Hermione shuffled through her paperwork making sure everything was appropriately organized before she ran out for lunch. She glanced to the clock on the wall. A quarter til noon. She'd have to hurry if she didn't want to be late for her lunch date with Ginny. Satisfied that she'd found a good stopping point, she grabbed her coat and made her way out of the Ministry.

By the time Hermione got to the little muggle café they both preferred, Ginny was already seated. When she saw her, the ginger waved the other witch over.

"Sorry, I'm late," Hermione said as she took her seat.

"Please," Ginny waved off her apology. "I always expect you to be late, when we meet after you've been at work," she laughed. "Sooooo….you two have any more fun after we left?"

Hermione laughed this time. "Given how late it was when you left and how much we drank, we were lucky to make it upstairs to bed before we passed out. Did Ron make it further than the fireplace?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, yes. He was already in bed when I went through. Made it to work on time and everything," she commented. The siblings had decided to go in on a flat shortly after Ron partnered with George on the store. Between the two of them, they made enough for a decent apartment in Diagon Alley. The social pair loved being in the heart of the British wizarding world.

"Well, that's good," Hermione replied as she glanced around the busy café.

"I already ordered for us," Ginny told her.

"Oh, thank Merlin, I don't want to be late back to work. What did you get?" she asked.

"Basically, our usual," she answered. "Chicken salad on a croissant, crisps and biscuits, along with tea, of course."

"You are an absolute gem, Gin," the brunette praised.

Ginny smirked, "As I said, I knew you'd be late, and I didn't want to waste any time reading menus. Especially when we have so very much to discuss."

"Of course," Hermione laughed. "So, what do you want to know?"

*H*H*H*H*H*H*H*H*H*

"Oh, Merlin! That is Hot!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Shhhh!" Hermione scolded. "The whole restaurant doesn't need to know."

Ginny laughed. "Sorry, I just can't believe he let you tie him up."

"Twice," Hermione added smugly.

"What? Really?" The brunette nodded her confirmation. "Wow, he really must like you," Ginny mused. "I could never get him to be so adventurous in bed."

Hermione frowned, "Gin, I didn't mean to imply…."

The ginger waved off her concern. "I know you didn't. Besides, we were stupid kids back then, and straight off the front lines of war. I wanted to try everything, and he wanted safe and simple. I really can't blame him for that, all things considered." Noticing that her friend remained frowning, she asked, "What's wrong?"

It took a second for her to answer. "Ginny, you said you knew that Harry and I liked each other for a while now. Were you ever jealous of me, you know, when you two were still together? I know there were a lot of reasons you broke up, but was I one of them?" she asked.

The other witch took a little time to consider the question. "No…..I don't think so," she started. "I was never jealous of you, maybe your closeness to Harry, but I wasn't jealous of you. You are definitely not one of the reasons we broke up. As I said, we were dumb kids that wanted different things in life. Breaking up was the best decision we could have made."

"Mione, I trust you, and I did back then. I was never scared you'd "steal" him away or anything. You were my rock after we broke up. I didn't expect that. In fact, I was afraid you wouldn't want to be friends after." Hermione opened her mouth to assure her that would never have been the case, but Ginny waved her off once more. "I know, I know. I was just so low then. I was still dealing with Fred's death, the war, the breakup and I just didn't know where I fit in anymore. And then there you were, helping me in ways my family couldn't. I can't even begin to tell you how much that meant." The ginger witch took a deep breath. "Well, that got deep really quick. Let's go back to safer territory," she said. "So, what do you have planned next?" she asked with a cheeky grin.

"No, no, no," Hermione countered. "We've already talked about me, it's your turn. I haven't seen you in two weeks. How have you been? How was Bulgaria? Did you see Victor, outside of the pitch that is?"

Ginny laughed. "Ok, ok, my turn. Bulgaria was fine, won three out of four matches, and yes I did see Victor," she replied.

"More detail, please," the brunette said, waving for her to elaborate.

"Bulgaria was fun. Despite what Ron said, there was plenty of good food there. It had a decent night life, and Victor was kind enough to show us around. Ron still harbors a bit of a man crush on him, which is never not going to be funny," she elaborated.

"So, how is Victor? In his last letter he said he's thinking of retiring," the other witch asked.

"Yeah, he's still thinking about it. Says he's getting too old to be on the pitch." Both witches rolled their eyes at that. Victor was still in his prime and could easily play for another 10 or 15 years. "I think he's just tired of the limelight and the pressure of it all. He said that several teams have reached out to him about coaching, and he's considering it. He obviously still loves the game, and doubt he'd be happy in another field."

"Oh, wow. Good for him. What teams are interested?"

"Right now, the Ballycastle Bats have reached out along with the Chudley Cannons and a couple teams from the US. He'd make a good coach," Ginny replied.

"He'd make a great coach. I take it Ron tried to convince him to go with the Cannons?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," she said with a grin. "It really would help them out. I mean, old Ricklesworth is ancient and has been holding them back. Having Victor come on could really turn the team around. Not to mention they could use some good publicity. Between their abysmal records and half the team being arrested for brawling after their last match, well, yeah, they can use the good publicity."

"Definitely," Hermione agreed. "Now how are you personally? It's your turn to spill."

Ginny signed, "There's not much to say. Well, other than, I'm fine. Still love my job, still taking a break from dating, and I'm not looking for hook ups, if that's what you mean."

"Well, not exactly, but how's being voluntarily single going?" she asked.

"Good, actually," Ginny replied. "Not that I hated being out there or anything. I just kinda want to focus on me right now. Don't get me wrong. I love sex, but yeah, I needed to take a break from it all. Do I sound crazy?" she asked.

"Not at all, it's perfectly reasonable, and if anyone gives you any trouble then send them my way," the other witch responded.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," the ginger laughed.

"Of course, you can," Hermione said with certainty.

"Ok, I've spilled. Now, what do you plan next with Harry?" Ginny asked eagerly which made the other witch giggle. "Sorry, but I'm not getting any right now and have to get my thrills somehow," she said primly.

Hermione laughed again and shrugged. It's not like I haven't done the same to her, the witch thought. "Well, I'm not sure. I don't want to throw everything at him at once, but I really don't know what he'd like," she answered. "Any tips?"

"Ummm…." Ginny thought for a second. "Well, he seems to be taking to submission pretty well. It makes sense. With his line of work, having someone else take the lead has to be a relief. But I think he has a bit of a dominate streak as well. I saw it a little when we were together, and if Padma is to be believed, he's only mildly explored that side of himself."

"Padma told you that?" Hermione asked, quite surprised that the woman would be so forthcoming with her sex life.

"Of course not," Ginny said. "Parvati told me. She always was a gossip. Don't worry, I made it clear that she should keep anything she hears about Harry to herself from now on."

The brunette laughed. "Oh, please tell me you didn't hex her."

"Didn't need to, my reputation apparently precedes me," she said proudly. "Anyway, having him play dom may be a way to go. Maybe some roleplay or public sex."

"How public?" Hermione asked.

"The public where it's still a thrill but there's no risk of discovery. I mean, he seemed to like what you did in the kitchen on Friday, didn't he?" Ginny replied.

"Yeah, he did. Good plan. What about anal?" The brunette countered.

"Giving or receiving?" the other witch shot back.

"Either"

"Then no, he hasn't done either, at least not with me," she said.

"Then why did you ask…" Hermione started then shook her head. "Never mind. I've got to get back to work. Any last suggestions?"

"Yes. Talk to him," Ginny said. "Ask him what he wants or would like to try and figure it out as you go. This isn't curse breaking, Mione. You can do this," she said encouragingly. "Now go, you're going to be late. I'll settle the bill."

Hermione quickly gathered her things and stood. "Thanks, Gin! I'll get the next one, I promise," she said as she leaned down and gave the redhead a peck on the cheek and dashed out the door.