You’re In My Veins (And I Cannot Get You Out) // (1/15)
Title: You’re In My Veins (And I Cannot Get You Out) (1/15)
Word Count: 2,380
Rating: PG
Summary: AU. Hermione was rather simple in comparison. She didn’t make Quinn watch muggle ‘movie-musicals’ or declare Tuesday’s as ‘Celestina Warbeck Appreciation day’. Really, what did it matter that her heart ached for Rachel’s touch, Rachel’s kiss, Rachel’s love. What the hell did her heart know, anyway?
Pairing/s: Rachel/Quinn, Hermione/Quinn with a dash of Brittany/Santana
A/N: Phew. Okay, even with this chapter I’ve barely touched the storyline so again, this is backstory needed for the plot. This chapter kind of skips quickly over their fourth and fifth year but the story will be set in their sixth year, also around the events of the sixth Harry Potter novel and will stay there starting around the next chapter. Also, please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors as unbeated. Anyway, enough from me. I hope you enjoy chapter one!
Chapter 1
Somewhere into their fourth year, Rachel and Quinn became Rachel-and-Quinn, a kiss shared so sweetly over a mug of frothing butterbeer that took them both by surprise; not to mention the rest of the students that were at the ‘Three Broomsticks’ bar in Hogsmade.
It’s wasn’t that different from being best friends, except for the kissing; Quinn enjoyed the kissing. She still ate breakfast with the Ravenclaws and rushed off to her morning classes half asleep and with a mouthful of strawberry-jam toast. She still spent the morning break outside by the lake with Rachel, except instead of talking about homework assignments and boys that neither one of them were really interested in, they spent the time shoving their tongues down each other’s throats. They learned to block out the cat-calls.
The classes that Quinn shared with Rachel - Charms, Potions and Transfiguration - were spent clutching onto Rachel’s hand underneath the table no matter what they were required to do for the lesson much to Professor McGonagall’s annoyance.
Sometimes they would meet Santana and Brittany; the library was really the only place they could hang out inside the castle, each one of them belonging to a different house. Santana had been sorted into Slytherin and Brittany into Hufflepuff, yet still as inseparable as the day they had meet on the Hogwarts Express.
“You two are sickening” Santana would sneer as Rachel cuddled into Quinn’s side, nuzzling her neck and effectively stopping her reading, “Seriously, get a room”
Quinn never bothered with a retort; Brittany would usually interject with a comment that made Santana’s dark skin blush a fiery shade of pink: “But San, you love it when we snuggle. You say you feel safest in my arms”
Quinn would smirk until Santana threatened her with a Bat Bogey Hex (Santana’s were the best, as she had demonstrated many times on the irritating Hufflepuff Zacharias Smith) and she’d hastily go back to reading, her fingers tangled with Rachel’s.
Quinn spent the summer at home with her family, dodging questions about school life and her friends - her relationship with Rachel was only a few months old, why announce it? Her owl (Jeremiah) grew exhausted quickly after non-stop trips to fly Quinn’s letters to Rachel and point blank refused to travel anymore, settling himself in his cage and nipping her with his beak if she tried to coax him out.
“Fine then” She said angrily, clutching her bleeding fingers, “Do nothing. Be a useless lump”
Jeremiah ignored her for the rest of the summer.
Their fourth year became their fifth and the stress of their upcoming OWL examinations had almost every fifth year up the wall, visibly insane. Their first fight came with the flinging of an extremely large Charms textbook that had narrowly missed Quinn’s head, accompanied by Rachel’s shouts that echoed through the corridors, “I saw you Quinn! I saw you staring at her!”
Quinn, who had no idea who Rachel was even talking about, angered quickly at the accusations, “Rachel, I don’t even know what you’re talking about! Could you just calm your crazy for like, five minutes?”
“Hermione Granger!” Rachel screeched, her eyes burning, “In Transfiguration you ogled her for half the lesson!”
“She was talking!” Quinn shouted in defense, “It’s rude not to look at someone when they’re speaking to you”
But Rachel couldn’t be reasoned with. She stormed out of the library leaving Quinn by herself and didn’t talk to her for three days straight, going as far as completely switching tables in the classes she shared with Quinn and ignoring her when they were partnered together. She even got Brittany on her side, to Santana’s horror and it wasn’t long before Brittany was refusing to speak to her as well.
“Fabray!” Santana had hissed, slamming her hands down on Quinn’s table, “I don’t know what the hell you did to Berry, but you need to fix it, right now”
“It’s none of your business Santana” Quinn snapped, “Butt out”
“Because of you, Brittany isn’t talking to me” Santana seethed, “All because Berry’s so butt hurt over something you did and now she’s going on to Britt about how they deserve to be treated better”
“Well maybe she has a point” Quinn said hotly, “Maybe you do need to start treating Brittany a little better. God knows if you really loved her you wouldn’t be sleazing around with half of the school”
About an hour later, after Madam Pomfrey had reversed the effects of Santana’s bat bogey hex, Quinn found herself wandering past the Gryffindor common room, ready to suck up her pride and apologize. She hadn’t really done anything wrong; Hermione was pretty but Quinn really had just been listening, but she missed her girlfriend and if admitting defeat meant Rachel would forgive her, she would happily go along with it.
She waited outside the Fat Lady portrait patiently for a Gryffindor student to arrive, sighing in relief when she saw Neville Longbottom trudging up the stairs, “Neville! Listen, can you do me a favor? I really need to talk to Rachel-“
Neville smiled at her, “Sure Quinn, hang on” His eyebrows creased in concentration as he tried to recall the password, then muttered it quietly and disappearing into the common room.
Rachel came out with her arms folded, her eyebrows creased and her eyes hardened as if closed off to anything Quinn had to say.
Quinn sighed, running her hand through her long, blonde hair, “Look Rach, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings” Rachel’s demeanor softened, her hands dropping to rest at her side, “I know you think I was staring at Hermione but I promise you, the only girl I’m ever staring at is you”
“So… you don’t have romantic feelings for Hermione Granger?” Rachel asked self-consciously.
“No” Quinn said, “I’m in love with you, Rach. Only you”
Rachel’s lips curled into a small smile and she grasped the sides of Quinn’s face and pulled her in for a searing kiss. Quinn considered herself forgiven.
She recounted the details of her first time with Rachel a week later to an eager Brittany, ignoring Santana who was pretending to vomit into her History of Magic textbook.
“We decided we go down and find that room last night… you know, the room of requirement - where we went last year for the DA meetings with Harry Potter”
Brittany nodded quickly.
“There was a bed” Quinn recalled breathlessly, “Huge and sprinkled with rose petals. And a fireplace with our initials engraved on the mantel. I thought that was kind of cheesy but Rach loved it-“
“I’ll bet” Santana deadpanned.
Her high seemed to last for the entire month, the rest of her peers struggling with the weight of homework that was put upon them but Quinn hardly found time to care; she was giddy, finding herself more in love with Rachel as each day passed. It wasn’t too long though, before the persistent harassment courtesy of her dear cousin Draco started to get her down.
“Can you imagine what your father would say if he knew what you were doing?” Draco hissed at her across the Ravenclaw table, shoving a frightened second-year out of her seat, “Dating a Gryffindor’s bad enough. But a mudblood!?”
“Don’t call her that!” Quinn said angrily, slamming her fork down onto the table and spraying fried egg everywhere.
“He’d disown you” Draco sneered, his pale white hair gleaming under the ceiling of the great hall, “Do you really want to be a blood traitor?”
It had been an issue Quinn had struggled with since her very first day. Her family hated muggle-borns; she remembered the way her father had spoke of them when she was younger, his voice so full of venom. She knew Draco was right. She would be disowned, labeled as a blood-traitor for falling in love with a muggle-born… but only if they knew.
And it was decided. What her family didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them; it wasn’t like Quinn was getting married, she was in school, many, many miles away from her family. There was no reason she should tell them.
She ignored Draco and his constant whispers of her pure-blood family and focused on Rachel and passing her OWL’s. And maybe Rachel a little bit more.
Until the day Rachel brought up the question Quinn had been willing to leave unanswered, “When are you going to tell your parents about us?”
They were in the room of requirement, naked and curled into each other after an hour of frenzied love-making. Quinn stiffened at Rachel’s question, sitting up rather abruptly.
“Rachel, you know what my family’s like” She said, reaching out for her robes. She really didn’t want to have this conversation.
Rachel followed suit, rising up to sit, “Yes Quinn. Your family is one of the oldest, pure-blood wizarding families there is” She said, “I understand that”
“Then you’ll understand why I can’t tell them” Quinn said shortly, pulling on her robes.
Rachel stared at her, her face contorting into what looked like disbelief, “So that’s it. You’re not going to tell them about us. At all?”
“Rachel, if they knew I was dating a muggle-born… they-well, they wouldn’t react very kindly” Quinn said, slightly agitated.
“So I’m just your dirty little secret then?” Rachel asked with a lingering resentment.
Quinn almost laughed, “Secret? Rach, the entire school pretty much knows we’re together”
“But you won’t tell your parents”
“Rachel-“
“Because you’re ashamed of me-“
“Rachel, stop it!” Quinn said, “I’m not ashamed of you-“
“You’re ashamed of me Quinn! You’re ashamed that I’m a muggle-born all because your family has some stupid prejudice-“
“Rachel, you have no idea what it’s like to grow up in a family like mine” Quinn growled, “Everything I do, every move I make my family is judging me, just waiting for me to step over the line”
“You are not like them Quinn!” Rachel said, her eyes filled with earnest, “You’re different, special. The only Ravenclaw in a family full of Slytherins. I thought that you didn’t care what they thought of you”
“They’re still my family, Rachel” Quinn said angrily, “The people that raised me. Their opinion still matters to me”
“Are their opinions still valid when they go around calling people like me mudbloods? Filth? Scum of the wizarding world?” Rachel asked, her voice shaking.
“Don’t use that word” Quinn said sharply.
“Why not?” Rachel cocked her head, tears brimming in her eyes, “Doesn’t your daddy dearest use it? Isn’t that what he calls us?”
“Rachel-“
“I need you to tell them” Rachel said suddenly, clasping at the bed sheets, “If you love me, then you’ll let your family know”
Quinn stared at her, her heart hammering in a steady rhythm, somewhere between exasperated and anxious at Rachel’s impossible request. Finally she spoke, her voice hollow, “Rachel, you know I can’t...”
The heat from the fireplace swirled inside the tiny room and Quinn struggled to breathe through the intense gaze Rachel seemed unwilling to break.
“Please” It came out as crackled and desperate, Rachel’s chocolate eyes searching within her own for some sort comfort.
She almost gave in, never hearing Rachel Berry so vulnerable, waiting to be scooped up and reassured. But a flicker of her Grandfather’s proud face came to mind, his disappointment that she had betrayed everything he had ever taught her. She imagined him kicking her out, disowning her. And her answer was clear.
“No”
The very next day, as whispers circulated about Rachel Berry’s tear-stained face and Quinn’s unwavering, rather stoic one, the rumors became reality. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray had broken up.
Quinn finished her OWL’s with an impressive indifference and went home for the summer holidays feeling empty and useless; she had broken Rachel’s heart and her own in the process, clutching to the principles of her family line. Rachel was a muggle-born. Her father would have had a seizure if he knew.
Her sixth year started as she had expected it; avoiding Rachel at all costs, which wasn’t too hard seeing as Rachel had adopted the same plan. She moved out of her usual seat next to Rachel in all of her classes she shared with the Gryffindors - funnily enough, the only seat left to take in all three of the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor lessons, was a seat next to Hermione Granger.
She had lost Rachel, and in the process Brittany and Santana too. Lonely and miserable, Hermione had been somebody that Quinn had been happy to make friends with, her best friends no longer spoke to her and it wasn’t as if she’d made much of an effort with any of the other Ravenclaws. She’d been too busy occupying herself with Rachel.
She was glad to find that she and Hermione shared a lot in common; both at the top of their classes with a mutual thirst for knowledge. She had talked to Hermione Granger before, been a member of the club, ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ Hermione had been involved in the previous year.
And so six months after Rachel had ended their relationship, she found herself standing in front of Hermione Granger like a babbling fool, asking her (or trying) if she’d like to go to Hogsmade with Quinn. On a date (As Quinn clarified no less than six times).
And Hermione Granger became her girlfriend.
Hermione was rather simple in comparison to Rachel. She didn’t make Quinn watch muggle ‘movie-musicals’ or declare Tuesday’s as ‘Celestina Warbeck Appreciation day’. She was relieved to discover that Hermione dressed like a normal person when she wasn’t in her robes, after suffering from numerous outings with Rachel and her infamous owl sweater collection, ‘Look Quinnie, an owl for everyday’.
Hermione was good for her, she decided. It was easy, relaxed. Hermione wasn’t low maintenance, but she didn’t push for romance like Rachel did. She hadn’t been going out with Hermione for long, but she was sure that Hermione wouldn’t make her choose between their relationship and her family, she told herself when she caught a glimpse of Rachel and was feeling particularly bitter.
What did it matter that her heart still ached for Rachel’s touch, Rachel’s kiss, Rachel’s love. What the hell did her heart know, anyway?
Word Count: 2,380
Rating: PG
Summary: AU. Hermione was rather simple in comparison. She didn’t make Quinn watch muggle ‘movie-musicals’ or declare Tuesday’s as ‘Celestina Warbeck Appreciation day’. Really, what did it matter that her heart ached for Rachel’s touch, Rachel’s kiss, Rachel’s love. What the hell did her heart know, anyway?
Pairing/s: Rachel/Quinn, Hermione/Quinn with a dash of Brittany/Santana
A/N: Phew. Okay, even with this chapter I’ve barely touched the storyline so again, this is backstory needed for the plot. This chapter kind of skips quickly over their fourth and fifth year but the story will be set in their sixth year, also around the events of the sixth Harry Potter novel and will stay there starting around the next chapter. Also, please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors as unbeated. Anyway, enough from me. I hope you enjoy chapter one!
Chapter 1
Somewhere into their fourth year, Rachel and Quinn became Rachel-and-Quinn, a kiss shared so sweetly over a mug of frothing butterbeer that took them both by surprise; not to mention the rest of the students that were at the ‘Three Broomsticks’ bar in Hogsmade.
It’s wasn’t that different from being best friends, except for the kissing; Quinn enjoyed the kissing. She still ate breakfast with the Ravenclaws and rushed off to her morning classes half asleep and with a mouthful of strawberry-jam toast. She still spent the morning break outside by the lake with Rachel, except instead of talking about homework assignments and boys that neither one of them were really interested in, they spent the time shoving their tongues down each other’s throats. They learned to block out the cat-calls.
The classes that Quinn shared with Rachel - Charms, Potions and Transfiguration - were spent clutching onto Rachel’s hand underneath the table no matter what they were required to do for the lesson much to Professor McGonagall’s annoyance.
Sometimes they would meet Santana and Brittany; the library was really the only place they could hang out inside the castle, each one of them belonging to a different house. Santana had been sorted into Slytherin and Brittany into Hufflepuff, yet still as inseparable as the day they had meet on the Hogwarts Express.
“You two are sickening” Santana would sneer as Rachel cuddled into Quinn’s side, nuzzling her neck and effectively stopping her reading, “Seriously, get a room”
Quinn never bothered with a retort; Brittany would usually interject with a comment that made Santana’s dark skin blush a fiery shade of pink: “But San, you love it when we snuggle. You say you feel safest in my arms”
Quinn would smirk until Santana threatened her with a Bat Bogey Hex (Santana’s were the best, as she had demonstrated many times on the irritating Hufflepuff Zacharias Smith) and she’d hastily go back to reading, her fingers tangled with Rachel’s.
Quinn spent the summer at home with her family, dodging questions about school life and her friends - her relationship with Rachel was only a few months old, why announce it? Her owl (Jeremiah) grew exhausted quickly after non-stop trips to fly Quinn’s letters to Rachel and point blank refused to travel anymore, settling himself in his cage and nipping her with his beak if she tried to coax him out.
“Fine then” She said angrily, clutching her bleeding fingers, “Do nothing. Be a useless lump”
Jeremiah ignored her for the rest of the summer.
Their fourth year became their fifth and the stress of their upcoming OWL examinations had almost every fifth year up the wall, visibly insane. Their first fight came with the flinging of an extremely large Charms textbook that had narrowly missed Quinn’s head, accompanied by Rachel’s shouts that echoed through the corridors, “I saw you Quinn! I saw you staring at her!”
Quinn, who had no idea who Rachel was even talking about, angered quickly at the accusations, “Rachel, I don’t even know what you’re talking about! Could you just calm your crazy for like, five minutes?”
“Hermione Granger!” Rachel screeched, her eyes burning, “In Transfiguration you ogled her for half the lesson!”
“She was talking!” Quinn shouted in defense, “It’s rude not to look at someone when they’re speaking to you”
But Rachel couldn’t be reasoned with. She stormed out of the library leaving Quinn by herself and didn’t talk to her for three days straight, going as far as completely switching tables in the classes she shared with Quinn and ignoring her when they were partnered together. She even got Brittany on her side, to Santana’s horror and it wasn’t long before Brittany was refusing to speak to her as well.
“Fabray!” Santana had hissed, slamming her hands down on Quinn’s table, “I don’t know what the hell you did to Berry, but you need to fix it, right now”
“It’s none of your business Santana” Quinn snapped, “Butt out”
“Because of you, Brittany isn’t talking to me” Santana seethed, “All because Berry’s so butt hurt over something you did and now she’s going on to Britt about how they deserve to be treated better”
“Well maybe she has a point” Quinn said hotly, “Maybe you do need to start treating Brittany a little better. God knows if you really loved her you wouldn’t be sleazing around with half of the school”
About an hour later, after Madam Pomfrey had reversed the effects of Santana’s bat bogey hex, Quinn found herself wandering past the Gryffindor common room, ready to suck up her pride and apologize. She hadn’t really done anything wrong; Hermione was pretty but Quinn really had just been listening, but she missed her girlfriend and if admitting defeat meant Rachel would forgive her, she would happily go along with it.
She waited outside the Fat Lady portrait patiently for a Gryffindor student to arrive, sighing in relief when she saw Neville Longbottom trudging up the stairs, “Neville! Listen, can you do me a favor? I really need to talk to Rachel-“
Neville smiled at her, “Sure Quinn, hang on” His eyebrows creased in concentration as he tried to recall the password, then muttered it quietly and disappearing into the common room.
Rachel came out with her arms folded, her eyebrows creased and her eyes hardened as if closed off to anything Quinn had to say.
Quinn sighed, running her hand through her long, blonde hair, “Look Rach, I’m sorry. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings” Rachel’s demeanor softened, her hands dropping to rest at her side, “I know you think I was staring at Hermione but I promise you, the only girl I’m ever staring at is you”
“So… you don’t have romantic feelings for Hermione Granger?” Rachel asked self-consciously.
“No” Quinn said, “I’m in love with you, Rach. Only you”
Rachel’s lips curled into a small smile and she grasped the sides of Quinn’s face and pulled her in for a searing kiss. Quinn considered herself forgiven.
She recounted the details of her first time with Rachel a week later to an eager Brittany, ignoring Santana who was pretending to vomit into her History of Magic textbook.
“We decided we go down and find that room last night… you know, the room of requirement - where we went last year for the DA meetings with Harry Potter”
Brittany nodded quickly.
“There was a bed” Quinn recalled breathlessly, “Huge and sprinkled with rose petals. And a fireplace with our initials engraved on the mantel. I thought that was kind of cheesy but Rach loved it-“
“I’ll bet” Santana deadpanned.
Her high seemed to last for the entire month, the rest of her peers struggling with the weight of homework that was put upon them but Quinn hardly found time to care; she was giddy, finding herself more in love with Rachel as each day passed. It wasn’t too long though, before the persistent harassment courtesy of her dear cousin Draco started to get her down.
“Can you imagine what your father would say if he knew what you were doing?” Draco hissed at her across the Ravenclaw table, shoving a frightened second-year out of her seat, “Dating a Gryffindor’s bad enough. But a mudblood!?”
“Don’t call her that!” Quinn said angrily, slamming her fork down onto the table and spraying fried egg everywhere.
“He’d disown you” Draco sneered, his pale white hair gleaming under the ceiling of the great hall, “Do you really want to be a blood traitor?”
It had been an issue Quinn had struggled with since her very first day. Her family hated muggle-borns; she remembered the way her father had spoke of them when she was younger, his voice so full of venom. She knew Draco was right. She would be disowned, labeled as a blood-traitor for falling in love with a muggle-born… but only if they knew.
And it was decided. What her family didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them; it wasn’t like Quinn was getting married, she was in school, many, many miles away from her family. There was no reason she should tell them.
She ignored Draco and his constant whispers of her pure-blood family and focused on Rachel and passing her OWL’s. And maybe Rachel a little bit more.
Until the day Rachel brought up the question Quinn had been willing to leave unanswered, “When are you going to tell your parents about us?”
They were in the room of requirement, naked and curled into each other after an hour of frenzied love-making. Quinn stiffened at Rachel’s question, sitting up rather abruptly.
“Rachel, you know what my family’s like” She said, reaching out for her robes. She really didn’t want to have this conversation.
Rachel followed suit, rising up to sit, “Yes Quinn. Your family is one of the oldest, pure-blood wizarding families there is” She said, “I understand that”
“Then you’ll understand why I can’t tell them” Quinn said shortly, pulling on her robes.
Rachel stared at her, her face contorting into what looked like disbelief, “So that’s it. You’re not going to tell them about us. At all?”
“Rachel, if they knew I was dating a muggle-born… they-well, they wouldn’t react very kindly” Quinn said, slightly agitated.
“So I’m just your dirty little secret then?” Rachel asked with a lingering resentment.
Quinn almost laughed, “Secret? Rach, the entire school pretty much knows we’re together”
“But you won’t tell your parents”
“Rachel-“
“Because you’re ashamed of me-“
“Rachel, stop it!” Quinn said, “I’m not ashamed of you-“
“You’re ashamed of me Quinn! You’re ashamed that I’m a muggle-born all because your family has some stupid prejudice-“
“Rachel, you have no idea what it’s like to grow up in a family like mine” Quinn growled, “Everything I do, every move I make my family is judging me, just waiting for me to step over the line”
“You are not like them Quinn!” Rachel said, her eyes filled with earnest, “You’re different, special. The only Ravenclaw in a family full of Slytherins. I thought that you didn’t care what they thought of you”
“They’re still my family, Rachel” Quinn said angrily, “The people that raised me. Their opinion still matters to me”
“Are their opinions still valid when they go around calling people like me mudbloods? Filth? Scum of the wizarding world?” Rachel asked, her voice shaking.
“Don’t use that word” Quinn said sharply.
“Why not?” Rachel cocked her head, tears brimming in her eyes, “Doesn’t your daddy dearest use it? Isn’t that what he calls us?”
“Rachel-“
“I need you to tell them” Rachel said suddenly, clasping at the bed sheets, “If you love me, then you’ll let your family know”
Quinn stared at her, her heart hammering in a steady rhythm, somewhere between exasperated and anxious at Rachel’s impossible request. Finally she spoke, her voice hollow, “Rachel, you know I can’t...”
The heat from the fireplace swirled inside the tiny room and Quinn struggled to breathe through the intense gaze Rachel seemed unwilling to break.
“Please” It came out as crackled and desperate, Rachel’s chocolate eyes searching within her own for some sort comfort.
She almost gave in, never hearing Rachel Berry so vulnerable, waiting to be scooped up and reassured. But a flicker of her Grandfather’s proud face came to mind, his disappointment that she had betrayed everything he had ever taught her. She imagined him kicking her out, disowning her. And her answer was clear.
“No”
The very next day, as whispers circulated about Rachel Berry’s tear-stained face and Quinn’s unwavering, rather stoic one, the rumors became reality. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray had broken up.
Quinn finished her OWL’s with an impressive indifference and went home for the summer holidays feeling empty and useless; she had broken Rachel’s heart and her own in the process, clutching to the principles of her family line. Rachel was a muggle-born. Her father would have had a seizure if he knew.
Her sixth year started as she had expected it; avoiding Rachel at all costs, which wasn’t too hard seeing as Rachel had adopted the same plan. She moved out of her usual seat next to Rachel in all of her classes she shared with the Gryffindors - funnily enough, the only seat left to take in all three of the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor lessons, was a seat next to Hermione Granger.
She had lost Rachel, and in the process Brittany and Santana too. Lonely and miserable, Hermione had been somebody that Quinn had been happy to make friends with, her best friends no longer spoke to her and it wasn’t as if she’d made much of an effort with any of the other Ravenclaws. She’d been too busy occupying herself with Rachel.
She was glad to find that she and Hermione shared a lot in common; both at the top of their classes with a mutual thirst for knowledge. She had talked to Hermione Granger before, been a member of the club, ‘Dumbledore’s Army’ Hermione had been involved in the previous year.
And so six months after Rachel had ended their relationship, she found herself standing in front of Hermione Granger like a babbling fool, asking her (or trying) if she’d like to go to Hogsmade with Quinn. On a date (As Quinn clarified no less than six times).
And Hermione Granger became her girlfriend.
Hermione was rather simple in comparison to Rachel. She didn’t make Quinn watch muggle ‘movie-musicals’ or declare Tuesday’s as ‘Celestina Warbeck Appreciation day’. She was relieved to discover that Hermione dressed like a normal person when she wasn’t in her robes, after suffering from numerous outings with Rachel and her infamous owl sweater collection, ‘Look Quinnie, an owl for everyday’.
Hermione was good for her, she decided. It was easy, relaxed. Hermione wasn’t low maintenance, but she didn’t push for romance like Rachel did. She hadn’t been going out with Hermione for long, but she was sure that Hermione wouldn’t make her choose between their relationship and her family, she told herself when she caught a glimpse of Rachel and was feeling particularly bitter.
What did it matter that her heart still ached for Rachel’s touch, Rachel’s kiss, Rachel’s love. What the hell did her heart know, anyway?