lightofdaye | Drabble Series: St. Nick Of Time (Potter Family)

Title: St. Nick Of Time
Rating: G
Characters & Pairing: Potter family (Ginny, Lily Luna, Albus Severus, James Sirius and Harry)
Word Count: 4 x 100
Content: mild angst, hopefully fluffy ending.
Disclaimer: The characters, settings and HP Franchise as a whole are owned by JKR and not by me. I make no profit from writing this piece of fanfiction.
Summary: The kids always want to know when Daddy's coming home.
A/n: Written for:
Prompt #289: "Faith" at

hp_nextgen100
Prompt #481: "Festive" at

harry100

- - -

Ginny Potter was not feeling festive. She'd stocked up and wrapped all the goodies, she'd put up tinsels, she'd brought in a tree and supervised the kids decorating it. She'd done it all; by all rights she was the most chrismassy person alive.

Not that the kids appreciated it. All the said was...

"Mummy!" asked Lily, loudly. "Where's Daddy?!"

"He's working, sweetie," Ginny replied. "You know that."

"When's he coming home?" Lily demanded. "I want daddy!"

"Well…" Ginny didn't answer. She didn't know.

"Don't worry, Lily," Al said, trying to help at least, "he'll be home for Christmas, I'm sure."

All throughout the day, they asked the same question: "when's dad coming home?"

Lily demanded her daddy, every time Ginny passed her.

Al asked the same thing over lunch, presseding her for an exact time, despite Ginny's foreboding looks.

James rushed in on her wrapping presents, jabbering and saying Harry was back, but it was just a delivery man.

It took all Ginny had not to yell and scream at them all in stress and sheer frustration.

Unlike her kids and the unthinking faith of youth she knew it was always a question of not when but If Harry returned.

Ginny gazed forlornly at the clock, wishing she had one like her Mum's. It was well past all the kid's bedtimes.

"Time for bed everyone," Ginny said, lightly "or Santa won't visit."

"But Dad's not here yet!" objected James, "you said we could stay up until he got here."

Ginny braced herself to break their hearts when there was the sound of the front door opening.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!"

There was the sound of excited squealing and running feet and then Harry came into the kitchen with Lily in his arms, Al over his shoulders and James clutching his leg.

Harry was hardly weighed down by his kids as he marched into the kitchen to see his wife. He swallowed a sense of foreboding.

"Have you kids been good for Mummy?"

They assured him, in chorus that they had. Harry doubted it.

"Well let's get you all to bed then!"

It took a while to get them to hang their stockings out and settle down.

"Cutting it close, Harry." Ginny said.

Harry didn't offer an excuse.

"I know, I'm sorry." He replied. "Did they notice?"

"They never lost faith."

"And you?"

After a moment, Ginny's face softened.

"Of course, not."