Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter anything… Sadface.

Chapter 3

"OLIVER WOOD! YOU HAD BETTER OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW!" Dumbledore's transparent head snapped up as he heard Ginny Weasley's voice echo through the halls. Instead of rushing to help out his new staff member however he let out a hearty laugh and kept on his way. It was Oliver's own fault for not informing her prior to the list going up, especially when the list went up only 2 hours after lunch.

Ginny's hand was about to pound on the door again as it swung open causing her to fall forward into empty space. Her hands slammed into the ground, but her war reflexes allowed her to push herself into a shoulder roll to stand. "WHAT THE HELL!" Ginny's outrage was met with nothing but laughter as Oliver stood by his desk doubled over, clutching is stomach. "Stop laughing." Oliver's head snapped up as Ginny's voice turned from outrage to anger. "You are going to tell me right now why my name is not on that list out there." Her eyes were burning into him. He inched away from her slightly, placing the desk between them. "I am the best flyer out there, and you know it!"

"Ginny, have a seat."

"Have a seat? HAVE a SEAT?! I will NOT have a seat until you tell me what the BLOODY HELL is going through your pea sized brain!" Oliver cringed as the yelling started again.

"Ginny I would like for you to coach."

"I was the fastest play… wait what?"

"I want you to coach one of the teams."

"Oh… wow." Ginny sank onto the red leather couch that sat against the wall. "I… I don't know what to say." Oliver stood as Ginny looked on in disbelief. "Why me?"

"I know it's not playing, but you have to understand, you're better than Harry." Ginny's eyes snapped to meet Oliver's. "I couldn't put you on any of the teams and still have a fair competition. Now, don't take this as too much of an ego boost. I can still out fly you any day of the week." Ginny laughed at that.

"You wish Oliver Wood… you wish." Ginny's lip quirked up at the thought of flying with Oliver. "So how is this going to work?" Oliver looked on at Ginny with a bit of shock. He had expected more of a fight out of her, this calmness that he was hearing was eerie.

"Well I could only find George and Angelina to agree to help coach, and we have four teams not three." As he spoke Ginny spent a generous amount of time looking him over. He had always been a pretty boy in Hogwarts, but she loved that he had grown in the war. There were many that hid away, or fled, but he came back from pro-quidditch to fight. His face showed some of the damage that had been inflicted, but in Ginny's opinion it only added to his looks. From there she looked down as he rambled on about the team compositions and coaching styles. His button-up shirt clung tight to his chest, and skimmed over what she was sure were abs highly toned from his quidditch and war years. She didn't stop there and grinned to herself as Oliver turned to grab papers off his desk and Ginny took full opportunity to ogle how his denims clung to his hips. They weren't tight, but they showed off his ass and thighs amazingly.

Oliver turned from his desk to see Ginny's eyes linger for a moment on his crotch before darting back to his face. He smirked at her before handing her the roaster he had grabbed, along with her coaching paperwork. "Now your first team meeting should be held next week and there is a coaches meeting on Friday evening. We're going to go to Abe's place in town, so dress appropriately." Ginny nodded and stood from the couch.

"What time?"

"I'm going to head down at 8. You should meet me here, and we'll walk down together. I've already gotten Dumbledore's permission, so you don't need to worry about that." Ginny nodded and headed to the door. "Oh and Ginny, I wanted to talk to you about something after dinner tonight. Would you mind swinging by here?"

"Um…" Oliver wasn't sure he had ever seen Ginny blush. "Sure, I'll swing by after dinner." Oliver nodded and held the door open for her.

"Have a good dinner Ginny."

Ginny wandered her way to the library to find Hermione. She needed a girl to dish too, though she knew Hermione didn't much care about quidditch. Hell that was putting it lightly, Hermione didn't give a damn about quidditch, but she would at least listen… well hopefully.

Ginny approached the library and laughed as Jazz came running down the hall on his short little legs. He jumped as he approached her bouncing off of a chair and leaping to her chest. Ginny cradled him to her confused at his actions until she heard a rather loud yowl. Ginny laughed as Mrs. Norris rounded the corner at her best speed, which at this point in her life was a fast hobble at best. The old gangly cat stopped short seeing Ginny holding Jazz. Jazz seemed to smirk at her as he wiggled his little cat body closer into her chest.

Ginny laughed at his actions, continuing on her way into the library to find Hermione. She was buried there, beneath a pile of dusty tombs. Ginny could just see the top of her head and was startled when she suddenly jumped in the air with her hand over her head. "YES!" Ginny gripped Jazz tighter as she stumbled confused by Hermione's outburst.

"What exactly are you so excited about?" Hermione's head snapped up at Ginny's comment.

"Oh… oh… nothing… I… it's just… there's… oh… um… nothing?" Ginny laughed at Hermione's sputtering.

"The great Hermione Granger doesn't know what to say. Well I'll be darned, someone get a camera." Hermione glared at Ginny's show of slight insolence towards the Head Girl.

"I'll have you know that…" Ginny laughed even louder drawing a rather loud "SHUT UP!" from one of the tables down the row.

"Its fine Hermione, I don't need to know." Ginny lifted one of the piles of books off table and perched on the side catching a quick glimpse at the red shiny new book that Hermione was reading as she snatched it and shoved it in her bag.

"So… what brings you to the library? Not that I'm not happy to see you here, but…" Hermione leaned in real close to Ginny "… you know there are only books here?" Ginny glared at Hermione wishing she had something to throw at her, but she didn't think Jazz would appreciate it.

"I have some news, and I wanted to talk to you about it before Ron and Harry find out." Hermione waved for her to go on, sinking closer so as to not be overheard. "I didn't make any of the teams." Hermione's face turned to one of outrage, but before she could say anything Ginny went on. "I'm going to be a coach." Hermione looked a bit confused before breaking out into a shining grin.

"That is amazing Ginny… wait that is amazing right?" Ginny nodded quickly, smiling at Hermione's hushed excitement. "Do you know who's on your team?" Ginny nodded.

"Yup, but we're waiting to let everyone know which team gets which coach until next week at the first practices. But we have a coaches meeting on Friday. Speaking of I may need your help getting ready. We're going to The Leaky Cauldron for our meeting and I don't want to look like a kid, especially since my brother won't be helping much. I'm sure he's just waiting to talk about his little kid sister." Hermione frowned at that.

"Ginny. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you haven't been a kid since your 5th year. You're an adult, heck you're in your 7th year, you're going to be 18 soon. You've been an adult for months, and trust me, after what you did for us, for all of us during the final battle; no one would question your authority." Ginny nodded.

"I know. I just have to get over it. I guess Oliver just intimidates me." Hermione laughed.

"Is it the fact that he's hot, or the fact that he's a quidditch god?" Ginny smiled and nodded.

"Yup"

...

Ginny had left Hermione alone to finish her studying, while she went off to catch a nap, promising to come back before dinner. It was only after Hermione was sure that she was gone that she slid the red book out of her bag again. It was her journal, but not just any journal, it was her notes. She had been trying algorithm after algorithm trying to find an answer, and finally after 8 months of trying she had finally had a breakthrough.

It was only a start, and she knew that in order to fix anything she was going to need a whole hell of a lot more help. It was help she couldn't find from a friend though; she was going to have to ask the one person she dreaded even speaking to… Snape.

She would never admit it to anyone else, but getting him to the castle hadn't been nearly as easy as she told everyone the day of the battle. In fact a combination of her quick thinking and Ginny's shockingly good battle ability got him there in one piece. That was how she knew all that Ginny did in the war. Everyone else seemed to forget that she saved dozens of people that day. Hermione had found Snape bleeding and unconscious on the floor of the Shrieking Shack as she led a team up through Hogsmead to rally the villagers to help attack the rear. He was so still she thought he was already gone, but luckily for him she checked. Most would've snarled at his body, given it a kick for good measure, and left him there to rot.

She had put a stasis charm on him as soon as she felt his pulse. An urge to save him jolted through her. She levitated him through the underground passage that led to the Whomping Willow. Once she was out she knew the risks were high, but she had to try. She cast a weightless charm on him and carried him the rest of the way, if he was simply floating there it was likely that he would be hit by a hex or worse.

She hit the grass at a run, Snape weighing no more than a few pounds in her arms. She dove for the ground to avoid a hex, before jumping up and running again. It was then that Ginny saved both of their lives. Hermione leapt over body after body, trying to ignore the friends she saw lying among the fallen enemies. It hurt, but she pushed forward. In her blind rush to get him to safety she was shocked when she was grabbed by her collar as a familiar voice screamed 'PROTEGO'. An explosion of color erupted around the clear barrier as she whipped her head around to see Ginny behind her. She took one look at Snape in Hermione's arms and pushed her forwards telling her she would cover her. They ran together until they hit hidden door that lead down to the dungeons. She had hit a bit of luck there as they hadn't yet discovered this passage. The last she saw of the battle was Ginny shoving her in the door and bricking up the wall behind her. She didn't know what had happened to Ginny after that, but she had made it to the castle.

The dungeons were eerily silent compared to the raging battle ground. She had moved as soundlessly as possible, praying to Merlin that she make it there without injury. She was almost there, steps away from his lab. The screams that erupted from the end of the hall made her cringe. She knew those screams, she had heard them frequently, but normally they were much happier. She paused, looking between Snape in her arms and the end of the hallway. The screams stopped, only to be followed by whimper pleas for mercy. Hermione had to make a decision and fast. With a deep breath she opened the door to Snape's lab. She set him on a table ran to the store room and started searching. If she hurried she just might be able to save them both. She threw bottles to the floor regardless of how rare they were. It took her 30 agonizing seconds to find the boazer, and another 30 to get it down his reluctant throat. She hoped that would be enough, and sprinted towards her next mission.

The screaming was deafening, and cut off suddenly just as she rounded the corner. She looked down to see Colin Creevy standing over Lavenders lifeless body. She stood there in shock, not knowing what to do with this unexpected thing. Colin made that decision for her though. He turned and she could see his wand twitching towards her. It was the 6th time she cast the killing curse that day.

"Hermione…"

"Hermione!"

"HERMIONE!" Hermione was snapped out of her memories by Ginny's shout. "We're going to be late for dinner." Hermione shook her head before smiling up at Ginny.

"Sorry don't know where I went there"

"It's ok… it happens to me too."

With that they both stood and left for the Great Hall.

...

The entirety of the Great Hall went silent as Ginny and Hermione entered. They looked around a bit confused, but headed to their seats. It was as if the whole room was going to erupt any second, the calm before the storm.

Harry and Ron where looking at Ginny like she was a dementor. "What? Did someone die?" Harry and Ron looked at each other, having a silent conversation before Harry nodded.

"Ginny, you haven't seen the quidditch list yet have you?" Ginny started laughing, which made the whole hall cringe. "What's so funny?"

"Don't worry, I've seen the list." Ginny hid her smirk. "I'll be fine guys really." Hermione gave Ginny an odd look, but didn't say anything. She assumed Ginny knew what she was doing, so she piled her plate with food and dug in.

Everyone had started their dessert, when Dumbledore's booming voice rang over the hall. "I hate to interrupt your dinner two nights in a row, but I felt we should make an important announcement." Dumbledore gestured towards the side door and in walked George and Angelina. "I know that we are all… well most of us" Dumbledore chanced a wink towards Hermione. "are excited for quidditch to start up again. Now that we know the teams Oliver and I thought we would introduce the coaches. Each team will have a different coach, who along with the captains will help their own team to rise to victory. There will be four teams, and each will find out who their coaches are next week. The choices are Oliver Wood, George Weasley, Angelina Johnson, and Ginny Weasley." Ginny smiled as every eye in the hall turned towards her. "Thank you for your time everyone, and enjoy your evening!" Dumbledore knew the can of worms he had just opened, and he had to admit, he kind of liked it. Soon the whole school would be talking, and he loved turning these kids into kids again. They had grown up to fast for his liking, and even dead he knew that what they really needed was fun and a bit of juicy gossip.

Ginny was bombarded with questions the moment she left the great hall. She simply smiled and laughed through all of it, offering no real information to anyone. It was almost an hour later when Ron's incessant questioning about why Oliver had picked her and not him to be the fourth coach was beginning to rag on her nerves. She slammed her hands roughly down on the couch of the Gryffindor common room and stood glaring over her brother. "Ronald if you had one iota of care inside that insipid body of yours you would stop and be happy for me!" She turned towards the door to escape from him. "You know Ron, not everything has to do with you. Oh, and you wouldn't want to coach Ron, because that also means that you can't play." With Ron's face red as can be, Ginny exited the common room. She was furious with him. He couldn't just stop thinking about himself and his stupid pro-quidditch dreams long enough to be happy for his baby sister.

Ginny found herself on the quidditch pitch, and sat down cross-legged in the center. It was only September 4th, so the sun was just barely hitting the tree line. She let a few angered tears leak from her eyes, as silent memories of dodging the burning stands assaulted her. It had been about half way through the battle, and she had woven her way through a lot of carnage so far. The Pitch had been set on fire earlier, and as such it was slowly falling away crushing many beneath it. Ginny had seen a sight that she would never forget, Luna, huddled in a recess in the wood shaking beyond belief. She had blood pouring down her face, and her leg looked severely broken. Ginny leapt over burning pillars and bodies to get to Luna, her focus only on getting to the blonde. That was when she received one of her many scars. It was a blow she didn't see coming, she was hit from the side. Her body thrown into the only remaining wall as blood started dripping down her side. "mmmm look at the little blood traitor leaking all over. You're traitorous blood will be completely spilled by the time I'm through with you." Ginny had taken advantage of Mr. Goyle's monolog and managed to grab the knife she had stashed in her boot. It was a long dagger with a short hilt, perfect for hiding in plain sight. She quickly thrust the blade upwards through his ribcage and into his heart. It was her first non magical kill of the night, but it wasn't her last. She pulled the blade from him as he fell to the side and then went to help Luna.

"Ginny?" Oliver tore Ginny out of her memory as he approached. "Are you okay?"

Wiping her tears away Ginny twisted around to see Oliver standing behind her. "I'm fine, just remembering something." It wasn't uncommon still for people to breakdown crying randomly in certain parts of the castle. Memories assaulted everyone as they went through the days, bringing back terrible memories for many of them.

"It's strange isn't it? Being back here after all that we went through here during the battle." Oliver walked over to where Ginny was and sat mirroring her position so he could look her in the face. "It's okay you know… to remember." Ginny gave him a look of exasperation.

"I know Oliver. This place just brings up a lot. I killed a lot of people that night." Ginny looked down fidgeting as Oliver's eyes snapped to her face, his hand reaching out to touch her knee.

"Yeah, we all killed more than our fair share." Ginny nodded. "Ginny I need to ask you about your cat."

"What about him? Is he yours?" Oliver looked thoughtful.

"Well… no he isn't mine per say, I was just wondering where you found him?"

"He found me actually. I was running down the hall one day and tripped over him. He's been with me for the last two days." Ginny seemed to get more excited the more she talked about him. "I call him Jazz, he seems to like it." Oliver smiled at her.

"He would wouldn't he" Oliver muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh, I was just saying that it's a great name. Has he been giving you any trouble?" Oliver's hand still hadn't moved from Ginny's knee, and his absent stroking was causing her to slowly become more and more distracted.

"What? Oh, no… he's a little stubborn sometimes, but all in all he's a sweetheart. He even looks away when I'm changing." Oliver's deep laugh was quiet, but infections. It wasn't long before Ginny started laughing along with him. She clasped his arm as she leaned forward, her chest heaving as she tried to breath around her laughter. It was then that Oliver got distracted. Ginny's hand on his bicep drew his eyes down its length to her chest. God, he felt like such a randy teenager again, he had never ogled a girl this obviously before. For some reason he just couldn't pull his eyes away from her. It was when Ginny looked up at him that it happened. A bright flash brought them out of their moment. A shrill scream caused both of them to snap their heads to the side. They looked at each other in silent agreement then started sprinting towards the sound.

Oliver's mind was focused on the task, however he couldn't help but notice Ginny's form as she sprinted out of the stands, her hair flying behind her as her long legs strode forward. "I think it's coming from the greenhouses!" Ginny's voice snapped Oliver out of his silent observations and caused him to look towards the repeated flashes. It seemed almost like a muggle flash was going off repeatedly.

Ginny skidded to a halt behind Greenhouse Four, peaking around its edge to see the chaos that seemed to be occurring behind the fogged glass of Greenhouse Three. Oliver's hand met her back as he too looked towards the effected Greenhouse. "I'll circle around the front and see what's going on, you just wait here." Ginny nearly laughed out loud at Oliver's solution.

"I tell you what, how about you circle around the front and I'll get a better look." Oliver looked at Ginny questioningly as she stood with her eyes closed and her hand held high in the air. Oliver was about to ask her what she was doing when something nearly clipped his ear before settling in her open palm. It was her broom. Her new Fire-sweep that she had saved up for over the last few years had a nice weight to it that allowed her to dip, dive and control her flight quite easily. Ginny swept herself onto her broom, hovering at Oliver's chest level. Ginny smiled at Oliver then before shooting over Greenhouse Four to slowly descend onto the roof of Greenhouse Three.

Ginny could barely see through the glass, as there seemed to be a shimmery substance mucking up the other side. She quickly twisted her hair into a bun securing it with her wand before flipping herself upside down and trying to get as close to the glass as possible. She squinted through not quite believing what she was seeing, as a quiet white hot rage brewed within her chest. She saw Oliver inch the door open and enter cautiously, however no matter how careful he was she knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid the chaos within the Greenhouse. She couldn't help but chuckle as he went diving under a table in order to avoid the bouncing balls that flurried around his movement eventually exploding in a grand cacophony of light, color and sound. Her smile soon disappeared however as she noticed the source of the earlier scream. Huddled in the middle of the room covered in a thin layer of glitter was a small girl, no older than 12. She was curled into the tightest ball she could shaking with fear.

This 'trick' was nothing new to Ginny, as she had often taken weeks to wash all of the glitter from her hair. Fred had come up with it after her father had brought home a bouncy ball from the Muggle Understanding and Interaction department at the ministries. They had also been digging through Ginny's Halloween makeup charms and discovered glitter. Oh how she rued the day the twins discovered glitter.

This however was a step too far for George. The poor girl in the middle of the Greenhouse looked to be scared out of her wits and crying. Ginny's attention returned to the scene below her, noticing Oliver still stuck under the table, looking up towards the ceiling as if it would explode any moment. Heaving a sigh and burying her rage deep below the surface as she had learned to do before she flew quickly over the Greenhouse roof hatch. A quick wandless "alohamora" and the latch popped open allowing her to flip off her broom and into the room.

From Oliver's point of view all he saw was Ginny's body falling from the ceiling and landing powerfully in a low crouch surrounded by exploding balls of glitter. Her hand pulled her wand from her hair, the red curls falling down her back as she pointed to the tallest point of the Greenhouse and mumbled some unintelligible words. A dark purple light exploded from the tip of her wand, expanding to cover the entire roof of the Greenhouse in seconds. The purple slowly flaked away and dissipated, floating towards the ground, but disintegrating before it hit the two inches of glitter that covered the floor like snow. Oliver watched as Ginny stowed her wand in her hidden pocket and slowly approached the girl.

Ginny kneeled, placing her hand gently on the small girls shoulder only to have her flinch away. "It's alright, you're safe, it's all over." Ginny's whispered words caused the girl to look up shyly through her hair. With one look at Ginny she threw her arms around her neck and clung to the older girl. Ginny could see the green crest of Slytherin under the layer of glitter on the girls robes. Oh how the world has changed thought Ginny. This time last year she would be expecting a trap, but for now she wrapped her arms around the small scared girl and combed her fingers through the girl's hair ridding it of some of the excessive glitter. Oliver walked over to them and watched as Ginny lifted the girl as if she weighed less than a feather.

"Here Ginny let me take her, I'll bring her up to Madam Pomfrey for a calming drought." Ginny began to nodded, but the girl clung tighter to Ginny's neck.

"Hey, what's your name hunny?" Ginny gestured with her eyes for Oliver to open the doors for her.

"M-M-Mary, what's your name?"

"My name's Ginny, and this quiet bloke over here is Oliver." Mary's eyes flicked up to meet Oliver's before going back to Ginny's.

"He looks kinda scary." Mary's attempt at a whisper did not escape Oliver's hearing, but Ginny's response to her made up for the unfiltered honesty of a 12 year old.

"Can I tell you a secret about Oliver Mary?" The young girl nodded and bent her head even closer to Ginny's face. "He can look kinda scary when you see him on the ground, but when he flies his face lights up like a patronus, making you remember all the happy thoughts that you have." Ginny leaned in even closer then "plus… I think he's kinda cute.". This made Mary giggle as she looked up at Oliver. The laughter in her eyes wiping away the lingering fear that she felt.

Madam Pomfrey hovered over Mary for a good ten minutes listening to her regale the story of the glitter bombs and her brave rescuer before ushering her off to her Slytherin dorms with cup of tea spiked with calming drought. She then entrusted Oliver with the task of seeing Ginny back to her dorms lest a certain Potions Master catch her out and about so late in the evening.

It wasn't a particularly long walk back to Gryffindor tower, and Oliver couldn't help but stare at Ginny the entire way. She was covered from head to toe in a thin sheet of glitter, her hair sparkling with every torch they passed. He was so caught up in his reverie that he forgot who he was for a moment, and thus when he heard the telltale tapping of Snape's shiny black boots he quickly grabbed Ginny and through her into the nearest alcove, covering her mouth with his hand when she began to protest.

Ginny smirked behind Oliver's palm, pressing her back against his front. She figured if she was going to be in this position she might as well take advantage of it. She molded herself to him, pressing them both back deep into the corner of the alcove as she heard Snape grow closer. She could almost feel Snape pause in the hallway, and imagine his sharp eyes scanning the hallway. Ginny jumped when a door just next to their alcove slammed open, the impact of the door hitting the wall caused Ginny to flinch back even farther, pressing into Oliver. It was then that she noticed Oliver's mumbling very lowly in her ear. Ginny shifted her head slightly, tipping her head back on his shoulder so his mouth was closer to her ear. She heard him lowly muttering "Mrs. Weasley naked… Dumbledore having sex… Hagrid in a speedo" it took everything Ginny had in her not to laugh out loud at his quite obvious attempt to quell his body's reaction.

They listened as Snape began to reprimand those within the room, Lavender ran scampering away a few seconds later, followed by a very disheveled looking Seamus. Ginny shook her head, at the two, and waited to emerge from her and Oliver's hiding spot until the sound of Snape's boots faded into nothing.

"You do realize the whole reason Madam Pomfrey asked you to accompany me is due to the fact that you are a professor right?" Ginny's mocking tone made Oliver blush slightly.

"I suppose old habits die hard" Oliver's deep chuckle separated his words slightly as they continued heading towards Gryffindor tower.

Oliver stopped just out of view of the fat lady. "I should let you get some sleep and head back to my room." Ginny smiled up at him and nodded her head.

"Very true, I could use some rest, but I still need to clean up after that fiasco. I don't think I'll ever be able to get all this glitter out of my hair." Oliver's smile grew as he looked down at Ginny pouting while fingering a curl of her now very sparkly hair.

"I'll see you in the morning Ginny, and don't forget about Friday."

A.N. Tada! One more chapter down… let me know what you think peoples!

A.N. Ok… this story might take a decade to write, but it will be written if I have to milk it from my very brain.

3 Fee