A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. Enjoy!
Friday morning, Ginny Weasley woke up to a feeling that the world was not right. There were a few reasons why. The pantsuit in the open closet was still there and the shower was clear of humidity, evident that it had not been used. These two imbalances led to the biggest imbalance of them all. Snoring on the pillow beside Ginny, was Hermione Granger.
Exactly why this was such a cataclysmic event was that Hermione Granger did not sleep in on Fridays. Or any day, really. She got up promptly at six every morning and left for work an hour later, even though she wasn't technically supposed to be there until eight. Some days, the only glimpse Ginny had of Hermione in the morning was her running out the door, giving her a hasty kiss on the cheek.
So Ginny knew something was terribly off, as it was nearing a quarter to seven and Hermione was showing no signs of life. She peered down at her girlfriend, and noticed that Hermione was unusually pale, and she had visible beads of sweat dripping down her face. Her skin was hot to the touch. She was also tossing and turning, something Ginny hadn't consciously noticed, but now understood why her back felt bruised, as if it had been assaulted by Hermione's pointy elbows. She smiled grimly at the brunette. She got up to make breakfast and flooed Hermione's office that she wasn't coming in, and then her own office to tell her boss that she wasn't coming in either.
Hermione Granger woke up with a headache and a scratchy feeling in her throat. She coughed, which only made it worse. She couldn't breathe through her nose, and her breathing itself was uneven and slightly wheezy. She forced herself to sit up. She glanced at the clock, and was jolted enough to jump out of bed. As she frantically tried to brush her mane and of hair and get dressed, she was thinking, how did I oversleep? I can't believe Ginny didn't wake me up!
Hermione entered the kitchen to find Ginny at the table, drinking coffee. Hermione cleared her throat before speaking.
"Ginny."
Ginny turned around, smiling. "Good morning. Er, Hermione, why are you half dressed?"
"I was in a hurry because I slept past my alarm! Why didn't you wake me up?"
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Because you're not going to work."
"What do you mean?" Hermione demanded.
Ginny sighed. "You're sick, Hermione, or can you not notice?"
"I'm not sick!" Hermione exclaimed, coughing.
Ginny smirked, cocking her head. "Then why are you clutching the doorframe for dear life?"
Hermione was indeed holding onto the doorframe to keep herself stable.
"Hermione, go back to bed. I'll bring you breakfast in a little while, alright?"
"No, I'm not sick, I'm just having a stressful morning."
Ginny sighed again. So they were going to do this the hard way, were they? She grabbed Hermione's wrist, and promptly dragged her to their bedroom, Hermione jerking her hand away to no prevail.
They then stood at the foot of the bed, Ginny with her arms crossed, waiting. Hermione didn't budge, she just stood there, staring Ginny down. Ginny sighed again, and got out her wand, and all in unison, the covers moved aside, Hermione was thrown in the air, her suit was switched to her pajamas, and she was thrown back into bed, the covers returned tightly. Hermione growled at the redhead, who had smiled at her before leaving the room. Hermione decided that by sheer will, she wouldn't fall asleep. She wasn't about to give in to Ginny and her tortuous ways. However, now that she was lying down, her headache had ceased, her dizziness subsided, and she was feeling quite relaxed.
Ginny opened the door to the bedroom cautiously. She put the breakfast tray on the nightstand, and knelt down to Hermione's level. She was fast asleep, her curly hair sprawled all around her. Ginny pushed a strand away from her face tenderly. She loved watching Hermione sleep, because it seemed to be the only time the brunette was truly relaxed. At that moment, Hermione started stirring. She opened her eyes to gaze blearily at Ginny.
"I wasn't asleep, I was just resting my eyes."
Ginny laughed. "I believe you. I bet you're starving. I made scrambled eggs and oatmeal, and I put raisins in the middle and apricots along the border, just the way you like it."
Hermione sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Thank you, Ginny."
As she ate, she came to a realization.
"Ginny, don't you have to go to work?"
Ginny, who was seated at the foot of the bed, shook her head. "No, I called in sick so I could take care of you."
"I'm not a child, Ginny," Hermione said irritably. "I'm completely capable of taking care of myself."
"And yet, I had to force you back to into bed," Ginny countered. Hermione blushed.
"I wasn't being childish, I was being a mature woman focused on her career."
Ginny raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.
When Hermione finished eating, Ginny took the tray back to the kitchen, and returned a moment later with a flu potion. Hermione groaned when she saw the bottle.
"I don't want to take medicine," she whined. Ginny ignored her, pouring out a cupful.
"Ginny, that stuff is revolting!"
"You don't have a choice," Ginny replied. She held out the cup, but Hermione made no move to grab it.
"The sooner you drink it, the sooner you'll feel better."
Hermione heaved a sigh, grabbed the cup, and drank it in one gulp, scowling at it.
Ginny smirked. "Good girl."
Hermione glared at her, but her expression softened when Ginny gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"I have to finish a few reports, so I'll check on you later, okay? Try and get some more sleep."
"Okay," Hermione said quietly.
For the next few hours, the house was silent except for the scratching of Ginny's quill as she wrote her accounts of the most recent Quidditch matches for the Daily Prophet. A glance at the clock reminded her to prepare lunch. She soon made her way upstairs with a tray that had a steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup and a glass of orange juice.
Hermione was snuggled deeper into her covers, eyes closed, but by the fidgety movements of her shoulders and legs, Ginny could tell she was awake. Hermione opened one eye at the sound of her footsteps and sat up.
"Ginny, I feel much better," she informed her, as Ginny set the tray down. "My throat doesn't hurt anymore, and I can breathe!"
"Lovely, perhaps I'll allow you to get out of bed," Ginny replied.
Hermione sighed. "Can't I go to work? I've been a good patient all morning."
"Hermione, your department will survive one day without you" Ginny laughed. "Why don't you be grateful for the day off instead of complaining?"
"Unlike you, I like my job," Hermione responded, taking a large gulp of juice. "I look forward to it every morning."
"I like my job!" Ginny insisted. Sure, it wasn't the same as being on the pitch and actually playing, but she commanded a lot of respect as an correspondent, as much as Hermione at least.
"The point is I like working" Hermione continued. "I don't like staying home."
"I know, but what's the harm in staying in the rest of the day?" Ginny said, shrugging. "We could play chess, and watch a movie later."
Hermione shrugged. "As long as I'm not stuck in bed."
Ginny soon remembered why she and Hermione never played chess, despite owning a chessboard. They both were dreadful at it. At some point, Ginny reduced the board to dust, frustrated, even more so when Hermione giggled at her.
Later, evening found them curled up on the couch, watching an incredibly sappy muggle movie. Ginny couldn't recall the name, but she wasn't paying attention regardless, her focus on Hermione. This had been a great day. It had been a while since she and Hermione had just stayed home together, not doing anything.
"Back to the usual grind tomorrow," she murmured.
Hermione turned to her. "What?"
"I didn't say anything."
"Yes, you did," Hermione insisted.
Ginny shook her head. "It's nothing."
"So why won't you tell me?"
"Ugh, all I said was we'd be going back to our usual routine tomorrow."
"What's wrong with our usual routine?" Hermione demanded
"Nothing!"
"Then why are you upset about it?"
"I'm not."
"Ginny!"
"Hermione!"
Hermione groaned. She stared at Ginny. "What's wrong?"
Ginny fidgeted. "Nothing, it's just-"
"Yeah?"
"I just wish our routine wasn't so busy."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, we hardly ever spend time together like this. You're always at the Ministry or working on some piece of legislation or another, and it's just really aggravating," Ginny said, the words flowing freely. She wished she hadn't said it. Sure, it bothered her, but she didn't want to make Hermione feel bad.
While Ginny was monologuing, Hermione was deep in thought. Ginny was right, her career had completely taken over, and that was her fault.
"I didn't realize I was a complete workaholic," she said. Ginny snorted.
"Hermione, you've always been like this. I'm glad you love your job, really, it's not-"
"I've been neglecting you!" Hermione exclaimed. "And you took such good care of me today. Ginny Weasley, I don't deserve you at all."
"No, you don't," Ginny said dryly, not meeting her gaze. Her face was burning as red as her hair. Hermione pulled her closer, so her head was on her chest.
"I'll try to tone it down, I promise" Hermione whispered, running a hand through her red hair. Ginny leaned up to kissed her.
"I'd like that."
"You know what? This movie is really boring," Hermione murmured, kissing her back.
"What would you rather do?" Ginny inquired, looking up at her with barely concealed confusion. Hermione grinned mischievously.
"I think you know." Within seconds, she had Ginny on her back.
"Come on, you were sick today," Ginny protested half-heartedly, as Hermione assaulted her neck.
"But I'm feeling so much better," Hermione whispered back, shifting from Ginny's neck to her lips.
"Mmf- Hermione, stop, I'm going to fall off the couch!"
Too late. The pair came crashing down to the floor, effectively killing the mood.
Hermione sat up, rubbing her head. "We really need carpet."
"Yes, yes we do" Ginny groaned, massaging her hip. Hermione slung her arm around Ginny's shoulder.
"I really am sorry, Ginny."
Ginny shook her head. "It's okay, really, I've just missed you, that's all."
"I've missed you too," Hermione said, drooping her head on Ginny's shoulder. "Tell you what, how about we do this every Saturday, when neither of us have to work? You know, watch TV, eat junk food, it'll be our date night."
"That is a brilliant idea," Ginny smiled. Hermione kissed her cheek before getting to her feet.
"I'm going to go order pizza."
Ginny sighed with a grin as Hermione retreated to the phone.
Yes, it was quite a glorious sick day.