~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hermione tried to talk to Ginny, but she refused. So, Hermione climbed in bed, and they slept with their backs to each other, with Ginny putting as much distance as possible between their bodies. Hermione hoped her friend would be more willing to talk in the morning. And more important, she really hoped Ginny didn't hate Tonks for who she was. Surely Ginny couldn't be that closed-minded. If she was, she would certainly hate Hermione for ... well something she hadn't told anyone about. She always thought if she could tell anyone, she could tell Ginny — that if anyone would understand, it would be Ginny. But now she wasn't sure.
Morning was rather quiet. Cyn and Tonks didn't rush out of bed, and neither girl was going to stir them. The two girls prepared breakfast, ate breakfast, and cleared the table in silence. Finally, as they were washing dishes, Hermione couldn't take it anymore.
"Ginny," Hermione said and waited a few moments for a response.
"Yeah," Ginny said, clicking her breakfast plate into place next to Hermione's.
"How do you really feel about it?"
"About what?"
"Tonks and Cynthia."
"I'm fine with it," Ginny replied, but she seemed to struggle with the words.
"Then why are you acting like this? "Hermione snapped, sick of Ginny's attitude. Surely Ginny understood that you couldn't choose who your heart wanted the way you choose shoes. "If it bothers you, just be honest so we can talk about it."
"It doesn't bother me that she's apparently in love with that ... that," Ginny grunted in frustration and slumped in a chair. "I'm not bothered by her perfectly suitable Quidditch-playing girlfriend. What's bothering me is that I want, well, I want her ... to like ... me."
Hermione looked confused. "She likes you. She said we were like her sisters."
Ginny rolled her eyes, annoyed that Hermione could be so daft at a time like this. It had been hard enough to admit, and now she had to clarify it. Her head dropped into her hands.
"Hermione, I don't want her to think of me as a sister."
"Oh," Hermione said, realizing that she'd missed the point.
"It's crazy. I know," Ginny said.
"No," Hermione said, sitting beside her and putting an arm around her. "She's really attractive and smart, and she can be anyone you want ... even Harry Potter. I mean if you can't have the original —"
Ginny was ready to snap; it wasn't about Harry. Then she realized Hermione was joking.
"When did this happen?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. It was gradual, I suppose. One day I was just enjoying her company, and the next day, every time I looked at her lips, I wanted to kiss them."
"Is this your first crush on a girl?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, it's bloody confusing too. I mean I like guys, but I don't know. There's something about Tonks."
"You need to tell her."
"Are you mad?" Ginny exclaimed, jumping up.
"She'll understand this better than you hating her girlfriend for no apparent reason."
"How would you know?"
"You'd be surprised," Hermione said, playing with the hem of her skirt. "I know quite well where romantic misunderstandings get you."
"What romantic misunderstanding did you have?"
"One that was quite complicated." Hermione sighed. It was time to confess. "I have, or had, a crush of a sort, on a girl. Oddly enough it happened suddenly. I wasn't looking for it, and then we kissed, and ... I don't know, it was beautiful."
"Who was it?"
"You're going to hate this," Hermione said, knowing the reaction that would come with her revelation. "It was Cho."
"Chang!" Ginny said, horrified.
"After Ron insulted her team while she was trying to talk to Harry, I felt bad. So I tracked her down, and we chatted in an empty classroom. It got ... weird, if only because things went so well. The talk I mean. She's not in Ravenclaw for nothing. She's actually rather smart, and ..." Hermione paused when she noticed the disgusted look creeping onto Ginny's face. "Come on, Ginny, she's gorgeous. Even you, who hate her, can admit that. I'd like to see how you'd handle being alone in a room with her smelling the way she does." Hermione's insides were dancing with the memory, and she flushed.
"You're a nutter."
"I know you don't like her, but I do. I like her a lot. I don't love her. I'm not planning to date her, but she's attractive and for a moment, maybe longer than a moment, I wanted her. I mean she really is the sweetest girl I've ever met. I know Marietta is a twit, but Cho was just being a loyal friend when she defended her."
"Every time she went off to Harry though, it was about you, about not liking you."
"Cho was confused, too. Certain things are expected of the most popular girl in Ravenclaw. She wanted NOT to like me. I mean neither of us had ever kissed a girl before, and we hardly expected it to be so intense."
"Well," Ginny said, now more curious about the experience. "What was it like? Was it like ... well ... this?" Ginny leaned forward and gave her friend a quick peck on the lips. "Or more like what you saw Cynthia and Tonks up to last night."
"Somewhere in the middle. There were tongues involved." Hermione paused as Ginny took a hold of these new facts. "But, we never got to really talk about it. Marrietta interrupted us."
"And she didn't blab?"
"She was a bit horrified. Cho made up some excuse I can't remember, but at the time all three of us wanted it to be true. Anyway, her pursuit of Harry only increased after that. She was confused enough about the whole Cedric and Harry thing. I was a whole new level of confusion for her. She thought pursuing a male suitor would clear it up a bit. I was quite confused, too, and I didn't want to ruin Harry's chance, so I let it go. "
"Do you still fancy her at all?"
"A bit. I still think about the way she smells and the way she felt next to me, and I think, ‘what if.' But even though the kiss was good, really good, I don't honestly think I'm ready to give up on boys or anything." Hermione sighed. "Glad I got that out. Anyway, I felt a little better after I talked to Cho at the Quidditch game."
"What did you say?"
"That's private, but the point is you need to talk to Tonks."
"I can't."
"Listen, Cho pushed her confused feelings about me on Harry, and your confused feelings about Tonks are being pushed into this animosity against Cynthia. And it's going to make Tonks think you don't accept her. It's better for her know you have a crush on her than to think you hate her for being her."
"You're right," Ginny said. "Thanks, Hermione, you really are the best choice I ever made in a friend."
Just then Tonks walked in, once again wearing the long sweatshirt that looked like a nightgown.
"Morning, ladies," Tonks said.
Tonks was shocked when Ginny hugged her. She didn't know Ginny's pulse was quickening at the contact.
"I'm sorry for my bad mood last night," Ginny said.
"It's okay," Tonks, said stroking her hair. A tingle ran down the young girl's spine.
"I adore you, you know," Ginny said. Hermione smiled, knowing that this statement only scratched the surface.
"Me too," Tonks replied.
And it was enough for now. Ginny wasn't ready to speak up about more yet.