Rating:
R
House:
Astronomy Tower
Ships:
Ginny Weasley/Hermione Granger Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Characters:
Ginny Weasley Hermione Granger Ron Weasley
Genres:
Romance Drama
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Spoilers:
Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince
Stats:
Published: 03/17/2006
Updated: 04/17/2006
Words: 5,448
Chapters: 4
Hits: 12,138

In Between Lovers

MissEmma

Story Summary:
A story of the love that was. Love that started as a bond as sweet and innocent as a newborn infant, but slowly transformed to an undying passion that was torn apart by the War.

Chapter 02 - Chapter 02

Posted:
03/28/2006
Hits:
3,100


Hermione wasn't nearly as ready as she wanted to be when she rose from her bed in the morning. Wearily, she glanced over at Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, who were sitting cross-legged on Parvati's bed, whispering furiously. For a moment, Hermione panicked. What were they talking about? They couldn't possibly know about what had happened last night, could they? She tried to tuck this thought away into the corners of her mind. Distractedly, she dressed in her robes and headed for the Common Room.

Transfiguration was an absolute nightmare from the moment Ron took the seat next to her. Harry, conveniently enough, was still in the Hospital Wing nursing a broken arm and sprained ankle after taking a nasty fall from his broom during Quidditch practice. With Harry gone, there was no one else for Ron to go to. Hermione flinched and pulled away hastily as Ron took her hand gently in his and squeezed it slightly, taking her by surprise. He immediately adopted a look of confusion and hurt.

The lesson began when Professor McGonagall instructed them to work on the latest spell she'd taught them. Hermione, who had mastered the spell weeks beforehand during her free time, grew increasingly frustrated with Ron, who was attempting desperately to master it. By the time class had finished, Hermione sped from the classroom; red in the face, and Ron emerged looking thoroughly put off. The rest of the classes didn't go much better. By the time Charms rolled around, Ron and Hermione had resorted to finding different partners to work with. Ron sped off out of the classroom as soon as Charms lessons were over. Probably off to moan about how obnoxious I am to poor Harry, I expect.

The awkwardness of her morning had nearly caused her to forget her agreement to meet Ginny on the fourth floor. Hurriedly, she turned around and headed up the staircase. When she reached the top, she loitered for a while, waiting for the crowds of students to trickle off to the Great Hall. Finally, when the coast was clear, she sped towards the classroom. She knocked on the door gently. A small voice from within the room told her to enter. A second later, she was being pushed up against the wall.

It took a moment for Hermione to catch her breath and realize what had happened. The slamming of the door was still echoing around the room as Ginny pushed Hermione into the wall. Though Ginny was small, she was also strong. Hermione was immediately too ecstatic to care about the sharp pain that had erupted in her back when bone hit wall. A slight, lingering strawberry scent was intoxicating her. Ginny had now progressed to planting rough kisses down Hermione's neckline. Hermione groped at the walls, searching for something to support her. She found nothing. She would have to trust Ginny with this one.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, it all came crashing down on Hermione. What were they doing? She was only sixteen years old, and Ginny not even that. Was Ginny ready for this? Was she herself even ready for this? Ginny was beginning to unbutton Hermione's shirt when she held out a hand to stop her. The fire hadn't yet died from Ginny's eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair tousled. A look of understanding slowly appeared on her face. Ginny removed her hands and stood back, folding her arms across her chest. Their eyes were locked on each other's, and neither was able to pull away.

"How are we sure we're ready for this?" Hermione asked, flinching as she noticed how frustrated Ginny looked.

"Do you need an answer for everything, Hermione? Bloody hell! I throw myself at you like you did to me last night, but that seems to be a whole different thing. Would you rather be in control then? Because - because - I'll do whatever you want to," Ginny said, her voice becoming quieter as she added the last part.

Hermione paused, taking a moment to be indignant. Then, she reached out and took a lock of Ginny's long, soft hair between her fingers. Ginny stood dead still, her face now expressionless. Hermione wondered whether this was doing anything for her.

"How did I get so lucky? I fell in love with you. There had to be a chance that you wouldn't fall back. There had to be a chance that you were - well - that you were," Hermione struggled with the last bit.

"Straight?" Ginny offered smugly.

"Well, yeah," Hermione concluded.

"We'll wait," Ginny said in a small voice after a long moment of silence had fallen between them.

Truthfully, Ginny didn't want to wait. Truthfully, Ginny had been waiting for too long. She'd hidden behind countless encounters and meaningless relationships to try and deny the feeling she felt for one of her greatest friends. She was forced to watch as the relationship between Hermione and Ron flourished right before her eyes. Had she known that Hermione had felt the same way for her, she would've been at ease. She hadn't known though, so she'd been forced to suffer in silence until the previous night.

"I - I need to sort things out with Ron," Hermione said suddenly, interrupting Ginny's train of thought.

Ginny watched as tears began to prick the corners' of Hermione's eyes. Uneasily, Ginny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Hermione. Hermione dug her face into Ginny's shoulder. Her words were muffled as she spoke.

"I love him, I do. He's one of the best friends I've ever had. I don't love him the way he does me, though. I don't see him the way he sees me. I'm so afraid of hurting him. I don't want to lose him completely. I knew I was digging myself into a big rut when I told him I'd go with him. "

She pulled away from Ginny's embrace at this point, wiping her tears before continuing on.

"I think I did actually love him the same way for many years. In our fourth year, when he turned to me as a last resort for the Yule Ball, it hurt me. I was stung. I think that's when I started to love him. I don't - I don't love him that way anymore though. I simply just - don't. I'm scared. He may not take it so lightly. I may lose Harry in the process. I just can't lose both of them."

Tears were now streaming down Hermione's face. Ginny watched helplessly as Hermione sunk down to the floor, burying her face in her hands. She hesitated before kneeling down next to her. Hermione looked up, her face tear-stained and her eyes brimming. Ginny wrapped her arms around Hermione, kissing the wet spots under her eyes.

"You'll have me," she said quietly.