Chapter Thirty-Five

Over the next week, the two friends were more careful around each other. Neither wanted to alert the other of the confusing thoughts and feelings they were experiencing, and both were too caught up in their own worlds to notice the change in the other. Classes served as distractions, studying became an acceptable reason to fall into thoughtful silence and the presence of Luna and Daphne kept the atmosphere light instead of suffocating.

Friday night came and after dinner in the Great Hall, the two decided to head out to the Lake since the weather, while getting chillier, was still clear. They talked about classes and gossiped about the latest potions disaster, a third year Hufflepuff who had accidentally added too much newt eyes to a hair growing potion and ended up going bald.

'The poor girl was bald for the rest of day until Andromeda could brew the antidote. I felt sorry for her but luckily Professor Sprout let her wear a hat the rest of the day.'

Hermione smiled at the redhead who was standing by the shore and skipping stones. She watched as Ginny scoured the ground and swooped down to pick up the best stone and threw it. She would stand still and watch the ripples until they were almost completely gone before looking back down for the next stone. Hermione was mesmerized by the thoughtful expression that crossed Ginny's face every time she stopped to watch the ripples. The setting sun shone off of her brilliant hair and her mouth would tug up into a smile when she skipped a stone farther than before.

Ginny turned to look at her friend and was surprised to see her observing her with a small smile on her face. Hermione instantly dropped her gaze and blushed at being caught. Ginny smiled her own little smile and went to sit beside her.

'Hey, I wanted to ask you a favor.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah, what were you going to do Saturday morning?'

Hermione shrugged and looked up in thought.

'Just some homework. I wanted to cross reference a couple of books from the restricted section for Potions. Why?'

'Would you be willing to play Quidditch with me before tryouts?'

Hermione looked at Ginny in confusion.

'Play Quidditch? You know I don't fly.'

Ginny smirked.

'Not in the air. I brought the puppets and I was wondering if you would scrimmage with me for a bit.'

Hermione frowned.

'I really should study, Ginny. Even if I'm caught up, I still have a lot to cover.'

'Please Hermione; I'll have practice to worry about after tomorrow anyway but I wanted to get in one last challenging go before the scouts start showing up. I want to make sure I'm at the top of my game. Please? Just this once?'

Hermione continued to frown. She searched Ginny's pleading face and saw a fire burning in her eyes that was her passion for the sport she would never completely understand. Deciding she didn't want to be the reason that fire was extinguished, she sighed and nodded her head, a small smile spreading across her face.

'All right, but only this once! I won't be dragged out onto the pitch every time you get bored.'

Ginny squealed and pounced on her friend, giving her a bone crushing hug.

'Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I promise just this once so I feel better prepared.'

Hermione laughed and let herself get lost in the feeling of Ginny's arms around her. Butterflies filled her stomach and her heart raced as a sweet flowery scent filled her senses. Ginny released her and she mentally kicked herself for losing the control she had established through the week. Hermione blushed and looked down, missing the blush that was spreading down Ginny's neck from her own racing heart and thoughts.

They sat in thoughtful silence, each gaining control of themselves, and watched the sun go down. Hermione shivered as the temperature dropped.

'We should probably head back. It'll be getting dark soon.'

Ginny nodded and the two headed back. The rest of the evening was spent talking about 'safe' topics and keeping somewhat of a distance from each other in hopes of not succumbing to their growing desires.

Hermione met Ginny out on the Quidditch pitch the next morning an hour before tryouts. She entered the stadium and made her way to the center of the green grass, smiling at the figure some distance above the pitch flying patterns in the sky. She waved when she thought Ginny would see her and sure enough the figure turned into a steep dive, pulling up just in time to land gracefully.

'Morning, Hermione. Thanks for the help.'

'You're welcome, of course. Where're the puppets at?'

Ginny pointed to a smallish box near the edge of the stadium. Hermione went and pulled out the shrunken puppets, setting them on the ground. She pulled out her wand and returned them to their regular size before putting the basic animation spells into place.

'So, what do you want to start with?'

They spent the next hour going over some of the more advanced plays Ginny had taught Hermione. Hermione stood to the side of the pitch near the middle, doing all she could to stop Ginny from scoring and failing miserably. Even knowing what Ginny was going to do with the set up plays didn't help her that much in stopping her.

People for the tryouts trickled into the stadium and stood near the sidelines, mesmerized by the scene in front of them. They ohed, awed and cheered each time Ginny pulled off a goal. With ten minutes left and nearly all of the candidates on the sideline, Ginny came down and stopped in front of Hermione, breathing deeply from her vigorous practice.

'Okay, one more. Let's do a Cheater.'

Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow.

'Cheater? What…Oh! All them against you?'

Ginny smiled and nodded. Hermione smiled and shook her head in amusement.

'Okay. Give me a second.'

Ginny went to the other side of the pitch and flew in circles while Hermione pointed her wand at each puppet in turn, casting the right spells. She stopped for a second and went to the box to get the other rings, which she expanded and sent up to rotate above the stationary hoops. Everything ready, she yelled up to Ginny.

'OKAY, GIN! I'M READY TO BEAT YOU NOW!'

Even from a distance, Hermione could see her friend's smirk. She readied herself as Ginny turned around and started toward the goals. Hermione concentrated with all her ability and threw in everything she could think of to stop the blur that was Ginny heading toward the increasingly faster rotating goals. She thought she had gotten her when Ginny dropped the quaffle but Ginny dove down and caught it before it touched the ground and Hermione let out a small shriek as she tried to recover. Finally after a frantic five minutes, Ginny beat the last puppet and lobbed the quaffle at the speeding rings. A huge roar from the watching crowd echoed around the stadium when it sailed almost effortlessly through the still moving hoop. Ginny pumped her fist in triumph and dived down to Hermione.

'HA! Got you that time!'

Hermione laughed as she directed the puppets down to the ground.

'Yes, you did. Was that a sufficiently challenging practice?'

Ginny grinned ridiculously and nodded.

'It was bloody brilliant! Thank you so much.'

'No problem Gin. You'd better go talk with your recruits before they start asking for your autograph.'

Ginny shot a smirk over her shoulder as she walked over to the excited crowd. Hermione turned back to the puppets and shrunk them back down to fit in the box. She did the same with the rings and by the time she had packed them all away, the candidates were flying around the pitch. She saw Ginny hovering near the side watching the players.

'Gin!'

Ginny smiled and dove down, hovering in front of Hermione.

'I'm going to head back to the castle. Good luck with tryouts.'

'Okay. I'll come find you when I get done. Hopefully it won't take too long. Thanks again Hermione and good luck with your homework.'

Hermione smiled and waved once more as she exited the stadium.

Over the next few weeks, Hermione and Ginny continued to tiptoe around each other. Hermione tried to find solace in the library but whenever she paused her studying, the bright hazel eyes and smiling red lips of her redheaded friend floated through her mind. She tried to keep some distance between them in hopes her feelings would remain in check but after a long day, there was an inevitable pull to find her friend and just spend time with her.

Ginny threw herself into Quidditch in hopes of holding onto something she understood, but sometimes when she was supposed to be watching her teammates, the dark brown eyes and stunning smile of her friend would interrupt her thoughts and it wasn't until someone whizzed by her that she snapped out of it. Even though she was exhausted most nights, her mind wouldn't let her go to sleep until she had spent some time with the brunette.

The two friends were trying so hard to appear like everything was normal that someone noticed. She'd been curious ever since seeing them on the train but Luna hadn't started noticing the stray glances and shy smiles until after Hermione's birthday. It wasn't that Luna disapproved, she just didn't want to say anything because it seemed that neither Gryffindor was ready to admit their feelings to themselves.

McGonagall had scheduled a Hogsmeade trip on Halloween and Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Daphne made their way through the gates. It was fairly cold and Hermione smiled at Ginny who had her Holyhead Harpies scarf wrapped around her neck to keep the wind out. Daphne glanced at the logo on the end and laughed.

'You're a Harpie fan?'

Ginny nodded enthusiastically.

'Oh yes! Ever since I was little, I've dreamed about playing for them.'

'I think their team two years ago was brilliant. Collins and Moulary were the number one and two scorers in the league. If it hadn't been for that lucky snitch grab by Puddlemere in the finals, they would have annihilated them.'

Ginny's jaw dropped as the group went into the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer.

'Y-You follow the Harpies? Why didn't I know this before?!'

They grabbed a table as Daphne and Ginny dove into a passionate discussion of the Harpies, both past and present. Hermione smiled to herself as she watched Ginny's eyes sparkle with excitement and laughed as she gestured wildly, trying to make some point. She was pulled from her thoughts by Luna.

'How about we go get some butterbeers while these two continue their conversation?'

Hermione nodded, blushing from being caught in one of her growing pastimes of Ginny-watching. The two witches made their way to the crowded bar and stood in the queue waiting for Madam Rosemerta.

'So, have you figured it out yet?'

Hermione's eyebrows knitted in confusion as she turned to Luna.

'Figured what out?'

Luna smiled dreamily and gazed at Hermione with her wide pale blue eyes.

'I take that as a no. It's okay, you'll both figure it out soon, I think.'

Hermione frowned as the Ravenclaw turned her attention to the bartender. Why was it she thought Luna knew about the feelings she was fighting with? She'd made sure not to let them slip as much as she could. Sure there had been close calls, but Ginny never seemed to notice. She helped Luna with the drinks and returned to the table. Her stomach flipped when Ginny looked up and gave her a brilliant smile.

The four friends drained their drinks and headed out into the village. Much like Diagon Alley, the once closed and barren storefronts were open and flocks of students flooded in and out. They made their rounds to the usual stops and after a few hours, decided to head back to the castle with their purchases. Hermione walked beside Ginny with Luna on her left and Daphne on Ginny's right.

Hermione was trying to catch her breath from laughing at Ginny's impression of her brother around Fleur when something hit her in the back and forced the wind from her lungs as she fell to the ground with a strangled scream.

'Hermione!'

Ginny knelt down beside the gasping brunette, looking around for the source of interruption. Her blood boiled when she saw Daniel and his cronies advancing on them. She shot up and drew her wand in one motion.

'You bastard!'

Daniel smirked wickedly as Ginny stood with her wand ready. Luna joined her as Daphne helped Hermione up off of the ground. Hermione struggled to her feet and went to stand beside Ginny, gripping her wand arm, unsure whether the Weasley would control her anger. She turned her loathing glare toward Daniel.

'What do you want, Daniel? You already have detention for the entire term, would you like to be expelled instead?'

Daniel's smirk faltered slightly but his eyes narrowed dangerously.

'Watch it mudblood, there're no enamored professors to save the teacher's pet this time.'

Ginny growled at the word 'mudblood' and strained against Hermione's grasp. Hermione hissed in Ginny's ear.

'Don't! He's doing it on purpose!'

Ginny clenched her jaw and remained still. Daniel's smirk widened. Daphne stepped in front and glared angrily.

'Why won't you just leave us alone?! Why won't you just leave me alone?!'

'Because you walked out on me, you bitch, and no one walks out on me. And anyone who helps you, will be forced out of the way.'

Daniel swished his wand and sent an orange-colored spell at Daphne which would have hit her had it not been for Hermione's quick and strong shield. Ginny and Luna acted almost simultaneously and easily disarmed the others before they could blink. Hermione strode forward and stood a foot from Daniel's still surprised face.

'I dealt with a troll in my first year, a basilisk in my second, and an escaped convict in my third. I started dueling Death Eaters in my fifth year, survived the Cruciatus from Bellatrix Lestrange and killed a piece of Voldemort's soul. Why would you think that I would be scared or intimidated by a stuck-up, worthless piece of shit like you?'

Daniel stood staring dumbfounded at the seething Gryffindor. Hermione gave him one more disgusted look up and down before turning her back. Ginny gave him one more menacing glare before dropping his wand. Luna dropped the other boys' wands and followed the two to where Daphne stood shocked. They turned their backs and walked back to the castle.

'This is why, mudblood!'

Hermione only saw a glimpse of a purple light before it hit her in the back like a ton of bricks and she passed out into darkness.