Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own Harry Potter and/or any other characters used in this fic. They are all property of J.K. Rowling.
As the second vase shattered against the closed door, Ginny let out a frustrated yell. She couldn't believe what had just happened. How could Harry have cheated on her, and with Draco Malfoy as well? She had always thought he hated Malfoy.
Sinking down on the couch, she let out an angry breath. Her whole life had been pulled out from under her in a matter of minutes. She had long suspected Harry of keeping a secret, but she surely hadn't expected something of this magnitude.
Glancing up, she caught sight of the Quidditch poster Harry had stuck on their bedroom wall so many months ago. Thinking back, she had wondered why he was so adamant about it. Now, she was angrier than ever and staring at the Quidditch players zooming around in their brightly colored robes only infuriated her more.
Standing up, she pulled out her wand, pointing it at the poster and blasting a hole in the plaster. A big black singe now appeared in the middle of the poster, but it remained decidedly stuck to the wall.
This didn't help Ginny's anger at all. She yelled in frustration and turned from the room, glaring around her. The apartment looked as it always had, with the minor change that two ornaments were now in shards near the door. Harry's coat still hung on the rack near the door, mocking her.
She walked over to it, grabbing it off the hook and heading into the kitchen where there was a small window. She opened the window and flung the coat out, watching as it cascaded to the ground. Slamming the window shut, she turned again, leaning back against the countertop.
She didn't know what to do. She'd been so dependant on Harry and his fame for so long. Even though she'd hated being married to him, never getting any attention herself, she had enjoyed some of the perks that came along with it. She had the Minister in her back pocket which would be very helpful when it came to the divorce.
The divorce. Ginny's blood boiled at the thought. Who was he, thinking he would be able to divorce her so easily? She wouldn't let it happen. There was no way he could get away with cheating on her and then asking for a divorce. Divorce simply didn't happen in her family.
What was she going to tell her family? Obviously Ron already knew, that bastard. Her own brother and he hadn't told her, she thought. Granted, he hadn't known until the very end, but still. He should have been able to tell. And Hermione. Hermione was the smartest witch she knew, and she hadn't told her anything.
As she sat back down on the couch, she glared angrily at the black television screen. Everyone had been lying to her. Everyone. Who could she trust? They had all turned their back on her, sided with Harry.
This thought came to her and she paused. Had everyone really betrayed her? Something Harry had said about Michael suddenly came back to her.
But he's gay!
Michael was not gay, she thought. There was no possible way, after all the things they had done together. They'd been together for almost a year, right under Harry's nose. She had always taken pride in that fact. She had been able to conduct an affair right under her husband's nose and he'd been none the wiser. Of course, this also begged the fact that he hadn't cared enough about her to notice she was sleeping with someone else, which made her angry.
Ginny bristled and glared angrily at the TV. How her own husband couldn't tell she was having an affair was beyond her.
The more she thought about Michael, the more she wanted to see him and find out if what Harry had said was true. She didn't think she could trust anyone anymore, not even him.
Without another pause, she scowled, then stood up and Apparated away.
She appeared at the end of a walkway in a small suburban neighborhood. Ignoring any secrecy, she strode up the doorway, knocking loudly on the door and stepping back to wait impatiently.
A few minutes passed and Ginny pounded on the door again, wondering what was taking so long.
Soon after, the door was pulled open and Michael stood in the doorway. "Ginny," he said, sounding surprised to see her.
"Oh, Michael," she sighed, pushing her way in to his house. He shut the door behind her and followed her quickly as she strode into the living room. "I've had a horrible morning. You'll never guess what—" She stopped suddenly as she caught sight of another person sitting on his couch.
Ginny stared for a second then shut her mouth and glared.
"Hello, Mrs. Potter," Pansy said, giving Ginny a testy smile. She stood up slowly, setting down her glass of wine and turning to Michael. "I'll see you later. It was a pleasure."
With that, she Apparated away, leaving Ginny and Michael alone. Ginny immediately rounded on Michael, who didn't appear frightened at all.
"What was she doing here?" Ginny demanded.
Michael shrugged, walking over and picking up Pansy's half-drunk glass and his own that stood on the coffee table. "She and I are friends," he said simply, taking the glasses into the kitchen. Ginny followed closely.
She followed him as he set the glasses in the sink and tapped them with his wand, sending a jet of water into them. "Friends? Are you sure that's all?"
Michael frowned. "What are you talking about, Gin? Is everything alright?"
Ginny eyed him carefully, wondering if his sincerity was really genuine. After a moment, she decided it was and moved over to him, hugging him. "I've just had the most horrible morning," she whined, pouting.
Above her head, Michael rolled his eyes, but flashed a sympathetic smile as she looked up. "What happened, sweetie?"
Ginny pouted again. "Harry said he wanted a divorce."
Michael paused, thinking quickly. "This is good, isn't it? You always said you didn't like being married to him."
"Yes," Ginny said, "but I don't want a divorce. I need his money and name."
"I'm sure you can manage."
Ginny paused, moving back from him. "Harry said something, when we were fighting." She watched Michael closely, as though waiting for a reaction.
"What was that?" Michael asked, knowing what was coming.
"He said you slept with Malfoy," Ginny said, her eyes glued to his face in a cold, calculating manner.
"I didn't actually sleep with him," Michael said, turning from her and moving back into the living room, away from sharp objects such as knives.
"What?" Ginny asked, sure she had heard wrong. She followed him out, barely noticing she was going. He had stopped by the couch and was looking at her calmly. "What does that mean?"
Michael shrugged again. "It means that I don't count snogging as sex."
Ginny's eyes widened as she stared at him. Her mouth fell open slightly as she realized what he was saying. "You cheated on me too?! With Malfoy? How could you?!"
Michael didn't say anything for moment, looking as if he was contemplating the best way to break it to her.
"Well," he said at long last, "when we first started going out, back in Hogwarts, you were a sweet girl, innocent, nice, smart. But it seemed as you got older, you became more cut-throat. I didn't want to date a Slytherin, I mean, other than maybe some shags with Draco, so I broke up with you. Then last year, when I saw you at that Ministry party with Harry, and you both looked so miserable, I knew I had to do something."
"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked carefully, listening closely. She didn't like the sound of this.
"Pansy and Draco were also there, and I saw they weren't too happy either. After talking to Pansy, I found out they were on the brink of divorce, just as soon as the legal papers were signed after Pansy's parents' deaths. They had been waiting a long time to divorce and have lives of their own. Pansy and I got to talking, and well, one thing led to another."
"What the hell are you talking about, Michael?" Ginny asked, her voice shaking a little. She stared at him, willing him not to say what she thought he was going to. "You and I, we found each other. We were meant to be, even after Hogwarts. You know that."
Michael simply ignored her, continuing with his story. "Pansy told me that Draco hadn't been happy since before they got married. They had always known an arranged marriage was in the cards, so neither had really tried to date other people. I knew for a fact that Draco wasn't really that interested in girls anyway. We used to sneak off during class and do things he certainly couldn't with a girl."
Ginny raised a hand to her mouth, looking like she was going to be sick. "Oh my God."
"So that night, Pansy and I came up with an idea. She was determined to make Draco happy after their divorce, and there was really only one way to do that. She'd have to find him someone who challenged him, someone he would never have considered otherwise. This was a difficult task since Draco tends to have such high standards when it comes to partners. Pansy and I came to the conclusion that there could only be one person suitable for Draco, but there was a problem."
"Don't say what I think you're going to say," Ginny said, her voice shaking and her heart beginning to beat faster in her chest. She was still staring hard at Michael, as though willing him not to say it. "Don't say it."
Michael glanced at her, an almost pitying look on his face. "Harry was already married, to you no less. So Pansy and I thought about what to do, how to work it out. I decided to get close to you, learn why you were both so unhappy. It wasn't hard. You hated being with Harry and I was like a breath of fresh air. You clung to me like a newborn baby."
Ginny was now breathing very hard, staring at him. Her hands were shaking, out of rage or shock, she wasn't sure. She felt like she wanted to smash something very much at that moment. Her world was falling down around her.
"After I'd gained your trust, it was easy to understand what was going on with you and Harry. It was perfect. I told Pansy and we agreed to go ahead with our plan. I drew you off, distracted you and convinced you this was a good thing for you. Meanwhile, Harry was growing more depressed and we had to fix that. Luckily, some things just happened to work out in our favor, like Draco buying Harry's team and Ron's slip of the tongue that you were cheating on Harry. Of course, it wasn't like we hadn't planned for him to find out."
"You—" Ginny breathed. "You—You planned that?! I was in agony over that for months! I can't believe you!" Her hand was clenched around her wand and it sparked a little in her rage.
"Of course we planned it," Michael said calmly. "We planned a lot of things. It worked out way better than either Pansy or myself could have foreseen."
"I thought you cared about me!" Ginny exclaimed. "I thought we were happy! How could you do this? How could you?"
"You changed. Harry was better off without you, even though it took him a long time to realize that."
"And you convinced everyone to join your little scheme, did you?" Ginny fumed. "Hermione, Ron, Zabini?"
"Actually, no," Michael said thoughtfully. "Hermione was very smart on her own and could see what was best for Harry, even if she didn't approve of adultery."
Ginny was bubbling over with rage at this point. She couldn't believe what Michael had done, all the meddling he'd done and how he'd ruined her life. How could she have trusted him? She had a strong urge to kill something at the moment.
"So you planned this? You planned for me to lose everything? How could you do that, Michael?"
"It was fairly simple."
Ginny let out an angry yell, raising her wand and blasting apart a vase that stood on a table near the door.
"You might want to keep it down," Michael said calmly, as though it hadn't affected him at all. "I've got Muggle neighbors."
Ginny's eyes flashed and her body began to shake with suppressed rage. "You are the biggest bastard I've ever had the unpleasantness of meeting, Michael Corner!" she shouted. "You are a liar and a manipulator! You belong with those fairies out there. You're gay and you didn't even have the decency to tell me!"
"Actually, I'm bi-sexual," Michael corrected her, "but I do admit I'm more partial to men if it comes down to it. They're much less emotional than women."
"I'll give you emotional!" Ginny exclaimed, blasting apart another ornament sitting on a shelf.
"You can break as much as you want," Michael said, "but it's not going to change the fact that Harry's left you and things aren't going your way."
Ginny screeched angrily, gripping her wand so tightly her knuckles turned white. "I hate you," she hissed. "I hate you so much."
Michael didn't seem perturbed. "You'll get over it. And if you don't, that's what therapy is for. Now," he said before she could yell at him again, "I'd appreciate if you leave. Seems I have some cleaning up to do."
Ginny glared at him, her nostrils flaring angrily as she thought of all the things she'd like to do to him at that moment. He didn't respond, only waiting blandly for her to leave.
"Don't think this is over, Michael," she snarled. "Harry and Malfoy won't have an easy time of it. I'll make sure of it. They don't deserve to be together."
"Right," Michael replied. "No one can be happy when you're not."
Ginny growled angrily. "You'll see. I won't let this divorce go through."
Michael rolled his eyes. "Do you ever listen to yourself? They'll find a way, I guarantee it. And if they don't, I'll help."
Ginny glared at him, grinding her teeth together. "This isn't over."
"I'm sure," Michael replied blandly.
Ginny sent one more scathing glare his way before Apparating back to her flat, leaving Michael to clean up his living room.
Ginny screamed as she appeared in her flat. She kicked the back of the couch before sinking down in a chair, seething with rage. No, this wasn't over.
Looking up, she caught sight of a copy of the Daily Prophet sitting on the table. Her eyes lighted up as she stared at the newspaper and an idea came into her head.
Smiling maliciously and chuckling slightly, she leaned back in her chair. She knew exactly how she was going to ruin them.
A/N: Well, lookie here! It's Monday again and I come bearing something new. These are something of deleted scenes, but really, it's just something I felt you guys might like to see. There will be 3, posted on Monday for the next few weeks. I hope you all enjoy my jaunt into what should have been in ABA but didn't fit :) Please review! Next one next Monday.
