Summary: "Dead," he begins as he shifts closer to his sister, ready to comfort her. "Draco Malfoy was found dead." Ginny lets out a cry of pain as if someone has stabbed her. Oh, how she wishes. "No!"
The Day Before
It was late when she sat down on the cold, hard ground. She shivered when her body touched the wall. Fall was slowly slipping away, and already Death Eaters had tried to attack the students in a raid. She closed her eyes and allowed the cracks in the nearby wall to chill her. Numb her. As if it were deadening everything around her.
She could hear the wind howl a morose moan. The windows above showed how cloudy it was; the moon couldn't offer a glance through its thick prison. She breathed out a sigh and shifted as footsteps echoed the corridor. If it were a teacher, she would tell them about how she tripped and dazed out a bit, as it's so late. But it wasn't a teacher.
The footsteps stopped before her, and she felt another person's body slide down until it sat next to her. A shoulder pressed into hers and she immediately felt warmed by the body. "You're so cold," a voice whispered. The whisper caressed her cheek as she felt a hand take hers.
"I know," she said, opening her eyes. They stared at one another, and he pushed back a fallen lock of her hair that had escaped from its ribbon.
A faint smile came, as well as a glimmer of happiness. "You have your hair in curls," he said as the happiness disappeared from his gray eyes. She felt his thumb caressing her hand gently, and it sent shivers up her spine. She didn't know if it was from the cold or from his hands.
She returned his faint smile with her own. "Someone told me they liked it this way," she said as his hand slipped from her own. A sudden chill crossed her hand and she clasped her free hand with the one he let go. She watched as he reached toward his left shoulder and released the small clasp, so that his cloak fell from it. He put it over her shoulders before clipping it on. Her smile grew and he looked up. His face was serious but calm after he secured it on her shoulders.
He placed his hand back into hers. She leaned into him, her head falling onto his shoulder. His cloak warmed her, and she knew she didn't want to be cold anymore. Taking a free arm, he swung it around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
They sat there in their own thoughts, hopes, and dreams. Her eyes fell closed but not to sleep. Just to rest them. It would be a long day tomorrow, but she didn't want to leave him. Another blast of cold air came through the wall's cracks and caressed her bare legs, going up her skirt a bit and causing her to shiver. "We should head to bed," she muttered.
She felt his head nuzzle a bit into her hair. "I don't want to," he said as she heard him inhale her scent. "Do you?"
She closed her eyes again and breathed him in. The spicy scent crawled up her nose, and she wished to never forget it. Breathing back out, she said, "No."
She felt him press a gentle kiss onto her forehead. She moved slightly before looking up at him. His eyes glimmered with something she knew he didn't want her to see: sadness. He looked away, but she reached up and gripped his chin; he was forced to look at her.
"We can't stop it from happening," she said softly as her throat started to clog up with tears and anger. Feeling her self nearly break, she quickly added, "All we can do is hope."
He nodded mutely before scowling. "This shouldn't be happening."
A frown crossed her own brow as she ran her thumb over his smooth, yet rough skin. His eyes softened somewhat and she sighed. "I know."
He stared at her. His eyes looked into hers as he tried to find something. She stared back wordlessly, although her heart quickened and commanded her to turn away from his intense gaze. But she stayed in her spot and soon found it was getting harder to breathe as her head got light.
"Put your hair down," he said, his voice somewhat husky, making her shiver. Slowly she moved both her hands to the back of her head and pulled on the ribbon. It broke free from its tied knot and released her fiery red hair. The curls bounced slightly in the dark, and his eyes watched them before flickering back to her.
She gave a weak smile as she felt his hand lower from the middle of her back to her waist. He leaned forward a bit more but stopped when they were closer. Now, she could see a faint scar he had above his eyebrow; he said he had gotten it from trying to get away from Pansy when they were three. Licking her lips, she reached up and lightly touched it, not noticing how his eyes have fallen upon her lips.
Her breaths were once again uneasy as he leaned into her touch. Her forefinger glided across his skin, causing him to smirk. Looking away from his scar, she looked back at him and noticed the sly look in his eye. He was going to kiss her. Her heart sped up even more at the thought, and he leaned even closer. Their noses bumped into one another, and her breaths grew more ragged.
His free hand crawled up the side of her body, causing her to shiver, before it rested on her cheek. It made her realize how cold she was from the beginning. Sucking in another hard breath, he leaned in even more and kissed the corner of her mouth before pulling away. "Aren't you going to ask why?" he asked, his breath curling in between the point of her nose and cheek.
"Why what?" she asked shakily, her hand slowly snaking to the base of his neck. She could feel him shiver under her fingertips.
"Why," he began, making her now notice how ragged his own breath came. "Why I told you to put your hair down."
She licked her lips unconsciously, and this time noticed how he watched them. "Why did you tell me to put my hair down?" she asked in a quiet voice.
He leaned in closer, so their foreheads supported one another. "Because," he said as he breathed in a ragged breath, before kissing her nose. She felt her eyes closing without even having any recollection of doing it. "You're beautiful like that," he continued.
"Really?" she asked in one breath as her hand gripped his neck.
He nodded and she could feel her skin move under his touch. Without any more words, he leaned in and placed his mouth over her lips.
-
"Ginny," a soft voice calls out as her body is being shaken awake. Her eyes open and she stares into brown eyes much like her own.
"Charlie?" she croaks as she shifts up into sitting position. Charlie eyes her with great sadness. His eyes are red-rimmed and she can tell he's been crying. All she can remember is fighting a group of Death Eaters before passing out. She studies her brother's eyes further and breathes in a sharp breath. Her eyes are already flooding with tears, even though she hasn't heard what he's come to finally tell her.
She thinks of her dream with Draco, and her body hums with emotions before she breathes in shakily. "What happened?" she asks, her voice hoarse now with tears and anger rather then sleep.
"Dead," he begins as he shifts closer to his sister, ready to comfort her. "Draco Malfoy was found dead."
Ginny lets out a cry of pain as if someone has stabbed her. Oh, how she wishes. "No!" she shouts, her voice echoing within the small room she must've been placed in. "He can't be!" she cries even louder as she tumbles out of bed. She stands for only a second before falling onto her knees. A howl of pain escapes and tears blur everything. She feels Charlie's hand on her shoulder and him whispering things she can't hear.
Tears come over and over again as her heart begs for reality to lie. She turns to Charlie and flings herself against him. Whimpers and sobs wrack her body but don't numb the pain. "H-how?" she asks through her sobs.
"He," Charlie begins and she can hear the tears in his voice. Is he crying because of Draco or because of her own tears? "He thought he saw you fall. I was there when he tried saving a fallen redhead from the edge. His father h-had blurred his vision. He fell saving someone that wasn't there."
Ginny sobs even harder. Her Draco, the boy that kept her whole as she fought against the Death Eaters, is dead. She can't believe it. She doesn't want to. "No," she whimpers against her brother's chest. "No, no, no!" she says, pounding a fist onto her brother's chest.
Charlie says more things that she doesn't hear. Her world is falling apart before her eyes. Her body can't stop shaking. She doesn't want to believe this. She breathes in a shaky breath and feels rivulets of tears pour from her eyes. She can feel her brother's tears hit the back of her neck. Each tear that falls and hits her neck is warm…she doesn't want to be warm anymore. Pushing Charlie away she gets up shakily and notices her whole family standing anxiously near the doorway.
"Where are you going?" She hears her mother cry out as she nears the door of the small home.
Ginny chocks back another sob and whispers, "I'm sorry." Before she disappears from sight.
