Shards Of Glass

It started off as a crush. Just an innocent schoolgirl crush. Nothing more.

She liked to watch him as he strutted down the corridors, looking at his light blond hair, which was neither like gold nor silver. He walked lightly for a boy, not lumbering like Crabbe or Goyle, nor shuffling awarkly like Ron, but with certain, large strides. Yes- and there was that cockiness, arrogance even in his stride; she didn't mind that- that was part of him that she loved. She liked it when he flicked his hair out of his eyes with his long pale fingers, or even when he sneered his famous sneer, which contorted his face into ugly shapes.

She didn't know why she liked him. No- that's the wrong word. Was attracted to him. There, that was better. Maybe it was because she had spent so many years liking Harry; in vain. She had hung round, listening intently to what he said, laughing at his jokes and making comments of her own, for him to ignore. He didn't need or want her. He had Ron and Hermione and could have any girl he liked. So why would her choose her, poor little Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, for goodness sakes?

And so she looked elsewhere. To Draco Malfoy. He was the antipathy of Harry and that was why she felt attracted to him. Where Harry was kind and open minded, he was stinging and prejudiced. Where Harry was kind he was sarcastic. Yes- he was just what she wanted. She also felt resentment towards her brother Ron, and her whole family for that matter. They poked and pried, making rules for her to keep, and them to break- and she wanted to shock them- to hurt them for a change.

At first he didn't seem to notice her furtive glances, her looks from across the hall, her nervous glances when no- one else was looking. At first she wasn't sure if she wanted him to. But the Harry got a girlfriend. Now she was sure.

It had taken a few months- months full of waiting and hanging round, making sure he damn well knew who she was- by the end of it she knew his timetable. She had got it down to an art; she would accidentally bump into him in the corridors, or be there when he was coming back from Quidditch practise.

By the end of January she was quite well acquainted with him. She knew his harsh tongue, his frequent insults aimed at her and her family and his way of treating her like an inferior. To tell you the truth she enjoyed it. It was fun, like a game. By the end of February she had made sure he knew her exact sentiments concerning him, and by the end of March they reached an understanding.

She had laughed when she had seen the look on Ron's face- a mixture between shock and disbelief. It had been worth the long months of trailing Malfoy like a puppy just for that moment. Of course, the trio were in a state of shock- Hermione's usual composure was stripped from her and she had certainly made Harry notice her. In fact, the whole of the Gryffindor house was in an uproar. She was no longer just 'Ron's little sister,' she was Ginny Weasely, that girl who was dating the git, Malfoy.

What she got out of it was a name- she was no longer the nobody that hid in corners, gormlessly watching her darling Potter. What Malfoy got out of it was a reputation. Big bad DEVILISHLY SEXY Draco Malfoy who goes round seducing girls who fall like leaves in front of his feet.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Until something terrible happened- she fell in love.

To tell you the truth she didn't quite know how it had happened. All she knew was the longing- the dull ache inside her when he wasn't near her and the fever that she caught when he kissed her: roughly trying to hurt her, and the sensations she felt when he touched her- half blissful pleasure and half burning agony.

Just lust I hear you say. That's what Ginny tried to tell herself, but deep down she knew that it was more. Ginny Weasely loves Draco Malfoy. But did Draco Malfoy love Ginny Weasely?

She asked herself this question as she looked at him, trying to grasp a flicker of emotion in his face when he looked at her, and when she listened to his voice to see if she could hear a hint of kindness- humour- tenderness.

She searched until she could take no more- at the end of the year she knew she had to tell him- to confess.

She caught him by the lake- he had just finishes his last exam and was sprawled under a tree with his eyes closed, his face expressionless. When he heard her approach he smirked nonchalantly.

And then she told him.

And he laughed. He doubled over, laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing...

She looked at him once more- the very image of perfection, marred by the cold, cruel laugh that was racking his body, each outburst a shower of broken glass that fell on Ginny. One shard fell, driving itself through her skin, and finally embedding itself in her heart; now ripped, bleeding and broken.

Then she fled.