Ginny woke with a smile on her face, as she lay curled up in her covers. She’d dreamt that Harry had asked her to a fancy-dress ball. She had been dressed as a beautiful white swan and he was a hippogriff. They ballroom danced outside in the snow until, suddenly, he grabbed her hand, flapped his hippogriff wings and together they flew around Hogwarts. They had soared over the Forbidden Forest, over mountains and rivers and lakes and off into the sunset. It was perfect, slightly odd but perfect.
She smiled again and turned onto her back. The bright mid-morning sunlight was forcing itself through a gap in the hangings around her four-poster bed and gently warming her face. The rest of the dorm was empty, it was Saturday and she’d slept in late.
Even for December, it was a cold day, but she wasn’t planning on leaving the castle so she slipped on her jeans -they were second-hand and baggy but she loved them- and a green strappy top. Styling her hair was easy; she simply put it up into a high ponytail, and then got her make-up bag out of the drawer. Usually she didn’t wear a lot of make-up, unlike the other girls she shared a dorm with, but today, well, she wanted to look her best.
A dab of concealer and green eye shadow later she slipped on her trainers and headed down to the common room. Secretly, she had purposefully chosen green because Harry had said it looked nice on her a few months before. It seemed so stupid to be wondering what he’d think all the time, but she couldn’t help it, she cared.
As she neared the bottom of the stairs Crookshanks approached and began winding in and out of her legs just begging for attention. Hermione was nowhere to be seen so she scooped up the ginger cat and went to sit with the other 4th year girls. She glanced at her brother and Harry who were talking by the fire in their usual spot and turned away to join in her friends’ conversation.
Apparently the big news was that Saskia’s parents were taking her to Australia on their new flying carpet in the Christmas holidays and she could take a friend. Edith, Cassie and Venus were listening avidly to Saskia’s tale.
“Obviously it will be so hard to choose,” she said proudly. “I will probably have to put your names in a bewitched hat and see who is called out.” She sighed dramatically. “It would be too hard to choose between you myself.”
To be honest Ginny didn’t care who was chosen, she knew it wouldn’t be her, she wasn’t one of Saskia’s favourites. She glanced over to the fireplace again hoping to catch Harry’s eye but he was deep in conversation.
“Ginny won’t wanna go, Sassy,” Edith grinned following Ginny’s eye line. “I hear Harry is staying at The Burrow over Christmas.” The girls grouped tighter together all giggling and grinning at her.
“Ooh, your going red!” Cassie laughed. Ginny leant back on her chair biting her cheek and began stroking Crookshanks more forcefully than she’d meant to.
“I know…” Saskia said suddenly, her eyes twinkling dangerously. She reached into her pocket, pulled out a drawstring purse and emptied it into her lap. “I’ll pay you …6 Galleons and 23 Sickles if you ask him out.” She raised her eyebrows silently daring Ginny to do it.
“She won’t.” Cassie snorted folding her arms. “Anyway, I heard Cho Chang is after him. No offence, but he’s not gonna choose Ginny, over Cho.”
“Well,” Saskia said in her most annoyingly sweet voice. “Ginny should know. You and Harry are close aren’t you?” She smiled mock-innocently and the other girls nodded in agreement.
Ginny dug her fingers into Crookshanks’s fur to stop herself from hitting Saskia’s sweet little face and he leapt off her in fright. It shocked Ginny so much she lost her balance, her chair fell backwards and she went crashing to the floor.
“Crap,” she muttered opening her eyes and seeing the last person she would have wanted to witness that, standing right over her. Harry bent down and helped her up- now she really was red.
“I just came to borrow some parchment,” he said over the other 4th year girls’ hysterical laughter.
“There’s some in my bag.” Ginny replied turning her back on the group. “Come on,” she said and she led Harry away to where she’d left her bag the night before.
In the corner of her eye she saw Saskia do an action replay of Ginny falling off her chair. Edith, Cassie and Venus laughed more and more- unaware that Ginny had seen the impression; but Saskia noticed Ginny was staring and smirked at her.
“I hate her!” Ginny whispered angrily ripping the parchment as she yanked it out of her bag. She flopped onto the window seat behind her and her eyes filled with furious tears.
“Are you Ok?” Harry asked, obviously surprised, as he took the parchment from her. He squashed down next to her on the window seat. Their knees touched and she felt that familiar fizzling feeling she got whenever they were this close. She nodded and tried to smile.
Harry turned to face her and looked into her eyes, he always did this when they talked. Usually she liked it because she felt sort of special, as though he was really interested and caring, but right now, as she attempted to blink back tears of frustration, it was uncomfortable.
“I wanted to write a letter to Snuffles,” he whispered indicating the parchment.
Ginny nodded. “Where are Ron and Hermione?”
“They went for lunch, we might as well go and join them.”
“Yeah.”
They went through the portrait hole and down the stairs. Harry was being so nice, Ginny thought. However, the smile on her face faded as soon as she saw a pretty Ravenclaw girl hurrying towards them.
“Hi Harry!” Cho said beaming.
“Oh, hi.” Harry replied gripping the end of his right sleeve nervously. “Are you, er, coming to the DA meeting on Tuesday?”
She looked around as though she was checking nobody was listening nearby and nodded. “I was hoping to talk to you about that actually,” she whispered and she glanced at Ginny. “Is now a bad time?”
“Oh, no.” Harry replied quickly. “I’ll see you in the Great Hall,” he said to Ginny who nodded and stalked off.
God, couldn’t she have talked to him another time? I bet it’s not even important! she thought angrily. He obviously does fancy her then. And she probably only likes him cos he’s famous or something. She doesn’t even know him!
When she arrived at the Gryffindor table she saw Ron and Hermione were arguing animatedly about something. She couldn’t face listening to them rowing about “the needless danger of bludgers” or “the importance of homework” or whatever it was, so she grabbed two bread rolls and headed out of the castle.
Snow covered the Hogwarts grounds and the moment she got outside her skin froze in her tiny strappy top. Nevertheless, she trudged through the snow as she ate, to the only place she could think of going- Hagrid’s hut.
Fang began to bark before she’d even got to the frostbitten pumpkin patch and Hagrid threw open the door grinning. He welcomed Ginny with a steaming mug of tea and she sat down opposite him at the table in his small round cabin.
“You don’ look too good. Bad day?” he asked.
That’s rich, Ginny thought. Look at you. Hagrid was covered in bruises and his lip was swollen and bleeding, he didn’t look like he’d had too good a day either. She nodded, however, and Hagrid smiled understandingly.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t chat today,” he said apologetically. “I’ll ‘ave to be off when you’ve finished yer tea.”
He drained his cup and sat watching her for a few moments as he scratched Fang behind the ears. Ginny took a long drink then pushed the mug away although it was relatively untouched.
“It’s Ok, I’d better go too.” Ginny lied and she quickly said good-bye. As she left Hagrid’s she decided that, perhaps, what she needed was some time alone.
Carefully she chose a spot beneath a large tree on the edge of the lake. The tree’s great branches were heaving with glistening white snow and must have shielded the ground below because it was fairly dry. Ginny pulled her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms around herself; she could feel her heart beating against her thighs; she was freezing cold now.
For a long time Ginny sat huddled beneath the tree, oblivious to the hours rushing past her. At some points her racing mind and overflowing emotions felt too big to be contained in the wizarding world and at other times she just felt so small and insignificant, hidden between the great tree’s roots- her dry oasis in a sea of untouched snow.
As darkness crept up on her she squinted across the black lake to the edge of the forest where she knew Harry had fought the Dementors a year and a half ago and she felt a sudden surge of loneliness. She hated her so-called friends; she never felt included or wanted. The only time she felt really special was with Harry, but then again, it was obviously Cho he cared about.
She sighed and her warm breath disappeared into the unravelling night. She was so sure that he was the one for her.
One day we will be together, she thought.
One day