How Do You Choose Between What is Right and What is Easy?

Chapter 10

Ginny rushed out of the portrait hole as quickly as possible, unable to stand another moment in the common room. Her breaths came out staggered, and it was hard for her to get them out. Tears shuddered at the edges of her lids, threatening to spill over and stream down her face.

She went to the left, going down one corridor, then another, and another, to the point where she didn't even know what direction she was going anymore. And she didn't care. All she cared about was getting as far away from Gryffindor Tower as fast as humanly possible.

Corridor after corridor and tapestry after tapestry passed by her in blurs as she ran. She bumped into some corners as she passed, brushing almost roughly against the occasional person on the way. After awhile, and unsure of exactly how she had gotten there, she realized she'd ended up in the Entrance Hall. She was the only one there, and it was very quiet. She leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath, but not being able to do so very well.

Ginny put her right hand over her chest, trying still to catch her breath. She breathed in deeply, held it for a moment, and let it out slowly. It seemed to help, so she did it again. She began to get calmer and her breaths came out a lot easier. She tried to think a little bit about what had transpired in the common room, but it was too painful.

Despite the chill outside, Ginny decided she would take a walk around the lake so she could clear her head a little. She headed slowly to the double doors that led outside and to the chill. She stopped right in front of the doors, and hesitated before pulling the left one open just enough for her to get through. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

Ginny walked across the grounds and towards the lake, taking her time despite the inherent drizzle that had begun to come down. The only protection she wore from the elements was her cloak, but with everything on her mind, she couldn't even feel the coldness the raindrops brought as they soaked into her skin.

It took her almost two hours to make it all the way around the gigantic lake, mostly just because of its sheer size, but partly because of her slow pace. As she walked, she thought again about everything that had gone on that morning in the Gryffindor common room, this time letting the pain wash over her in waves. As much as it was Harry and Hermione's fault that things had turned out the way they had, she still hated things to end that way.

She continued her way around the lake, wondering what things would be like if they had turned out completely different. Would Harry still have cheated on her, but with someone else? Would Hermione have stayed truthful to Ron, or strayed to the cheating path again as well? What about her and Draco? Would they be just friends, instead of lovers? Or would they be friends at all?

But it mattered not. Things had not turned out differently. They had turned out the way they had, with Harry a cheater and Hermione his whore.

Ginny made her way back to the castle, unable to tell because of the rain hitting her face that she was crying. As she got closer to the double doors, her mind was as blank as a piece of parchment with no writing on it. She opened one of the doors, gratefully welcoming the warmth and dryness of the hall, and shut the door behind her.

Ginny shook her head from side to side a couple of times to try and throw some of the rain from her hair. She ran her hands through her hair and scraped even more rain from it, letting it drip onto the stone floor and not even caring. She also brushed some of the rain from her cloak.

Ginny looked at her watch. Lunch would have already started, but she didn't feel like eating. She definitely wasn't hungry. The library sounded like a good place to go to get some peace and quiet - hopefully - so she headed back across the Entrance Hall and on her way. Halfway across the hall, she stopped. There were voice and laughter coming from the direction of the dungeons. Realizing she still had some rain and tears on her face, she turned around and wiped her eyes quickly, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of anyone.

When she got her face wiped off satisfactorily enough, she turned around and headed for the corridor that would lead her to the library. Before she could reach it, however, three people appeared in the hall. They were talking in low voices, but their laughter was loud. When they came fully into view, Ginny could see (even through her slightly blurred vision) who it was. Draco Malfoy was in the middle of the three. Blaise Zabini was on his left side, and on his right was Marcus Flint.

She turned back around quickly, not wanting Draco to feel torn between asking Ginny if she was okay, and keeping his reputation in front of his friends. She also didn't know how Zabini and Flint - both members of Draco's Slytherin crew - would react to a vulnerable, Gryffindor female standing alone in the Entrance Hall in front of them. And she also wondered that, if the two so happened to make her the butt of their jokes and laughter, would Draco stand up for her, or would he side with them? Not that Ginny would ultimately blame him, but it would still hurt.

Draco had taken a few steps into the Entrance Hall before he even noticed that anyone else was there, let alone that it was Ginny. When he noticed it was her, he faltered just a step and then continued on his way. He slipped something out of the inside pocket of his robes. The three walked across the hall towards the Great Hall, Blaise and Marcus not even paying one bit of attention to Ginny. As the three passed her unmoving figure, Draco tossed what he had pulled from his robes at her feet, and continued on his way, refusing to even glance back, as if nothing had happened.