The air boomed loudly around her. After three months in the field, Ginny didn't even notice the noise caused by the skirmishes anymore. She knew if she looked up from the bandages she was winding up to put away, she would see showers of sparks and the occasional streak of lightening in the sky. This sort of hit and miss battling had been going on for months now with the Death eaters, and still no final conclusion could be reached. No quicker than they put down one band of them, another would sprout up to take its place. Bill was sure they were trying to lull them into complacency. He was determined to not let that happen. He would walk about muttering "We'll be ready when they bring it. We'll be ready."
Ginny sighed as she thought of the irony in the fact that through her quick auror training before she went into the field, she had received letter after angry letter from the Weasley men, and one Potter, telling her she COULD NOT join them in the field. Dumbledore had taken care of it all, quieting them one by one and evidently the way he did it was to assign Ginny to their division. Ginny didn't mind really, she wanted to be close by in case something should happen to one of them, but it made for quite a bit of the old over protectiveness she experienced through out her life with her brothers. Like the insistence that she set up her medical unit a small distance away from the actual soldiers campsite.
"Just a little way Gin." Bill had said. "You'll be close enough to help us, but far enough away where you won't be in the direct line of fire."
Ginny had acquiesced and she had to admit it worked out well. The distance of a few hundred yards allowed them to attend to the wounded without having to scramble to be sure their supplies weren't blown up or burned. Ginny was proud of the fact that they'd saved at least 50 lives in the last three months that would have been lost if they hadn't been there with them. Despite the danger, Ginny knew she had made the right decision. Even if it had cost her Draco.
He'd been consistently stubborn about the whole situation. When Ginny had first approached him to check the condition of the scars on his back, he'd gone willingly enough to the medic tent. He'd lowered his shirt and she had touched his back, poking and prodding, checking for any sign of opening in the wounds. When she'd found none, she'd slid her hand up his back to his shoulder in a provocative gesture. He'd grabbed hand and asked, "Have you decided to go home?"
"No." she'd replied and he'd flung her hand off his shoulder, put his shirt back on and walked out of the tent without even glancing at her. She'd run to her personal tent, and sobbed into her pillow. She'd cried off and on after that, most often at night, when she could hear the music from the harmonica she'd given him at Christmas come drifting over the hill that divided the medical unit from the rest of the division. Some of the tunes would be catchy and fun, but mostly they were Draco's usual style of melancholy. Just to hear him coax music from an instrument again brought back memories that made Ginny's heart ache.
Tonight the music started and it only helped to infuriate her. She'd gone to him today because she'd wanted to check his scars again. He'd refused to even acknowledge her presence. She'd been through this before with him. If he thought that his silent treatment was going to work on her this time, he was in for a surprise. She'd given in all those years ago about telling people about them because she'd been wrong. This time HE was wrong, not her. She would NOT give in. If the prat couldn't get over himself and remember they loved each other, then.... To hell with him!
The haunting tune floated through the air to tug at Ginny's heart again. Despite herself she felt the urge to go to him, to tell him it was going to be alright, as she always did when she sensed his pain in the music like she did tonight. It was as if the git knew it called to her.
When she could stand it no longer, she stood and dumped the last of the bandages into the box in front of her.
"I'm going over to the camp for a few minutes Luna" Ginny said as she passed Luna Lovegood. "Keep an eye on things, will you?"
"Sure Ginny. Tell Neville I said to come see me later." Replied the girl.
Ginny topped the hill and made her way into the camp, following the sound of the harmonica. Draco was sitting to one side of a campfire, playing. Bill, Charlie, and Harry sat close by, listening and talking quietly among themselves. Ginny stopped before Draco, hands on hips, and glared down at him.
"Malfoy, I think you have a visitor." Said Charlie.
Draco ignored Ginny and them, and kept playing.
"Take my advice Malfoy," said Bill, grinning. "When one of the Weasley women gets that look on their face, you'd better just talk to them. Or else."
"I'll bite," said Harry. "Or else what?"
"Or else you're liable to find yourself with a bat bogey hex you can't shake off. But then you'd know something about Ginny's bat bogey hexes, wouldn't you?" Bill said, guffawing.
Draco lowered the harmonica and looked over at the three men hatefully. Then he looked up at Ginny. He sighed and rose. Without a word, he began walking to his tent. Ginny followed.
When they entered the tent, Ginny gave Draco a shove from behind that sent him stumbling to regain his balance. When he turned around to face her she began to pound on his chest with her two small fists. "I am sick of you, you great prat. Do you hear me? I am sick of you. I am NOT going home. I am not. Do you hear me? You're a bastard Malfoy, and I hate you! I hate you!" she half shouted at him as she pummeled him.
Draco withstood the onslaught for a few moments. Then he suddenly grabbed Ginny's wrists and jerked her to him. His mouth came crashing down on hers and Ginny moaned. He released her wrists to wrap his arms around her and draw her even closer. She clawed at his shirt, wanting to touch his bare skin. In a matter of moments, both of them were naked. He lifted her suddenly and Ginny wrapped her legs around his waist. He lowered her to the cot in the tent and fell on top of her. The lovemaking was neither gentle and sweet nor angry and rough. It was desperate and passionate. Months of longing and aching for each other poured out of both of them. They nipped and bit, drawing blood sometimes, tasting each other like they were starving for the other one. Hands touched every part that could be touched, and tongues assaulted each other in search of the sweetness of each other's mouth.
Both of them came together, silent and shuddering. Afterward, both of the lovers sweaty and panting, despite the chill in the air they clung to each other, neither talking, neither being sure just what to say. Draco pulled a blanket over the two of them and in a matter of minutes, both were sleeping peacefully, for the first time in the long months they'd been apart.
As dawn broke the night sky, Ginny woke up and quietly crept off the cot. She dressed quickly and kneeling over the cot, she kissed the blond man's cheek. She smoothed the hair off his forehead and whispered to the sleeping Draco, "I love you Ferret. I don't know that this solved anything for us, but I hope you remember I love you."
Ginny rose and left the tent, making her way back to the medical unit before everyone, a few brothers included, caught her coming out of Draco's tent.
Less than five minutes later, Draco awoke with a bewildering sense of loss. Then he realized that Ginny was gone. He inhaled the scent of her on his pillow for a moment and hugged it to him. Then he got up to start the day.