"I love you."
Ginny looked disbelievingly up at her and shook her head – as much as she could with her head in Hermione's lap anyways.
"What did you just say?"
Hermione took a deep breath. "I love you. It took me a while to realize it... and some help from Ron."
Ginny's grimace prompted Hermione to explain. "Not like that. He realized that you love me and then saw the same feelings in me, and so he broke up with me and basically pushed me at you."
Ginny's look of surprise was so complete and full of hilarity that Hermione had to bite her lip to keep the laughter from escaping.
"Remind me to thank him at some point."
"Mmmm... I'd wait on that if I were you, he seems to be in a lot of pain at the moment."
Ginny blinked sleepily, a look of intense concentration on her face. "You know that I love you?"
"Yes."
"And you love me back?"
Hermione's smile was so sweet and so happy that Ginny couldn't look away, could barely breathe. "Yes, I do."
Ginny could only nod. Her eyelids slowly fluttered closed and she didn't so much fall asleep as pass out. But she did so with a smile on her face.
"Ginny?" Hermione inquired, gently shaking her. "Ginny?"
Ginny only groaned.
Hermione felt her forehead again and, if anything, it was hotter than the last time she had checked.
"Ginny?" she said, beginning to panic.
After calling her name a few more times with no response her panic went from mild to full blown. She stood up, and with no know as to where she was getting the strength, she carefully lifted Ginny into her arms.
Walking slowly, burdened with Ginny's dead weight (mustn't think that way), she made her way back to the castle carefully.
She was glad it had been raining, the mud made it much easier to follow her tracks back, and so she did right up to the castle steps.
Still she didn't stop, continuing straight on to the hospital wing.
Once there she gently laid Ginny down on one of the hospital beds, oblivious to Madame Pomfrey rushing over.
As soon as her love had been taken care of she carefully stepped over to the next bed and quietly passed out.
A/N: Long awaited I know. Sorry about that. I didn't know work would be so much. So I hope you like, and I'm working on getting the next couple chapters up soon!