Chapter 4

Ginny POV

Ginny had only been asleep for a few hours when she was woken by a gentle tapping on her shoulder.

"Ginny… We've got to get up…" Hermione whispered.

Ginny rolled over and rubbed her eyes before slowly opening them to find Hermione standing over her.

"Is it really morning already?" Ginny asked sleepily as she stretched her arms out over her head. She felt like she had just fallen asleep and wanted nothing more but to fall back asleep, until she remembered why Hermione was waking her up so early. "The Quidditch World Cup! It's today!" Ginny bolted out of the cot and rushed over to the trunk at the end of her bed to pull out clothes for the day, causing Hermione to laugh.

"I'll leave you to get ready. I'm guessing Harry's not having the easiest time getting Ron out of bed, and I'm sure I could be of some help in that department," Hermione said, still chuckling a little as she left the room.

Ginny pulled her Gwenog Jones jersey up over her head and threw on a pair of jeans. She knew Gwenog Jones wouldn't be competing at the Quidditch World Cup, but it was by far her favorite piece of Quidditch apparel, and she figured if she just so happened to run into her favorite Quidditch player that just maybe she'd be willing to sign the jersey. Ginny grabbed a plain jumper as well and threw that over the jersey. She quickly packed her overnight bag, scanned her room for anything she may have forgotten, and headed downstairs to the kitchen. The twins were seated at the kitchen table, along with her dad. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were nowhere to be found.

"Where's Percy, Charlie, and Bill?" Ginny asked.

"They'll be Apparating. And before you even ask, no, Fred and George, you're not allowed to Apparate. You will be traveling with us," Mr. Weasley said, shooting the twins a stern look. The boys grumbled a little at this, but didn't put up much of a fuss otherwise.

Harry and Hermione entered the kitchen, followed by a very disheveled Ron. At their arrival, everyone at the table stood, and the whole group followed Mr. Weasley out the back door. They walked out into the garden, through the hedges, up over the hills, and past the orchard. They continued walking… And walking… And walking… Ginny was fine. She'd been trying to get into the best shape she could over the summer as she knew it would help her Quidditch-playing ability. Some of the others, Ron and Hermione in particular, didn't seem to be coping with the length of the walk very well. Ginny, who had been in the back of the group, jogged a few steps to catch up to Hermione.

"Give me your bag," Ginny instructed Hermione as she walked alongside her.

"What?" asked a bewildered Hermione. Ginny could hear that the older girl was struggling to catch her breath as they continued up a particularly steep hill.

"Give me your bag," Ginny repeated. "You'll be better off without it, and for me it really isn't a problem at all." Ginny smirked as she said the phrase she and Hermione had been swapping back and forth over the past few days. Hermione rolled her eyes lightly, but reluctantly allowed Ginny to take her bag off of her. Ginny barely noticed any difference as she began walking with the two bags, and Hermione seemed to breathe easier at this. The two walked side by side for the duration of the trip.

"Good morning, Amos!" Mr. Weasley cheerfully greeted a man just around his age as they entered a small clearing at the top of the last and tallest hill they climbed on their journey.

"Good morning, Arthur, nice to see you all!" Mr. Diggory smiled at the group as they arrived. "I know that most of you know my son Cedric." A tall, handsome boy stepped out from behind Mr. Diggory.

"Good morning, Fred, George, Harry," Cedric acknowledged the three that he knew from competing against them in Quidditch as he was a Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. He then turned to Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. "We haven't officially met, I'm Cedric." He proceeded to shake each of their hands.

Although Cedric was on an opposing school team, Ginny had always thought highly of him based on his Quidditch ability and how he carried himself both on and off the pitch. He appeared to be humble and modest, especially given his good looks paired with his athletic and academic abilities. While it was obvious that he was handsome, and the majority of the girls at Hogwarts were obsessed with him, Ginny never quite understood what all the fuss was about beyond him being a good Quidditch player and a decent human being.

"Alright then, are we all ready?" Mr. Diggory asked the group.

"Uh, ready for what?" Harry asked, looking around for any clue as to what they should be getting ready for.

"We'll be traveling by Portkey this morning, Harry. And that right there is our Portkey." Mr. Weasley answered while pointing to an old, unassuming boot that was sitting off to the side in a patch of long grass. "Everyone grab hold in three, two, one, now!"

One moment, everyone in the group was grabbing onto the boot, then the next they were suddenly slamming into the ground in a completely different location. Ginny bounced up before anyone else, looked around, and smiled – they were at the Quidditch World Cup. She looked down and saw Hermione struggling to get up, but before she could move to help her, Cedric beat her to it and was helping the older girl up by hand.

"Th – Thank you, Cedric," Hermione stammered, seemingly jarred from the hard landing.

"Not a problem – traveling by Portkey is never fun. Are you alright?" he asked kindly.

"She's fine, Hufflepuff!" Fred hollered as he got to his feet. "Our Hermione is tougher than she looks."

Cedric smiled from Fred to Hermione. "I didn't mean to imply that she wasn't tough. I just know how I felt after the first time I took a Portkey.I threw up," he whispered the last part so only Ginny and Hermione could hear him, and they laughed in response. He gave the girls a friendly wink and then jogged away to catch up to his father. The girls looked at each other and laughed again, and then caught up with the rest of the group as Mr. Weasley was already up and moving away from where they had landed.

After checking in with the Muggle in charge of the campsites, whom Mr. Weasley found to be wildly fascinating, and hiking out to their location, they set up two tents. There was one larger tent for Mr. Weasley and the boys, and a smaller one for the girls. Ginny and Hermione set their tent up pretty quickly, and then helped the struggling boys with theirs. Once both tents were up and bags were stored within the respective tents, the group was raring to go out and explore.

"I'll stay here and wait for Bill, Percy, and Charlie to arrive," Mr. Weasley said. He was visibly exhausted from the journey, and looked as if he might take in a nap while the kids were away.

"We'll see you later, Dad!" George exclaimed, and the group of six set off to take in the sites of the Quidditch World Cup.

Fred and George quickly split from the group and set off on their own, leaving Ginny with the trio. They chattered excitedly as they passed campsite after campsite, witnessing all sorts of different wizarding cultures. Sites seemed to be grouped by country, as colors of tents, flags, and supporters clothing were blocked primarily together. The four stopped at a vendor surrounded by a sea of pale blue, and Harry bought each of them a pair of magical binoculars called Omnioculars.

"Harry, this is too much. I don't need one," Ginny objected as Harry went to hand her a pair of Omnioculars.

"Consider it a late birthday present. Besides, I think it'll be good for you to have for tonight – help you prepare for the upcoming tryouts." Harry smiled warmly as she reluctantly took the Omnioculars he was gently pushing into her hands.

"Thanks Harry." She smiled back at him.

"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed from behind them. They turned and saw that he was looking through his Omnioculars over at one of the largest cluster of tents, all draped in red and black – the Bulgarian campsites. "Who are they?"

"I believe those are the Bulgarian fans. Can't you tell by their flags and the colors?" Hermione answered.

"Of course I know that!" Ron snapped. "But who – who are they?"

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione looked over to where Ron was staring and spotted a small group of women that were surrounded by many, many men. The women had long white blonde hair, very fair skin that almost seemed to sparkle, and were strikingly, almost blindingly, beautiful. Ron was stumbling towards them, Omnioculars still plastered to his face, and Harry had to grab and hold him back so they wouldn't lose him to the rapidly growing swarm of men.

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, puzzled. These women were obviously beautiful, but this seemed to be a bit of an overreaction, even for Ron. Harry was currently wrestling with him, trying to keep him with the group, when Ginny held up her Omnioculars to take a look. As soon as she did, she immediately understood Ron's odd behavior. As she stood stunned, with her gaze transfixed on the beautiful women, she felt a warmness surge throughout her body that she'd never felt before. She needed to get closer to them, needed to impress them,needed them. Just like Ron had attempted, Ginny started to walk, still looking through her Omnioculars, towards the now raging crowd surrounding the women.

"Ginny!" Hermione yelled in shock as she threw her arms around Ginny's waist, trying to hold her back. Ginny kept driving her legs forward, knowing full well that Hermione's strength would be no match for hers. "Harry, help me!" Hermione cried.

"I can't, Ron will get away if I let him up!" Harry had pinned Ron to the ground at this point, and was struggling to keep the taller boy from getting away.

Ginny held the Omnioculars up with one hand and reached down with the other to try and pry Hermione's fingers off of her waist. Hermione was scrappier than she thought she'd be, but Ginny knew she could get away with a little persistence. She had to get away,she had to get to these women.

"Ginny please!" Hermione cried out desperately as she struggled to keep her grip on the younger girl. "You could get hurt!"

It was then that Ginny felt Hermione's fingers slip away, and she thought she was finally free. She took a few quick, strong steps forward to break into a run when she was hit by a very solid, yet slender figure that was tackling her to the ground. She could feel whoever it was trying to wrestle the Omnioculars from her tight grip.

"No! I'm fine, no!" Ginny argued as she tried to resist whoever was on top of her while keeping her eyes on the beautiful women in the crowd.

The stranger chuckled femininely, then spoke softly and confidently with a French accent. "I do not zink you are fine, little one."

As the Omnioculars were finally ripped from Ginny's hand, she immediately closed her eyes, shielding them from the bright sun above her. Once her focus on the group of women had finally been broken, reality came flooding back to her, and as the surge of warmth disappeared, she could feel her body again and was much more aware of her surroundings. Ginny was on her back, pinned to the ground, being straddled by a stranger. Her eyes flew open, and again, she was stunned. The girl who had tackled her was stunning. She had silky dark hair that was draped over one shoulder, so long that it was nearly tickling Ginny's cheek. She had olive skin, a small collection of freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose, and hazel eyes with flecks of gold and green swimming in them. Ginny stared up into her face, mouth slightly agape, completely taken aback by how attractive the girl above her was. The girl looked back at her with a look of smug satisfaction.

"Feel better now, little one?" The stranger smirked. "Feel a little bit more in control?"

"Uh – N-No… I mean yes… I – I mean…" Ginny stammered, her brain seemingly frozen by her current position. The girl's smirk grew.

"Thank you so much, I thought I was going to lose her!" A frazzled Hermione had suddenly appeared in Ginny's sightline and was emphatically thanking the girl who still had Ginny pinned firmly to the ground.

"You are very welcome. It 'as been 'appening a lot today, mostly with ze men and ze boys, which 'as beenveryentertaining." The girl laughed. "But I could not bear to let zis little one get swept up in ze mob. I'm Juliette." The girl extended her right hand out to Hermione as she introduced herself, still pinning Ginny to the ground with her legs and left hand.

"Hermione." She shook Juliette's hand. "Thank you again for helping her."

"Um, excuse me? Can you get off of me?" Ginny asked irritably as she leaned forward to push Juliette off of her, before she was immediately pinned back down to the ground with one hand, as the girl hadn't yet released Hermione's hand from her grasp. Hermione blushed at this and looked away from the two of them as she took her hand back, while Juliette once again smirked as she moved her attention from Hermione down to Ginny.

"Of course, little one, my apologies." The girl effortlessly jumped to her feet and offered a hand out to help Ginny up, which Ginny ignored. Ginny got to her feet quickly and glared at her.

"My name is Ginny." Ginny thrust out her hand towards Juliette. "Not 'little one'. But thank you for helping me."

"Juliette. You are welcome, Ginny." The smug look had returned to Juliette's face, and Ginny felt anger bubble up inside of her. "Fan of ze 'Arpies, are you?" Ginny looked down at her jersey as Juliette nodded to the golden talon on her chest.

"Yes, I am," Ginny answered defiantly. She didn't know why, but she felt she needed to defend herself. "Are you a Quidditch fan?"

Juliette's smug smile spread revealing perfect white teeth as she nodded. "I mostly support ze Quafflepunchers, but I will also back ze 'Arpies every so often – it is 'ard not to with zem being the only all-women team in ze league. For ze Quidditch World Cup I was obviously 'oping my 'ome country would make it to ze Finals." She motioned to her own top now, a pale blue tank top with the French emblem front and center. "But clearly zat was not in ze cards. It would 'ave been nice to watch my sister play." She shrugged nonchalantly as Hermione and Ginny stared at her. "Josephine Marat, French Captain? I am sure you 'ave 'eard of 'er, no?"

Ginny's jaw dropped at this because of course she knew who Josephine Marat was, but she snapped it shut as quickly as she could, not wanting to give Juliette the satisfaction of her shocked and impressed reaction. Hermione's expression hadn't changed. Juliette focused on Ginny. "So, Ginny, do you just support, or do you play as well?"

"Well, I'm not on our house team at Hogwarts, but I'm hoping to get on as a reserve this year. We've got a lot of talent and experience at the Chaser position, and I'm only a third year, so I don't mind learning from them and earning an opportunity later on. Ultimately, I'd love to play for Holyhead someday," Ginny replied, trying to sound as confident and sure about herself as should could. Juliette studied her, looking her up and down before locking onto her eyes.

"You are strong, especially for your age and stature, but you could be stronger. Focus on zat. I know I 'ave never seen you fly, but if you are a decent flyer and you work on your build, I would be interested to see what kind of a Chaser you could become. Zat is, if you have ze IQ for ze position..."

Ginny felt herself blush as Juliette switched her focus to Hermione.

"And what about you? What do you think of ze world's greatest sport?" her eyes grazing over Hermione now, looking her up and down as well.

"I support my friends who play it, and I know enough to understand when I watch my friends play," Hermione answered curtly. "Now, what I would like to know is what makes you think that you're authorized to give Ginny unsolicited advice? What are your credentials, besides being related to a famous Quidditch player?" Hermione stared her down, hands on her hips, sternly awaiting her answer.

Juliette's eyes flashed slightly at Hermione's challenge, though her smirk was still plastered to her flawless face.

"Well… As a fourth year at Beauxbatons I will be ze captain of my Quidditch team after being ze leading goal scorer for ze past two years. And I very narrowly missed out on a chance to represent my country with my sister zis year at ze Quidditch World Cup," she replied confidently, looking amusedly at Hermione. Ginny paled at this impressive answer. "At 14, almost 15, zey figured I was a bit too young, a bit too immature. I suppose I can wait for ze 423rd Quidditch World Cup." Juliette flashed her perfect smile at Hermione, took a few steps towards her, and lowered her voice slightly. "So, what do you zink, 'Ermione? Am I qualified enough to 'elp out little Ginny 'ere?"

Juliette studied Hermione's fierce stare. Ginny looked between the two of them and was shocked to see Hermione's eyes soften under Juliette's gaze, as well as a hint of color appear in Hermione's cheeks.

"Well, I – I guess that does qualify you to give some advice…" Hermione conceded reluctantly, still maintaining eye contact.

"And what about you, 'Ermione? Any advice zat you would like to give to me?" Juliette asked in that same low voice as she took one step closer to Hermione, giving the girl what could only be considered to be a seductive smile.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Hermione stated pointedly, albeit a bit shakily. "I think some humility wouldn't hurt. And who are you to be going around tackling girls to the ground?"

"Ahhh 'umility…" Juliette feigned thought. "I understand where you are coming from, but I zink I am fine. And I am sorry, but it looked like you needed some 'elp reigning in little Ginny 'ere. Or did you want 'er to get crushed in 'er quest to get to ze Veela?"

Ginny had charged forward to argue the use of "little" once again when referring to her, but paused when she heard a word she didn't know. "The what?"

Juliette turned her attention to Ginny. "Ze Veela? Ze women 'oo you were mesmerized by in ze center of ze group of men over zere? Zey are ze Bulgarian mascots for ze Finals tonight. Zey use zeir beauty to seduce and essentially control all zose 'oo are attracted to women."

Both Ginny and Hermione again stared at Juliette, and then Ginny felt Hermione glance at her.

"Wait… They only affect people who are attracted to – " Ginny started.

"Hey, thanks a lot! We're lucky that Ron doesn't have nearly any stamina built up, or we could've lost him to that crowd over there! Who's this?" Harry interrupted as he walked up to the three girls, a very sweaty and grass-stained Ron staggered up beside him, a steady stream of swears pouring out of his mouth. Both boys froze as they stared at Juliette, clearly stunned by her beauty, just as Ginny had been.

"This is Juliette." Hermione unenthusiastically introduced her. Juliette stepped towards the boys.

"Juliette Marat," she stated confidently, flashing her bright smile at the two frozen boys. "And you are?"

Both Ron and Harry introduced themselves to Juliette, but said nothing more. Ginny stood there silently, still thinking about what Juliette had said, and trying to process what that meant. Juliette glanced at her briefly before looking to Hermione and tipping her head towards Ginny. She then took a step back towards the sea of blue tents. "It was nice to meet everyone –I am sure I will see you all again soon. 'Ermione, Ginny, boys…" she nodded at each of them before giving Hermione a knowing look and turning away, leaving the four of them to silently watch her walk away.

"How in the bloody hell did you meet her? She was well fit!" Ron exclaimed, turning to the two girls after Juliette finally disappeared into the sea of French fans. Ginny was still lost in her own thought, but could feel Hermione looking at her with a worried expression on her face. "Erm… What's wrong with you two?" Ron asked, his tone changing to one of confusion and mild concern.

"Mate, you've caused enough issues in the last fifteen minutes to last this whole day. Let's head back to the tent and get ready for the match tonight, alright?" Harry ushered Ron away and headed back towards their campsite.

"Ginny… Are you okay?" Hermione asked tentatively.

Ginny took a moment before she spoke.

"Hermione, Juliette said that Veela seduce and control people who are attracted to women… I was not myself when I was looking at them… Not at all… I had no control over what I was doing or feeling or thinking… Am I – Do I – " Ginny broke off, dropping her eyes to the ground as she felt tears starting to form.

Hermione quickly closed the gap between them and put a reassuring hand on Ginny's shoulder.

"Ginny?"

Ginny didn't move.

"Ginny, look at me."

Ginny reluctantly looked up from her trainers to lock eyes with Hermione.

"If that's the case and you… Fancy girls… It's okay… It doesn't change who you are…" Hermione said softly.

A single tear ran down Ginny's face.

"Oh Ginny, come here."

Hermione wrapped Ginny in a tight hug, putting her hand on the back of Ginny's head as she buried her face in Hermione's shoulder.

"Sorry…" Ginny muffled an apologize into Hermione's shoulder. "This is just a lot to take in right now," she mumbled as she stepped back from Hermione and wiped away her tears.

"You don't have to think about it right now, if you don't want to. I know tonight's match is a really big deal to you, so why don't you just put a pin in this and focus on Quidditch? And if you do want to talk about it, know that I'm here for you, okay?"

"Are you sure? Hermione, we've been sharing a room for what, two days? I don't want to burden you…" Ginny dropped her head again and another tear fell down her cheek. This time, Hermione wiped it away. Ginny looked up at her.

"I'm sure." Hermione gave the girl a small, reassuring smile. "It's okay Ginny. You're okay. Let's go back to the tent and get ready for the match, okay?"

Ginny nodded, wiping away another tear. Hermione wrapped her arm around Ginny's shoulders and started to guide her back towards their campsite.

"Thanks Hermione…" Ginny said in a small voice as they walked along.

"You're welcome, Ginny." Hermione returned as she gave Ginny's shoulders a squeeze.

As Ginny and Hermione made their way back to the campsite, they ran into Harry and Ron, who were with their dormmates Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas who they'd stumbled upon while maneuvering through the Irish supporter's section. After promising Seamus that they'd all back Ireland in the Finals that evening, they made their way back through the raucous crowds to their own campsite. Percy, Charlie, and Bill had finally arrived, and Mr. Weasley, Fred, and George were there as well. The boys went into their tent and Hermione and Ginny headed to theirs to get ready to head out to the stadium.

The match was magnificent. Ginny had never seen that quality of Quidditch before, and the Omnioculars enhanced the experience tenfold. The Irish Chasers were fantastic, and the Bulgarian Seeker Viktor Krum moved as if he and his broom were one. Ginny felt so lucky to be there, having such an amazing experience with her family, Harry, and Hermione. She did, however, keep her eyes firmly on her trainers whenever the crowd roared for the Veelas down on the Bulgarian side of the pitch. Hermione kept her eyes on Ginny when this happened, and would nudge her and give her a reassuring smile to let her know that everything was fine.

Ginny really appreciated how kind and caring Hermione was being towards her. She knew from how her mum spoke about Hermione that she had been a great friend to Ron, despite what a prat he could be, but she figured that maybe Mrs. Weasley had just been talking up Hermione because she was so happy that her son had made friends with a such a bright and promising witch. She never imagined what a great friend and person Hermione actually was, let alone that she would be treating Ginny with such thoughtfulness and care. She had a new friend in Hermione, and for that, she was incredibly grateful.

Once the match concluded and Ireland had come out on top, the group headed back to their campsite. The crowd was thick and a little chaotic with all of the Irish supporters celebrating wildly, setting off fireworks and shooting out confetti in every direction.

"Bill, Charlie, keep an eye on Ginny, will you?" Mr. Weasley instructed as the rowdiness of the crowd started to separate the group.

"I've got her Mr. Weasley," Hermione called out. She gave Ginny a smile, and grabbed her hand to pull her along behind Ron and Harry. Ginny smiled at this. While she didn't appreciate her dad suggesting that someone needed to be watching her, Hermione made her feel safe and taken care of. She'd never really had this experience with another friend or any of her siblings. The four fought through the congested crowd until they made it back to the campsite, safe and sound.

"Well, anyone fancy a game of Exploding Snap before bed? I think Ron's still got more he'd like to tell us about the miracle that is Victor Krum." Harry grinned widely as Ron blushed profusely and the girls laughed.

"He's an artist in the air! He ended the match on his own terms! He's a gift to Quidditch!" Ron roared as he defended himself. This just made the other three laugh more, as Ron rolled his eyes. "Alright, whatever! Let's play!"

The four played a few rounds until they were so tired that all that was keeping their eyes open were the explosions of the game.

"I win again…" Ron lazily declared before yawning loudly. This caused the other three to yawn as well.

"That you did, mate. See you in the morning?" Harry waved sleepily at the girls as he pulled Ron to his feet and into their tent. Ginny and Hermione entered their own tent and Ginny flopped down on her cot, hands behind her head, beaming.

"Good match tonight?" Hermione asked as she settled into her own cot.

"It was so good! Moran and Mullet were fantastic for Ireland, and Ivanova gave life to Bulgaria the best she could! And Krum… I mean, I'm not in love with him like Ron is, but I really am impressed…" Ginny sighed happily before rolling onto her side to face Hermione. "Thank you for today. At the match and before… Just… Thank you."

Hermione smiled across at her. "You're welcome, Ginny. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy yourself at the match. And about the other thing… I meant what I said about you being able to talk to me. I'm here for you, if you want or need to talk. No pressure, just know that I'm here for you."

"Thanks." Ginny returned the smile. "So… What did you think of Juliette?"

Hermione sighed. "She was interesting... I certainly didn't appreciate the way she spoke to you. You're not some foolish child – you're very motivated and focused and well-educated on the topic of Quidditch. You know what you're doing, I don't think she needed to be giviving you that unsolicited advice."

"Well-educated on the topic of Quidditch," Ginny repeated as her smile twisted into an amused crooked grin. "I mean, she wasn't wrong though – I could definitely be stronger. She held me down like I was nothing. It was like I wasn't trying at all to get up, when I was actually trying my hardest..." Ginny ran a hand through her long red hair, suddenly concerned about her apparent lack in strength and size.

"You listen to me, Ginny Weasley. First of all, you weren't in a right state of mind when she tackled you. Second, she's older than you and clearly has been working out for years. And third, you're plenty strong! Even while you were out of it, I wasn't able to keep you back!" Hermione stated matter-of-factly. Ginny glanced at her, trying to hold back a smile. "Okay, maybe I'm not the strongest person in the world and you getting away doesn't prove much, but Ginny you're very strong!" Hermione insisted.

"Thanks Hermione." Ginny grinned at her. "So, any other thoughts on Juliette?"

"Like I said, she's interesting…"

"Yeah, I know, but well… Do you think… Do you think she's attractive…?" Ginny asked, blushing slightly.

"Oh… Well, I can see that she's conventionally attractive, yes… As I said though, I didn't like how she spoke to you. Her utter lack of humility is frankly unbecoming…" Hermione frowned and seemed to get lost in thought.

"Does that make her less attractive?"

"Yes Ginny, it absolutely does. Attractiveness is so much more than how someone looks. It's how they treat you, it's how they treat themselves, it's how they treat others. It's about how they make you feel, really… And are they passionate about anything? Do they care about anything? Do they have ambition?" Hermione rattled off.

Ginny chuckled. "Ron must be pretty unattractive to you."

"You're not wrong about that…" Hermione agreed, shaking her head and laughing lightly. "Ginny, have you never thought about this before? If you fancy girls or boys? What attracts you to someone?"

Ginny was quiet, thinking about the question. "I mean, for a brief moment I thought I fancied Harry a few years back… But I think that was more about him not ruthlessly teasing me like my brothers always had. He was the first boy around my age to show me any genuine kindness, and I appreciated that… But I never found him to be physically attractive… And I never really thought about the possibility of fancying girls until today… To be honest, I've been so focused on Quidditch, that I've never really considered my feelings for boys or girls…" Ginny drifted off, thinking about how she was probably behind her classmates in this regard.

"Ginny, there is no timeline for any of this. The bottom line is that you can like who you like, when you like. If you're happier focusing on Quidditch and putting all of your energy into that instead of a relationship, that's perfectly fine. Ultimately, what matters is what you want for your own life. As you gain more life experience, you'll start to figure out what attracts you to a person, and then if you happen upon someone who you are attracted to and fits into your life, then great! If not, that's perfectly fine too. There are no rules about love, Ginny… Does that help…?" Hermione looked over at her, but Ginny didn't answer. She was overwhelmed, not just by the conversation, but everything that had happened that day. It felt like far too much for her to process, and she could feel her body starting to crash.

"Hermione, could you come here?" she requested softly.

Hermione got up off of her cot and sat beside Ginny who'd scooched over to make room. Once she was settled, Ginny leaned into Hermione.

"I'm sorry… I just… This has been a really long, crazy day… And you… You make me feel calm and safe…" Ginny whispered.

Hermione wrapped her arm around Ginny and settled in a bit more so the two of them were more comfortable. Ginny's breathing started to slow and deepen, and her body relaxed into Hermione's as she drifted off to sleep.

Hermione POV

Hermione sat with Ginny for a few more minutes, before gently removing herself from her side and softly laying her down onto her cot. She covered Ginny up with a blanket and moved to her own cot so she too could hopefully get some sleep after what had been such a long and exhausting day. She rolled onto her side to face Ginny, and watched her sleep for a bit, making sure she hadn't woken her when she got up. To her relief, Ginny was still sleeping peacefully, and with that confirmation, Hermione rolled over to face the side of the tent and closed her eyes, hoping the younger girl would stay out of her dreams this evening.