It's One Crazy Love Story!

Chapter 12

After exams, there was a ball for seventh years that were graduating. If they wanted, they could invite someone of another year, but otherwise they couldn't go. You didn't have to come with a date, but many people were. Harry was going with Luna, Ron was going with Hermione and I didn't know whom Draco was going with.

I had heard that the dress code was not robes, but muggle attire.

I couldn't care less about not going, but there was one person who asked me. Neville Longbottom.

I blinked as he looked at me expectantly. "Sorry," I said, my voice cracking, "could you repeat that?"

"Will you go to the ball with me?" Neville asked me.

I couldn't believe he was asking me. I smiled a little, feeling strange since I hadn't smiled in weeks and said, "Sure, Neville."

He smiled at me and said, "Thanks. Meet me tomorrow in the common room."

I nodded and he left. I stared after him; unable to believe someone wanted me to go with them.

The next day, I didn't know what to wear, because I had no nice dresses for balls like this.

A part of me didn't want to go. That part just wanted to hide in my bedroom, refusing the world to see my face. I knew I would hear insults and people would call me a whore.

As I sat on my bed, contemplating whether to go or not, my roommate put on her Hilary Duff CD.

The words whirled around me and around the other girls getting dressed.

"Any moment, everything can change.

Feel the wind on your shoulder.

For a minute, all the world can wait.... let go of your yesterday.

Can you hear it calling? Can you feel it in your soul? Can you trust this longing... and take control?

Fly...open the part of you that wants to hide away...

You can shine, forget about the reasons why you can't in life and start to try, cause it's your time...time to fly.

All your worries, leave them somewhere else, find a dream you can follow, reach for something, when there's nothing left, and the world's feeling hollow."

I knew that any moment, everything could change. It had happened to me, but now I needed to let go of my yesterday. I needed to forget what other people were saying about me. I missed Draco, but I needed to take control of my longing. I wanted to hide away, but I knew that tonight I should shine, forget everything and start to try.

I got up, just as the song ended and decided I was going to that ball. I was going to show the world that I was no hermit crab and that I didn't care what they said.

I grabbed my best dress. It had ruffles, was white and fell just past my knees.

I took a bath and then got dressed feeling inappropriately dressed. It wasn't fancy and it was too short and old looking.

I sighed; at least I was going. Besides I didn't want to be the best dressed there, I just wanted to let go tonight of everything and have fun with Neville.

I was ready twenty minutes early, so I sat on my bed reading as some of the other sixth year's girls scurried about, looking for lip glosses and shoes.

A girl walked up to me and said, "Hey."

I looked up and found the girl who listened to Hilary Duff talking to me. Medea Isaac was her name.

"Hi," I said.

"You can't go the ball like that," she said, looking at me.

I shrugged, "I don't have anything else."

She smiled and made me stand up, "That's all right, but we'll just make it better."

She took out her wand and made me close my eyes. She muttered a few spells, brushed some things on my face and did something to my hair.

I remembered that she was in sixth year and was going with Dean Thomas.

Twenty minutes later, she said, "Ta da! Open your eyes now!"

I was standing in front of the mirror and saw myself as I opened my eyes to look at myself.

She had somehow made my dress longer, all the way to my ankles. The bodice was a bit fitted, as the long skirt flowed out. It looked cleaner and prettier. It still had ruffles at the bottom and on the sleeves. My red hair was tied back in a half ponytail and it looked nice since I washed it properly today. It waved nicely down my back and for the first time in weeks I could see the natural lighter red highlights in it.

She had put some light makeup on me, hiding the circles under my eyes and some clear lip-gloss.

I turned around and hugged her. "Thank you," I said. "You don't know much this means to me."

She smiled and said, "I think I do." Then she handed me a small white purse and said, "Let's go."

We walked downstairs and I found Neville waiting patiently for me.

He smiled at me and said, "You look nice."

I smiled back at him and said, "You look nice too." I glanced at all the other girls and found them wearing expensive and pretty gowns. But I didn't care because; this gown described who I was. I wasn't rich, but I wasn't ashamed of my situation. It was simple and I was simple.

I was content after so many weeks and followed Neville out of the common room. My heart flipped when I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna in the foyer. They were all talking and smiling; they were oblivious that I was there.

The doors to the great hall opened and we entered. The tables had been removed and the floor gleamed under a crystal chandelier.

Dumbledore made a small speech as the real ceremony was tomorrow and everyone ate a bit, and then started dancing.

I danced with Neville and heard whispers around me as people asked each other, 'who the girl with Longbottom was'.

I was happy that no one could recognize me. I heard no comments and I spent the entire evening with Neville. He was so nice to me; I couldn't believe it. He didn't once talk about the 'incident'. All we talked about was what we were going to do after Hogwarts and he told me silly things about his Gram.

I laughed and smiled, and it felt good.

The mood of the ball was excitement of the graduation and everything was happy. I saw Harry and Luna dancing, Hermione and Ron and a bunch of my other friends. None of them recognized me, but I was happy.

Near the end of the ball, when Neville and I were standing near the wall where the drinks were, someone walked up to the table.

It was Draco Malfoy with some blond girl behind him. As soon as I saw him, I became nervous, but nothing happened to my heart.

He looked up and sneered at Neville and then his eyes travelled to the girl beside him. They moved on and then came back. He stared at me, with a surprised look on his face.

I knew I was unrecognizable. The people, who I wanted to recognize and acknowledge me, didn't. But the person, who I didn't want to see, recognized me.

The two parts of me started struggling as I saw him. The part that loved him and the part that wanted to forget him.

He was wearing a black Armani suit. His air was gelled lightly, with a bit falling in his eyes. His grey ones stared into my green ones and I couldn't decipher what they were saying to me.

It was like he was trying to get over the barrier that I had put up to try to hide the struggling parts of me.

He gazed at me long and hard, as if trying to break the barrier, but even though I was confused and struggling, I wouldn't let him see what I was thinking.

With one final look, he left. I sighed a breath of relief and continued talking with Neville.

I enjoyed the ball and felt overjoyed the next day, when Ron choose me and Mum as his two guests for the ceremony.

It was held outside and I felt good. Mum was still mad at me, but she still found room in there to tell me sit up straight and to fix my hair.

I clapped for everyone and heartily for all my friends. Mum was crying when Ron got his certificate and I clapped loudest then.

Mum glanced at me, when Draco's name was called, but I was too busy looking for my brother on the side. I had known that they were going to call his name, and I knew my mother would do something, so I quickly pretended like I was looking for Ron when they called his name.

Thankfully it worked and she didn't say anything.

That afternoon, we left for home and got on the train. I found an empty compartment and sat in it and read. Thankfully, no one bothered me. Only in the middle of the journey Medea came over and we talked.

We finally reached home. I got off the train, feeling a mix of sadness and relief. I was relieved that I wouldn't hear any more rumours for the summer, but I was sad that it was just going to be us three at home. Mum was talking to me, but Ron would still ignore me.

A week after the end of school, news came to us that Fred had died in St. Mungos. The moment I heard that, the part of me that longed for Draco, slipped slowly into the shadows of my body. I forgot about him and what had happened. I only thought it was a small romance, and that I may have liked him for a time, but I certainly didn't love him the way I could have.

I realized that when the break up occurred, it was just a phase of sadness going through my life. I thought it would eventually end and I would get back with my friends, apologizing and everything would be fine.

Ron forgave me and started talking to me, considering the grief we were in. I completely changed after that incident.

I became someone else, I don't even know who or what. I rethought everything and became more serious. Everyone had said that after the loss of my family, I had become a little more serious but after Fred's death, I stopped doing everything.

I stopped laughing, I stopped smiling, and I stopped joking around. I became a lonely person who didn't talk or smile.

The small case of sadness became a large case of loneliness. Everyone who knew me thought that I was upset about my friends and family getting upset at me, and about my break-up with Draco Malfoy, but it wasn't true.

I felt the horrors of the war around me again and I felt grief over my dead family members.

Hermione and Harry came over to stay in the summer, and our house had more people in it. I cried when I remembered the days when our house would be filled with noise, yelling and laughter. With Harry and Hermione, it became a bit louder, but the loneliness and silence had etched itself into the walls of our home and refused to leave.

I helped my Mum around the house without a fuss, and did as I was told. I did my homework by the second week of holidays, even faster than Hermione.

Ron joked that I had become like Hermione, but I didn't even hear him. I was always in my own mind, in my own world.

I read all the time and did nothing else. Mum finally noticed how thin I was becoming, and so she forced me to eat more.

I knew that I had to become an auror, for me and for my family. My only goal in life now, was to make sure that nothing happened to the rest of my little family.

I had finally accepted the last part of the song, which said, 'All your worries, leave them somewhere else, find a dream you can follow, reach for something, when there's nothing left, and the world's feeling hollow.' I had found a dream, when there was nothing left.

Seventh year was the loneliest year ever. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Padma, Luna, and Neville were all gone. Sam never talked to me ever again, and I saw her with other friends. I missed her, but she ignored when I tried to apologise.

I fell deep into my own world, further and further until I couldn't see the other side.

I studied hard and got top marks in my N.E.W.Ts. People had stopped talking about me, but they ignored me because I was always in the library. You might ask me if I ever wanted to have fun again and the answer was yes. I did want to be outgoing and carefree, but the burden I had, kept me from doing anything.

I did some research on the Malfoys and the Weasleys history by asking some clever questions and found the right answers.

I found out that my grandmother and Draco's grandfather had fallen madly in love at Hogwarts. They were two of the few pureblood families left in the community.

They told their families that they wanted to get married, and they were all right with it. On the day of the wedding, my great grandfather accused Draco's great grandfather of being in league with the great wizard Grindelwald, even though he wasn't.

A great big fight broke out and in the end, my great-grandmother died and Draco's great-grandfather died. Since that day, the two families have been bitter about each other and hate each other.

I realized that I didn't love Draco anymore, because we were both cheating on each other, so I never did really know what he was like.

In one moment, my life had changed.

That moment only made me realize that there was no one in this whole wide world, who would ever care for me again.

I had felt this way before, and I felt strongly about it now. It was my dream that I would find someone who would understand me and listen to me. I wanted someone to be there for me, when I was feeling down.

I found out that the people, who did care for me, really didn't. They cared in a sense of motherly, brotherly, sisterly affection, but not enough to really feel that strongly for me.

Harry and Hermione finally talked to me again and I was relieved. But I had come to realize that no one understood me.

I became a lifeless corpse, walking around as if I was dead. Happiness was miles away and sorrow was something that was within grasp.

I lost my family, my friends and myself. My soul disappeared further and further, within myself, so that I couldn't find it.

Ginny Weasley. I didn't know who she had been, or who she was now, or who she would end up being.

The End