November 30, 1997

And then there is Ginny. Words cannot express adequately how I feel about her. We’ve grown so close in such a short time. I feel like there is nothing I can’t tell her and there are days when we just spend hours talking about our lives, our dreams, everything important to us. Sometimes it feels like I’ve known her all my life instead of just a few months. I know I sound like a character from a chick flick, but it’s the way I feel. It’s already getting pretty serious. She has invited me to spend Christmas with her parents and you’ll never guess what she did for me for Thanksgiving!

Brook paused as he wrote and reminisced about that day.

At breakfast, Brook received a letter via owl, but he could tell it was a Muggle letter from the address on it. This day, when Brook read the return address, it caused his face to drop visibly.

“What’s wrong, Brook? Who’s the letter from?” asked Ginny, putting her hand on his forearm and peeking over his shoulder.

Brook sighed. “It’s from the ski resort in Switzerland that my parents and I were going to stay at over Christmas break. It’s confirming our reservation.” He paused, remembering those plans. “I was so looking forward to that trip. It was going to be our first extended time together after several months apart.”

“Are you still going to go?” asked Hermione. “I’ve spent several holidays skiing on the Continent with my family. We always had a great time.”

“No, I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be the same. I guess I’ll just stay here at Hogwarts. Dumbledore said that a number of students spend the break here.” While he was trying to put on a brave face, it was obvious to Ginny, Ron, and Hermione that the idea depressed him.

Ginny sat up with a determined look on her face. “There is no way you are going to spend your first Christmas without your parents here in this old castle! You are coming to the Burrow and spending it with us. Mum would love to have you, wouldn’t she Ron?” she said as she turned to her brother.

“She would, mate,” agreed Ron. “Our brothers would sometimes bring someone home for Christmas when we were younger. She always says, ‘The more the merrier.’”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on your family,” said Brook quietly.

“You wouldn’t be intruding. Hermione will be there for some of the break, too. Mum would love someone else to mother. I will have to warn you, you are probably going to get spoiled by her, as soon as she hears about your story,” said Ginny.

“Yeah, you better be prepared for some bone crushing hugs. She is going to love having another son around,” added Ron.

“Well, if your parents say it is okay, I’ll come.” His gaze dropped down to his plate as he added, barely above a whisper. “A few bone crushing hugs from a mom sound pretty good about now.”

“Why do you say that? Is something else wrong?” asked Ginny, putting her hand on his arm.

Brook took a deep breath. “Today is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. It’s a traditional time for families to gather, and I guess I am missing my parents. I read somewhere that holidays are usually pretty rough the first time after losing someone.”

“How did you celebrate?” asked Ginny.

“Most families have a huge gathering with all of their relatives, but since we didn’t have much family, my mom would always invite other friends that couldn’t celebrate with their families, either because they didn’t have large families or because they were too far from home. My mom would get up early in the morning and start cooking and baking up a storm. When I came down from my bedroom, the aroma was heavenly. People would start to arrive mid-morning and we would have a pick-up football game. American football, not what Brits call football, that we call soccer.” Seeing blank faces, other than Hermione, he added, “You know the football that Dean goes on and on about, that’s a different game. Ours is more like rugby.” Seeing more confused stares, Brook shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter. We played a game for fun and then we would come in for lunch, which was just some light stuff. The men, and some of the women, would then sit down in our basement where we would watch some professional football games on TV, while the rest of the women would finish making Thanksgiving dinner.

“We would eat dinner around 5:00 or 5:30, during half time of the second football game on TV, and it was a feast fit to rival the ones here at Hogwarts. In addition to a huge turkey, we would generally have a ham, and mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, both regular and oyster, sweet potato casserole, rolls, and whatever other side dishes people brought. During the meal, we would all take a turn telling what we were thankful for that year, which is the original purpose of the holiday, giving thanks.

“After stuffing ourselves beyond full, the men would clean up and do the dishes and then we would all sit down again in front of the TV, not really watching the game since it generally wasn’t very good, just talking and enjoying each other’s company. We would allow the dinner to digest a little before having pies: cherry pie, apple pie, pecan pie, mincemeat pie, and, of course, pumpkin pie. We might not need to eat again for a week, but it was just a great time to spend together with friends.” He let his head fall forward again as his shoulders sagged. “It just feels weird not to be celebrating with my parents today,” he finished with his eyes a little moist.

Brook didn’t notice but Ginny and Hermione shared some looks and nods behind his back. “I need to get to class early this morning; I need to ask Professor McGonagall a question before class starts,” said Ginny as she rose from the table, giving Brook a quick peck on the cheek.

Hermione said, “I’ll walk with you,” and stood up also.

After classes that day, Brook was sitting alone in the common room when Ginny came up behind him, put her hands over his eyes, and said, “Guess who.”

“Let’s see, who do I know with such a sexy voice and such soft kissable hands? Lavender? Luna? Hermione?” he teased.

Ginny took her hands away and cuffed him lightly on the back of the head and said, “You better not find their voices sexy or their hands ‘kissable,’ you prat!”

“You know I don’t; my lips are only for your hands, and your lips, and your neck, and your . . .” as he kissed each part of her body.

“You better stop there, Mr Pelton. I have a surprise for you and we have somewhere to go. Here, put this blindfold on.”

“What do you have planned, Miss Weasley?” Brook asked, his right eyebrow raising.

“You’ll just have to have some patience.” He put on the blindfold and she linked her arm in his and led him through the portrait hole. She led him down corridor after corridor and up and down stairs until he was thoroughly lost. “Any idea where you are, Mr Pelton?”

“I don’t have a clue.”

“Good. Now we are going to go through this door and then you can take your blindfold off.”

When he took off the blindfold, he was in a room right out of a Norman Rockwell painting. There was a huge table, filled with a Thanksgiving feast just as he had described that morning. Sitting around the table were Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Colin, Luna, Lavender, Parvati and Padma, Lydia, Remus, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Dumbledore. At each end of the table was an empty chair with a picture, one of his father, and one of his mother that Ginny had enlarged from his album.

“We know that it isn’t the same as if you would have at home with your parents, but we thought a feast with your new friends would help you get through the day,” said Ginny, kissing him on the cheek, a huge smile on her face.

Brook had tears running down his cheeks and he hugged Ginny tightly. “You did all this for me?”

“Hermione and Professor Dumbledore helped. When we saw how much you were missing it this morning, we felt we wanted to do something.”

Ginny led him over to the table and they sat down in two empty chairs, and everyone began passing the food around the table. Brook leaned over to his girlfriend. “This food is amazing, just like Mom would make! How did you do this?”

“That was Professor Dumbledore’s part. He Floo called the headmaster at the Salem Institute and she sent some of her house-elves over. They made the meal for us, since their students are away on holiday. Hermione had a little bit of a problem with that, but we convinced her that it was the only way it would work.”

Ron spoke up, with food in his mouth, “Brook, I like this holiday of Thanksgiving! We should do this every year!” This caused everyone to laugh, except for Hermione who slapped him on the arm for talking with his mouth full.

After everyone was fully stuffed, even Ron to everyone’s amazement, Brook announced, “Thank you so much to everyone who came and helped me celebrate tonight. One tradition that we always had during Thanksgiving dinner was for each person to share what they were thankful for. I would like to start. First, I am thankful that I had such wonderful parents who raised me for sixteen years. I miss them every day and this feast has brought back some wonderful memories. Second, I am thankful for all of you, my new friends who are thoughtful enough to create this Thanksgiving dinner for me.”

Then around the room, the others shared what they were thankful for. During the sharing, Brook leaned over to Ginny and whispered, “Third, I am thankful for you and all you do for me. I may even show you how thankful after everyone else has left.” After everyone was done sharing, all agreed that this was a tradition that should be continued in future years.

**********

After the summary of the events of Thanksgiving, Brook continued the letter.

This just gives you a glimpse of the type of girl she is and how sweet and caring she is. On top of that, she is absolutely gorgeous. And yes (I know your next question) the snogging is amazing!

I know you’ll give me a hard time about this, but I am in love with her. I’ve never felt even close to this strongly about another girl. I’m even starting to think about our future together; marriage, kids, forever. I realize it’s early in the relationship to be thinking about those things, but when you’ve found the One, the One you are destined to be with, that’s what happens. But I guess you wouldn’t know about that, would you?

That’s what is happening on this side of the pond. Write back soon; it’s always nice to get mail from back home.

Brook

The day after Thanksgiving, Ginny had written to her mother.

Dear Mum,

Hope you and Daddy are well. I am sorry I haven’t written much this term, but it has been very busy. Between homework, Quidditch and the DA, there hasn’t been a lot of free time. But there has been a little and that is what I want to talk to you about.

I’m sure you remember that in my last letter I told you that Dean and I broke up and now I’m dating Brook, that American boy we met on the platform. We’ve been going out for about six weeks now, and he is really special and I would like you and Daddy to get to know him better. I was hoping that he could come home with Ron and me at Christmas. You see, he is an orphan; his parents died this past summer and he has nowhere to go for the holidays. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have to spend your first Christmas without your parents alone at Hogwarts. He can stay in Ron’s room; they are best mates as well (but I’m guessing you don’t know that since Ron never writes). As I wrote, Brook’s the new Seeker on the Gryffindor team, so Ron is looking forward to him playing in the annual Weasley Quidditch matches.

It would mean so much to him, and to me, to be able to spend Christmas with a family that can love on him and help him through his grief. Let me know.

Love,

Ginny

As she finished reading her daughter’s letter, Molly Weasley commented to her husband, Arthur, “Wow, this must be serious. Ginny has never brought a boy home before to meet us. She never even asked us to meet that Dean Thomas whom she dated for over a year. She may say that she wants him not to be alone this Christmas, but I think that she must really like this boy.” She responded the same day to Ginny that, of course, Brook was welcome to come for Christmas and they would do their best to make it a happy holiday for him.

**********

One night about ten days after the Thanksgiving celebration, Brook was lying awake, staring at the underside of his canopy, unable to sleep because of exams coming up and all the information running through his brain. He heard the soft snores of his roommates and assumed everyone was asleep until he heard Ron whispering.

“Brook, you awake?”

“Yeah, Ron, what’s up?”

There was a pause. “This is a little awkward, but, well, here goes nothing.” Another pause. “What are you intentions toward my sister?”

Confused by the seemingly random question, Brook replied, “What do you mean?”

After another pause, Ron answered, “Brook, what do you feel for her? You’re not just playing with her, are you? She’s not just someone you are dating for fun, is she?”

Brook considered how to answer this. “No, I’m not playing with her. Ron, I’ve never felt like this before. It’s like I’ve had this hole, this emptiness in my life, that I didn’t even know I had, but now that she’s filled it, I don’t know how I lived without her. That time when she was angry with me was the first time I noticed it, because it had been filled, but then it wasn’t any longer.”

“I am glad to hear that, Brook, because I’ve never seen Ginny like this before. She’s so happy; it’s like she’s just exuding joy." There was a pause. "Well, that’s not true. She used to be like this before her first year at Hogwarts. Has she told you about what happened?”

“Yeah, she did. I also know that she is still haunted by those events.”

“You’re part right, there. She was still haunted until you two started going out. Yes, she would be happy and sad, just like everyone, but when she was happy, it was as if she was still holding something back, or like she was just acting and it wasn’t real. Now, she looks like the old Ginny, or the young Ginny … oh, whatever. You get what I’m saying? She’s different with you. She never acted like this with her other boyfriends, not even at the beginning of the relationships when couples are normally so lovey-dovey at the newness of the relationship. It’s like she’s finally moved beyond all that happened to her first year.” After a few seconds of silence, he added, “Thanks, Brook.” Brook noticed a crack in Ron’s voice. “It’s good to have my sister back.”

Brook didn’t know how to respond, but before he could Ron continued, “And you remember what I said when you first started going out with her, about not hurting her? Well, that goes even more now that I know how much you mean to her.”

“I have no intention of ever hurting her, Ron. I think seeing her hurt would break my heart, too. I plan on doing everything in my power to keep her as happy as I can as long as she will let me.”

“Good. Sounds like we’re on the same page. Night, Brook.”

“Night, Ron.” Brook heard a sniff from the direction of Ron’s bed before he rolled over and fell asleep.

**********

A few days later, Brook, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny stepped off the Hogwarts Express together, piling their trunks on to trolleys. “I’ll be back in a minute,” Ron said to Ginny and Brook. “I’m going to help Hermione find her parents while you look for whoever is picking us up.” The couple pushed Hermione’s trolley through the barrier while Ginny searched the crowd for a redhead. She finally spotted Bill and sprinted for him, jumping into his arms.

“Hey, Ginger Snap, how are you?” asked Bill as he held her and swung her around.

Brook came up a few seconds later, delayed by pushing the trolley with the three trunks through the crowd. When Bill had put Ginny down on the ground, Ginny turned and said, “Bill, I would like you to meet Brook Pelton. Brook, this is my eldest brother Bill.”

“So, this is the famous Brook everyone has been talking about for the last few weeks.”

Brook blushed and Ginny, with narrowed eyes, said, “What do you mean by that, Bill?”

“Bringing a boy home to meet the parents is a big deal. We all want to meet this boy who has swept you off your feet, and make sure he’s good enough for our favourite little sister.”

Ginny stood up as tall as she could and said through tight lips, “I’m your only sister, Bill, and you better be nice to Brook. I don’t want all of you to scare him off. I’m warning you, and you can let the rest of my brothers know: be nice to him or else!” as she pulled out her wand, pointing it at Bill.

Bill raised his hands in surrender. “Easy, Ginny. I’m just teasing you. I’m sure we’ll all like Brook.”

Brook had been a little nervous about meeting Ginny’s parents, but hadn’t really thought about five more brothers to impress as well. He figured that if he could get Ron’s approval, the other brothers wouldn’t be hard, but overhearing Bill’s comments made him think that maybe he was wrong.

Ron stepped up at that moment, greeting Bill with a hug and thump on the back. “Alright, there, Ron?” Bill asked. “Not missing Hermione already, are you?” with a teasing grin on his face.

Ron rolled his eyes. “I’m fine, Bill. Since her parents had their house connected to the Floo network, I can call her every day. We’re planning on going Christmas shopping at Diagon Alley in a few days, and she’ll be coming over Boxing Day to spend the rest of the holiday with us, so I think we’ll be able to survive.”

“Good. Wouldn’t want you to ruin our Christmas with you constantly moping about the house. Let’s get through the barrier and on the road.”

Bill helped Ron and Brook get the trunks into the boot of the Ford Anglia that their father had magically enhanced. Ron nudged Brook and said, “Wait until you see what Dad has done to this car. It can fly and turn invisible.”

Bill, overhearing Ron’s comment, said, “Dad made me promise to just drive it today, Ron. There‘s no reason to risk being seen by Muggles just to show off a little,” said Bill.

It was an uneventful drive home, with Ron in front with Bill and Ginny and Brook in the back. Ginny dozed off for a while, leaning on Brook’s shoulder, which Bill noticed through the rear view mirror. When they arrived, Brook said, “Wake up, Ginny. We’re here.”

After getting out of the car and getting the trunks out, Brook looked up at the house he would call home for the next few weeks. He struggled to not gape in amazement at the building. It was four stories high, and without magic, there is no way it would stand on its own. Parts of stories would hang over the edge of the lower floor. There were at least four chimneys in the roof, all puffing out white smoke. Even though it was unlike any house he had ever seen, it still was familiar from his dreams of Ginny as a young girl. He remembered that the house in his dreams had always seemed so impossible, and it leant a sense of surrealism to the dreams. He remembered how he remembered this house from his dreams the first time he saw some of Salvador Dali’s paintings. Now, he could see that his dreams were accurate in this as well. As they walked up to the door, it slammed open and out ran Mrs Weasley, who engulfed Ginny and then Ron in hugs. She then came over to Brook and hugged him as well, saying, “It’s good to see you again, Brook. Welcome to the Burrow.”

“Thanks, Mrs Weasley. I really appreciate you letting me visit over our break.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, dear. We are more than happy to have you, even if you weren’t the first boy that Ginny has brought home.”

Brook swallowed again as he walked toward the house. He looked at Ginny and whispered, “You didn’t tell me this was going to be such a big deal.”

“I didn’t know that it was going to be. It’s not like the boys haven’t brought home girls before.”

“Well, I’m willing to put up with anything for you,” Brook said as he grabbed her hand and walked through the door with her.

He and Ginny were separated almost as soon as they entered the door. Brook was a little overwhelmed with the chaos in the kitchen. The room was filled with redheads hugging and shaking hands, asking how school or work was. Brook just sort of stood back out of the way for a little bit, before the family descended on him. The twins were the first to shake his hand, with one of them saying, “You didn’t tell us you were a couple when we met you in Hogsmeade. Why were you keeping it a secret?”

“We weren’t dating when we saw you,” he tried to interject, but the twins continued as if they didn’t hear him.

"What exactly are your intentions toward our little Gin-Gin?” asked the other.

“Not corrupting her, are you?”

The one on the right turned to his brother and said, "If I know our sister, she might be the one doing the corrupting."

“We wouldn’t want that, now would we?”

“Certainly not. You do know that if you try anything or hurt her, we will kill you, don’t you?”

“But not before we submit you to some of our best products,” the one on the left said with an evil grin on his face.

Brook felt like he was at a Ping-Pong match trying to keep up with the rapid-fire comments coming from the twins. One of them slapped him on the back, whispering in his ear, “Be afraid, be very afraid,” as they walked away.

He next met Charlie, who was home from the dragon preserve in Romania. “Hear you’re a Seeker,” he said to Brook. “Ron says you’re even better than I was. Maybe we’ll have to compete in a match some time while you are here.”

“Sounds like fun. Ron told me that we would probably be able to get some flying in over the break,” said Brook, happy to talk about Quidditch instead of being grilled about his relationship with Ginny.

Percy came over next. He seemed a little stuffy to Brook, asking, “It is nice to see Ginevra starting to mature. What exactly do you want to be when you finish at Hogwarts? The Ministry is always a good option. Any departments you might be interested in?”

“I’m not sure; I’m still pretty new to the Wizarding world. I only learned that I was magical this past summer. I am president of an aviation company that my father left me in charge of back home, so maybe I’ll go back to that.”

“’Aviation’, you say. What is ‘aviation’?”

“Well, we do maintenance on airplanes as well as help with shipping of items via air.”

“Airplanes! I can’t believe anyone would get in one of those things. I have a hard time believing they can fly.”

“Well, I’m sure there are a lot of Muggles who would say the same thing about broomsticks.”

That caused Percy to think a moment. “You have a point there. Well, nice meeting you.” And he was off to another conversation.

Last was Ginny’s father. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Weasley. I’ve heard so much about you. Ron told me about the modifications to the Anglia. I’d love to see them sometime. I’m a little bit of a car buff. I helped my dad restore another Ford, an American sports car called a Mustang.”

Mr Weasley’s eyes lit up. “So, you like cars." He leaned closer and whispered, "I will show you some of those features on the Anglia later, but don’t talk about it too loudly. Molly doesn’t like that I made those adjustments." At a more normal volume he continued. "I heard you telling Percy that you work with aeroplanes. I’d love to talk to you about those some time.”

“I’d like that,” Brook smiled in reply. Ginny had warned him that her father was fascinated with Muggles and would probably talk his ear off with questions.

Ginny finally was able to get away from her brothers’ hugs and came over to Brook and squeezed his hand. “Meeting everyone go alright?” she whispered in his ear.

“I think so. Most of the family greeted me warmly, though the twins gave me a hard time and Percy scoffed at my dad’s business.”

“That’s Percy and the twins; I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

“Ginny, why don’t you show Brook Ron’s room and help him get settled in,” said Mrs Weasley from across the room.

Ginny grabbed Brook’s hand again and she led him up the stairs towards Ron’s room, Brook levitating two trunks behind them. As they reached the first floor landing, she pointed out the loo and opened the door to her bedroom. “Thought you should know where to find me, but don’t let anyone else find you in there or there might not be much of you left,” she teased.

Another sense of déjà vu came over him as he peeked in. “Actually, I knew exactly where your room was. Looks just like I remember it from my dreams,” said Brook.

“Don’t let anyone else hear you say that; I am sure they don’t want to know that my bedroom has been in your dreams, even if it was innocent at the time.”

They continued to climb the stairs until they reached Ron’s room. The room was decorated in a bright orange and had Chudley Cannons posters all over it. “I hope all this hideous orange won’t keep you up at night,” she chuckled.

Brook put his trunk down at the foot of the camp bed that Ginny indicated would be his and Ginny closed the door. “Take off your ring so I can see the real you, Harry,” she said as she put her arms around his neck. “It seems like ages since I’ve seen you.”

Harry pointed his wand at the door, placing a locking charm on it, while Ginny pulled the blinds on the window. Harry then took off his ring, revealing his true appearance, and Ginny kissed him so hard that they fell back on his bed. After a few minutes of rather passionate snogging, Harry pulled back, regained his breath, and said, “We’d better go back downstairs; I don’t want to get on your parents’ bad side the first day I’m here for snogging you in a bedroom.”

They stood up, straightened their clothes, smoothed out the bedclothes, and Harry put his ring back on before they returned to the rest of the family. As they left, they didn’t notice the rat in a cage on a dresser dancing around excitedly.