When The Smoke Clears

Stay Safe

Luna and her father left the Burrow the day after, waving amicable goodbyes as they headed over the hill towards their home. George, whose shop re-opened from the holidays later that day, bid his siblings and younger friends farewell. Percy left his childhood home as well, with much fanfare about his new apartment in London.

"Living alone is dreary," He lamented, "But it's quite an accomplished feeling to live under a roof paid for by one's own wages."

"Goodbye, Percy," Ron said over him.

"Really, I must broach the subject of domestic relations with dear Penelope - poor girl still living with her parents-"

"Goodbye, Percy," Ginny said, "See you this summer."

"Oh, very well, see you later," Percy said airily, and after a quick kiss on his mother's cheek, Apparated away with a pop.

"That's that, then," Ron yawned, inching towards the stairs, "I want to try out that new thingamajig George gave me-"

"You think I haven't forgotten?" Molly chided, whipping out a piece of paper from her robes, "Boxing Day chores, as usual, Ron."

"Cleaning the coops?" Ginny wrinkled her nose, turning to her brother and his girlfriend. "That's a three-person job, we'll start with that."

"I'll show you how to de-gnome the garden," Harry said, gesturing for Draco to follow him outside.

"De-gnoming?" Draco said dubiously, and after they were out of Mrs. Weasley's earshot, added, "Isn't that a servant's job?"

"See any servants around here?" Harry responded, looping his scarf around his neck. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"If you say so..."

Snow, thin on the ground where people had trekked through it, still dusted the garden's greenery with coats of white. The trees standing nearby shivered in the wind, their branches stripped of nearly all their dying leaves.

Harry squinted into the bushes and spotted a couple of tiny, lumpy shapes squatting in the darkness, sheltering themselves from the cold. Draco bent down as well, watching as Harry suddenly grabbed one of the figures and lifted it into the air.

The gnome in his hand squealed in protest, shaking its large, potato-like head and swinging its bony feet. Draco regarded the unpleasant creature with a look of disgust.

"Grab them firmly and don't let them bite you," Harry said, raising his voice over the gnome's squeals. He flipped the creature over, grasped its feet, and began to swing it in a circle, faster and faster. With a slight grunt, the young wizard flung the gnome over the low, stone wall. "Not bad," Harry shielded his eyes from the sunlight as he watched the creature fly through the air and land a good fifty feet away. "Go on, give it a try."

Draco uncertainly grabbed a gnome from underneath the bushes and let it dangle by one foot.

"Spin it a bunch of times to get it nice and dizzy," Harry instructed, and Draco did so. "Once you've got enough momentum...Throw!"

Draco clumsily tossed the lightheaded gnome over the garden wall, and it landed about ten feet away. "Damn," The Slytherin said, lowering his outstretched arm. Behind him, a group of curious gnomes edged out of the bushes to see what was going on.

"You'll get the hang of it."

"I should certainly hope so. I can't let you beat me, can I?" Draco said, bending down to pick up a second gnome. Harry grinned in response and grabbed another as well, and the two young men continued to de-gnome the garden, throwing the small, ugly creatures as far as they could.