CHAPTER 14
SOMETHING FAR WORSE THAN DEATH
Sirius lay in Destiny's room, sprawled out on her huge four poster bed, when they had been at Hogwarts together they had always wanted to see what the teachers rooms looked like, always wanted to know what their professors went home to after teaching, how they lived. Now they were both professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they knew what the teachers rooms were like and they definitely weren't disappointed, the beds that took up a lot of the space were massive, you could quite comfortably fit five people on one, and the floor was covered in thick rugs, they were warm and cosy and were definitely better than the dormitories. Destiny climbed onto the huge bed and lay down next to Sirius, closing her eyes contentedly as he stroked her raven hair. She sighed softly and moved closer to him wanting to feel his body heat through her robes.
"I love you.'' She heard him whisper to her as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"I love you too.'' She breathed, wanting to stay like this forever, not wanting to get up or move away from his side ever again. They had been unfairly torn apart once before and she never wanted them to be apart again. Sirius sighed and pushed himself into a sitting position. "What the matter?''
"I can't stop worrying about Harry. That girl getting taken today made me realise it could be Harry, it could've been him and he might not have been so lucky.'' Sirius confessed, running a hand through his dark shoulder length hair, dark shadows were starting to form under his penetrating dark eyes.
"But it wasn't Harry, that's the main thing. You can't keep him in a bubble; Dumbledores here and he'll make sure that Harry is kept safe. You've seen the measures of protection that are around the school. Voldemort will never be able to get in.'' Destiny said soothingly to Sirius, sitting up next to him and putting her arm comfortingly around his shoulders.
"But what about when he's not in school, he knows all of the secret passages out of the school, we can't watch over him all the time.'' Sirius said restlessly.
"He has his friends. I'm sure Hermione has put a strict stop to any illegal visits to Hogsmeade anyway. And Ginny is able to persuade him out of any reckless plans he and Ron may have made.'' Destiny said smiling fondly. "Just like it was me, Lils and Beth who stopped you lot carrying out most of your more dangerous plans.''
"Yeah I suppose. Harry's lucky that he found Ginny. She'll be the one who saves him from himself, she'll be the one who can take his mind off the constant weight that's hanging over him.'' Sirius said quietly. "James always said he wouldn't have been able to survive the war if it weren't for Lily keeping him going, and I wouldn't have been able to survive twelve years in Azkaban without the image of you in my mind, knowing you were out there and may still take me back.''
"We're together now and that's all that counts.'' Destiny said as Sirius wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in closer to him so that she was resting her head on his shoulder.
"I remember when we were back in school, when we first started seeing each other, and I used to force myself to believe that I wasn't in love with you and that feeling that I felt in my stomach every time you were around was in my imagination. I was a fool, I love you Dest, I always have.'' Sirius whispered quietly, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand, before lifting it to his mouth and kissing it.
"I remember trying not to fall for you, I didn't want you to reject me. We started seeing each other though and I completely and totally fell in love with you and I have been ever since.'' Destiny said smiling as she leaned in to Sirius and kissed him tenderly.
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Night had fallen around Hogwarts, the sky outside was inky black and spattered with bright shining stars, the air was cool and crisp and a thin layer of frost was starting to form on the grounds. The castle could only be picked out from the blackness that surrounded it by a few pinpoints of flickering flame light that came form the several rooms were people were still awake, either doing some last minute homework or fraternizing with members of the opposite sex in a light night rendezvous.
Harry lay awake in bed, his room illuminated only by the soft gentle glow of a few candles, he squinted down at his watch and just made out that it was one in the morning, most people were asleep, but he couldn't sleep not when he knew he was going to have to give up the only person that he'd ever really loved, the only person that made his soul feel light, the only girl that he'd ever been so close to.
He turned over and looked down at Ginny's face, her porcelain skin was framed by her fiery hair that that had a golden shimmer in the candle light, he looked down on her effortlessly beautiful face knowing that he was never going to be able to wake up in the morning with her again, never going to be able to hold her in his arms before he fell asleep and never going to be able to kiss her goodnight again. She would hate him after what he was about to do, but he knew that she could never hate him as much as he would hate himself for hurting her, but it was the only way, he was doing it for her, it was for her own safety.
She shifted slightly in her sleep and moaned, he placed a hand softly against her cheek and slowly started to stroke her soft hair, she smiled in her sleep, and moved closer to his body, he felt a tear fall from his emerald eyes and he did nothing to stop them, he let them fall as he snuggled up tight to her, wrapping his arms firmly around her, needing to be close to her, wanting to memorize everything about her, the feel of her skin on his, the smell of her hair, every freckle on her perfect face, every last thing about her, he needed to be able to see her clearly in his mind because he knew that was the only place he'd be seeing her for a long time after he'd done what he had to do to save her.
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The library was a place where you could retreat for some much-needed peace and quiet, it was where the quiet and studious students of Hogwarts went to get on with their work and to prepare for upcoming exams, which was why Madam Pince was perplexed to see that Ron Weasley had started spending a lot of his time there, she knew it wasn't because he wanted to study because she was constantly having to tell him off for talking and distracting the other students, and she knew it wasn't to do homework because even though he got out rolls of parchments and several quills he never wrote more than a couple of sentences, even though the girl he studied with, Hermione Granger totally ignored him many attempts at distracting her and completed rolls and rolls of parchment while he just sat there and watched her work.
"Mione, why do we have to do the potions essay now? It doesn't have to be in for another two weeks.'' Ron whined as he sat across the table from her, watching her curls fall onto the table as she bent over her essay, which was already over a foot long.
"Because it's better to get things like this out of the way and not having them hanging over you until last minute.'' Hermione retorted simply, not looking up from her small, curly handwriting.
"But I don't want to work now, we've had lessons all day and you want to work after lessons too.'' Ron complained, knowing that he was sounding like a little child instead of the man he was supposed to be becoming.
"I'll tell you what, if you manage to hand this essay in on time and get and E for it, I'll give you a surprise.'' Hermione coaxed, looking up from her parchment and grinning mischievously.
"What sort of surprise?'' Ron asked, grinning too. "You'll have to wait and see.'' Hermione replied, smiling suggestively, then looking back down to her work, grinning to herself as she heard the scratch of Ron's quill writing furiously on the parchment.
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Ron dismounted his broom, his hair was ruffled and his cheeks were red from the cold, but he'd never felt more alive in his life, the feeling of sweeping through the air on his broom, feeling the wind in his hair and the cool sting of the cold against his skin. He had suggested to Harry that they go out for a fly on their brooms since neither of them had been flying all year, and now Dumbledore had called off Quidditch for the season due to the threat of war, Ron knew it would do Harry some good if they got out onto their brooms for a while, it always cheered Harry up. He had been acting strange for the past two days, ever since Gwen Nicholson had been taken and Dumbledore had asked him to stay behind, but it couldn't be that Harry had told them all that Dumbledore only wanted to remind him that he should be using Occlumency every night before he fell to sleep, he had become very skilled at Occlumency over the holidays with Destiny as his teacher, they couldn't afford to have Voldemort lure Harry out of the castles protection again, it was too risky now, when the fate of the whole wizarding world rested on Harry's shoulders.
Ron called up to Harry who hadn't even noticed that Ron was on the ground below him, he was just flying aimlessly around in circles, his eyes had dark shadows under them and the only time Ron saw him smile was when he was with Ginny, even if it was only for a few minutes before class, Harry's mood would switch instantaneously from dark and surly to happy and light, and Ginny would be the only person that mattered to him.
"Oi Harry.'' Ron called up loudly, waving his arms frantically above his head. "Earth to Harry.'' Ron shouted, watching as Harry was pulled out of his reverie and flew gracefully back down to the ground to meet up with his friend. Ron looked at Harry and saw that his eyes were bloodshot and the rims of his eyes were red, he looked as though he had been crying. 'No' Ron thought as he shook the thought from his head. 'It's' probably just the wind making his eyes water, he hasn't got anything to cry over anyway.'
Harry stood next to Ron; his head hung dejectedly, his usually messy black hair looked even worse than usual. "What the matter mate?'' Ron asked as he clapped a hand firmly on Harry's shoulder. "You look terrible.''
"Thanks.'' Harry said sarcastically. "Nothings the matter, I'm just tired that's all.'' Harry lied, knowing that there was no way that he could tell Ron that he was about to break his only sisters heart. "Come on lets go and see where the girls are.'' Harry said, trying to inject a bit of false cheer into his voice. It worked, Ron seemed satisfied that Harry was all right and they walked back up to the castle with their brooms held over their shoulders.
They got back to the castle and walked down to their rooms they checked in Ron and Hermione's first but there was no sign of the girls so they walked through the small corridor that linked Ron's room to Harry's. They found Hermione and Ginny sitting at either end of the large sofa, each covered by a large quilt, with the fire roaring in the background.
"There you are, we were wondering where you too had got to.'' Hermione said as Ron and Harry walked into the room and deposited their brooms on to the bed. Ron's face lighting up eagerly as he saw Hermione under the blanket, he rushed over and dove under the covers next to her.
"You're freezing Ron.'' Hermione squealed as he wrapped his arms around her grinning.
"You'd better warm me up then.'' Ron said grinning suggestively at Hermione; he smiled as he heard her mutter 'you're incorrigible'
Harry just stood back observing his two closest friends laughing and fighting playfully with each other, wishing it was that simple for him and Ginny, wishing that it was different, it wasn't fair that they had to be torn apart, he was only seventeen he didn't need all of this pressure, he just wanted to be with his girl and be happy together like any other couple his age.
"Harry, do you want to come under?'' Ginny asked sliding over on the sofa to make room for Harry and holding up the blanket so that he could go under.
"Sure.'' He said smiling, his first genuine smile all day. He loved spending time snuggled up with Ginny, he knew that most boys his age hated being too close to their girlfriend for too long, but Harry loved it, he'd never had anyone to hold in his whole life, never had anyone who loved him as much as Ginny did, so at every possible opportunity he wanted to be close to her. The four of them stayed like that for the rest of the day, until it started to get dark and the wind started to stir up around the castle, they could hear the windows rattling in the corridors and hear the thundering of the large raindrops spattering against the windowpanes.
Ginny snuggled down further into the blanket and closer to Harry, resting her head on his chest, the soft glow from the fire warming her face. "I love winters nights, when its freezing outside and I'm inside wrapped up all cosy and warm.'' Ginny said as Harry's hand started to stroke her flaming red hair.
"Shall I tell you what I love?'' Harry whispered softly into Ginny's ear.
"What?' she breathed.
"You.'' Harry answered kissing her softly on the forehead.
"I love you too.'' Ginny answered quietly, bringing her hand up from her side and tracing circles on Harry's chest with it. "I always will.''
Ron and Hermione looked across at Harry and Ginny whispering into each other's ears and smiling, Hermione who was resting her head against Ron's shoulder smiled. She heard Ron breathe in deeply and knew he was about to say something and interrupt the couple's moment so she leaned up off him and looked him in the eyes, silently communicating that he shouldn't say anything. She upped his face tenderly in his hands and looked at him for a long time through her deep chocolate eyes. He was still the same boy she fell in love with back when they were twelve years old deep down inside, he had matured and become more caring and sensitive, but deep down he was still the same cheeky, troublemaking little boy and that's what Hermione loved about him. His red hair flopped down attractively into his eyes, and she brushed it away, revealing his intense sapphire eyes. He smiled his crooked grin and her heart melted, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips before settling back down by his side, pulling the blankets further over them both.
He smiled happily to himself, and wrapped his arms around her, feeling comfort in the warmth of her body next to his. This was how he wanted to spend the rest of his life, together.
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Ginny sat down in her usual seat by the window in her Muggle Studies class, she always liked to sit by the window, she liked to stare out on to the grounds and it was just a coincidence that at the very same time as her Muggle Studies class Harry also happened to have Care of Magical Creatures, which happened to be in direct view of the Muggle Studies classroom. Ginny often found her attention wandering during particularly boring lectures from the teacher Professor Finn, and she often found her gaze wandering from the blackboard at the front of the class out the window and on to Harry's face. She could just pick him out of the crowd from her seat, his messy black hair made him easy to spot, but for almost three days now, every time Ginny had seen Harry he had been miserable, of course he cheered up instantly when he saw her, but when he thought she wasn't watching him, his face would cloud over with misery and sorrow, his green eyes took on a haunted appearance and his head dropped.
For a while now Harry had been extra attentive to her, and Ginny certainly wasn't complaining, he seemed to have fallen more in love with her over the past three days than he had ever been in the year they had spent together, either that or he was just being more obvious about feelings that may have been there from the start. He had started walking her to every class and meeting her at the end of every lesson, even if it meant him being late for his own classes, he spent all of his free time with her, he always wanted to be close to her, to hold her in someway, touch some part of her body. He had even stopped the nightly wandering of his hands, and was content instead just to kiss and cuddle.
None of this bothered Ginny, she loved spending time with Harry, he was her boyfriend, but he was also one of her best friends, she could talk to him about anything and he could tell her anything. She knew that they would end up together forever, just like her parents had known when they started dating in their seventh year at Hogwarts. She just wished that she knew why Harry was acting so strangely.
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Colin Creevy sat on the sofa in Ginny's room as Ginny bustled about the room, putting clothes away and making the bed, she pulled the corners of the blanket straight and he caught a hint of Harry's scent, she sighed contently, she loved the smell of Harry, he smelled gorgeous and it was a smell she knew that she'd never want to stop smelling.
"What are you smiling for?'' Colin called a he looked up at Ginny to see that she had paused half way through making the bed and was standing with a dreamy smile on her face.
"Nothing, I was just thinking.'' Ginny replied blushing, knowing that Colin wouldn't leave it at that, knowing that he seemed to know exactly what was going through her head.
"Three guesses about who.'' Colin retorted smirking, causing Ginny to grab a pillow of the bed and fling it across the room at Colin's head.
"Shut up, I can't help it.'' Ginny answered sheepishly.
"You'd think after being with him for a year you would be able to go five minutes without daydreaming about him.'' Colin said jokingly. "You'd think that you'd be tired of him by now.'' Colin called throwing the pillow back at Ginny where it hit her on the head ruffling her hair.
"You'll pay for that Creevy.'' Ginny shouted, grabbing a pillow from the bed and starting to hit Colin repeatedly with it, sending feathers flying all over the room.
"Oh yeah.'' Colin said laughing, running to grab his own pillow of the bed. "We'll see about that Weasley.''
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Harry sat alone on the Quidditch stands, he knew that it was dangerous for him to be out on the school grounds on his own, especially when there was no one who knew where he was, but he didn't care, he wouldn't care if Voldemort came up to him right now and killed him there on the spot, in fact it would save him a lot of trouble, at least the Ginny would lose him knowing that he still loved her. But right now, she was about to lose him, thinking that he hated her.
Harry knew he couldn't just go up to Ginny and suggest that they stop seeing each other because he has to protect her, he knew that she would never stand for that, the legendary Weasley stubbornness would kick in and she would insist that she wasn't in danger and she wouldn't let him save her. He knew he would have to make her believe that he didn't want to be with her, he would have to make her never want to be around him again, he would have to make the girl that he loved hate him.
Harry sank his head down onto his knees and ran his bare hands that were raw from the cold through his ruffled black hair and groaned out loud. Now he knew what Dumbledore meant about there being far worse things than death, and this was one of them, losing someone that you love is worse than death, having to hurt the only person you have ever really loved is worse than death. Right now death seemed like a pleasant option for Harry.
Time was almost running out for Harry he knew that he would have to end it with Ginny and end it soon, every second he spent with her made him love her more and more, he would have to do it soon, leaving it would only make it harder for him, and more dangerous for her. Every day that passed that they were still together put her more in risk of someone in Voldemorts inner circle finding out that they were together, he was surprised that Malfoy hadn't told his father yet, Draco had known from early on that Ginny was Harry's weak point, she was the person that he would readily die for and yet he hadn't used this information to blackmail him, Harry knew that Draco was up to something, he knew that Draco would love the chance to please his father with something as good as that, Potter's weakness. Oh daddy would love him for that information, there had to be a reason why he wasn't telling. But it wouldn't matter soon anyway, Ginny and everyone else at Hogwarts would soon learn of the break up, the one that Harry had to pretend that he desperately wanted when it was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do. And he was going to have to do it soon. He stood up on the stands, and felt the cold harsh wind blowing into his face, felt his hair get swept back away from his face and he screamed, he screamed letting all of hi anger, frustration and sadness get blown away in the wind, he paused to catch his breath and taking deep calming breaths he turned and started walking up the castle forcing his way through the wind that was pushing him back the whole time, as though trying to stop him from letting his one and only true love go, but nothing could stop him, it was for Ginny, and as long as she was safe that was all that mattered, it didn't matter that everyday without her would be torture for Harry as long as she was protected.
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Harry's room was now covered completely in fluffy white feathers, and Ginny lay collapsed on the bed, panting heavily, an empty pillowcase still clutched in her hand, she laughed as she turned her head and saw Colin sprawled out on the floor panting as though he had just run a marathon.
"So much for tidying the room.'' Ginny sighed as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.
"I think it looks better like this.'' Colin said. "Much better.''
"You just don't want to help clean it up.'' Ginny accused, smirking as Colin grinned sheepishly and started grabbing handfuls of feathers and pushing them back into the pillowcase, Ginny watched him until he had completely restuffed an entire pillowcase. He looked up at her and saw that she was laughing.
"What?''
"Did you forget that you are a wizard?'' Ginny asked laughing, and in one quick swish of her wand the room was completely featherless and the pillows lay in perfect position on the bed, fully stuffed.
"Of course I didn't.'' Colin retorted. "I just thought it'd be nice to do it the Muggle way that's all.''
"Sure you did.'' Ginny answered sarcastically, the door clicked open behind her and she turned to see Harry standing there, his hair blown all over the place, his face and hands red from the cold, his voice was scratchy and hoarse when he spoke.
"Hey Gin.'' He said roughly, his voice sounded as though he hadn't used it for years. Colin noting the serious expression on Harry's face quickly excused himself from the room, telling Ginny that he would be in the common room to meet up to do homework later.
"Hey baby, what's the matter?'' Ginny asked moving closer to Harry and surveying him through concerned eyes, she noticed that his eyes were red and bloodshot.
"We need to talk Gin.''
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(AN Sorry for the short chapter guys, I have been rushed of my feet this week, it's been mad. I'm also failing maths badly so a tutor will probably be taking up more of my time. I know a lot of you guys are mad at me for breaking up Harry and Ginny, but it's got to be done, I had all of my stories planned out from the start and this is just one of the things that has to happen. Please don't be mad at me!!! I tried to get a bit of fluff in here though even in the sadness. Please read and Review, I hope you all enjoy. Love you ice princess12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x)
SOMETHING FAR WORSE THAN DEATH
Sirius lay in Destiny's room, sprawled out on her huge four poster bed, when they had been at Hogwarts together they had always wanted to see what the teachers rooms looked like, always wanted to know what their professors went home to after teaching, how they lived. Now they were both professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they knew what the teachers rooms were like and they definitely weren't disappointed, the beds that took up a lot of the space were massive, you could quite comfortably fit five people on one, and the floor was covered in thick rugs, they were warm and cosy and were definitely better than the dormitories. Destiny climbed onto the huge bed and lay down next to Sirius, closing her eyes contentedly as he stroked her raven hair. She sighed softly and moved closer to him wanting to feel his body heat through her robes.
"I love you.'' She heard him whisper to her as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek.
"I love you too.'' She breathed, wanting to stay like this forever, not wanting to get up or move away from his side ever again. They had been unfairly torn apart once before and she never wanted them to be apart again. Sirius sighed and pushed himself into a sitting position. "What the matter?''
"I can't stop worrying about Harry. That girl getting taken today made me realise it could be Harry, it could've been him and he might not have been so lucky.'' Sirius confessed, running a hand through his dark shoulder length hair, dark shadows were starting to form under his penetrating dark eyes.
"But it wasn't Harry, that's the main thing. You can't keep him in a bubble; Dumbledores here and he'll make sure that Harry is kept safe. You've seen the measures of protection that are around the school. Voldemort will never be able to get in.'' Destiny said soothingly to Sirius, sitting up next to him and putting her arm comfortingly around his shoulders.
"But what about when he's not in school, he knows all of the secret passages out of the school, we can't watch over him all the time.'' Sirius said restlessly.
"He has his friends. I'm sure Hermione has put a strict stop to any illegal visits to Hogsmeade anyway. And Ginny is able to persuade him out of any reckless plans he and Ron may have made.'' Destiny said smiling fondly. "Just like it was me, Lils and Beth who stopped you lot carrying out most of your more dangerous plans.''
"Yeah I suppose. Harry's lucky that he found Ginny. She'll be the one who saves him from himself, she'll be the one who can take his mind off the constant weight that's hanging over him.'' Sirius said quietly. "James always said he wouldn't have been able to survive the war if it weren't for Lily keeping him going, and I wouldn't have been able to survive twelve years in Azkaban without the image of you in my mind, knowing you were out there and may still take me back.''
"We're together now and that's all that counts.'' Destiny said as Sirius wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in closer to him so that she was resting her head on his shoulder.
"I remember when we were back in school, when we first started seeing each other, and I used to force myself to believe that I wasn't in love with you and that feeling that I felt in my stomach every time you were around was in my imagination. I was a fool, I love you Dest, I always have.'' Sirius whispered quietly, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand, before lifting it to his mouth and kissing it.
"I remember trying not to fall for you, I didn't want you to reject me. We started seeing each other though and I completely and totally fell in love with you and I have been ever since.'' Destiny said smiling as she leaned in to Sirius and kissed him tenderly.
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Night had fallen around Hogwarts, the sky outside was inky black and spattered with bright shining stars, the air was cool and crisp and a thin layer of frost was starting to form on the grounds. The castle could only be picked out from the blackness that surrounded it by a few pinpoints of flickering flame light that came form the several rooms were people were still awake, either doing some last minute homework or fraternizing with members of the opposite sex in a light night rendezvous.
Harry lay awake in bed, his room illuminated only by the soft gentle glow of a few candles, he squinted down at his watch and just made out that it was one in the morning, most people were asleep, but he couldn't sleep not when he knew he was going to have to give up the only person that he'd ever really loved, the only person that made his soul feel light, the only girl that he'd ever been so close to.
He turned over and looked down at Ginny's face, her porcelain skin was framed by her fiery hair that that had a golden shimmer in the candle light, he looked down on her effortlessly beautiful face knowing that he was never going to be able to wake up in the morning with her again, never going to be able to hold her in his arms before he fell asleep and never going to be able to kiss her goodnight again. She would hate him after what he was about to do, but he knew that she could never hate him as much as he would hate himself for hurting her, but it was the only way, he was doing it for her, it was for her own safety.
She shifted slightly in her sleep and moaned, he placed a hand softly against her cheek and slowly started to stroke her soft hair, she smiled in her sleep, and moved closer to his body, he felt a tear fall from his emerald eyes and he did nothing to stop them, he let them fall as he snuggled up tight to her, wrapping his arms firmly around her, needing to be close to her, wanting to memorize everything about her, the feel of her skin on his, the smell of her hair, every freckle on her perfect face, every last thing about her, he needed to be able to see her clearly in his mind because he knew that was the only place he'd be seeing her for a long time after he'd done what he had to do to save her.
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The library was a place where you could retreat for some much-needed peace and quiet, it was where the quiet and studious students of Hogwarts went to get on with their work and to prepare for upcoming exams, which was why Madam Pince was perplexed to see that Ron Weasley had started spending a lot of his time there, she knew it wasn't because he wanted to study because she was constantly having to tell him off for talking and distracting the other students, and she knew it wasn't to do homework because even though he got out rolls of parchments and several quills he never wrote more than a couple of sentences, even though the girl he studied with, Hermione Granger totally ignored him many attempts at distracting her and completed rolls and rolls of parchment while he just sat there and watched her work.
"Mione, why do we have to do the potions essay now? It doesn't have to be in for another two weeks.'' Ron whined as he sat across the table from her, watching her curls fall onto the table as she bent over her essay, which was already over a foot long.
"Because it's better to get things like this out of the way and not having them hanging over you until last minute.'' Hermione retorted simply, not looking up from her small, curly handwriting.
"But I don't want to work now, we've had lessons all day and you want to work after lessons too.'' Ron complained, knowing that he was sounding like a little child instead of the man he was supposed to be becoming.
"I'll tell you what, if you manage to hand this essay in on time and get and E for it, I'll give you a surprise.'' Hermione coaxed, looking up from her parchment and grinning mischievously.
"What sort of surprise?'' Ron asked, grinning too. "You'll have to wait and see.'' Hermione replied, smiling suggestively, then looking back down to her work, grinning to herself as she heard the scratch of Ron's quill writing furiously on the parchment.
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Ron dismounted his broom, his hair was ruffled and his cheeks were red from the cold, but he'd never felt more alive in his life, the feeling of sweeping through the air on his broom, feeling the wind in his hair and the cool sting of the cold against his skin. He had suggested to Harry that they go out for a fly on their brooms since neither of them had been flying all year, and now Dumbledore had called off Quidditch for the season due to the threat of war, Ron knew it would do Harry some good if they got out onto their brooms for a while, it always cheered Harry up. He had been acting strange for the past two days, ever since Gwen Nicholson had been taken and Dumbledore had asked him to stay behind, but it couldn't be that Harry had told them all that Dumbledore only wanted to remind him that he should be using Occlumency every night before he fell to sleep, he had become very skilled at Occlumency over the holidays with Destiny as his teacher, they couldn't afford to have Voldemort lure Harry out of the castles protection again, it was too risky now, when the fate of the whole wizarding world rested on Harry's shoulders.
Ron called up to Harry who hadn't even noticed that Ron was on the ground below him, he was just flying aimlessly around in circles, his eyes had dark shadows under them and the only time Ron saw him smile was when he was with Ginny, even if it was only for a few minutes before class, Harry's mood would switch instantaneously from dark and surly to happy and light, and Ginny would be the only person that mattered to him.
"Oi Harry.'' Ron called up loudly, waving his arms frantically above his head. "Earth to Harry.'' Ron shouted, watching as Harry was pulled out of his reverie and flew gracefully back down to the ground to meet up with his friend. Ron looked at Harry and saw that his eyes were bloodshot and the rims of his eyes were red, he looked as though he had been crying. 'No' Ron thought as he shook the thought from his head. 'It's' probably just the wind making his eyes water, he hasn't got anything to cry over anyway.'
Harry stood next to Ron; his head hung dejectedly, his usually messy black hair looked even worse than usual. "What the matter mate?'' Ron asked as he clapped a hand firmly on Harry's shoulder. "You look terrible.''
"Thanks.'' Harry said sarcastically. "Nothings the matter, I'm just tired that's all.'' Harry lied, knowing that there was no way that he could tell Ron that he was about to break his only sisters heart. "Come on lets go and see where the girls are.'' Harry said, trying to inject a bit of false cheer into his voice. It worked, Ron seemed satisfied that Harry was all right and they walked back up to the castle with their brooms held over their shoulders.
They got back to the castle and walked down to their rooms they checked in Ron and Hermione's first but there was no sign of the girls so they walked through the small corridor that linked Ron's room to Harry's. They found Hermione and Ginny sitting at either end of the large sofa, each covered by a large quilt, with the fire roaring in the background.
"There you are, we were wondering where you too had got to.'' Hermione said as Ron and Harry walked into the room and deposited their brooms on to the bed. Ron's face lighting up eagerly as he saw Hermione under the blanket, he rushed over and dove under the covers next to her.
"You're freezing Ron.'' Hermione squealed as he wrapped his arms around her grinning.
"You'd better warm me up then.'' Ron said grinning suggestively at Hermione; he smiled as he heard her mutter 'you're incorrigible'
Harry just stood back observing his two closest friends laughing and fighting playfully with each other, wishing it was that simple for him and Ginny, wishing that it was different, it wasn't fair that they had to be torn apart, he was only seventeen he didn't need all of this pressure, he just wanted to be with his girl and be happy together like any other couple his age.
"Harry, do you want to come under?'' Ginny asked sliding over on the sofa to make room for Harry and holding up the blanket so that he could go under.
"Sure.'' He said smiling, his first genuine smile all day. He loved spending time snuggled up with Ginny, he knew that most boys his age hated being too close to their girlfriend for too long, but Harry loved it, he'd never had anyone to hold in his whole life, never had anyone who loved him as much as Ginny did, so at every possible opportunity he wanted to be close to her. The four of them stayed like that for the rest of the day, until it started to get dark and the wind started to stir up around the castle, they could hear the windows rattling in the corridors and hear the thundering of the large raindrops spattering against the windowpanes.
Ginny snuggled down further into the blanket and closer to Harry, resting her head on his chest, the soft glow from the fire warming her face. "I love winters nights, when its freezing outside and I'm inside wrapped up all cosy and warm.'' Ginny said as Harry's hand started to stroke her flaming red hair.
"Shall I tell you what I love?'' Harry whispered softly into Ginny's ear.
"What?' she breathed.
"You.'' Harry answered kissing her softly on the forehead.
"I love you too.'' Ginny answered quietly, bringing her hand up from her side and tracing circles on Harry's chest with it. "I always will.''
Ron and Hermione looked across at Harry and Ginny whispering into each other's ears and smiling, Hermione who was resting her head against Ron's shoulder smiled. She heard Ron breathe in deeply and knew he was about to say something and interrupt the couple's moment so she leaned up off him and looked him in the eyes, silently communicating that he shouldn't say anything. She upped his face tenderly in his hands and looked at him for a long time through her deep chocolate eyes. He was still the same boy she fell in love with back when they were twelve years old deep down inside, he had matured and become more caring and sensitive, but deep down he was still the same cheeky, troublemaking little boy and that's what Hermione loved about him. His red hair flopped down attractively into his eyes, and she brushed it away, revealing his intense sapphire eyes. He smiled his crooked grin and her heart melted, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips before settling back down by his side, pulling the blankets further over them both.
He smiled happily to himself, and wrapped his arms around her, feeling comfort in the warmth of her body next to his. This was how he wanted to spend the rest of his life, together.
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Ginny sat down in her usual seat by the window in her Muggle Studies class, she always liked to sit by the window, she liked to stare out on to the grounds and it was just a coincidence that at the very same time as her Muggle Studies class Harry also happened to have Care of Magical Creatures, which happened to be in direct view of the Muggle Studies classroom. Ginny often found her attention wandering during particularly boring lectures from the teacher Professor Finn, and she often found her gaze wandering from the blackboard at the front of the class out the window and on to Harry's face. She could just pick him out of the crowd from her seat, his messy black hair made him easy to spot, but for almost three days now, every time Ginny had seen Harry he had been miserable, of course he cheered up instantly when he saw her, but when he thought she wasn't watching him, his face would cloud over with misery and sorrow, his green eyes took on a haunted appearance and his head dropped.
For a while now Harry had been extra attentive to her, and Ginny certainly wasn't complaining, he seemed to have fallen more in love with her over the past three days than he had ever been in the year they had spent together, either that or he was just being more obvious about feelings that may have been there from the start. He had started walking her to every class and meeting her at the end of every lesson, even if it meant him being late for his own classes, he spent all of his free time with her, he always wanted to be close to her, to hold her in someway, touch some part of her body. He had even stopped the nightly wandering of his hands, and was content instead just to kiss and cuddle.
None of this bothered Ginny, she loved spending time with Harry, he was her boyfriend, but he was also one of her best friends, she could talk to him about anything and he could tell her anything. She knew that they would end up together forever, just like her parents had known when they started dating in their seventh year at Hogwarts. She just wished that she knew why Harry was acting so strangely.
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Colin Creevy sat on the sofa in Ginny's room as Ginny bustled about the room, putting clothes away and making the bed, she pulled the corners of the blanket straight and he caught a hint of Harry's scent, she sighed contently, she loved the smell of Harry, he smelled gorgeous and it was a smell she knew that she'd never want to stop smelling.
"What are you smiling for?'' Colin called a he looked up at Ginny to see that she had paused half way through making the bed and was standing with a dreamy smile on her face.
"Nothing, I was just thinking.'' Ginny replied blushing, knowing that Colin wouldn't leave it at that, knowing that he seemed to know exactly what was going through her head.
"Three guesses about who.'' Colin retorted smirking, causing Ginny to grab a pillow of the bed and fling it across the room at Colin's head.
"Shut up, I can't help it.'' Ginny answered sheepishly.
"You'd think after being with him for a year you would be able to go five minutes without daydreaming about him.'' Colin said jokingly. "You'd think that you'd be tired of him by now.'' Colin called throwing the pillow back at Ginny where it hit her on the head ruffling her hair.
"You'll pay for that Creevy.'' Ginny shouted, grabbing a pillow from the bed and starting to hit Colin repeatedly with it, sending feathers flying all over the room.
"Oh yeah.'' Colin said laughing, running to grab his own pillow of the bed. "We'll see about that Weasley.''
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Harry sat alone on the Quidditch stands, he knew that it was dangerous for him to be out on the school grounds on his own, especially when there was no one who knew where he was, but he didn't care, he wouldn't care if Voldemort came up to him right now and killed him there on the spot, in fact it would save him a lot of trouble, at least the Ginny would lose him knowing that he still loved her. But right now, she was about to lose him, thinking that he hated her.
Harry knew he couldn't just go up to Ginny and suggest that they stop seeing each other because he has to protect her, he knew that she would never stand for that, the legendary Weasley stubbornness would kick in and she would insist that she wasn't in danger and she wouldn't let him save her. He knew he would have to make her believe that he didn't want to be with her, he would have to make her never want to be around him again, he would have to make the girl that he loved hate him.
Harry sank his head down onto his knees and ran his bare hands that were raw from the cold through his ruffled black hair and groaned out loud. Now he knew what Dumbledore meant about there being far worse things than death, and this was one of them, losing someone that you love is worse than death, having to hurt the only person you have ever really loved is worse than death. Right now death seemed like a pleasant option for Harry.
Time was almost running out for Harry he knew that he would have to end it with Ginny and end it soon, every second he spent with her made him love her more and more, he would have to do it soon, leaving it would only make it harder for him, and more dangerous for her. Every day that passed that they were still together put her more in risk of someone in Voldemorts inner circle finding out that they were together, he was surprised that Malfoy hadn't told his father yet, Draco had known from early on that Ginny was Harry's weak point, she was the person that he would readily die for and yet he hadn't used this information to blackmail him, Harry knew that Draco was up to something, he knew that Draco would love the chance to please his father with something as good as that, Potter's weakness. Oh daddy would love him for that information, there had to be a reason why he wasn't telling. But it wouldn't matter soon anyway, Ginny and everyone else at Hogwarts would soon learn of the break up, the one that Harry had to pretend that he desperately wanted when it was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do. And he was going to have to do it soon. He stood up on the stands, and felt the cold harsh wind blowing into his face, felt his hair get swept back away from his face and he screamed, he screamed letting all of hi anger, frustration and sadness get blown away in the wind, he paused to catch his breath and taking deep calming breaths he turned and started walking up the castle forcing his way through the wind that was pushing him back the whole time, as though trying to stop him from letting his one and only true love go, but nothing could stop him, it was for Ginny, and as long as she was safe that was all that mattered, it didn't matter that everyday without her would be torture for Harry as long as she was protected.
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Harry's room was now covered completely in fluffy white feathers, and Ginny lay collapsed on the bed, panting heavily, an empty pillowcase still clutched in her hand, she laughed as she turned her head and saw Colin sprawled out on the floor panting as though he had just run a marathon.
"So much for tidying the room.'' Ginny sighed as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.
"I think it looks better like this.'' Colin said. "Much better.''
"You just don't want to help clean it up.'' Ginny accused, smirking as Colin grinned sheepishly and started grabbing handfuls of feathers and pushing them back into the pillowcase, Ginny watched him until he had completely restuffed an entire pillowcase. He looked up at her and saw that she was laughing.
"What?''
"Did you forget that you are a wizard?'' Ginny asked laughing, and in one quick swish of her wand the room was completely featherless and the pillows lay in perfect position on the bed, fully stuffed.
"Of course I didn't.'' Colin retorted. "I just thought it'd be nice to do it the Muggle way that's all.''
"Sure you did.'' Ginny answered sarcastically, the door clicked open behind her and she turned to see Harry standing there, his hair blown all over the place, his face and hands red from the cold, his voice was scratchy and hoarse when he spoke.
"Hey Gin.'' He said roughly, his voice sounded as though he hadn't used it for years. Colin noting the serious expression on Harry's face quickly excused himself from the room, telling Ginny that he would be in the common room to meet up to do homework later.
"Hey baby, what's the matter?'' Ginny asked moving closer to Harry and surveying him through concerned eyes, she noticed that his eyes were red and bloodshot.
"We need to talk Gin.''
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(AN Sorry for the short chapter guys, I have been rushed of my feet this week, it's been mad. I'm also failing maths badly so a tutor will probably be taking up more of my time. I know a lot of you guys are mad at me for breaking up Harry and Ginny, but it's got to be done, I had all of my stories planned out from the start and this is just one of the things that has to happen. Please don't be mad at me!!! I tried to get a bit of fluff in here though even in the sadness. Please read and Review, I hope you all enjoy. Love you ice princess12 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x)