Chapter Five: The Lighting of the Ginny Candle

Hermione POV

*Knock, knock, knock*

Hermione glanced around her cottage one last time before she lit the red candle in her sitting room and made her way towards the front door. She opened it to reveal a tall, handsome man – her current boyfriend, Edward.

"May I come in?" he asked a bit sardonically, looking her up and down. He always did that, and it wasn't nearly as charming to Hermione as he probably thought it was.

"Of course. I invited you, didn't I?"

Edward rolled his eyes and walked past her into the cottage, heading into the sitting room. Hermione followed him, and saw that he was looking at the framed photos on the windowsill.

"No photos of the two of us…" he mused under his breath, "But of course, a very cozy one of you and Ginny Weasley, the best Quidditch player to have ever existed…"

Hermione bristled at this.

"There are also two other photos that she's not in… Besides, she's an old friend, Edward, why wouldn't I have a picture with her in my home?"

"Yeah… Friend…" he muttered, turning to face Hermione, "So, you said you wanted to talk?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you for coming out here, I – "

"You know, I find it oddly fitting that the first time you invite me over to your cottage is to break up with me…" he interrupted, sitting down hard on the sofa. Hermione took a seat in an armchair beside the window.

He wasn't wrong that it was the first time he'd been to her cottage. They'd usually either go out for drinks in Diagon Alley after work or go to his flat in London. The farthest they'd ventured out into the countryside was for apple picking, the catalyst for the current argument they were in. Ever since Hermione had requested they move the original day of their date from Saturday to a weekday to accommodate for her wanting to go to Ginny's Quidditch match, things between the two of them had become incredibly strained.

"That's not why I've asked you here," Hermione said, furrowing her brow.

Edward raised his eyebrows, "Oh? It's not?"

"No. I wanted to talk to you again about your apparent aversion to me spending time with Ginny, and – "

Edward tipped his head back and looked up at the ceiling as he interrupted her again, "For fuck's sake, Hermione, can we not talk about Ginny fucking Weasley for one second?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, clenched her jaw, and crossed her arms, "This is exactly what I'm talking about! What is your problem with her? Besides, you're the one who brought her up just a moment ago!"

Edward shook his head as he continued to stare up at the ceiling, "I should've listened… They all warned me I would never come first…"

"I'm not sure that's accurate…" Hermione muttered under her breath. Edward looked at her with a stony expression.

"I mean, every single bloke you dated before me warned me I'd always be second to Ginny fucking Weasley. I didn't want to believe them, and at first, I thought I was different… Maybe even special enough to keep your attention… But it's clear to me now that I'll never be your priority as long as she's around…" he sneered, rolling his eyes and tipping his head towards the picture of Hermione and Ginny in disgust.

"Just because I don't want to miss out on her Quidditch matches to go apple picking with you? In case you haven't noticed, Edward, her team just took over the top spot in the league with that win, and – "

"I DON'T CARE! I WOULDN'T CARE IF SHE WON THE ENTIRE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP ALL BY HER FUCKING SELF! I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO SHARE MY GIRLFRIEND WITH A WOMAN, ESPECIALLY ONE WHO – " he broke off, glaring at Hermione.

"Especially one who what?" Hermione asked furiously. She was on her feet now, wand pointed directly at him. No way was she going to let a man speak to her like that, especially in her own home.

"Nothing…" he muttered angrily, eyes on her wand.

"Say it… Trust me, Edward, we're done now… Might as well get it all out of your system…" Hermione said, challenging the man.

"Fine…" Edward said, standing up. He was nearly a foot taller than Hermione. He walked over and stood in front of her, towering over her.

"Especially one who shags women… No man should have to share their girlfriend with some filthy dyke Quidditch player…" he spat as angrily as he could, though Hermione could see the fear in his eyes as they were still fixed on her wand.

"Get out of my house," Hermione said as controlled as she could, still letting her fury seep through in how dangerously she spoke, "Now."

"Gladly," Edward said, backing out of the room, not wanting to take his eyes off of Hermione's wand. He slammed the front door hard, and Hermione quickly locked it.

Without even thinking, she was writing three words – "I need you" – on a piece of parchment, rolling it up, and fixing it to Batilda's leg. As her owl flew off, she hoped the message would be received and acted upon quickly.

Hermione walked into the kitchen and began absently rummaging through her fridge, thinking about what Edward had said. All of her former boyfriends had warned him that he wouldn't be prioritized over Ginny… Was this really that big of a deal that it'd been discussed amongst her exes? Or did she just have a knack for picking the most self-absorbed men to date? And how much of this had to do with the fact that Ginny fancied women, seeing as Edward brought it up on his way out? Was this why they had such a problem with her spending time with Ginny? Were they jealous? They all couldn't possibly be that insecure, could they? If that was the reason, it was completely ridiculous. Just because her best friend happens to be a woman who fancies women doesn't mean there's anything going on between the two of them. She'd just have to find a man secure enough to handle that, because she certainly wasn't going to entertain the thought of not prioritizing Ginny over whoever she dated – she was the most important thing in her life.

Hermione shook her head in frustration and looked out her kitchen window into her back garden, and decided to pass the time waiting for a response by working in her produce beds. After a few hours of working out in the crisp, autumn weather, Hermione saw a flash of red hair running along the lane leading to her cottage. She smiled, and hurried inside to find Ginny standing in her entryway, hands on her knees, breathing heavily.

"I – I came as fast as I could…" Ginny managed to get out as she tried to catch her breath, "Almost considered App – Apparating… But figured it wasn't worth my coach k – killing me over…"

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the woman gasping for breath in front of her, completely forgetting that she'd snuck out of her flat a few mornings ago and hadn't spoken to her since. She wrapped her arms around her best friend, holding tight to her, before pulling back a bit.

"Is this really the fitness level of the league's best Chaser…?" Hermione teased as she lifted an eyebrow.

Ginny breathed out a laugh, "Hey! I've been in a d – dead sprint since I got your message… I – " Ginny winced as she took another deep breath, clutching at a stitch in her side.

"Oh, for goodness' sake, Ginny, come sit down!" Hermione said with a small smile, ushering the woman into her sitting room.

Ginny plopped down on the sofa, exactly where Edward had sat nearly an hour prior, and took a few slow and deep breaths as Hermione sat beside her.

"Hey! You're using the Ginny candle!"

Hermione eyed the candle then rolled her eyes at Ginny.

"Oh, come on Hermione, don't pretend you didn't buy it for your first flat because it reminded you of me…" Ginny said, grinning from the vibrant red candle to Hermione. "Admit it, you missed me when I was finishing my last year at Hogwarts."

Hermione just gave Ginny a look. Ginny smiled back sheepishly.

"Alight, alright. So, what's going on? All your message said was 'I need you'..." Ginny asked, concern clear on her face.

"Edward and I just broke up… He left a few hours ago."

"Oh?" Ginny was clearly trying to hide her happiness at hearing this news.

Hermione sighed, "You were right, he was an enormous prat…"

Ginny shrugged and grinned freely now, "I told you."

Hermione nodded and was quiet for a moment before continuing, "It was because and of you and I again… Another man who can't handle our friendship…"

Hermione thought she saw Ginny wince for a moment, but she'd nodded so quickly after to urge Hermione to continue speaking, that she figured she must've just been seeing things.

"I don't understand why no man can see that your friendship is important to me and respect that…" she continued.

Again, Hermione thought she saw another wince from Ginny before the redhead shrugged, "I've told you for years, Hermione, there will never be a man out there that's good enough for you."

Hermione sighed, then began to tear up. Ginny scooched over and put an arm around her.

"Sorry… I just… I don't understand why this has to be so difficult…" Hermione cried as Ginny rubbed her arm.

"What? Breaking up?" Ginny asked.

"Yes… I mean, no… Just… Dating… Falling in love… All of it… It's ridiculously hard…" Hermione sniffed.

"Yeah…" Ginny said softly.

Hermione turned and looked at her, "I just wish there was a man out there that was like you, Ginny. He'd be perfect."

Hermione definitely saw Ginny's face fall at this.

"What?" Hermione asked, using the sleeve of her sweater to dry her tears.

Ginny was looking at her as if she wanted to tell her something, but was struggling to do so.

"Ginny?" Hermione urged, furrowing her brow.

Ginny shook her head and smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "Nothing! Nothing, Hermione, I just… It upsets me to see you so sad. I'm sure you'll find the right bloke eventually," she said, getting up from the couch. "What have you got to eat here?" she asked as she walked down the hallway towards the kitchen.

Hermione looked at the flame of the candle, remembering the moment she decided to buy it. It was to remind her of Ginny, to have a piece of the woman in her new flat in London after she'd left Hogwarts. Hermione listened to Ginny rummaging around in her kitchen. Ginny was the only person she'd allowed to cook in her kitchen, or really ever had over to her cottage, at least for more than a quick, polite visit. Her house felt much more like a home with Ginny in it. When Ginny wasn't there, she wished she was, which is probably why she was so quick to prioritize seeing the woman over spending time with any of her past boyfriends. Was that normal? Did all women feel that way about their female friends in comparison to their boyfriends or husbands?

Hermione frowned as she stared at the red candle, it's flame still vibrant and strong. Had she missed something here? She thought back to all of her break-ups with the various men she'd dated unsuccessfully over the years – every single one had been because she preferred Ginny's company to them, would willingly break a date to see Ginny instead, had prioritized Ginny over them. And just the other night when she'd stayed at Ginny's flat after the Puddlemere match and insisted they share a bed due to the cold, she'd felt so comfortable and safe in Ginny's embrace in her bed… But of course she would, they were best friends. Hermione shook her head, forcing herself to believe that that's all it was, two best friends sharing a bed, sharing a cuddle. Never mind how put off Hermione always was by the hordes of women flocking to get Ginny's autograph after matches, or the fact that yes, Ginny had shagged many, many women. Was it jealousy? It obviously was, but how could it be? Ginny was her best friend and had been for years. She couldn't have possibly missed all of this… Could she? Did she want a man that was just like Ginny, or did she want…

"Ginny?" Hermione called from the sitting room, eyes still locked on the red candle.

"Yeah?" Ginny called back from the kitchen.

"Will you stay over tonight? After the break-up I just… Honestly, I don't want to be alone tonight."

After a brief pause, "Of course I will, Hermione."

Hermione smiled, and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of getting to spend time with the beautiful woman in her kitchen, her best friend.