In Between Lovers

It took time. It took almost all of Ginny's patience to wait for Hermione. Hermione was always slow and delicate in comparison to Ginny's ferocity. The first time Hermione allowed Ginny in nearly drove them both insane with emotion. After thousands of soft, hurried kisses and whispered, sweet nothings, it all happened.

"Meet me in front of the Room of Requirement tomorrow at six o'clock," Hermione had said hurriedly to Ginny one evening.

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Ginny emerged at the top of the stairs on the seventh floor, cheeks flushed. Her breath was quickening with each hurried step she took towards the door. She stopped to stare at the blank wall, wondering what to say. She waited for a while, jumping at the slightest noise that sounded. After ten minutes of rocking back and forth in anticipation, Ginny decided to try and enter the room. She tried a various combination of words. With each attempt, she grew more and more frustrated.

She heard footsteps and froze, afraid to move. The footsteps sounded louder and louder, but no one appeared. Ginny backed away slowly as they neared her. The footsteps stopped in front of the blank wall. Ginny strained her eyes, trying to see if she was missing something. She searched for the faintest outline of a person. There was a shuffling of feet. A door appeared on the blank wall, and it swung open. Intrigued, Ginny followed, peering out around the door to make sure no one had followed before shutting the door.

Ginny's heart skipped a beat. She gave a little scream at the sight of Hermione standing before her.

"Hi," Hermione said softly.

"Christ, Hermione! You scared the hell out of me! What the bloody hell was that for?" Ginny started.

Hermione shook her head to silence Ginny. Ginny stopped and stared. Hermione was wearing only a shirt and undergarments. A slow grin spread across Ginny's flushed face. Her expression was now one of curiosity. Hermione's eyes were wide and shining, as Ginny noticed they often got when she was doing something she rather enjoyed, like studying. It was then that Ginny took a moment to take in the appearance of the room. Mountains of books were piled up in all corners. Positioned in the center of the room was a mattress with thin, scarlet sheets spread neatly across it. A light, floral scent hung about in the air. Ginny noticed the cloak that was gathered in folds at Hermione's feet. Harry's Invisibility Cloak, she thought to herself. Hermione began taking slow steps towards Ginny. A distinct vanilla scent was now hovering about, mixing pleasantly with the floral scents. Ginny smiled. Hermione's eyes were wide with hunger. She was biting her lip.

"You don't have to wait anymore," Hermione whispered.

Their lips had collided a moment later. It was a slow, greedy kiss that shattered all of Hermione's self-discipline with a single blow. Ginny's skilled fingers began to tear at the buttons on Hermione's shirt. In turn, Hermione hooked one finger around the elastic of Ginny's ponytail holder and pulled. Ginny's long hair fell down in a cascading wave of flaming red. Hermione reached forward and began to search Ginny's pockets until she found what she was looking for. She grasped Ginny's wand in her hand and gave it a wave. Ginny's robes flew off, hit the wall, and fell limply to the floor.

"Show-off," Ginny said, placing her hands on her hips.

Hermione gave a soft chuckle. Ginny reached around and undid the clasps on Hermione's bra, holding it with one finger before casting it aside. Hermione sought out Ginny's permission to remove her remaining clothes. Soon, they were both left with nothing but their underwear. Ginny stepped forward and took both of Hermione's hands. With a considerable amount of force, Ginny pushed Hermione up against the wall. Ginny's wand fell to the floor with a clatter.

Hermione's soft eyes were wide with excitement as Ginny slid the last of her clothing down off of her hips. Hermione did the same. Ginny was equally as wide-eyed as she explored every curve and ravine of Hermione's body.

"You sure you want to do this with all these books?" Ginny asked, the slightest hint of a chuckle in her voice.

"Yes," Hermione said, letting her head roll back.

Ginny was quick and fierce. Her movements were bold and brisk. Hermione couldn't believe how quickly she found herself with her back up against a particularly large pile of books. Ginny was lavishing every inch of her with kisses, rough yet sweet. Several books had toppled down to the floor, but they hit neither girl. Ginny's fingers wandered all over, in places Hermione had never imagined being touched. She began to moan.

"Too - wait - the bed," Hermione managed to say.

Ginny said not a word. She took Hermione by the hands and pushed her down onto the bed. Hermione allowed Ginny to climb on top of her.

It seemed like an eternity of pain and pleasure had passed before Hermione began to function properly. Her eyes fluttered open. She became aware of a soft, warm hand that was resting on her thigh. She turned her head and found Ginny, face almost completely hidden among flaming locks. Hermione reached over and brushed them away. Ginny's eyes opened slowly, her eyelids still heavy with sleep. A small smile crept onto her face. Ginny's hand slid from Hermione's thigh up her side and across her soft stomach. She gripped Hermione's side and pulled her closer so their bodies were only an inch apart. Hermione could feel heat radiating off of Ginny's body. A familiar tingling sensation had returned as Ginny drummed her fingers on Hermione's skin. Neither of them spoke for quite a long time. They lay in silence, staring and drifting off into quick naps from time to time. Finally, when both seemed to be wide-awake, Hermione broke the silence.

"This is my favorite book. Funny it should appear here," she commented, having picked up a red, cloth-covered book.

"What are we going to do?" came Ginny's immediate response.

Hermione shook her head and set the book down. She was still too tired to speak, but she knew what Ginny meant by her question. It frustrated Hermione that she really couldn't come up with an answer. She had always been the one with the answers. She was used to others turning to her for answers, but she was also used to having the answers ready. For this particular situation, she was stuck with no solution.

"Are you comfortable living like this?" Ginny asked quietly.

"If it means I can be with you, and meet up with you and do things like this, then yes. I'd be willing to spend my whole life lying here with you, you know," Hermione said, still quite dazed.

"So it doesn't bother you to live in between Ron and me?" Ginny pressed on.

"It does, in a sense. Doesn't it bother you to live between Harry and me? You know he's absolutely mad about you, don't you?" Hermione said quietly.

"As is Ron. About you, I mean. It bothers me at times, but there's nothing we can do, is there? I don't think I want to tell anyone. I want it to be like this. Always. Just between us," Ginny said.

Hermione loved Ginny. She was more in love than she ever thought she'd be. Every waking moment that Ginny was absent from left Hermione torn. She wanted to be near her all the time. She wanted to hold her hand every time they went out onto the grounds to study together, but she couldn't, for fear of them being seen and talked about. Every time they went to watch the Gryffindor team practice their Quidditch in the cool, crisp March air, Hermione wanted to grab a broom and fly up into the sky with Ginny. It was uncommon for Hermione to feel out of control of her life. She despised the feeling, yet, at the same time, she'd never felt better.

Similarly, Ginny felt she had fallen in love with Hermione. Each moment with her was a type of bliss she'd never experienced before. Sometimes, she often wondered what it was about Hermione that calmed her so. Every time Ginny was even remotely close to Hermione, she felt at ease. Usually, she was ready for an attack at any moment, and she spent every waking moment ready to make a quick comeback. With Hermione, she felt calm and still. She felt like the world was slowing down a bit, just so they could enjoy their time together.

Both of them secretly knew that their time was limited though. Every so often, it would hit them that with each passing day, the War was growing more severe. Each time they saw Harry, they were reminded of what lay ahead. Every time Harry announced to Hermione that he was going to another meeting with Dumbledore, she momentarily would forget about Ginny. She would be overcome with worry for Harry, and Harry only. She would also remember how it had been once. She would remember how, many years ago, she had felt ecstasy each time Harry had touched her. She remembered the way it was between the two of them before Ron became a bigger part of the picture. She remembered one slightly drunken late night.

She remembered all of this before she would snap back to reality.

It was midnight before Hermione and Ginny untangled themselves from the sheets and rose from the mattress. Hermione stood to watch as Ginny dressed herself. Ginny waited for Hermione to dress, watching with baited breath as Hermione did the clasps on her bra and buttoned up her shirt. Hermione didn't say anything as she pulled the Invisibility Cloak up over her.

Ginny watched as the door swung open and closed. Before she exited herself, she retrieved her wand and turned to face the spot where they had been lying. With a small smile, Ginny picked up the book Hermione had shown her and stowed it away in her robes.

That was the last time they were ever happy together again.