A/N: I am sorry for posting this so late, this semester is really intense. From now on, I'll upload bi-weekly. However, I'll have some more time for writing after midterms, so I'll try to keep waiting as short as possible. Also, I did not have time to edit this chapter twice as I usually do, so there might be a couple of mistakes. If you find some, let me know!

A/N2: And thanks so much for 100 follows, that is amazing. :)

Chapter 15 – Blame it on the muffin

Nervously Hermione glanced at the clock hanging above the kitchen table for what must have been the hundredths time this afternoon. Five minutes to six. Five minutes until Ginny was supposed to arrive at her house.

Hermione's eyes quickly wandered over the table to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. The table was set, the food prepared, candles placed here and there and a bottle of Muggle wine was waiting to be opened. Everything was how it was supposed to be, Hermione thought while she restlessly walked up and down the kitchen.

In the morning, Hermione had thought it would be a nice idea to spent the evening with Ginny, so she spontaneously had sent and owl to Ginny inviting her to come over for dinner. She knew her girlfriend would be free today, since there usually was no Quidditch training the day after a game. Now, she wasn't so sure anymore whether it really had been a good idea. Her flat still looked uninviting despite the candles she had bought from a shop near the ministry a while ago and her cooking skills were okay, but far from gourmet cuisine, let alone Mrs. Weasley's cooking. What if Ginny wouldn't like the mushroom cream soup she had prepared? Maybe she should just transfigure it into something else? There might be a spell for that…

The loud ring of the doorbell pulled Hermione out of her thoughts. She hurried towards the door and tapped her wand to it which would unlock the building's main entrance door. While she impatiently waited for Ginny to come up the stairs she checked her appearance in the mirror one last time. Blue jeans, combined with a thick woolen Norwegian sweater. It was simple, but the best she had found in her wardrobe. She would have to go shopping soon. Hopping from one foot to the other she tried to fix a strand of hair that kept sticking out stubbornly. Yielding no results, she eventually drew her wand and performed a simple spell she had invented a few months ago to straighten the strand.

Expecting Ginny to have arrived at the third floor by now she went to the door and opened it. The redhead was already standing in front of the door and greeted Hermione with the most relaxed smile Hermione had seen on her in those last few weeks. Once more, Hermione could not help but to fawn over how beautiful she was. Her hair shimmered in the most soothing colors of red, copper and maroon and even though it was probably her imagination she believed to have discovered yet another shade of brown in Ginny's eyes.

"Ta-da!", Ginny exclaimed and conjured a flower out of thin air. It was an orange colored chrysanthemum which was in full blossom. "For you", Ginny said and let it float through the air over to Hermione.

Hermione held out her hand and curled her fingers around the stem. "It's beautiful", she said in awe. She had never received flowers as a gift before.

"Chrysanthemum means honesty in the language of flowers", Ginny explained. She took a step forward and gingerly took Hermione's hand into her own. "I want us to be honest to each other from now on, Hermione. Don't hide your feelings and tell me if something is weighing you down, okay? You're my girlfriend now and that means I'm going to share my life with you. I hope you can do the same." Ginny's expression had gotten serious for a minute, but as soon as she said the last word, she smiled and walked inside the flat.

Hermione looked down on the flower she was holding. Ginny was right. They were a part of each other's lives now. But although the thought felt good at first its implications scared Hermione a little.

"You coming?", Ginny asked from inside her flat.

"Mmhh", Hermione replied and the door shut close behind her.

"You hung up the poster", Ginny noticed appreciatively. "I told you it'll look great."

Hermione walked over to Ginny who was still eying the poster of herself that Hermione had attached to the empty wall above her desk. "Stop showing off", Hermione reprimanded playfully. "I'll have to remove this soon anyways."

"What?! How dare you?", Ginny exclaimed with feigned indignance. "Wait, seriously? Why?", she asked, her expression changing to disappointment which sent a sting through Hermione's heart.

"Uhm, well", Hermione stuttered embarrassedly.

"Is it the robe?", Ginny asked. "Does it not look good on me?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, the robe is fine. It's your face actually…it's-"

"My face?!" Ginny's eyes widened as she stared at Hermione in shock. "Is there something wrong? Is it the freckles?"

"No, your face is perfect!", Hermione reassured her, but Ginny still stared at her worriedly. Hermione could feel her cheeks blushing as she continued: "Your face is beautiful, so is everything about you…that's why I can't stop looking at this poster. Whenever I'm supposed to concentrate I find myself just staring at you." Hermione laughed nervously as she waited for Ginny's reaction.

Ginny bit on her bottom lip as she pondered over what Hermione had just said. Then she suddenly took a step forward, cupped both of Hermione's cheeks with her hands and smiled at her lovingly. Hermione looked up at the slightly taller woman before her eyes went shut.

Then she felt Ginny's lips on her own. They felt warm and soft and so much better than last time, since she could barely remember the feel of their lips' short encounter.

The touch was tender and careful, but it sent goosebumps down her spine right away. Hermione let out a shaky breath through her nose as she raised her hands and clung them to Ginny's shirt. This caused Ginny to pull Hermione even closer until their bodies were flush against each other. The redhead slowly began to move her lips on Hermione's, hesitantly at first, but when Hermione started to follow her movements, the kiss soon became more intense.

Hermione's heart pounded as if it was about to jump out of her chest and she felt lightheaded, only this time it was much better than what she had felt from the scent in Professor Trelawney's shop. It was as if time was standing still and fast forwarded at the same time.

Her hands travelled up until they were positioned on the small of Ginny's back, pulling her even closer. A quiet moan escaped from Ginny's lips at Hermione's action.

Surprised by her own reaction Ginny pulled back a little, but their foreheads were still touching. They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments and smiled. "So how do you like kissing a girl?", Ginny asked jokingly.

"I don't know about kissing girls in general, but kissing you is great", Hermione reasoned.

"No need to know about anybody else", Ginny said determinedly. "You won't find a greater kisser like me anywhere else."

"How would you know?", Hermione asked teasingly.

"Just my humble assumption", Ginny shrugged.

"You're cute", Hermione snickered and placed a light kiss on Ginny's forehead, which made Ginny blush quite a lot.

"Let's eat, the soup is getting cold", Hermione said, even though she would have loved to continue where they had just left off. She took Ginny's hand and let her to the kitchen table.

"Blimey, this looks delicious!", Ginny exclaimed as Hermione started filling up their plates with the mushroom cream soup she had prepared earlier.

Hermione smiled contently. "I hope you'll like it."

She waved her wand and ignited the candles and tealights she had placed around and on the table. She also got a cup – there were no vases in her house – and placed the flower Ginny had given her in it.

"I see you're making progress", Ginny stated. "It looks much comfier around here than last time I visited."

"Thanks", Hermione replied, but she withheld the fact that she had decorated the room only for their date. Usually, the house still looked as empty as it used to be. The only new additions were the poster and the framed photograph that was now gracing her nightstand.

"You drink wine, don't you?", she asked.

"Yes, thank you", Ginny answered and eyed the bottle. "You got Muggle wine! I never tried this." Curiously she watched her glass being filled up by Hermione.

"I'm sure you'll like it", Hermione smiled. "It's a French one. Quite expensive."

Hermione sat down across from Ginny and gestured her to start eating.

"Wait", Ginny said and raised her glass. "To us." She smiled happily at Hermione.

"To us", Hermione said and they clinked glasses. They each took a sip of whine, just enjoying the other's company.

"Wow, this tastes great!", Ginny exclaimed. "Much better than fire whiskey I think."

"I know, right?", Hermione agreed. "Try the soup. I hope it's not too salty, I didn't really have the time to taste it and it's-"

"Delicious!", Ginny, who had already dug in, cut her off. "I didn't know you were such a great cook, you should give the recipe to my mum, she'd love it." Ginny kept slurping the soup and Hermione watched her contently. Finally, someone who didn't complain about her cooking, she thought. She still was pissed when she thought about Harry and especially Ron complaining about her cooking when they were on the hunt for Horcruxes. Admittedly, she didn't have the means to cook like this then, but she was sure that Ginny would not have complained.

"How are you doing at work these days?", Ginny asked innocuously after she finished half of her soup in less than a minute. She surely ate like a true Weasley.

"Business as usual, nothing really happens actually", Hermione replied. "I'm working less overtime, though."

"That's great to hear", Ginny said approvingly. "You really should stop exhausting yourself so much."

"I know", Hermione sighed. "By the way, how is Neville doing now that, you know, Harry seems to be interested in Luna?"

Ginny looked puzzled at the sudden change of topic and it took her a few moments to answer. "I think it's pretty hard for him. He really likes Harry, even if it's just from afar, and I can imagine quite well how he must be feeling."

Hermione deflated as she listened. "I feel bad since it was me who suggested to Harry to consider Luna in the first place. I didn't really think of Neville when I said it, but know I feel kind of guilty", she admitted.

"No, don't think that", Ginny said and reached for Hermione's hand. The touch immediately soothed Hermione. "It would've happened anyways, I'm sure about that. Harry is not gay and will never be, so Neville finally has to move on, although it might be hard for him. Eventually he'll be okay, you know how strong he is. If only I knew someone I could introduce him too…" Ginny thoughtfully took a long sip of wine.

"Wait, I think I might know just the right person!", Hermione said as a sudden idea hit her. Why hadn't she thought of this earlier? "I have this colleague called Sera, maybe I told you about him before?"

"The one who has a stick up his ass?", Ginny asked, now munching happily on a slice of baguette that was accompanying the soup.

Hermione chuckled at the questionable yet dead-on choice of words. "Exactly. Anyways, I think he might be gay", she whispered as if someone could hear them.

"Really?", Ginny whispered back. She too obviously had internalized the habit of whispering when talking about 'gay-issues'. "How do you know?"

"Well, I am not sure yet, but first of all he could go out with any witch he wanted, but he never does. And secondly, I saw him checking out some wizard's butt a while ago", Hermione explained.

"Okay, that's not the most convincing evidence, but assuming that he is in fact gay, do you think he would be a good match for Neville?", Ginny asked doubtfully. "just because they're both gay, doesn't mean they're going to like each other."

"I know", Hermione said and nodded. She tried to imagine Sera and Neville as a couple, which was weird at first but the more she thought about it the better the picture in her head got. "I think it would be worth to give it a shot. But first, I should make sure he's really gay."

"But how would you do that?", Ginny inquired. "I didn't know you were a lesbian and I know you for years."

Hermione still felt uncomfortable with the word lesbian, but she did not protest. After all she was a lesbian. Probably. Maybe she was bi or just liked Ginny, but that didn't change the fact that she was in a lesbian relationship now, so she would have get used to the word. But back to Neville.

"I have no idea yet", Hermione admitted.

"Please don't make a list", Ginny said half-jokingly, half seriously.

"Won't you ever forget about that?", Hermione asked beseechingly.

"How could I? It made you confess to me after all", Ginny replied playfully.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, but was actually relieved that Ginny had come to appreciate the positive repercussions of that list. She would have to find a different way to confirm whether Sera was gay or not though.

"More wine?", Ginny asked when she noticed Hermione's empty glass.

"Yes, thank you", Hermione replied.

"Speaking of your colleagues, how is Pansy doing?", Ginny inquired while she filled up Hermione's glass.

"Don't get me started", Hermione said feebly. While they finished their soup, she told Ginny about her talk with Pansy, the 'help' she had received from her and their latest encounters in the office. She also voiced her suspicions about Pansy's closeness with her boss and their clandestine activities. The matter had Hermione quite worked up and her voice became more accusing with every sip of wine she drank.

Ginny on the other hand remained calm and cautioned Hermione not to jump to conclusions. "I think she really wanted to help you", Ginny reasoned after listening to Hermione's story. "Why would she deceive you? There won't be any gains for her. And it's not like you're in school anymore."

"But she always eyes me with that arrogant look of hers as if she couldn't wait to harm me somehow!", Hermione protested.

Ginny mustered Hermione thoughtfully. "Have you ever considered that you might be misinterpreting it? Please don't be angry if I say this, but I think you're still trapped in the past when it comes to her. Don't you think it's time to move on?"

Hermione mulled this over for a second but her stubbornness got the better part of her. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

Ginny sensed Hermione's change in attitude and reached out to unclasp her arms. She let her hands slide along Hermione's forearms until their fingers were intervened. "Hermione", Ginny said softly. Hermione wanted to uphold the stern look in her eyes but Ginny's caring expression made the task difficult. Deep inside her she knew that she could not win this fight with arguments so she just pressed her lips together firmly as she waited for Ginny to continue.

"You keep being suspicious about Pansy's intentions and what she is doing in the office, right? Why don't you just ask her about it instead of mulling over it all day long?"

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Ginny cut her off right away.

"You of all people should know that asking is better than making assumptions." She did not say this accusingly, but quietly and soft, which left Hermione with nothing to argue. Hermione could feel the wall she had build up crumbling under Ginny's gaze.

Ginny was right, she could just ask Pansy. Suddenly, everything seemed so simple and she could not understand why she had been so defiant all along. Maybe she really was still trapped in the past somehow.

"How do you do that?", Hermione whispered.

"What do you mean?", Ginny asked puzzledly.

"You make everything seem so simple." Hermione lowered her gaze and started to draw circles with her thump over Ginny's back of the hand.

Ginny laughed quietly. "I'm just looking at things from a different perspective, that's all. Just consider what I said, okay?"

"Okay", Hermione replied as she continued to move her thump.

They fell silent for a minute, both women watching Hermione drawing circles on Ginny's hand.

"Oh right, I made cranberry muffins for dessert", Hermione suddenly interrupted the silence. She hurriedly got up from her chair and strode towards the counter. "I used a warming spell, since you like them better when they're warm."

"You remembered that? I told you that when I was fifteen or so", Ginny said in surprise.

"I have an eye for those details, well in this case an ear", Hermione replied proudly. She placed the muffins on the table and Ginny immediately started soaking in their scent.

"The smell is amazing!", she beamed. Happily, she reached for the stack of muffins and took a bite out of the first one she could grab. "So is the taste", she said with her mouth full and emphasized her judgment with a thumps-up. Hermione just stared at her in wonder. She used to hate it when Ron ate with his mouth full, but when Ginny did it she found it endearing. Had it always been like this?, she suddenly wondered. She tried to recollect memories of Ginny eating, but was interrupted.

"Can I have some more wine?", Ginny asked, already reaching for her second muffin.

"Sure, but don't get drunk", Hermione warned and poured her another glass.

"I won't", Ginny assured. "I am drinking on a full stomach, so it'll be fine. And it's the first time I am having Muggle wine, who knows if I ever get the chance to drink it again?"

"Your girlfriend is a Muggle-born. Of course, you will", Hermione said amusedly.

"I still can't believe you're my girlfriend", Ginny suddenly said and Hermione could see amazement in her eyes. "This isn't a dream, right? This is real, isn't it?"

"It is", Hermione murmured. She raised her hand and cupped Ginny's cheek. She could feel it growing hot under her touch. "You feel my hand, right?"

Ginny nodded. "Then this is real", Hermione concluded and smiled. "But I understand what you mean. It's hard to believe for me as well. I never imagined you'd become my girlfriend…well maybe subconsciously I did, but you know the story."

Ginny snickered at Hermione's admission. Hermione just watched her contently and stroked a strand of red hair behind Ginny's ear. It felt really soft and she imagined what it felt like to bury both of her hands in that beautiful hair of Ginny's.

"I'm really happy right now", Ginny whispered and closed her eyes for a second while Hermione caressed her cheek. Hermione just smiled. Her gaze dropped on Ginny's slightly parted lips. They surely looked inviting.

Noticing this, Ginny grinned and asked: "Did you enjoy our first kiss?"

Hermione blushed and pulled back her hand. "Which one do you mean?", she stuttered.

"The real first one", Ginny laughed. "As for me, it was the best kiss I ever had."

"Really?", Hermione blurted out. "B-but I-I'm not the most experienced kisser. Of course, I kissed Victor a few times and Ron, but-"

"Ehww, I don't need to know that", Ginny complained. "Experienced or not, you were great anyways."

"Thanks, you were great too", Hermione replied bashfully.

"So, you did enjoy it?", Ginny asked.

"Of course,", Hermione said.

Feeling emboldened by Ginny's earlier compliment she got up from her chair and walked round the table until she stood in front of Ginny, who was eying her quizzically. "And I want to do it again", Hermione whispered. She cupped Ginny's cheeks with her hands and bent forward until their lips were touching. Ginny inhaled in surprise but then her eyes slid shut and she gave in to the kiss.

This time felt even better than earlier. Maybe it was because Ginny's lips tasted like cranberry and wine, but maybe it was her lips itself that made Hermione realize that she had already become addicted to the feeling.

Their lips only brushed against each other slightly at first, but soon Ginny started to increase the pressure which got Hermione even more excited than she already was. Ginny's lower lip slid between Hermione's lips and she bit on it tentatively. Ginny let out a quiet whimper and increased the pace of her lips movement. The redhead clung her hands in Hermione's shirt and pulled her until she was sitting on her lap.

Without interrupting the kiss, Hermione slung her arms around Ginny's neck while Ginny wrapped hers around Hermione's waist. Hermione's breath faltered but soon they found their rhythm again.

Suddenly, she felt Ginny's tongue brush against her lower lip. She had never kissed someone that intensely and started to think what to do, but a second brush of Ginny's tongue shut off her thinking and instinctively she parted her lips a little more.

She could feel Ginny's tongue enter her mouth hesitantly. The sensation was unfamiliar at first, but Ginny's warmth and her taste made Hermione soon long for more, so she pulled Ginny closer and started to welcome the redhead's tongue with her own. Ginny let off a quiet moan when Hermione started to suck lightly. Excited by the reaction she got, Hermione sucked on it again and was rewarded with another moan. Hermione was surprised about the courage she suddenly possessed. She blamed it on the wine. Or maybe it was the muffin's taste.

Then she felt Ginny's hands tugging on her shirt and she suddenly tensed. Ginny pulled back and looked up at her with a worried expression. "Did I do something wrong? Was I too fast?", she asked.

Hermione shook her head as she fidgeted with a strand of red hair. "It's just that I've never gone further than this", she murmured sheepishly.

Ginny's eyes widened as she realized what Hermione was implying. "Oh", she uttered dumbfoundedly. "So you never…not even with Ron? I mean…"

Hermione shook her head once again. "I'm still a virgin", she admitted quietly. "I'm twenty-two, so I shouldn't be, but-"

Ginny laid her index finger on Hermione's lips to silence her. "It's okay", she said softly. "We can wait as long as you want, I want you to feel ready for this. And this has nothing to do with age", she added.

Relieved, Hermione buried her face in the crook of Ginny's neck and inhaled her scent deeply. "Thanks", she mumbled.

Ginny lightly stoked her back and they remained in that position for a few minutes. It felt nice holding each other like this.

"'mione?", Ginny murmured.

"Mmh-mmh?", Hermione mumbled against Ginny's neck.

"I love you."

Hermione smiled.

"I love you too."