A Valentine's card.

Hermione had never gotten a Valentine's card before.

It was confusing and distracting, something she absolutely did not need right now when there were so many tests coming up. She should be studying, learning, cramming, reading, repeating.

Instead, she was staring at the card that sat on her desk, so that when she looked up from her books on magic potions, the history of the use of Portkeys in Ireland or ancient goblin rituals or whatnot, she would see the card. It was a nice enough card, really. The front was bright scarlet, and golden question marks appeared and disappeared at random. The inside said, in gold lettering: "Guess who…"

And Hermione guessed. And guessed. And could not figure out who might have sent it to her. Each guess she made seemed more ridiculous than the last. Ron? No, he was too thick and unromantic to come up with such a card. Harry? But he had Cho already. Seamus? Ernie? Colin? Draco? No, that seemed just too odd to be true. She shuddered at the thought of Draco Malfoy coming towards her with a bunch of red roses in his hands and a lovesick smile on his face. Yuck... She grimaced, and then another thought came to her.

Surely, it can't be from—no, that wasn't possible in any way. She'd have noticed something, right? Shaking her head slightly, she dismissed her errant thoughts. Don't be so ridiculous, Hermione. She doesn't like you. Sighing, she continued her homework.

On top of the tests they had an essay due on the correct wand movements during the Aguamenti spell. "Three foot on how to move your wrist, honestly!" She understood the importance of correct movements, of course, because they could make or break a spell: if done correctly, the spell would be executed as intended. If not, it almost always would end up in something nasty and slimy.

Yet, at this moment she did not care whether you should point your wand upwards during the circular movement or not. She stared at the card again and sighed. " I can't guess who…" She poked the card with her wand and tried to come up with a spell that could reveal whom it was from. She groaned with frustration when her mind came up blank. With a thud she closed her book and stomped off to bed. Stupid card!

—

"Good morning, Hermione!" Ginny sounded too awake and altogether more cheery than any person ought to be this early in the morning. Hermione glared at her through thick eyes.

"…or not. Did you sleep at all, or did you stay up studying all night?"

Hermione helped herself to a cup of tea before answering. "I didn't sleep a wink last night, but it was not because of late-night studying."

"Then what was it?" Ginny sounded genuinely worried.

Hermione chewed her bread, decided she wasn't hungry after all and put down the rest of it on her plate.

"I received a Valentine's Day card," she whispered, afraid the occupants of the Slytherin table would overhear. I'd die of embarrassment if Pansy Parkinson found out!

Ginny raised her eyebrows and said "Well, that's nice! So why aren't you happy about it?" She thought for a moment, and with a overly dramatic look whispered, "It's not from Malfoy, is it? Because that would just be… eww!"

Hermione giggled at Ginny's funny face. "No, it's not from Malfoy. In fact, I haven't got the foggiest idea whom it is from! It is incredibly frustrating! I spent all night thinking about every boy I know, going over in my head and imagining them sending me this card. And all of them felt wrong! I don't know who would send me a card, but someone did."

She took a sip of her tea, looking over at Ginny who was scrutinizing her plate of eggs with an intense look on her face. Suddenly, Hermione gasped.

"I got it!"

Ginny whipped her head up, a startled look in her eyes.

"There must have been a mistake! Yes! The card wasn't meant for me. After all, I've never gotten a card before, why would someone start now?"

To be honest, she could not imagine someone liking her enough to send her a card. She was a 'bossy know-it-all', or so people kept telling her.

Ginny bit her lip and fiddled with a napkin. Hermione was truly down about this, that much was clear from the look in her eyes.

"Of course that card was meant for you! Owls don't deliver mail to the wrong person, now do they?"

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again when she realised there was no counter-argument. Owls indeed did not deliver to the wrong person.

"Then… it must be a joke! Someone sent me this so they could laugh at me, to see me freaking out about it! This is so unfair!"

Hermione ranted on, feeling worse about the whole situation every minute. Her bottom lip started to tremble. She couldn't believe she almost fell for it, too! Honestly, what was wrong with people these days, to play such a horrible trick on her! She almost wanted Malfoy to be the sender now, just so she could legitimately smack him.

She couldn't stay there in the Great Hall any longer. She suddenly felt as if all eyes were on her, and could imagine the sender poking his friends to laugh at her.

"I can't… I have to go now." Teary-eyed, she gathered up her things and hurried out, without glancing back. Ginny hurriedly got up as well, "No Hermione wait—". But Hermione didn't hear her anymore.

—

How could it have gone so horribly wrong? This was the most stupid thing she had ever done. She messed up everything before there even was anything to mess up. Frustrated, Ginny looked out over the Quidditch pit. The cold February air blew her hair in her face, chilling the tears on her cheeks.

This was not supposed to happen. All right, maybe she hadn't thought her plan totally through. She was impulsive after all, and as soon as she thought of sending a card to Hermione, she conjured the card she had in mind and rushed off to the Owlery. If she had spend a few more minutes, she might have realised that this was probably not the best way to let Hermione know she had more than friendly feelings for her.

For quite some time now, she had been having these thoughts and feelings for the older girl. Sometimes, when she was awake at night, she thought about what it would be like to hold her, to kiss her, to taste— She blushed bright red as she remembered some of her more vivid dreams about the girl, and miserably whispered to herself "Oh stop it, you stupid girl, it's never going to happen now."

She hadn't missed the fact that Hermione seemed to think a boy had sent the card, before she came to the conclusion that it was a joke. Granted, Hermione had never given any indication that she was attracted to girls, and Ginny hadn't told her she liked girls yet either. She wanted to; so many times she was on the verge of telling her. But every time, she chickened out. She was too afraid of what would happen if Hermione didn't accept her. She just couldn't bear the thought of the rejection she'd feel. Even if she didn't feel the same about her, Hermione was still her best friend and she'd be terribly lonely without her. "Oh Merlin, I have ruined everything now…"

—

Hermione spent the rest of the day glumly going through the motions of classes. Her face burned with embarrassment every time she thought about the card. She could hardly believe she had thought it was an actual serious card, and not a joke. How stupid was she, to think someone would actually send her a real Valentine's Day card.

Once or twice, Harry and Ron were looking at her, surprised when she didn't raise her hand to answer a teacher's question in class. But they just shrugged and thought nothing of it. After all, they were all teenagers and weren't they all allowed to have an off-day every once in a while?

She spent lunch and dinner tucked away in a hidden corner of the library, not feeling up to being around too many people. And certainly not all those cuddly couples which seemed to have come out of hiding in the wake of Valentine's declarations of love. She tried to distract herself with homework and studying, even reading parts of Hogwarts: A History backwards to keep her thoughts away from that stupid card and her stupid reaction and those stupid people and her stupid friends.

Although, now that she thought about it, she only included Harry and Ron in that last category. Were they really so oblivious that they didn't notice something was going on with her? Well, she probably wouldn't have told them the truth anyway, had they asked.

Ginny was not in the stupid friends category, of course. She could never be stupid, Hermione thought as a vision of her redheaded friend brought a smile to her face. And she's so beautiful, too. I wish I could tell her how I feel about her.

"Hermione? Are you in here?"

Ron's voice carried through the library, and she angrily thought about her stupid friend disturbing the peace of the sacred hall of books. She saw him coming around the corner, and glared at him.

"Sorry, 'Mione," he at least had the grace to look mildly ashamed of himself. "It's just, have you seen Ginny at all today? She skipped lunch and dinner, that's just not right!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at that last statement. Typically Ron, to only think about food. At the same time, she wondered why Ginny would skip mealtimes. Food was her favourite thing in the world, tied with Quidditch probably, and she wouldn't miss it, unless something was wrong with her.

Annoyed at being disturbed by Ron, she pointedly said: "I don't know, Ronald. I was not in the Great Hall during lunch and dinner either. Unlike some people, I am actually taking my education seriously, and was here studying."

Ron's cheeks turned a colour that matched his hair, and muttered something about 'still got weeks left to study'.

"Why don't you ask Harry to look at the Map?"

"Well err… that's kind of… I dunno… he spends all of his time snogging Cho, I can't just march up to him to disentangle them and ask to borrow the Map, can I?"

Hermione let out a snort, and said "Fair point. But anyway, sorry, I also don't know where she can be. Now, please leave the library -quietly- and let me finish this essay."

Ron hung his head and left the library, as quietly as a gangly teenager could possibly do, which unfortunately was not quiet enough, as he got a good scolding from Madam Pince on his way out.

Ginny, why would you miss lunch AND dinner? What's going on? And where are you? I should look for her, just to make sure she's all right.

—

It was getting dark, and even colder now. Ginny huddled in a corner of the Quidditch stands, conjuring a small blue fire in a glass jar. Thank you, Hermione, for teaching me this spell! She smiled sadly at the Bluebell fire, thinking about her friend. She was too upset to go to her classes, and had spent all day in the Quidditch stands, trying to hide away from the world and from the girl who held her heart but who would never know.

She was sure she'd get into trouble with the teachers for missing her classes, but she also knew she was top of most of her classes, and most teachers seemed to forgive their top students for these kinds of things. She'd probably have to do some extra assignments here and there; she knew she deserved some kind of punishment for skipping a full day of classes. But she really didn't feel up to facing people today, the heartbreak she felt over Hermione's obvious lack of interest in her was raw and harsh. She cried more today than she probably had the last couple of years combined. She knew she had to return to Gryffindor Tower before curfew, but that would give her some hours still. It's not like anyone will miss me. Fresh tears came to her eyes. Oh bugger, more crying.

She sniffled and inhaled deeply, to clear away the tears. She would just have to bottle it up, continue as if nothing is wrong, get through the days, and try to forget about her crush on the most wonderful, bright, kind, girl she ever met. I can do this. Oh bloody hell no I can't!

Just as she was going to start bawling her eyes out again, she heard footsteps approaching. She looked up to see—

—

"Ginny! There you are! I was looking all over the Castle for you. What are you doing here in the cold and dark? Have you been here all day? I was so worried for you. Didn't you eat anything? Oh dear, have you been crying?" The questions rushed from Hermione's mouth as soon as she saw Ginny sitting in her little corner all by herself, looking absolutely miserable and cold. She quickly came over to her, and dropped down on her knees next to her.

Ginny was stunned by all the questions, and couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Hermione had found her and was so obviously concerned for her. She blinked at the girl, and she couldn't find any words to say. Instead, she silently watched as Hermione came closer and wrapped her arms around her, trying to warm the younger girl up.

"Please, tell me what's wrong." Hermione whispered quietly in her ear.

Ginny took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry again but failed. She quietly sobbed onto Hermione's shoulder, trying to draw comfort from the older girl. It might just be the last time she'd be willing to hold me like this, she thought.

"Ginny, please, whatever it is, tell me. I am your friend, I want to help you if you'd let me."

Sod it, I have to tell her. I can't go on like this. Ginny drew away slightly, still in those warm arms, and looked into concerned brown eyes. Slowly, she started speaking.

"That is exactly the problem, Hermione. You are my friend." She made deliberate eye contact, hoping she could convey her message without actually having to say anything. Alas, Hermione was looking at her blankly.

"Yes… I am your friend, and you are mine. How can that be the problem? Y-you don't want to break off our friendship, do you?" Hermione's voice rose slightly at the end of her sentence, worry clear in her voice as panic rose in her chest. No, I can't live without you Ginny! Please say that this is not what you meant! She started to withdraw her arms, thinking that Ginny didn't want her arms around her shoulders anymore.

"Oh Merlin's beard, no, that is so not what I meant!" Ginny hurriedly said, gripping Hermione's arms so she couldn't get very far away from her.

Relieve washed over Hermione. Thank Merlin!

"Then… why is it a problem that we are friends?"

Ginny looked away, gathering her thoughts. She made to speak several times, but after opening her mouth, only let out her breath and closed her mouth again. Some bloody Gryffindor you are! Where is that courage that you're supposed to have? Tell her! Steeling her nerves, she opened her mouth again and looked Hermione in the eyes.

"The problem is… that friends… is all we'll ever be… while I'd really like to be… more than just friends…" There, she finally got it out. Her cheeks were as red as her hair, her heart was thumping loudly in her chest, and she was fighting the urge to run very, very, far away from here. I hear Mexico is nice this time of year.

Hermione continued to just look at her. Surely, she didn't hear that correctly. Did Ginny really just say she'd like to be more than friends with her? Her lack of sleep was probably just catching up with her; she couldn't possibly have heard that right. Ginny doesn't like me like that! She just couldn't get her mouth to cooperate with her brain, and stuttered out, "Uh… w-what…"

Panicking, Ginny stood up quickly, trying to get as far away from the other girl as possible. She obviously made her uncomfortable with her confession.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I shouldn't have told you that, just forget I said anything, never mind, it was stupid," she babbled rapidly, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow her whole. Her face burned with embarrassment. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Finally, Hermione's brain kicked into gear. She did say what I thought she said! Now say something back to her, she's over there kicking herself and you are just sitting here gaping like a fish! Bloody hell woman, get yourself together! Quickly, she stood up and went to Ginny.

"Ginny… I… I have to tell you something too," She put her hand on Ginny's shoulder, turning the younger girl around so they were facing each other. Ginny looked at her with an equal share of interest and fear in her eyes, then looked down again and spoke softly.

"Are you disgusted, Hermione? I'm sorry, I never meant for you to find out… I wished these feelings would just go away, but that's not happening. And I understand if you don't want to be friends any more… I'll just have to get over it. And I'm sorry about the card, too. I didn't mean to bring you so much anguish. I just wanted you to know there was someone out there who was thinking of you as more than a know-it-all bookworm, someone who appreciates you for the brilliant, wonderful person you are. I didn't think it would backfire so spectacularly… Obviously, I didn't think at all. It was incredibly stupid, I am incredibly stupid, I can never do anything right…"

Hermione could hardly believe all she was hearing. Ginny sent the card?! And why was she putting herself down so much? Couldn't she see what a amazing girl she was? She put her hand on Ginny's cheek and turned her face so she could look into her eyes.

"Now you listen to me, Ginny. You are not stupid. Okay, so the thing with the card didn't turn out quite the way you thought it would, but don't you see…" she trailed off, uncertainly. She took a breath, and tried again: "If you are stupid, then I am stupid as well. Don't you see that I feel the same? I just never thought you would feel that way, too. The thought that you could have sent the card… it crossed my mind, but I didn't dare give myself any hope. I never got any clues from you that you might like me more than just as your best friend. I didn't want to get my hopes up, thinking it might be you, and then experience so much heartache when it turned out you didn't send the card after all. I'm sorry, as well. I should not have jumped to conclusions so fast. Can you forgive me?"

Ginny blinked several times, having a hard time wrapping her head around what Hermione was telling her. "Forgive you? Of course you silly woman, you did nothing wrong! I should be the one to ask for forgiveness, for sending you that stupid card!" She hugged Hermione close to her, burying her nose in her hair and feeling op top of the world. She likes me too! I can't bloody believe it!

Hermione felt as if a huge burden was lifted from her shoulders, and finally started laughing. She drew back to look Ginny in the eye. She couldn't stop smiling, looking at Ginny happily. "Oh I don't know, look at us now! If not for that card, we wouldn't be here, together. Maybe that card wasn't so stupid after all…"