I'll Be Home For Christmas
The different conversations that were going on were so animated that a simple line of speech to someone could easily be drowned in the noise. Harry, who had been attempting to understand what Mrs. Weasley was telling him for quite a while, frowned at her in misunderstanding. She gestured at him wildly, pointing at him, then at her own chest, and then at something in front of harry. He would look at every thing she had indicating, and it still didn't ring a bell. She was also saying (although it looked like mouthing to Harry) something to him. And finally he understood. She had been pointing at him, then at herself, and at the food platter (full of her own special recipe) that was sitting comfortably in front of him. He laughed at his own stupidity, picked up the bowl and stretched forwards. Although nearly dropping it, Mrs. Weasley carefully picked up the
silver platter from Harry's hands and smiled at him in gratitude.
It was Christmas Eve, (even if by now it might have been Christmas, since they didn't know how far they had gone into the night) and they were enjoying a particularly delicious Christmas dinner at the Burrow, with Ron, George, Percy, Bill, Charlie, and of course- Mr and Mrs Weasley. The guests included Harry and Hermione, Kingsley, Mundungus, Aberforth, McGonagall, and their biggest friend, Hagrid. The list of guests for this feast was particularly long, and the table had had to be moved and specially arranged. Hermione had been able to pitch in some help by naming some space advantaging spells that even the Weasleys' did not know.
'You know, I reckon there'll be a new broom out soon- yeah...' would say Ron's loud, dominating voice.
'...it was great. You ought to try it!'
'Seriously, you didn't have to!'
Along with-
'I can't wait to show him...'
And-
'Oh, don't yeh be so silly!' would say Hagrid, blushing and taking another sip of Firewhisky.
Harry couldn't help but grin at all the happy faces around him. The weight of the terrible losses they had suffered recently was just wearing off as Christmas came along, bringing at least a little spark of joy in their lives.
'Harry-' suddenly said someone, and Harry turned around and saw it was Ginny. 'Erm... You think we could- have a moment?' she asked, her expression not changing, her face not reddening.
'I- Yeah, sure' said Harry, smiling at her.
She smiled back, apparently grateful he was disrupting the end of the feast to be with her, but he'd rather of done that then sit there thinking about doing it. He got up, followed by Ginny, and they quietly headed towards the front door. But a loud noise made them turn around, and they saw that Mr Weasley had gotten up at once, spotting them leave the house, his chair toppling over. Ginny sighed, and Harry said goodbye to their private talk.
'Ho, ho!' said Arthur, interrupting everyone's conversations. 'Well- Where you kids going?'
'Er- we, er...'
But Harry didn't have time to answer properly- he saw Ron wink at him and Hermione shoot him an approoving look, and Mr Weasley was speaking again.
'Well- I suppose it is time' he said. 'for us to show Harry his little surprise.'
Harry did not know what this meant. He looked at Ginny, desperate for an answer, but she merely chuckled and turned around, exiting the Burrow. He also looked at Ron and Hermione, but seeing them in a close embrace, he decided it was better not to interrupt them. And so he simply sighed and left the house with everyone else, completely unaware of what was happening.
At last they reached a fair distance from the property boundaries, and Kinglsey said:
'Everyone- when I tell you to go I need you to Disapparate to Grimmauld Place-'
But he was not yet finished his sentence that a loud crack echoed accross the field. They all stared in one direction, at the source of the sound that was not there, exactly where Mundungus Fletcher had been standing barely five seconds ago. They all sighed in disbelief, and some even grunted.
'Tha' ruddy foul- Never listens' muttered Hagrid, apparently starting to recover from the effects of the Firewhisky.
And when Kingsley gave the signal, they all disappeared into the night.
Just a fraction of a second later they all reappeared in a familiar square, but more likely to Harry than to anyone else, except maybe Ron. It was where he officially lived, although he spent quite a fair amount of time at the Burrow. He looked around, vaguely asking himself why they had taken him back home. Harry's surprise... he thought. What was his 'surprise'? Why was it hidden in his own house?
And yet his question was answered a few moments later. As he, after Kingsley, stepped into 12, Grimmauld Place, he gasped in bewilderement. He could hear people whispering excitedly behind him, and now it was very clear why.
His house seemed to have been transformed completely, from head to toe, or in proper sense- attic to basement. Every inch of it seemed cleaner, better-looking, and... younger. He moved forward, walking around the house to make room for everyone to come in. Some had obviously not seen the place yet- they were gasping and letting out 'Oooh's and 'Aaah's. The hall he had been standing in was completely different- the floors, like all the others in the house, had been polished; where the walls had been cracking they were now repaired and freshly painted; new- or simply cleaner- curtains were hanging off the walls and windows, and several new house accessories had been placed, like candles or simple decorative objects. When he proceded to the kitchen he was mostly mesmerized. The glass windows and armoire doors were gleaming against the light, some old lamps and chandeliers had been cleaned, repaired or done something to that made them look much better and younger. Harry walked around, amazed. It was not the same house- it could not be. It was so much younger, cleaner, brighter, roomier... Everything. Everything was different, although the decorators had given the Black family emblems and objects particular care and attention (which would probably have please Kreacher very much). Harry turned around, not knowing what to say.
'Wow- It's brilliant- I had no idea... All of you?' he panted, and everyone in the vast crowd nodded. 'Thank you so much everyone, this is great...'
He smiled at them, hugging Mrs. Weasley one last time. He looked out the window- dawn was just setting in, a little bit of snow coming down. Everyone turned around, engaging in deep discussions once again. It seemed they were going to spend Christmas here- A large but beautiful Christmas tree was standing elegantly amongst the crowd and newly-polished furniture; there was a particularly large amount of presents under the tree, probably enough for everyone inside the house to have a least two or three. Kingsley seemed to have found Dung. They were in a far corner of the living room, apparently arguing about something. A hand suddenly tugged on Harry's sleeve. He turned around to see Ginny beaming at him, gesturing him to follow her upstairs. He looked around; Ron and Hermione were snogging again, next to the glittering fire. Harry grinned and followed Ginny upstairs, and she came to a halt and a very familiar door. It was Harry's bedroom- she visibly wanted to be alone with him for good this time. How many times they had been interrupted... But entering his bedroom he let out a small gasp of surprise, but was not shocked or surprised at all. His room was completely the same. He didn't have a problem with that, though, as it was perfectly great like this. He suddenly had a thought; he was sure Sirius's bedroom had stayed the same too.
'So' suddenly said Ginny, smiling at him. 'How'd you like your-'
'Surprise?' said Harry, grinning widely. 'Love it. Wonderful.'
She giggled and looked at him in the eyes, taking one step closer. For one moment they looked at eachother deeply in the eyes; and then Harry pulled Ginny against him into a tight hug. His eyes were watering now. She lifted her head up at him and smiled- he smiled back. She had gotten even prettier than she had ever been... Harry could see in her eyes that she was the one. Then, as they seemed to read eachother's minds, he kissed her softly, but this time with a real meaning. He stroked her hair as she kissed him back, and when they broke apart for an instant he whispered into her ear.
'This is-' he said, but then he thought of Hogwarts, of an eleven year old Harry, Ron and Hermione, and smiled. '-the second best Christmas of my life.'
La fin
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