Chapter 11
Ginny POV
Ginny rose early the next morning, excitement rushing through her as she remembered that she'd be going to Hogsmeade for the very first time in just a few hours. She quietly opened her curtains and crept over to Demelza's bed, climbing in beside her before securely closing the curtains around them.
"Ginny…? What are you doing?" Demelza mumbled sleepily. Her plait had become loose and a bit messy in the night, and Ginny found that to be positively adorable.
"I'm just so excited for today – it's our first trip to Hogsmeade! There's so much we'll get to do and see, and it'll be stress-free!" Ginny grinned as she planted a quick kiss on Demelza's lips. Demelza smiled back as she sat up and faced Ginny.
"Listen… I know these past few weeks have been tough on you, but I'm so proud of you for getting through it and remaining as positive as you have. I'm very impressed by you, Miss Weasley. Very impressed, and very proud."
Demelza smiled up at Ginny before leaning in to capture her lips in hers. She wrapped her arms around Ginny's waist, pulling her firmly into her warm embrace. Ginny responded by putting one hand at the base of Demelza's messy plait, and as she went to put her other hand on Demelza's lower back, she came in direct contact with Demelza's warm, soft skin. Demelza let out a small gasp at the contact and Ginny froze and pulled back from the kiss immediately.
"I-I'm so sorry Demelza. I didn't know your jumper had risen up that high, I was just – "
"Ginny, it's okay," Demelza said calmly.
Ginny's cheeks had gone as red as her hair – she was mortified that she had broken the physical boundaries that they had set. She knew she shouldn't have climbed into Demelza's bed, even as innocent as it initially was.
"Ginny, look at me."
Ginny's eyes found Demelza's and was reassured by how soft and gentle they were, completely lacking any indication that she was at all uncomfortable with what had just happened.
"Really, it's alright. I think we should talk about this later, but really, it's okay. The noise I made… It wasn't – it wasn't a bad thing…" Demelza blushed lightly, but made sure to maintain eye contact with Ginny.
"Okay… Can I kiss you one more time before I go get ready?" Ginny asked, tentatively.
"Of course you can." Demelza smiled.
Ginny moved slowly to connect their lips once more. It was soft and gentle, as it usually was, but this time there was something more beneath the surface. Demelza brought her hand up to Ginny's cheek, brushing some of Ginny's hair out of her face before gently tracing Ginny's jawline with her thumb. They broke away from the kiss at the same time, both breathing a bit heavily. Ginny got up out of the bed to go and get ready for the day. As she got dressed, she touched her lips, her cheek, her neck, and her jaw, completely captivated by how Demelza had just made her feel.
Later that morning, Ginny, Demelza, Colin, and Ritchie all headed down to the Great Hall to get their Hogsmeade permission slips checked off. Once it was confirmed that they were free to explore Hogsmeade, they followed the large group to the path that led to Hogsmeade. Once they arrived, they were so excited at their newfound freedom that they had trouble deciding what to do and where to go first. After much deliberation, they settled on stopping at Zonko's Joke Shop first, then moving to Honeydukes for some sweets, before finally finishing up at the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer.
Zonko's Joke Shop was a great laugh – Ginny immediately understood why it was Fred and George's favorite shop in the village. Colin and Ritchie went back and forth pushing different jokes into each other's faces while Ginny and Demelza laughed at their antics. After a bit, they moved on to Honeydukes, where they all stocked up on their favorite sweets – Colin loved the Chocolate Frogs, as he was an avid collector of the cards that came with them, Ritchie favored the Cauldron Cakes, carrying a whole stack of them around with him as they continued to check out the store, Demelza stocked up on Licorice Wands, and Ginny grabbed a few different items to try, along with a pair of Sugar Quills.
"I didn't know you liked Sugar Quills?" Demelza asked, tipping her head.
"I mean, I think they're alright, but these aren't for me, they're for Hermione. A thank you for all of the study help she's given me this term."
"You're so thoughtful." Demelza smiled and walked over to watch Colin and Ritchie force each other to try different suspect-looking Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
Ginny watched Demelza from where she stood at the Sugar Quill stand. In the course of a few months, she'd really managed to form strong feelings for her. She was sweet, she was funny, she was very cute, she loved Quidditch – she genuinely seemed to be a great match for Ginny. Ginny smiled softly as she watched Demelza laugh as Colin and Ritchie made grotesque faces at what they'd just put in their mouths, before she turned to look at Ginny. When she saw Ginny looking at her, she gave her a big smile, and walked over to her.
"Admiring me from afar, are you?" Demelza asked, a mischievous hint in her tone.
"Yes, actually. That's exactly what I was doing," Ginny responded truthfully and confidently.
Demelza blushed at this, and took Ginny's hand in hers. "Come on, let's go round up the boys and head to the Three Broomsticks."
Ginny followed Demelza to the boys, and then out of Honeydukes to the Three Broomsticks. They'd held hands many, many times before, but this time it felt different. Something had changed after their exchange this morning. Ginny felt as if she couldn't get close enough to Demelza. She felt more connected to her than she ever had before, she just didn't know why there was this sudden change.
They entered the pub and sat down at a four-top, boys on one side, girls on the other. The owner, Madam Rosmerta, walked up to take their order.
"What'll it be, kids?" Madam Rosmerta asked.
"Four butterbeers, please!" Ritchie requested with a slightly lower voice than normal. Colin, Ginny, and Demelza all gave him a look.
"Right, be up in a second." Madam Rosmerta walked off.
"What was that?" Ginny asked Ritchie incredulously.
"What was what?" Ritchie asked back, his voice having returned back to its typical pitch.
"Why did you change your voice like that?" Demelza asked, trying to choke back a laugh.
"What do you mean? My voice is always like that when I talk to beautiful women!" Ritchie insisted, redness creeping up into his neck and ears.
"Oh yeah? You never talk like that when we're around – do you not find us to be beautiful, Ritchie?" Ginny asked in faux-offense, causing Demelza to be no longer able to contain her laughter.
"First of all, you're not women, you're girls. And second, you two have each other. Don't really have a shot with either one of you, now do I?" Ritchie answered matter-of-factly.
"Well, you're certainly right on not having a shot with either of us," Ginny retorted. "Colin, what do you think? Do you think Madam Rosmerta is beautiful?"
"I – why – yes, I – I very much do!" Colin squeaked out, turning bright red.
"Come off it, you're saying you don't think she's well fit?" Ritchie asked Ginny.
"Well yes, I can see that she's conventionally attractive, but I'm not going to lose my faculties or start speaking in a weird deep voice when she comes around!" Ginny explained, again laughing a bit.
"I dunno Ginny, I can feel myself losing control right now… Might have to start speaking in a completely different language all together. Think that'll impress her?" Demelza added, spurring the entire group to laugh.
When Madam Rosmerta dropped off their Butterbeers, they all tried to hold in their laughter at the ridiculous conversation they'd just had.
As she walked away, Colin yelled out, "THANK YOU MADAM ROSMERTA!"
Madam Rosmerta turned and gave him an exhausted look, but still offered him a small smile and nod. It was the best thing that had happened to Colin all day.
"So… How's this going?" Ritchie motioned between Ginny and Demelza.
"It's going great, actually." Demelza turned to smile at Ginny, grabbing her hand once again.
"Your dormmates have no issue with the two of you dating and sharing a room with them?" Ritchie asked curiously.
"Nope, no issue at all. It's not as if we're jumping each other's bones every night, Ritchie. Like we just discussed, we do have some self-control," Demelza answered.
Ginny felt herself start to blush at the thought of the very lack of self-control she demonstrated this morning when she slid into Demelza's bed. Demelza must've sensed what Ginny was thinking, as she squeezed her hand and started to run her thumb along the back of it comfortingly.
"Well, that's great. Honestly, I'm glad the two of you got together. You seem to be really happy. Plus, it leaves more girls for me and Colin here!" Ritchie grinned as he clapped his hand to Colin's back, causing Colin to choke and cough into his Butterbeer. Ritchie hit him on the back a few more times until Colin stopped coughing, then the four of them laughed.
"Thanks Ritchie, we're really happy too." Ginny smiled at Demelza softly before turning back to Ritchie. "And it was our pleasure to even the playing field for the two of you. Honestly, you might not have stood a chance otherwise."
The four laughed again, then settled into talking about the upcoming First Task, their classes, and of course, Quidditch.
As they moved onto the topic of Quidditch, Harry, Ron, Lavender, and Hermione walked in and sat at a corner booth. Ginny caught Hermione's eye, and waved at her with her free hand. Hermione waved back politely, and Ginny refocused back on the conversation at her table. Colin had brought out some of the photographs he'd taken of Ginny, Demelza, and Ritchie at their last Quidditch training session. As he moved them across the table for the girls to see, Demelza leant in closer to Ginny to get a better view, putting her arm around her in the process. Ginny could again feel heat flushing to her cheeks at the contact. As of this morning, she was very aware of how good it felt to be that close to Demelza. She glanced at Demelza's side profile, and knew that Demelza could sense how Ginny was feeling as she had a small, coy smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. Ginny smiled softly at this, then looked back towards the photographs Colin was pushing across the table at them. As she did, she saw Hermione and Harry suddenly get up from their table and leave. Ron looked a bit confused, but seemed to move on quickly as Lavender grabbed his face and brought him in for a kiss.
After rolling her eyes at the audacity of her brother to be such a hypocrite in regards to public displays of affection, Ginny followed Hermione and Harry with her eyes as they left, wondering where they were going in such a hurry, but was then brought back to her table as Demelza excitedly pointed out a cool shot that Colin had gotten of her.
Hermione POV
It had been a very relaxing day in Hogsmeade. Hermione had been so immersed in her time hiding away at Scrivenshaft's looking at quills, as well as Tomes and Scrolls flipping through books, that she nearly forgot to meet up with Harry, Ron, and Lavender at the Three Broomsticks. She hurried down the cobblestone street towards the pub and found the three of them waiting for her outside.
"There you are! We were just about to go in a grab a table. Shall we?" Harry smiled as she caught up to them.
As the four of them walked in, Hermione spotted Ginny and her friends, but decided not to interrupt to say hi as it seemed they were entrenched in their conversation. As they sat down at a corner booth, Hermione looked up and saw Ginny staring at her. Ginny waved with her left hand instead of her right, which threw Hermione as Ginny used her right hand for just about everything. Then Hermione spotted that Ginny's right hand was occupied, very comfortably intertwined with Demelza's. She waved back at Ginny, trying to maintain a normal expression as she fought the feelings that were bubbling up in her chest.
Hermione tried to distract herself with the conversation at her table, but it was mostly just Ron and Lavender exchanging whispers and giggles, which she found to be less than riveting as far as conversations go. In her peripheral, she saw movement near Ginny, and as she looked over to the table again, she desperately wished she hadn't. Demelza had put her arm around Ginny, and Ginny had blushed at the contact. She watched as Ginny looked at Demelza and smiled lovingly, and that was all that Hermione could take.
"I forgot that I promised Professor McGonagall I would get my extra credit Transfiguration work in to her by Monday morning. I'm behind on it, I've got to go, I'm sorry," she announced abruptly as she stood up from the table.
"Wait, what? You're leaving?" Harry asked desperately, eyeing the couple across from him lost in each other's gaze.
"Yes, I'm so sorry, but I – I've got to go. Now."
Hermione made her way to the door as quickly as she could, feeling like she could finally breathe again as soon as she exited the pub. She only made it a few more steps before she heard Harry jog up behind her.
"You're mad if you think I'm going to spend another second with those two lovebirds alone. They've been snogging all day! You'd think they'd come up for air at some point or, you know, realize that there's another person here just trying to enjoy their day – hey, what's wrong?"
Despite her best efforts, Hermione had allowed a few tears to trail down her face.
"Hermione…"
"It's nothing Harry, I – I'm fine. I'll be fine," she managed to get out before she started to cry a bit harder.
"Come on… Let's go for a walk," Harry suggested kindly as he put his arm around her and headed back towards the castle.
They walked quietly for most of the journey back to the castle. Well, at least Harry was quiet. Hermione tried her best, but was mostly unsuccessful in her attempts to muffle her crying. Once they got back up to the castle, they found an abandoned classroom and shut the door behind them. Hermione sat, staring out of a window, and Harry sat beside her, watching her carefully.
"Hermione… Do you want to talk about it?" he asked tentatively.
Hermione nodded and worked for a few moments to calm herself down enough to talk, as her tears had yet to slow down.
"I just… I'm having a hard time… Have you ever fancied someone who wasn't right for you?" Hermione asked as she looked up at him, tears still flowing down her cheeks.
"What do you mean, wasn't right for you?" Harry responded a bit confused.
"I mean… Not right. Not the right time, not the right place…. They might already be with someone… Just… not right."
Harry chuckled. "Hermione, I'm going through that right now."
"What?"
"I have a massive crush on Cho Chang, the Seeker for Ravenclaw. Just found out a few weeks ago that she's seeing Cedric Diggory. I came across them one evening snogging outside near the Owlery. Couldn't have been a worse way to discover that, if you ask me." Harry shrugged glumly.
"Why didn't I know about this? Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione asked, offended that her best friend hadn't confided in her.
"Hermione, you've been off the past couple of weeks. Really, ever since we got back to Hogwarts. But after that night I saw you snogging that girl from Beauxbatons… Huh… Maybe I should reconsider walking around the castle at night…" Harry got lost momentarily in his thoughts, but came back quickly. "Ever since I saw you snogging Juliette, you've been really off. You're here physically, but you're not quite here mentally or emotionally." Harry shrugged again.
Hermione paused to think about this. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts and feelings about Ginny that she hadn't been taking care of her relationships with Harry and Ron, her best friends. She felt awful.
"Harry, I'm so sorry…" she apologized.
Harry offered her a small grin. "Hey, don't worry about it. I know you've got a lot on your plate. I'm sure that Juliette is a lot to handle. Is that who you're talking about? Fancying someone who wasn't right for you?"
Hermione pondered the question for a bit, apparently allowing enough time for Harry to jump to his own conclusion.
"Hermione look – I don't need to know why she's not right for you, but the best advice I can give to you is to go for it. We're young, the people we're with today won't be the people we'll end up with in the long run, so might as well have as much fun as we can! And she surely looks like a lot of fun…" Harry grinned at Hermione cheekily.
"Harry!" Hermione scolded him.
He laughed. "What? I've already told you, she's well fit, and I'm very impressed with you for landing her, Hermione!"
Hermione playfully glared at him before allowing herself a smile, though it quickly fell into a sad frown as her thoughts of Ginny returned to her quickly.
"Hermione, you can talk to me. What is it, really?" Harry asked, genuinely.
"It's not Juliette that I like…" Hermione started hesitantly. "It's Ginny."
Harry froze for a moment before responding.
"Ginny? As in Ginny Weasley?" Harry asked in shock.
Hermione looked out the window again, trying to hold back tears. "Yes… Ginny Weasley. Our best friend's little sister, youngest daughter of my second family, and current girlfriend of Demelza Robins… Ginny Weasley…" Hermione placed her head in her hands.
Harry gaped at her, still processing what he was hearing.
"How long…?" he asked.
"Since this past summer… I don't know how it happened... I realized I liked girls at the beginning of the summer, and when I went and stayed at the Burrow and spent more and more time with her, I started to really fancy her…" Hermione admitted, blushing.
"Alright… So, if you like Ginny… Then why were you snogging Juliette in the corridor that night?" Harry asked slowly.
"She knows that I like Ginny… Apparently, she could sense it from how I was acting towards her at the Quidditch World Cup. And she…" Hermione broke off.
"She what?"
"She offered to help me forget about her… And I was just so desperate to stop my feelings for Ginny… I'd tried avoiding her, but that made it worse, much worse. But being around her hasn't been much better. I thought once she got a girlfriend that maybe it would break my heart hard enough that the feelings would disappear quicker, but that didn't work either… So, when Juliette offered… Well… I took her up on it…" Hermione admitted, blushing deeply as she saw that Harry was gaping at her again.
"How often do you see Juliette to – "
"It only happened that one time! Something came over me that night… But once you interrupted and she left, I returned to my senses and realized it wasn't the rational thing to do."
"So… You like Ginny?"
"Yes… But I will find a way to get over it. It's just been incredibly painful, these last few months, so that's why I've been how I've been. I want to be her friend, but it's so hard to be her friend while fancying her… I've just got push through it."
Harry was quiet, thinking.
"What?"
"It's just… I don't think Juliette's offer is such a bad thing…" he said slowly.
"Harry!"
"Not like that! Hear me out… You tried to avoid Ginny, and that made it worse. You tried to be friends with her while she has a girlfriend, also terrible. So maybe engaging with someone else would help you forget those feelings quicker? Or at least provide you with a distraction while you work through those feelings?" Harry suggested earnestly.
"But it's wrong… I would be using her…"
"Hermione, it's not wrong. You said she offered. And that she understands completely what's going on with you and Ginny. It's not taking advantage of her, and honestly Hermione, she's so fit, she'd be the perfect distraction."
"Harry!"
"Okay, but seriously… Do you have any current plans to let Ginny know how you feel?" he asked genuinely.
"No… I don't."
"Then what are you waiting for? Distract yourself with Juliette. Maybe over time Ginny and Demelza will break up and if those feelings are in fact still there, you could look into trying to start something up with Ginny. But sitting around and drowning in your feelings won't be fun for anyone, especially not for you."
"I don't think I can ever start something up with Ginny…" Hermione muttered sadly.
"What? Why not?" Harry asked incredulously.
"She's so much younger than me… And it would risk our friendship and my friendship with Ron and possibly my relationship with her whole family…"
"Hermione, you're less than two years older than her… Ron would get over it, if he even had a problem with it to begin with. And the Weasleys love you. I'm sure that they would be incredibly happy if the two of you got together. Why wouldn't they want their only daughter and sister to be with someone as amazing as you are?" Harry smiled kindly at her, putting a reassuring hand on her back. "Look… Outsiders perspective… Besides Ginny being in a relationship right now, there is no reason that the two of you should not be together… I actually think it would be pretty great, for both of you." He smiled again as Hermione stared up at him in shock, tears trailing down her face once more.
It was so reassuring to hear all of that from someone who truly knew the Weasley family and would know if it would be something that could possibly ruin relationships or not. Hermione had been so concerned about their age difference and the slight possibility that it wouldn't go over well with Ginny's family, that she never considered that a relationship with Ginny could be a good thing, even a great thing. And now… Now she'd pushed Ginny into a relationship with a girl who was an exceptionally great match for her, and they'd been together for months…
Hermione buried her head in Harry's chest and let the tears fall again.
"How could I have miscalculated this so badly? How did I let this happen? Why was I so scared of what other people might think?" she cried into Harry's chest.
Harry rubbed her back soothingly. "Don't worry about that now… Just wait it out… Ginny won't be with Demelza forever… If you really want a shot at this, just wait it out… And there's no harm in distracting yourself with someone who offers to do so… Especially someone as fit as Juliette…"
He chuckled, eliciting a small laugh out of Hermione as well.
"We'll see… Thank you Harry. For everything. I'm sorry I've been such a poor friend to you lately. I'll do better."
She hugged him tightly as he continued rubbing her back.
"Of course, Hermione. And no worries. This whole "having feelings for people" thing is tough, but we'll get through it together. Or, I guess, you'll get through it with Juliette. Her way does seem to be much more fun than you crying all over me."
He laughed and got a real laugh out of Hermione that time as well. She smiled at him.
"Thank you, Harry."
"You're welcome, Hermione."
Ginny POV
The day after her first trip to Hogsmeade, Ginny was up early. Not because of the excitement she'd felt yesterday and how she couldn't wait to go and explore Hogsmeade, but because of the nervous anticipation of the conversation she'd be having with Demelza. She didn't know why she was nervous – they'd had serious talks before, and they'd always gone well. Of course, the last conversation they had, they'd decided that they were going to take their physical relationship slow, and this conversation would be about the possibility of moving a little further into their physical relationship, and Ginny just wasn't sure she was ready for that step. It wasn't that she didn't trust Demelza or didn't find her attractive, she just didn't feel as if she was quite ready yet. Hopefully Demelza would understand.
As Ginny sat up in her bed, stretched, and quietly pulled back her curtains, she found that Demelza's bed was already empty. Ginny frowned at this, as she could count on one hand the times that Demelza had woken up before she had. She threw on a sweater and some jeans, and headed downstairs to the common room.
As she descended the spiral staircase, she saw Demelza tucked in the corner of the common room setting up a chess board. Demelza's blonde hair was loosely plaited back, as usual, and she was wearing a light grey jumper with a pair of jeans. Ginny smiled. Even though she was nervous about the impending conversation, she was always happy to see Demelza – she found it to be incredibly comforting. Ginny quietly walked over, and Demelza turned as she heard Ginny's footsteps approaching.
"Good morning, you," Demelza said with a warm smile.
"Good morning yourself. You're up early for a game of Wizard's Chess. If you're expecting Ron, I'm afraid you may be waiting a few more hours at least until he makes his way down here." Ginny chuckled lightly.
"Actually, I was thinking that the two of us could play. I know you never learned how to play Wizard's Chess because Ron was always more focused on beating you than actually teaching you." Demelza pursed her lips as if she was trying to hide a laugh at the thought of what was surely a hostile scenario. "But if you're willing, I'd like to teach you."
Ginny looked at Demelza, a bit puzzled about why they'd be doing this when they were supposed to be having an important conversation about their relationship, but sat down anyway on the other side of the chess board.
Demelza took her through the basics and then patiently and kindly answered all of the questions that Ginny had. They started the game, and after they'd each made a few moves, Ginny spoke up.
"So… Do you still want to talk about what happened yesterday morning?" Ginny asked tentatively.
"Of course I do." Demelza kept her eyes on the chess board.
"Okay… So, I know that we'd spoken about our relationship and what we were comfortable with in terms of all of the physical stuff…"
"Mmhmm…"
"And I know that yesterday I broke the boundary we had set…"
"Mmhmm…"
"And even though you said that it was okay and that it wasn't a bad thing, I just… I don't know if I'm ready to move forward with anything…"
"I see…" Demelza still kept her eyes on the chess board.
"Is that okay with you?" Ginny asked, a hint of worry in her voice.
Demelza looked up. "Ginny, of course that's okay with me. I only want to do what you're comfortable with doing. I am more than happy taking it as slow as you want." Demelza smiled at her, then returned to the game, moving another piece.
"Okay… Well, what about you? Do you want more…?" Ginny asked, holding her breath as she waited for the answer.
Demelza looked back up and looked into Ginny's eyes purposefully. "Well… I mean, I certainly wouldn't mind it – you have seen yourself, haven't you?"
She smiled as she elicited a small chuckle from Ginny.
"But I also don't mind waiting. We're young, and I don't see any reason to rush any of this. I really do just want to follow your pace and do whatever you're comfortable with. Yesterday when you climbed into my bed, I thought maybe things would progress, but I'm fine either way. Seriously Ginny, we're fine just as we are," Demelza said giving Ginny a reassuring smile.
Ginny was quiet as they each made a few more moves, processing what Demelza had said. Then, when she took a moment to actually focus on the board, she realized what she'd accomplished.
"Oh! Checkmate!"
Demelza looked across the board and laughed, shaking her head.
"What? Isn't that right? I just won, didn't I" Ginny asked nervously thinking she may have been mistaken.
"No, you're absolutely right, you just won," Demelza said while grinning across at her. "Seems like I'm a bit of a better teacher than Ron."
"Yeah, I'll say… Wow, thanks! Maybe with a few more lessons I could take him on!" Ginny declared determinedly as Demelza laughed.
"I'd be more than happy to teach you Ginny. Anything."
Demelza leaned forward and took Ginny's hands in hers.
"Ginny, if and when the time comes that you feel comfortable moving our relationship to the next level, I will be more than willing to teach you as we go. I don't know everything, and I don't have that much more experience than you do, honestly, but just know that I'll be right there with you, and I will be just as patient and understanding as I was just now in teaching you how to play Wizard's Chess…"
Ginny stared at Demelza, her mouth hanging slightly open.
"I will wait as long as you want to, and I will not change my stance on this. I'll be here for you, and we will get through it together. I'll be more than willing to teach you everything I know."
Demelza lifted Ginny's hands to her mouth and kissed them lightly.
Ginny stood up, walked around the chess board, and pulled Demelza into a fierce hug. She felt so protected, cared for, and loved. They remained in the embrace for nearly a minute, until Ginny pulled back slightly to press her forehead to Demelza's.
"Thank you," she whispered, staring into Demelza's light grey eyes.
"You're welcome," Demelza whispered back, staring into Ginny's bright brown eyes.
They kissed gently, but it had more emotion than any kiss they'd shared before. Then they cleaned up the chess board and headed off, hand in hand, to the Great Hall for breakfast.