Detailed Harpies Roster
Seeker: Gemma Holloway 04
Chaser I: Ginny Weasley 08
Chaser II: Giovanna Rossi 09
Chaser III: Gloria Collins 15
Beater I: Gwenog Jones 05
Beater II: Giselle Rose 02
Keeper: Allegra Gregg 12
Reserve Seeker: Leah Price 11
Reserve Chasers: Gia Piazza 14, Bettina Greco 07, Catherine Green 17
Reserve Beaters: Grace Williams 01, Georgina Harrison 16
Reserve Keeper: Gale Bennett 03
Chapter VIII
Ginny awoke while it was still dark outside. She untangled her limbs from Harry's and slid off the mattress almost quietly enough to not awake Harry. Harry's hand caught her wrist as she stood. He blinked a few times and then squinted up at her face. Good thing he can't see without his glasses, I must look a fright.
Harry let out a horse whisper, "You leaving?"
"Yeah before the house wakes up and sees me in your bed. Plus, I need to pack and stretch."
Harry smirked. A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. "I wouldn't mind watching."
Ginny playfully rolled her eyes, "I can tell." She glanced down at Harry's lap and blushed furiously. Harry on the other hand didn't look embarrassed at all. He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back on the bed, quirking an eyebrow as a silent invitation. Ginny bent to kiss his nose and quickly left the room before she changed her mind. She snuck down the stairs and into her room without encountering anyone.
She opened her wardrobe and pulled out a trunk half the size of her old Hogwarts trunk. It was dark green and had gold flowers painted along the edges. She flipped open the brass latches and began to pack her clothes for the World Cup. She had four changes of her game day uniform, pajamas, jeans, Holyhead t-shirts, and a number of green dresses. On trips like this, they were expected to represent the team the entire time. It meant that all of the Harpies would be on their best behavior. It translated to a few rules. Rule number one – do not dress like a slag at any point in time. The press could be watching. Rule number two – if you have overnight visitors, they must stay in your room. There would be absolutely no walks of shame for the Harpies. The press could be watching. Rule number three – alcohol is permitted in small doses. Do not get drunk or pissed. The press could be watching. Rule number four – do not talk to the press or game commentators. Several fights had broken out amongst teams because of a snarky comment that a player had no right in saying in the first place. The press could be watching. Other than that, the Harpies could do as they pleased when they weren't on the pitch.
She grabbed her robe and got in the shower before the rest of the house needed to do the same. She quickly shaved her legs and washed her hair. She toweled off, put her robe on, and brushed her teeth. As soon as the toothpaste touched her teeth, someone started banging on the bathroom door. Times like this make me think it wouldn't be so bad to move out. She irritatingly flung the door open and continued to brush her teeth. George was in the hallway, looking like a four year old, dancing around on the landing. Ginny automatically slowed down her toothbrush, watching her brother squirm. He still had a bit of mascara smeared around his eyes from the previous evening's bet. "Ginerva. If you don't move out of the way, I'll piss in front of you." Ginny spit out her toothpaste and joyfully skipped to her room, hearing the bathroom door slam shut behind her.
She dressed in her practice clothes, and quickly braided her hair out of her face. She grabbed her trunk and apparated it downstairs. She gave George a start, who then dropped his cup of tea, breaking the cup and splattering tea everywhere. "Shite! Ginny! What did you do that for?"
"I'm not lugging this down the staircase. And that's karma for all the times you and Fred did the exact same thing to us." She ignored the swear words that George was not mumbling quietly enough as he mended the tea cup and mopped up his tea. Molly was all ready up and making oatmeal. She ladled out a bowl and handed it to Ginny. "Morning, Ginny."
"Morning, Mum. Thanks." She sat down into a chair and shoveled the oatmeal into her mouth at the same speed of her brothers. George joined her with a fresh cup of tea and a bowl of oatmeal. Harry wandered into the kitchen, dressed in blue jeans and a Holyhead Harpies shirt with "WEASLEY" printed across his shoulders. He smiled at Ginny first and told everyone good morning. Ginny was all ready feeling mischievous from annoying George so early in the morning. She asked Harry, "Harry, would you like to be the happiest man on Earth? Shall I get you a cup of tea?"
George and Molly exchanged confused glances while Harry blushed and nodded. "That would be nice, Ginny. Thanks."
Ginny smirked and deposited her bowl in the sink before fixing Harry his tea. She placed it in front of his oatmeal and kissed his cheek. "Right. I've got to catch a port key and warm up to beat some Transylvanians. See you lot later."
"Good luck!" they called as she apparated with her trunk to the port key site. One of the Harpies beaters, Giselle Rose and their keeper, Allegra Gregg were all ready there, waiting with their trunks. Allegra was munching on a piece of toast. Giselle looked slightly nervous, but managed to strike up a conversation about the expected weather in Italy, the site for the World Cup. Well, technically, it was on a tiny island off the coast of Sicily, called Vulcano. The population was quite small, so it was easy to secure a remote spot between two large volcanoes to build a quidditch pitch with a number of muggle repelling charms. People who did not want to camp out in the valleys of the volcanoes could stay in hotels and villas that lined the coast of Vulcano. The weather was predicted to be sunny for the first part of the cup but stormy for the finals.
An alarm went off on the Harpies' watches, startling Allegra, who shoveled the crust of her toast into her mouth. They grabbed their trunks and bent down to touch a newspaper. Ginny felt a familiar tug from behind her navel as she moved from England to Italy. When she opened her eyes, she was on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. On any other circumstances she would have sunbathed and gone shopping, but they were here on business. They picked up their trunks and made their way through a few aisles of tents that had all ready been set up. While all of the players' tents had already been put up, general admittance to the public was not permitted until noon. The first game of the World Cup would star the Holyhead Harpies and the Transylvanians from Romania. The second game would be between Peru and Ireland. Ireland barely got into the cup and was not expected to last long. The third game would be between Japan and France. Japan was expected squash France easily. The fourth game would be between the Sweetwater All-Stars from Texas and the Tutshill Tornados. Ginny predicted the Texans would win that match. She would also be interested to see how many Tornado fans would turn coats and root for the Harpies if and when the Tornados were defeated. It was impossible to really predict how long each match would take. It was entirely up to the seekers. It could take anywhere from a few minutes to a several months. The longest game ever took a record of six months.
They made their way to the large dark green tent. It was obviously enchanted to hold a large amount of people. It had three bedrooms with bunk beds. All of the beds had identical golden yellow linens. A large kitchen and living room lead to all of the bedrooms. A long bathroom that resembled the one inside Harpies changing room was located at the back of the tent, connecting to each of the bedrooms. It wasn't glamorous, but it was comfortable.
Gloria Collins, a fellow chaser, was on her way out of the tent as the girls entered. "Best hurry. We need to stretch and warm up. No telling when the dumb Romanians will get here." Ginny, Allegra, and Giselle dumped their trunks in the bedroom on the right and hurried to the pitch. The rest of the team was there, including the reserves. To Ginny's relief, they had just started their series of stretches. Ginny enjoyed the familiar pull of her muscles waking up as she slowly stretched her body. The girls finished stretching and ran two laps around the pitch before they mounted their broomsticks and tore into the early morning sky. Half way through a passing drill with her other chasers, the Transylvanians arrived. They all had very dark hair and looked exceptionally grumpy. Ginny pulled her broom alongside of Gloria's. "You think we could use sex appeal to distract them?" She waggled her eyebrows at Gloria comically. Gloria giggled, "Ask Gwenogg if that's against the rules. Not like they wouldn't do it themselves if they had sex appeal greater than a pygmy puff." Ginny burst out laughing and flew to her previous position to resume the passing drill. They were already practicing plays by the time Transylvania got into the sky. They started their mind games immediately. The Harpies were expecting no less. For the most part, they were reserving their best material for the game, but occasionally a bludger would "accidentally" tear into their half of the stadium which always seemed to come close to hitting one of the Harpies. When practice was winding down, Ginny pulled up next to Gwenogg. "Gwenogg, is there anything in the rule book about using sex appeal to distract the opposing team?"
Gwenogg dropped the quaffle she was holding. She stared at it as it plummeted to the grass below. "I…I don't think so. But don't do it unless you absolutely have too. And nothing too slaggy, okay Weasley?"
Ginny grinned, "I'm not a slag. I'm a Harpy."
Gwenogg returned her smile and blew her whistle to signal the conclusion of the practice. The start of the first match was scheduled to start in an hour and a half. Gwenogg gave a heavy pep talk and list of strategies. She briefed the Harpies on the strengths and weaknesses on each of the starting Transylvanians. Ginny had provided about half of the strengths and weaknesses to Gwenogg. Her chest swelled with pride as she heard her own observations being shared with the team. The Harpies trailed back into the tent. The tents around the pitch had multiplied since they had entered the pitch. They made their way slowly back to their tent, making their way through fans and other team's fans. They were photographed, but they had been instructed not to sign autographs until after the match. They still had to change and have their makeup done. Normally they did their own makeup, but for huge games and the World Cup, a couple of witches were hired to apply their makeup and charm their hair to stay out of their eyes. They took turns sitting at the long table in the kitchen, waiting their turns.
Before they knew it, they were lined up in the tunnel clutching their broomsticks and listening to the deafening roar of the crowd. The Transylvanians had all ready been introduced. The roar of the crowd turned into shrieks and screams as their signature mascot – vampire bats – were released into the stadium. After a few minutes of shrieking, the crowd resumed to a subdued sound of cheering. The volume increased substantially as the tunnel door opened and the announcer said each of the Harpies' names. A round of fireworks exploded in the sky, leaving a giant eagle talon in the sky. The pitch was completely packed. Witches and wizards stood everywhere. Glaring lights floating in the air above added to lights on the railings. If muggles could see this stadium from their aeroplanes, it would look like a giant bowl of lights. The south side of the stadium had white screens above each seat, partly obscuring the fans' view. They had to sit to see the game, but for everyone else in the stadium, the white screens made up a large screen that cut to random close up shots of the players, mascots, or referees. Ginny's face was put up on the large screen as her name was announced. She smirked and sped across the sky. The Harpies fans cheered while a few Transylvanians yelled something about the recent pregnancy story. Ginny barely heard one of them yell, "KNOCKED UP AND KNOCKED OFF HER BROOM!" Ginny smiled sweetly at the Romanian and batted her eyelashes at him. She then took her place for the start of the game. The snitch, quaffle, and bludgers were released. The game was on.
Author's Note: Thank you, Lu for editing the last two chapters in couple of hours! I appreciate your help!
