A/N: This is Beater 2 of the Chudley Cannons checking in for Round 3 of Season 4 of the QLFC.

Prompts: Team prompt—Cannon(s); Word restriction—2,551-2,750; Optional prompts—4. (word) varnish, 8. (color) lilac

Word count (before A/N): 2,729 words

I am not J.K. These are her characters, her world. I'm lucky enough to live in it for a little while. Also, I want to thank MaryandMerlin, my wonderful team captain, for betaing.

It was a warm June evening as Ginny Weasley led the way up eighteen flights of stairs. Over her shoulder, she could see Ron following directly behind her. Ginny, a recent graduate from Hogwarts, signed on as chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and, as an added bonus, she commentated at some of the Quidditch matches.

This time around, Ginny invited Ron, Harry, and Hermione to a Cannons game, and when Ron first heard the news, he practically fell out the window of his flat while jumping for joy. He had grabbed Hermione in his arms and hoisted her as high as he could. Then his dancing feet hit the wall, Hermione toppled to the floor, and he dangled backwards from the open window, his arms pinwheeling wildly in an attempt to regain balance. The smile had never left his face.

But now, Ginny thought, he seemed distracted.

"I thought you'd be bouncing from excitement," Ginny opened the door to the commentator box. It was a small room, housing two chairs. Harry and Hermione volunteered to sit in the stands so that Ron could join Ginny.

She took her seat in the opening of the box.

"I'm not nervous, Gin," Ron sank into his own chair.

He should be over the moon with nerves! What was he talking about? The Ron she knew would be making comments about everything from the size of the stadium to the size of the crowd. He would be spouting off facts about the team and players.

He hadalmost fallen out a window last week. What happened?

"Sky looks great tonight," there was a slight pause. Ginny wondered if Ron was trying to change the subject. "Clear, almost lilac colored."

Her ears perked up. Lilac, hmm? "I'd sayit's more lavender in shade."

She meant it as a joke, of course. She wouldn't have said it if she hadn't suspected his mind was elsewhere.

"Gee, thanks, Gin." Ron sunk into the chair. "Nothing like having your old mistakes thrown back in your face."

That wasn't her intention at all! Stupid little sister antics. "Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

The door to the box opened to reveal a man, holding out a blue wand. "Ten minutes."

Still red from her ill-timed teasing, Ginny murmured, "Thank you, Edmund," and took the blue wand.

The door clicked shut, and Ginny sank to her seat, avoiding eye contact.

"Ron, I'm sorry—I shouldn't have said that."

"No, you shouldn't've," he started, then sighed. Chancing a glance, Ginny watched Ron lean over the ledge. "This is bloody brilliant!"

Thank Merlin! "You're finally happy about the game?"

"I've been happy."

"You haven't shown it!"

"Yes I have. You just weren't looking."

She brandished the blue wand at him. "I was definitely looking, Ron."

"What's that anyways?"

"It's a commentator's wand." Ginny waved it around again, forgetting that it probably seemed strange to someone who didn't commentate on a regular basis. "It's new. The only spell it can cast is the Sonorous Charm."

She handed the wand to Ron. "Why do you need this? Isn't your wand good enough?"

"Of course mine is," she swiped the blue wand back, "but this wand is linked to the radio so listeners can hear the match from home. And I don't have to hold it to my throat the whole time. As long as the spell's cast and the wand's in my hand, the commentary can be heard."

Ron smirked, nodding his head in approval. "Weird, but useful."

"Tell me about it," Ginny rolled her eyes. Then she pointed toward a small tube protruding from the ceiling. "Just wait till you see that in use."

Ever since the end of the war, wizards had been inventing all kinds of new things. Living with restrictions had given the Muggle-born and half-blood wizards the kick they needed. Suddenly, they desired to create, to advance, to gain back the years taken from them by Voldemort.

Ginny cringed just thinking the name. Good thing Harry was was rows below. Voldy could be fifty years dead and buried for all Ginny cared; she would always struggle with his name.

Coming back to the task at hand, Ginny watched as the fans settled into the stands, sporting horrendously orange paraphernalia.

Silently, she cast the Sonorous Charm. The wand, already blue in coloring, began to glow. She wrapped her fingers around it.

"Welcome Quidditch fans! What a wonderful evening it is for a match. Please put your hands together for the home team, the Chudley Cannons!"

Cheers emanated from the crowd below as her voice echoed off the walls of the stadium. Ginny was happy to see her brother looking around with wide eyes. Out from underneath the stands flew eight players dressed in matching orange uniforms.

"And now, please put your hands together for the Cannons' opponent, the Tutshill Tornadoes!"

A quieter fanfare could be heard for the opposing team as they flew onto the field.

"My name is Ginny Weasley, chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and I'll be your commentator for this evening. Tonight I'm with a special guest, my brother—and big time Cannons fan—Ronald Weasley!"

She let go of the wand, though it still glowed blue. There was a hush over the crowd as heads turned toward the box. Shyly, the Weasley siblings waved.

"You'd think we were on display up here," Ron muttered.

"It happens every game," she smirked, picking up the blue wand again.

"The referee has taken up position in the middle of the field, the players are in the air. This is it ladies and gentlemen! The quaffle is up. Cannons' chaser Magnolia Della snags it. Passes to Sakshi Quill. Quill evades a bludger hit by Tornadoes' William Jonson. Quill lines up a throw… Intercepted by Tornadoes' chaser Dana Smith! Smith passes to Henrietta Jones. Jones throws… Saved by Cannons keeper H. Heggyy."

Ginny glanced over at Ron, who was barely watching. She let go of the wand. "What's going on with you?"

Ron quickly leaned forward, watching the players bump into each other. "Cannons are about to score. You might want to…" he motioned to the wand.

Ginny grabbed at it, annoyed. "Della has the quaffle again. She's lining up to throw… Della does a fake out, instead throwing the quaffle to Amy Callme. Callme has an open shot and… Score! 10, nill in favor of the Cannons!"

Cheers erupted from the stadium. Ginny dropped the blue wand, turning again to Ron, expecting some kind of happy reaction to the first goal.

But he was staring up at the ceiling.

"Seriously, Ron?" What was his problem? These were the Cannons. THEE CANNONS!

"A rat?"

Ginny looked up. Sticking out of the tube she pointed out earlier was a rat, holding a piece of parchment. Gingerly, Ginny took the note.

Grabbing the wand, she read, "Wonda's Broom Varnish would like to congratulate the Cannons on a great play. Remember, if your broom is feeling bumpy, there's no need to get grumpy. Use Wonda's Broom Varnish! Your equipment will never tarnish!"

Ginny let go of the wand.

"What was that?"

"A new sponsoring system," Ginny placed the parchment to the side. "The rats are trained to take messages all over the stadium. Tubes lead from the changing rooms and the sponsor's boxes."

"That's…"

"Brilliant?"

"Creepy." His eyes were still trained on the tube.

"Ron," Ginny laughed, "you had a pet rat for thirteen years."

"And what happened to him, Ginny?" He was trying to come off as serious, but Ginny laughed anyways.

She grabbed the wand. "Alright, folks. Looks like the Tornadoes have possession of the ball. Jones is racing toward the goalposts… and scores! 10-10."

The Cannons crowd moaned, while the few Tornadoes fans in the stadium clapped.

"Quill takes the quaffle from Heggyy. Quill passes to Callme. Callme to Della. Della back to… intercepted by Smith. Smith hurtles toward… What's this? The seekers are racing close to the ground! Cannons' Annie Hufflepuff is leading, followed by Tornadoes' Giorgio Valentinez… they're neck and neck now. Hufflepuff has her hand outstretched… could it be? Have they really seen the snitch so soon? And… Valentinez pulls up. Smith scores! That's now 10-20, in favor of the Tornadoes."

Ginny paused, letting the score sink in. "It looks like Hufflepuff was trying to distract the players. The snitch is still in play. Quill has the quaffle again, and—OH! that must have hurt! Tornadoes chaser Oscar Otis bumps Quill, taking possession of the quaffle. Otis passes to Smith. Smith begins… wait a minute. Cannons' beaters Ned Bane and Autumn Clever are flanking both sides of Smith. Clever winds up… And it's a fake out! Bane knocks Smith from her broom with a bludger! Smith's falling… saved by Jones. Smith's broom's in teams descend to the ground. There will be a five minute time out, while Smith gets her back-up broom."

Ginny smiled, "What a game, Ron!"

"Gin, the wand."

"Oh! Sorry, everyone!" She dropped the wand. "I'm not used to having someone up here."

"Yeah."

"So what do you think so far?"

"Going good."

"Who do you think will win?"

He shrugged.

Her own faked smile dropped quicker than that shattered broomstick. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Clueless. He was that clueless.

"What I mean is, it's the bloody Cannons, Ron!" Ginny said, exasperated. "You should be drooling, cheering, hissing! You of all people should be running around this box like a madman!"

"Maybe I don't want to be a madman.".

"Of course you do! It's the CANNONS!" Ginny angled her body toward her brother. "I want you to be barking! I want you to paint your face orange and sing the Cannons theme each time they score! I want you to—" the teams were taking the field, "—damn!"

Ginny grabbed the wand. "Annnnd we're back!" She dropped the wand. "Come on, Ron! Smile like you're enjoying yourself!" She grabbed the wand. "The Cannons and the Tornadoes have taken to the sky." Dropped the wand. "I went through a lot of hoops to get you up here." Grabbed the wand. "Della has the quaffle again. Hufflepuff and Valentinez are circling the top of the arena. Della passes to Quill. Quill evades a bludger from Jonson…"

"You know, I am having a great time." Ron said from beside her.

Ginny let go of the wand, even though Quill was lining up for a shot. "You could act like it."

"I am acting like it!"

The crowd started cheering again. Ginny grabbed the wand, "Quill scores! But you knew that, you clever crowd. 20-20 even. Jones has the quaffle again, but she's stopped by a bludger from Bane. Callme takes possession of the quaffle…"

"I'm grateful, Gin," Ron said. "I'm just… distracted."

"By what?" Ginny heard her voice ring out around the stadium. "Oops."

She dropped the wand. "What's distracting you?"

"Callme's going to score," Ron nodded toward the field.

"Damn," Ginny grabbed the wand again. "Callme lines up… intercepted by Otis. Quill takes her revenge, hitting Otis out of the way… Quill has the quaffle, passes to Della. Della throws…scor—"

"I'mplanningtoproposetoHermione."

"WHAT!" Ginny flew out her seat, her hand letting go of the wand.

"I said," Ron grabbed the wand midair, "I'm proposing to Hermione!"

Faster than lightning, Ginny was up again, her own hand closing on the top half of the wand. "RON! THE WAND!"

Her voice echoed around the stadium, coming to a deafening halt. Slowly, the Weasley siblings looked out at the silent crowd. Ron relinquished his grasp on the wand as if the new invention had burned him. Then Ginny heard him gasp as he ducked down below the ledge.

Her own eyes began to scan the crowd, where everyone sat. Everyone except that bushy-haired girl all the way toward the front. She was standing, staring right at the box. Ginny sheepishly waved. Yeah. Her future sister-in-law was climbing the stairs..

What could Ginny possibly do to fix this? "Uh… yes, Ron. What a great idea! We will propose to Hermione and all of the audience members to—" her eyes landed on the small parchment, "—to use Wonda's Broom Varnish. What a swell idea, Ron!"

"Ginny!" Ron hissed from the floor. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm saving your arse, that's what," she whispered. But her voice was much louder than she intended… the wand! Bloody hell! She dropped that infernal device.

It began to roll away. Instinctively, Ginny went to pick it up just as Ron grabbed it. "Ginny, no one believes you! And now you've gone and ruined my bloody proposal!"

"I didn't ruin anything! You could just play along. Broom Varnish, Ron!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"You're ridiculous!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Ginny!"

"Ron!"

They both stopped screaming at each other, breathing heavily. Ginny swallowed, asking what was really on her mind, "You're sure about this?"

"Absolutely."

Ginny started jumping up and down. " Oh my god! I'm going to have a sister!"

"What about Fleur?"

She stopped jumping. Oops. "Well, I'll have a sister… my age. Who I am friends with."

"Sure," Ron smirked.

"So how are you doing to do it!"

"Do it?"

"Propose, stupid!"

"I—I don't know. I haven't gotten that far…"

"What!"

"Well, I've just started thinking about it," Ron said sheepishly. "I was thinking about doing it around Christmas, or something. I don't know."

"You don't know? How don't you know!" She yelled.

"These things take time, Gin!" Oh good. He was screaming too.

"Then don't spring this news on me if it's not going to happen, Ronald!"

"Maybe I told you, because I wanted your help!"

There was a knock at the door. Ginny looked at Ron, but all she saw was pure terror staring back; their hands had never left the bloody commentator's wand. "Come… in?"

The door slammed opened, showing a very frazzled-looking Hermione on the other side. She stormed over and grabbed the wand from both of them. "Will you two please just shut up!"

Her head snapped toward the opening of the box, where her voice echoed around the stadium. Then she looked back to the wand. "Quietus!"

The wand stopped glowing blue, but Hermione didn't relinquish her grip on it.

She began brandishing it about like an extension of her own hand, a really, really long finger whose sole purpose was to point accusatorially at the pair of them.

"You two can't be left alone, can you?" she started. "Harry and I were having a perfectly good time, thinking you both were having the time of your lives up here. I don't even like Quidditch!

"And then—then—you go off and, and embarrass me like this!"

Ginny looked over at Ron, who was watching his shoes with an intense interest. Then she looked at Hermione, really looked at her, and she could see the glint in the older girl's eyes.

"Oh, knock it off, Hermione," Ginny laughed. "You know you're excited because he's planning to marry you."

She took the wand away from Hermione, who in turn looked very pink. At the same time though, she smiled a big, toothy grin. Hermione's arms laced around Ron's neck, and in turn, he started laughing.

"You thought you had me," Ron smirked. Ginny admired the way he looked at Hermione. His eyes were soft, bright. Everything about him was happy. "But I knew better, of course."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but a squeak from above had all three heads turned. Another note bearing rat.

Ginny took the message. Then she passed it to Ron. "It's for you."

He took it, his hands trembling from happy nerves. He read aloud: "'Dear Mr. Weasley, On behalf of everyone here, I'd like to congratulate you on your forthcoming nuptials. However, I would ask that you would hold all further personal conversations until after the game, seeing as we're playing Quidditch here. Signed Cannons captain Mary Merlin.'"

Ron's eyes grew wide. "I can't believe this!"

Ginny said, "Well, she has a point, Ron, you did disrupt thei—"

"I have Mary Merlin's autograph! This is the best day of my life!" Then he was hugging Hermione, kissing her, the parchment clutched in his hand.

"Oh, brother!" Ginny sank into her seat.

"Well," Hermione laughed. "At least he's got his priorities straight."

A/N part 2: So this round was about team pride, and I thought, what better way to show team pride than with my teammates. I want to say thank you to MaryandMerlin, Heggyy, xxCallMeAmyxx, Lil' Quill, Angelo Della Magnolia, isaacswolfsbane, and Sadistic Hufflepuff.