The next morning, she decided to go back to Hogwarts for no other reason than a distraction. She hadn't spent too much time with the magazine before stealthily depositing it back into George's room. It hadn't taken long to confirm that yes, she was definitely attracted to women. At least some of them. And some more than others. She'd tried not to put Lia's face on all of them, mostly because it felt kind of creepy considering they weren't together.

As it turned out, she couldn't even escape her at Hogwarts. Luna brought her up over dinner, and her fingers slipped on the goblet as the image of the woman in lingerie wiggled back into her mind and she tried not to choke on her drink. Maybe getting defensive with Ron wasn't the best policy, but he'd caught her off guard and she couldn't just blurt out something like that over dinner.

Lia had even made her way into Ginny's dreams that night, and when she woke up, the only thing she could do was turn over and groan into her pillow. No relief. No escape. Then Harry suggested a trip to Hogsmeade. Not that she had anything else to do, but something to occupy her brain sounded perfect. She hadn't had much of that lately.

But then Lia was there, standing in front of her in faded jeans and a t-shirt with her wand stashed up in her bun, and Ginny could barely speak when visions of magazines and dreams and possibilities were staring her in the face. And Lia was just smirking at her like she knew. She couldn't help but drop her gaze to Lia's lips, thankful that Harry was completely oblivious. She'd keep on with the ruse that she was still into him when honestly, the thought of him in any romantic context hadn't crossed her mind since she realized he was with Hermione. Especially not in the past two days.

She hadn't wanted to leave; she'd wanted to keep standing there, staring, trying to tame the inappropriate thoughts that had been flooding her brain for the past 24 hours, and she couldn't help the words that were tumbling out of her mouth. "You know I'll be seventeen in, like, three months, right?" More directed at Lia than Harry, and the spark of humor in Lia's eyes made her wish she could take it back. Either that or she wished Harry wasn't there. Not that she'd even know what to do or where to start. But George was right - it was easier when she was standing in front of her, because she knew that if Lia kissed her, she'd have no problem reciprocating.

Once she got out of sight, Ginny felt like she could breathe again. She took a moment to collect herself before seeing if she could find Ron and Katie; third-wheeling was always a great distraction. A couple hours later, Harry and Lia strolled into Gladrags, where she, Ron, and Katie had been doing some browsing. There were always interesting things in there, even if she didn't end up buying anything. It was clear that Harry had had a couple drinks, and it was nice seeing him loosened up a little from the stress he'd been carrying for the past seven years.

And then somehow they ended up on the topic of sex again. Was there something in the air today or had she just never noticed it before? Maybe a bit of both. Either way, it was kind of annoying when she'd been trying so hard not to think about it, and she'd pulled Lia to the side before she even realized how awful of an idea that probably was. But she really had found something she would enjoy - a pair of crew socks with little owls on them that reminded her of Diana. And they were brown, so even when they got dirty if she wore them to work, it wouldn't show up as well.

Lia nearly squealed when she saw them. "Oh my God, these are too cute . Look at these little guys! They're perfect! I absolutely love fun socks like this. How'd you know?"

"I didn't," Ginny laughed, "but they were cute and I… I thought of you."

Ginny was immediately pulled into a hug and stiffened as her chest pressed against Lia's. She didn't want Lia to think that her hug wasn't welcome, because it had been way too long since she was hugged by anyone but family, so she found herself instinctively reciprocating, nearly burying her face into Lia's neck. Her hair smelled like green apples.

After a few seconds, almost as if it had been a test, Lia moved back, her hands lingering on Ginny's sides like she was waiting. Ginny felt herself blush again.

"Sorry," Lia quickly muttered with a smile, though she clearly had no intention of moving away. The warmth from her hands was getting very distracting.

"No, it's okay… I… you can… hug me whenever you want."

"Good to know." Finally, Lia's hands moved down to Ginny's hands, their fingers lacing together once she put some distance between them. "Your… your eyes are really beautiful."

"Thanks," Ginny whispered as an involuntary hard swallow made its way down her throat. "So are yours." They were blue, like her own, but maybe with a touch more green around the pupil. In the right lighting, she wondered if they could be turquoise. Certainly, she'd never gotten so caught up when she looked in the mirror, but Lia's… she could stare at them for hours.

It was Lia's turn to blush for once, which Ginny felt surprisingly proud of. "Thanks. I, ehm, think I'm just gonna get these and…"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Thank you again for pointing them out. I do love them."

"Of course. I'm, er, glad I got to see you today."

"Glad I got to see you, too." Lia bit her lip, glancing around the shop to make sure they didn't have an audience before bringing Ginny's hand up and holding eye contact as she pressed the gentlest of kisses to the inside of her wrist, something that Ginny suddenly felt was much too intimate for being in public, based on how her body responded, because fuck . Her skin was on fire where Lia's lips had been, she was hot all over again, and that dreaded ache was back that had just gone away. If that was just her wrist…

"That wasn't an overstep, was it?"

Ginny shook her head quickly, once again unable to articulate any kind of semi-coherent thought as she noticed, for the first time since she'd stopped staring at her face and Lia wasn't wearing long sleeves like she did at work, a black tattoo of wildflowers blooming from her wrist to nearly halfway up the side of her forearm. This woman was going to be the death of her if she kept this up.

Lia had been about to settle down that next night to watch TV when her cell rang with an unsaved number she didn't recognize. She'd been a little nervous after where she ended things at Hogsmeade. Ginny said she hadn't overstepped, but she hadn't heard from her since. She'd just been so insistent on showing Ginny her intentions, and she desperately wanted to feel Ginny's skin against her lips, as strange as it was. She hadn't felt so drawn to someone in a long time, and she didn't want to let her go easily. She knew she'd have to push her a little because she was nervous, but the way that Ginny had looked at her yesterday made her heart skip a beat. Who would have thought she'd have a crush on a sixteen-year old?

She waited a couple rings before answering so she wouldn't seem too eager, just in case.

"Hello?"

"Lia?"

"Yeah."

"It's Ginny."

"I… yeah, I figured," Lia chuckled. "Hi."

"Hi." She could tell Ginny was smiling on the other side of the phone. "This is strange."

"Yeah it is, isn't it? What are you up to?" She set her dish in the sink and moved to the couch so she could be more comfortable, crossing her legs underneath her before bringing a pillow to her chest.

"Oh, uh, not much. Just finished up with dinner."

"HELLO, LIA!"

"Dad, you don't have to yell! Sorry, he… he's only used one once and still hasn't quite gotten the hang of it-"

"Can I talk to her!?"

"Dad!" Ginny huffed. "You-"

"I'll leave you alone, I promise!"

Lia couldn't help but laugh when Ginny asked if her dad could talk to her for a second. "Of course."

"Okay, hang on. Sorry," she whispered before Mr. Weasley's voice was on the other side.

"Are you sure I don't have to talk louder?"

"Hello, Mr. Weasley," Lia grinned.

"Oh, this is brilliant! Hello, Lia! Ginny says you're on a small telephone that you can just carry around and it's not connected to anything? That's incredible."

"Yes, sir!" Ginny's enthusiasm about the cell phone when Lia had showed her at Eeylops nearly rivaled her father's, not that she probably realized it.

"This one's wired into the wall! I've been wanting to try it out again for a while, but I didn't have anyone to call and now that Ginny has a friend with one, I'd love for you to bring yours over! Would it work if they're in the same place, I wonder-"

"Dad," Ginny's voice came back through, "you only said a second…"

"All right, all right. Lovely talking to you, Lia."

"You too, Mr. Weasley."

"Here's Ginny back. Take care!"

"I'm so sorry," Ginny said immediately with a sigh. "He was so excited when I said I wanted to call you. I tried to-"

"It's okay!" Lia said quickly. "It's cute. I promise. I don't mind. I know Muggle things are a lot more exciting when you're not used to them."

"He works for the Ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, too, so he's got all kinds of stuff around here he probably shouldn't."

"Well, that sounds like a lot of fun," Lia laughed, leaning her head against the back of the couch. "So what was for dinner?"

"Breakfast. Mum makes really good chocolate chip pancakes and it's cheap and easy for all of us since we have chickens for the eggs."

"You have chickens?"

"Yeah." She could hear some kind of creaking on Ginny's side, like she was sitting down in a chair. "You… you could maybe come see them sometime?"

"I'd love to. We used to have chickens growing up, too. I miss them."

"What happened?"

"We just moved when Dad got a job here in London. Couldn't bring them with us, so we left them with a cousin. I do go visit them sometimes, though, especially now that I can almost Apparate the entire way."

"Okay, so you'll come see my chickens and I'll go see yours one day?"

"That's a deal," Lia said with a grin.

Ginny's voice lowered, and Lia could tell she got a little closer to the receiver. "I… I wanted to ask you something, actually. Or… tell you something? I'm not sure which."

Lia sat up straighter on the couch, feeling her heart beating harder. "Yeah, of course. Anything." That didn't sound desperate at all.

"I… I think I'd like to, uh… I think I'd like to hang out with you."

"Really? Like a date or just hanging out?"

"Yes. A… date." There was a pause at the other end. "But I don't… I'm still not sure of any of this, so-"

"Oh, no that's… that's fine. That's grand. A date's a date. Any excuse to spend time with you is a good one, yeah?" She heard Ginny laugh breathlessly. "I've got Monday free and it's supposed to be nice if you want to go ride bikes in Hyde Park?"

"Ride bikes? I don't think I know how to ride a bike, actually."

"Oh, it's easy! I can teach you! And if you can't learn, we can always give you a nice stabilization charm and you'll be good to go." Lia was grinning from ear to ear, curled up on the couch with excitement. It had been a while since she'd been on a real date. Too long.

"That sounds really nice," Ginny replied.

"Yeah? If you can get to Diagon Alley, I'll meet you there and you can side-along with me. Or if you get bored of the park you can… come over to my flat." She knew Ginny wouldn't find it strange, and Lia hadn't meant it any way other than just trying to spend more time with her, but her body clearly had its own intentions, as her heart sped up again just at the thought.

"You… have your own place?"

"Not my own. I share, but she's cool. I'm not sure if she's working on Monday, but she usually works nights anyway since she's going to school. Ehm… anyway, we can figure it out, but Monday, yeah?"

"Yeah," Ginny whispered. "Monday's great."

"Say, noon? I can bring lunch or something?"

"Sure."

"Brilliant."

"I, uh… I actually have to go now, though, but this was a lot of fun. Talking to you."

"Like I said, any time."

"Okay, well… I'll talk to you later and then… I'll see you Monday."

"See you then. Bye, Ginny."

"Bye."

Lia was still smiling when she hung up, sighing as she leaned her head back against the cushion.

Ginny was trying her best not to look nervous as she and her mom came up to Lia in Diagon Alley. They'd agreed to meet in front of Florean Fortesque's and Lia had already been sitting there, more eager than she probably had the right to be.

"Ginny! Hi!" She quickly stood and pulled the girl into another hug, which she made sure not to linger on, even though Ginny accepted it graciously. Later. There would be time for more hugs later when they weren't quite so chaperoned. She didn't want to come off as anything other than a friend. "Hi, Mrs. Weasley. It's nice to meet you." She was usually able to get a pretty good read on parents, but these were the first ones she'd met this soon. Most of the time, she would meet parents after a few dates, if at all, not the first one. But this was a bit of a different situation. She wondered how many times Ginny had tried to insist that it was just Diagon Alley and she could come by herself, but her mother wouldn't let her. That vibe was obvious.

"Wonderful to meet you, too, dear. Come on in here, too. We're all huggers in this family." She quickly found herself wrapped in Mrs. Weasley's arms as well, and hugged back. "Ginny's told us so much about you already," she added as she pulled away.

Lia's gaze cut to Ginny, who was turning redder by the second, with a hint of a smirk. "Has she now?"

"It's been a while since she's made new friends, you know, so it's been a good chance of pace, especially with-"

"Sorry, Mum," Ginny interrupted. "We, erm, better get going, I guess. Those bikes don't rent themselves."

"All right, all right. You're going to Hyde Park, you said?"

"Mmhmm," Ginny answered.

"Well, have fun. You can just pop back home when you're done."

"Okay, I got it. Thanks."

Lia was trying not to laugh; clearly Ginny was much more irritated with this whole situation than Lia was herself, but it was funny to see either way. Luckily, it didn't last, as Lia took Ginny's hand, fighting the urge to link their fingers together, and Disapparated them to a secret spot behind the bathrooms in Hyde Park.

"Not ideal, but out of way. Though it shouldn't be too busy," she began as Ginny recovered.

"I still don't think I'll ever get used to Apparating," Ginny panted, hanging onto Lia for support. Lia just wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer. "Wish we could just fly everywhere. I love flying."

"And that's where you and I differ," Lia laughed and started walking them towards the path. "I'm terrified of heights. You couldn't get me on a broom if you paid me. I'll watch Quidditch all day, but actually playing it… that's a different story."

"That's why we're riding bikes?"

"Also because riding bikes is fun and romantic. It's in all the movies, so it has to work."

"If I even can."

"Ginny, if you can ride a broom, you can ride nearly anything. I promise."

"I'll take your word for it." She pulled off Lia's arm to take her hand again, threading their fingers. Lia just grinned at her, squeezing her hand as they walked towards the lake. The open greens were filled with families having picnics on checked blankets, throwing tennis balls for their dogs, playing with footballs and frisbees, or just enjoying the sunshine. Ginny lived for nice days like this at Hogwarts, and she was elated that she got to spend one of them with someone. She usually ended up spending the summers at home and not getting to see her friends too much because they lived so far. But Lia was just an Apparation away.

Ginny couldn't stop herself from just staring over at her, watching as her eyes took everything in, too. The sun was reflecting perfectly in them, bringing out the variations in color more than the shadows of indoors did. They were mesmerizing and sparkly and so, so blue. Light was shining through the few curls that had escaped her ever-present bun, and she had to look away before she spent an inappropriate amount of time staring.

"Oh! The parakeets are out!" Lia was suddenly pulling her over to a patch of trees where a crowd had gathered to feed the small, bright green birds that were landing all over their arms and heads. "Hang on." Lia looked around before discreetly pulling out her wand and conjuring some bird seed into each of their hands. "There."

As soon as they got close, some of the birds hanging out on other people flew over to them, and Ginny couldn't hold in a laugh as two immediately landed on her arm and started eating out of her hand. "Wow, they're not shy at all, are they?!"

"No, they're not. Especially when food's involved." Lia sprinkled some of the seeds into her own hair, giggling as one landed on the top of her head.

"Are they wild?"

"They are now, but parakeets like this generally aren't. There are loads of fun stories about how they got here, but I think there were just a pair that someone had as pets and let loose and, well… now look at them."

"This is amazing." Ginny reached up to pet one of them on the head. "You know, I bet they'd love Diana."

"That would be a sight, wouldn't it?" Lia laughed. "Me just bringing an owl into the middle of the park."

"You have an owl!?" Apparently, a little boy had been close enough to hear their conversation, and he ran over to them, spooking parakeets and lurking pigeons, sending them flying back into the trees.

"I do!" Lia answered, kneeling down to his level. "She's about this big." She indicated with her hands, and the boy's eyes widened even more.

"Where did you get her? I want an owl!"

"Well, if you can find it, I got her at a place called Eeylops," Lia grinned, turning back to Ginny and giving her a wink before addressing the boy again. "But you should probably be a little older, as they're very hard to take care of. Usually they don't even sell them to children until you're eleven."

"Eleven!? But I'm only seven now and that's four more years!" he pouted.

"That'll just give you plenty of time to research then, won't it? There are all different kinds you can get."

"Really?!" The boy thought for a second, reaching up to feign scratching his chin. "I think I want a tiny one like yours 'cause then its poos will be smaller."

"I think that's a brilliant idea," Lia answered with a smile. "Smaller poos are much easier to clean up, trust me."

"Thanks!" The boy quickly turned away before running off again. "Mum! I want an owl!"

Lia stood to full height again before looking back at Ginny, who was watching her with a peculiar look on her face. "What?"

"Nothing." But her eyes gave her away as she reached her hand back out to take Lia's. "It's… you can just… talk about magic like that?"

"He's a kid," Lia explained with a soft shrug. "Whether he's magic or not, kids talk about that stuff all day and no one will take them seriously if no one knows better. Responsible, though. Thinking about what would be easier to take care of. Definitely Ravenclaw."

"Unless he convinces his parents to actually buy him an owl. Then he's a Slytherin."

"Especially a non-magic owl," Lia agreed. "That would be brilliant."

Ginny spent a few more minutes with the parakeets and Lia spent a few more minutes watching her. There was still some darkness deep down that she hid or maybe she didn't even know about. It was clear in the circles still under her eyes, the slight dullness to her hair and skin. As much as Lia didn't want to think about the war, as much as she hadn't regretted her decision for her and her parents to go back to Ireland while everything was going on and then deciding to stay, maybe she was starting to regret it now. She'd heard about everything through news articles and word of mouth, but seeing Harry and Hermione looking as ragged and battered as they were when they came into Eeylops and seeing Ginny standing there and playing with birds, trying her best to feel normal again after she'd fought in a literal war at sixteen while she was still at Hogwarts, she tried not to feel guilty. She hadn't known. She'd come back to a flat that hadn't been touched since she left, come back to a roommate who hadn't been much involved because she was at uni, and resumed her job like it had only been a tornado or something that had destroyed Diagon Alley, not Death Eaters. They'd rebuilt and kept going, minus one shop at the fork in the road that hadn't been touched because of the devastation to the family of the girl in front of her.

"Ginny?" she asked softly, wiping the tears forming in her eyes. She didn't need to cry on this date.

"Yeah?" Ginny turned to look at her, and her smile faltered a little at the look in Lia's eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Lia breathed, nodding quickly. "Yeah, I just thought maybe we could stop for lunch in a bit, but if you want to stay here for a little longer, we can."

"No, that's fine!" Ginny agreed. "Sorry, sometimes I… space out when I'm having fun, I guess."

"Oh, don't apologize! Honestly, it's okay! Space out all you want. We've got all day." Lia briefly wondered if it was a more recent habit she hadn't realized. "I like watching you, too."

"That would be a lot creepier if it weren't coming from you," Ginny teased, brushing her hands on the sides of her pants to remove the seeds and dust.

Lia smirked. "Why's that?"

Ginny paused, clearly not having expected to actually answer. A blush colored her cheeks, but she couldn't hide the smallest of smiles. "Well, I… I mean, you're… that was a trick question."

"Was not! Now I'm curious!"

"You're just… I know you're flirting and I don't mind, so that's… that's why it's okay. There. Is that an acceptable answer?"

"Perfectly acceptable," Lia smirked. "You just looked exceptionally beautiful with the sun coming through your hair like that and the birds and everything. Like a picture."

"You're really good at this, aren't you?" Ginny asked breathlessly.

"Bit of practice, that's all." After a few seconds while Ginny collected herself, she continued. "So you're ready for lunch?"

Ginny just nodded, her eyes looking over Lia carefully. She felt like she wasn't even reciprocating any flirting herself, and yet here Lia was just openly pretending that Ginny hadn't said she wasn't sure if she wanted this to be a date or not. She was comfortable, though. She couldn't put a name to the feeling she'd been fighting for the past couple weeks - some kind of depression, she was sure, since she'd noticed it in others, too - was starting to give way to the freedom she had felt before fifth year. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like, but now, she was starting to remember. She was starting to heal.

Lia led them hand in hand to one of the clearings, quickly hiding behind a tree to pull a blanket and the cooler of food out of her bag. It would have been suspicious if anybody was paying attention, so she handed the blanket over to Ginny to spread out. Ginny felt a surge of thrill at the thought of secretly doing magic out in the Muggle world. It seemed easy, like they weren't even paying attention, and Ginny briefly wondered what she could get away with if she pulled out her wand. Then she remembered she still had the Trace and thought better of it. That was the last thing she needed.

Once everything was set up, they made their way through the peanut butter and jam sandwiches Lia had made and bags of crisps. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was nice just sitting close enough that their thighs were touching while they ate and people-watched until Lia started to make up stories about one of the families that nearly had Ginny choking on her food.

"Oh, that one in blue definitely has a secret baby. She stashed him in his pram behind that tree over there but forgot to put the brakes on and he'll be rolling out any second now. He'll run over them all and then the dog will start chasing him-"

"Stop!" Ginny laughed, trying her best to swallow the last bite of her sandwich as she leaned further against Lia. Once she did and took a sip of water, she smiled again. "How do you even think up all this?"

"Dad and I used to play it when we'd go into town. There weren't many people around we didn't know, so it was exciting to meet other families. But we'd just get an ice cream and spend a couple hours together. I didn't get to see him much during the week once we moved."

"What does he do?" Ginny easily leaned her head on Lia's shoulder as she watched the family across the field.

It took a couple seconds for Lia to respond. "Ehm, business finance. Nowhere near anything I'd ever do, but he enjoys it. And he's good at it. I do miss the farm, though. All the animals." Ginny felt a head hesitantly rest on top of her own. "We used to get money from the farm, but Dad's new job made a lot more."

"Why'd you move? Why not just Apparate?" Ginny asked curiously. "I mean, then you could live practically anywhere."

"I asked him that, too. He said he likes doing things the Muggle way sometimes. Plus, we can just pop back to the farm whenever we want. And with me graduating and trying to figure out what I want to do, it's easier for me to be here sometimes."

"What do you want to do? Do you know?"

"I don't," she admitted. "I mean, I have an idea - I definitely want to work with animals - but it's hard to decide between Muggle zoology and magizoology. Magical creatures can be a lot more fun, but it's more dangerous. Whereas compared to them, lions and tigers and snakes and all that seem like a piece of cake. But I don't want to get bored, either, so I think I'm leaning towards magizoology. I just want to decide before I start pursuing anything." Ginny hummed in response. "What about you? Have you thought about it yet?"

"I mean, I really like playing Quidditch. I think that would be fun. My family says I'm good enough to be a professional, but I don't know. I still think Harry's better than me, but I've still got a year left before I'll be graduating, so I have plenty of time to practice."

Lia pulled her head off Ginny's to look at her. "You play Quidditch?"

"Yeah. Ron's trying to get a summer team together. Maybe… maybe you could come watch a game sometime since you said you like watching it."

"I'd love to. Absolutely. What… ehm… what do you play?"

"Chaser. I've tried seeker a couple times but I always lose the snitch. Plus it's fun to get rough sometimes, you know?" Lia snorted, a smirk coming over her face, and Ginny blushed quickly, her face and neck heating up. "I mean… I meant in the… in the game! I… not… ugh." She finally put her head in her hands as Lia tried not to keep laughing.

"I know what you meant. Just… little forward for a first date, don't you think?" she teased.

"Shut up," Ginny said with a grin Lia could only hear.

After a second or two, just as Ginny was calming down, Lia pulled her legs up to her chest. "I mean, it is." That only made her start back up, leaning against Lia again before finally pulling her face from her hands.

"You're being a bad influence on me."

"Am I? A Hufflepuff being a bad influence on a Gryffindor? I've never heard of such a thing. Usually it's the other way around."

"You think I could be a bad influence on you?" Ginny's eyebrow quirked up in a way that had Lia's stomach doing a somersault.

"I keep forgetting that you're only sixteen," Lia sighed, forcing herself to look away.

Ginny's grin fell. "Is that a problem?"

"No! No. Just have to keep myself in check, that's all. Don't want to scare you off."

"You couldn't scare me off."

"No?"

"No, because… whatever you're thinking about, I'm probably not too far behind."

Lia laughed a little as she stretched out one of her legs. "I doubt it. I mean… maybe you're in the same book, but not quite on the same chapter." She looked Ginny up and down once. "I'm sorry. I've… it's been a while since I've dated anyone, so I may be a little…"

"Desperate?" Ginny teased.

"I was going to say ready to jump back into things, but… yeah, desperate works, too," she grinned.

"You don't have to worry. Honestly." Though things still felt a little awkward when they were intentional, after the initial difference was past, being with Lia on this date felt good. She was comfortable, laughing, having a good time, and the way that Lia looked at her sometimes made her heart flutter and her cheeks get warm. She wasn't hiding the fact that she found Ginny attractive, and the way she'd reacted to the fact that Ginny played Quidditch made her want to run back to Hogwarts and start practice immediately. She'd been trying to hide it, but with the way that Ginny was hyper-conscious of every movement from the other girl, she'd noticed that Lia had shifted a little on the blanket as she pulled away. Her eyes had gone a little darker, and they kept flicking down to Ginny's lips for a fraction of a second. "I want you to be yourself. If we're… going to go on more dates or be together or anything, really, I don't want you feeling like you've got to hold back or not say things that you want to say. Just because I've never dated a girl before doesn't mean I don't want to, okay?" She reached over to rest her hand on Lia's thigh, and the other girl just put hers on top. "You could tell me you want to take me to bed right now and it wouldn't phase me because I already know you do."

Lia turned scarlet, clutching Ginny's hand and dropping her chin to her chest as she laughed nervously. "I don't, though!"

Ginny smiled. "You sure about that?"

"I mean, that's not all I want to do. I really want to keep going on dates with you. I'm just… also attracted to you, but I don't… know if you know if you're attracted to me yet."

"I am," Ginny answered instantly. "I'm just kind of trying to get used to that for the moment. It's new. I don't want to jump into anything and then disappoint you." She turned her hand over, taking Lia's fingers between her own.

"Oh, no, you wouldn't disappoint me, love," Lia promised, reaching up to brush her thumb over Ginny's cheek. "It's not always a decision you can make overnight."

Ginny glanced down to Lia's finger for a moment, memorizing the way it felt on her skin. Warm and soft and gentle, like her lips had been. "But what if I decide that-"

"Then I'll just settle for being your friend and I'll get over it and tell you that if, at any point - and I mean any point, on the fly - you change your mind or you want to do some experimenting, just give me a call."

"You're ridiculous." But Ginny's nerves had vanished. At least the anxious ones. The ones that were a result of Lia's hand on her face hadn't dissipated yet. She stayed silent for a moment, just watching the way their hands fit together and running the tip of her thumb over the rings on Lia's. Three thin silver bands, but they looked like they were interconnected, and they moved as one as Ginny played with it. It was mesmerizing. "Do you use magic when you paint your nails?" She hadn't noticed before, but the pastel purple polish was as perfect as if she'd just had them done.

"Yeah. Why?"

"I've tried to paint mine before, but then whenever I play Quidditch, it just comes right off," Ginny explained. "Between the brooms and the gloves and all that."

"Hmm… I just use a sticking charm." Lia pulled up Ginny's hand to look at it closer. "I know I'm not as rough on my hands as Quidditch would be, but it wouldn't hurt to try."

"You'd have to do it. Or someone else. At least for a couple more months. The closer it gets to being able to use magic, the more annoying it is that I can't," she laughed. "That's a pretty color, though."

"Lilac. It's my favorite, especially in the spring and summer. Or yellow. I know, I'm a quintessential Hufflepuff."

"Guess I should go for a nice maroon then, huh?"

"You could go green and switch it up. Make people think you're a Slytherin. I think you'd look good in green."

"You'd say that about any color."

"And it would be true." Lia winked playfully, taking the last sip of her drink. "All right. How's a break from talking about me getting you to bed sound, and we'll get you on a bike?"

"Getting me to bed?" Ginny laughed. "We did stop!"

Lia smirked. "But I'm still thinking about it. You're not procrastinating, are you? Nervous?"

"No!" That got Ginny up to help Lia gather their trash, though, and after they tossed everything into a nearby bin and packed the blanket back up in Lia's bag, they were off again. Ginny didn't feel nearly as nervous to join their hands. "You're not going to let me fall, are you?"

"Not a chance. I'll hold onto you."

Ginny grinned. "Oh, that's why it was your idea, then! You said it was 'romantic,' but it was just so you could have your hands all over me." The butterflies started fluttering in her stomach as the words left her mouth, and Lia was just giving the sidewalk in front of her a soft smile.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She raised an eyebrow playfully. "Because that would definitely be more of a distraction, wouldn't it? Besides, I'll be riding next to you, which would be impossible if I didn't stop touching you."

It wasn't a long walk to where the bike rentals were, and by the time they got there, Ginny did find herself a little nervous after all. Not about falling, necessarily - she'd fallen off a broom more times than she could remember - but because she had no idea what this was going to involve. She didn't imagine it was much different, as Lia had explained to her that most of the work was finding her balance, but once they had the bikes in hand, she found herself just staring at hers, the pastel colors mocking her.

"You all right?" Lia asked, sensing her hesitance. "We don't have to if you change your mind."

"No, I can do it. You said I could, and I trust you, so I know I can."

"Good. The first, and probably the easiest, I'd say, is to get on it. We need to make sure the seat's the right height for you, too, so I'll hold the bars while you get on," Lia began.

Getting on. Easy enough. She mounted the bike without any trouble, adjusting a little to settle down on the seat. It was an odd feeling compared to being on a broom, but she appreciated the support.

"It's a little low. Your toes should barely be able to touch the ground, so hop off and I'll adjust the seat." Ginny did as she was told, and Lia quickly flipped a lever on the bar underneath the seat to raise it up.

"Is it always this… involved?"

"No," Lia laughed. "Once you set it, you shouldn't have to do it again. If you get your own bike, that is."

Ginny got back on it and had a harder time balancing with her feet not being able to steady her as well, but eventually leaned to one side to rest on one foot.

"Perfect. Now, do you want to see how you can balance on it? Then, you just put your feet on the pedals and start going. And these on the front are the brakes. The left one does the back wheel and the right one does the front. I'd suggest the front since the back can stop a little sudden sometimes."

"Pedal. Left is back brake. Right is front brake. Got it. Anything else?"

"Squeeze the brakes slowly."

"Slowly," Ginny repeated. "Now when does the holding onto me come in?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Lia smirked, moving toward the back of the bike. "Well I was going to hold the back of the seat, but that's like… on your bum, so maybe I'll hang onto this post rack here. It's easier with kids." Ginny was glad that Lia wasn't in front of her to see her blush.

"You've taught kids?"

"Oh yeah. I was one of the oldest kids in the town growing up, so once I learned, they all came to me. I'm kind of a pro," she teased. "You're in good hands."

"Never doubted it."

"All right. I'll hold onto the back of it until you get your balance, but it's easier if you keep moving. Once you stop, you'll need to get a foot on the ground like you've got now, okay? Ready when you are."

Ginny nodded quickly, kicking off the ground just enough to settle both of her feet on the pedals. She wobbled a little, but Lia kept her promise to keep her up. It took her a few seconds to find her center, then she started to push forward. A little more effort was required than she'd anticipated, but once she got going, it did become more natural. Center of balance was important on a broom, too, as leaning even the slightest changed direction. The bike was, in a way, a little more freeing with the handlebars. Lia was still holding onto the back, walking quickly behind her on the sidewalk, but Ginny felt ready, her confidence building by the second.

"Let go! I think I've got it!" she called behind her.

"You sure? Remember the brakes!"

"Yeah!" There was an initial wobble once Lia let go, but it turned out she'd been right - this was pretty easy after all. Ginny didn't speed up much, but she could hear Lia's cheers a bit behind her.

"Yes! Look at you go!"

The familiar feeling of the wind on her face was comforting, even if she had to work a little harder to get it on a bike. She wasn't sure if Lia was getting on a bike behind her, so she only kept riding for a few seconds before slowly easing pressure on the right handbrake as instructed. At a certain point, the bike was moving too slow to stay upright and started to lean, so Ginny squeezed the brake harder and stuck her foot out to catch herself. Her heart was racing with excitement and exertion, and she could hear Lia running up behind her.

"You're a natural!" she called, immediately throwing her arms around Ginny's neck with enough force to nearly push her off the bike.

Ginny let out a noise between a yell and a laugh, holding onto Lia just as tightly. She'd accepted the fact that she'd have to get used to Lia being so touchy with her. It wasn't that she minded, but none of her friends were like this. She hadn't been touched so much by anyone other than family. The way that Lia's hands trailed down her back when she pulled away, though, sent butterflies through her stomach again. The awkward angle of the rest of her body had no impact on her desire to lean in for a kiss, but she took a breath instead, shaking the thought away for the moment and just focusing on how utterly gorgeous she was up close. Light freckles and golden hair and ocean eyes squinting with elation.

"You're just a really good teacher," Ginny managed, a little breathless once she felt Lia's exhale of embarrassment against her cheek. She pulled Ginny in for another hug, desperate to be close but distracting herself from the thought of kissing her. Instead, this hug lingered, and after a couple seconds, just as Ginny was relaxing into it enough to let the world dissolve around them, Lia pulled away. That was… new.

"Thanks." She cleared her throat and stepped back. "Ready to go again?"

"Yeah."