When Ginny woke up on Christmas, she quickly hugged Hermione and greeted her, before turning to her more than modest pile of presents at the foot of her bed. She was quick to unwrap the package from her Mum, which she knew was her brand-new Christmas jumper. She pulled it out - this one was a beautiful burgundy, with a golden snitch in the centre, probably her Mum’s way of showing support now that she was a Seeker on the Gryffindor team.

She had a new pack of Dungbombs from the twins, a brand new copy of Quidditch Through the Ages from Neville (she didn’t need to borrow Ron’s copy anymore), a small pack of her favourite Sugar Quills from Charlie, a few chocolate frogs and pumpkin pasties from Ron, a set of new Quidditch gloves from Bill, the latest copy of The Quibbler as well as a model of what Ginny guessed was a Crumple-Horned Snorkack from Luna, a bracelet from Michael (Ginny rolled her eyes), and finally, a copy of Seeker Strategies from Hermione.

She quickly turned towards Hermione, gave her another quick hug, and thanked her for the new book, which would prove to be super useful this year. Hermione, who had started out as just the bossy girl who was friends with Ginny’s brother, had now become one of her closest friends. Ginny could never appreciate Hermione enough - she was the older sister she had secretly wanted forever. Even after Ginny’s first year, the older girl had never once been angry towards what Ginny had done or judged her for how stupid she’d been.

“I think you missed one, Ginny,� Hermione said and held up a present that must have fallen off Ginny’s bed. Ginny narrowed her eyes at the small, hastily wrapped package.

“I’m not expecting any other presents.�

“Well, it’s not one of mine,� Hermione said and gestured back at her bed, where she had neatly stacked her unwrapped presents. “And judging by the packaging, I’d guess it’s from Harry. He packed mine the same way.� She rotated the package a bit and then held up the name on the back of the wrapping. “See, it says Harry right here.�

Ginny’s eyes widened a bit in bewilderment. Hermione caught up in an instant.

“Perhaps he’s trying to make up for offending you?� Hermione offered, handing Ginny the package.

“Huh?� Ginny asked absently as she unwrapped the present with slightly trembling fingers. She hadn’t much thought about Harry in the last year - or at least, she’d tried not to think too much about him, but he hovered just beyond her consciousness at all times. She still held his cruel words at the Yule Ball close to her heart, thinking about them during rare moments of weakness, but since he never brought it up, she assumed he just didn’t care. And it’s not like she and Harry had ever been friends. Since she had stopped interacting with him, he’d never bothered to initiate a conversation with her, making her feel all the more sure that giving up on Harry was the best thing she’d ever done.

So what possible reason could he have to send her a Christmas present?

“I thought he was a bit of an arse to you when he admitted that he’d forgotten about Riddle’s diary the other day.�

Hermione only swore like this around Ginny, who had started to rub off on her. Not that Hermione would ever admit it.

Ginny waved her off.

“Yeah, he was an arse, but wasn’t that just the typical amount of arsehole-y stuff that Harry says?�

“You think he’s an arsehole in general?�

“Come on, Hermione. You can’t pretend that Harry isn’t a right git.� Giving it another thought, she added, “I know he doesn’t mean to hurt people, he’s far too noble for that. But given his limited understanding of human emotions, he can be plenty cruel at times.�

“You still haven’t forgiven him for the Yule Ball, have you?�

“I’d forgive him if he ever actually apologised.� Ginny crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively. She wasn’t the one holding a grudge. She was simply protecting her dignity. “But I don’t think it’s going to be so easy to forget, Hermione. You didn’t hear him say it. He didn’t just say that he didn’t want to date me. It’s like…� She looked for the right words. “It’s like he couldn’t imagine a scenario where he would ever even consider me date-worthy.�

Ginny’s voice closed up a bit - she still felt the stab of Harry’s words, even a year later.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more humiliated in my life. Not even with years of hand-me-down books or second-hand robes.�

Hermione looked at Ginny with pity, but not in a demeaning way.

“Maybe this is his way of finally apologising,� Hermione gestured at Harry’s present, which was now unwrapped in Ginny’s hands. Brand new Quidditch goggles, perfect for a new Seeker. It was a thoughtful gift, Ginny had to begrudgingly accept.

“Maybe.�

HGHGHGHG

Ginny scrubbed the dishes, with a sponge that looked so dilapidated that it could have been as old as Kreacher.

She was being punished. For setting off her new pack of Dungbombs. In front of the portrait of Walburga Black. The old hag wouldn’t be able to smell the Dungbombs of course, but it gave Ginny immense satisfaction to set them off in front of the vile woman anyway. Sirius agreed, giving her what Ginny thought was the loudest laugh she had ever heard in her life. But her mother couldn’t appreciate the joke.

So she was stuck here after dinner, alone, scrubbing everyone’s dishes without magic.

Ginny sighed and continued her work until she heard a presence behind her. She turned back to look.

Sirius stood in the doorway, a glass of drink in his hand, looking just a touch guilty.

“You’re still here?� he asked, trying his best to sound breezy.

“Yes. Believe it or not, it takes a century to do dishes without magic.�

“I can believe it. Mrs Potter used to make me and James do dishes by hand. She said it ‘built character.’�

Ginny snorted.

“So mothers are the same everywhere,� she mused. “Good to know.�

Sirius was now sitting on the edge of the dining table, twirling his drink around in the glass. She could smell the liquor on him, but she held back any comments. It wasn’t her place to comment on how Sirius Black lived his life. She felt a surge of pity for Harry, who must feel awfully about his godfather losing a bit of himself to drinking every day. She shook the thought away - it wasn’t her business how Harry lived his life either.

“I can see you frowning, you know,� Sirius spoke up, making her turn to look at him. “You look remarkably like Molly when you make that face.�

“I don’t know what’s worse - that you think I’m like my mother or that you think people can’t see that you have a drinking problem.� She cocked an eyebrow at him. She really couldn’t help herself. “Oh, I know what’s worse.�

Sirius’s smug smile was quickly wiped off his face.

“You know, you are unlike any other fourteen-year-old I’ve seen.� Sirius gulped down his entire drink. “If I were to help you magic those dishes, would you lay off my drinking then? I don’t need another minder, Molly is enough.�

“I don’t fancy being your minder anyway,� Ginny kept her sponge aside, wiped her wet hands down the front of her apron, and pulled a chair to sit across from Sirius. “I’m just wondering what Harry thinks about his godfather becoming the local drunk.�

Sirius’s face flashed with a slight bit of anger, but he quickly amended his expression again, giving her a sly smile.

“Why, Miss Weasley,� he said, reminding her of the twins when they wanted to tease her. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say you have a crush on my godson.�

Ginny almost winced out loud. She didn’t like to be reminded of her mortifying crush on Harry. Sirius couldn’t possibly know about it, could he? Of course, he could - she had multiple brothers who would love nothing more than to humiliate her. So she thought that the best strategy was to go ahead and admit it. She didn’t have anything to be ashamed of. And wasn’t she now completely over Harry?

“If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said yes,� she said, trying to sound as indifferent as she could.

“What changed?�

She knew that Sirius was just trying to distract from his own issues, but she had already crossed a line with him, she felt. So she just let him distract her.

“Let’s just say that he would never date me.�

“He said that, did he?� Sirius chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. “I bet you anything, that boy will eat his words.�

Ginny suppressed the small tide of hope that she felt forming in her stomach and shook her head.

“Who says I’m even waiting anymore?� She added, “Besides, I’m dating someone. He’s very nice.�

“You keep telling yourself that, darling.�

Sirius got up then, smirking at her. He held up his glass and said, “Time for another drink, don’t you think?� He then poured himself another glass from the liquor cabinet and held it up towards her before exiting the kitchen.

She liked Sirius, but he had this uncanny ability to unnerve her.

She tried not to think about what he meant - about her or Harry - and got back to work. When she heard footsteps again, she was drying the dishes with a rag, which she threw aside and turned to say, “Back for another drink, Sirius?� before she realised that it wasn’t Sirius who stood in the doorway.

It was Harry, hair standing up in all directions.

It was typical of him. It was also typical for Ginny to feel a slight flutter in her stomach, but she’d chalk it up to her being super tired from the dishes.

Harry threw her a lopsided smile and waved.

“I’m sorry, I thought it was Sirius.�

She turned back to the dishes, determined to ignore a pair of very green eyes.

“Sirius was here?� She didn’t bother answering. “Was he drinking again?�

Despite herself, she felt another twinge of emotion. She turned back and nodded, seeing her worry reflected in Harry’s face.

“Did you want something, Harry?� she asked, trying to be as kind as she could.

“Er yeah, I couldn’t sleep. I thought I’d have some leftover treacle tart.�

Ginny nodded, picked up the leftover tart from the kitchen counter, and brought it to the table, where Harry was now taking a seat. She pulled out two spoons, handing one to Harry, and took a bite out of the tart herself.

“This is nice,� she said, humming a bit.

Harry nodded absently, playing with a bite but never taking it to his mouth.

“I’m so worried about him.�

Ginny stiffened. Harry never had conversations with her. He never shared his thoughts. She doubted that Harry even knew that she was a living, breathing human being. She could have been a fixture at the Burrow and Harry wouldn’t know the difference, she knew.

Ginny didn’t know how to respond, so she just grimaced at Harry.

He continued.

“I’m just worried that he’s losing himself. To the drinks, to this house.�

“It can’t be easy being stuck here,� she commented.

“No, of course not. But I wish-.� Harry shook his head, never finishing his trail of thought.

“Why don’t you try talking to him about it?�

Harry met her eyes and the intensity of his gaze caused a swooping sensation.

“It’s not that simple.� He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. “Sirius only wants to talk about my parents or me. He avoids talking about his own issues entirely.�

“Yeah, I could have guessed that about him. The trick with people like that is to be insistent. Keep bringing it up, keep asking him. He’s not going to be able to ignore you for long.� She brought another bite of the tart to her mouth. “It’s been so long for Sirius - I doubt he even knows what it feels like to share his intrusive thoughts or emotions with someone else.�

She shrugged at Harry.

“But I bet he would talk to you if you gently coax it out of him.�

“Yeah.� He nodded. “You’re right.� And then his hand was on hers, squeezing softly. “Thanks, Ginny.�

Ginny quickly pulled her hand back, feeling her cheeks get warmer at the contact.

“Of course,� she said and got up out of her chair. She was just about to return to her dishes when she felt Harry’s fingers grab her wrist. Again.

She tried not to think about the Yule Ball and turned.

“Ginny, can we talk?�