Late into the night, the snow fell and fell. It packed the ground tightly as inch after inch of the fluffy white substance coated the ground, its iridescent color reflecting the light of the moon. The stars in the sky twinkled, looking down and smiling at the cottages, spread out for miles throughout the otherwise empty space. The isolated village, to an outsider, was a beautiful and calming winter scene, but to an insider, it was anything but.
Their cottage was in the middle of the town; nothing else was around for miles. Both of them were tired, cold, and hungry, but neither was willing to sleep. The low fire was their only source of heat, their only salvation from the unforgiving cold outside their shelter, and they were rapidly running low on firewood. Their food supply was limited, and there seemed to be no prospect of the immense snowfall dying down in the near future. Both were reaching the point of panic, but neither wanted to be the one to show it.
She wrapped the warm quilt around her shivering form and thought about how they had got there. It was supposed to be a romantic rendezvous, a chance for them to be alone without prying eyes or her judgmental brothers continuously telling her that the two of them have no business being together. Their speeches had grown tiresome, and they had just wanted to be alone. Together, and alone. They never expected, though, that a skiing trip to Switzerland would leave them wandless and freezing in a nearly abandoned village with next to no resources at their disposal.
"Draco?" she called over to him as he was throwing another log on the fire and rubbing his hands together for warmth. They only had a few pieces of wood remaining for the fire.
The blond glanced up at his girlfriend, teeth clattering slightly from the cold. He walked over to her and pulled her into an embrace, hugging her tightly against his chest. "We'll be fine, Ginny," he whispered against her ear. "I promise; we'll get out of this."
His comforting words were completely foreign to her. As much as she loved him, his snarky self-importance was his trademark. He was not meant to be sweet and endearing, and it sounded completely unnatural. But she needed him then. They needed to do something to keep themselves awake and alive until somehow, someway, they could get back home to England.
He kissed her temple and she wrapped her arms around his middle, allowing the thick quilt to slide down her back. The chill in the air struck her - the fire was already beginning to die down in its grate – but the feeling of his warm hands touching the bare skin of her arms gave her just the tiniest bit of comfort, of understanding that they were farther from death than she had realized. They still had some time.
But then it occurred to her how helpless they both were, how fruitless any attempt at survival would be. Even though they still had time, the snowfall was not easing up, and they had no way of bettering their situation without their wands, without the ability to communicate with the outside world. Those unbidden thoughts crept into her mind continuously, and she turned away from him, her back against his chest.
"Why are you pushing me away?" Draco asked, his hands gripping onto her upper arms, pulling her body flush against his, both wanting and needing her close to him. A hint of frustration and irritation was present in his voice.
"Because we're stuck here," she said, "trapped like animals." She sounded hoarse from the cold and harsh from her impatience. She didn't want to die like this, in another country, hidden away in the middle of nowhere. "There's nothing we can do."
"Aren't I supposed to be the cynical one?" He brushed a hand down her cheek. At her flinch, he hissed, "And stop acting like I've done something to you."
Ginny turned back around, resting her head against his chest in an attempt to relax. Inwardly, she smiled as his hands reflexively went to her waist. Even despite their bad luck and their dreadful circumstances, being close to him always felt like home. She breathed in his scent – cloves and cigarettes and smoke from the fire – and felt a chill flow through her system. Though their relationship had never been easy and they'd had to fight for so long in order to make it all work, she knew that if this would be her last night alive, she'd want to spend it with him, wrapped in his arms.
Lifting her face to his, she kissed him. Gently at first, she explored him, their lips enveloping each other's. Though their cottage was freezing, Ginny could feel the warmth spreading through her system as the intensity of their kiss gradually began to increase. From her lips, all the way to the tips of her toes, she could feel the heat beneath the surface of her skin. The fire between them was growing, and she could feel herself grow hot as his hands slowly began to explore her, running over her arms before making their way to her back.
The kiss was broken briefly, just long enough for Draco to pull her shirt over her head and for her to do the same. Immediately the frigid air hit them, and they longed for the recent loss of heat to be returned. They pressed their bodies together to compensate for the cold, the warmth of their skin soothing the ache.
His hands wound around to her back, quickly unclasping her bra. His fingertips dug into her back, moving upward until he found the straps of thin material that she was aching for him to discard. Slowly, he removed the article before pressing his chest more firmly against hers and running his hands down her sides, gently cupping the sides of her newly exposed breasts in the process. He held onto her more firmly as she deepened the kiss, pulling his face into hers, not caring about the clash of teeth that resulted. They needed to be close to each other, to feel every inch of skin, but they had yet to reach that point. Not nearly.
Once again, the kiss was broken. Ginny stepped away from him, allowing him to admire her naked upper half. She bit her lip and slowly reached out to unbutton his jeans. As she did so, she gently tugged on the waistband, leading him towards her and into the bedroom. Though she tried not to show it, she was terrified of what was going to come next. She knew that he was experienced where she wasn't, and he had always been good about not pressuring her into anything. But it was time, and she was ready. The cold and the fear heightened her senses. She knew that her body, if left to his experienced hands, would be well cared for. Draco would never hurt her.
They arrived at her bedroom. It was dark save for a few candles, which did little to light or heat her room. The bed was unmade, the sheets wrinkled and inviting. She slid his trousers down his legs, and he kicked them off along with his shoes. Afterward, she allowed him to lay her down on the bed. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the sensual experience of being undressed by a man, at his eyes raking over her newly exposed flesh. She was nervous and anxious, but also excited. The fact that his eyes never left her, obviously appreciating everything that she had to offer him, made her feel strong and beautiful.
Soon, the two of them were separated only by thin scraps of fabric. Ginny put her hands to the band of her knickers, preparing herself to remove them, but Draco stopped her. "We've got time, love," he said, his voice, as soft as silk, making her quiver in anticipation. "Let's not rush."
She nodded, more surprised than anything. Though Draco had never been the type to act rashly, somehow she still expected him to want to move more quickly. Even without pressuring her, he had made it obvious that this was something he was anxious for. But she trusted him, and he knew what he was doing. If he thought it was best, she'd allow him to take his time with her.
Draco crawled into the bed beside her and stopped Ginny from immediately trying to pull the duvet cover over them. "If we're going to do this, then we've got to do it right."
"What do you mean?"
He positioned her onto her side to face him and allowed his fingertips to graze her skin – from her face, all the way down her arm, and then onto her thigh. "You're not going to hide from me," he whispered, his voice almost a low purr. "I want to see all of you."
Ginny closed her eyes, feeling a swell of warmth spread through her chest. To hear him speak to her in that way, so warm and sensual, made her heart skip a beat. His lips encased hers, gently nibbling and sucking. It amazed her that Draco always knew how to make her weak at the knees. It almost seemed like he knew her body even better than she did, and somehow that was comforting for her, to know that he would always be able to take care of her in ways that nobody else could.
Her breath hitched as she felt his hands trail over her abdomen and between her legs, rubbing against her thighs briefly before his fingers slipped inside her knickers. He broke the kiss and guided her onto her back as he hovered over her. The sight of her experiencing a man's touch for the first time was unbelievably erotic, despite the knowledge that she was almost painfully nervous.
Draco rested on his side, one hand in place, exploring her and pleasuring her, and the other running through her hair. He kissed her temple. "Relax," he whispered soothingly. "Let it happen."
She bit her lip as she felt an intense wave of heat flush through her system. It was unreal, the way he made her feel, the effect he had over her mind, body and soul. He knew her inside and out. The way he touched her and the way he was especially attentive to her facial expressions, allowing them to be the guiding light to knowing what she liked and what she didn't, made her feel like she was the center of his world.
And everything was happening so quickly. Her mind became fuzzy, her insides began turning into knots, and she could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage. She was so close, and Draco knew and didn't stop. He prolonged her crest, her moment of extreme bliss, of falling apart at the seams. She couldn't concentrate on anything but him and the way he was making her entire body feel like an explosion of ecstasy. Panting, she gripped at his arm, squeezing it as she finally let herself release the nearly primal sound that she had been trying to conceal.
Her heart rate slowed, and Draco removed his hand from between her legs. Ginny didn't waste a second before crashing her lips into his, in want, in need, and in appreciation. Her whole body felt like fire, and her touch nearly burned through him.
Eagerly, he kissed her back, wanting and needing her as much as she needed him.
They held onto each other, knowing they had as much time as they needed to explore each other's bodies and to enjoy being together. Ginny knew that, if what Draco had just done to her was any indication, she'd need several hours before she could possibly be sated.
Another tender kiss was pressed into her lips before he pulled back only slightly. They both stayed on their sides, facing each other, sharing breath and never allowing their eyes to wander. His fingers were entwined with hers.
"If we never get out of this place," Ginny began, her voice so soft that it was barely above a whisper, "what would be the last thing you'd want to do?"
He didn't respond, just looked at her with a slight upturn at the corner of his lips. She didn't need an answer; she knew. If all they had left was that moment, then that was good enough for them.