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Invasion | 29

Ginny woke up with the worst headache she experienced in years. She groaned as she switched sides, covering her face with her sheets. The voices she could hear from downstairs didn't help either. Eventually, she threw the sheets away and stared at the ceiling. Last night was a blur. Until it dawned to her what happened, what she had done, and the same dread that had kept her awake for a great portion of the night returned to torment her again.

What had gotten into her to make her kiss Harry? Even at the thought of it, she felt her cheeks burn. Ginny covered her face with her palms, cursing under her breath. She had spent six years healing her wounds and moving on, only to ruin it in one single night. Did Dean see something she was unable to, hence the jealousy? No, it couldn't be, right? She loved him, just like she once loved Harry. When they were together, she never thought of the Boy Who Lived. The only feeling he induced in her was resentment.

Or at least that was what she thought, but admitting otherwise would mean that she had to admit that she used Dean as a means to distract her from the truth. It was a very cruel realization, and she refused to believe she would ever use anyone's feelings like that.

But then, what kind of force had pulled back to Harry last night? The heartfelt conversation they exchanged before? The proximity? The bloody mistletoe? (who put that there in the first place anyway?). It was irrational and wrong. She was freshly broken up, and the first thing she did was to jump right back at her ex who had shattered her heart. No, she had to talk to Harry, tell him it was a mistake and move on. It was the right thing to do. They couldn't be together again.

Harry. Ginny knew he still had feelings for her. In fact, she probably knew since the very beginning. She knew, and she had led him on like that. Merlin, how cruel she was? Neither Dean nor Harry deserved to be treated like that. They deserved so much better. She was a horrible person.

After laying on her bed for several moments, infusing all the self-hatred in her brain, she finally got up and got dressed. Her stomach complained loudly, and she guessed she could return back to hating herself after breakfast. But no one needed to know about what happened the previous night. It would only complicate things. This was really only about her and Harry.

Downstairs at the kitchen, Ron and Hermione were also having breakfast, talking and laughing between themselves. Ginny admittedly was a little bit envious of them. She found it very ironic how the two of them worked out perfectly, despite how rocky their relationship had been throughout the years before they started dating. At the very least, they seemed happy, and if they were, so was she. She took a seat across from them and ate her breakfast quietly. listening absentmindedly to their chatter.

"Sister, are you okay?" Ron suddenly asked.

Ginny snapped her head at the sound of his voice. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine?"

"You just seem tired, that's all," Hermione observed.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep very well," she confessed. "I'll be fine," she added in a reassuring tone.

Ginny doubted Hermione would believe her statement, that's why she hurried up and finished her cereal before retreating to her bedroom. As she passed by the living room, she heard voices; Athena and Harry - her heart skipped a beat. The first time they moved in her neighbourhood as a muggle couple, she had really wished they were actually dating and she wished it again now. It would make things so much more simple. Harry deserved to be happy. not be manipulated.

Ginny returned to her room with both stomach and head full. Her mind boggled. She didn't know what she should do now. A small part of her wasn't as guilty as it should be and that scared her. Admitting that she had enjoyed the kiss would be disastrous and would complicate things further. A knock on the door snapped her out of her spiraling.