Broken

Who’s That Girl?

Ginny Weasley finished out her shift at the café. She had long ago noticed that the later at night it became, the fewer customers entered the café. It was during these slow periods that she got a lot of her studying done. She had used some of the money she got from Charlie to buy a laptop computer and she often carried it around in her backpack. At eleven o’clock, Ginny flipped the sign from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’ and walked towards the back counter where she kept her backpack. Ginny quickly gathered her things and locked up the café. Ginny walked quickly to her apartment because she hated walking alone in the dark. She finally reached home and let herself into her small apartment.

The apartment revealed much about muggle Ginny Weasley. It was a single bedroom apartment with a separate kitchen and living/dining room. She had taken great pains to paint the walls a cream color. Her dining table sat near a window where she could look out of while she was eating. The table was pinewood and was surrounded by four chairs. The chairs were red or blue. Ginny had always wanted a colorful home when she was growing up and had succeeded in creating one for herself. Colorful art prints hung on the walls. A short hallway led into her bedroom, which was messy. The bedspread was white with a floral print. She had placed blue sheets with it that matched the blue flowers on her bedspread. A small French message board that was crisscrossed with ribbons hung on a wall. She had put many pictures of her family and friends on the message board. Ginny had accidentally discovered that wizard photos don’t seem to move for muggles. A few years ago, Mrs. Weasley had sent her an album full of pictures from home and Ginny had placed them tastefully around the house.

As Ginny entered her apartment, she looked at the long table that sat against her blue couch. She had found the table at a rummage sale a few weeks ago. It had been in awful shape and Ginny thought the best thing to do with it was to put some sort of table covering on it. She found a beautiful table covering in a small shop that was made from old Indian sari material. She had placed some framed photos of herself and her family on top of the covering and added a small glass bowl with floating candles. The photos of her family members waved at her and she smiled back at them.

Ginny threw her leather backpack on the couch and sat down next to it. She flicked on the TV. It didn’t matter what was on, so long as it provided the noise Ginny needed. Having grown up in a big household, Ginny missed the noises it provided and often felt lonely in her apartment. Ginny sighed to herself and pulled off her shoes. She began rubbing her own foot because they were aching after being on them for most of the day. After sitting and watching a mindless late night movie, Ginny felt sleepy enough to go to sleep. She stood, turned off the lamp near the couch and walked into her bedroom.

Ginny hated her apartment at night. It seemed so dark and lonely. She hadn’t dated much since she moved into the muggle world because she rarely had time. The friends she made at school were as busy as her and they only hung out at school. As Ginny changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth she thought about the only real problem of living as a muggle. The only real problem it seemed was the loneliness. She had left behind a huge group of friends and family in the magical world. It seemed hard to find new ones here. Not that she really had time for friends anyway. Her schedule was full enough with school, work, and studying. Ginny laid down in her bed and feel asleep.

Sleep did not come so easily for Harry. After he and Remus had arrived at their new home, he had put on the television to distract himself. His mind kept thinking about Ginny and what her life might be like now. It was hard to see a former friend and not to speak to them as if you were already on familiar terms. He wondered if she was happy or not. Was she lonely? He remembered her dream to become a healer and wondered how she was handling the loss of that. Harry sighed and flicked past several channels, stopping when he saw the Teletubbies. For the life of him, he could not understand why kids liked that show. What was wrong with Sesame Street? He tried figuring out the plot of the show until he could take it no longer and hurriedly changed the channel. Nothing was on TV and Harry was bored. He decided to take a walk.

“Remus, I’m going for a walk.” He called over his sholder, pausing at the door. He waited for a response from his old friend.

“Sure. Get familiar with the area. We’ll need a good knowledge of the streets and alleyways anyway.” Remus called to Harry from his bedroom, where Harry guessed he was brewing his potion to keep his monthly transformations in check.

Harry grabbed his jacket and walked away from the house. Times like these, when he was feeling lonely and desperate to see his friends reminded him of living at the Dursleys. He remembered the summer before his fifth year when he prowled the streets at night, angrily looking for a fight. Harry kicked at a rock that was in his path and continued to walk aimlessly. He missed the Weasley family and his own home in Godric’s Hollow. He missed playing quidditch in the evening with his intramural league. The muggle life paled in comparison to a wizard’s life. With a sudden realization he realized how Ginny must feel. Was she angry? Was she bored? How had she come to terms with this life?

Looking up from his feet, which he had been looking at as he walked, he noticed that he was in front of Ginny’s café again. He checked his watch and saw that it was about eleven in the evening. Ginny was the only one in the café and she seemed to be closing shop for the night. Harry carefully placed a spell on himself to make him invisible and watched as Ginny locked the door and stepped into the night. She stopped briefly to pull on a black jacket before she turned and started briskly walking. Harry decided to follow her. In his mind, Harry rationalized his actions by deciding he should know where she lived. After all, with some many death eaters in the area Ginny was a prime target.

Ginny quickly walked home and entered a shabby apartment building. It was called Windy Rise Apart,ments. Harry followed Ginny as she walked up two flights of stairs. Harry noticed that the elevator had a “Broken” sign on it. His heart went out to Ginny. She had only ever lived in the warm surroundings of the Burrow. This apartment building looked like it had definitely seen better days. Ginny walked down a short hallway and stopped at her apartment and fiddled with her keys. She opened her door and walked in. Harry hesitated, wondering if he should follow her in. Harry decided that it wouldn’t be right to invade Ginny’s privacy. He turned and walked away, hearing the door slam behind Ginny. He knew it would have been wrong to watch her, without her knowledge.

As Harry walked home, he decided to go back to Ginny’s café. He needed to know she was truly okay, happy even. He decided to befriend Ginny. She needed him and he definitely needed her friendship.