Chapter 1: Bittersweet Escape

Have you seen the sunlight pouring through her hair?

And felt her warm mouth on you in the summer's air

"Come and get me!"

Ginny shrieked at the top of her lungs and tried to run faster. Her fiery locks accented with the rays of the setting sun, casting a splendid halo around her head.

It was a lovely, breezy afternoon and she and Draco decided to secretly meet on a hill near Hogsmeade.

They have not seen one another in more than a year. The second Great War lasted far longer than anyone ever expected. There was so little joy and laughter to be had. The world has turned upside in a span of one year – men dying, women grieving. As the days flew by, more children were orphaned. People grew hungrier, wearier as each second passed them by.

In the darkest of times, they have found solace in one another's arms, found hope in the letters they exchanged.

They have found strength in one another's love.

The fact that they belonged to the opposite sides of the battlefield was unimportant to both of them.

Now all Draco and Ginny wanted was to make the most of the short time that they could be together. It would only be a matter of hours before Draco would feel his mark burn, only a couple of hours before Ginny would be called back to the hospital.

But their stand in the war and their duties to their causes were not in their minds. They would savor each moment they would spend together, leave reality far behind for a brief time.

Escape.

"You won't get far, Red," Draco called out, laughing, his black robes flowing behind him as he followed Ginny to the top of the hill. "I'll be there in a heartbeat." And he began to increase his speed.

But he was impatient. It's been too long since he held her in his arms.

"Oh, sod it!" he decided to quit running and cut the chase short. In a soft popping sound, he apparated right behind Ginny.

"Hah!" he yelled in triumph and pulled Ginny to him. "I told you I'll be here in a heartbeat." He kissed her cheek and heartily chuckled.

"Ah!" Ginny cried in surprise as her eyes widened. "How dare you cheat!" She giggled as she felt him kiss her. She tried to disentangle herself from Draco and tried to resume the childish chase, but she lost her balance and fell on the soft blanket of grass, taking Draco along with her.

Peals of laughter came from the two lovers trying to steal time from a very dangerous, exhausting and seemingly hopeless reality.

They have never been this carefree in a long time.

Running in a field of brown, laughing, rolling on the ground now

Smiling as she pulls you down

Ginny wrapped her around him and looked into his eyes, "I've missed you so." She said it simply and sincerely.

Draco tenderly traced her lips with his finger and looks at her longingly, "I know, I've missed you, too." He went to lie on his back and stared at the endless sky above. The horrors of the past year beginning to stir in his mind, but he told himself he would have none of those today. Yet he found himself telling the woman he loved, "You're the only one who kept me sane in the camp."

She curled her body towards him and put her head on his chest, feeling and hearing the strong sound of Draco's heartbeat, hoping to hear it call her name. "I know, love," she whispered. That's how I feel, too. You're the only person who kept me going. Your letters are the only ones I live for each day. I worry myself to death whenever the sun has gone down and not a single note from you."

Draco sighed and caressed her fiery hair. He loved the feel of her hair on his hand. "What's to become of us? I'm getting weary everyday."

Ginny looked up and brought a finger to his lips, "Hush. We should not think about those things right now. We have time to worry about that when we've gone back to our separate lives. Let's think about ourselves just this once."

She leaned and pressed her lips on his. And she felt fire. She gave with so much ardor, knowing how much he needed her. Draco gave just as much. They draw strength from one another.

When they broke apart, Ginny smiled at him contentedly.

"Come," Ginny stood up and inclined her head, willing Draco to follow her.

He stood up and caught up with her. There was no need for words.

The sun was setting, any minute now and the darkness would fall. But in the middle of a world full of turmoil and hate, love and passion still burned bright.

Ginny made her way to the other side of the hill, where there was an abandoned cottage they could spend the night in. She knew Draco would be unwelcome in her quarters, she was sure of that. And they must be careful not to be seen together. Finding the cottage was a blessing for these two lovers.

When they were safely inside the cottage, Ginny sat on the small bed and looked at him with her big brown eyes, "I found this one day when I had free time to roam around. I could not think of anywhere else for us to go. No one lives here anymore. This is ours now. Our love is safe here."

"Oh Gin," Draco smiled and sat beside her, locking her in an intimate embrace, "you didn't really need to. All this effort…"

"I want to spend the night with you," she told him simply.

At that moment, Draco felt his mark burn. And now anxiety coursed through him. He ran his fingers through his hair, "Ginny, I can't. Any moment now, they would call."

But she was insistent. "How much time?"

"I can't say," Draco said, worried that they may not have enough time to spend for the more intimate moments they have looked forward to over the year that they have been apart.

And the mark burned once more. Draco fought not to wince, but Ginny saw it in his eyes.

She tugged on his robes until she saw the Dark Mark on his forearm. She saw how it became more vivid, saw how it became darker.

"They are calling you. If only I could buy more time for you, I would. I love you, Draco," she leaned towards him, "there is nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Draco gently held her face towards him and kissed her.

Damned be the Death Eaters. Damn the war.

In their little cottage, the lovers forged a world that was theirs alone. A world where there was no war, no famine, no mourning.

They didn't need to tell one another what they want. They just knew.

Tonight they would gladly give.

That's the way she feels about you

That's the way she feels about you

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This is the first of three parts. Please read and review! I live for your reactions and comments.