Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
A/N: Here's another quick update! A little longer too, so I hope you enjoy it. This will be the last of the quick updates though – I'm having a few issues with writing the next chapter out, but I'm working on it and I promise not to disappear for 3 years again :P also, I go back to uni in a couple of weeks, so obviously I won't be writing quite as much. But knowing myself, I'll probably get inspiration when I have essays and assessments due, so I suppose we'll see. In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks are due to Devin, for the beta job he did, and to Ischra for inspiring me. Please remember to review at the end guys, it's really not that difficult.
Unfamiliar Spell
Once dressed, Hermione paid for the dress, and she and Ginny headed outside.
"So, lunch?" Ginny said, linking arms with Hermione again, succeeding only in making her feel incredibly aware of their hips touching again.
"Uh, sure!" Hermione said quickly, flashing Ginny a brilliant smile, hoping that she wouldn't notice how nervous she was, being in such close proximity to the redhead.
Ginny smiled back at her and they walked in silence towards the place Ginny had suggested. Once they were seated and had ordered, Ginny sat back and looked at Hermione thoughtfully,
"Is there anything else going on, besides the stuff with Ron?"
Hermione's stomach jumped at the question, but she immediately forced herself to smile and shake her head.
"Come on Hermione, you know you can't hide anything from me," Ginny said reasonably, taking a sip of water from the glass in front of her.
Hermione sighed heavily and looked down at the white tablecloth covering the table.
"You'll feel better once you get it off your chest."
The brunette smiled and looked back up at Ginny, "I suppose."
"So, tell me."
There was absolutely no way in hell that Hermione would tell Ginny exactly what had happened the night before. But she supposed that Monika was right, she could just tell her what she'd done without saying who she'd thought about.
"It has something to do with what's going on with Ron at home," Hermione said slowly, frowning as she tried to figure out what to say. Ginny waited patiently, watching her carefully. "Last night I... thought about... well..."
She paused, not entirely sure how to phrase what she did without it sounding crass. Ginny still waited patiently, and Hermione found herself entirely grateful of it. Here was a person waiting for her to express herself, not putting any words in her mouth or asking questions. She was suddenly struck by how entirely different Ginny was to her brother. Usually, Ron talked over Hermione, too impatient to wait and see what she was going to say. Hermione looked back at Ginny and smiled appreciatively, who smiled back at her and simply waited.
"I... touched myself," Hermione leaned forward to whisper, "and I wasn't thinking about Ron."
"That's not entirely surprising, considering how you've been feeling lately," Ginny said reasonably, leaning forward to rest her forearms on the table.
"No, I suppose not. It's just that..."
Hermione trailed off again, looking away from Ginny and down at the table again, her fingers playing nervously with the cutlery in front of her. The redhead sighed and leaned across the table, moving the cutlery away and holding Hermione's hands gently.
"It's okay, you can tell me," she said, smiling gently at her.
"Well... I thought about a woman."
Ginny's eyes widened slightly, "Oh."
"Yeah," Hermione breathed, her shoulders slumping slightly.
"Anyone in particular?"
Hermione bit her lip, "It doesn't really matter who, to be honest. I'm still getting my head around the fact that I did... that while thinking about a woman."
"Fair enough."
They were both silent for a second, before Ginny asked,
"So, did you enjoy it?"
Hermione laughed softly, "I feel like we're back at Hogwarts, talking about how much we liked Harry and Ron."
Ginny grinned and shrugged, "Come on Hermione, it's really not that bad. Lots of women fantasize about other women."
Hermione sighed and smiled at the redhead. "Alright." She leaned forward and whispered, "It was probably the most intense orgasm I've ever had in my entire life."
Ginny's eyes widened again and she couldn't help grinning. "Wow. Good thing Ron didn't walk in on you, then."
"That's the other thing," Hermione said, biting her lip again. "He was asleep next to me while I was... busy."
Ginny's mouth dropped open this time, but they were interrupted with their food before she could say anything. Hermione smiled and thanked the waitress before taking her napkin and placing it on her lap.
"You've got to be kidding me," Ginny said in a low voice, doing the same and leaning forward. "He slept right through it?"
"Well, you know what your brother's like. He can sleep through anything," Hermione shrugged, picking her knife and fork up and beginning to eat.
"Yeah, but... wow. He's an idiot," Ginny said, shaking her head.
"It's not his fault that he didn't wake up. I'm entirely glad he didn't, it would've been hard to explain what I was doing."
"No, that's not what I mean," Ginny said quickly. "It's just that... I don't understand how he's never been able to appreciate you for what you are." She sighed heavily, "I never really understood why you two ended up together."
Hermione swallowed her mouthful and smiled sadly. "I was in love with him when we were younger. We fought a lot, but that made it interesting, you know? I suppose I thought that we'd grow up and mellow out, but that never happened. And he's still a kind person, regardless of how I feel. I do love your brother, Ginny, but just not in the way I used to."
The redhead nodded and stared down at her food.
"And it's much harder for me to do anything about my situation now," Hermione continued, setting her knife and fork down and taking a sip of water. "What with the children and all."
"And my mother," Ginny added.
The brunette sighed and nodded, "And your mother."
"You shouldn't worry about the children, though. They'll understand, and even if they don't immediately, they'll get over it in time, if you do end up doing something about this."
"You say that as if I won't do anything."
Ginny chewed her food, looking thoughtful, before swallowing and saying, "I think you're getting to the point of not being able to deal with the situation for much longer. I don't know if you can afford to not do anything about it for much longer. Especially after last night."
"I'm not a lesbian," Hermione said quickly.
Ginny laughed, "I'm not implying that you are. Though, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you were. What I mean is that you've been feeling like this for far too long without telling Ron, and if it keeps going for much longer you'll only end up hurting yourself. I know you, Hermione, I know you don't want to be stuck in a dead-end relationship like this."
Hermione smiled weakly at her friend, "To be honest, I never thought I'd be in this position. When we were still at Hogwarts I had so many ideas about what I wanted to do with my life, to end up working for the Ministry or maybe even owning my own bookstore, and I wanted to travel like my parents did. We had children so quickly that all of that went out of my mind and I focused on making a home for them."
"I understand," Ginny said softly, reaching across the table and holding Hermione's hand again.
"I don't blame them. I just..." Hermione trailed off, suddenly feeling very close to tears. "I just feel like I wasted the last fifteen years of my life. I feel like I could have done so much more."
Ginny bit her lip and moved her chair around the table so she was sitting next to Hermione. "It hasn't been entirely wasted," she said gently. "You have two beautiful children who are at the top of their classes in Hogwarts, and you've made my brother incredibly happy."
"I know..."
"I think it's time that you focused on your needs now, though."
Hermione looked up at her with teary eyes, the images of the night before coming back into her mind, so vivid that it was all she could do to stop herself from leaning in closer to the beautiful redhead beside her and kissing her.
Ginny pulled Hermione close, wrapping her arms around her and whispering to her ear, "I'll always be here for you, no matter what."
Hermione breathed her scent in deeply and nodded, her stomach feeling alive with butterflies as she felt Ginny's chest rub up against her body. "Thank you," she whispered back.
Ginny smiled and kissed Hermione on the cheek before moving back. "Let's finish eating and then we can go for a walk, okay?"
Hermione smiled gratefully at her and nodded.
"I just don't even know how to bring it up with him," Hermione said as the pair wandered through the streets of Muggle London.
"I'm not sure either," Ginny said thoughtfully, frowning at the ground in front of her.
Hermione sighed, "I just don't want to think about it anymore. Can we talk about something else?"
Ginny smiled, "Sure."
"How are things with you and Harry then?"
Ginny stayed silent and Hermione raised an eyebrow at her,
"Ginny?"
The younger woman shrugged, "Not fantastic, to be honest."
Hermione sighed heavily, "I'm sorry, I've been thinking about myself too much. What's going on?"
Ginny smiled weakly, "It's not your fault, you've been in a tough situation for a long time now."
"Ginny," Hermione said, firmly, stopping in her tracks and turning to face her, looking at her intently.
Ginny sighed too and gazed back at Hermione. "I don't know, we just... we don't talk anymore."
Hermione nodded. "Do you want to go somewhere to talk?"
"We can go back to my place," Ginny said, nodding too. "Harry's gone out for the day so we should be alone for a few hours."
"Alright. Do you want to walk or disapparate?"
"We can walk, it's only a couple blocks away," Ginny said, taking Hermione's arm in hers and beginning to walk again.
"How long?" Hermione asked, looking sideways at the woman beside her.
"Maybe a few months," the redhead replied, shrugging. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I think it might have something to do with listening to your problems with Ron over the past while."
"I'm sorry..."
"No, don't be sorry," Ginny said firmly, cutting across her. "It isn't your fault, you've actually helped me realise how I really feel. I've been telling you that you need to be honest with yourself for months about all of this, and I think I've been realising the same about myself."
"Well, I'm still sorry that we haven't talked about this before. I should have been more intuitive, I suppose," Hermione sighed.
Ginny smiled and nudged her softly in the shoulder, "You've had a lot on your mind."
"Still... I should have been here for you."
"You have been," the redhead said reassuringly. "You've provided me with an escape from the monotonous married life. Didn't you notice how much time we've been spending together lately?"
Hermione smiled and nodded, "I suppose so."
They walked in silence the rest of the way back to Ginny and Harry's house, arms still linked and both feeling as though, for the first time in a while, that everything was going to be okay. Eventually.
Once they were inside, Ginny set to making coffee while Hermione sat down at the breakfast table, watching her move around the kitchen. She couldn't help but admire the grace with which the redhead moved, and found herself smiling as Ginny meticulously measured just how much coffee she was going to make. Once she was done, she carried two mugs of coffee over to the table and sat down next to Hermione.
"Thanks," Hermione said, stirring her drink and glancing at Ginny as she took a sip of hers. "So, do you want to talk?"
Ginny nodded and set her mug down. "I'm not even sure where to begin."
"You said you guys don't talk anymore?"
"Yeah. I don't know, it's more than that, I suppose. Sometimes I feel like I annoy him."
Hermione frowned, "Why?"
"He gets impatient with me and we're arguing a lot more than we used to." Ginny sighed, "I just don't understand what I did."
"You haven't done anything," Hermione said firmly, taking Ginny's hand in hers and squeezing it softly. "He's obviously got problems of his own."
"But..."
"Ginny," Hermione cut across her. "You're beautiful, kind and caring. I have absolutely no idea why he's acting like this, because you certainly don't deserve it."
The redhead smiled weakly at the brunette, "Thanks, Hermione."
There was a pause, in which both women took a sip of their coffee. Ginny took a deep breath and sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and not letting go of Hermione's hand. They just sat together in silence, comforted by each other's presence.
"We both need to talk to them," Ginny said softly.
Hermione nodded.
"Will you be alright?"
Hermione nodded again and shot a sideways glance at Ginny. "It's been festering for so long that if I don't talk to him soon, I won't be able to talk to him without snapping. I'll just have to do it."
"It'll be okay," Ginny said, squeezing Hermione's hand gently.
The brunette gave the redhead a small smile and nodded, before looking at her watch. "I should probably go, Gin, we both need to get dressed for tonight."
"Okay," Ginny replied, standing up with her and giving her a tight hug. "Thank you," she whispered to her ear, kissing her on the cheek before moving back.
"Anytime," Hermione smiled at her, kissing her back on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight, then."
"See you soon."
By the time Hermione arrived home, it was two hours before the party began. She headed straight up to the bedroom, dropping the bag with her dress on the bed before walking into the bathroom. She leaned over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror, frowning heavily.
"What are you doing?" she whispered to herself.
The little voice that had given her so much hell over the past day remained silent, and she sighed slightly, straightening back up and beginning to undress. Heading back out into the bedroom, she quickly stripped, grabbing fresh underwear out of her drawers. After walking back into the bathroom, she turned and closed the door, making sure to lock it this time. She knew exactly what she was going to do now, and she didn't want Ron to walk in on her again.
Turning the shower on, she waited patiently as the water heated up, the fingers of one of her hands trailing lazily across her abdomen. Looking down at herself, she bit her lip before moving her fingers lower, shivering slightly as she felt how wet she was already.
She stepped into the shower, the warm water pounding down onto her head, and trailing down her body. She stood there for a few seconds, face turned up to the showerhead, feeling as though the water was washing away all that she was stressing about. In that moment, nothing existed apart from herself, and all she wanted was a release. A release from the tension that had built up over the day of seeing Ginny, without her realising it.
For the second time that day, she let her fingers move south, and she couldn't help moaning softly as they found their mark. She imagined it was Ginny, that she was kissing her and holding her close, touching her and fucking her. She could see the beautiful redhead, feel her pumping her fingers in and out, hear her telling Hermione to come for her. Hermione could feel her orgasm nearing, could feel her hips shaking and bucking, and had to lean back against the cold, clammy wall of the shower as she came, trying as hard as she possibly could to keep her moans silent. As she finished, she slumped against the wall, sliding down it to sit on the floor, pulling her knees to herself.
"Ginny," she whispered, before tears overwhelmed her. So she sat there, hugging her knees and crying silently, wishing that she had spent her life doing something else. Being with someone else.
To be continued...