Forget Me Not

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Chapter one The new kid on the block

Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord. So what, Harry thought. So now everyone in the wizarding world expects me to play the hero. Well, I don't want to be their hero. I don't want to be chasing after Death Eaters anymore. I just want to be a normal seventeen year old horny school kid. So Harry returned to Hogwarts for his final year with Hermione and Ginny. Ron had opted not to return, and worked instead at the twins wizard shop. With Fred gone, he was sorely needed.

I want girls, lots of them, Harry thought. He had to admit to himself, and only to himself, that if he had a choice of girls, it would be Ginevra Weasley. But he left her last year to fight Voldemort, telling her that they couldn't be a couple anymore. Harry did this to protect her, to keep her safe while he was out hunting Death Eaters. But alas, she didn't understand, and now she refuses to even speak to him.

Ginny had a secret plan concerning Harry. She still loved him, but could not forgive him for leaving her. She knew this was wrong, but her Weasley pride took over her logical thought processes and told her to just dump him. She decided not to do that. Instead she would punish him by ignoring him, at least until the Christmas holidays. Then she would forgive him and take him back as her boyfriend. Good plan, she thought.

His first day back, Harry met a new seventh year Gryffindor student, Billy Blackburn. He was from America, California actually. For his first six years of wizard education, Billy had attended the North American Wizard Academy of Magic located someplace in Canada. But then his father was transferred to England, so Billy's family packed up and moved everything to an exclusive section of Berkhamsted.

Billy was Muggle-born, and to his knowledge, there were no other wizards in his immediate family. He was the middle child of three, both sisters. His family fully supported his magical inheritance, but with conditions. No magic around or even near his home, and no magic, ever, around any family member.

The wizard schools in North America were not structured the same as wizard schools in Europe. There were no 'houses' as such, and students were assigned to co-ed 'Communities'.

There was no Quidditch, American football being the king of sports in this part of the world. But as expected, wizards added their own spin on the sport. Think of American football as being played in a three dimensional venue. It was played on a field, much like a Quidditch pitch, and played with the same rules as Muggle American football, with one exception.

Certain offensive and defensive players were allowed to fly, and were called not surprisingly 'flyers'. They were the wizard equivalent of American football's offensive receivers and defensive safeties. The offensive players were aloud to fly no more than ten yards off the ground (about nine meters). Violations of this rule were called 'vertical violations', and would result in a penalty against the offending team.

Now understand that the brooms used in the North American wizard communities were not the same as European brooms. They were much smaller, shorter, and could not fly any faster than the player could run. They were usually strapped to the wizard's back, allowing full use of arms and hands to throw and catch the ball. Other than that, most other rules of the game were about the same.

Billy was a star offensive flyer on his communities' team, and was looking forward to playing for the Hogwarts team. It was quite a shock to him to learn that wizard football was unknown here in England. He had never even heard of Quidditch, nor had he ever seen the brooms that wizards used in his new country.

Harry and Billy quickly became close friends. Billy knew nothing about Harry's heroics, nor did he have more than a cursory knowledge of the past war and Harry's part in the war. Harry took it upon himself to educate his new friend in the ways of Quidditch and broom flying, but refused to talk about his part in the war.

Harry was named team captain for his Gryffindor team, and willing accepted the challenge of training his new friend in the art of broom flying. Being a natural athlete, as was Harry, Billy very quickly mastered the art of high speed broom flying, and quickly became adept at Quidditch. He easily made the team as a chaser, and with Harry's help, became one of the best at Hogwarts. At the team tryouts, Harry noticed Ginny's absence, and was told that she was no longer interested in playing a silly sport. This surprised him, as Ginny was considered to be one of the best. Oh well, he thought, it's just another one of Ginny's bizarre behaviorisms.

Harry decided that it was time to do something about Ginny. He was tired of her ignoring the fact that he even existed. He consulted Hermione, only to learn that she too was being ignored. She had no idea why. She too could not figure out Ginny's behavior of late.

One day at practice, Harry noticed Ginny sneaking around the pitch, surreptitiously watching. Harry was off to the side near the changing rooms, and snuck up behind her. "Hello Gin," he surprised her. "What are you doing here, scouting us for Slytherin?"

Ginny jumped at the sound of Harry's voice. "Harry, you frightened me. Go away and leave me alone."

"No Gin, I won't go away. We need to talk. You have avoided me long enough. I know that you hate me right now, and I don't care. You have good cause to hate me, and I accept that. But you are cutting your own throat by ignoring Hermione. She didn't do anything to you, and she doesn't deserve what you are doing to her. She misses your friendship Gin. You really need to do something about that."

"Oh, so the great hero is now an expert on friendships. I'm impressed."

"Gin, leave me out of this. I only did what I thought I needed to do. If I was wrong, then I am sorry. I know that you will never forgive me, and I accept that, hard as it is. But don't let our problems destroy your other relationships. And I can't believe that you have given up Quidditch. I know how much you love flying. Your one of the best I have ever seen. Your only hurting yourself by quitting, Gin."

"Our first game is in three weeks, and we most certainly need you on the team. Think about it. You gave up your love for me, don't give up your love for Quidditch. I accept the fact that you are no longer in my future. And that is my fault. But Quidditch could be your future. Your good enough to turn professional, and quitting is only hurting yourself. It's not hurting me, if that is what you are trying to do. You have already hurt me beyond repair. Don't hurt yourself beyond repair as well. You don't deserve that. If you change your mind, let me know. A place for you is always open."

End chapter one