This is a rewrite of the original Midnight Fight. Most things will stay the same, but I've tweaked it a little to where it's something I'm much more proud of.

The repetitive POVs are the same as before, and will not be around for the entire story.

The usual warnings and disclaimer: Not mine, beware of femslash and fluffiness.

Ginny Weasely sat alone on a couch in the Gryffindor common room, watching the fire flicker in front of her. She looked up when she heard footsteps nearing her, unsurprised to see her best friend walking toward her. She offered Hermione a smile and a wave, trying not to look like she was staring at the older witch.

"Hi," Hermione murmured, walking around the couch to face Ginny. A sly look was on her face, and she reached up, loosened her tie and undid a few of the top buttons on her shirt, revealing enough cleavage to make Ginny's heartbeat quicken.

"Hey," Ginny replied, her eyes on Hermione. Could it be that her fantasy was finally coming true? After secretly loving Hermione for so long, would this be the moment that she would be able to express her feelings toward the brunette? Or would she react like she usually did and say nothing?

Hermione took Ginny's hands in her own and pulled Ginny up off the couch and close to her. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl, starting to dance them around the room. Soft music began playing in the background, and when Ginny let a confused look appear on her face, Hermione laughed. Ginny couldn't help but grin; she loved Hermione's laugh. The mere sound of it always sent shivers up and down her spine.

"So, Ginny," Hermione said, looping her arms around Ginny's neck and playing with Ginny's hair softly. She looked into Ginny's eyes, a smile on her face. "There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"Oh?" Ginny was proud she even managed to get that out of her mouth. Normally, if Hermione got this close to her, she clammed up and couldn't say anything that sounded even slightly like speech. Even now she wondered if Hermione could hear the pounding of her heart or feel the tremble that coursed through Ginny's body.

"Mhm," Hermione nodded, watching Ginny with those adorable hazel eyes of hers. She grinned, leaning forward until she was mere centimeters away from kissing Ginny. "I love you," she breathed, so close to Ginny that Ginny could almost taste her.

Just as Hermione began to close the distance between them, Ginny woke up.

She sat bolt upright in her bed, staring into the darkness in front of her, her heart still pounding as it had been seconds ago in her dream. As it sunk in that Ginny had been dreaming, tears began burning in her eyes. "Damn it," she whispered, sinking back against her pillow.

Of course it was a dream. Ginny knew she would never be so lucky as to have that happen to her in real life. Yes, she was in love with Hermione Granger. Hermione had been the one person that hadn't judged her for writing to Tom Riddle. Ginny had spent a lot of time with the brunette after that year, and they had easily become best friends.

But just a few months ago, Ginny had realized that she felt more for Hermione than just friendship. It didn't take her long to come to the conclusion that she was in love with her best friend. After all, Hermione had the only smile that could make Ginny forget how to breathe. It was Hermione that Ginny looked to for approval, and felt like she was flying when she got it. The brunette was the one that was constantly on Ginny's mind, filling her thoughts and being responsible for the silly smiles that Ginny wasn't aware she wore. Ever since she'd realized, Ginny had been having dreams in which Hermione or herself would express their feelings for each other, only to wake just before the elusive kiss.

Ginny wiped tears from her face angrily, reaching for her bathrobe. She slipped out of bed and pulled on the robe over her pajamas, heading out of her dorm so she wouldn't disturb the other girls. She walked down the hallway, pausing at the balcony to see if anyone was in the common room. Relief flooded her senses when she saw that the common room was empty, and she quickly padded down the stairs and headed toward the couch nearest the dying fire.

Ginny grabbed one of the pillows and held it to her, burying her face in the scarlet fabric and letting herself cry as she dropped onto the couch. Some Gryffindor I am, she thought miserably. I can't even tell my best friend that I love her.

The images from Ginny's dream flashed in front of her again, and Ginny bit back a sob. Ginny Weasely, you are being pathetic, she chastised herself, hoping to make herself see the error of her ways. You're sitting here crying over the impossible. If you can't just tell her, you should forget it and move on. Nothing will happen because you cry your eyes out. Her pep talk did nothing to settle her whirling emotions, and Ginny pressed the pillow to her face to muffle the sobs that started wracking her lean body.

"Gin?"

Ginny tensed immediately, both startled and angry at hearing the voice that haunted her dreams. Hermione. She immediately hoped the brunette hadn't seen her tears; she hated crying in front of other people. "Ginny?" Hermione called again, sounding uncertain.

Ginny let the pillow drop into her lap, not turning to look at the brunette. Maybe Hermione didn't know that she was crying. "What?" she replied after a moment. She was met with the sound of Hermione hurrying down the staircase and into the common room.

Hermione knelt in front of Ginny, grasping the younger girl's hands in her own. "What's the matter, Gin? Can I help?"

Ginny opened her mouth and hesitated, sensing that this was a perfect opportunity to come clean. Then images of a disgusted, offended Hermione flashed before her and she snapped her jaw shut. She shook her head, not trusting her voice.

"You've been crying," Hermione pointed out softly as she gave Ginny's hands a gentle squeeze. "I'd say there's definitely something wrong. I'm right here if you want to talk about it."

Ginny bit back her distress at having been caught crying. Part of her was offended that Hermione had seen her at such a weak point. "I... can't," the redhead responded, hating that her voice wobbled just enough to make her cringe.

Hermione seemed to sense all the pain rushing through Ginny. Her face fell slightly, and she looked as though she wanted to hug Ginny.

The younger girl knew that if Hermione got any closer, her own will to keep her secret hidden would break. Rather than risk collapsing into Hermione's arms and telling her everything, Ginny turned away slightly, closing herself off from the brunette's embrace.

"You'll hate me if I tell you," Ginny continued haltingly. "I'm fine on my own."

"No, I won't," Hermione retorted, looking somewhat upset that Ginny would even dare think that. "You're my friend, Gin! I won't hate you!"

"You will," Ginny corrected, closing her eyes and trying not to imagine the hatred she expected on Hermione's face. "Just leave me alone. I'm fine." Her voice shook dangerously as her body threatened her with tears again.

Hermione scoffed. "Well, all right then, provided the definition of 'fine' now equates to sobbing into a pillow at two in the morning?" she retorted sarcastically. Her face softened a little. "Gin-"

"Hermione, please, just leave me alone."

A look of hurt passed across the older girl's face. "Gin, we've been friends for years. I hate seeing you hurting, and I think I know you well know that-"

"If you know me so well, why are you not leaving me alone?" Ginny snapped, her eyes burning with fresh tears. She ignored the retort Hermione was about to send her way, letting her frustration take over. "Oh wait, I bet I know. You just want another chance to prove that you know everything. Well, I have news for you, Hermione. I may not know as much as you, but at least I'm not being a stuck up, know-it-all Mudblood!"

The moment the words popped out of her mouth, Ginny gasped, immediately sorry. She felt the color drain from her face as she stared at Hermione, who looked as though she'd just been stabbed, told her dog died, and lost her best friend all at the same time.

Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes and she pressed her lips together firmly before getting up and walking back to her dorm without a word.

Ginny watched Hermione leave, already being eaten up by guilt. "Damn it," she whispered, hugging the pillow to her chest again. With the dream and their fight still swimming in her mind, Ginny cried herself to sleep on the couch. When she woke again, the sun was just beginning to rise over the castle.

It occurred to the youngest Weasely that there was a Quidditch match, and she got up and headed for her dorm miserably. Rather than fall onto her bed and isolate herself from the world, Ginny grabbed a change of clothes and headed to the showers. She stood under the hot water and let herself cry some more, hoping to get it all out of her system before she had to face anyone.

_..-=*^*=-.._..-=*^*=-.._

Hermione lay awake, thinking about a particularly long Potions essay Snape had assigned her class as punishment. She had been partnered with Ron and Harry to brew a very difficult potion. Ron hadn't been paying attention, and while he was talking to Harry about a Quidditch game, he swung his arms out and knocked most of the ingredients into the potion. It had blown up and turned into muck before Hermione could even begin to yell at Ron. It was needless to say that Ron was now on his own when he needed help writing his essay.

As Hermione began to doze off, she heard the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by hurried footsteps toward the common room. A quick glance at the clock on her nightstand told her that it was well past midnight. Curious, Hermione got up and pulled a pair of pajama pants on under her nightgown and headed out of her dorm to see who else was awake at such an ungodly hour.

She stopped at the balcony overlooking the common room, surprised to see her best friend curled up on a couch, her face buried in a pillow. Hermione stood there silently for a long moment, trying to see what Ginny was doing. When Ginny's shoulders heaved with what was unmistakably a sob, Hermione spoke up. "Gin?"

She saw Ginny tense and drop the pillow. The redhead didn't reply.

"Ginny?" Hermione tried again.

"What?" Ginny replied, her voice thick from crying.

Hermione turned and dashed down the stairs, hurrying over to her friend. She hated to see anyone that she cared about crying; she just felt like she had a giant responsibility to help make things better. She wasn't sure why, but the feeling was especially overwhelming when she saw Ginny crying. Seeing the redhead's tears made something inside Hermione hurt, and she was sure she dreaded the sight more than a confrontation with all the dementors of Azkaban. Hermione would do anything she could to help her best friend and make her tears go away.

Hermione knelt in front of Ginny, grasping the younger girl's hands in her own. "What's the matter, Gin? Can I help?"

Ginny opened her mouth and hesitated, and a look of pain flashed across her face. She closed her mouth again and shook her head.

"You've been crying," Hermione pointed out softly as she gave Ginny's hands a gentle squeeze. "I'd say there's definitely something wrong. I'm right here if you want to talk about it."

"I... can't," the redhead responded, her voice shaking slightly.

Hermione could see all the pain rushing through Ginny in the redhead's eyes. Her heart sank, and she was desperate to wrap Ginny up in a hug and tell her everything would be all right, but Ginny shifted and turned away.

"You'll hate me if I tell you," Ginny continued haltingly. "I'm fine on my own."

"No, I won't," Hermione responded, aching at the emotional slap to the face. They were best friends; how could anything Ginny had to say change that? "You're my friend, Gin! I won't hate you!"

"You will," Ginny corrected, closing her eyes as tears filled them. "Just leave me alone. I'm fine." Her voice shook dangerously and the brunette allowed herself a little frustration at Ginny's stubbornness.

Hermione scoffed. "Well, all right then, provided the definition of 'fine' now equates to sobbing into a pillow at two in the morning?" she retorted sarcastically. Her conscience immediately got the better of her and she calmed herself down, softening her voice. "Gin-"

"Hermione, please, just leave me alone."

Hermione didn't bother to hide the hurt at being pushed away. She didn't know what was so bad that it would cause her normally upbeat friend to be so upset, and tried appealing to Ginny's more logical side. "Gin, we've been friends for years. I hate seeing you hurting, and I think I know you well know that-"

"If you know me so well, why are you not leaving me alone?" Ginny snapped, her eyes shining with fresh tears.

Hermione's jaw dropped open and she began to respond, but Ginny interrupted her again.

"Oh wait, I bet I know," Ginny continued, an almost hateful tone in her voice. "You just want another chance to prove that you know everything. Well, I have news for you, Hermione. I may not know as much as you, but at least I'm not being a stuck up, know-it-all Mudblood!"

Hermione froze, unable to believe what she'd just heard. It would have been expected, coming from the likes of Malfoy or the rest of the Slytherins, but from Ginny? The words hurt more than Hermione could ever have imagined. Tears blurred Hermione's vision and she rose, willing herself not to cry as she turned and left, heading back to her room.

Once she was safely back in her bed, she charmed the curtains with a silencing spell and cried herself to sleep.