What can I say? I'm a horrible person, I guess, for making you wait so long. This one just didn't want to be written, and now that it finally is, I'm not even sure I like how it turned out, but I honestly haven't the energy to rewrite it for the umpteenth time. I still think it's kinda cute though, albeit a bit clicheed. But you know what? Who cares! They get a happily ever after and it's how it's going to stay.
Ginny's eyes followed Hermione's form curiously until she disappeared through the door of her bedroom. As soon as the wood obscured the brunette from the other four occupants of the room, the atmosphere changed.
A huge grin on her face, Pansy turned towards Draco and raised her eyebrow in question, asking the thing that all of them had been curious about for the last half an hour.
"Since when are you and Granger all chummy? Now don't get me wrong, I'm not judging, but I am pretty damn interested in that story..." A great big smirk bloomed on Draco's face and Ginny knew immediately she wasn't going to be fond of what he'd say next.
"Well, believe it or not, we actually bonded over our little kitten here. Turns out we're both quite fond of her, you see. Although her fondness might be of a slightly different nature than mine..."
Ginny frowned at him, but the pink blush that was already adorning her cheeks spoke a different story than her expression. She stomped down on the alarming fuzzy feelings awakening inside of her before she could dwell on them too much though, and directed a glare at her blond friend who continued speaking as if he hadn't seen her murderous look.
"I found it curious though that she didn't blush at the mere mention of Ginny's name, like this one does every times she hears hers. This, and various other information obtained through my supreme questioning techniques led me to believe that she doesn't actually even remember what happened on Halloween. I do recall her being pretty shitfaced, but that was before you two escaped to fuck like bunnies."
The redness in Ginny's cheeks only intensified at his words, but she also couldn't help but agree with him. Hermione had never been one to avoid confrontations and would have probably initiated theirs sometime this week had she retained any memory of their little tryst. But she hadn't. Somehow, the knowledge that the brunette didn't remember the intimacy they had shared sent a sharp spike of pain through Ginny's chest.
"What does it matter anyway? It was just sex, no strings attached. It's not like we promised to be each other's for life or something..."
As she spoke the words and image of Hermione in a beautiful wedding gown flashed through her mind unbidden and she wanted to hit herself on the head. What the hell was up with her anyway? Since the start of the school year, it became increasingly obvious to her that she was undoubtedly attracted to some women. It didn't mean she wanted to deal with that fact outright. If even her sorting had caused her family to practically write her off, what would then coming out do in addition? Make them pretend they never even had a daughter?
A gentle rub on the back brought her out of her musings and she noticed that Pansy had thrown a hand over her shoulder in a comforting gesture. "Ginny, you know you can talk to us about anything... There's clearly something here that's bothering you."
Three pair of eyes were gazing at her in genuine concern and she felt like crawling under a rock. "Well, it's just... I think I might... You know, like... Girls." She quickly looked up through her lashes and noticed that Blaise was trying not to chuckle. "Well, what's so funny about this, Zabini? Spit it out!" How dare he laugh at something like that!
"Look, I'm sorry, I don't mean to be offensive but, why does this come as such a big surprise to you? I suspected from the day you joined us at the Slytherin table. The mere fact that Pansy's wink was the one that got you flustered, not any of our innuendos," he smiled at Draco, "was pretty telling to me. You mustn't forget that we are, after all, the handsomest men in all of Hogwarts."
Ginny's eyeroll was so intense her eyes were on the verge of popping out of their sockets, but some of the tension in her body had immediately ebbed away. "Well excuse me if jumping to the conclusion that I might be gay isn't the first explanation I find." Feeling antsy, she started braiding a few strands of her hair to have a reason for not looking him in the eye. "How can you two be so cool about it?"
The redhead didn't see the nonverbal exchange, but Blaise and Draco seemed to be communicating solely with their eyes for a few seconds before the figurative talking stick was passed on to the blond. "Oh well, I guess that has something to do with our bringing up. You of course wouldn't know it, but in many of the old families, it is not considered out of the ordinary for a man to take a male lover. It is a different thing to actually openly be in a relationship, but having a male consort is considered to be nothing unusual." He smiled at Ginny, who was now listening to him attentively before continuing.
"This is why, when I first realised I liked boys quite early on, it wasn't so much of a shocker. My father, too, had a male lover for a time, so, despite the public stance on homosexuality, I wasn't so shaken. Pansy here helped me to accept me for who I am and to keep pretences for the school posing as my girlfriend. Later on, of course, this handsome man came into the picture and he was just as laid back about his sexuality as I was, so we sort of hit it off, didn't we, honey bunny?" He made a kissy face at Blaise who returned the gesture with a laugh. Even Ginny, despite feeling a bit gloomy, had to laugh at them.
They made everything seem so easy, but they were also men. Everything was easier for men. They would marry and no one would think it strange if they had lovers, whereas she couldn't do that, nor did she want to. A public relationship though, would bring backlash of epic proportions with it. She wanted to say something else, but she was interrupted by a familiar, albeit slightly shaky voice calling her name from across the room.
"Ginny, would you mind coming here a bit? I just need to ask you something." Hermione's voice came out a little strained and she was blushing all over, the redness extending below her neckline. The younger girl couldn't help but be intrigued by the sight, so she stood up and excused herself from her three companions that were all biting back grins.
"Sure, what's this about?" she asked as soon as the door was closed behind her and Hermione was back in view, standing before her and twisting her hands in her skirt, exposing some tantalising thigh that Ginny immediately tore her eyes from.
"Well, you know, I was cleaning a little and I found your mask under the bed, back from Halloween. Do you happen to remember how it came to be in my room?"
Hermione was still refusing to make eye contact, which caused Ginny's eyes to roam, leaving them to land on the bed, which brought a violent onslaught of memories with it, making the redhead almost match her hair in colour. Should I lie or should I tell the truth? I sort of want her to know, but at the same time...Seeing the older girl finally look up at her through her lashes, biting her lip was enough to make up Ginny's mind and she summoned some of the Gryffindor courage she used to have.
"Well," she stepped a little closer, " you more or less invited me into your bed after we," she was now so close their noses were almost touching, "got to know each other a little more... physically." She slipped her hands around Hermione's waist and pulled her a tiny bit closer, just enough for their heaving breasts to brush up against each other and for the brunette's eyes to flow wide open. She stared at her for a few more seconds like a deer caught in headlights, before something changed in her demeanour and her arms slid around her neck, her lids lowering to half mast and her teeth catching the rosy flesh of her lip once more.
"Would you mind refreshing my memory?" Ginny was so taken aback that she couldn't think of any other suitable reply but getting rid of the last few inches that separated them and pressing their lips together.
It felt amazing to be kissing Hermione again and the memories of their night flooded her mind, sending delicious tingles up and down her spine as the two continued kissing for a while. When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing in short gasps, their cheeks tinted with a rosy colour.
Hermione dissolved into giggles and Ginny couldn't help but join her, not quite comprehending the absurdity of the situation just yet. "This is so unreal," the brunette breathed out and the one hand that was not buried in the younger girl's fiery hair started stroking the side of her face gently. "I guess you remember that night very well, then? I had a complete blackout and only got the memories back now... Why didn't you say anything?"
Ginny looked at her like she was mad and laughed. "Say anything? You can't be serious! We fucked, multiple times, might I add. Was I just supposed to come up to you in the Great Hall one day and casually ask you if you would be interested in a repeat performance? I mean really, Hermione..."
They were both still smiling looking each other up with heated eyes when a knock sounded at the door. "You guys all right in there? Do you want some snacks?" Muted laughter could be heard and Ginny rolled her eyes disentangling her hands from Hermione's waist but catching one of her palms in hers. "As long as they are all here we won't have any privacy..."
Hermione just smiled at her in turn and squeezed her hand. "Well, let's get rid of them then... I would very much like to continue what we started," she threw her a grin and pulled her toward the door, throwing it open.
"Malfoy, let's clear this up right away. I'm okay with you bringing Zabini here every other day and going at it for hours on end. Have you ever had me knock on your door and annoy you two?" She smiled a saccharine smile at the two boys who were grinning unashamedly. "Of course I didn't, because I'm a decent person. So all I ask now is for you to let me thoroughly enjoy this gorgeous girl beside me without interruptions, okay? When we're done, she can tell you all the dirty details. Now beat it, all of you!"
With a wide smile still on her face, Hermione shut the door, locked it and cast a silencing charm on the room before throwing her wand carelessly to the floor and wrapping her hands back around Ginny's neck. "Now where were we?"
I had many more ideas for this fic, but it seems to me that I am just not adept enough at pouring them into words. For this reason, this story only has one more chapter to go, which will be the epilogue. I want to thank you all for going on this journey with me and I have to say that despite it being quite tiring at times, it was a wonderful experience. I couldn't have asked for nicer readers and every follow, favorite and review always served to brighten my day. So thank you all!
I'll try to not take so long with the epilogue, but I dare not make any promises. I really hope you enjoyed this story!
Love to you all, Bunny