She wasn't quite sure how it had ended up like this. Neither was she quite certain just why she hadn't already been reduced to a puddle of goo the instant he had tilted his face just so and his lips had descended against hers. Well, scratch that last bit. Dean certainly was enthusiastic, this much she had to concede. But there was no way in hell he was going to be crowned Casanova anytime soon. Was it so bad of her if she felt more than a smidgen of having been cheated of something?
All things considered, it was alright she guessed. They were sitting in a corner of the common room while most of the other inhabitants of Gryffindor were still having a romp in the snow or doing last minute Christmas shopping down in Hogsmeade. The couch was soft and he was warm. She supposed this was what safety may feel like. It was pleasant.
Somewhere in her infinitely curious mind, an idea had blossomed to get as much practice out of this as she could, maybe test some theories she'd come across in books and magazines. After all, kissing is a life skill. Hermione Granger may be the one widely known as the swottiest witch in Hogwarts, but that was perhaps only because Ginny's taste in reading material ran the literary gamut.
The thought amused her a fair bit, and she was forced to stifle a laugh. It came out as a strange, throaty noise that made Dean pull her closer. She knew this was deception on some level, and therefore wrong, but advances had to be made for the sake of knowledge. Never let it be said that Ginny Weasley was afraid of anything.
And so she gamely kissed him back, noting with slight alarm that when he bent just so, the stubble that was grazing the side of her mouth. The softness of the underside of his tongue marvelled her, and she found herself not really minding the taste of his mouth. She filed all this information away for later consideration.
Touching her tongue slowly against his, she noted with a small amount of pride that his breathing had become slightly ragged. Her lips quirked up slightly. Had she really done that to him? A slight surge of power coursed through her veins. Being the only girl in a huge family had always made her treasure her femininity, the one thing that truly set her apart. And now that she was wielding it, it felt heady and thrilled her to no end. She wondered idly if she should feel guilty for thinking like this, then caught herself, and felt a pang of remorse for even thinking at all.
There was Dean eagerly sucking on her tongue (Did the boy have no finesse whatsoever? Aargh! Bad Ginny!) and here she was for all intents and purposes completely detached from him.
Dean was glassy eyed and smiling softly to himself when she gently extricated herself from his grasp after a series of firmly close mouthed kisses.
"You're absolutely crazy Gin. Good crazy. I like it." He'd whispered, in a voice full of something akin to awe.
She couldn't help but give a little sigh. He'd been so sweet and attentive earlier that day in Hogsmeade, and ever the gentleman, even bringing up things she'd vaguely remembered having said to him in passing before. She had enjoyed her time with him.
He just didn't make her heart jump.
Running her fingers through his fluffy brown hair, she smiled a little for his benefit. He'd always reminded her of little woodland animals for some reason, and she couldn't bring herself to outright cruelty. Maybe this was worse though.
"That's good." She said, finding the vaguest, most noncommittal thing she could say.
It was all she could do to will away the disappointment that welled in her, that her first real, proper kiss had been with someone she didn't really feel anything for.