Chapter Four: Quidditch Queries
Practice started early this morning and I was none too pleased. First off there was more rocky road ice cream running through my blood stream then actual blood. I already knew that I was going to pay for my overindulging when I picked up my broomstick but the fact that I had to do so at six in the flipping morning was really the cherry on the top of the sundae.
Not.
Luckily though, there had been no leaks to the press that Harry was back, so at least for a little while I'd be able to focus on something other than him during practice. Thank Merlin for small favors.
I made it a point to arrive exactly a minute before practice started. Just in case.
My legs heaved themselves into the air and the rush of flight began to wash over me. In this moment, I could do anything. There was no one else in the world, just Ginny Weasley, Chaser. The quaffle flew at me and everything blurred as I shot towards it.
After an excruciating two hours and probably 15 pounds later my feet set back into the damp earth. My legs already sore and smarting at the movement it took to walk to the dressing room.
Note to Self: Never take a week off again.
Let me use my divination skills; I forsee a hot shower in my future. I launched the door open and chanced a glance towards the shower stalls. They were all empty. WINNING!
I made a mad dash forwards, tossing my broom in the general direction of my locker and grabbing the hem of my shirt to shuck it over my head. I managed to get it over my head and nearly off when I was crashed into, stopped and shook violently.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?" I'd recognize that banshee-esk shriek anywhere, Enter my co-captain Guinevere Jones. My arms where twisted in my shirt, my face still shielded and shoved into the damp sweat marks that I had made earlier. It smelled disgusting even if the sweat was mine.
"GJdfgoaijndkklhskdikd." My voice was muffled by my shirt suffocating me. Finally she let me go and I pulled the yellow monstrosity off of me. This shirt was totally getting thrown in the garbage.
"I can't believe it! I can't even believe it! How could you not call me? Or owl me? Or send me sodding smoke signals! This is huge! Massive! Cataclismic…" Dread welled up inside of me as I interrupted her.
"Ummmm…. What are on about?" She legitimately looked at me like she was going to kill me.
"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you and Harry effing Potter are getting all cozy together and this happens to be the same Harry effing Potter who made you fall in love with him, promised he'd never leave you, then left you, broke your heart, gave you monumental commitment issues, refused to even write a simple 'Hey I'm alive' letter in the four years he was gone, ruined your life, made you gain weight, then lose more then you gained, had you balling uncontrollably…" I interrupted her again, you had to do that with Gwen here, or else she'd talk and talk and talk and talk and…
"What the hell are you talking about 'getting cozy' I have done no such thing!" Her mouth snapped shut her eyes narrowing in a very poignant glare. With as much sass as she could muster she crossed her arms and jutted out one rounded hip.
"Really?" Doubt dripped from her every word.
"Really."
She strutted over to her locker, ripping it open and shuffling through her bag. "Then how do you explain this?" A copy of Witch Weekly manifested before my eyes.
"Your insatiable need to conform to society's expectations?" Gwen's hand shot out shoving my shoulder roughly and then parting a section of the magazine and turning it towards me.
Oh. My. Merlin.
There in the middle of the page was a huge picture of Harry and I from outside the bridal shop. Though during the circumstances I had been laughing at my bantering with Ron, Ron's head had been conveniently cut out of the picture so that it looked like Harry and I were smiling at each other. Especially when the photo of Harry nervously raked its hand through his hair and I nervously looked towards the ground.
I ripped the magazine out of her hands my eyes scanning the headline. "Rekindling Romance? By Bethany Nelson"
Things are looking up for us ladies. The savior of the wizarding world, one Harry Potter, is back from his nearly four year journey.
I took the time to correct this bitch. It's been four years and two months. Get it right.
Looking incredible as ever, we at Witch Weekly are ecstatic at the new eye candy we'll be getting for the summer as well as pursuing the possibility of getting an exclusive interview with the 'Boy who Saved us all'. Since you all are dying for some tips on how to snag the hunky hero it's my duty to inform you that we might be a little too late. Though it is not known how long Mr. Potter has been back with us it seems his ex-girlfriend, Ms. Ginny Weasley, has already made quick work of marking her territory. Our eye witness and resident photographer Emily Jorgins had this to say. "They were adorable together. Laughing and joking with each other like they'd spent no time apart, it's clear there is still insane chemistry with each other. At one point Ginny set her hand on Harry's arm and you could see the electricity in the air. It's a match made in heaven."
Ginny Weasley has been romantically attached to the Puddlemore United Seeker Henry Lewis for the past year and the duo was spotted out at a popular restaurant not even a week ago. I wonder if Henry knows how close his girlfriend is getting to her very famous ex? Whatever the case, all we have to say is whatever Ginny Weasley has over men, we'll take two!
To Do List:
1. Flew to Witch Weekly, kill Bethany Nelson.
2. Apparate to Burrow, kill Harry Potter.
3. Track down Emily Jorgins and the cut the bitch.
4. Apparate to Henry's and explain everything.
But before all that happens.
"None of this is even true! I wasn't even laughing at Harry I was laughing at my git of a brother they just made it out like we were like on a date or something. This fucking bitch…" I threw the magazine on the floor then proceeded to destroy it with my shoes, "…wants…to…fucking…die!"
Gwen lightly took my shoulders to stop my destructive mode.
"Calm down okay! I get it, it's not true. But you still could have told me he was back!" I took a few shaky breaths to steady my nerves. Be cool Ginny, I know you got that in you.
"It's really not that big of deal." That might have been the only time in the world that I couldn't pull off a lie. Gwen snorted; bending down to grab the pieces of what was her magazine and toss them into the trash.
"It's Harry. Harry will never not be a big deal for you." The truth of her words rang threw me. Why the hell did she have to be right?
"That's not true. I'm over him. I have been it's just that I don't want to see him is all." Not even I believed my own statement.
Gwen's gaze flicked over me in a knowing way that made me was to stare directly at the floor. "If that's the case then you wouldn't mind telling me what's the first thing you guys talked about?"
Damn. The crafty woman had me on that one.
"Uhhhhhhhhh…"
"HA! I knew it! You've been avoiding him like the plague!" Gwen shouted causing the other girls to stare at us like utter loons. I glared back, especially at Greta as as she slipped into the last available shower.
"I have not." I replied hotly.
"Yes you have. And in doing so you are giving him all the fuel he needs."
Infuriating woman. I'd rather not be humiliated anymore then I have in the last week.
Wait…
"What do you mean giving him fuel? I haven't been doing anything." Always the glutton for the juiciest gossip she dragged us both onto the benches in the corner her head bowed close to mine. At least this way no one could over hear our conversation. That reminded me that I needed to have a little chat with the other teammates about mentioning anything resembling my name to the members of the press. Now that soon to be dead Bethany Nelson had broken the story reporters would be swarming for anything they could get their hands on.
"Don't you see? By you avoiding him you are broadcasting that he is making you uncomfortable which he's going to think means you still have feelings for him which he's going to use to his advantage. " Realization dawned.
"Merlin! You're right!" Gwen beamed in pleasure. "I'm not going to give him the satisfaction that he's making me uncomfortable. It's my family. My best friends. I deserve to be there and who cares if he is. Whatever he can go jump off a cliff for all I care!" I wrestled open my locker door and smashed my things into my bag.
"Where are you going?" She asked surveying my smiling face.
"Home. I have to get dressed and then make a visit to the burrow. He's not the only one who can ruin lives."
"Who the hell is Henry Lewis?" I asked out loud, not really expecting any answer, just wanting to make my outrage known. My hands roughly spread out the article in Hermione's Witch Weekly and I wanted to run around and smash things.
"Lewis?" Ron responded from the kitchen. He appeared a moment later sauntering casually through the door a spoon buried in an open jar of peanut butter. "Brilliant Seeker, completely turned Puddlemore around."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Yeah Ron I got that." I motioned to the article in front of me and the redhead just nodded in understanding and amusement.
"Never took you for the Witch Weekly type mate."
I glowered as pushed the magazine away from me. "Don't even."
There was a short pause between us before Ron deemed my question with an actual response.
"Pretty nice Bloke, him and Ginny have been seeing each other for a while. Met him a few times, seemed alright in my books. "I could feel the anger welling up at me as he spoke. It shouldn't have felt like the ultimate betrayal, but it did. In my mind I was the only person right for Ginny so naturally I would expect my best friend to agree. That isn't particularly rational but I wasn't looking for rational right now. "If it makes you feel any better I don't think that they are serious about each other at all."
No, that doesn't make me feel better Ron.
"No, that doesn't make me feel better Ron." He spooned out another huge glob of peanut butter.
"You can't really tell me that you expected her to wait can you?" He stuffed the mountain into his mouth.
At this point it wouldn't have mattered what he was eating. What mattered was that he had gotten right to the point of what had been bothering the most since I got back. I had expected her to wait for me. I was the fool who thought that I could be the biggest asshole in the world to the best girl out there and expect to come back and…poof… there she'd be. I deserved this, I know I deserved this; but it wasn't making it any easier. It wasn't making me love her any less, to want her any less.
I didn't even know what this Henry character looked like but the image of him touching her, stroking her, kissing her, making love to her was driving me insane. There's no way I'm going to be able to meet this guy, I'd kill him. I'd straight up commit homicide and I wouldn't even be sad about it.
"Man you're starting to scare me you've been packing back and forth for the past five minutes."
I stopped pacing.
"What am I going to do?" I was a desperate for an answer to that very question.
"I don't know mate, maybe you should just forget about it." This was not the answer I was looking for. I heaved a sigh letting my hands slide across the cool top of the table.
"I can't do that."
"Can't do what?" I lunged backwards standing up to full height as I recognized the voice of the topic of conversation. She had dropped her bag on the floor and kicked it aside with her silver ballet flats. The same ones I noted that she had worn that day on the street. Her hair was curled loosely and was cascading down her back; her thin form was clung in a short black dress that flared at the thigh but cut low across her chest. She looked like something out of my dreams, out of my fantasies. She looked exactly how I would imagine she would before I ripped that dress clean off of her.
Neither Ron nor I answered and she walked up and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "I've got to get moms drop earrings for next week. Is she upstairs?"
I could do nothing but nod.
The unthinkable happened. "Thanks Harry." She quickly kissed my cheek then hopped out of the room towards the staircase. My hand came up to touch my cheek as I watched her legs bounce up the stairs.
The things I'd do to those legs if I had the chance…
Ron promptly began laughing from my right.
"What?" I asked warily.
"I do not envy you my friend. I do not envy you at all!" With another mouthful of peanut butter he shuffled off leaving me alone to contemplate what they hell he meant.
A/N: Things are officially heating up!
What do you think, is this story going to fast or do you think I should slow it down.
I'm hoping to have more of Harry's POV in the next one because the story thus far has been primarily Ginny.
Let me know what you think I would love your feedback!
I also want to thank everyone who has reviewed and favorited this story thus far. You are awesome!
I love you.
-Nurse Holliday
