Author's note: To everyone that is afraid I am ending my story soon, fear not. I have much more to tell before this story is complete.
“Merry Christmas, everyone!”
Fred and George rampaged the house, waking everyone up early Christmas morning. Harry and Ron turned over in their beds, but that did not stop the Weasley twins. They started jumping around on the floor and shaking the boys. Harry flung his arms out to shoo them away.
Ron hopped to his feet. “What are you two doing here so early? I thought you were still at the Burrow?”
“Not on Christmas day,” Fred said. “Today is a day we want to last as long as possible.”
George added, “And besides, we know the two of you want to spend as much time with the girls as you can.” He winked at Harry and Ron.
Harry jumped up and tried to grab Fred and George; Ron joined in. The four of them traded holds and shouts at one another, until a loud bang was heard from the doorway. Kevin was standing there, a glare in his eyes and his fist on the door. “Why are you all making so much noise this early in the morning!? The dogs are still asleep!” The boys backed away from the older wizard. Kevin advanced in them, a finger pointed at Fred and George. “If you two were still at Hogwarts, I’d have you both scrubbing cauldrons until after your children left school.” He rounded on Ron and Harry. “As for you two…” He suddenly smiled. “We’ve all been waiting downstairs for a long time. Molly made a feast of a breakfast.”
The twins suddenly burst with laughter. Harry picked up his glasses off his nightstand and glanced at Ron’s watch. It was after ten in the morning. He looked up at Kevin. “I hate you.” Kevin’s smile got even wider.
They went downstairs to find the entire Weasley family sitting in the dining room. Hermione and Ginny were already awake and sitting with everyone else. There was an empty seat by each of the girls, no doubt for Ron and Harry. Along with the Weasleys, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were sitting at the table. Lupin got up to greet the boys as they took their places. Kevin kissed his wife on her cheek and helped Molly set trays of food on the table.
Grabbing a handful of biscuits, Harry made sure his hand brushed Ginny’s. She glanced over at him and gave him a small smile. Over the past couple of days, the two of them had been inseparable. They had gone exploring the village together, but had often stayed out for hours. Kevin had made sure they had at least an animal escort wherever they went, but he respected their privacy. Because the house was small, the entire Weasley family could not stay there overnight. Molly and Arthur had allowed Ron and Ginny to stay, since Harry and Hermione were also lodging there. Kevin and Sara had taken the final room, so there would be an adult influence in the house to keep order. The Hogwarts professors had been sure to watch out for any possible Death Eater presence in the village, but did not expect much to happen in a Muggle village.
The house soon filled with joyous talk and laughter. Kevin’s injuries had been healed and he looked as if the events of the last week hadn’t done anything to him. He was talking with Arthur about the on-goings of the Ministry. “How many new Aurors have been sworn in lately?”
Arthur swallowed a mouthful of egg. “We had almost fifty candidates sworn in over the last month. Another thirty are ready to go into the field after their training is finished.”
Percy looked up from his plate. “Have you given Kevin the new Ministry edict, dad?” He enjoyed being able to talk with his family again.
“No, I’d forgotten all about it,” Arthur said. “Thank you for reminding me.” He got up and went into the living room.
“Arthur,” Molly called after him. “Forget about that. Not on Christmas.”
He came back in with a collection of parchment. “Oh, it’s all right, Molly. It’s something he’s been waiting for. Kind of like a Christmas present.” He handed the parchment to Kevin.
Flipping through them, Kevin’s smile got wider and wider. “Thank you, Arthur. I’m going to enjoy this.”
“What is it?” Hermione asked.
“It’s permission to start a regime of training that was previously unavailable,” Kevin explained. “I can now start training you all in something that will actually be useful. I can teach you how to deflect the killing curse.”
All conversation stopped at that moment. Forks clanged to the table and all eyes turned towards Kevin. Harry got up the energy to speak. “Did you just say, you can teach us to deflect the killing curse?”
Kevin nodded. “Yes, I did?”
“As in, counter it?”
“I didn’t say counter it, I said ‘deflect’ it.” He put some butter on a biscuit and took a bite. When he didn’t say anything else, Ginny picked up her own biscuit and lobbed it at his face. Kevin looked puzzled for a moment, and then understood. “Oh, you all want me to explain. Well, it’s simple. I’m going to be teaching Hogwarts students how to protect themselves if the Avada Kedavra curse is used on them. It’s already being taught to the Aurors in the Ministry, but it works better if you’ve been taught it at a young age. The spell isn’t perfect, but it does the job.”
“Have you ever done it?” Ginny asked.
“Of course,” he answered. “You all saw it that night at Hogwarts.”
Harry thought for a minute. “Wait a minute. Are you talking about that white light that filled the hall?”
“That’s the one. It’s a variation of the Patronus charm mixed with about a dozen different spells. It’s going to be difficult for my seventh year class, but Ginny, your year should pick it up pretty easily. As for Harry and the rest of you, it will take some time, but by your seventh year…”
“We’re not going to be able to learn it till seventh year?” Ron suddenly blurted out. “Why so long?”
Kevin glanced over at him. “Because you still have a bit to learn before you can master this spell effectively. Even I still have a problem every now and then with it.”
Molly tapped the table. “All right, enough talk about school and other things. Time for presents.”
The table agreed, and they all got up. Molly, Tonks and Arthur quickly cleared the plates and joined everyone in the living room. Kevin and Sara had conjured up extra chairs for everyone to sit in as they gathered around the beautifully decorated tree. Ginny and Hermione had helped Sara with the decorations, and had enjoyed every minute of it.
Presents were soon being passed around the room and wrapping paper was flung to the floor. The twins had bought everyone different joke items, and Molly had made her traditional Weasley sweaters. She had even made one for Kevin and Sara, as well as the extra guests. When Harry gave Ginny her gift, he hoped that she wouldn’t call too much attention to it. She opened the box, but failed to quiet a surprised squeal. All eyes turned towards her as she pulled out a silver chain with a small gem dangling at the end. Fred and George started chuckling and pointing at the gift.
Harry’s face turned bright red. Ginny seemed not to notice as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Harry.” He draped the chain around her neck and clasped it. The gem fell just below her throat. Hermione marveled at, not only the beauty of the gift, but Harry’s thoughtfulness as well. She shot him an approving smile.
Morning soon became afternoon and the household did not calm down one bit. Charlie was telling anyone who would listen about the latest brood of dragons that had recently hatched before Christmas. Ron joked that they should have had Charlie send one of the eggs to Hagrid. He would have loved it. Lupin and Kevin were discussing different methods of teaching the new deflection technique. Kevin made the suggestion that Lupin return to Hogwarts and help with some of the classes, but the older wizard declined. He had business to take care of in another part of the country on Order business.
Harry and Ginny finally managed to steal a moment to themselves on the back porch. The temperature had dropped quite a bit, but it didn’t bother them. It was just an excuse they used to huddle close together under a large fur blanket. They sat on a bench and looked out into the yard. Harry slipped an arm around her waist. “Do you really like your present?”
She leaned into him and planted a kiss on his lips. “I love it. I can’t believe that you could get me something like this so soon, though. Where did you find it?”
“In Hogsmeade,” he said. “At our last weekend, I stopped in that new jewelry store. The woman inside told me that the necklace would do wonders for me. I wanted to give it to you at the Christmas Ball but, with everything that happened, it was a bit hard.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for what’s happened between us, Harry. I know that you never meant to hurt me, and I surely never meant to hurt you. I can’t believe I said those things…”
Harry lifted a finger to her lips to quiet her. “Don’t say another word. What happened in the past happened in the past. We don’t need to dwell on it.” He moved his finger to her chin and lifted her face to meet his. “All that matters is that I have you now. I don’t need anything else.” He leaned in for another kiss.
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Sara stole a quick glance out of her bedroom window at the young couple sitting outside. Kevin came into the room holding a cup of tea for her. “How are they doing?” he asked.
She took the cup and sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard. “They’re fine. I’m glad the two of them finally decided to give one another a chance. It was getting hard seeing Ginny walk into my class with pain in her eyes. My heart kept breaking every time I saw that.”
“Well, at least you didn’t have to almost spell everything out for her,” Kevin replied. “Harry just kept missing everything I tried to tell him.” He leaned his head to one side. “Although it could have been that I was making no sense at all.” He shrugged. “Anyway, at least it worked out between them.” He sat down next to her.
Sara leaned into his chest. “Do you think it’s safe to go back to Hogwarts? Do you think we can keep all the students from harm?”
He laid an arm around her shoulder. “I wish I could say for yes, but we both know that the fight is just going to get tougher and tougher from this point on. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”