When Harry Potter and Hermione Granger decided they were more than friends, the entire world seemed to be watching.
What they saw was a bitter disappointment.
As far as most people could tell, nothing had changed. Harry and Ron never got into a fistfight. The trio still went to Hogsmeade as a trio. Harry and Hermione weren't prone to showing affection in public. She still nagged him about homework. He still ignored her in favour of playing Quidditch with Ron.
And so, after the initial news broke, gossip quickly died down. Harry and Hermione were simply far too boring.
In Ginny's opinion, the problem was that Harry and Hermione were much better at being best friends than they were at being a couple.
At first, it had given her hope. Soon they'd admit that they weren't suited for each other-that they were best friends and nothing more. With it out of their systems, Ginny would give Harry a few weeks to move on before revealing her own feelings for him.
But they never split up.
The longer they went on, the more frustrated Ginny became.
She's been waiting on Harry for ages. Since she was a little girl she'd known there was something about Harry that set him apart. He was different than other boys his age. He cared. He would do anything for someone else, not because he had to, but merely because it was who he was. Harry's personality was one that drew others in-that made others desire his respect and attention. Ginny desperately wanted to be the girl he bestowed his attention on.
She tried moving on. But she'd quickly learned through Michael and Dean that most boys were after one thing and one thing only. So she'd been drawn back to Harry, knowing that it would be different with him. Harry cared. He'd respect her-that's how he was.
It all made sense. After liking him for years, she'd grown out of her earlier infatuation with him. Her feelings for Harry were no longer based on his simple virtue of being The Boy Who Lived. Now she liked him for Harry and Harry alone. Best of all, he was someone who she knew would be accepted into her family without question. Her mother would be delighted. Ron wouldn't dare give him the third degree-they were best mates, after all.
After Harry got over his crush on Cho Chang, Ginny was certain that it would be easy. They were on the Quidditch team together. He was treating her like a friend-no longer Ron's little sister. She'd grown into her body and was no longer an awkward, adolescent teenager.
Then they happened.
Harry and Hermione were so good at being discreet about their relationship, Ginny suspected that no one would have suspected anything had Malfoy not caught them snogging when they were supposed to be serving detention for Snape. From that moment on, the rest of the school was determined to catch them at it again.
Harry and Hermione simply did not deny or confirm the rumours that they were together. After a while, most students accepted that they were a couple, left it at that, and returned to more fascinating gossip.
Best friends.
They were best friends-Ginny knew. They lacked that spark, the passion that belonged to other people. They worked better as friends-and it was high time they realized it.
As May dawned, Ginny began to feel the clawing sensation of desperation. Graduation was only a few weeks away.
Ginny was running out of time.
Once Harry left Hogwarts, he would begin training in earnest to fight Voldemort.
Ginny was afraid she wouldn't see him unless she gave him a reason to. She knew that Harry, Hermione, and her brother were moving into a flat together after they graduated.
Ginny was determined that when that happened, Harry and Hermione would be as they should be.
Friends. Nothing more.
***
"Can I ask you something?"
Ginny shifted in the entrance to Hermione's Head Girl room, keeping a pleasant smile on her face. Hermione was sitting cross-legged on her bed, bits of parchment and opened books spread out around her.
"Sure," Hermione said, closing her book and piling her things out of the way to make room for Ginny.
"It's about Harry," Ginny said neutrally, watching Hermione's face for a reaction.
"Harry?" Hermione repeated. "Is he-is everything all right?"
"Oh, nothing like that," Ginny said quickly. "I was just… wondering some things. About you two. I mean, I know you like to keep to yourselves and everything, but…"
"You're curious?" Hermione said. "Yes, lots of people are."
"Well, you don't seem that close," Ginny said. "And-and I care about both of you. I just-you never talk about these things, Hermione. You should. I know you're worried about Harry's fame and-and You-Know-Who, but it's normal to want to talk about it. So I just thought… I'd ask."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "Well, yes, it is the sort of thing one generally goes on about, isn't it? I suppose I've never felt the need. It's Harry, my best-"
"Friend," Ginny finished tiredly. "Yeah, I know."
Hermione seemed amused. "Alright, if it's just you. I don't mind. What would you like to know?"
Ginny grinned. "How far have you gone?"
"Oh, for heaven's sakes," Hermione muttered. "I'm hardly going to answer that."
"Is he a good kisser?"
Hermione went pink. "Honestly, Ginny… when you said you wanted to ask me about Harry, I didn't think it was going to be that!"
"I'll take that as a 'yes,' then," Ginny said.
Hermione seemed to relax and she gave a small laugh, focusing all of her attention on Ginny. "I refuse to give you an answer."
"Okay," Ginny said, shrugging. She found Hermione's eyes and dropped her voice. "Do you-do you love him?"
Hermione was silent for a long time and Ginny tensed up, waiting for the answer.
"I think…" Hermione whispered, getting a far-off look in her eyes. "I sometimes think I've always loved him. I don't think I quite remember what it felt like… before."
"Then how do you know it isn't just friendship?" Ginny blurted. Realizing what she said, she rushed to explain. "Err… I mean, does that worry you? That because you were friends for so long, you're confusing it with something else?"
"Goodness, I don't know," Hermione said. "But it feels like the most natural thing in the world, what I have with Harry. I imagine that's due in part to our friendship."
"Oh," Ginny muttered. "Do you-do you ever wonder if Harry-"
"Has different feelings for me than I do for him?" Hermione finished, raising her eyebrows. "Of course I do, almost constantly. He's never said it, you know. Oh, I suspect he does love me and is only restraining himself from saying so out of some misguided belief that if he loses to Voldemort, it will be less painful for me. Daft boy."
Ginny stared at her clenched hands in her lap, unable to keep looking at Hermione.
He's never said it, you know.
She took a deep breath. She had to know. She had to understand how they worked.
"If… if Harry ever found someone else… would you be able to let him go?"
At first, Hermione didn't give her any reaction and Ginny was afraid she wouldn't answer. Finally, Hermione started worrying her bottom lip with her teeth and Ginny realized that the question had affected her more than she was letting on.
"Yes," Hermione said. "That's what love is, isn't it? Putting someone else's happiness ahead of your own? If-if Harry was happier with someone else then-then I'd love him enough to let him go."
"And still be friends?"
Hermione heaved a sigh. "I don't know, Ginny. It's a… it's a rather painful thing for me to think about. Let's just hope I never have to worry about it."