disclaimer: disclaimed.
dedication: Rhea. Happy Christmas!
notes: I love Ginny. & I really like this pairing. like a lot.
title: the sweetest escape
summary: Burning candles in a lightning storm. — Harry/Ginny.
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It was pouring outside.
Ginny looked out the window of Harry's flat, curled up in one of her mother's oldest, tatty quilts. In the very far distance, she could see the orange glimmer of streetlamps through the curtain of rain. They were like little pricks of hope, flickering weakly but they were so far away—the lamps on the street had been out for ages. They'd been out as long as the power had been, and so the flat was dark and calm.
Lightning lit the sky. Hermione had told her once that if she counted the seconds between the lightning and the thunder, she could figure out how many miles away the lightening was.
Ginny couldn't remember the exact conversion, but she counted anyway. One, two, three, four, five—
Thunder rumble, and Ginny grinned.
"Ginny? You in here?"
Giny squinted over her shoulder. "Oh. Hey, Harry. Did Ron finally give?"
Harry chuckled, a tin in one hand and a flickering candle in the other. "Yeah, Malfoy beat him out of every last Knut."
Ginny snorted. "Malfoy cheats. Ron ought to know that, by now."
"Yeah, you know how Ron is," Harry grinned.
And it was true. Ron really did ought to know better; Malfoy always cheated at cards. And everything else, actually. Except on people. Draco Malfoy did not cheat on people. Ginny had made sure of that herself. Either way.
Harry shook his head and made his way across the floor towards her. The tin his hands rattled. "Cinnamon hearts. You like them, right?"
Ginny clapped. "Yes! Best Muggle sweet. I thought Ron ate them all!"
"Nah, I saved some."
Ginny grinned up at him and held the quilt open. "Thanks. Really. Want to sit?"
Harry set the tin and the candle down in front of her and slipped into the quilt, still warm from her skin. He tucked himself around her, shifted uncomfortably for a few moments, and then pulled her into his lap. Ginny sat with her back against his chest, and listened to the beating of his heart.
They sat like that for a long time. They sat there for so long, the candle was nothing but a puddle of melted wax and the flame was guttering. Harry's hands found their way 'round her waist and it was... good. Quiet.
"Hey, Ginny?"
"Hm?" Her voice was heavy with almost-sleep.
"…Nothing. Never mind."
He kissed the top of her very red head. Harry thought that if he could have had anything, it would have been her. The candle flickered and went out.
Content, they sat together and watched the lightning storm in the dark.
fin.