A/N: Thanks everyone for keeping with it. :) I hope this part doesn't bore you too much, but I like writing Ginny and Hermione interacting with each other and situations. It's all part of the natural progression of the characters and the story.

This update includes Chapters 37, 38 & 39. This 3-chapter arc is called "Moving On"

Warning: Adult content in places...we all need our little fix of fluff. ;)

37

Hermione was feeling a little nervous as the evening approached. She had indeed chosen the clothes she had spoken of with Fleur. However her black trousers were beautifully cut and hugged the curve of her hips; she had bought them a while ago to go to something or other at the Ministry with Ron. Over the trousers she had a red silk shirt, which was tailored beautifully and again accentuated her shape, around the bust this time. This was all finished off with a simple pair of black shoes.

She looked in the mirror and deliberately left undone a couple of the shirt's top buttons and wore a simple necklace that dangled down the 'v' of exposed skin there. She looked smart, but also was hinting there was more of her just out of sight. I wonder if Ginny will notice that? she thought with a smirk. Hermione wore her hair loose and had used some muggle styling products to make it look less bushy, as her hair was prone to doing, so it looked silky and smooth instead. Make-up was kept to a minimum, giving the impression she had none on at all, but at the same time looking like she didn't need any.

Taking a last look in the mirror, Hermione then went downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were impressed and both commented on how nice she looked.

The brunette was a little on edge waiting for Ginny, and she repeatedly looked at her watch, almost counting down the minutes. She didn't have to worry for long as Ginny walked through the door at only a minute after 7pm.

"Hi everyone!" the redhead called through from the kitchen.

Hermione walked in the direction of the kitchen and the two women met halfway. Both looked each other over, and clearly liked what they saw.

Ginny was wearing lovely bootcut black trousers, and a deep blue shirt, which was tailored as nice as Hermione's. The brunette had always been so used to seeing Ginny in jeans with only a brief time of seeing her in a dress at Bill and Fleur's wedding, she was already thinking that the woman would look stunning in a suit. Which I would very quickly like to peel her out of, she thought mischieviously.

"You look fantastic, Ginny," Hermione said.

"Of course I do!" Ginny said back, making them both laugh. "You look fabulous yourself."

Hermione blushed a little, but kept eye contact.

"Well, shall we get going, then?" Ginny said taking her girlfriend's hand.

They Apparated together to just outside the Harpies stadium. It looked strange for the stadium to be empty and mostly in the dark, except for a very few lights.

Ginny led them inside and off down a corridor which led to the large function room, which had served as everything from a conference room to a ball room.

Hermione was feeling just a little nervous, with this being her first function for a long time and the fact she was going to be even more openly public with Ginny.

The redhead greeted the two security witches at the door and they walked into the room, still holding hands.

The room was decorated with plenty of Halloween regalia, from glowing pumpkins hanging from the ceiling to artificial bats, which were enchanted to flap across the room at intervals, above everyone's heads. There were lots of small tables and chairs around the edges of the room with buffet food on each table. There was a bar at one end of the room, and there was some music being played through the magical equivalent of a sound system, so people could dance in the middle of the room. The music wasn't too loud, so people could talk to each other comfortably.

"It's not quite as good as a Hogwarts Halloween, but it's not far off, is it?" Ginny said.

"I like it," Hermione replied, still looking around.

Hermione had been unaware that from the moment they had walked in, numerous pairs of eyes had looked their way with great interest. It was only when she had lowered her eyes from the decor up above that she felt, and then saw, that several people were looking their way.

"It seems we're quite the topic of interest?" Hermione said quietly, for Ginny's ears.

"Well, you're well known," the redhead answered her, smiling. "Everyone knows who you are, and they all heard the basics from the recent business too."

"Oh," said Hermione, feeling the beginnings of butterflies in her stomach. She held Ginny's hand a little tighter.

"You'll be fine," Ginny said, picking up on the uncertainty in her girlfriend. "I'm here with you, and besides their interest is also because they're jealous of me," the redhead added in a whisper, leaning in to Hermione.

"Jealous?" the brunette said, her brain not feeling up to speed yet. She had felt so positive about going to this party, but now she was here, she felt nervous.

"Yes, because I have you," said Ginny, placing a kiss on her cheek. "I'll introduce you to some of the girls. It will help you feel more relaxed."

"Will it?"

"Trust me!" Ginny chuckled.

They made their way to one of the tables and Hermione did recognize one of the players; the seeker Geri Llewellyn with her long black hair. She was sitting with two other women.

"Hi Geri," Ginny said.

"Hello Ginny," Geri smiled. "So introduce us then?" the seeker gestured to Hermione.

"Geri, this is my girlfriend Hermione Granger."

Hermione felt only mildly uncomfortable, because she had a bigger and better feeling overtaking it. One of smug pride. I'm Ginny Weasley's girlfriend, woo-hoo, she thought, happy as a pig rolling in the proverbial.

"Nice to meet you, Geri," Hermione said, feeling a bit of confidence course through her for the first time this evening.

Ginny then introduced her to the other two women, a chaser called Gwen, and a beater called Gabby.

They moved from that table and met the head coach and former star player Gwenog Jones. Although not a huge quidditch fan, even Hermione knew this was one very famous player, but she could have sworn she saw the same kind of realization in Gwenog's eyes on meeting herself, which was quite odd.

Hermione went from person to person with Ginny, meeting the large squad the Harpies had, and she knew she'd never remember everyone's names, even if they usually always began with 'G'. She was aware that most of the players were acting the same as Gwenog when Ginny introduced her to them.

As they walked to the bar, to finally get a drink, Hermione took the opportunity to ask Ginny about it.

"Ginny, am I imagining it, or is everyone acting kind of weird when they meet me?" she asked, wondering if perhaps it was everyone thinking she was just odd and nothing more than that. She knew she was well known, but surely no one thought of her as a celebrity?

"No, you're not imagining it," Ginny said, then saw Hermione frown. "They're all a little starstruck."

"What for?" Hermione asked, amazed. "I don't play quidditch for anyone, never have?"

"No, but you were one third of perhaps the most famous trio of wizards and witches in recent history, who fought and won against Voldemort."

Hermione couldn't remove the frown yet, as she took it all in.

"And of course everyone heard a lot about your recent ordeal. Not from me," Ginny hastily added. "But news travels fast, so they heard you were tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange and lived. You went through hell and nearly died from what Felgate did and you stood up to the nonsense of that defence lawyer in that packed Courtroom."

"I see," Hermione said slowly, unaware until then that everyone knew as much about her as they apparently did.

"You OK?" the redhead asked.

"Yes."

"You're more of a legend to them than even Gwenog is." Ginny said proudly, then leaned in to whisper again. "And they're all jealous that you're with me. Even the straight girls are jealous!"

Hermione's frown went quickly and she couldn't stop a broad grin from reaching her face. They got their drinks, Hermione opting for a non-alcoholic orange juice. Ginny copied her and did the same. They went to sit back at the table where Geri was.

"My Mum and Aunt say they saw you at the match yesterday?" Geri asked Hermione.

"Yes, we were in the same box," she replied. "I'm sorry about the match. I was ready to hex those two beaters for their dirty tactics!"

"Hey, Gin, maybe Hermione could be our secret weapon?" laughed Geri. "We hide her somewhere and she can curse the opposition."

"Do not encourage her!" Ginny laughed. "I don't fancy being banned because I couldn't control my girlfriend!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes and fixed Ginny with a stare. She was playing along really, but was highly entertained by the uncertainty that fleetingly touched Ginny's expression. I see it works on you as well as it did on Ron, she thought.

"Ut-oh, you're in trouble later," snorted Geri.

"So, you're best friends with Harry Potter, one of the original 'three'?" Gabby, the beater asked. It looked like she had been burning to speak, and had only now been able to pick her moment.

"Yes. We were friends from the first couple of weeks at Hogwarts. This whole 'trio' or 'big three' thing is so over-hyped though, it kind of happened to us, not us looking for it." Hermione answered.

"Was Harry as talented then, as he became?"

Hermione giggled. "Nope! He didn't know his arse from his elbow in the early days, but no one could ever deny his courage and his desire to do the right thing."

"What was Bellatrix Lestrange really like?" Gwen the chaser piped in.

"Hey, that's not something Hermione wants to talk about, guys," Ginny defended Hermione straight away.

"It's alright, Gin," Hermione said, feeling remarkably at ease. "Bellatrix was definitely a few knuts short of a galleon, and that's to put it mildly. That was perhaps more frightening than the fact she was a Death Eater. No one, not even herself, knew what she might do next."

The girls around the table were giving their rapt attention to her, so she thought she would divulge something that Ginny had only heard very vague reference to.

"I actually became her for a couple of hours," Hermione said.

"Became her? What do you mean?" Geri asked.

"I used some polyjuice potion, dressed like her. I already had her wand which was taken from her when we escaped the Malfoy's. I went into Gringotts and impersonated her to gain access to her vault."

"Bloody hell!" two of the women said.

"You became Bellatrix and broke into her vault?" Ginny asked.

"I haven't talked of it much, because it kind of went wrong and we were close to dying down there. But yes, I got to wear her outer shell, so to speak, for a while."

"What did it feel like? Being her? Did you get any transfer of her personality?" Gabby asked.

"No thankfully. But what I did notice is how people reacted to me. It was a weird and powerful feeling to have people afraid of you and not daring to say the wrong thing in front of you," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It actually makes me feel a shiver down my spine remembering it, but for a while I got to see the world as it was around her. Glad I didn't have to be her for long though."

Hermione looked at the four faces around the table. Gabby, Geri and Gwen looked astounded and highly impressed and Ginny looked proud and simply radiating with love for her.

"Anyway, how come you never grilled Ginny about Harry and his adventures?" Hermione asked.

"She refused to talk about him," Geri smirked.

"I didn't refuse, exactly," said Ginny, blushing just a little. "I said I preferred not to talk about him."

"I always knew she preferred women anyway!" Gabby said in a knowing way.

"Oh yes?" Hermione asked, wondering suddenly if Ginny's lesbian bedroom experiences were with anyone around this very table.

"It's just a feeling you get about people and Ginny was not a completely straight woman, pure and simple," Gabby said, highly enjoying making Ginny fidget.

"I wish you had told her that sooner," Hermione scoffed, then chortled. "Maybe she would have drifted over to me faster?"

Ginny looked mortified. "Hello? I'm sitting right here?"

"Yes dear, I know you are," Hermione said, patting her hand.

The other women were greatly amused by seeing one of their star players being made to look on edge and embarrassed, all in good humour, but worthy of possible teasing in the future.

"Blooming Madam Rosmerta at The Three Broomsticks must have sensed it too, she was trying to get all close to Ginny the other week! It was frankly quite disturbing," Hermione said, still amused.

"I didn't do anything to encourage her," Ginny quickly defended herself, holding her hands up.

"Oh, you don't need to," Gabby said. "I will say this though, she might be an older lady, but she has got stamina," the woman said winking.

"What?" Ginny asked shocked. "You and Rosmerta?"

"Only the once," Gabby said, almost proudly. "It was worth my trouble," she winked again.

Hermione just started laughing. "I think I was right to have concerns, then? I felt I had to show the woman that Ginny was taken."

"What did you do?" Geri asked, intrigued.

"Hermione jumped me at the table," Ginny said.

"No I bloody didn't Ginny Weasley!" Hermione said, unable to stop a laugh too. "I kissed Ginny, except she was so surprised she jumped back like a frightened rabbit, then she just about jumped me. Either way Rosemerta definitely saw the state of things and that Ginny and I were together."

"Did she say anything about it?" Gabby asked.

"No, she just hinted that she rented rooms, while giving us a warm landlady smile," Ginny told her.

"Ahhh, I see!" Gabby replied.

"What do you mean 'Ah I see'?" Ginny asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"She probably fancied both of you," Gabby said. "At the same time."

"Pffffttt," Ginny spluttered on her juice.

Oh I'm so happy to see I dropped that particular habit, thought Hermione, who was usually the one spluttering and choking on things in surprise.

"It's true, she's got a lot of go in her for an old bird," Gabby continued. "A friend of mine went in there with her girlfriend and Rosmerta practically invited them upstairs with her."

Hermione was amazed at the conversation and also amazed at how comfortable she was feeling, even if they were talking about sex and some personal things.

The evening seemed to go by quite quickly, and at various times different people came over to the table to talk to them. It seemed that both Gabby and Gwen had girlfriends, who arrived later in the evening. It was true what Ginny had said about the Harpies, as Hermione observed more lesbian couples having a dance in the middle of the room than straight couples.

Through most of the evening Ginny had hold of Hermione's hand a lot and Hermione liked it, because it was Ginny's way of supporting her but also telling people that she was taken. There was a slight lull in the conversation as a couple of the girls went off for drinks again.

"Will you dance with me, Hermione?" Ginny asked, squeezing her hand.

"I'm hopeless at it, I bluffed my way throught the Yule Ball," she replied. "I have three left feet!"

Ginny, laughed. "You don't need to know any steps," then she whispered. "I just want to hold the most beautiful woman in the room, close to me."

Hermione couldn't refuse a request backed up like that. They rose and Ginny led her by the hand to the centre of the room where other people were dancing. As the evening had gone on, the music had gone to a more slower tempo range, just like muggle parties often did. Hermione could see that it was all couples dancing and that they just seemed to be holding each other and swaying to the music. I think I can manage that, she thought.

Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione and the brunette did the same back, as they kind of rested their heads on each other's shoulders as they gently moved to the music.

"This is perfect," Ginny said.

"I know what you mean."

"Thank you for being here."

"I've enjoyed it," Hermione said. "I'm so glad you asked me."

"The women have been asking me for weeks to introduce you to them," Ginny said almost tiredly.

"Well, now you have," the brunette paused. "I hope I didn't embarrass you too much?"

Ginny pulled back to look at Hermione. "Not at all. I've had a lot of fun, and you've won so many fans tonight."

"Really?"

"You didn't see how everyone was hung on your every word?" Ginny asked surprised. "They love you, Hermione."

"Hmm, it's just as well that I only love you then, isn't it?" Hermione replied, smiling. "I don't need fans anyway."

Ginny gave a mischievious grin. "Could one fan have a kiss from you?" she said with an eyebrow raised.

"I don't kiss fans," Hermione said playing along. Seeing Ginny put on a fake pout made her laugh. "But maybe just this once," she added.

The two women leaned in and pressed their lips together; both aware they were in a public place of sorts, they didn't get too deeply into it, but greatly enjoyed the contact. Hermione was aware that one or two others on the dance floor looked their way appreciatively.

They talked quietly for the remainder of the evening, between sitting at the table and having a slow dance or two; sometimes holding each other close, sometimes looking into each other's eyes as they spoke, with Ginny unable to stop herself from tracing the visible neckline where Hermione's shirt opened, with her fingertips, playing with Hermione's necklace absent-mindedly. I think the look definitely worked, Hermione thought, pleased with herself.

As they shared another slow dance and another soft kiss, Ginny held Hermione and whispered so only Hermione could hear her.

"All evening I've wanted to rip open your shirt and bury my face in your breasts. To slide my hand around and hold your arse and hips close to me. To slide a hand into your trousers and feel how wet you get for me..." she placed light kisses to Hermione neck.

Hermione's breathing had quickened and she felt her whole body tingling, and coming alive to every word and touch.

"So, take me home and do it," she said in breathy whispers. "I want you Ginny. I want you inside me. I want to be inside you, to hear you scream my name when you come."

It was Ginny's turn to hitch her breaths slightly. "Merlin's balls!" she whispered.

They pulled out of their close hug, and Hermione let Ginny lead her over to the table again, and told the other women that they were calling it a night and would be leaving now.

Both Gwen and Gabby, were giving very knowing smiles, which made Hermione feel a faint blush creep to her cheeks, hopefully not seen in the slightly dim light of the room.

They said goodnight to Gwenog last, before leaving and going back to the place they had Apparated to earlier. Hermione had genuinely enjoyed meeting everyone, once her nerves had settled, and she had enjoyed the evening as a whole, but right now she wanted to get back to the cottage and to be alone with Ginny.