Fic for nessismore - Secret Santa
To: nessismore
Title: Secret santa
Author: sunshine1112
Pairing: Harry/Ginny
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,710
Summary: Ginny's Secret santa present makes her re-evaluate.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta. I hope nessismore likes it.
"Hi," said Harry, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, maybe it was the heat of the kitchen, but Ginny’s cheeks went bright red.
“No-one was supposed to know,” she said and pointed to the mixing bowl in front of her.
“I’m making Christmas cookies for my secret Santa,” Ginny said, “the muggle way”. She quickly turned and made herself busy, putting things back in cupboards. Harry frowned to himself, this wasn’t like Ginny. “Do you want some help?” he asked, stepping into the kitchen and taking the packet of flour from her hands and placing it on the top shelf. Normally he’d have expected to be hit by some kind of curse for thinking that she couldn’t cope. Instead, he received a quiet “thanks” as she turned back to her mixing bowl.
Things had been like this for a while. After the war, his summer had consisted of funerals, making Hogwarts habitable again and being godfather to Teddy. He couldn’t let his promises down. There never seemed to be the right time for Ginny and Harry. The darkness still invaded their everyday lives, every time the family sat down for a meal there was reminder of their loss in the spare seat around the large kitchen table.
He had been so busy with Auror training that he had missed Ginny's visits home at from Hogwarts at Easter and Christmas. He had always, stupidly, expected her to be waiting for him. That summer, she had arrived home with a new boyfriend, Lucas, even his name annoyed Harry. After that they’d become polite friends.
He coughed. “I was asked to come over and help with putting up the Christmas decorations,” he managed to mutter, trying to explain his sudden appearance.
“They’ve all gone to buy the tree. They’re be back any time soon.”
She put her head down, stirring the mixture and deliberately not looking at him. He scrapped his foot across the tiled floor in the kitchen. There was a horrible silence about them.
“How is work?” he asked, still unsure of how to further the conversation.
“Boring. Working at the ministry is not what I want to do forever. How’s Auror training?” she looked up at him, interested.
“The same. Chasing bad guys, loads of paperwork.”
“You always had a saving people thing,” she grinned and cut the biscuits before moving the tray to the oven.
She knew him so well. Sometimes he felt that she could read him better than he can read himself.
“Taking anyone to the Christmas ball this year?” she asked.
It was his turn to blush. “Not this year.”
“How come? You can’t be short of offers?” she teased. She wanted an honest answer? He’d been on a few dates but nobody could see past “Harry Potter” and most importantly, they weren’t Ginny.
“You know how it is, work to hard and anybody I do meet only sees me as the chosen one,” he said the last part with his fingers indicating quotation marks.
Her eyes smiled at him, full of warmth. “You deserve somebody, you should be happy,” she said, smiling. “You’ve got floo powder in you hair,” she said and stood on her tiptoes, riffling his hair as powder fell out of his windswept hair. He smiled at her.
“You’ve got some cake mixture on your face,” he said as she took her hand down. She missed a few times and Harry took her finger to her face, wiping it away. Then his finger didn’t move. They stood there frozen for what seemed liked hours, but it must have only been a few seconds. He just rubbed the same spot on her face, over and over. He didn’t think he could stop even if he wanted to.
“No,” she whispered and brought her hand up to push his away. She turned from him at the same moment and ran out of the kitchen.
A day before…
“Don’t tell anybody your secret santa,” said Hermione as she stepped into the fireplace. As soon as she had disappeared Ron turned to him, “swap?”
Harry just nodded and read the name on his new piece of parchment in Hermione’s tidy writing. “Ginny”.
.................................................................................................................................
Teddy sat in his high chair and watched the adults raising the decorations, with their wands, to the top of the Christmas tree. He clapped his little hands and tried to grab the baubles as they floated past.
Molly and Andromeda were sitting on the sofa, talking over a cup of tea and smiling at Teddy as he bounced up and down in excitement.
Everybody was busy and looking forward to Christmas, Harry observed from where he watched at the kitchen door. However, he was more concerned with trying to work out what had happened with Ginny. The only thing he needed was to speak to Ginny.
It wasn’t until Sunday night that Harry found Ginny alone. He spotted her sitting on the porch with a book. It wasn’t really a porch, the second and third floors of The Burrow overhung the first floor, which left a dry place by the front door. An old battered sofa had sat there for as long as Harry could remember.
Harry knew it was time to put his plan into action.
“Thought you might like some hot chocolate, it’s freezing out here,” Harry said and offered her one of the mugs of hot chocolate in his hands. She took it with a grateful smile and lifted it to her face, drinking in the heat.
He smiled and sat next to her. “So?” he said, exhaling to make his point but instead just made his breath visible in the coldness.
“Do you want to talk about before?” she asked, closing her book and turning to him.
“Perceptive,” Harry stated.
She was finally going to let go. Tell him what she was holding her back.
“Harry, you don’t really know me. You think you do, but that was a long time ago and before a war changed everything. Do you have any idea what I went through at school everyday? It changes you. The person you think you’re in love with, they don’t exist anymore,” Ginny said, her voice filled with anger. “ I’am not that person anymore. A full year of being alone, losing my brother, that changed me.”
“I was even offered an opportunity to try out for the Holyhead Harpies. I discussed it with Lucas. It’s best not to go and avoid disappointment.”
She snapped her book shut, and stood up. “Does that sound the girl you know?” She had deliberately chosen the word girl.
As Harry watched her walk back into the house, the full impact of her words hit him. The Ginny he knew would never give up an opportunity like that, and Harry didn’t think it was possible for one person to change that much.
Was this Ginny’s way of seeking his help?
Nobody changes that much.
..............................................................................................................................................
He still couldn’t get Ginny out of his thoughts and the scene in which he had last spoken to her kept replaying over and over in this mind. Isn’t it ironic, Harry thought, that a man who can date anyone, only wants the girl who now didn’t want him.
Christmas day came and his last idea was in fruition. Early that morning Harry stopped by Andromeda's, where he enjoyed watching Teddy playing on the toy broomstick he’d brought him. Andromeda moaned that Harry was spoiling her grandson, but Harry really didn’t care. He hadn’t had toys to play with as a child and he absolutely adored the look on Teddy's face as the broomstick hovered three inches off the ground.
They then headed over to The Burrow for a cooked breakfast, that Mrs Weasley cooked every Christmas. As their plates were piled up with eggs, sausages and bacon, Victiore sat in her high chair watching the adults talk and Teddy flew his toy broomstick.
At around eleven o’clock presents were passed out from underneath the tree. Hermione having nominated herself, began sorting and delivering the presents to everybody.
It was Ginny who was the first to opened her secret santa gift. It was wrapped neatly by Harry who had been waiting for this moment all day.
He waited with baited breath as she opened the box and read the note inside. There was a short silence and then Ginny said suddenly, “I have to go somewhere.”
With that she walked out of the room. Harry followed, but before he could make it to the back door, she had Apparated.
Ginny's disappearance lasted until lunchtime. They were performing the nativity by the time she came back, with Bill, Mr Weasley and Harry as the wise man. Harry didn’t know how they all been talked into it, but there they were.
Ginny arrived in the living room and walked up towards the makeshift stage of a child’s cot, grabbed hold of Harry in front of everyone and kissing him.
The house, usually so full of noise, fell completely silent. People looked at each other not knowing what to say. The first to speak was Ron.
His first question as they separated was,“Er...what about Lucas?”
Ginny didn’t take her eyes from Harry’s face as she spoke. “We split up,” she said and smiled at Harry, before taking his hand and leading him outside to the porch. As they left the only noise was Ron saying, “they seem to like public kissing.”
“Thank you,” she said, playing with the necklace around her throat, with a charm in the shape of a snitch. She had believed his words in the note he had written with her gift.
Being safe may keep you dry, but the ceiling means you never see the stars. People never change that much.
“I’m going to the trail next week. I could be one of the Holyhead Harpies.”
He kissed her and smiled, “trust me Ginny, you will be one of the Harpies.”
“You won’t laugh if I don’t get in?”
“Nobody will.”
The next year Ginny's Christmas presents from Harry included Quidditch gloves 'for Holyhead Harpies best player', and another charm for her necklace, this time it was a small groom.
Title: Secret santa
Author: sunshine1112
Pairing: Harry/Ginny
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,710
Summary: Ginny's Secret santa present makes her re-evaluate.
Author's Notes: Thank you to my beta. I hope nessismore likes it.
"Hi," said Harry, standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, maybe it was the heat of the kitchen, but Ginny’s cheeks went bright red.
“No-one was supposed to know,” she said and pointed to the mixing bowl in front of her.
“I’m making Christmas cookies for my secret Santa,” Ginny said, “the muggle way”. She quickly turned and made herself busy, putting things back in cupboards. Harry frowned to himself, this wasn’t like Ginny. “Do you want some help?” he asked, stepping into the kitchen and taking the packet of flour from her hands and placing it on the top shelf. Normally he’d have expected to be hit by some kind of curse for thinking that she couldn’t cope. Instead, he received a quiet “thanks” as she turned back to her mixing bowl.
Things had been like this for a while. After the war, his summer had consisted of funerals, making Hogwarts habitable again and being godfather to Teddy. He couldn’t let his promises down. There never seemed to be the right time for Ginny and Harry. The darkness still invaded their everyday lives, every time the family sat down for a meal there was reminder of their loss in the spare seat around the large kitchen table.
He had been so busy with Auror training that he had missed Ginny's visits home at from Hogwarts at Easter and Christmas. He had always, stupidly, expected her to be waiting for him. That summer, she had arrived home with a new boyfriend, Lucas, even his name annoyed Harry. After that they’d become polite friends.
He coughed. “I was asked to come over and help with putting up the Christmas decorations,” he managed to mutter, trying to explain his sudden appearance.
“They’ve all gone to buy the tree. They’re be back any time soon.”
She put her head down, stirring the mixture and deliberately not looking at him. He scrapped his foot across the tiled floor in the kitchen. There was a horrible silence about them.
“How is work?” he asked, still unsure of how to further the conversation.
“Boring. Working at the ministry is not what I want to do forever. How’s Auror training?” she looked up at him, interested.
“The same. Chasing bad guys, loads of paperwork.”
“You always had a saving people thing,” she grinned and cut the biscuits before moving the tray to the oven.
She knew him so well. Sometimes he felt that she could read him better than he can read himself.
“Taking anyone to the Christmas ball this year?” she asked.
It was his turn to blush. “Not this year.”
“How come? You can’t be short of offers?” she teased. She wanted an honest answer? He’d been on a few dates but nobody could see past “Harry Potter” and most importantly, they weren’t Ginny.
“You know how it is, work to hard and anybody I do meet only sees me as the chosen one,” he said the last part with his fingers indicating quotation marks.
Her eyes smiled at him, full of warmth. “You deserve somebody, you should be happy,” she said, smiling. “You’ve got floo powder in you hair,” she said and stood on her tiptoes, riffling his hair as powder fell out of his windswept hair. He smiled at her.
“You’ve got some cake mixture on your face,” he said as she took her hand down. She missed a few times and Harry took her finger to her face, wiping it away. Then his finger didn’t move. They stood there frozen for what seemed liked hours, but it must have only been a few seconds. He just rubbed the same spot on her face, over and over. He didn’t think he could stop even if he wanted to.
“No,” she whispered and brought her hand up to push his away. She turned from him at the same moment and ran out of the kitchen.
A day before…
“Don’t tell anybody your secret santa,” said Hermione as she stepped into the fireplace. As soon as she had disappeared Ron turned to him, “swap?”
Harry just nodded and read the name on his new piece of parchment in Hermione’s tidy writing. “Ginny”.
.................................................................................................................................
Teddy sat in his high chair and watched the adults raising the decorations, with their wands, to the top of the Christmas tree. He clapped his little hands and tried to grab the baubles as they floated past.
Molly and Andromeda were sitting on the sofa, talking over a cup of tea and smiling at Teddy as he bounced up and down in excitement.
Everybody was busy and looking forward to Christmas, Harry observed from where he watched at the kitchen door. However, he was more concerned with trying to work out what had happened with Ginny. The only thing he needed was to speak to Ginny.
It wasn’t until Sunday night that Harry found Ginny alone. He spotted her sitting on the porch with a book. It wasn’t really a porch, the second and third floors of The Burrow overhung the first floor, which left a dry place by the front door. An old battered sofa had sat there for as long as Harry could remember.
Harry knew it was time to put his plan into action.
“Thought you might like some hot chocolate, it’s freezing out here,” Harry said and offered her one of the mugs of hot chocolate in his hands. She took it with a grateful smile and lifted it to her face, drinking in the heat.
He smiled and sat next to her. “So?” he said, exhaling to make his point but instead just made his breath visible in the coldness.
“Do you want to talk about before?” she asked, closing her book and turning to him.
“Perceptive,” Harry stated.
She was finally going to let go. Tell him what she was holding her back.
“Harry, you don’t really know me. You think you do, but that was a long time ago and before a war changed everything. Do you have any idea what I went through at school everyday? It changes you. The person you think you’re in love with, they don’t exist anymore,” Ginny said, her voice filled with anger. “ I’am not that person anymore. A full year of being alone, losing my brother, that changed me.”
“I was even offered an opportunity to try out for the Holyhead Harpies. I discussed it with Lucas. It’s best not to go and avoid disappointment.”
She snapped her book shut, and stood up. “Does that sound the girl you know?” She had deliberately chosen the word girl.
As Harry watched her walk back into the house, the full impact of her words hit him. The Ginny he knew would never give up an opportunity like that, and Harry didn’t think it was possible for one person to change that much.
Was this Ginny’s way of seeking his help?
Nobody changes that much.
..............................................................................................................................................
He still couldn’t get Ginny out of his thoughts and the scene in which he had last spoken to her kept replaying over and over in this mind. Isn’t it ironic, Harry thought, that a man who can date anyone, only wants the girl who now didn’t want him.
Christmas day came and his last idea was in fruition. Early that morning Harry stopped by Andromeda's, where he enjoyed watching Teddy playing on the toy broomstick he’d brought him. Andromeda moaned that Harry was spoiling her grandson, but Harry really didn’t care. He hadn’t had toys to play with as a child and he absolutely adored the look on Teddy's face as the broomstick hovered three inches off the ground.
They then headed over to The Burrow for a cooked breakfast, that Mrs Weasley cooked every Christmas. As their plates were piled up with eggs, sausages and bacon, Victiore sat in her high chair watching the adults talk and Teddy flew his toy broomstick.
At around eleven o’clock presents were passed out from underneath the tree. Hermione having nominated herself, began sorting and delivering the presents to everybody.
It was Ginny who was the first to opened her secret santa gift. It was wrapped neatly by Harry who had been waiting for this moment all day.
He waited with baited breath as she opened the box and read the note inside. There was a short silence and then Ginny said suddenly, “I have to go somewhere.”
With that she walked out of the room. Harry followed, but before he could make it to the back door, she had Apparated.
Ginny's disappearance lasted until lunchtime. They were performing the nativity by the time she came back, with Bill, Mr Weasley and Harry as the wise man. Harry didn’t know how they all been talked into it, but there they were.
Ginny arrived in the living room and walked up towards the makeshift stage of a child’s cot, grabbed hold of Harry in front of everyone and kissing him.
The house, usually so full of noise, fell completely silent. People looked at each other not knowing what to say. The first to speak was Ron.
His first question as they separated was,“Er...what about Lucas?”
Ginny didn’t take her eyes from Harry’s face as she spoke. “We split up,” she said and smiled at Harry, before taking his hand and leading him outside to the porch. As they left the only noise was Ron saying, “they seem to like public kissing.”
“Thank you,” she said, playing with the necklace around her throat, with a charm in the shape of a snitch. She had believed his words in the note he had written with her gift.
Being safe may keep you dry, but the ceiling means you never see the stars. People never change that much.
“I’m going to the trail next week. I could be one of the Holyhead Harpies.”
He kissed her and smiled, “trust me Ginny, you will be one of the Harpies.”
“You won’t laugh if I don’t get in?”
“Nobody will.”
The next year Ginny's Christmas presents from Harry included Quidditch gloves 'for Holyhead Harpies best player', and another charm for her necklace, this time it was a small groom.