When You Wasn't Famous

By: Sam Lincoln

Disclaimer: The characters from Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and are used here without permission.

"When you're a famous boy/it's gets really easy to get girls/It's all so easy you get a bit spoiled/but when you try to pull a girl who is also famous too/It Feels Just Like When You Wasn't Famous

-When You Wasn't Famous, The Streets

Chapter 2: When You're a Famous Girl

Today was a good day to be Ginny Weasley. Of course most days were good days for the star Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. Today though was shaping up to exceptionally fine she thought to herself as she stretched languidly in her exceedingly comfortable bed in her exceedingly posh townhouse in an exceedingly tony section of Notting Hill. For starters, the day before she had finalised her assault on the single season goals record, and the Harpies had managed to hold off the Pride of Portree. The win solidified the Harpies place in the second spot on the table. A league championship had been well out of reach for most of the season, but second place was the Harpies best finish in Ginny's time with the team. Besides, when the other team has Harry Potter, second place is just like first, and Ginny was satisfied in winning the "mere mortals" division.

A stirring next to her reminded Ginny of the presence of the other reason for her current state of good feeling, the exceedingly handsome bloke she'd met at the Leaky Cauldron the night before when she and Luna had gone out to celebrate the win. It was like she always told her sister-in-law Hermione, the only thing better than a good win was a good shag. She smiled to herself as she recalled a few of the more acrobatic escapades from the night before. The grasping hands snaking across the bed however, reminded her what needed to be done.

She rolled over and caught the hands of her companion before he could grope her. "Last night was delightful, but now it's time for your to go."

"Was it something I did?" The wizard, whose name Ginny couldn't immediately bring to mind, said with a faint trace of an Italian accent.

"Trust me, you did everything right," Ginny purred as she let her eyes roam up and down the wizard's bare chest. "It's just that was last night, and now I have things to do today. So thank-you very much for a lovely night, and who knows maybe we'll meet up again later."

The wizard grumbled to himself quietly in Italian as he rolled out of bed and pulled his clothes back on. Of course he had just spent the night with Ginny Weasley so he didn't have much to complain about beyond the brusque dismissal.

"Oh and one more thing, if you say anything about me, or last night, that is even a little false you will not enjoy the consequences," Ginny told the wizard as he moved towards the door. "I'm not saying you can't talk to the press but." Ginny slid out of the bed, wrapping the sheet around her as an impromptu dress as she stood up. "I just happen to think discretion is sexy, don't you?" She sashayed over to the wizard and pulled him in for a snog that left them both breathless.

"Si, bene," the wizard, Paolo was his name Ginny recalled, said in amazed voice before Ginny pushed him out of the bedroom.

"There's coffee, tea and croissants in the kitchen, feel free to help yourself on the way out," Ginny said to Paolo's departing form. She then closed the bedroom door, spun on her heels, letting the bed sheet fall to the floor in the process, and strode into her bathroom.

A long soak in the tub was another of Ginny's favourite post match day rituals. Not only did the hot bath do wonders for any lingering bumps and bruises, but it also did a remarkable job of clearing her head of any remaining after effects from the post match party. As she watched the fragrant steam rise up from the bath she closed her eyes and allowed herself to reflect back on the past few years.

After she finished her phenomenally successful Quidditch career at Hogwarts, in her last year she successfully captained the Gryffindor team to its third consecutive House Cup, Ginny had not lacked for offers from teams in the league. In fact many were even more attractive than the offer from the Harpies. When she signed on with Holyhead the Harpies had a full compliment of Chasers, both starters and reserves. That first year had been a constant struggle to prove that she belonged in the league. She might not have seen any game time that year, but her performance on the training pitch impressed the Harpies management enough that in her second year the team loaned her out to the Wasps for the season.

Ginny seized the opportunity and ran with it. She quickly proved herself one of the top Chasers in the league. At the end of the season the Wasps offered the Harpies an obscene amount of money to retain Ginny's services. The Harpies management wasted no time in laughing the Wimbourne side out of the room. The next season the Harpies installed Ginny in the starting lineup and she never looked back.

In the years since her inclusion in the starting seven Ginny worked herself to the bone to prove that not only was she one of the top Chasers in the league, but that she was one of the best players period. And in a world without Harry Potter that might very well be the case. Unfortunately for Ginny, Harry Potter did exist, which meant the best she could hope for was second best. Then again, since most people talked about Potter as the best who ever played the game, second place wasn't a bad place to be at all.

All the hard work and effort had paid off financially though. Both in her wages — going into her fourth season the Harpies offered Ginny a ridiculously lucrative contract, and she was sure her next deal would set records for a Chaser — and in endorsements. In addition to being a spokesperson for Weasley Wizarding Wheezes, Ginny had her own signature line of brooms through Nimbus — second only in sales to the Harry Potter branded Firebolt line. There was also officially licensed Quidditch gear and a few other odds and sods typical of any celebrity. The upshot being the girl from the poor family in Devon no longer had any want for money, nor would she ever again provided she was even the least bit frugal.

In truth Ginny's rise to fame was so meteoric that it had threatened to crush the young woman. The only thing that had seen her through those dangerous early years was her devoted support base. Starting with her parents who never once let on that they felt Ginny's Quidditch success made her special. She also relied heavily on her business managers and agents Fred and George. Without the twins Ginny's endorsement portfolio, and by extension her bank account, would have been far smaller. By far though the vast majority of her off-the-pitch success was due to her newly minted sister-in-law, Hermione Weasley. Convincing Hermione to work for her instead of the Ministry was the best decision Ginny had made in her entire career. Not that it wasn't without its annoyances though. Hermione attacked Ginny's schedule with the same precise ferocity that she applied to her revising plans at Hogwarts. Ginny had to admit it kept the Galleons pouring in, but having every waking moment of her day plotted out chafed from time to time. Especially all the appearances in support of the various charities Hermione set up in the name of social justice. While it was nice to be considered the most socially conscientious player in the league, and the accolades that went along with it, most nights what Ginny wanted to do most was curl up in a pub with a tall glass of lager and a few close friends. Still, the charity work was the price Hermione demanded when she'd agree to work for Ginny and it was a small price to pay all things considered.

If there was any hole in Ginny's resume it was in international play. For a player with her level of club success, she had surprisingly few caps playing for England. Some of that was the result of bad timing. She had not quite established herself as an unanimously acclaimed premiere player in time for either the World Cup or Euro squads on their first cycle after she joined the league. The following European and World Cups were a more bitter pill. She was left off the Euro squad due to politics, the manager of the team that year chose a Chaser off his own team over Ginny. It had been with a savage joy that Ginny watched that team's championship hope dashed because of poor play from the Chaser position. Ginny had then been considered a lock to make the World Cup squad before she'd taken a Bludger to the back in a match with the Harpies. The English manager — different from the Euro squad, but still a git — didn't want to put his chances on a rehabbing Chaser and left Ginny off the squad.

This year however, would be different. Ginny was in perfect health and playing the best Quidditch of her career. Cabbock, the English team's manager, would have no choice but to select her for the squad. And a good showing in the European Cup would make her a lock for the next World Cup in just two short years. And playing for England in the World Cup was the height of her aspirations in the sport. Everything she had done the past nine seasons was to get to this point, and now that the day was here she planned to enjoy it to the fullest. Her mum was planning a big party at the Burrow for the announcement, and her entire family — with the exception of Charlie who was tending to a sick Hungarian Horntail — was going to be there.

That thought caused Ginny to sit up in her now cooling tub. She had promised her mum that she would be over to the Burrow early to help with preparations for the party. It didn't matter if you were the guest of honor, Molly Weasley would make sure you pulled your weight. The last thing she wanted to do was be late for that. An irrational part of her mind suggested that if she was late her mum might even try to ground her and stop her from taking part in the Euros. Chuckling to herself Ginny took a quick shower to rinse off from her soak in the bath. She hurriedly got dressed and raced down the kitchen for a quick breakfast.

"Forgot about meeting your mum?" Luna Lovegood, Ginny's best friend and housemate, asked. Luna sat perched on one of the stools that ringed the island in Ginny's spacious and modern-looking kitchen sipping on a cup of tea.

"No, because I'm not late yet now am I?" Ginny replied testily as she poured herself a cup of coffee and shoveled eggs onto a slice of toast.

"You really should let me check your room for Wrackspurts," Luna advised in her matter of fact way. "It wouldn't do for one to get into your head now."

"I will continue to live dangerously," Ginny told her friend between bites of egg sandwich. The last time she let Luna "cleanse" the master bedroom it had taken weeks to get the smell out. "And where is Hermione? I would have thought she'd already have be here to drag me out of bed."

"I haven't seen her since she went home with Ron last night," Luna said before taking a sip of her tea.

Ginny pulled a face. At the start of the year Hermione had declared that she and Ron were going to start a family. Privately Ginny thought Hermione was just looking for an excuse to shag Ron as often as she wanted. "In that case don't expect to see either of them until we get to the Burrow."

Luna stared at Ginny across the top of her tea cup. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Play for England? Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Because he'll be there," Luna said.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ginny asked. "Of course he'll be there. He's the best bloody player in the world."

"Are you ready to deal with that?"

"First of all, that was a long time ago. I'm well past it, and I'm sure he's long forgotten it. Secondly, we are both professionals who want the same thing, to win the Cup. I promise you it won't be awkward."

"If you insist," Luna said in a voice that plainly implied she was not convinced.

Ginny set her breakfast plate down with more force than she intended. She winced as the plate clanged against the granite countertop. "He has nothing to do with this. I want to be on that team because it's the pinnacle of my profession, and not because of my past history with the team's Seeker!"

Luna blinked implacably in the face of Ginny's outburst. "That's not what I meant and you know it, but I can tell you don't want to talk about this so I will see you at the Burrow for the party." Luna hopped off her stool and walked out of the kitchen.

Ginny growled to herself in frustration, tossed back the rest of her coffee, then stalked over to the fireplace to use the Floo.

Author's Notes: So here's Ginny. Do you think she might have some kind of history with Harry? I think that she just might! But we'll find out soon enough. Thanks everyone for the views, favs, and reviews. See you next week.

-sam