"You love her, don't you?" Harry asked. Hermione was watching Ginny, who was currently involved in a chess match with Dean.
"Don't be ridiculous, Harry." Hermione said, turning back to her essay. "Me, love Ginny? In case you've forgotten, I'm going with Ernie Macmillian to Hogsmeade this weekend."
"Doesn't mean you don't love her." Harry countered, trying to peek at the ending Hermione was working on.
"It means exactly that! Honestly, can imagine?" Hermione rolled her eyes, though she knew that Harry wasn't, by any means, convinced. And was she convinced? Did she love Ginny? Of course she did, they'd been close since Hermione's first visit to the Burrow. They were, as far as Hermione was concerned, the best of girl friends. But was that enough? Was it enough to keep that limit on her own feelings?
"Rubbish." Hermione muttered, dipping her quill in the ink pot. Across the table from her, Harry chuckled to himself.
- - -
The next evening, Hermione cornered Harry as he was trouping back to the castle after Quidditch practice. "Just because you think you know something that I have yet to face doesn't mean you do. I fully intend to deal with the fact that what you think you know may, or may not, happen."
Harry raised his eyebrows, ever confused, but said nothing. Instead he merely nodded and grinned, something he'd found to work in the past when Hermione went off on one of her spiels, and tried to keep pace with her as they made their way back into the castle. They sat down together at the Gryffindor table, and Hermione dished them both soup and rolls, though she did so while glaring. Harry, sensing a blow-up, tried to hurry through his chicken soup as fast as he could.
"Could you be any more disgusting? Honestly, you and Ronald are worse than heathens." Hermione said scathingly. "And I don't appreciate your grievous manners, especially in front of a lady. Have you no tact?"
Harry, knowing that any thing he said would only set Hermione off further, shrugged.
"Oh, nothing to say? Typical! You can't even defend yourself, when I'm being so obviously difficult and...well, bitchy!"
At that moment Ron showed up, kissed Harry on the cheek, and sat beside him. "Hermione, if you love her so much, why don't you just tell her? I'm sure she'd leave Dean in a flash."
Hermione gave a famous tut and stood from the table. "Oh, if only we all lived in your prefect world, Ronald Billius Weasley! If Ginny would just brush off Dean at the drop of a hat all of our lives would be much simpler, wouldn't they?" And she turned on her heel, arms folded, and stalked off, nose in the air.
"Well, they'd be more quiet, at least." Harry said, putting his arm around Ron.
--
The next morning, after break, Hermione was in the bathroom, scrutinizing her appearance in the spotted mirror. Curly hair pulled into a clip, in a wild attempt to contain it, face void of make up, shirt neatly pressed, Prefect badge pinned just below her collar. She was many things, she decided. Her face, while mostly plain, was not entirely uninteresting, and her hair, while at times ruthlessly unmanageable, gave her what she supposed was a spark of personality. Intelligent, possibly clever. Studious, academically inclined. And...yes, she was, very truly, in love.
She knew that Ginny wouldn't want to leave the comfort of a relationship with Dean. He was tall and handsome, quite funny, caring. And he was acceptable to bring home to Arthur and Molly. Ron and Harry may have gotten their approval, but Ginny was their only daughter, not to mention their youngest child, their sweet baby.
And Ginny, herself, who knew if she even liked women? But perhaps it would be for Ginny the way it was for Hermione. Hermione didn't see herself as a lesbian...she loved men and women alike, and when her interest was piqued, she was simply attracted to that person. But the world wasn't as pretty a picture as Hermione liked to think, and silver lining very rarely existed.
But though Hermione Granger was many things, she was not a coward. And it was time to face the fear of telling Ginny what was in her heart. And if Ginny never wanted to speak to her again, that was something she'd do well do find out now, rather than later, wasn't it? And on the other hand, if Ginny was able to detach herself from Dean, and cultivate a relationship with her, then her efforts would be well worth it, right?
"Alright then, Hermione, let's get on with it! Talking to our self over bathroom sinks isn't going to get us any closer to her, now is it?"
"Talking to yourself again?" A voice behind her said.
Hermione's throat constricted slightly as Ginny, lovely as ever, walked into the bathroom and stood at the sink next to her.
"Um...hi." Hermione managed, after taking a few short breaths.
"Hi." Ginny replied, smiling. Hermione melted a bit; Ginny's smile was very nearly breathtaking. "Ron...he came to talk to me. Actually, he and Harry practically ambushed me after breakfast."
"Oh god..." Hermione mumbled, covering her eyes with her hand. She knew they meant well, but she was going to kill them. Mince them. Chop them up, grind them to a paste, and serve them as dip.
Ginny reached up and pulled Hermione's hand gently away from her face. "I'm glad they did. I've been meaning to talk to you for sometime, 'Mione."
Hermione's eyes widened. "You have?"
Ginny nodded. "Oh yes. You see, I've been thinking of calling it off with Dean."
Hermione's heart nearly stopped, and she sucked in a breath of anticipation. Could this really be true? If Ginny was free of Dean, it would be that much easier to get on with her.
"And, when I started feeling like maybe it was time to move on, I could only think of one thing that I would want to move on to, if you follow me." Ginny stepped closer to Hermione, who looked into warm, cinnamon eyes and smiled.
"I asked myself, would she even want me? Would she think I'd gone mad, or that I was disgusting? Then Harry saw me watching you one day, while you were in the library with Ernie. And he asked me,"
"You love her, don't you?" Hermione broke in.
Ginny nodded. "Exactly. And I thought about it. And the truth, Hermione, is that I truly, deeply, love you."
"You do?"
"I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true." Ginny replied, pulling Hermione towards her. Their hips were pressed together, and in that perfect moment, Hermione ran her fingers through Ginny's soft hair.
"I love you too, Ginny."
"Really?"
Hermione kissed her, long and slow, savoring the delicious feeling of holding Ginny, of being so close to her.
"Desperately." Hermione whispered, her eyes closed, her heart, for the first time, utterly content. She made a mental note to, once Harry and Ron were neatly placed next to the vegetable tray, thank them.