Bulla Aurea Puerorum

Leave Me Alone

Leave Me Alone

November brought rain. Lots of rain. Ginny and I were inseparable, always hanging about the castle together, usually being quite obnoxious. We hadn't spoken about whatever had gone on that night of the prank, and I was glad of it. I didn't want anything to ruin what we had.

Unfortunately, I could never have prepared for what happened on the first sunny day in November.

*            
I was waiting for Ginny to meet me in the courtyard, the moonlight shining down upon my skin. I sat on a bench, the roots of a nearby alder having cracked the stone under my feet. I waited for an hour before I finally gave up and decided to find her.

I made my way up to the Gryffindor common room, where, to my surprise, Ginny sat out front, her hands over her face as sobs rocked her shoulders.

"Ginny?"

She just shook her head.

I lowered myself to sit next to her, utterly bewildered.

All the candles were getting low in the castle before she finally lifted her hands off her face, her eyes swollen and red, and explained what had happened.

"Harry broke up with me."

I didn't really know what to say. I was definitely not expecting that, not in a million years. My heart ached for her, in the way her normally excited voice was soft and broken. There was a twinkle of excitement somewhere deep down in my stomach, but I smothered it. I needed to be there for my friend.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

She nodded, and I helped her up off the floor and through the portrait hole. The Fat Lady's eyes were creased with worry.

The fire inside still glowed dimly, orange and warm, and we sat with our backs to the front of the sofa to get closer to the flickering heat.

"He said there was someone else. And that he loved me very much but it didn't feel right to him to be with me when he was also in love with somebody else." Ginny whispered.

Again, shock. Harry? Loving someone else, while he was with my Ginny? I knew that it wasn't his fault, knew it better than anyone that you couldn't control who you loved, but I was still angry.

"I'm so sorry, Gin."

"Please don't call me that. Harry used to call me that and I can't-"

"Right. Sorry." I played awkwardly with the hem of my skirt while we sat there for quite a long time, both staring into the fire.

"Ginny?" A voice called.

We both looked up to see Ivory coming down the stairs of her dorm into the common room.

"Oh." She stopped dead at both of us sitting there. "Er...maybe I'll talk to you later."

"No it's fine, I'll go." I stood up, giving Ginny's hand what I hoped was a comforting squeeze, and left. I waited at the portrait hole so I could talk to her one more time before I went to bed, and sat down on the cold floor.

About a half an hour went by before I started to get a bit worried, and had just decided to go back in when there was a loud smash inside and the portrait hole flew open. Ginny was bright red, tears streaming down her face, and behind her I could see Ivory standing there just as red as Ginny.

"Ginny!" I called, jumping up and going after her.

"Just leave me alone, please, Ophelia."

I was confused, and continued to follow her.