~*~
When
Harry reached the Fat Lady, he was still sobbing. He hadn't wanted Ginny to see
him like that. The tears were already brimming over his eyelids as he had
turned his back on her chaste face, a picture of confusion and bewilderment. He
had meant what he said. How did Ginny think he felt, knowing what that scumbag
had done to her? If only he had been in his office that night. If only he hadn't
have been playing a stupid, pointless game of Wizard Chess with Ron. He
could've stopped it.
Harry felt unable to face going up to his dormitory. What if the others were
awake? He couldn't stand the questions he was sure to face. Whenever Harry had
felt like this before, he had gone to his office. He couldn't face going into
his office now. Horrific images of Draco and Ginny, together, kept haunting his
mind. Going into his office, the place where it had all happened, would only
make things ten times worse. He wanted to kill Draco. He wished that Ginny
hadn't have interrupted. He was sure he could have fought off any spell Draco
had cast at that moment. He was sure, even if he couldn't cast Cruciatus,
that he could've used his pure strength to cause some serious damage to that
bastard. To ruin his handsome face - get him where it would've really hurt. The
girls wouldn't have wanted him then.
I want to take his eyes out
Just for looking at you
Yes I do
I want to take his hands off
Just for touching you
Yes I do
Harry continued past the Fat Lady in the direction of the Prefects bathroom, if
only for the knowledge that it would hold no occupants. He broke into a run, he
didn't know why. The only thing on the onset of his mind was to just be somewhere
where he wouldn't be disturbed. Somewhere he could think about everything Ginny
had told him, everything Draco had said. Somewhere he could sort his head out.
Air rushed past him, and he felt his breath coming in shorter and shorter
rasps. He felt as if his lungs were about to explode, but he didn't care. He
kept running.
I want to take his eyes out
Just for looking at you
Yes I do
I want to take his hands off
Just for touching you
Yes I do And I want to rip his heart out
Just for hurting you
And I want to break his mind down
Yes I do
When he was inside, Harry shut the door to the bathroom. He sunk down
immediately, leaning his head against the door, struggling to regain a normal
breathing pattern. He gasped for air, and lay down on the floor. His cheek
touched the cool marble beneath him as he felt his breathing slow down. His
hands left sweaty marks on the ground when he lifted them to remove his steamed
up glasses. He furiously ground the tears from his eyes with his fists. He
fought with the dominant emotion inside of him. This emotion was worse than any
Dementor. It was worse than any curse Draco may have thrown at him. This
emotion, in all its destructiveness, was jealousy. Harry let out an ear
shattering yell, slamming his fist against the marble floor. He felt his bones
crack when they came into contact with the solid stone, but he felt no pain. He
couldn't. His head was riddled with images of him and her together. He wondered
if she enjoyed it, being with him. He wondered if he had enjoyed taking away
Ginny's innocence, enjoyed removing her purity and youth.
And I want to make him
Regret life since the day he met you
Yes I do
And I want to make him
Take back all that he took from you
Yes I do And I want to rip his heart out
Just for hurting you
And I want to break his mind down
Yes I do
"Harry?" a small but panicked voice came from the corner of the room.
Harry's heart nearly stopped. He looked up, grasping his throbbing knuckles, to
find out the owner.
"Parvati!" his voice trembled, and was thick with emotion and pain.
"What's the matter?" she said frantically. "What happened?"
Harry swore silently to himself. "Why didn't you say something when I
first came in?"
"I...I didn't know what to say," she stuttered. "'Hello' didn't
seem too appropriate."
There was an uncomfortable silence as Harry observed Parvati's setting. She was
in the huge bathtub, only her head visible beneath the surface. The bubbles
were dense and thick around her, and her hair was glistening with water. There
was a tall glass of something sparkling next to her.
"Late night baths are my weakness," she blushed furiously.
"There's nothing better, when you've had a long day, than to sink into hot
water when no one else is around."
Her words bounced off Harry's mind. He wasn't listening to a word she was
saying.
"Ginny slept with Draco," he blurted out, and then immediately
regretted it. He needed to talk to someone about all this so badly - Hermione,
maybe, but not Pavarti Patil, Queen of Gossip. She gasped, her mouth gaped open
widely, and stared at Harry in disbelief and shock.
"What?" she asked him incredulously.
"You heard," Harry shot. He exhaled, furious with himself. "Just
forget I told you. It's nothing to do with you anyway."
Pavarti looked taken aback. "I didn't ask you to tell me!" she said
indignantly. "And for what it's worth...I'm sorry, Harry."
This time it was Harry's turn to look surprised. "Why?"
"Well...everyone knows how you feel about her," Pavarti began. Harry
listened sceptically. "I mean, it's pretty obvious. You only have to see
the two of you chatting over lunch - you could cut the sexual tension with a
knife, Harry, honestly. I'm surprised at Ginny, actually - she's been besotted
with you from day one, I reckon."
Harry almost felt like laughing. "But Parvati," he began slowly.
"I didn't even realise how I felt about Ginny until she told me tonight
about what happened with her and Draco."
Parvati, to Harry's surprise, rolled her eyes. "Typical!" she said
triumphantly. "Just typical! That's just what happened with Lavender and
Seamus - he had no idea how he felt about her until she confronted him last
year, and then he realised how he'd felt all along! And now look at them!
Attached at the hip! I bet it's the same with Ron and Hermione, y'know. They
can't seem to leave each other alone anymore either. In fact, -"
"Parvati," Harry interrupted quickly. "Please, I don't want to
sit and gossip about other people's relationships the entire night. I have
enough on my plate at the moment as it is."
"Uh, sorry," she smiled, almost shyly. "I know this sounds
weird, but do you want to talk about it? I'm here and listening if you
do..."
Harry considered her offer carefully. "I'm alright, thanks Parvati,"
he said firmly. He didn't quite trust Parvati when it came to secrets.
"Well then at least have a drink!" she said, unphased by his decline.
She looked around her, and bobbed over to a hairbrush that lay on the side of
the swimming pool next to her wand.
"Veritconte." She picked up her wand and muttered the incantation
that turned the brush into another glass. Picking up the bottle, she poured
Harry a large drink of whatever was inside. "There we go!" she said
with a flourish, and picked up her own glass. "Cheers!"
Harry, feeling a little awkward about being so close to Parvati in such a state
of undress, despite her being under the water, picked up the glass. Just the
smell of the drink made him feel giddy. "Cheers," he muttered, and
took a large swig, wincing as the warm liquid ran down his throat. "What
is that stuff?" he questioned hoarsely.
"Never you mind," Parvati winked. "It's what you need for now,
Harry. An escape route. You can deal with your problems in the morning. A
couple of glasses of this will make you forget anything that happened with
Ginny until then."
Harry seriously doubted this.