Chapter 14

Ginny walked along one of the many hallways in Hogwarts—on her way back to the Gryffindor common room—thinking about Draco Malfoy. She was so glad to be back at school. After finding out that Harry and Hermione were together, she thought nothing would cheer her up. However, just seeing Draco had made her forget about her depression over the last couple weeks of summer vacation. She had been in love with Harry, but there was something about Draco that turned Ginny on. It wasn't just his bad boy exterior, although that was definitely a part of the attraction. Underneath that "I don't give a damn" surface, Malfoy was just an ordinary guy with a caring heart. He just didn't show it very much.

Ginny was forced out of her thoughts by Harry and Hermione as they ran into each other in the hall.

"Oh…hey Ginny. How has your night been?" Hermione asked, trying to make conversation.

"Fine, and yours?"

"Great, thanks." Hermione replied. "It's unfortunate that we have to head back to the common room already. They should let the students do what they want on the first night back to school. We have so much to catch up on!"

Oh, please, thought Ginny. Like I don't know what you two were up to. Do you really think you're fooling anyone…it's so utterly obvious. And sickening.

"Um…Hermione, why don't you go ahead and head back to the common room. I need to talk with Ginny for a minute." Harry said.

"Okay, sure. I'll see you there," she said and kissed Harry on the cheek and skipped away in the direction of Gryffindor tower.

Harry stopped walking and grabbed Ginny's hand, turning her to face him. "Ginny, look, I know you're uncomfortable right now, and I don't blame you. I just needed to talk to you, especially since I haven't since this whole thing happened."

"Harry, you don't need to do this okay? It's fine—" but Harry cut her off.

"No Ginny, I do need to do this. I'm sorry I hurt you, but I tried to do the best thing for you by breaking it off before things got too serious. Before either of us was in too deep. Ginny, I care about you. I will always care about you. I just don't want you to ever forget that. I still would like for us to be friends. I know you probably hate me and I can't blame you, but I hope one day you'll forgive me, because we will be in each other's lives forever. And if you ever need to talk to me, you know you can."

This was the reason Ginny had fallen so hard for Harry. He was one of the nicest guys she knew. "I would like that. For us to remain friends. And the same goes for you…if you ever need anyone to talk to, you can always come to me. Thank you, Harry. I appreciate you doing this." Ginny took a step forward and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek, then wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug.

"You're welcome. Now let's go join the Gryffindor party. I don't think it's died down quite yet." Harry and Ginny continued walking down the hall and within minutes were giving the Fat Lady the password and walking into the Gryffindor common room. They were greeted by music and conversations, all meshing into one big cacophony.

"Hey, Harry!" Dean and Seamus greeted Harry soon after he arrived. "How was your break? I heard you got your Apparating license. Congrats!"

As soon as Harry was immersed in conversation, Ginny used the opportunity to slip away from the crowd. She didn't feel much like partying after the conversation she had had with Harry. She was overwhelmed with emotion and didn't really want a bunch of people asking her if everything was okay. As soon as she was sure her disappearance would go unnoticed, she headed upstairs to the girls' dormitories.

Without even bothering to change into pajamas, Ginny crawled into her bed, pulled the curtains around the bed shut, and cried herself to sleep, thinking about Harry Potter.

A/N: Okay everyone, this is my first time even thinking about this story in 3 years, so I hope you all like this update. I will try from now on to post updates once a week at the very least. As always, reviews/comments are greatly appreciated. They help me know whether or not you guys want me to continue. Enjoy! :)