Sleepless Nights
Chapter Four: A Picnic
Disclaimer: Hermione and Ginny et al belong to J.K. Rowling. I am just writing for them temporarily, as she seems to be giving them a longish break. This story is fluff and will contain much girl/girl angst, romantic affection, and eventually f/f action, so if this is not your thing, there are lots of other stories out there and I recommend you go read one of them instead.
Spoilers: None. Unless I'm psychic.
Ginny Weasley was sitting beneath a large tree by the lake. It was a beautiful autumn day at the start of her fourth year at Hogwarts; the sun was shining and the leaves were beginning to turn. Ginny had a small easel set up in front of her, and was contentedly directing her set of enchanted paints as they sketched and colored a picture of the scene before her. Ginny smiled and shifted the focus of the portrait away from the foliage and onto the studious form of Hermione Granger, sitting just a few feet away.
Hermione's hair was straining to escape the massive ponytail it had been pulled into, and a stray leaf clung to the hair ribbon that was fixed halfway down her neck. She was gazing intently at a heavy book that was propped open on her knees. Even though it was only the third weekend of Fall Term, Hermione was already immersing herself in advance studying for her OWLS.
Ginny continued to watch her in silence. There was something so captivating about the depth of Hermione's focus, the way she could render herself oblivious to the slight wind ruffling the collar of her robes, the sound of waves splashing on the rocks nearby, the slightly dreamy way that Ginny had been staring at her for the past hour.
"Hermione!" Ron's voice came crashing through Ginny's reverie. "Where have you been? I looked all over the library for you." Ron approached with a huge grin on his face, Harry following along a few steps behind him.
Hermione glanced up from her book, looking torn between pleasure at their arrival and annoyance at the interruption in her reading. But she gave the boys a perfectly friendly smile as they drew nearer, stopping under the tree next to Ginny.
"Did you need something in particular?" she asked. "It must've been really important to draw you into the library on such a gorgeous day."
"Nah," Ron replied. "We wanted you to go on a picnic with us."
"A picnic?" Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "You'd better not be planning to ask the house elves to whip up a special basket or anything."
Ginny chuckled, and Hermione smiled over at her.
"No worries, Hermione." Harry assured her. "Ron just wants to show off a nifty bit of transfiguration for you."
"Oooh, let's see it then," Hermione said eagerly.
Ron cleared his throat, and seemed very aware of the fact that Hermione was watching him intently. He began swinging his wand in a very dramatic fashion while muttering a fairly advanced transfiguration spell.
"Watch your arm movements, Ron. You have to be really precise with…" Hermione's warning was cut off by a sharp look from Ron as he brought his wand arm around and attempted to aim at a large boulder and worked the incantation to turn it into a picnic basket.
Everyone's eyes fixed on the boulder, which remained unchanged. They looked at each other. Harry walked towards the boulder to examine it. Ginny glanced at Hermione, who caught her eye and looked meaningfully at one of the lower branches of the tree. Ginny followed her gaze, and saw a picnic basket and blanket balancing precariously in place of the bird's nest which had been there a few moments before.
Harry had noticed the basket too, and looked as though he was trying very hard not to laugh at the bewildered look on Ron's face. He coughed, and raised his eyes to the tree. Ron let out a whoop. "Ah, it worked after all! I meant to do that, of course." He was so excited at his success that he hurriedly blasted off a Summoning Charm to bring the basket down.
"No!" Hermione shouted, but before she could pull out her wand to perform a counter charm for levitation, the blanket and basket had come crashing down on Ron's head.
Ron lay sprawled on the ground, plaid checkered picnic cloth over his head, pieces of the smashed basket scattered in a wide radius nearby. He was out cold.
"Ennervate!" all three of them said in panicked unison. Ron stirred, and sat up groggily.
"Oh Ron, you forgot about the Compounding Gravitational Magnification effect, didn't you?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"I'm so glad you know what it's called," Ron replied sarcastically, rubbing a large bump that was swelling on the top of his forehead.
Ginny patted his shoulder comfortingly. "That was an amazing bit of transfiguration, though, Ron." He smiled weakly at her. "That looks like a nasty bump. Let me walk you to the hospital wing."
"I don't need --" Ron was cut off by Harry, who heaved him to his feet.
"Come on, Ron," he insisted. "I'll take you over. Madam Pomfrey'll be delighted to have someone besides me as a patient for once."
"Do you want me to come along?" Ginny asked worriedly.
"No, why don't you stay here and clean up the debris?" Harry suggested.
Ginny nodded in agreement and watched the two boys wobble off towards the infirmary.
With a quick swish of her wand, she swept the remnants of the basket into a pile. On a whim, she muttered, "Repario!" and the basket flew back together. Hermione watched with an impressed look on her face. She moved over and spread the blanket on the ground. The two girls looked at each other.
"I really hope he's okay," Ginny said, trying hard not to giggle at the look on Ron's face when he saw the basket begin to fall.
"Me, too," Hermione replied, as a small twitter escaped her lips.
Soon the girls were collapsed together in a heap of laughter. When the mirth subsided, Ginny found herself on the ground with her head in Hermione's lap. Ginny knew she should get up, as moments like this would only intensify her already hopeless crush on Hermione, but her lap felt so soft that Ginny simply could not will herself to move.
"What's in the basket, anyway?" she asked, to distract herself from the feel of Hermione's hand resting lightly on her head.
Hermione peered into the depths of the basket. "Egg salad sandwiches, it looks like. And some grapes, and…ooh, butterbeer. He really did do it up properly." Hermione's stomach rumbled audibly, right in Ginny's ear.
Ginny grinned. "I don't suppose he'd mind if we ate it, do you?"
"Well," said Hermione. "It seems like the least we could do after he worked so hard on the transfiguration spell…" With that, Hermione pulled the food out and handed a sandwich to Ginny. The girls ate in silence for a few moments.
"Do you want any grapes?" Hermione asked.
"Sure," Ginny said, reaching for them. A surprised look crossed her face as Hermione pulled a few grapes off the bunch and pressed one against Ginny's mouth.
What am I doing? Hermione thought wildly. I can't just go around feeding Ginny grapes! This is so pathetic and obvious. But the rise and fall of Ginny's chest was so hypnotic, and Hermione couldn't resist the feel of Ginny's lips brushing against her fingers.
I don't even like grapes, Ginny thought to herself. But I think I'd eat gobstones if Hermione wanted to feed them to me. Maybe it's the butterbeer… Ginny reached up and brushed her fingers against the corner of Hermione's mouth.
"Just a smudge of butterbeer," Ginny fibbed.
Hermione was looking down at her with such intensity, Ginny was temporarily thrown into confusion. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It would be so easy, Ginny thought, to just pull her down and kiss her.
At that moment, a stream of cold water burst from the shore of the lake and directly hit the two girls. Ginny shrieked and sat bolt upright. Hermione leaned over her and reached for her wand, sending a jet of sparks at the mischievously aggressive grindylow responsible, who was still shooting a steady stream of freezing lake water towards them.
Instinctively, Hermione dodged out of range of the spray, simultaneously knocking Ginny over and rolling on top of her in the process. They lay there for a moment, frozen in place, staring into each other's eyes. The front of Ginny's robes was soaked, and Hermione could feel Ginny's nipples hardening beneath her own from the sudden cold. Hermione felt goose bumps creeping up the back of her neck, although she was feeling quite warm. Ginny looked like she was shivering.
Ginny stared up at Hermione laying on top of her, the entire length of their bodies pressed together. The combination of the cold water and the pressure of Hermione's breasts against her own was making Ginny's nipples incredibly hard. Hermione's seemed to be responding in kind. Calm down! Ginny thought to herself. It's just the cold water. Still, she felt herself begin to tremble.
"Come on," Hermione said suddenly. "You're freezing. We'd better get you back to the castle." Reluctantly, she stood up.
Ginny almost groaned at the sudden absence of Hermione's body. Still, she helped gather up the remainder of their picnic things. As she walked over to start putting away her easel, she gasped to herself at the completed picture that her enchanted paints had finished. It was a portrait of herself and Hermione, with her head in Hermione's lap and the older girl's hand resting on the top of her head. It was the most beautiful thing Ginny had ever seen. She quickly rolled up the parchment and rejoined Hermione.
Hermione lifted the picnic basket by the handle and struggled to balance it with the heavy book in her other hand. Ginny grasped the handle as well to help her steady it, pressing her hand close to Hermione's. They walked back to the castle, almost hand in hand.
Chapter Four: A Picnic
Disclaimer: Hermione and Ginny et al belong to J.K. Rowling. I am just writing for them temporarily, as she seems to be giving them a longish break. This story is fluff and will contain much girl/girl angst, romantic affection, and eventually f/f action, so if this is not your thing, there are lots of other stories out there and I recommend you go read one of them instead.
Spoilers: None. Unless I'm psychic.
Ginny Weasley was sitting beneath a large tree by the lake. It was a beautiful autumn day at the start of her fourth year at Hogwarts; the sun was shining and the leaves were beginning to turn. Ginny had a small easel set up in front of her, and was contentedly directing her set of enchanted paints as they sketched and colored a picture of the scene before her. Ginny smiled and shifted the focus of the portrait away from the foliage and onto the studious form of Hermione Granger, sitting just a few feet away.
Hermione's hair was straining to escape the massive ponytail it had been pulled into, and a stray leaf clung to the hair ribbon that was fixed halfway down her neck. She was gazing intently at a heavy book that was propped open on her knees. Even though it was only the third weekend of Fall Term, Hermione was already immersing herself in advance studying for her OWLS.
Ginny continued to watch her in silence. There was something so captivating about the depth of Hermione's focus, the way she could render herself oblivious to the slight wind ruffling the collar of her robes, the sound of waves splashing on the rocks nearby, the slightly dreamy way that Ginny had been staring at her for the past hour.
"Hermione!" Ron's voice came crashing through Ginny's reverie. "Where have you been? I looked all over the library for you." Ron approached with a huge grin on his face, Harry following along a few steps behind him.
Hermione glanced up from her book, looking torn between pleasure at their arrival and annoyance at the interruption in her reading. But she gave the boys a perfectly friendly smile as they drew nearer, stopping under the tree next to Ginny.
"Did you need something in particular?" she asked. "It must've been really important to draw you into the library on such a gorgeous day."
"Nah," Ron replied. "We wanted you to go on a picnic with us."
"A picnic?" Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. "You'd better not be planning to ask the house elves to whip up a special basket or anything."
Ginny chuckled, and Hermione smiled over at her.
"No worries, Hermione." Harry assured her. "Ron just wants to show off a nifty bit of transfiguration for you."
"Oooh, let's see it then," Hermione said eagerly.
Ron cleared his throat, and seemed very aware of the fact that Hermione was watching him intently. He began swinging his wand in a very dramatic fashion while muttering a fairly advanced transfiguration spell.
"Watch your arm movements, Ron. You have to be really precise with…" Hermione's warning was cut off by a sharp look from Ron as he brought his wand arm around and attempted to aim at a large boulder and worked the incantation to turn it into a picnic basket.
Everyone's eyes fixed on the boulder, which remained unchanged. They looked at each other. Harry walked towards the boulder to examine it. Ginny glanced at Hermione, who caught her eye and looked meaningfully at one of the lower branches of the tree. Ginny followed her gaze, and saw a picnic basket and blanket balancing precariously in place of the bird's nest which had been there a few moments before.
Harry had noticed the basket too, and looked as though he was trying very hard not to laugh at the bewildered look on Ron's face. He coughed, and raised his eyes to the tree. Ron let out a whoop. "Ah, it worked after all! I meant to do that, of course." He was so excited at his success that he hurriedly blasted off a Summoning Charm to bring the basket down.
"No!" Hermione shouted, but before she could pull out her wand to perform a counter charm for levitation, the blanket and basket had come crashing down on Ron's head.
Ron lay sprawled on the ground, plaid checkered picnic cloth over his head, pieces of the smashed basket scattered in a wide radius nearby. He was out cold.
"Ennervate!" all three of them said in panicked unison. Ron stirred, and sat up groggily.
"Oh Ron, you forgot about the Compounding Gravitational Magnification effect, didn't you?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"I'm so glad you know what it's called," Ron replied sarcastically, rubbing a large bump that was swelling on the top of his forehead.
Ginny patted his shoulder comfortingly. "That was an amazing bit of transfiguration, though, Ron." He smiled weakly at her. "That looks like a nasty bump. Let me walk you to the hospital wing."
"I don't need --" Ron was cut off by Harry, who heaved him to his feet.
"Come on, Ron," he insisted. "I'll take you over. Madam Pomfrey'll be delighted to have someone besides me as a patient for once."
"Do you want me to come along?" Ginny asked worriedly.
"No, why don't you stay here and clean up the debris?" Harry suggested.
Ginny nodded in agreement and watched the two boys wobble off towards the infirmary.
With a quick swish of her wand, she swept the remnants of the basket into a pile. On a whim, she muttered, "Repario!" and the basket flew back together. Hermione watched with an impressed look on her face. She moved over and spread the blanket on the ground. The two girls looked at each other.
"I really hope he's okay," Ginny said, trying hard not to giggle at the look on Ron's face when he saw the basket begin to fall.
"Me, too," Hermione replied, as a small twitter escaped her lips.
Soon the girls were collapsed together in a heap of laughter. When the mirth subsided, Ginny found herself on the ground with her head in Hermione's lap. Ginny knew she should get up, as moments like this would only intensify her already hopeless crush on Hermione, but her lap felt so soft that Ginny simply could not will herself to move.
"What's in the basket, anyway?" she asked, to distract herself from the feel of Hermione's hand resting lightly on her head.
Hermione peered into the depths of the basket. "Egg salad sandwiches, it looks like. And some grapes, and…ooh, butterbeer. He really did do it up properly." Hermione's stomach rumbled audibly, right in Ginny's ear.
Ginny grinned. "I don't suppose he'd mind if we ate it, do you?"
"Well," said Hermione. "It seems like the least we could do after he worked so hard on the transfiguration spell…" With that, Hermione pulled the food out and handed a sandwich to Ginny. The girls ate in silence for a few moments.
"Do you want any grapes?" Hermione asked.
"Sure," Ginny said, reaching for them. A surprised look crossed her face as Hermione pulled a few grapes off the bunch and pressed one against Ginny's mouth.
What am I doing? Hermione thought wildly. I can't just go around feeding Ginny grapes! This is so pathetic and obvious. But the rise and fall of Ginny's chest was so hypnotic, and Hermione couldn't resist the feel of Ginny's lips brushing against her fingers.
I don't even like grapes, Ginny thought to herself. But I think I'd eat gobstones if Hermione wanted to feed them to me. Maybe it's the butterbeer… Ginny reached up and brushed her fingers against the corner of Hermione's mouth.
"Just a smudge of butterbeer," Ginny fibbed.
Hermione was looking down at her with such intensity, Ginny was temporarily thrown into confusion. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. It would be so easy, Ginny thought, to just pull her down and kiss her.
At that moment, a stream of cold water burst from the shore of the lake and directly hit the two girls. Ginny shrieked and sat bolt upright. Hermione leaned over her and reached for her wand, sending a jet of sparks at the mischievously aggressive grindylow responsible, who was still shooting a steady stream of freezing lake water towards them.
Instinctively, Hermione dodged out of range of the spray, simultaneously knocking Ginny over and rolling on top of her in the process. They lay there for a moment, frozen in place, staring into each other's eyes. The front of Ginny's robes was soaked, and Hermione could feel Ginny's nipples hardening beneath her own from the sudden cold. Hermione felt goose bumps creeping up the back of her neck, although she was feeling quite warm. Ginny looked like she was shivering.
Ginny stared up at Hermione laying on top of her, the entire length of their bodies pressed together. The combination of the cold water and the pressure of Hermione's breasts against her own was making Ginny's nipples incredibly hard. Hermione's seemed to be responding in kind. Calm down! Ginny thought to herself. It's just the cold water. Still, she felt herself begin to tremble.
"Come on," Hermione said suddenly. "You're freezing. We'd better get you back to the castle." Reluctantly, she stood up.
Ginny almost groaned at the sudden absence of Hermione's body. Still, she helped gather up the remainder of their picnic things. As she walked over to start putting away her easel, she gasped to herself at the completed picture that her enchanted paints had finished. It was a portrait of herself and Hermione, with her head in Hermione's lap and the older girl's hand resting on the top of her head. It was the most beautiful thing Ginny had ever seen. She quickly rolled up the parchment and rejoined Hermione.
Hermione lifted the picnic basket by the handle and struggled to balance it with the heavy book in her other hand. Ginny grasped the handle as well to help her steady it, pressing her hand close to Hermione's. They walked back to the castle, almost hand in hand.