Ginny flicked through her charmed copy of the Quibbler moodily. "I'm amazed Harry actually told Rita Skeeter these things," she said. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, and she swung them back and forth where she lay on the floor of her dormitory. Louise and Jules were trying out some kind of magical hair dye in the bathroom, and Ginny had promised to judge the results. Jules had thrown a fit when she's considered dyeing her own red hair, and so they'd both been banished from the bathroom.
Hermione looked at her quizzically. "Why? It's the truth – it's what he's been trying to convince everyone of for months."
"I know," Ginny said, chewing on her lower lip, "I'm just…I suppose I'm impressed. From what you said, Rita Skeeter doesn't exactly sound like good listener."
For a moment or two they were silent, and then Ginny looked back at Hermione, grinning impishly. "Did Cho really take him to Madam Puddifoots?"
"How did you hear about that?" Hermione asked, somewhat baffled.
"Oh," Ginny said, flicking her hair out of her face, "Roger Davies regaled all of Ravenclaw with the story the other day, and Michael told me. He's not got the best opinion of Harry, now that he's cheating on Cho with you."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "You took care to inform him that Harry and I are just friends, right?"
"You know I did! Of course," Ginny added irritably, "I'm not sure Michael believes anything I say about Harry these days, so…but I did tell him. I also told him that they might want to consider just how stable Cho is before they start accusing Harry of being the worst boyfriend since…Othello."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Othello?"
Ginny nodded emphatically. "You know just because I'm allergic to my Transfiguration textbooks doesn't mean I don't read."
"You know maybe if you did read your Transfiguration books you wouldn't find the subject such a chore," Hermione said pointedly. "It's really not that difficult – if you applied yourself for a few hours…"
Ginny clapped her hands over her ears and started to make a loud singsong "lalalalalala" noise. Hermione glared at her, and eventually Ginny stopped saying, "I'm sorry, but this is a song I've heard before. I don't like the subject – I have never liked the subject. If I didn't need it to be a Healer…"
Hermione blinked – Ginny had never mentioned this before. "You want to be a Healer?"
Ginny shrugged. "I think I do," she said, "I mean…it'd be cool, especially if I could work on Jinx Reversal or something, but I don't know, not yet. Dad says we should always remember that we have time to sort this stuff out. Do you know what you want to do?"
Hermione shook her head – there were so many different things that interested her, such a multitude of things to plan and to learn and to change that she simply couldn't bear to think of cutting herself off from any one of them.
Ginny seemed unsurprised. "I figured," she said, "that you're not like me."
"What do you mean?" Hermione said, honestly baffled.
Ginny grinned. "Well," she said, "I'm a simple soul, really – I' m not good at that many things. I'm a fair Quidditch player, and I can cast a good hex and shut Harry up when it's absolutely necessary, but…apart from Astronomy there's not much I'm really good at it. And Astronomers have a terrible tendency to end up glued to a telescope for their entire lives."
Hermione gaped. "Where'd you hear that?"
"Well," Ginny said calmly, "They do when their brothers are obsessive jokers who like to magically attach objects to people's bodies."
"Yeah," Hermione said, "That's not exactly surprising. Harry and Ron want to be Aurors."
"Really!" Ginny said. "Ron wants to be an Auror. I guess anything is possible. You know when he was younger he wanted to work in Florean Fortescue's."
Hermione would never have admitted this to Ginny in a million years, but the image of Ron the ice-cream man was strangely…endearing. In any case, Hermione glared at her friend and said stoutly, "Well, Ron'll be a great Auror."
"Yeah, sure," Ginny scoffed, "He'll just have to do some actual work first. I'm not saying I'm any better, but…"
Determined to put an end to these kinds of comments, Hermione said archly, "I notice you don't think Harry will have any trouble."
Ginny shrugged. "Well" she said, "I'm fairly sure he has the skills – if he didn't I wouldn't be here – and if not, he can always shout the Dark Wizards into submission."
"It really doesn't bother you at all, does it?" Hermione said admiringly.
"What, his yelling? Why would it bother me – he's not half as scary as Mum, and I've had a couple of battles with her lately."
"You fight with your Mum a lot?" Hermione said curiously. She didn't argue with her mother all that much – they tended to have a great number of light, comfortable chats, about clothes or books, or cats, or whatever sprang to mind. Her father on the other hand…
Ginny grinned and said, "Louise said to me once that she thinks for mothers and daughters not to fight is against nature. I don't know if she's right but…well, Dad agreed with me when I said it to him."
Hermione sighed. "I think," she said, "You and your mother just have extremely…dominant personalities."
Ginny shrugged. Twirling her quill in one hand, she pulled her hair off her face with the other and said, "That's another way of saying obnoxious. Has Ron kissed you yet?"
Hermione's mouth fell open. "What?"
"I see you two at DA meetings – always smacking each others arms, and trying to knock each other over, and then being oh so concerned in case you might have hurt the other person, and…"
"All right, all right," Hermione said irritably. She really didn't need to hear Ginny list off all of the many ways she and Ron were occasionally flirtatious. She had to live through it, after all, and it was the most frustrating thing imaginable.
She dropped hints to Ron – hints that were, in her considered opinion, nothing short of blatant, and yet…nothing. Not one solitary thing.
She'd kissed him. She'd gone up and kissed (all right, only on the cheek, but still) in front of the whole school – she'd made it absolutely clear that she was interested in him in that way, and yet he still didn't seem to get it. Hermione had thought after Christmas that Ron might be starting to get a clue…she'd thought he might actually ask her to go to Hogsmeade with him, or take advantage of all that time they had to spend alone together as Prefects…but nothing. He did nothing.
"Nothing's happened," she said flatly, "And at the rate he's going I'm not sure anything ever will."
"Oh," Ginny said. For a moment she looked back down at the floor, before saying, "Have you ever thought that maybe…you could…make the first move?"
"What!"
"You know – some night, when you're out 'patrolling' just…hop on him – as disturbing an idea as that is when used in connection to Ron."
"I can't do that." Hermione said decisively.
"Why not? What's the worst that could happen?"
Hermione eyed her friend. "The very worst? He could say no – he could ask me not to come near him ever again because he doesn't fancy me, I'm not pretty enough, in fact I'm kind of repulsive and we could never be friends."
"Hermione, I know Ron can be quite possibly the most obnoxious teenage boy there's ever been, but…do you really think he'd call you repulsive?"
"I don't know," Hermione said uncomfortably. "But, even if he wouldn't…I still don't want to…you know."
"But," Ginny said, "Why?"
"Because I'm scared!" Hermione said passionately. "I don't want to lose him – I've fought with Ron before, and it was horrible, and I can't risk doing that again."
"Hermione, you two are friends. It's not like negotiating a contract or something."
Hermione shook her head. "You don't know what it's like, Ginny."
Ginny's eyes boggled. "I've a pretty good idea what is to be scared of rejection Hermione. But Ron likes you back. You don't have to worry about that."
Feeling put upon, Hermione said, "Did you make the first move with Michael?"
"No." Ginny admitted, "But I would have – he just…beat me to it. Anyway, let's not talk about that pillock."
Hermione groaned. "What's he done now?"
Ginny sighed. "Nothing – he's done nothing. We're doing nothing. He hasn't even kissed me in a week! He spends all his time revising for the OWLs."
"Well," Hermione said, "He does have to study, Ginny."
"I know that," Ginny said, "It's just…you don't know who's helping him out with Muggle Studies, Hermione."
With a sinking feeling in her stomach Hermione said, "Who is it?"
Ginny brought her hands together with a loud 'clap', saying, "The one, the only…Cho Chang. Apparently she wants to go into Muggle Relations, so she knows all about it."
"Well," Hermione said, "It doesn't matter, does it. She's going out with Harry."
"Sometimes," Ginny grumbled, "I think Cho's like…I don't know. Even when she's being all stupid or spends all her time crying, it's like all she has to do is smile and I feel like an ugly twelve year old again." She paused, shook her head as though shaking off such a depressing thought, and said, "Anyway, you're probably right."
Hermione nodded, and said, "I really wouldn't let it bother you too much Ginny." Privately she had the distinct impression that Michael's and Ginny's days as a couple were numbered – Michael was too invested in the idea of having 'a girlfriend', and what exactly it meant to have 'a girlfriend', and how 'a girlfriend' was supposed to behave, to actually deal with the girlfriend that he had.
Hermione looked at the clock on the wall and said, "I'd better go, Harry will be back from…"
She bit her tongue – she didn't know if she was supposed to tell Ginny about the Occlumency lessons, and she didn't want to risk letting something slip that she shouldn't.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she said, "He'll be back from those oh so believable 'remedial potions' classes he's taking." Hermione felt awkward, especially when Ginny added, "You know…I'm not an idiot, Hermione."
"Right, right. It's just – I really should go."
"I know," Ginny said, "It's just…don't feel you have to do what I said…about Ron – but, think about it, because, I think you two could be really…good. And might help his confidence, what with Quidditch and all."
Hermione waited until she was out of Ginny's room to raise her eyes to heaven at Ginny bringing Quidditch into the discussion.