Chapter 78

Hermione POV

The last day before Christmas holiday seemed to drag on forever. Even though Hermione loved her classes and did thoroughly enjoy them, she was ready for a break. She'd be spending the first part of the holiday with her parents, then a few days after Christmas she'd go to the Burrow until it was time to go back to Hogwarts. She did feel a bit guilty cutting her time with her parents short, but at the same time, she couldn't bear to be away from Ginny for that long.

Once her last class was released, she made her way up to Gryffindor Tower to start getting ready for the Slug Club Christmas party. She and Ginny had decided to surprise each other, and hadn't discussed what their dresses looked like for the night's events. Hermione had landed on a pink sleeveless dress the fit tightly to her up top and plunged a bit in the front – not too tight, and not too plunging, but enough. As she was finishing her final touches and clasped her gold G bracelet onto her wrist, Lavender and Parvati entered the dormitory.

"Wow Hermione, you look gorgeous!" Parvati exclaimed, giving her a genuine smile.

"You really do, Hermione. Who knew you had those underneath the frumpy sweaters you always wear?" Lavender stated, referring to Hermione's chest.

Hermione gave her an unimpressed glare, then blushed and couldn't help but smile a little at the statement, knowing exactly who did know about them.

"Oh my god, you're blushing! Have you and Ginny – " Lavender started.

"Not that it's any of your business, or Ron's, for that matter, but no, we haven't," Hermione interrupted calmly, touching up her hair one last time in the mirror.

"But she's seen your boobs."

"Have a good night!" Hermione said quickly as she exited the dormitory.

As she walked down the hall, she noted that the fifth year dormitory door was still shut, and wondered if Ginny and Demelza were still getting ready. She continued down to the common room, not wanting to interrupt and distract them if they were in fact still getting ready. Once she descended the stairs, she spotted Katie and Neville, talking by the lit fireplace.

Neville looked very smart in his dress robes, mostly black with a few detailed lines of red and gold running through them. Katie looked beautiful. Her hair was intricately plaited on top, while the rest fell loosely over one shoulder in dark waves. She wore a simple silver dress, just tight enough to show off the figure that she too had been hiding under the school uniform and Quidditch robes. Hermione somehow always forgot how strong Quidditch players were, even though she'd dated two girls who'd been very lean and muscular due to the demands of the sport. Both Neville and Katie turned and smiled at Hermione as she walked towards them.

"You look great!" Neville exclaimed.

"You do too Neville, I love your dress robes! Very nice touch here," Hermione said, pointing out the red and gold threads as he blushed.

"You look great too, Katie," Hermione said, turning to her.

Katie nodded, "You as well. Did you see the girls at all when you passed by their dormitory? Are they still getting ready?"

"We're almost ready, keep your pants on!" Ginny shouted as she came thundering down the staircase. "Demelza's still working on her bloody hair. Will you go and help her?" she asked Katie, who obliged and headed back up the stairs. "Hi," she said as she turned to Hermione, quickly running a hand through her long red hair.

Hermione was at a loss for words. Ginny looked absolutely stunning, and of course, effortlessly so. She was wearing a deep green, sleeveless dress, so dark it almost looked black, that seemed to accentuate every bit of Ginny's lean, muscular body. It wasn't cut as low in the front as Hermione's, but it was still cut lower than the dress she'd worn to the Yule Ball, and it was certainly shorter. The gold necklace with the G was around her neck, the G laying against her freckled chest, teasing Hermione as she suddenly felt the urge to kiss it.

"So, what do you think? Will this be good enough for the party? Think 'ol Slughorn will approve?" Ginny asked, a smile in both her voice and her eyes as she looked at Hermione.

Hermione simply nodded.

Ginny chuckled lightly, "Do you approve, Hermione?"

Again, she could only nod.

"You look incredible, Hermione. No one in the room will compare to you," Ginny said softly as she planted a kiss on Hermione's cheek. Hermione smiled back, still unable to form words.

Neville blushed at this interaction, and pretended to be interested in the mantle of the fireplace.

"Alright, ready!" Katie called as they descended the stairs, her hand in Demelza's.

Demelza was wearing the same black dress she'd worn to the Yule Ball, as she really hadn't grown much since then. Hermione noted how the black dress made the girl's grey eyes stand out, and smiled – everyone looked so nice. She took Ginny's hand in hers, and they followed Katie, Demelza, and Neville through the portrait hole.

"You look incredible too, Ginny…" Hermione finally managed to say as they made their way into the corridor from the portrait hole.

"I gathered that from rendering you speechless," Ginny said with a grin, "But thank you. I figured you'd appreciate this dress. It zips in the back, in case you were wondering…"

Hermione looked up at Ginny in shock and Ginny gave her a wink along with her adorable crooked smile. Hermione shook her head and smiled, all the while wondering how long the party would last and when they'd be able to slip away without Professor Slughorn noticing.

On the way to Professor Slughorn's office, they picked up Luna, who was donning quite an interesting, multi-tiered sparkly dress, that Neville apparently loved.

"Good evening, Luna, you look beautiful!" he said as he offered his arm to her.

"Good evening, Neville, so do you," she said, smiling up at the boy.

Neville blushed at this, and Hermione, Katie, Ginny, and Demelza all exchanged glances and smiled at how cute they were.

Once they arrived at the party, it appeared that they were the last guests to arrive. At least, the last of the Slug Club members to arrive. Malfoy and Zabini were off in the corner with their dates, Slytherin girls in their year. McLaggen was already making the rounds of the appetizers while his date, a girl Hermione did not recognize, followed him around like a puppy. Yes, McLaggen was conventionally attractive, but it couldn't possibly outweigh how ugly he was on the inside, and Hermione was shocked he'd actually managed to find a date. As their group entered, the entire room looked over, and McLaggen flashed his nauseating, slimy grin at them. Hermione felt Ginny's grip on her hand tighten. She squeezed back and gave Ginny a reassuring look to tell her that she was okay.

"Ah, Miss Granger, Miss Bell, and Mr. Longbottom! I see you've finally arrived with your lovely dates, excellent!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed, welcoming them to the party. "What would you like for drinks?"

Once they were settled in with their beverages of choice, they began mingling with Professor Slughorn's guests. Luna dragged Neville off to talk to someone she thought was a vampire off in the corner, while Hermione spoke to one of Professor Slughorn's connections at the Ministry of Magic. Katie, Ginny, and Demelza stayed in a group of three, surveying the appetizers. Suddenly, Hermione heard Professor Slughorn's voice over the crowd of conversations.

"Miss Jones, Miss Morgan, welcome!"

Standing in the doorway of Professor Slughorn's office were two women. One was tall, with beautiful dark skin and multiple long dark braids falling over her broad shoulders. She was incredibly intimidating, but alluring as well. She was holding the hand of the other woman. She had brilliant green eyes that Hermione noted rivaled Harry's, and long brunette hair that fell in waves over one shoulder. While she was smaller than the first woman, she still looked strong, with that lean and muscular build that Hermione had started to associate with Chasers.

Hermione looked over at Ginny, Katie, and Demelza, and saw that they all looked completely starstruck. Hermione excused herself from talking to the Ministry wizard and walked over to the group of three, grabbing Ginny's hand.

"Why don't you go introduce yourself?" she asked Ginny.

"I – That's – I can't… That's Gwenog Jones and Valmai Morgan! I can't…" Ginny said, shaking her head vehemently.

"They're just people…" Hermione reminded her, trying to look to Demelza and Katie for help, but quickly realizing they wouldn't be of any help.

"Oh honestly…" Hermione sighed, before letting go of Ginny's hand and walking over to where Professor Slughorn was talking to the two Harpies players.

"Hermione!" Ginny hissed as she walked away.

"Hello Miss Granger," Professor Slughorn warmly acknowledged Hermione as she walked up, albeit with a little bit of surprise and confusion in his voice as again, people rarely associated Hermione with anything to do with Quidditch.

She nodded politely at Professor Slughorn before reaching out her hand to Gwenog Jones, "I'm Hermione Granger."

Gwenog Jones looked at her with deep, dark eyes, seemingly trying to read her, "Hello Hermione, I'm Gwenog Jones. This is my partner, Valmai Morgan," she said, motioning to the woman beside her.

"Hello. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you," Hermione said politely as she shook Valmai's hand and smiled at the two women before her.

"Are you a Quidditch fan?" Valmai asked kindly.

"Er, yes, somewhat."

"Somewhat?" Gwenog questioned with a frown.

"My girlfriend and friends play, so I feel as if I can't really call myself a proper fan when I've got their Quidditch obsessed brains to compete with," Hermione explained.

"Ah, I see. Which one of those three is your girlfriend, then?" Gwenog asked, peering over the top of Hermione's head at the trio still standing near the food table staring over at them.

Hermione turned and smiled as she saw Ginny wave nervously, "The redhead in the green dress, Ginny Weasley. The other two are her teammates. They all play for our house team, they're Chasers."

"A team with three female Chasers? We love to hear that, don't we Gwenog?" Valmai smiled.

"Why are you introducing yourself to us if you are not a Quidditch fan?" Gwenog asked, still looking as if she was trying to read Hermione.

"My girlfriend Ginny is a huge fan of both of you, and was too nervous to come introduce herself. So, I figured I'd get the ball rolling because I'm not going to let her miss out on this opportunity."

Gwenog raised her eyebrows and finally cracked a small smile, "What a good girlfriend. Go get them."

Hermione returned the smile and walked over to the group of girls, "Come on, they want to meet you."

"What? They want to meet us?" Ginny asked disbelievingly.

Hermione nodded and wove her fingers between Ginny's, taking her hand and pulling her over to the two Harpies players. Demelza and Katie followed behind.

"This is Ginny Weasley, Katie Bell, and Demelza Robins. Three Chasers for what will surely be the Quidditch House Cup winning Gryffindor team this year," Hermione said with a smile.

All three girls turned red, but Ginny was able to muster the courage to step forward and reach out a hand to Gwenog Jones.

"I – I'm Ginny Weasley," she said as calmly as she could as Gwenog took her hand and shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ginny Weasley. I'm Gwenog Jones," Gwenog replied, Hermione noticing a slight twinkle of amusement in the woman's dark eyes.

"I – I know who you are," Ginny said, blushing deeply. "I mean, it's nice to meet you."

Gwenog laughed lightly, then turned to introduce herself to Katie and Demelza as Ginny turned to introduce herself to Valmai as well.

"So, the three of you are the Chasers for your house team?" Valmai asked with a smile. All three nodded. "Very impressive! We obviously love when female Quidditch players excel at their craft. Did any of you catch the Quidditch World Cup a few years back?"

Ginny shyly raised her hand, looking over at Hermione who gave her a supportive smile.

"What did you think of the female Quidditch players who got to compete in the final?" Gwenog asked.

"Oh, Mullet and Moran were quite incredible, and the two of them working with Troy was inspiring to watch! A friend of mine bought me a pair of Omnioculars for the match, so I could really see the intricate depth of how the three worked off of one another. I also have to give credit to Ivanova, who clearly had an uphill battle from the beginning, having to compete against Ireland."

Hermione looked at the two professional Quidditch players as they listened intently to Ginny as she gave her thoughts on the Quidditch World Cup, and couldn't help but feel proud. Ginny really did take Quidditch so seriously, to the point of studying it, and Hermione could feel her love for the girl grow as she continued talking about the sport.

"What did you think of the other teams? Any thoughts on the French, and their fearless leader Josephine Marat?"

Suddenly, Ginny's face went a bit blank in shock.

"I – I really didn't follow France much, but I have heard about Josephine Marat. I've heard she's very skilled."

Gwenog nodded, "And she's got a sister that's even better, she must be right around your age, Juliette Marat."

Hermione watched as Ginny's face drained of color, and wondered if she'd say she knew Juliette. Hermione, meanwhile, had begun to feel a little sick at the thought of the girl.

"We had been in contact with her for quite some time, starting when she was first in consideration for a spot on the French National team for the Quidditch World Cup. Can you imagine, playing for your country at 14 years old?" Valmai said with a light laugh.

Ginny shook her head silently in response, as Katie and Demelza looked from Ginny to Hermione, then back to Gwenog and Valmai as they continued talking. Hermione just watched and listened as two professional Quidditch players unknowingly discussed her ex-girlfriend so casually right in front of her.

"Right, but about a year ago she let us know that she was no longer considering Holyhead as an option for her to land after she finished up school at Beauxbatons," Gwenog said, shaking her head in frustration and disappointment. "At first, we assumed the Quafflepunchers had offered her more to sign with them, so we upped our offer. After she declined again, she let us know it had something to do with our future prospects," Gwenog shrugged dismissively, "Not sure how she can be so sure of who our future prospects are, but she was adamant she wanted no part of the Harpies moving forward."

Hermione quickly looked at Ginny, who was already looking at her.

"Sorry, we don't mean to bore you with the logistics of the Harpies recruiting woes, this is a party! Which of you are members of the uber-exclusive Slug Club that my Gwenog here was a part of while she was in school?" she asked, shooting a teasing glance up at the taller witch.

Hermione and Katie raised their hands.

"Ah, and why were you two chosen for the club?" Gwenog asked, looking at Katie. "Quidditch?" Katie nodded.

"I do well in my classes," Hermione said nonchalantly.

"You do well in your classes? No, Hermione's a part of the club because she's the brightest witch in the whole school, as a sixth year student. She got 10 O.W.L.s last year!" Ginny spoke up.

Hermione blushed, but gave Ginny a small smile. Everyone was smiling at the two girls.

Gwenog nodded, "I was selected for both my skills on the Quidditch pitch and in the classroom. Both are important, mind you," she said, looking at the three Gryffindor Quidditch players.

"So, you two are dating," Valmai said, looking at Hermione and Ginny. "And you brought your teammate to the party?" she asked Katie.

Katie blushed, "Uh, no. We're – We're also dating," she said a bit nervously, taking Demelza's hand.

Gwenog and Valmai smiled at each other before turning to the girls, "It's great that you've all accepted and embraced who are you at such a young age. It certainly wasn't something I would've been doing in my years at Hogwarts," Gwenog said.

"Nor during mine, which started the year this one started playing for the Harpies, isn't that right?" Valmai teased, grinning up at Gwenog.

Gwenog scowled, but Hermione could see there was a smile beneath it, "Yes, we're all quite aware that you're a bit younger than I am…"

"And from the moment I joined the Harpies a few years into my career, you couldn't keep those old eyes off of me, could you?"

Gwenog rolled her eyes playfully as the four girls giggled, "You replaced a Chaser that had betrayed us for more money elsewhere and immediately started lighting up the league, how could I not notice you?" she said before turning to the girls, "For the record, there's only a seven year age gap between us. I'm not that much older than her…"

"See Hermione? I told you two years was nothing to worry about!" Ginny exclaimed, to the laughter of the group.

Even though Hermione blushed lightly at Ginny's comment, she was still so proud of how Ginny was coming out of her shell and talking to her idol. That natural charm that she had was beginning to shine through, and it just left like Ginny really could do this for a career, if her skills were up to par.

"Well, we should probably go socialize with the other guests, but it was a pleasure meeting the four of you," Valmai said, taking Gwenog's hand.

"Yes, rest-assured, we'll be keeping in touch with Horace on how the rest of the season goes for the three of you. Three female Chasers is surely something to keep an eye on and celebrate," Gwenog added before the two walked away.

The four girls stood there for a moment, Katie, Demelza, and Ginny reverting back to a minor state of shock while Hermione smiled at Ginny.

"I hope I made a good impression!" Ginny exclaimed, a tinge of worry in her voice.

"I think you did," Hermione reassured her, "How about we go get some food?"

Ginny POV

Even after they ate and met loads more of Slughorn's guests, Ginny couldn't stop thinking about the fact that she'd just met Gwenog Jones and Valmai Morgan and had talked to them for quite some time. Hermione had assured her that she'd made a good impression, and she really hoped that was true.

As Hermione was enthralled in a conversation with a Ministry witch who didn't quite understand Hermione's concern for the well-being of house elves, Ginny excused herself to go talk to Demelza, as Katie too was preoccupied with one of Slughorn's other guests.

"Think next year this will be us?" Ginny asked casually, sipping her Gillywater.

"It'll definitely be you, but I don't believe I'll be a part of the Slug Club."

Ginny furrowed her brow, "Why not?"

"Ginny, I know we're friends, but be realistic. I'm decent at everything, but I'm not outstanding at anything. Katie's been starting for the Gryffindor Quidditch team since she was a second year, that's practically unheard of. Hermione's a literal genius, and you – "

Ginny raised her eyebrows as Demelza's paused.

"You might just be the best Chaser Gryffindor will ever have…" Demelza said softly, "You're incredible Ginny. You will surely go on to play professionally, so someone like you will certainly be in the Slug Club. I don't think Slughorn will think twice about me, and that's fine. Honestly, I don't want to do anything special after school. I just want to go back to Herefordshire and live close to my dad."

"You don't wat to go on and play Quidditch?"

Demelza shook her head, "I think watching you and Katie play professionally will give me my fill," she said with a smile.

"Well, what would you want to do after Hogwarts, as a job then?"

"I've actually been thinking about becoming a Healer…"

"Oh yeah? What's got you interested in that?"

Before Demelza could answer, both Katie and Hermione walked over to them as the party began to wind down.

"Ready?" Katie asked, offering her hand to Demelza.

Demelza nodded, "Goodnight you two."

"What? Aren't you heading back to the common room?"

"Um, I've asked Katie for some last-minute O.W.L. help before the Christmas holiday starts tomorrow," Demelza said, blushing as Katie grinned and pulled her through Slughorn's office door and out into the corridor.

Ginny looked at Hermione and laughed, seeing the stunned look on the older girl's face. She offered Hermione her hand, "Fancy a study session?"

Hermione gave her a disapproving look, but then relented and smiled as she took Ginny's hand and followed her out of Slughorn's office, intent on finding an empty classroom.

Once they were behind a closed and charmed door, Ginny slumped into a chair, quickly followed by Hermione, who sat on her lap.

"So? What did you think of the Slug Club Christmas party?" Ginny asked.

"I thought it was fine. Plenty of opportunities for networking, everything I would've expected based on how the Slub Club meetings have gone so far. More importantly, what did you think? How do you feel having met your idol?"

"Oh, I still can't even believe that I met and talked to Gwenog Jones! And Valmai Morgan as well! I made them laugh, Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, beaming up at Hermione.

Hermione smiled down at her, "Yes, the Ginny Weasley charm certainly was on full display this evening. I'm glad you got yourself out of your shell, you were so nervous!"

"Yeah, I was. Thank you for introducing yourself and making that happen for me. I really appreciate it, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, placing a kiss on Ginny's cheek.

"Um, interesting what they said about Juliette, eh?"

"Mmhmm."

"Why do you think she cut ties with Holyhead? Do you… Do you think I'm the future prospect?"

"I do, yes…"

"Why wouldn't she want to be on the same team as me?"

Hermione paused, "When Juliette and I broke up, it was because I had feelings for you that I just… Wasn't willing to fight. She knew this. Now, I haven't spoken to her since then, so for all she knows we could've not gotten together at all, but my guess is that you would remind her of me too much…"

"Was she angry, when you broke up?"

Hermione shook her head, "No Ginny, she was sad. We both were. It'd been my first relationship, and there were real feelings involved. She said she was interested in possibly being friends, but that it would need to be on her timeline. I haven't heard from her in over a year though, so…" Hermione shrugged.

Ginny studied Hermione's face. She'd applied a bit more makeup tonight than she typically did, and had done it expertly, as her brown eyes sparkled as she looked into Ginny's eyes. Though, Ginny wasn't sure if Hermione's eyes were sparkling due to her makeup, or because of the tears that had suddenly formed in the older girl's eyes.

"Sorry…" Hermione said softly, wiping her tears away.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for, Hermione. I know that your relationship with Juliette was special. You loved her, I know that. I'm sorry that she hasn't reached out to you…"

Hermione gave her a look as if she didn't quite believe Ginny's sentiments.

"Okay, I mean I'm not too upset that she hasn't contacted you, but I am sorry that you're sad about it. I know she was good to you, and she was helpful to me too with Quidditch. Obviously I trust you and know we have a strong relationship, but I'd be hard pressed to not be a little hesitant for you to be friends with your ex who just so happens to be perfect…"

Hermione was still looking at her, but her eyebrows had furrowed together and she looked displeased.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny Weasley, we've discussed this. We don't compare ourselves or our relationship to others."

"Yeah, I know that Hermione, but – "

"There are no buts. Besides, Juliette and I discussed that very thing the last time we spoke. That she was perfect and that we were perfect together…"

Ginny felt as if a Bludger had just hit her directly in the stomach, and looked away.

"But that she wasn't you, and that you were perfect for me…"

Ginny looked back at her, and saw that Hermione was looking at her with a serious and blazing look.

"I chose you, Ginny. I would choose you every time, without a hesitation. I love you so much, please, never doubt that."

Ginny nodded and Hermione put her hand on her cheek, pulling her into a kiss. It started slow and gentle, but began to build. Ginny had one hand on Hermione's hip and the other on top of her legs, while Hermione's were in Ginny's hair now. As Ginny deepened the kiss, she felt Hermione's hands move from her hair to her hands as she pulled them back around her to the zipper of her dress. Instead of unzipping the dress, Ginny scooped Hermione up into her arms and stood up, holding her close.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, shock evident on her face as she looked up at her.

Ginny chuckled, "With practices twice a day, what did you expect? Surely you've noticed I've gotten stronger."

"I mean, yes, but I didn't know you were this strong…" Hermione said, clearly in awe of Ginny.

Ginny grinned, "Look… While I would love nothing more than to see you out of that dress, I think we should call it a night. It's late, and we've got to catch the train in the morning. Believe me when I say, though, that I'll be keeping this moment in my thoughts for when we're apart over the holiday break…"

Hermione blushed and smiled, "Me too. It'll be nice seeing my parents, but I can't wait to be back at the Burrow with you."

"Our first Christmas together. Well, sort of…" Ginny smiled, leaning her head forward for one last kiss before setting Hermione down.

"Alright, shall we?" Ginny asked, offering her hand to Hermione.

"Yes, let's go," Hermione answered, taking Ginny's hand and following her back to Gryffindor Tower.