Update 4/14/11: I couldn't find a way to post this without updating the whole chapter, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I will not be writing one last chapter for this story as I had hinted at before. I just can't seem to get the sex scene right and I've been so busy reading other fics that I haven't had time to really work on it. I'm also distracted by the thought of writing something for another fandom, Glee, so it's going to have to end here. Thank you all again for reading and encouraging me along the way. :)

A/N: I know you all must think I'm an evil bitch for leaving lots of cliffhangers but I just love them! I really am a shameless tease when it comes down to it. ;) It took me forever to write this chapter because I wanted to get the dialog between the girls to the point where everything was out in the open. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything. If I have, let me know. This is the moment we've been waiting for. :)

Ginny studied her friend across the room. Hermione looked worn down. Her hair was frizzy, flying all over the place. Her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily. It was difficult for the redhead to stifle a giggle, seeing her friend in such a disoriented state, but she didn't want Hermione to misinterpret it and think she was laughing at her. Ginny gently bit her lower lip and looked away. She started toward her locker and took a seat on the bench in front of it. The redhead removed the towel wrapping around her head and proceeded to brush out her wet, red locks.

"Hermione, you said we needed to talk and I agree," she said. "Are you going to just stand at the door all day or are you going to come and sit here and talk to me?"

Hermione thought about moving for a second before she decided it was best to not come too close to Ginny at least not yet. She needed to get some things off her chest and the closer in proximity she was to the redhead, the harder it would be to focus. "No, I'm fine here, thanks."

"Suit yourself," Ginny shrugged. "Out with it then." Ginny knew she was being a bit cruel, feigning disinterest in what the brunette had to say, but it was the only way she could keep from falling to pieces.

Startled by the coldness in Ginny's voice, Hermione began to speak. "Right. Ok," she stammered. "I don't know how to say all of this so I'm going to just keep talking until I can get it all out." She began to pace again, wringing her hands in the process. "You make me feel something something that I've never felt before. No one has ever truly shown an interest in me romantically until that night with the chocolates. Your behavior that night startled me and then you kept pursuing me day after day... I was unnerved by it and the fact that you're a girl made it even more confusing. I tried to keep away but every time you touched me, it got harder to do so, especially once I realized you weren't under the influence of the love potion anymore. That was the real eye opener for me because I knew that you were still pursuing me because you wanted to, not because something else was influencing your actions." Hermione abruptly stopped pacing and looked at Ginny. The redhead lifted her eyes and met Hermione's. "Please look at me when I tell you this because I don't think I can otherwise," she pleaded, almost in a whisper. Ginny held her gaze and gave her a slight nod, urging her to continue. "It's driving me crazy, this back and forth game we've been playing. I can't keep playing because it's not a game to me anymore." Hermione let her voice trail off, a single tear running down her cheek. "Ginny " she said in a strained voice, "I love you."

"You love me?" Ginny asked quietly.

Hermione wasn't sure how to gauge Ginny's reaction. She just sat there stoically, listening patiently to everything the brunette had to say. "Yes, I love you," Hermione said, now with more tears streaming down her face. "I love you and it scares the hell out of me! It scares me because I've never needed anyone in my life as much as I need you right now." She broke eye contact with Ginny and directed her gaze to the floor. It was all in the open now. She pulled her heart out of her chest and laid it bare before the redhead. Now the question was what Ginny would do with it.

Listening to Hermione's confession, Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. She reckoned this could have gone one of two ways, and this was most definitely the way she hoped it would go. Now it was her turn to confess her feelings to Hermione, feelings she had kept bottled up inside for so long. Ginny only hoped she could keep it together long enough to get it all out. The redhead stood from her seat on the bench and turned to face Hermione. She was still across the room, looking defeated and quietly sobbing to herself. Ginny reigned in the instinct to rush over and comfort the brunette. She couldn't allow herself to get close to her, at least not until she'd said her piece.

"Hermione, look at me," she pleaded. "Please look at me." Hermione sniffled a few times and wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. She brought her eyes up to meet Ginny's and held them there. The tension in the room was so thick it was almost tangible. Ginny drew in a ragged breath and began. "I've loved you from the first time I saw you. I was eleven. I was with my family in Flourish and Blotts buying our school books and I saw you across the room, standing with your parents. It took me almost a year to pluck up the courage to speak to you, especially after the incident with the diary. You were so kind and comforting to me after you were unpetrified, even though I was the cause of it all. We became friends and as our friendship grew closer, the more scared I became of how I felt." Ginny stopped to take a breath and gave a weak laugh. "I mean, girls aren't supposed to like other girls. They're supposed to like boys, right? Not only was I in love with a girl but she was my best friend too." Tears started to form in Ginny's eyes but she didn't break eye contact with Hermione. "I felt ashamed of myself for feeling that way about you. It wasn't right. So, I started dating boys to make it go away, but it never did. I couldn't stop loving you no matter how hard I tried. I learned to control my feelings and kept them to myself. It killed me to be so close and yet so far away from you at the same time but I didn't want to risk losing our friendship by telling you how I felt. That night with the chocolates I wasn't myself. I mean, I was myself but I was different."

Ginny sighed and wiped a tear from her cheek. "Merlin, that sounded stupid," she muttered under her breath.

"Anyway," she continued, "whatever was in those chocolates took hold of the desires I'd hidden away for so long and brought them to the surface. I was aware of what I was doing but I couldn't really control it. In some ways it was a relief to finally be able to say and do the things I've wanted to for years. That day that I trapped you in the broom closet while you were on the way to Charms class, after you rushed out into the corridor, a sinking feeling came over me and I collapsed to the floor. I'm not sure how long I was there before I came around but it was then that I knew the spell had worn off. It made me feel sick thinking that I might have permanently damaged our relationship. I went to your room that night to tell you everything but you were asleep. You looked so beautiful lying in the moonlight, I couldn't bear to wake you so I laid down next to you and watched you until I fell asleep myself."

Both girls were sobbing now, caught up in the emotion of the moment. Hermione took a few steps closer toward Ginny as the redhead continued her story.

"When I woke up, you were kissing me. I couldn't believe it you were actually kissing me. It was so hard for me to get up from that bed and leave you. I tried to keep the ruse of the potion going a little bit longer because I wanted you to be sure of your feelings for me. I know it was selfish of me, but I didn't want you keep kissing me for the wrong reason. I wanted you to kiss me because you wanted to. After that, I avoided you to give you time to think and also to give myself some time to think about what it was that I wanted. It sounds kind of manipulating when I say it out loud like this, but that was never my intention. I love you so much and I didn't want to push you into something you didn't truly want. I knew you'd figure out the potion had worn off eventually and well, here we are now."

Hermione tried to digest everything Ginny had said but everything came out so quickly, it was hard to keep up. She was completely unaware of the redhead's feelings until now. She had come to the conclusion that Ginny was free from the love potion's influence but was dumbstruck by the revelation that Ginny had loved her for years. How could she have been so blind to it? There had to have been signs along the way that she had missed. She felt as oblivious as Ron right now.

"Hermione, please say something," Ginny pleaded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Hermione stared at the redhead, her brown eyes boring into Ginny's. She couldn't find the words to speak Ginny's confession had left her speechless. Words failing her, she quickly closed the distance between herself and the redhead. Pressing Ginny up against the lockers, she crashed her lips down upon the redhead's with the fury of a madwoman. Hermione threaded her hands in Ginny's still wet hair. Momentarily stunned, Ginny realized what was happening and returned the kiss. She poured 5 years worth of emotion into that kiss, releasing the passion she kept buried deep within. Ginny snaked her arms around Hermione and grabbed onto her hips, pulling them against her own. Both girls softly moaned in pleasure at the contact. Ginny was now sufficiently trapped between Hermione's body and the lockers, still clad in nothing but a bath towel. After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione was the one who finally broke the kiss and pulled back slightly from Ginny, their foreheads leaning against one another. Both girls were breathing hard.

"Wow " breathed Hermione.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ginny said, panting.

Hermione took a step back and tried to steady herself. The kiss had left her weak in the knees. "So, where do we go from here?" Hermione asked. "What happens now?"

Ginny thought about it for a moment before she reached out and grabbed Hermione by her jacket, pulling her in for another passionate kiss. This time it was Ginny who broke the kiss. The redhead moved her hand to where the bath towel was tucked in, keeping it wrapped around her body. Hermione's breath hitched as she watched Ginny's fingers slowly pull the piece of fabric out of place. The towel slid to the floor and Hermione got the first full view of the gorgeous creature that was Ginny Weasley. Hermione couldn't hide the blush creeping up her face as her eyes wandered over the sight before her.

"Oh, I don't know," teased Ginny. She flashed Hermione a wicked grin. "I'm sure that between the two of us, we can come up with a couple of ideas."

Hermione brought her eyes up to meet Ginny's and raised one eyebrow. "A couple of ideas?" she mused. "With all the teasing you've been putting me through since we first opened that damned pink box, I know we can come up with more than just a couple. In fact, I do believe that it is now my turn to be in charge," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Ginny could do nothing but smile at that comment. "I love you, Hermione."

"I love you too, Ginny."