True Love Waits by Narwen3
Chapter Notes: I'm back again to drop off a quick chapter and a note of apology for my great delay in updating. I offer the excuse of a job, full-time college and multiple theatre shows. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
The Burrow felt empty on Christmas morning with both Ron and Hermione gone. There were many presents piled under the tree and scattered around the living room when the area under the tree yielded no more space. As they awoke, the toddlers went squealing in, dragging their bleary eyed parents behind them.
Harry smiled as he watched their excitement. Tonks sat on the couch with Penny as Charlie helped Remus and Janey with their gifts. Lara and Lacey were miraculously still asleep and Fred sat on an armchair with Angelina on his lap, so exhausted that both of them were sound asleep as well, despite the noise. Bill and Fleur also sat together on the couch. Fleur was laughing at the baby toys she had just unwrapped from Harry. His heart hurt as she called out, "Zank you, 'Arry! Zees are wonderful!"
"Harry, dear?" Mrs. Weasley handed him a soft package. Harry forced a smile that she returned, and he opened the gift, finding the traditional Weasley sweater.
"Thanks," he said, surprising Mrs. Weasley with a hug. "I really appreciate all the things you've done for me."
"Harry, it's been my pleasure." She pulled him into another hug. "After all," she whispered, "It's what you do for family."
Harry allowed her to hang on a couple seconds longer, then he pulled away.
She cleared her throat. "Now, would you please be a dear and fetch George from his room?"
"Sure," Harry replied. Running up the stairs, he passed Kyla in the hall as she was on her way down.
"Happy Christmas," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "I'll be down in a minute."
Her smile in response was sad, but he didn't notice. Passing Ginny's room, he heard voices. He would have gone on if he hadn't heard his name.
"Harry had been a great help to me when the visions were far more frequent. I didn't tell you because. . .well, I hadn't had one in a long while. I didn't think it would be an issue."
Blake sounded upset. "Didn't you trust me? Did you think I would leave you or despise you? You should have told me, rather than letting me find you lying unconscious, screaming in pain, not to speak of in Harry's arms!"
"I'm sorry," Ginny said. Her voice was small and quiet.
There was a long silence.
"It's alright," he sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I was just really scared last night."
Harry rubbed his scar and continued his way up the stairs.
"George?" he said, knocking at the door.
"Mmff." The reply was muffled.
"I take it you're alive, then?" he said, trying the door. It was locked. Harry pulled out his wand.
"Very well, then. Alohomora!"
The door flew open. George was still in bed, wrapped in a cocoon of warm blankets. He opened his eyes a crack. "Go 'way," he mumbled.
"Can't," Harry said. "Your mum wants you downstairs."
Harry couldn't quite decipher George's reply as he rolled over and fell asleep once more.
"GEORGE!" bellowed Mrs. Weasley's voice from the living room. He flew up from his bed as if electrocuted and went off like a shot downstairs. Harry rolled his eyes, then hastened to follow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry enjoyed watching the young children as they opened their presents. They would laugh in delight as they got toys and wrinkle their noses when opening packages containing clothes. It made Harry happy to see children having the Christmas that he'd never been able to have and to know that he was a part of it.
Sitting and laughing with Kyla and George, Harry began opening his own small pile of gifts. He chuckled as he unwrapped Kyla's gift which was a thick, warm scarf in Chudley colors.
"I spent a long time on that," she said, as he hugged and thanked her. "I even did it without magic. Hermione helped me."
Next, he opened Ron and Hermione's gift. It was a large frame full of pictures of them from the time they were eleven to the final picture from the wedding; Harry and Ron standing on either side of Hermione.
He pulled a card off the back and opened it.
Harry, you've been dearer than a brother to Ron and me. We can't thank you enough for the friendship that you have shown us. We wanted to get you something grand, but as we are poor, we endeavored to get you something in the name of sentiment. We called Mr. Creevey up. You'd be suprised at how many pictures of us that Colin had taken through the years.
Harry, we give you all of our best memories. We hope you cherish them as we do. We love you.
Hermione and Ron
Harry smiled as he looked over the pictures. There he was, a scrawny little boy with unruly black hair, standing by a tall redhead and a bushy haired girl with large teeth. As they got older, Harry was less scrawny, Ron less gangly, and Hermione's hair tamed down. But more noticeable was the maturity and soberness that increased in their faces and eyes. Growing up had changed them so much.
He pulled the last package, a large box, closer. There was no name on the outside; it simply said, "To the Boy Who Lived." Harry rolled his eyes at the cliche'd title and ripped the paper off. There was another card which stated, "May he continue to live. Sincerely, Ginny."
Inside was a Healer's kit for Healing from various minor curses and jinxes that could befall him as an Auror in training. He caught Ginny's eye and as she smiled, he nodded his thanks.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that afternoon, when the snow lay thick upon the ground, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley volunteered to babysit while all the adults went sledding. They eagerly accepted the offer and tramped out. Fleur, feeling tired, stayed behind and Penny joined her. However, the remainder of them climbed the big hill with their sleds, laughing and call ing out as they did so.
The first down the hill was Fred and Angelina. Angelina yelled as the sled toppled over at the bottom. When she finally righted herself, she saw the too-innocent look on Fred's face and playfully pushed him face first into the snowbank. With that, everyone began to slide down in one's and two's, enjoying the crisp air rushing past them.
"Ready?" Harry said to Kyla as he settled behind her in the sled. She nodded, a grin on her face, then shrieked with laughter as they flew down. Like Fred and Angelina, they too, toppled over at the bottom.
Harry was so busy laughing that he never noticed Kyla scoop up snow. He didn't see her pack it very tightly, and he was very surprised when the snowball smashed into the side of his face.
Several hours later, when their hands were blue and even warming charms weren't helping, the laughing group headed inside, however; Harry remained. When seeing that he was no longer beside her, Kyla too fell back.
"Isn't this beautiful?" he whispered, afraid to break the spell. He stared out over the white world. Night had fallen and the moon shone over the snow, making it almost as light as day. The purple sky was dotted with stars and they twinkled mournfully. The pine trees scattered over the hills were covered with a blanket of snow and Harry felt a strange reverance.
"When the world is used and dirty, I get so discourage. And then the snow comes and I can forget. Oh, I can forget all the sorrow and pain. Evil can't survive in a world where we have snowfall."
While Harry spoke, Kyla was silent. Now, she spoke almost bitterly. ''There's something wrong with your analogy. It looks pretty now, but when it melts, it will be dirtier than before. By hiding it, it makes the problem much worse once we can see it again."
"Are you alright?" Harry asked, with concern. "You've been quiet all day."
She took a deep breath. "Harry, I've been doing some thinking. I'm going back to America."
"What? Why?"
"My family's there. My dad. . .and my mom and my brother, too. I've been ostracized from them for far too long. When spring training starts up again, I'll be back. I have to do this," she whispered. "Watching the Weasley's all day has finally convinced me of it. All those children. They know who their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are. What about my children? Who will they know? Besides," she added, tears filling her eyes. "I miss my brother. I need to go home and set things straight."
Harry kissed her cheek gently. "Alright," he said, softly. "But I'll miss you. You will write me, won't you?"
Kyla nodded. "Goodbye, Harry," she whispered. Harry let go of her hand and she disapparated.
Harry slowly trudged back to the Burrow. The snow crunched under his feet and he looked forlornly at the well-lit house ahead of him, before sighing and entering.
"Kyla's gone home," he announced after they all asked where she had gone. "To America."
He missed the look that Mrs. Weasley shot at her husband. All he saw was Ginny, looking at him with pitying eyes.
It has been far too long since I've updated, as I've said. I do hope that I can finish this story but there are another 14, 15 chapters left and it will definitely take awhile. I'm so grateful to those of you who've left reviews and again apologize that I've let down my standard of always replying.
I'm still glad to receive them and I will reply as much as I can but I have minimal time on the computer and can only do so much. I don't know when the next update will be in so I do ask that you not question it's arrival either. This story is very special to me and I'll do all that I can to complete it.
I guess I'm done preaching. ;) Let me see if I can find you a suitable spoiler.
"But, I know that she wouldn't do anything behind my back. And it wouldn't be fair of me to take the only person who truly knows her completely away, would it?"