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I Saw Ginny Kissing Santa Claus By Spenser Hemmingway
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Category: Alternate Universe, Holidays, Post-Hogwarts
Characters:All, All
Genres: Fluff, Humor
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: G
Reviews: 18
Summary: It is late Christmas Eve and Harry is in all kinds of trouble. He has the worst possible person mad at him, and no it isn't Voldemort this time. Fortunately, someone still loves Ginny's pies.
Hitcount: Story Total: 8493
Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.
Author's Notes: A/N: This story came to me after completing "No Reindeer Were Injured During The Writing Of This Story", my Challenge entry. Unfortunately, that wasn't completely true in this short tale.
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I Saw Ginny Kissing Santa Claus
By Spenser Hemmingway
“The Santa Clause. In putting on the suit and entering the sleigh, the wearer waives all previous identities, real or implied, and fully accepts the duties and responsibilities of Santa Claus, in perpituity to which time the wearer becomes unable to do so, by either accident or design.”–The Santa Clause
“Would you please hold that ladder still Ron.”
“Couldn’t you just Apparate up there Harry, or take a broom? You’re going to break your neck if you fall.”
“No one has ever died from falling…”
“…it’s the sudden stop at the end. Yes, I know that one,” Ron told his brother-in-law. All the same, he placed a foot on the second rung, and adjusted his grip to ensure better stability.
“The boys are watching and listening for that. I had to leave my broom by the fireplace after they started asking questions. We’re going to have to use a Muggle line of attack. By the way, thanks again.”
“No problems mate, but I still think it would be easier just to owl him another apology. It really wasn’t your fault that you killed those reindeer.”
“I didn’t kill them! I just…put them in the veterinary hospital. He has spares.”
“Harry…the man was angry, and Father Christmas isn’t someone who gets annoyed that way.”
“I know…I know. Now he won’t be coming to the house Ron. Blast it all, I shouldn’t have taken the Firebolt into the clouds blindly like that. It could just as easily have been a Muggle airplane or someone else on a broom. Actually, hitting an airliner would have caused less damage than a pair of reindeer out exercising. All right, I’m up. I can hold the ladder from here. Bring up the duffel bag.”
“I can’t see a bloody thing. Can’t we…?”
“No Ron…the lights might be seen if they’re still awake. Hand that here.”
The two friends climbed the steep ridge of the roof to its peak, careful in their stocking feet not to either make sound or to slip back the way they had come. So far, they had been as fortunate in their plan as Harry had been unfortunate with his collision. Not only were they able to obtain replacement toys from a sleepy shopkeeper in Diagon Alley, they had also found the necessary props and evidence to simulate a visit from Santa Claus.
Reaching the chimney, the two paused to catch their breath and to prepare for the next phase. Looking out across Harry’s farm, they had to admire the wonderful view from their high perch. The magical Christmas lights had long before been extinguished for the night, but the full moon shining down on the snow offered its own magical illumination. Both Harry and Ron dearly wished they were inside their respective homes, enjoying some warm cider, a beautiful tree, and a welcoming fire…FIRE.
“Oh no Ron! I think we forgot something.” A puff of dark smoke, mixed with a handful of sparks from the chimney indicated that Ginny had just stoked the fire below. Ron immediately understood what Harry was talking about.
“No worries…I know just what to do.” Ron pulled his wand, pointed it at his best friend, and a moment later Harry was heavily soaked to the skin.
“Ron! Ron…I know that your heart is in the right place, but it is below freezing up here. Even if this did protect me from the flames somehow, I have to descend two floors through the smoke.”
“Right. Sorry Harry, I wasn’t thinking.” A quick tap of his wand instantly dispelled the water and dried his friend, but he could see that Harry was still extremely cold. “Can we extinguish the fire somehow?”
“Not from here. Besides…”
“…we might give ourselves away. Yes, I know. Harry you’re just going to have to go down the other chimney.”
“I’m not sure I’ll fit, but I don’t see another choice.” The two gently worked their way across the roof to the flue at the rear of the house. Looking down, Harry saw he could make it, but that it would be a tight, slow journey down. He reached into the bag, pulled out the suit he would need, and began to carefully get dressed. He immediately enjoyed the increased warmth it afforded him, but he worried about the added girth that came with it. Climbing up onto the chimney, he swung one leg in before Ron reached out and stopped him.
“Harry, wait…here. Don’t the forget the Claus Caramel George gave you.” Harry reached into his pocket and produced the small candy that Ron’s brother provided him earlier. Once again luck had been with them when they obtained the twins’ new product. Intended for storefront Santas, and much more realistic than a false beard, it provided the user four hours with a white beard and hair. All that was missing was a bit of extra padding, which looking down the chimney, Harry knew he couldn’t risk just then.
As he chewed on the candy, Ron watched as Harry’s hair first streaked, then flushed gray to white before him. Simultaneously, bristles came from his chin, then cheeks and finally flowed together to form the long curly beard. Harry smiled, donned the red hat, and then, throwing his legs inside, dropped down the narrow hole. Ron checked his pocket watch, knowing that he had to give him at least five minutes before he pulled out the noisemakers they had constructed to imitate the sleigh arriving.
As Harry moved downward, a number of thoughts flashed through his mind. He visualized his two young sons, disappointed with how Father Christmas had passed them by that year. He saw Ginny’s expression displaying quiet frustration with what he had inadvertently done to Santa’s team. He recalled the flushed red face on the man when they met at the hospital where Harry took the reindeer. The man was human after all, at least after a fashion, and clearly was on the verge of blowing up at him, Harry thought. He had gotten himself into the mess, and now desperate measures were required to take care of his family and their Christmas morning.
Down, down Harry went, alternating between slowing himself with his feet and arms, and then having to twist about to keep from becoming wedged in some spot. After he was several feet down, Ron lowered the black bag that held the presents. It was now resting on Harry’s head, and fortunately had not become stuck itself. He knew that he was now down to the lower story and risked a difficult glance to see how much further he had to travel.
On the roof, Ron removed the weighted imitation hooves from the cargo bag, and traversing the roof’s ridge once more, began his reproduction of the landing process. He brought the simulators down several times as he walked, making a rhythmic clopping noise that he hoped would sound like the real thing if anyone was listening. He actually was hoping that his nephews were as deep of sleepers as he was. Ron didn’t think he sounded anything like a team of reindeer.
Securing the fake hooves again, Ron then lowered the rope he had brought down the chimney after Harry. He would need it, Ron decided, to get back up that thing. All he could do now was wait, and hope for the best.
At almost the exact same moment, Harry’s feet touched down in the cold fireplace, and he found himself breathing a deep sigh of relief. Bending his knees, he then stuck one then the other of his feet out, knelt on the andirons, and proceeded to crawl out backward. Harry was almost amazed that he was able to pull the presents free as well. The hard part was done…at least until it was time for him to leave again.
Harry quickly brushed himself off and made a mental note to hire some chimneysweep elves very soon. Stepping over to the room’s mirror, he adjusted the hat and took a few moments to study his new beard and hair. He knew he didn’t look anything at all like the real thing, but he was far better than most of the Santas he had seen on the Dursley’s television growing up. Besides, James and Albus had never met Nicholas.
Tiptoeing to the door, Harry peeked around the corner, and noticed that the passage was clear. He then stepped out and moved in the direction of their parlor and the tree. Entering the room, he was not at all surprised to see the boys asleep on the sofa, the fire burning just as he knew it would be, and Ginny bundled up with a quilt in her favorite chair. Except for the tree’s lights and the fireplace, the room was dark, and he could not help but admire the magical Christmas scene before him.
Everyone had done an especially good job of decorating that year. Ron and his family, and Spenser and his own, would all work together with the Potter Clan to prepare each of the three Hogsmeade homes in turn for the holidays. It had become a tradition for them, and always resulted in a beautiful and much more easily constructed set of Christmas displays. For a moment, Harry regretted bringing Ron into this venture when he should have been home enjoying the evening with his own family.
“I’ve been waiting for you Harry. I expected the show an hour ago,” Ginny told him in a thoroughly exhausted voice.
“Hold on. You know it’s me?” Harry asked in a soft voice, not wanting to wake his two sons. He was clearly disappointed that she had seen past his disguise so quickly.
“Harry…if anyone would recognize you in that costume it would be me. How long have we been together? Besides which, Father Christmas does not have a lightning bolt scar on his forehead,” she explained in a now amused tone as he placed a hand on it. “One more thing Harry…he’s already been here.”
“Who…who’s been here? Not…”
“Yes Harry…Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Kris Kringle…Nicholas. He visited us, and the boys were able to meet him finally. We all had a very nice talk, he enjoyed a large slice of hot pie, and…well, he had a much easier time of it coming down and then going back up our chimney.”
“Right. I need to get some pointers about that. I can’t believe he came to our house after what I did.”
“Harry, it was an accident. Once he calmed down, he realized that. Comet and Vixen are fine now. They are even flying again. How could you believe that Nicholas would bypass us? He’s a good man Harry, in addition to everything else that he is and that he represents. It’s Christmas, and he embodies it.”
It all sank in suddenly, and Harry was completely ashamed of himself. Now it wasn’t because of a midair crash, it was simply the fact that he had lost faith in the day and the good man Nicholas was. Christmas was a time of believing in things even when common sense argued against such. He would make a point of one day apologizing to the man in person. This time it would not merely be for hurting his animals.
Ginny evidently saw what he was thinking, rose from the chair, and walked over to embrace her husband. After a moment, he smiled, took her in his arms, and gave her a kiss that might have exploded the mistletoe again. It was interrupted only when they both heard a gasp from their oldest child.
“Mummy…you’re kissing Santa!”
*****
It took Harry and Ginny a fair bit of explaining to convince James that it was really him standing there with his mother. Unfortunately, they weren’t fast enough to prevent Harry from receiving a very swift kick in the shin. It took Ginny five minutes to stop laughing.
After they had brought the two boys up to their beds, Harry and Ginny returned to the parlor, and took their sons’ place curled up on the sofa together. This time Harry carefully scanned the room before he kissed her and was pleased when he elicited a giggle. The whiskers tickled a bit she said. Together they watched the tree lights flicker and the fire wane. It was almost midnight, and tomorrow they would get to see James and Albus tear into their presents…including those from Father Christmas. After that, a nice breakfast followed by a quick visit to Hermione and…
“Ron! Oh crum…he’s still on the roof!” Harry called out, already running toward the door. Ginny just smiled, but then slipped on her fur-lined boots and long coat to follow him outside. She reached the foot of the ladder just as he stepped off onto the roof again. Listening carefully, she was amused to hear the familiar sound of her brother’s snoring. He had actually fallen asleep up there.
“Ron…Ron wake up. We need to get you down,” Harry told him. He was glad to see that Ron had been able to stay warm with the heat from the larger chimney.
“Yawn! Harry, you got back up the chimney. That’s great.”
“Yeah…it was a lot faster and easier than I thought it would be getting up here again.” Harry would tell him the whole truth later he decided. “Ron, I’m sorry, but it looks as if it was a waste of time.”
“Oh no! Did we wake the boys before you could make an appearance?” Ron swung a leg over onto the ladder and began his descent as he spoke. Harry could clearly hear the fatigue in his voice.
“He…Father Christmas came before we even got started.”
Ron’s head shot up in surprise, and he suddenly lost his grip and fell…still two stories up. Just mere feet from the ground, he was stopped suddenly, and looking over to Ginny, he saw her shaking her head, wand drawn and pointed at him.
“Uhm…thanks Gin.”
“I should drop you in the snow now, but you did try to do something good for the boys, even if both of you were misguided.” Instead, she carefully lowered him, and releasing the spell, allowed him to come to his feet. “Now you two, what are you going to do with those additional gifts you purchased?” She addressed this to both of them but was looking at Harry.
“I suppose you could keep them for the boys’ birthdays,” Ron offered. He saw that his sister continued to keep her eyes on Harry.
“We could also ask ourselves what Nicholas would want Ron. The Milner family in Hogsmeade had an exceptionally hard year. I still have the beard for a couple more hours. Are you up for another little project?”
“Sure Harry,” Ron said, smiling…then laughing at him. “They only have a single-level house. The thing is though…they don’t have a real fireplace as I recall, but they do have that really large guard dog.”
Harry laughed as well, feeling better than he had all day, especially when an equally amused Ginny came and joined him. He gave her a quick kiss, and it caused her to smile all the harder.
“Maybe I’ll grow a real beard this year.”
“Maybe you won’t Mr. Potter.” Nonetheless, a thoroughly delighted Ginny was once again kissing her own special Santa Claus.
Mischief managed!
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