Standing in front of her in the perfect Summer sunshine Ginny was suddenly beset by an image of what Harry would look like on his wedding day. He would look exactly the same as he always did except that the goodness that was in him, that was him, would make him practically glow. He looked like just then, his hair rumpled, hands shoved in pockets looking like nothing more than a little boy.
"Ginny? What's going on?" Harry asked and then, noticing the tears streaming down her face, he darted forward trying to put his arms around her. "Who was at St Mungo's? Are they okay?"
Ginny pushed him away and stepped back to observe him through determined eyes, trying to keep her sobbing in check. "I can't marry you Harry."
His shocked and wounded expression made her look away, for fear of suddenly changing her mind because she, not sweet, little Ginny, could make Harry look that upset, could she?
"What?" he gasped out, his voice a mixture of angry and upset.
"I'm sorry." She couldn't meet his eyes, her hand blindly holding out the ring as tears blinded her vision.
"Why?" Harry's tear-choked voice made her look up at him, the sight of the tears streaming down his face only made her cry harder.
"Because I can live without you," she gasped out between sobs. Tentatively she placed a hand on his cheek like she had done a thousand times before and Harry grasped it just like he always did though now the action was tinged with desperation. "Don't hate me." He turned away from her, pushing her hand away. "I…I know it sounds horrible but it's…it's true."
Harry span around, his green eyes blazing, though he didn't speak. He didn't look like he could manage words.
Ginny fell to the floor, clutching her arms around herself, trying to choke out an explanation amid her sobs. "I just, when he said he was in St Mungo's, I thought…and I couldn't…" Ginny closed her eyes, not even sure of Harry was still listening or even if he was still there. She gulped in air, her voice wavering as the sobs wracked her body. "I couldn't live without him. And I love you but…" She looked up at Harry's snort to find him stood over her, not crying, his expression stony, and she repeated herself with vehemence, "I do love you."
"But not enough." Harry said bitterly, his voice harsh.
"I can't live without him." Ginny stared up at him, seeing Harry flinch when she said 'him'. "If he died…so would I. But if it was you…it would…it would hurt more than I could imagine, I would never fully get over you but…" her voice trembled as she looked into the eyes of the man who's heart she was breaking, "I could live without you."
"Who is he?" Ginny shook her head, refusing to answer and Harry laughed bitterly. "So how long has it been going on? How long have you been screwing some other guy behind my back?"
Ginny shook her head, stumbling to her feet, trying to put her hands on him.
"Don't touch me!" he yelled, pushing her away. Ginny wrapped her arms around her body as he glared at her and said, his voice low and threatening, "How long, Ginny?"
"It's been over for five years," she replied. Harry just continued to stare at her and she didn't know if he believed her or not.
They stayed like that, staring at each other for, what felt to Ginny, hours though in reality she registered the clock tolling the hour meaning she'd only come out of the house ten minutes earlier. Harry's green eyes pinned her and she felt the tears still running down her cheeks, their wetness on her skin familiar now.
Abruptly Harry strode forward and yanked her arm out, taking the ring from her palm, where she had clutched it when she fell to the ground. He stared at it, spinning it around like Ginny had spent so many hours doing with Draco's ring. As Ginny saw the tears start to run down Harry's face again he turned and threw the ring into the distance with a yell of rage.
"Harry?" Ginny said weakly, starting to move forward.
Harry's cold voice froze her in her tracks. "Don't Ginny. Just don't." His back was stiff as he spoke, his shoulders straight, his posture perfect. "Just don't ever fucking speak to me again." And with that Harry strode away, his walk angry, every footstep pounding the earth as though it had been it that had caused him such grief.
Ginny watched him walk away from her just as she'd once watched another boy, who was more similar to the other then he'd ever admit, do the exact same thing. As Ginny fell to the floor once more, her sobs muffled by the hands she threw over her face she realised that this time it was all her own fault.
*
"Really Blaise, the thought was considerate but I really did think that you'd grown out of phase where smearing paint on pieces of paper was your idea of a good time," Draco said, tentatively admiring a brightly coloured piece of paper.
Blaise just grinned and flopped in the chair next to Draco's bed. "It's a 'Get Well Soon' card."
"Well obviously." Draco drawled turning the card upside down to admire it from that angle.
"From the twins," Blaise explained, still grinning, obviously finding the look of dismay on Draco's face hilarious.
"Your spawn decided to make me a card?" He asked, horrified.
Blaise frowned and grabbed the card back from him. "Please can you not refer to them as my 'spawn'?" Draco just shrugged, popping a grape from the bunch Blaise had given him into his mouth.
"Who sent the grapes?" Draco asked as he finished chewing.
"Those would be from Sarah," Blaise said, his expression becoming closed.
"Your wife?" Draco asked receiving a nod in return. "What did you tell her about little old me?"
"I said you were hit by a dark curse and were now in a Wizarding hospital in London."
Draco laughed, it fading when he saw the utterly serious expression on Blaise's face. "You didn't?"
Blaise ran a hand through his hair, making Draco notice how tired he was looking. "Yeah. It was a very long, very complicated talk that more often than not dissolved into a very long, very loud yelling match."
Draco winced in sympathy. "Ouch," he popped another grape in his mouth, "and she still sent me grapes?"
Blaise shrugged. "She's a nice person." Draco looked like he was going to ask another question, or make another remark that he deemed witty so Blaise quickly changed the subject, "So have you seen Ginny?"
The change that came over Draco was intense. His features closed off, revealing the Draco Malfoy that most of the world saw. Cool, calm, composed and someone you really don't want to piss off. Draco threw three grapes into his mouth and chewed slowly to avoid answering the question. He went to grab some more fruit when Blaise leaned over and grabbed the bag of grapes away from him.
Shooting him an annoyed look, Draco replied. "No, Miss Weasley has not yet been to visit me. And I have no reason to believe that she will be visiting me at any point in the future. So I'd be much obliged if you'd just shut that big trap of yours on the subject."
"Right," drawled Blaise, his inflection startlingly similar to Draco's, "then I suppose that Mr Malfoy has not seen today's Daily Prophet."
Draco raised an eyebrow, the only sign he was at all curious as Blaise tossed the paper at him. His other eyebrow joined the first as above the article declaring 'Son of Death Eater Eats Death and Spits it Back Out' and 'Zabini Back in the Groove' there was a smiling picture of Harry and Ginny with the headline 'Boy Who Lived is the Boy Who Got Dumped'.
Draco smiled crookedly, leaning against the headboard, hands clasped under his head.
Blaise groaned, "You know, she's probably very upset over the whole thing."
"Yep," replied Draco, his grin not lessening, "but you know she picked me. And in my father's words," he looked at Blaise, " 'nyah, nyah, nah, nyahn, nyah, Potter'"
"Your father, Lucius Malfoy, owner of the savviest cane in England, L'Oreal 'because I'm worth it' hair, a sharp tongue he used on you frequently and an even sharper sword collection he used on you even more frequently said 'nyah, nyah, nah, nyahn, nyah, Potter'?" Blaise asked dubiously.
Draco shrugged, his hands still behind his head, a smug grin on his face. "Nah, but I thought it suited the occasion."