A/N: this chapter is dedicated to the Devon Crew - my favourite bunch of people to spend the New Year with...
It was Boxing Day, and Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were wandering around outside The Burrow, weaving in and out of the trees, and chatting excitedly about the New Year. Snow was falling all around them, and Harry was watching it fall on Ginny’s bright hair, then melting gradually and being replaced by more snowflakes.
“I’ve just had a brilliant idea!” said Ginny, suddenly looking very excited and turning to face them all. “We should have a huge party! And invite everyone we know!”
“Ah yeah!” said Ron, equally as excited.
“But aren’t most people we know at Hogwarts for the holidays?” asked Harry.
“Not this year,” Hermione told him. “Everyone wants to see their children over Christmas because “ well “ they’re scared, aren’t they? They want reassurance that they’re alright.”
The four of them fell into silence.
“All the more reason to have a party,” said Ginny after a few moments, “it will cheer them all up.”
Harry smiled at her, thankful that he had someone in his life who always looked on the bright side.
* * *
“Hermione! What’s the time? Are they going to be arriving soon? How long will they be?”
Ron was yelling from his bedroom down to Ginny’s where she, Harry and Hermione were talking. Hermione got up haughtily and went to go and shut him up.
“Calm down, Ron!” Harry heard her calling up the stairs. “And give it a rest with the yelling!”
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that boy’s head was completely empty,” said Ginny.
“He’s just nervous,” Harry replied. “He’ll be alright once we’ve got some Firewhisky down him!”
“Ah, I hope Fred and George can smuggle some in,” said Ginny enthusiastically.
“Me too. Maybe then Ron will get enough confidence to actually show some affection for Hermione.”
“And maybe then he won’t blow his head off if we tell him about us,” Ginny added.
“Good point,” said Harry. “I’m fed up with not being able to do this “ “ he kissed her swiftly on the lips “ “ when he’s around.”
Ginny giggled.
“Or this “ “ she kissed him back, but less reservedly.
“How about this?” asked Harry, and he pulled her towards him and this time it was more passionate than before.
“Especially that,” answered Ginny with a grin when they broke apart. “Now, we should be getting ready for the party.”
“Is there really much more to do?” asked Harry.
Ginny looked at him, her eyes wide and her mouth open.
“More to do?” she repeatedly, sounding shocked. “Of course there’s more to do! We’re not even dressed! And I haven’t had a shower or done my hair or my make-up or “ “
“Okay, okay!” said Harry. “I get the point! But those are all girly things “ I’m practically ready.”
“Well in that case, you and Ron can sit and do nothing, and me and Hermione will be down in about an hour.”
“An hour?” asked Harry. “It will really take that long?”
Ginny rolled her eyes at him and pushed him out of the door, just as Hermione passed him and went back in. Harry climbed the stairs to Ron’s room and got changed for the party, trying to ignore Ron’s constant mitherings about how many people would turn up and whether they had enough Butterbeer. An hour later, five minutes before the guests were due to arrive, Harry and Ron were sitting in the kitchen waiting for the girls to come down.
“Man alive, how long do they take!” said Ron in exasperation.
Perfectly on queue, they heard footsteps descending the stairs, and looked up to see Hermione coming into the kitchen. She looked astonishingly pretty, wearing purple dress robes made of silk. She had some of her hair clipped back, with the rest of it hanging loosely around her shoulders. It seemed that she had gotten over the Sleekeasy’s Hair Potion dilemma, and had used it to tame her hair so that it was sleek and shiny, with none of the usually frizz. Ron just stuttered:
“Hermione, you look…“
“… amazing,” finished Harry.
Hermione smiled at them and her cheeks blushed a rosy shade of pink.
“Thank you.” Ron stood gawping at her for a moment longer, before Hermione continued. “Er “ shall we go outside?”
Ron nodded, and he and Hermione proceeded outside. A minute later, Harry heard more footsteps, and soon enough Ginny was entering the kitchen. Harry gaped. She was wearing long, emerald green dress robes made of velvet, with a square neckline which made her look like a medieval princess. It was fitted around her body, accentuating her slender figure, then it flared out naturally down to her ankles, and her long, red hair was done so that loose curls fell beautifully about her shoulders.
“W “ wow,” gasped Harry.
Ginny walked towards him and he put his hands on her waist.
“Do you like it?” she asked him. “We got it in an antique sale at Madam Malkin’s.”
“It’s an original?”
Ginny nodded. Harry kissed her tenderly and her soft hair brushed his face. As his hands slid up her back, he noticed that the dress was laced up like a corset, the strings criss-crossing over her bare skin in the middle of her back.
“Shall we see if anyone has arrived yet?” asked Ginny.
Harry nodded and restrained himself from taking her hand as they made their way into the garden. They had worked all day to create an idyllic setting for their party in the Weasleys’ back garden. The fairies that weren’t sitting in Japanese lanterns around the garden were fluttering around above people’s heads, and hundreds of tiny candles illuminated a winding path through the trees at the bottom of the lawn.
“Harry!” Harry’s heart sank “ Colin Creevey. “Have you had a good Christmas?”
“Yes thanks, Colin,” said Harry, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
Ginny snorted at his tone, but stopped abruptly when Colin addressed her.
“How about you, Ginny? Have you been keeping well?”
“Oh, yes thanks, Colin,” said Ginny, in the same noncommittal tone as Harry.
“What have you two been doing over the holidays?”
Ginny looked up at Harry with a sparkle in her eyes.
“Oh, not much,” said Harry.
“I must say, you look really lovely tonight, Ginny,” said Colin cheerfully.
A wave of protectiveness swept over Harry, and he wanted to shout “Back off! She’s mine!” at Colin, but knew he probably shouldn’t.
“Thanks,” said Ginny to Colin.
Colin stared at her for a while, prompting Harry to say: “Well, we should see who else is here. Nice to see you, Colin,” and pull Ginny away from him.
“Harry!” whispered Ginny. “He just said I looked nice!”
“Yeah, well,“ muttered Harry, “he was staring at you, wasn’t he? Like some gormless idiot.”
Ginny giggled. “Like you did, you mean?”
“That’s different, I’m allowed to,” replied Harry.
“You definitely are,” whispered Ginny in his ear.
Harry subtly squeezed her hand. It was killing him not to be able to show public affection for her, but they still hadn’t told Ron, and he wanted to do that at the right time.
“Psst! Oi!”
Harry and Ginny glanced around to see Fred and George hiding behind a large shrub, gesturing for them to join them.
“What?” asked Harry, once they were also behind the bush.
Fred held up a red bottle. “Firewhisky!” he said gleefully. “Go and get some glasses, we’ll give you some.”
“Won’t people notice that our drinks are on fire?” asked Harry.
“Don’t be stupid, Harry,” said Ginny. “I’ll go and get the glasses.”
A moment later, she was back with two glasses. George poured the fiery liquid into them, and handed them back to Ginny.
“Watch and learn, my friend,” she said to Harry.
She pulled out her wand, pointed it at the glasses, and mumbled something under her breath; the whisky immediately changed to look like water.
“Nice one,” said Harry. “Where’d you learn to do that?”
“Not my first time,” muttered Ginny with a smirk. “Thanks, guys.”
They came out from behind the bush, and Harry took a sip of his drink. The strong liquid burned his throat as it slipped down, but the heat was satisfying, especially on such a cold evening, and he suddenly no longer felt cold. Ginny took a surprisingly long gulp from hers, given its strength.
“Ah, it’s so good,” she said. “Let’s go and find Ron to tell him where to get it.”
They found Ron talking to Seamus and Dean on the other side of the house. Harry told him about the Firewhisky, and he left excitedly.
“Hi, Ginny,” mumbled Dean.
Ginny gave him a kind of half-smile, obviously not wanting to have to talk to him after their slightly unsavoury break up last term.
“Nice Christmas, Harry?” said Seamus, apparently trying to draw the attention away from Ginny and Dean.
“Yeah, it’s been good, thanks,” Harry replied. “How about you?”
“Oh, it was alright,” said Seamus. “Me mam insisted on dragging us to me grandparents. That’s never fun.”
Harry put on a fake smile, thinking that he would give anything to spend Christmas with his family.
“Do you like the garden?” asked Ginny.
“Yeah, it’s really nice,” said Seamus. “Did you do all of this?”
“With help from Harry, Ron and Hermione,” said Ginny. “Hey,” she leaned in closer to him, “Fred and George have got some Firewhisky round by the backdoor if you want some.”
Seamus grinned. “Sounds good. See you later!” And he and Dean left, just as Hermione wandered over to them.
“Have you told him yet?” she asked. Harry and Ginny shook their heads. “Aren’t you dying? Why haven’t you done it?”
“Don’t know,” said Ginny guiltily. “We will though.”
“Make it soon “ you’ll want to kiss at midnight,” said Hermione with a smile.
“That’s a fair point,” said Harry. “I think we might wait until he’s had a few of those glasses though.” He looked over at where Ron stood with Neville, sipping at his drink.
“Why?” asked Hermione.
“It’s “ “Harry started, but Ginny elbowed him in the ribs “ “ best he’s not hungry or anything. I mean “ you know Ron “ always thinking about his stomach.”
Hermione surveyed him suspiciously, then smiled. “That’s true. Well, I’ll go and make sure he’s in a good mood.”
She walked over to Ron and put her arm around him.
“Hey, let’s go inside for a bit,” Ginny whispered in Harry’s ear.
She led him into the house, turning heads as she went, and they went partway up the stairs to avoid the people in the kitchen. She pulled Harry towards her by the chin and planted a kiss on his lips. They stood there in each other’s arms for a while afterwards, Ginny resting her forehead on Harry’s.
“What are we going to say to him?” she asked, after several minutes of silence.
“Just that we’re together and we hope that he can be happy for us,” Harry replied.
“But what if he flies off the handle? It would totally ruin the party.”
“It’s a risk we’ll have to take.”
They made their way back down the stairs, and, unfortunately, bumped into Fred at the bottom.
“What have you two been doing?” he asked, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Oh shut up, Fred,” said Ginny, and she pulled Harry back outside by the hand.
“Er “ Ron?” said Harry nervously once they had approached him. “Can we talk to you for a moment? Inside?”
“What, both of you?” asked Ron curiously.
“Yes,” said Ginny, “both of us.”
“Ok,” he said anxiously, and he followed them inside.
Once they were in the kitchen, Harry started to talk.
“So, Ron, what we wanted to tell you, is that, well “ “
“ “ we’re together,” said Ginny promptly, sensing that Harry was going to chicken out.
Ron stared at them. His silence was uneasing, and after a few moments, Harry said: “Ron, say something.”
“I “ um “ well,” stammered Ron. Then he looked Harry straight in the eye, and said: “She’s my little sister, Harry. You had better take care of her.”
Harry smiled. “Of course I will.”
“I mean it,” added Ron.
“Ron, I trust him, and so should you,” said Ginny. “We’re really happy, and we want you to understand that.”
Ron hesitated. “How long has this been going on?”
“Since Christmas Day,” answered Harry, suddenly realising that they probably should have told him sooner.
“Well it certainly explains Christmas lunch,” mumbled Ron. “Why are you telling me now?”
“We needed to do it so that we can start the New Year with everything sorted,” said Ginny.
Ron looked at them. “You’re really serious about this?” he asked.
“Yes,” they replied in unison.
“Fine,” grunted Ron. Harry grinned and looked at Ginny, who was also grinning, and they joined hands. “You have no idea how weird that is,” said Ron, looking at their inter-locked fingers. “And I don’t even want to think about anything else.” He shuddered. “I’m going outside,” he said finally, and left them in the kitchen.
“I just want to grab something from my room,” Ginny told Harry. “Back in a sec.”
Harry went back out through the backdoor, passing Dean in the doorway, who Harry noticed looked oddly apprehensive.
“Just did it,” Harry muttered in Hermione’s ear when he found her outside.
“And?” she asked.
“It was okay, actually,” said Harry. “He doesn’t seem to be mad. Just a bit weirded out.”
“Oh, that’s excellent!” she cried, and she flung her arms around his neck.
“Yeah, unless he’s just not letting on how he really feels,” said Harry through her hair.
“He’ll be alright,” said Hermione, releasing him. “I’ll talk to him if he gets grumpy.”
“Thanks,” said Harry.
“Hey, it’s half eleven,” said Hermione, glancing at her watch. “It’ll be midnight before we know it.”
“Oh right, I’ll go and get Ginny,” said Harry, and he went back into the house and started to ascend the stairs. About halfway up, just as he approached Ginny’s room, he heard a male voice coming from inside. Curious, Harry crept up to the door and listened:
“You look really pretty tonight, by the way,” came Dean’s voice from behind the closed door. Harry’s stomach squirmed.
“Thanks,” said Ginny’s voice, although she didn’t sound like she had appreciated the compliment.
“And I “ well “ I’m really sorry about how we finished it last term,” said Dean.
“How you finished it, you mean?” replied Ginny bitterly.
Dean hesitated. “Look, I never meant to hurt you.”
“Well you didn’t do a very good job of that, did you?” retorted Ginny. “I don’t exactly remember you being particularly sensitive about it.”
“I’m really sorry!” cried Dean in exasperation. “I just wish… I just wish we could give it another try...” Harry restrained himself from doing something he would regret.
There was a long pause, then: “Dean, I really can’t. Just back off, okay?”
“Oh come on, Ginny!” replied Dean. “It’s New Year’s Eve!”
“Hey, I said back off Dean!”
Harry couldn’t stand it any longer, and he burst through the door to see Ginny pushing Dean off her.
“She said back off,” said Harry firmly. Dean turned around, and Ginny looked up at him in surprise.
“What are you doing here?” asked Dean. “This has nothing to do with you, Harry.”
“It has everything to do with me,” replied Harry. “Now leave her alone.”
“It’s none of your business,” said Dean. “Just get out of here.”
“Don’t speak to him like that,” said Ginny irritably.
“But it’s true!” Dean said to her. “This is between us!” Dean stepped towards Ginny and put his hand on her face.
“Get away from her,” muttered Harry.
“Why should I do what you tell me?” asked Dean. “You have no right to order me about.”
“I do if you’re about to try it on with Ginny when she’s already told you several times to get lost,” answered Harry. “Anyway, it’s too late, Dean.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you had your chance, and you blew it,” said Harry. “Ginny’s moved on.”
“What Harry’s trying to say,” Ginny cut in, “is that I’m with him now.”
“You’re “ what?”
“Me and Harry “ a couple,” said Ginny clearly.
“I don’t believe you,” said Dean.
“What?” asked Ginny.
“I don’t believe you,” repeated Dean. “You’re just trying to get rid of me.”
“Well you had better believe it,” replied Ginny, and she walked over to stand beside Harry, “because I’m not going to put up with any more crap from you, Dean. It’s over. And it’s about time that you got that into your thick head.” She turned to Harry. “Let’s go.” And they left Dean standing there in her room, at a complete loss for words.
“I’m really sorry about that,” said Ginny, as they went back down the stairs and into the garden. “He’s been acting weird ever since we broke up.”
“I don’t get it,” said Harry. “He’s the one who broke up with you.”
“Yeah, well, he’s obviously conveniently changed his mind.”
“Oh good, you’re here,” said Hermione when she saw them. “Fred and George are just getting their fireworks ready to set them off at midnight.”
“Cool,” said Ginny. “I bet they’re going to try out some of the new ones that they’ve been creating. What’s the time now?”
“Quarter to twelve,” said Hermione. “I’ll go and get Ron.”
A second later, Ron had joined them, and the four grouped together to wait for the New Year. The air was buzzing with excitement as midnight steadily approached, and Ginny shuffled up to Harry to keep warm. He put his arms around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Ron kept glancing at them warily, but Harry ignored him; he had said it was fine with him, so there shouldn’t have been a problem.
“10!” someone shouted, and everyone joined in the countdown: “9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 “ HAPPY NEW YEAR!”
An explosion of brightly coloured fireworks filled the midnight air, twisting and looping through the night sky and up to the moon. Harry turned to Ginny.
“Happy New Year,” he whispered, and he kissed her, thinking of all the good times that lay ahead which outweighed the bad, and how happy he was now that he had her in his life.
“Happy New Year,” she whispered back, ignoring Parvati and Lavender, who were standing nearby, giggling at them.
“To a new leaf and a life of great things to come,” said Hermione, looking down from the fireworks in the sky, and raising her glass. Harry, Ron and Ginny followed suit, and they drank to happiness. Ron was looking at Hermione nervously, and a moment later, he leaned in and kissed her. Hermione smiled and kissed him back lovingly, and they embraced each other and the New Year. Harry pulled Ginny close to him, and they watched the sparkling light of the fireworks writing ‘Happy New Year everybody’ across the darkness. Then they spelled out ‘Harry and Ginny “ you thought we hadn’t noticed’, and they laughed.
“I’m going to kill them!” yelled Ginny, but she was grinning from ear to ear, just like Harry.
He had decided that this year was going to be the best yet…
A/N: That's the end of that one I'm afraid - New Year seemed like a good time to end a Christmas story. Hope you enjoyed it. Please R/R - I love to hear your feedback.