At the Ball

I watched as Ginny plopped herself onto her bed, her red dress wrinkling around her. She had her eyes closed and I knew exactly what I had to do. I tiptoed to the edge of the bed and jumped on top of her. She opened her eyes and smiled up at me. I pressed my fingers against her stomach, tickling her. Her laughter filled the room and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing with her. I kissed her forehead as she begged me to stop. I took my hands away from her and plopped myself next to her. I lifted myself up onto my elbow running my fingers through her hair.

“I’ve got a good one,”

“Go ahead,” Ginny said, closing her eyes.

“What’s the difference between a terrorist and a ginger?”

“I don’t know, Cedric. What’s the difference?”

She was clearly not amused, but I continued anyway, “You can negotiate with a terrorist!”

She punched my arm which actually hurt more than I would care to admit.

“Those are not funny!”

She always got so defensive but she looked so cute when she was doing it that I couldn’t stop myself from telling them. I gave her a soft kiss before she hastily got up from the bed. I got up more slowly and stood beside her, giving her a kiss that signaled out goodbye.

“I love you, Ginny,” I whispered into her ear.

“You know I wish you wouldn’t say that.”

I was shocked. I was almost certain Ginny loved me back, and it had never occurred to me that this was just a fling to her. The only thing I could manage to say was, “Why?”

“Because it’s not true.” She was beginning to raise her voice, “If it were true, you wouldn’t still be with Cho, and you wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with me in public.”

That wasn’t the best answer, but it wasn’t the worst either. At least she didn’t tell me it wasn’t because she didn’t love me back.

“Ginny, it’s not that at all. I just haven’t figured out how to break things off with Cho yet, and I would gladly flaunt you around if we were together.”

“But we’re not together. Every day you promise me that we will be and I have yet to see that happen. I’m starting to believe it will never happen. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to meet my date.”

Ginny hurried out of the room and I let myself fall back onto the bed, breathing in deeply. I wanted Ginny more than anything in the world, but there was more than one thing standing in my way, the first being that Cho was my girlfriend and had been for a fair amount of time. Even if I broke up with Cho I would still have to wait awhile before making Ginny my girlfriend. At least enough time for Cho to move on. I wasn’t much for hurting girls and wouldn’t want Cho to think I was leaving her for another girl, even though it was true I’m sure it would hurt her a lot.

Ginny was also quite a bit younger than me, and Fred, George, and Ron’s sister. I didn’t have anything against the Weasley brothers; I just didn’t want any hard feelings between us if Ginny and I ended up not working out. There were so many things standing in the way of Ginny and me being together, but I was determined to eventually make her mine.

I pushed myself off the bed and made my way to the dance. Upon entering, I saw Cho immediately. She was standing near the corner farthest from the door, talking to Luna. She looked stunning, her long white dress hitting the floor. For a moment, I forgot all about Ginny. Luna left Cho’s side, and I’m sure neither one of them saw me. I snuck up behind Cho and wrapped my arms around her waist. I whispered in her ear, “You look beautiful, Ginny.”

I caught myself right after I said it. For the first time since I had started seeing Ginny, I had called Cho the wrong game. Luckily, she giggled and didn’t seem to notice, but from that moment on, Ginny was all I could think about. She was the only thing that crossed my mind while I was dancing with Cho.

I saw her across the dance floor. She seemed to be pouting, but I knew it was her trademark look of jealousy. I knew she would want me to meet her outside, so I nodded in her direction and she headed out of the ball. I danced with Cho until the song was over, and excused myself, saying I had to use the restroom. Cho was staring at some place on the dance floor that I couldn’t quite locate and didn’t seem to mind when I left.

When I stepped outside the ballroom, I saw Ginny sitting on the spiral staircase in the corner and took a seat next to her. I gave her a small smile and she gave me one back.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized.

“I know.”

“I’ve got another good one,” I said in an attempt to break the silence.

“Go for it.”

“What’s the difference between a ginger and a Styrofoam cup?”

“No clue.”

“Burning Styrofoam is bad for the earth.”

She smiled up at me and I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her closer to me.

“It’ll be over soon. I promise.” I said, trying to console her, and I meant it. From that moment, I became determined to prove to Ginny that I wanted to be with her, and I would do anything to make it happen.

She stood up, kissing me, and went back into the ball. I followed a few minutes later and saw Cho standing on the dance floor, looking slightly distraught. I walked up to her and the moment she saw me, tears began forming in her eyes.

“Tell me the truth, Cedric. Do you want to be with me?”

I couldn’t believe it was going to happen like this, but I responded in the only way I saw fit. “No.”

Cho stood for a moment, clearly taking in what I had just said. It was only one word, but it was the one word that had brought our relationship down.

She took a deep breath and began shouting at me, “How could you do this to me? I gave you everything and you’re leaving me for that girl. She’s only a third year, Cedric! Do you realize how wrong that is? She’s a little girl and you’re manipulating her, making her think all these things that will never be true. You’re Cedric Diggory. You’ll never be able to commit to just her. You’re going to shatter her heart into a million little pieces, just like you’ve done to me. Just like you’ll do to a thousand girls after her. Think about what you’re doing. Do you really want to be responsible for that? Do you really want to be the one to show this girl that guys are never as good as we think they are, and that they will do or say anything to get you to think and be the way they want? I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. I am going to walk out of this room right now, and after that, I never want to see or speak to you again. Goodbye Cedric.”

Cho stormed out of the ballroom before I even had time to comprehend what she had said. The entire room was staring at me and I had no idea what to do. I began to feel dizzy and walked to the closest chair I could find and sat in it, catching my head in my hands. My head was spinning and I was trying to rationalize the moment in my mind. I was going through everything Cho had said, trying to convince myself that she was wrong. Cho hadn’t really given me everything, but she had given me quite a bit. We had spent a lot of time together laughing and smiling, but we had also had our share of fights too, so it wasn’t like I was ruining a perfect relationship.

Ginny was a third year, so I couldn’t argue with that, but she had been with other guys before me. Dean Thomas had broken her heart just two months before I met her, so even if she and I didn’t work out, it wasn’t like I was destroying her perfect depiction of love. The one thing I knew Cho was wrong about was me. I could commit to Ginny. I had committed to Cho up until the moment I knew I no longer loved her. If I wanted to get technical, I could really blame this whole thing on her. I had tried to break up with her months before I even met Ginny, but she had begged me to stay with her, saying she couldn’t live without me. I felt awful for making her cry like that so I stayed with her. After that, things were different between us, and when I met Ginny I fell in love with her almost immediately.

I knew the chances of me and Ginny lasting forever were very slim, and I had no intentions of breaking her heart, but I wasn’t sure if I was willing to risk it.

I saw Ginny out of the corner of my eye, pushing her way through the dance floor, towards me. She sat down next to me and I looked up at her, attempting to give her a smile, and put my head back in my hands.

“Are you okay?”

She sounded so sincere, but the only response I could muster up was, “Yeah.”

We sat for a few moments in awkward silence. I had no idea what to say to her. I wanted to be with her more than anything, but Cho had gotten in my head. She made me certain that I was no good for Ginny and I was only going to hurt her. I was fighting through my thoughts, trying to decide if I should end things right there.

Ginny finally spoke, “I’ve got a good one.”

“Go ahead,” I sat up in my chair, stretching myself out.

“What do you call a ginger whose phone rings on a Saturday night?”

I knew this one and smiled, “Shocked.”

“That’s not fair! You already know all of them.”

That was all it took to make me realize how much I loved her, “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to.”

I stood up from my chair and walked out onto the dance floor, Ginny following behind me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and she wrapped hers around my neck.

“This feels right,” I said, kissing her forehead.

“I told you it would.”

“I’m so sorry Ginny. I never should have put you through all that. I should’ve been with you right from the start.”

“I know, Cedric. It’s alright. I forgive you and I’m sure you’ll make up for it.”

“I promise I will,” I said, and I meant it more than anything I had ever said.

“What do you think everyone will say about us?”

“Well they’ll probably hate me and I’m sure they’ll call you a ginger whore. Nothing out of the ordinary,” I winked at her, knowing it would make her melt.

“You are just ever so charming.”

“I love you, Ginny.”

“I love you, Cedric”

I pulled her closer to me, feeling the warmth of her body against mine, “Just wait a little while for everything to die down and I promise I’ll make you my girlfriend.”