Professor Potter

Chapter 71

Chapter 71 

"Harry! Ginny! Time to wake up. Breakfast is almost ready," Abagail's breathy voice called from the other side of the door, following a much louder pounding. 

"Yes, alright, little one, we're awake," Harry called back, "and a Happy Christmas to you." 

He wasn't sure but he thought he heard a snicker from the other side of the door. He did his best to untangle himself enough so he could grab his glasses off the night stand. In the dim light of early morning he took stock of his situation. The bedclothes were a tangled mess and while Ginny was lying with her back to him she was mostly on his side of the bed. Despite having been up fairly late and with apparent disregard for where they were, Ginny wouldn't take no for an answer and they hadn't really gotten to sleep until well into the small hours of the morning. It should be noted that Harry didn't argue all that much. He reached over and gently shook her by the shoulder. 

"Ginny, wake up, luv. Breakfast is almost ready." 

"Mmmm, alright, sweetheart. Just a minute," she said as she rolled over towards him, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him soundly. "Happy Christmas," was all she said when she backed away with a smug little smile. 

"And a Happy Christmas to you, Mrs. Potter." 

She smiled back at him and said, 

"Alright, go take a quick shower and I'll be right behind you." 

Harry considered the possible meanings behind those words, but decided now wasn't the time so with a barely perceptible shrug he finished the job of getting out from under the covers, put on his robe and headed for the shower. It took less than half an hour for Harry and Ginny to get down to the kitchen where breakfast was just being put out. Harry looked over at Abagail, who was wearing an apron that had smudges of flour on it. 

"From that row you put up, I thought we'd be late for breakfast," he said. 

She gave him that impish grin and said, 

"I figured you'd need some extra time, so I shaded the truth a bit." 

Harry shook his head and led Ginny over to their customary spot at the big table, where he pulled her chair out for her. She sat down and then took his hand and kissed it. 

"Thank you, my gallant gentleman." 

Then Harry looked back at Abagail and asked, 

"Are we going to see Angus today, little one?" 

"No, Harry. When his sister was visiting over the summer, they arranged for him to go home for Christmas, on the sly, so he could visit everyone without his mother knowing he was around. It's all so sad, but at least he's got the opportunity to reconnect with a lot of his relatives." 

Harry simply nodded. Some problems were beyond his reach. 

Someone, either big sister or grandmother, had gotten the boys settled and in addition to Harry and Ginny, at the table were Mr. Weasley, Lavender, Percy and Audrey, who had arrived after dinner the night before, and Charlie and El, who had just gotten there. The rest would be arriving as the morning went on. Audrey had struck up a conversation with Lavender about the whole topic of divination. It seemed Audrey had had an interest but couldn't deal with Professor Trelawney's approach and dropped it after one year. She expressed some envy at the idea of learning from a Centaur. 

"It's a whole different approach," Lavender said, "they tap into a very deep well of communal spirit and experience, but without all the trappings and mysticism. I've had to fall back on some of Professor Trelawney's theatrics to satisfy the muggles."