Bravery is in the Eye of the Beholder
By
Sannikex
Chapter Twelve
A/N: It's been a while, I know, I know but in self-defence I can say that it was finished on paper a long time ago, I just couldn't will myself to type it up on the computer. Anyhow, now I have and I hope you will enjoy!
Ginny was sitting in the living room still, in the same way as she had since he left. She had no idea how long that was, just that he had almost, almost kissed her and then backed and been gone. The short step in the room might not physically be very large but he had put a rift deeper than the caves Charlie's dragons' lived in between them. He'd probably realized who he almost kissed. Who was he to judge anyway? How was she inferior to him? Did he consider kissing her too big a privilege to bestow it upon a 'simple' Weasley? She sighed. She couldn't even work up a proper rage to dull the pain his rejection caused. What had she done wrong?
That was when she heard him
She didn't know if he'd actually made a sound but she looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. For once his face was open for her to read. The grey depths of his eyes were filled with bottomless frustration, desperation and...sadness? Her heart constricted.
In four strides he was in front of her and he fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around her waist, leaning his head on her lap.
For a moment she sat motionless with surprise. Not once during the months in the house had he initiated any physical contact or expressed any wish for it. He had refused when she'd offered her comfort, almost been repulsed by it.
Then as if she was not Ginny Weasley and he was not Draco Malfoy she stroked his hair, running her fingers through the soft strands that were as silky as she'd imagined. A raw sound that she from anyone else would have taken for a sob tore out of his throat and reacting on instinct as well as for...other reasons, she joined him on the floor. She wrapped her arms around him and he accepted it, accepted anything she could give and she offered more, wanting to chase away the shadows in his mind, she pressed her lips to his. She felt his warm lips against her own and the world went away. There was no ugliness, no war, all there was, were the two of them. No fireworks went off and no music played, but she felt as if she could never care for such things in comparison to this. She felt glad of being herself, happy with her whole life, happy with this exact, glorious moment. Wishing to remain in this state, that made descriptions of kisses she'd read about seem as if the author had never been kissed the right way, she pressed herself closer. No one could imagine this feeling, no one had that imagination or the words, there were no words to describe floating and flying, sinking and floating, being heavy and light at the same time. Kissing him made her realize there was no word for happiness that conveyed this feeling at all.
He wrapped his arms around her and she felt a warm tear against her cheek, and she couldn't tell if it was his or hers. His hand set her skin on fire and she moaned as she felt him shifting so she was sitting on his lap, his back against the armchair. When his hand wound into her hair and angled her head so he could kiss the sensitive spot where her pulse was beating she lost her conscious thought and it was replaced with the need to get closer, closer...
"Ginny!" Surprised by her mother's voice they broke apart. He leaned his head on her shoulder and she could feel his heavy breathing against her neck. Somehow his shirt was unbuttoned and her left hand was on his chest. Her right hand was wound tightly in his hair and his hands were on her hips and her lips felt sore. Merlin! She was usually in control, setting the pace during snogging but in this case she knew she couldn't have slowed if she wanted to. On shaky legs she rose and he looked up at her. She couldn't help the smile that broke out like sunshine after rain.
"Yes, mum, I'm coming." With knees that still wanted to buckle she walked into the kitchen.
"Ginny, I...What have you done?"
"What?" She realized that she hadn't checked her own clothes for any state of undress. She looked down and breathed a small sigh of relief when nothing was out of order.
"You look...dazed, were you sleeping?"
"Er.." She tried to flatten her hair a bit. "Yes." Sleeping? She'd never felt more...awake, more alive in her whole life. It was unbelievable what he could make her feel...
"Ginny, I've come to tell you that there's been an attack. It's bad so I really don't have any time but your father...and I thought you should know." Molly's voice was tight. "Diagon Alley. Didn't you hear anything from your source?" Molly had been very suspicious of Ginny's 'source', especially since her daughter was being so secretive about it, but as the information had been proven correct she had accepted it. As far as Molly knew Draco Malfoy had not been seen since the attack of Ottery S:t Catchpole.
"No." Emotions were running haywire through her body like a giant Floo Network that had been wrongly connected.
"Very well." Molly pursed her lips. "I have to go. I'll see you soon, take care."
"Bye."
She stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. He was sitting with one leg bent, leaning his arm on his knee. He'd buttoned his shirt but his hair was still tousled and fell down across his forehead. He looked up.
"I didn't know. I...couldn't do anything." She could hear from his voice that he had wanted to do something, to actually actively oppose Voldemort and the last wall she had around her heart fell. He cared. She sat down beside him.
"I know." And as he had held her when she heard the news about Charlie she sat in silence beside him as they shared comfort without words.
A/N: Since there has been some complaining (hidden threats) about too little action I hope that you find this satisfying, lol.
