Disclaimer: Only the plot is mine, everything else belongs to JKR. And of course, the song lyrics in this chapter are from Dido's song, Sand in My Shoes.
Breaking Point
Chapter 3
Can't Shake the Thought of You
Two weeks away it feels like the whole world should've changed
But I'm home now
And things still look the same
I think I'll leave it till tomorrow to unpack
Try to forget for one more night
That I'm back in my flat on the road
Where the cars never stop going through the night
To a life where I can't watch the sunset
I don't have time
I've still got sand in my shoes
And I can't shake the thought of you
Ginny Weasley shifted her feet uncomfortably in her satin high-heeled shoes, continuing to smile and nod politely, appearing to listen to this man's monologue on the magical business relations between Scotland and Luxembourg.
In truth, she wished she could just go home and go to bed. It had been a long and tiring day at the office, filing papers and filling out reports for her department, Magical Games and Sports.
The man who had been talking to her shifted his attention to a portly man standing near him, and continued to speak. Ginny took advantage of this, moving away to the opposite side of the room and leaning against one of the great mullioned windows, sipping her wine slowly. The glass felt icy against her bare skin, sending shivers down her spine. Outside the window, the sky was a deep purple, void of stars, due to the thick cloud cover. Intermittently, a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the dark, giving the clouds an eerie glow. The rain patted against the window quietly, then ran down the glass in little rivers, pooling at the bottom.
Ginny's eyes traveled across the room, a bored expression upon her face. She glanced over to the corner of the room where a fire was burning merrily in the large fireplace. And then her eyes met someone else's. Sitting languidly in the corner of the room, barely noticeable, was a man with a shock of messy black hair. Ginny stared at him unflinchingly, as if in a daze.
It was as though someone had turned the volume up on a radio that used to be full of static. She could remember it vividly now, as if it had happened just yesterday. Her head began to spin, she felt dizzy from the memory, but it was impossible to block out.
"Ginny… look, there's no other way to say this to you… this is where it has to end. I'm sorry if you don't understand, but this is the way it must be… I can't be with you anymore…"
Suddenly the memories began to fade, as a man and his wife stepped in front of her, and Ginny's mind was pulled back to the present. The radio gave way to static once more, and the voices turned raspy. By the time the couple was gone, so was he. Ginny felt as though she had just had the wind knocked out of her. Unconsciously, she reached a hand up towards her throat, running her fingers along a fine silver chain, which was partially hidden by her dress. She had forced herself to forget, but the memory, merely a shadow, was still etched into the back of her mind.
Tomorrow's back to work and down to sanity
Should run a bath and then clear up the mess
I made before I left here
Try to remind myself that I was happy here
Before I knew that I could get on the plane and fly away
From the road where the cars never stop going through the night
To a life where I can't watch sunset
And take my time
Take all our time
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"Ginny? Ginny? Are you even listening to me?"
Ginny looked up to see a hand waving in front of her face. "Oh, sorry," she replied to a concerned looking Hermione. "I'm just so…"
"Tired, I know," answered Hermione shortly, setting her fork down on the table and turning to face her. "Look Ginny, we need to talk."
Ginny stared down at her plate despondently, twisting her fingers unconsciously in her lap, as her friend continued, "…you're never at home, you practically live at the office-"
"Hermione, I didn't come to lunch with you to discuss every aspect of my life!" retorted Ginny shortly. Hermione looked offended at this remark and Ginny was already regretting her outburst.
"Look 'Mione, I'm sorry…" her voice trailed off.
Hermione stared at her. "It's just… Ginny, what happened to you? God Ginny, don't you realize what he's done to you?"
"I'm fine!" Ginny yelled, slamming her glass down on the table more forcefully than she'd meant to. The people sitting near them turned around at the sound of the commotion.
Hermione leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms as if to emphasize the fact that Ginny had just proved her point. She wasn't 'fine'.
"Ever since he left you, you haven't been yourself!"
"Oh, so you want to see me moping around all the time?"
"No, you're doing the opposite, and one day it's all going to catch up with you," countered Hermione. "He's treated you like you're not worth an explanation and you haven't done a thing about it!"
This was the last straw for Ginny. "It's fine, things just didn't work out. He did nothing!"
"Exactly," retorted Hermione, her voice rising, "He did nothing. He gave you no explanation whatsoever!"
Ginny couldn't even get a word in edgewise.
"What's wrong with you? You're not the Ginny I used to know. If you were, you would go right up to his door and demand that he explain himself!"
"It's over Hermione," said Ginny coldly, "It's been over and I no longer care." But as she said this Ginny felt her chest clench uncomfortably. Denial did have its side effects.
I've still got sand in my shoes
And I can't shake the thought of you
I should get on, forget you
But why would I want to
I know we said goodbye
Anything else would've been confused
But I wanna see you again
I wanna see you again
Two weeks away, all it takes to change and turn me around I've fallen
I walked away and never said that I wanted to see again
I wanna see you again
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A/N: A lot of my reviewers have been saying they feel 'left in the dark' with this story. Which of course is my intention. Everything will be explained eventually. But if you're honestly confused, please tell me. If it's a problem with my writing, I want to fix that.
The story is meant to be somewhat suspenseful. Is it?
PLEASE REVIEW!
THANKS :)