Fool's Prank into Love: Prequel to Merry Little Christmas

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Tags: AU Femmeslash Hermione/Ginny Fluff

Setting: Set during Half-Blood Prince. Hermione and Ginny are secretly in love with each other. Each believe that their love is unrequited and are completely oblivious to the others affection. Ginny decides to finally confront her feelings and take a chance to find true love.

Ginny sat in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room curled up in an armchair with a book in her lap. She must have read the page a dozen times but the words weren't being absorbed into her brain. She was lost in her emotions pining for another. 'I'm so tired of being lonely' she thought to herself. "I see the object of my affection every day and every day is a failure for me to tell her how I feel. I dream of loving the smartest witch of the age but I fear my dreams are unreachable. Also I haven't been open about my orientation to family and I'm not sure how they will all feel about it. Maybe there's a way to test how she feels about me while testing everyone else at the same time?"

While she was musing Hermione came up to the fireplace and made her way over to the other chair. "Good Morning Ginevra. How was your night?" Hermione asked politely.

"It was all right," Ginny lied. It wasn't. She hadn't slept right in weeks. But she wasn't about to admit to it she gave a generic answer.

May I sit next to you?" Hermione asked smiling kindly.

"Yes feel free to sit down" replied Ginny smirking hoping that Hermione's intuition was absorbing her feelings.

Hermione knitted her eyebrows together in concern worried about her. She knew Ginny hadn't been sleeping well noticing the dark circles under the ginger's eyes but she didn't want to pry. Ginny was an element Hermione was still evaluating about how best to approach the redhead about her less than platonic feelings. She decided now was not the best time to broach the subject with her housemates gradually filtering into the common room.

"Would you like to take a walk with me after breakfast?" yawned Ginny pestering herself for how uncool her fatigue's timing was.

"Sure sleepy head. Let's head down to the great hall" beamed the brunette.

They walked together, arms linked and with carefree smiles plastered on their faces. They two sat down together and shocks went through them at that slightest touch of their legs brushing each other. They jumped a little bit, blushed, and went back to serving themselves breakfast. Afterwards, they linked arms again and walked out onto the grounds to stroll around the lake.

"So, what is it you want to talk to me about Gin?" Hermione inquired.

Ginny sighed from anticipation, "Well, as you know, April Fool's day is tomorrow. So I was wondering if there any pranks in particular you might want to pull tomorrow."

"Gin, you know I'm no good at that kind of stuff. You've got two older brothers who are the best pranksters in school so I think you can come up with something" chided the muggle-born.

"All right, then" she said. Man I've got to think of something good. Wait a minute, I have it, "How about we pretend that we're dating and fake everyone out?"

Hermione tripped over her own feet, shocked at Ginny's idea but she wasn't about to turn it down, since it was the only way she could be with her even if it only was for pretend. "Well, how do we make it convincing?"

"Well we'll go on a date to Hogsmeade, seeing as it conveniently falls on that weekend. Does that sound all right?" Ginny was shocked at her own daring but this was the only way she could be with Hermione even if it wasn't real.

"All right, sounds good." 'Sounds really good, in fact,' Hermione thought to herself. "So shall we pick out what we're going to wear tomorrow so we match?"

"Sure let's go to our dorms" grinned Ginny in excitement.

They walked up in their dorms and finally found something in their Wardrobes that they could agree on then headed off to class. Ginny was nervous throughout the whole day in suspense of the stunt they were going to pull. Her mind oscillated between excitement and nervousness. The redhead hoped it wouldn't ruin their friendship.

Even Hermione, who usually wasn't easily distracted from her school work, was off daydreaming. She didn't pay attention in any of her classes, and was writing Ginny's name all over her class notes in little hearts. When she finally realized what she was doing, she covered it all up so as to not give anyone a reason for suspicion.

At dinner, they both sat next to each other and tried to act as normal as possible, but no such luck. They both were quite quiet throughout the meal.

"What is with you two?" Ron said to break their silence.

Both of them jumped shook their heads and Ginny said, "Nothing. We are just really out of it and a bit tired. We should head to bed now." Hermione nodded in agreement, and with that they got up, linked arms, and walked up to the dorms to have a chat before they hit the sack.

"Well, that was odd." Ron said.

"You're telling me. There's something they're not telling us, I know it." Harry said deep in thought on the matter.

"So, Hermione are you nervous about tomorrow?" Ginny probed gently.

"No. Why do you ask?" Hermione said too quickly.

"You're such a bad liar. Don't worry I am too" admitted the younger witch.

Hermione sighed in relief, "Really? I thought since you came up with the plan that you wouldn't be. I'm just not sure we can pull it off. What if we're not convincing?"

"Well I guess we'll just have to do the best we can" Ginny said coyly.

"Sure, but can I tell you something?" Hermione asked biting her lip.

"What is it?" Ginny curiously replied.

"I've never been kissed before" Hermione admitted.

"Wow, really? Not even Krum?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Yes. No one else has met these lips. Besides Viktor was so intimidating and I didn't want more attention than I was already getting at the time" the older witch responded blushing.

"Wow 'Mione I'm just surprised that no one has kissed someone as gorgeous as you. I'm honored that I get to be your first kiss. You'll catch on quick, I promise. It comes naturally, trust me" Ginny said emphatically.

"But what if I'm bad at it?" the brunette asked nervously.

"Trust me you won't be. You'll be great. There's no such thing as a bad kisser" the redhead said emphatically.

"Gin, are you sure?" fretted Hermione.

"Yes I'm positive." Ginny gave an exasperated sigh then said, "If it makes you feel better we can practice now" she said arching a hopeful eyebrow.

"Actually that would make me feel less immensely less awkward" admitted Hermione. "So what do I do? It's not like they have how-to-books on the subject or I would have read them."

"You've never read a romance novel?" Ginny asked skeptically.

"No I haven't. I read for content Gin and I thought those books were just trashy nonsense for girls to gossip about" insisted the bookworm.

"While that can be true, but they can also be very helpful if they are detailed enough and written well" informed Ginny.

"Huh," Hermione exhaled. "I'll have to take your word for it. So again what do I do?"

"It's so strange to be the one teaching you something but I kind of like it. Well to start, close your eyes and keep your lips parted. I'll put my lips on yours then put your bottom lip in my mouth and run my tongue along the bottom of it. Then you can do the same back to me" Ginny outlined.

"Okay" gulped Hermione. She closed her eyes as instructed and eagerly awaited Ginny's lips brush against her own. Ginny braced herself and captured their lips of her favorite Brainiac with her own sending jolts of electricity through both of them. Hermione moaned on contact following the redhead's instructions to the letter. They did this for about a minute and broke apart panting.

"Wow" Hermione gasped.

"See I told you that you wouldn't be a bad kisser" beamed Ginny breathless. "Now for part two of your kissing lesson my astute student. I'll put my tongue in your mouth and massage it against yours then I want you to suck on it. Then we'll switch again."

Hermione had to pinch herself that this was actually happening. She was kissing the young woman she had pinned after for so long. Her lips tasted sweet and she smiled getting Ginny to moan in her mouth. The sound of the redhead's pleasure got her blood pumping. When her own tongue was captured she inhaled through her nose sharply and groaned with desire never wanting the lip lock to end. Eventually it did and when they broke apart the two stared at each other with a fierce look of desire clearly craving more contact but afraid to reach out for more.

Ginny cleared her throat, "All right now that we have finished practicing we should probably figure out what we're going to do tomorrow."

"Alright," agreed Hermione looking down at her hands.

"How about we just go shopping around Hogsmeade, go out to lunch, kiss in public and walk around holding hands together for the rest of the day?" suggested Ginny.

"That sounds fine. I'm still a bit nervous though" the older witch admitted.

"Everything will go well I promise" she winked at the brunette and gave her a reassuring grin.

"Here goes nothing" ventured Hermione.

The two witches got up the next morning feeling extremely anxious. They changed into their matching outfits. Both wore dressy khaki's, Ginny in a black button up top and Hermione in a white one. The met in the common room and smiled. They each took a deep breath and told themselves they were going to be fine.

"So are you ready to face the day love?" asked the young redhead.

"Ready as I'll ever be Gin" admitted the bookworm.

At that, they joined hands, lacing their fingers and set off for the great hall. When they arrived not many people noticed that they were holding hands. Not until they got to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from Ron.

"What's going on?" asked Ron suspiciously studying their hands.

"Should we tell him? Or should we show him?" Ginny asked Hermione mischievously.

"I think we'd better tell him, because if we show him we might scar him for life" warned the brunette.

"Well Ron and Harry," Ginny announced, "Hermione and I are dating."

"When did this revelation come about?" asked Harry curiously.

"Last night. We admitted our feelings for each other, shared some wonderful kisses and we're going on our first date to Hogsmeade" Ginny stated mostly telling the truth.

"Mind if we go along with you?" Harry asked raising his eyebrows suggestively. He was quickly elbowed in the ribs by Ron.

"Harry, keep your mind out of the gutter. That's my sister you're talking about and I don't think they'd appreciate us tagging along on their date. Ginny is old enough to make your own decisions now; which doesn't require one of her older brothers spying on her. Go ahead and have a nice time we'll see you later" said Ron.

"Thanks Ron, for finally allowing me to make my own decisions." Ginny turned to Hermione, "Are you ready to go love?"

"Yes" responded Hermione. "See you later." With that they clasped hands and walked away happily.

"There's something going on but I just can't pinpoint it," Ron said. "I don't like that Ginny broke the code. My sister clearly knows I have a thing for Hermione. I hope that Hermione doesn't corrupt her. I'm not sure how mum and dad will feel about this; or my brothers."

Harry pipped up, "Well if you had a problem with it you just missed your window to say something. I'm not sure about your parents but I'm pretty sure your siblings will take it fine. Knowing the twins they'll probably just use it as ammunition to make jokes at her expense"

Ron began to get flustered, "I think they told us in front of people so that I would be on my best behavior. What else was I supposed to do? Be a jerk in front of everyone? Make it awkward by trying to stake my claim at the same time as Ginny."

"Women aren't prizes to be claimed Ron" said Harry patting his best friend on the back. "I think that something you're searching for is called love. It doesn't bother me and you're just jealous that you sister made her move before you did. If you'd have been paying any attention they've been staring at each other for months. It's been a long time coming. Plus Hermione hasn't really seemed all that interested in guys. I mean she turned Viktor Krum down. Hermione and your sister have been friends for a long time so I don't see any harm in it. Plus they make a very attractive couple."

"Harry," Ron said in an indignant tone.

"Oh chill out; I'm just messing with you. Get a grip man. Your sister is in good hands" replied his best friend.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I think it's all an act. It had better be just an act" said Ron desperately trying to assure himself.

Hermione and Ginny were giggling constantly on the way to Hogsmeade. "They so bought it. I doubt they saw it coming," said Gin.

"Well, I don't think Ron believes us, but we'll give him some convincing later. Let's do some shopping" Hermione said tugging her new girlfriend in the direction of a clothing shop. The witches tried on clothes and strutted their outfits for each other. They exchanged compliments that would either make them blush, or crack up laughing. Overall, they had a good time and decided to buy two outfits each and Hermione insisted on paying. Ginny tried to argue with her but they came to a compromise to where the redhead insisted would buy lunch to balance out the tab.

They went to Madam Puddifoot's the little tea shop which thankfully had been refurnished by a different interior decorator so there wasn't all of the frilly decorations that it had in past holidays. They walked in, sat down and ordered. It was crowded and they knew they'd have to wait a long while for their order which was perfect for Ginny. "So Hermione may I kiss you while we wait?" she queried.

"Thought you'd never ask," Hermione said in an enthusiastic voice. Normally the 6th year wasn't such an exhibitionist but she wanted to cherish every kiss she got from Ginny since this was just a bold dare to mess with their peers. Just as the night before second their lips touched sparks went throughout their bodies. They were in pure bliss kissing passionately not even noticing, or caring for that matter, all of the attention that they were getting. Hermione's tongue was sliding across Ginny's lips pleading for entrance. Ginny graciously allowed it in and moaned with pleasure when she sucked onto the brunette's tongue. Hermione was dragging out the kisses by sucking onto Ginny's bottom lip and slowly releasing it before going into the next kiss. When they finally stopped a few people had left in disgust and the rest were staring mouths agape. The two witches both blushed crimson and looked away.

"Well, for someone who is new to kissing you are quite proficient!" Ginny said, still in a daze.

"Well I had a good teacher and you know me always the top student" she jeered at the 5th year witch. Before she could say anything else their meal arrived. The two of them ate their lunch, occasionally feeding each other and just enjoying the other's company.

"This is day is going so well I don't want it to end" admitted Hermione.

"Maybe it doesn't have to" Ginny offered. The brunette arched a brow and turned her head to the side in surprise. "Hermione, I've had an amazing day with you and I suggested this prank for us to do together just so I could be with you, even if it was pretend. The truth is I love you and I want us to be together."

Ginny had barely finished what she was saying when Hermione captured her lips with her own and gave the most mind-blowing kiss she had received so far. When they broke apart Hermione said, "Gin I love you too. I went along with this stunt just to be with you. I really want this to be real and not hiding in the shadows."

The redhead was beaming at the unexpected news, "My feelings for you are very real. I'm so happy. I thought you were pining over Ron all these years."

Hermione made a face in disgust, "No, much to your brother's dismay I have never found him attractive. I've been attracted to you since second year. But I always thought you were out of reach because you were swooning over Harry."

"No, that was just a silly first crush. I let everyone believe that I still liked him to cover up my feelings for you. You should have seen the look on my parents faces when I told them that I no longer liked him. I came out to them this last summer. They are still adjusting to the idea but I'm their only daughter so they said they love me no matter what."

"That's very kind of them" Hermione said relieved. "How come they know but not your brothers? You didn't happen to mention me to them did you?"

"I told them not to tell my brothers so that I could tell them in my own time. I told them about my feelings for you and they were delighted. Mum was crying saying she always wanted to have you be an official family member but it's just not the way she was expecting" admitted Ginevra. "I can't believe this is happening; I feel like I'm in a dream."

"I know what you mean love" agreed Hermione. "But I'll tell you what, I promise not to let us wake up."

"You'd better not" the redhead smiled knowingly.

"I will do my best, so long as you do as well" assured the brunette. "Well this is an interesting start to our new relationship."

"Indubitably" Ginny said giving her girlfriend a chaste kiss on the lips. "Come on let's go find Harry and Ron at The Three Broomsticks."

They walked into the tavern, ordered their drinks then found Harry and Ron and joined them.

"So, how was your date?" inquired Harry.

Before either of them could respond Ron but in, "Okay you two can cut the act I know you were just trying to trick us. You're not dating. It's April fool's day, how dense do you think I am?"

"Our date was lovely thanks for asking Harry. As for you Ronald it may have started out as a prank but much to our surprise we found out our supposedly unrequited feelings were more requited than we thought" replied Hermione blushing.

"See Ron I told you their connection is real" inserted Harry. "I've see you two stealing glances at each other for ages."

"That's good and all but you can't be serious" challenged Ron.

"It's quite serious brother. I guess we have to show him then don't we love?" Ginny said mischievously.

"I suppose so" and with that the two witches began kissing passionately.

Ron started bellowing, "Stop. Your demonstration is more than sufficient!" They stopped and giggled. "Please don't do that in front of me again!" he grumbled.

"Deal" agreed Hermione. They enjoyed the rest of the evening together then went back to Hogwarts. News of their relationship quickly spread through the Gryffindor dormitories and eventually throughout the castle. Some disapproved of Ginny and Hermione's relationship, but it wasn't their business so they paid them no mind. Within a few days Dumbledore called the two witches into his office in private about his own homosexual relationships in the past and told the two that they were very brave and that he would help them any way he could. The headmaster reminded the staff of a no discrimination policy at the school which limited the issue as best it could. The two young women were happy and that's the only thing that mattered. They were prepared to take on the world together come what may.

The end!

A/N: hey hoped you liked it. Please read and review with positive feedback or constructive criticism. This is a rewrite. I originally wrote this in high school and decided to use this as an exercise in improving my writing while I am working on an original story.