Chapter 8

Hermione POV

Hermione woke early, having barely slept at all. The past few days had been an absolute whirlwind. Prior to coming to the Burrow this summer, she had come to terms with the fact that she fancied women. She'd taken notice of a few of the girls at Hogwarts, as well as a Muggle girl that lived near her home over the summer. She'd never thought of Ginny as more than anything but Ron's little sister, however, the past few days had changed that completely. Ginny was kind. Ginny was thoughtful. Ginny was funny. Ginny was warm. Ginny was driven, and smart, and hard-working. Ginny was so easy to talk to. On top of that, Ginny was beautiful. Ginny was also, however, a year below her in school, and nearly two years younger than her in age. It didn't matter that Ginny also very clearly fancied girls, it would not work. Not now. Hermione shook her head as if she was trying to shake the feelings out of it. She could be friends with the girl, she could protect her and guide her and be there for her, just as she was yesterday, but she could not like Ginny Weasley that way. Beyond the difference in age, it could ruin her relationship with Ron, with the whole Weasley family, and with Ginny herself. And she wasn't willing to allow any of that to happen just because she had a silly crush on the young girl. She knew she'd get over this, it would just take some time.

Hermione rose from her cot, threw on a jumper, and walked outside. The sky was a very light gray as it transitioned from night to morning light, the stars disappearing one by one. She breathed in the cool, early morning air deeply as she took in the various colors and shapes of the hundreds of tents spread out along the fields and hills of the campground. She spotted the cluster of light blue tents and thought of Juliette, frowning. Hermione had never experienced that kind of bravado in a girl before. Boys operated with that sort of unwarranted confidence all of the time at their age, but girls, not so much. Juliette, however, really did deserve to be as confident as she came across, if her accolades were real. She was apparently very accomplished, and Hermione was intrigued to find out if she really was as talented at Quidditch as she claimed to be. Hermione shrugged, it didn't really matter, it was extremely unlikely that she'd ever see the girl again. And maybe that was for the best. While she appreciated Juliette's help in saving Ginny from a potentially dangerous mob of men, she didn't like how she spoke to Ginny afterwards. She also didn't like how forward she was with Hermione herself. She could tell Juliette was flirting, but couldn't quite figure out why. They'd just met, what was the girl trying to gain or accomplish there? And why had it worked on Hermione?

Hermione shivered as a particularly cold gust of wind blew through the campground, and stepped back into the tent. Ginny was still sound asleep, sleeping on her side, facing Hermione's cot. Hermione couldn't help but smile, a little sadly, at the girl in front of her.

It just wouldn't work, she thought. It wouldn't be worth potentially ruining so many relationships. It's a crush, it'll subside soon…

Ginny POV

Ginny woke up suddenly to her brothers Fred and George jostling her cot.

"Up and at 'em little sis!" Fred said boisterously.

"Yeah, got to get an early start for the 100-mile hike home!" George added in, his faux optimism garnering a laugh from Ginny.

"Alright I'm up, I'm up," Ginny sat up in her cot, looking around the tent. "Where's Hermione?"

"She's been up for ages," George answered.

"Up reading, of course. About Quidditch, actually. I offered, as a seasoned Quidditch veteran, to show her a thing or two out on the ol' orchard pitch when we get back to the Burrow. Didn't seem interested though, broke my heart." Fred feigned heartbreak by clutching at his chest before and following George out of the tent. Ginny smiled at the thought of Hermione reading about Quidditch, and wondered what exactly she was reading up on regarding the subject.

Once the group had packed up their bags and deconstructed the tents, they were ready for the return trip to the Burrow. Without the anticipation of the Quidditch World Cup, the trek back wasn't nearly as bad and felt significantly shorter. The only real complainer was Ron, who to no one's surprise whined of hunger about halfway through the trip. Once they got home, Mrs. Weasley had a full platter of sandwiches and a few different salads waiting for them. The group ate appreciatively and filled Mrs. Weasley in on the Quidditch World Cup.

"Well, I'm so glad that you all had such a great time! But I have to admit… While it was nice having the Burrow to myself for some peace and quiet, I did miss having family around." Mrs. Weasley smiled around at her family and Hermione and Harry.

"We missed you too Mum!" Ginny smiled back.

"Suck up…" Ron mumbled under his breath.

"What was that, Ronald?" Mrs. Weasley asked, flashing him a look of warning.

"Ron just said that he'd like to get started on his chores Mrs. Weasley. And I'll be helping him. Let's go mate!" Harry stood up, clapping Ron on the back, as Ron looked at him incredulously before slowly getting up from the table and following him out the back door. Harry winked at Ginny before exiting the kitchen, and Ginny smiled back warmly, thankful once again that Harry was around to have her back with Ron.

Once the table was cleared, those who attended the Quidditch World Cup made their way upstairs to unpack and get ready for the rest of the day. Ginny followed Hermione up to her room, closing the door behind them.

"So…" Ginny started. "I heard you were reading about Quidditch this morning? Has someone caught the Quidditch bug all of a sudden?" Ginny teased.

Hermione smiled softly, "I just figured I'd do a bit of light reading on the subject. With you, Harry, and possibly Ronald playing for the Gryffindor team this year, that doesn't leave me with many in my life who won't be heavily involved with the sport. I want to be able to contribute to the conversation when you three undoubtedly only talk about Quidditch for the majority of the year. At the very least, I want to know what you're talking about."

"Oh, that makes sense. I won't really be on the team though, Hermione. Best case scenario I'll be a reserve for the team, and again, that's not really on the team."

"Reserve players are just as important Ginny. What if someone gets hurt? Or sick? Or, I don't know, is serving detention for blowing up a toilet? Remember, your brothers are on the team… Anything is possible when it comes to Gryffindor needing to tap into their reserve pool," Hermione stated sternly.

Ginny laughed at this and ran a hand through her hair "I never really thought of that. I should really start preparing then, so I'm ready to play when Fred and George push Filch's buttons one too many times." Ginny smiled at the older girl. "Thanks for the pep talk Hermione."

Hermione gave her another soft smile in return "Of course Ginny."

The last week at the Burrow flew right by. Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had taken a day to travel to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies, but other than that, the group was content just hanging out. There were many more pick-up Quidditch matches, all of which Hermione attended, but was not involved in. There were delicious meals, games of Wizard's Chess, Exploding Snap, and Gobstones, as well as evenings spent stargazing. Bill and Charlie had only stayed for one extra day after the Quidditch World Cup, but Ginny felt that, as usual, it was great getting to see and spend time with them. When the twins weren't actively causing mischief and chaos for the others living at the Burrow, they were shut up in their room, working on something that had created a lot of odd smells and sounds, as well as the occasional jeer of triumph from one or both of the twins. Hermione had taken to helping Ginny with her chores, and Ginny appreciated it as she found Hermione to be a welcome addition to whatever she was doing around the Burrow. The last week was short, but time was spent well, and they were all ready to head to Hogwarts to start a new term.

"I can't believe I'm starting my fourth year at Hogwarts tomorrow," Hermione stated while packing her bags in Ginny's room. "At the end of this year I'll be more than halfway done with my education, how is that possible?"

"I can't believe I still have four years left after this year…" Ginny said.

"Ginny, be grateful that you have that much time left! I don't know if I can learn everything that I want to learn in such a short span of time!" Hermione stressed.

"Well maybe you can tack on another term or two, spend an extra year with me?" Ginny joked with the older girl. Hermione, however, was not amused.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly do that…" Hermione muttered as she frantically flipped through book after book, packing them as she went.

"Hermione…" Ginny walked over to the brunette. Hermione continued on with her frenzied packing. "Hermione…?" The older girl still didn't stop or look up. "Hey…" Ginny grabbed Hermione's face with both hands, softly guiding her to look into the younger girl's eyes.

"You're going to be just fine. You'll learn all that you're supposed to, and then some, I'm sure. There is no pressure for you to learn everything, I promise." Ginny looked into Hermione's brown eyes, and saw them soften as they looked back into hers.

"Ginny…" Hermione whispered. "I… You… You're not supposed to be the one supporting me! I'm supposed to be there for you!" the older girl snapped.

"What? Why wouldn't I be there for you? What about the conversation we had when you first got here, I was supportive of you then? Isn't that what friends are supposed to do, support one another?" Ginny asked, taking a few steps back from Hermione, thrown off by the girl's defensive reaction.

"Well… Yes. But – "

"Then why can't I be there for you? Aren't we friends?"

"Yes Ginny of course we're friends! I just – "

"You just, what?" Ginny glared at the girl, almost challenging her to continue.

"I just feel like you're going through more than I am with everything that came up at the Quidditch World Cup, and I don't want to add to your plate. You're only 13, and – "

"So? You're only 14!"

"Soon to be 15…" Hermione clarified. Ginny rolled her eyes at this.

"Hermione I am not too young to be there for you. If we're friends, we're friends, and I am there for my friends. I support them, I've got their backs. Period. I don't care how old you are and I sure as hell don't care how old I am. I am so sick of everyone saying I'm too young for stuff, I'm not!" Ginny shouted the last two words.

Hermione stood frozen, staring at the girl before her. Ginny knew she shouldn't have shouted at Hermione, but she was so frustrated by what was happening. The past week they'd spent together Hermione treated her like an equal, but suddenly she's too young to reciprocate the care and support that Hermione so willingly gave to her?

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted. But please know that I am here for you, just as you've said you're here for me. This isn't a one-sided friendship. I am not too young, I can handle whatever it is that you need me to handle. I promise." Ginny strode across the room to Hermione. "Hermione I'm here for you, no matter what. Okay?" A tear trailed down Hermione's face. "Hermione, I'm sorry." Ginny wrapped the older girl in a hug.

"I'm sorry too Ginny. I know that you're more than capable of supporting me, and I appreciate it," Hermione said softly, sniffling as more tears fell.

"Hermione, why are you crying? Is it because I shouted, because I really am sorry. I won't do that again." Ginny looked at Hermione, her eyes filled with worry.

"No, no. It's fine Ginny. Your brother practically only communicates through shouting.."

"And grunting…" Ginny said, trying to lighten the mood. Hermione's moved back a bit so her eyes could meet Ginny's as she gave her a tearful laugh.

"Yes, and grunting..." Hermione gave Ginny a weak smile.

"That doesn't make it okay though. I'm sorry. If that's not the reason then, well, why are you crying?" Ginny studied Hermione's face, looking for any hint of the answer.

"I just…" Hermione started, before breaking their eye contact and burying her face in Ginny's shoulder. "I just really appreciate our friendship. I've never been this close to another girl before, and… I… Just… Thank you, Ginny." Hermione kept her face firmly hidden in Ginny's shoulder.

"Of course, Hermione. I really appreciate our friendship too," Ginny slowly rubbed the older girls back as she felt Hermione continue to cry. She didn't want to push Hermione any more than she already had on the subject, but she felt that the older girl wasn't being completely honest with her on why the tears had appeared. Nevertheless, she held Hermione until she stopped crying, and then the girls continued packing their bags. The morning was coming soon, and they'd need all the sleep they could get for the eventful day that was surely ahead, as they'd be off to start another year at Hogwarts.