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Aug. 12th, 2010 02:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ginny_weasley posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
hogwashWho: Ginny Weasley & Katie Bell
What: Intense discussion post-Harpies practice
Where: Katie's flat
When: Evening
Rating: PG-13(for language)
Status: Complete
Ginny sighed and relaxed into the hot water spraying against the taxed muscles of her back. After what proved to be an exhausting day of practise, Ginny needed a hot shower and a stiff drink. “Oi! Katie!” She called, her voice bouncing off of the walls of the locker room. “Your flat clean?” There was no need to ask, because in the months that they had spent together on the Harpies, Ginny couldn’t remember a time when it wasn’t impeccably kept. Finishing up the task of washing away the grime that often came with the territory of physical exertion, Ginny stepped out of the shower wrapped in a white, fluffy towel. Striding over to her cubbyhole, she pulled out her knickers and expertly slipped them on without anyone being able to sneak a peek--or snag her towel. Dropping it unceremoniously where she stood, she pulled on a t-shirt and pants. Casting a quick-drying charm on her hair, she called out again. “C’mere! What d’you say you make me dinner tonight, yeah?”
Katie was lying on a bench one row of lockers over, sprawled out on her stomach, her cheek against the varnished wood. She never spent long in the shower after practice-- she was a little more circumspect than a lot of the other girls and had never quite developed that nonchalant ease they had with their bodies, calling over the shower walls to each other. It was something she vaguely envied, a feeling she couldn’t quite pin down. Katie’s skin was still ruddy and wind-whipped, her wispy blond hair dry but piled loosely on top of her head, and her muscles felt pleasantly worked, loose and warm. She’d be sore in the morning, she thought, as she heard Ginny hollering for her. She pushed herself up with a groan.
“When are you going to take me out on a proper date?” she said with a grin, folding her arms and leaning against the bank of lockers. “This is a marriage, Ginny, it’s time we admitted it. Always expecting me to cook for you, drinking all my Firewhisky, falling asleep on my sofa... no, I’m taking the piss. Lasagna all right with you? I think I could throw it together.”
Now that she was finished getting ready, Ginny tucked her wand into her pocket and made a show of strutting over to Katie. Offering her arm to her, she grinned. “Well, now you’ve gone and spoiled the surprise. What with all that nagging you do, I was under the impression you were already my bloody wife. Now c’mon then, your Firewhisky isn’t going to drink itself. Plus, I’d really like that lasagna, been a while since you’ve made me pasta.” She winked at Katie discreetly. Turning back to the rest of their teammates, she waved a goodbye in their general direction. She was sure that many of them were planning on heading out to the Holyhead Pub and getting absolutely pissed. Normally, she would be up for that kind of raucous affair, but she always did look forward to spending a relaxing night with Katie. Tonight, though, Ginny had a plan--she just had to tell her, even if it was something she already knew.
“So, shall we Side-Long Apparate? I’ll let you do the honours.” She grinned. Ginny wasn’t quite as precise when it came to Apparition--she had Splinched a pinky once in recent memory.
“Didn’t I tell you? Lost my license. Splinched a lad right in half, when they came back to find him his kidneys were gone. Sold them. --And you’re a lazy bint,” said Katie, but she was laughing. She went back to her locker to retrieve her bag, stuffed full of her practice robes, which were in desperate need of a wash. She slipped the strap over her head and across her body, blowing a dislodged strand of hair out of her face with an impatient breath.
Katie slid her arm into Ginny’s with a grin, slipping her wand out of her back pocket. Apparating always made her feel slightly seasick for a few minutes, but it was worth it for the convenience; with a delicate pop and that disconcerting hollow sucking feeling behind her navel, she and Ginny were standing in the front room of Katie’s cozy little flat. It was neatly, almost immaculately kept, with an oversized squashy sofa that nearly took over the front room, and the mantel was adorned with photos and knickknacks. She had chosen it because of the large windows that looked out onto the street below, and they were cracked open a bit, their filmy curtains billowing in the faint breeze.
“Have a seat,” she said, and then shook her head, pounding the heel of her hand against her temple as if she were trying to dislodge the water from her ear. “God, I hate Apparating sometimes.”
“Sod off, eh? That is no way to speak to your wife. Threatening to gut me like a pig and calling me a bint... that is out of line, you slag!” An exaggerated look of mock disapproval crossed Ginny’s features before she ruined her own act by laughing. As she waited for Katie to return with her belongings, she dramatically tapped her foot until she returned. “Bloody hell, finally! Now can we go?” Grinning easily at Katie, she braced herself for the unpleasant sensation that she mentally likened to being sucked through a very thin straw.
Upon arrival to Katie’s flat, Ginny always took a moment to glance around and admire her choice of knicknacks--she did rather like Katie’s taste in decoration. Thinking of how her own flat was laughably kept, Ginny figured it didn’t much matter how she decorated it. There was something very homey about the furniture in her flat, and perhaps that was partially because she had grown so accustomed to comfort living in the Burrow and in Gryffindor Tower. “Well, don’t mind if I do!” Kicking off her trainers, Ginny hopped over the back of the sofa and landed comfortably on the cushion. “Apparating is a right pain in the arse. I don’t understand why we have to bother. Brooms are so much easier to handle! I thought I was going to lose my bloody license that time I Splinched my pinky. Do you remember that? ... Are your ears all right?” Noticing that she was spending quite a bit of time hitting and prodding around her ears, Ginny looked at Katie quizzically.
She sighed, stretching out her surprisingly short, compact body on the sofa and propping her head up on the cushioned arm to keep an eye on her. “Listen, what I’m about to offer you is rarer than rocking dragon shit, all right? I’ll help you make dinner as long as you fetch me a bit of Firewhisky.”
“My ears are fine, my brains always just feel a bit scrambled after Apparating.... although I think I forgot to bring Ginny with me. Who is this strange creature that does not object to cooking?” Katie rapped her knuckles lightly on the top of Ginny’s head as she passed her, going to the liquor cabinet.
“Aren’t your brains always scrambled? I always thought you were dead from the neck up, really.” Ginny gave Katie a dirty look and rubbed her head where she was violently attacked by the blonde’s knuckles. “Bloody hell, maybe I just want to get better at it! My mum is too controlling in the kitchen for me to learn shite. Oi, c’mon, you’re taking too long!” Sighing resolutely, she rolled off of the sofa and followed Katie over to the liquor cabinet. Knowing exactly where the Firewhisky was, she took the bottle, opened it and quickly took a swig. “Ah, much better...” She sighed, a few wisps of smoke issuing from her mouth as it opened.
“So.. ah, didn’t you go out to a pub somewhere few nights ago? Meet anyone?” She asked, a bit awkwardly. Usually Ginny wasn’t the type to falter in conversation, but she struggled now with the weight on her mind. Part of her wished the Firewhisky would give her the boost of confidence she desperately needed.
“You are the most impatient person-- ugh, don’t get your spit in it--” Katie flopped sideways into one of the large reading chairs, her legs draped over the armrest. She was quiet for a moment or two, picking at a hangnail on her thumb. “Yeah, I did go out, but I didn’t meet anyone. Dead from the neck down, too,” she teased.
“Maybe you just haven’t met the right bloke yet.” Ginny raised her eyebrow at her curiously. Katie was an attractive bird, it never did make sense why she didn’t have a bloke at her beck and call. “And sod off, not like we’ve never shared a drink before!” She rolled her eyes, taking another healthy swallow of whisky before settling down on the floor at Katie’s feet. Holding the bottle by the neck, she casually handed it off to her. “Sure you want to cook? We could just get muggle take-away or something! I hear it’s brilliant, I got it once with George. ... Are there take-away places here?”
“Plenty of them, yeah, I love Chinese food.” Katie took a swig of the liquor, feeling the brief heat of it swell in her throat before it warmed her stomach. She passed the bottle back to Ginny. “Actually, takeaway would be brilliant, I don’t know if I can get my arse back out of this chair. --And yeah, I don’t have much time for meeting blokes, that’s the bloody truth. I don’t mind it so much? But sometimes it gets a bit lonely.”
“Thanks.” She plucked the bottle back from Katie’s fingers and took another hearty swallow. “Well, all right. I don’t know what I got from it the last time, so you ought to order for us. I think I liked the noodles...” She trailed off thoughtfully, then piped up suddenly again. “Wait! How are we going to get it? Do they just.. bring it to your flat?” Without noticing, she took another swig of whisky. “Oi, well, you can’t really with Quidditch season. You really ought to start shagging your fans, bring some life back into that lower half of you, yeah?” Handing the bottle back up to Katie, she sighed and worked up her courage. “Listen, Katie, ah.. I’ve--well, I’ve wanted to talk to you about something.”
“They’ll deliver it to the flat,” said Katie with a grin. She liked the fact that she functioned as easily in the Muggle world-- her father’s territory-- as easily as she did in the wizarding one, ever entertained by the apparent mystery that the Muggle world seemed to hold. She took another pull from the bottle, shifting in the chair until she was comfortable, untangling her hair from its loose bun on top of her head. “What’s-- you all right? What’s going on, then?”
“That’s brilliant! Does it take a long time? Muggles are brilliant at things like that, eh? Do they drive here?” She was always curious about Muggles because she had grown up immersed in the Wizarding world. Even though she had knowledge of muggles and their clever inventions, she had never really experienced any of that. Arthur had a rather skewed view of Muggles himself, from the standpoint of a Pureblood wizard who respected them as equals but had little understanding of what each invention actually managed to do for a muggle. It was something to be envied, Ginny thought, to understand both worlds the way Halfbloods or Muggleborns did. Katie’s query snapped her back into the conversation that she brought upon herself. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she decided to just say it quickly like she would drink a foul-tasting potion. “All right, well, listen. I-I never told you, but I’m... I’m a, ah. A lesbian. I’ve.. really wanted to tell you for a while, but uh, didn’t know how you’d react.”
Katie choked. Choking on Firewhisky was a dangerous business; her throat filled briefly with smoke before she coughed it away, putting a hand to her chest. “Well, for fuck’s sake,” she managed to say. “I can’t say as I’m awfully surprised, but if you’re about to tell me you’re in love with me, I might have to stop making you dinner on a regular basis... no, this isn’t the time to joke, I’m sorry. Oi.”
“Oi!” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, I like you and all that, Katie, but I can’t really imagine us as an item.” Laughing at the thought, Ginny leaned back against the armchair. It felt good, she supposed, to get the stupid thing off her chest. “You’re all right, aren’t you? No, no, I don’t fancy you, don’t worry. I haven’t tried to sneak a peek at you in the locker rooms, either. Ah, you’re the, ah, first person I’ve told, really.” She cleared her throat, glancing up at her uncertainly.
Katie shifted in the chair again, twisting a bit so that she could see Ginny’s face. “All right, yeah. Just... it’s a bit peculiar, isn’t it? It’s not that I think anything’s wrong with you, far from it, it’s just funny to try to think of you that way now. I’ve never had to before. It surprised me... didn’t you... I mean I always thought you and Harry would... I know you did, but I thought you’d get it back together, or I’d assumed.”
“Ah, well, didn’t you think the story of us breaking up was a bit, fishy?” She raised her eyebrow quizzically. “I always thought someone would see through it, you know. Harry found me, er, seeing to a pretty girl at a pub when he unexpectedly came back from an Auror mission early.” Clearing her throat, she averted her eyes to one of the numerous knicknacks on the mantel as she pressed on. “Had a bit of a time admitting it to myself, really. Thought it was something wrong with the boys I was going with, yeah? Turned out I just really liked birds.” Shrugging, she glanced back at Katie. “I’m glad you don’t think there’s something.. er, wrong. I just worry... well. Mum didn’t take it too well that Harry and I broke up, said I’d really pulled an awful stunt by stringing him along. I can’t imagine what she’d say if I told her I was a dyke, playing on an all-women’s professional Quidditch team. Rita Skeeter would have a bloody field day with that.” Sighing, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, steadying herself.
Katie rubbed the back of her fingers against her mouth as she listened, her eyes downcast, nodding slowly. It did make a bit more sense now, she had to admit to herself. Katie had a face that often looked too serious, unless she was smiling; her brows were straight and almost severe, and her mouth turned down a bit at the corners. When Ginny finished speaking, she looked up. “Yeah, but Ginny, that’s your business-- your mum doesn’t have to know it all. Despite the fact that she might think she does.” A sly grin stole across Katie’s mouth. She loved Molly Weasley wholeheartedly, with almost a little bit of longing-- Molly was such an obvious mother, so loving and meddling and kind.
“But really though,” she said, turning onto her side a little and passing the bottle back. “Rita Skeeter would nose into anyone’s business, but... it shouldn’t matter to anyone, is what I’m saying, what you do on your own time. We play bloody Quidditch, we’re not trying to save the world.”
She laughed at that--they were heroes in their own right, of course, saving the Wizarding world from complete and utter boredom, she supposed. “I know you’re right, but.. well.” She faltered for a moment, the laugh died quietly on her lips and her eyes turned serious; serious did not suit Ginny’s appearance with her bright eyes and her fiery mane. “It’s hard being the only girl in a family full of boys. Mum has certain... expectations.” Unsettled by the idea of disappointing her family, Ginny lifted the bottle to her lips and squeezed her eyes shut to brace against the satisfying burn. Hissing at the sensation, she handed it back up to Katie--she was coherent enough to know that she should take it easy. “And... well, there are other things, too, about it that would be more than uncomfortable to my family.” It was hard to even think about the other piece of the puzzle of her sexuality--the reason she was so aware of it in the first place.
“She can’t have expected you to be anything but, with all those brothers.” Katie nudged her in the shoulder with the bottle, raising an eyebrow. She was always inclined to tease when she didn’t know quite what to say. “Your mum’s got expectations for all of you. She expects Bill and Fleur to bring the grandbabies by, she expects George to make his fortune and get married eventually, she expects Ron and Hermione to procreate and make the most genius redhead witches and wizards in the history of the world...”
She listened to Katie’s words of wisdom(and teasing) and took them for what they were worth. Katie was always the more level-headed of the pair of them, of course, seeing as anyone was level-headed next to a Weasley. But it was comforting to hear it nonetheless. When she started naming her brothers, though, Ginny felt a particular uneasiness and then, at the name she dreaded most to hear, felt her throat constrict uncomfortably. For a long moment, she didn’t say or do much of anything. Then, feeling a bit braver, she spoke and her voice wavered uncertainly. “It’s the last bit that hurts.”
“Ron and Hermione bearing legendary children? You’d be the proudest auntie there ever was, Ginny, you’d be unbearable. You’d have their photos up in your locker, oh, little so-and-so was--” Katie’s brain caught up with her words then, and she closed her mouth. She took a deep breath and let it out, puffing her cheeks. “Oh. Bugger.”
“Exactly.” Ginny had her eyes closed, willing herself to just relax and to not bloody cry in front of her best mate. “You get it now, I expect? Do you see why I might have a spot of trouble with family affairs?” There was a hint of a joke in her tone, though it wasn’t all that funny. She sighed and, finally tired of her arse aching from sitting on the floor, stood up only to settle back down on the sofa nearby. “I don’t want to, well, balls everything up. I wouldn’t do anything, you know, I couldn’t. Ron deserves all of it... but, it’s hard to watch.” She shook her head and ran her fingers through her straight, red hair. “I’m, erm, sorry, you know. Didn’t really mean for tonight to be depressing.”
“Oi, no, I’m just... recalibrating.” Katie was a little overwhelmed. She stood up, going to the desk in the corner to rifle through the takeaway menus, searching for the one for the little Chinese restaurant a few streets away. After a moment, however, she turned back. “All right, what the actual fuck, mate? Hermione Granger?”
“Katie, if I could bloody control it, don’t you think I would have?! For Merlin’s sake, my brother’s been in love with her since they’ve been eleven!” She grimaced and put her hands over her forehead, staring at the ceiling without actually seeing it. “I don’t fucking understand why it has to be her. Of all the birds I could fancy, it had to be her! She’s bossy, she’s an insufferable know-it-all, she’s all theory and logic... but blimey, Katie! I just-I...” Biting her lip, she trailed off. It wasn’t something she allowed herself to say aloud, it made the fact that she was impossibly in love with Hermione Granger, one of her closest mates and the best friend of her famous ex-boyfriend, much too real for her to handle. “I need to do something about this, yeah? I don’t mean trying to get her to see it my way. You’ve got to help me.”
“Me?!” Katie’s voice scaled up incredulously. She put the menu back down on the desk, crossing back to the sofa and sitting down next to Ginny, curling one leg beneath her. Her pale blonde hair was wild, making her look a bit electrified. “Ginny... I’m glad to listen, you know I am. This is all a lot to take in but it’s no trouble to try, I’m just... Hermione. It took me by surprise, it’d take anyone by surprise, this would. But I’ll be frank and tell you I’ve got no idea how in the world I’m expected to help you, unless you just need to keep talking. I can feed you and get you drunk and listen, but I’ve got no idea...”
“I know, it took me by surprise when I pieced it all together! Why do you think I was so confused, eh? It’s a mindfuck, this is! But it’s what I need, Katie. I just.. I need you to support me and to not, well, judge me. I don’t expect you know how to handle all of this just yet. That’ll take time, I know, and I’m not worried about that. You’ve been a brilliant help already. But, I mean, is it just me? Haven’t.. haven’t you ever been in love with someone so bloody unattainable?” Budging over, Ginny leaned against the sofa’s armrest and curiously watched Katie across the couch.
“I’m the most boring girl you’ll ever come across, mate.” Katie drew one of the bright throw pillows into her lap, crossing her legs. She looked suddenly uncomfortable. “It’s not just you, though, I know that much. It happens. It just... how did you even realize?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. Boring people don’t generally play professional Quidditch--stupid ones do.” Ginny managed a small grin at that, before she theoretically turned her attention to the question. “I don’t know, mate. It was... a long time coming. Sometimes your eyes linger a bit too long and you think ‘oh, that shirt looks quite good on her today.’ and then it gradually becomes ‘bloody hell, look at her!’ and there you are, staring at the woman who’s practically your brother’s bloody wife. It was fishy, I suppose, because Michael Corner and Dean really did nothing for me, you know. Girls who I was friends with snogged them after me and asked me why I broke up with them in the first place. I reasoned that they weren’t Harry. I just.. fell into making all these.. excuses for myself.”
Katie propped her elbow on the back of the sofa, resting her temple against her fist. “Well, Michael Corner and Dean Thomas never did anything for me either,” she said wryly, mischief in her blue eyes. “No, no, all right, I’m sorry-- this is serious, I’m being serious. Has it always been just Hermione, though?”
She laughed at that. Even though it was a time to be serious(and sadly, her buzz had died before she even got to really enjoy it), Ginny couldn’t help laughing. “Oi, so my taste in blokes is dreadful, I’ll give you that. ... No, not just her. It’s always been her, of course, but do you really think I just talk to our fans? I had a few.. well, trysts back at Hogwarts before things got bad but after Harry left... didn’t think they meant much! Just thought it was healthy experimentation and all that.” Sighing, she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Trysts.” Katie was snickering. “I’m just remembering Ron going mental about you snogging Dean in the corridors, just imagining the look on his face if he’d caught you with... I don’t even know, Alicia Spinnet...” The mental picture was too much, and it sent Katie off into peals of merry laughter, doubled over.
“Sod off, all right! Alicia wasn’t even a dyke.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, waiting for Katie’s laughter to subside. “Although, I wouldn’t be pointing the finger if I were you, Bell.” Glaring at her playfully, she leaned back. “As I remember it, Alicia wasn’t the only one people were thinking might have... other tastes.”
“Ooh, barracuda. Touché.” Katie was still laughing. “I don’t care what that lot thinks of me, not much. I had Quidditch to play and all that. You like sports, you like girls, don’t you know that’s the systematic logic? --But on topic, really,” she said, sobering a bit. “I... is it that bad? The... Hermione thing?”
Katie had an infectious laugh, and Ginny had no qualms with simply laughing along. It was easy to forget the discussion at hand when it was painful. “You can’t imagine, mate. I mean, it’s the fact that no matter what I bloody do... I just can’t have her. It’s like, being too old to go to tryouts for a Quidditch team but knowing you’ve worked your arse off and that you’re good enough to be on the starting string.” She shook her head and sighed. “Just one of those things--instead of the one who got away, the one who couldn’t be caught in the first place.”
“Yeah, I don’t think she’s... I mean, she’s in love with Ron, isn’t she.” It wasn’t quite a question, and Katie’s voice was grave, careful. “Not really into girls, seems like, and anyway... well. I understand what you mean about it causing family problems if you said that much, at any rate. But I’m sure you’ll find somebody that’s even better, Ginny, and you know I think Hermione’s as good as they’re made. You’ll find someone that wants you back just as much, yeah?”
“Thanks, Katie.” Her voice broke then, and the first hint of tears welled in her eyes. Ginny wasn’t much for crying in front of people, or at all really, but she just couldn’t help herself as they made quiet tracks down her cheeks. Mopping at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, she took a deep, calming breath to sort out her voice. “No, doesn’t really seem like she’s into birds. Ron’s.. well, Ron, but... I’m rooting for him. I’m rooting for him, but I bloody loathe him like you wouldn’t believe, mate. My own brother! I’ve really got to sort this out. I need to just.. I don’t know, find some brilliant girl with curly hair and a bossy way about her. Are there a lot of those, do you think?”
“We’re in England, mate. There’ve got to be loads, we’re just stuck on a Quidditch pitch. Not their natural habitat, you see. You need to spend more time in libraries and at rallies for the rights of some small winged magical creatures that only seven people have ever heard of.” Katie smiled at her, reaching over to nudge her in the shoulder. “Don’t cry,” she said, more softly. “You’ll get it sorted out. I know you that well.”
“Oi, all right... I expect you’re on to something with that, about the rallies and libraries. You know I’m not much of a reader, though. Don’t mind it, of course, but... well, I’m not exactly clamoring to go off and read now, am I?” She smiled sadly at Katie--the library, she expected, was Hermione’s happy place and it made the idea of finding someone else there rather uncomfortable. But, perhaps her friend was right. It was time to take some kind of action, after all. “Speaking of sorting things out, you really ought to quit this celibacy you seem bent on upholding, yeah?” Arching her eyebrows, she nudged her right back. “You’re cute and rather famous these days, don’t blokes love that?”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Katie sighed an overdramatic sigh, shrugging elaborately. “I guess they don’t take to it very well when their girlfriend can outstrip them on a broom and can beat them at arm-wrestling. --No, my real excuse is that I haven’t got a bloody minute to offer to anyone.” She wasn’t quite meeting Ginny’s eyes anymore now, and she made an awkward little gesture, scratching her left eyebrow with her thumbnail.
There was something not quite right about the way Katie behaved, but Ginny simply gave her an odd look before responding. “Well, why didn’t you bloody say so? I’ll put in a request at the Ministry for a Time-Turner approved for shagging time only, all for you. Plus, I think you’re really taking that athleticism thing too far--I would think blokes like a rather strong grip for ah, certain things, yeah?” She grinned and nudged her in the rib playfully, shooting her a knowing look.
“Oh... come on.” Katie groaned, burying her face in the pillow. “Can we please order in now? And not talk about my awful absence of a sex life? Yeah? Brilliant. We’ll get that thing with the noodles and we’ll get absolutely knackered. Cheers to our dismal romantic futures, eh?”
What: Intense discussion post-Harpies practice
Where: Katie's flat
When: Evening
Rating: PG-13(for language)
Status: Complete
Ginny sighed and relaxed into the hot water spraying against the taxed muscles of her back. After what proved to be an exhausting day of practise, Ginny needed a hot shower and a stiff drink. “Oi! Katie!” She called, her voice bouncing off of the walls of the locker room. “Your flat clean?” There was no need to ask, because in the months that they had spent together on the Harpies, Ginny couldn’t remember a time when it wasn’t impeccably kept. Finishing up the task of washing away the grime that often came with the territory of physical exertion, Ginny stepped out of the shower wrapped in a white, fluffy towel. Striding over to her cubbyhole, she pulled out her knickers and expertly slipped them on without anyone being able to sneak a peek--or snag her towel. Dropping it unceremoniously where she stood, she pulled on a t-shirt and pants. Casting a quick-drying charm on her hair, she called out again. “C’mere! What d’you say you make me dinner tonight, yeah?”
Katie was lying on a bench one row of lockers over, sprawled out on her stomach, her cheek against the varnished wood. She never spent long in the shower after practice-- she was a little more circumspect than a lot of the other girls and had never quite developed that nonchalant ease they had with their bodies, calling over the shower walls to each other. It was something she vaguely envied, a feeling she couldn’t quite pin down. Katie’s skin was still ruddy and wind-whipped, her wispy blond hair dry but piled loosely on top of her head, and her muscles felt pleasantly worked, loose and warm. She’d be sore in the morning, she thought, as she heard Ginny hollering for her. She pushed herself up with a groan.
“When are you going to take me out on a proper date?” she said with a grin, folding her arms and leaning against the bank of lockers. “This is a marriage, Ginny, it’s time we admitted it. Always expecting me to cook for you, drinking all my Firewhisky, falling asleep on my sofa... no, I’m taking the piss. Lasagna all right with you? I think I could throw it together.”
Now that she was finished getting ready, Ginny tucked her wand into her pocket and made a show of strutting over to Katie. Offering her arm to her, she grinned. “Well, now you’ve gone and spoiled the surprise. What with all that nagging you do, I was under the impression you were already my bloody wife. Now c’mon then, your Firewhisky isn’t going to drink itself. Plus, I’d really like that lasagna, been a while since you’ve made me pasta.” She winked at Katie discreetly. Turning back to the rest of their teammates, she waved a goodbye in their general direction. She was sure that many of them were planning on heading out to the Holyhead Pub and getting absolutely pissed. Normally, she would be up for that kind of raucous affair, but she always did look forward to spending a relaxing night with Katie. Tonight, though, Ginny had a plan--she just had to tell her, even if it was something she already knew.
“So, shall we Side-Long Apparate? I’ll let you do the honours.” She grinned. Ginny wasn’t quite as precise when it came to Apparition--she had Splinched a pinky once in recent memory.
“Didn’t I tell you? Lost my license. Splinched a lad right in half, when they came back to find him his kidneys were gone. Sold them. --And you’re a lazy bint,” said Katie, but she was laughing. She went back to her locker to retrieve her bag, stuffed full of her practice robes, which were in desperate need of a wash. She slipped the strap over her head and across her body, blowing a dislodged strand of hair out of her face with an impatient breath.
Katie slid her arm into Ginny’s with a grin, slipping her wand out of her back pocket. Apparating always made her feel slightly seasick for a few minutes, but it was worth it for the convenience; with a delicate pop and that disconcerting hollow sucking feeling behind her navel, she and Ginny were standing in the front room of Katie’s cozy little flat. It was neatly, almost immaculately kept, with an oversized squashy sofa that nearly took over the front room, and the mantel was adorned with photos and knickknacks. She had chosen it because of the large windows that looked out onto the street below, and they were cracked open a bit, their filmy curtains billowing in the faint breeze.
“Have a seat,” she said, and then shook her head, pounding the heel of her hand against her temple as if she were trying to dislodge the water from her ear. “God, I hate Apparating sometimes.”
“Sod off, eh? That is no way to speak to your wife. Threatening to gut me like a pig and calling me a bint... that is out of line, you slag!” An exaggerated look of mock disapproval crossed Ginny’s features before she ruined her own act by laughing. As she waited for Katie to return with her belongings, she dramatically tapped her foot until she returned. “Bloody hell, finally! Now can we go?” Grinning easily at Katie, she braced herself for the unpleasant sensation that she mentally likened to being sucked through a very thin straw.
Upon arrival to Katie’s flat, Ginny always took a moment to glance around and admire her choice of knicknacks--she did rather like Katie’s taste in decoration. Thinking of how her own flat was laughably kept, Ginny figured it didn’t much matter how she decorated it. There was something very homey about the furniture in her flat, and perhaps that was partially because she had grown so accustomed to comfort living in the Burrow and in Gryffindor Tower. “Well, don’t mind if I do!” Kicking off her trainers, Ginny hopped over the back of the sofa and landed comfortably on the cushion. “Apparating is a right pain in the arse. I don’t understand why we have to bother. Brooms are so much easier to handle! I thought I was going to lose my bloody license that time I Splinched my pinky. Do you remember that? ... Are your ears all right?” Noticing that she was spending quite a bit of time hitting and prodding around her ears, Ginny looked at Katie quizzically.
She sighed, stretching out her surprisingly short, compact body on the sofa and propping her head up on the cushioned arm to keep an eye on her. “Listen, what I’m about to offer you is rarer than rocking dragon shit, all right? I’ll help you make dinner as long as you fetch me a bit of Firewhisky.”
“My ears are fine, my brains always just feel a bit scrambled after Apparating.... although I think I forgot to bring Ginny with me. Who is this strange creature that does not object to cooking?” Katie rapped her knuckles lightly on the top of Ginny’s head as she passed her, going to the liquor cabinet.
“Aren’t your brains always scrambled? I always thought you were dead from the neck up, really.” Ginny gave Katie a dirty look and rubbed her head where she was violently attacked by the blonde’s knuckles. “Bloody hell, maybe I just want to get better at it! My mum is too controlling in the kitchen for me to learn shite. Oi, c’mon, you’re taking too long!” Sighing resolutely, she rolled off of the sofa and followed Katie over to the liquor cabinet. Knowing exactly where the Firewhisky was, she took the bottle, opened it and quickly took a swig. “Ah, much better...” She sighed, a few wisps of smoke issuing from her mouth as it opened.
“So.. ah, didn’t you go out to a pub somewhere few nights ago? Meet anyone?” She asked, a bit awkwardly. Usually Ginny wasn’t the type to falter in conversation, but she struggled now with the weight on her mind. Part of her wished the Firewhisky would give her the boost of confidence she desperately needed.
“You are the most impatient person-- ugh, don’t get your spit in it--” Katie flopped sideways into one of the large reading chairs, her legs draped over the armrest. She was quiet for a moment or two, picking at a hangnail on her thumb. “Yeah, I did go out, but I didn’t meet anyone. Dead from the neck down, too,” she teased.
“Maybe you just haven’t met the right bloke yet.” Ginny raised her eyebrow at her curiously. Katie was an attractive bird, it never did make sense why she didn’t have a bloke at her beck and call. “And sod off, not like we’ve never shared a drink before!” She rolled her eyes, taking another healthy swallow of whisky before settling down on the floor at Katie’s feet. Holding the bottle by the neck, she casually handed it off to her. “Sure you want to cook? We could just get muggle take-away or something! I hear it’s brilliant, I got it once with George. ... Are there take-away places here?”
“Plenty of them, yeah, I love Chinese food.” Katie took a swig of the liquor, feeling the brief heat of it swell in her throat before it warmed her stomach. She passed the bottle back to Ginny. “Actually, takeaway would be brilliant, I don’t know if I can get my arse back out of this chair. --And yeah, I don’t have much time for meeting blokes, that’s the bloody truth. I don’t mind it so much? But sometimes it gets a bit lonely.”
“Thanks.” She plucked the bottle back from Katie’s fingers and took another hearty swallow. “Well, all right. I don’t know what I got from it the last time, so you ought to order for us. I think I liked the noodles...” She trailed off thoughtfully, then piped up suddenly again. “Wait! How are we going to get it? Do they just.. bring it to your flat?” Without noticing, she took another swig of whisky. “Oi, well, you can’t really with Quidditch season. You really ought to start shagging your fans, bring some life back into that lower half of you, yeah?” Handing the bottle back up to Katie, she sighed and worked up her courage. “Listen, Katie, ah.. I’ve--well, I’ve wanted to talk to you about something.”
“They’ll deliver it to the flat,” said Katie with a grin. She liked the fact that she functioned as easily in the Muggle world-- her father’s territory-- as easily as she did in the wizarding one, ever entertained by the apparent mystery that the Muggle world seemed to hold. She took another pull from the bottle, shifting in the chair until she was comfortable, untangling her hair from its loose bun on top of her head. “What’s-- you all right? What’s going on, then?”
“That’s brilliant! Does it take a long time? Muggles are brilliant at things like that, eh? Do they drive here?” She was always curious about Muggles because she had grown up immersed in the Wizarding world. Even though she had knowledge of muggles and their clever inventions, she had never really experienced any of that. Arthur had a rather skewed view of Muggles himself, from the standpoint of a Pureblood wizard who respected them as equals but had little understanding of what each invention actually managed to do for a muggle. It was something to be envied, Ginny thought, to understand both worlds the way Halfbloods or Muggleborns did. Katie’s query snapped her back into the conversation that she brought upon herself. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she decided to just say it quickly like she would drink a foul-tasting potion. “All right, well, listen. I-I never told you, but I’m... I’m a, ah. A lesbian. I’ve.. really wanted to tell you for a while, but uh, didn’t know how you’d react.”
Katie choked. Choking on Firewhisky was a dangerous business; her throat filled briefly with smoke before she coughed it away, putting a hand to her chest. “Well, for fuck’s sake,” she managed to say. “I can’t say as I’m awfully surprised, but if you’re about to tell me you’re in love with me, I might have to stop making you dinner on a regular basis... no, this isn’t the time to joke, I’m sorry. Oi.”
“Oi!” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, I like you and all that, Katie, but I can’t really imagine us as an item.” Laughing at the thought, Ginny leaned back against the armchair. It felt good, she supposed, to get the stupid thing off her chest. “You’re all right, aren’t you? No, no, I don’t fancy you, don’t worry. I haven’t tried to sneak a peek at you in the locker rooms, either. Ah, you’re the, ah, first person I’ve told, really.” She cleared her throat, glancing up at her uncertainly.
Katie shifted in the chair again, twisting a bit so that she could see Ginny’s face. “All right, yeah. Just... it’s a bit peculiar, isn’t it? It’s not that I think anything’s wrong with you, far from it, it’s just funny to try to think of you that way now. I’ve never had to before. It surprised me... didn’t you... I mean I always thought you and Harry would... I know you did, but I thought you’d get it back together, or I’d assumed.”
“Ah, well, didn’t you think the story of us breaking up was a bit, fishy?” She raised her eyebrow quizzically. “I always thought someone would see through it, you know. Harry found me, er, seeing to a pretty girl at a pub when he unexpectedly came back from an Auror mission early.” Clearing her throat, she averted her eyes to one of the numerous knicknacks on the mantel as she pressed on. “Had a bit of a time admitting it to myself, really. Thought it was something wrong with the boys I was going with, yeah? Turned out I just really liked birds.” Shrugging, she glanced back at Katie. “I’m glad you don’t think there’s something.. er, wrong. I just worry... well. Mum didn’t take it too well that Harry and I broke up, said I’d really pulled an awful stunt by stringing him along. I can’t imagine what she’d say if I told her I was a dyke, playing on an all-women’s professional Quidditch team. Rita Skeeter would have a bloody field day with that.” Sighing, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes, steadying herself.
Katie rubbed the back of her fingers against her mouth as she listened, her eyes downcast, nodding slowly. It did make a bit more sense now, she had to admit to herself. Katie had a face that often looked too serious, unless she was smiling; her brows were straight and almost severe, and her mouth turned down a bit at the corners. When Ginny finished speaking, she looked up. “Yeah, but Ginny, that’s your business-- your mum doesn’t have to know it all. Despite the fact that she might think she does.” A sly grin stole across Katie’s mouth. She loved Molly Weasley wholeheartedly, with almost a little bit of longing-- Molly was such an obvious mother, so loving and meddling and kind.
“But really though,” she said, turning onto her side a little and passing the bottle back. “Rita Skeeter would nose into anyone’s business, but... it shouldn’t matter to anyone, is what I’m saying, what you do on your own time. We play bloody Quidditch, we’re not trying to save the world.”
She laughed at that--they were heroes in their own right, of course, saving the Wizarding world from complete and utter boredom, she supposed. “I know you’re right, but.. well.” She faltered for a moment, the laugh died quietly on her lips and her eyes turned serious; serious did not suit Ginny’s appearance with her bright eyes and her fiery mane. “It’s hard being the only girl in a family full of boys. Mum has certain... expectations.” Unsettled by the idea of disappointing her family, Ginny lifted the bottle to her lips and squeezed her eyes shut to brace against the satisfying burn. Hissing at the sensation, she handed it back up to Katie--she was coherent enough to know that she should take it easy. “And... well, there are other things, too, about it that would be more than uncomfortable to my family.” It was hard to even think about the other piece of the puzzle of her sexuality--the reason she was so aware of it in the first place.
“She can’t have expected you to be anything but, with all those brothers.” Katie nudged her in the shoulder with the bottle, raising an eyebrow. She was always inclined to tease when she didn’t know quite what to say. “Your mum’s got expectations for all of you. She expects Bill and Fleur to bring the grandbabies by, she expects George to make his fortune and get married eventually, she expects Ron and Hermione to procreate and make the most genius redhead witches and wizards in the history of the world...”
She listened to Katie’s words of wisdom(and teasing) and took them for what they were worth. Katie was always the more level-headed of the pair of them, of course, seeing as anyone was level-headed next to a Weasley. But it was comforting to hear it nonetheless. When she started naming her brothers, though, Ginny felt a particular uneasiness and then, at the name she dreaded most to hear, felt her throat constrict uncomfortably. For a long moment, she didn’t say or do much of anything. Then, feeling a bit braver, she spoke and her voice wavered uncertainly. “It’s the last bit that hurts.”
“Ron and Hermione bearing legendary children? You’d be the proudest auntie there ever was, Ginny, you’d be unbearable. You’d have their photos up in your locker, oh, little so-and-so was--” Katie’s brain caught up with her words then, and she closed her mouth. She took a deep breath and let it out, puffing her cheeks. “Oh. Bugger.”
“Exactly.” Ginny had her eyes closed, willing herself to just relax and to not bloody cry in front of her best mate. “You get it now, I expect? Do you see why I might have a spot of trouble with family affairs?” There was a hint of a joke in her tone, though it wasn’t all that funny. She sighed and, finally tired of her arse aching from sitting on the floor, stood up only to settle back down on the sofa nearby. “I don’t want to, well, balls everything up. I wouldn’t do anything, you know, I couldn’t. Ron deserves all of it... but, it’s hard to watch.” She shook her head and ran her fingers through her straight, red hair. “I’m, erm, sorry, you know. Didn’t really mean for tonight to be depressing.”
“Oi, no, I’m just... recalibrating.” Katie was a little overwhelmed. She stood up, going to the desk in the corner to rifle through the takeaway menus, searching for the one for the little Chinese restaurant a few streets away. After a moment, however, she turned back. “All right, what the actual fuck, mate? Hermione Granger?”
“Katie, if I could bloody control it, don’t you think I would have?! For Merlin’s sake, my brother’s been in love with her since they’ve been eleven!” She grimaced and put her hands over her forehead, staring at the ceiling without actually seeing it. “I don’t fucking understand why it has to be her. Of all the birds I could fancy, it had to be her! She’s bossy, she’s an insufferable know-it-all, she’s all theory and logic... but blimey, Katie! I just-I...” Biting her lip, she trailed off. It wasn’t something she allowed herself to say aloud, it made the fact that she was impossibly in love with Hermione Granger, one of her closest mates and the best friend of her famous ex-boyfriend, much too real for her to handle. “I need to do something about this, yeah? I don’t mean trying to get her to see it my way. You’ve got to help me.”
“Me?!” Katie’s voice scaled up incredulously. She put the menu back down on the desk, crossing back to the sofa and sitting down next to Ginny, curling one leg beneath her. Her pale blonde hair was wild, making her look a bit electrified. “Ginny... I’m glad to listen, you know I am. This is all a lot to take in but it’s no trouble to try, I’m just... Hermione. It took me by surprise, it’d take anyone by surprise, this would. But I’ll be frank and tell you I’ve got no idea how in the world I’m expected to help you, unless you just need to keep talking. I can feed you and get you drunk and listen, but I’ve got no idea...”
“I know, it took me by surprise when I pieced it all together! Why do you think I was so confused, eh? It’s a mindfuck, this is! But it’s what I need, Katie. I just.. I need you to support me and to not, well, judge me. I don’t expect you know how to handle all of this just yet. That’ll take time, I know, and I’m not worried about that. You’ve been a brilliant help already. But, I mean, is it just me? Haven’t.. haven’t you ever been in love with someone so bloody unattainable?” Budging over, Ginny leaned against the sofa’s armrest and curiously watched Katie across the couch.
“I’m the most boring girl you’ll ever come across, mate.” Katie drew one of the bright throw pillows into her lap, crossing her legs. She looked suddenly uncomfortable. “It’s not just you, though, I know that much. It happens. It just... how did you even realize?”
“I wouldn’t go that far. Boring people don’t generally play professional Quidditch--stupid ones do.” Ginny managed a small grin at that, before she theoretically turned her attention to the question. “I don’t know, mate. It was... a long time coming. Sometimes your eyes linger a bit too long and you think ‘oh, that shirt looks quite good on her today.’ and then it gradually becomes ‘bloody hell, look at her!’ and there you are, staring at the woman who’s practically your brother’s bloody wife. It was fishy, I suppose, because Michael Corner and Dean really did nothing for me, you know. Girls who I was friends with snogged them after me and asked me why I broke up with them in the first place. I reasoned that they weren’t Harry. I just.. fell into making all these.. excuses for myself.”
Katie propped her elbow on the back of the sofa, resting her temple against her fist. “Well, Michael Corner and Dean Thomas never did anything for me either,” she said wryly, mischief in her blue eyes. “No, no, all right, I’m sorry-- this is serious, I’m being serious. Has it always been just Hermione, though?”
She laughed at that. Even though it was a time to be serious(and sadly, her buzz had died before she even got to really enjoy it), Ginny couldn’t help laughing. “Oi, so my taste in blokes is dreadful, I’ll give you that. ... No, not just her. It’s always been her, of course, but do you really think I just talk to our fans? I had a few.. well, trysts back at Hogwarts before things got bad but after Harry left... didn’t think they meant much! Just thought it was healthy experimentation and all that.” Sighing, she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“Trysts.” Katie was snickering. “I’m just remembering Ron going mental about you snogging Dean in the corridors, just imagining the look on his face if he’d caught you with... I don’t even know, Alicia Spinnet...” The mental picture was too much, and it sent Katie off into peals of merry laughter, doubled over.
“Sod off, all right! Alicia wasn’t even a dyke.” She rolled her eyes and sighed, waiting for Katie’s laughter to subside. “Although, I wouldn’t be pointing the finger if I were you, Bell.” Glaring at her playfully, she leaned back. “As I remember it, Alicia wasn’t the only one people were thinking might have... other tastes.”
“Ooh, barracuda. Touché.” Katie was still laughing. “I don’t care what that lot thinks of me, not much. I had Quidditch to play and all that. You like sports, you like girls, don’t you know that’s the systematic logic? --But on topic, really,” she said, sobering a bit. “I... is it that bad? The... Hermione thing?”
Katie had an infectious laugh, and Ginny had no qualms with simply laughing along. It was easy to forget the discussion at hand when it was painful. “You can’t imagine, mate. I mean, it’s the fact that no matter what I bloody do... I just can’t have her. It’s like, being too old to go to tryouts for a Quidditch team but knowing you’ve worked your arse off and that you’re good enough to be on the starting string.” She shook her head and sighed. “Just one of those things--instead of the one who got away, the one who couldn’t be caught in the first place.”
“Yeah, I don’t think she’s... I mean, she’s in love with Ron, isn’t she.” It wasn’t quite a question, and Katie’s voice was grave, careful. “Not really into girls, seems like, and anyway... well. I understand what you mean about it causing family problems if you said that much, at any rate. But I’m sure you’ll find somebody that’s even better, Ginny, and you know I think Hermione’s as good as they’re made. You’ll find someone that wants you back just as much, yeah?”
“Thanks, Katie.” Her voice broke then, and the first hint of tears welled in her eyes. Ginny wasn’t much for crying in front of people, or at all really, but she just couldn’t help herself as they made quiet tracks down her cheeks. Mopping at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, she took a deep, calming breath to sort out her voice. “No, doesn’t really seem like she’s into birds. Ron’s.. well, Ron, but... I’m rooting for him. I’m rooting for him, but I bloody loathe him like you wouldn’t believe, mate. My own brother! I’ve really got to sort this out. I need to just.. I don’t know, find some brilliant girl with curly hair and a bossy way about her. Are there a lot of those, do you think?”
“We’re in England, mate. There’ve got to be loads, we’re just stuck on a Quidditch pitch. Not their natural habitat, you see. You need to spend more time in libraries and at rallies for the rights of some small winged magical creatures that only seven people have ever heard of.” Katie smiled at her, reaching over to nudge her in the shoulder. “Don’t cry,” she said, more softly. “You’ll get it sorted out. I know you that well.”
“Oi, all right... I expect you’re on to something with that, about the rallies and libraries. You know I’m not much of a reader, though. Don’t mind it, of course, but... well, I’m not exactly clamoring to go off and read now, am I?” She smiled sadly at Katie--the library, she expected, was Hermione’s happy place and it made the idea of finding someone else there rather uncomfortable. But, perhaps her friend was right. It was time to take some kind of action, after all. “Speaking of sorting things out, you really ought to quit this celibacy you seem bent on upholding, yeah?” Arching her eyebrows, she nudged her right back. “You’re cute and rather famous these days, don’t blokes love that?”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” Katie sighed an overdramatic sigh, shrugging elaborately. “I guess they don’t take to it very well when their girlfriend can outstrip them on a broom and can beat them at arm-wrestling. --No, my real excuse is that I haven’t got a bloody minute to offer to anyone.” She wasn’t quite meeting Ginny’s eyes anymore now, and she made an awkward little gesture, scratching her left eyebrow with her thumbnail.
There was something not quite right about the way Katie behaved, but Ginny simply gave her an odd look before responding. “Well, why didn’t you bloody say so? I’ll put in a request at the Ministry for a Time-Turner approved for shagging time only, all for you. Plus, I think you’re really taking that athleticism thing too far--I would think blokes like a rather strong grip for ah, certain things, yeah?” She grinned and nudged her in the rib playfully, shooting her a knowing look.
“Oh... come on.” Katie groaned, burying her face in the pillow. “Can we please order in now? And not talk about my awful absence of a sex life? Yeah? Brilliant. We’ll get that thing with the noodles and we’ll get absolutely knackered. Cheers to our dismal romantic futures, eh?”
