The knock on her door sounded just as she was getting ready to settle into bed. "Come in!" she called out, expecting it to be Mrs. Weasley with some last-minute details about the travel arrangements for tomorrow. Since it was her and Ginny's last year at Hogwarts and Ron and Harry were leaving for Auror training, Mrs. Weasley had wanted them all to have one last ride to the train station together. Harry and Ron would join and then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would drop them off at their destination after.
It wasn't Mrs. Weasley that stepped through the door, though. It was her daughter. Ginny stood there in the open doorway, looking dejected and scared to actually cross the threshold. "Are you sure you want me to come in?" she asked.
Hermione crossed the room and pulled the younger girl inside before closing the door behind her, "What a silly question."
Ginny shrugged, "Not really. You seemed awfully quick to escape me earlier."
She placed her hands on her hips defiantly, "You were the one who pulled away from me the second I admitted my feelings for you. Was I supposed to stick around for more? I think I pretty much know how the rest of the conversation was going to go."
"Oh yeah? How's that?" Ginny crossed her arms over her chest, her lips forming something akin to a snarl.
Hermione clasped her hands together and held them against her chest in mock innocence, "'Oh, Hermione, I'm so sorry. I love Harry and could never have feelings for you beyond friendship."
The taller red head stomped her foot, "I don't sound like that, and that's not what I would have said!"
"Spare me, please," Hermione huffed. "Just tell me the kiss was a mistake, and we'll get on with our lives."
"But it wasn't!" Ginny shouted before lowering her voice, "If you would just let me talk, you'd know that."
Hermione froze. Ginny didn't think the kiss was a mistake? She couldn't let herself hope that Harry may have been right. That was a sure-fire way to getting her heart stomped on, so she just crossed her arms to mirror Ginny's stance and nodded for her to continue.
Ginny took a deep breath before running her hands through her hair. She let her arms fall to her sides and took a step closer to Hermione, reaching out so she had a hand on each of Hermione's biceps, "The kiss wasn't a mistake, Hermione. Of course it wasn't. The mistake was how I went about it." She stepped in even closer, and her hands slid around to Hermione's back. Hermione was still frozen, willing herself to breathe.
"I never should have pretended that it didn't mean anything, that I was doing it for your benefit," Ginny continued. She was so close to Hermione now, their noses were touching, and she could feel Ginny's breath on her lips. "It was selfish. I kissed you because I wanted to. Because the thought of you kissing any other girl made my insides boil," her lips brushed against Hermione's as she said the words. "I thought about you being in that bar with women hanging all over you, and I lost my senses."
Before Hermione could respond, Ginny's mouth was on hers. She uncurled her arms and reached up to grip the front of Ginny's shirt with her fists. Ginny's fingers were digging into Hermione's back, not unpleasantly, as the kiss turned desperate. Hermione's hands slid up and around the back of Ginny's neck, pulling the taller girl's mouth tighter into hers. Their lips parted almost simultaneously, and both girls groaned as their tongues met. Ginny's hands tightened around Hermione as she started moving them towards the bed.
"Wait," Hermione pulled back and put her hands against Ginny's chest to push her away. Ginny's lips were swollen as she dropped her arms to her side, her eyes had darkened a whole shade. Hermione's skin prickled with heat, but she took a step back. "We can't do this."
Ginny let out another breathy laugh, "I thought you'd say that."
"Harry's my best friend," Hermione whispered.
Ginny reached up and caressed her cheek, "I know."
"You're not going to break up with him, are you?" Hermione's eyes fell to the floor, already knowing the answer.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. I just. . .can't," she could hear the pain in Ginny's voice as she said it, but she still couldn't look up to meet her eyes. Ginny stepped forward and kissed her on her forehead before turning to leave the room.
When she could no longer hear Ginny's footsteps, Hermione crawled under her covers. As she pulled them up under her chin, the tears started to fall. She stayed that way until she finally drifted off to sleep.