DISCAIMER:: I don't own Harry Potter and it's universe. It all its property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. If I get sued, the only thing they can take from me is my phone, nothing else.
A/N:: this chapter starts with what happened right after the end of Chapter 13. So, people…there is a major progress in this chapter. I was reviewing my notes and all and I decided to put this part here…had to move forward a little bit but don't worry…things will carry on in the planned way. I won't be rushing things.
-Almas Veritas—
CHAPTER 14- Jobs and newspapers
Finally, both girls pulled apart but kept their hands linked and rested their foreheads together.
"I'm sure now," Hermione whispered absentmindedly.
"Sure? Of what?" Ginny asked, a bit confused.
Without saying a word, Hermione led her to the couch and sat down, softly pulling at her hand to indicate she wanted Ginny to sit as well.
"Hermione, love, what is it?"
"You call me love and you mean it." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You really do love me."
Ginny still looked confused but was still smiling.
"Of course I do," Ginny answered.
"Do you understand why I asked you to go slow with our relationship?" Hermione asked out of nowhere.
"Yes, I do."
"Still, I want to say. I asked you to go slow because I was scared, it was all so sudden and I just... I wanted to make sure you were truly ready to commit, to me and the baby. And I wanted to make sure I was ready as well, I needed time to be sure that I could commit to you too. And I haven't been fair to you..."
Ginny's smile faltered a little and Hermione noticed it, realizing how Ginny must have taken it.
"What I mean is that you've done nothing but to show me how much you love me...us, and how much you want this, this relationship...this family..."
"If you let me, I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you and our baby are happy and loved," Ginny said, silently vowing to do it.
Hermione gave her a loving smile.
"So now I'm sure. I want us to make it official, Ginevra," Hermione said.
Ginny couldn't believe her ears...Hermione was saying she wanted to make their relationship official? The redhead felt her heart speed up inside her chest and had to take a deep breath to keep herself calm.
"Are you sure? Are you really saying what I think I just heard you say?" Ginny muttered, still not believing it.
"I want to be able to call you my girlfriend and I want to be yours. I want us to be officially together and I want the whole world to know," Hermione said quickly, as if she was afraid she wouldn't be able to let it all out.
Ginny's smile was so big that it barely fit in her face. She couldn't believe! Hermione truly wanted to be with her! It wasn't that she had doubted it, but she had honestly thought it'd take longer for Hermione to want their relationship to be official.
"Do you really mean it? You want to be with me? Be my girlfriend?" Ginny asked, still wrapping her head around it.
"Ginevra, I love you. I want to be your girlfriend...if you want to be mine."
"Of course I want to be your girlfriend. Hermione, I've been yours since...for so long..."
"Since when?" Hermione asked although she knew already the answer. She wanted to hear Ginny saying it.
"Since I was 12 years old," Ginny admitted and blushed. The redhead looked down, embarrassed, but Hermione put her finger under her chin and made her look up.
"I love you, Ginny, so much. And I always have, I just was too scared to say it out loud. But I do...I'm not scared anymore, you made me to not be scared. I want this just as much as you want it..."
"Merlin...it feels so amazing to finally be able to say it out loud...I love you too, so much, so much..."
Both girls moved at the same time and their lips met. Hermione kissed Ginny. Ginny kissed Hermione...their lips caressed lovingly as they whispered words of love to each other and cuddled on the couch.
Ginny left around midnight since she had several things to do in the morning, but accepted Hermione's offer to have breakfast together. Hermione had stared at the fireplace for what seemed like hours, after Ginny had disappeared among the green flames. The book-worm couldn't stop herself from remembering a line from one of the books she had read when she was a little girl. 'Parting is such sweet sorrow...' Hermione realized she was acting like the girls did back in school and shook her head, laughing at herself...
-Almas Veritas—
As Hermione got up and showered the next morning, she couldn't help to think about Ginny... Ginny was her girlfriend! THE Ginny Weasley was HER girlfriend! Hermione felt like yelling 'YAHOOOOO!' at the top of her lungs from the rooftop, Hermione thought that if she casted a Patronus charm it would light up the darkest forest...The brunette couldn't wipe off the smile from her face as she descended the stairs to the kitchen.
"Hermione, good morning," Luna said as the older girl entered the kitchen. The blonde gave her a kind smile and went back to finishing her breakfast.
"Hello, Luna. Good morning to you too," Hermione said as gave her friend a big smile as she sat across the table from Luna.
"Umm...someone is happy," Luna commented with a knowing smile.
"Very happy, I must admit. And there is only one reason," Hermione commented brightly.
Luna chuckled.
"Ginny," the younger girl stated and could see Hermione's smile wide a tiny bit more at the mention of the redhead's name. "What did she do this time?"
"Why do you think she did something?" Hermione asked.
"Alright. What did you do, then? Because I honestly don't think you two had sex last night," Luna stated bluntly, causing Hermione's eyes to widen and a blush spread over her cheeks.
"No, we didn't. We made our relationship completely official," Hermione told her friend, the wide smile returning to her face.
"That's right, we're girlfriends now," a voice said from the doorway and both girls turn their heads to look at Ginny, who had arrived and listened to her girlfriend's statement. "And now that I think about it...Wow, 'the brightest witch of her age' is my girlfriend, how cool is that?" Ginny joked as she entered the kitchen.
"And the 'Weasley Phoenix' is mine. Now, how amazing is that?" Hermione joked, remembering the nickname the fans had named Ginny with when she was a professional player. "You came," the brunette said as she stood up and walked towards Ginny. Her girlfriend (GIRLFRIEND, YES!) walked to her and the girls met halfway.
"Well, I was promised breakfast with my beautiful girlfriend. Of course I came," Ginny whispered so only Hermione would hear her and placed a firm kiss on Hermione's lips. Both girls blushed as they heard Luna let out an amused giggle.
"Congratulations to you both," Luna said honestly.
"Thanks, Luna," Ginny said.
"We really appreciate it, Luna," Hermione added.
"Well, I have to go pry Harry away from his studio and go pick up Teddy from Andromeda's house. Have a good day, you two."
Luna gave them a cryptic smile as she left the room. Gweny, who had been upstairs, entered the kitchen as fast as her small feet could take her and started cleaning the table while at the same time starting more food.
"Do you want milk with honey, Miss Hermione?" Gweny asked to the brunette as Hermione and Ginny sat by the table.
"Yes, and I'd love some of those brownies you made last night too. Thank you, Gweny," Hermione replied.
"Gweny made a new batch this morning, Miss Hermione. Miss Weasley, would you like brownies too or would you prefer something else?"
"Actually, I'd like some bacon and eggs, Gweny."
The elf gave her a small vow with her big head.
"Gwent will prepare the food right away, Miss Weasley."
As the elf walked away from them, Hermione and Ginny simply stared at each other, as if daring the other to break the silence... And finally Ginny couldn't take it anymore...
"Mum and dad were still up when I got home last night," Ginny commented.
"Were they? Why?"
"Dad got held back in the Ministry so he was eating something when I arrived. Poor dad, he looked like a zombie. Mum is trying to make him retire."
"Retire? Why?"
"Well, dad isn't getting any younger and you know...Now they don't have to worry anymore about the money because we're all grown up, only Ron and I still sleep at home, but I'm gone most of the time and probably won't live there anymore soon. So mum wants him to retire, enjoy life, and maybe travel around the world a little. I don't think dad will though, he'd die without work."
"I'm sure they'd reach an agreement, baby. And you're moving out of the Burrow?" Hermione asked surprised. Ginny looked at her with a questioning look on her face. "What?"
"You called me baby," Ginny answered.
"I'm sorry, won't do it again."
"Don't be, I liked it. And yes, I was thinking that it's time. I mean, I'm almost 20 years old, for Merlin's sake, it's kind of sad to still be living with my parents. Don't you think?"
"No, it is not, Ginevra. But I do think it's a wonderful idea to move out." Once again Hermione was showing how much she always supported Ginny.
Gweny walked to them, a big tray floating above her head. The girls thanked the elf and started eating. Hermione glanced at her wrist watch.
"Merlin, you are going to be late for work, Ginny," Hermione said, alarmed.
"Actually, I'm not going to work. I'll go talk to George and tell him I'm going to accept The Prophet's offer," Ginny commented.
"You are?"
"I spent the whole night thinking about it, and us and the baby. So yes, I'm going to accept it," Ginny confirmed.
"Ginny, if you accept, I want you to be sure that you're doing it for yourself. Not for any other person," Hermione said, not wanting Ginny to take a job she may not be happy doing just for her or their baby.
But Ginny simply gave her a serene smile.
"Don't worry, my thoughts about you and our baby weren't related to the job offer. I want this job. I do," Ginny reassured her.
Hermione bit off a piece of brownie and her eyes fluttered close as she let out a soft appreciative moan, which cause Ginny to gulp audibly.
"My goodness, this is delicious. So, tell me...What were you thinking about me?" The older girl asked innocently. She wasn't even aware of how it sounded in Ginny's ears...
Ginny took a long gulp of the orange juice Gweny had given her before she could answer. The ex-quidditch player cleared her throat and decided to have some fun.
"Oh, trust me, love, you don't wanna know. Those thoughts are only for me," Ginny answered using her best husky voice, knowing Hermione would it.
Hermione's eyes widened at the implications of Ginny's words and looked away, consciously, although it did give her a sense of pride to know that Ginny thought of her like that. Across the table, the younger girl smirked smugly as she lifted the fork and eat a piece of bacon with egg.
Both girls finished breakfast and Hermione led Ginny to the door, never letting go of her hand. If she was honest, she didn't want her girlfriend to leave but she understood that Ginny had to go and talk to George, although she would prefer to spend the day kissing her. It only took Hermione one second to realize that now she could kiss Ginny whenever she wanted to. So she did. Before the redhead could grab the doorknob, Hermione used the hold she had on Ginny's hand pull her closer and their lips crashed together. Instantly, the brunette reached out and placed her hand over Ginny's hip, pressing her softly against the thick door. The younger girl was surprised for a second but then she responded to the kiss, slowly parting her own lips and let her tongue caress Hermione's lower lip, causing her girlfriend to let out a throaty moan when their tongues met.
Reluctantly, Ginny forced herself to ignore her body's reaction at hearing Hermione's moan, which also brought memories of their only night together. She couldn't be thinking about it. The younger girl pulled away slightly, as if to not alarm Hermione, and rested their foreheads together.
"As much as I love kissing you, love, I have to go now so I can come back faster," Ginny whispered but made no attempt to move.
"I know, but now that I have the freedom to kiss you whenever I want to, I don't want you to leave," Hermione whispered as fast as she could. The book-worm was afraid that if she didn't say it, she'd never get enough courage to say it out loud.
"I know, trust me I feel the same way."
"But you have to go, I know," Hermione said and gave Ginny an understanding smile as she took a step back.
"But I'll come back later, love. And we'll spend the day together, what do you think?"
Hermione smiled again and nodded, not trusting her voice to speak.
Ginny opened the door and step outside. The early sunlight made her skin seem even more smooth and fair, elegant, decorated adorably with the tiny freckles and when Ginny's eyes met Hermione's, they shone like precious sapphire stones and Hermione couldn't believe Ginny was truly her girlfriend and they were going to have a baby together...What had she done to deserve such gift?
"Please, come back fast," Hermione said, still smiling, but Ginny could hear the slightly desperate undertone that pleaded her to come back at all. The redhead frowned slightly and stepped inside again, grabbed Hermione's hands and lifted them to her lips so she could kiss her knuckles. Ginny then leaned in until their lips were almost touching and looked right into her girlfriend's eyes.
"I'll always come back to you, love. I'm yours, remember?"
Ginny placed a short but loving kiss on Hermione's lips before walking outside again.
"I'll be back before you notice it, love," Ginny said.
"I'll be waiting," Hermione said and smiled as she saw Ginny spin around on her heel and disapparate on the spot. Hermione closed the door and leaned her back against it, sighing contently. Then she placed her hands on her still growing belly and looked down. "We are lucky to have her, my child. We're lucky she loves us. Yes, we are."
The brunette shook her head. She was acting like a teenager, or how she had seen teenagers to act, and that confused her a little. She wasn't used to acting like that...
-Almas Veritas—
Ginny entered the joke shop and she instantly saw her brother behind the register. The redhead made her way over and she could see George wasn't pleased when he saw her.
"Ginny, finally! Why are you so late?"
"I didn't come for work, George, I came to talk to you," Ginny answered.
George frowned and looked at her, worried this time.
"Alright, go wait for me in the back. I'll be right there."
Ginny nodded and waked to the back of the shop, where she saw on a wooden box to wait. George didn't make her wait long though, only a minute later he stepped inside the storage room and looked at his sister.
"Is everything okay, Gin? Is there something wrong?" George asked, truly concerned.
"I got a job offer from The Daily Prophet to be their Senior Quidditch Correspondent. The offer is more than good, I'd mostly work from home except for when I have to go to the games and stuff...And the money is..." Ginny made a face and George nodded.
"That much, huh?"
"The money is no longer a problem, we both know that. If I started working with you, I did it because I liked it, not because I needed the money. Now I could use it though...I was thinking about getting my own place, who knows, maybe a house for- And I'll get more free time to be with Hermione and the baby and-"
"Gin, calm down. Look, both Angelina and I will miss having you around, but I get it. I never expected you to work with me forever, you know. I honestly thought you'd get back to playing quidditch but I guess it truly isn't what you need anymore," George said understanding.
"You and I know that sometimes I miss it, we both do. But no, it isn't. Now I want other things and this job will allow me to do those things," Ginny tried to explain.
"And still keep you close to quidditch."
"Yes."
"You're really grown up, Gin. I'll miss having you around but you have to do what you need to do. Come here." George opened his arms and Ginny stepped closer, hugging her brother. "I love you, kid."
"I love you too, Georgie."
"So, what are you going to do now?" George asked after they pulled away.
"I was thinking that I could go by The Prophet's office to talk to Steven Carlson, he would be my boss, or future boss anyway. And then I wanted to spend the day with Hermione." Ginny smiled brightly at the mention of her girlfriend. "We made it official. We're officially together now."
"Man, if I knew she'd put that smile on your face, I would have locked you both inside a room a long time ago," George joked and Ginny laughed along with him. "But, seriously, congratulations, Gin."
"Thanks, Georgie."
"Don't call me that."
"Why not, Georgie?"
"Ginny!"
-Almas Veritas—
Hermione walked back to the kitchen and sat on one of the chairs as Gweny entered the room, holding the newspaper.
"Miss Hermione, here is the newspaper." The elf handed her the newspaper and Hermione smiled at her.
"Thank you, Gweny. Could you get me a glass of water, please?"
"Of course, Miss Hermione." With a flick of her fingers, a glass of water appeared on the table in front of Hermione.
The brunette thanked the elf again and opened the newspaper. Mostly, there weren't interesting articles in it, only one that criticized Albert Cook and his mistakes as head of the Goblin Liaison Office and strangely Hermione agree with it, but mostly it was the same thing every day. And Hermione couldn't be more grateful for that...
"Oh, for Merlin's sake!"
Hermione rolled her eyes at the new article Parvati Patil had written about and Ginny. 'Doesn't that girl ever get tired?' Hermione thought. There was a huge photo of them kissing and Hermione recognized that it had been taken the night before. They had apparated three blocks away from Grimmauld Place because they'd thought it'd be a nice idea to walk a little, it had been such a beautiful night after all. In the photo they were holding hands and their lips were touching. It had been just a peck, and they both were smiling like love-struck teenagers... 'Oh my goodness...and I promised nobody would ever see me acting like Parvati or Lavender...What you do to me, Ginny Weasley...'
"Romance confirmed. Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley were seen last night walked under the moonlight (Oh, please, Parvati, can you be any more melodramatic?) and kissing. An anonymous source informed us that they shared a romantic meal in Athena's Palace, the exclusive Greek restaurant, where they even kissed in public. Although neither of them had confirmed the status of their relationship, images are worth more than a thousand words..." Hermione stopped reading and rolled her eyes, again. Parvati didn't surrender but atleast she didn't invented gossips just to get a story...The book-worm scanned the rest of the article and it only spoke of the collective agreement that they made a good couple. 'Just great...atleast we' Hermione re-read one of the comments from the fans Parvati had included. 'Atleast we're a hot couple...Just great...'
-Almas Veritas—
Hermione was in her bedroom when Ginny returned to Grimmauld Place. Ginny found her writing a letter in her desk and only a second later, Gweny showed up with cold pumpkin juice for the both of them.
"Hey, love. I'm back," Ginny joked as she grabbed the spare chair to sit closer to Hermione. "I'm sorry it took me longer than expected but after talking to George I went to The Prophet to meet up with Steven Carlson. I accepted the offer and signed the contract," the redhead explained.
"That's wonderful, baby," Hermione said and leaned in a little. Ginny understood and leaned in as well so they could share a sweet kiss. "But don't you think you kind of rushed a little in signing the contract?"
"Actually, no, I didn't. I studied it well and let me tell you, I win with that contract."
"Well, if you're sure, then that's wonderful." Hermione gave her an annoyed smile. "By the way, Parvati wrote another article about us."
"I saw it, love. Are you upset about it?"
"No, but I would like it if she left us alone. So I decided to write a letter. Here, take a look," Hermione said and handed her girlfriend the letter.
Ginny took the letter Hermione had been writing and cleared her throat.
'Readers of The Daily Prophet:
We have sent this letter to confirm our relationship.
And the fact that we're having a child together.
We both believe that our lives should remain private and not be under the public eye,
But we understand that whether we like it or not, we are public figures.
With that said, both of us beg you all to give us the privacy we need.
This is a very happy moment of our lives that we'd like to share only
With our close family and friends.
Hopefully, you all will understand that we want, no, need the privacy of leading
Normal lives. We both deserve it.
Our most sincere regards,
Hermione Granger & Ginny Weasley.'
"What do you think?" Hermione asked.
"It's perfect, love. Are you going to send it now?"
"I'll tell Gweny to do it now, yes."
Hermione called the elf after she sealed the envelope and gave Gweny precise instructions to deliver it personally and a message. The elf vowed with her big bat-like head and banished with a low 'crack' sound. Then Hermione stood up, pulling Ginny with her and walked to her bed.
The ex-quidditch player understood what her girlfriend (how amazing it felt to say it!) wanted when she laid down on her back after removing her shoes. Ginny followed her, removed her shoes and laid down next to Hermione, entwining their fingers together and snuggling. But Hermione rolled onto her side so she was looking at her girlfriend.
"I'm happy, Ginny," Hermione whispered as one of her hands let go of Ginny's to tuck a stray lock of hair behind the redhead's ear.
Ginny snuggled further into her so Hermione laid back down on her back so Ginny could rest her head on the brunette's chest, hearing the peaceful heart beating, and placed her had on their baby bump.
"I'm happy too, Hermione," Ginny whispered and gasped when the hand that was playing with her hair moved south and lifted her shirt a little, so Ginny's hand was stroking beautiful and soft skin.
"I love you," Hermione whispered.
Ginny looked up and leaned in a little, placing a chaste kiss on her girlfriend's lips.
"You have no idea how much I love you too, Hermione..."
-Almas Veritas—
Hey, guys! That was the Chapter, hope you liked it! Next chapter will be Ginny's birthday, so yeah get ready because you'll see Hermione's surprise and another little surprise I got for you... Now onto the reviews...
Laragh:: Wow, you'll start calling DIBS here too, dudette? LOL Its okay the whole deal with the other chapter, sorry to hear that your laptop went crazy on you though. And yeah, they're very in tune with each other, they were best friends before being together, remember? LOL. Thanks for the review!
A.R. Van Halleorg:: I'm glad that you like the story and yes, I'll always have time for writing, so don't worry, I won't leave this story on hiatus. Thanks for the review!
Saika Garner:: I'm glad you liked the other chapter, hope you liked this one as well. And yes, I'm trying to make it realistic here...although they do hurry a bit 'cause ya know they have all those years of pen up emotion, LOL... And you know how much I always love your work, babe, so it was my pleasure. Thanks for the review.
Fanngirrl 1987:Well, now they are together officially. And yes, that was my whole point, darling! Lol I'm glad somebody notice it! Hermione was holding back because she was scared that maybe Ginny would leave her or hurt her in some way...but of course, our dear Ginny did nothing but to prove her wrong. Hope you liked the Chapter and I hope it didn't seem to rushed for you. Actually, most of what happened in this one was going to happen in the next one but I decided to change a few details so I had to move it...Thanks for the review.
Sora Yagami:: wow...creo que cada vez las reviews son más largas, me encanta! Voy a hacer esto lo más corto posible porque me duele la muñeca y tengo un poco de sueño, si soy honesta. JAJAJAJA! Yo todavía estoy de vacaciones, de hecho, por eso estoy tratando de escribir todo lo que puedo ahora que tengo tiempo de sobra.
Y si…admito que cuando empecé a escribir el capitulo 12 mi cabeza estaba bien deep in the gutter, sabes? Jajaja. Así que de ahí salió esa escena. Créeme que yo también me reí cuando escribí la parte de la Sanadora, que pensó que ellas estaban siendo intimas. Después de todo, porque no lo pensaría? Hermione está embarazada, verdad? Ja.
Y por supuesto que extrañe tu review! Sabes que me encantan las reviews largas (y ninguna es más larga que las tuyas) y además me haces reír, así que OBVIO que la extrañe! JAJAJA Yo intente imitar el acento de Fleur pero ni ahí que me salió! LOL. Para ser honesta, no se porque los meseros siempre son tan inoportunos, the Goddess sabe que a mi ex y a mí siempre nos interrumpían, jajaja.
Todo el tema del quidditch (al igual que las cicatrices de Hermione)…eso se va a tratar pronto…in a few chapters…Así que un poquito más de paciencia.
Y no sé si escribo mejor o no…puede ser… después de todo, dicen que la practica hace al maestro, verdad? Jajajaja Y como puede ser que no te guste Filosofía! Es una de mis materias favoritas!
Thanks for the review, babe! Hope you liked this new chapter!
Wirenfeldt Jr.:: Well, you'll see Hermione's surprise in the next chapter. Ginny's will have to wait a few...until Hermione's so… A bit more of patience. Thanks for the review.
Track42:: If you smiled while reading it, then part of my mission is accomplished… No sad looks while reading my story, lol. And ya know…I think that if Rowling could have put two couples together, I think she would have put Hermione/Ginny and Harry/Luna. I mean, since the first moment it's like…Luna is perfect for Harry. I honestly think she wanted that. But let's not forget that most of the readers are A- straight people who love the whole "the boy and the girl" deal (if people didn't like that, then that Twilight crap wouldn't exist)…and B- the controversy if she had actually put a lesbian couple in the books. I'm of the kind who believes she put a lot of subtext in the books, but nothing overly obvious…Thanks for the review.
GW4ever:: Don't have to worry, I wasn't going to keep them in the twilight zone for a long time. And about the baby's sex…I have a thing for baby boys, so it'll probably be a boy. Lol. Thanks for the review.
Kiwipit:: Well, ALL the questions you may have will start to be answered…just a bit more of patience… And for the whole physical part…Don't worry, we're getting there…it'd take a bit because of a very valid reason Hermione has, but we'll get there sooner than you think…Thanks for the review!
Diddy-Icp:: I'm glad that you liked the Chapter! Hope you liked this one too. Thanks for the review.
Sa5msAdamstoriesandwhatnot:: Again, a bit more of patience with that…and hey, if you wanna guess, be my guest. I love it when people try to guess. Lol. I'm a bit evil, I know. Thanks for the review! LOL.