Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The next few chapters are going to be Ginny heavy and Snape light. You have been warned.
If you're in Snape withdrawal, check out Auburn Burn.
Also, I really appreciate the comments and will start making an effort to respond to them as much as possible.
The nourishing potion was decidedly less appealing cold, but Hermione didn't want to remind Ginny of her tea-induced table burning incident, so she continued to drink it.
"So, what were you up to with Dean earlier?" she couldn't help but ask.
"Nothing much really, just talking."
"What were you talking about that was so fascinating you didn't make curfew?"
"Things…" Actually, Hermione had been one of the main topics of conversation. Specifically, they had discussed Ginny's feelings toward Hermione. Dean had shared a closely guarded secret with her about a very confusing incident with Seamus over the summer, but she wasn't about to get into any of that right now.
"Has he kissed you yet?"
"What? No! I don't… I don't think he feels that way about me." Ginny finished lamely.
"What makes you so sure? How many girls have you seen him having long, involved talks with? Do you like him back?"
"The problem is that I don't think he likes me like that at all." Ginny lied, marveling at her friend's sudden uncanny ability to ask the most uncomfortable questions imaginable. Actually, Dean had asked her out on numerous occasions, though he knew her heart was somewhere else. In truth, she thought his was, too, but he wasn't ready to admit it to himself.
As they talked, Hermione found the potion easier and easier to stomach. It actually wasn't half bad if she didn't think about it. After the last swallow, she drank deeply from the tea, and passed it to Ginny.
"Looks like the tea is finally starting to run out." she commented as she handed the mug to the other girl. "You finish it, Gin, I think I've had enough." She could feel the warm water flowing around her, and loved the scent of the steam wafting up around them. Ginny drained the cups remaining contents quickly, setting it down on the floor before leaning her head back against the rim of the tub, letting her eyes close as a smile played on her lips.
"This feels nice." she said, quietly.
Hermione grabbed the bar of soap that had been sitting in a dish near the faucet and stood so that the water only reached her thighs, running her hands over her body leaving a tiny slippery film. Ginny watched in awe, knowing this image would haunt her dreams relentlessly for months. Hermione's glistening pale skin shone in the pale light almost as if it had a glow of its own. Her ribs threw a haunting shadow over a concave stomach, yet even though she looked light enough to be broken by the bathwater swirling around her, she was beautiful.
Ginny hated herself for being turned on. She knew she couldn't help the feelings she had for her best friend; she had spent years trying to stunt the growth of this intoxicating ivy, but now it had wound its way from her heart through her veins and into every pore of her body. She ached to reach out and touch Hermione, to run fingertips over those sharp cheeks, let her touch rain down the slender neck and slip over every surface until she reached the end of the other girl's toes. Then her lips and tongue would follow the same path back up.
"I know." Hermione said, voice low with shame, "I look terrible."
"Actually," Ginny confessed, "I was just thinking about how even though you've lost too much weight, you're still so pretty."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Thank you!" Hermione beamed, moving closer through the steam that gathered like fog over the water. "Ginny?" Her voice was tentative.
"Yeah?"
"Will you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what?"
"Wash my back?" Hermione wasn't sure why she wanted to feel the small hands on her skin, or how she had found the courage to make such a strange request. The girls she hung out with during summers with her parents had done it for each other all the time, setting down a toothbrush to reach into her shower and grab the bar of soap, and it had meant nothing. Tonight, in the soft moonlike glow, things felt so different than they ever had before. She decided to attribute these mysterious sensations to the tea rather than giving them more consideration. After all, what was harmless fun between friends?
"Sure." Ginny's voice was casual but the color in her warm cheeks deepened slightly, and the pinkness blossoming just above the space between her breasts crept up toward her shoulders. Their hands met in a gentle caress as the soap passed between them, and a jolt of electricity rushed through Ginny's body as Hermione settled in between her legs, facing away and leaning forward slightly to expose the curve of her spine.
Ginny wanted to throw her arms around her, to kiss her over and over and tell her everything would be alright, to beg her to start eating, really eating, to beg her to stop dying. Instead she cupped sharp elbows, running her palms up arms and over protruding shoulder blades, tracing the fascinating outlines of every shadow. As much as she hated how frail and tiny Hermione's body had become, the love she felt for the girl inside burned deeper and with more intensity than it ever had. She hoped the growing heat between her legs would go unnoticed.
"Ohhh, that's wonderful." Hermione's words were almost a sigh as she leaned back, tilting her head so that it rested on Ginny's shoulder. "Do you want me to wash yours?"
Ginny allowed herself an instant before replying, feeling her erect nipples pressed against the other girl's body, the way skin slid against soapy skin each time she inhaled, and the delicious scent that belonged to Hermione and no one else. Finally, she slid out from behind her friend so that their eyes could meet, and forced a smile.
"No thanks. I'd better wash up and get out. Look," she said, holding up one hand, "my fingers are getting all shriveled up!" Every cell in her body screamed out in protest as she denied her tongue the flavor of the most desired and forbidden fruit, but she stood her ground, sliding the soap quickly over her skin before rinsing off and rising to leave. Not tonight, she told the part of her that cried out in anger as she pulled herself farther away, not like this.
"Know what?" Hermione asked, slight shock in her voice.
"Hmm?" She hoped the tiny jolt of fear she felt hadn't escaped into her voice as she paused and turned to face the other girl.
"I think I'm hungry."
Ginny tried to avoid sounding too enthusiastic. "Oh my god, I'm starving!" she exclaimed, eyes widening.
"To the kitchen!" Hermione cried, and they were scrambling out of the tub and drying off with unnaturally soft and fluffy towels. They clamored into the bedroom, pulling robes over their heads. They only paused when they reached the locked door leading to the rest of the castle.
"Hey!" Ginny yelled.
"No problem, where's your wand?"
"Hell no, you'll put your eye out!"
"But Ginny," she whined, "I'm so hungry!"
"Make the greasy bat let us out."
"He's not greasy!"
"Whatever. Tell him we need some bloody nourishment!" It didn't occur to either of them that hours had crept by and it had grown late.
"He has a kitchen. He can just give us something."
At that very moment, Professor Snape was sitting in his study with a book in his lap and a glass of Firewhiskey in his hand. He looked up when he heard the doorbell chiming repeatedly. He hadn't felt any indication that Hermione was in danger, so he wondered why the girls would be franticly disturbing him at such a late hour. Muttering obscenities he scrambled toward the door, taking a short moment to flatten his robes with the palms of his hands and compose his facial expression so that he would appear indifferent.
"Snape, we're so hungry!" Ginny exclaimed, almost falling through the door when he opened it.
"Professor Snape!" Hermione barked at her, then turned to look at him. "Do you have any food?" He raised an eyebrow and her face turned scarlet.
"And what, may I ask, are the two of you doing awake at this hour?"
Both girls suddenly looked very sheepish, standing in the doorway with dripping hair. For some unfathomable reason, they wore their school robes, though the damp patches clinging to their bodies made it obvious they were naked underneath.
"We… we were taking a bath, you see, because our new bathroom is so lovely and whatnot." At this point Ginny paused to flash him what she imagined was a winning smile. "Well, time got away from us, and Hermione mentioned that she was feeling hungry, and we thought, well, it's so good that her appetite is maybe starting to get better…"
"Did she drink her potion?" His voice was careful, though still held a stern edge.
"All of it!" Hermione exclaimed, gesturing emphatically.
"I see." He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to regain his thoughts. "Very well," he sighed, "I'll see what I can find."
After an hour or so of pestering their Professor while he made them surprisingly delicious French toast. Ginny and Hermione pulled the robes over their heads and fell into Hermione's bed, a tangle of bare limbs, instantly asleep.
Meanwhile, Snape settled in for what he knew would be yet another sleepless night.