Chapter 69
Ginny POV
About a week had passed since Ginny's birthday, and every day had been nothing short of pure bliss. Even though they knew they shouldn't, Ginny and Hermione had been sharing Ginny's bed every night, so each morning Ginny had started her day with Hermione wrapped up in her arms. They'd get up, have a delicious home-cooked breakfast, then do her chores together. Ginny would go workout while Hermione would read in the garden, and after that they'd spend the rest of the day together, however they wanted. They'd flown more, they'd visited the creek again to cool off on a particularly hot afternoon, they'd spent a lot of time cooking in the kitchen with her mum and playing Exploding Snap, Gobstones, or Wizard's Chess with the boys. On a few of the clear evenings, they'd gone back out to Stoatshead Hill to do some "constellation mapping". Even though the Burrow was a lot less full than usual, it still felt plenty occupied when it came to Hermione and Ginny getting to spend some time alone. Therefore, the excuse of going to Stoatshead Hill to "prepare for Ginny's Astronomy O.W.L. exam" was perfect.
Just as Ginny was passing Hermione a piece of toast at breakfast, a large tawny owl appeared at the kitchen window with four letters attached to its leg. Ginny jumped up and detached the letters, and the owl flew off. She passed the letters to each recipient, before sitting down and tearing hers open. Hers was less thick than the rest, as she knew Hermione's, Ron's, and Harry's letters also contained their O.W.L. exam results. She looked around the table as the other three opened their letters, making eye contact with both her parents, who then turned their attention anxiously to Ron.
Hermione reacted first, exhaling heavily as it appeared she'd been holding her breath the entire time she was reading her results, "Ten O.W.L.s," she stated, looking relieved.
"Congrats, Hermione, that's amazing," Ginny said, giving her a smile.
"Yes, congratulations Hermione, that is very impressive indeed," Mr. Weasley said from the end of the table, giving Hermione an impressed nod.
Mrs. Weasley was too busy staring at Ron to respond.
"I got seven," Harry said, grinning.
"Me too, seven!" Ron finally responded, to which Mrs. Weasley burst into tears, "Oh Mum…" he whined as Mrs. Weasley got up and hugged him tightly.
"What's that, Harry?" Ginny asked, looking at the extra sheet of parchment beside his Hogwarts letter and O.W.L. results.
"Oh, I've been made Quidditch Captain," he said, his grin growing broader.
Mrs. Weasley now pulled him in for a tight hug too, while Mr. Weasley congratulated him.
"I hope Katie won't mind," Harry said, looking at Ginny.
"Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine. Plus, you definitely deserve it, you'll be a great captain," Ginny said reassuringly. She'd never told Harry that Katie had taken herself out of the running for captain – it hadn't seemed necessary.
"Harry, you can use the Prefects' bathroom now!" Hermione reminded him excitedly, "It's got a lovely bath that would be perfect for after Quidditch practices and matches!"
"Ginny, no extra parchment for you?" her mum asked suddenly.
"What? No it – It doesn't look like it," Ginny said, looking down at her envelope.
"Well, that's okay dear, with all of your Quidditch and getting ready for your O.W.L. exams, being a Prefect would've probably been too much to juggle," her mum said, patting her on the shoulder.
Ginny had completely forgotten that Prefects would be picked for her year this summer. She looked over at Hermione, who was watching her.
If not me, then who? she thought to herself.
The rest of breakfast was spent discussing when they'd go to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies, until Ron and Harry had taken over the conversation by debating on who the Gryffindor Beaters would be for this upcoming Quidditch season. Ginny and Hermione cleared the table, leaving Harry and Ron's plates in front of them as they were still eating while they discussed Ritchie Coote's lean stature, before heading upstairs to Ginny's room. They each put their Hogwarts letters on top of Ginny's bookcase, then Hermione sat on the bench in front of the windowsill while Ginny sat on the edge of her bed.
"How are you feeling about not being chosen as Prefect?" Hermione asked lightly as Arnold the Pygmy Puff pushed himself into her hands, forcing her to pet him.
Ginny shrugged, "It would've been nice, but my mum is probably right. Quidditch and preparing for O.W.L.s will surely occupy a lot of my time."
Hermione nodded, "Who do you think will get it instead?"
"I don't know, maybe Demelza?" Ginny mused, "She gets good marks and stays out of trouble. I wonder why I didn't get it though…"
Ginny laid back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling, thinking about why she wasn't chosen. She felt the bed move, as Hermione laid down beside her.
"Don't worry about it. Prefects are chosen for all sorts of reasons. It doesn't make you any less of a witch, not being a Prefect," Hermione said, smiling softly.
Ginny sighed, "I guess I'll have to wait a few more years until I get to see the Prefects' bathroom that you speak so highly of."
Hermione smiled, "I think I know someone who could get you in," she said before rolling over and capturing Ginny's lips in hers for just a moment. "So, are you ready for today?"
Ginny gave her a confused look.
"Honestly Ginny, how could you forget your brother's girlfriend will be spending the day at the Burrow?"
Ginny groaned and pulled a pillow over to cover her face with it. Hermione pulled the pillow off and laughed.
"Oh, it won't be that bad! She's a nice girl, she's just – "
"Annoying."
"She's talkative, yes, but she does make your brother happy! Plus, the whole reason she's coming is because you teased her about not being invited to the Burrow which led to her making a big fuss about it to Ron…"
Ginny rolled her eyes, "Don't remind me. Ugh, we better not have to watch them snog all day long."
"I'm sure your mum would love that," Hermione responded sarcastically. "Come on, let's go get your chores done and get cleaned up before the guest of honor arrives."
Ginny mumbled under her breathe while Hermione pulled her up from the bed.
"It'll be fine, Ginny. Remember how much fun you had the last time you saw Lavender?"
Ginny smiled. The last time she'd interacted with Lavender, Lavender had been calling them out about their relationship that they were denying at the time, and Ginny left the dormitory after kissing Hermione in front of her.
"Okay, maybe it will be fun after all," Ginny conceded.
"As long as you don't take it too far, I'll entertain it," Hermione agreed. "Let's just be careful to not do anything that will get us sleeping in separate rooms, okay? I'm too used to sleeping with your arms around me now, I'm not sure I'd be able to fall asleep without you…"
Ginny nodded in agreement, then the two of them set off to begin Ginny's chores.
Hermione POV
While Hermione of course didn't mind helping Ginny with her chores because she loved the girl and loved to be helpful, it did happen to come with a few perks as well. Cleaning out the chicken coop was on Ginny's list of chores for the day, and as Ginny had deemed it too disgusting for Hermione to help with, Hermione was on the other side of the garden tending to the numerous flower beds. As she was cutting a few peonies off of the large bush to put into a bouquet for the table, she became heavily distracted by the redhead across the garden from her, who was lifting up the bottom of her tank top to wipe sweat from her face. Even from far away, Hermione could make out the toned muscles of Ginny's abdomen, and flashed back to the first day they went to the creek.
They hadn't been that intimate since that day at the creek a week ago. They'd snogged plenty and spent each night sleeping impossibly close, but they'd kept their clothes on and had kept their composure, for the most part. Ginny had surprised her that day, being so confident and willing to strip down to just her sports bra and pants, and while yes, it had made Hermione feel something that she hadn't fully even felt with Juliette, it was more than that. Juliette was always so concerned about the experience imbalance between the two of them, which Hermione did appreciate, but sometimes it felt like she was being handled with kiddie gloves. With Ginny, they were going through it together, at nearly the same level of experience, and it just felt nice. She loved and trusted Ginny, and she knew that Ginny loved and trusted her, and she felt comfortable exploring this together with her.
Across the garden, Ginny had apparently gotten too hot while cleaning out the chicken coop, and was now removing her tank top. Hermione immediately turned her back to the girl, knowing today could not be the day that she lost her composure. Lavender surely would have her eyes on the two of them, so she might as well start practicing her self-control now.
As Hermione finished tending to the flower beds and was carrying an armful of flowers inside for Mrs. Weasley to put together a centerpiece for the table, she did chance a glance over at Ginny. As if Ginny could feel Hermione's eyes on her, she looked up, winked, and shot her that signature crooked grin. Hermione could feel herself blush as she gave the girl a small smile, and walked through the back door into the kitchen.
"Oh, those are lovely dear, thank you so much!" Mrs. Weasley said, taking the flowers from Hermione.
"Your flower beds are so beautiful Molly, I'd loved to have a back garden that looked like yours someday," Hermione complimented genuinely.
Mrs. Weasley gave her a beaming smile, "You're too kind dear. Ginny is the one who keeps it looking as nice as it does when she's home. Over the past few summers, she's really gotten into making sure the flowers are well taken care of. She's really coming into her own, I believe," Mrs. Weasley said, looking out the kitchen window at her daughter.
Hermione smiled to herself, agreeing whole-heartedly.
"Can you grab a few more peonies from the bush, please? I'd say three more would make this complete," Mrs. Weasley said, rotating the center piece in the air with her wand, looking for blank spots in the bouquet.
"Of course, I'll be right back with them!" Hermione said as she went back out the back door headed for the peony bush.
She could feel Ginny's eyes on her, but didn't want to look up in case Mrs. Weasley was still looking out the kitchen window. She clipped one flower, another, and then reached down low to where she saw one last beautiful bloom and –
"Ouch!" Hermione hissed, grabbing her hand, "Ohhh, ouch!"
She'd been bitten by a gnome. She knew she shouldn't have reached down so low, but she figured it'd be fine as the boys were supposed to have de-gnomed the garden yesterday. Clearly, they hadn't done a good job of it, if they'd done it at all.
"What's happened?"
Ginny had rushed over. She grabbed Hermione's hand gently, and ran her finger softly across the spot where the gnome had bitten her.
"I'll be fine, it was more of a shock than anything. I – "
Hermione broke off as she realized how close Ginny was standing to her in her sports bra and shorts. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't help but glance down at Ginny's torso, taking in her lean, muscular frame. Freckles were scattered across Ginny's light skin, and Hermione could feel herself being tempted to reach out and run her fingers across each one of them.
"Hermione, dear, are you alright?"
Both girls looked up at the sound of Mrs. Weasley's voice. She'd appeared at the back door, and was looking at Hermione with concern.
"Yes Molly, just a gnome bite!" Hermione shouted across the garden.
"Oh, those nasty little creatures! Ron and Harry were supposed to have de-gnomed the garden yesterday. Boys!" Mrs. Weasley yelled as she walked back inside, likely off to reprimand the boys.
"Here," Ginny said, offering to take the flowers from Hermione, "Why don't you go inside and get cleaned up? I'll finish up out here, and then I'll be in. Okay?"
Hermione nodded as she handed the peonies to Ginny, and took one last look at the girl before she started heading inside.
"Can't help yourself, can you?" Ginny called after her quietly, a smile in her voice.
"Not even a little bit," Hermione admitted, not looking back.
Ginny POV
A few hours later, Ginny and Hermione were seated at the kitchen table, directly across from Ron, Lavender, and an exhausted looking Harry. Lavender had arrived about an hour prior, and hadn't seemed to stop talking since. It was Won-Won this and Won-Won that, and Ginny couldn't quite figure out whether her mum liked Lavender or not. It was a lot of nodding and smiling, but was she just being polite?
"Well, I'm going to start working on preparing our dinner for this evening. Why don't the five of you head outside and enjoy the beautiful weather?" Mrs. Weasley suggested at the end of a particularly painful story about one of Ron and Lavenders dates to Hogsmeade.
"That sounds great, thank you Mrs. Weasley," Lavender said sweetly.
Ginny noted that her mum hadn't asked Lavender to call her Molly as she'd asked Hermione to do. This made her smile.
The five of them got up from the table, Lavender hanging off of Ron, and headed outside.
"So, uh, what should we do?" Ron asked the group.
"Why don't you give me the tour, Won-Won?" Lavender suggested, kissing his cheek.
"Yes Won-Won, give her the tour. We'll be out in the orchard," Ginny said, smiling at her big brother who glowered at her.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny broke off from the group and headed out back towards the orchard, leaving Ron and Lavender alone in the garden.
"Alright Hermione, are you still sticking with 'talkative' as your main descriptor of Lavender, or are you willing to agree with me and go with 'annoying'?" Ginny asked, making Harry laugh.
"She's just excited to be here and see Ron. If you really think about it, it's sweet."
Ginny exchanged a look with Harry as they continued walking.
"So, Captain, have you figured out what we're going to be doing for the Quidditch trials?" Ginny asked Harry as they approached the orchard.
"Ginny, you can't ask him that, it wouldn't be ethical," Hermione scolded lightly.
Ginny looked across Harry at Hermione who was on his other side, giving her a look. Hermione raised her eyebrows back at her, reminding Ginny that they had to act like they were just friends, especially around Harry.
"There's nothing to tell her yet anyway, as I haven't quite figured it out. I feel like our main issue will be sorting out the Beaters, so I've got to have something that'll really expose them. I feel confident about all other positions," he said, smiling at Ginny. "Ready to officially be part of this?"
"Unethical…" Hermione muttered under her breath.
"Hermione, she won us the Quidditch House Cup last year. Of course she's going to be on the team," Harry said.
"Yes, I know, but what if someone else shows up and outflies her at tryouts? You can't base your selection on something she did a few months ago,"
"How about I don't let anyone outfly me then?" Ginny said as she pulled her Comet 260 out of the broom shed.
"See, it's that competitive attitude as well that I just can't not have on the team, Hermione," Harry pointed out. "Ginny will earn it, I'm sure of it!" he added, grinning at Ginny while he pulled out his Firebolt.
"Here, why don't you help me practice so I can earn my spot on the team," Ginny said, handing the old Shooting Star to Hermione.
"Uh…" Harry said, looking from the broom to Hermione, "I don't think that's a good idea…"
"Sure it is, she can fly. We've been working on it, right Hermione?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at Ginny for a moment before conceding with a sigh and taking the broom from her hands, "Yes, we have."
Harry looked impressed, "Wow Hermione, I didn't think you'd ever try flying again after first year."
"Well, I won't be anything close to as good as you lot are, but I'm better than I was," she said as she mounted the broom and kicked off the ground, hovering a few feet above it.
Harry took off his glasses and cleaned them dramatically before putting them back on, "Hermione on a broom, wow!"
Ginny laughed as Hermione shot Harry a dirty look. Then both Harry and Ginny mounted their brooms and kicked off hard from the ground, shooting up just below the tree line. They flew and tossed Ginny's practice Quaffle around for a bit before Ron and Lavender arrived in the orchard.
"Is that Hermione Granger on a broom?" Lavender called out in disbelief.
"Blimey Hermione, I thought you gave that up years ago!" Ron shouted, sounding impressed.
"Yes well, Ginny has been teaching me to fly since I've been here, and she's not a bad teacher really," Hermione said as she flew towards Ron and Lavender and dismounted the Shooting Star. Harry and Ginny did the same.
"Well, isn't that cute," Lavender said, eyeing both Ginny and Hermione.
Harry and Ron exchanged looks at Lavender's tone.
"I could teach you to fly as well, Lavender, if you'd like," Ginny suggested quickly, taking the Shooting Star from Hermione and offering it to Lavender.
Lavender looked at Ginny for a moment and then turned to Ron, "If anyone's going to teach me, it'll be Won-Won."
Ron ears turned red, and Ginny wasn't sure if it was because of the nickname or the thought of him having to teach Lavender how to fly.
"Uh… Sure Lav, I'll teach you!" Ron sputtered out, "Do you have anything else to wear? Your clothes are quite nice, and I know you wanted to keep them that way for dinner."
Before Lavender could respond, Ginny chimed in, "You can borrow some of my clothes Lavender! Wouldn't want you to miss out on a training session with ol' Won-Won! We'll be back, come on!"
Harry, Hermione, and Ron all gave Ginny a confused look as she pulled Lavender back towards the Burrow.
"What are you doing?" Lavender asked, pulling her arm from Ginny's grasp.
"Getting you clothes, of course."
"And?"
"And we need to talk."
Once they got back to the Burrow and were in Ginny's room, she closed the door.
Lavender smirked at her as she took in the cot on one side of the room that was completely made, but missing a pillow, while Ginny's bed was mussed and had two pillows.
"Sharing a bed with your friend, are you? You're so lazy that you couldn't even make it look like you were sleeping in separate beds?" Lavender shook her head and laughed harshly, "Unbelievable that the two of you haven't gotten caught yet. You're getting away with murder, you are."
"Look, I know we aren't the best of friends," Ginny started.
Lavender scoffed.
"Or friends at all… But I'm not sure what your problem is. We just want to be together without anyone knowing right now. It's still new, and – "
"That's not it and you know it! You want to get away with what you can because the two of you are girls! Won-Won and I would never get away with this, and that's not fair!"
"Is all of this about you not getting to sleep in the same room as Ron tonight when you stay over?" Ginny asked incredulously.
"Yes!" Lavender hissed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Ginny paused, staring at the girl across from her, "Then just sneak into his room tonight? Or have him sneak to yours? What's so hard about that?"
Lavender went to immediately respond, then shut her mouth quickly, before finally responding, "Of course, why didn't I think of that?"
"Fantastic," Ginny muttered. "So, are we okay now? You'll stop dropping your little hints about my relationship with Hermione?"
"Fine."
"Great. Here," Ginny said, handing a t-shirt and shorts to Lavender. "Have at it. I'll meet you downstairs."
Ginny departed her bedroom, leaving Lavender to change, and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
"Everything alright, dear?" her mum asked.
"Oh yeah, Lavender just needed to borrow some clothes. Ron's going to teach her how to fly," she said, grinning.
Mrs. Weasley paused in the middle of lacing the top of a fruit pie, "Ron's teaching her to fly?"
"I'll be there, as will Harry. It'll be fine," Ginny said reassuringly as she fought back a laugh at her mum's reaction to Ron teaching someone how to fly.
"Alright, I'm ready!" Lavender announced as she walked into the kitchen wearing a Harpies t-shirt and dark shorts, her curly hair pulled back with a hair tie.
"Brilliant, let's go," Ginny said leading Lavender out the back door.
Won-Won's flying lessons lasted all of ten minutes, as the third time Lavender fell off her broom proved to be the last.
"You're not actually teaching me how to do anything, you're just telling me to fly!" Lavender stated angrily as she tossed the Shooting Star at Ron.
"Well then why don't you ask Ginny or Harry to teach you?" Ron suggested, clearly trying to keep his frustration under control.
"Because I want you to teach me!" Lavender whined.
As the argument continued, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny left the two love birds in the orchard and headed back to the Burrow. As they entered the garden, they noticed Crookshanks perched on the edge of the pond, intently focused on a frog resting calmly on a lily pad.
"Crookshanks…" Hermione said warningly, giving him a stern look.
Crookshanks glanced over at Hermione with his large yellow eyes, before turning them back to his target.
"You'll get soaking wet and covered in pond scum, you fancy that, do you?" Ginny called out to the ginger cat.
That seemed to do it, as Crookshanks retreated from the edge of the pond reluctantly and ran off to hide beneath a rhododendron bush.
"Honestly, the way he listens to you over me is unacceptable," Hermione said to Ginny.
Ginny grinned, "Do you think it's the ginger hair? Maybe he considers me to be his mum?"
Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry and Ginny laughed, and the three of them walked inside to head upstairs. The girls broke off at the first landing to go to Ginny's room, as Harry continued up to Ron's room.
"Laying it on a little thick, aren't we?" Ginny said as she closed the door behind them.
"With Lavender around I just don't want the boys getting any ideas about us, so I figured I'd make it clear," Hermione said firmly.
"Well, I've taken care of the Lavender situation, so you can relax a bit about it, if you want," Ginny said, walking towards Hermione and wrapping her arms around her.
"Is that right? What have you done?" Hermione asked a bit hesitantly.
"She was jealous that we got to spend so much time together at night… So, I suggested she sneak into Ron's room or have him sneak into Bill's room where she's staying," Ginny said with a slight look of disgust on her face. "I certainly wish they'd been smart enough to figure that out on their own, but hey, I think she'll lay off of us now for as long as she's here."
"Do you think they're – "
"Oi, that's my brother. I beg you not to finish that sentence."
Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled, placing a soft kiss on Ginny's lips.
"She did point out we were being careless with how we were leaving the beds…" Ginny said, looking between the cot and her bed.
Hermione nodded, "She's right, we have been careless. We'll have to be more careful," Hermione said placing another kiss on Ginny's lips. Then another. And another.
Ginny responded by walking Hermione back to the edge of the bed, and laying her down gently on it before slowly crawling on top of her. She pushed herself off of the brunette slightly, creating space between them, as she felt Hermione's fingers desperately try to get underneath the bottom of her shirt.
"You just had to remove your tank top this morning, didn't you?"
"Cleaning out the chicken coop is hard work, I was hot!" Ginny said in faux defense, grinning down at Hermione.
"You certainly are," Hermione said, smirking up at the girl.
Hermione pulled Ginny's top up over her head, and began to –
"Are you two kidding?" Lavender asked from the door to Ginny's bedroom.
Ginny quickly jumped off of Hermione and Hermione sat up, both girls red in the face.
"Your mum was wondering if the two of you would be willing and able to help with dinner. Should I tell her you're busy, or...?"
"Why didn't you knock?" Ginny hissed as she pulled her top back up over her head.
"How is it that the two of you haven't gotten caught yet? Honestly Hermione, I expected you of all people to be smarter about this…" Lavender smirked condescendingly.
"I can't help it… I mean, you know what it's like Lavender... Remember how fit you said Ginny was when you first found out she fancied girls? Now look at her!" Hermione exclaimed innocently.
Ginny laughed as Lavender burned deep red and glared at Hermione, "I can't believe you – "
"Go tell Molly that we'd love to help and that we'll be down in a few minutes, go on!" Hermione instructed to a shocked and furious Lavender who stomped down the hall.
"I thought you were being nice to 'sweet' Lavender?" Ginny asked, still laughing a bit.
"Well, I'm certainly not going to let her shame me about my relationship, that's for sure," Hermione said definitively.
"I love you…" Ginny sighed, smiling down at the girl sitting on her bed.
Hermione smiled up at Ginny as the redhead leant down to kiss her, "Come on, let's go help your mum. And honestly, we do need to be more careful…" Hermione said before she pulled Ginny in for one last kiss, gently biting the younger girl's bottom lip in the process.
Ginny took a step back and stared at Hermione, a stunned smile on her face, as Hermione made her way to the bedroom door.
"Coming?" Hermione asked, turning to give Ginny a smirk.
Ginny smiled broadly and went to follow Hermione down the stairs.
Hermione POV
Dinner had been lovely, for the most part, and Hermione and Ginny were doing their usual routine of washing, drying, and putting away dishes once everyone was done eating. Lavender had not said anything that could've tipped any of the Weasleys or Harry off to the fact that Hermione and Ginny were dating, but the girl certainly had stared daggers at them both throughout the dinner. That is, when she wasn't too busy blatantly sucking up to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Hermione laughed a little at the memory, but couldn't fault the girl for trying.
"What's so funny?" Ginny asked as she took another dry plate from Hermione to stack.
"Oh nothing, just Lavender trying to get on your mum and dad's good side."
Ginny shook her head, "Poor girl. She doesn't stand a chance when you're around."
Hermione lightly nudged Ginny, then continued drying the recently washed dishes and handing them to Ginny to put away. Dinner had run long, so it was pretty late once they were done cleaning up, and they took that as an opportunity to say goodnight to Harry, Lavender, and Ron, who were sitting in the sitting room talking.
"You're really going to bed? But Lav's here!" Ron whined.
"Right, don't you want to spend some time with her, alone?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, uh… Yeah, good point… Harry?" Ron said, looking at his best friend.
"See you all in the morning!" Harry exclaimed, bolting up from the couch and taking the stairs two at a time as he escaped the sitting room.
"Goodnight you two!" Lavender called teasingly after the girls as they made their way over to the staircase.
"Remember that Bill's room isn't too far from my room…" Ginny called over her shoulder as they made their way up the stairs.
"What does she mean by that?" they heard Ron ask Lavender just as they were getting out of earshot.
"I better not hear a single peep from them if they end up down the hall from us…" Ginny muttered with a look of disgust.
Hermione rubbed Ginny's back as she followed her up the stairs, "Oh, I'm sure it'll all be fine. Don't think about it, okay?"
"That's easy for you to say, it's not your brother…"
"True, but I'm also not willing to let it spoil a potentially special evening…" Hermione said casually as they made their way into Ginny's room.
"Oh yeah?" Ginny asked, closing the door behind them.
Hermione shrugged, then walked Ginny back until she was against the door, and kissed her hard. They stopped once they heard heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs – Ron must've finally been clued in on the plan to visit Lavender in Bill's room. Ginny cringed again.
"I'm sorry Hermione, I just don't think I can kiss you knowing my brother and his girlfriend are snogging in the room down the hall," Ginny said, her forehead and nose wrinkling in disgust.
"That's fine. I'll go off and get ready for bed, okay?" Hermione said as Ginny stepped away from the door, allowing Hermione to get out.
She grabbed her toiletries, shorts, and a loose t-shirt and headed for the bathroom. She changed first, then brushed her teeth and was in the middle of washing her face when the door opened.
"Oh, sorry Hermione!" Lavender said, shocked.
Hermione finished washing her face, then dried it off and gave Lavender a look.
"Honestly, do you ever knock?"
Lavender smirked at Hermione as she scooched past her into the bathroom, prompting Hermione to grab her toiletries and leave. Once Hermione got back to Ginny's room, Ginny stood up from her bed and made her way to the door to change and get ready in the bathroom.
"Hold on, Lavender's up there."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "How long is that going to take?"
"I'd settle in for a bit."
Ginny groaned and flopped down onto her bed. Suddenly, they heard shouting from a few floors above them.
"Ronald Weasley, what do you think you're doing snogging your girlfriend in the shared family bathroom! Get back up to your room this instant!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.
Hermione and Ginny looked at each other then ran to Ginny's door. As they did, Lavender hurried past to Bill's room, her face redder than Hermione had ever seen it.
"I said to meet in his room or Bill's room, not the bathroom!" Ginny called out after Lavender, but Lavender likely didn't hear her as she'd slammed the door shut.
Ginny laughed, then grabbed her change of clothes, "I'll be right back. Maybe don't follow me up and snog me in the communal bathroom? Think we can manage not to do that?" she added, laughing as she climbed the stairs.
In Ginny's absence, Hermione walked over to the window and looked out at the night sky. It was very dark, with a seemingly endless number of stars glittering across it. A warm summer breeze drifted in through the slightly open window. Arnold the Pygmy Puff jumped up onto the windowsill and rubbed against her hand for a few pets before he took off at full speed, running out of Ginny's room after a spider who was skittering away as fast as it's eight legs could carry it. Ginny nearly stepped on him as she reentered the room, closing the door behind her.
"Well, looks like Ron and Lavender's evening has been officially ruined," Ginny said with a smile, "So, where were we?"