Chapter 11: Trouble on New Year's Day

Ginny and Ron were going home for the Christmas holidays this year. Luckily for Harry, Mrs Weasley had also invited him and Hermione. Harry had gratefully accepted the invitation, while Hermione politely declined as she wanted to be with her parents for Christmas. The four of them sat with Neville on the train ride home, with everyone, except Hermione, excited to have a proper break from their studies.

The Christmas holidays began with a bang for Harry, quite literally. As soon as he walked through the front door of the Burrow, he was engulfed in a puff of smoke. As the smoke cleared, the Weasleys, even Mrs Weasley, began laughing at Harry. Harry looked questioningly at Ginny, who led him to the mirror. There, plastered on his face in what looked like lipstick were the words 'Property of Ginny Weasley'. It seemed the twins had found out about Harry and Ginny's relationship and had decided to play a prank on him. Harry, son of a Marauder and godson to another, began to plot his revenge with the help of Ginny.

On Christmas morning, Harry was awakened by Ron's shouting. Christmas was the only day Ron woke up before everyone else. After Ron saw that Harry was awake, he raced out of the room to go wake up everyone else. Fifteen minutes later Harry, Ron, Ginny, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley and the twins were all sat around the Christmas tree, opening their Christmas presents. Bill was spending the holidays with his new girlfriend but would be coming to the Burrow for Christmas dinner, while Charlie couldn't get back to England in time for Christmas.

Ron had opened all of his presents extremely quickly, while the others were going slower and taking their time to thank everyone. Soon, Harry only had one present left to open and using process of elimination, he knew it was from his red-haired girlfriend, who was sitting next to him. He looked at her pile of presents and saw that she only had his gift left.

"Together?" Harry asked when Ginny looked up at him.

"Together," Ginny agreed. Harry unwrapped his present carefully, revealing an intricately designed photo album. Harry curiously flicked through it and was surprised when he found many pictures of him and Ginny together. He had no idea how there were even pictures of these private moments but he would have to ask her later, because at that moment he heard Ginny gasp and the next thing he knew she had crushed her lips to meet his in a passionate embrace. They stayed like that for a good twenty seconds until Harry heard Mrs Weasley clear her throat and he pulled away.

"Sorry," Harry and Ginny sheepishly said together. Mrs Weasley just smiled knowingly with a slight twinkle in her eye. Harry turned back to Ginny, who was staring reverently at the golden locket Harry had gotten her. Inside the locket was the picture Colin had taken when he had caught Harry and Ginny kissing in a dark alcove. On the back of the locket there was an inscription that read 'Together Always'. Harry took the locket from Ginny and, after he moved her hair out of the way, he put the locket around her neck. He then placed a chaste kiss on her exposed neck, which made her blush. Mrs Weasley then got up from her seat and led everyone to the kitchen for a big breakfast.

The rest of Christmas Day was amazing for Harry. He played Quidditch with Ron, Ginny and the twins and then helped Mr Weasley set up a Muggle stereo. He also helped Mrs Weasley with some of the cooking alongside Ginny. The day was full of fun and happiness and this was before Christmas dinner had even started. For Christmas dinner, Fred had invited Angelina, his girlfriend, which made the events that happened next even better. Halfway through the meal, Fred and George both took a slice of gingerbread cake. They were the only two people at the table that liked gingerbread cakes so no one had touched it yet. As soon as the cake connected with their mouths, they were engulfed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, the twins both let out high-pitched screams. Their clothes had been replaced by a pink bra and skirt, and on their foreheads the words 'Revenge is sweet' were written. Everyone burst into laughter at the sight of them and the twins fled the table, running back to their room.

The rest of the holidays were filled with chaos and excitement for Harry. He enjoyed hanging out with Ron and the twins and he loved the private moments that he and Ginny shared. The twins had gained newfound respect for Harry and Ginny after the prank they had played at Christmas and vowed never to prank Harry again.

On New Year's Eve, the Weasleys went to bed at their usual time of eleven o'clock. Harry was surprised to find that wizards did not celebrate the New Year at all. Harry had a plan to carry out one Muggle tradition though. At five minutes to midnight, he crept out of his and Ron's room and went downstairs to Ginny's room. He quietly opened the door to find Ginny peacefully sleeping. He gently shook her awake, much to her displeasure. However, she was a bit happier after Harry explained what he wanted to do. As the clock on his watch struck midnight, Harry leaned in to kiss Ginny. She immediately deepened the kiss and they both toppled over on to her bed, with Harry on top of Ginny. They kissed for a few more minutes until Harry decided to pull away before things went too far. However, Ginny grabbed his hand before he could get off the bed.

"Sleep here with me tonight Harry," Ginny said. Harry's eyes widened at this and his mouth opened and closed like a goldfish out of water, causing Ginny to softly giggle.

"Not like that, silly. I just want to be in your arms tonight," Ginny said.

"B-But…your parents might walk in here," Harry spluttered.

"Well it's not like we're not doing anything wrong but we can use a locking charm on my door if it makes you happy," Ginny responded with a roll of her eyes.

Without giving Harry a chance to reply, Ginny reached over to her bedside table and grabbed her wand. She cast a locking charm at her bedroom door before looking back at Harry meaningfully. The Boy Who Lived could resist an Imperius Curse but he would never be able to resist Ginny's beautiful eyes. He lay down on the bed next to Ginny, who moved so that she could use his chest as a pillow. She then wrapped her arms around his stomach, while Harry wrapped his own arms around her waist.

"Goodnight love," Harry said sleepily.

"Goodnight Harry," Ginny replied. Harry faintly heard Ginny let out a contented sigh before he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

Harry was awakened by a loud noise the next morning. He groggily opened his eyes and what he saw made him smile widely. Ginny's head was lying on top of his chest, with her arms tightly around his waist. Ginny looked very peaceful and Harry took a minute to admire her incredibly sexy body. Harry didn't think he'd ever slept that well before. He was shaken out of his reverie by another loud noise, which reminded him how he had woken up in the first place. At first Harry thought that it was just the twins experimenting, but he quickly noticed that the noise was coming from outside. Harry gently pushed Ginny's head onto a pillow before standing up and looking out of the window. What he saw scared the living daylights out of him. Four Death Eaters were making their way towards the garden of the Burrow. Harry quickly dressed into more practical clothes, briefly wondering how the Death Eaters had managed to break through the Burrow's wards, before awakening a disgruntled Ginny. He quickly explained what was happening to her and told her to wake up the rest of the Weasleys and tell them what was going on. Harry knew that the other Weasleys would have not have been woken up by the loud noises as their rooms were all higher up and the Weasleys were all deep sleepers. He hoped that Mr Weasley might be able to help him fight. After telling Ginny everything, Harry raced out towards the garden, ignoring Ginny's pleas for him to stop and wait for help.

Harry reached the back door just as the four Death Eaters were about to cast their first spells at the Burrow.

"Stupefy!" Harry cried, knocking one of the Death Eaters unconscious. The three Death Eaters turned towards Harry, surprise written on their faces. It was clear that they had not expected any resistance. The three other Death Eaters had not even bothered to wear masks and Harry easily recognised them: Crabbe Senior, Goyle Senior and Lucius Malfoy. 'Oh this is going to be fun,' Harry thought to himself, before launching into battle with the Death Eaters.

Harry quickly found that duelling three Dark Wizards at the same time was harder than it seemed, especially as Malfoy's duelling ability was close to Bellatrix's. Harry had to constantly dodge Unforgivables, which meant that he didn't get much time to go on the offensive. However, he managed to hit Goyle Senior with a Full-Body Bind Jinx after a minute of fierce duelling, which left two remaining opponents. Unfortunately, Harry underestimated Crabbe Senior, who seemed to work very well with Lucius Malfoy. They soon cornered Harry and Lucius managed to hit Harry's leg with a Cutting Curse, evoking a loud scream of pain from Harry. Harry fell to his knees, and a gleeful look crossed Malfoy's face. And then Crabbe Senior made the stupid mistake of putting his wand down, thinking that the fight was over. Harry quickly Stunned him and, ignoring the pain in his leg, bravely stood up to face Malfoy. Harry thought about how Lucius Malfoy had been the cause of so much pain for Ginny in her first year and he was overcome with a fierce rage. He began to fire spells at Malfoy with blinding speed and accuracy. Poor Lucius never stood a chance. The duel lasted just twenty seconds before Harry hit Malfoy with a powerful Reductor Curse, shattering Lucius' ribcage. Lucius crumpled to the ground, barely conscious. Harry began to limp over to Lucius to take his wand away. He could have easily Disarmed him but he wanted the pleasure of taking Malfoy's wand from his grasp and snapping it. This proved to be a great mistake. When Malfoy saw Harry coming towards him, he lifted his wand and shouted "Sectumsempra!" before collapsing. Harry was caught off guard as he thought that Malfoy was unconscious. Therefore, he had no chance of blocking the spell and it struck him on his right bicep. The pain was almost unbearable and Harry began to lose blood at an alarming rate, especially as he had already been hit with a Cutting Curse to the leg. The pain soon overwhelmed Harry and he briefly heard a feminine scream before he keeled over, fading into unconsciousness.