A/N: Please be patient, everyone, this is my first ever story, and I'm probably a little fragile. I will happily answer to any and all reviews, so leave me a note!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all affiliated with him are unfortunately not mine to own. All characters originated with and belong to JKR, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.
Chapter One
Just friends?
Who would have thought I'd fall in love with the one person I was not allowed to? My best friend in the world, someone who's fun, clever and gorgeous… wait… gorgeous? This was never supposed to happen. I mean, don't get me wrong, we'd always loved each other. But this was not supposed to happen.
Before I get too far ahead of myself, I'm Ginny. Ginny Weasley. The youngest Weasley. The cute one. Always and forever, the cute one who no one really takes seriously because she's too young and too cute and too… I don't really know. Young, I suppose everyone just sees the youngness.
Back to the story.
Ginny and Hermione had always been close. Hermione had always understood Ginny in a way that no one else had ever bothered to. One of the problems with older brothers is that they just don't understand girl problems. Ginny had had other friends, other girl friends, other witch daughters, but nothing like Hermione. They seemed to understand each other on another level. A level that Ginny didn't even know she'd been looking for. Having found it, neither of them could ever let it go.
They talked for hours on end, sneaking away to make sure no one overheard their conversations. Ginny poured out her heart to Hermione and for the first time in her life, received the same kind of out-pouring in return. When things started to change between them, they changed very slowly. Quick hugs before bedtime evolved to sleeping in the same bed, and then to snuggling close while fast asleep. The feeling of fingers against the backs of hands, and then the backs of necks, against ears and cheeks and lips was a slow progression. Boundaries were never pushed, they were just found to not exist.
"Hey Ginny?" Hermione asked, idly tracing designs on the back of Ginny's hand.
"Mmm?"
"I was wondering… have you ever had a friend like this? I mean, have you ever felt close to someone like this?"
"No. Why?" Ginny sat up, pulling her hand away from Hermione and brushing her own hair out of her eyes. She'd always been jealous of Hermione's hair it was so beautifully curly.
"I was just curious. I mean, I've had a couple of close friends, but… it's just… never been like this, you know? I don't really know what it means."
Ginny shrugged. "My philosophy is that if it feels good, it's probably good. I don't think about it much. I just go with how I feel."
Hermione smiled. "I know, Gin. I'm kind of jealous 'cause I've never been able to do that."
"I'll teach you." Ginny said with an impish smile, then reached up and tucked Hermione's hair behind her ear. Hermione immediately went stiff.
"Calm down, you goof. I'm not messing it up."
"I know. I just… I know." Hermione sighed. "C'mon, we'd better get down to supper. The boys will start to worry if we don't."
"I doubt it, frankly," Ginny groused good-naturedly as she got to her feet, and reached down to help Hermione up. She hugged the other girl, hard and quickly, and then started down the stairs from the dormitory.
"Hey, wait a minute," Ginny was brought up short by two strong arms encircling her shoulders. "I want a better hug than that," Hermione whispered in her ear.
"Later," Ginny tried without success to hide her smile, already half-turning in Hermione's arms to hold her close. As Hermione's hair tickled her nose, she giggled and pulled back. Hermione raised an eyebrow at her and Ginny wrinkled her nose.
"I like the smell of your hair, don't get me wrong, but it makes me sneeze if it gets too close." Hermione blushed and stepped back, smoothing out her robes.
"Oh, come off it, Hermione. Let's go down to supper."
"Yeah. Okay."
Supper was, as always, almost a trial. The need to touch each other was overwhelming, but it wasn't exactly a conducive environment. Even touching each other's toes was more or less impossible; there were just too many pairs of feet under the Gryffindor table. Instead, they listened half-heartedly to the boys discuss everything from how Lavender's hair looked today to Snape's impossible Potions essay to whether the weather would be good for the Slytherin versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match this weekend. Neither of the boys noticed that the girls weren't talking to anyone, but seemed almost lost in each other's eyes.
Unbeknownst to any of the four friends, someone else was paying attention.
How could THAT have happened? How had she chosen someone else over him… especially a girl? It was wrong, it was disgusting, it was unheard of. He didn't even want to think about it. Excusing himself politely, Colin Creevy quietly left the table, glancing back at Ginny just once before leaving the Hall altogether.
