Broken

"Loving you is like a battle and we both end up with scars"-Ex-Factor, Lauryn Hill

Ginny had walked slowly out of the elevator that would take her to the floor Hermione worked on. The conversations with Harry had left her feeling emotionally tired. Suddenly she wanted to curl up in her bed and sleep for several days. She looked around and saw that several ministry members smiled at her and waved as she weaved through the cluttered desks and cubicles.

"Hey Ginny!" A man about her height stepped in front of Ginny and offered his hand. Ginny looked at him and struggled to remember how she had known him. The man had light brown hair and clear blue eyes. His lime green ministry robes covered a blue muggle three-piece suit. There was something about his ears that struck her as familiar.

"Ummm, hello?" Ginny took his hand and shook it.

The man shook his head and laughed. "You have no idea who I am, do you?" Ginny opened her mouth to apologize, but he waved her off. "It's Colin! You know, I sat by you in Potions?"

Ginny immediately smiled. "Oh my gosh, Colin! I can't believe it's you! I haven't seen you in almost seven years! You look wonderful!" She embraced him. "Why are you wearing that suit? I mean, it's really nice, very GQ, but it's not typical wizard wear."

Colin looked down at his clothes. "Well, since the war, The Quibbler has gotten a big following. I work for them as a reporter. Now that Luna's taken over, she thought it would be a good idea to cover muggle news as well as the magical world. That means I have to go into the muggle world to get interviews and attend press conferences. It's much easier to wear a robe over muggle clothes and just take off the robe when necessary. I also report any muggle information to the Ministry. This is one of my filing reports days. Don't you think my ministry robe looks smashing with my suit?"

"I don't get it. Why can't you just wear a suit?"

"Wizards would never take a person dressed in muggle clothes seriously. Muggles would think I was off my rocker if I wore that robe around. It can be hot, but it's a necessary evil. I'm sure you know how it is." Colin smiled at Ginny and quirked an eyebrow. "You look nice. I see you had no trouble adjusting to our world again."

Ginny bit her lip and smiled nervously. "Well, my family bought me a lot of the new clothes. I had no idea what was in fashion for witches. I'm just lucky my family is so nice."

Colin frowned. "I know what you mean. My family was great."

Ginny noticed that he used the past tense when talking about his family. "Was? Did something happen?"

"Yeah, Voldemort had his Death Eaters attack my dad while he was on his route three years ago. My brother was helping him and Dennis was killed as well. My mum's not been the same since. I can't even mention magic in front of her. She blames the whole society for their deaths." Colin led Ginny back to his cubicle and gestured for her to sit down in his seat.

Ginny was struck dumb. "How is she with you? I mean, you live in our world. How does she deal with that?"

Colin sighed and leaned against his large wooden desk. "I don't talk about it anymore. I can't even take witches I'm dating seriously to see her. She wants me to live as a muggle."

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes. "Oh Colin, how terrible! Does that cause a lot of problems with you two?"

"Only when I'm awake." He laughed at his own joke. "C'mon Ginny. I know it's bad, but I have to joke about it. Otherwise I'd go crazy."

Ginny smiled and wiped her eyes. "I suppose."

While Ginny was talking to Colin, Harry watched. He had come down to the lower levels of the Ministry to speak to one of the workers about finding a muggle address. A report of strangely behaving teenagers had come in from an area of London that Harry was unfamiliar with and he needed them to plot of a map for him. He walked into the area and noticed Ginny talking with Colin. It seemed to him that she had wasted no time in finding someone else. Jealousy stabbed his heart, but he ignored it. He briefly considered going over and greeting Colin, but after his conversation with Ginny earlier he thought better of it. He knew she was upset and that he would probably have a hard time controlling his emotions as well. No matter what he had said, he still did love Ginny. It was hurting him to not have her in his life.

"So there's this Ministry Ball next week. I'm sure you heard about it?" Colin eyes caught Ginny's and she felt mesmerized by their blueness.

Ginny shook her head. "Actually, no. This is the first I've heard about it. What's it for?"

"I dunno. St. Mungo's is probably trying to raise funds again. There's even a theme this year."

Ginny absentmindedly ran her finger along the smooth wood of Colin's desk. She knew he wanted to ask her to go with him. She was just waiting for him to work up the nerve and ask. "Oh really? What's the theme?"

"It's a Regency Period Ball, I guess. You know, Jane Austen and all that. The guests are supposed to wear period clothing and do the traditional dances. It sounds kind of dumb, right?" Colin began kicking the desk with the heel of his shoe. He looked at Ginny and waited for her response.

"Actually it sounds like that could be fun. I mean, you get to wear a costume. I think you'd look excellent dressed as Mr. Darcy." Ginny smiled at Colin, hoping to elicit a laugh from him.

Colin suddenly sat up straighter. "It sounds like fun to you? Really? Ginny nodded. "Well, I was thinking that I still haven't asked anyone. Would you mind coming with me?"

Ginny bit her lip and thought it over. What could it hurt? Harry was probably going and he might have a date. She was probably going to be someone reputable and who hadn't recently had their wand snapped or murdered anyone. Why shouldn't she have fun? Perhaps Harry would realize that she wouldn't wait for him forever if she went with Colin to the ball. Or she might like Colin and finally get Harry out of her system. "Colin, I'd be honored to go with you."

Colin's face broke into a wide grin. "Great, I'll owl the organizers and they'll send you an invitation. Would it be all right if I also owled you to firm up our plans for the evening?"

Ginny shook her head. "Of course not, Colin! That sounds nice. I'll be at the Burrow." Suddenly, a head of bushy brown hair bobbed into view and Ginny remembered why she was at the Ministry in the first place. "Listen Colin, I have to dash. I'm supposed to meet Hermione any minute now. I'm sure she's ready to have a stroke right about now. Owl me soon, okay?" Ginny quickly embraced Colin and hurried away from him and headed towards Hermione.