Title: Instances of Understanding
Pairing: Ginny/Fleur
Rating: PG-13... for now
Summary: Very much AU. Follows Ginny starting in her third year, where she met a girl named... (drum roll please) Gabrielle Delacour. Now before you get all up in arms thinking I've lied to you, just listen. She meets Gabrielle, and the two become friends. But it just so happens that Gabrielle has a very protective older sister who Ginny finds herself taken to. Much better explanation inside, I believe.
Disclaimer: Oh so disappointingly not mine
Spoilers: HP & The Goblet of Fire
Author's Note: Well... I've decided that my Ginny/Fleur oneshot was not nearly enough to satisfy my imagination. So I've come up with this. Basically, Ginny, Gabrielle, and Fleur meet during the Tri-Wizard Tournament in Ginny's third year and she and Gabrielle become friends. Meanwhile, she and Fleur harbor a fond respect for each other, but nothing serious until later chapters (of which I'm not sure how many there will actually be). This will be the only chapter (I think) that has any content taking place during the school year, since Fleur's only at Hogwarts for one year. Except maybe during Ginny's fifth year (during which she will NOT be hooking up with one Harry Potter) when they have that big showdown and Fleur shows up to see Bill, except obviously she won't be visiting Bill this time. But other than that, it will mostly be summer. And if you followed all of that, my hat is off to you because I sure as hell didn't. Anyway, before I confuse you any further, I give you my story, Instances of Understanding. Enjoy.
Third year was a crucial year for Hogwarts students. Of course, third year signifies a multitude of things for any young witch or wizard. It's the year that they ascend into the strange and colorful world of teenagers, and indeed the hallways were full of young third years groping awkwardly at one another in fresh experimentations of newfound sexuality. Third year also gave students the chance to join their classmates in Hogsmeade, a wonderful weekend privilege for those who had lasted through the previous grueling two years. It was a time for growing, both personally and magically. The students were more comfortable with their wands and their classes and their peers, and they could now focus on shaping themselves into acceptable human beings. While some admittedly took a bit longer to grasp this concept (and some never actually did), most found third year to be perfectly pleasant and enjoyable. Ginny Weasley was no exception. For her, third year was not only crucial, it was life changing.
It just so happened that Ginny's third year was the year that Hogwarts hosted the famous Triwizard Tournament, an obvious source of great excitement because it offered itself as something for students to pay attention to other than just classes, which even the teachers seemed to accept because they themselves were quite occupied with the details of it. If a student wasn't buzzing to his or her friends about the tasks or the other schools, then certainly they were discussing the scandal that was Harry Potter, a very under age contestant in the tournament.
Ginny had to admit that she'd felt slightly enamored when she'd learned that Harry would be participating. While the summer had given her a rude awakening to the fact that he would likely never see her as anything more than Ron's little sister, she still had a soft spot for the ill-fated boy. How could she not? He was something of a hero to her, a savior even. He'd pulled her from the grimy, blood encrusted pits of the Chamber of Secrets, something that she would always owe him for. However, that experience had greatly changed her, and she was no longer the silly little school girl that placed her trust in charming diaries that wrote back to her when she was lonely and lovesick. Fortunately, she'd returned to school this year with vigor and a determination to experience everything that the castle had to offer.
And so it was with great anticipation and a tiny grin that Ginny waited in the Great Hall with her peers watching the delicate students from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and the proud wizards from Durmstrang Institute make their elaborate entrances, mind buzzing with the possibilities that presented themselves. It seemed that many others had the same idea, as they wasted no time in occupying their guests' attention. No matter, though. Ginny was patient and she had all year to embrace these opportunities.
The beginning of the year had them shoved away in the common room, already loaded with tons of essays to write and spells to practice. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were seated at a round table in the corner of the room when Ginny entered, plopping herself down in the seat beside Hermione. Ron was the only one who took notice, giving her a strange look.
"What are you doing?" he asked as though she had suddenly begun to strip her clothing. Ginny glared at him.
"There are no other tables open, you git," she replied, pulling out some parchment for her fourteen inch essay on the properties of moonstone, a topic that she knew nothing about.
"Leave her alone, Ronald. She's more than welcome to sit here," Hermione scolded, a touch of bitterness in her voice. She'd been a bit cold to him ever since the ladies from Beauxbatons arrived, launching his obsession with one Fleur Delacour. Ron huffed slightly and turned back to his own essay, of which Ginny couldn't tell the subject because it was so littered with inkblots and words scratched out in frustration.
"It's no use," he sighed after a few minutes, throwing his quill down. "I don't know a damn thing about Dugbog."
"Well if you'd paid attention in class you'd be able to have this done already," Hermione said, already well past her Dugbog essay.
"He had other things on his mind," Harry piped up with a grin. "Didn't you see we passed Fleur on the way in? He was much too distracted after that."
Hermione, who had been reaching towards Ron's essay presumably to look over it for him (in other words, rewrite it), immediately snatched her hand back, returning to her work with a steely expression.
"Well you can hardly blame me," Ron continued. "I mean, have you seen her? She's down right amazing. I think she's part Veela as well."
"In that case, you'd better stay away from her," Ginny told him.
"Why's that then?" Ron asked in confusion.
"Because with as obnoxious as you are, you'll have her ripping at you with her talons in no time."
"Shut up," Ron growled, chucking his quill at her, which she easily diverted with her wand so that it flew past George's head and stuck into the wall.
"Watch it!" George yelled. Ginny gave him an apologetic grin. That was one of the last good times the group had together before Ron and Harry's row.
As the first task of the Triwizard Tournament came, there appeared to be no remedy for Ginny's brother and the Boy Who Lived. Regardless of that, Ginny found herself very worried indeed as she began to make her way down to the grounds where the stadium for the first task was set up. She'd just gotten to the front doors, which were practically clogged with students clamoring to get out and get a good seat, when she realized that she really rather needed a hat.
"Where are you going?" Hermione called as Ginny spun around and began fighting her way back into the school.
"I forgot my hat," Ginny yelled back. Hermione watched her for a minute before a particularly hard shove from a Slytherin got her moving forward again.
"Ginny, aren't you going to watch the first task?" Neville questioned as he crawled out of the portrait hole.
"Yeah, I just have to get something really quick," she assured him.
"Well you'd better hurry. I hear there's going to be dragons!" he exclaimed, his crooked smile showing his excitement. Ginny's eyes went wide and she promptly scurried through the portrait hole.
By the time she got down to the stadium, the stands were completely full save the few stragglers like herself. She entered the stands and looked around for Hermione and her brother, but there were so many people that she found it impossible to find them. Deciding that it was useless to keep trying, she sat down in the nearest empty seat just as the commentary started.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the magical schooling community, welcome and thank you for joining us for the first task of the Triwizard Tournament!" Ludo Bagman's voice boomed. The crowd cheered loudly.
"Pardon," a small voice said right next to Ginny's ear, causing her to jump. She spun around to see a petite girl, probably only a few years younger than herself, with long hair that was so light it was like waves of silver cascading across her shoulders. She peered at Ginny with soft, curious eyes that were clear as crystal and bluer than any sky that the redhead had ever witnessed. It didn't take much for her to realize who this girl was. She looked exactly like her sister.
"May I sit 'ere?" she asked, pointing to the empty spot next to Ginny, who nodded.
"Yeah, of course," Ginny answered, sliding over to give the girl more space, not that she actually needed it she was so small. The girl smiled weakly and sat down so lightly that she was barely touching the seat. Bagman chose just that moment to continue his commentary.
"Now, for the first task, our four champions will be forced to face their very own real life dragon." There was a collective uproar at this, and Ginny felt the worry sink back into her as she thought of Harry facing a dragon. Images of Dumbledore collecting his body parts as the dragon tore them off and scattered them into the rocky pit below filled her head. "These are no tame dragons, mind you. Our experts have the burns and bites to prove it. The champions will have to show wit, strength, and bravery to pass this test and get to the golden egg. Are you ready?"
There was a huge cry from the students, and Ginny noticed that the girl next to her looked positively terrified. Ginny felt a pang of sympathy for her, but a familiar voice behind her distracted her.
"Bets here! Make your bets!" Fred called. Ginny scowled.
"Who will go first? How about you, McLaggen? I'd say it's safe to put your money on Fleur getting mauled," George advised to a beefy fifth year. There was a small gasp beside her and she turned to find the blonde looking as though she might be sick. She spun back around to face the twins angrily.
"Get out of here, you wankers," she growled.
"Language, sis," George warned with a grin.
"Go!" Ginny yelled. Fred crossed his arms.
"Make us," he challenged.
"Go away or I'll tell Mum you've been gambling," she threatened. Their eyes went wide.
"You wouldn't," they said simultaneously. Ginny narrowed her eyes as if to say "Oh, but I would." The twins glared at her, but stalked off nonetheless to take their business elsewhere. Ginny gave a satisfied grin and turned back to the girl.
"You okay?" she asked cautiously. The girl nodded. "You're Fleur's sister, aren't you?" Again she nodded.
"Gabrielle," she whispered, her accent thick. Ginny smiled and extended her hand.
"Ginny Weasley. Nice to meet you."
"Enchantée," Gabrielle said softly as she shook Ginny's hand.
"Look, don't listen to my brothers. They're idiots. I'm sure Fleur will be fine. The Goblet wouldn't have chosen her otherwise. Besides, they've got loads of medical staff here if anything happens. It'll all be okay," Ginny assured her.
"I 'ope you are right," Gabrielle whispered.
Shortly after, the task began and the girls watched along with everyone else as the champions battled their dragons. It was a frightening thing to watch, and each one of them had a few close scrapes, especially Harry, who it seemed had gotten the worst of the dragons. In the end, all performed admirably with fairly few injuries, and each walked away with a golden egg.
"Allons-y!" Gabrielle exclaimed, grabbing Ginny by the hand and leading her out of the stands and into the champion's tent. Fleur, Cedric, Krum, and Harry were all present, having their injuries tended to as Dumbledore and Crouch congratulated them on a job well done.
"Gabrielle!" Fleur called, catching her sister in a fierce hug as the two conversed in rapid fire French while Ginny stood there feeling slightly awkward.
"Gin, what are you doing down here?" Harry questioned curiously.
"Uh… Gabrielle brought me down. I sat with her during the task," Ginny explained.
"Harry," Hagrid called from outside the tent, as he was much too large to fit inside.
"You did well, Harry," Ginny told him. Harry grinned.
"Thanks," he said as he moved off to talk to Hagrid. Ginny turned to find Fleur approaching her, a slight limp in her right leg from a particularly nasty gash.
"My sister tells me you looked after 'er today," she said, her stance tall and proud despite her injury. Ginny had to refrain from shrinking under her calculating gaze.
"I just sat with her, made sure she didn't worry too much," Ginny said, making every miserable attempt to keep her voice confident. For a moment, it looked as though Fleur might go off on her for getting near Gabrielle, but finally a small smile creased her features, a sight that was exceptionally breathtaking, even to Ginny who though she was usually one for guys, was also not blind.
"Merci. She was grateful to 'ave you," Fleur told her, swooping down to place a kiss on each cheek. Gabrielle soon did the same, leaving Ginny slightly bewildered.
"You're welcome, it was my pleasure," she said, moving towards the tent flap. "Congratulations by the way. You were great with that dragon." Fleur only smiled while Gabrielle waved.
"Au revoir, Ginny!" The redhead waved back and left the tent, feeling two pairs of clear blue eyes follow her out.
The next few days after the task were fairly uneventful, filed only with recaps of the champions' performances, as well as speculations as to what the next task held. The teachers went back to piling on the homework, much to their students' dismay.
Ginny was rather glad that Ron and Harry were speaking again, having made up shortly after Harry returned with is wretchedly noisy egg. Hermione agreed with this, being sick of acting as a go between for the two boys.
As for the Delacours, Ginny saw them occasionally walking through the castle, at which point Gabrielle would wave to her, which she returned happily. Fleur would give her a slight nod, a sign that Ginny took to mean that while she and Fleur were nowhere near being best mates, the blonde at least held some amount of respect for her, a fact that she was slightly proud of, especially when Ron would pester her to introduce them. Hermione seemed perturbed by her acquaintanceship with the sisters, if not slightly bitter, while Harry took almost no notice, as he was much too busy fawning after Cho Chang. Ginny was surprised to find that his perusal of the Ravenclaw didn't pain her any, and she'd even expected him to be taken with someone eventually. If it wasn't going to be her, it would be someone. Occupied as he was with his constant attraction to danger, he was still a teenage boy with impulses, just like everyone else.
Christmas break approached them at lightning speed, and Ginny along with every other student was excited at the prospect of a few weeks without exhausting classes or socially crippling homework. However, all thought of vacation was pushed from their minds at the sudden announcement of the Yule Ball, which was apparently a tradition that came along with the tournament. Knowing that this was her best chance to mingle, Ginny gathered herself in anticipation of some serious flirting. She'd seen an exceptionally handsome fourth year from Durmstrang that she was fairly certain she could land if she played her cards right.
Monday morning in the Great Hall brought her the perfect opportunity to get started on her mission. Her blue eyes followed him sharply as he entered with a few other Durmstrangs, taking a seat at the end of the Hufflepuff table. Her plan was to start subtle, make simple contact so as to catch his eye. From there, she could work bolder.
She waited several minutes, working up the courage to go over to him. She knew if she let herself get too nervous, she'd turn beet red while talking to him and fumble over her words, which was something she definitely didn't want. Finally, satisfied that she was mentally prepared for the task at hand, she stood up and walked over to the Hufflepuff table, which suddenly seemed miles away. Eventually, she made it to her destination. Just as she was about to tap her target on the shoulder…
"Ginny!"
The girl in question whipped around to find Neville hurrying toward her, practically at a sprint. With a sigh she turned away from the Durmstrang boys and waited for him. Whatever he had to say better be good. She had business to attend to.
"What is it, Neville?" she asked, making every attempt to keep the impatience out of her voice. He skidded to a halt in front of her, his face red and his breath slightly labored.
"Um… I was wondering if I could ask you something," he said, clearly nervous. Ginny's mind being slightly preoccupied, she suspected nothing.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, maybe we could go out there," Neville suggested, pointing to the Entrance Hall. Ginny vaguely considered making an excuse, but her conscience immediately berated her for it.
"Right… okay," she agreed finally. Neville looked slightly relieved and led her out to the Entrance Hall. She glanced back over her shoulder to see the Durmstrang boy laughing at something his female friend had just said and scowled.
Neville took her to a corner near the door to the dungeons, and Ginny was starting to believe that it truly was something important with how strange he was acting. His face was no longer red, but rather a delicate shade of green that gave her the impression he might suddenly be sick. Wanting to avoid that, she decided to push him along.
"Neville, I was kind of hoping to get back to breakfast, so if you could just ask me what you need to know…" she said gently. He nodded, looking very uncomfortable.
"Oh, r-right. Well, you see, I've been thinking, and... I mean to say, I was just wondering…"
"Neville!"
"Would you like to go to the ball with me?" he asked suddenly, in such a rush that she could almost not understand him. His eyes went wide as though he couldn't believe he'd actually done it and Ginny found herself wishing she hadn't understood him.
Say no. Say no! her mind screamed at her.
"Neville, I…"
His face was so hopeful that it almost broke her heart and she could tell that he was hanging on every word.
You fool, just tell him no!
"I'd love to."
Ginny was fairly certain that she'd never seen that much joy and excitement on anyone's face in her life and for a moment she feared he might pass out from surprise. Her inner vixen sighed in disappointment, sinking down I the back of her mind with a shake of its head.
"Really? That's great!" She forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you!"
"It's no problem, really," she lied.
Yes it is…
Shut up.
"Right, well I'll see you later," Neville said, a grin plastered on his face. Ginny watched as he bounced away before skulking back into the Great Hall. She glanced over toward the spot where the Durmstrangs had been, finding it empty. With a heavy sigh she sank back into her seat, pushing her toast away.
Fool…
The Yule Ball approached slowly as ever, leaving Ginny to stew in her misery over her inability to refuse Neville's offer. It wasn't that she had anything against him, she liked him well enough. She'd just imagined herself going with someone a bit more… dashing. Possibly the only thing able to lighten her mod was the fact that Rom and Harry had yet to find dates, something that Ginny found positively hilarious considering that both of them had so much to say about everyone else. This did not seem to be lost on them, and Ginny soon found herself escorting a mortified Ron back to the common room after he'd practically shouted at Fleur to ask her to the ball.
She'd been walking through the courtyard on her way back from Herbology when Ron caught up to her, asking her if she had any cute friends that he could take to the ball. She was in the process of telling him to shove off when she noticed his eyes glaze over, a stupid grin on his face. Following his gaze, she found the source of his enchantment in the form of Fleur, walking across their path with a few of her friends. Ginny nodded at the blonde, who seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood because she smiled in return. This was a very unfortunate mistake on her part however, because Ron seemed to draw some odd courage from it and puffed himself up, calling after her and practically screaming at her as he asked if she'd like to accompany him to the ball. Fleur stood still, looking at him very strangely, as did everyone else in the courtyard. Had the situation not been so embarrassing, Ginny would have burst into laughter at the look Fleur shot her, as if to say "Ees there somezing wrong with 'im?" It only took Ron a few seconds to realize what he'd just done, and with a look that made Ginny think he might vomit or cry, spun on his heel and sprinted out. This left everyone to stare at Ginny for an explanation. She gave Fleur an apologetic look.
"He's um… not been feeling well," she said hastily, before hurrying out to find him.
Thankfully, people seemed to be far too occupied with preparations for the ball to care too much, and it was forgotten in no time. Even Ron managed to recover, convincing Padma Patil to go with him (though this was likely only due to the fact that Parvati made her). Ginny actually found herself to be fairly excited on the night of the ball, realizing that she could still have a good time regardless of who her date was. Besides, Neville had been practicing his dance steps relentlessly and was now quite good, much to everyone's surprise. He met her at the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall, looking pretty okay in his new black dress robes.
"Ginny, you look… really beautiful," he said as he offered his arm, voice wavering slightly. Ginny smiled, knowing that he meant it. At least he's a gentleman, Ginny thought as she overheard a sixth year telling his date she looked "do-able".
The two entered the Great Hall arm in arm, and Ginny couldn't suppress her gasp at the sight. It was as though she'd suddenly stumbled upon the most beautiful ice palace in existence. The entire room was bathed in a soft blue glow and just about everything but the floor was coated in thick, un-meltable ice. Fluffy snowflakes fell from the starry night sky, disappearing just before they reached the floating ice sickles. It was already fairly crowded as the orchestra played something quietly in the background.
"This is amazing," Ginny breathed. Neville nodded in agreement before a look crossed his face as though he'd just suddenly remembered something.
"Would you like a drink?" he asked, looking down at her questioningly. Ginny nodded.
"Please," she said, smiling slightly as she watched him hurry off to the punch table. He was making a valiant effort to be the perfect date, she had to give him that.
When he returned, the room was significantly fuller, and it wasn't long after that the doors were closed. Everyone turned their attention to Dumbledore, who'd taken a place on the stage and was waiting with a patient smile for everyone to quiet down.
"Welcome, welcome everyone to the Yule Ball. Before we start, I'd just like to say… inscriputus flaverty sorcrotum. And now, I give you your Triwizard Champions."
Before anyone had time to discuss Dumbledore's insanity, the doors to the Great Hall swung open and Cedric, Fleur, Harry, and Krum strode in, accompanied by their dates. Ginny was not startled as everyone else was to see Hermione on Krum's arm, for she'd already known that they were coming together. She was however slightly astounded at Hermione's rapid transformation, as was Ron apparently since he completely refused to believe it was her.
The music started as soon as the champions and their dates had taken their places on the floor. Things seemed to be going well so far and everyone clapped for them as even Harry managed to pull off his dance steps. Dumbledore led Professor McGonagall in soon after, and Ginny took this to mean that everyone else was welcome to join them. Grabbing Neville's hand, she dragged him onto the floor and the two fell easily into the steps in time with the music. Soon enough, the whole floor was filled with couples dancing together, and before Ginny knew it she and Neville had danced through five songs.
"I'll go get us more drinks," Neville offered as Ginny sank onto one of the benches. The room was actually fairly chilled due to all of the surrounding ice, so it was out of sheer exhaustion that Ginny tipped her head back and sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds.
"Ginny!" a voice called, and Ginny opened her cool blue eyes to find the source, though the accent gave it away.
"Hello, Gabrielle," she said pleasantly, watching as the little blonde glided over to her with all the grace that her sister seemed to possess as well. Must be a Veela thing, Ginny though.
"Bonjour, Ginny. May I?" Gabrielle asked, her eyes sparkling with that ever present curiosity. Ginny nodded, grinning slightly.
"Of course," she replied, and Gabrielle sat next to her. "Are you enjoying yourself then?"
"Ah, oui! Cette boum est trés belle," Gabrielle told her, and Ginny wondered if she should ask for a translation. The blonde seemed to understand her look of confusion though and giggled, a light tinkling laugh that made Ginny smile in spite of herself. "You are 'aving fun, non? With zat boy?"
"Yeah, I am actually," Ginny said, as though she'd only just realized it herself. Gabrielle grinned and Ginny knew where she was going with that already.
"You are, 'ow do you say… together?" she questioned, and Ginny shook her head vehemently.
"No, no. We're just friends," she assured the blonde.
"Ah, oui," Gabrielle said, though she didn't seem entirely convinced. A young boy with short dark hair and shamrock green eyes approached them and extended his hand to Gabrielle, asking her a question in French that Ginny assumed had something to do with dancing because a new song had just started. "Excuse-moi, Ginny."
"Of course," Ginny said, nodding, and Gabrielle got up. "Have fun!" The blonde grinned in reply.
"Ginny, come on, let's dance!" Neville exclaimed, setting their drinks down before Ginny got a chance to have any. She sighed and nodded, all thoughts of fun vanished. This would be a long night indeed.
Christmas break turned out to be a much needed reprieve from the stress of school, and even from the hustle and bustle surrounding the tournament, though her mother seemed to be after Harry more than ever about his eating habits, feeding him quadruple servings during most meals. Ginny's pull from Christmas presents was pretty good, especially the multitude of Honeyduke's sweets she received from the boys. Her brothers teased her endlessly about the letter she got from Neville thanking her once again for the wonderful time he had at the ball until Mrs. Weasley threatened to forbid them all to watch the remaining two tasks once back at school. She'd even gotten a letter from Gabrielle, wishing her a "Joyeux Noël" on frilly white paper that smelled something akin to what her mum baked all through the holidays, much to her delight.
By the time the start of classes rolled around again they were all reluctant to get back down to business again. It was only the promise of the second task looming over them that kept them going, though Harry seemed to be getting more nervous by the day. Ginny could only assume that this meant he wasn't actually prepared for it, a fact that she found worrisome. She didn't say anything though, knowing that Hermione would pester him enough for the both of them.
On the morning of the task however, neither Ron nor Hermione were anywhere to be found. Ginny figured that they were probably helping Harry with last minute preparations and went down to save them good seats, passing Fred and George along the way as they advertised their betting services loudly.
It was when all of the champions, Harry included, were lined up that Ginny truly began to worry. Hermione and Ron were still missing. What was more, Ginny couldn't spot Gabrielle anywhere either. Surely she wouldn't miss this. No, something was amiss. This suspicion was quickly confirmed as Bagman bellowed out to them all that each of the champions had something important stolen from them the night before, something that now lay at the bottom of the Black Lake. Ginny had a sinking feeling that the three missing students had something to do with it.
There was a horribly long wait after the four champions plunged into the icy water as everyone seemed to be holding their breath, knowing that at any moment something crucial could happen. And indeed they were not disappointed when something suddenly surfaced in the center of the lake. Ginny, who had managed a spot very close to the water, was one of the first to realize that it was a body. There was a great amount of murmuring as this caught on, and the teachers set to work pulling the person out of the water. As they came nearer, Ginny could see from both the bathing suit and the hair that it was Fleur, and an eruption from Madam Maxime only confirmed it.
Ginny managed to weasel her way to the brink of the circle of adults that surrounded Fleur as they began healing her. She had a number of dark bruises that looked distinctly like octopus suckers covering her body, as well as several bites and scratches. Ginny wondered if the giant squid had gotten to her, but once again Bagman came to her aid, informing them all that it had been Grindylows that had taken her out.
Fleur awoke suddenly, spluttering and coughing at all the water she must have swallowed. Dumbledore conjured a light blue towel and wrapped it around her shoulders as Madam Maxime attempted to soothe her in French, but Fleur would have none of it.
"Ou est Gabrielle? Ou est ma sœur!?" she yelled frantically, and Ginny didn't need a translator to understand what she wanted.
"Your sister is fine, Ms. Delacour, I assure you," McGonagall said, her voice as impersonal as ever. Ginny felt her blood boil at this, for she knew that this was a lie. If one of her brothers were lying at the bottom of the lake (which they were) she'd want to know, not be lied to by some old woman she didn't even know.
"No she's not! Tell her the truth, she deserves that at least!" Ginny burst out suddenly, and everyone surrounding her stared at her as though she were mad (except Dumbledore of course, who she swore had the tiniest inklings of a smile under his beard). She ignored them all, pushing past them and kneeling so that she was eye level with Fleur. "They've got her down there in the lake, just like they've got my brother and my friend down there. Tell her!"
"Ms. Weasley is quite right," Dumbledore said calmly. "Your sister has been put under a deep sleeping enchantment. Once the task is completed and all the others have finished, the Merpeople will escort her to the surface completely unharmed."
Though not thrilled with this news by any means, Fleur did seem comforted by the honesty, and after a few minutes during which time Ginny was sure she was considering jumping back into the lake, she nodded. Ginny was satisfied with this news as well, glad to know what had happened to Ron and the others. She caught Dumbledore give her a slight approving nod and sighed, standing back up. She offered her hand to Fleur, who stared straight at her, eyes piercing into her. Ginny kept her gaze steady, and finally Fleur gripped her hand, using it to pull herself up. The two stood side by side the rest of the time, hard set expressions on their faces as their eyes stayed ever fixed on the smooth surface of the lake.
Some time later, that surface broke, and two figures appeared out of the water. They were fetched by the officiators, and they were able to see that it was Cho and Cedric, the first two up. All eyes turned back to the lake as they were tended to by the Mediwizards, and soon after Hermione and Krum emerged. Hermione waited beside her after she was given a towel and checked over for injury, but not a word passed between them. The seconds ticked by so slowly that Ginny almost felt like she couldn't take it. Regardless of what Dumbledore said, there were people she cared about in the lake, and one of them wouldn't be able to stay under much longer. She was seconds away from jumping into the lake herself, and Fleur seemed to sense this because Ginny felt a hand close around her shoulder. Looking up into Fleur's eyes, she knew she had to stay.
And then, what seemed like hours later, two more figures surfaced. It was easy enough to tell that it was Ron and Gabrielle, and Ginny felt immense relief at the sight of them. She, Hermione, and Fleur ran forward, Fleur dragging Gabrielle out of the water and hugging her tightly as she sobbed incomprehensible French into her shoulder. Ginny and Hermione helped Ron out of the water, finding him a towel so that he could wrap up in it.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, the panic evident in her voice. Ron nodded.
"Yeah, fine. Where's Harry?" he questioned. They all turned back to the water, but there was nothing there. For several agonizing minutes, Ginny thought the worst. But then, out of nowhere, Harry shot out of the lake, catapulting himself onto dry land and effectively ending the task. With a great sigh, Ginny sank to the ground, her nerves severely frazzled though she finally felt at ease.
The next several minutes were occupied with people checking up on Harry, Dumbledore speaking with the Merking, and Fleur thanking Ron and Harry for saving Gabrielle. The results were announced to the effect of Cedric in first place for best time, Harry in second for "outstanding moral fiber", Krum in third, and Fleur last, something she didn't seem too disheartened by now that Gabrielle was safe. Ginny stood off to the side, watching as everything took place around her so that she didn't even notice that Fleur and Gabrielle were right next to her until one of them spoke.
"Ginny…" The redhead started, turning to face them, and smiled.
"Hey Gabrielle, how are you feeling?" she asked. The girl was still soaking wet and shivering slightly.
"Bien," Gabrielle replied. "Though I did not like waking up in water." Ginny grinned.
"No, I expect not. We were worried about you," she said, though she didn't specify who "we" included.
"Zat ees sweet," Gabrielle told her, "but I am fine."
"Glad to hear it." Ginny looked at Fleur, who still had not said a word to her. Ginny was expecting that to come at any moment, but instead Fleur said something to Gabrielle in French. The smaller blonde nodded and gave Ginny a kiss on each cheek, along with an "Au revoir" before moving off to stand with her headmistress. There were several moments of silence after that between the remaining parties as both of them gazed out at the celebration, Ginny wasn't sure if there was anything in particular that Fleur needed to say to her, so she stood there just waiting.
"I want to thank you," the blonde said finally, her voice quiet.
"I didn't do anything," Ginny replied modestly.
"You were honest with me. You forced them to be honest. I weesh zat everyone would be zat way," Fleur explained, turning her ice blue gaze on Ginny. This left Ginny at a slight loss for words for a few seconds.
"I just though you had a right to know," were the words that she decided on. Fleur nodded.
"I do not allow much to worry me, but she ees my seester. I would die for 'er," she said. Ginny smirked slightly.
"I know what you mean."
Ginny expected a quiet breakfast the next day after such an exhausting time the day before. And strangely enough, it was a quiet breakfast. Even though the second task was heavily discussed (though this was mostly speculation as no one actually knew what took place under the surface of the lake) there was no raucous, nothing eventful. It was going to be a fairly good day, she suspected. However, she found herself fairly surprise when she was approached by two figures, both of whom she was not unhappy to see.
"Bonjour, Ginny," Gabrielle greeted her. "May I sit with you this morning?" Ginny blinked, slightly bewildered, before she realized that her lack of answer was very rude and nodded quickly.
"Yeah, be my guest," she said, and Gabrielle took a seat across from her. Ginny gazed up at the looming figure of Fleur, who was staring at her impassively. She decided that she would much rather Fleur sat down so that she didn't look quite so imposing. "Fleur, would you like to join us?"
"Non, I cannot stay. I will see you both later," she said, giving her sister a farewell kiss on the cheek and Ginny a nod. Ginny's eyes followed her out, and hers were not the only ones. Finally, she turned back to Gabrielle.
"You're feeling alright after all the excitement yesterday then?" she asked and the blonde nodded in reply.
"Oui. Fleur was not 'appy. She believes she failed," Gabrielle told her. Ginny shook her head.
"She didn't fail. She did fine, she just had a spot of bad luck," she said. She fully believed this. It wasn't Fleur's fault that there were a million Grindylows in the lake. Ginny wasn't sure why she was suddenly more on Fleur's side than Harry's, but she ignored this for now.
"I said this, but she will not listen! She ees too 'ard on 'erself," Gabrielle agreed.
"Well I'm sure she'll do fine in the next task. She just needs to relax," Ginny said, though she wasn't sure what benefit her words would have. Obviously Gabrielle knew this, and Fleur likely did as well. Nevertheless, she caught Gabrielle smiling.
"Tu est trés symathique, Ginny," Gabrielle told her. Ginny frowned.
"I hope that was a compliment." The blonde laughed that laugh that made Ginny feel as if she'd suddenly entered a symphony of harmonious bells.
"Eet was," she assured her. Ginny gazed up at the ceiling, finding it to be an incredibly beautiful day despite it being chilly out.
"Nice day for flying," she commented idly. Gabrielle looked at her curiously.
"You are good at ze flying?" she questioned, eyes glittering. Ginny shrugged.
"I'm alright I suppose. I have six older brothers, so I know how to do a lot of things well. You should see how well I hex," she said with a wink, causing Gabrielle to laugh again.
"Would you teach me? Ma mére does not like me to fly," she explained. Ginny considered this. As strict as Mrs. Weasley was, she at least let them have the pleasure of flying over the summer. The least she could do was pass it on. Anyway, this was supposed to be a learning experience for all, and just because Gabrielle wasn't in the tournament didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun.
"Sure, I think I can teach you. Since there's no Quidditch this year, we won't have to worry about any of the teams practicing. After breakfast we can go down to the pitch if you want," Ginny offered. Gabrielle nodded, her expression showing excitement and it was only then that Ginny realized how young she was. Perhaps it was the way that Gabrielle held herself with such poise that it just seemed as though she was so much older than she was. Ginny suspected that she wasn't even a first year yet, and here she was having a completely intelligent conversation with her. Strange, but she didn't mind it much. She wasn't opposed to making friends, no matter how young. Besides, she could just as easily find some seventh years at Hogwarts with a quarter of the maturity and intelligence that Gabrielle possessed.
"Zat would be wonderful. Merci, Ginny," the blonde said, smiling. Ginny grinned.
"It's no problem. Fleur won't mind, will she?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to do anything that would invoke the older blonde's wrath. She imagined Fleur yelling obscenities at her in French as she transformed into the less attractive version of the Veela and tore at Ginny with her claws and beak.
"I do not think so," Gabrielle was saying, though the rebellious glint in her eye told Ginny that she rather didn't give a damn if Fleur minded. She was going to fly today and that was it. Ginny admired the rebellion, but Veela Fleur flared in the back of her mind again.
"Hey Gin, can I borrow your scales for tomorrow?" Ron asked as he came in and sat beside her. Ginny frowned.
"Where are yours?" she asked suspiciously. Ron blushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Uh, I was trying to transfigure them the other day and I ended up incinerating them," he explained sheepishly. Ginny smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"Let me borrow your broom today," she demanded. Ron shook his head.
"No way!" he exclaimed. Ginny crossed her arms, a stubborn expression on her face.
"Then I suppose you don't really need my scales, do you?" she said smugly.
"But Snape'll kill me if I don't have them for double Potions," Ron said in exasperation. Ginny merely gave him a look until he finally sighed. "Fine, you can use my broom today."
"Brilliant, thanks!" Ginny grinned. Ron rolled his eyes and got up.
"If you ruin it, you're buying me a new one," he warned.
"Ron, it's only you who ruins brooms. I actually know how to ride one," Ginny said. Her brother glared.
"Morning Gabrielle," he muttered. The blonde waved at him.
"Well, now we have a broom for today that's a bit better than the ones that the school has, which are rubbish," Ginny told Gabrielle as Ron stalked away. Gabrielle grinned. "So I'll go and change into something a little better for flying and get Ron's broom. You should probably change too into something a bit warmer. It'll be colder once you're flying. I'll meet you outside of your carriage in… let's say fifteen minutes."
"Okay," Gabrielle agreed, and the two separated to do what they needed to do.
Half an hour later Ginny found herself on the windy Quidditch pitch with Gabrielle, hair flapping about despite the fact that it was in a ponytail. Her hair always had a tendency to disobey her when she needed it to cooperate. Gabrielle for her part was having an even more horrid time with her own silvery strands since she had not brought anything to tie her hair back with, and gratefully took the extra hair tie that Ginny offered her. These were admittedly not the best conditions to learn how to fly a broom, but it wasn't as though they couldn't continue the lessons at a later date. They still had all spring. Ginny wondered vaguely when she'd become so invested in Gabrielle Delacour.
"Okay, first off I'm going to tell you a little bit about brooms because it's impossible to fly them if you don't understand them. They're a bit like people in the fact that if you're good to them, they'll be good to you. It's more in the connection you have with a broom than what you do with it. You have to think to it when you're flying it. Do you understand?" she asked, seeing that Gabrielle looked a bit lost even through her infinite curiosity.
"Un petit peu," the girl told her, and Ginny understood that she needed just a bit more clarification.
"Okay, think of it this way. If I got on this broom and flew up into the air and pushed on it with all of my might to make it go faster, I would probably end up flying right into the ground. But if instead of trying to force it to fly I asked it to go faster, willed it to go faster, it would shoot off like a rocket. Does that make more sense?" Gabrielle nodded, smiling slightly.
"You must give eet respect," she said and Ginny nodded.
"Exactly. Now, you want to give it a try?" she asked. Gabrielle looked slightly nervous but agreed nonetheless. "Don't worry, I'll be right next to you on the school broom to make sure nothing goes wrong." Seemingly comforted by this fact, Gabrielle mounted Ron's broom.
"Like this?" she checked, looking unsure. Ginny nodded.
"Exactly like that. And once you're comfortable, you're going to dig your foot into the ground and push off." She decided that she'd spare Gabrielle the part where she stood beside the broom and commanded it to come into her hand by shouting "Up!" at it, considering the fact that people rarely used that feature on brooms anyway. Most were perfectly fine with bending over to retrieve their broom, and since Gabrielle was so close to the ground anyway…
"I think I am ready," the blonde told her after several moments. Ginny gave her a look telling her to give it a try. Gabrielle dug her right foot into the ground as hard as her small legs would allow and, eyes squeezed shut in anticipation, pushed. The broom soared off the ground with ease as though wondering why it had taken its rider so much effort just to lift off, but it hovered patiently anyway and eventually Gabrielle opened her eyes. She gasped, looking down at the ground in disbelief. "Je le fais!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, you did," Ginny agreed with a grin, somehow knowing what Gabrielle was saying even though she didn't actually understand the words. She quickly mounted her own borrowed broom and rose up next to her. "It looks as though you've got pretty good control of the broom. Some people can't even stay hovering, but your grip seems good. Why don't you try flying to the other end of the field in a straight line to start? Remember, just think. Connect with the broom and you'll be fine."
Gabrielle gripped the broom and concentrated, and before Ginny knew it the girl was flying across the field. The redhead smiled, glad to see that Gabrielle seemed to have a natural talent for flying. It could have been much worse. She could have gotten someone like Hermione. Much as she liked the girl, she'd never seen anyone who couldn't get a broom to fly. Even Neville had managed, though the results were disastrous. However it looked as though Gabrielle would not be having that problem, or any problem for that matter as she was now doing laps around the pitch and having a wonderful time at it. Ginny aimed her broom straight and caught up to her.
"And here I thought I'd have to spend all afternoon teaching you to fly. You're a natural!" Ginny had to yell, because the wind was rushing into their ears and making it quite difficult to hear. Gabrielle merely smiled and kept on.
Eventually the two girls found themselves playing a very involved game of high speed broom tag, zooming all around the pitch, around the stands, and all through the goal posts. Unfortunately for Ginny, Gabrielle was small enough that she could hide away, forcing Ginny to look through the stands to try to find her. It was during one of these times that the redhead was searching that her eyes caught a glint of bright blonde hair reflecting in the sunlight. Grinning, she flew over at top speed, just barely stopping before she hit the person sitting there. It was then that she realized that it wasn't Gabrielle. It was Fleur.
Ginny had to struggle a bit to steady her broom, which was not appreciative of the stress that it had been put under today and was especially annoyed with the sudden stop that its rider had just pulled. Fleur raised one delicate eyebrow, a slight smirk on her face.
"Fleur," Ginny said breathlessly, the long forgotten image of evil Veela Fleur popping back into her mind. Although it was much harder to picture Fleur changing into one of the horrible things that she'd witnessed at the World Cup now that she was actually in close proximity, she still couldn't shake the image of the girl pulling her apart limb from limb for putting her precious little sister in harm's way.
"Bonjour, Ginny," Fleur replied. Was that hunger that just flashed through those bright blue eyes or was she just imagining it? Perhaps Fleur really was about to maul her. "You two are 'aving fun, non?"
"Uh…" If Ginny had to struggle to get her broom to cooperate, she had to struggle even more to find words to fill the large open space that consisted of her mouth at the moment. Luckily, Gabrielle flew over to them just then, so she was saved from having to.
"Fleur, Ginny m'a enseigné voler un balai!" the younger sister exclaimed happily, and Fleur smiled in reply.
"Oui, je vois," she said, still gazing at Ginny, who felt like her throat was swollen up. "You 'ave done well in teaching her. She ees flying trés bien." Ginny shook her head, knowing that her face was likely the color of the Gryffindor team robes by now but not quite understanding why.
"I didn't do anything really. She's just naturally good at it. You should tell your mum to think about getting her a broom. I think she'd make a good Quidditch player," she rambled. Fleur nodded, but said nothing. Feeling slightly self-conscious, Ginny decided to check her watch, noticing that it was lunch time. "We should go eat." Gabrielle nodded.
"J'ai faim," she added, for good measure. Ginny didn't know what it meant, but she had her own ideas. She figured eventually she'd begin to understand Gabrielle's strange mix of French and English. For now, she just wanted to get inside, where hopefully there would be enough distractions to divert Fleur's startling stare away from her.
Where normally the days would seem to drag on forever at this point due to students wanting nothing more than to get outside and enjoy the spring weather and receiving nothing but more homework instead, now it flew by. Ginny attributed this to the fact that the third task was approaching, and none of the champions were quite prepared for it. Time seemed to work like this, if only to spite people for getting to move through life and die while it was forced to continue on forever.
The task did arrive very quickly, and soon enough every Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang student was seated outside where the Quidditch pitch used to be just a few months prior, but was now replaced with hedges at least fifty feet tall. They were all informed by Ludo Bagman that the champions would be sent into the maze in order of decreasing score. The first one to reach the Triwizard Cup inside (the location of which only Mad-Eye Moody knew), would be the winner of the task. They were also told as the champions lined up in front of the hedge that there were strange and unspeakable dangers inside the maze, and that the champions would have to be very cautious. Of course they needed only to send up red sparks from their wands if there were any problems, but people close to the champions were worried nonetheless.
It had been decided several weeks prior to the task that Gabrielle would sit with Ginny, as the two had spent a good deal of time together since the day that Ginny had taught Gabrielle how to ride a broom and were actually fairly good friends now. That was how it came to be that Ginny was sitting in the stands holding a seat for the small blonde as she said goodbye to her sister before the task started.
"Wish Fleur luck for me," Ginny had said, and Gabrielle had agreed.
It wasn't until several minutes after Gabrielle had seated herself next to Ginny that the thick hedges of the maze were opened up, allowing Harry and Cedric in first as their scores were currently tied. A few minutes after and Krum was allowed in. It was when Fleur was finally sent into the maze that Gabrielle stiffened, her body wrought with worry already.
"Don't worry," Ginny soothed. "She's a good spell caster. She'll be fine." Gabrielle nodded numbly, but Ginny could tell that the girl wouldn't be at ease until her sister emerged safely from the maze.
It was obvious that this task, like the second one in the lake, wouldn't be very exciting until someone actually came out of the maze because the audience was unable to see anything. This thought was immediately erased from Ginny's mind however when a faint scream permeated the thick foggy air around the maze. A girl's scream, there was no doubt. Fleur's scream. Not long after, red sparks shot high into the air from the left side of the maze. Gabrielle was shaking now, and Ginny put an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her, though it did nothing for the girl.
The teachers when into fast action, Mediwizards Apparating into the maze with loud pops. They came back with a limp, dirt covered Fleur. Before they'd even placed her onto the floating stretcher to examine her Gabrielle shot out of her seat, and without thinking about it Ginny followed. The two bounded out of the stands, coming to a halt in front of Fleur, who was covered in small cuts, her blue outfit ripped, vines and leaves stuck all throughout her hair. She was unconscious, and the Mediwizards worked on her quickly while Madam Maxime supervised, shouting at them in French. Gabrielle was crying now, though silently, and Ginny felt sympathy for her.
"Shh, it's okay. She'll be alright," she assured the girl, running her fingers through the silvery strands. She felt very protective of the girl for some reason, though she suspected that had something to do with the friendship they'd formed. It was the protectiveness that she felt for Fleur that really surprised her, for the two of them hadn't spoken all that much despite Ginny's closeness to her sister. All the redhead knew was that if they didn't make sure that Fleur was okay, she'd hex them all into oblivion and then go into the maze and kill whatever had attacked her.
She was saved from having to do this though, because after several spells from three different Mediwizards, Fleur's eyes fluttered open slowly. With the help of one of the wizards, she sat up on the stretcher and Gabrielle rushed forward, locking her arms around Fleur's waist as she sobbed. Fleur hugged her back hard, and Ginny let loose a sigh of relief that everything seemed to be okay.
"Ms. Delacour, do you know what attacked you?" Dumbledore asked softly, and though the look on his face showed only concern for Fleur, Ginny saw something in his eyes that told her that he was suspicious. She didn't try to figure it out, though. Dumbledore was always ten steps ahead of everyone else, and there was no way that she'd ever be able to catch up to him. Instead, she listened intently for Fleur's reply. There was none, however. Fleur only shook her head, looking slightly dazed. Madam Maxime would not accept this, and questioned her in French this time, which Ginny thought was probably a good idea. If she'd just been unconscious, she'd been in no mood for foreign languages right after she woke up.
"Non, je ne me souvens pas," Fleur answered her headmistress' question. "I don't remember," she added to Dumbledore and the other English-speaking listeners. Her voice was quiet and shaky, quite unlike the way that Fleur usually spoke, and Ginny knew that she must have been hit pretty hard in the maze. She was starting to believe though that Fleur hadn't been attacked by any creatures. There were no major injuries on her when she'd come out of the maze, only small rips and scratches that she could have easily acquired from the hedges. No, Ginny was fairly certain that it was a spell that had taken Fleur out, which meant that someone inside the maze was attacking the champions. Perhaps it was one of the champions. She knew that Harry wouldn't do it, and neither would Cedric, not even to win the competition. That only left Krum. Ginny suspected that he wouldn't be opposed to taking drastic measures to win a little more gold and glory.
Now that her sister was okay, Gabrielle seemed to have calmed down a bit. She let go of Fleur long enough to let her sister get down off of the stretcher, but put her arms back around her as soon as her feet touched the ground, which Fleur seemed glad for. The taller blonde went to take a step, but she was still shaky and Ginny could see her knees start to give out. Before she could even consider it, and before any of the surrounding adults could move, she too had an arm around Fleur, keeping her steady. It seemed to be the first time that anyone noticed she was there, including Fleur, who looked down at her with something akin to surprise on her face, though she quickly recovered.
"Merci," she whispered, and Ginny merely gave her a nod as she and Gabrielle walked Fleur over to the nearest bench. Several adults quickly followed, Madam Maxime among them, and the headmistress conjured a glass of ice water and handed it to Fleur, who accepted it, but didn't drink any. Madam Maxime asked the blonde something in French, but Fleur turned her head. After repeating this several times, the woman finally seemed to get the hint that Fleur didn't want anything and moved off to leave her alone.
"Ça va?" Gabrielle asked quietly after a few minutes, and Fleur offered her a weak smile and a nod. Ginny couldn't help but smile at the two of them. As much as Fleur could be haughty and emotionally cut off from everyone, every barrier she had seemed do dissolve in an instant around her sister. They had one of the strongest bonds that Ginny had ever seen between siblings, and it almost made her want to be that close to her brothers. Almost, she thought, as images of Fred and George tossing a pack of stink pellets into her bedroom while she slept filled her head.
The commotion began again suddenly as more red sparks were sent into the air, and the Mediwizards returned with an unconscious Krum. Karkaroff bellowed at them furiously to heal his golden boy, and soon enough he was back awake, though once again with no memory as to what had happened to him. Once again, Ginny was plagued with thoughts of something more sinister than magical beasts hiding out in the maze. Perhaps it really was Cedric. Perhaps it was Harry. Ginny couldn't believe that at all, nor did she care to.
It seemed to take hours for anything else to happen. No one had exited the maze with the cup, and no one had sent up any sparks. It was as if there was no one inside the maze at all. Gabrielle had fallen asleep with her head in Fleur's lap, obviously at ease now that she knew her sister was safe. Fleur and Ginny stayed awake, neither saying a word as they waited. Ginny's worry was no focused solely on Harry, for there was every possibility that he was lying unconscious somewhere in the middle of the maze, unable to send up any sparks. There was also the possibility that he was far worse off than unconscious, having met up with some horrible creature that was currently in the process of enjoying the taste of his bone marrow as the rest of his body lay spliced open and bleeding on the grass… Ginny swallowed loudly, shaking the thoughts from her head and causing Fleur to look over at her. The blonde considered her for a few seconds before speaking.
"'E will be okay," she said, and Ginny looked up to see honesty and confidence in her eyes. "I was wrong about 'im. 'E ees a good wizard. 'E will be fine." She said it with such assurance that Ginny had no choice but to believe her, though she couldn't help but be a bit restless. All of this waiting was making her anxious.
And then, all at once, everything was happening, though it was happening so fast and so loudly that Ginny wasn't sure exactly what everything was. There had been a brief flash of light, and two figures had fallen out of the sky, landing on the ground with a thunk. A bright gleam brought her attention to the Triwizard Cup clutched tightly in Harry's hand, and the crowd roared. Ginny felt immense relief that he was finally back, though the fact that he wasn't moving only worried her again. Then there was the matter of the other figure that had come in with Harry, who Ginny could tell was Cedric by his clothes.
Gabrielle was awake now from all the noise and sitting up, and Fleur used the opportunity to get up and see them. As she neared, though, her steps became slower as if she were afraid of something. And then she screamed, backing up quickly with her hand over her mouth in horror. Something was most definitely wrong.
The crowd quieted down, and Ginny could now hear sobs coming from Harry. She'd never actually seen Harry cry, and for him to do so had to mean that something atrocious had happened. Dumbledore made an attempt to pry Harry off of Cedric, but he wouldn't budge, yelling something intelligible into the ground.
"Keep everyone back," a wizard ordered. "A boy's just been killed." The cries coming from Harry let everyone on to the fact that it certainly wasn't him, which left only one other option. Amos Diggory caught on quickly, and rushed from the stands.
"That's my son! Out of my way! That's my boy!" he yelled, sinking to his knees beside Cedric's body. Ginny was so overcome with the grief of the situation that she didn't even notice Moody carry Harry out of the pitch. The entire place was quiet, save the heart wrenching sobs emitted by Mr. Diggory. There were many other people crying, Cho and Fleur among them. Ginny felt the beginnings of tears forming behind her eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. People weren't supposed to come out of that maze dead. This was wrong. So wrong.
The next few days had been a blur of strange occurrences. They'd all learned of Moody's (or rather, Barty Crouch Jr.'s) involvement with the Death Eaters, and the fact that he'd helped Harry the whole way through the tournament, turning the cup into a portkey, and even putting Krum under the Imperius curse so that he'd attack the others and leave Harry's path clear. Then the Dementors had come in and sucked his soul out, and there was no proof of anything that he'd said, which inevitably led to other problems involving the Ministry.
None of them believed Harry's side of the story, the side that said that he'd witnessed (more like participated in) Voldemort's comeback, as well as the return of twenty or so Death Eaters that were believed to have reformed. Ginny believed him though, and so did Dumbledore apparently, because he made an announcement to them all at Cedric's memorial service.
It had been a somber end of the school year, and the teachers had slacked off because of it. Even final exams had been cancelled, something that the students were glad for, but not jubilant about. Parents had flocked to Hogwarts to talk to Dumbledore, wanting to know if what Harry Potter had claimed was true, and wanting to watch over their children just in case there were any more problems. When it was finally time to go home, Ginny was actually quite glad. That didn't stop her from being sad when they had to send their foreign friends back to their countries.
Ginny stood outside among the masses of people who had come to say goodbye to the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students. She watched as Krum made his farewell to Hermione, making her promise to write over the summer. Gabrielle and Fleur said goodbye to Ron, causing him to turn beet red and Ginny grinned. He was such a fool sometimes. She found herself suddenly feeling very sorry that the school year was over when Gabrielle came to stand in front of her.
"You will write to me this summer?" the blonde asked hopefully and Ginny grinned slightly.
"Only if you promise to write back," she said. Gabrielle nodded with a smile.
"But of course." She wrapped her arms around Ginny, and the redhead hugged her back. When they pulled back, Gabrielle had tears in her eyes.
"Come on now, no crying," Ginny urged, knowing that if Gabrielle cried she would too. "Listen, I want you to practice flying this summer. By the time you get to school, you'll be a pro. They'll be begging you to play Quidditch."
"I will," Gabrielle assured her and Ginny nodded, accepting the kiss on both cheeks that Gabrielle gave her. And then Fleur was in front of her, appearing out of nowhere like she had the habit of doing sometimes.
"I want to thank you for looking after my seester this year," she said sincerely. "I was not able to do eet as much as I would 'ave liked. She 'ad a wonderful time."
"It was no problem at all. She's better company than some of the idiots around here," Ginny said, and Fleur gave her one of those rare but breathtaking smiles.
"I will be sure to 'ave 'er fly now that you 'ave taught 'er."
"Good. I really think she's got a chance of being a good Quidditch player one day," Ginny told her and Fleur nodded, giving her a kiss on each cheek as well.
"Au revoir, Ginny."
"Bye Fleur. Goodbye Gabrielle." Ginny waved them off as they stepped into the carriage. She watched the huge white horses take off and sighed, her shoulders sagging. It had been a long and interesting year.
"I can't believe they're leaving. It seems like they belong here now," Hermione said as she came to stand beside her. Ginny nodded. "What are you going to do this summer?" At that, the redhead couldn't suppress her grin.
"I think I'll brush up on my French."