Seeing Stars by luvscharlie
"Kiss me and you will see stars. Love me and I will give them to you." -Unknown
Lavender was near to bursting at the way the Quidditch match had gone. True enough, she had never been one who cared much about the game. The sweaty men perched on brooms in form-fitting Quidditch robes, yes, but the game not so much. And Ron was glowing from his performance as Gryffindor's Keeper today. He had been smiling brilliantly when she last saw him after the match… and the way he had kissed her… there were no words which could possibly do that kiss justice.
This day had been the most memorable one she had experienced at Hogwarts. She had just gathered her things to head for the showers when she heard a light tapping on her dorm room window.
She opened the window, but saw nothing when she stuck her head out. It must have been her imagination. She started to pull her head inside, retreating from the brisk night air.
"It's rude to ignore a bloke when he flies all the way over here to see you, ya know?"
She startled at the sound and there was a CRACK as her head hit the window frame. She felt his hand wrap around her forearm.
"You okay?"
"I will be when the stars stop dancing behind my eyes. Bloody hell, that hurt, and what are you doing here?"
"I want to show you something."
She perked up. "Really? What?"
"Get on the broom and I'll show you."
She hesitated. It was a testament to how much she loved him that she would even consider it. She hated flying. She found heights to be terrifying and brooms made her shudder. She had failed their flying class in first year, absolutely refusing to mount a broom, much less fly one. Lavender Brown was a girl with her feet firmly planted on the ground and she liked it that way.
Or, rather, she had been.
Nobody was more surprised than she when she found herself teetering on the ledge of the window, allowing Ron Weasley to assist her in mounting his broom and positioning her so that she was seated in front of him.
"There we go," Ron said, his lips so close to her ear that his warm breath tickled when he spoke. His muscled thighs tightened around her, and held her in position and they were off. She had to admit that he handled the broom gracefully, and had she not been so terrified of how high they were, she imagined that it would have felt wonderful to be flying with him like this. As it was, her body was cramping up in protest at the way she was leaning over and gripping the handle of the broom.
She felt Ron's hand cover hers and attempt to pry her fingers loose. "That can't be very comfortable. Relax. I won't let you fall." He whispered the words into her ear, and they were so reassuring that she found herself doing just that. "Now, lean back into me and look up."
She hadn't opened her eyes from the moment they had set off, too terrified of what she might see. Still, the gentle whisper of his words and the intoxicating feeling of his body pressed so closely against her were winning out.
"Open your eyes," he whispered, pressing his lips against her neck, and her eyelids fluttered open "Nothing to be afraid of, love. I've got you."
And surprisingly, she did feel secure with his arm around her waist. Of course, she also had a tight grip on his robes.
When she looked up, she gasped. The stars seemed so close. Almost as if she could reach out and grab one.
"Amazing, huh?"
"Beautiful," she said.
He brought his broom to rest on a flat spot of the school's roof. It was a rare find amidst the towers and sloping angles that comprised most of Hogwarts. This spot, however, was perfectly flat, and a blanket was already spread there. Once her bottom was firmly planted on the roof in a position from which she didn't fear falling… much… she shot him a skeptical look. "I don't suppose you have any idea how this blanket got here, do you, Mr. Weasley?"
"I put it here, of course."
She was a bit thrown by his honesty. She had expected him to at least attempt a feeble lie. "Presumptuous, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I mean—Wait, whoa! No! Not that! I mean, I didn't expect you to—" He ran his fingers nervously through his hair, frustrated it seemed at the inability to articulate his feelings.
She reached a hand forward, brushing it across his forearm and his stuttering stopped instantly. "What did you bring me up here for, Ron?"
"I wanted to show you the stars," he whispered.
She leaned in closer, her lips mere inches from his, and whispered, "Then show me."
And when he kissed her, the stars in the sky couldn't hold a candle to the brilliance of the ones she saw behind her eyelids.
Fin.