Chapter 22
The day following their first trip to Hogsmeade, Ginny was up early. Not because of the excitement she'd felt yesterday and how she couldn't wait to go and explore Hogsmeade, but because of the nervous anticipation of the conversation she'd be having with Demelza. She didn't know why she was nervous, they'd had serious talks before, and they'd always gone on just fine. Of course, the last conversation they'd had they'd decided that they were going to take their physical relationship slow. This conversation would be about the possibility of moving a little further into their physical relationship, and Ginny wasn't sure she was ready for that step. It wasn't that she didn't trust Demelza or didn't find her attractive, she just didn't feel as if she was quite ready yet. Hopefully Demelza would understand.
As Ginny sat up in her bed, stretched, and quietly pulled her curtains back, she found that Demelza's bed was already empty. Ginny frowned at this, as she could count on one hand the times that Demelza had woken up before she had. She threw on a sweater and some jeans, and headed downstairs to the common room.
As she descended the spiral staircase, she saw her girlfriend, tucked in the corner of the common room setting up a chess board. Demelza's dark blonde hair was loosely plaited back, as usual, and she was wearing a light grey jumper with a pair of jeans. Ginny smiled, even though she was nervous about the impending conversation, she was always happy to see her girlfriend. She found it to be incredibly comforting. Ginny quietly walked over, and Demelza turned as she heard Ginny's footsteps approaching.
"Good morning, you," Demelza said with a warm smile.
"Good morning yourself. You're up early for a game of Wizard's Chess. If you're expecting Ron, I'm afraid you may be waiting a few more hours at least until he makes his way down here," Ginny chuckled lightly.
"Actually, I was thinking that the two of us could play. I know you never learned how to play Wizard's Chess because Ron was so good and was more focused on beating you than teaching you," Demelza pursed her lips as if she was trying to hide a laugh at the thought of what was surely a hostile scenario, "But if you're willing, I'd like to teach you."
Ginny looked at Demelza, a bit puzzled that they'd be doing this when they were supposed to be having a pretty important conversation about their relationship, but sat down anyway on the other side of the chess board. Demelza took her through the basics and then patiently and kindly answered all of the questions that Ginny had. They started the game, and after they'd each made a few moves, Ginny spoke up.
"So… Do you still want to talk about what happened yesterday morning?" Ginny asked tentatively.
"Of course I do Ginny," Demelza kept her eyes on the chess board.
"Okay… So, I know that we'd spoken about our relationship and what we were comfortable with in terms of all of the physical stuff…"
"Mmhmm…"
"And I know that yesterday I broke the boundary we had set…"
"Mmhmm…"
"And even though you said that it was okay and that it wasn't a bad thing, I just… I don't know if I'm ready to move forward with anything…"
"I see…" Demelza still kept her eyes on the chess board.
"Is that okay with you?" Ginny asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Demelza looked up, "Ginny, of course that's okay with me. I only want to do what you're comfortable with doing. I am more than happy taking it as slow as you want," Demelza smiled at her, then returned to the game, moving another piece.
"Okay… Well, what about you? Do you want more…?" Ginny asked, holding her breath as she waited for the answer.
Demelza looked back up and looked into Ginny's eyes purposefully, "Well… I wouldn't mind it. But seriously Ginny, I don't mind waiting. We're young, I don't see any reason to rush any of this. I really do just want to follow your pace and do whatever you're comfortable with. Yesterday when you climbed into my bed I thought maybe things would progress, but I'm fine either way. Seriously Ginny, we're fine just as we are," Demelza said giving Ginny a reassuring smile.
Ginny was quiet as they each made a few more moves, processing what Demelza had said. Then she actually focused on the board, and, "Oh! Checkmate!"
Demelza looked across the board and laughed, shaking her head at Ginny.
"What? Isn't that right? I just won, didn't I?" Ginny asked nervously thinking she may have been mistaken.
"No, you're absolutely right, you just won," Demelza said while grinning at the redhead. "Seems like I'm a bit of a better teacher than Ron was."
"Yeah, I'll say… Wow, thanks! Maybe with a few more lessons I could take him on!" Ginny said determinedly as Demelza laughed.
"I'd be more than happy to teach you Ginny. Anything." Demelza leaned forward and took Ginny's hands in hers. "Ginny, if and when the time comes that you feel comfortable moving our relationship to the next level, I will be more than willing to teach you as we go. I don't know everything and I don't have that much more experience than you do… Just know that I'll be right there with you, and I will be just as patient and understanding as I was just now in teaching you how to play Wizard's Chess…"
Ginny stared at Demelza, her mouth hanging slightly open.
"I will wait as long as you want to, and I will not change my stance on this. I'll be here for you, and we will get through it together. I'll be more than willing to teach you everything I know." Demelza lifted Ginny's hands to her mouth and kissed them lightly.
Ginny stood up, walked around the chess board, and pulled her girlfriend into a fierce hug. She felt so protected, cared for, and loved. They remained in the embrace for nearly a minute, until Ginny pulled back slightly to press her forehead to Demelza's.
"Thank you," she whispered, staring into her girlfriend's light grey eyes.
"You're welcome, Ginny," Demelza whispered back, staring into Ginny's bright brown eyes.
They kissed gently, but it had more emotion than any kiss they'd shared before. Then they cleaned up the chess board and headed off, hand in hand, to the Great Hall for breakfast.