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SIYE Time:17:44 on 28th March 2024
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Happy Christmas, Ginny
By Peskipiksi

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Category: Christmas Challenge (2003-6)
Characters:None
Genres: Fluff
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG
Reviews: 42
Summary: SIYE Christmas Fic Challenge entry, and follow-up to "It Sneaks Up On You." This takes place the morning after the Yule Ball.
Hitcount: Story Total: 8970







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A/N: By popular request, here's the follow-up to my story "It Sneaks Up on You." You don't really have to have read ISUOY to understand this one-shot, but it couldn't hurt. Hope you guys like it. Please r/r!

Merry Christmas, everyone!




Ginny Weasley didn’t know it was possible to be this happy. Here she was, under the twinkling night sky on Christmas Eve, wrapped in the arms of Harry Potter. Harry Potter! He had kissed her. He had told her he loved her!

It was almost too good to be true. It was like a dream.

Ginny dismissed this thought quickly–if it was just a dream, she certainly didn’t want to wake up. She snuggled closer to Harry, sighing with contentment.

Then Harry pulled out a white feather and started to tickle her nose with it.

“Harry!” Said Ginny, and tried to brush the feather away. “Stop that!”

But Harry just laughed and continued his feather-torture. In vain, Ginny tried to stop him, but Harry just kept brushing the feather lightly across her face…

Wait. What?!

Ginny woke to see a pair of bright green eyes inches away from her own. She gave a startled little yelp and sat up quickly. A tiny white kitten, which had been sitting on her chest and tickling her face with its whiskers, fell into her lap.

“Ginny? You okay?” Someone mumbled sleepily from somewhere behind her bed-curtains.

“I’m fine…go back to sleep,” Ginny whispered, staring with amazement at the tiny white creature now kneading her stomach with her wee little paws and purring contentedly.

She was answered with only silence. Obviously, her dorm-mates had already fallen back asleep. Ginny gently picked up the kitten and held it out in front of her.

“Now, who do you belong to, I wonder?” She asked.

The kitten looked back at her, eyes wide with curiosity, her whiskers twitching as she reached out her tiny pink nose towards Ginny. The bright green bow tied jauntily around the kitten’s neck perfectly matched the green in her eyes.

They’re almost like Harry’s eyes, Ginny thought, and laughed softly.

“I guess you’re some lucky girl’s Christmas present,” she said. Then she sighed. She would kill to have a cat like this one as a pet. But there was no way anyone in her family could afford such an extravagant gift. Maybe if she had made prefect, she could have had a cat, but probably not even then, and certainly not a precious little kitten like this one. The Weasley’s just couldn’t afford it, especially with the war on.

“I wonder who…”

Ginny trailed off as she spied, for the first time, a small cushioned basket sitting among the pile of presents at the foot of her bed.

“Wait a minute…” Ginny put the kitten back in her lap and reached to grab the card she had spied sticking out from under the basket’s cushion.

It had her name on it. In very familiar handwriting.

“Oh, Merlin,” Ginny breathed. “He didn’t.”

She flipped open the card.

To Ginny–

I thought the Weasley family was about due for another member, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a red-headed cat anywhere in Hogsmeade. Hope this one will do. Happy Christmas!

Love, Harry.


Ginny dropped her hands weakly into her lap and looked at the kitten, which was now chasing Ginny’s toes under the covers.

“You’re mine,” she whispered, amazed. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe him. Unless you counted the Lockhart books from her first year, this was the first present Harry had ever given her. On his first try, he had managed to give her exactly the one thing (besides himself) that she had always wanted.

Ginny knew, although she had never given it much thought, that Harry had plenty of money from his parents, and that he was always very generous with it. Look at what he had done for the twins, after all. But this was almost too much…it took her breath away. And it wasn’t just how much the kitten must have cost him; it was that he had obviously put a lot of thought into the gift. He had been thinking of her even before the events of last night…

Ginny picked up the kitten and gave her a gleeful little hug and a kiss on the top of her head.

“You’re mine!” She whispered again. The kitten purred loudly.

She had to thank him. Right away. She had already started to swing her legs out from under the covers when she thought to look at the clock. It was only a little after six–there was no way he’d be awake yet. Besides, with Dean, Seamus, and Neville there she couldn’t possibly just go barging into his dorm room.

Ginny lay back down with a sigh, resigned to waiting at least a couple of hours for everyone else to get up. As for herself, Ginny knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. There was just way too much to think about.

She snuggled back under the covers, petting her new kitten and neglecting the rest of the presents at the foot of her bed. She’d much rather just lie here, play with her new pet, and think happy thoughts about Harry. Memories of the Yule Ball the night before washed over her.

It hadn’t been a dream. Harry really had said all of those wonderful things to her, had really held her in his arms and danced with her all night. She smiled as she remembered how he had stolen her away from Michael, like a knight in shining armor.

She tried to remember in detail how it had felt to kiss him. How tentative, how gentle he had been, and how he had tasted like peppermints. It had been absolute bliss. Ginny rolled over, planted her face deep into her pillow, and screamed.

After she had finally gotten it out of her system, Ginny flipped back over. The kitten climbed back to sit on her chest, and Ginny stroked her soft white fur thoughtfully.

Harry had been so funny last night, she reflected. There had been times in the past when he had almost scared Ginny with his intensity, his raw power. With a shudder, she remembered the look that had been on his face last year at the Ministry of Magic as he ran past her, in hot pursuit of Bellatrix Lestrange. That look had terrified her–it was filled with so much rage and fury and pain.

Harry had had to deal with more than anyone his age (or any age, really) should ever have to deal with, she knew, and it often made him seem a lot older than he really was.

But last night…last night he had been every inch a normal teenage boy. He had been shy, and sweet, and crazy with jealousy…

She laughed softly as her kitten batted at her nose with a tiny paw. Flushing with pleasure, she remembered the expression on Harry’s face when he had first seen her in her dress robes down in the common room. He had made her feel beautiful with just that one silly look.

And he was so handsome, too–all the girls were just crazy about him. That hair that you were always just dying to run your hands through. And those eyes…those incredible green eyes…

Ginny’s delightful thoughts were broken off when the kitten suddenly twisted her head towards the door, frozen for a moment as she listened to something. Then, just as quickly, the kitten was gone–off the bed and through the curtains.

“Hey! Wait!” Ginny exclaimed softly, and threw back the curtain. She saw the kitten pad softly across the floor and out the door, which hung ajar.

Quickly, Ginny threw herself out of bed and after the cat, grabbing her robe along the way. She scampered barefoot down the spiral staircase, pulling on the robe as she went. She could see just the tip of a white tail, always just a bit too far ahead of her to reach.

Ginny crashed into the common room and saw her kitten now sitting happily in the lap of a boy–a boy with dark, messy hair and round-rimmed spectacles, wearing dark blue pajamas under a fluffy house robe. He was looking directly at her.

In a replay of an event now almost five years in the past, Ginny squealed and fled back through the door she had just come out of. She threw herself up the stairs. He couldn’t see her like this!

She had already made it up two flights when there was a loud wailing noise, and the steps below her seemed to melt together, forming a long, smooth slide. Ginny fought for balance, but lost quickly. She fell all the way down the spiral slide and into Harry’s waiting arms.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He chuckled and let her go.

“Harry!” Ginny protested, desperately trying to smooth down her hair and straighten her robes. “You did that on purpose!”

“Well, you didn’t give me much choice, did you?” he asked. “Why did you run away like that?”

“Look at me! I’m a mess!”

Harry did as he was told and gave her a brief glance up and down, taking in her tangled red hair, bathrobe, and bare feet. His expression was puzzled.

“What are you talking about? You look fine to me. And I’ve seen you in your pajamas lots of times, Ginny.”

“I know,” Ginny stuttered, suddenly shy. “But that was before…before last night.” She couldn’t look him in the face.

“Oh,” Harry said flatly. “Are you…I mean, do you…er…regret what happened? I know it was kind of sudden and everything…I didn’t mean…”

Ginny looked up sharply. Harry was no longer looking at her. Instead, he seemed to be oddly fascinated with his feet. She realized in an instant that he had totally mistaken her meaning.

Forgetting her own shyness, Ginny reached out a hand towards him and said, “Oh, no! No, Harry…I don’t regret anything about last night. Last night was wonderful.”

Harry peeked up at her.

“Really?”

“Really,” she assured him. “I just meant…I didn’t want you to see me this way right off. I wanted to…to look nice for you. That’s all.”

Harry grinned, relieved, and pulled her into a tight hug. “You always look beautiful to me,” he whispered in her ear.

Ginny buried her face into his robe. They stood there in silence for a few moments, just holding onto each other. It felt wonderful to be in his arms again.

Then something brushed up against Ginny’s ankle. She looked down to see the white kitten staring back at her.

“Oh!” Ginny gasped, and bent over to pick her up. “I can’t believe I forgot! Harry, thank you so much for the kitten!”

Harry grinned and gave the kitten a tiny pat on the head.

“You like her?”

“Like her? I love her! She’s perfect…so beautiful…I love her eyes. And Harry, I’ve always wanted a cat, more than anything. She’s wonderful!” Ginny was gushing. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough…”

“I can think of a way,” Harry said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Oh,” Ginny said, startled. She felt her cheeks grow hot. Dammit! When had this stupid blushing thing come back into her life? Just when she thought she had gotten a handle on it…

But then she was kissing Harry again. Or he was kissing her. Or…it didn’t really matter, did it? They were kissing each other, and it was even better than Ginny had remembered. She closed her eyes to savor every touch, every moment.

The kiss ended only when the kitten gave a tiny mew of protest, as she was slowly being squashed between the two of them. Harry and Ginny pulled slightly apart.

“Thank you, Harry.”

“No, Ginny. Thank you.”

They smiled at each other. Then Ginny suddenly remembered something.

“Christmas! Oh, Harry…I have something for you, too. It’s nothing as good as a kitten, but…wait right here.” She put the kitten into Harry’s hands.

As quick as she could, Ginny ran back up the stairs six flights to her dorm room, ran over to her bed, and pulled a small wrapped package out from her trunk. She flew back downstairs, completely forgetting to at a least run a brush through her hair.

She burst back into the common room. Harry was now sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, dangling a piece of ribbon in front of the kitten. Ginny plopped down on the couch beside him.

“Here,” she said, a little out of breath, and handed him the gift. “Happy Christmas, Harry. I wanted to give it to you in person, so I didn’t give it to the House Elves to distribute.”

“Thanks, Ginny,” Harry said, and tore off the colorful paper. Underneath was a small box, which Harry opened to reveal a watch with several hands.

“It’s a family-watch,” Ginny explained. “Like the clock at the Burrow. Each of the hands represents a member of your family, and they point to wherever they are at that moment.”

Ginny leaned over to see that all the hands were currently pointed to the “sleeping” position, except for Fred and George, who were pointed to the “up to no good” position, and her own, which was simply pointed at “school.” Ginny laughed.

“See? Even in their sleep, the twins are always dreaming up more ways to cause trouble.”

Harry didn’t say anything.

“I made it myself,” Ginny continued. “Although Mum helped with the charm a bit. I hope you like it…”

“Ginny,” Harry almost whispered. “This is amazing. But…”

“What is it?”

“Well,” Harry swallowed. “This is your family, not mine. I don’t have any family…not really…”

Ginny’s heart was pierced by the sad expression on his face.

“Oh, Harry,” she said. “That’s nonsense. We Weasley’s are your family. And look, I put arms on there for Hermione and Remus, too.”

She scooted over on the couch and put her arms around him.

“Family isn’t defined by blood, Harry. It’s love that makes a family, and you’ve got lots of people who love you. Including me. Really, Harry…you have a rather large family,” she joked.

Harry gave a small laugh.

“I guess if you look at it that way…” He slipped the watch on his wrist and then turned his head to look at her. “I love you.”

Just as it had last night, those words coming from his mouth nearly took her breath away. She leaned over and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, and he wrapped his arms around her.

“Thank you for the watch, Ginny.”

“You’re welcome.”

Together, they slipped down onto the couch until Harry was stretched out on his back, with Ginny lying beside him, resting her head on his chest. The kitten climbed all over them, trying to get them to play with the ribbon again.

Ginny was very cozy and comfortable.

“What were you doing down here so early, anyway?” she asked.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Harry said.

“More bad dreams?”

“Nope.” Ginny could almost hear the grin in his voice. “Just couldn’t stop thinking about when I was going to get to kiss you again.”

Ginny giggled.

“I was kind of looking forward to it myself, but I had managed to finally get to sleep. At least, until Ms. Whiskers here came and woke me up.”

“Ms. Whiskers? Is that what you’ve named her?”

Ginny thought for a moment.

“No,” she said finally. “Her name is Nonnie.”

“Nonnie?”

“Yep. It means ‘little miss.’”

They watched the kitten strut up and down Harry’s chest.

“Yeah,” Harry said. “It suits her, I think. Nonnie it is, then.”

Nonnie the cat turned around in a tiny circle three times then settled herself cozily on Harry’s stomach. She opened her mouth in a wide yawn, and Ginny could see her tiny pink tongue curl slightly.

Suddenly, Ginny was very sleepy too. She fought to keep her eyes open as she listened to Harry’s slow heartbeat.

“Happy Christmas, Ginny,” Harry yawned.

“Happy Christmas, Harry,” Ginny answered. And then, together, the three of them drifted off into sleep.
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