Heartbroken

It was slow getting up. Disoriented, Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked around her the familiar dormitory. Reality slowly set in, and Ginny had wished she hadn't woken up. She'd rather sleep, and dream things were as they were before. No lies, or betrayal, or hearts being broken. She sighed, and pulled the curtain around her bed open. Forcing herself to get up, fixing her concentration on what was ahead of her. Ginny tried not to look at the picture frames on her desk near her bed.

Memories chased all logic out of her head, remembering someone she had once loved. She still did love him--except that someone didn't want to return it anymore. Seamus Finnigan. They seemed the perfect couple, and no one questioned them being together. It was a relief to Hermione and Harry; they were free to be together without the thought of Ginny watching in envy. Yes, Ginny had loved Seamus. You can't fake being heartbroken.

With as much strength as she could find, she got into the shower. She sat down and let the hot water trickle over her. She sighed, and let the memories drip into her already crowded mind like the water on her body. Their first date, first kiss, the romantic gifts, and betrayal, it all seemed like years ago...like some memory you wanted to push behind you, but always snuck up at the most inopportune times. There was nothing wrong with Ginny; she was brilliant, beautiful, and funny.

But so was her best friend, Cecilia, and it seemed Seamus found her more to his liking. Imagine walking into what you thought was an empty classroom only to find the person whom you thought to be your true love with your best friend. Ginny knew Cecilia had feelings for Seamus. She could see it every time she looked into Cecilia's eyes. That endless longing for that one person she couldn't have. Ginny even knew that feeling; she still had it every time she looked at Harry. But she knew her boundaries, and it seemed that Cecilia didn't.

Ginny got dressed and slowly walked down to the Great Hall. She took her seat next to Ron, and laid her head down on the table.

"Oh Gin, you aren't still moping around over Seamus are you? That was months ago! Just forget about him!" Ron said, exasperated.

Ginny moaned. She just wanted everyone to forget the whole thing happened. It was painful enough, without anyone talking about it publicly. She watched as Hermione made her way to the table. "Hallo!" Hermione said brightly, and sat down between Harry and Ron.

Harry looked up with a smile, which faded slightly. "Oh, its just you Hermione," he said.

Hermione threw a roll at Harry and laughed, "Don't give me that," said Hermione, "You know you could never survive without me!"

Ginny's heart fell to her stomach; she hated how they never thought about her presence, or her feelings. She didn't matter at all. It was true she threw her heart around, but what can you expect from someone who was slowly dying inside?

Harry's eyes flickered in such a way when he looked at Hermione; he had never looked at anyone else that way. It made Ginny's heart ache. Smiling, he playfully said, "Of course I couldn't survive without you!" He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Sorry, I've got to get to Quidditch Practice." Harry finished his goblet of pumpkin juice and walked out of the door.

*~*~*

Harry walked out of the great hall and onto the wet grass. It had rained last night, and the air was full of fog. If it rains again, thought Harry; it's going to be a tough game tomorrow. Harry was the new captain of the Gryffindor Team. He did deserve it; the Gryffindors had won many games thanks to Harry's amazing skills on the broom.

Cradling his broom on his shoulder, he was excited to get to work. He had thought of some new tactics to use out on the field. However, thoughts of the game left his head as he neared the broom shed. Hushed voices caught his attention and Harry quietly stole closer, to hear more snippets of the conversation. He was sure he had heard his name.

"So the plan is working, Marcus?" asked a voice Harry recognized. It was -

"Severus, everything is going to plan, we've got everyone in place. Mr. Malfoy doesn't realize how important he is. In fact, I'm not even sure he know at all," informed Marcus, his voice full of malice.

Snape's face flashed a wicked smile. "Voldemort will be pleased. Now, get out of here before anyone sees you!"

Harry was frantic. He knew Marcus was going to turn the corner at any second, and he would be caught. Harry got out his wand and whispered, "Alohomora!" while tapping it against the lock. The broom shed door unlocked and swung open quietly. Cautiously, he got inside the shed, and closed the door. Voldemort is after me, he thought, and a thousand questions came to his mind at once. Is this ever going to end?

*~*~*

Draco Malfoy had been appointed Head Boy, something he was extremely pleased about. It gave him more power to do whatever he liked around the school, which included bossing everyone around. He was looking forward to torturing his classmates at the Prefect Meetings. It was the Head Boy and Girl's job to hold the meetings. Head girl was none other than Hermione Granger. Who would've guessed?

*~*~*

Ginny Weasley was one of the 4 prefects for the school year. She found it comforting; it was a nice way to take her mind off of the things that were troubling her. She sat down in a chair near the window, eager to get started. When everyone was there and settled, the meeting began.

"Welcome to the first prefect meeting," said Hermione. She could barely control her voice she was so excited. "We need to discuss the Winter Ball, which is being held for the 6^th and 7^th years. We wi--"

"We will be splitting you up into groups," Draco interrupted. He peered around the classroom, disappointment etched on his face. The four prefects that year were Ginny, Sandra Ford (a Ravenclaw), Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ariel Parkinson (Pansy Parkinson's little sister).

"I'll take Sandra and Ariel," Hermione cut in. She didn't have anything against Ginny and Justin. She already knew them well and didn't want to show any favoritism, fairness was what Hermione was made of.

"Fine then! I'll take Ginny and Justin," snapped Draco. He looked murderous. Having a Weasley in the group wasn't exactly his idea of fun.

They split into groups and started discussing the ball. Draco looked around his group with superiority, and put his legs on the table. He decided, rather than being a jerk, it would be more enjoyable to annoy Ginny by being nice. He knew which buttons to push with people. Any enthusiasm she had had for the meeting was slowly leaving her. She was irritated that she had to be in a group with Draco and she didn't bother hiding it. After all the things Malfoy had done to her family, Harry, and Hagrid, the sight of him made her nauseous.

"Weasley, don't look so upset. It's not every day you're in the presence of Draco Malfoy," he said, and a charming smile flashed across his face.

"Don't flatter yourself, Malfoy," spat Ginny. Anyone who thought being around Malfoy was clearly nutters.

They managed to get through the meeting with only a few arguments about what color the decorations should be, and what to serve. Malfoy's niceness was taking a toll on Ginny. She was beginning to let it show that it was getting to her. By the time the meeting was over, Ginny was glad to get out of there. If every meeting was like this, being a prefect wasn't going to be as fun as she thought. She couldn't stand Draco, but then there was something about his personality that made her want to find out more about him.

Later that night, Ginny lay in her bed thinking. Draco's face seemed to stick out beyond anything that happened that day. She forced any thoughts of him away. Don't even think about it Virginia Weasley! He's not worth your time, she thought.

Ginny sighed and bit her lip. No matter what she told herself, she knew something was going to go wrong. She turned on her side and went to sleep.