Merry Christmas to all. May you have a Christmas as happy as Ginny's.

A/N: I disclaim.

CHAPTER NINE

"Yes, Ron. I will be just fine here in the castle. Plenty of people are staying this holiday and I need to catch up on my classes. I really fell behind in my work and the teachers have given me some make-up work, so I have to stay." Ginny loved her brother Ron but sometimes he just wouldn't give up. "Give mum a big hug for me. I'll be seeing you soon."

"Alright Ginny," Ron said reluctantly. "But if that slimy snake tries anything with you…"

"Ronald. Leave Ginny alone. The train is leaving." Thank the gods that Hermione had nagging down to an art.

The bushy haired girl gave Ginny a wink as they got on the train and Ginny gave a nod of thanks. As soon as the train was out of sight she turned and ran all the way back to the castle.

Gryffindor Tower was quiet and Ginny welcomed the time she had alone to take a long bath and pamper herself. She really did have a lot of work to do, but she also had a lot of things to work out with Draco. Up until now there hadn't been much peace or quiet around for her to properly think about where they were going.

They had been dating for over three months and Draco had never pushed her to go farther than she was ready. He never forced her to do things she was not prepared to, physically or emotionally. Of course, he was not one to push emotions to the forefront, but Ginny was sure his physical needs were driving him mad.

She could admit to herself that she wanted to have sex with Draco. She had for a while, but she didn't know how to prepare herself for that next step. For some girls in her dorms sex was just a physical activity, but for Ginny it was an intimate thing to only be shared by two people who were in a serious relationship.

She and Draco had talked about love, but not really about making love.

Ginny had been snogging Draco less these last ten days or so because she didn't want to stop at some of the activities they'd been doing. It was like teasing her senses and she was feeling frustrated.

She recalled a few weeks ago when she had tried doing more for Draco in the Astronomy Tower. They were in the middle of a heavy snogging session and she decided to make use of her Gryffindor bravery.

Draco had been unconsciously grinding his erection into her thigh and she reached down shyly and began rubbing him through his slacks.

Ginny had never seen, much less held, a man in an intimate manner before but was feeling bolder. After a short time of stroking Draco with her hands she wanted to do more for him. She bent down towards his hardened shaft and proceeded to try another new technique.

Draco had helped her a little by letting her know what felt good and what didn't feel so good. Ginny figured he must have enjoyed it though, because his commentary had stopped after a while and she heard only his heavy breathing.

He had suddenly pulled out of her mouth and told her she wasn't ready for the rest of it. A few strokes later, he was finished, and Ginny felt that somehow she had been cheated.

The darkness of the night had helped to hide her embarrassment as he released himself in his hand. She didn't really understand what she was feeling at the time so she didn't say anything to Draco about her disappointment.

Ginny contemplated that though it had been an odd experience at the beginning she had enjoyed giving him pleasure. That feeling of happiness overrode any awkwardness of her first time using her mouth for something other than kissing Draco.

She made up her mind; she wanted that something more and she would get it during the hols.

As Ginny reclined and let the hot, scented water relax her she thought of what she could do. A Slytherin worthy smirk crossed her lips as she formulated her plot. This would be a Christmas to remember.

X

That first night alone Ginny stayed up late and finished off almost all of her homework. She slept in late the next day, snuck to the kitchens for food, and then went back to the tower to finish her work. By dinner that night she had finished all of her assignments, and was ready to give the rest of her holiday time to Draco.

After a restful night's sleep Ginny entered the Great Hall for breakfast and saw Draco alone at the Slytherin table. She felt a small constriction inside missing Blaise and Luna who would have normally been there.

Her mood lifted and she laughed to herself seeing Draco sitting aloof with head held high as if his royal subjects were wise to keep their distance. No one should approach royalty without an invitation. He could be such a snob.

Looking around she noticed that the few students up at this hour were sitting at the usual Ravenclaw table but seemed mostly sleepy and withdrawn. She couldn't really blame him for sitting apart from the rag tag group.

Sitting next to him and giving him a peck on the cheek she quipped "Aren't we the lonely one?"

Draco glanced at her from the corner of his eye and drawled "I wasn't sure if I was going to be alone for the hols since you never showed up for any meals 'til now. I thought maybe Ron had talked you into going back to the Burrow."

Ginny felt warmth spread in her heart that Draco seemed genuinely relieved to see her after mistakenly thinking she had gone home. She was also happy that he was now calling her brother by his given name rather than all the nicknames given over the years. Ron may not have accepted Draco as her boyfriend yet, but Draco was sincerely making the effort to be at least civil towards her family.

Ginny reached over and gave his thigh a small squeeze. "No one can talk me out of this chance to spend my holidays with you."

His stormy grey eyes registered a little surprise at her show of affection, but he said nothing.

"I locked myself in the tower to finish off all my work so that I could fully devote myself to being with you." Another squeeze that was a little more forceful and Draco was wondering what had gotten into his girlfriend.

"Did that work entail making any love potions?" He smirked at her as if daring her to deny her forward actions.

"Oh, I don't need any potion to make me more aware of what I feel for you. Do you need one to allow yourself to be with me?" She hoped she was conveying a deeper meaning without being too obvious. She didn't want to seem desperate, but wanted to give subtle signs that she was looking for more.

"Love, any potion to enhance what we have between us will no doubt lead to a 'Longbottom'."

Ginny giggled over what Professor Snape had revealed was his private term for any explosion in the Potions lab.

"Good to know." Giving Draco another kiss on the cheek, lingering just longer than the usual, she reached for some food.

Luna had owled Ginny and told her what a great time she was having with Blaise in Antarctica. Her father was due to arrive the next day and he was bringing the necessary equipment to trap the rare creature they were searching for.

Blaise added a note at the bottom to Draco thanking him for the early Christmas present of the Amazon tent. It had a chamber inside that was hot and steamy like the jungle it was named after.

He and Luna had already found many amazing 'creatures' inside the tent and they had hardly ventured out into the snowy landscape yet.

There was more from Blaise to Draco but he had spelled it so only Draco could read it and Draco refused to tell her what it said after she saw him quirk his lip in amusement. She was sure torturing him with tickles would get the truth out of him later.

The next few days they spent playing in the snow, flying when the sun was out and the snow wasn't falling, and just enjoying their time without worries of school and interruptions.

At night they snuggled in front of the fire in his room and talked and snogged late into the night. Ginny was having a difficult time keeping to her plan when they kissed, but she held to it. She knew she was giving Draco some mixed signals and she was sure he was going to start asking questions soon, but it had to be done.

On Christmas Eve they asked the House Elves to deliver dinner to Draco's room and they had a formal dinner.

Ginny wore a dress she had purchased in Hogsmeade on the last visit there while she had Blaise distract Draco in the Quidditch shop. It was made of deep emerald green velvet that was cut in a demure, yet sexy style that showcased her delicate curves.

Draco's loud swallow when she removed her cloak upon arrival alerted her to the fact that he appreciated how it looked on her.

The plot was playing out just as she had planned. "Do you approve?" she asked, her voice sounding oddly husky to herself. "Of the colour, I mean."

Draco snapped his eyes to hers and spoke softly, "I approve wholeheartedly."

Ginny felt a shiver that she knew wasn't due to the chill of the dungeons. She found herself approving of his choice in formal wear as well.

Draco looked elegant in his smoky grey silk shirt. It had a slight sheen to it so that it resembled his eyes when he was expressing some strong emotion. It was cut in a tunic style that had it hanging long and smooth and it shimmered slightly when he moved.

His pants were black of course, but the material was a silk-wool blend that made them look warm, smooth and comfortable. Ginny found herself longing to run her hands over them so she could experience just how soft and smooth they really felt. That would happen later if her plan continued to work.

After dinner they sat by the fire and Draco offered her champagne for the occasion.

"Draco, I'm not much of a drinker and wine doesn't really agree with me." Ginny felt a little embarrassed to seem so unrefined.

"Good." Draco seemed relieved at her admission and was not derisive about her lack of sophistication, as he once would have been. "I hate the stuff. I'll give you something I think you'll like."

He went to the wet bar concealed in his bookshelf and came back with a small bottle and two small glasses. "This is a muggle liqueur called Irish Cream."

Ginny wasn't shocked at this revelation. She had become used to the little Muggleisms he sometimes revealed. He was open enough to admit in some rare cases he found Muggles were superior to wizards.

"It's not too strong and it's smooth and sweet. I'll put it on ice for you so it won't be too harsh."

Ginny took a careful sip and was delighted by its warm, sweet taste.

"Mmm. That's yummy. You'd better not give me too much, though- I might think you're trying to get me drunk and take advantage of me." Ginny held out her empty glass for another drink and Draco lifted one sculpted brow in question.

"And is there an advantage to being too pissed to remember what would be the greatest event in your life?" His silver eyes shone with mischief and a deeper layer of desire forming underneath.

His smirk towards Ginny as he filled her glass again was just begging her to challenge him with innuendo tonight. She knew her plan was fated to play out tonight just as she had been designing for the last week.

Ginny slowly licked the sweet liqueur on her lips and looked Draco up and down languidly as she slid her hand up his thigh, "I want to remember this night for the rest of my life."

The drink had relaxed Ginny just enough to give her a little confidence in pulling this off. Ginny knew Draco was experienced and that if she botched this up too badly he was sure to know. She wanted to seduce him, yes, but she wanted it to be a mutual decision.

Ginny set her now empty glass down on the table and turned back to fully face Draco. He was watching her intently as if trying to figure out if all of this meant what he was hoping it meant.

"Happy Christmas, Dragon." Ginny pulled Draco in for a drugging kiss.

After a few minutes he pulled back for air and looked at Ginny with eyes hazy with lust. "Ginny…" His voice was husky and Ginny was thinking of what to do to show him what she wanted without seeming too forward.

"Draco. I want to talk to you about something before we kiss anymore."

Draco felt dread drop on him like a bucket of cold water. Ginny had been so odd about snogging lately. Not too long ago she had been opening up in her physical relations with him; but in this last week she seemed to pull back when things got a little hot. Did she want to break up with him? Was there someone else? She said she wanted to remember this night forever, did she mean their last night together?

"We've been together for a while now. I love you and I know you love me, so I want to talk about this now. Because if we start kissing then I'll forget everything and then we'll be back where we started."

Draco was feeling more scared and confused as she went on. Where was she heading with all of this? His stomach was clenching and he wished he had brought out a bottle of Firewhiskey as well.

Looking at Draco Ginny knew she wasn't doing very well at this. "I want to show you how much I love you but I'm not sure how." Draco looked slightly relieved but still confused and he was wondering if he should have stopped Ginny at one glass of alcohol.

Ginny had been giving mixed signals about their physical relationship recently and he didn't want to push her if she wasn't ready. He really wanted this with Ginny; he wanted to have more with her and was hoping that the direction they seemed to be heading tonight was towards the fulfilment of that desire.

Ginny took a deep breath and tried again to explain her intentions.

"Oh dear. You see, it's what happens when you mix all the ingredients together and how you do it that makes the potion. If you do the wrong move, or add one ingredient too soon, or don't add enough of another ingredient that it spoils the whole brew. And I don't want to spoil our potion."

Looking to her personal Slytherin Prince again she saw his face devoid of expression and thought she had blown the whole plan. "Oh bugger it all."

Ginny flung herself with full force onto Draco pushing him over on the small couch and they rolled onto the floor with Draco on top. She was kissing him fiercely as if her life depended on it and he was kissing her back glad for her confusing conversation to be over. But her words were running through the back of his mind. She seemed to be clutching at him as if needing something more than what he was giving her. Suddenly it all clicked.

"Ginny, love. Slow down." Draco was grasping for air as he rolled to her side. "Do you want to make a potion tonight?" He felt silly for asking her such a question, but he didn't want to push her away by being too blunt. It was the kind of thing to say that Ginny would relate to and not use against him.

Ginny looked up with shiny eyes and touched his cheek softly. "Yes Draco, I do. But it's all theory for me, I've no practical experience. We've done enough stuff that I understand what the mechanics are," Ginny's blush rivalled an eggplant for depth of shade at her confession. "But I don't know all the steps and I don't want to ruin it for you."

"Gin, love. This potion isn't for me, it's for us. This isn't something that one of us will make for the other; we have to be partners for this one to work." Draco cupped his hands to Ginny's cheeks caressing them softly with his thumbs. "And besides, I haven't made this particular potion myself that many times, so I'm pretty sure we can practice together with no worries on proper technique."

Despite their decision they spent the next hour snogging in front of the fireplace contentedly. They had another shot of liqueur and sat silently in each other's arms on the couch.

As if in silent agreement they both turned to each other and brought their lips in for a firm but chaste kiss. Ginny reached behind her back and began to unzip her dress. Draco seemed mesmerized by the redhead's movement and only when Ginny slightly nudged him with her elbow as she began to push the straps down did he snap back into focus.

"Let me do that for you. This is my Christmas gift to unwrap." Draco's words were like deep velvet rubbing on silk; warm, thick and luxurious.

Ginny felt her face flush with heat and she trembled a little bit in expectation. She looked up to the blond bangs hanging slightly in his eyes and reached up to move them out of his face.

Suddenly Draco jerked his head up to face her and Ginny gasped. His dilated pupils were like obsidian pools in his silver eyes. The silver had brightened to a shiny lustre that resembled liquid mercury. His lips were on hers in an instant and Ginny lost all control of her senses.

Ginny felt like she was drowning in her inflamed desire. It was as if their hour of snogging while knowing what they would later do had built a bed of hot embers that were now igniting into flame. She was on fire with lust; she understood now that she had never felt pure lust before.

Ginny had been imagining sex with Draco for months, but there had been no experience for her to base real lust on. Now she couldn't stop herself from doing this even if she wanted to. She was aching with need and they were still only kissing; albeit kissing half naked now as Draco had disrobed her and she was in only her silver and black silk teddy.

Ginny reached for the bottom of his tunic and began to tug at it. They paused in their kissing just long enough to pull it over his head. He kissed down the column of her graceful neck with a trail of hot and wet open-mouthed kisses. As Ginny unbuttoned his shirt Draco nibbled at her earlobe and alternated kissing wetly on her neck, then gently blowing cool air on her moistened skin, causing her to shiver as goose bumps formed on her skin.

Draco placed his mouth over one of her nipples, still encased in silk, and circled it firmly with his tongue. Ginny couldn't help but moan at the feeling. Feeling the wet through the silk made her immediately oversensitive, and she thought she might burst from the intensity of the touch.

"Harder."

Merlin, was that her voice moaning so huskily? Ginny was losing herself in the fiery experience that was Draco's mouth on her breasts.

In response to her plea Draco lightly nipped her with his teeth and she quivered. All the romance novels she'd read came to life as she realised what a quiver actually felt like.

"Draco, more."

Her teddy was gone now and she was groping in search of the fastenings of his pants. Ginny fumbled with his belt and managed to loosen it and grasped for his zipper. Draco could feel the both of them spiralling out of control and knew they needed to slow just a bit or he wouldn't make it to the full act.

He distracted Ginny by pulling her finger into his mouth. He licked around her fingertip coating it wetly with his saliva. She was looking deep into his eyes waiting for his next move. He took her moistened tip and placed it on her own nipple. He moved it around the perimeter in a firm circular motion causing it to harden up to an almost painful point. With his other hand he pinched and teased her other nipple.

The feel of her own wet finger giving her this pleasure while being held in his hand was making Ginny anxious with sexual tension. He was teasing her to the point where she was ready to just throw him on the bed and try anything to help her relieve this feeling growing within her.

As if reading her mind Draco picked Ginny up and carried her to his bed. He lay her down and removed his remaining clothes. Ginny had seen Draco before but it had been different.

She had been pleasing him orally and he had never been fully naked with the intent of having sex with her. She swallowed nervously as her anxiety over their upcoming act started to outweigh her unbridled passion of just a few moments before.

Draco lay next to her and stroked her freckled cheek with his fingers softly. "We don't have to do this, Ginny. You can stop any time." He was looking her intently in the eye with sincere emotion showing for once clearly in his face. "I don't want to stop, ever. But just say the word 'stop' clearly and I'll leave it."

His sincere and honest words made Ginny certain that she did want to share this part of herself with him. She swallowed past her nervousness and held his striking face in her hands. "Draco, I want to be with you in all ways. I want to be with you always. I trust you to honour what I am offering to you."

Draco looked at the goddess in his arms and knew this was the woman he wanted to spend his life with.

They were kissing passionately again but now there was a purpose and rhythm to it that had been all wild abandon before. Draco explored her naked form with his fingers and hands and she did the same for him. This was the first time they had both been naked to each other both physically and emotionally.

Ginny stroked over the hard planes of his chiselled torso. Remembering his actions to her a few minutes ago she gave a twist to his nipples and lightly scraped her nails over his chest. The low moan that escaped Draco made her more excited than the actual fondling of his flesh.

Draco was amazed at how easy it was to expose himself to Ginny without thoughts of possible rejection or condescension. He had never kept his mask down for this long for anyone. He felt nervous, yet relieved of a heavy weight at the same time. He was lost in his love of Ginny and his physical desire was coming to a critical point again.

"Ginny. I need to be inside you. Are you ready?" He hoped she said yes, he was getting desperate and Malfoy's don't do desperate.

She looked at him with apprehension mixed with trust.

"I'm ready Draco. I don't want to wait anymore; just do it."

Draco tried his best to ease his way in without hurting her but knew it couldn't be helped. He fumbled awkwardly a little trying to go slowly until he realised that was causing her more discomfort so he just lunged forward while holding her face in his hands watching her eyes; chocolate with flecks of gold in them.

Ginny's sudden gasp made him jerk a little and she closed her eyes as tears slipped out of her closed lids.

"Shush. It's okay love. I'm sorry. It's over now." Draco murmured soft words in her ears while she adjusted to him. After a few long moments he started moving as slowly as he could. Now that he was inside her he couldn't stop himself. The instinct to thrust was too strong, he could only contain himself enough to try and go slowly.

"Draco. It's… it's okay. It doesn't hurt so much now." The tears had stopped and her voice was a little shaky but Ginny had managed to relax herself a little at his sweet words in her ear.

Draco's movements were speeding up and he knew that his hormones wouldn't allow him to hold back as long as he would like to. Ginny felt too good and he was too full of want for her to last long. He'd been waiting too long. And though it wasn't the best, being her first time, just the feeling of sharing all of him with all of her felt so good.

He lifted Ginny's hips a little and the shift allowed her a little more comfort and unfortunately for him, more pleasure.

"Ginny." It was practically a grunt escaping him. He was a little chagrined at his loss of control in this situation. "I don't think I'm going to last much longer."

Ginny didn't have any reference so she wasn't disappointed. Her discomfort was still present enough that she couldn't truly say she was feeling much pleasure.

But then Draco reached down between their joining and began to rub her firmly but carefully.

"Oohhh. That feels good." Ginny could feel her core relaxing and warming up as his fingers rubbed her.

He began to speed up and move more jerkily. She was feeling more comfortable and warmly aroused, but in contrast Draco's face was strained and his forehead was shiny with sweat.

Ginny couldn't help but just stare at Draco as he approached his climax. His face was etched with concentration and he had stopped rubbing her as he began to lose his control.

Draco looked into her eyes and Ginny was shocked to see a blaze of emotions in his eyes. He seemed to be feeling so many things at once. Suddenly he seemed to freeze then groaned deeply as he thrust spastically a few times and Ginny felt a rush of fluid shoot into her.

"Unh. Ginny. Gods you're too beautiful." He was trembling as he collapsed over her and rolled to his side keeping, her next to him as he did.

She could feel him throbbing inside her in the aftermath of his throes of passion. He was holding her tightly and made no signs of releasing her anytime soon.

Ginny felt a little confused over what they had just done. It was painful and awkward as she had expected, but there were definitely parts that she wanted to try again. She suspected that after a little practice she would find pleasure in things that this time had only been mildly pleasant.

She looked at Draco next to her as he brought his breathing back to a normal rate and smiled. She found that though her first time had not been mind blowing, she was blissful just in the knowledge that she and Draco had shared themselves openly with each other.

Great sex would come soon enough. Now that they had started down this path Ginny didn't plan on stopping anytime soon.

X

The lake in Spring time was a beautiful sight in the soft rays of the late sun that lazy Sunday afternoon. Ginny, Draco, Blaise and Luna had eaten a late lunch and sat speaking of the future plans for the boys, who would be graduating in a few months.

Blaise and Draco were to enter into their family businesses and the girls would finish out their seventh year. Ginny had been offered the chance to mentor students who were interested in studying art and Luna would focus on her Magical Creatures studies in preparation for her world tour exploratory planned after graduation.

None of them were sad but they avoided specifically mentioning that they would be separated for a year from those they had grown so close to in the last nine months. The two couples sat in silence as the sun went down and silently separated to spend precious time in their pairs while they could.

As they watched the sunset and Ginny admired the way Draco's platinum locks seemed to absorb the pinkish-reds of the setting star. She tried not to think that she wouldn't be able to witness that again anytime soon and ran her fingers through his silken hair.

Seeming to sense her melancholy Draco took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet. He gave her a quick hug and wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her tightly to him and started to walk in a content silence.

As they walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest they heard loud voices. Just as they were going to see if someone needed help they heard Luna's voice proclaiming, "Nargles be gone! Cease and desist in your invasion of my boyfriend!"

Ginny looked to Draco unsure on if they should go to them when they heard the distinct sound of a tree branch thudding on something solid and soft. "Luna, they're still here. Hit them again."

Blaise's pleas were definitely not of distress and Ginny quickly drug Draco away from the odd couples mating rituals and back towards the castle before he could get any ideas.