A.N: This is the first story I've ever written. I much prefer reading over writing but after reading some excellent stories on this site, I decided to give it a shot. Please review and let me know how my first story fared. Any comments on continuity, grammar and flow would be greatly appreciated. Though it hardly needs to be said, I do not own Harry Potter. This story has slight femslash. If that's not your thing, please use the back button on your browser. Thank you!

Ginny's Confession

Number twelve Grimmauld Place had to be the most disgusting house Hermione had ever set foot in. Years of neglect had taken their toll on the once distinguished home. Now that it was headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, a lot of work needed to be done to make the place habitable. She, along with Ginny, Ron and the rest of the Weasley family, had been working for a week now cleaning out the filth. Harry would hopefully be arriving soon from his aunt and uncle's house.

From the exterior, number twelve looked to be an average townhouse. On the inside, it was much larger than one would have imagined. There were so many rooms to clean that it seemed an impossible task. But the number of rooms did have its advantages. When Hermione visited with the Weasleys at the Burrow, she usually shared a room with Ginny. At Grimmauld Place, there was no need to share rooms because there was plenty of space for everyone.

Time was counting down to the end of the summer holiday. Hermione would be starting her fifth year at Hogwarts. Hermione was eager to get back to school and of course, the library.

With only a week of holiday left, everyone was in a frenzy to finish cleaning. Not wanting to interfere with the progress, Mrs. Weasley volunteered to pick up the supplies for the new school year at Diagon Alley. Much to her dismay, Ginny was forced to tag along with her mum to speed things along.

"But mum, why do I have to go?" griped Ginny.

"Ginerva Molly Weasley, you will do as I ask." said Mrs. Weasley. "Is it too much for a mother to expect her children to help out once in a while?"

As Mrs. Weasley turned her back to gather her traveling cloak, Ginny dramatically rolled her eyes. Hermione did her best to stifle a giggle.

"Have fun Ginny!" Hermione said with a wink.

They each took a handful of floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and were gone.

Giggling to herself, Hermione walked back up the stairs to resume her cleaning. She walked past Ginny's room and heard a faint mumbling sound coming from within. She poked her head in only to find Kreacher picking through the desk drawers and wardrobe. Even though he referred to her as "the mudblood" every time he saw her, Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was undoubtedly looking for trinkets he could save from the garbage bin. Every time the Order tried to dispose of things in the house, Kreacher would come along moping about his late mistress and salvage what he could.

When Kreacher noticed Hermione had come into the room, he heaved a dramatic sigh and started to shuffle toward the door. She stepped aside and let him pass, giving him a sympathetic look as he turned the corner. Hermione surveyed the room and decided she had better put things right again before Ginny got back and saw how out of place everything was. She walked up to the desk and started pushing the drawers back into place. As she was doing so, she noticed a sleek black leather bound book on the desktop. The lower right corner of the cover was emblazoned with the initials G.M.W. in a delicate golden script.

Hermione picked up the small book and ran her hands over it. She was actually a bit surprised that Ginny would keep a diary, after the incident in her first year at Hogwarts with Tom Riddle's diary.

Her sense of propriety told Hermione that she should simply finish putting the room back in order and leave. However, her curiosity about the contents of Ginny's diary was growing.

Though Hermione primarily associated with a different Weasley, she and Ginny spent a fair amount of time in each other's company. They had become fast friends after the diary incident. Ginny needed someone to help her cope with what had happened and Hermione never really had another girl to talk to. Lately, it seemed, Ginny was becoming a bit more distant in her interaction with Hermione. Though they talked just as much as they ever had, it seemed like Ginny's mind was always elsewhere. Hermione wondered if she had done something to cause her to act differently toward her but when she brought it up one day, Ginny brushed it off like it was nothing.

"Ginny, is everything ok?" Hermione asked, concern showing on her face.

"Of course," replied Ginny. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it just seems like you haven't been yourself lately, Gin," she said. "Whenever we sit and talk, you seem like you're a million miles away."

"Oh Hermione, you're worrying over nothing," Ginny replied with a smile. "I'm perfectly fine."

"If you're sure then," said Hermione with a slight frown on her face.

Ginny smiled again. "I'm glad you're looking out for me 'Mione but like I said, I'm fine."

Hermione hadn't been convinced. Ginny said everything was fine but it still seemed like she wasn't telling the whole story. Her diary would probably hold the real answer to Hermione's question.

She tried to rationalize prying into her friend's private thoughts. She knew it wasn't right to snoop but reasoned that it was for purely educational purposes. She would only read a page or two just to find out what was really going on.

Hermione opened the small book to an entry dated one week ago.

Dear Diary,

Sorry it's been a while since I've written. I really should take more time to write but with mum breathing down our necks to get this place cleaned up, it's been hard to find a moment to even breathe. The only good thing about the cleaning is that it has been a good distraction. It's been difficult to focus on anything with so many things running through my head.

For every day that passes, I feel like I'm falling deeper in love. I so desperately want to tell her how I feel but I know it's not right. Hermione is my best friend and a girl, for that matter. I couldn't bear it if she found out how I feel and thought I was some sort of freak or something. Girls aren't supposed to fall in love with other girls... Right?

Everyone thinks I've got a thing for Harry. Sure, I was totally infatuated with him when I first met him; who wouldn't be? It would be easier to just let people believe that.

I just can't stop thinking about her. When she walks into the room, I feel as if all my troubles disappear. Everything else fades away and all I see is her. Some might look at her and not be able to see past her bookish exterior. When I look at her, I see grace and beauty. If she ever knew what her seemingly innocent touches do to me…

Hermione's hands were trembling as she read the words on the page. She couldn't believe what she was reading. Ginny Weasley was in love with her. Her heart pounded in her chest. She had never really given much thought to sexuality; she was usually too preoccupied with her studies to actually think about things like that. Now that the issue was at hand, the idea of being attracted to another girl didn't seem to bother her. She figured gender didn't necessarily matter, so long as the two people involved were devoted to one another.

Hermione was so wrapped up in her thoughts about this revelation, she was completely unaware that her redheaded friend had arrived back home from Diagon Alley.

Ginny bounded up the stairs, grateful for a chance to get away from her mum after their outing. The door to her room was partly opened, which was strange because she was sure she had closed it before she left. As she pushed the door open the rest of the way, she dropped the bags on her arms to the floor. With a horrified look, she noticed Hermione sitting at her desk, her diary in her lap.

The sound of the shopping bags hitting the floor was enough to bring Hermione out of her trance.

"Ginny," said Hermione in a barely audible whisper. Ginny stared at the diary in her friend's hands.

"Please forgive me!" pleaded Hermione. "I didn't mean to pry. I found Kreacher in here digging through your things and I came in to straighten up. I know I shouldn't have read your diary but…"

Ginny couldn't find the words to speak. It was as if someone had sucked the air right out of her lungs. All she could do was stare blankly ahead. Even if she could, she didn't dare speak for fear she wouldn't be able to hide the emotions she was feeling.

Hermione closed the small book and laid it gently on top of the desk. With shaky legs, she stood and crossed the room to where Ginny was standing. She tentatively reached out and captured Ginny's hand in her own. She was standing close enough that Ginny could feel her breath on her face.

Ginny closed her eyes tightly. The pounding of her heart was echoing inside her head. Having Hermione this close to her was straining her resolve to keep her emotions in check.

"Oh Ginny, why didn't you tell me?" whispered Hermione, as she brought her other hand up to gently stroke her cheek.

Ginny shuddered at the physical contact. She turned her head slightly to press her cheek harder against Hermione's hand.

"No one has ever said things like that about me before," she continued. "I had no idea. I just thought maybe you were upset with me or something and the diary could tell me what was going on."

Ginny opened her eyes and smiled. "Upset with you? Hermione, I could never be upset with you."

Hermione sheepishly smiled back. "I really am sorry for snooping in your diary."

Ginny tried to think of what to say next. Here was the object of her affection, standing right in front of her holding her hand and looking into her eyes. Hermione hadn't run out of the room in disgust after reading about her feelings toward her. Ginny reasoned that was a pretty good sign.

She took a deep breath. "Hermione," she started, "about what you read-"

Hermione cut her off. "I'm not offended Ginny, if that's what you think," she said with a small smile. "It was a bit of a shock, really, but I'm not upset or angry about what I read."

A wave of relief spread over Ginny. When she saw Hermione with the diary in her lap, she feared the worst.

"How long have you felt like this?" the brunette asked.

"For a while now," answered Ginny. "We've always been close but at the start of last year, something had changed."

She raised her head to look into Hermione's eyes. "I'm not exactly sure what triggered the change," she admitted. "It was as though, up until that point, I viewed you through a pair of dirty glasses that blurred my vision," she paused briefly and then continued, "but one day when I put those glasses on again, my vision wasn't fuzzy anymore; it was crystal clear." Ginny gave a warm smile as she squeezed Hermione's hand, which was still wrapped around her own. "With my new eyes, I was able to see things I had been blind to before, things that had really been in front of my face the whole time."

Hermione held her breath as she listened to her friend's confession. She wasn't sure how to feel about all of this. Other than going to the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum in her third year, no one had showed any interest in her romantically before. Hell, it took Ron two years to realize she was a girl.

And yet here she was, standing in front of her best friend, listening to her words of love. With watery eyes, Hermione gave the redhead a small smile. She was absolutely speechless after hearing Ginny's confession. Her words having failed her, she slowly leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to those of her friend.

Ginny's eyes went wide with disbelief. She felt a strong urge to pinch herself to be sure she wasn't dreaming. By the time her brain registered what was happening, Hermione pulled away. She hadn't expected the brunette to kiss her; it caught her completely off guard.

"I don't know what came over me," said Hermione, her voice shaking. "I couldn't think of anything to say and then I… well, I didn't know… and it just felt…" Hermione sighed. "I needed to kiss you."

Ginny's heart sank. She hadn't wanted Hermione to feel obligated to kiss her. "Hermione, I didn't say the things I did for you feel like you had to kiss me," she said. "I wasn't expecting it."

Hermione shook her head. "You didn't make me feel like that, Gin," she said. "I kissed you because I wanted to. It felt right."

Ginny smiled at her best friend. She couldn't believe what had just transpired. She had never imagined that she would actually feel Hermione's lips on her own. The thought of it made warmth course through her body.

"So what does this mean?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know," Hermione replied honestly. "Maybe we should just go with the flow and see where it takes us." She squeezed Ginny's hand. "That is, if you want to."

Ginny squeezed her hand back. "There is nothing I would rather do more."