"Oh, right, Mom," she said, absentmindedly accepting the letter, "because it's just so easy to pick up the pieces of a broken heart, throw them back together, and chalk this all up to needing a bigger challenge." She refolded the letter and carefully tucked it back into her pocket. She had no idea why she was taking such great care of it when she should really rip it to a billion tiny shreds and toss it in the bin.

"I was good enough for him when he was here at Hogwarts, but since he's graduated and I'm just a seventh year, he suddenly abandons everything we've been through," she said. She could fill the tears coming on again, and before long, she'd choked out another sob. "Mama, I loved him, and he...he...he..." She released an audible sob, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. "He broke my heart."