#Please remember to leave a review! I bask in them!#
She couldn't breathe. All the air was knocked out of her when she saw him lying face down on the floor, glasses askew, as they always were, dark hair in disarray, looking as pale as moonlight but motionless.
No, he couldn't be. He was Harry. Her Harry. He would get up now and finish that monster once and for all. He had to.
She was being held up by Ron, and she didn't think she could even stand up without his support as she heard Tom taunting them.
"Harry Potter is dead."
Ginny woke up with a scream and sat up in her bed in a cold sweat, tears running down her cheeks. She looked over at the unoccupied cot, grateful that Hermione was in Australia, so she couldn't hear her wake up from a nightmare screaming. 'But it was real,' she thought, 'and he is alive and breathing now.'
She needed some fresh air.
She threw the covers off her, cursing as they tangled around her even more, and made her way down the creaking stairs, skipping the third one by habit.
She didn't have a destination in mind but wasn't surprised when she found herself in front of the tree where she and Harry spent much of their time back in the summer before fifth.
But what surprised her was Harry slumped against the base of the tree, his lips slightly parted, glasses still on his face as he slept. 'He looks so young and so calm while asleep,' she thought, her heartbeat now returning to its regular rate.
She made her way to him and laid her head on his shoulder, delicately enough not to wake him up, and instantly fell asleep.
Ginny didn't know how long it had passed since she fell asleep, but it must not have been long as it was still dark outside.
She blinked blearily and looked up to see emerald green eyes staring at her in adoration.
"I'm sorry," he apologized when she caught him staring, "You were asleep and I didn't want to wake you up."
She inwardly rolled her eyes fondly. Only Harry would apologize for something like that.
She just snuggled into him more, and he chuckled lightly, wrapping an arm around her waist and pressing his lips into her hairline.
"Want to talk about it?" she asked.
He laid his head on hers. "I'm good now that you're here."
"Why didn't you wake me instead?"
He smiled at her with a look in his eyes that she could only describe as love. "You looked so peaceful, so content, so tiny - "
"Excuse me?" Ginny laughed, sitting up to look at him.
"You heard me," Harry said teasingly.
"Tiny. Wow, Harry. If anyone else said that, they would've had bats coming out of their nose," she smiled, leaning back against him, "You're lucky that I love you."
She didn't realize what she had said until she felt Harry's lips on hers, and she immediately responded.
Harry pulled back and rained kisses all over her face, nipped at her earlobe and trailed down her throat as she raised her head to give him more access before he looked into her eyes and said, a bright smile adorning his face, which she was sure was on hers too, "I love you too."
She wasn't surprised that this was how it happened. Their first 'I love you' was impulsive, and unplanned, both under the cover of the night sky to escape nightmares.
But it was them.
