Chapter 7
Thankfully, Ginny was able to let go of the possible new revelation about herself and focus on enjoying the Quidditch match later that evening. While she and Hermione were walking back to the campsite they ran into Harry and Ron, who had stumbled upon their dormmates Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas in the Irish supporters section. After promising Seamus that they'd back Ireland in the Finals that evening, they made their way back to their own campsite. Percy, Charlie, and Bill had arrived, and Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George were there as well. The boys went into their tent and Hermione and Ginny headed to theirs to get ready to head out to the stadium.
The match was magnificent. Ginny had never seen that quality of Quidditch before, and the Omnioculars enhanced the experience tenfold. The Irish Chasers were fantastic, and the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum moved as if he and his broom were one. Ginny felt so lucky to be here, having such an amazing experience with her family, Harry, and Hermione. She did, however, keep her eyes firmly focused on her shoes whenever the crowd roared for the Veelas down on the Bulgarian side of the pitch. Hermione kept her eyes on Ginny when this happened, and would nudge the girl and give her a reassuring smile to let her know that everything was fine. Ginny really appreciated how kind and caring Hermione was being towards her. She knew from how her mum spoke about Hermione that she had been a great friend to Ron, despite what a prat he could be, but she figured that maybe Mrs. Weasley had just been talking up Hermione because she was so happy that her son had made friends with a such a bright and promising witch. She never imagined what a great friend and person Hermione actually was, let alone that she would be treating Ginny with such thoughtfulness and care. She had a new friend in Hermione, and for that she was incredibly grateful.
Once the match concluded and Ireland had come out on top, the group headed back towards their campsite. The crowds were thick and a little chaotic with all of the Irish supporters celebrating wildly.
"Bill, Charlie, keep an eye on Ginny will you?" Mr. Weasley instructed as the rowdiness of the crowd started to separate the group.
"I've got her Mr. Weasley," Hermione answered. She gave Ginny a smile, and grabbed her hand to pull her along behind Ron and Harry. Ginny smiled at this. While she didn't appreciate her dad suggesting that someone needed to be watching her, Hermione made her feel safe and taken care of. She'd never really had this experience with another friend or any of her siblings. The four fought through the congested crowd until they made it back to the campsite, safe and sound.
"Well, anyone fancy a game of Exploding Snap before bed? I think Ron's still got more to say about the miracle that is Victor Krum," Harry grinned widely as Ron blushed profusely and the girls laughed.
"He's an artist in the air! He ended the match on his own terms! He's a gift to Quidditch!" Ron roared as he defended himself. This just made the other three laugh more. "Alright, whatever! Let's play!" The four played a few rounds until they were so tired that all that was keeping their eyes open were the explosions of the game.
"I win again…" Ron lazily declared before yawning loudly. This caused the other three to yawn as well.
"That you did mate. See you in the morning?" Harry waved sleepily at the girls as he pulled Ron to his feet and into the tent where the rest of the boys and Mr. Weasley were already sound asleep. Ginny and Hermione entered their own tent and Ginny flopped down on her cot, hands behind her head, beaming.
"Good match tonight, Ginny?" Hermione inquired, smiling at the younger girl, as she sat on her own cot.
"It really was… It was so good! Moran and Mullet were fantastic for Ireland, and Ivanova gave life to Bulgaria the best she could! And Krum… I mean I'm not in love with him like Ron is, but I really am impressed…" Ginny sighed happily before rolling onto her side to face Hermione "Thank you for today. At the match and before… Thank you."
Hermione smiled at the younger girl "You're welcome, Ginny. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy yourself at the match. And about the other thing… I meant what I said about you being able to talk to me. I'm here for you, if you want or need to talk. No pressure, just know that I'm here for you."
"Thanks," the redhead repeated. "So… What did you think of Juliette?"
Hermione sighed, "She was… Interesting. I didn't appreciate the way she spoke to you. You're not some foolish child, you're very motivated and focused and well-educated on the topic of Quidditch. You know what you're doing, she didn't need to give you that unsolicited advice."
"Well-educated on the topic of Quidditch," Ginny repeated as she grinned at Hermione. "I mean, she wasn't wrong though. I could definitely be stronger. She held me down like I was nothing. It was like I wasn't trying at all to get up, when I was actually trying my hardest..." Ginny ran a hand through her long red hair, suddenly concerned about her apparent lack in strength and size.
"Ginny Weasley. First of all, you weren't in a right state of mind when she tackled you. Second, she's older than you and clearly has been working out for years. And third, you're plenty strong! Even while you were out of it, I wasn't able to keep you back!" Hermione stated matter-of-factly. Ginny glanced at her, trying to hold back a smile. "Okay maybe I'm not the strongest person in the world, but Ginny you're very strong!" Hermione insisted.
"Thanks Hermione," Ginny smiled at the older girl. "So, any other thoughts on Juliette?"
"Like I said, she's interesting…"
"Do you think… Do you think she's attractive…?" Ginny asked, turning red.
"Oh… Well, I can see that she's conventionally physically attractive, yes… As I said though, I didn't like how she spoke to you. Her utter lack of humility is frankly… Unbecoming…" Hermione frowned and seemed to get lost in thought as she considered the girl they met earlier today.
"Does that make her less attractive?"
"Yes Ginny, it absolutely does. Attractiveness is so much more than how someone looks. It's how they treat you, it's how they treat themselves, it's how they treat other people. It's about how they make you feel, really… And are they passionate about anything? Do they care about anything? Do they have ambition?" Hermione rattled off.
Ginny chuckled, "Ron must be pretty unattractive to you."
"You're not wrong about that…" Hermione said, shaking her head and laughing lightly. "Ginny, have you never thought about this before? If you fancy girls or boys? What attracts you to someone?"
Ginny was quiet, thinking about the question. "I mean, for a brief moment I thought I fancied Harry a few years back… But I think that was more about him not ruthlessly teasing me like my brothers always had. I think he was just the first boy around my age to show me any genuine kindness, and I appreciated that… But I never found him to be physically attractive… And I never really thought about the possibility of fancying girls until today… To be honest, I've been so focused on Quidditch, that I've never really considered my feelings for boys or girls…" Ginny drifted off, thinking about how she was probably behind her classmates in this regard.
"Ginny, there is no timeline for any of this. The bottom line is that you can like who you like, when you like. If you're happier focusing on Quidditch and putting all of your energy into that instead of a relationship, that's perfectly fine. Ultimately what matters is what you want for your own life. As you gain more life experience, you'll start to figure out what attracts you to a person, and then if you happen upon someone who you are attracted to and fits into your life, then great! If not, that's perfectly fine too. There are no rules about love, Ginny… Does that help…?" Hermione looked over at the younger girl, who didn't answer. Ginny was overwhelmed, not just by the conversation, but everything that had happened that day. It was a lot for the young girl to process, and she could feel her body starting to crash.
"Hermione, could you come over here?" Ginny requested softly. The older girl got up off of her cot and sat by the younger girl on hers. Ginny leaned into Hermione's shoulder. "I'm sorry… I just… This has been a really long, crazy day… And… You make me feel calm and safe…" Hermione wrapped her arm around Ginny and settled in a bit more so the two of them were more comfortable. Ginny's breathing started to slow and deepen, and her body relaxed into Hermione's as she drifted off to sleep.
Hermione sat with her for a few more minutes, before gently removing herself from Ginny's side and softly laying the girl down onto her cot. She covered Ginny up with a blanket and moved to her own cot so she too could get some sleep after what really was a long and full day. Hermione turned on her side to face Ginny, and watched the younger girl sleep for a bit, making sure she hadn't woken the girl when she got up. To Hermione's relief, Ginny was sleeping peacefully, and with that confirmation, Hermione rolled over to face the side of the tent and went to sleep, hoping the young redhead would stay out of her dreams this evening.