TITLE: Never Grow Up

AUTHOR: Jos Mous

Email: wotan_anubis@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters. Wish I did, but alas.

RATING: PG

PAIRING: Hermione/Ginny

NOTE: This is a sequel to "The Question"… more or less. Set in the same universe, certainly. This is also a response to Tasha's December challenge.

It was a very normal hotel room. It wasn't a very large hotel room, though. The dinner corner started right in front of the king-sized bed and consisted out of one table and two chairs. Right next to the sleeping area was a closet which was large enough for its purpose. A small, highly fake Christmas tree stood in one of the corners. It was the kind of fake tree that didn't say "well, it's the thought that counts", but instead said something like "I won't be getting any of those filthy needles over my clean carpet this year, thank you very much". Nobody would really want to pay a lot for this hotel room if it hadn't been for the view it had which had been described as "quite magnificent" in the brochure.

Yes, it was a very normal room.

Except for the fact that it had been empty two seconds ago.

In those seconds, the door to the room hadn't opened, nor had the glass sliding doors to led out onto a small balcony. Yet somehow, during those two seconds, two young women in their mid-twenties had been able to enter the room. A few quickly melting snowflakes were on their thick coats and one of them carried a large, formless present.

"Well look at that, it's still light out," said the woman with the red hair and the present.

"Not for long," said the other matter-of-factly. "The sun is already setting."

"True," said the one with the red hair. "But it isn't as dark as back home, now is it?"

The two women took their coats off in silence, then sat down on the edge of the bed.

"It was nice seeing your family again," said Hermione.

"Pretty much," answered Ginny.

"Well wasn't it then?"

"Oh sure," said Ginny sourly. "Everything was perfectly fine. Except for Percy giving us the silent treatment."

"Well, at least he didn't bore us with those dreadful work-related stories of his."

"True," said Ginny, chuckling.

"So… how shall we continue this evening?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," said Ginny. "Maybe we should go out onto the beach, enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian sunset, then make love under the stars."

"Haven't we done that enough already?" Hermione asked, smiling slightly.

"Never," said Ginny sternly. "We've only been on vacation here for two days."

"Yes," Hermione said. "And in that time, just how much love-making has transpired under the stars?"

"Just two times," said Ginny.

"Exactly. And besides…" Hermione trailed off.

"Besides…?"

"Well…" Now the brunette started fidgeting. "I was sort of thinking that, you know, maybe we should, sort of, go to church."

"Church?" Ginny said sceptically.

"Well… yes."

"Why?" The redhead asked, obvious disapproval in her voice.

"Because I always go to church on Christmas. I mean, I used to, of course, before I became a teacher at Hogwarts."

"Why would anyone ruin a perfectly good Christmas by going to church?" Ginny asked.

"To celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, of course," said Hermione.

Ginny looked shocked. "Excuse me!? The birth of who!?"

"Jesus Christ. What, you didn't know?"

"Of course not! We all just thought it was nice Muggle tradition. You know, with the tree and the eating and the meeting of family and stuff. We never knew we were actually celebrating some sort of… Christian holiday."

"So, we're not going to church then."

"Well I'm not," said Ginny. "But if you want to go, then I won't be stopping you. Though I can't imagine why you would want to celebrate the start of the burning times."

"Oh come now…"

"Shush. If that kid had never been born, we wouldn't have been hunted down and put onto a stake."

"Muggles have changed since then, you know."

"Well… I carry a grudge," said Ginny. Then she stuck out her tongue. "So there."

"OK, fine, I won't go. Happy now?"

"Very."

"You still going to unwrap that thing?"

"What?" Ginny asked confused. Then she looked at thing under her arm. "Oh… right."

"Come on, open it," said Hermione.

"I'd rather not," said Ginny. "I just know it'll be another one of mum's jumpers and I have loads of those already."

"Well, I think it would be a display of poor manners if you didn't open it."

Ginny glared at Hermione for a second. "Remind me why I married you again."

"Because you love me," said Hermione.

"Right," said Ginny. Then she looked back at the parcel. "Ah well, here goes nothing."

Ginny quickly tore away the wrapping paper and produced one very large, very red jumper. The redhead frowned at it for a moment, then smiled.

"What?" said Hermione.

"You know how mum always knits the first letter of our names into it?"

"Yes."

"Well, look at this."

Ginny handed the jumper to Hermione. The brunette looked critically at it before smiling as well. It was difficult to see the "V" of Virginia, because Mrs Weasley had chosen to place the letter "H" in the exact same spot. The effect was sweet, if somewhat unreadable.

"I think you should wear that jumper," said Ginny.

"And, knowing you, you'd probably want me to wear little else."

Ginny smiled. "You know me so well. Speaking of which."

The redhead got up and walked over to the closet. She took a small present wrapped in cheerful Christmas tree paper and handed it to Hermione, who looked confused.

"I thought we already had the whole gift-giving part back at the Burrow."

"I wanted to give this one to you in private," said Ginny, smiling the same innocent smile that Fred and George used on many occasions.

Eyeing Ginny suspiciously, Hermione unwrapped her present. She then opened the unspectacular white box and pulled out a small broomstick. It was a plastic broomstick that did not look very much like a proper travelling broomstick. There was a small button on it.

"Honey, what's this?" Hermione asked slowly.

Ginny pressed the button. The broomstick started, for lack of a better word, to vibrate. Hermione quickly switched it off and put it on the table.

"Very romantic," she said.

"I thought so," said Ginny, smiling widely. "So, planning to ride it somewhere tonight?"

"You have a very dirty mind, Mrs Weasley."

"You should too. It's fun."

"I don't doubt it," said Hermione coolly.

"Are you mad at me now?" Ginny asked, pouting, batting her eyelashes.

Hermione smiled. "No. Probably not."

"Good," Ginny said cheerfully. "In that case…"

The redhead reached for something under the bed, retrieved a very large palm leaf from under it and held it above her head.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"What? Don't you recognise mistletoe?"

"I do recognise mistletoe. And that isn't it."

Ginny huffed with mock indignation. "I'm the Herbology teacher here and if I say it's mistletoe, it's mistletoe."

"It will be when I transfigure it," said Hermione, reaching for her wand.

"Or you could see some sense and kiss me," said Ginny.

Hermione's hand hovered above her wand for a second, before it decided not to reach for it after all.

It was sunrise and the hotel room was still as ordinary as it was yesterday. Except maybe for the fact that the bed had still been neatly made back then. A small broomstick lay somewhere between the sheets, used and momentarily forgotten. Hermione lay closely next to her wife, drawing small circles on her stomach.

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Did you know that you have a rather dirty mind?"

"You have mentioned it a few times."

"Did I also mention that you don't manage to take anything serious?"

"You probably did somewhere along the line."

"And did I say that you should try to act your age once in a while?"

"Quite possible, yes."

"So did I basically ask you to finally grow up?"

"Could be."

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Never grow up."

Ginny smiled. "I didn't intend to."

"Good."

"Ginny?"

"Yes?"

"Love you."

"Love you too."

Ginny smiled. It was a rather innocent smile.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Ready to take out our new broom for a test drive?"

Hermione chuckled. "I think I've tested it enough times already."

"Have you? I didn't notice."

"You were too busy elsewhere," Hermione said, her smile now strangely innocent as well.

"Well, better be safe than sorry," said Ginny.

Ginny reached down. The broomstick started, for lack of a better word, to vibrate.