Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Harry Potter series. I am not JK Rowling. Therefore I do not own Harry Potter. I write HP fan fiction for my own enjoyment and those who are kind enough to read and review. : )
A/N- I'm sorry that this chapter took a little bit longer than usual. I was away on vacation last week and had severely limited computer access. I'm back though!
Hermione was relieved at how well the conversation with Ginny had gone. She was afraid that Ginny would tell her that their encounters at the party had been one of Ginny's elaborate designs to prove Hermione wrong. She feared that Ginny was perfectly happy with Oliver, and that they wanted to settle down and have attractive, Quidditch obsessed children, and that Ginny didn't reciprocate Hermione's feelings. She thought that Ginny's reaction in the study had been genuine, but there was no way for her to be absolutely sure. She had purposely stopped just short of admitting her feelings until it was absolutely necessary because of her fear of failing in this particularly risky venture.
When the pair arrived in the flat, Hermione strode over to her cupboard and took out two glasses and a full bottle of wine from her top shelf.
"Would you like some wine?"
"Getting right into the alcohol, are we?" Ginny called into the kitchen as she sat on the oversized sofa in front of Hermione's fireplace.
"What's that?" Hermione said peeking her head through the doorway.
"Nothing, I said that I'd love a glass," Ginny said.
"That's good," Hermione said, turning back to pick up the two glasses. "Because I already poured you one."
Ginny sipped the wine. "Mmm, this must be expensive," Ginny said, licking her lips. "It's delicious."
"Very expensive," said Hermione. "But I didn't have to pay a knut for it."
"Really?"
"Yes, it's one of the perks of working as a magical creature's rights activist," Hermione explained. "It may not pay well, but I certainly get some very tasty bottles of Goblin made wine. I almost never have a chance to drink it though; I'm not a big drinker myself, and it's a bit depressing to drink such good wine without company."
"Well, I hope you don't think that taking me out for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron and giving me fine wine will get you anywhere. You're not going to get into my knickers that easily, Hermione Granger," joked Ginny.
Hermione laughed. "I was under the impression that I didn't have to do any of that to get into your knickers. You were begging me for it at the party."
"Oh, I see how it is. You're not going to let me live that down," Ginny said good naturedly. "And for the record, I was begging you to tell me what you wanted to do with me."
"As someone who has tortured you over technicalities today, I can appreciate your argument," said Hermione. "But I think that I had so effectively made my point that you would have agreed to whatever I said."
Ginny smiled and took another sip of her wine. "You're probably right there. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," said Hermione. "What is it?"
"Why the Leaky Cauldron? Neither of us ever eat there," Ginny said. "And to be honest, the atmosphere of the place leaves something to be desired."
"That's why I picked it," Hermione explained. "I didn't want it to feel like a date, since it wasn't meant to be that. Aside from the Hog's Head, the Leaky Cauldron is the one place I could think of that doesn't have an environment conducive to dating."
"Do you think that much about everything?"
"Doesn't everyone?" asked Hermione as she turned to Ginny.
"I certainly don't think that much about everything," Ginny said after finishing her glass of wine. "It would drive me mad to try and worry that much."
"I don't worry," Hermione corrected as she refilled Ginny's empty glass. "I think about things. That is why I needed a few days between the party and our conversation. I needed to plan things out."
"What was your plan for today?"
Hermione gave Ginny a sideways glance before speaking. "I suppose I can tell you. As you know, I picked the venue carefully. I planned ahead so that I would arrive exactly at the time I had appointed instead of twenty minutes early as I usually do. I didn't want to seem too eager, but I also didn't want to be rude. That was why I set the time for right after the rally, so that I wouldn't be tempted to go early. I had two plans depending on whether or not you really were attracted to me. If you weren't, I was just going to change the subject quickly and we could have nice meal as friends."
"And if I did return your feelings, what was your plan?"
"After we were done, I'd invite you back here for a drink. The ambiance is much better, and we could talk more freely about us than when we were in public."
"So what are we then?" Ginny asked. Surely the answer to that question must have been part of Hermione's plan.
"What?" Hermione didn't understand why she should be surprised by such a logical question, but she was.
"What are we? The only thing that we decided at the pub was that we do in fact share a mutual attraction," Ginny said.
"What do you think we are?"
"I asked you first," Ginny retorted, the trace of a smile on her lips.
Hermione sighed heavily, not altogether thrilled at having her own words used against her. "I don't know. We're friends. That much I know. Did you want to try something more than that, or did you think that would be too risky?"
"Risky for whom? No one has to find out just yet," said Ginny. "I certainly wouldn't be against it, but I'll leave it up to you."
Hermione took a gulp of wine and placed the glass on the table. She looked at Ginny, who was sitting next to her and had turned so that their knees were almost touching. Hermione's eyes were inexplicably drawn to Ginny's lips. The soft light from the fireplace flickered across Ginny's face and made her brilliant red hair shimmer. Hermione had a fleeting thought about how well Ginny's vibrant hair matched her personality. It was fiery and beautiful, impossible to ignore.
Hermione leaned closer to Ginny and hesitated a moment before closing the remaining distance and kissing her. For the first time she was kissing Ginny without feeling guilty and it felt good, no, it felt great. It was better than she could have possibly imagined.
Ginny responded to the kiss by putting her glass on the table next to Hermione's without breaking the kiss. She shifted her position on the sofa so that she was lying and Hermione was leaning over her. Ginny tangled her hands in Hermione's hair as she pulled her friend closer. Ginny thought that she could lose herself in kissing Hermione, that she would gladly do this all of the time if she could. The kiss was passionate, but not rushed and hard, as they were with most of the men she had kissed. Just like back in the study, Hermione understood how to kiss Ginny in a way that no one else ever had.
When they broke apart to take a breath, Ginny smiled up at Hermione.
"So it's a yes then?"
Hermione smiled back and nodded before continuing to kiss Ginny. Ginny shifted gently so that she was now leaning over Hermione. She began to undo the top button of Hermione's button-down shirt and Hermione pulled away and grabbed Ginny's hands.
"No, not yet," Hermione said. "I'm sorry Ginny. It's not that I don't want to. Trust me, I do, I really, really want to, but we shouldn't yet."
Ginny sighed and readjusted her position so that Hermione could more comfortably rest against her. "There's no need to be sorry. As much as I would love to do more, I can understand. I know that you're not really use to this kind of thing, and to tell you the truth, neither am I. I'm not sure what the expectations are for a relationship like ours, and to be honest, part of me is a little bit relieved that you want to take it more slowly."
Hermione, who was visibly nervous after stopping Ginny, relaxed and smirked. "I'm relieved too," she said as she rested her head against Ginny and closed her eyes. "I'm so tired all of the sudden. Maybe it's the wine getting to me."
"Or maybe it's all of the snogging," Ginny said. "From what you've told me, your previous experiences of snogging left something to be desired."
"Compared to what we just did, I think most other snogging experiences leave something to be desired," Hermione said, a smile playing on her lips.
Ginny, who had closed her eye too, smiled at Hermione's comment. "Honestly, are you ever wrong about anything?"
Hermione gave Ginny a sleepy, noncommittal "Mmm."
"Are you still awake there?" asked Ginny as she smoothed a piece of hair away from Hermione's face.
Hermione opened her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ginny. This is why I don't usually drink; I start to fall asleep after two glasses."
"It's okay. Don't worry about it. I'm getting a bit drowsy myself."
Hermione let her head drop back down and closed her eyes before mumbling "Ok."
They lay on the couch for a long time without saying anything to each other. The sun had long since gone down and the only light in the room was coming from the fire, which threw a soft, flickering light over the room. Though she hadn't lied to Hermione and was in fact quite tired, Ginny opened her eyes and surveyed the room. She wasn't sure why she was doing it; Ginny had been here many times before and already knew exactly what it looked like. There were an inordinate number of bookshelves stuffed with books that Ginny didn't doubt Hermione had read at least three times over. The rest of the furniture consisted of the very large sofa that they were laying on and a comfy chair by the fire. The chair looked well-worn and Ginny suspected that Hermione had made that chair her favorite, just like back in the common room. She could easily imagine Hermione making it her evening ritual to curl up on that chair by the fire with a book.
Ginny smirked to herself as she took in every detail of the room, still not sure why she had the sudden desire to do so. Everything just seemed so different now, even the unchanging décor in Hermione's flat, and Ginny wanted to take everything in from her new perspective. If someone had told her a month ago that she would be kissing, really kissing another woman and liking it more than she had enjoyed any other kiss, Ginny would not have believed them. Sure, there had been that time with Luna, but she almost didn't count that as a kiss; it had been like the almost innocent kiss she shared with a neighbor boy when she was eleven just to see what it felt like. It was nothing compared to the kiss she and Hermione had just shared.
When Ginny finished memorizing the room she looked down at Hermione, who was resting on Ginny's shoulder, apparently sound asleep. She gently brushed a stubborn curl off of Hermione's cheek and tried to memorize her peaceful face by the flickering firelight. Ginny wondered if what she shared with Hermione might be nothing more than lust, that they were both just starved for real affection and found each other reasonably attractive. She highly doubted that idea as she continued to gaze at Hermione. She felt that she could do this forever, and knew that it didn't have anything to do with her physical desires; Ginny truly did care about Hermione.
After what seemed like a long time, Ginny started to nod off too. She gently readjusted her position on the couch so that she was in a more comfortable position for sleeping. When she moved, Hermione stirred in her sleep and resettled so that her arm was now drapped over Ginny. Ginny smiled drowsily and fell asleep within a few minutes, a trace of the smile still on her lips.
A/N- I'm up over fifty reviews! I never expected to get this many, so a million thank you's to everyone who has left reviews. Keep them coming! I'm not so sure about this chapter; it's not my favorite, so I'd like to know what everyone thinks.
