Chapter 39

Hermione POV

Hermione was up early, having barely slept. Ginny moved a lot throughout the night, so Hermione kept adjusting as well, trying to keep them both comfortable and more importantly, keep Ginny asleep. Once Hermione could see the sunlight begin to filter through her curtains, she waited for her moment to escape.

Once Ginny rolled away from her again, she was up. She hastily threw a sweater over her t-shirt and grabbed some shoes and exited the dormitory. She ran through Gryffindor Tower, down through the castle, until she was at the Beauxbatons carriage. She knew it was too early to be knocking, but she didn't care. She knocked their secret rhythm and waited anxiously, hoping it would be Juliette who would open the door.

"Good morning, 'Ermione," Juliette said as she smiled down at her. Her smile changed to a frown when she took in Hermione's haggard appearance. "You look terrible, what 'as 'appened to you?"

Juliette stepped out of the carriage and took Hermione by the arm, walking her down towards the lakeshore. Once they got there, Hermione stared up into Juliette's worried face, unsure of how this would go.

"I slept with Ginny last night," she said, looking directly into Juliette's hazel eyes.

Juliette looked at her, stunned, then asked, "'ow was it?"

Hermione shot Juliette a glare, "How can you joke when I'm telling you that I slept with another girl? One that I – "

"First zings first, did you actually sleep with 'er, or did you sleep next to 'er?" Juliette asked calmly.

"Next to her…"

"Zat is what I zought. 'Ermione, I – "

"Demelza broke things off with her officially, and she was so upset, I couldn't just leave her all alone and – " Hermione interrupted.

Juliette paused, "'ose idea was it?"

"It was Ginny's. I don't blame her; I wouldn't want to sleep a few feet from you if you'd just broken my heart."

Juliette interrupted her, smiling, "Okay, so you shared a bed, is zat it?"

"No, there's more…" Hermione said, still staring into Juliette's eyes, not wanting to look away.

Juliette stood patiently, waiting for Hermione to continue.

"I felt something, that I haven't felt in a long time… For her…"

Juliette studied Hermione's face, trying to read it, "More zan what you feel for me?" she asked.

Hermione paused, then shook her head no, "No, I don't think so…"

Juliette looked at her, still studying her face, "'Ermione, it is okay. You 'ad very strong feelings for Ginny, I figured zat if somezing like zis 'appened and she became available, zat you might feel somezing for 'er again. 'owever, we 'ave shared a lot zese past few months, and I am confident zat it will not all disappear in one day's time. Do you still love me?" Juliette asked, gently.

Hermione nodded, tears filling her eyes.

"I still love you, 'Ermione. Zis is not a big deal. What matters is zat we are loyal to eachuzzer only. You can care for Ginny and take care of 'er while she is going through zis, but you reserve zese lips for me only, okay?" Juliette said softly as she closed the gap between herself and Hermione, kissing her gently.

"You're being so good about this, and understanding…" Hermione whispered, looking up at Juliette.

"I do not want to lose you, 'Ermione. I am not going to go running away because of one little 'iccup," Juliette said, smiling gently down at her. "Plus, I am a good distraction for you from Ginny, if I am remembering correctly," she smirked, making Hermione laugh a little as she wiped away her tears.

"Yes, you do have a knack for that, don't you," Hermione smiled up at her girlfriend, before laying her head on her chest. "Thank you for being so patient with me… I'm a lot…"

"You are well worth it, 'Ermione. I am not going anywhere," Juliette whispered into Hermione's loose curls before kissing the top of her head affectionately. "Go on back to ze castle, make sure Ginny is okay zis morning. I cannot imagine losing someone after being with zem for so long."

Juliette and Hermione walked back to the carriage, kissing briefly before they parted ways.

As Hermione arrived back at her dormitory, she saw that no one else was awake yet. She opened her curtains to find Ginny sprawled across her bed, sleeping hard. She smiled sadly at this, knowing that she shouldn't have allowed this to happen. She sat down on the edge of her bed, and gently touched Ginny's shoulder to try and wake her. Ginny's eyes slowly began to open, and she stretched her arms up over her head, flexing her entire body and yawning.

"Where'd you go?" Ginny asked lazily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You obviously went somewhere, I can see your cheeks are red from the morning air. Off to see Juliette, I assume?" Ginny stretched again, groaning loudly as she did.

"Ginny, shh! You'll wake the other girls!" Hermione closed the curtain around them and cast another Imperturbable Charm.

"Sorry, sorry," Ginny apologized, grinning at Hermione as she lounged in her bed.

"Yes, I did go see Juliette. I felt that we needed to talk about me sharing a bed with you,"

"And…? Was she mad? Jealous?" Ginny asked, still grinning.

"No, Ginny, she wasn't. She understood that I was just helping out a friend," Hermione said, lifting one eyebrow to give Ginny an unimpressed look.

"Well, that's disappointing," Ginny said, putting her hands behind her head. "You hogged the bed last night, by the way…"

Hermione shot her an incredulous look, "Ginny Weasley, I did not hog the bed! I got little to no sleep last night because you kept rolling onto my side!"

"I'm pretty sure you didn't mind it much," Ginny said while giving Hermione her best lopsided grin. "You realize you fully had your arms around me, keeping me close to you, right?"

Hermione gaped at her, not knowing how to respond.

"I'm just messing with you, Hermione. I know I hog the bed. When we were little, Ron always complained about having to share a bed with me when we went to visit family. I was just trying to have a laugh before reality set back in about Demelza," Ginny sighed as she ran a hand through her messy red hair. "You did have your arms around me at some point though. I'm guessing it was to keep me from moving?" Ginny smiled at Hermione, who was still gaping at her.

"Yes… I was desperate to get some sleep and I figured that'd be the best way to accomplish that short of rolling you onto the floor…" Hermione muttered, wishing her cheeks would cool off and return to their usual color.

"Smart of you," Ginny said. "So, I'm guessing I'll need to return to my bed tonight?"

"If you wouldn't mind, I think I'd get better sleep that way."

"I have to face it at some point, might as well get it over with," Ginny shrugged and sat up, moving to sit next to Hermione. "Thank you for letting me stay here with you last night. I'm sorry that you slept poorly, but if it's any consolation, I haven't slept that well in weeks." Ginny shot Hermione another lopsided grin as she gathered her messy hair, pulling it back with a hair tie. "Wish me luck." Ginny opened Hermione's curtains, stood up, and walked out of the dormitory.

"Don't think we don't know when an Imperturbable Charm has been cast, Hermione Granger!" Lavender called shrilly from behind her curtains. "What were you two doing last night?"

"We were just talking, Lavender. Of course, you probably wanted to hear everything so you'd have something to gossip about this morning at breakfast," Hermione said knowingly.

"She's got you there, Lav…" Parvati reasoned, making Hermione laugh.

"Besides, I've already spoken to Juliette about it. She knows I was just helping out a friend, so there's no drama to be had. Sorry to disappoint you!" Hermione called over her shoulder while she left the dormitory.

Standing in the hallway, she collected herself.

"Was she mad? Jealous?" Why would Ginny care if Juliette was jealous? Probably just because she doesn't like her, stop overthinking this! Why don't you do something actually beneficial for yourself this morning and visit the library?

And with that, Hermione was off to spend what would end up being nearly an entire day in the library.