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Ron stood with his hands clenched into a fist, panting like he had just run a marathon. Harry looked up and stared sadly into Ron's eyes. Ron saw Harry's gloomy expression and relaxed a bit. He opened his mouth to say something to Harry, but before he could, Ginny sprinted out of the room and into the kitchen. Harry jumped up and chased after her.
"Ginny! I'm so sorry!" he yelled desperately. "This was never supposed to happen!
Ginny, with her back to him, grabbed her coat and pulled out her wand. She lifted her arm, but Harry grabbed her wrist before she could apparate. "Please. Don't go," he pleaded.
Ginny whipped around to look at him. Harry saw the tears in her eyes.
"I-I'm going to th-the Ministry to s-sort this out," she said in a surprisingly calm, slightly shaky voice. Ginny pulled her wrist out of Harry's grasp and disapparated.
Harry stood in Hermione's small kitchen staring at the spot on the floor where Ginny had just been standing for what seemed like eternity. Eventually, he turned around and went back into the other room, where he could hear sobbing. Harry walked cautiously into the living room and saw Hermione bent over, her elbows on her knees, crying into her hands.
Ron had his hand on her back, whispering comforting things into her ear. Harry moved to the opposite side of the room and sat down, watching the two of them. Ron glanced up at him for a moment, but looked back down at Hermione immediately. He had looked up for less than a second, but it was long enough for Harry to see the tears running down his face.
It killed Harry to see them together like this. They had been such a wonderful couple. How could they not be meant for each other? Harry couldn't help but feel it was his fault that their relationship was being torn apart. Harry looked away from them and stared out the window.
He began to think about Ginny. This was clearly affecting her, but why wasn't he being affected? Shouldn't he be breaking down and crying? He did love Ginny, of course he did. He would do anything for her in a heartbeat.
"But I would do the same for Hermione as well," he thought to himself. "Could Hermione ever be more than just a friend to me?"
Of course not, his mind insisted. But for some reason, something deep down inside told him otherwise. Harry, who felt tempted to look at Hermione, kept his eyes glued to the window.
"Ginny went to the Ministry to see if they could do something about this," Harry said to no one in particular. "She should be back any time now."
Ginny felt a tug at her navel as though someone had pulled it in with a hook. She had apparated just outside the hidden entrance that led into the Ministry of Magic. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, took a deep breath, and marched straight through the doors.
The first thing she noticed was the noise. It had been so painfully quiet in Hermione's house; the sudden change in volume gave her an instant migraine, as if she didn't already have one. After her ears had adjusted, she realized, although it wouldn't have been hard to miss, the source of the chaotic noise.
Hundreds of people were crowded in the Ministry waiting room, screeching and yelling at every employee they laid their eyes on, and it didn't take long for Ginny to realize why. They were all there for the same exact reason as her. Everywhere she looked she saw women gripping onto their husbands ("I suppose 'ex'-husbands, now," Ginny reminded herself) and newly paired couples squawking into Ministry workers faces.
She stood frozen in the middle of the massive mob for what seemed like hours.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" a cold, but familiar, voice yelled.
Ginny looked to her left and saw none other than a furious Draco Malfoy viciously trying to push his way through the enormous crowd. He eventuall y made it to a Ministry worker, whom Ginny noticed, look very frightened indeed. Draco grabbed the front of the worker's robes and pulled him about two inches off the ground. Ginny, who was standing not too far away, could hear the next few words perfectly clear.
"Take. Me. To. The. Minister. Now." Draco spat into the workers face.
"B-but, s-sir, I c-can't—
"OH YOU CAN'T?!" Draco roared. "You can't take me? Do you even know who I am?"
He lifted the poor man nearly three feet in the air.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM DRACO MALFOY. And if you don't take me now, I will make sure YOUR. LIFE. IS. HELL!"
The terrified worker nodded his head so fast, Ginny was afraid his head might fly off. Draco, without warning, released the front of his robes and the unfortunate man dropped helplessly to the ground. Draco chortled and rolled his eyes while the man quickly scrambled to his feet.
"R-right this w-way p-please", the worker managed to stutter out in a shrill voice. He led Draco into a small broom cupboard near the back of the room. Naturally, Ginny followed. She waited a moment outside the closet and then, ever so slightly, she opened door. Ginny peered through the crack and saw no one inside, just as she expected.
She quickly entered the cupboard and immediately began to look for any sign of an opening or secret entrance. After a few minutes of digging around, Ginny finally found a small button hidden beneath a bucket. Hesitantly, she pressed it.
Suddenly, the broom cupboard began to shake violently. Ginny, surprised by the unexpected change in motion, yelped as she lost her balance and fell down against the closet door. As quickly as it had begun, the shaking came to an abrupt stop. Ginny sighed in relief, but gasped when she felt the door she had been sitting against fly open, making her lie flat on her back.
"Oh! Wha- hey! Ginny, what are you doing here?!" asked Parvati, who had evidently opened the door, and was now looking down at Ginny.
Blushing, Ginny hurried to her feet and straightened out her clothing.
"Umm…Well, hello Parvati I had forgotten you worked at the ministry, now", she said nervously. "I'm here because, well… I, uh…"
Parvati crossed her arms and looked at Ginny expectantly.
"Ah, yes, of course. You're here because of the new law," Parvati said knowingly, but her haughty expression changed rapidly.
"But then that means—
"It means me and Harry didn't get paired, yes," Ginny breathed miserably.
"I'm so sorry, Ginny. I never would have guessed!" Parvati exclaimed. "I suppose only a few people were lucky enough to be paired with who they really wanted to be with.
Ginny nodded understandingly. The two fell into a rather uncomfortable silence. Parvati eventually cleared her throat.
"Well, is there anything I could help you with, at the very least?" she asked.
"Oh, yes! There is, actually! You didn't happen to see a worker lead Draco Malfoy anywhere, did you?" Ginny asked hopefully.
"As a matter a fact, I did. Follow me," Parvati answered.
Parvati led her through many, to Ginny's surprise, empty corridors before coming upon a large brass door.
"I can't thank you enough, Parvati," Ginny gushed.
"Not a problem. Best of luck!" she replied.
Ginny watched her turn around and begin to walk away. About half way down the hallway, Parvati slowly came to a stop. She turned around to face Ginny with a confused look.
"Malfoy? Is that who you've been paired with? Draco Malfoy?" she asked interestedly.
Ginny almost gagged. "No, thank goodness!" she answered immediately. A look of relief washed over Parvati's complexion.
"Phew! Had me worried there!" she grinned. Ginny flashed her a calm smile, but inside she was panicking. She was desperate to find her way out of the conversation; she knew what question was coming next.
"Well, I better go," Ginny said anxiously reaching for the door handle behind her. "Goodbye, now!"
She quickly turned around, about to open the door.
"Wait!"
Ginny closed her eyes.
Shit.
"Yes?" she asked still facing the door; avoiding Parvati's probing gaze.
There was a moment silence.
"I-I'm sure you're tired of me asking, but who did you get paired with, then?" Parvati asked timidly.
Ginny slowly turned around and looked straight into Parvati's snooping eyes.
She opened her mouth, prepared to tell the truth. Then it hit her.
Ginny snapped her mouth closed and tightened her jaw.
She narrowed her eyes, her expression rapidly changing from frightened and nervous to harsh and aggressive.
"You know what? Your right," Ginny said bitterly. "I am tired of you asking."
She quickly turned around and walked through the giant brass doors, leaving a speechless and embarrassed Parvati frozen in the hallway.
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