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 7: Practice? We're Talking 'bout Practice?
"That was terrible!" Cabbock shouted across the pitch. "Do it again!"
Harry watched as the Chasters restarted the set piece Cabbock was drilling them on. It was the first day of training for the European Championship and Harry was flying lazy circles high above the pitch as he kept an eye out for the training Snitch. A short distance away the Beaters were casually batting a Bludger around as they warmed up.
"I don't care that we've got Harry Potter up there," Cabbock said as he continued his tirade. "If you three can't execute together then we might as well not even bother showing up because we sure as hell won't be coming home with any hardware!"
As Cabbock walked the Chasers through the play Harry kept his eyes firmly locked on Ginny to see how she would respond. He recognized that Cabbock's intention was to see just how far he could push Ginny since she was the relative newcomer to the team. He knew Cabbock had bitten off more than he could handle if he thought he could break Ginny just by yelling at her. He grinned to himself when he saw her face set in that familiar hard expression before she started on the play for a third time. Just like Harry expected, Ginny ran the play to perfection and capped it off by slamming the Quaffle past Howse.
"That's my girl," Harry said to himself very quietly. He then braced himself for what he knew was going to come next. If the first thing Cabbock had done was target the rookie, and the two players he knew, then there was only one logical place for his manufactured ire to go next.
"Potter!" Cabbock yelled.
Harry bit back a smile, it wouldn't do to antagonise the manager on the first day of practice. "Yes sir?"
"Are you going to do any training today? Or do you think you're too good for that sort of thing?"
"Just finishing my warmups now sir," Harry said to the manager. He spared a glance over at Ginny and saw that she was watching with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Well get on with it, Snitches don't catch themselves."
"Certainly sir," Harry said as he drew his wand and flicked it at the training Snitch, upping the difficulty to maximum. The Snitch rocketed straight up in the air and Harry tore after he. He counted to five then broke sharply, narrowly avoiding the Bludger that shot through the space he had previously occupied. As Harry expected, the Beaters were done with their warmups. He looked over at Prentiss. "Close but no cigar," he said to the Beater before returning to chase after the Snitch.
Of course tracking down a training Snitch, even one set on maximum while a pair of world class Beaters tried to knock him off his broom was no great challenge for Harry. For one thing neither Colbourn or Prentiss wanted to knock Harry out of the competition so they were not operating at full strength. This meant Harry could let his mind wander. Cabbock might accuse him of lollygagging, but Harry could always claim he was letting the Beaters get their reps in. Besides he was Harry Potter, and that gave him a certain degree of latitude, even with a manager as rigid as Cabbock.
Harry actually deeply respected the Canadian manager for precisely that reason. He treated all his players the same, and expected the same thing from all of them. Whether they were an all-time great like Westerman, or a member of the of the reserve squad who'd never get a sniff of the main lineup, all Cabbock wanted was for you to always play hard. If you didn't do that, no matter how high your wages were, you'd find yourself shipped out to another team at best, or on the street at worst. All Harry ever wanted from his teammates was that they cared as much about winning as he did, and to have a manager who felt the same was a tonic to Harry. Not that he had any real problems with the new manager of the Tornados, it was just Harry knew if he wanted to he could have the man replaced at a moment's notice. And the trouble was that the manager knew it too. That tilted power dynamic bothered Harry, but was unavoidable given his stature with the team.
Harry tossed his broom into a tight spiral to avoid another Bludger and caught sight of Ginny as she and the rest of the Chasers ran another drill. He was struck once again by just how poised and determined Ginny looked when she was on a broom. It was really no wonder Harry developed a terrible crush on her going into his sixth year. A crush he was unable to act on since she was seeing Dean at the time, and he was mates with her brother Ron. Ginny of course didn't give a toss about any of that and solved the problem neatly for Harry when she launched herself at him during that victory party. He could still recall the moment with perfect clarity. From the looks of grudging acceptance from Dean and Ron, to the almost ecstatic expressions on the faces of Neville, and Hermione Granger of all people. And of course there was that kiss. Harry was convinced no matter what else happened in his life he would remember every detail about that kiss until his dying day. It was, without a doubt, a perfect moment. Another Bludger passing perilously close to his head suggest to Harry that this was not a good time to reminisce. He applied more speed to this broom and closed his hand around the training Snitch.
"That was slow Potter!" Cabbock yelled up at Harry.
"Just trying out some new moves," Harry said. "Besides, I wanted to give Colbourn and Prentiss something to shoot at."
"Next time catch the Snitch as quickly as possible. If those two can't stop you I'll find some other way to make sure they get enough reps in."
Harry looked over at the two Beaters who were now glowering at him. He gulped when he realized they weren't about to hold back now. "I'll, I'll keep that in mind sir."
"See that you do. Now catch the Snitch again, and this time mean it."
Before he released the Snitch, Harry glanced back over to where the Chasers were practising and saw that they had all stopped what they were doing in favor of watching Cabbock upbraid Harry. He could tell that Ginny was taking particular pleasure in his situation. He made a mental note to be sure to fly as close to where the Chasers were training as possible. They needed practice ducking Bludgers too he reasoned. He also realised that playing alongside Ginny again was going to be far more difficult than he originally thought.
"I'm going to need an inside source," Harry thought to himself as he corkscrewed after the training Snitch.
The next night Harry sat in the back of a Muggle pub in Camden waiting for his source to arrive.
"Harry!" Ron Weasley said from the front of the pub.
"Ron!" Harry said with equal enthusiasm. He stood up from his table and walked over to meet Ron. The two men shared a brief hug before walking back to Harry's table. Ron indicated to the barman he'd have what Harry was drinking and sat down.
"Harry Potter," Ron said again. "I haven't seen you in, Merlin, how long has it been?"
"Since before you were married," Harry said. "Congratulations by the way, I can't apologise enough for missing the wedding."
"No need," Ron said as he waved his hand dismissively. "You had that North American exhibition tour, and not even Harry Potter can get out of contractual obligations."
"Well I can," Harry said. "Just not ones worth that many Galleons."
"Ginny had to pitch an unholy fit to get out of the Harpies' tour and she was both my sister and Hermione's maid of honour! Besides Hermione and I were already married in everything but name by that point. The ceremony was just so my mum would stop forcing Hermione to sleep in Ginny's room when we visited the Burrow."
Harry laughed as he remembered the stories the Weasley children would tell of their stern, traditional, but loving mum. Based on his own handful of encounters with Molly Weasley, Harry did not find Ron's story all that farfetched. "Even so, I really did want to be there. I'm sure the stag night was spectacular with Fred and George planning it."
"What little I remember of it," Ron said with a chuckle. He took a sip of his beer before speaking again. "So Harry, what did you want to know about Ginny?"
Harry felt his face heat. "Ron, that's not…can't a bloke catch up with an old schoolmate?" he said.
Ron bit back a smile. "He can, but when that bloke owls said mate out of the blue after years of silence, and the bloke in question just happened to be named to the same Quidditch squad as the mate's baby sister. A baby sister who the bloke dated, and whose heart the bloke broke." Harry glanced down embarrassed at his glass at Ron's comment. "Well, the mate is capable of adding two and two together. So let's not pretend this is anything but what it is."
"Ron, mate, I'm sorry. I don't want you to think I have any ulterior motives. It really is good to see you again, it's been far, far too long."
"Don't worry Harry. I'm not mad at you. Despite what you might think I have been busy the past decade."
Harry said. "I'm well aware what you've been up to with the twins Ron."
"Relax Harry, I was just taking the piss. It's not everyday I can get Harry Potter to apologise for something."
"Now I'm starting to regret that donation I made to S.P.E.W. for your wedding present," Harry said into his beer.
"Don't be, it was a brilliant gift. Hermione appreciated it far more than a set of tea towels, or any of those crazy Muggle contraptions her family gave us."
"That's a relief. I was afraid you'd think it was crass."
"Believe me Harry, she's put your money to more use than the pressure cooker she got from her aunt."
"I'm glad, it's a good cause," Harry said, and he meant it. While he had not been a vocal supporter of Hermione's when they were at school, he admired her willingness to take a stand. He also made sure his dad knew whatever Hermione's latest cause was, and on occasion James Potter saw fit to bring the matter to the Minister's attention.
"If you really thought that you'd show up at one of her fund raisers."
"And ruin my dilettante image?" The two men chuckled over their beer for a moment. "If she does need anymore money just send Sirius and owl and he'll see that she gets whatever she needs."
"She gets more than enough from Ginny and the twins," Ron said to Harry. "And on that note, you've fulfilled your social nicety obligation and are free to ask me what called me here to ask." Ron then took a self-satisfied drink from his glass.
Harry sighed deeply, then decided to bite the bullet. "Does Ginny still hate me?" He asked in a quiet voice.
"You don't beat around the bush do you?" Harry shrugged in response. "Why do you want to know that anyway?"
"I just do," Harry said.
"And here I thought you just wanted to know if she was dating anyone," Ron said with a chuckle. "She isn't by the way. But does she hate you?" Ron leaned back in his chair. "Hell Harry, that would require her to have an opinion about you, and as far as I know she hasn't even mentioned your name in years. So no, to set your mind at ease I don't think she hates you. Though I also doubt she's your biggest fan. Why do you want to know? Looking to try again with her?"
"No nothing like that," Harry said. "I just want to know where I stand with her. This is going to be some of the most important Quidditch of my carreer, and I'd like to be able to enjoy it. I've already won a House Cup while the best Chaser on the team hated me. I'd rather not repeat that, for both our sakes."
"All I can tell you mate is that she doesn't plot your downfall on a daily basis. Anything more than that you'll have to ask her yourself." Ron finished his beer and stood up. "Thanks for the drink, and keep in touch," he said to Harry before walking out of the pub leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.
Author's Notes: Okay, so before I pass out from a week of rock star partying (not an exaggeration, 4 nights, 4 shows, three cities), here's a chapter of table setting and team building. I do giggle at the idea that the chapter title is a commentary about the contents of the chapter, and if you know where the quote is from good for you! So, uh, I guess you guys didn't quite go the last chapter eh? Perfectly fair, I did a pretty lousy job of selling just how stuck Ginny was in that moment, and the pressure they both felt to present the proper image towards the world of professional Quidditch (to draw on a real world example look at the way the sports media treated Johnny Manziel's antics when he was still in college). Anyway thanks again for reading, and for leaving negative reviews (that just tells me you folks are engaging with the material). We'll do it again next week.
-sam
