Roommates || A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 2

Hermione unlocked the door, pushed it open. Fumbled for the light switch. Light filled the room just as Ginny yelped in surprise. Hermione froze in the doorway, shocked beyond words. Ginny and a stranger lay on her bed naked, faces turned toward her, eyes wide.

Hermione's face flamed at the realization of what she'd interrupted. The boy on the bed with Ginny lay atop her, supporting himself on his outstretched arms. Ginny's legs were wrapped around his hips, her ankles laced. They stared at her for a moment longer, just as shocked as Hermione felt.

The frozen moment of mutual shock ended. Ginny and her partner hastily grabbed for the bed covers, pulling them up to cover themselves. Hermione ducked her head, cheeks burning, horrified to have interrupted...this. She fumbled with her key for an interminable period before freeing it from the lock.

"Hermione—"

"I'll just...go," Hermione said. She ignored Ginny's cry. Responding would make it all too real to avoid. "I"m sorry I...." she didn't know what she was sorry for. "I'm sorry. I'll go."

She backed out, pulling the door closed. She felt and heard it latch. She stood with her hand on the knob, shaking with embarrassment and fear, though she wasn't sure what had frightened her so badly. In the silence of the hallway, Hermione heard a faint giggle from inside the room. Ginny was laughing. At her? It hurt to think so.

Hermione cocked her head, listening. The giggle wasn't repeated, though she thought she heard whispering. Then silence. Until it was broken by the faint squeak of springs and a soft repetitive slapping noise. Hermione gasped, shocked anew by what she heard—and by her own behavior. Listening at the door!

She jerked her hand from the knob as if it were hot, and stepped back. She fled the door to her room. Indeed, she fled the floor, taking the stairs back down to the lobby of the building and the conversation pit there.

Hermione watched until she saw the boy leave. She almost didn't recognize him. She'd caught only a glimpse, and he'd been naked. The dark haired young man in jeans and t-shirt who moved purposefully across the lobby toward the door didn't register at first. Hermione wasn't sure it was him until he caught sight of her. The sudden rush of color to his cheeks and the way he ducked his head, averting his gaze, proved his identity. He hurried out into the night.

She didn't return immediately. It seemed only right to give Ginny some time to clean up before she barged in. She hesitated at the door. She knocked.

"It's open."

Hermione cracked the door. "Are you decent?"

"Yes."

Hermione poked her head through the doorway. Ginny was dressed and sitting at her desk. Her bed had been hastily remade. Hermione stepped inside and closed the door. She found it difficult to look at Ginny.

"Well," Ginny said. "I guess we should talk."

"I guess." Hermione sat down at her own desk, studying the bare desktop. The desks were at the feet of the beds, facing them. Ginny was sitting to Hermione's right, a vaguely perceived shape in her peripheral vision.

"I guess we need a signal of some kind."

Hermione turned her head. "A signal?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes, so we don't walk in on one another like that."

Hermione opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. It didn't matter. Before she could formulate a response, Ginny went on. "I'd have done it earlier, but I really didn't expect to get laid so soon."

"You didn't...." Hermione repeated, shocked by the casual way Ginny described it.

Ginny took it as a question. "No. I met him at the mixer. He was cute, and charming, and, well, it's been a while. So I invited him back for coffee." She made air quotes with her fingers.

"He's not your boyfriend?"

Ginny looked surprised by the question. "Oh no, I just met him today."

"Today?" She'd had sex with someone she just met?

"Yeah. So it was kind of a surprise. Anyhow, we should agree on a signal. I'd hate to walk in on you that way."

Hermione didn't know how to respond. The thought that she might be caught in bed with a boy—that she'd be in bed with a boy in the first place—was novel. Her cheeks warmed again. "That's...not necessary," she said.

Ginny looked puzzled. "Of course it is. You'll want privacy."

Hermione couldn't meet Ginny's eyes. "I don't...."

"You don't what? Have a boyfriend?"

Hermione shook her head, still not looking at Ginny.

"Well, the term is just beginning. There's plenty of time to find one."

Hermione didn't answer. She felt terribly uncomfortable, her cheeks burning, her throat tight. Sex wasn't a topic of conversation she felt comfortable with. Especially as it applied to her.

Ginny remained silent for a minute. Then, "Hermione, are you a virgin?"

The surprise in Ginny's voice caught Hermione's attention. Surprise and something else. Hermione glanced up, suspecting amusement. Mockery. But all she saw in Ginny's face was surprise, and perhaps a little pity.

"No," Hermione confessed. "Not a virgin." She'd had sex. Twice. The first time the night of her senior prom, with her date. It hadn't been much fun for her. The second time, a month later, again with Neville. It wasn't any better for her—nor for Neville, she supposed. He never asked her out again.

"But you aren't planning to have any here at school."

She hadn't thought about it, frankly. It had simply never crossed her mind. She'd tried it, found that it didn't live up to its billing, and though hurt by Neville's de facto breakup with her, it relieved her of having to turn him down the next time. "No," she told Ginny.

Ginny didn't reply, but her expression spoke volumes. "What?" Hermione snapped.

Ginny shook her head. "Nothing." She might have left it at that, but then she added, "I just...."

"You just what?"

Ginny pursed her lips, clearly considering whether to answer. Hermione waited. Ginny shrugged and said, "I just can't imagine not wanting sex."

Hermione had no answer for that. It wasn't as if she didn't think about sex. It just...didn't seem likely.

"Well, even if you're not going to use it, we still need some kind of signal," Ginny said. "Just so you know when I have a boy in the room."

Hermione frowned, not liking the idea. She'd been here for fewer than forty-eight hours and Ginny was already fornicating with a stranger. "You aren't going to do this a lot, are you?"

Ginny's smile slipped. "You mean sex? Every chance I get."

Hermione gaped, shocked by Ginny's brazen attitude.

"I like sex," Ginny said. "I like it a lot. I want to have lots of it, as often as I can." She paused to study Hermione's face. Hermione hadn't known Ginny long, but she knew determination when she saw it. "I'll try to do it elsewhere some of the time, but some of the time it's gonna happen here. I'll try not to inconvenience you too much."

Hermione couldn't look at her. She nodded as she turned away. "Okay." It wasn't okay, but she didn't want to fight with Ginny over it. What if Ginny got mad at her? Shouted, or gave her the silent treatment? Or—threw things? Hermione wasn't ready to face any of that. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad.