Disclaimer: I own the plot to this story but everything else belongs to the legend that is J.K. Rowling, we salute you!
Summary: Things never did run smooth.
Chapter 9: Nightmares and Awe.
She was running down the ward again, doors flashing past her. She couldn't understand it, the faster she ran,
the longer the corridor stretched out in front of her. She could hear Draco shouting out her name, screaming in pain,
but still she couldn't reach the end. Her heart was hammering, almost there, almost there…..
She woke with a start, disorientated in the darkness. Her heart was still hammering, Draco's cries echoing in her
ears but they weren't fading like the dream. She grabbed her wand off the bedside table and murmured
'Lumos'. The light illuminating her old bedroom, she quickly sat up and listened; the shouts were definitely
real. Climbing out of bed she made her way to the door and opened it quietly.
"What the bloody hell is going on?" George had poked his head out of the twins' old room at the
same time, eyes still puffy with sleep.
"Nothing George, go back to sleep." Ginny was walking quickly up the landing now, passing the twins on her
way to Charlie's old room.
"And what do you think you're doing?" Fred had appeared by George's side.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to see if he's alright!" She was almost at
the door now.
"I don't think that's a good idea Gin." George had stepped over the threshold, grabbing Ginny's
upper arm.
"Yeah, I think we should get Dad." Fred said, already starting towards the stairs leading up to the second
landing.
"Oh don't be ridiculous!" Ginny yanked her arm free of George's grip and rounded on the twins.
"I'm not leaving him like this!"
"Gin you don't know what is going on in there. For all we know he's a raving psycho!" Fred was looking warily at Charlie's door. Ginny snorted.
"Oh how ludicrous! Look, I promise if he's a 'raving psycho', I will shout for help and you two can tell me 'I told you so' till the cows come home, ok?" She turned back walking quickly to the door.
"Bloody Malfoy" Fred muttered under his breath.
"Yeah waking the whole house up with his ranting" George agreed, walking back into their room after Fred.
Ginny rolled her eyes and opened the door.
Draco had almost completely kicked the covers off. She could see a thin film of sweat coating his chest and face in the wand light. He was mumbling now, worry etched across his face. She moved round the bed, kneeled down and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
It happened almost instantly. Before she could register what was going on, Draco had his wand to her throat. For a split second Ginny thought the twins had been right and Draco had gone mad. Panic rose in her and a shout was almost out of her mouth when Draco's face changed.
"Merlin Ginny, what the hell are you trying to do?!" He was angry now, sitting up, resting his weight on his fore arms.
"I came to see if you were ok." The words sounded weak and feeble even to her ears. She was still shaking and her eyes, wide and scared, were fixed on Draco's wand held limply in his hand.
"Christ, sneaking up on a bloke like that in his sleep, you're lucky I didn't hex you!" His tone was so patronising that it snapped Ginny out of her shock.
"I wasn't sneaking up on you!" Her voice was much stronger now that her temper was beginning to flare. "You were having a nightmare, shouting out and calling my name. Almost woke the whole bloody house up! I only came in to check that you were alright!" She got to her feet, glaring down at him. How dare he be angry with her!
"Well as you can see I'm fine!" he glared back.
"Well it certainly didn't look that way to me!" Her voice was rising with ever word, anger boiling in her stomach.
"Well you were wrong!" He shouted back. "I'm fine; I don't need your fussing!"
"Fine!" she spun round on the spot and stomped back to the door.
"Shut the door on your way out." She spun back round, more angry words on the tip of her tongue but they died when she saw him. He was lying back now, his head on the pillow, fore arm draped across his face, over his eyes. He looked utterly lost.
She padded back across the room, absently fiddling with the edge of the over sized canon's t-shirt she using as a night shirt. She reached the edge of the bed again, staring down at him. The scars over his chest stuck out lividly against his pale skin. She wasn't as shocked as she had been earlier that evening in the bathroom and really looked at him this time. Under the scars was a well built body, if not still on the skinny side. There was a patch of very fine blond hair running down, disappearing into the tartan pyjama bottoms he was wearing.
"Take a photo Weasley, it will last longer," came a muffled drawl. Ginny felt a grin tug at the corners of her mouth.
"You really are an insufferable prat Malfoy."
"So you're brother has told me on many occasions." She leant down to poke him in the chest, but he was too quick for her again. He grabbed her out stretched arm and pulled. Losing her balance, Ginny felt herself fall heavily on to him.
"Oof!" she felt his stomach muscle tense as she landed on him.
"As graceful as ever I see Weasley." She twisted her head round to look at him. He was smirking at her, but his eyes were full of sadness. Before she lost her nerve she bent down and sealed her lips to his. She felt him stiffen in surprise, and then relax into the kiss.
Fire burst through her, spreading all over her body, settling in her stomach. Gods how she had missed him! His arm can round her waist, pulling her closer to him, their bodies pressed together and she moaned into his mouth. Taking advantage of this Draco slipped his tongue passed her open lips, deepening the kiss. She moved to straddle him, never breaking the contact.
His hands moved from her waist, pushing the t-shirt up and running his hands down her back, as her hands found their way to his hair. She broke the kiss moaning out loud, as Draco began to kiss down her throat, sucking at the pulse point. She arched up into him, feeling for the first time his hard on pushing into her groin. Dizzy with lust she hadn't felt for years she pulled his lips back to hers and kissed him hungrily again. It was his turn to moan as she ground into him.
"Oh Gods Ginny." He broke away from her, panting. She took her turn to kiss down his throat. "Ginny, we've got to stop." She ignored him, continuing to kiss and suck any new skin she could find. He pushed her back lightly. "We have to stop." He repeated, not meeting her gaze.
"Why?" she said simply, her mind still clouded with lust.
"Because….just because!" he still refused to look at her.
"Well that's all sorted then isn't it!" She replied sarcastically.
"I just can't ok." He moved to push her off, but she pushed down, causing him to hiss with pleasure.
"It certainly feels like you can!" she rolled her hips and he started panting again. "Come on Draco, you always do this. Always stop us. Why?" she pulled his chin up, so that he would have to meet her eyes. And what she saw there shocked her more than anything she could have imagined. Draco was crying.
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Draco felt…well absurd to be perfectly frank. This whole situation was what he had been dreaming of, it was what had kept him going all this time. He had thought of little else at night than warm curves and fiery curls. But now that it was here, now that he could feel the feelings he had kept at bay for so long coursing through him, it was wildly overwhelming.
He felt the wetness on his cheeks, so foreign to him that it took a moment to realise what it meant. He, Draco Malfoy, was crying for the first time he could remember. They were tears of sadness but also of awe. Awe at a situation he had dreamed of but never once thought he would find himself in again. He sat there, Ginny Weasley in his lap, staring down at his hands as the tears rolled down his face.
He felt her hand under his chin, dragging his eyes up to met her. Saw the sadness he was feeling echoed in her brown eyes, but also another thing. Pity.
This stirred something in him; deep unadulterated shame and anger. How dare she pity him! A Weasley pitying a Malfoy!
He shoved her roughly off his lap and on to the bed. Standing up he paced across the room, trying to put as much space between them as possible. The look of shock and hurt from her was not lost but heno longer cared. At any other time he would have given anything not to see that look in her eyes, but now it only fuelled his fury. This he could do, anger he could live with.
"Is that why you're here Ginny?"
"What-," she started to interrupt but he cut her off.
"You're here 'cause you pity me. Poor sad Draco, all on his own, crying out in his sleep. So, what? You come in here to give the lonely Malfoy some action?! After all it has been three years since he even looked at a woman!"
Heno longer seemed to have control over what he was saying.
"Well I'm not that pathetic, and I don't need charity from anyone, especially a Weasley!" he practically spat the last sentence out. He knew he was being cruel, knew he shouldn't have said those things, but deep down this was what he had been terrified of. That she would only come to him out of a sense of duty, because she felt sorry for him and not because she burnt to be with him the way he did for her. He was breathing hard now, glaring down on her as she continued to kneel on the bed.
She leapt up and before he knew what had happened, slapped him with such force across the cheek his head snapped to one side. He stood there, not moving his head back and brought a hand up to touch the stinging skin. The trademark Malfoy smirk played at his lips but died as soon as it looked back at her.
Her eyes were filled with tears but her mouth was set with rage.
"How dare you." It came out low and cracked, as if she could barely get the words out. Tears poured down her face but she made no movement to brush them away.
"I came here because I was worried about you. I did not come here to sleep with you in order foryou to feel better. Unless you had forgotten Malfoy, the last few years have not been fun for me either. You may have been through hell but so have I." She turned to leave again but his hand grabbed hers.
"I'm sorry." It was barely more than a whisper. She turned round to look at him, anger still etched all over her face.
"For what Draco?" it sounded cold, something he had never heard in her voice before. Passion, yes, anger, definitely, but this iciness was something new and it chilled his heart to think of things that she must have been through for it to be there now.
"For everything." he was crying again. His time as an auror had taught him to never use his emotions, but being with Ginny seemed to have dragged them all out of whatever box he had placed them in. This whole day was beginning to feel like a ridiculous rollercoaster, and he wanted to get off.
She sighed, and cupped his cheek with her hand.
"How about we start again? Hello Draco."
He smiled.
"Hello Ginny."
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A/N: Ok, that's the end of part one. A sequel is in the works, but I shall not be posting that until it has been typed, beta'd and all chapters are completed. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and I hope everyone has enjoyed this fic.
Azure x