Back to School

Harry leaned in for a closer look, then suddenly burst out laughing. A few words swung from the gold chain:

"To my sweetheart!"

"Not bad," Harry said. "Pretty. You should definitely wear it in front of Fred and George."

"If you tell them," Ron said, shoving the necklace beneath his pillow where it could not be seen, "I... I... I'll..."

"Stutter at me?" Harry mocked. "Come on, why would I tell them?"

"How could she possibly think I'd like something like that?" Ron shouted at the air, looking utterly shocked and baffled.

"Well, think about it the other way around," Harry said. "Did you ever tell her you liked going out with a necklace around your neck that said 'my sweetheart'?"

"Uh... we didn't talk much," Ron said. "Mostly, we just..."

"Kissed?" Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron said irritably. "She loves kissing so much, I can barely stand it!"

"Maybe that's what she likes about you," Harry teased. "You know, Lavender likes keeping little pets. It's like putting a collar on a puppy."

Ron:

At that, Ron's expression shifted from shock to disgust.

"I'm breaking up with that crazy woman sooner or later." Ron viciously dug through his long socks. Harry's presents included a sweater with a Golden Snitch pattern on the front, knitted by Mrs. Weasley, and a large box of products from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes from the twins.

When everyone sat down at the table for Christmas breakfast, they were all wearing new sweaters, except Fleur Delacour and Mrs. Weasley herself. Clearly, Mrs. Weasley had not wanted to waste a sweater on herself. Instead, she was showing off a brand-new dark blue witch's hat studded with tiny star-like diamonds and a striking gold necklace.

"Fred and George, give them to me! Aren't they beautiful?" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Well, we've