AN: I apologize for the late update! Work has been pretty crazy lately, so I might be a bit sporadic over the next month or so as well, but I have no intentions of abandoning this story, so bear with me :)

Chapter 54

Hermione POV

Hermione felt that the first few weeks back to Hogwarts had gone by rather quick. She'd been so anxious all summer to begin her year five classes, and they hadn't disappointed. Between Prefect duties, classwork, and studying for O.W.L.s, Hermione was completely booked, and for that she was actually thankful, as it didn't allow her much time to think about Ginny.

She hadn't had any more dreams like the one she had the night after the Quidditch trials, but she certainly hadn't been able to forget it. One moment, she was kissing her girlfriend, the next, she had her hand buried deep in Ginny's long, red hair, her lips firmly planted on hers, their bodies pressed together. Though she had dropped Divination her third year, a very small part of her considered possibly looking into dream interpretation, but deep down, she knew what the dream meant. She knew what it meant, but refused to acknowledge it. She was with Juliette, and that was that.

It was the afternoon before her 16th birthday, and as per usual when she wasn't on duty, Hermione was studying. She was taking advantage of the late summer weather and was sitting at the base of a large tree out by the Black Lake. It was peaceful and relatively quiet, except for the few students who were also out enjoying the last bit of summer sun. Hermione was so focused on her work that she didn't notice someone standing in front of her until she got to the end of the long piece of parchment she was scribbling on and went to reach for another.

"Ginny!" Hermione gasped, nearing jumping out of her skin at the shock of the girl standing in front of her.

The redhead grinned down at her and laughed, "You must've just jumped about a foot in the air Hermione, from a seated position as well! I didn't know you were that athletic!" she teased as she sat down next to the brunette, who was glaring at her.

"How long were you standing there? Why wouldn't you have said anything?" Hermione asked a bit angrily, trying to slow her breathing back down.

"I mean I thought me standing directly in front of you would've been enough indication that I was in fact there, but you were very focused. I couldn't bear to tear you away from your…" Ginny paused as she leaned over to look at the parchment Hermione had completely filled out with tiny handwriting, "Ancient Runes translations…"

Hermione shot her an unimpressed look as she registered Ginny's pained tone at the subject, but when she turned her head, she quickly realized how close Ginny was sitting next to her – so close their shoulders were touching. Hermione hastily turned back to her work, hoping Ginny hadn't noticed her reaction to their proximity to one another.

Get it together, Hermione. She's your friend. You have a girlfriend, and it's not Ginny.

As she again had to work on steadying her breath, Hermione asked how Quidditch was going.

Ginny lit up, "Oh, it's been fantastic! Being a part of a team is so much better than training on my own or with a few other people. I mean I've trained with Harry, Ron, Fred, and George all together before, but adding in Angelina, Alicia, and Katie has been amazing. Angelina's paired me off with Katie as well, so she can get me up to speed on how the team works, the culture, that kind of stuff. It's been great!"

Hermione glanced over at Ginny, "Why didn't Angelina take you under her wing? Why Katie?" she asked.

"I was wondering the same thing, but I figure it's because Angelina and Alicia will both be gone next year. Once I'm hopefully an actual member of the team and no longer a reserve, Katie will still be around, so if we can form a concrete relationship over this season, next season we'll be even better off. I really enjoy working with her as well, so I don't mind."

Hermione fully turned her head to look at Ginny now, who was still beaming. That was all well and fine, except for the fact that Hermione had recently been approached by Katie asking if she knew of any other girls at Hogwarts who also fancied girls. Obviously, Katie's girlfriend from back home was no longer a current fixture, and Hermione wasn't too keen on Ginny and Katie working so closely, creating a "concrete relationship". She knew she had no right to hate the thought of the two of them interacting, but she certainly did.

"Hermione?" Ginny was looking at her concerned.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Well, you were just staring at me… And I asked you what you were doing for your birthday tomorrow, to which you didn't respond, because you were staring at me…" Ginny was giving her a curious look with the hint of a smile, and Hermione blushed furiously.

"Oh, sorry! I was just… Lost in my thoughts about this one translation…" Hermione blushed deeper at how lame the lie was.

"Alright… Well, what are you doing tomorrow? Fancy a repeat of your 15th birthday? A walk along the lake with a picnic? If you don't have Prefect duties, we could skip dinner in the Great Hall and do that instead, what do you say?"

Hermione had no reason to say no, and honestly, didn't want to say no.

"That sounds great, Ginny," she smiled at the girl. Ginny smiled back, clearly excited she'd accepted the offer, and that made Hermione smile even more.

She's so cute when she smiles like that…

Hermione's eyes flicked down to Ginny's lips, then she realized what she was doing and immediately turned back to her Ancient Runes textbook.

"Uh, sorry Ginny, but I've got to get this work done tonight if we're going to take that walk tomorrow. I'll see you later though, alright?"

She could feel Ginny staring at her profile, and was thankful when she heard and felt her slowly stand up.

"Yeah, sounds good Hermione. Enjoy your last day of being 15!"

With a small wave, Ginny started trekking back up to the castle, leaving a flustered Hermione to try and refocus on her work. Unfortunately, the greater part of the following hour was spent on trying to get the redhead's lips out of her mind, so she quit early and headed off to her Prefect duties, hoping that would serve as some sort of distraction.

As soon as she opened her curtains the following morning, Hermione was bombarded with "Happy Birthday" wishes from her dormmates.

"Happy birthday, Hermione! We got you something!" Lavender squealed before Hermione was even able to fully get out from her bed. Lavender sat beside Hermione and thrust a heavy package into her hands as Parvati stood by and watched. As Hermione opened it, she smiled.

"Is this a book about female Hogwarts Prefects?" she asked, looking between the two with a smile on her face.

"Yep! We figured it'd be fitting, since you're a Prefect and a girl, and you like to read so much," Lavender grinned.

"My parents got a copy for my sister Padma this summer when she was made Ravenclaw Perfect, and she found it to be quite interesting. It's about Prefects of the past and what they've gone on to accomplish, Padma surely liked it!" Parvati nodded.

"Wow, thank you! You two didn't need to get me anything though," Hermione said while giving them each an appreciative look.

"Of course we did! We're friends, aren't we?" Parvati laughed.

Hermione smiled again at the thought of them considering her to be a friend. Especially over the past year they'd grown closer, and she did in fact consider them to be her friends too.

"Well, thank you! I'm going to head down to breakfast, would you like to join?" Hermione asked as she put the book on the top of the stack by her bed and quickly changed into her uniform.

"Sure!"

Soon the three of them were headed downstairs to the common room, through the portrait hole, and down through the corridors to the Great Hall. They sat in the middle of the Gryffindor table, with Harry and Ron. Hermione looked around casually, but couldn't spot the youngest Weasley anywhere. Suddenly, the owl post arrived, and Hermione was showered with gifts from four different owls, one being Errol dropping off a package of handmade goodies from Mrs. Weasley. She also received a light blue package from a sharp looking owl with tufted ears that she recognized as Juliette's family's owl, a ratty looking envelope from a disheveled looking grey owl, and a precisely wrapped package from a calm looking barn owl that she assumed was from her parents.

She opened the package from her parents first. Inside she found a sweet card from her parents, a stack of books that she'd been scoping out in the muggle bookstore back at home over the summer, as well as her own personal copy of Quidditch Through the Ages.

"Quidditch Through the Ages?" Ron asked. "What would you need that for?"

Hermione blushed slightly, trying to avoid eye contact with Harry, "Just trying to keep up with what all of my friends are doing, now that just about everyone is on the Gryffindor team in some capacity."

"You couldn't just use a copy from the library?" Ron asked.

"Well… I've written notes in this copy…" Hermione explained reluctantly. She finally made eye contact with Harry, who was looking at her with raised eyebrows. She knew he knew she'd been reading it because of Ginny, and not anyone else. She quickly moved on to the next package, the one from Mrs. Weasley.

"Wow!" Hermione exclaimed as she opened up all sorts of homemade sweets and baked goods. There were also many pieces of knitted fabric with pockets, some with floral designs knitted into them. Hermione picked up the note and read it.

Hermione,

Happy 16th birthday! We hope that you've had an excellent start to the school year and are enjoying being a Gryffindor Prefect. We are so proud of you and have enjoyed you becoming more and more a part of our family!

Included in this parcel you'll find various treats and sweets, as well as some book covers I knitted for you to protect your books. I know you could just protect them with a spell, but I thought you may like this a bit better.

Say hello to everyone for us!

Molly and Arthur Weasley

Hermione grinned as she took one of the book covers and placed it over Quidditch Through the Ages. It magically shrunk to fit the book perfectly.

"Oh, I see you got my mum's presents!" Ginny said as she walked up and sat across from Hermione, in between Ron and Harry.

"You knew about this?" Hermione asked.

"It was my idea. Well, adding the wildflowers was my idea. They're all from around the Burrow," Ginny explained. Hermione tried not to listen too emphatically to Ginny as she could feel Harry watching the interaction closely.

"That's great, thank you Ginny!" Hermione then moved on to the envelope that looked like it had been through quite a journey. As she opened it, she recognized Viktor's messy scrawl.

Hermione,

I hope that this letter finds you doing well at Hogwarts. I am writing to let you know that I am in the process of signing with a Quidditch team. I will be signing with the Karasjok Kites. They are located in a small village in Norway. There are only a few thousand people there, so I am thinking that will be perfect for me.

If I am remembering correctly, I believe it is your birthday soon. If I am right, then happy birthday. Tell Ginny hello for me too, and if she has not gone through Quidditch trials yet, tell her good luck and to fly well.

Viktor

Hermione grinned and leaned across the table to show Ginny the letter.

"Oh wow, Viktor's signing with the Kites? Huh, I kinda figured he would've gone with a bigger club…" Ginny mused. "He might as well have signed with the Canons, honestly…"

Ron threw Ginny a disapproving look at her comment, then continued consuming his breakfast at a rapid rate.

"If the village really is that small, I think that's perfect for Viktor. He doesn't care about all of the fanfare, he just wants to do what he loves," Hermione said.

"Yeah, true. Well, that's great for him! And it's cool that he mentioned me. Be sure to let him know I got the reserve slot, okay?" Ginny requested excitedly.

Hermione nodded as she moved on to the light blue package. She gently pulled the delicate ribbon to undo the knot and began opening the paper to reveal a short note and as well as a small glass bottle of liquid. As Hermione held it up to examine it, she saw intricate French lettering etched into the glass bottle. Suddenly, Lavender gasped beside her.

"That perfume is incredibly expensive! Who gave that to you?"

Hermione blushed, "It's from Juliette."

Both Lavender and Parvati let out a simultaneous "Awwww", spurring Hermione to blush further. As she opened and read the note, she felt like her face was on fire with how deeply she blushed.

My Hermione,

I will write a longer letter when I have the time, but I wanted to make sure you would get this by your birthday. This is for you if you ever find yourself to be missing me. I believe I heard somewhere that scent is one of the strongest senses when it comes to recalling memories. Let me know which memories my perfume recalls for you, my love.

Happy 16th birthday.

Your Juliette

Hermione glanced up at Ginny, who appeared to be looking at her intently, as if she was trying to gauge her reaction to the gift. Hermione quickly averted her gaze back to the gifts in front of her.

"I'm going to take these upstairs before class," she said as she began to gather up her gifts.

"I'll help you," Harry stated, grabbing the large stack of books from Hermione's parents off the table.

They walked quietly out of the Great Hall and up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Don't think I don't see you watching me every time she's around, Harry Potter," Hermione said sternly, "You don't have to keep monitoring me like this, I'm perfectly capable of – " She stopped short of completing her sentence when she looked at Harry and saw the unimpressed expression on his face.

"Look Hermione… All I'm trying to do is be a supportive friend. My understanding is that you're still in a relationship with Juliette. Albeit a long-distance relationship, but a relationship nonetheless, right?"

Hermione said nothing.

"I know you, Hermione. I know that you're trying to do the right thing and want to do right by Juliette, but can you really deny your feelings for Ginny? And as long as they're present, are you really being faithful to Juliette and doing right by her?"

Hermione frowned at this and looked down at the corridor floor as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm all for you and Juliette, you know that. But above all, I'm all for your happiness. I'll support whatever you want to do, but is it really fair to be in a relationship with Juliette while you're harboring these feelings for Ginny again? And I know that that's how the whole relationship started, but you're past that now, aren't you? This is a real relationship now, not something you're using to get over Ginny, isn't it?"

Hermione still remained silent, thinking about what Harry was saying. He was right. As long as she was harboring feelings for Ginny, feelings that she wasn't even trying that hard to get over, she wasn't being fair to Juliette.

"So, what are you saying? That I should break up with Juliette?" Hermione asked softly.

"I'm saying that you need to consider what you really want. Who you really want. Because I think if you carry on this way, you're going to hurt someone, and you're going to have a really hard time with it," Harry said honestly.

Hermione nodded as Harry motioned for her to enter the portrait hole first. He handed her the stack of books and she carried her gifts up the stairs and into her dormitory. She stacked the books by her bed and placed the book covers in a neat pile on top. She set the cards on her bedside table, except for Juliette's, which she re-read over and over as she sat against her headboard. She carefully removed the cap from the glass bottle of perfume and sprayed it once, and was immediately fully immersed in her memories of Juliette. She thought about all of the time they spent together at Hogwarts, the walks they took in the late summer evenings while she was out visiting her in France, the moments where she felt she couldn't possibly get close enough to the beautiful girl.

I love Juliette, I know I do, but why does it feel like I have to constantly reinforce it? Why is it that I'm always having to remind myself of my love for Juliette, while my feelings for Ginny are freely flowing through my mind? Obviously, the proximity to either girl makes a huge difference, but still. I love Juliette… Is that how I feel about Ginny? Do I love Ginny?

Hermione looked over at the book covers, taking in the stitched wildflowers that had been added to them at Ginny's request as she knew Hermione loved them. She was then quickly reminded that she'd promised Ginny she'd spend her birthday evening with her down at the lake, and how excited the girl was that Hermione had accepted. Last year on this journey Ginny revealed to Hermione that Demelza had tried to kiss her, would a similar revelation come up again this time? Hermione sighed, grabbed her Transfiguration textbook, threw a book cover over it that magically shrunk itself to fit snug against the cover of the book, and headed off to Transfiguration class.

Later that evening Hermione was back up in her room, re-reading the card from Juliette again, when she heard a knock at her dormitory door.

"Come in," Hermione called out, not getting up off of her bed.

Ginny walked in tentatively, then smiled seeing that Hermione was alone.

"Is the birthday girl ready to head down to the lake for the evening?"

Hermione nodded, set the card down with the rest of them on her bedside table, and followed Ginny down to the lake.

As they walked along the lakeshore, their conversation was easy and light, as it often was. Hermione told stories of her Prefect duties, Ginny eagerly shared how well the Quidditch trainings were going with the Gryffindor team. Hermione noted how often she said Katie's name, which still irritated Hermione even though she knew it shouldn't and it sounded like there was nothing going on between the two. Once they arrived at the fallen log that they'd sat at during Hermione's 15th birthday walk, they sat down and began pulling food from the picnic basket Ginny had carried. They continued to talk while they ate, and finished their meal with two Sugar Quills that Ginny pulled from her pocket. Hermione once again noted the kind gesture, appreciating that Ginny still remembered her favorite sweet. They quietly looked out over the lake as they ate their sweets, until Ginny broke the silence.

"So uh – I got you something for your birthday," Ginny said a bit nervously. Hermione stared at her, a bit taken aback.

"Ginny, you didn't need to get me anything! This walk has been special enough, and I know you were really behind the idea of the book covers from your mum, and – "

"Hermione, you're my best friend, of course I got you something for your birthday. And honestly, it's not that big of a deal, so I wouldn't get all up in arms about me getting you something before you actually see it."

Ginny pulled a small parcel from her pocket that looked like a stack of letters tied together with string, and placed it in Hermione's lap. Hermione slowly undid the knot of the string and starting flipping through the different envelopes that were all labeled.

For when you're hungry on Prefect duty

For when you want a study partner

For when you're stressed

For when you're sad

She flipped through the nearly dozen envelopes and looked at Ginny, perplexed. Ginny smiled and laughed a little at Hermione's confusion, "Go on, open one."

Hermione carefully tore open the envelope that read "For when you're hungry on Prefect duty" and pulled out the piece of parchment inside.

This slip is good for one meal delivered to you at anytime and anywhere by Ginny Weasley.

Hermione looked up at Ginny, who was looking at her nervously.

"I was just thinking about how much you've been doing lately, and how you don't have much time for yourself. So, if there's anything I can do to help, I would like to do that. You've got twelve different pieces of parchment to use here, and they do expire at the end of the school year, so if I were you, I wouldn't let them go to waste."

Hermione hoped the cool breeze flowing off the lake was hiding the blush she knew was likely forming on her face. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift from Ginny, and she appreciated it immensely, but she was doing her absolute best to not look into it further than what it was – a kind gesture from her best friend.

"Thank you, Ginny. I really appreciate this," Hermione smiled, hoping she wasn't letting an ounce of love show through her expression.

Ginny returned the smile, "I figured you would. I know it's not an expensive perfume or anything like that, but I hoped you'd appreciate it," Ginny shrugged.

At the comparison with Juliette's gift, Hermione looked at Ginny, studying her face. She couldn't read it, but it almost seemed like Ginny was… Jealous?

"Uh so – I have something I wanted to ask you about," Ginny said nervously. Hermione froze, the resemblance to Ginny bringing up Demelza trying to kiss her last year was uncanny.

Hermione forced a laugh, "Did Demelza try to kiss you again?"

Ginny didn't laugh, and Hermione's heart plummeted. Ginny must've read that on her face, as she immediately spoke up.

"She didn't try to kiss me again, but it's related. She clearly fancies me again, and I don't know what to do about it."

"What do you mean, you don't know what to do about it?"

"I mean that I don't fancy her, and I don't know how to let her down easy without hurting her feelings. The last thing I want to do is hurt her again, and I really would like to remain friends with her somehow. Hermione?"

"Hmm? What?" Hermione hadn't heard anything past Ginny saying she didn't fancy Demelza, and clearly Ginny noticed she'd stopped listening.

"What do you think I should do? How can I let her down easy without ruining our friendship?"

Hermione paused, processing fully what Ginny had said.

"You tell her how much you care about her, and how much she means to you. You tell her how much you value her as a person, but that unfortunately, she's just not the one for you anymore. The two of you have been through a lot together, she deserves to be let down as easily and as honestly as possible," Hermione said.

Ginny was quiet as she stared at Hermione, almost as if she was contemplating saying or doing something.

"What?" Hermione asked, a bit insecure.

"Nothing, it's just – That's perfect. If someone I fancied was telling me they didn't want to be with me, that's how I'd want them to do it. Of course, I'd rather that not ever happen to me… Which is why I'm really trying to focus on only fancying girls who are, you know, available…"

The two girls stared at each other as they sat side by side on the fallen log. Neither said anything, they sat in silence, trying desperately to read each other's minds, without success on either end. Hermione could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

What does Ginny mean by that? This combined with the comparison of her gift to Juliette's, what is she saying?

As realization slowly showed on Hermione's face, Ginny broke the silence.

"So… If you know anyone who's available and looking for someone like me, I do think I would like to venture out into dating again. I feel good about Quidditch and how I'm doing with the team, and I wouldn't mind getting to know someone," Ginny said, her eyes still very much looking into Hermione's.

Hermione felt her eyes drop to Ginny's lips, before she quickly forced them back up to Ginny's eyes. Ginny was looking at her curiously now, head tipped slightly to the side, clearing having clocked Hermione's glance at her lips. Ginny's curious expression slowly changed as her lips slightly pulled into that classic Ginny crooked smile that Hermione couldn't help but adore. Hermione couldn't help it. Ginny was so thoughtful, so kind, so close to her right now. And as much as she hated to admit it, Hermione was beginning to think that she'd need to eventually acknowledge her struggles with impulse control.

Before she could stop herself, Hermione leaned in towards Ginny's lips. As suddenly as she leaned in, she leaned back away from Ginny, her eyes wide with horror at what she'd just done. She got up from the log hastily, tripping over a rock as she tried to create distance between herself and Ginny. Fortunately, and unfortunately for her, Ginny caught her before she fell.

"Hermione, what – "

"I'm so sorry Ginny. I have no idea what just came over me. I think I just haven't been dealing with the distance between myself and Juliette very well, and I'm overwhelmed with school and Prefect duties, and you're being so kind and supportive and I just – I don't know what I was doing or thinking. I'm so sorry, Ginny. I just miss Juliette," Hermione half-lied as quickly as she could.

Ginny didn't move her hands from Hermione's waist where she caught her from falling. She was frozen, looking like she was desperately trying to figure out why Hermione had done what she did, trying to decipher the truth.

"Hermione, do you fancy me?"