Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did I don't think that I would have posted my stories here. I think that they were on sale… Don't you think?

A/N: Sorry for the late update, but here I am with another chapter. Well, I'm sad because I don't have anything to say about this chapter. Oh, yes just one thing don't think that there'll be a love triangle after you'll read it, okay? At last, not before the next chapter – no, wait, there'll be no love triangle at all. Anyway, I know it's quite short and eventful less, but I hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To lockofcurls: Thanks a lot for beta-reading this chapter.

Confused Hearts

"What? Hermione you cannot say something like that," Ron almost screamed at Hermione in the Gryffindor common room. "You said you would come."

Hermione felt everybody gaze on her. "Ron, lower your voice," she hissed.

Ron glared around at the Gryffindors that had raised their heads for watching what was happening, causing them to come back to their homework as quickly as they could. He sat down on the armchair between Harry and Hermione and leaned ahead towards Hermione. "You have to come to my house for these holidays, you know that we need you for – that thing," he said, lowering his voice.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Is that all you need me for?"

Harry would have expected her voice to be aggressive, or at least alter; but she was calm, like she didn't really mind the answer.

Ron blushed deeply, so deeply that Harry could almost feel the heat coming from his ears. "No," he said in a bare whisper.

Harry was sure that if it wasn't Ron the one who was speaking, something would have been certainly happened. Maybe it could have been the beginning of a relationship, if only he would have gone on telling her his feelings. But since he knew Ron too well, he was aware that nothing would have started, at least not today.

Hermione looked intently at Ron, who had his eyes fixed on his hands. "I can't come, that's all."

"Okay, listen," said Harry looking to Hermione. "It's clear like the sun that you and Ginny had a row. But I don't think that you have to spend all the time with her, do you?"

"First of all," said Hermione seizing the armrests of the armchair, "We didn't have any row and second it's not because of her that I'm not coming."

"Why then?" asked Ron frustrated.

"I wanted to spend the Christmas with my parents," she lied.

"Why?"

"Because they are my parents?" asked Hermione sarcastically.

Ron rolled his eyes. "You have never had problems with having Christmas at my house or at Hogwarts."

"Listen, Ron, I cannot come, okay?" she said firmly.

"No, it's not okay," snapped Ron sitting up and heading for the boys dorm.

Hermione followed him with her gaze. He had never had such a bad reaction towards her.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked Harry.

Harry shook his head. "He just wants you to come."

"And I just don't wanna come," said Hermione.

"We really need you, though."

"I don't think so," said Hermione sitting up and putting away her books. "I'm going to bed."

"You still have three days for changing your mind," Harry said after her.

Hermione waved a hand over her shoulder, but didn't turn back. She climbed the stairs of her dorm, her head stuck in her thoughts till she bumped into the very last person that she would have ever wanted to meet.

"Hi," said Ginny shyly.

Hermione looked at her and lowered her eyes. "Hi," she answered back before leaning against the wall for passing by Ginny in the small corridor. Ginny followed her with her eyes and bit her bottom lips, then she picked up all her courage and spoke. "Hermione."

Hermione stopped. "Yes?" she asked without turning.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked slowly.

Hermione felt her heart beating frantically in her chest, and for a moment she had the tempting desire of saying 'no' occupied her brain. "Okay," she answered in a high tone of voice that she barely recognized, and turned to face her.

"Can we go into your bedroom?" asked Ginny.

"Why?" asked Hermione a little bit more apprehensive than she intended, thing that made her flush.

Ginny blushed too. "I just don't want to be overheard," she said trying to sound casually as a couple of first years passed by them.

Hermione nodded, she started to climb the stairs again with Ginny's steps behind her. The seventh year's bedroom was on the top, when they entered the only girl that was there was Lavender. She shot at Hermione and Ginny an alter look and came back to the book that she was reading. Ginny and Hermione looked at each other.

"We better go to your room," said Hermione placing her bag on her bed.

Lavender snapped closed her book. "If you have to talk about private things you can stay, I don't really mind," she said coolly.

"No, thanks," said Hermione. She knew perfectly well that since Ron had broken up their relationship last year, Lavender hated her because she thought that she was the cause of all the things that happened, and Ginny, because of her relation to Ron. And would have enjoyed listening to their conversation and letting all the Hogwarts students know the details of what happened between them. Hermione followed Ginny out of her dorm and they climbed down the stairs. When they reached the sixth year dorm they found it empty. They entered, Ginny closed the door behind them and Hermione sealed it with a spell. Ginny moved towards her bed and sat down on it. "You can sit, if you want," she told her.

Hermione nodded and sat down on Ginny's bed too, only a little bit further on from her. They sat there for a good fifteen minutes without speaking. The only noise they heard was the pulsating of the blood in their temples that was becoming faster every second.

Finally, Ginny cleared her throat.

"What did you want to talk about?" asked Hermione anticipating her.

"Ron asked me to talk to you," she said, causing Hermione to look at her in amazement. She would have expected something different.

"Ron?" she questioned, unsure.

Ginny nodded. "He said that you said that you didn't want to come to our house for the Christmas holidays."

Hermione nodded.

"He said that it was my fault," whispered Ginny.

Hermione didn't say anything, but lowered her eyes.

"Is that true?" she asked, looking intently at her for capturing any feeling.

Hermione remained silent.

Ginny sighed deeply. "Ron asked me to make you change your mind."

"I don't think that there will be anything you can do for making me change my mind," whispered Hermione.

"Is because of me that you don't want come?" Ginny asked again and again she didn't obtain any answer. "It's because of that – kiss?" asked Ginny whispering the last word.

Hermione looked everywhere but at her. "Why did you do that?" she asked with her voice so low that Ginny had to hold her breath for listening to her.

"Why did I kiss you?" she asked slowly.

Hermione nodded, her cheeks reddening gradually.

Ginny tried to find the right words for explaining something that she was sure she didn't understand too well herself. "I don't know," she said eventually. "At that moment, I thought it was the right thing to do."

Hermione nodded imperceptibly. "Was it something planned?" she asked raising her eyebrows.

Ginny shook her head. "No, I never planned to kiss you or," she looked nervously at her hands, "Any other girl."

"I see," said Hermione quietly. "And did you enjoy it?" she asked unexpectedly.

Ginny looked at her unsure on the meaning of her question. "Why?" she asked uncertainly.

Hermione didn't move, nor did she dare a look at Ginny.

Ginny would have liked to tell her that no, she didn't enjoy it at all. That it was just a joke she did to her, that she was her best friend and that was all. But she couldn't lie, not to herself though. "I don't know," she whispered. "What about you?"

Hermione looked at her apprehensively. "I don't know either."

Ginny felt the blood beating in her temples almost painfully, while she tried to cope with what Hermione had just said. She was sure that Hermione was just trying not to yell at her for what she had done and now, she has told her that she didn't know how she felt towards that kiss that they shared.

"I thought you were angry with me," she said letting all her amazement transpire.

Hermione's hands twisted in her lap. "I thought that too, at the beginning. But now…" she let the sentence dying in her throat while she searched for the right words.

Ginny looked at her unsure on what she would have said and on what she wanted to hear from her.

Hermione took a deep breath. "The fact is that it's more than a week that I can't take you out of my mind," she said quickly.

"Is that positive or negative?"

"I don't know," confessed Hermione.

"Hermione." Ginny moved a little bit in her direction, Hermione didn't move backwards. "I've thought about you too." Then she suddenly understood something. "And that's why you don't want to come to my house for the holidays. You are afraid that if we spend all that time together we'll-" But she didn't finish the sentence because she didn't know what they would have become.

Hermione sat up and started to walk up and down in front of her. "I was scared, but not about what you did, I was scared about me and my reaction. I'm starting to feel something towards you, something different, a feeling that I've always thought it was only for your brother." She stopped and looked at her. "Ginny, I'm sure that I don't like girls, but why do I feel this way then?"

Ginny looked back at her, no answers came to her mind, just a bunch of questions that she would have loved to ask her. "Hermione, I feel that I'm starting to fancy you, too. But my feelings are so confused right now, I still feel butterflies in my stomach when Harry looks at me."

Hermione sighed. "And I still feel like I could wait for Ron forever."

"But there's something wrong in that," said Ginny. "I can't fancy two people at the same time, and especially two people of different gender."

"I know," said Hermione sitting down next to Ginny again. "But what are we supposed to do?"

Ginny shook her head miserably. "I don't know – no! Wait," she said while a shy smile spread through her face. "I've got an idea."

Hermione looked at her concerned and curious at the same time.

"Hermione, you have to come to my house for Christmas holiday," she said matter-of-factly.

"Have I?" she asked slowly.

"Yes, because you'll spend all your time with me and Ron, and I'll be all the time with you and Harry," she said cheerfully.

"And?" asked Hermione confused.

"And at the end of the holiday we'll probably get our ideas straight," she explained.

Hermione looked at her with pure fear in her eyes. "And what if we find out that we – like each other?" she said whispering the last words.

"We'll think about that when it will be the moment," Ginny answered seriously.

Hermione nodded, then stood up and moved towards the door. She picked up her wand and waved it muttering the anti-spell. The door opened slowly with a creak.

"I'm gonna tell Harry and Ron that I'm coming," she said pulling away her wand.

Ginny nodded. "Okay."

"Good night, Ginny," said Hermione smiling shyly.

"Good night, Hermione," she answered her back while she exited the door. "I'm really happy that you are coming," she added while Hermione was already climbing down the stairs.