In the Bleak Midwinter

A feeling of restlessness led Ginny to rise early that morning and head down to the library. She had an excess of energy that was crying to get used up, and she figured that she might as well spend it finishing her Transfiguration homework. She thought she'd have finished it on Wednesday night with Smith, but that study session didn't last very long...

Fortunately for you, a voice murmured in her thoughts. Ginny smiled to herself as she sat down at a table near a window and started her essay. If Draco hadn't come and interrupted the studying, she wouldn't be going to the Masque with him, and if she weren't going to the Masque with him, she might never have discovered that she... that she...

Her mind stalled, and her smile disappeared. This was a subject that caused both excitement and fear for Ginny. Yes, it was a beautiful thing. But what if Draco didn't return the feeling? What if he still despised her, as he used to? Ginny didn't think that his hatred ran that deep, but she didn't want his hatred running at all. No, she wanted Draco to experience quite a different feeling when he saw her.

Love.

There. She'd finally thought it. Ginny sighed and buried her face wearily in her hands. What was she going to do? She was inevitably and irreversibly in deep, desperate, passionate love. It had happened so fast that even she had fooled herself into ignoring it... but happened it had, and there was no going back. She had reached the point of no return.

Ginny forced herself to go back to her essay and think happier thoughts. Well, at least, think less dangerous thoughts; her mind turned to incantations and wand movements and slowly, her dilemma was forced to the back of her brain.

That is, until she finished her essay and looked up.

(&)

Draco watched her, his face carefully schooled into blankness. His granite eyes, however, revealed the painful, poignant emotion that was currently piercing his heart. That intoxicating, addicting emotion that poets know so well: love.

Sweet Merlin, he thought to himself. Just being here is dangerous, because every time I see her, I take one more step further. Soon, there would be no going back.

Actually, he given up the notion of "going back" long ago. There was just no way in hell that Draco Malfoy was ever going to be free of Ginny Weasley. She had him; she'd had him since the moment he'd laid a gentle hand on her hair in the darkness of the Astronomy Tower.

He was just taking a while to admit it.

Suddenly, she looked up. He blinked, but continued to stare at her. It was hard not too: the just-risen sun was illuminating her messy bun into a fiery halo, the top clasp of her robes had come undone and they were slipping off her narrow shoulders, and she had just been chewing daintily on the end of her quill.

Ginny Weasley should not be allowed to look that good.

Draco swallowed; it came out more like a gulp. He winced inwardly and hoped Ginny hadn't heard him.

Apparently, she hadn't, for surprise was registering across her lightly-freckled features and she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Staring at you," Draco said calmly, his casual voice belying his inward struggle to gain control of his... heart.

Ginny blinked. "I hadn't noticed," she deadpanned, showing herself to be a perfect match for his coolness. "Why?"

Don't say it... don't say it... don't say it... "Because you're beautiful."

Shit.

But Ginny hadn't seemed entirely grossed-out at his sudden show of affection. Rather, her mouth had fallen slightly open and there was an odd look in her eyes. Her first attempt to speak came out a bit croaky. On her second try, she managed, "Thanks."

Draco realized what might have caused this reaction. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that before?" he asked her.

"N-no, actually."

"Then every other boy you've spoken to is a blind, mindless prat." Draco couldn't believe he was saying this - him, snarkiest of Slytherins - but he also knew that he meant every word. She was... heavenly.

A bit of pink rose to Ginny's cheeks. "Thanks," she murmured, her eyes wide as she stared into his slate-gray ones.

The silence stretched out, each of them gazing at the other.

Please say something, Draco thought helplessly at her. Oh gods, say something and stop me before I drown myself in you...

"Why are you here?" Ginny asked suddenly, looking down at the table. A secret smile was playing around her lips.

Draco nearly sighed with relief. He had been a few seconds away from losing his mind, from losing himself to those glowing almond eyes. "I was wondering," he asked her once he was sure he could trust his voice, "if you'd come with me to Hogsmeade?"

Ginny stared at him. "What? When?"

"Today."

She blinked. "But -"

He cut her off. "We're on vacation, remember? We can walk down to the village whenever we want to. And I just thought... you'd want to get costumes for the Masque."

Ginny had been so lost in thoughts about Draco that costumes hadn't crossed her mind once. "Oh!" she said. "I'd completely forgotten..."

He looked at her hopefully. Wait - hopefully?! Ginny stared at him and realized that, yes, even though his face was completely blank, his eyes were obviously pleading. He wants me to go with him? She thought wildly. Could that mean...?

She was sick of analyzing every last moment. She was in love with Draco; she might as well use every moment with him to her advantage. At least when the holidays were over and he went back to ignoring her, she'd have those moments to look back on and cherish. "Of course I'll come," she said. "Let me just take my books back to -"

"Leave them here," Draco interrupted. He seemed quite pleased. "No one will take them."

Ginny shrugged. She didn't want to risk coming across Harry, Ron, or Hermione in the common room anyway. "All right."

Then, to her immense surprise - and, by the looks of it, his - Draco took Ginny's hand in his own. They both froze and stared at each other.

Draco opened his mouth as if to explain. "I..."

"Come on," Ginny said, secretly relishing in the feel of his fingers entwined with hers. They seemed to fit over each other like a glove. She whirled, pulling him down the steps after her as they raced from the library and onto the grounds.

(&)

Ginny closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was cold, but the sun was out nonetheless and the day was beautiful. In a way, it reminded her of Draco: when you first stepped out, the air felt frozen and unmerciful, but when you took a look around you and lifted your face to the sky, the sun warmed your blood and the day became suddenly beautiful.

She shot a glance at him sideways. He was watching his feet as they walked, swinging their loosely-clasped hands to the rhythm of his footsteps. A piece of hair had fallen into his eyes and he tried to blow it away as she watched; she grinned at the sight.

He noticed her staring and saw the smile. "What?"

She shrugged and quickly turned away. "Nothing." But she was still grinning wryly.

It was Draco's turn to stare. Her lashes were lowered over her eyes, given her a dozy look, as if she'd just climbed out of bed. A few curls had escaped her hurried bun, and they fell down her neck and onto her milky shoulders. Her robes were still slipping off to reveal a thin, pale pink bra strap, and beneath that, milky white skin outlined by shadowed bones.

If Draco was the blushing sort, he would have blushed then. He felt a sudden desire to run his fingers along those shoulders, to warm that skin with his own...

He stopped. Ginny stopped a moment later and turned to face him. "Draco?"

"Um..." He looked up at her; she was staring at him, confused. "Here's the shop," he said, mortified at the husky tone of his voice.

"Right," she said, still giving him a funny look as she led him inside.

The shopkeeper was a squat, rather plump witch with a wide smile and permed hair. She greeted them enthusiastically as a little bell informed her of their entrance to the store.

"Good morning, my dears!" she squealed, descending upon a horrified Draco and a startled Ginny. "Come from Hogwarts, have you?"

"Er... yes," Ginny began. "We've come to get costumes for -"

"- the Masque tomorrow evening, am I right?" the witch finished. She beamed at them. "What a lovely couple you two make! We've got a few sets of matching costumes right in the back, here, won't you come look?"

She clamped Draco's free arm in a vice-like grip and dragged him to the back of the store. Ginny followed, still holding his hand.

"Have anything in mind, did you?" the witch asked, her much-too-cheery-for-this-hour-of-the-morning smile still plastered on her face.

"No-o-o..." Draco said slowly, looking at Ginny, who shrugged.

If possible, the witch's smile widened. "Good! I can help you pick something -"

"... but we can look through the racks," Draco added hastily, clearly trying to get the witch away.

Ginny quickly turned a giggle into a cough. Draco glared at her.

The witch seemed crestfallen, if one could look crestfallen while grinning too widely. "Oh. Well. If you need anything, do give me a call."

She then waved to them and hopped back to the front of the store.

Draco let out a sigh of relief.

Ginny "coughed" again.

"She was scary, all right?" Draco spat in defense of himself. "I don't like... unnaturally happy people."

"Right," Ginny said. She was obviously struggling to stop herself from smiling.

Draco continued to glare at her as she picked her way through the racks.

"You could help," she told him after a few minutes, still smiling in that mysterious way of hers.

He walked over to the rack and pulled out a random costume. "How's this?"

Ginny blinked and burst out laughing. "I think it complements you perfectly," she managed between giggles.

Draco looked down at what he had grabbed, only to discover that he was holding a large, furry, pink bunny suit. "Urgh," he said, throwing back onto the rack as if it had burned him.

They continued to search silently, Draco sending the bunny suit filthy looks at regular intervals. After a few minutes of futile looking, Ginny let out a cry of victory.

Draco looked over at her.

She was holding a magnificent dress robe that looked to be made of silk. It had an uneven, wispy hem at about knee-height of several different colors: gold, red, orange, yellow, and a couple of light purplish-blue. Draco realized a moment later that they were flames. A quick survey of the rest of the dress revealed its identity. "Is it fire?" he asked her.

She nodded, biting her bottom lip as she watched him for his reaction.

She seemed to like it. "It's good," Draco said.

"Look, there's a matching one for you," said Ginny, diving back toward the rack and digging around before pulling out a set of male dress robes. They were white, with silver trim, but obviously masculine.

"Ice," Draco commented, walking towards her and taking them.

"Let's try them on," Ginny said, sounding excited.

The ice robes didn't seem half bad. "All right," Draco said, since Ginny obviously liked them.

She dove toward the dressing booth and pulled the curtain shut. Draco went into the cubicle next to hers, carefully shrugging off his black robes and donning the white ones. He glanced in the mirror. He looked rather pale, but the silver on the trim complemented his hair.

He was about to step outside when the top half of Ginny's black school robe flew over the division between their booths. She had thrown it up there to let it hang.

Draco tried to stop them, but several of his more stubborn thoughts seeped through into his brain. Not only was he a seventeen-year-old boy changing right next to an attractive girl, but he was in love with that girl. The thought of her wearing only her undergarments not a meter away was not easily put off.

Draco shoved his way roughly out of the booth and over to the wall farthest from Ginny's booth. He leaned against it to wait for her, telling himself to say the alphabet.

He'd gotten to 'L' (after losing concentration and repeating 'H' twice) when Ginny pushed the curtain aside and stepped shyly out.

Draco stood up straight, gaping at her.

Her long, thin legs teased him from under the curve-hugging dress; she turned in a circle and the "flames" flew up, revealing white thighs. The top of the dress, which consisted of spaghetti-thin straps, a scoop neck, and an empire waist, fit her... assets... perfectly. Her long, thin arms were completely bare, and he could just see the freckles dappling them...

He closed the gap between them in an instant. She was staring up at him with wide eyes; an innocent blush stained her cheekbones. Draco's breath was stolen away at her grace as she stepped into him, her bare arms moving as if they longed to encompass him. For once, Draco felt absolutely no control over his face; he knew that his look of complete awe and adoration showed in more than just his eyes. Tenderly, gently, he raised a hand to Ginny's face; she closed her eyes. He pulled the comb from her hair and it fell cascading about her shoulders; it was like waves of molten lava spilling forth across her shoulders and down her back.

The comb fell from his hand as he bent closer to her. One arm snaked around her waist and the other cupped her cheek lightly as he leaned down and caressed her lips with his own.

Kissing Ginny was like swallowing an explosion. Draco immediately felt his ears pounding and his body streaming with desire. She gasped and snaked her tiny little arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer, and he lost all memory of how to control himself. His tongue found no resistance in her full lips as it slipped its way into her mouth and explored every curve. She surprised him by gently doing the same.

The taste of her was completely addicting; Draco felt his mind screaming as her fingers wound into his hair and pulled him to the wall. One of her legs was suddenly straddling him; he realized faintly that he'd lifted her off the ground and was balancing her on his waist. He could smell her hair where it had fallen around his face; it reminded him of cinnamon and caramel. His hand moved to her thigh and began caressing its smooth skin; her dress had ridden up nearly to her waist. She gasped again at his touch, and he used the moment of surprise to penetrate the deeper corners of her mouth. She was arching her back into him, and he could feel the carefully lined-up bones of her ribs and, above that, her soft chest...

The bell at the front door of the shop tinkled again, but neither Ginny nor Draco paid any attention to it. They had completely shut out all external distraction; their minds were centered completely on the exploration of each other with every sense available...

That is, until a soft but startling scream echoed throughout the store.

Ginny's eyes blinked blearily open and Draco found himself reluctantly lifting his lips off hers. They both turned, Ginny still straddling Draco where he balanced her against the wall.

Ginny gasped.

Standing in the doorway, her eyes as wide as saucers and her mouth even wider, was Hermione Granger.

Hermione gave a choked sound of horror, spun on her heel, and sprinted from the store.

(&)