Disclaimer: Though I can pull off an extremely believable Australian accent I cannot however pull off a Chipping Sodbury accent. Therefore I am not Jo and am not making any money off of this.

Though my hair is a nice 6 dollar bottle of auburn red I am not nearly as beautiful as Hayley. Therefore I am not making any money off of this.

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Paramour

Chapter 2: Let the Flames Begin.

Day 30. The day Hermione decided she had to know. Ever since she was a child her burning desire to understand the reason everything occurred was ever present. Asking questions meant getting answers and she never held anything back. Never held herself back from understanding all that she could about life. Her broken heart however she couldn't seem to figure out on her own. She had questions only her ex lover could answer.

Hermione wrote a quick note to Minister Shacklebolt explaining why she couldn't come into work for the next few days. After she received the owl back from him wishing her to get better from her nasty case of the dragon pox she straightened up her flat while pondering how to go about asking the questions that were making her sick.

After taking a long hot shower she dressed in her best looking casual sweater, pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and applied just enough make up to get rid of the large bags ever present below her eyes.

"You will have no idea exactly how bad you broke my bloody heart Ginny. No sodden clue." She spoke to her reflection. With a small smile she grabbed her expandable purse and her wand readying herself to apperate into Ginny's bedroom.

Hermione knew she had to do this. It might be the last time she would ever talk to Ginny. With a brief glance at the clock Hermione visualized the inside of the bedroom she knew Ginny was sleeping soundly in and within seconds appeared with a loud crack in front of the drooling beauty.

Ginny had not gotten up before 6 or 7 pm in at least a month. Her hangovers made the sunlight too harsh for her head to stand. She couldn't stand to see her own reflection, her fragile body or her pale sick face.

Last night in the spirit of moving forward she took her first shower in a month scrubbing herself raw, and made herself a bowl of canned soup. With not much else residing in her empty kitchen it was the most desirable choice she could find. In her quest to go on with life she changed the sheets and washed every piece of clothing she could find in her bedroom. Who she was fooling she was unaware of. But she knew if she didn't try she'd be crawling back to Hermione begging for forgiveness. That completely defeated the point of hurting her to begin with so she had to commit to living without her.

When Hermione arrived she expected her ex to be awakened and angry by her entrance, Ginny was always a light sleeper.

"Maybe it's the empty bottle of fire whiskey on the floor beside her." She thought to herself out loud. Dropping her purse on the table next to her she grabbed the bottle throwing it in the empty waste bin by her desk. From the look of her red swollen face and the small pool of drool on her pillow she doubted the girl went to bed more than 2 or 3 hours ago, most likely crying herself to sleep in her drunken stupor.

"You really are pathetic you know." Hermione spoke to herself. "You can't hate her forever. You love her too fucking much."

Watching Ginny in her drunken sleep state was almost peaceful, in till the redhead moaned and rolled over and out of her rather large bed. Without even attempting to open her eyes in fear of the bright sun streaming through the cracks of her blinders, Ginny not so gracefully made her way to the door and through the hall. It was apparent to the brunette she had gone unseen and should follow the stumbling woman to make sure she reached her destination without falling.

"You're such an idiot Gin." She spoke under her breath tentatively following her severely hung over ex girlfriend. Once she could hear the younger girl throwing up behind a locked bathroom door she decided she best leave her to wash up a bit before announcing her presence.

Sounds of a toilet flushing and a faucet running emitted themselves from behind the door and she could hear the faint hum of the vibrating toothbrush Hermione's parents gave Ginny a few months ago.

"Don't look at me." Hermione could hear from the other side of the door. Not knowing whether Ginny was speaking to her, or the mirror. The witch thought best to stay hidden for the time being and listened through the door intently.

"I mean it. Don't fucking look at me. Your fucking pathetic gin… you really believe this is how it should be? Yea! She doesn't deserve this! I'm fucking trash and I did it for a reason. Now get off my fucking case."

Hermione had never heard Ginny fight out loud with herself before, or anyone for that matter. She attributed this to the alcohol running through the young woman's blood stream.

Before she could register and analyze the conversation that had just taken place the doorknob was turning and Hermione had flattened herself against the wall, hiding behind the swinging door, and hoping Ginny wouldn't close it on her way out. Holding her breath she could hear Ginny make her way back into bed and the brunette knew if she was going to get any answers today she would have to ask them before the athlete fell back asleep.

With one deep breath Hermione imagined the room once more.

"Let the flames begin." She thought out loud before half stepping and appearing with a loud crack in the room for the 2nd time that morning. This time however she didn't go unnoticed by the woman with the terrible hangover.

Upon hearing the loudness of Hermione's arrival Ginny found herself jumping so high off her bed she ended up on the floor covering her ears and shielding her head from the brown eyed intruder.

"You really should be up. It's almost 10 in the morning and quidditch starts in a couple weeks." Hermione said a little louder than necessary.

Scrambling to get herself off the floor and away from the source of noise in her room Ginny tried to push herself to her feet, but hardly made her footing. Seeing that Ginny was having a hard time getting up the older witch crossed the distance in 2 strides and helped the red head make it to her feet.

Ginny could smell Hermione and it was more intoxicating than the fire whiskey. She smelled of magical frizz-ease potion and fresh picked strawberries. She felt her curly brown ringlets brush up against her face and smiled feeling fuller than she had in a month. Hermione could feel Ginny's muscular body take control and as soon as she realized she was now hugging the girl who cheated on her she quickly pulled herself away leaving the strong arms her body longed for.

"Hermione…" Ginny pleaded softly. Not sure what she was asking for from the other girl.

"I'm here for answers gin." Hermione said after a moment of silence. The best way to keep herself from falling back into Ginny arms was to be professional about the situation. That's what she wanted right? Answers? But if that was all why was her own hand intertwined with Ginny's fingers? Had she really just reached out to the girl who tore her heart into pieces?

'What am I doing?' Hermione asked herself mentally pulling her hand away from where she put it only moments ago.

"You want answers?" Ginny asked unbelievably. "You know that is the one thing I can't give you right now." she continued staring down into Hermione's large brown orbs and rubbing her temple trying to make the fuzzy pain go away. She could still see love in those eyes. A spark. The red head closed the distance between them whispering into Hermione's now blushing ear. "You won't like my answers. So save yourself the pain and get out of my flat." She pulled back knowing Hermione wouldn't stay somewhere she wasn't wanted.

Ginny's plan might have worked if Hermione hadn't saw her eyes change. She knew anything Ginny said with those eyes she could never mean. She had to ask the real Ginny why she cheated on her, not this hollow shadow before her.

She remembered the first time she pulled Ginny back to her. She remembered what it took to reach her that night in their room at Hogwarts. A part of her was looking for a reason to take the girl in front of her regardless of her state of mind. So when Hermione took Ginny's dry chapped lips in a needing kiss she didn't care that Ginny was too shocked to be responsive.

Before Hermione could pull away and see if she had brought her lover back she was flipped and pinned to Ginny's bed with her hands above her head. Ginny's face only inches away from hers was one filled with pure rage and lust.

Ginny's kiss wasn't passionate. It was not loving or like any of the kisses they had shared in the 4 years they had been together. Her kiss was mean and demanding. It was thrilling yet terrifying. Hermione found herself pouring all her hatred for this girl into this kiss. Lips where bitten till they bled. Tongues lashed out trying to keep each others at bay. Teeth ground against each other and eyes filled with pain and agony bore into their counterparts searching for something beyond this moment. They poured every bit of pain into one another till they were drained mentally physically and emotionally.

Ginny pulled away, slightly heaving and sobered up, allowing the older girl below her a chance to breathe.

Hermione felt used, but she knew she had just done the same thing to Ginny. There was no more pain inside of her. She looked at Ginny's bleeding swollen bottom lip and took it softly into her mouth sucking the wound clean. Ginny pulled away giving them more space and silence once the blood was gone.

"Kiss me…" Hermione pleaded. "Please kiss me…"

Ginny couldn't deny her lover any longer and closed the small gap between them kissing all the pain and hurt away with the tenderest kiss she had ever given to anyone.

Ginny got off her lover realizing you can't take 3 steps backwards and expect progress. She sat up on the bed looking away, so that Hermione couldn't see how much she wanted the other girl.

"I'm weak Hermione. I'm not enough for you. I did what I did for a reason, and I hope you will see one day how much will come of your life without me in it. My pain and all the trouble its cause you… I can no longer be selfish and put that upon you. I won't allow myself long enough to regret hurting you, because beneath that pain there is hope for you." Ginny looked into Hermione's eyes with a burning desire, it was everything she could do to keep herself off of the beautiful redhead.

"Just shut up…" Hermione managed to get out before once more pulling the younger girls face back to her and attacking her lips in a passionate kiss. "Shut up and make love to me."

Ginny knew there was no use pushing the woman of her dreams off of her; she would only come back till she got what she needed. This could be her last chance to feel hole again knowing she had to push Hermione out of her pitiful existence forever. Ginny embraced Hermione kissing her just as passionately, ripping down the front of what she knew to be one of Hermione's favorite sweaters and pushing past the woman's bra to cup the swollen mound underneath it.

Clothes became a nuisance as skin burned against skin. Lips sung in harmony and tongues danced in perfect rhythm. Bodies sweat and both girls came harder for each other than they could handle. Ginny could not stop trembling and her hold on mere consciousness was becoming a thing of the past. The last thing Ginny heard before she dosed off ear to Hermione's racing heart was the girl telling her how much she loved her. How they were meant to love each other forever. But she couldn't let her love someone who was unlovable. She had to make Hermione see she wasn't worthy. For now however she was going to allow herself this small amount of happiness.

Hermione pulled her impossibly closer and kissed her forehead lightly.

"I forgive you Gin." She whispered to the sleeping girl.

"I forgive you for what you're going to do next as well. And I'm not going to stop fighting for you."