How was your week? Mine has been quite eventful and I am so glad it is finally Fri-yay, plus it's a long weekend here (double yay). Due to the double yay, I have decided to post not one, but two chapters. I hope all of you have a nice weekend and do enjoy reading.
Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling.
Chapter Seven
The morning was uncharacteristically cold, for a September. It was also rather foggy. But no weather may deny the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain of her daily practice, rain or shine. Although at this moment, Ginny would rather stay in bed. But, considering the tryout session was due at the end of September, and she did not want to lose her place in the team regardless of her captaincy, the redhead coaxed and argued with herself to get her butt down to the Quidditch pitch.
The four Quidditch Captains were initially furious when McGonagall forbade them from holding the tryouts earlier. However, once the Headmistress explained that during the previous year Quidditch was quite…disastrous, and a lot of students were absent from school and went into hiding, she wanted to give everybody extra time to adjust to school life before re-starting the Quidditch season again. Although Ginny could see her point, that did not mean the redhead had to be happy about it. She missed playing the game so much and could not wait to play again. McGonagall also promised there would be some changes to the matches, which worried the Captains. However, the Headmistress would not divulge them any information until the first week of October, when the teams had been formed. To Ginny, it sounded ominous.
She shook her head, clearing her mind from such worries. She glanced up at the sky and noted the speed at which the clouds were moving. The wind would pose a challenge today. Ginny took a deep breath and jogged around the pitch. Her mind was filled with plans and strategies for the upcoming season. The redhead was most worried about practice: should she continue what her predecessors had done, or should she create her own regime from scratch? She was well aware that the past six years, having Harry and her twin brothers in the team contributed greatly to Gryffindor's victories. For this year, she had no idea whether she would get gems. She supposed she could always be the Seeker if there was no competent one turning up, but if she was the only excellent one in the team, she would face an extremely difficult year ahead. The pressures of getting the Snitch before the other team starts scoring would get to her. She fervently hoped that she would get at least a couple of prodigies. Having no proper matches for the past year had left many Gryffindors rusty.
But what if she got a terrible team? What would she do then? Surely her predecessors' methods would not be that effective. Ginny briefly considered asking Hermione for advice before she shook away that thought. What would Hermione know anything about sports? The Head Girl could even barely fly. Ginny despaired. She did not want to be known as the Captain Who Failed. That would not be helpful when she applied for the Harpies later.
The fog had cleared a little and Ginny decided she should practice her flying maneuvers. She mounted her Firebolt - well, not hers technically. Harry had insisted to lend it to her before he went for his Auror training, asking her to win the Cup for him, since he would not be returning to Hogwarts. She had refused, but Harry pointed out to her that without the Firebolt and Harry, the Gryffindor team would be at a huge disadvantage. He begged her until she got irritated and finally relented. Ginny grudgingly admitted that Harry did have a point. They could not lose, especially to the Slytherins who were backed by rich parents.
During the summer, Ginny had practiced maneuvers for Chasers, Seekers, and Keepers. She felt that she needed to at least have a basic understanding of playing for each position to be able to be a good captain. She wished George was there too, so that she could learn a thing or two from him. But she knew her brother was still grieving for his twin, so she did not disturb George. She idly wondered whether there were any books teaching about Beater moves, and decided to ask Hermione for help. When it came to books, Hermione was the sniffing hound you would want.
Ginny decided to practice the Wronski Feint maneuver from different height levels. While the move would not serve any purpose for a Chaser, she believed it improved her agility, especially to avoid Bludgers. She started from ten meters and worked her way up, adding ten meters for each attempt. When she was at fifty meters, she decided to increase her speed, zooming downwards.
"That's so cool!"
Ginny nearly lost her concentration but managed to avoid slamming to the ground. She returned to a normal flight level, looking around for the source of the voice. She then spotted a certain one-eyed pirate, grinning and waving madly from the stands.
"Captain Hook!"
Ginny flew to the Slytherin, unsure whether to yell or to be happy with the interruption.
"What're you doing out here, missy?"
Tristane's smile faltered.
"Uh, am I disturbing you, Gin?"
Ginny decided that a break was in order anyway.
"Nah, I'm just surprised. Wasn't expecting you here. Is Malfoy here as well?"
Tristane suddenly shifted nervously.
"Um, no. He's not. I'm alone here. Well, not alone cause you're obviously here too." Seeing the annoyed look on Ginny's face, Tristane hastily added, "Look, Gin, please don't get mad at me. I just needed some space. I've been here for three weeks but the only time I have to myself is whenever I go to the bathroom! I know you guys mean well and don't want me to get lost and stuff, but I need my own space as well."
Ginny sighed. None of them had told Tristane what really happened and why they were being overly protective of the Slytherin, not wanting to frighten her unnecessarily.
"How did you manage to shake the dogs off anyway?" Ginny was still hovering in the air.
Tristane grinned mischievously, making her looked like she was a Slytherin.
"The only roommate who is a light sleeper is Daphne, and she was taking her time in the loo. So I thought I'd take the chance to sneak out. I tend to close the curtains around my bed when I sleep, so I guess they won't notice I'm missing till I'm back."
Ginny laughed at that. She could imagine the whole Slytherin House in panic mode, turning the castle upside down to find their princess.
"Well, as you said, you're not alone now, so no harm done. But why did you come here to the pitch?"
"It's a random thing, really. But when I saw you swooping down repeatedly, I thought it was cool, so I came nearer to see better. I have only one eye, you see, so I can't really see properly."
"Have you flown before?"
Tristane shook her head.
"Fly with me."
Tristane looked a bit uncertain, but she let Ginny helped her mount the broom, sitting in front of the redhead.
"I'm a good flyer, so I won't let you fall," Ginny assured her.
Tristane gave a tiny nod but Ginny, sitting behind, could not see it. Without warning, Ginny directed the Firebolt up high, angle so steep that Tristane started praying to all deities she knew. They were on top of the tallest Hogwarts tower when Ginny decided to level the broom. The redhead then realised Tristane was shaking.
"Merlin, I'm so sorry, Tris! I just wanted to get us up in the sky quickly, didn't mean to frighten you."
"I'm o-o-o-kkkay, G-g-ginnn."
Ginny noticed that the Slytherin was only wearing a jumper, which was not warm enough for morning flights. The redhead took off her Quidditch robe and draped it around the shivering witch. Ginny inched forward, closing the distance they had. She wrapped an arm around Tristane' waist, and the other hand held the broom firmly.
"To keep you warm," she murmured next to Tristane's ear. The Slytherin just nodded, but her shivering lessened.
Ginny directed the Firebolt to move forward at a lazy pace. They flew over the castle and around the school grounds, watching its inhabitants rising to greet a new day. Ginny flew them alongside several incoming owls, and Tristane tried to chat the birds up. The owls mostly ignored them, although there was one irritated fowl that attempted to peck them. Ginny swore at the bird and changed direction, deciding the owls were not worth it.
Ginny had no idea how long they spent flying, but she knew there would be no practice for her today. She did not mind, though. She felt at ease and, for the first time since Voldemort attacked the Burrow for Fleur and Bill's wedding, she felt happy.
If the previous day had been a good day for Hermione, the day after her birthday was the exact opposite. It started with the Pirates dragging her out of her bed to search for a missing Tristane Black, who in turn, happened to be perfectly safe and secure flying with Ginny. That resulted in a yelling match between everybody involved (mainly Draco, Hermione, Tristane, and Ginny) until Professor Flitwick scolded them. He took points off from Gryffindor and Slytherin, to Hermione's eternal embarrassment. She was the Head Girl, dammit! How could she lose house points? She was mad at the Slytherins and Ginny for that.
She refused to speak with Tristane in class aside from what was necessary ('slice this warthog brain'), and ignored Tristane's attempts to apologise. Hermione took her meals at the Hall that day and avoided the Pirates as much as possible. She even managed to dodged Ginny, which was quite a feat for the definitely not athletic bookworm.
To make matters worse, neither Harry nor Ron seemed to remember her birthday. Hermione wrote weekly letters to Harry (not Ron - she was still furious with him), but had gotten no replies. At first she chalked it up to Harry being busy with Auror training. But when there was no birthday wish even to the day after her birthday, Hermione knew she must have done something so bad. Why must the Trio have a falling out every single year? Even during the War, they managed to bicker. Sometimes she wondered what kind of friendship they had.
She hid in the library, deciding to forgo dinner. She was, after all, not hungry. She was deep in her History of Magic essay when someone sat next to her, bumping her hand in the process. There was a long line across her neat essay. Hermione turned to that person.
"You git, see what you've done!" she hissed at a smirking blond.
"Oh come off it, Hermione, you're too tense," Draco drawled.
"Why are you here?"
"I still have three hours left in my quota for the day. Can't miss it, baby." He took out a book and began to read.
Hermione snatched the book away.
"Tell your cousin that you have filled that quota for today. Go away!"
Draco gently pried the book from the brunette's hands.
"No can do, Hermione. Imagine the scandal if people notice you're alone here without me."
Hermione blushed at that. There were rumours circulating the student body that the two Heads were dating. Some said that Draco had laced Hermione's food with Love Potion; others claimed that they had always been star-crossed lovers but had to hide their true feelings (Hermione suspected Shakespeare had something to do with that one). A few came up with a nasty theory speculating that with Voldemort gone, the Malfoys needed good publicity while Hermione was tired of life and wanted an easy life, so they exchanged services. A few Slytherins made it a point to irritate Hermione (she assumed they were Draco's fans). Fortunately, since they thought the two were currently dating, none of the Slytherins dared to raise a wand against her. They only bitched and gossiped about her.
"News of our 'breakup' won't be a scandal, Draco," she replied coolly.
"Well, at least your friends will be happy," he remarked.
Hermione frowned. For some unknown reason, the only person who had been friendly with her was Neville. He had come to her one day after Herbology and quietly told her that regardless of her choice, he would support her to the end. Hermione had been touched by his gesture and was glad at least there was one person who let her be herself, even if the rumours were untrue. She felt hurt that even with her sacrifices during the War, people were still judgmental toward her.
"Friends would be there for their friends no matter what happens," she snapped.
Draco took a long, hard look at her.
"I take it that neither Potter nor Weasel King are happy with your 'newfound happiness'?"
Hermione sighed and leaned back.
"I haven't heard from them at all. If they have heard us 'dating', I'm pretty sure they'd be barging through the door and hexing you to oblivion."
Draco opened his book and started flipping the pages slowly.
"Funny, isn't it, that we Slytherins were condemned for being judgmental toward non-purebloods, yet nobody says anything about Gryffindors being judgmental toward you, the Head Girl, war hero, instrumental in Voldemort's downfall, and brightest witch of your age? They don't even try to find out whether the rumours are true."
Hermione massaged her temple. She would need to go to Madam Pomfrey's for her headache.
"Not this again, Draco," she groaned. "I get it, everyone are prejudiced to something. Nobody is purely good, and nobody is purely bad. Can we not do this right now?"
Draco shrugged. "Just saying."
Hermione then noticed the book he was holding seemed to be familiar.
"Why are you reading Hamlet? Since when does Draco Malfoy reads Muggle literature?"
Draco shot her a dark look.
"Tristane gave this book to me," he muttered. "I can't possibly tell her I've read it when I don't. I won't be able to answer her questions."
Hermione giggled.
"The great Draco Malfoy can't say no to a harmless girl?"
The giggles turned to laughter.
"Careful, Hermione, I may actually lace your food with Love Potion and make the rumours true."
Hermione stifled her laughter.
"Alright, alright. I'll stop laughing at you. Is she that important to you?"
"She's family, Hermione. Of course she is."
Draco looked at her as if her intelligence was decreasing.
"Well, Professor Tonks is your aunt but you won't even chat with her."
Draco turned a page.
"She's not my family anymore, Hermione. If my mother reconciles with her, then I will change my stance. Tristane is like my sister."
Hermione looked at him curiously.
"Have you known her for a long time? I mean, the Wizarding world just found out this summer."
Draco turned to another page.
"I found out this summer as well."
"That's not a long time at all. Why are you so protective of her? I mean, I get it, she could be in danger, but what you're doing is more than protecting her. You guys are very close."
Draco was silent for a moment.
"What is your point, Hermione?"
"Just saying, Draco, just saying."
She returned to her essay but her mind was on Tristane. The Black Heiress and Draco had just known each other for a couple of months, but he had been acting like an overzealous brother. Hermione had assumed that Tristane's existence was a well-kept secret and that Draco had known her for a long time. The Head Girl found it interesting and would share this bit of information with Ginny. Perhaps the redhead could use it to dig more information from the one-eyed witch.
