Chapter 5

Hermione POV

Hermione woke early, having barely slept at all. The past few days had been an absolute whirlwind. Prior to coming to the Burrow this summer, she had finally come to terms with the fact that she fancied girls. She'd taken notice of a few of the girls at Hogwarts in her third year, as well as a Muggle girl that lived near her home over the summer. She'd never thought of Ginny as more than anything but Ron's little sister, however, the past few days had changed that completely.

Ginny was kind. Ginny was thoughtful. Ginny was funny. Ginny was warm. Ginny was driven, and smart, and hard-working. Ginny was so easy to talk to. On top of that, Ginny was beautiful in a way that was effortless, and the fact that she was oblivious to it made her even more beautiful. Ginny was also, however, a year below her in school, nearly two years younger than her in age, and most importantly, Ron's little sister. It didn't matter that Ginny also very clearly fancied girls, it would not work.

As Hermione's brain started to fill with the stress of the situation, she shook her head as if she was trying to shake the feelings out of it. She could be friends with Ginny. She could protect her and guide her and be there for her, just as she was yesterday. But she could not like Ginny Weasley, not that way. Beyond the difference in age, it could ruin her relationship with Ron, with the whole Weasley family, and with Ginny herself. And Hermione wasn't willing to risk any of that happening just because of this new silly little crush she had on the girl. She knew she'd get over this, it would just take some time and persistence.

As it became evident that her mind wasn't going to let her get back to sleep, Hermione quietly rose from her cot, threw on a jumper, and walked outside. The sky was a very light gray as it transitioned from night to morning light, the stars disappearing one by one. She took a deep breath, slowly breathing in the cool, early morning air as she took in the various colors and shapes of the hundreds of tents spread out along the fields and hills of the campground. She spotted the cluster of light blue tents and thought of Juliette, frowning.

Hermione had never experienced that kind of forwardness in a girl before. Boys operated with that sort of (mostly unwarranted) confidence all of the time at their age, but girls, not so much – not that she'd ever before received that kind of attention from a girl, but still, it was jarring to say the least. Juliette, however, really did deserve to be as confident as she came across, if her accolades were true. She was apparently very accomplished, and Hermione couldn't help but be intrigued to find out if she really was as talented at Quidditch as she claimed to be. Again, Hermione shook her head and shrugged. It didn't really matter, as it was extremely unlikely that she'd ever see the girl again. And maybe that was for the best. While she appreciated Juliette's help in saving Ginny from a potentially dangerous mob of men, she didn't like how she spoke to Ginny afterwards. She also didn't like how forward she was with herself. She could tell Juliette was flirting, but couldn't quite figure out why... They'd just met, so what exactly was the girl trying to gain or accomplish there? And more importantly, why had it worked on her?

Hermione shivered as a particularly cold gust of wind blew through the campground, and stepped back into the tent. Ginny was still sound asleep, sleeping on her side, facing Hermione's cot. Hermione couldn't help but smile, a little sadly, at the girl in front of her, before firmly reminding herself of the stance she had taken. It just wouldn't wouldn't be worth potentially ruining so many relationships. It's a just a silly little crush, surely it'll subside soon…

Ginny POV

Ginny woke up to Fred and George jostling her cot.

"Up and at 'em, little sis!" Fred called boisterously.

"Yeah, gotta get an early start for the 100-mile hike home!" George added in, his faux optimism garnering a laugh from Ginny.

"Alright, I'm up, I'm up!" Ginny sat up in her cot, looking around the tent. "Where's Hermione?"

"She's been up for ages," George answered.

"Up reading, of course. About Quidditch, actually. I offered, as a seasoned Quidditch veteran, to show her a thing or two out on the ol' orchard pitch when we get back to the Burrow. Didn't seem interested though – broke my heart." Fred feigned heartbreak with a hand over his heart before following George out of the tent.

Ginny smiled at the thought of Hermione reading about Quidditch, and wondered what exactly she was reading up on regarding the subject.

Once the group had packed up their bags and deconstructed the tents, they were ready for the return trip to the Burrow. Without the anticipation of the Quidditch World Cup, the trek back wasn't nearly as bad and felt significantly shorter. The only real complainer was Ron, who, to no one's surprise, started whining of hunger about halfway through the trip and didn't stop. Once they got home, Mrs. Weasley had a full platter of sandwiches and a large salad waiting for them. The group ate appreciatively as they filled Mrs. Weasley in on the Quidditch World Cup.

"Well, I'm so glad that you all had such a great time! But I do have to admit… While it was nice having the Burrow to myself for some peace and quiet, I did miss having family around." Mrs. Weasley smiled around at her family, Hermione, and Harry.

"We missed you too, Mum!" Ginny smiled back.

"Suck up…" Ron mumbled as he shoved another sandwich into his mouth.

"What was that, Ronald?" Mrs. Weasley asked, flashing him a warning look.

"Ron just said that he'd like to get started on his chores, Mrs. Weasley. And I'll be helping him. Let's go mate!" Harry stood up, clapping Ron hard on the back, as Ron shot him an exasperated look before slowly getting up from the table and following him out the back door. Harry winked at Ginny before exiting the kitchen, and Ginny smiled back warmly, thankful once again that Harry was around to have her back with Ron.

Once the table was cleared, those who attended the Quidditch World Cup made their way upstairs to unpack and get ready for the rest of the day. Ginny followed Hermione up to her room, closing the door behind them.

"So…" Ginny started. "I heard you were reading about Quidditch this morning? Has someone caught the Quidditch bug all of a sudden?" Ginny teased with a grin.

Hermione smiled, though she appeared to be just a touch flustered as well. "I just figured I'd do a bit of light reading on the subject. With you, Harry, and possibly Ron playing for the Gryffindor team this year, that doesn't leave me with many in my life who won't be heavily involved with the sport. I want to be able to contribute to the conversation when you three undoubtedly only talk about Quidditch for the majority of the year. At the very least, I want to know what you're talking about."

"That makes sense. I won't really be on the team though, Hermione. Best case scenario, I'll be a reserve for the team, and again, that's not reallyonthe team."

"Reserve players are just as important Ginny. What if someone gets hurt? Or sick? Or, I don't know, is serving detention for blowing up a toilet? Remember, your brothers are on the team… Anything is possible when it comes to Gryffindor needing to tap into their reserve pool," Hermione stated sternly.

Ginny laughed at this and ran a hand through her hair. "I never really thought of that. I should really start preparing then, so I'm ready to play when Fred and George push Filch's buttons one too many times." Ginny smiled at the older girl. "Thanks for the pep talk Hermione."

Hermione gave her another soft smile in return, "Of course, Ginny."

The last week at the Burrow had flown right by. Fred, George, Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny had taken a day to travel to Diagon Alley to get their school supplies, but other than that, the group had been more than content to just hang out. There were many more pick-up Quidditch matches, all of which Hermione attended, but was not involved in. There were delicious meals, games of Wizard's Chess, Exploding Snap, and Gobstones, as well as evenings spent stargazing. Bill and Charlie had only stayed for one extra day after the Quidditch World Cup, but Ginny felt that, as usual, it was great getting to see and spend time with them, no matter how short their visit was. When the twins weren't actively causing mischief and chaos for the others living at the Burrow, they were shut up in their room, working on something that had created a lot of odd smells and sounds, as well as the occasional shout of triumph from them. Hermione had taken to helping Ginny with her chores, and Ginny appreciated it as she found Hermione to be a very welcome addition to whatever she was doing around the Burrow. The last week was short, but time was spent well, and they were all ready to head to Hogwarts to start a new term.

"I can't believe I'm starting my fourth year at Hogwarts tomorrow," Hermione stated while packing her trunk in Ginny's room. "At the end of this year I'll be more than halfway done with my education, how is that possible?"

"I can't believe I'll still have four years left after this year…" Ginny moaned lightly.

"Ginny, be grateful that you have that much time left! I don't know if I can learn everything that I want to learn in such a short span of time!" Hermione stressed.

"Well, maybe you can tack on another term or two, spend an extra year with me?" Ginny joked. Hermione, however, was not amused.

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly do that…" Hermione muttered as she frantically flipped through book after book, packing them as she went.

Ginny walked over to her. "Hermione…"

Hermione continued on with her frenzied packing.

"Hermione…?"

She still didn't stop or look up.

"Hey…" Ginny grabbed Hermione's face with both hands, softly guiding her to look into her eyes. "You're going to be just fine. You'll learn all that you're supposed to, and then some, I'm sure of it. There is no pressure for you to learneverything, I promise." Ginny looked into Hermione's brown eyes, and saw them soften as they looked back into hers.

"Ginny…" Hermione whispered. "I… You – You're not supposed to be the one supporting me! I'm supposed to be there for you!" she snapped, her eyes hardening as she pulled away.

"What?! Why wouldn't I be there for you?! What about the conversation we had when you first got here – I was supportive of you then, wasn't I? Isn't that what friends are supposed to do, support one another?" Ginny asked angrily, thrown off by Hermione's defensive reaction.

"Well, yes, but – "

"Then why can't I be there for you? Aren't we friends, Hermione?"

"Yes, Ginny, of course we're friends! I just – "

"You just what?" Ginny glared at the girl, challenging her to continue.

Hermione gaped at her before responding slowly. "I just feel like you're going through more than I am with everything that came up at the Quidditch World Cup, and I don't want to add to your plate... You're only 13, Ginny, and – "

"So? You're only 14!"

"Soon to be 15…" Hermione clarified. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Hermione, I am not too young to be there for you. If we're friends, we're friends, and I am there for my friends. I support them, I've got their backs. Period. I don't care how old you are and I sure as hell don't care how old I am. I am so sick of everyone saying I'm too young for stuff, I'm not!" Ginny shouted the last two words.

Hermione stood frozen, staring at Ginny. Ginny knew she shouldn't have shouted at Hermione, but she was so frustrated by what was happening. The past week they'd spent together Hermione treated her like an equal, but now suddenly she's too young to reciprocate the care and support that Hermione so willingly gave to her?

"Look, Hermione, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have shouted, but please know that I am here for you, just as you've said you're here for me. This isn't a one-sided friendship. I am not too young. I can handle whatever it is that you need me to handle – I promise."

Ginny strode across the room to Hermione, closing the gap between them.

"Hermione I'm here for you, no matter what. Okay?"

A tear trailed down Hermione's face.

"Hermione, I'm sorry," she said as she wrapped her in a hug.

"I'm sorry too Ginny. I know that you're more than capable of supporting me, and I appreciate it," Hermione said softly, sniffling as more tears fell.

"Hermione, why are you crying? Is it because I shouted, because I really am sorry. I won't do that again." Ginny looked at Hermione, her eyes filled with worry.

"No, no. It's fine Ginny. Your brother practically only communicates through shouting…"

"And grunting…" Ginny added in an attempt to lighten the mood. Hermione moved back a bit so her eyes could meet Ginny's as she gave her a tearful laugh.

"Yes, and grunting..." Hermione gave Ginny a weak smile.

"That doesn't make it okay though. I'm sorry. But if that's not the reason, then why are you crying?" Ginny studied Hermione's face, looking for any hint of the answer.

"I just…" Hermione started, before breaking their eye contact and burying her face in Ginny's shoulder. "I just really appreciate our friendship. I've never been this close to another girl before, and I… Just… Thank you, Ginny..." Hermione kept her face firmly hidden in Ginny's shoulder.

"Of course, Hermione. I really appreciate our friendship too." Ginny slowly rubbed the older girl's back as she felt Hermione continue to cry.

Ginny didn't want to push Hermione any more than she already had on the subject, but she knew that she wasn't being completely honest with her on why she was crying. Nevertheless, she held Hermione until she stopped crying, and then they continued packing their trunks. The morning was coming soon, and they'd need all the sleep they could get for the eventful day that was surely ahead, as they'd be off to start another year at Hogwarts. Getting to the bottom of what was making Hermione cry would have to wait.