Harry Potter and his younger brother Andrew sat in the lounge, awaiting their parents arrival. Harry was the elder, at 25, while Andrew was 23. Both brothers were Aurors, continuing in their father's footsteps. Their sister was in her last year at Beauxbatons. Their mother, Lily, had owled both boys earlier, requesting their presence at a family dinner at seven.
It was a week after the Harpies night at the pub. Harry had been the subject of ribbing all week, but none of his team could tell him what happened upstairs. Even Tracy, who had hooked up with one of the Harpy Beaters, had no idea, as she and her new friend had gone to Tracy's apartment instead of upstairs.
AJ hadn't gone to the pub that night, as he'd been injured during a training session. So no-one had thought to check on Harry, with Amy and Susan the only sober ones, and they left the pub by eleven.
In the end, Harry decided the best thing to do was forget the night ever happened. Unfortunately, the bite marks wouldn't go away, so he had a daily reminder. He also vowed he'd never get that drunk again. He was glad his parents and brother hadn't heard what had happened.
When they checked with each other, neither Harry, nor AJ had any idea what the meeting was about. They both hoped there was nothing wrong. A family dinner could mean the four of them, or it could include their father's best friends, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, as well as the men's partners, Nymphadora Tonks and Marlene McKinnon.
Remus and Tonks had married and were expecting a baby soon. Despite being much younger than Remus, Tonks, who was also Sirius' second cousin, had fitted in well with The Marauders, as they liked to call themselves.
Harry was sitting by the fireplace reading the Daily Prophet when his brother came in and handed him a Butterbeer.
"Looks like a roast with all the trimmings for tea," said Andrew.
"Dad's favourite," noted Harry. Andrew nodded, his mouth set in worry.
Their mother came in, smiling to see her handsome sons. "Good evening, boys."
Harry stood to greet his mother. "Hi Mum, you're looking well," he said, kissing her cheek. Lily smiled at her eldest son, the image of her James.
"Well? She looks smashing," teased Andrew, hugging her tight and lifting her off her feet.
Lily laughed. "Andrew, put me down." He did so, and she palmed his face, running one hand down his cheek. He had her family colouring, fair headed but with red tones. He resembled her beloved father in looks, except he had James' eyes.
"Where's the old man?" asked Andrew, pouring her a glass of her favourite wine.
"Enough of the old, thanks, Andrew."
Lily beamed while Harry and Andrew turned to see their father enter the lounge. He kissed Lily on the cheek and accepted the Butterbeer Andrew handed him.
"How are you, Dad?" asked Harry.
"I'm good, son," said James, sitting next to his wife on the sofa, his arm around her.
"So what's with the summons, Dad?" asked Andrew.
"Your mother and I are going to take a holiday. We wanted to ask you both to check on the house every now and then," said James.
"How long will you be gone?" asked Harry.
"Four weeks. Your mother wants to be back when Tonks has the baby. Sirius and Marlene are joining us," said James, looking fondly at his wife.
"Where are you going?" asked Andrew. He raised his eyebrows at Harry.
"The Greek Isles. Sunshine and swimming. If I can ogle your mother in a bikini, so much the better," grinned James. Lily blushed and slapped his knee.
"When are you leaving?" asked Harry. He was trying to decide if he should move back home while they were away. Ernie had just got a girlfriend who was over their place quite a bit. He thought they could both do with some space.
"Tomorrow morning. Our Portkey leaves at nine, and by ten thirty I expect to be beach side with a cocktail," preened James. Lily smiled and nodded in agreement.
The Potter's House Elf, Lainey, announced that dinner was ready. Both younger men stood and waited for their father. Lily took his arm, and they went in to the dining table.
They exchanged small talk over dinner; James asking both sons about cases they were involved in.
As they were lingering over dessert and coffee, Lily and James dropped their bomb. "Boys, I do have a small favour to ask you both while we're away," said James.
"Sure Dad, anything," said Harry.
"Just name it," agreed Andrew, nodding.
"As you know, the Potter Foundation is heavily involved in many charities. This year we chose to sponsor the 'Hope for All' orphanage, a worthy cause indeed," said James.
Both boys nodded. They had been actively involved in their parents charities since a young age; their parents having taught them the value of giving back to the community.
"Your father has already booked and paid for the holiday, but it completely slipped my mind that this is the time we start planning for our big fund raiser. It's the biggest part of our foundation, and I hate to think of letting the orphanage down," said Lily.
"What can we do to help, Mum?" asked Harry.
"I need you both to take my place on the planning committee. I've hired a brilliant young witch, and she's up to date with everything. She has all my notes and ideas. I'll need you to sit down and brainstorm with her the best direction we can take to raise the money we need," said Lily.
"What about our work?" asked Andrew.
Lily waved away his concerns. "You should only need to meet with my new assistant, Hermione, a few times to make the vital decisions. Then just check in with her to see if she needs any assistance, although I doubt she will. I have never met a more self- contained witch than her," chuckled Lily.
"We'll be back for the big event, whatever you decide to do. We'll be stopping off in France and bringing your sister home with us. Boys, your mother is relying on you both to see this through for her," said James.
"Sure, no worries," said Harry. His mother handed him a file.
"Hey, you know me. I love a good party," said Andrew, smiling at his mother. "You can count on us, Mum, Dad," he said. Harry nodded, while Andrew took the file his mother gave him.
"I've got a room booked at the Ministry in one of the function rooms, but if it's not what you need, please tell Hermione to cancel it. Boys, this really means a lot to me. I know you'll do a great job," said Lily.
"We will, Mum. You and Dad deserve a holiday," said Harry.
"Good luck keeping Uncle Sirius out of trouble," grinned Andrew.
"I'm good, but I'm not that good. Besides, he's Marlene's problem now," said James.
Harry hugged his mother while Andrew hugged his dad. "Make sure you and Dad get some rest too, Mum," he whispered. Lily patted his cheek.
"Take care, old man," teased Andrew.
James cuffed him over the head good naturedly. "Again with the old man," he sighed, shaking his head.
"We'll see ourselves out. We'll owl you," both boys told their parents.
"See you in four weeks," said their parents.
HGHGHG
"What we need to do is get a 'name'," said Hermione, in her no nonsense tone. She had taken immediate control of the meeting after Harry had contacted her to get things under way.
Harry and Andrew looked at her, then each other in confusion.
"A name, a face. A celebrity to front our fund raiser. It's been done successfully in the past. Don't get me wrong, the Potter name is very well recognised and respected in our world, but a celebrity would really be a great way to kick things off," said the bushy haired witch.
"There's not really a lot of celebrities in our world, Hermione. We're not like the Muggles, with their movie stars and singers," said Andrew.
"There are celebrities from the wireless. Our grandmother was a huge Celestine Warbuck fan," reminded Harry.
Andrew's face lit up. "Hey, how about that witch who's always in the paper. You know, Harry, the one with the big-" He used his hands to describe the witch in question's sizeable assests.
"Our celebrity, and I use the term loosely, needs to be a role model, particularly for young children. Here, I have selected a few candidates. Look through them and tell me what you think," said Hermione, shooting Andrew a dirty look. He winked at her, making her scowl.
Hermione's 'few' candidates turned out to be thirty. One by one, they dismissed most of them. In the end they narrowed it down to three. Susan Bones, the youngest and first female Deputy of the Department for Care of Magical creatures.
"She's quite high profile, being the niece of Amelia Bones, our Minister of Magic. She's a great example of young women succeeding at the Ministry," beamed Hermione, making it obvious who her choice was.
"Who else do we have?" asked Andrew.
"The last two are Quidditch players. Oliver Wood and Ginny Weasley," said Hermione, looking at her list.
"Quidditch? All right, now you're talking. Merlin, it's been so long since we've been to a match, hasn't it Harry?" asked Andrew.
Harry nodded, finding the file on Oliver Wood suddenly very interesting. It had to be a bizarre coincidence that they were even considering Ginny Weasley.
"Quidditch players are always popular. They represent hard work, determination to succeed, healthy body, healthy mind," recited Hermione. "It's also a good chance to get lots of free publicity, just by having them wear a shirt or mention the Foundation in a sports interview," she said.
"Why these two players?" asked Harry. Surely, out of all the Quidditch players, she could have opted for anyone but Ginny Weasley, or any Harpy, in fact!
Hermione pulled out the last issue of Quidditch Monthly. "They were both voted as Most Popular Male and Female players by the fans," she said. She then pulled out two files.
"Oliver Wood, twenty-eight. Played for England twice, current captain of Puddlemere United. Has won Keeper of the Year, Player of the Year and Quidditch's Sexiest Player of the Year, three years ago. Not married, but has a fiancee, Katie Bell. Is known as a good sport, steady and reliable," read Hermione, of the file she had compiled.
"Yes, but is he as pretty as this one?" asked Andrew, holding up a photo of Ginny Weasley. He turned to Hermione. "Tell me about her."
"Ginny Weasley, twenty four. Recruited to the Holyhead Harpies straight out of Hogwarts. Best newcomer her first year, best team player as voted by her peers her second year, runner up in the Chaser awards her second year. Best player in the league last year, top scorer of the year last year. Has quite a large fan base for such a young player. Tipped to be picked for the next World Cup. Was a major player in the Harpies win in the finals last year and current Sexiest Player," read Hermione.
"She's my pick. Harry, what do you think?" asked Andrew.
"I'd go for one of the Quidditch players," said Harry. "They really are the celebrities of our world," he said, and like Hermione said, a lot of opportunity for publicity."
"But which one?" asked Hermione. "You just can't pick her because you think she's pretty," she scolded Andrew.
"And single! It just so happens that this is our lucky weekend," said Andrew. "Puddlemere are taking on the Harpies Friday night. Looks like the three of us are going to the match," he said.
"You don't need me to go," said Hermione, immediately.
"Yes, we do. You're going," said Andrew. He turned to his brother. "Harry?"
Harry was staring at the photo of Ginny Weasley, and she was staring back at him. Funny, it was like she was studying him. "Hmm? Oh yeah, I'll go," he said. With a hat pulled down low over his eyes.
"Fine, I'll go," huffed Hermione. "Only so I can see any possible future promotional opportunities. I don't really care for Quidditch," she said.
HGHGHG
The match was evenly poised, and had been hard fought. Harry hadn't intended to focus on Ginny Weasley, but she was good, damn good. He found it hard to drag his eyes off her, especially as she was always in the middle of the action. While he himself preferred to play Seeker and usually looked out for the Snitch, tonight his eyes were on the Chasers and the Keepers.
Ginny scored again, and Harry could tell Oliver was getting frustrated at her ability to score against him nearly every time. She'd easily scored half the Harpies goals, and had assisted with another couple.
She also had a lot of fans. There was a group of young men sitting at one end who had bare chests with an initial painted on, to spell out her name. Sitting next to Harry, Andrew and Hermione, in a separate box, was a group of red heads that made Harry wonder if they could be family. There were a lot of males, including a pair of twins that looked familiar.
Ginny slammed another goal past Oliver, who kicked the post in frustration. Andrew and Harry exchanged amused looks as Hermione sighed and shook her head, before making a notation on Oliver's file.
"They've seen the Snitch!" a fan yelled, and all the fans around stood and cheered their Seekers on. As Ginny intercepted a pass and shot yet another goal, the Harpy Seeker held her hand up triumphantly, the Snitch fluttering in her hand.
Harry kept his eyes on Ginny and Oliver, who were close together. They landed on the ground, talking and laughing. They both turned and Ginny pointed to the box next to theirs. Oliver waved and pointed at them. Ginny patted him on the back, they talked for several more seconds then Oliver walked off, following his defeated team.
Ginny flew up to meet her triumphant team in the air. They flew laps, revving up the crowd. The big screen showed the words, CLAP, CLAP. The Harpy players were enticing people to get involved. Soon, the entire stadium was singing the Harpy's team song; the words flashing up on the big screen.
The players were flying around, getting the crowd excited. After the song, Harry watched as Ginny flew low, high five-ing lots of the children who had gathered near the fence to see their favourites. Hermione made a notation in Ginny's file, then watched as Ginny then flew over to the young men with the bare chests.
"WILD THING!"they called. "YOU MAKE MY HEART SING!"
"WE LOVE YOU, WILDCAT WEASLEY!" they called.
Ginny blew them a kiss and flew away. She came to a halt close to where Harry was sitting, and spoke to a young girl. She hovered there, talking, then to Harry's surprise, she helped the girl sit on her broom and carefully took off. The little girl, maybe four or five, beamed and waved as she sat in the protectiveness of Ginny's arms, as she slowly flew them low around the pitch. One of the other Harpies handed the little girl the winning Snitch. They all did a final lap, waving to the fans, before flying down to the ground and into their rooms.
Harry, Andrew and Hermione stood. Harry and Andrew exchanged looks, but it was Hermione who spoke.
"Gentleman, I think we've found our spokesperson. Ginny Weasley it is," she declared.
