Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the song Mr. Brightside. The one bold line in the story is a direct quote taken from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
…
But she's touching his chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go
I just can't look its killing me
-Mr. Brightside by The Killers
Dean and Seamus walked around the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying the cool, summer air. Like many members of their house, the euphoria of Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup the previous day had not worn off and most of them had spent the remainder of the weekend not doing homework. As the two approached the lake, Dean suddenly stopped and Seamus looked at him with a puzzled face. Dean only glared ahead. Seamus turned back toward the lake and saw Harry and Ginny sitting under a tree just a few metres from the lake shore.
"Come on Dean, let's go," Seamus said as he grabbed his friend by the shoulder and tried to steer him in the other direction. However, Dean had firmly planted himself to the ground and refused to move. He took a deep breath before he spoke.
"I don't understand Seamus. How did I lose her?"
"Well mate, I don't think she was ever yours to lose."
Dean shifted his glare towards Seamus, "Thanks for that, you git."
Seamus shook his head and pulled on Dean again, waiting until they began walking before he responded.
"What I mean is, Harry has been a part of the Weasley family for years. He and Ron are like you and me. Really it was only a matter of time before Harry came around and asked her out. Eventually she and Harry were going to get together."
"I know you're trying to help, but you're not," a frown forming on Dean's face as he spoke. "I know we argued a lot but when we weren't fighting, we got along great. She's amazing at Quidditch and she really knows how to kiss."
"Well, don't let Harry hear you say that. Or Ron," Seamus chuckled. He could only imagine what they would do. "Besides, that's about all you can say. Not like you ever did anything more with her!"
"When was I supposed to? We live with Ron, it's not like I could bring her back to our room!"
"Dean, I've heard you two fighting before. Most of your fights were because of hesitation on your part, not hers."
Dean didn't look at Seamus as they kept walking. The reality was, he knew it was his fault. Seamus was right; Ginny had been more than willing to get physical but every time she tried to go farther than snogging, Dean stopped them. Dean sighed thought back to when they finally broke up.
"What is it Dean? What am I doing wrong?" Ginny said, rounding on him, her face grew redder with anger as she pulled her shirt back on (which had come off only moments before). Dean only gapped at her, unable to form an answer. She turned around and huffed out of the empty classroom. After a moment of hesitation Dean followed after her, catching up just as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.
As Ginny walked through in front of him, he could hear her speaking with an annoyed tone, "don't push me, please, Dean. You're always doing that, I can get through perfectly well on my own…"
"I didn't even touch you," Dean said, sounding exasperated. He looked around the common room and saw only Ron, Hermione, and Lavender. Ron and Lavender seemed to be having a row of their own and Hermione was torn between the two arguing couples looking as though she was intruding on them, despite their presence in a public space.
"Here, come on," Dean grabbed Ginny's hand and started towards the stair case to the boys' dormitory. If Ron was down here occupied with Lavender for a while, he could bring Ginny to their room without fear for interruption. Quickly, Ginny pulled her hand out of his.
"No. That's enough Dean."
Dean stopped and looked at her, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I'm done. We're done," Ginny spoke with a hard edge to her voice.
"Ginny, not here. Please. Let's go up and we can talk in private."
Ginny laughed, "Since when do you want to go up to your room? Being alone together never seems to last long with us. And since when do you want to talk? The only time we talk is when we're fighting."
Dean could feel his face heating up with frustration, "Ginny, please, not here."
"It's over Dean. There's nothing more to say. It's not like you can get too upset; I can tell you don't even want to date me anyway," Ginny pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to say more but didn't.
"Good night, Dean."
And with that, Ginny walked to the staircase that led to the girls' dormitory and disappeared. Dean looked over and saw Hermione looking at him while Ron and Lavender stood beside her, no longer talking over each other, but simply glaring at each other. He nodded at Hermione and quickly left the common room. When he got to his bed, he pulled the hangings shut, leaving it open just a crack so he could see Seamus' bed and would know when his best friend arrived.
He hated to admit it but Ginny was right, he didn't want to date her anymore. When Harry kissed Ginny in the common room, he couldn't deny he was jealous. But it wasn't Harry he was jealous of. It was the fact that the two of them had a happiness that he didn't have. That he couldn't have. It was the fact that in that moment, they were both already happier than he had been all year with Ginny.
Ginny was an amazing girl and Dean was glad she considered dating him, however; he couldn't help but feel bad. He wasn't the boyfriend she deserved and he knew that. As he walked back to the castle, Dean looked at the friend next to him and thought if only he knew.
A/N: This story did not take the path I thought it would but here it is. I'd hoped to make the song lyrics more relevant and that I would do a better job showing Dean's jealousy but whoops. Love it, hate it, or complete indifference, feel free to leave a review!