Fic: Christmas Cards (part two)
The tree was beautiful. Ginny had to admit that the Muggle fairy lights were very pretty, and twinkled in a way that real fairy lights never quite managed, though she was never going to be entirely comfortable with electricity. Unfortunately, Hermione would have murdered them both if they’d had Wizarding fairy lights, so the Muggle version would have to suffice.
Harry had been oddly subdued following their encounter with Dudley, and his excitement about putting up their Christmas tree had dwindled somewhat. He went through the motions, sipping at the ever-warm hot chocolate and singing tunelessly to the Christmas songs on the wireless, but his heart wasn’t in it.
Stretching to place the shimmering gold star on the top of the tree, Ginny grinned triumphantly as it slid into place on the spindly branch, not even minding that the pine needles were scratching her arms. ‘There!’ she declared. ‘Finished, and we still have ten minutes before the lunatics arrive.’
Harry took her hand and steadied her as she climbed down from the top of the small stepladder, keeping his fingers twined in hers even when she reached the ground. ‘It looks lovely,’ he said quietly. ‘This is only the second time in my life that I’ve ever helped to decorate a Christmas tree, did you know that?’ When Ginny shook her head, he continued, ‘The first time was in my sixth year, when I stayed at the Burrow for Christmas. Fred and George charmed a Gnome gold and stuck it on the top of the tree in a tutu, remember?’
Ginny giggled, remembering her mother’s reaction when she finally realised what the plump little fairy on the treetop actually was. ‘I’ve never seen anything as ugly as that Gnome.’
Harry echoed her giggle with a faint little chuckle, and he turned away from her to stare into the depths of the tree. ‘When I was little, I used to watch through the vent of my cupboard door as the Christmas tree went up. I had to carry all the boxes down from the attic, and as soon as everything was down, go straight to my cupboard. I could hear them all laughing and joking and smell the gingerbread Aunt Petunia used to make to hang on the tree, but I was always outside looking in.’
He sounded so lonely that it made Ginny’s heart ache. She could just imagine a miniature Harry peeping out from the cupboard under the stairs, forced to stay on the edge of all the fun.
She wrapped both her hands around his upper arm and pressed her forehead against his back. ‘That’s never going to happen again,’ she whispered, kissing his shoulder. ‘You’ve got a family that loves you, and you’re never going to be pushed to one side.’
He twisted around to kiss her, soft and chaste, a kiss of comfort, not passion, and Ginny still marvelled that Harry had chosen her to be the one he revealed his true self to. Not even Hermione and Ron got to see him with his guard down 100%. ‘God, I love you,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘You always know how to make me feel better.’
She moved to stand in front of him and twined her arms around his neck. ‘Well, making you feel better is my job, so it’s a good thing I know how to do it.’ They kissed again, and this time it had heat to it, an urgency that thrilled through Ginny’s body all the way down to her toes.
Harry walked them backwards until his legs met the settee, and they tumbled onto the soft, squidgy cushions, still wrapped up in one another.
‘Bloody hell, don’t you two ever come up for air?’ a voice complained, and they looked up to see Ron standing in the doorway, his arm draped around Hermione’s shoulders. ‘Ginny, put him down, Mum and Dad’ll be here in a minute, and as much as they want grandkids, I don’t think they want to watch you conceive them.’
With the unerring aim of a chaser, Ginny flung a pillow at Ron, catching him square in the face and sending him staggering backwards. ‘Excuse me, brother, but this is OUR house, and Harry and I can snog as much as we bloody want.’ She smiled sweetly at Hermione. ‘Hey, Hermione! Nice to see you, come on in!’
Harry let out a huff of air as Ginny climbed off of him, steadying herself on his chest. ‘Help us up, Gin, I’m wedged into the back of the settee cushions.’ He accepted her helping hand and got to his feet, then clapped Ron on the shoulder and kissed Hermione’s cheek. ‘Can I get you two a drink?’
Drinks orders taken, Harry headed to the kitchen, and Hermione immediately turned to Ginny. ‘What happened? Something’s wrong.’
Ginny sat next to her and sighed. ‘Nothing bad, really. We bumped into his cousin in town today, and I think it stirred up a few old feelings.’
‘You saw Dudley?’ Ron asked. ‘Hope you slipped him a Ton Tongue Toffee, for old time’s sake. Nasty little git.’
‘He’s changed. He was sweet, actually. Apologised to Harry for the fact that the Dursleys abused him when he was a kid. Harry didn’t have a clue that he was abused, so I think having someone tell him that he was, with examples, shook him up a bit.’ Ginny pulled a pillow in front of her, hugging it tightly to her chest. ‘He’s been really quiet ever since. Dudley wants to keep in touch.’
Hermione turned sideways on the settee and crossed her legs underneath her, completely at home in the Potter household. ‘Dudley realises that Harry was abused? I’m impressed, that’s a rather insightful realisation. The kind of abuse Harry suffered was very insidious and hard to identify, and a lot of people probably wouldn’t even classify it as abuse.’ She chewed on her lip, lost in thought. ‘Poor Harry. He must have felt blindsided.’
‘I’m gonna go talk to him,’ Ron said suddenly, standing up from the armchair he’d sprawled in. ‘I’ll be back in a bit.’
Once Ron had left, Ginny angled her body towards Hermione. ‘I hope Dudley keeps in touch, I think it’d be good for Harry. Other than his Aunt, Dudley is Harry’s only blood link left to his Mum, and family is important.’
The two women lapsed into silence, listening to the faint noise of Ron and Harry talking in the kitchen.
‘He’ll be alright, Ginny,’ Hermione said quietly. ‘You know what he’s like. He takes a while to process things, and then he just gets on with it. We’ll make sure that he has a good time this evening and doesn’t brood.’
Ginny was prevented from answering by the arrival of her mum and dad in the fireplace, shortly followed by Bill, Fleur and Victoire. They piled into the living room as the floo roared again, spitting out George and Angelina, then Percy and Audrey, with Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin close behind.
Thoughts of Dudley left Ginny’s mind as she set about playing hostess. The Saturday evening family gathering moved from house to house each week, and it was always manic, loud, and wonderful, a mad crush of all the people she loved most in the world. Charlie joined them when he could, and Luna and Neville were frequent guests, though all three were absent on this particular evening.
Harry finally returned from the kitchen, levitating a massive tray of drinks in front of him and carrying a bowl full of crisps. His face seemed a little more animated, though there was still tenseness around his eyes that spoke of an underlying upset.
Ginny watched him as he made the rounds of the room, greeting his adopted family with hugs and kisses. He gained two little leaches in the form of Teddy and Victoire and ended up toting a child on each hip, their chubby little arms wrapped vice-like around his neck. They both adored their Uncle Harry and when they were around, he was rarely seen without them clinging to him.
Harry whispered something to the children, and they both giggled loudly. Teddy laid a lip-smacking kiss on Harry’s cheek, and Victoire burrowed her face into the curve of her uncle’s shoulder and neck.
Harry caught Ginny watching him and gave her a huge grin, the rest of the tension leaving his body. He roared loudly and started to spin on the spot, causing the clinging toddlers to shriek with excitement and tighten their limpet-like hold.
Ginny smiled at her husband, feeling the now familiar ache that consumed her when she saw him with the children. She’d never considered herself to be particularly maternal - until the very first time she had seen Harry cradling an eight-week-old Teddy in his arms, and suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to have children with him.
She caught her mum looking knowingly at her and felt her face stain with the treacherous Weasley blush, which was surely announcing to the world - or at the very least, her family - that she wanted Harry Potter’s babies.
Harry was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, Teddy on one side, Victoire on the other, looking through a picture book with them. The three of them were completely engrossed.
Fleur - five months pregnant with her second child and more radiant than ever - smiled at Ginny. ‘Harry is so good with the children. He is going to make a wonderful father.’
Ginny sighed, anticipating the question that always followed any observation about Harry’s rapport with the children.
‘When do you think you will start a family?’ Fleur asked, her hand caressing her stomach.
Shrugging, Ginny noticed that Harry was very obviously listening, even though he gave every appearance of still being involved in the book. ‘We want to wait a couple of years, until Harry and I have established ourselves in our careers. There’s no rush. We’re both young, and we’re enjoying just being with each other.’ It was her stock-in-trade answer.
Harry glanced up and winked at her, knowing she got annoyed at the almost constant questions about when they would be having children. She knew he’d quite happily start a family tomorrow, but he also respected the fact that she was at the top of her game in Quidditch, and wanted to keep it that way for at least a couple of years. ‘I don’t want to share Ginny just yet,’ he said, busily rubbing noses with a giggling Victoire. ‘I’ve only just got her all to myself.’
Harry had defused the situation quite nicely, and the conversation turned to Christmas plans. Christmas Eve was only two days away, and the topic of who was eating where and when was very much a heated debate.
‘Harry and Ginny will be sleeping over at the Burrow Christmas Eve, so that’s one room spoken for,’ said Molly. ‘But I’m sure we can find space for everyone.’
‘Who said we’re sleeping over?’ Ginny demanded. ‘No we’re not.’
Molly just smilled. ‘Of course you are, dear. We all have to be together on Christmas morning.’
Harry answered her before Ginny even had the chance to open her mouth. ‘Mum, we appreciate the invitation, but Ginny and I were hoping to spend our first Christmas Eve as husband and wife in our new house. We’ll spend most of the day with everyone at the Burrow, and floo over first thing Christmas morning, but we want to wake up here.’
He said it so sweetly and calmly that Molly had no choice but to accept it with grace, and she reached over to pat Harry’s shoulder. ‘That’s fine, sweetheart.’
Ginny watched the exchange open-mouthed, marvelling that her husband had been able to do something that seven Weasley children had never achieved - he’d reasoned with Molly Weasley and won.
Harry nodded at Ginny and grinned as a quiet tapping sounded from the window. He got to his feet, gently disentangling himself from the children, and opened the window to let the owl in.
Erimentha - Eri for short - was the owl Harry had finally bought to replace Hedwig, though it had taken him three years to be able to bear the thought of another owl. Eri had joined the Potter family just two months ago, but she already adored Harry and Ginny. Though she looked nothing like Hedwig, she had the same regal bearing and the habit of dishing out gentle chastisement in the form of little nips with her beak.
Eri extended her foot to Harry, waited patiently for him to remove the envelope, and then flew to Ginny in search of her reward.
Ginny kept her eye on Harry even as she fed Eri Owl Treats, and she was dismayed to see his face blanch as his fist tightened around the card in his hand.
Without a word, he walked from the room and could then be heard climbing heavily up the stairs before the door to his office shut with rather more force than usual.
‘Goodness!’ said Molly, her hand over her heart. ‘I do hope Harry hasn’t had bad news.’
Ginny deposited Eri on her perch and then made her own way upstairs, tapping on the office door before slipping quietly inside the room.
Harry was stretched out on the small sofa there, one arm slung across his face, the other dangling off the sofa so that his hand brushed the floor, the offending card clasped loosely in his fingers.
Gently tugging the card from his lax grip, Ginny nudged him further towards the back of the settee and then moulded her body against his side, smiling when his arm automatically came up to draw her closer. ‘What’s wrong, Harry?’
‘Dudley.’ The arm moved from his face, and Harry gestured at the card Ginny now held. ‘He sent us a Christmas card,’ he said, before the arm was once again draped across his eyes.
Ginny took that as unspoken permission to look, and she slipped a red, glitter-covered card out of the envelope. There was nothing she could see to be upset about.
Dear Harry and Ginny,
It was nice to bump into you both in town today. I hope you have a lovely Christmas, and that we’ll be able to meet up again at some point. I don’t have much in the way of family, and I’d like to make sure I keep what I’ve got.
Dudley.
‘That’s nice,’ she said, as neutrally as possible. ‘He must have written this at work, and posted it on his break.’
The only response she got was a grunt, and she slapped at his arm in irritation before tugging it away from his face. ‘Harry, come on,’ she pleaded. ‘Don’t do this.’
‘Gin, don’t,’ he warned. ‘I thought I could deal with Dudley wanting to be part of my life again, but I was wrong. I can’t be the bigger person and forgive him, I just can’t. I try to let it go, and then I remember every miserable, shitty thing he’s ever done to me.’ His voice trembled, and he pulled his arm out of Ginny’s grip and turned to face the back of the settee.
Ginny moved her body with his, slipped her leg up over his thigh, and insinuated her hand between his arm and his side, encompassing him in a total body hug. She kissed the back of his neck, soft, messy hair tickling her nose. ‘You said yourself, he’s changed, and for the better.’
‘I know that,’ Harry said with a sigh. ‘I just didn’t expect him to follow through on keeping in touch. I thought he was just saying it to be nice, and he’d forget about it as soon as he left the pub.’
She stroked his chest, and moved her kisses down to his shoulder. ‘I think he’s being genuine, Harry. He wants to develop some kind of relationship with you, if you’ll let him.’
With some manoeuvring, Harry wriggled around in her arms until they were face to face, and he trailed his fingers across her cheek. ‘I feel like a complete idiot. This is nothing, compared to what I’ve been through, so why am I letting it get me worked up?’
Ginny caught his hand, stilling it long enough to press her lips against his fingertips. ‘You’ve always been rubbish at anything emotional.’
Harry laughed. ‘That’s a bit of an understatement, Gin.’ He fell quiet, and they just looked at one another for several minutes, Harry’s hand playing with the ends of Ginny’s hair. ‘I’m going to write back to him,’ he said after a while. ‘Send him a Christmas card.’
Ginny didn’t say anything, but kissed Harry soundly before disentangling their limbs and standing up. ‘I’ll go back downstairs, leave you to it. Don’t be long, otherwise the kids’ll be up here demanding to know why you’re not playing with them.’
Swinging his legs off of the sofa, Harry sat up and scrubbed his hands across his face, his fingers sliding up beneath his glasses to press against his eyelids. ‘Alright, love. I’ll be`down in a bit.’ He stood up and walked over to his desk, rummaging through a wicker basket full of Christmas cards.
‘Give him my regards,’ Ginny said softly, as she opened the door. ‘I’ll get you a cup of tea ready.’
Harry smiled at her as he placed his chosen card on the desk. ‘Thanks for putting up with me. I love you.’
She never got tired of hearing that. ‘I love you too. And there had to be somebody in this world that could put up with you, and that was me.’ She blew him a kiss and then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Harry to make amends with a painful part of his life.
Downstairs, Molly was pacing the living room, very obviously fretting, and when Ginny walked in, she all but pounced on her. ‘What is it? Is Harry alright? What’s wrong?’
Ginny chuckled, and gave her mum a hug. ‘He’s fine. We just met up with his cousin in town today - that’s who the card was from - and it was a bit of a shock for Harry, that’s all, stirred up a few memories he’d put behind him.’
Molly stiffened, and Ginny could have sworn she heard her mother mutter ‘bloody Dursleys’ under her breath. As far as Molly Weasley was concerned, Harry was her son, and any mention of the family that had mistreated him made her blood boil. ‘You saw the Dursley boy? I hope he was ashamed of himself.’
‘He was, actually,’ Ginny said. ‘Apologised to Harry for all the rubbish he put him through as a kid. It threw Harry for a bit of a loop, to be honest.’ She left out all the talk of child abuse, lest her mother decide to go on a rampage and hex Petunia and Vernon.
‘He apologised? Good lad, perhaps there’s hope for him yet,’ Molly said. ‘What’s Harry going to do?’
‘He’s writing back to Dudley now.‘ Ginny glanced up at the ceiling, as if she would be able to look through the plaster and board and see Harry in his office above. ‘Don’t mention it when he comes down, he won’t want anybody to make a fuss.’
The floorboards above them squeaked, and then Harry’s office door creaked open. His tread upon the stairs was much lighter coming down than it had been going up, and when he pushed open the door to the living room, his expression was one of contentment.
Eri looked towards Harry as he entered the room and immediately flew to him, alighting on his extended arm and nipping at his hand until he handed her the envelope he held.
Harry watched her fly off with a look of bemusement. ‘Is everyone in this family conspiring against me, or what?’ He perched on the arm of Ginny’s chair and slipped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. ‘Sorry about that, everyone.’
Ginny moved over in the chair and tugged at Harry until he slid down off the arm and onto the cushion next to her, his thigh pressed up against hers. ‘I’m glad you wrote to him,’ she whispered into his ear. ‘I’m proud of you.’
He smiled at her and took her hand. ‘I feel better now I’ve written back. It’s not like he’s asking to be my best mate or something. I was just being stupid ...’
She silenced him with a kiss. ‘Sssssh. Let’s just have a nice evening and forget about it.’
Ron glanced at Ginny, then struck up a conversation about the upcoming charity match between the Cannons and the Harpies, and Harry immediately began a staunch defence of Ginny’s team, the slightly awkward moment smoothed over by a bout of good-natured bickering.
Harry gradually relaxed, and Ginny tucked herself under his arm, sensing that he needed her close.
She was so pleased that Harry had started mending bridges with his cousin, and she hoped that the two of them would keep in touch. Nobody was expecting them to suddenly become the best of friends, but it’d be nice for them to be able to hold a civil conversation.
A sudden thought struck Ginny, and she picked up her wand from the table. ‘Accio Dudley’s Christmas Card,’ she said quietly, and within a few seconds the card in question slipped under the gap at the bottom of the living room door and flew into her waiting hand.
A quick Banishing charm placed the card on the mantelpiece, the unmoving picture of Rudolph with his glittery red nose looking somewhat plain amidst the moving and singing Wizarding cards.
Harry gave a small nod of approval, and went back to his conversation, not making an issue over the card.
Like it or not, Dudley was family, and Ginny was going to do her best to help Harry build a relationship with his cousin, even if it was just through Christmas cards.
A square of folded card covered in glitter was better than further years of silence.
Harry had been oddly subdued following their encounter with Dudley, and his excitement about putting up their Christmas tree had dwindled somewhat. He went through the motions, sipping at the ever-warm hot chocolate and singing tunelessly to the Christmas songs on the wireless, but his heart wasn’t in it.
Stretching to place the shimmering gold star on the top of the tree, Ginny grinned triumphantly as it slid into place on the spindly branch, not even minding that the pine needles were scratching her arms. ‘There!’ she declared. ‘Finished, and we still have ten minutes before the lunatics arrive.’
Harry took her hand and steadied her as she climbed down from the top of the small stepladder, keeping his fingers twined in hers even when she reached the ground. ‘It looks lovely,’ he said quietly. ‘This is only the second time in my life that I’ve ever helped to decorate a Christmas tree, did you know that?’ When Ginny shook her head, he continued, ‘The first time was in my sixth year, when I stayed at the Burrow for Christmas. Fred and George charmed a Gnome gold and stuck it on the top of the tree in a tutu, remember?’
Ginny giggled, remembering her mother’s reaction when she finally realised what the plump little fairy on the treetop actually was. ‘I’ve never seen anything as ugly as that Gnome.’
Harry echoed her giggle with a faint little chuckle, and he turned away from her to stare into the depths of the tree. ‘When I was little, I used to watch through the vent of my cupboard door as the Christmas tree went up. I had to carry all the boxes down from the attic, and as soon as everything was down, go straight to my cupboard. I could hear them all laughing and joking and smell the gingerbread Aunt Petunia used to make to hang on the tree, but I was always outside looking in.’
He sounded so lonely that it made Ginny’s heart ache. She could just imagine a miniature Harry peeping out from the cupboard under the stairs, forced to stay on the edge of all the fun.
She wrapped both her hands around his upper arm and pressed her forehead against his back. ‘That’s never going to happen again,’ she whispered, kissing his shoulder. ‘You’ve got a family that loves you, and you’re never going to be pushed to one side.’
He twisted around to kiss her, soft and chaste, a kiss of comfort, not passion, and Ginny still marvelled that Harry had chosen her to be the one he revealed his true self to. Not even Hermione and Ron got to see him with his guard down 100%. ‘God, I love you,’ he murmured against her lips. ‘You always know how to make me feel better.’
She moved to stand in front of him and twined her arms around his neck. ‘Well, making you feel better is my job, so it’s a good thing I know how to do it.’ They kissed again, and this time it had heat to it, an urgency that thrilled through Ginny’s body all the way down to her toes.
Harry walked them backwards until his legs met the settee, and they tumbled onto the soft, squidgy cushions, still wrapped up in one another.
‘Bloody hell, don’t you two ever come up for air?’ a voice complained, and they looked up to see Ron standing in the doorway, his arm draped around Hermione’s shoulders. ‘Ginny, put him down, Mum and Dad’ll be here in a minute, and as much as they want grandkids, I don’t think they want to watch you conceive them.’
With the unerring aim of a chaser, Ginny flung a pillow at Ron, catching him square in the face and sending him staggering backwards. ‘Excuse me, brother, but this is OUR house, and Harry and I can snog as much as we bloody want.’ She smiled sweetly at Hermione. ‘Hey, Hermione! Nice to see you, come on in!’
Harry let out a huff of air as Ginny climbed off of him, steadying herself on his chest. ‘Help us up, Gin, I’m wedged into the back of the settee cushions.’ He accepted her helping hand and got to his feet, then clapped Ron on the shoulder and kissed Hermione’s cheek. ‘Can I get you two a drink?’
Drinks orders taken, Harry headed to the kitchen, and Hermione immediately turned to Ginny. ‘What happened? Something’s wrong.’
Ginny sat next to her and sighed. ‘Nothing bad, really. We bumped into his cousin in town today, and I think it stirred up a few old feelings.’
‘You saw Dudley?’ Ron asked. ‘Hope you slipped him a Ton Tongue Toffee, for old time’s sake. Nasty little git.’
‘He’s changed. He was sweet, actually. Apologised to Harry for the fact that the Dursleys abused him when he was a kid. Harry didn’t have a clue that he was abused, so I think having someone tell him that he was, with examples, shook him up a bit.’ Ginny pulled a pillow in front of her, hugging it tightly to her chest. ‘He’s been really quiet ever since. Dudley wants to keep in touch.’
Hermione turned sideways on the settee and crossed her legs underneath her, completely at home in the Potter household. ‘Dudley realises that Harry was abused? I’m impressed, that’s a rather insightful realisation. The kind of abuse Harry suffered was very insidious and hard to identify, and a lot of people probably wouldn’t even classify it as abuse.’ She chewed on her lip, lost in thought. ‘Poor Harry. He must have felt blindsided.’
‘I’m gonna go talk to him,’ Ron said suddenly, standing up from the armchair he’d sprawled in. ‘I’ll be back in a bit.’
Once Ron had left, Ginny angled her body towards Hermione. ‘I hope Dudley keeps in touch, I think it’d be good for Harry. Other than his Aunt, Dudley is Harry’s only blood link left to his Mum, and family is important.’
The two women lapsed into silence, listening to the faint noise of Ron and Harry talking in the kitchen.
‘He’ll be alright, Ginny,’ Hermione said quietly. ‘You know what he’s like. He takes a while to process things, and then he just gets on with it. We’ll make sure that he has a good time this evening and doesn’t brood.’
Ginny was prevented from answering by the arrival of her mum and dad in the fireplace, shortly followed by Bill, Fleur and Victoire. They piled into the living room as the floo roared again, spitting out George and Angelina, then Percy and Audrey, with Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin close behind.
Thoughts of Dudley left Ginny’s mind as she set about playing hostess. The Saturday evening family gathering moved from house to house each week, and it was always manic, loud, and wonderful, a mad crush of all the people she loved most in the world. Charlie joined them when he could, and Luna and Neville were frequent guests, though all three were absent on this particular evening.
Harry finally returned from the kitchen, levitating a massive tray of drinks in front of him and carrying a bowl full of crisps. His face seemed a little more animated, though there was still tenseness around his eyes that spoke of an underlying upset.
Ginny watched him as he made the rounds of the room, greeting his adopted family with hugs and kisses. He gained two little leaches in the form of Teddy and Victoire and ended up toting a child on each hip, their chubby little arms wrapped vice-like around his neck. They both adored their Uncle Harry and when they were around, he was rarely seen without them clinging to him.
Harry whispered something to the children, and they both giggled loudly. Teddy laid a lip-smacking kiss on Harry’s cheek, and Victoire burrowed her face into the curve of her uncle’s shoulder and neck.
Harry caught Ginny watching him and gave her a huge grin, the rest of the tension leaving his body. He roared loudly and started to spin on the spot, causing the clinging toddlers to shriek with excitement and tighten their limpet-like hold.
Ginny smiled at her husband, feeling the now familiar ache that consumed her when she saw him with the children. She’d never considered herself to be particularly maternal - until the very first time she had seen Harry cradling an eight-week-old Teddy in his arms, and suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to have children with him.
She caught her mum looking knowingly at her and felt her face stain with the treacherous Weasley blush, which was surely announcing to the world - or at the very least, her family - that she wanted Harry Potter’s babies.
Harry was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, Teddy on one side, Victoire on the other, looking through a picture book with them. The three of them were completely engrossed.
Fleur - five months pregnant with her second child and more radiant than ever - smiled at Ginny. ‘Harry is so good with the children. He is going to make a wonderful father.’
Ginny sighed, anticipating the question that always followed any observation about Harry’s rapport with the children.
‘When do you think you will start a family?’ Fleur asked, her hand caressing her stomach.
Shrugging, Ginny noticed that Harry was very obviously listening, even though he gave every appearance of still being involved in the book. ‘We want to wait a couple of years, until Harry and I have established ourselves in our careers. There’s no rush. We’re both young, and we’re enjoying just being with each other.’ It was her stock-in-trade answer.
Harry glanced up and winked at her, knowing she got annoyed at the almost constant questions about when they would be having children. She knew he’d quite happily start a family tomorrow, but he also respected the fact that she was at the top of her game in Quidditch, and wanted to keep it that way for at least a couple of years. ‘I don’t want to share Ginny just yet,’ he said, busily rubbing noses with a giggling Victoire. ‘I’ve only just got her all to myself.’
Harry had defused the situation quite nicely, and the conversation turned to Christmas plans. Christmas Eve was only two days away, and the topic of who was eating where and when was very much a heated debate.
‘Harry and Ginny will be sleeping over at the Burrow Christmas Eve, so that’s one room spoken for,’ said Molly. ‘But I’m sure we can find space for everyone.’
‘Who said we’re sleeping over?’ Ginny demanded. ‘No we’re not.’
Molly just smilled. ‘Of course you are, dear. We all have to be together on Christmas morning.’
Harry answered her before Ginny even had the chance to open her mouth. ‘Mum, we appreciate the invitation, but Ginny and I were hoping to spend our first Christmas Eve as husband and wife in our new house. We’ll spend most of the day with everyone at the Burrow, and floo over first thing Christmas morning, but we want to wake up here.’
He said it so sweetly and calmly that Molly had no choice but to accept it with grace, and she reached over to pat Harry’s shoulder. ‘That’s fine, sweetheart.’
Ginny watched the exchange open-mouthed, marvelling that her husband had been able to do something that seven Weasley children had never achieved - he’d reasoned with Molly Weasley and won.
Harry nodded at Ginny and grinned as a quiet tapping sounded from the window. He got to his feet, gently disentangling himself from the children, and opened the window to let the owl in.
Erimentha - Eri for short - was the owl Harry had finally bought to replace Hedwig, though it had taken him three years to be able to bear the thought of another owl. Eri had joined the Potter family just two months ago, but she already adored Harry and Ginny. Though she looked nothing like Hedwig, she had the same regal bearing and the habit of dishing out gentle chastisement in the form of little nips with her beak.
Eri extended her foot to Harry, waited patiently for him to remove the envelope, and then flew to Ginny in search of her reward.
Ginny kept her eye on Harry even as she fed Eri Owl Treats, and she was dismayed to see his face blanch as his fist tightened around the card in his hand.
Without a word, he walked from the room and could then be heard climbing heavily up the stairs before the door to his office shut with rather more force than usual.
‘Goodness!’ said Molly, her hand over her heart. ‘I do hope Harry hasn’t had bad news.’
Ginny deposited Eri on her perch and then made her own way upstairs, tapping on the office door before slipping quietly inside the room.
Harry was stretched out on the small sofa there, one arm slung across his face, the other dangling off the sofa so that his hand brushed the floor, the offending card clasped loosely in his fingers.
Gently tugging the card from his lax grip, Ginny nudged him further towards the back of the settee and then moulded her body against his side, smiling when his arm automatically came up to draw her closer. ‘What’s wrong, Harry?’
‘Dudley.’ The arm moved from his face, and Harry gestured at the card Ginny now held. ‘He sent us a Christmas card,’ he said, before the arm was once again draped across his eyes.
Ginny took that as unspoken permission to look, and she slipped a red, glitter-covered card out of the envelope. There was nothing she could see to be upset about.
Dear Harry and Ginny,
It was nice to bump into you both in town today. I hope you have a lovely Christmas, and that we’ll be able to meet up again at some point. I don’t have much in the way of family, and I’d like to make sure I keep what I’ve got.
Dudley.
‘That’s nice,’ she said, as neutrally as possible. ‘He must have written this at work, and posted it on his break.’
The only response she got was a grunt, and she slapped at his arm in irritation before tugging it away from his face. ‘Harry, come on,’ she pleaded. ‘Don’t do this.’
‘Gin, don’t,’ he warned. ‘I thought I could deal with Dudley wanting to be part of my life again, but I was wrong. I can’t be the bigger person and forgive him, I just can’t. I try to let it go, and then I remember every miserable, shitty thing he’s ever done to me.’ His voice trembled, and he pulled his arm out of Ginny’s grip and turned to face the back of the settee.
Ginny moved her body with his, slipped her leg up over his thigh, and insinuated her hand between his arm and his side, encompassing him in a total body hug. She kissed the back of his neck, soft, messy hair tickling her nose. ‘You said yourself, he’s changed, and for the better.’
‘I know that,’ Harry said with a sigh. ‘I just didn’t expect him to follow through on keeping in touch. I thought he was just saying it to be nice, and he’d forget about it as soon as he left the pub.’
She stroked his chest, and moved her kisses down to his shoulder. ‘I think he’s being genuine, Harry. He wants to develop some kind of relationship with you, if you’ll let him.’
With some manoeuvring, Harry wriggled around in her arms until they were face to face, and he trailed his fingers across her cheek. ‘I feel like a complete idiot. This is nothing, compared to what I’ve been through, so why am I letting it get me worked up?’
Ginny caught his hand, stilling it long enough to press her lips against his fingertips. ‘You’ve always been rubbish at anything emotional.’
Harry laughed. ‘That’s a bit of an understatement, Gin.’ He fell quiet, and they just looked at one another for several minutes, Harry’s hand playing with the ends of Ginny’s hair. ‘I’m going to write back to him,’ he said after a while. ‘Send him a Christmas card.’
Ginny didn’t say anything, but kissed Harry soundly before disentangling their limbs and standing up. ‘I’ll go back downstairs, leave you to it. Don’t be long, otherwise the kids’ll be up here demanding to know why you’re not playing with them.’
Swinging his legs off of the sofa, Harry sat up and scrubbed his hands across his face, his fingers sliding up beneath his glasses to press against his eyelids. ‘Alright, love. I’ll be`down in a bit.’ He stood up and walked over to his desk, rummaging through a wicker basket full of Christmas cards.
‘Give him my regards,’ Ginny said softly, as she opened the door. ‘I’ll get you a cup of tea ready.’
Harry smiled at her as he placed his chosen card on the desk. ‘Thanks for putting up with me. I love you.’
She never got tired of hearing that. ‘I love you too. And there had to be somebody in this world that could put up with you, and that was me.’ She blew him a kiss and then stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Harry to make amends with a painful part of his life.
Downstairs, Molly was pacing the living room, very obviously fretting, and when Ginny walked in, she all but pounced on her. ‘What is it? Is Harry alright? What’s wrong?’
Ginny chuckled, and gave her mum a hug. ‘He’s fine. We just met up with his cousin in town today - that’s who the card was from - and it was a bit of a shock for Harry, that’s all, stirred up a few memories he’d put behind him.’
Molly stiffened, and Ginny could have sworn she heard her mother mutter ‘bloody Dursleys’ under her breath. As far as Molly Weasley was concerned, Harry was her son, and any mention of the family that had mistreated him made her blood boil. ‘You saw the Dursley boy? I hope he was ashamed of himself.’
‘He was, actually,’ Ginny said. ‘Apologised to Harry for all the rubbish he put him through as a kid. It threw Harry for a bit of a loop, to be honest.’ She left out all the talk of child abuse, lest her mother decide to go on a rampage and hex Petunia and Vernon.
‘He apologised? Good lad, perhaps there’s hope for him yet,’ Molly said. ‘What’s Harry going to do?’
‘He’s writing back to Dudley now.‘ Ginny glanced up at the ceiling, as if she would be able to look through the plaster and board and see Harry in his office above. ‘Don’t mention it when he comes down, he won’t want anybody to make a fuss.’
The floorboards above them squeaked, and then Harry’s office door creaked open. His tread upon the stairs was much lighter coming down than it had been going up, and when he pushed open the door to the living room, his expression was one of contentment.
Eri looked towards Harry as he entered the room and immediately flew to him, alighting on his extended arm and nipping at his hand until he handed her the envelope he held.
Harry watched her fly off with a look of bemusement. ‘Is everyone in this family conspiring against me, or what?’ He perched on the arm of Ginny’s chair and slipped his arm around her shoulders, kissing the top of her head. ‘Sorry about that, everyone.’
Ginny moved over in the chair and tugged at Harry until he slid down off the arm and onto the cushion next to her, his thigh pressed up against hers. ‘I’m glad you wrote to him,’ she whispered into his ear. ‘I’m proud of you.’
He smiled at her and took her hand. ‘I feel better now I’ve written back. It’s not like he’s asking to be my best mate or something. I was just being stupid ...’
She silenced him with a kiss. ‘Sssssh. Let’s just have a nice evening and forget about it.’
Ron glanced at Ginny, then struck up a conversation about the upcoming charity match between the Cannons and the Harpies, and Harry immediately began a staunch defence of Ginny’s team, the slightly awkward moment smoothed over by a bout of good-natured bickering.
Harry gradually relaxed, and Ginny tucked herself under his arm, sensing that he needed her close.
She was so pleased that Harry had started mending bridges with his cousin, and she hoped that the two of them would keep in touch. Nobody was expecting them to suddenly become the best of friends, but it’d be nice for them to be able to hold a civil conversation.
A sudden thought struck Ginny, and she picked up her wand from the table. ‘Accio Dudley’s Christmas Card,’ she said quietly, and within a few seconds the card in question slipped under the gap at the bottom of the living room door and flew into her waiting hand.
A quick Banishing charm placed the card on the mantelpiece, the unmoving picture of Rudolph with his glittery red nose looking somewhat plain amidst the moving and singing Wizarding cards.
Harry gave a small nod of approval, and went back to his conversation, not making an issue over the card.
Like it or not, Dudley was family, and Ginny was going to do her best to help Harry build a relationship with his cousin, even if it was just through Christmas cards.
A square of folded card covered in glitter was better than further years of silence.