Disclaimer: Nothing that came from the books is mine.
Hermione's eyes were on me for most of the night, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to make her jealous. I felt good in Neville's arms, light, graceful, and feminine in a way I had never considered myself. The movements purged me of the pain that had been welling up, and I let him sweep me across the dance floor, enjoying the way wisps of stray hair tickled my neck.
We stayed until the music stopped and the lights went back on, long after Hermione had vanished. I was almost enjoying myself enough not to notice when she left. Almost.
I stayed as long as I could, on purpose, hoping she would conclude that I was off necking somewhere, and that it would hurt her the way it hurt me to see her in Viktor's arms. When Neville finally convinced me that it was time to get some sleep, we found her waiting in the shadows of the common room. Neville quickly kissed my cheek and vanished up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.
"Where were you?" She demanded.
"What do you care?" I moved closer to her, and was shocked when I caught the scent of Firewhiskey on her breath.
"You're my friend, Ginny. Whether you like it or not, I worry about you."
"Is that all? I'm back, and I'm fine. Now I'm going to bed." I turned, and her hand caught my wrist.
"What's your problem?" She sounded like she honestly didn't know.
"So this summer, how close we were, the things we did, it was all just practice for when we ran off with boys?"
"Well, yes, that was the idea."
"Good to know."
"What did you think it was?"
"Nothing! And since it was just practice, it doesn't matter what I did with Jen, does it?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Jen graduated."
"She was at the world cup."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Like you said, what happened between us was practice, and nothing else. It doesn't matter if I did those things with someone else then, does it?"
"What happened?"
"I don't think that's any of your business."
"I'm your friend, you're supposed to tell me things." Her face was flushed with anger, though she tried to contain it.
"Fine," I spat venomously, "I'll tell you. Remember when I wandered off the morning before the attack?"
She nodded, and I knew she realized what I was going to say.
"I was a little flustered when I came back, was I not?"
"I wanted to ask you about that, but I couldn't get you alone."
"I wanted to tell you, but I guess it doesn't matter, since it was just practice."
"Tell me what happened." She was standing so close I could feel the heat of her body, and my back was against the wall.
"I followed her into the woods, and as soon as we were far enough away from everyone else, we did things together that I've never done with anyone. We kissed each other all over, and it felt incredible."
"I can't believe you did that, after everything I went through to protect you from her!"
"It doesn't matter," I said bitterly, "it was only practice."
Her eyes were swimming with tears as she slapped me, hard, and ran up the stairs to her room. I didn't bother trying to follow her; I was too shocked by her reaction. I wondered if she was jealous, and hated myself for wishing so desperately that I had the same kind of power over her that she had over me.
Numbly, I made my way upstairs, climbing into bed as soon as I had undressed so no one would ask what was wrong. I wouldn't even know where to begin to answer that question.
Hermione ignored me completely for days after that, and it was weeks before she would say more than one or two words in response to anything I asked her. The boys, as always, were oblivious to what passed between us, stuffing themselves and speculating through mouthfuls of food about the Triwizard tasks Harry would face. It was easier that way. I didn't know what I'd tell Ron if he asked. Harry frequently looked as though on the verge of asking Hermione what was bothering her, but always thought better of it. Ron had started clinging awkwardly to Hermione, careful to never let her have time alone with other males. This suited me just fine, of course. I couldn't imagine her giving in to his clumsy, misdirected advances.
Meanwhile, my grades were suffering. I was losing weight and had less energy than I used to. How could I eat with her sitting near me, pretending I didn't exist? People started to worry about me. Teachers took me aside, asked if I was alright. They told me I seemed distracted, asked if something was bothering me. Someone was, but I refused to tell. Neville and Luna were getting frustrated. Finally, Neville cornered me and threatened to confront Hermione himself if I didn't talk to her.
That evening, I cornered her in the common room as soon as the boys had gone to bed.
"Why are you ignoring me?" I fought to sound sure of myself, but my body was trembling, and I knew she could tell.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Ginny."
"Can't we please go back to the way we were?"
"When? Nothing has changed between us."
"Hermione," I pleaded, "stop pretending you never cared about me." She looked startled.
"Of course I care about you, but you've made it abundantly clear that you want to have your space."
"You're mad about what happened with Jen."
Her silence was answer enough, so I pressed on.
"I didn't go off with her on purpose, and I should've walked away the moment I saw her, but what about you going out with Krum?"
"I don't see how that's relevant to our friendship." she said stiffly.
"It's relevant to something, and you know it. You were wrong to go with him, just like I was wrong to follow Jen into the woods that day."
"What you do when I'm not present is none of my concern."
I was struggling not to cry. "I wish you cared, Hermione, because I care. I care so much about you I can't stand it, and it's not fair for you to keep pretending we have nothing. I can't pretend anymore. I can't stand having you ignore me, and I hated seeing you with him when I wanted so badly for you to be with me."
"Ginny," she looked terrified as she spoke, "no one can know what's happening between us. I didn't go out with Viktor because I wanted to. I went because I knew I'd have to go with someone and it was only a matter of time before Ron or Harry worked up the nerve to ask me, and I couldn't stand the thought of what would come after. With Viktor, at least I had the comfort of knowing nothing serious would come of it, nothing could. After the end of this year, I'll never see him again."
"So where does that leave us?"
"I care about you, Ginny."
"I care about you too, but you know that's not enough, and I need you to make a choice."
"I'm afraid of how people would react if they found out. Can we explore whatever this is between us without telling everyone?"
I would have agreed to anything. I beamed and hugged her, nodding enthusiastically.