"Merry Christmas, Mother" Percy said, with the faint expression as if someone was holding waste under his nose. Mum, being so enthusiastic to see the son who had disowned his family, rushed over, pulling him into a bone crushing hug. You could cut the tension with a knife, as Fred, George, Bill and Dad all stood, guards raised and glaring at Percy.
"I am here for official Ministry business, with the Minister himself. He should be arriving shortly." Mum froze mid-hug and backed off, taking her seat back at the table with a deep sadness etched onto her face. Avoiding looking at Percy, I sat staring through the window when I heard a pop, a pop which could only be associated with apparition. The Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, had just apparated into the garden of the Burrow.
Knocking on the door brought his arrival to the attention of everyone in the room, who had been staring at Percy as if under a trance but the connection was broken as he rushed over to open the door. It was as if he thought he was home. But he wasn't, not anymore. I know I shouldn't pick favourites but I have to say that Percy was always my least favourite sibling, and that is saying something as I have a lot of brothers.
It all started when we moved to Grimmauld Place last year. Percy and Dad had a huge row, one that could have only had a sour ending. Basically, Percy thought that Dad should be more ambitious instead of dragging the Weasley name into the dirt. Like Percy knew anything about family, the fact that he had turned up here, on Christmas no less, screamed insensitivity. The fight soon came to a conclusion, though not a happy one and Percy left. Without looking back.
The reason for this particular visit was in fact about Harry. The Minister apologised for the timing of his visit, which to me was very patronising. In all honesty, couldn't this wait until we were, you know, not in the middle of our Christmas dinner. He took Harry outside, however I wouldn't settle for that. Mumbling excuses I rushed up the stairs and grabbed an extendable ear from a hidden draw in my room. I didn't want Mum to find my secret stash of Wheezes products.
Sticking it out of my open window, I slowly lowered it to a height where I could hear what was being said below.
"....all these whispers of a prophecy..... of you being the "Chosen One"...." I could tell even without being able to see clearly, that Scrimgeour was waiting for Harry to respond, however once he realised Harry was in fact not going to, he continued, ".....I assume that Dumbledore has discussed these matters with you?"
Of course, how couldn't I have guessed it? The Minister was sure to be keeping tabs on both Harry and Professor Dumbledore given all that happened at the Ministry of Magic last year, but I know the prophecy got destroyed. I can not say however, that part of me was not interested in what it said, but then again, it's none of my business. Neither was it for that matter, the Ministers. If I was in Harry's situation right now I would not trust the Ministry with one single Sickle. I just hoped that, with the most miniscule chance that Harry did know something, he didn't tell him.
"Yeah, we've discussed it."
"Have you, have you......." said Scrimgeour, I could hear the excitement and anticipation in his voice, the child waiting to be given chocolate. "And what has Dumbledore told you, Harry?"
I held my breath.
"Sorry, but that's between us," Harry replied.
"Of course, if it's a question of confidences, I wouldn't want you to divulge..... no, no..... and in any case, does it really matter whether you are the chosen one or not?"
Now they had completely lost me, and it seemed that Harry had too as he hesitated a while before responding.
"I'm not really sure what you mean, Minister"
"Well, of course, to you it will matter enormously," said Scrimgeour, with a low vaguely sinister bout of laughter. "But to the wizarding community at large.... it's all perception, isn't it? It's what people believe is important."
Finally I understood. The Ministry was going to use Harry to elude the wizarding world into a false sense of security. I believed without doubt that Harry would have to end this war, and be the one to kill Voldemort if it came down to a one-on-one fight. However, that did not mean that we should print Harry's face on the front of newspaper and give him all the problems of heroism. No, it just wasn't practical. Anyway, who would believe that Harry was out there making a difference, if he was traipsing into the Ministry every so often. Ridiculous.
Unfortunately for me however I never got to hear the end of the conversation as suddenly the extendable ear broke away from the string which was holding it steady in the air. It fell and I knew as soon as the soft squelch of flesh sounded. Harry turned to where the sound was coming from and began to look upwards towards my window. I ducked in the hope that he would not spot me. I guess I will find out soon enough, I thought, as I scrambled back down the stairs.
It was safe to say the rest of the dinner was quite a chafed affair. However, it seemed that the Christmas spirit would not yet die as Mum charmed her wand to blast out Celestina Warbeck songs as loud as humanly possible. We all retired to the lounge, full of food and feeling like we wouldn't eat again for days, other than Ron who brought his fifth helping of dessert with him. I walked in and took a seat next to Harry. Our sides just touching, he glanced around at me.
"Muffin?" I asked, offering him one of the plate I was holding.
"I'm alright, thanks" he replied shaking his head.
"Don't you trust me?"
I brought one of the muffins up, slowly inching it towards his face. He took a bite. We were sat so close I swear I could feel his breath touching my neck. Harry opened his mouth, empty now of food, as if he was going to say something, but I will never know as Ron entered. Ron walked straight in and sat down right in the middle of me and Harry, as we both tried to awkwardly shuffle away, it was a bit of a tight squeeze. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, in which the only noise was Ron chewing on one of the muffins whilst picking up another with his other hand. Suddenly I couldn't handle it anymore and stood up rather abruptly, taking the muffins with me which to the distaste of a disgruntled looking Ron.
****
Later that evening, I went up the stairs and took a shower. I spent a long time in the bathroom, relaxing and contemplating all that had gone on throughout the day. All in all it had been a rather uneventful Christmas, despite the visit from my dear dear brother. By the time I got out most of the family, had retired to their bedrooms, so I did the same making my way across the corridor, wrapping my dressing gown around me.
Who would I meet as I was walking down the stairs? Harry.
We were stood inches apart in the narrow staircase of the Burrow. So close that I could make out of the details on his face. His emerald eyes were glistening in the light from the moon, entering through the nearby window, his freckles lining his nose were barely visible and his scar was raw and red. It must have been bothering him.
"Has Ron gone to bed?"
The question was out of my mouth before I could think about it. Hopefully, he didn't think I was implying..... even though part of me probably was.
"Not yet"
I felt a surge of disappointment curse through me and I must have been imagining it but the corner of Harry's mouth also seemed to turn down into a frown. I couldn't think straight, we were so close together and I knew the red hot flush to my cheeks was creeping its way up, like it normally did whenever Harry was around. I thought I had got it under control but situations like this proved me wrong.
"Shoe Lace." I cleared my throat before speaking, afraid that my nervousness at our close proximity would be revealed through my shaking voice. Without waiting for a reply I knelt down, fastening the laces one at a time, making sure to pull them tight enough but not too tight as to uncomfortable for his feet. Never had I put so much thought into tying a shoelace.
After finishing I slowly rose and now we were closer than before. We both froze for a second, breathing heavily. Feeling each other's breaths on our faces seemed to wake us up from the trance. In a mutual, unspoken agreement we were both leaning in. This was it. We were going to kiss. Closer. I could see the details on Harry's lips now, which were rosy and pink, though a little chapped due to the cold weather. Closer. He had a small dimple on his chin that I had not noticed before. Closer. I closed my eyes waiting for the feeling of our lips touching.
It never came. I large swoosh and a blazing fire was surrounding the Burrow. We both looked out of the window, confused as to what was going on. That's when we saw them. Fenir Greyback and Bellatrix Lestrange were stood by the flames that were slowly licking away at the floor, laughing mercilessly. I looked back to gage Harry's reaction, but I was too late. He had gone and without even thinking about it I was following him.
Mum, Dad, Professor Lupin and Tonks were stood at the door, stood astonished, gasping as the garden of the Burrow continued to burn.
"HARRY NO!" Came the shouts of Lupin as Harry ran straight at the two Death Eaters, past the fire without so much as glancing at it.
Lupin and Tonks ran to the fire, swirling their wands which were no match for the vibrant yellow flames, that's power was growing. I knew I had to do something, because I could hear Bellatrix's shouts and see Harry thrashing blindly through the undergrowth.
I ran after them.
"GINNY NO!" Now it was my parents turn to shout as I lept over the flame.
Surprisingly, my billowing dressing gown did not get caught in the fire and I was off. I had no idea which way to turn, so instead I followed the shouts and the rustle of the wheat in the hope I would Harry and not one of the Death Eaters. My calves burnt with the effort of running so long and so I found myself surrounded by murky water. With nowhere to turn I span with my wand outstretched, every quiver making me jump to no end. I then realised how stupid I had been.
A ripple passed through the plants and I knew I wasn't alone. Wand in hand, I looked through the foliage, trying in the darkness to make out the shape of a person. Breath quaking I waited, waited for them to reveal themselves. That is if they didn't just kill me first. No, I couldn't think like that. I came out here to help Harry and that is what I would do.
Without warning, Harry suddenly ran out of the bushes to my left and we fought back to back, side by side, sending stunning spells in every direction. I was certain at least one would hit them, however I would be mistaken as the black blur of smoke showed the two Death Eaters flying up into the air and landing again, sending us into a mess of confusion as to where they would go next.
"Harry! Harry! Harry!" The shouts of Lupin went on and on as we could hear him thundering through the undergrowth towards where we were. Apparently thinking they couldn't take on three wizards all at once and I couldn't help but feel elated as they left, flying off into the distance. My happiness however was short lived as we approached the Burrow.
Mum, Dad, Tonks, Ron, Fred and George, were all stood on ceremony, in a line, as if they were soldiers watching a war unfold. I looked up, wondering what on earth could be so disastrous. That's when I saw it.
The Burrow, my home, was on Fire.
A/N: I won't be updating for three weeks as I'm going on holiday but I thoughts I would give you can extra long chapter now as to make it up to you.
I know I messed the order of Christmas up a little but I thought it flowed better this way. Anyway, don't forget to vote and comment. I love to hear what you think.
Thanks for Reading