Ginny stormed into the Gryffindor common room, not caring about the fact that she nearly gave a group of first years heart attacks. Her boyfriend noticed her coming in this time at least. Harry casually glanced up at her from his spot on the couch beside Hermonie and Ron.
"Oh Ginny! I thought you said Flitwick was keeping you all day," he said nervously before noticing the broom she now held in her hand. "Why do you have a broom?" he asked curiously. She glared at him, her temper rising once again.
"If you had paid any sort of attention Harry, you would have noticed that I came by a few hours ago and went up to my room. I then came back down with my broom and went to the Quidditch pitch to practice. Does that answer all your questions?" she snarled at him, feeling a sick sort of pleasure from seeing his face turn pale at her tone.
"What's wrong Ginny? Are you feeling okay?" he asked cautiously, standing up slowly and walking toward her with a concerned look in his eyes. The other Gryffindors in the room all watched in stunned silence, their mouths hanging open. While Weasleys were known to have a temper to match their fiery red hair, they had never heard Ginny speak to Harry like that. Her brother, Ron, yes. But never Harry.
"Why would something be the matter Harry? I answered your question. What more do you want? What I do on my own time is my concern not yours. You didn't care about me earlier, so don't pretend to care now!"
Poor Harry stood there, staring at her back as she stomped up the stairs to the girl's dorm. He frantically tried to remember what he might have done to set her off, but couldn't think of anything. Sure, he might not have noticed her coming in earlier, but if she wanted to talk to him then she should have spoken up instead of sneaking around by herself. What was her problem?
Ginny shoved the door open and slammed it shut, throwing her broom on her bed. Whipping her wand out, she muttered a locking charm to make sure nobody came in while she was so distraught. Why had she blown up like that? What was wrong with her?
A soft sob broke out through the room. She slid down the door with her back against it and drew her knees up to her chest. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she laid her head down and cried. Why she was crying, she didn't know. All that mattered was that she needed to let it all out.
The peace she had felt in the Quidditch pitch with Malfoy was gone, replaced by a feeling of despair. The thought of Malfoy brought the events on the pitch rushing back at her. Why did he make her feel like this? Why couldn't it be Harry? Everything was so confusing right now.
Malfoy's scent was still swimming around in her brain, making her feel even worse. Blast it, why does he have to smell like that? It's simply intoxicating. Sort of spicy and woodsy at the same time. . . .
Even though it was dark, she jumped up and ran over to the large window beside her bed. She had to get away from it all, even if for just an hour or two. Grabbing her broom, she carefully opened the window and hopped on the broom. After pulling out her wand and releasing the charm on the door, the teenager flew out the window and into the clear night's sky.
The wind dried her tears, and chilled her body. Silently cursing herself for not at least grabbing a robe before she left, Ginny flew on nevertheless. Where she flew didn't matter, as long as it was away from the castle, and therefore away from both Harry and Malfoy. So, on into the night she rode on, lying low on her broom handle and staring down at the ground.
Soon, she was flying above the lake, the beautiful moon reflecting on the murky waters. Drifting a little lower, she trailed a hand in the water, throwing up spray into her face because of the speed she was going. The freezing liquid on her face chilled her, but made her feel better.
She knew that she would soon have to go back, but for now, she contented herself with flying leisurely over the tranquil waters of the lake. How long she was out there, she didn't know. But, she knew it was late, and she had things to do tomorrow.
With a reluctant sigh, she slowly turned back towards the castle and flew in the still open window. The other girls were already asleep, not caring to stay up to find out where Ginny went. That made Ginny even sadder, and the freeness she had felt flying disappeared once again.
She quietly changed into an old tee-shirt of Fred's and a pair of Ron's old boxer shorts. Cuddling comfortably under the covers, she quickly drifted off to sleep. That night, she dreamed of a silver haired prince flying towards her on his expensive broom, ready to fly away with her into the sunset.