"Ginny, wait up!" Harry called after his girlfriend as he watched her fiery red hair whip out of sight through the portrait hole. Harry swiftly picked up his books and followed her as quickly as he was able while shoving his things haphazardly into his bag. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of crimson starting down the stairs in front of him and he broke into a jog to catch up before the staircase decided on a change of scenery.
"Ginny, didn't you hear me?" he panted as he caught up to her. He laid a hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth to ask how her day was going but hurriedly shut it again as his hand was harshly slapped away and Ginny spun around to glare at him.
"What's…what's wrong?" he asked hesitantly, swallowing hard.
"What's wrong?" she hissed, and Harry flinched back from the venom lacing her tone. "What's wrong is that this relationship isn't at all what I thought it would be. You are not the person I thought you would be."
Harry cast a glance around them. Spotting an empty classroom, he grabbed Ginny's resisting arm and dragged her inside, locking the door behind then. Mentally he said an apology to Ron, who would be facing Professor Snape's class alone from the look of things.
"What's this all about, Ginny?" he asked quietly once the door was shut. He could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage with frightening strength and fought to breathe and remain calm as he looked at the woman he loved.
"I'm breaking up with you," Ginny replied. "You can't tell me you didn't see this coming. I've been unhappy for weeks now, or haven't you noticed?"
"I did though! Every time I tried to spend time with you or talk to you, you just brushed me off! Why Ginny? Why are you doing this? Help me understand, maybe we can work it out!"
"We can't!" she shrieked. Harry took a step back, quailing before her sudden temper. "Wecan'twork it out, Harry. Because the fact of the matter is, you are so unbelievably kind it issuffocatingme. I can'tstandit anymore! Every time you've saved me, I've had to restrain to urge to hex you. Every time you've bled for me, I've wanted to hurt you myself. Every time you drop everything to be with me, I want to scream." She paused to breathe and Harry blinked in confusion.
"You're…you're breaking up with me because I'mnice?" he choked out, shocked.
Ihate you for the sacrifices you made for me
I hate you for every time you ever bled for me
I hate you for the way you smile when you look at me
I hate you for never taking control of me
"Yes. Harry," she sighed and leaned back on a table, "you're too…gentle with me. I was never really comfortable with it. I didn't want gentle. I wanted something more but I didn't know what. Look, this will probably just go over your head but I need to explain or you'll never get it. A few weeks ago, I read an article inWitch Weeklyabout a community in London, a community made up of dominants and submissives. I'm a submissive, Harry. I need force, I need rules, I need pain. I've found someone who provides that for me and I am very happy with him. I need you to just let me go. Knowing you, I'm sure you're going to take your sweet time about it and sink into a depression, but I just can't bring myself to care about your feelings anymore. Whatever was between us has turned to hate on my part."
I hate you for always saving me from myself
I hate you for always choosing me and not someone else
I hate you for always pulling me back from the edge
I hate you for every kind word you ever said
I'll bleed you dry now
Harry could do nothing but watch as Ginny marched past him and out the door, slamming it shut behind her. Harry sat alone, not even recognizing when the candles on the wall burned out and left him in darkness.
The hours passed without him noticing, content to just stare into the black where he assumed a wall was and let his mind remain blank. He stirred finally upon hearing a muffled voice behind the door and felt a fleeting hope that Ginny had returned. The door cracked open and he recoiled at the sudden light.
"Harry?" Hermione whispered, and Harry's heart fell, staring numbly at his bushy haired friend as she opened the door fully and looked at him with sympathy. "I thought you might be in here," she said softly. "I saw you come in with Ginny this morning. When you didn't show up for classes today I asked her where you might be and she told me about…well you know. Come on Harry, let's get you back to the dormitory. Ron brought up dinner for you."
He followed her, barely cognizant of the way his joints creaked upon finally moving after hours of standing still. Hermione glanced at him every few steps with concern, keeping one hand lightly on his elbow as though she were worried he'd run away. Just before the portrait hole, he stopped and looked at her, a sudden light in his eyes that Hermione found rather unsettling.
"You still have that coin, right, the one with the Protean Charm on it from the DA?" he whispered. She nodded hesitantly and Harry grinned in a way that reminded Hermione of those on Muggle plastic dolls. "I need you to keep a watch tonight. On Ginny. I need you to let me know when she leaves. And I don't want to hear it, Hermione. I'm not going to do anything but find out who she's meeting and come back."
He stared at her until she finally bobbed her head in agreement and clambered through the portrait hole, heading directly past the common room and up the stairs. Ron was sitting on Harry's bed, a plate of sandwiches next to him with only one half eaten. Ron looked up when Harry walked in, giving his friend the same sympathetic look Hermione had.
"So why'd you two break up then?" he asked bluntly.
"She found someone else," he replied. Ron looked shocked, then outraged.
"She's beencheatingon you?!" he roared, and pulled his wand from his pocket when Harry replied in the affirmative. He made for the door, but Harry grabbed his arm and yanked him back down on the bed.
"I don't want a big fuss made right now," he muttered, keeping a grip on Ron as he tried to break free. "I'm going to find out who. It's my battle, Ron, and I'll decide what to do about it when I have all the facts. For right now, just let me eat and think, all right?"
Ron nodded tightly, sitting back against Harry's headboard with a thunk and crossed his arms against his chest. He watched Harry eat with narrowed eyes and eyed the sandwich he'd been eating pointedly when Harry only ate half.
"Finish that sandwich, mate. Hermione ordered me to tell her if you hadn't eaten enough. She's got Dobby on standby with a Nutritional Potion."
Harry grimaced and forced down the rest of the sandwich. "You two worry too much."
Ron grinned. "It's 'cause we care about you, dolt." He vanished the plate of sandwiches and yawned, standing up and grabbing Harry's bag before heading for the door.
"I'm heading to the common room and I'm taking your homework with me. I'm sure I can convince our resident bookworm that these are trying times and therefore an exception should be made." He winked and left, leaving Harry to fall back against his pillows with a sigh.
He flicked the curtains of his bed closed and pulled his DA coin from his pocket, staring at it in his outstretched hand and waiting for it to heat.
It was near midnight when it eventually did and Harry quickly leapt out of bed and swung his invisibility cloak about his shoulders. Making almost no noise, he slid down the banister to the bottom floor and clambered through the portrait hole just before it swung shut. He followed Ginny down the stairs, trying to guess who she was going to meet. As they descended lower and lower into the castle, Harry felt sick as he realized she must be heading for the Slytherin dormitory. Sure enough, she stopped by the brick wall he knew concealed their common room and waited, Harry lurking invisible behind a corner. A short time later, the wall opened to reveal Blaise Zabini, who looked down at Ginny with a sneer.
"You're late," he whispered, stroking her cheek.
"There were patrols on the third floor and…" she trailed off as he laid a finger against her lower lip.
"You know I despise excuses," he said in that same soft whisper. Harry watched with revulsion as Ginny shuddered and moaned Zabini's name softly. "Get inside and take your punishment."
Harry watched in horrified fascination as Ginny did as ordered and the wall closed behind them.
I love you for everything you ever took from me
I love the way you dominate and you violate me
I love you for every time you gave up on me
I love you for the way you look when you lie to me
I love you for never believing in what I say
I love you for never once giving me my way
I love you for never delivering me from pain
I love you for always driving me insane
Song used for chapter Blood by In This Moment
I do not own the song or the characters used in this fic.