Author's Note: Right, so this is a very, very short chapter, on only Ginny and Draco. Sad, yet satiating. I really like this chapter, and I hope you all do as well. To MoonlightPrincess, thanks ever so much for pointing out that, yes, they do need to get around to the dance. I got rather caught up in the story, so here's what's going on. The past several chapters, and the next couple are all taking place on Christmas Day, and after those chapters, there's Boxing Day. The dance isn't until after the holidays, though it will come up eventually. Yes, our couples (if they're still together) will be dancing in it, but not necessarily attending the dance itself. They might be there just to perform. Or maybe they'll go to the dance. I really dunno. Thanks, and ejoy!

Disclaimer: See last 13 chapters for disclaimer. I'm to lazy to write it again.

Dancing Life

Chapter 14: Wants and Needs.

"No…no…no…no…no…no...no...no...no...no...no…" Ginny was chanting as she stumbled across the room, which was blurred by her tears. "No, you can't…no, not…" she was muttering incoherently.

She finally made it to Draco after what seemed like hours of stumbling towards him. His face was going a little blue, and the rope…no…it was her blanket; her Christmas present to him… was making a bright red mark on his neck, in stark contrast to the rest of him, lifeless and pale.

No, no, no, no, no…

She looked up at his eyes. They were open, and she gasped audibly, fumbling around in her pockets for her wand as they closed slowly.

He was still alive. Barely, but he was. She could see it in his eyes. "Fuck!" she screamed, digging around for her wand while the boy she loved was trickling his life away. She finally grasped her wand and pointed it at the rope. "Inciso!" she yelled, catching Draco in her arms as the rope snapped.

Ginny lowered him to the ground, resting his head in her lap. Her tears, cold and burning at the same time, fell onto his face and into his slightly open mouth. Sobbing, she loosened the rope from his neck, ripping at it with her bare hands, her fingernails ripping and snagging painfully. But she didn't care. Why wouldn't he open his eyes again?

"Draco." She cried, stroking his face softly, her fingers moving from his cheek to his jaw to his throat, to feel his pulse. It was weak and spastic, but it was there. Relief flooded Ginny's body, her head growing heavy and light as it overwhelmed her.

Recalling something she'd read in a book, she cupped her fists together. Praying to every deity she could think of, she slammed them into his chest. His body jerked up as she hit him again, pounding on his chest as more tears leaked from her face. "Wake up…w-wake up, damnit-t-t." she sobbed, beating on his chest.

And then he moved. On his own; he just twitched slightly, and Ginny could almost feel the life come back to him. "Oh gods." She croaked, her hands falling to his chest lightly as her shoulders slumped. She reached for her wand.

"Rusulus." She whispered, feeling his pulse strengthen under her fingers.

Draco's eyes opened slightly, flickering shut just as quickly. He groaned, stirring in her arms. "Oh gods, Draco!" Ginny breathed, reaching down to wrap her arms around him, needing to hold him, make sure he was alive and fine.

She felt him tense.

He knew that voice.

"Ginny?!" he whispered huskily, pushing away and rubbing at his raw throat. Ginny took note of that and stood, grabbing a glass from Draco's nightstand and (gently propping Draco against the side of his bed) rushed to the bathroom to fill it with cold water.

She came back and knelt before him, offering the full glass to him. He didn't take it. He just sat there, shocked beyond anything she could imagine. She reached down and pressed the glass to his lips. Water trickled down his sore throat, soothing it somewhat.

But it was nothing compared to seeing Ginny again. It was like seeing the dead. How was it possible? She was dead, wasn't she?

Ginny cocked her head, looking confused. "Of course I'm not dead." She frowned slightly.

"Did I say that out loud?" Draco rasped, still in numb shock. Ginny grinned and nodded, her eyes growing moist again. "Gods, when I saw you up there, I thought-I just thought that-" she broke off into racking sobs, leaning against him, her head cradled to his chest.

Draco hesitantly put his arms around her. He felt the familiar bumps of her spine on her back, he smelled the familiar fragrance of her citrus shampoo, and he heard the familiar sound of her crying. It really was her. She was alive. He didn't know how, and honestly, he didn't care; she was alive and in his arms, and there was nothing anyone could do that would change that.

Ginny slipped her arms around his middle, hugging him close to her, feeling some of the same things he was. She had to be sure he was really there with her. She couldn't let him go. She just needed to hold him.

They sat there, sitting on the floor, wrapped around each other, clinging desperately as if the world was about to split in half, tearing them apart.

Many minutes later, Ginny pulled back, her eyes and face blotchy and red. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and gave Draco a long, hard look. Now that she was sure he was truly there…

SMACK!

Draco rubbed the side of his cheek disbelievingly. He'd just nearly killed himself, had just found out that his girl was still alive, and after holding each other for who knew how long, she sat back only to slap him?!?!

"What the hell was that for?" He fumed, rubbing his slowly reddening cheek.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack! I thought you were dead! I could…kill you, you made me so scared!" she pulled her hand back, ready to hit him again.

This time, however, Draco was ready. As she flew at him, and scooted to the side and caught her before she ran into the bed. He snaked an arm around her back, pulling her close to him in a tender, yet searing kiss that made Ginny forget that she was angry at him. He finally pulled away, and stared at her.

"What the hell was that for?" she asked softly, mimicking his words.

He smiled down at her, not believing his good fortune. "You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack." He growled, somehow managing to look dangerous, though all he wanted to do was kiss the living daylights out of her. "I thought you were dead!"

Ginny felt realization dawn on her, and was surprised to see that she rally didn't care. He was there; explanations would come later. She leaned in again, stopping barely an inch from his face. "Oh, alright then." She said, before their lips touched.

Ginny tightened her arms around Draco's pulling him close. So when he shuddered and his chest started heaving with silent tears, she felt it quite clearly.

She tried to pull back, but his arms were locked around her waist, and unless he wanted it, she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. She did manage, however, to break her lips from his. She leaned her head back, trying to get a good look at him. A single, silvery tear slid down his cheek, coming to a stop at the line of his jaw. His eyes were red around the edges and his pupils were large and shimmering with unshed tears.

His broken look made her want to cry. "Draco-I...you're…" she sighed, biting her tongue gently. "…you're crying." She said simply, reaching down to where his tear had settled, wiping it away with the ball of her thumb.

Draco just stared at her, those huge brown eyes fixed on her thumb, which she was holding up in front of her face. He could feel the pain coming from her, proven by the watery gaze that wasn't on him right now.

He reached up to cup her cheek in his hand. She finally looked away from her thumb, eyes shinning and sad, her gaze landing on him. "You're crying." She said again, trying to make herself believe it. "You never cry." She said shakily, staring up at him with confusion and mellow sorrow.

Draco grasped her hand in his, drawing her wet thumb from her line of vision. He pulled it to his mouth and kissed it, tasting his own salty tear. "I am now." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

Ginny shook her head, eyes squeezing shut. "No, you don't…why are you crying?" she changed tactics, opening her eyes to look at him. He glanced away, staring intently down at the floor. He felt her cold fingers turn his face to look at her again.

"Why are you crying?" she repeated, staring deep into his stone cold eyes, as if trying to find the reason behind his tears in the salty liquid itself. "Did I do something…wrong? I'm so sorry, Draco. I didn't mean to leave you…earlier. I just got…scared." She glanced down, feeling a rush of tears.

How could she tell him that he had really hurt her? That when he touched her and shoved her around like that, it brought back painful memories of Tom Riddle from her first year, the horrible boy who would become the most dangerous wizard of their time, and of Dean. Though in comparison to the two banes of her reasonless life, Draco had been practically gentle. After all, he hadn't really hit her, had he?

Draco stared down at her, red head bowed, leaning into his chest, shoulders already shaking with the tears he had known were coming. She couldn't think this was her fault. He wasn't mad at her, he was just so afraid that she was gone. He had come so close to death, and it would have been pointless, since she was still alive. Had she not come in, or even come a minute or two later, he would have lost her for real, and his life would have been meaningless. Now, he actually had a chance at life. And he was going to take advantage of it.

His hand dropped hers, traveling up her arm and to her shoulder, rubbing her back and neck awkwardly. "Ginny, please don't cry." He pleaded. "It's not you. Back there, this morning…" he broke off. "I lost it. I know it's a great way to lose you, but I can't stand the thought of you being with someone else, especially Potter. I can't stand the thought of you in someone else's arms. And I can't stand the thought of someone else kissing you and touching you. I don't play well with others, and I sure as hell have never shared well, so you'll just have to get used to me for a while." He winced. Wrong way to go about winning her back.

Ginny looked up at him, her eyes growing wide and hopeful.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked softly, afraid that if she spoke too loud, the entire scene before her would float away, and she would never hear what he had to say, and her whole world was riding on that. Someone who loved her…someone who would stay with her…forever. She shuddered. That would never happen, not in a million years. He wasn't the type for long-term commitments.

"Ginny, you'll have to pry yourself off me with a crowbar to get me to leave you." He leaned closer, and his voice went low and raspy again. "I thought I lost you once. I'll never do it again. I won't let that happen." He pulled her close, his thumb running over her jaw and lower lip.

"I can't leave you now." He said softly.

The tender moment vanished as Ginny threw herself at Draco.

If he thought she was crying before, now she was fucking Niagara Falls. Her arms wrapped around his neck, but instead of hanging there loosely, they tightened completely around his neck, her head burying into the nook of his shoulder, pressing her chest to his.

His arms circled her back, rubbing it softly, shaking from the force of her sobs. Her chest shook, and it was breaking his concentration on her state. Trying to keep his mind from her frail form in his arms, and his hands from running all over her, he reached up awkwardly and smoothed the hair at the back of her head.

"Ginny…?" Draco asked into her hair, pressing a tiny butterfly kiss there. "What's wrong?" she mumbled something into his neck.

He turned to her. "What was that?"

"Nothing. That's just it. Nothing's wrong; everything's perfect. It's just…I never expected it to be, and now…" she stopped, realizing that she was making absolutely no sense whatsoever.

"You promise?" she asked shakily.

Draco smiled down into her hair. So that was what this was all about…

"Ginny, I will never leave you, not even in death. If you can ever forgive me for being such a stupid ass, I want you to know that…I really like you. I don't ever want to hurt you, so I'll keep love for another time, after we've known each other longer. I'm crazy about you, but as I've told myself several times, I'm just not worth it, for someone like you. I know it sounds sentimental and sappy, but I do love you, more than you will ever know." He looked down at her, grinning.

Ginny cried even harder. It would hurt so bad when he left her; she knew he would. It was inevitable, but she wanted him so much. She felt alive and carefree again; an innocent once more. She was now that happy, forever smiling child that she thought she had lost two years ago. The pain was still there, it would always be; but with Draco it was lessened, and she could actually truly smile and be free. What would happen when he left?

She buried her face in his neck again. "I don't care." She whispered shakily, and Draco held her tighter, trying to comfort her and protect her from whatever inner demons she was facing; it didn't matter what they were. "I don't care. I don't care. I don't-" She chanted softly, words catching in her throat; her breath reverberating off Draco's neck and coming back into her face, warming the tears that were sliding off her cheeks and falling like raindrops on Draco's shoulder, where they continued a trail through his robes and shirt, going straight through to the skin on his collarbone.

From there they went straight to his heart, opening up a part of him that he'd never thought he'd see or feel again. The part of him that had run from his father's beatings; the part of him that had worshipped every rare kiss his mother had given him, even if they were forced. Ginny's tears, flowing so freely, brought back the little boy who wept when him father beat his mother.

Soon his tears were falling, seemingly from that newly torn opening in his heart, to mingle with hers, bringing them together in a non-verbal understanding that no words could have achieved.

Two teens, lost in the world, found themselves that night; on the night that they found each other.