AN: I love it when a story won't leave you alone. All the usual disclaimers apply.
Harry sat in the common room before the fire, a book lying upon his chest as he dozed before the fire. Normally he would be out in the library with Ron and Hermione with their noses stuck in books for homework, but today he could not seem to find either of them since practice that morning. He had decided to just rest and enjoy the warmth and surprising quiet of the common room instead of trying to fight the throngs of the halls to find something to do. His mind was still a muddled mess from the mornings practice and the resurgence of his worries over not telling Ron or at least doing something himself over Ginny's problem with Dean.
Normally he would have already dealt with the problem or at least tried to help her in some way, but something kept telling him to leave it be that some how it would work out for her in the end. He could hear sounds from the grounds far off in the distance as they wafted up on the breeze, students having fun in the Saturday afternoon sun and the Squid splashing about in the lake. He smiled at the memories of Fred and George Weasley teasing that same Squid last year and the years before, giving it hell simply for existing. With a sigh he opened his eyes and noticed that Neville was watching him from the chair nearby.
"Hello Neville." He said with a nod toward the boy.
"Err, hi Harry." He said, the book in his hand falling to his lap.
"Something wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the boys actions.
"I just remembered, Ron asked me to tell you to meet him near the Library." He said, a look of dismay on his face.
"Did he say when?" Asked Harry with a smile, remembering how forgetful Neville could be.
"An hour ago." Neville said with a groan as he realized just how late his timing was.
"Ah..well, I guess I better go and see what he wanted." Said Harry with a frown as he stood and proceeded towards the hall outside with a groan as Ginny and Hermione came in, the former in tears as the latter tried to cheer her up.
Deciding to ask Hermione about it later, he slipped out into the corridor and proceeded in his search for Ron. Not far down the Hall his query stepped out of a hidden passageway and shouted as he caught sight of him.
"There you are!" he said, as he rushed toward him. "I guess Neville forgot to tell you I was waiting."
"He just told me." Harry said with a smile. "What did you need?"
"Nothing, just wanted to see if you wanted to beat Hermione to her study barrage."
Harry frowned, "You want to study?" he said incredulous as to the boy's sudden idea to focus on grades.
"Every little bit helps." He said with a shrug.
Harry sighed, but agreed and they proceeded back to the common room to grab their stuff before heading off to the Library to study. Neither of them saw Hermione on their way back through to the hall and thus decided to spare the wait and beat her to the library.
Ginny flung herself on her bed and burst into uncontrollable sobs, Hermione quickly coming to her and taking her into her arms. She had finally done what was needed, telling him to let her be after he had shown himself to be more of a monster than she had ever expected. During their lunch meeting, she had confronted him asking to end the BDSM part of their relationship and Dean had demanded that in doing so she would deprive him of his most primal being. She had tried to reason with him but instead he had tried to not only beat her but also had stripped her down to nothing and tried to force her to give herself completely to him, something he had never asked for before. She and Hermione had barely escaped from him when he had chased them down and threatened to force them to surrender their sex to him causing her to set a barrage of hexes upon him and run away leaving him to deal with them on his own.
"You did the right thing." Hermione said soothingly, and she knew she was right but somehow this felt like the ultimate betrayal to not only herself but to what Dean wanted as well.
"I-I..." Ginny said, she felt confused. She had loved Dean at one point in time, but somewhere along the way that love had been destroyed by the monster he had become.
"It's okay." Hermione continued, gently rubbing her back and trying to calm her. "Love is a very hard thing." She continued as she held her.
She sobbed harder. "Love...is a lie." She cried with a near howl as she buried her face into Hermione's shoulder and sobbed harder.
It felt as if every fiber of her being was burning alive, pain searing through her as her heart broke into pieces. She had wanted something special with Dean, having been asked out by him last year but having to turn him down due to being with Neville at the time. She was so sure that he was someone she could at least spend her life with and be happy should that be what was meant for her, but this was now no longer the case. She just could not be with the monster he had become in the last few months.
"Love is all there is." Hermione said with a sigh as she gently continued to soother her. "Without it, where would we be?"
Ginny hiccuped and pulled back to look at her. "W-what?"
"Without love, where would we be?" She repeated, gently resting a hand on her shoulder.
"I-I d-don't know." She said, feeling a sense of misunderstanding at her choice of topic.
"Without love, we would be nothing but animals lost to the world around us in a bleak and desolate world." Hermione said with a soft smile. "You loved Dean, and prior to your step into the lifestyle he wanted to try you had a beautiful relationship but now it's time for you to find what makes you happy."
"W-what makes m-me happy?" asked Ginny, "what makes me h-happy..."
Both of them knew what Ginny thought would make her happy, but neither of them wanted to breach that subject at this particular moment. She was so confused and bewildered with the way things had turned out that nothing seemed to be real. She had never truly expected to find herself without Dean, despite the fact that she knew she needed to free herself from him. Now that she was free of him, it meant that she had to rediscover herself again before she could determine what she was supposed to do next.
