Work Text:
Harry had never liked Christmas when he was younger. With the Dursleys it had been an exercise in feeling neglected, sitting on the edge of the little circle of family, watching Dudley open his mountain of gifts. Petunia always baked several dozen cookies, and at most Harry was given the burnt ones, never with any icing. He didn’t even get a stocking by the fireplace.
It had been a bit better at Hogwarts. He stayed at the castle, enjoyed the Christmas decoration in the great Hall and spent hours flying his broom outside in the snow, looking out at the snow capped trees in the Forbidden Forest. His first year, it had been magical. Not a lot of students stayed over the winter break, but there was plenty of food, special desserts, and it wasn’t hard to smuggle up cookies to the common room and sit by the fire and spend an evening reading quidditch books and catching up on homework. After third year it had been easy to get Dobby or another house elf to bring him up some cocoa or other treats, and it was all rather cozy. He even got presents after becoming a Hogwarts student. The first year he opened his tiny pile of gifts, he had almost cried.
As an adult, Christmas had taken a bit of a back seat in his life. Between auror training and Ginny’s training schedule with the Hollyhead Harpies, they never seemed to be able to celebrate on their own. They would exchange gifts when they could, normally something picked out in a bit of a hurry, and then pick up a bottle of wine and show up for the big Christmas Eve dinner at the Burrow. It was always nice for him, seeing the whole Weasley clan in one place. Bill and Fleur would usually come, along with their children, and the twins would bring prototypes form the joke shop and let the little ones test them out. Molly would cook enough to feed a small army, and Harry and Ron would sneak cookies before dinner and play a few games of Wizard Chess. That had always been a highlight of the evening. Ron had been so busy after graduation, working hard on his own in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. For a year or two, the most they saw of one another had been Holidays at The Burrow.
And then everything had gone sideways. Ginny had confronted Harry one night, after they had both come home late after a long day at work. He had been flipping through their stack of take out menus and trying to decide between take away curry or thai when she had flooed in and collapsed on the sofa, accioing a beer from the fridge.
“We need to talk Harry.” She tapped the cap with her wand, opening the bottle of lager, and took a long sip.
“Yeah, I was waiting for you to get home to decide on Dinner,” Harry responded absently, still flipping through the menus. “I know we just had thai last week but I think I could really go for some green curry tonight. Does that sound alright to you? If you really want I can order from Raj’s Tandoor Kitchen and get you something else.”
“No, Harry. We need to talk, and not about dinner.” Her voice was flat, and she was staring down into the mouth of the beer bottle.
He put the menus down on the counter and looked at Ginny. Her eyes were closed, and her grip on the bottle was so tight her knuckles were white. Looking at her, he felt a sinking sensation in his stomach. She wasn’t wearing the ring he had bought her.
“Yeah,” He agreed, voice strained. “I guess we do.”
The break up had been hard on both of them. They had been together for so long, it was hard to imagine life alone. Neither had any real experience living alone, so after a short discussion, Ginny moved in with a friend of hers from her team, and Harry signed over Ginny’s part of the lease to Ron.
“Just like old times back in the dorm eh?” Ron had said, popping through the floo with a box of Chudley Cannon merchandise.
Harry laughed and took the box from him. “Yeah, only now we won’t have Neville snoring to keep us up.”
“And no house elves to do the housekeeping!” Ron lamented, ducking through the floo to grab a few more boxes.
They spent the evening unpacking together. Ron had been staying in a tiny walk up with a shared bathroom and no kitchen. He and Hermione had broken up the last year at Hogwarts, so he had gone ahead and been the first of the trio to get a place of his own. He didn’t have a lot of stuff to bring into the apartment, but he hung his Canons poster in the living room and he had a hand knit blanket Molly had made that he draped over the beat up old couch in the living room. Looking around, Harry almost didn’t notice the things that were missing. The empty shelf in the hall closet where Ginny had kept her Quidditch gear, the spot on the dresser where her jewelry box had been.
Life fell into an easy pattern for them. Harry would get up early and make a pot of coffee, and then Ron would come out, take his mug of coffee and make breakfast. He was the only Weasley child that had bothered to learn to cook from Molly, and Harry was more than happy to reap the benefits of that. Fresh made cheese omelettes, spicy potato hashbrowns, blueberry pancakes. Harry found himself tossing out the pile of take out menus. It was nice coming home to a hot meal and a person excited to just relax and maybe play a game of exploding snap.
On weekends they would go out to the pubs and meet up with Dean and Seamus. Dean was working for WWZ (a wizard rock radio station) and Seamus had taken over a quidditch gear store in Diagon Alley. Once in a while Hermione would meet up with them, when she wasn’t bogged down by work. She was working with the Ministry of Magic doing liaison work with other governments, both muggle and magic, and she had gotten back together with Viktor Krum. They were engaged, and Ron had the grace to be pleasant to the other man on the rare occasion he joined them on a night out.
Harry and Ron found that it was easy to fall into a life together. Breakfast together each morning, Ron packing lunches for them to bring to work. Five nights a week Ron would cook dinner, and on the others they would get take out or go out to eat. Ron was always thrilled to see different parts of the muggle world and Harry took it as a sort of challenge to show him what the non magical world had to offer. They went on like that for a few months, and then it happened.
They had gone to see the Canons play Puddlemere. The Canons had lost in a spectacular fashion, unsurprisingly, but the game had been fun to watch. Harry and Ron had gotten box seats cheap from a friend in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, and they had drunk too many beers and marveled at the magical fireworks at half time. After the game they had gone for pizza in muggle London and drunk a few more beers before hailing the Night Bus home. It had been a good evening after a stressful week at work (a cult of dark wizards trying to breed some sort of invisible dragon), and they were both giddy and a bit drunk. And Ron had looked adorable in his ugly orange team sweater, with his face flushed and his hair a mess. He looked happy and cute, and Harry decided he liked that, a lot. So he leaned in and kissed him.
That night had been...magical, for lack of a better word. And it had lead to more nights. Eventually Ron moved into Harry’s room, and a few months later, they knew they were ready. Harry bought Ron a ring, a simple gold band with a few charms on it to keep it clean and allow it be found if lost. Ron nearly cried when he opened the little black velvet box.
“You know my parents are going to freak out when they see it next week,” Ron said through his happy tears. “I mean, so will everyone else, but my mom is gonna lose it.”
“Next week?” Harry furrowed his brow. “What’s next week?”
Ron raised an eyebrow. “Christmas. You didn’t forget we’re going to see my family for dinner Christmas Eve, did you?”
Harry’s face flushed. “Uh-no, ‘course not.” he had totally forgotten he was about to be face to face with a veritable army of Weasleys. Including Ginny.
Ron saw the look on his fiance’s face and leaned in to peck him on the cheek. “Don’t worry mate, it won’t be that bad. I’ll make them be nice.”
Harry nodded, he had known the Weasley’s since he was eleven, how bad could it really be? The answer was, not bad, but painfully awkward.
They showed up at the Burrow late in the afternoon, Harry holding a few bottles of wine, and Ron bearing a large tray of peppermint bark brownies. Harry had given him a cookbook as an early holiday gift, and he had been excited to share the recipe with his mother. It was snowing, and there was a garden gnome sitting by the door wearing a little Santa hat.
“We could just go home,” Harry said, as Ron knocked on the door. “We could drink some of this wine, eat the brownies, maybe I could show you some muggle Christmas movies.”
Ron shook his head. “Harry, those movies are weird. The House Elves look all wrong!” He shifted the tray in his arms to knock again. “Just calm down, this will be nice. Hermione’s here too, she brought Viktor I think.”
Harry opened his mouth to explain, for the tenth time, that Santa’s elves were not House Elves at all, but snapped it shut as the door swung open. Charlie was standing in the door, wearing his christmas sweater from a previous year.
“Hey! You guys made it! Merry Christmas, let me take those!” Charlie smiled widely and grabbed the bottles Harry was holding onto for dear life. “Come on in, everyone else is already here but it’s not time to eat yet.”
Ron stood back to let Harry go in ahead of him, smiling at the look of panic on his fiance’s face. He had seen Harry face down actual dragons with less worrying. Well at least there would be food.
Harry headed into the Burrow and was immediately faced with what must have been one of the largest christmas trees he had ever seen. The ceilings appeared to have been magically raised around it, so that it didn’t crash straight to another floor. It was covered in twinkling lights and there was a giant red velvet ribbon wrapping around the branches, and on top it was tied into a massive bow. Underneath were a few dozen presents wrapped in different printed paper.
Hermione saw Harry and Ron walking in and hurried over to help, grabbing the cookies from Ron and leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek.
“Ron did you make all these yourself?” She asked, balancing the tray on one hand so she could try a bite. “They’re amazing!”
Ron blushed and nodded. “Yeah, uh, Harry got me this book for Christmas, with all these muggle desserts, so I thought I’d give it a go.” He grabbed the platter back and made a beeline for the kitchen. “They’re not that great or anything.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Ron, they’re wonderful!” They’d had the debate three times already. Ron had been adamant the brownies were too sweet or not sweet enough or burnt or underbaked. Harry had to eat half the first tray before Ron was willing to believe they tasted good. He leaned in and gave Ron a quick peck on the cheek.
Hermione’s eyes went wide and there was a small choked noise behind her that seemed to be coming from Charlie. Harry blushed and pulled away quickly.
“Harry! Ron!”
Harry turned in surprise at the sound of the familiar voice. “Neville?” Harry leaned in and pulled the talled man into a quick half hug. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
Neville clapped him on the back awkwardly. “I, uh, I’m here with…”
“Ron, Harry, nice to see you. Happy Christmas.”
Harry stiffened and turned towards the kitchen. Ginny was standing in the doorway, hair tied into a long braid, and wearing one of her mother’s aprons over her soft blue jumper.
“I’m here with Ginny,” Neville finished lamely.
Harry nodded and forced a smile. “Ginny, nice to see you, Happy Christmas.” He hurried over and gave Ginny a quick peck on the cheek. Up close she smelled like vanilla and jasmine.
“You too.” Ginny looked past Harry and focused her gaze on Ron. “Ron, Happy Christmas. I haven’t seen you in a while.” Her voice was forcibly even.
“Hey, Happy Christmas,” Ron replied. “Sorry I haven’t been by in a while, just been busy with work.”
Ginny nodded and turned her attention to Neville. “Can you give me a hand in the kitchen honey? It’s time to prep the salad and the carrots you brought keep breaking the peeler.”
Neville nodded and hurried after her into the kitchen, shooting Harry and Ron an apologetic look.
“When did that happen?” Harry whispered to Ron.
“I have no idea<” Ron whispered back. “I mean they dated back in school a bit, but really, never thought I’d see them together again.”
They’re gossiping was cut short by Molly and Arthur coming out of the kitchen. Molly was wearing a pink apron liberally coated with flour and Arthur was wearing a novelty “kiss the cook” apron with a picture of a roast turkey on the front.
“Oh! You’re here! How lovely!” Molly bustled over and grabbed Ron and Harry in a hug, squeezing the breath out of both of them. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”
Arthur moved in quickly to grab the brownies before Molly knocked them right out of Ron’s hands. “Hey there boys, good to see, Happy Christmas.”
“Happy Christmas,” They replied, both a bit muffled in Molly’s hug.
Molly pulled back and whapped Ron and Harry on the shoulders. “I haven't seen either of you in months! Are you two suddenly too busy to come and visit?”
“Well work and-”
“We meant to come sooner, we have some news-”
Both men were cut off by the thundering of feet on the stairs. The twins crashed straight into them, George being partially blinded by the small child clinging to his head. Fred managed to grab Ron before he fell to the ground, catching him by the arm.
“Ronniekins, is that an engagement ring?”
For a second Harry thought someone had cast Arresto Momentum on the whole room. He thought his heart was going to stop. Fred was holding Ron’s hand up in the air, displaying the ring on his finger.
“A what??” Molly grabbed Ron form Fred and spun him around. “Ronald! You and Harry got engaged and didn’t tell us?”
“We were going to tell you tonight!” Ron snapped, snatching his hand back. “We didn’t want to make a big deal of it since…”
“Since I would be here?” Ginny was in the kitchen doorway again. Her face was torn between a smile and tears. “Oh, Ron. I’m your sister, and I want you to be happy. You’re allowed to be happy you know.”
Ron opened his mouth to respond and then stopped, biting his bottom lip to quell his emotions. “Thanks.”
The tension in the room was cut when Fleur descended the staircase. Despite being heavily pregnant she was stunning as usual, in a cream colored sweater with seed pearls stitched into the collar in a pattern of snowflakes.
“Ronald! How lovely to see you and Harry!” She wrapped them both into a delicate hug, struggling to fit them between her large stomach. “And might I say, what a lovely ring.” She took Ron’s hand gently and inspected the jewelry.
“Thanks,” Ron mumbled, face cherry red.
Bill pushed his way through the twins, grabbing his toddler as he went. “Congrats baby bro! Good to see Harry is making an honest man out of you.” he clapped him on the back, grinning so widely the scars on the edges of his face pulled.
“Well, we all knew he was going to marry a Weasley,” George commented, coughing hard as all the wind was knocked out of him by Charlie’s elbow. “Ouch!”
“Weasleys are rather appealing,” Neville commented, popping into the room with a massive wooden bowl of salad. “Also, dinner’s just about ready.”
Fleur laughed, the sound a bit like wind blowing through a crystal chandelier. “It’s the red hair,” She giggled, teasing at a lock of Bill’s hair. “It’s a rather charming shade of red.”
“Gingers will rule the world!” Fred and George chanted, grabbing back Victoire and holding her high in the air, marching into the dining room.
Ron rolled his eyes and followed after them, Molly stuck to his arm and chattering about wedding planning and invitation parchment options.
Harry held back a moment and caught Ginny’s eye. “I thought about telling you first but…” he trailed off.
“Don’t worry, I’m happy for you really.” She glanced around and leaned in conspiratorially. “I found a ring in neville’s sock drawer this week, so i don’t think I’m far behind you two.” She grinned and headed off to the table.
Harry heaved a sigh of relief and leaned against Hermione, weight sagging against her a bit. “These Weasley’s will be the death of me,” he said, smiling despite himself.
Hermione snorted and patted him on the head. “Why do you think I’m marrying Viktor?”