I don't own anything J. K. Rowling created...blah, blah, blah... You get my drift.

A/N: Are we getting close to something here? I'll leave that for you to ponder as I write some more. Oh, by the way, I've created a section in my profile for replying to all of y'all. Check it out, I think I got everyone!

Chapter 9: The Missing Piece

Hermione headed up the stairs, food in hand, dreading to see Ginny. She wanted so badly to talk to her, to tell her everything that she had kept secret earlier, but didn't have the courage. Sometimes, I wonder why I was put in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat must have seen something in me that I haven't found yet. Maybe there is two types of bravery. I obviously don't have the kind that will allow me to deal with my inner demons. Little did she know that all she had to do was look deeper. The courage she was doubting she had was just waiting to be brought to the surface. She just needed to let go of the rules she ran her life by and realize that there were no rules when it came to love. There was no way to control her feelings and she should just embrace them. Love has many forms and if she was lucky enough to find it, she should hold it close no matter what face it had. She stood outside Ginny's door listening intently for any evidence that the girl within was still awake.

Hermione often felt like there was something missing to her soul. Something that was keeping her from truly knowing who she was and all she was capable of accomplishing once reaching that completion. She had often times contemplated this and had begun to think it was because she didn't know how to love. It was something she couldn't learn from a book. Love was something she had to learn from her heart and that scared her.

Of course she loved her family and friends dearly. That was something that comes naturally, it was a given in life. The act of being in love was something totally foreign to her. Hermione just didn't understand how a person could utterly and completely let themselves be open with another person, how two people could care so deeply for one another that their two hearts would become one. One breath, one heartbeat, one soul. In essence, one life.

Being so vulnerable to one person was difficult for her mind to fathom. She had always kept her feelings locked away from the grasps of other people. Yes, she was open with her friends, but never truly let them know the extent of what she was feeling at any given moment. Ron and Harry had always thought it was just because she was so intellectual that they didn't understand her reactions or sudden outbursts, not to mention she was a girl. Sometimes they had thought she was completely daft and just shrugged it off. They couldn't know that it was because she was scared to let her true self be known, that she had set boundaries on her heart.

Ginny Weasley, on the other hand, had unknowingly broken those boundaries and invaded the recesses of the emptiness in Hermione's heart. For one moment in time Hermione had felt complete. She had honestly known what it was like to really love somebody. She hadn't just held Ginny's cheek in her hand, she had held her heart. And I just threw it away, she thought as she opened Ginny's door as quietly as she could.

She was glad to see the girl's slumbering form turned away from her. She didn't think she could face Ginny with all the confusion that was bogging her mind down. She knew what she wanted, she just didn't know how to go about getting it. There would be too many questions, and too many judgments, too many eyes staring at her, forcing her to reveal the person under the surface. She longed to tell Ginny, to hold her, to feel like a whole person again, but she was more worried about the reactions of certain people, especially Ron. Will I ever get my head and my heart on the same wavelength? My heart is saying that what we could have would be something beautiful. I felt it, I felt complete…Ginny is my missing piece. But, it's wrong Hermione, on so many different levels. What would Ron think, it's his little sister? Why am I so caught up on Ron, look at how he's treated me over the years. He finally admitted how he felt though. I wish I could do that. Oh Ginny, why? Why can't I just tell you I love you? I've loved you for so long now, I just haven't realized it. What am I so scared of? What would mum and dad think if they found out I was in love with another girl? They want grandchildren so badly… What? Why am I thinking about children? Hermione Granger, SHUT UP! SHUT UP, YOU CAN'T HANDLE ALL OF THESE THOUGHTS, IT'S TOO MUCH AT ONE TIME. I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT ANYMORE, I DON'T WANT TO THINK AT ALL.

She suddenly felt a violent wave of nausea sweep over her body. She set the plate of food on Ginny's desk, the same desk Ginny had used to write Hermione's letter. She felt dizzy, she felt like she just wanted to scream at the injustice of it all. She didn't want to care what other people would think, but she couldn't stop herself. Ginny should be the only person whose thoughts I care about. I'm hurting her by doing this to her. I want to bring that wonderful smile back to her face and that devilish glare back to her eyes. I hate seeing her eyes so sad and dull, it's not the Ginny I know. I feel like I don't know this Ginny, the one I've created. It's all my fault because I just can't get over myself.

Hermione couldn't stand anymore, she wanted to crawl under her blankets and never face another day again. Now I know why Ginny kept herself locked in her room the past couple of weeks, it's exactly what I want to do. As she looked back towards Ginny she noticed the rose on her pillow and the note beneath it. She tentatively reached for them both. She read the note first. Ginny, how could you think that I wouldn't accept you, or forgive you for that matter? I have nothing to forgive you for, you didn't do anything wrong…I'm the one who should beg for forgiveness.

She realized the rose was one of the wild roses from Ginny's special place. Hermione thought it was beautiful. A white rose. To Hermione it stood for the goodness in Ginny's heart, and the purity of the love that Hermione felt for her. As she breathed in its sweet aroma she almost started to cry. She opened the trunk containing her things and reverently pulled out a silver trinket box. It was one of her most prized possessions and she kept it hidden from sight. Inside this box contained the few things that Hermione treasured above anything else. Her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, her first excellent mark in class, and a picture of her, Ron, Harry, and Ginny taken at The Burrow after their second year of school. That was the year that Ginny had almost been lost to them because of Tom Riddle's diary. It was also the year the girls had started to form the friendship that they both treasured now. The rose that Ginny gave her would now take it's place among her most beloved belongings, along with the letter.

Hermione quickly found a piece of parchment from her trunk and a spare quill and ink and hastily scribbled a letter of her own.

Dear Ginny,

We really need to talk. When you get this I'll already be awake. Meet me at your special place. Please, don't beat yourself up about this anymore.

Hermione

It was simple and short, but it conveyed her message. She placed it on Ginny's dresser. She knew the girl would have to get dressed in the morning so there was no chance she would miss it. Ginny's letter was enough for Hermione, she had decided to face her fears.