PhoenixSong.net :: A Harry/Ginny Fanfic and Fanart Archive

Author: MyGinevra

Story: The Hog's Head

Part: 34: Auld Lang Syne

Rating: Teens

Setting: Post-DH

Status: WIP

Warning: Sexual Situations

Reviews: 11

Words: 7,047

Updated: August 12, 2008, 10:30am

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34: Auld Lang Syne

Everyone crowded into the parlor after dinner while the house–elves cleaned up in the kitchen. Molly made a half–hearted attempt to stay and supervise, but Ginny reminded her that Kreacher had done a fine job after Fred’s funeral; he knew where everything went and exactly how Molly liked things. Whenever she heard a noise from the kitchen she tried to spring up, but Arthur kept her in her seat with a hand on her shoulder.

Harry sat with Ginny on the hearth. He was expecting a barrage of questions and comments from Kingsley and Saliyah about the Auror training program, but it was Percy who kept bringing it up and it started to get on Harry’s nerves. Kingsley, among others, noticed, and he caught Percy’s eye and that was the end of it.

Instead of pestering Harry about it, everyone thanked him. When Kingsley added his own thanks, Harry’s embarrassment was complete. He looked to Ginny for help, but all she did was beam proudly and squeeze his hand.

“By the way,” Harry said to Kingsley in an attempt to change the subject, “we heard that Professor McGonagall hired a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Do you know who it is?

“I know,” Kingsley smiled, “but she wants it to be a surprise. It’s very unlike Minerva, I must say. But I think everyone will be pleased. It’s no secret that the post has a bad reputation, so it did take a while to find this person and convince her —” He stopped, and looked around guiltily. “Well, maybe I’d better not say any more.” He laughed his big, booming laugh. “Good thing for me it’s not a state secret, just a whim of the Headmistress’s.”

Later that evening the four were sitting in Ron’s room. The house was quiet once again; the guests had departed. “A witch,” Ron said thoughtfully. “Ushujaa, maybe? There’s a couple of old crones in the Wizengamot but —”

“Old what?” Hermione said indignantly. “They could probably jinx you into oblivion, Ronald.”

“Okay, elderly gentlewomen, then. Is that better? I still can’t see any of them teaching at Hogwarts.” No one else had any ideas, so they went back to the topic of Turquoise Southeby and the Fidelius charm. As much as they tried to analyze it, they could find no solution.

All the Weasley children remained at the Burrow through the weekend, but only Ginny and Harry stayed on after Sunday; they were planning to remain there until Ginny went back to school after New Year's Day. Harry managed to fend off Percy until late Sunday afternoon, but Percy finally cornered him in the kitchen and unrolled a long parchment on the table.

“If you fill out these forms now, it’ll save quite a bit of time when you come in to register,” Percy said. “I can hand them in tomorrow to the proper officials, but if you take them in, you’ll have to sit around and wait while they emboss each one ten times and stamp it twenty–five times. They’ll all want to show off to their colleagues how they’re helping Harry Potter become an Auror.”

The last statement convinced Harry, so he spent two hours filling out the forms. He also wrote an essay stating in five hundred words or less why he wanted to become an Auror; attested that he had never been a practitioner of Dark Arts; affirmed that he would hold the Ministry of Magic, the Minister of Magic, and all his subordinates harmless and not liable for any injury or disfiguration that befell him; accepted all rules, regulations, and restrictions that his instructors imposed; and signed his name thirty–odd times at the places Percy indicated. His hand was sore by the time he finished, but he was grateful to Percy for helping him.

“It’s a feather in his cap,” Ron said of Percy just before he and Hermione Floo’d back to Diagon Alley. “It’s all a ridiculous game down there, and when Perce shows up tomorrow with twelve feet of parchments filled out by Harry Potter, it’ll be a career day for him.”

“I’m glad I could help him out,” Harry laughed. “Better than sitting around offices all day with people staring at me.”

They agreed to get together for New Year's Eve, and then Harry and Ginny were alone. And like it had been last summer, Molly and Arthur went up to bed early, obviously to give them some privacy. Harry moved a big easy chair so that it was right in front of the fire, and they stayed up late in it making each other crazy.

They spent Monday being lazy, once again having pleasant talks with Molly and Arthur. Harry had never felt closer to them, and it made him feel even closer to Ginny, if that was possible. He thought about the fact that having parents like the Weasleys was something he had never known as a child, but it didn’t make him feel melancholy, only glad now to be part of their family. He even asked them about his mother and father, and they told him some stories he hadn’t heard before. Ginny listened with him, and he felt the contentment she got from his own pleasure.

On Tuesday, Arthur went back to work, and later in the morning Harry Floo’d to the Ministry of Magic to enroll in the Auror training program; he was also going to get the fireplace in his parlor hooked up to the Floo Network. Saliyah had given him a special pass that allowed him to use the fireplaces in the Atrium, and from there he took a lift to the second level and followed signs to the program’s office. He walked into a very tidy room with two desks in it. At a small one facing the door sat a young witch who Harry didn’t know; the nameplate on her desk said Audrey Tinklebell. She looked up and smiled as Harry came in, then turned to the desk farther back where Percy was sitting bent over a stack of parchments.

“Harry Potter is here,” she announced, and Percy looked up with a smile.

“Harry!” he straightened the pile of parchments and came to greet him. “Excellent, excellent! We’ll have this business done in no time, and then we can have lunch; Ron said he’ll join us. I had all your parchment–work processed yesterday. A couple of people had to be prodded a little, but everyone’s very enthusiastic, very enthusiastic. And after lunch we’ll see Minister Shacklebolt. He’s going to tell you who your mentor will be.” Percy leaned toward Harry and said in a mock whisper, “He wouldn’t even tell me who it is.” Harry just nodded; he would let Percy guide him through everything, and whatever he didn’t understand he would ask Ron about later.

Percy gathered up the stack of parchments and led Harry out the door. “We’ll be back in an hour, Audrey,” he said to the witch, and Harry caught the smile that passed between them; he would have to ask Ron about that, too.

Harry had no idea what happened in the next hour, and very little recollection of it later. They visited a half–dozen different offices that all looked the same with the same wizard or witch asking him the same questions and having him sign the same parchments. Harry thought that he had signed all the necessary documents at the Burrow, but apparently not. For some reason, it made him recall the nonsensical official notice he had received from the Ministry last summer after his encounter with the Muggles on the beach.

But in an hour it was finished, and Harry had in his pocket an official identification card stating that he was a trainee–employee of the Office of Magical Law Enforcement. It felt very good, and he smiled to himself and patted his pocket, anticipating Ginny’s excited reaction when he showed it to her. He and Percy went back to the office where Ron was waiting, with a pump of his fist and a high–five when Harry showed him the card. Audrey joined them and they headed down to the cafeteria, located off the Atrium. It was crowded and noisy; they went through the food line and took their trays to a table in a corner. Percy did all of the talking, but after fifteen minutes Harry stopped listening and became lost in thought about Ginny, and how happy she was going to be now that he was officially enrolled.

There was a tap on his shoulder and Harry turned; he and Ron were alone at the table. “Let me guess,” Ron grinned, “you’re daydreaming about my sister.”

“Where’s Percy?”

“He said to meet him in his office at one o’clock. He and his friend had something to do.”

“Friend?” Harry raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah,” Ron laughed. “She just started working with him yesterday, but I think they already knew each other. I’ll have to ask George if he knows anything about her.”

“It looked to me like they were more than friends.”

Ron nodded. “Well, did anyone say anything to you about what you’ll be doing? I mean, you are a little behind at this point. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble catching up, but we just started going out on cases a week or so before the holiday break. I wonder if they’ll let you do that right away.”

Harry frowned. “I don’t want special treatment. If I have to sit in a classroom for a couple of months, that’s fine. But no one said anything. I was just signing papers all morning, and I have no idea what they were. For all I know I signed away all my gold in Gringotts.”

Ron snorted. “You just met the people who really run the Ministry. We call them Ministry Gnomes. Just nod when they tell you to do something, then ignore it. They don’t expect you to actually do what they say, as long as you agree with them.”

“You’re kidding,” Harry looked bemused. “How does anything actually get done?”

“That’s the beauty of it. People like Dad, Saliyah and, I have to admit, Percy just go out and do their jobs.” He stared thoughtfully at Harry. “Kingsley has credibility because of what he did at Hogwarts last May, so every once in a while the Gnomes listen to him. But Saliyah has a problem; she’s his girlfriend, so no matter how competent she is, the Gnomes have a built–in excuse to ignore her, or even sabotage her. You, mate, would not have that problem. In fact, the same slugs who sit around oozing slime all day and making it hard for everyone else, they would probably do whatever you wanted.”

“How’s that?” Harry was finding this conversation more and more interesting; he felt amused about being cast as the leader of an army of slugs, but Ron had clearly been doing a lot of observing and thinking about what was going on in the Ministry. It was an intriguing side of his best mate that he had not seen before. Actually, he smiled to himself, it reminded him a little of Hermione.

Ron was speaking again. “They didn’t like it when the Death Eaters were running things. The bastards were cruel and arbitrary, and a bunch of bureaucrats got thrown into Azkaban just for fun. Did you know that the day after you killed Riddle there was a mini–revolt here? Some people got hurt, but they made it a lot easier for Kingsley to take over. When Dad came back to work he found your picture on walls all over the place.”

Harry grimaced. “I hope they’re gone by now.”

“Not from everywhere, but you won’t see any in the training program office. Pester took them all down.”

They both laughed. “How is the old sod?” Harry asked. “I can’t imagine that shagging his prime suspect was what they expected him to do.”

“He’s not allowed to leave his desk,” Ron grinned. “It’ll take him years to get his career back on track, if he decides to stick around, that is.”

Harry checked the time, and he and Ron went back up to the second level. Ron returned to the classroom, right down the hall, and Percy escorted Harry to the Minister’s office; Percy left him in the antechamber, where the witch behind the desk kept smiling and asking if he wanted tea or some of the Christmas biscuits that she had made herself and brought in to the office.

Half an hour later Kingsley Shacklebolt came in from the corridor. “Harry, I’m so sorry, I got delayed in a Magical Transportation meeting. Come.” He took Harry’s arm and they went into the Minister’s office. It was spacious, high–ceilinged, and tastefully furnished; it was paneled in oak and the walls were lined with bookshelves. Portraits of former Ministers — the deceased ones — were hung above the bookshelves, and Harry saw Rufus Scrimgeour gazing inscrutably at him. Harry nodded to him; someday he would have to ask him what happened the day he was murdered, and if he had, indeed, protected Harry from capture. Scrimgeour did not return the nod, and looked away.

There was a large fireplace at one end with comfortable easy chairs, an arrangement that reminded Harry of the Gryffindor common room. Sitting in one of the chairs was Saliyah Ushujaa. She smiled at Harry and stood. “Were you waiting outside? I’m sorry, if I had known I would have asked you to come in.”

“That’s okay,” Harry grinned, “I passed the time with sugar biscuits.”

Kingsley’s laugh filled the room. “Margie’s famous for her baked goods.” He gestured toward the fireplace and Harry took a seat next to Saliyah. Kingsley pulled a chair around to face Harry. “Well, first of all, welcome to the Ministry of Magic. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you’re now working for us. My level of optimism about the future has just increased tenfold.”

“It feels kind of strange, actually.” Harry put his hand over the pocket with his new ID card. “For so many years I thought of this place as the enemy, but now here I am about to start a job,” he laughed nervously.

“If it wasn’t the enemy, it was damn close,” Kingsley agreed, and shook his head. Then he looked at Harry with a mischievous grin. “Percy told you that the Chief Mentor and I would introduce you to your mentor. Well...” He gestured to Saliyah. “Meet your mentor.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. He looked at Saliyah in total surprise. “How —? Why —?” He turned to the Minister. “That’s — that’s —”

Kingsley and Saliyah both laughed. “I hope you can be more articulate than that when we go out on a job,” she said. “I told Kingsley that’s what I wanted. Actually, you’re going to be a little bit more than my student, Harry. It won’t be a formal position, but I’d like to consider you as my assistant. As long as we don’t call you that, no one can complain about our breaking any rules. You’ll be attending classes like the other trainees, but your field work will be out of my office. And you’ll start that immediately. What do you think?”

“I think I’m a little overwhelmed. I mean, I don’t know anything. Do you really think it’s a good idea? Everyone else has been training for half a year, won’t they be, you know...”

“Disgruntled? Upset? No, I don’t think so,” Saliyah declared. “Half the trainees were — are — members of Dumbledore’s Army. When they learned that you were joining us, they actually started cheering. It was a bit amusing, and extremely encouraging.”

Harry sat back; he was having trouble digesting this turn of events. How was he expected to learn what the other trainees had learned? Would they really accept him as the assistant to the Head Auror? What would Saliyah expect of him; he had no experience in the kind of work Aurors did. What kind of work did Saliyah do “out of her office?”

Kingsley was watching him closely. “You look a little stunned,” he smiled warmly. “That’s understandable, but be assured that both Saliyah and everyone else in the program know that you will be starting a little behind. But we also know what you are capable of. You fought —”

“Yes, but I had so much help!”

“And you will have help, no matter what you do as an Auror,” Saliyah said. “We work together, we back each other up. It’s always been like that, no one who goes out on a case is alone. And you, Harry, have an even greater advantage: Dumbledore’s Army.” She leaned closer to him; her dark eyes were intense and excited. “We want to recruit as many members of Dumbledore’s Army as we can. Do you see? They will bring very developed skills, but more important, we know where their hearts are. Harry, they will be very loyal to you.”

Harry was now truly stunned. Kingsley and Saliyah had everything thought out and planned down to the last dot on the last “i”. And their plan seemed to be that Harry Potter was supposed to become the leader of a band of Aurors. But that kind of leadership was a position he had never wanted, in fact had shunned.

He started to shake his head, but then other thoughts and images began to float through his mind: the line of students signing the parchment in the old Hog’s Head, risking everything because they believed in Harry Potter; Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Neville in the Forbidden Forest, telling him that they would not allow him to leave them behind when he went to rescue Sirius; Ron’s anguished shame because he had abandoned Harry and Hermione in the middle of their quest for the Horcruxes; Neville offering to help him after Harry had told him to shut up, because Neville knew that the real Harry would never do such a thing; and Ginny, past the end of exhaustion, bursting into the inn with that blazing look on her face which still bore the bruise that Harry had inflicted, because she loved him, because she believed in him.

All those people... Did he believe in himself? Hadn’t he told Arthur Weasley a few days ago that he would never stand aside again and let the world hurt Ginny? He touched the card in his pocket, and as he did so a presence lightly brushed his mind like a feather on a breeze. He closed his eyes; if that presence wasn’t Ginny, it was his own need for her.

When he opened his eyes, the Minister of Magic and the Head Auror were peering at him with puzzled, almost concerned looks. “I’m fine,” Harry smiled at them. “When do I start?”

Kingsley leaned forward and slapped Harry’s knee. “Wonderful!” He and Saliyah both had big smiles. “Ask your new boss.”

“Monday, January eleventh, at nine o’clock,” Saliyah said. “But you’ll be getting a wagon load of information the week before. It’ll tell you everything you need to know. Don’t worry about buying any books or parchments or quills. We’ll be giving you everything you need.” She took his hand. “Harry, thank you again.”

They all stood. “This is a great day for the wizarding world,” Kingsley said, then he laughed as Harry blushed. “Okay, I won’t say that again. But I will thank you.” He shook Harry’s hand, put his arm around his shoulders, and led him to the door. “Happy New Year, Harry, and say hello to that wonderful fiancée of yours.”

Harry grinned, grabbed a biscuit on his way out — Margie smiled at him and wished him well — then went looking for Arthur Weasley’s office. He found it after getting lost twice and asking two wizards for help; they both looked at his scar but said nothing about it; Harry was grateful for those small acts of politeness.

Arthur looked up as Harry stood in the doorway of his tiny office. “Are you all set with the training program?” he asked. “Did they assign your mentor?”

“Yes, Saliyah Ushujaa,” Harry replied somewhat diffidently. Arthur’s eyebrows rose.

“Saliyah? Well, that’s very interesting. And you met with Percy, too? Everything was in order, I’m sure.”

“Completely,” Harry smiled. “And Ron ate lunch with us.”

“Excellent. Well, we can catch up about everything this evening. I’m sure Molly will want to know exactly what happened. Ginny, of course... does she know already?” Arthur looked at Harry with a curious expression.

“Oh,” Harry laughed, “no, I don’t think so. I guess we’re pretty close, but we, uh, we don’t exactly...” He stumbled to a stop, then, for want of a better way to avoid answering, peered at the poster on the wall behind Arthur’s head.

“Ah,” Arthur turned and looked at Sgt. Pepper. “He’s one of the Beanies. That’s a Muggle rock group, very famous, I’m told.”

Harry nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard of them. Well, Mr. Weasley, do you think we can get my fireplace hooked up?”

“Of course!” Arthur came from behind the desk, and Harry backed out the door to give him room. “Level six, it’ll only take a minute to get there. The old friend I mentioned to you a few weeks ago should be there, Jackson Bearcross. He’s a capital fellow, and he’ll be pleased to help you.”

They walked to the lifts and took one to the sixth level. The Floo Network Authority was down a short corridor and through a set of doors charmed to look like a fireplace. There was no antechamber or secretary sitting at a desk; it was a cavernous room hung around the walls with hundreds of large maps of cities, towns, counties, and other locations in the British Isles. The maps were crisscrossed with lines and scattered with blue dots. Every few seconds a dot flashed green, and then a red dot moved along one of the lines, branching and turning, until finally it reached another blue dot, sometimes on a different map, which flared green in turn. Wizards and witches watched the maps, occasionally giving one a tap with his or her wand. They also had clipboards dangling from their necks by fine gold chains, with magical quills poised over them, and when the witch or wizard spoke, the quill wrote on a piece of parchment attached to the clipboard.

Most of the people in the room were monitoring the maps, but a few sat at desks in the middle. Arthur led Harry to one that was near the center. A tall, elderly wizard was seated at it, talking to a witch who was bent over a map spread out on the desk. They both looked up when Harry and Arthur approached, and they both stared at Harry for a moment. The wizard stood and grinned.

“Arthur, it’s good to see you. And I see you’ve brought Mr. Potter, as you said you would.” He turned to the witch. “Give us a moment, Marilyn, would you?” The witch nodded and smiled at Harry; she rolled up the map and walked away.

Arthur introduced them. “Harry, this is Jackson Bearcross. Jack, Harry Potter. Harry would like to connect a fireplace in his property to the Network. And, he needs extra security. There’s been some problems, and he wants — well, why I am telling it? Harry, you tell him exactly what you want.”

“It’s the old Hog’s Head Inn in Hogsmeade,” Harry said, and Bearcross nodded. “I renovated it, and now there’s a flat upstairs with three fireplaces, and I want one of them connected. But I don’t want just anyone to be able to use it. Someone’s tried to vandalize the inn a few times, so I don’t want to give them a way of getting inside.”

The wizard nodded. “There’s a standard level of restriction that automatically goes on every residential connection. If you want something more elaborate, you have to get authorization from the Magical Law Enforcement office.” He smiled. “And in your case I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“And what will the elaborate security do?” Harry asked.

“It will block anyone who is not specifically authorized by you from entering your fireplace. Actually, it keeps them from entering your Network branch. It costs two Galleons a month.”

“And who keeps that list?”

“It is magically maintained in our system. No one will be able to change it except you, not even one of our supervisors,” he gestured around the room, apparently including everyone in it. “If you want more protection than that, you can get it, but the cost is rather high. Very few people do.”

Harry thought for a moment. “Well, what’s that standard level you mentioned? Would that be enough?”

Bearcross shrugged. “You’ll have to decide yourself. The standard package keeps out everyone who is named on a list that you can maintain yourself at the location of the fireplace. Most people use it for nosey neighbors or a relative they don’t like. The higher level allows in only the people on the list that we keep here, or rather in our vaults. You can see that it’s much more restrictive.”

“And where is your vault?”

“Sorry, Mr. Potter,” he bowed his head slightly, “we’d rather not say. I’m sure you understand.”

“No problem. So, what do I do now? I want that second level, so do I have to go back to Magical Law Enforcement?”

Arthur spoke before Bearcross could answer. “No need to, Harry. I’ll take care of it. When they want your gold, I’ll let you know.”

“Just leave a diagram with Arthur showing us which fireplace you want connected,” the wizard said. “And it was very nice meeting you, Mr. Potter.” He extended his hand, and seemed to want to say more. Harry shook the hand, and Bearcross held it. “Mr. Potter, my wife’s parents are Muggles. She was in the Department of Mysteries when you... when you freed her and all those others. I can never thank you enough.”

“Oh.” Harry looked down. “I’m glad I could do something,” he mumbled. “You’re welcome.”

Bearcross squeezed Harry’s hand, then sat back down. “As soon as we get that authorization, it’ll take about three days to set up the connection. I’d say with the holiday, it won’t be done until after the first.”

“That’s fine,” Harry said. “And thanks for everything.”

They walked to the lifts. “I guess I’ll head back down to the Atrium,” Harry said as they waited. “Thanks for helping me, Mr. Weasley.”

“It’s my pleasure, and it’s also a nice break from the routine, even though this is my first day back from holiday,” Arthur grinned. A lift clattered to a halt in front of them. “Go ahead, you take it. I’ll get the next one. And I’ll see you when I get home.”

Harry took the lift to the Atrium, and then Floo’d back to the Burrow. Ginny was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book when Harry came through the fireplace. She jumped up with a squeal of delight and leaped into his arms. “Mmm,” she kissed him. “I missed you. How did everything go? Something surprising happened, didn’t it? I could feel something happening.”

‘You’ll never guess,” Harry deposited her in a chair and poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice from a pitcher standing on the counter. “Saliyah Ushujaa is my mentor. I’m going to be her assistant. And look!” He took his new identification card from his pocket and proudly held it up.

“Oh, Harry, this is brilliant!” She read the card and ran her fingers over the gold star embossed on it. She looked up with her eyes glistening. “I’m so proud of you. I know you’re doing this because it’s what you want, but it makes me feel so good.” She came to him and they kissed.

“Where’s your mum?” Harry asked as his hands wandered here and there.

“In the parlor, knitting more clothes for Fleur’s baby.”

Harry dropped his hands. “Oh, well, I can always run around the house.”

“That’s what it’s there for. But can I send for the Daily Prophet first? I hear they’re paying fifteen Sickles for breaking news stories.”

“If you do, I’ll make you run around the house naked.” He grinned wickedly. “I bet they’ll pay a lot more for that story.”

“Okay, and I’ll split the reward with you.”

“Merlin, you are shameless!” Harry laughed. “Come on, let’s see if your mum’s run out of pink yarn yet, and I’ll tell you both about my day.”

They went into the parlor where Molly greeted Harry; her knitting needles were clacking away, and there was an entire basket of pink yarn sitting on the floor at her feet. Harry showed Molly his new ID card, then he told them both about his lunch with Ron and Percy, and his interview with Kingsley and Saliyah. “I’m still worried about how I can do it,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I guess I’ll have to learn fast.”

“You’ve always been a fast learner, dear,” Molly said as she started another skein of yarn. “You’re smart, you’re talented, —”

“And you’re handsome,” Ginny giggled. “You’ll have no trouble extracting confessions from witches.” She was sitting on the sofa next to Harry, and she took his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Then she looked up. “So what happened when you met Dad? Did you get hooked up to the Floo Network?”

“We went to the Floo Network office. It’s really cool, they have these big maps on the walls that show everything that’s going through the Network. It’ll take about a week to get it set up in the flat, and I’ll have to give them a list of people who can Floo in, and I have to give your dad a floor plan of the flat, so they know which fireplace to hook up.” He hugged Ginny with one arm. “You’ll be able to Floo over from school now.”

Ginny looked quickly at her mother, and Harry followed her glance with a guilty expression. Molly’s lips were pursed, but they couldn’t tell if it was because of Harry’s comment or if she was just concentrating on her knitting. Harry gave Ginny a sheepish grin, and she poked her finger in his side. Soon they were poking each other and giggling like first–years, until Molly cleared her throat.

“Ginny, why don’t you get dinner started? We’re having a pot roast with mashed potatoes.” She smiled at them both.

“Sure, Mum, I’ll take care of it.” She and Harry walked sedately to the door, but as soon as it was closed they started tickling each other again. They stumbled into the kitchen where the tickling became a snog, and then Harry was leaning Ginny backward against the table and caressing her in some fairly intimate places. With a loud groan she pushed him away and stood up, tucking her blouse back in. “Okay,” she took a deep breath and looked around the room, “what’s for dinner?”

“I have a suggestion,” said Harry, leering at her.

“I’ll bet you do.” Ginny went and looked in the pantry. “Ah, Winky, there you are. Can you give us a hand? Mum said we’re having a pot roast for dinner.” She turned back to Harry. “As for you, Potter, I think it’s cold enough outside that a run around the house will solve your problem.”

Harry had a mournful expression, and Ginny laughed. She came and gave him a quick kiss. “Come on, help with dinner, it’ll take your mind off it.”

Harry heaved a sigh. “Okay, I give up. Should I peel potatoes or set the table, or what?”

“Actually, just sit and talk to me. I like being domestic with you.”

Harry smiled at her fondly. “I like it, too.”

He looked around as Winky and Kreacher emerged from the pantry carrying the makings for a pot roast. Winky had a rope tied around her waist and the copper ladles hung from it, clanking together as she walked; Kreacher was wearing his new cap, and he bowed to Harry.

“Good afternoon, Master Harry,” he rumbled. “Harry Potter is now an employee of the Ministry of Magic.”

“Right.” Harry was no longer surprised at an elf’s mysterious knowledge about something like that. “I’m starting in a couple of weeks. And they’re connecting the fireplace in the flat to the Floo Network.”

Kreacher nodded. “Elves doesn’t need Floo.” He joined Winky at the sink, where they both stood on a chair and began washing vegetables. Ginny started setting the table.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you something interesting,” Harry said to her. “I think Percy has a girlfriend.”

“Not that Penelope what’s–her–name?”

“Nope, Audrey Tinklebell. She’s his secretary and she came to lunch with us.”

“His secretary? I thought you weren’t supposed to do things like that.”

Harry shrugged. “Well, Percy is. She’s very pretty and seems nice.”

The table was set, and Ginny checked to see how the elves were doing. “Don’t peel the potatoes,” she said to Winky. “We like them unpeeled.” She went and sat across from Harry. “Maybe she can loosen him up a little. Did you find out anything else about her? Where does she live?”

“Nothing. Ron didn’t know anything except that she started working with him yesterday.”

Ginny leaned on her elbows and grinned. “Good work, love. Got any more hot gossip for me?”

A short time later Arthur arrived home, and he told Harry that his fireplace hookup was scheduled for January 4th. All Harry had to do was draw a diagram of his flat and mark which fireplace he wanted to connect; Arthur would bring it into work tomorrow and deliver it to the Floo Regulation Panel. He had contacted Saliyah Ushujaa about the enhanced security level, and she had personally approved it. In less than a week Harry would have a working fireplace.

They ate dinner and spent a quiet evening in the parlor, talking, reading, knitting. When Harry came down for breakfast the next morning, Mrs. Weasley was wearing a blue smock with her name stitched to the chest pocket, and her hair was tied back with a blue scarf.

“Mum’s working part–time in St. Mungo’s as an orderly for Healer Derwent,” Ginny explained over bowls of porridge. “She goes in twice a week.”

Harry waited until Molly had left the room, then said to Ginny in a low voice, “So we’ll be alone in the house today?”

She gave him a knowing look. “Yes, but I’m locking myself in my room, and if you Apparate inside it I’ll put the bat boogies on your rear end and you won’t be able to sit down for a month.”

“Yes, but —”

Ginny pointed to the door, then made a circular motion with her finger. “I know, I know,” Harry grumbled, “run around the house in my knickers. Okay, if you want to shock the neighbors, that’s what I’ll do.”

Ginny took their bowls to the sink, then got two mugs and poured coffee. “We don’t have any neighbors.”

“Hmm. That’s right.” Harry took his mug, and smiled at her. “I’ll just have to adore you from afar, then.”

“That’s sweet,” she kissed him, then went to the door and looked out. “It’s another beautiful day, let’s go for a walk after Mum leaves.”

Ginny’s parents left together, then she and Harry went outside. They hadn’t been in the village for quite a while and Ginny wanted to see the Christmas decorations that the Muggles had put up. They wandered around the streets for an hour or so, then spent some time in the shops on the village green. Ginny knew several of the shopkeepers and introduced Harry. Some of them noticed her ring, and congratulated them both

When they returned to the Burrow, Kreacher and Winky were making lunch, but otherwise the house was quiet. They ate, then went into the parlor and Harry lit a fire. It was warm and very peaceful; they sat on the sofa, Ginny with her head in his lap. Soon she dozed off, and Harry leaned down and softly kissed her lips. She opened her eyes.

“I guess I need a nap,” she smiled. “You don’t mind, do you?”

They walked upstairs, and Ginny went into her room; Harry continued up to the attic. He tried to read some of Ron’s Quidditch magazines, then his Portable Spellery that he had brought from Hogsmeade. But he couldn’t concentrate. Ginny was in her bed, two floors below, and he could not keep images of her out of his mind. He got off his camp bed and walked to the window at the far end of the room. The snowy scene was like a picture postcard: the woods were cloaked in white and in the distance he could see the bell tower of the village church. He raised his arms over his head and stretched; when he closed his eyes, in place of the white landscape was Ginny’s figure. He gave a soft whimper.

The door behind him opened. He turned, and there she stood. “I’m bad,” Ginny said.

They moved toward each other like the two halves of a critical mass of a nuclear bomb. In the middle of the room they fused, then fell onto Harry’s camp bed, ripping off each others clothes in the process. They stayed there the rest of the afternoon, and Ginny missed her nap.

Molly went back to St. Mungo’s the next day, but this time Ginny did manage to get in an afternoon nap — after spending all morning in Harry’s camp bed. On Friday, New Year's Eve, Molly stayed home, and Ginny and Harry went for another walk in the morning and slept all afternoon — in separate rooms. Then it was time to head up to London for an evening of partying. Harry put on his best clothes, and Ginny wore her party dress — ignoring her mum’s disapproving looks — with her new earrings and her veela necklace. They donned warm cloaks and Disapparated to the back room of Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.

Ron and Hermione were ready; Hermione had on a raspberry–colored sheath with a slit that went above her knee, and a peridot pendant around her neck that was Ron’s Christmas present. They set off down Diagon Alley and out the front door of the Leaky Cauldron; they would be coming back for the midnight celebration, but first they wanted to do the town. They took a taxi to the Italian restaurant where they had eaten before they saw the play at The Globe Theater, then hit a succession of raucous night spots with flashing strobes, loud crowds, and louder music. Ginny and Hermione both attracted a lot of attention at each stop, and one or two drunks tried to hit on them. Harry just pushed away the ones that approached Ginny, but Hermione had to restrain Ron more than once from pulling his wand.

A half hour before midnight they returned to the Leaky Cauldron; it was so crowded and so noisy that at first no one noticed them. Ron had asked Tom to hold a booth or a table, and they sat in relative obscurity for a few minutes until they noticed Dean, Parvati, Neville, Keesha, Seamus, and Lavender across the room. Their shouts of greeting attracted attention, and soon everyone in the tavern knew that Harry Potter was there.

They pulled two tables together and the others formed a protective circle around Harry, and finally all the tipsy witches and wizards grew tired of being elbowed back by Ron and the others, and they were left alone. It was like a six–month reunion of the Gryffindor class of 1998, and everyone had heard that Harry was now an Auror–in–training.

“Wait till you hear who Harry’s mentor is,” Ron said to Seamus.

“Saliyah Ushujaa,” Harry told them all.

“No way!” Seamus said. “Are you sure?”

“That’s who,” Harry repeated.

“It is amazing,” said Ron. “She’s grooming you, mate, that’s what she’s doing.”

“We’ve been waiting for you, Harry,” Seamus said. “Everyone’s pumped. It’s like Dumbledore’s Army all over again.”

Harry shook his head. “But I’m months behind all of you. Give me a chance to catch up.”

“A year from now it won’t matter,” Hermione said. “And five years from now no one will remember.”

Ron picked up a mug of butterbeer. “Here’s to the long view,” he grinned at Hermione. They all laughed, and the topic turned to other matters, especially Harry and Ginny’s engagement. Everyone was also excited about Ginny’s invitation to the Harpies’ tryout in the spring; they had all been to the Quidditch match against Slytherin, and they all agreed that Gryffindor would easily win the Cup again; Keesha took exception, but her objections were shouted down.

Then it was a minute before midnight, and Tom brought out a huge magical hourglass that had been emptying for a year. As the moment approached, numbers appeared in the top half of the glass, counting down the seconds. There was a loud bang, and a bright orange “1999" shot out the top of the hourglass. The tavern erupted in cheers. At the two tables, everyone hugged and kissed each other.

As those around them stood and raised their glasses and began singing “Auld Lang Syne,” Harry turned to Ginny and took both of her hands. They looked at each other, and the crowd, the song, even their friends faded away. Harry felt engulfed in happiness; the year that had begun in separation, fear, and the certainty of death, had ended surrounded by celebrating friends, with nothing before him but joy and life. He saw his own tear–filled eyes blinking back at him, and he knew that Ginny was seeing hers through his eyes. His heart filled with her soul, and he took his beloved into his arms. They began the new year with a kiss that eventually everyone in the tavern was watching.

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