Chapter 26

Ginny POV

"Wha-" Ginny asked as she spun around to examine her new surroundings, fresh from her joined apparition with Hermione.

"We can't go back...at least not tonight. I just don't want to go back to Hogwarts, or to Harry's," Hermione said a little glumly as she pointed her wand. "There's a lot to think about, and going back to the busy halls of Hogwarts is the last thing I want to do. I suppose Harry's would be okay, but...," she trailed off with a somewhat defeated shrug. She let out a small, shuddering sigh and with a swish of her wand bits of fabric began to appear before them, being raised and pulled in multiple directions.

"Huh?" Ginny started again as she examined the fabric unfolding. She chuckled as she realized what was going on. "A tent?" She exclaimed in amused disbelief. "You packed a tent?"

"Well, I have all the room in the world in this bag," Hermione replied a little shortly before immediately offering Ginny a look of apology. "Sorry, I just didn't know what to expect on this trip, and apparently I was right to have that mentality. And with Ms. Blake watching me-" Hermione cut herself off and her wand movements grew more urgent and hurried.

"Hey," Ginny said softly as she came up beside Hermione and placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "We'll get through this - least we know now." The redhead's hand was lifted as Hermione heaved a heavy sigh.

"I suppose so," she sighed. "You were right about her," she admitted flatly before she narrowed her eyes and set her jaw. "I can't believe I fell for it at all."

"You're supposed to be able to trust your boss, and the Department Head of Magical Law Enforcement, of all people," Ginny said sardonically. "And like you said...she was nice to you...defended you...supported the reform."

Hermione inhaled angrily and seethed. "How dare she? I'll set things straight - put her in her place. If she thinks that she can get away with those crimes she's got another thing coming. And to do such a thing to poor Brumski. See! This is exactly why house-elves need more rights, more freedom! That vile, loathsome woman."

"Not that I don't agree completely with you, but do you have any idea why she would support the reform? If anything, she should be in adamant opposition," Ginny ventured while doing her best to mask her growing hesitation over fear of Hermione's reaction.

The brunette gave an angry flick of her wand and Ginny heard something slam into place inside the tent.

"There must be a catch. I'll figure it out, too," Hermione promised with fire in her eyes. "If the reform is successful, she'll get most of the credit for it, but you're right, she of all people wouldn't want this reform to happen in Britain," she nearly spat. "There's a catch, there has to be."

Though the youngest Weasley understood Hermione's fury and frustration, she knew that Hermione working herself into a frenzy wouldn't help the situation. The redhead brought a hand up and placed it gently, but firmly on Hermione's outstretched hand and gave her a pointed look. Hermione seemed to contemplate getting into a row over the action, but eventually forfeited the impulse with a weary sigh.

"I should've known," she muttered in self-reproach as she dropped her wand to her side. "I should've known," she repeated.

"No, Mione," Ginny argued sternly as she leaned forward to catch the other girl's eye. "She fooled the previous Head of Magical Law Enforcement for goodness sake," she exclaimed. "Merlin knows who else. There's no way that you could've known."

"I should've seen the signs," Hermione insisted as she met Ginny's gaze. Ginny refused to back down and Hermione seemed to swallow her argument and spoke. "I would've in any other case. I just didn't look too deeply into her because I was so concerned with the cause and was so preoccupied with all my other responsibilities, and honestly, she was one of the most supportive people in this movement."

"You couldn't have known and it's not your responsibility to. In fact, the Aurors should've been the ones to figure this out," Ginny remarked. Hermione shook her head and a brief silence fell over them.

"So what now?" Hermione asked finally.

"It'd be too good if we could get her to lift the Charm...so that's not going to happen," Ginny stated in a tone. "I guess we have to somehow get her wand? We should speak to Dumbledore. He'll know what to do."

Hermione gave a nod. "Right. Good idea. We can trust him," she stated. The underlying aggression in her proclamation didn't go unnoticed by the younger girl, but she chose not to comment on it.

"What if Scrimgeour is corrupt, too?" Hermione asked as she led the way into the tent.

"Mione, don't even-"

"Well?" Hermione rounded on her, her voice sharp. "We have to consider that possibility."

Ginny sighed heavily. "I don't know. We'll have to do some research. I think the boys might be helpful in finding out a little more about our current leaders," she ventured.

The brunette gave a subtle nod. "Yes, you're right. They're in the thick of it. But I don't want to drag them into this any further than I already have," she stated as a small frown formed on her face.

"Oh please," Ginny scoffed. "It'll be just like old times. You guys had an adventure nearly every year at Hogwarts, why stop now, right?" She teased. "Except this time it's kind of more like, 'Hermione Granger and the sleazy, underhanded bureaucrats'."

"Very funny, Gin," Hermione said with sarcastic smirk that Ginny knew was forced.

"We'll speak with Dumbledore," Ginny placated. She sighed inwardly as she saw that the comment made no impact on the brunette. "Are you wondering why he encouraged you to take the position if he knew about Ms. Blake?"

Hermione averted the redhead's gaze in a rather put off manner and crossed her arms, choosing not to respond.

"Maybe he didn't know," Ginny offered and quickly saw that Hermione was about to fight her on it, so she changed tracks. "You know Dumbledore, he has a reason for everything. Please don't doubt him. He's proven to us time and time again that he's good. You just said we can trust him."

"I know," Hermione relented. "I'm just upset. I feel so...stupid." In any other circumstance, Ginny would've laughed at how pained Hermione looked over saying the word 'stupid', but this really wasn't the time.

"You're far from stupid, Hermione. Everyone knows that," Ginny assured her gently. "Do you think Percy or anyone else knows that they could be on her radar as well?"

"No, I don't think so," the brunette replied as she shook her head, still looking quite cross.

"How do we warn them without alerting Ms. Blake? And how do we know they won't think you're mad? You can't tell Percy, he'd turn you in," Ginny scoffed with disdain.

"I guess that's another question for Dumbledore," Hermione sighed as she began to pace around the spacious tent.

"Okay," Ginny nodded.

A few moments passed and a heavy silence fell over the pair. Ginny knew that both their minds were reeling from today's revelations and she figured that it wouldn't do them any good to rehash everything over and over when there were no answers to be found just yet. She glanced over at the brunette and felt her heart ache over how distressed the older girl was. Ginny committed herself to a change of topic and mood. She crossed over to where Hermione stood and began fiddling with the bag resting against the brunette's waist.

"Hey, you got any food in here? I'm starving," she said as she tried to peer into the bag that Hermione was inadvertently moving away as she tried to peer at Ginny's meandering hands. The younger girl fixedly avoided the glare Hermione was certainly sending her way, soon confirmed by the brunette's harsh statement.

"How can you possibly think about food at a time like this?" Hermione snapped as she pulled sharply away.

Ginny slowly, calmly, looked at her girlfriend who looked much more inclined to stun the redhead than kiss her, and replied, "Well, starving to death isn't going to help anyone. We both need to eat - we haven't had anything all day."

Eventually, the brunette sighed and held the bag out in defeat.

"You and your stomach," she stated in an unimpressed tone that was eventually followed up with a chuckle and discrete smile - however reluctant they were.

"I'm starving!" Ginny exclaimed as she dug deeper in the bag, prompting Hermione to shake her head with a laugh. "What? I'm a growing girl who leads an active lifestyle; I need to maintain a healthy diet." She did her best not to smile, trying to stay true to her act as Hermione laughed harder.

"Are you kidding? You packed a tent, but you didn't bring any food? Where are your priorities!" Ginny blurted out dramatically, though her face broke out in a grin.

"Gin," Hermione admonished, though she swiftly placed her hands on Ginny's arms and pulled her into a tight hug. Ginny readily wrapped her arms protectively around Hermione as she felt the brunette bury her face against her neck. "I love you," Hermione whispered, her breath warm against Ginny's skin.

"I love you, too," Ginny confirmed earnestly. "You know that." She felt her girlfriend nod faintly against her. "We'll fix this - I promise. And if she even tries to pull anything more on you, I swear she'll regret it," she assured Hermione.
"Gin," Hermione warned as she partially pulled out of the embrace.

Ginny didn't so much as flinch. Instead, she went on with unhindered conviction. "I'll do it, you know. If she ever hurts you..."

"Don't worry about me, Gin," Hermione urged as she brought a hand up to let her thumb trace along the redhead's chin. "I can handle myself," she added with a wink.

"I know, Love," Ginny relented to some degree. She felt compelled to say more to Hermione on this topic, but something told her that what was already said was sufficient.

"Anyways, I brought food," the brunette laughed as she took a step back and shook her head slightly. "You were just looking in the wrong compartment."

Suddenly, Hermione brightened up once more and let out a small laugh, though still noticeably forced. She walked up to Ginny and ushered the younger girl along, instructing, "Go outside. You start a fire and we'll have dinner. I'll set up some disillusionment charms around the area. Just give me a minute, I need to change."

"Can I watch?" Ginny teased, shooting a lecherous grin over her shoulder as she dug her heels in while Hermione pushed her outside. She knew it was inappropriate, but it could lighten the mood. The brunette huffed and leaned forward to catch Ginny's eye to flash her a flat look, but there was a lightness in her eyes that wasn't lost on the younger girl. Still, the answer was:

"No."

They sat outside around the campfire, sitting next to one another on a log, both under an unspoken agreement to not bring up anything about Ms. Blake or related topics. Having finished their dinner, they just chatted about anything that came to mind - other than those taboo topics. Eventually a comfortable lull formed in their conversation and they both just looked into the fire, Hermione with her head on Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny's mind started to idly wander and a song popped into her head. Before she truly realized it, she was quietly humming the tune.

"What are you humming?" Hermione asked, not lifting her head off of the redhead's shoulder.

Ginny let a gentle smile play across her lips and she started to hum with a bit more enthusiasm. Soon she started to sway back and forth, the action causing Hermione to sit up. The brunette laughed and repeated her question.

The young Weasley readily ignored Hermione and began to sing. She slung her arm around Hermione's waist in an effort to get her to sway in time with the song as well. As she fully anticipated, Hermione responded haughtily and shook her head profusely, though a set of giggles slipped out.

"Come on, Mione, sing along," Ginny encouraged the other girl as she herself, began to sing louder.

"No," Hermione exclaimed, sounding oddly offended. "I don't even know the words or the tune," she objected furthermore.

The redhead was unfazed by the rebuff and simply gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"That's okay, dance with me, then," she smiled as she stood and pulled a reluctant Hermione to her feet.

"No, Gin!" Hermione protested, though a laugh escaped her mouth and a broad grin that she was trying very hard to diminish broke out across her lips.

Entirely undeterred and instead encouraged by Hermione's arguably uptight behaviour, Ginny began to sing rather unabashedly and swiftly pulled the brunette into a dance.

"Gin!" Hermione exclaimed again, though she let herself she pulled in circles and was by now nearly doubling over in laughter.

"You're doing great," Ginny cheered as she raised her hand to spin Hermione, before pulling the girl back into the embrace and leading them into a few more steps.

Eventually their laughter died down and, mercifully, Ginny had entirely ceased singing. They held each other close and slow danced with one another, no sounds other than the crackling fire and the night wind to court them. Ginny rested her head on Hermione's shoulder, as Hermione did with Ginny, and they carried on in silence.

After a while longer, the younger girl spoke softly - tentative about disturbing the moment.

"I've never danced with you before."

A moment later, Hermione responded, "You're right. I never realized."

"Merlin knows I wanted to dance with you before," Ginny said as she flashed back to the Yule Ball. "You looked so beautiful that night," she commented, still lost in her flashback.

"Hm?"

"Oh, the Yule Ball," Ginny explained. "Merlin, I hated Victor Krum," she continued with a soft laugh that wasn't entirely genuine, the pain from that night still surprisingly vivid.

"I'm sorry," Hermione offered as she gently caressed Ginny's back.

"Don't apologize," the younger girl stressed. "Everything happened for a reason. That was the night I realized just how much I liked you as more than a friend," she remarked.

"Gin," Hermione started, her voice soft and apologetic.

"No, it's a good thing," Ginny assured her. She shifted her gaze to glance at the brunette whose head was still resting on her shoulder, her face periodically being cast in the flickering glow of the fire as they continued to slowly turn in their dance. "And you look even more beautiful tonight than you did then."

Hermione let out a laugh of embarrassment and buried her head in the crook of Ginny's neck. "Highly unlikely," she deadpanned.

"I'm serious," Ginny said earnestly. "You're so beautiful."

She felt Hermione give a small shake of her head before saying, "No, nothing like you."

"Come off it," the redhead insisted with a small laugh.

"I'm serious," Hermione insisted. "And thank you for agreeing to this whole tent and campfire thing. It's wonderful."

"Hey, it's just as nice for me as it is for you," Ginny offered.

"No, really. And you've been so incredible throughout this entire thing. You've been absolutely amazing – I wouldn't have gotten through half of it without your support."

"Oh Mione," Ginny laughed. "My ego is going to be the size of Jupiter if you keep this up."

"It isn't already?"

"Hey!" The redhead protested, suppressing a laugh.

"You know I'm just kidding," Hermione said softly as she began rubbing Ginny's back in a comforting gesture.

Hermione lifted her head off of Ginny's shoulder, and soon one of the older witch's hands came up to cup Ginny's face, and the two stopped moving.

"I love you," Hermione said, her eyes searching Ginny's before kissing her softly, yet passionately. "So much," she added as she pulled out of the kiss.

"I love you, too," Ginny smiled. "Can you believe how incredibly misguided we were in fifth and sixth year?" She asked with a laugh and a shake of her head.

The question seemed to physically pain the brunette and she grimaced momentarily. "I really don't like to think about it," she admitted. "The whole thing was so...ridiculous. Again, mostly, if not all, my fault."

Ginny went to reassure the older witch, but was promptly cut off.

"Just the thought of how things could've continued to go astray...it's just, I don't want to think about it," Hermione continued, her eyes cast down. "To think that I would never kiss you, or get to hold you, or that we'd never have moments like this...it's just horrible, honestly."

"Shhh," Ginny voiced as she leaned forward and kissed Hermione's forehead in an effort to relieve the girl's distress. "Don't worry about it. Everything worked out, and we're here, and we're together, and we can just be thankful for it," Ginny quietly assured her. She chuckled lightly. "We've been over this..."

"You're right," the brunette said, perking up a bit and finally meeting Ginny's gaze and offering her a smile, though the unshed tears in her eyes that she was attempting to blink back did not go unnoticed by the younger girl, who leaned in once more to kiss the brunette's forehead.

Hermione's smile grew and she hugged Ginny before pulling back and saying, "I think it's quite late, we should probably try to sleep."

The younger girl nodded her assent and the girls put out the fire and headed for the tent. Ginny entered first, as Hermione wanted to put up an additional protection spell around the tent for good measure. Settling herself into the small bed, Ginny waited soundlessly for her girlfriend, listening absently to the incantations the brunette could be heard chanting from outside the tent.

"That should do it," Hermione proclaimed as she entered the tent, zipping it up behind her.

Ginny smirked. "I think we're fine."

"Excuse me," the older girl said in mock irritation as she slipped out of her clothes and slid into bed, facing away from Ginny, clad in only her panties, "I'd rather be more careful than not careful enough."

"I know, Love," Ginny said tiredly as she spooned up against Hermione, smiling at the feel of the older girl's warm body against her own. She wrapped an arm around her, planting a single kiss on the back of the brunette's exposed shoulder. "Goodnight."

"Night, Gin."

AN: Hello everyone! A little bit more fluff this time around - I figured it was only fair after the tone of the last chapter or so. Thank you all again for taking the time to continue reading this story :p Enjoy the rest of your week!