Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. If I did though… I WOULD BE RICH!!!

Brain: Money? Who need's money?

Me: Everyone needs money, not matter how pesky that can at times.

Brain: I have no need for trivial money.

Me: That's because you live in my head.

Brain: Exactly!

Me: Maybe I should make you pay rent… *looks at readers* What do you think?

Brain: That wouldn't be such a good idea.

Me: Why wouldn't it be?

Brain: Because then I would leave.

Me: Well, that wouldn't be too bad. You are rather a nuisance.

Brain: And you wouldn't have brain.

Me: Oh, dang it. Didn't think of that. *sigh* Well so much for that plan. Let's just get on to the author not shall we?

Brain: Yes, we shall.

Me: Oh, shut up you!

Well, how is everyone? Sorry to leave you guys for so terribly long but I really, truly, am sorry. I hope this makes up for it. I have to say, this chapter is full of Draco/Ginny amazingness and is so sweet! I love this chapter. But, you all probably want to read it for yourselves rather than taking my word on it.

Again, sorry it took so long. My computer got a virus the FREAKIN day Spring Break started. I had planed on getting at least two chapters out during spring break and then BAMB virus. It was really sad because we had to take it to get it fixed and I didn't get it back till two days after spring break ended. I was not happy, to say the least.

But, I'm back now and my writer's block seemed to lift miraculously like the clouds parting and I got this chapter written. But I'm sure you've heard me babble enough and wish only to get on reading. I will not detain you longer.

Without further ado…

Chapter 28

Ginny POV

I woke the next morning really late. Armour was sitting on my chest, swatting at my face to get me up. I sighed softly and opened my eyes to the bright blue ones of my kitten. I gently stroked her as I glanced over at Draco. I was startled for a moment before the previous night came flooding back to me. I quickly put Armour on the floor and pulled the blanket down off Draco's chest. I cringed– the mark on his back looked worse in the morning light.

Gently brushing some hair out of Draco's face, I kissed his forehead. I wished there was something I could do to help him, but the only thing I had left to do for him was to give him some potions and since he was still out I couldn't even do that. I sighed and lay next to him again, curling up against his side with my face in the crook of his neck. Oh, how I wished he would wake up.

I closed my eyes and breathed in his amazing scent, kind of musky with a hint of spicy cologne. It was a distinct thing that had stuck in my mind from the beginning. When he had first given me that clock of his, the scent clung to it, faint and unimaginably inviting. Sometimes I would find myself lying awake at night with my face buried in his cloak, letting his scent wash over me.

More recently, when Draco had left for the break, I would sometimes just lie in bed with my face in his pillow and the blankets pulled around me. The scent was faint on the sheets and I sometimes would cry, wishing and praying he would come back okay. And now, here he was, hurt and unconscious. I breathed deeply, trying to calm myself as the tears ran from my eyes. I felt so helpless. I didn't know how to help him.

I knew that it was best to let him sleep. His body needed the rest to recover and that was why he still hadn't woken. But I could use magic to wake him up, though my mum always told me that it shouldn't be done unless it was necessary. She always said that it was best to let the body cope on its own. It was one thing to use the spell to revive a person who had been stunned but to use it to revive someone who was naturally unconscious was something that went against the body's natural defences.

But I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold out with Draco unconscious. I didn't know how long I could just sit around, not able to do anything for him, and not knowing if he was going to be all right. I knew that waking him would do little good. At most he would just be able to take the potions that I had out for him. But I needed to hear his voice. I needed him to tell me it would all be okay.

I tried to stifle my tears as I sat up, gazing down at the blond boy that had come to mean the world to me. As gently as I could, I flipped him onto his back. I grimaced at the moan of pain that escaped his lips. He would be in a lot of pain when he woke up. At least when he was sleeping he wasn't conscious of the pain. That was one reason for unconsciousness. It was the body's way of dealing with the pain the mind could not handle. But I needed Draco awake. I quickly grabbed my wand from the bedside table and knelt next to him on the bed. "Rennervate!" I whispered softly.

I let out a cry of relief when his eyelids fluttered as if he couldn't decide whether or not it was worth it open his eyes. I tried to compose myself but it didn't really work. "Draco," I said softly, my eyes overflowing with tears that I could not hold back as I brushed the hair lightly from his forehead. "Draco, open your eyes. Please, just open your eyes." And, as if all my prayers had just been answered, his eyes slowly opened.

Draco POV

As my eyes slowly fluttered open, I saw the beautiful redhead hovering over me. Her hair was framing her face in wild curls and her soft brown eyes were overflowing with tears that were streaming down her freckled face. I struggled to keep my eyes open, not wanting to stop looking at the girl I had come to love. She was the only thing that kept me sane over the past weeks, especial yesterday. I grimaced at the memory and at the pain that still ran rampant through my body. "Ginny," I whispered in a hoarse, raspy voice.

She nodded and her fingers slowly began tracing my jaw. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the butterfly caress and the slight burning tingle that always accompanied her touch. That was something that was unique to Ginny, they way my body responded to her as it never had to any other. Such simple, innocent touches were things that I had never felt. Before, when I was with other girls, it was simply for sex. It was for the gratification, not any romantic mushy stuff. There was nothing innocent about it. But with Ginny, I learned to enjoy those simple, innocent caresses.

They didn't mean anything physical to Ginny, I knew that much. She was oblivious as to how even those innocent touches made me want her. I had known from the beginning how truly innocent she was. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't push her. She wasn't ready for that kind of physical relationship and I had accepted that with ease that surprised even myself. I hadn't even been able to think about being with any other girl since I met Ginny.

I came out of my reprieve as I felt Ginny's hand starting to pull away. With the lightning fast reflexes that I had always depended on as a seeker, I stopped her hand and put it back to my jaw. I tried my best to ignore the pain that came with the movement, willing it to become a dull throb in the back of my mind. I heard her sigh softly as I lightly traced circles on the back of her hand with my thumb. I felt her slide down to lie next to me, her hand still resting on my jaw. I slowly opened my eyes to look over at her still teary brown ones.

I let my hand slide up her arm, over her shoulder, and gently cupped her cheek. I wiped away the tears on her face, only for them to be replaced by the tears streaming from her eyes. "Ginny," I said softly again as I turned slightly onto my side and slid my hands down slowly to her hips, ignoring the pain that seared through my back. I could deal with the pain. Right now I just needed to hold Ginny. I pulled her close to me, cuddling her to my chest and burying my face in her wild hair.

Her arms went around me to and she clung to me with surprising force. With a hiccupping sob, she let go of what little control she seemed to have and collapsed against me, sobbing uncontrollably. I knew little of what to do as she clung to me crying. I simply held her tighter, ignoring the slight burn of tears in my own eyes.

I wasn't sure how long we lay like that, clinging to each other as she sobbed out her heartache. After a while, though, her crying died down to hiccups as she tried to regain her composure. "I'm s-sorry," she said into my chest. "I've just been so s-scared and I f-felt so helpless." She tilted her head up slightly to look at my face with eyes that were red from crying. "I d-don't know what I would have done without you," she whispered, before burying her face in my chest once again.

"It's all right," I said as I stroked her hair. "Everything is fine now. I'm not going anywhere." She nodded against my chest and I simply held her to me. After a while longer her hiccups died down and faded altogether as she slowly drifted off to sleep, exhausted from her emotional outpouring.

The pain in my back was starting to get worse from the position I was in but I really didn't want to risk waking Ginny up. So instead I looked around the bedroom that she and I had shared for several months. The room that had once been perfectly well kept and completely devoid of decorations, the whole dorm really, had transformed when she had come. There was a calendar by the window that had the first few days of the month already marked off. There were shoes by the closet door. A few pictures were up on the dresser along with her hairbrush. But little things like that made the dorm seem so much homier.

I was never as happy as when I held Ginny in my arms while she was sleeping in my bed. Every morning I was amazed to wake up with her at my side, wondering if this was too good to be true. But then I would get a harsh dose of reality like I had over the break. It seemed the universe always had a way of balancing out the good and bad.

I let out a sigh as the pain in my back became too much and I was forced to shift my position, rolling onto my back again. Moving hadn't woken Ginny up but the involuntary gasp of pain as I lay back had. I silently berated myself as I saw her eyes flutter open. It took her a moment to really wake up and I watched her sleepy movements as she stretched next to me. And then she let out a gasp and looked over at me, her face worried. "Oh, I forgot to give you the potions!"

She quickly climbed out of the bed, making it feel incredibly empty. "Ginny," I said, my voice still weak.

She immediately swung around to face me as she had been by the dresser. "Yes? I'm sorry, Draco. I shouldn't have fallen asleep on you. I know your hurt and-"

"Ginny," I said again, trying to stop her rambling. "Don't be sorry for falling asleep." I tried to smile at her but it turned to a grimace of pain as I started to sit up. She rushed to my side and helped me to a sitting position. I was surprised at how much less that hurt that I thought it would. Really the only pain I had was on my back. The rest of me was just sore.

"You probably shouldn't move too much," she said as she put some pillows behind me. I felt horrible having to have her help me, but there was little I could do about it. Usually the house elves had always tended to me after my father's beatings but the only thing I could think about after I regained consciousness on his office floor was getting back to Ginny. "I couldn't heal your back very well and you don't want to disturb the little bit that has healed."

"I'm surprised you got it even slightly healed," I said as I closed my eyes, exhausted from just that little exertion.

Silence surrounded us for a few moments before she got up again and went to find something. I opened my eyes when she sat back down next to me. She had two potion bottles in her hands. I recognized them immediately as two of the stronger healing potions I had. "Here," she said, unstopping one and handing it to me.

I drank down the bitter potion quickly and did the same with the other. Before I could even ask for it she also handed me a glass of water. I drank it down almost as quickly as the potions, thirsty and wishing to rid myself of the taste left by the two healing potions, and was delighted at the sound of Ginny's laughter. "Did they taste that bad?" she asked in mock sympathy, humour dancing in her eyes.

"Just horrid," I answered with a smile and weak laugh, once again letting myself revel in her laughter.

Once her laugher died down we were again surrounded by silence. It was a comfortable silence as she climbed up next to me and settled against my side. I leaned down and kissed her then, wanting the feel of her soft lips moving with mine. She responded as eagerly as I hopped, as if she too had been waiting for this moment. It was easy to ignore my pain now, whether it was from the potions or from her kiss, as I pulled her onto my lap without breaking the kiss. I ran my hand down her sides and let my finger slip under the hem of her nightshirt, resting my cool hands against her warm skin.

She gasped into my mouth at the contact and I broke the kiss. But instead of ending it there I started kissing down her jaw, her neck. She tilted her head back to give me better access to her throat. I pulled her against me tighter as I nipped lightly at her neck, making her gasp again. I went back to her mouth then and kissed her hard, letting myself forget the time apart and the torture that had accompanied it. Finally, though, I forced myself to stop. Though I didn't want to stop, I didn't want to push her into it. She wasn't ready.

I rested my forehead against hers, trying to catch my breath. Her own breathing was erratic and made me want to pick up where I had left off. But I controlled those more basic urges and slid her off my lap, settling her into my side, my arms still wrapped around her. In that moment, everything felt right. But the feeling was too short lived because after a while she grew sombre and looked up at me. "What happened, Draco?"

I gazed down at her; tears were starting to gather in her eyes again. I softly wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes and kissed her softly. "The Dark Lord had some missions he wanted me to go on," I said, lifting my head only slightly and my lips brushing hers slightly as I spoke. She sucked in a quick breath at the statement and I kissed her again until we were both out of breath.

I rested my chin on top of her head and continued talking. "To go on these missions I would have to have passed my apparition test so I wouldn't be a burden. I didn't want to go. I can't kill, Ginny." I took a deep breath and she pulled my hand into her lap and started to gently run her fingers along it. I wasn't even sure if she realized she was doing it. I continued. "So I purposely failed my test so I wouldn't be able to go. It was the only way to avoid it. Father was not pleased." I trailed off, remembering the encounter with the man who I had always hated.

She nodded her head in understanding and I freed my hand from hers, using it to tilt her chin up. I shook my head and, skipping the details, said softly, "When he was done with me, the only thing I could think about was getting back to you." I brushed my lips against hers once more.

She sighed softly and kissed me back. But as I moved to deepen the kiss she pulled back. "But how did you get into Hogwarts with the Floo Network?"

"I have connections," I said simply. "It wasn't hard, really. The hardest part was getting to the fireplace." I immediately regretted saying that because her eyes clouded over with tears, as I'm sure she was imagining what I had looked like when I stumbled out of the fireplace. So, in an attempt to get her mind off of it, I did the one thing I knew would work. I kissed her.

Can you say amazing? Okay, well some of you might not have liked it as much as I did but, hey, tell me about it! Use that little handy review button down there and tell me your opinion of it!

And some of you have come to me and expressed something I had forgotten about. The Trio haven't been mentioned enough in this story as they should, seeing as how close Ginny always was to them. After the Dream Team was pointed out, or rather lack there of, I realized that you guys were right. I need them in here more! They will be, rest assured.

So, do me a huge favor and leave a review. I love all my readers but my reviewer hold a special place in my heart! *hugs all you reviewers* I wouldn't be where I am without you guys! Oh and feed BJ! He is quite hungry.

And remember, a happy author writes better and faster. So review and make me happy!!!