A/N – Takes place a few months after Part 6. I pictured Parts 1 – 6 spread out over December and January, and this Part in late May. Thanks to my beta Thoth for all her help.

Part 7 – Finding A Balance

Prompt # 7 – red

Returning from the little kitchenette of his small flat, Ron handed Harry one of the two Butterbeers he was carrying, before he flopped down on an old worn out recliner. "You ready?" Ron asked after twisting the cap off and flipping it onto cluttered coffee table.

"I doubt I'll even play," Harry answered as he opened his own beer. "Robins' the starter. So unless he goes down, I probably won't see much action."

"Robins is over rated," Ron muttered as he took a long drink from his bottle.

Harry simply chuckled. "You just don't like him because he plays for United," he teased Ron. "He's played in the last three World Cups, and almost every other major international competition. He's a proven player; I've only seen spot action here and there."

"He's still a bum," Ron reaffirmed Harry of his opinion. "I don't see him taking the Cannons from the bottom of table back to a team who is going to challenge for the title next year.

"What has he won anyway? It used to be a honor to wear the English red jersey. Now, we can barely get out of the first round. He always seems to blow it in that crucial moment. It's time to give way to someone who can close the game; it's your turn now. Euro '04 is your stage to shine and show that you're the Seeker now.

"You've been getting most of the attention at practice, and rightfully so. Even at his prime, you're a better flyer than Robins. If you don't let those bigger Seekers, like Krum, knock you off, you're going to run them into the ground. In no time, you'll be wearing the Captain's band again."

Grinning at his best friend, Harry simply shook his head. When it came to Quidditch, Ron could be fanatical about it. "Ron, mate, you missed your calling. You should've gotten in to Quidditch somehow. I can just see you stalking the sidelines, barking orders at everyone."

"Yea, well," Ron said his chest puffed out a little. "What can I say; I have a mind for Quidditch. Which is why you should be bringing me along."

Harry let out a laugh. "You want to be the one to tell Katie she can't go to Italy?" he asked him rhetorically. "When you do, watch out for that right jab. You'll never see it coming."

"Fine," Ron said disappointedly. Propping his feet up on the table and crossing his arms over his chest, "What's she got that I don't?"

Looking at him for a moment, Harry gave him a look. "You mean, besides the obvious?"

Ron snorted and shook his head. "Thinking about that, when you should really be focused on playing in one of the most important tournaments of your life." Slowly a grin formed on Ron's face. "You been to Diagon Alley lately?"

"No," Harry answered slowly. "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"I was headed to the twins' shop the other day, and I passed Quality Quidditch Supplies. They have this big display up in their window; jerseys, posters, other random little junk. I stepped inside, just for a moment of course," he said sarcastically. They both knew that neither of them simply stayed a moment in that store. They were like Hermione in a bookstore, browsing and comparing for hours on the littlest things.

"I got to talking to one of the sales witches, I asked her if they had any Potter jerseys," Ron told him as his grin got wider. "She said they couldn't keep anything Potter related in stock, especially the Red 7.

"Then, you should've heard the little kids talking about how you were going to vanquish Krum like you did Voldermort. They were grabbing the last Potter posters, and-"

"Enough," Harry told him, trying to glare dangerously at the laughing Ron. "You get too much fun out of this. Makes me almost wish for the old days when you were grumpy and jealous."

"I got more than my fill after the end," Ron said seriously. "How is Katie handling it?"

"She's… getting used to it.

"I thought she was going to blow a blood vessel when she first read Witches Weekly around Valentines. You thought I wanted to take out the Prophet? You should've seen her," Harry joked.

With Ron looking at him with a smug grin, Harry put his empty Butterbeer bottle on the table. "What?"

"Nothing," Ron answered, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Hermione's right," he said softly as he got up, heading towards the kitchenette to get another round of Butterbeers.

"About?" Harry asked cautiously as he drained the few remaining drops from his first bottle.

"You," Ron said over his shoulder. "That you're in love," Ron told Harry as he came back with two new bottles. "At first I thought she was a bit off, but you have been a lot calmer lately, defiantly more relaxed. Plus, look how you've been playing lately. You were good before, but now, you've brought your game up to a whole new level.

"That Wronski Feint you pulled against Wimbourne," Ron mused, letting out a low whistle. "And that corkscrew against Pride."

Harry shook his head with a smirk. Ron was going off on a tangent again, and Harry had learned to just let him go. It's easier in the end to just let him ramble. Settling back with his second Butterbeer, Harry half listened to Ron but his mind also wondered a little.

Love? Harry thought to himself with a smirk. He wasn't even sure what love was. Maybe. Defiantly worth finding out though.

As Katie lounged on the large king size bed of their suite in Verona, Italy, she watched Harry slowly pace about with an amused smile. The tournament had gone well for Harry. He had been inserted as the starter right before England's first match, and had flown easily through the group stage. In the knockout stage, they had easily beaten Denmark and had gotten past Spain, to advance to the final.

This was England's first finals appearance in any major tournament in the past half century, and, naturally, the press was chomping at the bit. But that wasn't what had Harry wound up so much. It was who England was scheduled to play; Bulgaria and one, Victor Krum.

This was the first time that two Seekers would face each other in competition since the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and Potter vs Krum sent the Quidditch world in to a feeding frenzy.

For the past day and a half, every other person they had seen was either clad in the Bulgaria black or the English red. Everytime Harry tried to walk about, he would be swarmed by fans. Harry had probably signed his name to hundreds different items, ranging from miniature English flags to replicas of his own jersey, the Red 7.

He's anxious, too much nervous energy, Katie thought to herself as she watched Harry mime various moves as he walked about. If he keeps it up, he'll be exhausted long before tomorrow night. If he's not going to sit still, and relax, he needs to find a proper outlet for all this…energy. A wide mischievous smile spread across Katie's lips.

"Harry," Katie called out, making him stop in the middle of an awkward motion that she guessed was supposed to be some kind of spin.

For a brief moment, Harry was annoyed that he had been pulled from his thoughts. But, Harry found it hard to stay that way as he looked at the blonde on the bed. Clad in a simple pair of small, khaki shorts and thin red tank top, Harry fought the urge to go over and play with every curve of her body.

Damn witch, Harry thought sarcastically. His eyes had naturally found themselves studying her legs.

While she no longer played Quidditch, she did occasionally train with him. You're more motivated if you're with someone than doing it alone, he remembered her telling him.

Chasers used brooms that were built for speed, and their riders relied on their leg strength to keep their balance and maneuver their brooms with the Quaffle in their hands. Harry's mind reminded him of how well Katie could handle a broom, and quickly found his imagination giving him an image of Katie's legs wrapped around something other than a broom.

Snickering, Katie looked at him curiously; even though she pretty much knew what was going on in his head. "And what's with the cheesy grin?" she teased.

"Temptress," Harry muttered and grinned a little when Katie laughed at him.

"You need to relax," Katie told him, repeating the same line everyone had been telling him for the past forty eight hours, ever since Bulgaria routed France.

"I am relaxed," Harry whined.

"Then why are you bouncing off the walls?" she asked rhetorically. Rolling his eyes, he slowly walked towards her. "I don't think I've ever seen you this nervous since your first match."

"I've never played against anyone like Victor before," Harry said.

With Harry standing in front of her, Katie casually looked up at him. "So, answer me this, who's the first girl you felt anything for?" Katie asked out of the blue. "Hermione? Oh, I bet I know. Cho, right?"

Harry's head jerked back slightly, Like that's not a loaded question. What does that have to do with anything? It's got to be a trick. "What?"

"The last thing you need to be doing is thinking about Quidditch, and, well, I'm curious," Katie told him. "So, who?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, and let out an aggravated breath. "Fine, umm," Harry said than paused, followed by a small snicker.

"Who?" Katie asked again, getting more intrigued.

"Remember, you asked," Harry said, going on the defensive. Katie gave him an annoyed look. "Alicia."

Katie sat there for a moment, surprised to say the least. "I'm gob smacked. Alicia?"

"She's the first girl I ever saw naked," Harry said cautiously. "Back in third year, after practice, the twins, you see, shoved me in to the girls changing area, and I… I caught a glimpse of her coming out of the bath."

Do I dare tell Leesh? It'd be for a great laugh, but the twins would be dead men walking.

Taking the silence the wrong way, Harry grew nervous. "I mean, it wasn't my fault, and I only caught a glimpse," he tried to explain. Katie grinned up at him, and he knew he was just digging himself deeper. She wasn't upset, but she'd certainly remember this little piece of information, if only to tease him about it later.

He may have been distracted for a moment, but he's still a ball of energy, Katie thought as she watched Harry shift his weight back and forth while playing with his hands, rubbing the joints of his fingers. I think I can find a better release for all this pent up energy.

"If you don't stop, you're going cause yourself a mischief," she told him as she reached out, took a hold of his wrists, and drew him closer to her. Resting her chin against his chest, she looked up at him. Playfully, tugging at his red and white training shorts, "We need to find a way to get you to relax."

"I know," Harry mumbled, letting his hands fall on to her shoulders, letting his fingertips touch the thin red straps of her tanktop. "I'm gonna go for a spin. Maybe that'll clear my head."

Tightening her grip on his shorts as he tried to move away, Katie looked up at him like he was bonkers. "You are not going flying, much less at eight o'clock at night." She then fell backwards, dragging Harry over the top of her. As they fell back on to the bed in a heap, Katie playfully kissed Harry's throat. "Especially, when I can come up with a much better idea."

Four days, and a hard fought victory, later, Harry sat at the small kitchen table in Alicia and Katie's apartment, letting Alicia do another personal interview on him.

"After winning the European Championships, what are you going to do now?" Alicia asked.

Harry simply shrugged. "Relax for a bit, before camp starts," he answered. Then with a small grin, "Someone's been hinting about a trip to Atlantis."

Alicia snickered as Katie playfully elbowed Harry's ribs. "You've been playing like a man possessed since the New Year. Any reason for the improvement? Change in training? Technique? Routine?" Alicia asked, leading him on.

Harry smirked, knowing what she was after. "Just a change in outlook, I guess." Glancing over at Katie, the smirk faded to a small grin. "I still love playing, and see myself playing for a few more years, but I'm enjoying the other things in my life now. Maybe, I'm finally finding some kind of balance or something.

"Ultimately," Harry said as he leaned back, and Katie placed her hand over his. "I'm starting to realize that there can be more to my life, our life, than just playing Quidditch."