Roommates || A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chapter 3

Ginny wasn't kidding. Hermione grew accustomed to the buzz of her phone announcing that Ginny was "entertaining" again, or coming back to the room two or three times a week to find a note from Ginny written on the whiteboard mounted on their door. Please do not disturb, written in Ginny's hand, followed by the time. Afternoons and evenings were prime times for Ginny's assignations. Hermione could only rely on the room being empty—or at least not being off limits—in the morning, when Ginny had most of her classes.

Hermione suspected that the notes were as much a way of bragging as a warning that she was occupied. How else to explain the times written in and then crossed out, sometimes several in an evening? She could just have texted Hermione when she was going to be using the room—which, to be fair—she did. But she also used the white board. She wanted Hermione—and everyone else in their hall—to know just how often she was getting laid.

Hermione got into the habit of staying away from the room most of the time. She came to know the library, the local delis and coffee shops, and the conversation pit in the dorm lobby very well. Fortunately she found some friends on campus, fellow science fiction fans and gamers. She spent a couple of evenings a week with them, at a weekly club meeting and playing role-playing games in the room shared by a couple of the gamers. That still left plenty of nights when she couldn't return to her dorm until Ginny gave her the all clear.

Her frustration and annoyance grew as the weeks went by, all the worse for not being voiced. Aside from her obsession with sex, and the way she monopolized the room while in bed with someone, Ginny was a great roommate. She was neat, friendly, helpful, and fun to be around. She could be a good friend if Hermione wanted. That made her behavior in this one area that much more aggravating.

Hermione tried to talk to her about it, but Ginny was unyielding. She refused to pass up an opportunity for sex—and said so in so many words.

"Why?" Hermione asked after another attempt at discussing the issue, without really intending to. It just slipped out. She understood, intellectually, that sex was enjoyable, though her own experience of it left a lot to be desired. But lots of things were enjoyable—and Ginny didn't obsessively pursue those things.

Ginny looked down at her hands on her knees. When she spoke her voice was low. "Well, I could tell you that I had cancer when I was young, and didn't think I'd live to be old enough to date, much less marry. That after I finally beat the cancer, I determined that I was never going to pass up a chance to live, or an opportunity for pleasure, because I knew how short life could be."

When she looked up, Hermione saw the teasing smile and realized she'd been had. "I could tell you that," Ginny said, "but I'd be lying. I was never sick. No more than any other kid."

She shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you, roomie. I just really like sex. Can't get enough of it. Given a choice between sex and just about anything else, I'll choose sex every time. I guess I've just got a very high libido."

"I guess so." There didn't seem to be anything to say to that.

Ginny sighed. "I know I've been monopolizing the room, and you've been staying away a lot. I'll try not to be quite so selfish in the future. But I gotta be honest, whenever I can arrange to have some guy between my legs giving me orgasms—I'm gonna do it."

And that was that. Ginny wasn't going to let an opportunity slip away. She'd go to the boy's room if possible, but they had roommates too. If Ginny found the room empty when she arrived with a boy in tow, she used it.

The maddening thing about it was that otherwise Ginny was a great roommate. She was neat, she did her share of cleaning the bathroom, and she allowed Hermione to make use of the mini-fridge she'd brought to school. They spent a lot of time talking, getting to know one another, and Hermione liked her. She was even a good role model for studying—and Hermione needed one. The first two tests Hermione had in her classes were a shock.

"You failed them?" Ginny asked. She'd come into the room—alone for a change—to find Hermione seated at her desk staring at her test results.

"I failed one. I passed the other—barely."

"Did you study?"

Hermione shrugged. "I guess. I read over my notes, and reread the chapters we covered."

"That's...not really studying," Ginny said. "Not the way I was taught, anyhow."

"No?"

Ginny shook her head. "Is that what you did in high school?"

Hermione nodded.

"And you did well?"

"I always got A's in high school," Hermione bragged.

"Huh."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"You must be pretty smart. I had to study to get good grades. Did you ever study?"

"I...tried," Hermione said. But not very hard. It hadn't come easily to her so she'd avoided it, which only made things worse. She didn't like admitting that—was surprised to find herself doing so, in fact. Ginny had a knack for drawing her out that way.

"Well, unlike some people," she gave Hermione a mock glare, "I have to study to keep my grades up. And as it happens, I need a study partner. How about we schedule some time to study together? I'll show you what I do. You can see if it works for you."

Hermione nodded. "I'd like that," she squeaked. Why was she feeling so choked up over a simple offer like that? It took a moment for her to realize her whole body was tensed, as if anticipating a storm of accusations and disappointment. And she was. That was exactly what she'd come to expect from her parents when she confessed to bad grades.

"You okay?" Ginny asked.

Hermione realized she'd been sitting silently for a minute or more, lost in her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking."

Ginny didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't press. They agreed on a time for their first study session. It was a revelation. Hermione discovered that she really didn't have a clue about how to truly study. It was a lot more work than the desultory attempts she'd made. But it paid off very quickly, when her next test result was vastly improved.

She burst into the room, eager to share the news—and her thanks—with Ginny, then backed out just as fast, eyes averted.