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Chapter Text

She and Cho were racing for the snitch, dodging other players, and each other alike. Wind rushed through their ears, sweeping both robes and hair back. Ginny was keeping at Cho's tail when a bludger came whizzing up. In a moment, the front of Cho’s broom was splintering as she began spinning, one of Cho's hands gone asunder. It would have continued spinning to a dramatic end if Ginny hadn’t scooted back on her broom whilst grabbing Cho ’round the waist to place her on Ginny’s own. The other flew off into one of the flag towers, shattering further, and the pieces showered the ground below.

Considering everything, the Ravenclaws decided to forfeit the game. It wasn’t how Ginny would have liked to win the game, and she asked Madam Hooch if they couldn’t start the snitch bit over again with Cho on a new broom. Cho had nodded from her side, shaken, but exhilarated by the events. Madam Hooch had stated that the professors would like to test the bludger for tampering - the game was over, the decision final.

Ginny squeaked in surprised disapproval while handled toward the Gryffindor lockers. Ron whispered, "Are you mad? We just won!" She rolled her eyes and groaned. Stepping from his hold, she walked to the girls showers, herself. Inside, she slumped down on a bench and placed her wind-reddened cheeks in her hands. Luck had been on her side, because she realized the moment she did it how foolish and disastrous it might have all been. What if she'd destabilized her broom? Risked both herself and Cho rather than allowing Cho the chance to correct everything herself... in vain?

Taking her shower with tense muscles and faint movements of soap as her mind drifted, Ginny bit her lower lip hoping that Cho wasn't upset with her. While Ginny's intentions were good, she could see how she might have felt inferior had the reverse occurred. At least, that Cho would have presumed Ginny inferior and unable to save herself from the situation. Ginny sighed, then felt the water rush over her face and off her chin before stepping out and turning the shower off.

Once dressed, Ginny stepped out from the girls lockers, and saw Cho standing across the way. Ron bumped into her shoulder, and she blinked. "Coming? We could play a game of chess."

"Me against you?" she asked, sounding bored, "Not likely."

"C'mon Gin, I don't always win."

"Right," she snorted. "No, go find someone else to torment. I'll be there to watch in a minute."

"Yeah, sure," Ron said, and then peeled away from her as she looked on.

Maybe Cho was in something of a hurry; her hair was still wet. Ginny had never once seen Cho looking less than impeccable. Of course, that wasn't necessarily a cohesive line of thought, Ginny realized, scowling at herself. Cho looked just as beautiful with her wet hair tossed sloppily to one side, than she did any other day. She felt her chest hollow...

The first time she had paid any real mind to Cho was back when she was trying not to be jealous. Her little crush on Harry had been to thank for that. Then her own ex-boyfriend also decided to date her. Ginny could see why Harry liked her. Michael, too. Not only was she stunning when Ginny herself would have looked like a rat climbing out from the sewers, but she was brave and kind, too.

Ginny's eyebrow lifted as she realized Cho had turned, and a small smile appeared on her face. In response, Ginny smiled back. She could feel her cheeks heating though, so waved quickly, and then turned around to run off to the Tower. Once in front of the portrait to the common room, she gasped for a breath of air. Had she been breathing at all on the way there?

Shaking her head to herself, Ginny took in another steadying breath before climbing through the tunnel. At first, she stood, looking at her surroundings. There was Ron and Dean, playing chess in the corner with Hermione, Harry, and Seamus at his side. Despite what she'd said earlier, she wandered over to the couch in front of the fire, and fell back into its open arms. She chewed at her lower lip, staring through the flames as she gripped her stomach.

It was silly. Wasn't it? These feelings all of the sudden... Groaning to herself, she jumped when a hand pressed into her shoulder.

"Sorry. You okay there?" Hermione asked softly, leaning down onto the couch with one arm while the other pulled back, to brace her jaw.

"Ehm, yeah. I was just thinking."

"Pretty quick thinking with Cho. I hope you're not wondering too much about what might've happened. Whatever it was, she's fine. And you didn't lose control. You really did a good thing, Ginny..." Hermione said. As if testing the waters, unsure if she was on the right track.

Ginny forced a smile. "Yeah. I guess. I was just lucky though."

Hermione pursed her lips to one side, and shook her head. "Lucky or not, your instincts were to save her and you did. Is that why you're over here by yourself?"

Sighing Ginny shook her head. "Hermione, you're kind of butting in." Her tone was good-natured, and Hermione laughed, patting her on the shoulder as she stood.

"Right. Well, you know where to find me if you have anything you want to talk about. I wouldn't recommend anyone over in that corner. Apart from -" Hermione's eyes were set on the chess board and its players mingled with audience.

"Dean?"

"Well," Hermione started, looking uneasy, "Like I said, I'm here."

"Thanks 'mione. I'm alright. It's more of a - teenage hormone thing, than anything worth worrying about. I don't know why I'm bothering, really."

Hermione's smile was glaringly bright when she nodded. "Oh, well, then I leave you to your inner duel." She offered a wink, and then bounced back over to the boys.

Duel. Ginny wasn't really fond of those. Least of all when they concerned only herself. She would see if the next time she saw Cho, probably with perfectly dried hair and not having almost been flung off her broom, she still felt the same need to run away and hide. If she did. Well, she'd do the exact opposite, and go from there.

Chapter Text

How the transition occurred, between talking, and... this, Ginny wasn't really capable of explaining. In part, she would blame the instilled anti-Slytherin attitudes of Hogwarts other three Houses, and a bottle of smuggled firewhiskey. Although if that was all it took, the whole room would have been a mess of lips and tongues and, well - frankly unsavory for an educational institution. As it were, Ginny and Cho were the only two in the room of requirement currently falling prey to quite this level of teenage stereotypes.

The more likely culprit would have to be Ginny's big mouth, and even bigger resolve.

She had seen Cho, dry hair, and fear-free. A few times over the last couple of days. While Ginny had planned to reject her instinct to turn tail and run at the very first thought of it, she hadn't fully succeeded. If only because of a mixture of bad timing and academic pressures. At least, that's what she told herself while cursing as she lay in bed at night, with the back of her hand along her forehead and her eyes screwed shut too tight.

Definitely, she planned on going about the process much more gently, but when the same day she told herself to get it over and done with turned out to be the same day Hufflepuff won their first match against Slytherin in decades... Well, a party got in the way.

One even the professors were ignoring in favor of having one of their own, no students allowed.

So there Cho had been, standing with her little group of Ravenclaw friends by a dim torch near the wall. Rather cool, Ginny thought, as she closed her eyes and punched down a shot of the whiskey her brothers had sent post-haste upon learning of the Slytherin defeat.

A distinctly Hermione giggle sounded from beside her, awakening Ginny in a way she hadn't realized was necessary. "What?" Ginny scowled, smacking her tongue against the roof of her mouth and the sickly syrup deposited there.

"You should stop staring, Gin... I mean, it's really quite sweet, but perhaps a little creepy considering you're meant to have a smile on your face right now." Hermione elbowed her gently, and laughed.

Sighing, Ginny nodded her head, pulling her gaze away. "Right. I just. Made a promise to myself that I don't really fancy keeping at the moment." She looked Hermione over carefully. Clearly she hadn't touched the alcohol, as she wasn't even minutely disheveled like a majority of the room. Yet she still appeared bubbly. "You're happy for someone not terribly invested in Quidditch."

Hermione shrugged, a half smirk on her mouth. "I got some exam results back."

"Exam? What exam?"

Jiggling on the balls of her feet, Hermione squeezed her eyes shut before opening them wide, along with her mouth in a huge smile. "I'm not supposed to discuss it but... I had an opportunity to test out of certain courses. I've... I've officially got enough credits to take seventh year classes after Christmas holiday. I'm - blindingly pleased."

"Aw 'mione!" Ginny shouted, swinging around to place her arms over Hermione's shoulders, and back. "I'm so happy for you! I mean. of course you bloody would, but that's amazing!"

Hermione said a muffled thanks into Ginny's sweater, and was positively beaming when her friend took a step back. "Don't tell anyone though?" Her mouth thinned at one side. "I don't really want to cause a raucous over it. I'm hoping for the best. That no one will be too upset I'm not in their class."

"But at the same time, you kinda hope they'll miss you?" Ginny interjected with a knowing slice of a smile.

Nodding, Hermione huffed out a hot breath through her nose. "Silly, I know. I'm not even fully decided about switching classes, but... it's not an advantage I can easily give up either."

"You deserve whichever will make you happiest," Ginny said sincerely, rubbing Hermione's back, between her shoulder blades.

"You do, too," Hermione said, winking, and then tilting her head toward Cho.

Caught out, Ginny blushed a red mimicking her whiskey, and looked down at her Mary Janes. "It's just a bit of a crush, really... I don't even know her that well."

Laying her head against Ginny's shoulder, Hermione hummed, then said quietly, "Sometimes you don't have to. It wasn't as if I knew Viktor all that well, fourth year. All I knew was that he was charming, and paid attention to me. He was kind, and... If you give her that, Ginny, how could she possibly turn you down?"

Pursing her lips, Ginny thought on that for a moment. While it wasn't exactly a raving review, and Hermione hadn't really stuck with Viktor for very long, as anything more than a friend, she had a point. Even if nothing came of it but a life-long pen pal, wasn't that worth it? "D'you think Harry'd -?"

"No," Hermione said immediately. "In fact, I think he'd be glad for anything else to come between he and his awkward memories of her."

"Was it? Awkward, I mean?" Ginny hadn't heard. There'd been something about kissing around the mill, but Ginny tended not to spend time with crowds who lived their lives talking about other's.

"Unfortunately. Only because he made it that way, I'm afraid. Now he's mature enough to understand that. But you know how haunting ex-relationships can be."

She did. Even though she and Dean ended on quite good terms, it was still hard to find the right flow of conversation with him. To this day half of her wished she'd left him alone, just so that she could use him for platonic hugs and as a study buddy once more.

Ginny glanced to the side of her, where the table of drinks sat, and eyed another shot glass. "Am I too... reliant on crutches, Hermione?"

With a small, wry smile, Hermione came 'round to look Ginny straight on. She pushed her hair behind her shoulders on one side. Lifted a smudge of mascara with her thumb, and then handed Ginny a strip of refreshing gum. "Chew this. Forget the whiskey. You'll do brilliantly." Then she gave a firm nod of her head, as Ginny unwrapped the gum and shoved it into her mouth. It instantly cleared away the syrup and grime, leaving her mouth feeling bubbly clean. With a half smile, she grabbed one of Hermione's hands, and held it for a moment, out of gratitude. Hermione smiled and then tugged Ginny forward, and passed her, into the direction of Cho and her mates.

If only her friends weren't here, Ginny thought, begrudgingly. Never mind them, though, she insisted. As did Hermione's voice within her head. Wouldn't that be a terrifying conscience to have? Luckily, Hermione was only there when Ginny truly needed her.

"Erm, Cho?" Ginny asked, voice half-gone. She cleared her throat as Cho glanced up, and her friends clammed up. "I -" she pushed her hair behind her ear needlessly, and then forced herself to look into Cho's eyes. "I was wondering if I might speak to you for just a moment?"

"Sure," Cho said, cheeks budging up, creating a beautiful space for her white-toothed smile. If Cho had been any more beautiful, Ginny wouldn't have stood a chance. Her knees were shaking as it was, and she took much too long to decide which part of the room granted them enough privacy without being the most obvious place to get rejected.

Swallowing harshly, once in a corner of the room, by a book case, Ginny stroked the binding of a text book, as she edged the words out of her swollen throat. "This will sound rather silly, I'm sure but..." Taking in a deep breath through her nose, she turned her eyes to Cho's wide open, awaiting gaze. "I - uh - I'm afraid I've gotten a bit of a. Crush. On you. Recently, and I was just wondering if -"

Though her line of site had defaulted back to the ground as she went on, she found herself centering back on Cho's face as her words tumbled out. There, she found the most glorious smile to surely have ever graced any human, ever before. But had little less than a moment to appreciate it before her eyes closed with the contact of mouth against mouth. Her body went rigid with her shock, and her belly pooled warm and honey-like as the softness of Cho's lips kneaded Ginny's own. A thin, stunningly cool hand also found it's way to her cheek and ear. Ginny gasped into their kiss.

Just as Cho was about to pull back, she reciprocated, catching up to what was happening, and placing a hand securely at Cho's waist.

"Merlin..." she whispered, slowly opening her eyes as Cho finally took a smidge of a step back.

Giggling behind her hand, Cho was clearly blushing. Ginny, in turn, felt her cheeks heat up, and a small laugh caught in her mouth. She chewed it away with the help of her gum, and couldn't stop looking into Cho's gorgeous eyes.

"Um," Ginny started, baselessly, shaking her head.

"Yeah," Cho said, around a wide smile, and crinkled eyes. "You maybe... wanna do something together some time? Just the two of us."

There wasn't exactly a trip to Hogsmeade happening any time soon, and without that the regime for dating was quite limited. Nevertheless, it meant quite a lot that such a social butterfly would be willing to find a way to get some alone time with Ginny. Especially being in two different Houses. Ginny nodded enthusiastically. "Really. I'd really like that," she breathed out. "My brothers had this map once... I can ask them for suggestions?"

Cho smiled in agreement. "I'm actually pretty good at making drinks. Maybe we could have a little picnic of sorts."

"Aw, I'd love that. I can bring the sandwiches. Promise I'll even make them myself."

"Cool."

Ginny's chest felt so full and wonderful, and her hand was still at Cho's waist, so she didn't want to let the opportunity go so quickly. She leaned forward again, pecking Cho's mouth. She closed her eyes tightly, as Cho pressed back, although with an air of 'goodbye' to it. It was difficult to fully retract herself, but once she saw Cho's gaze go to her friends, chuckling in their direction, Ginny's blush was too hot. They felt as if they might combust, so her body moved backward, and she nodded when Cho half-waved at her, and went off to join them.

She positively could have screamed with delight, however, and trounced over to Hermione to give her a gigantic hug, to at least let some of her emotions out without embarrassment. "Merlin, I think I like her even more, now..." she rasped into Hermione's ear, as Hermione sniggered.

"I hear that's how the good relationships start."

"I hope so," Ginny said, heart clenching in her chest, threatening to mean the sentiment more than was particularly healthy. After releasing her embrace, she spent the rest of the evening, although the party came to a close not too long after, sending glances at Cho, and receiving them in kind.

"What's this then?" a deeper voice interrupted, after Ginny and Hermione had migrated to the clump of Gryffindor boys they called their own. Ginny nearly leapt out of her skin at Harry's sudden question.

A part of her choked inside. One piece being the little girl who quietly adored Harry Potter as more than friend or brother. Another piece as the girl who came to feel safe with said friend and brother... who wished never to hurt him. Despite what Hermione said, Ginny worried. She'd meant to speak with him directly, but so consumed in not being pathetic around Cho, she merely wanted respite when only with her friends.

"Harry..." Ginny started softly, head lilting to the side. "I - I wondered..."

Smirking, Harry patted Ginny on the top of the head. "It seemed to be more than that," he jested, before pulling her into a one-armed hug, his other still balancing on her head. "You're okay," he whispered to her, now that they were closer. "I'm going to be rooting for you the whole time."

Something within Ginny's racing heart split open with brilliant light, and she clung to his jumper, at his back, sticking her nose confidently in his chest, feeling nearly on the verge of tears. Perhaps whiskey really wasn't the best idea, after all. "It won't hurt you?"

"Not in the slightest," he told her confidently, holding her even tighter, her silken hair bunched gently between his fingers. "And if anything should happen, and you need someone to talk to, just know that I'm here. I know, I know... I've got a bad reputation when it comes to these things, and Hermione's bound to be first choice. But... anyway, I want you to know that. Same with Ron. We'll always be here for you, even if you don't want us to be." He added a soft laugh at the end before kissing her atop the head and pulling back to see her watery, red eyes.

"Thanks," she smiled, stepping back, and running a sleeved arm across her nose. "I guess I needed that."

With soft eyes, Harry nodded, picking his drink back up off the table beside her, and then stepping back into the animated conversation Ron and Seamus seemed to be having. Ginny, still slightly under the influence of teenage emotions and just a bit of alcohol, came to rest at Hermione's side along the tufted arm chair, slotting her hand with Hermione's and leaning her head on Hermione's shoulder, this time. "I'm not allowed anymore firewhiskey. Is that understood?"

"Absolutely," Hermione said, grazing her cheek along Ginny's head. "Unless of course you ask for it."

"Of course," Ginny replied, with a nasal laugh. "I think it's bed time for me."

"I, for one, think that is a great idea. Why don't you go and say goodnight to Cho, and then us two can head to the dormitories?"

"I love you," Ginny said warmly. Not just to Hermione, not really, but to the whole lot standing before her. She simply couldn't imagine what she'd do when they were all gone. And she didn't want to.