Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Also, review please! Tell me what works for you, what doesn't, whatever. Thanks for reading!

Ginny wasn't at lunch, and her eyes didn't meet Hermione's at dinner. It was almost a relief, because Hermione had no idea what she would say if her friend brought up what had transpired between them. She wanted to pretend it was nothing, but it was a nothing that had settled in between them and started to grow.

The emptiness was unendurable. Days turned into weeks of only speaking to each other when it was expected of them, pretending to be perfectly at ease until the moment someone looked away. They made a point of never being alone together, to the point where it was hard to say who was avoiding who. Finally, Lavender cornered her after lunch one day.

"Hermione, what's gotten into you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're always staring into space, you barely touch your food, and whenever you get anywhere near Ginny you become so stiff and unnatural if I didn't know better I'd think you were nothing a really good puppet."

Hermione laughed at this, but the sound was forced and hollow. "So what are you accusing me of? I can assure you there's nothing here but flesh and blood."

"I'm only worried about you. I know there's something wrong, and I know it's none of my business, but whatever happened with Ginny, you need to let it go. What did she do to you that was so unforgivably terrible?"

"Nothing. This mess is more my fault than it is hers. The night of the ball was just… Extremely weird. And I don't know what to think about anything because it was so… strange, what happened."

Lavender looked at her, and Hermione's stomach did a tiny flip as she saw the pieces fitting together in her friend's head. Lavender's eyes lit up with sudden understanding.

"You both fancy Harry!"

"What? No! That's ridiculous." She couldn't help but feel incredibly relieved that her friend's epiphany had been so far from the truth.

"Whatever you say." Lavender raised an eyebrow, obviously doubtful. "But if you want to talk about it, I'm here for you." she added, before vanishing into the crowd of students rushing to get to class.

Hermione stood, dumbfounded. She had never thought of Harry that way, but her stomach flared with jealousy at the thought of him dating Ginny. Maybe she did like him. Maybe Lavender was right. Comforted by the thought, she strode confidently in the direction of her next lesson.

Dinner came more quickly than she would have liked, and when she took her usual place at the table she couldn't help but notice that Ginny was talking animatedly with Harry while Ron attacked his mashed potatoes with single-minded enthusiasm. She had to admit, she really would be getting the short end of the stick if she ended up with that one. Ron had a good heart, and she loved him as a friend, but she couldn't bear the thought of being intimately tied to someone so terribly thick.

Hermione ate in silence, but she already knew the silence had gone on too long. As Ginny rose to leave, she stood quickly, looking her friend dead in the eye for the first time since that baffling, intoxicated night.

"Ginny, can I have a word with you, alone?"

"Now?" she asked, stunned.

Hermione nodded in response, and led her to a deserted corridor.

"What do you want to talk about?" the redhead's tone was slightly defensive.

"What's going on between you and Harry?"

"Harry? He's my friend! We were just talking about Quidditch…"

"You know you don't have to like him. Why should we end up with the boys we've been dealing with since first year?"

"Who do you think I should like instead?" Without realizing it, they had been moving closer. Now they stood inches apart, and Hermione could feel the heat of Ginny's breath on her cheek.

"I don't know." Hermione's words were saturated with a pain that was hard to understand, and before she could stop herself, she was leaning in, fingers tangled in the fiery strands cascading from Ginny's head. She thought her friend would pull away, but instead the other girl was pressed hard against her, their tongues fluttering together in a strange fast rhythm similar to the sound of their racing hearts.

Hermione pulled away. "We shouldn't do this." Her voice was serious.

"You started it." Ginny muttered, staring at the floor.

"If someone saw us…"

"If someone saw us we would hex them into oblivion if they ever uttered a word. And besides, no one comes through this corridor once classes are out."

"This can't be right."

"Fuck it." Ginny turned to the door of the nearest classroom, retrieving her wand in the same fluid movement. A stream of dark purple light shot from the tip of her wand to the doorknob, and the metal knob cracked and fell to the floor, rolling toward their feet. She swept forward, her slender body crashing against the heavy door, which slammed open with little resistance.

Hermione had never seen her looking so dangerous, so powerful, so intense. For once, she was speechless.

"Come," Ginny said, gesturing toward the door, "Join me in my castle."

A/N: I just made a site with my fanfiction- it's listed as my homepage on my profile (not allowed to link it here). If you check it out you might get to read the next chapter early *hint hint*

If you don't feel like it, don't worry, I'm still going to keep updating here (just not always as promptly).