Ginny narrowed her eyes, struggling to keep them open against the rain that was pouring down. This was terrible weather to fly in, but she couldn't avoid this meeting. Especially when she'd been the one to plan it. Her broom shook in her grasp, beginning to quiver violently. She hoped he'd get there soon.
Squinting, she wished she'd been clever enough to cast a water repelling charm around her before leaving. Her wand was in her back pocket, but she couldn't let go of the broom now, not with it shaking like it was. Shivering in her wet robes, she tried flying further beneath the cover of the tree, but it didn't do much good. Even with a full crown of leaves, the tree couldn't stop the rain from coming through.
A shape appeared in the sky, slowly flying towards her. She hovered impatiently, wishing he would fly faster. She couldn't blame him though, he'd never been on a Quidditch team, so he couldn't possibly have the flying skills she did. When he finally reached her tree, he clumsily jerked the broom to a stop, grinning at her.
"Ginny. What's wrong?"
She remembered the letter she'd sent him, tied to the leg of his elegant owl. He'd invited her to dinner, and she'd sent him a refusal, hoping it wasn't too much of a let down. Sorry, I won't be able to eat out with you. We've discussed this before, I can't be seen around with you. Meet me at the tree, we need to talk. She hadn't even signed, for fear of someone finding them out. She was slightly angry with him for even thinking of taking her out to eat. He knew she was married, knew that she couldn't be seen out with anyone but Harry.
"I- We need to talk." She looked at him after saying it, watched as his eyes turned serious. She shivered again and then sniffled a little before hoping that she wasn't getting sick.
"What is it?" He reached out to touch her cheek and she flinched away, frightened that if he touched her, she wouldn't have the strength to do what she needed.
"We can't do this anymore. I've realized that now. Sooner or later we're going to get caught, and I won't be able to live with it." The words spilled out of her mouth, lies that she'd made up. She still wanted to be with him. She hadn't realized that they couldn't be together anymore. What she had realized was that she didn't think she could live without him. They wouldn't get caught- sooner or later. They were too cunning, too sly. He was a Slytherin for a reason. Perhaps the only thing that wasn't a lie was the last part. I won't be able to live with it. Ginny didn't know how she'd react if they got caught. She didn't want to have to face her friends and family. Especially not Harry. Dear Gods, she loved him enough to not want to hurt him, but not enough to be with him and not cheat. In the end, that amounted to nothing, because by cheating, she was hurting him.
"Ginny, love, what's going on?" His lips, his beautiful lips, were pouting slightly in that way that only he could. He looked like a child whose sweet candy had been yanked away, or a puppy that'd been kicked.
Of course, she would have to feed him lies, give him stories in place of his stolen candy. He would believe them, wouldn't he? "I—" she choked on her words, and prayed that she didn't start crying in front of him. It would blow her cover. "I don't love you anymore. I love Harry."
The change in his face expression was so sudden. Gone was the worried look. In its place was a look of hurt, of real, authentic pain and betrayal. "You… you don't love me anymore?" Ginny had never thought he'd be the one to say those words. Wasn't it always the woman who was thrown away? She hadn't imagined the job to be this hard, hadn't imagined it making her feel so cruel.
Her throat constricting, she shook her head. "Harry's my husband. I've loved him since the first day I met him. I've—you're no longer what I need. I've fallen out of love." The wood of her broom was splintering in her death grip, digging into her hands and making them bleed. She pretended it was her heart that the slivers were slicing, cutting into her great, lying heart and breaking it into pieces. She definitely deserved it.
"You've fallen out of love?" He sounded dumbfounded, confused, as if this couldn't be happening. Ginny nodded, blinking back tears. She wished he had just accepted her announcement and left, it would have made things so much easier. Slytherins weren't supposed to be like this. They were cold, not clingy. As one of the snakes, he shouldn't have cared so much.
Through her blurry eyes, she saw his hand reaching out to touch her cheek again. She tried to recoil again, but her broom, still acting up, jerked forward, bringing her into contact with his fingers. Her breath caught as he stroked her face and looked into her eyes. She tried to tear her eyes away, but couldn't. She was so mesmerized by them, had always been mesmerized by them. Though they weren't a vivid green like Harry's, just brown, they were so much more beautiful, a whirl of different shades of brown.
His fingers were so cool on her burning face, so gentle. Again, she tried to look away, but he gripped her chin. Though she could have easily broken away, she didn't. She was completely his, had always been his and would always be his, no matter what she said or did.
"Why?"
She couldn't answer. She couldn't tell him that she was pregnant, it would be too harsh. If not for the baby that Harry was so excited about, she'd never be doing this. She didn't answer. His fingers tightened slightly. He repeated the question, but Ginny just shook her head. His grip suddenly became painful.
"Let me go." He didn't. His fingers were trembling, but it was nothing compared to the trembling of her body. "Let me go."
"I won't." He stared into her eyes, the unanswered question easily readable in his gaze.
"Let me go." But he wouldn't. No matter what she said, he wouldn't release her. He couldn't give her up. "Please."
"I can't," he whispered, his voice incredibly soft.
"Pretend we never happened. Forget about me, like I'll forget about you." Again, lies were all she could speak. His thumb was grazing her jaw as he cupped her chin. His touch was exquisite, something she looked forward to everyday. She'd miss it terribly, muss the endearing things he said to her, the romantic lines from poems that had an actual meaning—not the sappy things Harry wrote in cards to her on their anniversary.
"I love you. Stay with me," he pleaded. She couldn't keep the tears back any longer. They ran down her face, mingling with the rainwater upon her skin. "You see, you still love me," he whispered. Ginny closed her eyes slowly.
"I can't be with you." She opened her eyes a final time and stared at him, memorizing his face. His smooth brown skin, the eyes she loved… his nose and high cheekbones. Aristocratic as he looked, he was really very loving.
"Stay." His voice was shaking. His fingers gripped harder. Suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed her. Part of her resistance died as their lips met, but was reborn when he pulled away and stared at her.
"You're hurting me. Let me go."
And with that, he did. Perhaps he had just wanted a last kiss before she left him forever. Maybe he had realized that his attempts to keep her with him were useless. Whatever it was, she was glad he'd let go. She could leave and never come back. She'd tear herself away, no matter what it did to her.
As soon as she tore her eyes away from him, she turned the broom and headed towards home. As she went, she heard a sudden cry and saw a flash of light shoot towards her. Failing to dodge the spell, she watched as a tendril of light curled around her wrist. Looking back over her should, she saw him staring at her, his wand in his hand. The light faded away, and in its place, she saw a word tattooed onto her skin. Blaise. She'd have to cover it when she was with Harry, if it would let itself be covered.
She didn't want to let him go. She wanted to stay with him, to be a part of his life and he was of hers. She had this tattoo though. He'd be a part of her no matter what. Crying, she sped away from him, away from the one thing that was truly forbidden. She sped away from happiness and into the dark.