Ginny woke the next morning and was disoriented for a moment. She was in a strange bed and there was an unfamiliar weight on her hip. Then she remembered where she was and who was in the bed snuggled up to her back. This was the first time, in all the years they'd been together that they'd actually slept in the same bed. She scrunched down under the covers and pressed her body closer into Draco's. She felt the hand on her hip slid up to cover her breast.
"Mmmm, what a good way to wake up." Murmured Draco, not opening his eyes.
She felt his mouth touch the back of her neck and she shivered as he found a sensitive spot there and began to administer his tongue to it. The hand abandoned the breast and slid down between her legs. It found the little knob of pleasure there and began to roll and tease it in it,s fingers.
"Draco!" Ginny gasped, rolling over on her back to face him.
"Yes?" he asked, running his tongue along the curve of her ear.
"Don't you think.... oh.... oh my.... don't you think we ought to...dear Lord.... oh never mind." She said, abandoning all thought as he took her nipple in his mouth and sucked.
Ginny grasped the bed sheet in both hands as she climaxed. Then, rolling Draco over on his back, she moved down his body to take him into her mouth. He sucked in his breath and plunged his hands into her hair, lightly pushing and pulling her head to help her towards the rhythm he desired. As she picked up the pace, he released her head and grabbed the bars of the headboard of the bed. As he exploded into her mouth he half shouted, "Oh my God, Ginny!"
Ginny sat up, looking down at Draco with a grin on her face.
"What exactly are you smirking at me like that for?" He asked, amused.
"That will give you something to think about while you're out in the field."
"Er, yes, it certainly will. You look awfully pleased with yourself, Princess."
"Do I? Well, it sort of an ego boost to know I can reduce you to a quivering heap!" Ginny said, glancing over at the mirror on the opposite wall. "Oh Draco, why didn't you tell me my hair was sticking straight up!"
Draco smirked at her this time. "I think you look rather cute, all tousled and messy."
Ginny clobbered him with a pillow and rolled off the bed. "Beat you to the shower!' she cried, bare feet padding over the carpet.
"Hey, you cheat!" he said, jumping up to run after her.
Needless to say, the steam in the bathroom wasn't all caused by hot water that morning.
Ginny and Draco arrived at the burrow that afternoon around two. Molly met them at the door and swept both of them into her plump arms.
"Ginny! Oh, I'm so glad you're home! And Draco! Goodness, don't they feed you in the field? Come on now, give me a hug." She cried.
Draco went willingly enough into Molly Weasley's arms. He loved his mother more than anything, but she wasn't very physically demonstrative with her affections and nothing could make you feel any better when you were blue than one of Molly Weasley's hugs. Draco definitely found himself feeling blue at the thought of leaving Ginny and leaving this comfy little cottage he had grown so familiar with in his teen years to go back to a tent in a cold field.
"Can you stay for dinner? Good, good! Then there will at least be three of us. Arthur's working tonight. He owled me earlier and said to tell Draco he wished him good luck on the mission, and Ginny he would see her tomorrow."
Ginny and Draco sat around the kitchen table as Molly cooked and chattered to them. After they ate, Draco rose to go. Ginny walked with him to the front porch.
Draco turned at the steps and gathered her to him. "I hate to let you go again Princess. I'm afraid it might be another year before I get to see you again."
"Mum said Bill owled her saying he was going to try to get you all Christmas leave, at least for one night." Ginny said, wrapping her arms around him and laying her head on one of his broad shoulders.
"Yes, I know, but I'm almost afraid to hope for such a thing. And Christmas is still five months off." He said, kissing the top of her head.
"Well, I suppose if we can go a year, we can go five months. Will you keep owling me though?" she asked, looking up at him.
"I will if I can. If we go across enemy lines though, it's not allowed. If an owl fell into the wrong hands carrying a letter from one of our side, it could mean the death of us all."
"Perhaps it won't be anything so dangerous." Ginny said, hopefully. She hugged him tighter, dreading to let go.
He put his hand under her chin and lifted up her face to his. He just looked at her for a moment, wanting to memorize every freckle, remember every laugh line around her eyes, and recall every sparkle in her brown eyes. "I love you Gin."
"I love you too." He released her finally and turned to go, but she called out softly, "Draco?"
"Yes, luv?" he asked, turning back.
"Please come home to me." She said.
Three days after Draco left, Ginny reported for her first day of work at St. Mungo's. Poppy Pomfrey herself had taken charge at the hospital. She met Ginny in her office.
"There's just so many coming to us injured now, Ginny. I must admit, I'm very glad you're here. We can use all the help we can get. I won't lie to you. It's hard work. We've been working double shifts just to keep up and it's only getting worse."
"Just show me where to start Madame Pomfrey." Ginny said, "And sign me up for as many double shifts as I can handle. There isn't anyone at home waiting for me right now except Mum and I intend to drag her up here to volunteer as soon as possible. She can't possibly know what sort of shape you are in here, or she'd have already been here."
So Ginny began to work, going from day to endless day. She was true to her word and coaxed Molly, who had been quietly going crazy at home to the hospital. Molly was in her element. There were people who needed her. She bustled down the corridors of the hospital day by day, reading to sick children, soothing distraught parents and loved ones, fetching drinks or snacks or just chatting with the seniors, and helping injured soldiers write letters to home. It made Ginny smile to see her mum hurrying down the hall to tend to some "urgent" task for someone.
Ginny herself, began to notice things that she thought she could improve. She approached Poppy Pomfrey one day with an idea she had.
"Madame Pomfrey, in Scotland, I took a class on muggle medicine. I think maybe we can help with some of these more stubborn physical wounds by using some of the things I learned."
And so, Ginny began to teach some of the other medi-witches and wizards about what she had learned, and they began to apply it with a greater degree of success than failure.
Another thing that developed started with a visit from Hermione. She had been staying with her parents since Ron had enlisted and on a trip to visit with Molly and Ginny she told Ginny about some research she'd been doing on the Cruciatus curse. She had some very interesting ideas and her's involved a mixture of muggle and magic medicine also.
Hermione stayed over that night and went with Ginny to St Mungo's the next morning. They presented Hermione's research and their ideas to Madame Pomfrey.
"Madame, if this works, it could seriously cut down on the metal damage to patients who have been under Cruciatus for extended periods!" exclaimed Ginny.
Madame Pomfrey considered. "On the whole, I don't trust muggle medicine that much. But you were right Ginny, about the physical wounds, and Hermione, I know how thorough you are. Let's do this. I'll give you a lab here Hermione, to continue your research and experiments. Ginny you can help her as much as you can. Let's see what sort of results the two of you can come up with."
Hermione went home for her things and returned to the burrow that night. Over the next few months, Ginny would finish her shift and go to the lab, where she and Hermione would put their heads close together over books and beakers, working to find a cure for the incurable.
The letters from Draco came twice a week like normal for a while. Occasionally Ginny would get one from Harry, Bill, or Charlie, or one of the twins as well. Percy even sent her one or two. Never from Ron though. It annoyed Ginny that even after all this time, Ron barely acknowledged her presence. Ron wrote to Hermione though, and Hermione said he asked about Ginny's welfare often.
Then suddenly, the letters didn't come. None for Hermione, none for Ginny, none for Molly, except when Arthur would send one from the ministry, where he practically lived these days. Padma and Parvati Patil, Fred and George's girlfriends, stopped by St Mungo's one day and Ginny took them to lunch.
"Gin, have you had any word from anyone? One of your brothers? I haven't had a letter from Fred in ages, and Parvati hasn't had any word from George either." Asked Padma, leaning across the table of the restaurant towards Ginny.
"No, nothing from anyone, Padma. Draco told me when he met me at the station when I came home that they were about to go out on assignment though. Warned me there might not be any letters." Replied Ginny.
"Yes, the twins said as much to us in the last letter we got from them, but it's been almost three months now. I'm so worried." Parvati exclaimed, looking close to tears.
Ginny looked at the two identical dark haired girls from across the table. It still amused her somewhat that Fred and George had chosen identical twins. It had started her seventh year at Hogwarts when the red haired twins had opened a second Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes in Hogsmeade. No one quite understood the attraction of the proper, serious witches to the two red headed jokesters, but it seemed to work. Ginny knew that both Fred and George intended to ask Padma and Patil to marry them as soon as this war was over and they had enough money to make a home for them.
Ginny patted Parvati's hand, trying to offer reassurance that she didn't feel herself. "Dad says he's had no word that anything's happened, and he assures Mum, Hermione, and I that no news is good news."
"I do hope you're right, Ginny." Said Parvati, sniffling a bit." By the way, we ran into Cho Chang the other day in Diagon Alley. She said Quidditch had been suspended. Too dangerous for crowds to gather for games with the Death eaters striking all over the place. We invited her to your parents for Christmas. We hope that's alright, but with her and Harry being such an item and all before they all left barracks, we thought he might like to see her."
Cho was the seeker for the Tornados. "I'm sure its perfectly fine, Parv. Penelope Clearwater, Percy's fiancée, and Luna Lovegood and Mrs. Longbottom, Neville's grandmum are coming too. Cho will be most welcome. It has to have been rough for her. I know she and Harry decided to suspend the relationship till after this was over. I think it was more his idea, than hers. He told me he didn't want her to become too attached. He's still half convinced he has to die to get rid of you-know-who."
"What rot! "said Padma, rolling her eyes." Harry's always been a bit too much of a Hero for his own good. Doesn't he realize that it doesn't matter now? Cho is already quite attached. If Fred tried to pull any of that rubbish on me, I'd hex him into next year!"
Ginny laughed. "Well, I've got to get back to work ladies. If I don't see you before, I'll see you in three weeks on Christmas Eve. Even if the boys don't make it home, we can at least be together."