Dead autumn leaves crinkled as an army of feet sprinted across an old dirt path. Light broke through bare spaces of the forest's threading canopy. The air burned as it heaved into rapidly breathing lungs.
A group of thirteen women sprinted onward up a steep embankment. Giant boulders split the narrow makeshift path forcing the women to fall into a single file line. One lone red haired woman broke along the right side of the path through the boulders ahead of the pack. The line of women chased her like wolves chasing their alpha after a fresh kill.
The sun fell behind darkening clouds as afternoon transitioned into dusk.
"We need to turn back," yelled the leader of the single file line.
The women behind her stopped running. The front woman turned back to face the group. Deep shuddering gasps replaced the rhythmic breathing of bodies in perpetual motion. The women took deep swigs of water from matching emerald canteens swinging from their waists.
"It's almost dark," a bulky blonde stated.
"You go ahead. I am finishing the run." The red head shook her long plait back over her shoulder. Light illuminated streaks of copper and gold in her hair as the sun came out from behind the clouds. The sun gave one last push of daylight before waning behind the clouds again.
"If you get hurt we aren't looking for you. You know how rocky the path gets up ahead and we are losing daylight."
"She is going to get fined again." a voice interjected from the back.
"Leave her, it's her funeral when Gwenog gets a hold of her."
The twelve women turned away from the redhead. Frustration crackled in the air. They ran in double formation down the embankment. Arms swung in a synchronized motion hanging low by their hips. The women steadied themselves against the gravitational pull of the decline. The redhead ran away from the distant sound of feet hitting the path.
Light continued to fade. The path blended into the darkness. Rocks and roots twisted their way into the footholds as the redhead pushed forward faster. Once or twice she had to steady herself against the roughening terrain.
Oxygen burned deep into her lungs. Her breath became ragged as she pushed harder, faster, deeper up the side of the embankment. Snot drizzled down her nose as she wiped her face with the inside of her emerald shirt.
Seconds, minutes, hours passed but she kept trudging up the hill. Long past a green flag staked into the ground. Through a crashing river cutting off the path and the thickening underbrush of unruly roots. She ran on. Systematically and with force she plunged deeper into the darkening night.
"GINNY WEASLEY TURN AROUND." A megaphoned voice thundered off in the distance and crackled through the still air. The redhead stopped running. Panting she pulled her canteen off her hip and took a deep drink between jagged breath.
"MANDATORY HARPIES MEETING NOW." The voice was small, far off in a distance. Ginny looked over her shoulder behind her. Her team must have arrived back without her. She fingered her wand in her right hand holster. It lay dormant next to her canteen. Darkness engulfed her as the sun finally set beneath the trees. The racing river was deafening. Decomposing leaves crunched in the overgrown brush as a chill swept across Ginny's skin playing with her already taught nerves.
Destination. Harpy's Pitch. Determination. Go to face Gwenog's wrath. Deliberation. Ginny sighed. There was nothing deliberate left in her. She was tired. Tired of the meaninglessness of this all. Guilt washed over her as her stomach twisted and churned. She knew she should be grateful. She was in Scotland away from the chaos and fighting. She was living her dream and bringing hope to thousands of people. She had a platform that needed supporting and a large celebrity voice to speak out for the oppressed. She should be filled with gratitude for the safety and ease of her life right now.
With a flick of her right wrist she spun into her apparition and with a crack landed in the middle of an empty pitch. The full moon shone brightly next to the illuminated stadium lights. A wolf howled in the distance of the forest surrounding the stadium. Shivers traveled down Ginny's spine as goosebumps burst onto her arms.
"Thank you for finally joining the rest of us." Gwenog's voice broke the silence of the pitch. "Since you don't seem to respond to fiduciary reprimands I am going to have to treat you like a child and punish you the good old fashion way." Gwenog waited. When Ginny failed to answer she continued on.
"You know in this political climate you are not allowed to separate yourself from the rest of the team. You are to remain with the others at all times. Just because you lead the league in scoring doesn't mean you have permission to do whatever the hell you want."
The silence from Ginny sparked between them. Gwenog sighed and walked over to her star player.
"I know you are frustrated. I know this war is going on far longer than any of us would like. But you really are doing good here. Run 20 laps around the pitch. You are fined two thousand galleons to the Harpy's War Orphan's Fund."
Ginny wordlessly threw down her canteen and headed to the edge of the of the pitch. Her slow trot transitioned into a full out gallop as she sprinted around the edge of the grass. The muscles in her tired legs burned as she pushed through the pain. A blister formed on her right heal from the friction between her trainer and foot. But she kept running. She could feel Gwenog's eyes boring into her skin. The pressure of being watched pushed her harder and faster around the circumfrance of the field.
Sighing Gwenog walked off the pitch into the team locker room. Nothing had been the same for Ginny since his funeral. Nothing was the same with him gone.