"You bastard!"
"Hey hey Gin what's up? What have I done?" Harry held up his hands in mock alarm.
"Oh don't you play the innocent with me! You know what you've done – and if I wasn't so upset at her leaving then I'd hex you off this planet!"
"Slow down. Geez, Gin, what's up? What have I done? Who's left?"
"You mean you really don't know? You really thought she'd just stick around and watch you stick your tongue down Lavender's throat? You could've at least broken up with her before you go off with the house slut!"
"Me and Lavender? Are you insane?"
"For Merlin's sake! Look – she saw you! With Lav. Hugging her! She saw you – about 2 hours ago. And she's gone!"
"But I wasn't – Lav was just upset – for Merlin's sake will you listen to me a minute Gin? You've got it wrong! Lav had just found out that her brother had been attacked by death eaters. He's in St Mungo's right now. She was upset – I just gave her a hug! That's all – I swear I'm telling you the truth! Do you mind lowering your wand now?"
Ginny stared at him suspiciously, then after a couple of seconds whipped her wand away, making it suddenly whistle through the air.
"Thank you. Now where is she? I need to talk to her!"
"She's gone – she packed and left. I went up to her dorm a couple of minutes before she left. She wouldn't say where she was going, just that she's going out of the wizarding world – where you won't be able to find her. You broke her heart Harry. Have you any idea how much she loved you?" Ginny stormed off.
Harry sat down weakly on one of the chairs in the common room. "I think I had some idea." His voice cracked as he murmured to himself. It ended so fast… Harry thought to himself, trying to take stock of the past couple of hours. It started so fast! Another voice chimed in. Harry remembered suddenly, a flood of little freeze-frames, little moments in time that would be forever emblazoned on his mind. Hermione's blushing face when he first kissed her, the delighted grin when he asked her to be his girlfriend… then later, the serene, peaceful smile that played on her lips as she slept by his side. Her tousled hair in the mornings, the last hint of what had passed between them the night before; her hands frantically fussing over her slightly crumpled clothes as they made their way out of the Room of Requirement at lunch time. Hermione. The girl he loved.
He stood up suddenly, an urge to do something, anything, overpowering him and he shouted in frustration. "Damnit! Where is she?"