of the irritation that had welled up at hearing the shortness in his voice. "The first-year and second-year classes never work together," she said with a one-shouldered shrug. "I've crossed paths with him exactly once since July. You'd be better off asking Neville for an answer to that question."
"Asking Neville for an answer to what question?" the object of their conversation asked cheerfully from the doorway. Ginny looked over her shoulder, and the now-dozing niece resting on it, to see him and Pansy standing at the door. She grinned at her friends, surprised by the unexpected visit, and gave Fleur a glance. Elise's mum took her sleeping child so that Ginny could get up and greet her visitors.
Neville was carrying a well-wrapped bundle, so he settled for giving her a kiss on the cheek before she and Pansy hugged. "Happy Christmas! I certainly wasn't expecting to see you two today."
Neville looked over at Pansy briefly before returning his gaze to Ginny. "We're on our way to Gran's for dinner, but I wanted to stop by and leave this off for you; I didn't know if you would be here yet." He handed the gift to her before continuing, "So who's asking me what?"
"I asked my sister what it was like to work with the Amazing Bouncing Ferret," Ron said with a grin, clearly expecting .. something, Ginny wasn't quite sure what.
Pansy raised one eyebrow in interest. "Why Weasel, I never knew you thought Draco 'amazing' .. I'm sure he didn't either. I'll have to let him know, next time I see him."
Ron narrowed his eyes at her. Clearing his throat, Neville attempted to subtly defuse the situation by answering the question. "Well, of course Ginny wouldn't know what it's like to work with Malfoy, because first-year and second-year don't share any courses at all."
Haha, Ginny thought, vindication.
"He's actually grown up quite a bit," Neville continued. "Very serious about Auror Studies, knows his stuff. While he's not everyone's best friend," and at this, Pansy gave a laugh, "it hasn't been the hell I'm sure you're imagining it to be."
Ron looked affronted. This wasn't the answer he'd been expecting at all.
"Oh Merlin. If we don't get going soon, we're going to be late." Neville looked distinctly nervous, and Pansy patted his arm. "Ginny - enjoy your present. And don't forget, we still need to do lunch." She smiled and nodded, and held the door for her two friends as her brothers and their assorted ladies wished them a Happy Christmas.
Once her friends had Disapparated away, Ginny returned to her still-warm spot on the floor, holding her gift from Neville in her lap. With all of the goodbyes, Elise had woken; seeing the bundle of tissue in her A-tee's hands, she squirmed out of her mum's arms and toddled over to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. "Present!" she exclaimed loudly.
"What a good idea!" Nana Molly said from the doorway. "Let's do presents before we sit down to dinner."
In the resulting chaos that followed, Ginny took a moment to open her gift from Neville. The heavy paper wrapping and cushioning tissue fell away to reveal a small potted ivy, green and healthy. She had always appreciated the living gifts that were Neville's specialty in school, and which she'd received from time to time since their trip to the Yule Ball in her third year. She had the sneaking suspicion that there was something more to this one.
She took her wand from the pocket of her pants specially tailored for it, and tapped it to the blank card tied to the pot. Flowing script revealed itself for a few moments before fading back to empty parchment.
Dear Ginny,
I send this gift to you in light of the conversation we had on Saturday morning. Ivy in general represents fidelity, friendship, and affection .. ivy as a houseplant represents personal happiness.
Which is what I hope for you.
Happy Christmas,
Neville.
Ginny understood his meaning perfectly.
~*~
An hour and a half later, the living room was covered in paper and ribbons and happy smiles.
Ginny looked over her share of the Christmas loot, reasonably pleased. From her parents came the usual jumper (this year in teal), a new set of quills - the exact same set that Ginny had purchased for her father, over which they shared a chuckle - and some colourful inks; from Bill, Fleur, and Elise came a leather bag for work; from Charlie, a pair of dragonhide gloves. Percy and his girlfriend Natalie gave his sister a lovely silver filigree pin for her to wear with her winter cloak.
From Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia she received a gorgeous set of emerald-green dress robes that, upon first glance, looked to be the perfect size. (Ginny guessed to herself that Angelina and Alicia had been the selectors of this gift, while her brothers had been the financial backers of that particular shopping expedition.) Hermione had pulled her rank at the Ministry to get Ginny a copy of Most Potente Potions - certain that it would be useful to Ginny's study for the Potions Mastery exam - and Ron had given her the usual selection of Chocolate Frogs.
She smiled as Elise ran by with her dragon in one hand and what appeared to be her favourite gift from this Christmas, a miniature toy Nimbus that was the gift of the twins to their niece. While she was Bill and Fleur's child, earliest signs indicated that she would be following in her Unca Jarvey's footsteps.
Molly clapped her hands together. "Dinner!" she called. With a wave of her wand, she set the magically-enlarged table as a horde of assorted Weasleys surrounded it. There was much commotion as brothers, girlfriends, and wives jockeyed for position around the table.
Ginny had hoped to find herself sitting next to Hermione, so that she might have a word with her about Ron. Six months of not speaking had been more than enough; an enormous prat though he might be, he was her brother, and the animosity of their former argument had finally faded from her mind, eased along somewhat by the fact that she'd succeeded where he'd doubted - in Auror Studies, in living on her own - in everything that mattered to her.
Ron, of course, was the same hard-headed, hot-headed brother she'd known since he began at school. Healing their relationship was going to require a lot more than Ginny's confession that she was ready to end the feud. It was going to require a neutral voice of logic and reason.
In short, she needed Hermione.
The Hermione that had found herself standing between Ron and Percy at the Christmas table.
Well, so much for that. Ginny put aside her plan and moved to take the empty seat next to Charlie. As he passed her their mother's best mashed potatoes, all thoughts of prat brothers fled from her mind.
Ginny filled her plate - turkey, stuffing, the aforementioned potatoes, and a serving of some traditional French dish Fleur had brought that Ginny couldn't pronounce but which still smelled delicious anyway - while she listened to the happy chatter surrounding her.
There was so much going on at the busy table. Percy complimenting Hermione's dress, the one she'd bought when she and Ginny had slipped out of the Leaky Cauldron the previous weekend for some shopping in Muggle London. Elise chattering on at the top of her lungs while Bill attempted to keep her in her chair and Fleur attempted to get some dinner into her mouth. The twins discussing the plan for their newest line of Wheezes. Her own conversation with Charlie about his work with the newest dragon on the reserve she'd been privileged to visit during the summer before seventh year.
The comment was very nearly lost amongst it all, but it was spoken at just the right pitch to reach Ginny's ears. "I wonder what Neville is thinking, dating Parkinson of all people," Ron said to Hermione in a caustic tone.
Hermione shot Ginny a glance. Ginny, to her credit, looked as though she was attempting to swallow the demon that was determined to escape her lips. "There is nothing. Wrong. With Pansy," she said quietly and deliberately.
"Let's extoll her virtues, shall we?" Ron replied nastily. "She's Slytherin. She's ugly. And she's friends with the bloody ferret."
"Oh, and because she's friends with Malfoy means that she's earned a double helping of your Christmas vitriol? I'll be sure to make note of that, for future reference."
Ron stared at his sister across the table. "You're not saying that you're actually friends with the sodding bastard."
Ginny flushed. She knew exactly what her now-crimson cheeks would intimate to Ron, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. "I'm saying that I reserve the right to choose who my friends are!" she hissed in reply.
His jaw dropped. "You are, aren't you. You're bloody up to something with Draco bloody Malfoy."
"Not that it's any of your business, because it isn't, but I'm not. But if I decide I want to shag Draco Malfoy while hanging upside down from a chandelier in the Merlin Entertainment Hall at the Ministry, then I damn well will."
"You'll want to use the third chandelier from the front," Percy interjected. As heads whirled in his direction and eyes focused incredulously on their family's most upstanding citizen, he shrugged. "It's got the strongest support."
Ginny and Ron stared in horrified silence at Percy for a moment longer than the rest of the family, before returning to the matter at hand. "Don't you dare take that for some sort of twisted permission," Ron began.
"I don't need permission. I am fully-schooled AND of age, which means I say who my friends are, I say who warms my bed, and there is not a damned thing you or anyone else in the world can do about it."
Ron turned an unattractive maroon shade. "No member of my family is going to consort with a Malfoy."
"Go ahead and kick me out, then," Ginny replied furiously. She was far too angry at her brother to realize that she'd as good as made the confession that she'd hoped to avoid, at least until there was more to be upset about than one kiss on Christmas Eve.
Ron opened his mouth to reply, to utter words that the Weasley family had not heard uttered amongst themselves in years .. when Molly banged her fist on the table. It echoed like a thunderclap through the house, and sent silverware and dishes jumping in all directions.
"That .. is .. ENOUGH," she growled into the startled silence. "Ronald Weasley, your sister, as hard as it may be to believe, is a grown woman. We may not like the choices she makes, but she is free to make them, and we must accept that. She's your sister, not some random younger person to lord over. And up to the point you got a broom up your backside, you loved her very much. If you do not start showing her some love and respect now, I'll turn you over my knee like the baby you're behaving like. "
"MUM!" Ron was horrified.
"I'll do it, too, so don't test me." Ginny fought valiantly but couldn't keep a smirk from crossing her face as she stared into her potatoes. "And as for YOU, Ginny ... just because you're having a fight with Ron does not give you free reign to disrespect this family. I will not tolerate such language as was heard issuing from your mouth, not now, not ever. And the next time you have an argument with any part of this family, you will not simply ignore our existence to avoid the issue. Don't think I'm giving you preferential treatment - I reserve the right to smack your arse as well."
Ginny raised defiant eyes, but turned back to her potatoes at the stern look on her mother's face. "Yes, Mum," she said sullenly.
Molly turned eagle eyes on the rest of the table; with the exception of Elise, who was waving a spoonful of mashed potato around, all were sitting very quietly, should the matriarch decide to address any other family issues. "Well? Eat!"
Brother and sister glanced at each other across the table as chatter and the clink of silver against plate broke the uneasy silence.
~*~
"Can we talk?"
The remnants of Christmas dinner had been cleared away, the twins (with Alicia and Angelina to help or supervise, as they saw fit) had washed and put away the dishes, and a large portion of the family had succumbed to post-prandial narcolepsy, napping in any location where a soft surface could be found. Ginny thought it was the perfect time to corner Ron into resolving their differences, once and for all.
"But .. Fred was talking about Quidditch .."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fred was talking about Quidditch. Now he's on the couch, wrapped around Angelina like a set of dress robes, fast asleep. I don't think he's going to be playing Quidditch anytime soon." She gave her brother a searching look. "Of course, if you want to put this off for another six months, maybe we can just kill each other in the fallout next time, and put the entire family out of our misery."
"No .. that wouldn't do." Grabbing her wrist, he pulled his sister into the kitchen and shutting the door behind them. Ginny sat at the table, Ron stood by the counter, and for a moment, both were silent.
"I was only -"
"Look, I -" The siblings started stammering at each other simultaneously, then cut off again at almost the same time. Ginny gave Ron a small smile and said, "You go first."
Ron, looking distinctly uncomfortable, cleared his throat. Now that he had his sister's full attention, he wasn't exactly sure where to start or what to say or how to fix it. "Look, Ginny. I feel awful about blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I .. I just worry about you, is all."
"You have a very peculiar way of showing it," she said quietly.
"I know, I know. It's just that I look at you and I see the little girl you were in your first year .. I want to keep you safe, I want what's best for you."
Ron looked thoroughly miserable now; she'd heard a tinge of guilt in his voice, and Ginny couldn't stand it. Getting up from her chair at the table, she crossed the room to where he leaned against the sink and forced her way past the arms crossed over his chest into a hug. "I appreciate that, you know," she said simply. "Contrary to belief, I do like being cared about."
Thus encouraged, Ron continued. "I couldn't bear the thought of you putting yourself in danger. You know .. well, better than I do that Dark wizards are serious business, and that even though You-Know-Who is gone another will inevitably rise to take his place."
"Ron, part of the reason I decided to take the Ministry up on its offer was the .. unique knowledge I possess. I'd like to see that no one else get that kind of experience."
"I won't lose my sister for some sort of noble cause," he said sharply.
"Ron, it's what I have to do. I didn't go into Auror Studies just to upset you and Mum and the rest of the family. I need to do this." Ginny looked up at her brother with a serious expression. "Can you respect that?"
Ron looked at her for a long moment. "As long as you promise to be careful."
She squeezed her brother tightly. "I'll do my very best."
"All right then." He cleared his throat. "Er, Ginny?"
She pulled away, to notice that Ron's face had flushed again, that deep red that was almost painful to look at. "What?"
"Are you .. are you really .. shagging that ruddy ferret?"
There it was again, that damnable blush, spreading unbidden across her cheeks. "It's not any of your business, Ron. But no. Not yet, anyway."
"Not ... yet?" The last word was a squeak.
"Yes. Not yet. And that's all I'm going to say to you on the matter."
Ron winced, as though this development caused him bodily pain. "I .. eurgh. Ginny, you know what kind of arse he was at school. Please be careful."
She knew he wasn't just talking about resurgent Dark wizards.
She could either be irritated that he didn't trust in her ability to take care of herself, or she could be flattered that he cared that much for her. She elected to believe the latter. "I will be."
Here, before her, was the brother she remembered, the brother that sheltered her from Molly's wrath, who'd snuck extra biscuits from the jar for her, who'd fended off the twins for her in their most boisterous moments. She threw her arms about his waist to give him another hug. "I love you, you great irritating prat."
Suddenly, there was a loud sniffle, and Molly burst into the room, tears flowing freely. As she caught her two youngest in a wet hug, the siblings looked over to the kitchen door, to see most of their family assembled in the doorway, obviously caught in their eavesdropping.
"Ow, Fred! That was my FOOT, you graceless sod!" Natalie's voice came from somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
"Hey! I'm Fred.."
~*~
"A-tee Dinny! Story!"
After the fight that was decidedly not a Weasley Christmas tradition, and the pickup Quidditch game, the Wizard crackers, the hot wassail, and the slightly out-of-tune carols modified by the twins and sung around the living room fireplace that were Weasley Christmas traditions, Ginny faced the hardest task she'd been presented with on this day, even taking into account making up a six-month feud with her brother.
Putting Elise to bed.
She wondered just what caused Bill's sudden coughing fit when the tiny girl had grabbed her Christmas gift from Hermione, Q is for Quidditch: A Wee Witch and Wizard's ABC, climbed into Ginny's lap, and refused to climb down. When Fleur attempted to retrieve her child from her sister-in-law, Elise clenched Ginny's jumper in her tiny fists and shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"Time for bed, I think," Fleur had sighed. So Ginny, Fleur, Hermione, and Molly climbed the stairs, hoping that if they made bath and storytime a team effort, Mademoiselle Elise would submit without too much fuss.
It didn't quite happen that way.
First she refused to sit in the tub. Then she refused to let anyone - even A-tee Dinny, Patron Saint of Cute Nieces - get near her with the shampoo. Nana Molly procured a rubber diricawl that had been one of Ginny's own bath toys, which appeased the tiny tyrant just enough to give her mother, nana and aunt enough time to get her clean. It was discovered later to have a nasty side effect: once she had something with which to keep occupied, she refused to get out of the water. Fleur had to resort to levitating Elise out of the bath and into the bath towel draped over Ginny's arms.
Her mum had more success with getting her dressed in pyjamas, especially when the pyjamas were made out of a cute green dragon-print flannel. So garbed, Elise was lured into the bed in which Ginny had slept for so many years by the sight of her A-tee with her new book. She demanded her stuffed dragon, popped her thumb into her mouth, and had given into sleep before Ginny had reached "K is for kneazle".
Ginny sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, looking at her little niece burrowed under the pink flowered duvet and thinking on everything that had transpired at dinner. Some part of her mind had registered the sounds of people exiting the room; she didn't realize that she wasn't alone until she felt the hand on her shoulder.
She jumped, startled, and bit down on her lip to keep from making a noise that would wake the baby. She turned to discover Hermione standing over her, a curious sort of expression on her face. "Can I have a word?" she whispered.
Ginny nodded and set Q is for Quidditch down on the duvet next to Elise. Rising as gently as possible, she and Hermione moved to the next quietest location in the house - the very top of the stairwell, outside the door to the attic.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, once they were seated.
Her companion brushed an invisible speck of dust off her trousers before speaking. "I've been thinking about the discussion at dinner. Ginny, you never mentioned anything about Malfoy to me before. When did this happen?"
"Hermione, I would have mentioned it to you, if I thought there were anything worth mentioning. I blushed at an inopportune moment, and Ron blew it out of proportion." Ginny rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands before running her fingers through her hair. Suddenly, she was very, very tired .. tired of the questioning looks, tired of the concerned expressions, tired of explaining herself.
"So there's really nothing between you and Malfoy."
"There's really nothing between us. There's no relationship, no secret understanding, no hidden passions. We've shared a couple of looks and one kiss. That's it."
Hermione's voice was full of disbelief. "You risked death and disinheritance for one kiss?"
"It was a good kiss," Ginny said with a smirk that reminded Hermione of the subject of that day's troubles. "And I'll be perfectly honest with you, Hermione. I have every intention of finding out whether there's a chance for the rest of it. Maybe not involving a chandelier at the Ministry - which reminds me, I need to have a word with Percy about that - but if the quality of the kiss was any indicator ..."
"Merlin save me," Hermione breathed. She didn't need a NEWT in Divination to forsee that her friend's newly-discovered penchant for Draco Malfoy would be the cause of many heated discussions and worrisome moments in the future.
For the happiness that glimmered in Ginny's eyes, though, it might all be worth it.
It rose over a very changed Ginny Weasley. The difference between her rising on the morning of Christmas Eve and her rising Christmas morning was the difference between night and day .. black and white .. Gryffindor and Slytherin. The day before, the sun had peeked in her curtains, and she'd groaned and pulled her pillows over her head.
Christmas had begun, under cover of night's darkness, with a breathtaking kiss .. from Draco. As Ginny stretched her limbs under the comforting weight of her duvet, she treated her ceiling to a sunny smile. She could feel her brain turning to treacle and oozing out from her ears at the way this made her feel, and oh Merlin, she just didn't care.
After all that had gone before, she deserved to be this happy.
~*~
The cacophony of sound Ginny met when she walked through the front door of the Burrow could have knocked her over. From the sounds of things, all six of her brothers, plus assorted girlfriends, fiancees, and wives had gathered in the living room of the home they'd shared in their childhood, and every one of them had noticed her arrival.
"Wait, wait," she yelled as she was tackled by no fewer than three tall redheads. "Let me set this down," indicating the bag of gifts she'd brought with her, "before you oafs crush your damn Christmas presents."
"Ginny! You really shouldn't use such language -" she heard Percy from the couch, only to be interrupted by the oafs in question.
"Presents?" chorused Fred and George. They poked about in the bag while their sister was lifted off her feet by her third "assailant".
"Let's see if I can give you a proper hug," Charlie said as he squeezed his little sister fondly, "without causing a family rift this time."
"The name Weasley is always synonomous with 'chaos'," Ginny sighed as she hugged her brother tightly in return. He set her down so that she could attempt to greet their parents before being accosted by the remainder of the people in the house. "Where's Mum?"
"In the kitchen, last I checked," Charlie replied.
"Thanks." Ginny headed in that direction, only to be intercepted by Bill and Fleur half-way to the door. She accepted a kiss on the cheek from her brother and a tight hug from her sister-in-law, while their two-year-old daughter Elise wrapped her arms around her Aunt Ginny's (or, as Elise would screech, A-tee Dinny) knees. It was only when Ginny picked Elise up and settled her on her hip that she was allowed to continue to the kitchen unimpeded.
And it was only when she crossed the threshold between the kitchen and living room that she realized that the only brother not to greet her at all had been Ron.
Refusing to think about it, she moved to greet her mother with a kiss. "Happy Christmas, Mum."
"Happy Christmas, dear."
~*~
Ginny rejoined her siblings in the living room after speaking with her parents. Finding all of the available seats taken, she elected to sit cross-legged in the middle of the floor. Elise immediately toddled over to claim rights of ownership; she sat down squarely on her aunt's legs, and reclined her head against her aunt's shoulders. One hand's thumb in her mouth and the other hand clutching the stuffed dragon her Unca Jarvey gave her for Christmas the previous year, Elise was perfectly comfortable.
The beloved auntie smiled - she was more than happy to serve as a chair for her first niece. She looked down at Elise's little face, her breath ruffling her niece's white-blond hair. Her hand automatically moved to smooth it back down; as her fingers coaxed the soft strands back into place, she couldn't push away the remembrance of another's hair in her fingers.
She looked up to answer the question Percy had directed at her, the barest hint of pink in her cheeks.
"How are you enjoying Auror Studies, Ginny?"
"I'm enjoying work very much. My classmates seem to be competent, and I like all the instructors." She would like all the instructors, as they were members of the Order.
"What have they been teaching you?"
"At this point, just the very basics. Right now we're in the middle of a unit that's basically a very advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts - up until last week we'd been learning about the theory behind defending against hexes and Dark spells, now we're actually practicing advanced shield charms, and rumour has it that starting in February we're going to be working on non-magical but still thoroughly practical means of defense."
Everyone in the room looked quite impressed, except for the sullen redhead in the corner. "So how do you like working with the Amazing Bouncing Ferret?" Ron asked in a clipped tone.
There was a knock on the door, and Charlie sprang to answer it as Ginny composed an answer. She'd resolved to put aside the misunderstanding with her brother, if at all possible, for Christmas, and she forced away all of the irritation that had welled up at hearing the shortness in his voice. "The first-year and second-year classes never work together," she said with a one-shouldered shrug. "I've crossed paths with him exactly once since July. You'd be better off asking Neville for an answer to that question."
"Asking Neville for an answer to what question?" the object of their conversation asked cheerfully from the doorway. Ginny looked over her shoulder, and the now-dozing niece resting on it, to see him and Pansy standing at the door. She grinned at her friends, surprised by the unexpected visit, and gave Fleur a glance. Elise's mum took her sleeping child so that Ginny could get up and greet her visitors.
Neville was carrying a well-wrapped bundle, so he settled for giving her a kiss on the cheek before she and Pansy hugged. "Happy Christmas! I certainly wasn't expecting to see you two today."
Neville looked over at Pansy briefly before returning his gaze to Ginny. "We're on our way to Gran's for dinner, but I wanted to stop by and leave this off for you; I didn't know if you would be here yet." He handed the gift to her before continuing, "So who's asking me what?"
"I asked my sister what it was like to work with the Amazing Bouncing Ferret," Ron said with a grin, clearly expecting .. something, Ginny wasn't quite sure what.
Pansy raised one eyebrow in interest. "Why Weasel, I never knew you thought Draco 'amazing' .. I'm sure he didn't either. I'll have to let him know, next time I see him."
Ron narrowed his eyes at her. Clearing his throat, Neville attempted to subtly defuse the situation by answering the question. "Well, of course Ginny wouldn't know what it's like to work with Malfoy, because first-year and second-year don't share any courses at all."
Haha, Ginny thought, vindication.
"He's actually grown up quite a bit," Neville continued. "Very serious about Auror Studies, knows his stuff. While he's not everyone's best friend," and at this, Pansy gave a laugh, "it hasn't been the hell I'm sure you're imagining it to be."
Ron looked affronted. This wasn't the answer he'd been expecting at all.
"Oh Merlin. If we don't get going soon, we're going to be late." Neville looked distinctly nervous, and Pansy patted his arm. "Ginny - enjoy your present. And don't forget, we still need to do lunch." She smiled and nodded, and held the door for her two friends as her brothers and their assorted ladies wished them a Happy Christmas.
Once her friends had Disapparated away, Ginny returned to her still-warm spot on the floor, holding her gift from Neville in her lap. With all of the goodbyes, Elise had woken; seeing the bundle of tissue in her A-tee's hands, she squirmed out of her mum's arms and toddled over to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room. "Present!" she exclaimed loudly.
"What a good idea!" Nana Molly said from the doorway. "Let's do presents before we sit down to dinner."
In the resulting chaos that followed, Ginny took a moment to open her gift from Neville. The heavy paper wrapping and cushioning tissue fell away to reveal a small potted ivy, green and healthy. She had always appreciated the living gifts that were Neville's specialty in school, and which she'd received from time to time since their trip to the Yule Ball in her third year. She had the sneaking suspicion that there was something more to this one.
She took her wand from the pocket of her pants specially tailored for it, and tapped it to the blank card tied to the pot. Flowing script revealed itself for a few moments before fading back to empty parchment.
Dear Ginny,
I send this gift to you in light of the conversation we had on Saturday morning. Ivy in general represents fidelity, friendship, and affection .. ivy as a houseplant represents personal happiness.
Which is what I hope for you.
Happy Christmas,
Neville.
Ginny understood his meaning perfectly.
~*~
An hour and a half later, the living room was covered in paper and ribbons and happy smiles.
Ginny looked over her share of the Christmas loot, reasonably pleased. From her parents came the usual jumper (this year in teal), a new set of quills - the exact same set that Ginny had purchased for her father, over which they shared a chuckle - and some colourful inks; from Bill, Fleur, and Elise came a leather bag for work; from Charlie, a pair of dragonhide gloves. Percy and his girlfriend Natalie gave his sister a lovely silver filigree pin for her to wear with her winter cloak.
From Fred, George, Angelina and Alicia she received a gorgeous set of emerald-green dress robes that, upon first glance, looked to be the perfect size. (Ginny guessed to herself that Angelina and Alicia had been the selectors of this gift, while her brothers had been the financial backers of that particular shopping expedition.) Hermione had pulled her rank at the Ministry to get Ginny a copy of Most Potente Potions - certain that it would be useful to Ginny's study for the Potions Mastery exam - and Ron had given her the usual selection of Chocolate Frogs.
She smiled as Elise ran by with her dragon in one hand and what appeared to be her favourite gift from this Christmas, a miniature toy Nimbus that was the gift of the twins to their niece. While she was Bill and Fleur's child, earliest signs indicated that she would be following in her Unca Jarvey's footsteps.
Molly clapped her hands together. "Dinner!" she called. With a wave of her wand, she set the magically-enlarged table as a horde of assorted Weasleys surrounded it. There was much commotion as brothers, girlfriends, and wives jockeyed for position around the table.
Ginny had hoped to find herself sitting next to Hermione, so that she might have a word with her about Ron. Six months of not speaking had been more than enough; an enormous prat though he might be, he was her brother, and the animosity of their former argument had finally faded from her mind, eased along somewhat by the fact that she'd succeeded where he'd doubted - in Auror Studies, in living on her own - in everything that mattered to her.
Ron, of course, was the same hard-headed, hot-headed brother she'd known since he began at school. Healing their relationship was going to require a lot more than Ginny's confession that she was ready to end the feud. It was going to require a neutral voice of logic and reason.
In short, she needed Hermione.
The Hermione that had found herself standing between Ron and Percy at the Christmas table.
Well, so much for that. Ginny put aside her plan and moved to take the empty seat next to Charlie. As he passed her their mother's best mashed potatoes, all thoughts of prat brothers fled from her mind.
Ginny filled her plate - turkey, stuffing, the aforementioned potatoes, and a serving of some traditional French dish Fleur had brought that Ginny couldn't pronounce but which still smelled delicious anyway - while she listened to the happy chatter surrounding her.
There was so much going on at the busy table. Percy complimenting Hermione's dress, the one she'd bought when she and Ginny had slipped out of the Leaky Cauldron the previous weekend for some shopping in Muggle London. Elise chattering on at the top of her lungs while Bill attempted to keep her in her chair and Fleur attempted to get some dinner into her mouth. The twins discussing the plan for their newest line of Wheezes. Her own conversation with Charlie about his work with the newest dragon on the reserve she'd been privileged to visit during the summer before seventh year.
The comment was very nearly lost amongst it all, but it was spoken at just the right pitch to reach Ginny's ears. "I wonder what Neville is thinking, dating Parkinson of all people," Ron said to Hermione in a caustic tone.
Hermione shot Ginny a glance. Ginny, to her credit, looked as though she was attempting to swallow the demon that was determined to escape her lips. "There is nothing. Wrong. With Pansy," she said quietly and deliberately.
"Let's extoll her virtues, shall we?" Ron replied nastily. "She's Slytherin. She's ugly. And she's friends with the bloody ferret."
"Oh, and because she's friends with Malfoy means that she's earned a double helping of your Christmas vitriol? I'll be sure to make note of that, for future reference."
Ron stared at his sister across the table. "You're not saying that you're actually friends with the sodding bastard."
Ginny flushed. She knew exactly what her now-crimson cheeks would intimate to Ron, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. "I'm saying that I reserve the right to choose who my friends are!" she hissed in reply.
His jaw dropped. "You are, aren't you. You're bloody up to something with Draco bloody Malfoy."
"Not that it's any of your business, because it isn't, but I'm not. But if I decide I want to shag Draco Malfoy while hanging upside down from a chandelier in the Merlin Entertainment Hall at the Ministry, then I damn well will."
"You'll want to use the third chandelier from the front," Percy interjected. As heads whirled in his direction and eyes focused incredulously on their family's most upstanding citizen, he shrugged. "It's got the strongest support."
Ginny and Ron stared in horrified silence at Percy for a moment longer than the rest of the family, before returning to the matter at hand. "Don't you dare take that for some sort of twisted permission," Ron began.
"I don't need permission. I am fully-schooled AND of age, which means I say who my friends are, I say who warms my bed, and there is not a damned thing you or anyone else in the world can do about it."
Ron turned an unattractive maroon shade. "No member of my family is going to consort with a Malfoy."
"Go ahead and kick me out, then," Ginny replied furiously. She was far too angry at her brother to realize that she'd as good as made the confession that she'd hoped to avoid, at least until there was more to be upset about than one kiss on Christmas Eve.
Ron opened his mouth to reply, to utter words that the Weasley family had not heard uttered amongst themselves in years .. when Molly banged her fist on the table. It echoed like a thunderclap through the house, and sent silverware and dishes jumping in all directions.
"That .. is .. ENOUGH," she growled into the startled silence. "Ronald Weasley, your sister, as hard as it may be to believe, is a grown woman. We may not like the choices she makes, but she is free to make them, and we must accept that. She's your sister, not some random younger person to lord over. And up to the point you got a broom up your backside, you loved her very much. If you do not start showing her some love and respect now, I'll turn you over my knee like the baby you're behaving like. "
"MUM!" Ron was horrified.
"I'll do it, too, so don't test me." Ginny fought valiantly but couldn't keep a smirk from crossing her face as she stared into her potatoes. "And as for YOU, Ginny ... just because you're having a fight with Ron does not give you free reign to disrespect this family. I will not tolerate such language as was heard issuing from your mouth, not now, not ever. And the next time you have an argument with any part of this family, you will not simply ignore our existence to avoid the issue. Don't think I'm giving you preferential treatment - I reserve the right to smack your arse as well."
Ginny raised defiant eyes, but turned back to her potatoes at the stern look on her mother's face. "Yes, Mum," she said sullenly.
Molly turned eagle eyes on the rest of the table; with the exception of Elise, who was waving a spoonful of mashed potato around, all were sitting very quietly, should the matriarch decide to address any other family issues. "Well? Eat!"
Brother and sister glanced at each other across the table as chatter and the clink of silver against plate broke the uneasy silence.
~*~
"Can we talk?"
The remnants of Christmas dinner had been cleared away, the twins (with Alicia and Angelina to help or supervise, as they saw fit) had washed and put away the dishes, and a large portion of the family had succumbed to post-prandial narcolepsy, napping in any location where a soft surface could be found. Ginny thought it was the perfect time to corner Ron into resolving their differences, once and for all.
"But .. Fred was talking about Quidditch .."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fred was talking about Quidditch. Now he's on the couch, wrapped around Angelina like a set of dress robes, fast asleep. I don't think he's going to be playing Quidditch anytime soon." She gave her brother a searching look. "Of course, if you want to put this off for another six months, maybe we can just kill each other in the fallout next time, and put the entire family out of our misery."
"No .. that wouldn't do." Grabbing her wrist, he pulled his sister into the kitchen and shutting the door behind them. Ginny sat at the table, Ron stood by the counter, and for a moment, both were silent.
"I was only -"
"Look, I -" The siblings started stammering at each other simultaneously, then cut off again at almost the same time. Ginny gave Ron a small smile and said, "You go first."
Ron, looking distinctly uncomfortable, cleared his throat. Now that he had his sister's full attention, he wasn't exactly sure where to start or what to say or how to fix it. "Look, Ginny. I feel awful about blowing this whole thing out of proportion. I .. I just worry about you, is all."
"You have a very peculiar way of showing it," she said quietly.
"I know, I know. It's just that I look at you and I see the little girl you were in your first year .. I want to keep you safe, I want what's best for you."
Ron looked thoroughly miserable now; she'd heard a tinge of guilt in his voice, and Ginny couldn't stand it. Getting up from her chair at the table, she crossed the room to where he leaned against the sink and forced her way past the arms crossed over his chest into a hug. "I appreciate that, you know," she said simply. "Contrary to belief, I do like being cared about."
Thus encouraged, Ron continued. "I couldn't bear the thought of you putting yourself in danger. You know .. well, better than I do that Dark wizards are serious business, and that even though You-Know-Who is gone another will inevitably rise to take his place."
"Ron, part of the reason I decided to take the Ministry up on its offer was the .. unique knowledge I possess. I'd like to see that no one else get that kind of experience."
"I won't lose my sister for some sort of noble cause," he said sharply.
"Ron, it's what I have to do. I didn't go into Auror Studies just to upset you and Mum and the rest of the family. I need to do this." Ginny looked up at her brother with a serious expression. "Can you respect that?"
Ron looked at her for a long moment. "As long as you promise to be careful."
She squeezed her brother tightly. "I'll do my very best."
"All right then." He cleared his throat. "Er, Ginny?"
She pulled away, to notice that Ron's face had flushed again, that deep red that was almost painful to look at. "What?"
"Are you .. are you really .. shagging that ruddy ferret?"
There it was again, that damnable blush, spreading unbidden across her cheeks. "It's not any of your business, Ron. But no. Not yet, anyway."
"Not ... yet?" The last word was a squeak.
"Yes. Not yet. And that's all I'm going to say to you on the matter."
Ron winced, as though this development caused him bodily pain. "I .. eurgh. Ginny, you know what kind of arse he was at school. Please be careful."
She knew he wasn't just talking about resurgent Dark wizards.
She could either be irritated that he didn't trust in her ability to take care of herself, or she could be flattered that he cared that much for her. She elected to believe the latter. "I will be."
Here, before her, was the brother she remembered, the brother that sheltered her from Molly's wrath, who'd snuck extra biscuits from the jar for her, who'd fended off the twins for her in their most boisterous moments. She threw her arms about his waist to give him another hug. "I love you, you great irritating prat."
Suddenly, there was a loud sniffle, and Molly burst into the room, tears flowing freely. As she caught her two youngest in a wet hug, the siblings looked over to the kitchen door, to see most of their family assembled in the doorway, obviously caught in their eavesdropping.
"Ow, Fred! That was my FOOT, you graceless sod!" Natalie's voice came from somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
"Hey! I'm Fred.."
~*~
"A-tee Dinny! Story!"
After the fight that was decidedly not a Weasley Christmas tradition, and the pickup Quidditch game, the Wizard crackers, the hot wassail, and the slightly out-of-tune carols modified by the twins and sung around the living room fireplace that were Weasley Christmas traditions, Ginny faced the hardest task she'd been presented with on this day, even taking into account making up a six-month feud with her brother.
Putting Elise to bed.
She wondered just what caused Bill's sudden coughing fit when the tiny girl had grabbed her Christmas gift from Hermione, Q is for Quidditch: A Wee Witch and Wizard's ABC, climbed into Ginny's lap, and refused to climb down. When Fleur attempted to retrieve her child from her sister-in-law, Elise clenched Ginny's jumper in her tiny fists and shrieked at the top of her lungs.
"Time for bed, I think," Fleur had sighed. So Ginny, Fleur, Hermione, and Molly climbed the stairs, hoping that if they made bath and storytime a team effort, Mademoiselle Elise would submit without too much fuss.
It didn't quite happen that way.
First she refused to sit in the tub. Then she refused to let anyone - even A-tee Dinny, Patron Saint of Cute Nieces - get near her with the shampoo. Nana Molly procured a rubber diricawl that had been one of Ginny's own bath toys, which appeased the tiny tyrant just enough to give her mother, nana and aunt enough time to get her clean. It was discovered later to have a nasty side effect: once she had something with which to keep occupied, she refused to get out of the water. Fleur had to resort to levitating Elise out of the bath and into the bath towel draped over Ginny's arms.
Her mum had more success with getting her dressed in pyjamas, especially when the pyjamas were made out of a cute green dragon-print flannel. So garbed, Elise was lured into the bed in which Ginny had slept for so many years by the sight of her A-tee with her new book. She demanded her stuffed dragon, popped her thumb into her mouth, and had given into sleep before Ginny had reached "K is for kneazle".
Ginny sat on the edge of the bed for a long time, looking at her little niece burrowed under the pink flowered duvet and thinking on everything that had transpired at dinner. Some part of her mind had registered the sounds of people exiting the room; she didn't realize that she wasn't alone until she felt the hand on her shoulder.
She jumped, startled, and bit down on her lip to keep from making a noise that would wake the baby. She turned to discover Hermione standing over her, a curious sort of expression on her face. "Can I have a word?" she whispered.
Ginny nodded and set Q is for Quidditch down on the duvet next to Elise. Rising as gently as possible, she and Hermione moved to the next quietest location in the house - the very top of the stairwell, outside the door to the attic.
"What is it?" Ginny asked, once they were seated.
Her companion brushed an invisible speck of dust off her trousers before speaking. "I've been thinking about the discussion at dinner. Ginny, you never mentioned anything about Malfoy to me before. When did this happen?"
"Hermione, I would have mentioned it to you, if I thought there were anything worth mentioning. I blushed at an inopportune moment, and Ron blew it out of proportion." Ginny rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands before running her fingers through her hair. Suddenly, she was very, very tired .. tired of the questioning looks, tired of the concerned expressions, tired of explaining herself.
"So there's really nothing between you and Malfoy."
"There's really nothing between us. There's no relationship, no secret understanding, no hidden passions. We've shared a couple of looks and one kiss. That's it."
Hermione's voice was full of disbelief. "You risked death and disinheritance for one kiss?"
"It was a good kiss," Ginny said with a smirk that reminded Hermione of the subject of that day's troubles. "And I'll be perfectly honest with you, Hermione. I have every intention of finding out whether there's a chance for the rest of it. Maybe not involving a chandelier at the Ministry - which reminds me, I need to have a word with Percy about that - but if the quality of the kiss was any indicator ..."
"Merlin save me," Hermione breathed. She didn't need a NEWT in Divination to forsee that her friend's newly-discovered penchant for Draco Malfoy would be the cause of many heated discussions and worrisome moments in the future.
For the happiness that glimmered in Ginny's eyes, though, it might all be worth it.
The End.
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