Happy Christmas Harry...

She was so close to him that he could feel her lips just barely brushing across his. "Happy Christmas, Gin..." He murmured, fully prepared to capture her mouth with his, heart pounding so hard within his chest he thought it might burst. But then, from somewhere outside, they both heard a bang and felt the house shake with the force of it. Ginny gasped and stumbled, Harry catching her elbow to steady her before he took off down the stairs, leaving her there to call after him.

He raced for the front door as Bellatrix Lestrange's voice echoed through the yard and house; I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius Black! Her maniacal laughter pierced him straight through the heart and Harry felt anger surge through him, white hot and uncontrollable. He pushed past those who stood in the door, ignoring Remus' who shouted for him and took off after Lestrange, who had begun to run into the field behind the Burrow. All he could think of was making her suffer, of causing her the pain she had caused him all year long. This woman was the one who had taken Sirius from him and she deserved any pain she could get. If only he could just catch up to her.

Ginny could not say what possessed her to chase after him except that she felt like he needed her. It mattered not that she was underage, it mattered not that she was inexperienced when it came to dueling, hell it didn't even matter that she was wearing pajamas and a bathrobe... Harry needed her and so she would go. She followed his path down the stairs, Ron calling after her as she raced through the front door, ignoring her mother's scream for her. Into the field she went, hot on Harry's heels, kicking her slippers off as she ran. Wand aloft, she began to slow, panting, realizing only then that she had lost Harry in the tall grass. How far had they run? Somewhere in the distance, she could still yet hear Bellatrix Lestrange's cackling, her screams fading in and out of the dark. A branch snapped underfoot and she gasped, turning sharply, brown eyes scanning the area before her. "Harry...?" She tentatively called out, heart pounding as fear coursed through her veins. "Harry, are you there?" She heard another branch snap, heard the distant shouts of her father and Remus as they raced towards where she stood.

But then she saw him.

It was not Harry at all, but a tall, broad man with long greasy hair he had pulled back away from his face. When he smiled at her, it was a cruel, savage smile, with yellow teeth so sharp they surely could cut through her skin. "Pretty girl... All alone..." His chuckle sent chills down her spine, his every step bringing him closer to her. And then, he raised his wand, faster than she could hers, and suddenly her fear became so much more real. "I like pretty girls when they're all alone with no one to save them." His grin expanded, his wand pointed directly at her chest, a spell on his lips when...

"Ginny!"

Harry appeared as if out of no where, blocking the spell Greyback threw at her before he pushed her back, a protective arm extended before her. "Are you alright?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder at her, taking note of how her eyes shined in the moonlight. Something different than fear crossed her features then and she nodded, her wand held a little steadier as Bellatrix appeared, her shrill laugh echoing through the field. There was no time for her to respond before the curses were flung; one after another they blocked them, shooting out ones of their own in the meantime, inching closer together as the two Death Eaters cornered them.

And then Remus, Tonks, and her father appeared, making the fight a lot less fair than it had been a moment before. A few curses were flung, a few more blocked, but a pause came in the battle and Harry found himself to be reaching for Ginny, enclosing her wrist with his hand. Both Bellatrix and Greyback exchanged a glance before they shot towards the sky, black shadows billowing in their wake. Then, without warning, they shot through the Burrow, the explosion deafening. "Molly..." Her father whispered, pushing past them all to race back towards the home, where he found the rest of his family had already spilled out onto the lawn, safe from harm.

Harry and Ginny followed after, Remus and Tonks behind them, coming to stand in the yard to watch as their family home went up in flames. She held fast to his hand, perhaps even unaware how tightly she clung to it as she watched the home she'd grown up in burn to the ground. Together, with her family around them, they watched until Arthur and Remus finally stepped forward, to begin the process of dousing the flames. Fred and George joined them next and within a few minutes, all that was left was a smoldering wreckage of what had once been the Burrow. Harry felt his heart clench in guilt, felt his stomach turn icy cold with the dread he felt inside. And it was as if Ginny felt this inside of him for she squeezed his hand then, turning towards him and offering him the smallest of smiles. "We're alive, at least," she murmured softly, to which Harry could not help but to smile too.

She was right, after all.