Chapter 37

Ginny POV

A few weeks had passed since the incident with Juliette in Hogsmeade, and Ginny and Demelza still hadn't gotten back together. Ginny was trying to balance giving her space, while also showing that she was still interested, but for the most part, any interactions between the two had just been awkward. This had put a major strain on their friendship group as well, but because Ginny was the one who had caused them to go on a break, she decided it would be most appropriate for her to step back from the group and spend most of her time on her own.

The worst by far was the fact that they slept no more than a few feet from each other every single night. Ginny was respectful, always exiting her bed on the side opposite to Demelza, and never risking a glance over to where Demelza was sleeping. It hurt, significantly so, but she was determined to not make Demelza feel worse than she'd already had.

On the evening of the twins' birthday, Ginny was down in the common room with her brothers, Harry, Hermione, Lee Jordan, and the rest of the Quidditch team celebrating, when she caught Demelza's eye. She was walking through with Colin and Ritchie, and while Ginny usually tried to keep her eyes down when she knew Demelza was around, she couldn't help but look at her this time. She was carrying her broom, wearing joggers and a t-shirt, and her was loosely plaited and a bit windswept from what Ginny assumed was a training session with Ritchie, and Ginny found her absolutely adorable. Demelza caught her eye too, gave Ginny a small smile, then headed up the girls' staircase, presumably on her way to their dormitory. Ginny paused, took a deep breath, then followed her upstairs. This was the first time they'd made any sort of contact in weeks, so Ginny couldn't help but want to take the opportunity to try to talk to her.

"Hey, Demelza? Oh – sorry!" Ginny slapped a hand over her eyes as soon as she'd entered their dormitory, as she had walked in on Demelza changing. "Demelza, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to – I didn't think – Oh, I'm so sorry!" Ginny apologized profusely, as she felt her face turning bright red and hot. Then, shockingly, she heard a light giggle.

"Ginny, it's okay. We share this room, remember?" Demelza said, still laughing a little.

"I mean… I guess you're right about that. Still, I'm so sorry. I'll go," Ginny said, backing blindly towards the door with her eyes still covered.

"You don't have to go, Ginny. I'm almost changed. I'll let you know when I'm done," Demelza said, lightly.

"Okay… Again, I'm so sorry Demelza. I wasn't trying to – " Ginny was cut off by Demelza's lips on hers. Ginny froze, unsure really of what was happening, but then started to kiss her back. Suddenly she felt Demelza's hand on her wrist, as she pulled Ginny's hand off of her eyes and placed it on her waist. They kissed for what felt like hours, but Ginny knew it could've only been a few minutes. Once they pulled apart, they looked at each other, each trying to catch their breath.

"Ginny, I've missed you…" Demelza said softly as she studied Ginny's face, as if she was trying to memorize it.

"I've missed you too… I've been trying my best to give you space, and – "

"I know you have, and I've appreciated it… Ginny… This… It was a kiss goodbye…"

"Wha- What?" Ginny stammered, shocked.

"Over the past month I've done so much thinking, and I've been trying to convince myself that getting back together with you is the right thing, but I just couldn't do it… When I think of you, I think of what you did to Juliette… And I know how you feel about her and how she's treated you throughout the year, but I just can't be with someone who would physically attack someone who didn't deserve it in the moment… She didn't do anything wrong, and you attacked her, really attacked her… I care about you so much, but…" Demelza's eyes had filled with tears. Ginny stared at her, still shocked.

"If you don't mind, for the rest of the term I would prefer that we continue what we've been doing and keep our distance from each other. When school starts up again in September, I would really like to try and reignite our friendship… Only if you want… I know I'm asking a lot of you…" Tears had started falling down Demelza's cheeks now. Ginny was speechless as she watched the tears fall to the floor.

"Ginny…?"

"Okay…"

"Okay…?"

"Yes… Okay… I understand I messed up… And if you don't want to be with me, you don't want to be with me. I don't want to be with someone who doesn't want to be with me. Regarding us being friends… Can I wait and see how I feel once we're back at school…?"

"Of course, you – "

"I'm just not sure if my broken heart will be healed up enough by then…" Ginny said, staring directly at Demelza.

Demelza stared back, tears still running down her face, "I'm sorry, Ginny…"

"I'm sorry too…"

Ginny took a step back from Demelza, studied her face just as Demelza had, trying to memorize it before she committed to steering clear of her for the rest of the term, and left the room. She breathed deeply in the hallway, trying to calm herself down and make sure she looked normal enough to go back down to the party. As she descended the staircase, she collided with someone.

"Oh, Ginny, excellent! The boys just sent me up here looking for you! Fred and George want to open their presents, and – " Hermione stopped abruptly as Ginny buried her face in Hermione's shoulder, sobbing. "Ginny?"

Ginny couldn't get a word out; she could only cry harder and harder into Hermione's shoulder.

"Stay here, I'm going to go let the boys you're not feeling well and to carry on with the party. Stay right here," Hermione instructed, dashing down the stairs. She was back quickly, and put her arm around Ginny, walking her to her dormitory. "Come on, let's talk."