TITLE: Required

AUTHOR: Jos Mous

Email: wotan_anubis@yahoo.com

DISCLAIMER: Not owning any of these characters. JKR does and she’s making pots of money out of them too, very much unlike me by the way.

RATING: R

PAIRING: Hermione/Ginny

NOTE: The original rough draft of this story was very much NC-17, containing not only gratuitous sex, but also very kinky gratuitous sex. In the actual writing, everything managed to get a heap more vanilla. Probably because of the Christmas Spirit or something.

It was lunchtime at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and that was why Ginny Weasley was currently skulking along the deserted hallways of the seventh floor. It didn’t take long for her to reach the Room of Requirement and she hesitated for a minute or two before opening the door and stepping into the prefect’s bathroom. It always looked exactly like the prefect’s bathroom when Ginny entered it on her own, although the painting of the mermaid was always missing the actual mermaid. And always there would be the faint splashing of water and a soft laugh.

There was slight splash.

“Hello Ginny,” said someone, softly laughing.

Ginny turned almost reluctantly and looked at the massive bath. Hermione was in it, her head and arms resting on the edge, her eyes looking with great interest at Ginny.

It wasn’t the real Hermoine, Ginny knew. It never was. But the Room of Requirement delivered what was needed of it and it had become very good at it.

Hermione pushed herself away from the edge and did a few backstrokes, the shapes of her nude body clearly visible beneath the water.

“Won’t you join me?” the swimming girl asked. “The water’s lovely.”

Ginny shed her robe and carefully dipped her foot into the water before diving in completely. The water was indeed lovely. It always was.

Ginny swam over to the brunette girl and, treading water, nodded towards the shallow end. The fake Hermione smiled, a mischievous glint appearing in her eyes for a second or two.

When the girls reached the shallow end, Ginny gently put her feet down on the tub’s floor, but Hermione continued on and reached for the tabs.

“How about lavender this time?” she asked.

“Sounds good to me,” Ginny said.

Hermione opened the tab and lathered up her hands with the lavender-scented bath soap. Silently, she returned to Ginny, came up behind the girl, put her soapy hands on the small of her back and started rubbing gently. Ginny sighed contentedly as Hermione gently started massaging her body. The soap soon washed off the fake’s hands, but that was fine since soap wasn’t Required for this anyway. Giving up what few pretence there was left, Hermione moved face to face with Ginny and leaned in to kiss her. The redhead readily opened her mouth enough to let Hermione’s tongue in and let out a smothered moan when she felt the brunette’s hands on her breasts. They stood there for several long moments, kissing as Hermione’s hands gently explored Ginny’s body with a slow determinacy that made it seem like each individual hand wanted to really remember what each and every part of the girl felt like.

Hermione broke the kiss eventually. “I think you’re about clean now, don’t you?”

Ginny nodded.

“Well then, let’s get you dried up.”

Taking Ginny by the hand, Hermione’s life-like copy led the girl out of the bath towards a small pile of fresh towels lying conveniently on the floor. Hermione picked up one of the towels and started drying of Ginny in all earnest, pausing only to press a gentle kiss on a recently dried piece of flesh.

“Well then,” Hermione said briskly, tossing away the towel, “seems like I’ve managed to get you all dried up. Well, except for that bit,” she added, nodding meaningfully at the spot between Ginny’s legs.

“Think there’s anything you can do about it?” Ginny said, smiling faintly.

“Maybe.”

Hermione carefully lay a wet hand on Ginny’s dry shoulder and gently lowered the girl to the ground. When she was lying on the strangely warm marble, Hermione slowly opened the girl’s legs and leaned forward.

Not long after, Ginny’s world exploded into a new and wonderful place.

When the redhead eventually looked up, she saw Hermione still kneeling on the floor, smiling at her with genuine, yet fake, affection. Ginny smiled back and kissed the girl.

“Bye Hermione,” she said.

Ginny stood up, got dressed and left the room. After less than three seconds, a voice suddenly froze Ginny in her tracks.

“Oh hey, there was still something I wanted to ask you.”

Ginny turned around stiffly, her face wooden, and saw Hermione casually leaning against the doorframe. She was barefoot and her robe clung to every inch of her wet body. Ginny would’ve found the sight incredibly sexy if it weren’t for the sheer terror she was feeling.

“I was thinking, maybe we should go to the Yule Ball together,” Hermione said. “What do you think?”

“Umm… sure,” Ginny stammered.

Hermione smiled. “Great,” she said. Then she stepped out to Ginny and kissed her on the lips. “Oh and next time, what say you and me use the real prefect’s bathroom?” she whispered.

“S-Sounds good,” Ginny managed.

“Good,” Hermione said, stepping away from the girl. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to go dry myself off and put on some dry clothes. Later Gin.”

And then she was gone.

Ginny stared at the door, not quite believing what she’d just seen. She knew she was in shock, but she also thought that maybe, once the shock wore off, the world would be a new and wonderful place.