Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, it probably would have taken a decade longer for the books to come out.

Please forgive my absence. I know I've been neglectful in updating. We're coming up on 10 years ago that this story was started. I have until July before we hit that date. I'm determined to have this story completed before then. For those of you unaware, I just finished one of my other long abandoned stories, My Captor, and this one is next on my list. I've been stuck on this forever, but I think I know where I'm going with it now. Stick with me guys and we'll see this through to the end!

Without further ado..

Chapter 23

Ginny POV

The danger from the war was at an all time high as December wore on and Christmas drew near. If I'd been at Hogwarts this year, I'd have recently returned home to the Burrow. My brothers would be coming around, filling up all the bedrooms as the whole family gathered for the holiday. Harry would have joined us, of course, and maybe even Hermione. Mum would be planning a massive Christmas dinner, a feast worthy of even Hogwarts.

If I closed my eyes, I could picture Fred and George begging Mum to let us open one present early with such clarity it made me smile. But I wouldn't be getting the real thing this year, not even close. It was too dangerous for everyone to gather together, unsafe to travel. Mum had been hesitant to even send packages with gifts. For the first time in my life, I was looking at Christmas without my family. Even Aunt Muriel, who didn't really count as she'd never come round for the holiday before, was going to be spending the day with friends of hers.

I wouldn't be completely alone for Christmas however, not with Draco here. Ever since that day in the attic almost three weeks ago, I was finally starting to hope for a future with him that I hadn't thought possible. Short of offing Pansy Parkinson himself, I had no idea how he'd get out of his betrothal contract with her, but I could at least hope he'd find a way. He'd promised, and I knew he planned to keep it.

With the easing of tension that came with the security of knowing where Draco and I stood, my nightmares had started to ease off and even that good dream didn't have the power to reduce me to agonizing sobs as it had been. No, because when I woke I had hope that maybe, somehow, that future was attainable after all.

That first night I didn't wake crying, from good dream or nightmare alike, I learned that Draco had been waiting outside my bedroom door every night. He'd been hesitant to come in without hearing me wake and cry, and had ended up sleeping on the floor of the hallway. I'd found him the following morning, head resting against the doorframe and long legs stretched across the hall. After that, we went to bed together every night.

Though the desire for him was still there, and growing stronger every day, I couldn't quite bring myself to go beyond kissing him again. The one time I'd given myself to him had been so perfect, and had ended in so much pain. While I wanted him, part of me was scared to cross that bridge again. Draco was patient though, he never pushed even when it was clear he wanted me. Fear held me back, fear of the hurt that I had long associated with that. Well, fear and one other thing.

I'd been lucky that first time that I hadn't ended up pregnant. Now though, once that door was open, I was sure it wouldn't be a one-time thing. Spells or potions of a contraceptive nature were not something I'd ever learned, and while I could brew the potion myself, I had no idea how to do so. That and Aunt Muriel might get suspicious if I start asking for specific potion ingredients. She'd want to know what I was brewing. Too many questions, and any suspicion those would cause, would surely end in Draco and I being separated. I could risk that. But I also couldn't afford to get pregnant, not right now. As much as that good dream haunted me, as much as I wanted that with every fiber of my being, our future was still so uncertain.

Nobody knew how long this war would last. No one had heard from Harry, Ron and Hermione in the months since Bill and Fleur's wedding. I knew that they were working on a way to defeat Voldemort, Harry had all but said so, but their success was not a guarantee. We could be in hiding, stuck in this house with my batty old aunt, for many more months, if not years. I couldn't afford to get pregnant, not when Draco had no way to end the betrothal contract. We simply didn't know the consequences of conceiving a child with that binding magic still in effect.

And so every night we lay together in bed, curled together to sleep but wanting so much more. Every day that Aunt Muriel left us alone, the tension was unbearable. But still, he respected the boundary I could not bring myself to cross and did not push me. That wall was one I'd have to broach. He refused to do anything that might hurt me like last time.

Christmas morning dawned clear and bright, the glass of the window frosted with white and the sun reflecting off a dusting of snow that had fallen outside. Beside me, Draco still slept. It wasn't often I woke first, and I took the opportunity to just look at him. He looked younger in his sleep, the lines of worry and tension he'd gained over the past year and a half were smoothed out. His eyelashes, pale but ridiculously long, brushed his cheeks and his eyes moved rapidly underneath the lids. His skin was pale and smooth, like alabaster. It was hard to believe, even after the nearly two months he'd been here, that this was real.

A lock of blonde hair, it was getting long, had fallen across his face. Reaching, I smoothed it back as gently as I could. I wanted to watch him sleep, but the desire to have him awake wared with it. Finally, leaned down and pressed my lips softly to his. It was a gentle kiss, barely a brush. Once, twice. Finally, his lips responded as he shifted slightly. A deep sigh escaped him as I felt an arm snake out and pull me down, pressing me against him.

I grinned against his lips as he kissed me back.

"Was that my Christmas gift?" he asked, eyes finally opening and voice rough with sleep. "If so, shall we make it Christmas every day?"

Laughing, I rolled my eyes at him. "Greedy aren't you."

His answering smile was languid, his eyes like pools of liquid silver. The desire that had been simmering under the surface for weeks was there, causing a thrill to run through me. I knew all I had to do was lean back down and kiss him, touch him. We wouldn't be caught, Aunt Muriel never came upstairs. We could be quiet, she'd never know. Yet, despite my body aching for him, I pulled away and sat up. When I dared to look back at him, his smile was still there but it had turned wistful, resigned. He blamed himself, I knew, for the hesitance I now had.

"What sounds good for breakfast?" I asked, trying to push away the conflicted feelings that filled me. "Your wish is my demand, within the reason of the pantry of course."

"Well, seeing as you're off the menu," his drawled, eyes racking me in my old pajamas. It was a long moment before he finally continued. "Bacon, because I know how much you love it. And toast and beans, naturally."

"Naturally," I agreed, grinning. "Eggs as well, I do believe."

"It isn't breakfast without eggs."

Subject of our sexual tension officially pushed back, set again to simmer just under the surface, I headed downstairs to begin breakfast as he returned to his hardly used bedroom to get dressed. Aunt Muriel, it seemed, was still asleep. The smell of bacon would rouse her soon, I knew. The sun shone in the sky, outside the window, though I knew it did little to dispel the cold. The snow that had fallen overnight wasn't thick, but it made me want to go play in it all the same. The child in me, usually so excited on Christmas morning, was beginning to come out.

"When will breakfast be ready, girl?" Aunt Muriel's voice cut into my thoughts as she shuffled her way, house slippers flopping, into the kitchen.

"Soon, Aunt Muriel. I'm just about to start the eggs." She wasn't the politest of people, especially in the morning, so it wasn't a surprise when she simply grunted her acknowledgement and ambled into the dining room.

After breakfast, she told us she'd be leaving shortly. Her friends were expecting her by eleven and she wasn't one to be late. How anyone actually enjoyed her company was beyond me, but maybe they were just as old and cantankerous as she. I wasn't sad to see her go when, half an hour later and dressed in a horrid puce set of robes, she disappeared out the front door.

"Merry Christmas to me," I said, letting out a sigh as I shut the door behind her.

Draco chuckled and shook his head at me. "I do believe you've been stuck in this house with her for too long."

"It's a good thing you came along when you did or I'd have lost it ages ago."

We began to make our way, like always, to our little upstairs attic room. I stopped off on the second floor though. "Let me get dressed and I'll be right up," I said, heading towards my bedroom door. Draco nodded and continued on, leaving me to my morning routine.

While I really would have been content to laze around in pajamas all day, I had something I needed to get from my room. A gift I'd made for Draco. I'd been stuck in this house for so long, and it wasn't like I could just pop out and get him something, but I'd been determined to give him a present. It took a while before I finally came up with an idea. Conjuring up some yarn, I'd taken a leaf out of Mum's book and knitted him his very own Weasley sweater.

If we'd had a tree, I would have wrapped it and put it underneath. Unfortunately, Aunt Muriel wasn't really into Christmas and had told me no when I'd asked if I could put up a tree and decorations. It didn't really feel like Christmas, what with not being able to see my family and having not even a tree. I did get one package, it was all Mum and Dad dared send. I'd placed it upstairs in the attic, waiting for this morning to open it despite knowing it was a sweater from Mum. At least I'd have something to open to make it feel like Christmas.

Once dressed, I grabbed Draco's present and headed upstairs to join him. When I opened the door to the attic though, it was like stepping through into a different world. The room was unrecognizable. The walls were draped with garland and fairy lights and a perfect Christmas tree dominated the back wall. A small pile of wizard crackers sat on the side table by the sofa and the present from my parents was under the tree.

Draco stood nearby, watching me take it in. When I finally pulled my eyes away from the tree to look at him, his smile was gentle and warm. "Happy Christmas, Ginny."

I didn't even notice the tears until he strode to me to wipe them away. "Oh Draco, I love it. It really feels like Christmas now. When did you have the time to do this? It wasn't like this yesterday."

"Middle of the night last night, when you were deeply asleep," he said, grinning. "You hadn't even moved by the time I got back."

I hugged him tightly, with one arm, still clutching his present with the other. "It's the best gift you could have given me."

"Well, you've got one other gift," he said, pointing to the tree. "Why don't you open it."

Grabbing his hand, I pulled him with me and sat cross legged on the floor by the tree. When he sat beside me, I handed him his own gift. "And you've got one too."

He seemed surprised, brow furrowing as he took it. "You didn't have to do anything for me, Ginny," he said. "Just being with you is gift enough."

"Be sappy later, just open it," I said with a laugh, heart warming at his words.

He was meticulous with the brown paper, not ripping but carefully undoing the tape that held it together. When the paper finally fell open, he lifted out the silver sweater emblazoned with a golden D on the front. Clearly, he knew nothing of Weasley sweaters so I quickly unwrapped the one from Mum under the tree. Purple with a silver G in the middle. I held it up to show him.

"Every year, Mum makes everyone in the family a new sweater. Even Harry's gotten one since his first year when he and Ron became friends. It's a long standing tradition. You're part of this family now, or you will be one day. So you needed a Weasley sweater too. I thought about making it red and green, for Gryffindor and Slytherin, but it didn't seem quite right. So I chose silver and gold, it's a more subtle nod to it. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, but I thought you should have one all the same." I knew at this point I was rambling, but he'd yet to speak.

Finally, he cut me off with a fierce kiss. Sweaters all but forgotten, I kissed him back. It was a long time before we broke apart, both breathing hard. His hand reached out and caressed my cheek, his eyes full of love and longing. Then he picked up the sweater from where it had fallen and pulled it over his head. "I love it," he said. "Now put yours on too."

Laughing, I pulled the new sweater from Mum on. "Now we match."

All in all, it turned out to be one of the best Christmases ever. We spent all day in the attic, only venturing out to find food. We'd made a decent hall from the Christmas Crackers as well. Draco was now sporting a rather impressive sombrero hat and I was wearing a pretty silver tiara. We'd also gotten a fair few treats, some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and a good supply of chocolate frogs. One cracker even held a live bird, though we'd quickly opened the window to let that one out. Best of all though was a wizard's chess set. I hadn't played in ages and it would be a welcome distraction in our long confinement to this house.

As the sky outside darkened, an owl arrived, tapping at the window of that attic. Surprised, I hurried to let the bird inside. The dark barn owl let out a hoot, dropped the letter it carried and flew right back out. Draco closed the window back, shutting out the cold wind, while I picked up the letter and scanned it. "It's from Aunt Muriel," I said, reading. "It seems she's over indulged and isn't safe to return home on her own. She'll be sleeping it off where she's at."

"It's a Christmas miracle," Draco chuckled. "If we're lucky, it'll be tomorrow evening before she comes back. Surely she'll want to spend boxing day with her friends too since she'll already be there."

I grinned back at him, tossing her letter aside. "And we'll have the whole house to ourselves tonight. No distant sounds of her snoring all night."

Those words, and the realization behind them, was all we needed for that ever present tension to crackle like static between us. My body's reaction was swift. Heart beating faster, my mouth suddenly felt dry. I licked my lips, but that only served to draw Draco's attention to my mouth. His eyes held desire, but he didn't move to act on it. That would be on me and we both knew it.

Suddenly, I found myself wishing for that modified version of Fred and George's kissing concoction that we'd brewed last year. That would get me past this mental block I seemed to have. I wanted him, God how I wanted him, but I just didn't seem to know how to get past the fear that held me. But we couldn't keep going like this, it was unbearable for both of us.

"I want you," I said softly, brows pulling together as I bit my lip.

"I know." He made no move to push me, still standing by the attic window.

"I'm scared."

"I know." He walked closer then, coming to wrap his arms around me. "And that's my fault. I will never hurt you again. I love you. And when you're ready, we'll cross that bridge. But only when you're ready."

I felt ready, my body sang at his touch. But still. "What if I get pregnant? I can't brew a contraceptive potion and I don't know the charm." While the potion was more convenient, only needing to be taken once a week, even the charm would work, though it had to be used every time.

"I know the charm."

That hadn't occurred to me. I froze, taking in his words. Of course he knew it. Our entire relationship began because of a bet, a bet that he could get me into his bed. I wasn't the first one, that bet had been something he and Blaise had done for a couple years before. I knew I hadn't been his first. It made sense he'd have learned how to prevent pregnancy. Lost in the moment our first time, it probably hadn't even occurred to him to use it. But he did know it.

"So we could," I began, cutting myself off, eyes finding his face.

"Only if you want to. But if the chance of pregnancy is the only thing holding you back, that's something we can deal with. It's a simple charm." His gaze was intense, the unbridled desire blasing in his eyes.

Breathing fast, head spinning, I tried to compose myself. We were locked in that moment for what felt like an eternity before the words finally left my lips. "Kiss me, Draco."

We're moving right along! Tell me what you guys think and I'm going to get busy (pun intended) on the next chapter!

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