Bulla Aurea Puerorum

The Perfect Night

The Perfect Night

Ginny and I sat in silence for what felt like ages. I couldn't believe that she'd actually given me her grandmother's necklace. I felt a little nauseous, to be perfectly frank. I didn't know what to say.

A simple 'Thank you' didn't seem to be enough to describe my love for the sentiment I felt deep within.

Instead, I did the only thing I could think of and held out my hand to her. I pulled her to her feet, and handed her a coat. She looked at me curiously, but soon we were standing out in the moonlit landscape, the snow glowing so bright one might've thought it was noon rather than two in the morning.

The night was perfect. The snow fell slowly, fluttering down in great big flakes, melting as they landed upon our skin. The snow that already lined the walkway crunched underfoot as Ginny and I walked along the trail by the Burrow.

My hair hung over my shoulders, wavy from having dried naturally after this afternoon, the natural colour shining richly in the moonlight that peeked through the clouds. I wrapped the coat I had grabbed off the stand tightly around me.

I had clasped the locket around my neck, the words inside creating a heavy feel as it rested in the hollow of my throat, the thin chain cold against my skin. I couldn't stop staring at Ginny, my fingers lightly tracing the locket.

She was just so beautiful.

I couldn't understand. 

Her warm brown eyes watched the snow fall, their chocolate colour reflecting the happiness that she felt.

I felt like I was going to explode, the urge to kiss her gnawing at my heart. Her lips curved into that perfectly imperfect smile, revealing her teeth the same colour of the snow. Her freckled cheeks flushed deep pink in the cold, the blush reaching from her nose to the side of her face and down to her jaw, in patchy splotches of warmth. Her lips shone, a similar flush colouring them a light wine colour.

Merlin, did I want to kiss those lips. 

"Ginny..," I started, each syllable holding everything that I felt for her. My toes tingled as my heart thumped loudly in my chest. Deep in my stomach I felt a clench, the heaviness that struck through me making me feel as if I would collapse. I felt slightly dizzy, trying to ground myself.

She turned, and I was even more starstruck.

Her long hair flamed red, a deep contrast to the pale snow, even in the dark.
It looked so soft, and she smelled of hot cocoa at midnight, of Christmas carols sung awfully in front of the Burrow's roaring fire, of Quidditch on rainy summer evenings. 

I felt like I was going to faint.

Her romantic brown eyes met mine, and I lost all sense.

 I closed the short distance between us and, ignoring the look of surprise on her face, placed my hands on either side of her face. 

At first I thought she would push me away. But as my eyes scanned hers, looking for a mere second for her approval, I saw the familiar blaze rise in them. 

And everything around me exploded.

I pressed my lips to hers, slightly parting them and letting out a relieved sigh. As my teeth lightly brushed her bottom lip, I felt hers begin to move against mine.

And the next thing I knew, her hands were twining up into my hair on either side and she was pulling me closer.

A million emotions pushed themselves to the surface. I couldn't settle on one, so I ignored them all, focusing on the moment, on the way her eyelashes tickled my face.

On the way that here, my lips against hers, the empty box inside of me finally felt whole. The word 'home' locked inside her touch. It swirled around me, coming to rest in the locket above my heart.

Everything around me was distorted, nothing but darkness and the warm smell of Ginny Weasley.

 I placed my hand on her chin and slightly pulled back, looking into her eyes once again and placing my thumb to her bottom lip. I smiled, tears threatening to spill over. Again, the love that felt like it spread directly from the locket and outwards, the words Bulla Aurea Puerorum becoming well past sentiment, as my heart pounded against my ribs.

"Why are you crying?" Ginny whispered, moving her thumb over the warm tears that leaked out of the corner of my right eye. 

I opened my mouth helplessly, words failing me. I just kissed her, letting myself sink into it again. This time it was her who pulled away.

"Ophelia?" She asked, letting my name hang as a question between us. My heart was lit on fire as the warmth she carried consumed me.

And I let the warmth engulf me, to melt the parts of me that I had locked away in stone.

For the first time in my life, I was home.

"I just can't believe it's you..." I shook my head. "and me."

She laughed softly under her breath, and pulled me back towards her, resting her forehead against mine.

"Yes, I suppose it is," She agreed, her lips moving against mine as she spoke the words.

And the beating in my chest didn't stop. It didn't stall.

It finally beat strong and true, no longer infected from the emptiness she had now filled.