A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts and the HPFC.
Word Count: 479
Enjoy!
Ginny's laugh filled the room, drawing Theo's gaze back to her. He smiled at her over the canvas, admiring the way her red hair glowed in the sunlight. He loved these moments of serenity, when the outside world didn't matter at all and it was just the two of them.
Painting had been his escape after the war. There was something relaxing about it, something that made him forget about politics and punishments and disdainful looks. When he had a brush in his hand, all that existed was his imagination and the woman in front of him.
He was jealous of her, sometimes. Jealous that she had so many people to love her, that her family was so much more open-minded than his own. But when he saw her smiling at him, he knew that she was all he needed.
"Finished yet? We've been here hours, I'm starving."
Ginny's voice pulled Theo from his thoughts. He ran a hand through his dark hair and glanced at the portrait of her he was working on. He wasn't quite satisfied with it yet, but she was right—they had been at it for hours. He could resume tomorrow.
He set the brush down, shooting a small smile in his girlfriend's direction. "I'll finish tomorrow, if you can come then?"
Ginny hopped off the stool she was sitting on and made her way over to him, her freckled arms swinging at her sides. She stole a peek at the unfinished product, and Theo's heart beat a little faster when he caught the way her brown eyes lit up when she saw it.
"Of course!" She sent a blinding smile his way. "You're so talented," she told him sincerely.
Theo snorted softly as he began to gather up his supplies. "Maybe you're just a good subject."
Ginny grabbed his hand, halting his movements. "Might as well take the compliments, Theo. I don't hand them out that often."
Theo smiled sheepishly but nodded. "I'm working on it," he whispered.
It wasn't easy to suddenly accept that he was enough as he was—he'd lived his whole life striving to be the perfect son. Now that the war was over and he was no longer under the influence of his family, he had a freedom he didn't often know what to do with. It was Ginny who was holding his hand through it all, leading him down a path he'd never before dared to trod.
It was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.
Ginny leaned forward and kissed him chastely. "I know you are. Now come on, Mum wants you over for dinner."
Theo let her drag him to his feet and cast one last look at the painting before following her out of his apartment door.
The painting was beautiful, but it could never capture the love present in Ginny's eyes when she looked at him.