After agreeing to meet on the pitch an hour before the game, the Airbornes thanked Adelaide and Ryan, and traipsed off into different directions, leaving Ginny and Ryan contemplating how to spend the rest of their day. Ryan suggested they reexamine their game strategies, and for the next hour they did just that, basking in the warm August sun as Ryan fired all kinds of questions at Ginny (Like, "what should you do if a Sting grabs hold of your left foot?").
"'Right, I think you're ready," Ryan said, getting up to stretch.
"Glad you think so. Now I need to believe it. I'm…so nervous, I've got to think about something else before I go mad."
"Good, want to ride a coupla waves?"
Ginny yawned. "How about going back to sleep?" she proposed.
"I don't take kips."
"Kips?"
"Y'know, sleeping during the day? Ask my mum- she used to go berko trying to convince me to put my head down while the sun was still up."
"Blimey, why is that?"
"I d'know, I s'pose I was a very active child."
"So you were hyper."
"No, I was busy," Ryan corrected her, miffed. "There was too many fascinating things to do. Kips were and still are a great waste of time."
"And you felt strongly about this when you were...two?" said Ginny, pretending to be serious.
Ryan gave her his please,-I'm-trying-to-leave-my-ego-out-of-this grin. Ginny laughed.
"Oh, alright, Kippy, so what fascinating things did you have in mind for today?"
"Aside from surfing? Dunno, let me think."
They spread themselves out on the freshly-cut lawn and stared at the sky, waiting for the answer to appear. Ginny spotted a oddly-shaped cloud that resembled a party hat, the kind her mum made her wear to birthday parties until it got too blooming embarrassing.
"Parties..." Ginny murmured. Her eyes widened at once, and she sat up in a flash.
"What? Any interesting ideas?"
"Obviously. You any good at blowing balloons?"
"I'm totally stoked that the two of you came! But shouldn't you be practicing? The final's less than six hours away!"
"Ren, a couple more hours of practice will mean that I'll have spent more time playing Quidditch this summer than sleeping. That's more Quidditch than I'm willing to put up with," Ginny declared. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arm around Lauren's shoulder.
"Now tell us what needs to be done, and we'll do it, right Ryan?"
"Just think of us as two genies in a bottle," Ryan agreed.
Lauren smiled, acquiescing.
"Well, I really could use the help. I've never planned a huge party like this on my own before, especially not a silver anniversary. I was counting on my twin girl cousins to come and lighten the load, but apparently both of them came down with the flu this morning."
"Both? 'Re they siamese?" Ryan muttered, and Ginny jabbed him in the rib, though Lauren seemed too preoccupied to hear him.
"Okay, well, I ordered all the pastries and cakes from Barnop's, so those are showing up tomorrow. And the rest of the food is showing up tomorrow as well, so what's gotta be done today are the decorations."
"Great...what is this place, anyway?" Ginny asked, looking around the large room, essentially bare aside from several round folding tables stacked up against the back wall, and two enormous purple velvet bags full to the brim.
"I rented this room for the party," Lauren explained. "It's in a great location and the lights are really beaut in here at night. It just needs to be dressed up for the occasion."
"So what've you got in those bags, Santa," Ryan mused. "Anything exciting?"
"Too right. How would the two of you like to blow up Floating Message Bubbles, ever heard of them? You blow them up and seal them with a message, which in this case will be "Congratulations Eve and Sam" or something like that. That seals the bubble and lets it float around the room until someone decides to pop it, which is when the message comes out kinda like a howler, except not as loud."
"Sounds like one of Fred and George's creations," a voice said from behind her.
The three turned to the entrance to see who had spoken. Bill looked particularly youthful in worn jeans with his wand sticking out from the right pocket, a t-shirt that read the caption, "Earth is full: GO HOME.", and his ever-present boyish grin (directed at Lauren...did you have to ask?) as he jogged over to wear they stood.
"Gin, Ry, I see you've anticipated me. Thought you'd need some assistance, Ren. You'd told me about those enchantments you wanted to use to decorate the walls, and they could be a slight tricky."
"That's really ace of you, Bill," Lauren said happily. "Though I only mentioned them 'cause I was stoked to be trying them out for the first time, honest." She looked at the three of them and blushed gratefully. "It's so sweet of you three to be spending your day like this, especially a crazy day like today."
"We already told you, Ren, it wouldn't be good for us to practice anymore," Ryan told her.
"You're doing us a favour, really, keeping us busy," Ginny added.
"And my Airborne banner's at the door, so I'm set for the game as well," put in Bill. "So what d'you say we get this place ready for tomorrow?"
Ryan and Ginny unfolded one of the round tables and on it dumped the two boxes of floating bubbles Lauren had given them.
"I've got to bring one of these back for Fred and George," Ginny remarked, pulling a silver, rubber bubble out of the box. "I'm sure they could use the idea to make some clever toy out of it."
"Maybe they'll seal them with some type 'a goo, which splatters on whoever pops it," Ryan suggested, taking one out himself.
"Ha! That sounds like them, all right," Ginny laughed. "Funny, you haven't even met Fred and George and you sound like you know them 's well as I do."
"Between you and Bill, I've heard so much about the twins it's hard not to feel like I know them," Ryan replied, starting to blow up one of the bubbles.
Ginny blew up hers and said into it, "Congratulations Evey and Sam!" The opening welded together on its own, and the bubble rose out of Ginny's hand and began to drift around the room.
"Oooh, pretty. Anyway, you aught to come to England for a visit. You'll get to meet my infamous brothers, and my mum and dad, which is always a, uh, unique experience."
"Happy anniversary, Sam and Evey!" Ryan watched his bubble float away from the table. He turned to Ginny and grinned mischievously at her. "Or they can come here."
Ginny stopped blowing into her next bubble; it shrunk back to its deflated state.
"Beg your pardon?"
"Y'know, like if you stayed here, they'd have to come visit you, right?" he pressed, now looking directly into her eyes, his own expertly masking any hint of tell-tale nerves.
The bubble fell to the floor. Ginny didn't notice.
"If I...stayed?"
"Yeah, if, like, you stayed here in Aus, you could go to school with us- the 'Bornes, y'know- and you can be on our house team, and you'll get to be seeker too, you'd love it!" His face somewhat flushed, he hurriedly bent down and picked up the bubble she'd dropped, and handed it back to her. Ginny wasn't sure what to make of it. She searched for some indication that he was speaking in jest; she found none.
Ryan unconsciously brushed his fingers through his hair, and tried again.
"So, you up for it?"
"I'm not sure," said Lauren, biting her lip. "I mean, I read the charm at least six times in Enchant and Entertain, but there's evidently something I'm missing, cause I could never get it down pat."
She pulled the very book out of one of the purple bags and flipped to the right page. After taking a brief glance at it she turned in the direction of the nearest wall.
"Right," she said with a determined air, "Here goes."
She readied her wand.
"Tabula Decora!"
A tiny spurt of silver shot out from her wand, and a wet drop of metallic paint struck the bare wall. Before a full minute had elapsed the spot trickled, spider-like, in a multitude of directions. An intricate pattern was being formed...
"Ace, I think it's working!" Lauren cried out.
But a moment later the design was going awry; it looked as though it were out in the desert sun. Disappointed, Lauren pointed her wand at the wall.
"Mendumus." Its surface was clean once again.
"Had the same problem last time," Lauren said, turning pink. "Gets far too runny. I never was ace at Charms. Tell me to transform a spoon into a cow, I wouldn't blink. But to bloody decorate a room..."
"No worries," Bill said reassuringly. "We'll try it again. I was never great at Charms myself, but I couldn't pass my Gringotts training until I was fairly skilled in all types of magic. Let's look at it again- what motif are you going for?"
"Well, it's rather elaborate," Laura confessed, reaching for the book. "I really wanted that, see? It kinda looks like silver curtains draped all around the room. I want the texture to be silky, but not too shiny, y'know?" she went on animatedly. "And I want it to be picked up every now and again with bunches of white roses and silver bells...it's too complicated, isn't it?" Lauren groaned, responding to Bill's slightly gaping mouth.
Bill shook his head.
"No, it can be done, I think. But blimey, you'd make a great teacher."
"Why, cause I'm bossy?" Lauren asked, embarrassed.
"No. Only that if I were your student, I could listen to you go on passionate tirades like that all day."
Lauren's face coloured.
"Oh, shut up."
But Bill was intransigent, his eyes twinkling roguishly.
"I mean it! If my nose fell off in the middle of the night, I'd show up to class anyway and breathe through my mouth."
"You're mad, you know that?"
"Why? Don't ya love it here?" Ryan pointed out.
"Of course. But enough to move here?"
"You'd just be doing your fourth year in Aus instead of England. You'll have a year's time to make the big decision."
"Switch schools? Is that even allowed?" Ginny asked incredulously.
"Too right it is; we had a bloke come from Africa last year."
"Africa, you're joking! What was that like?"
"Don't change the subject."
"Fine," said Ginny sulkily.
For a few minutes they simply stood there blowing bubbles in silence, withstanding the occasional cry of "Happy anniversary, Mr and Mrs C!" or "Congrats on your 25th, Sam and Evey!"
"Well?" Ryan finally pressed.
"Where would I stay?" she queried.
"We have dormitories, same as Hogwarts."
"But everyone there is already well acquainted. I won't have any friends."
"What are the 'Bornes, chopped squid?"
"What about schoolwork? I'm probably not on the same level as the others, and I'll fall behind."
"No chance of that, I think. S'far as reputation goes, Hogwarts is the best wizarding school in the world. You'll probably be ahead, though barely," Ginny's smug grin forced him to add.
"I still don't think Professor Dumbledore would allow it."
"Forget him. What about you? You're getting pretty creative finding reasons not to stay."
"That's not true," Ginny huffed. "I'm merely being rational about the whole idea. It doesn't sound plausible."
"It sounds very plausible. You're just not interested."
"I am interested!" It surfaced as a semi-shout. Ryan grinned.
"Right, now we're talking. So why don't you stay?"
"I'll consider it," Ginny retorted, "If you tell me why you're so bent on me doing so."
"I-" Ryan hesitated. "Well, you know, we've become good mates you and I, and the 'Bornes are keen onya- Danny mentioned the idea to me last week, and everybody agreed- but it's been yonks since I came up with it myself."
Ginny folded her arms across her chest.
"So you want me to stay so I can play Quidditch."
"So you can stay on the team!" Ryan corrected her. "Being a 'Borne is about more than just Quid, y'know that."
"Yes, I know. But can you deny that you don't need a seeker for next year?"
Ryan gulped.
"Why'd you say that?"
Ginny sighed impatiently.
"Benjy told me your house's main seeker graduated last year."
"Right, uh," Ryan cleared his throat. "I thought I'd mentioned that to you already."
She glared at him, though faintly amused, and began to blow bubbles again.
Ryan shook his head lightly and picked up a bubble, visibly upset.
"Congratulations, Evey and Sam!...Spending a year here sounds terrific," Ginny conceded to him after another lapse of silence. "But my mum would never let. I don't even have to ask, I know."
"You can convince her," Ryan told her, gaining momentum. "You charm the pants off my mum, can't you do the same to yours?"
"It's rather hard to explain," Bill told Lauren.
"Some chaps were talking about it at work. There's a way to get the entire floor to look like marble, any colour you like. One chap tried to fool his wife who wanted a marble kitchen floor, but she's a better witch than he is a wizard, and spotted the charm straight away. Apparently it starts to fade after about a week."
"That would be beaut," Lauren said excitedly. "D'you know how to work the spell?"
"Reckon I could try," replied Bill, shrugging his shoulders. "It can't be harder than doing the room itself, and that seems to be turning out nicely."
Synchronously, they both glanced up; the walls were gradually being enswathed in an elaborate pattern of lustrous silk, accentuated by the occasional assemblage of bells and roses.
"Good point."
"So, what colour will it be? Silver and white?"
"You betcha."
Bill worked out the spell quickly enough, and the two decided that it would go faster if he initiated it from one corner of the room, and Lauren from another. Bill crossed the room and called out to her,
"Are you ready?"
"Uh huh," she called back. "I'll race ya. My half against yours."
"Like losing, do you?"
Lauren laughed.
"We'll see. I think I've got a handle on this one."
"Cheers then. Wand at the ready; three, two...GO!"
Each cried out the spell and tapped the floor with their wands. This spell was one that was highly dependent on one's dexterity with a wand, a skill which Lauren possessed to a far greater degree than Bill. Alas, he was utterly in the dark about this little fact, and so the two worked diligently in their corners with the certainty of emerging victorious, and the floor progressively transformed into a magnificent marble...
"...So if you want to mess with my mum, off you go. You're just downright...lovely," Ginny whispered the last word, her attention captivated by the metamorphosis taking place before her eyes. Ryan was baffled for a moment but understood a second later as he himself glanced around the room. The stark, almost dismal space was close to entirely subverted into a elaborate and sophisticated ballroom.
Ginny was thoroughly transfixed by the scene, her mouth partially open, drinking in the stunningly decorated walls, the marble dance floor, the dozens of floating bubbles gliding aimlessly around the room. It is harder to inform you exactly who was more enraptured the next moment, when the last bit of floor turned to marble: Lauren, who had just won the contest and was joyfully rubbing it in Bill's nose; Bill, who appeared to find getting his nose rubbed in by Lauren the most enjoyable thing in the world; Ginny, who was laughing delightedly at the beauty of the room, and also at the fact that her brother was finally seeing Lauren the right way; or Ryan, who couldn't stop staring at Ginny as though he'd never met anybody quite so lovely in all his life.
What I can tell you is that as she laughed, Ginny turned to face Ryan, and realized at once that he'd been staring at her. She made a weird face.
"Where are you?"
"Thinking about the game,"he fibbed.
Ginny surveyed the room once more and remarked teasingly,
"Poor you. All I can think about is bubbles."
It was a little past three when Ryan dropped Ginny off at home.
"So, I'll be back at four to pick you up for the game- sounds 'right?"
"Fantastic. Gives me to time to wash up and get very nervous again."
"Well, if you manage to tame them, nerves can actually be your friend during a match."
"Yes, Cap'n."
Ryan smiled.
"That said, g'luck getting ready for the most crucial, decisive game of the entire season."
"Aaaaaaah! I hate you!"
"Love you too, Weasley."
And with a tiny popping noise, he was gone. Ginny felt a twinge of jealousy.
"I'd move here just to get to do that," she murmured to herself before unlocking the front door.
Ginny was already in her Quidditch robes, towel-drying her hair and furiously reviewing game plans when she heard the first sounds coming from the kitchen. Still wringing the cloth around her wet hair, she called out,
"Bill? Is that you?"
She received no answer. Ginny dropped the towel on her bed and stopped at the door of her room. She opened it a crack and peeked out, taking a glimpse of the hall and listening closely. She heard nothing.
"Bill?" she called softly, feeling a bit alarmed. Suddenly, she heard a pair of male voices in the kitchen, neither of which belonged to Bill.
"Are you sure we're in the right place?"
"We should be."
"You don't seem to sure."
"Well, it's my first time doing this! Blimey, I'm nervous."
"Me too."
There was a pause. Ginny had stopped breathing. There was something oddly familiar about those voices, but she was too panicky to think. She looked wildly about the room, grabbed the stone gargoyle clock on the night stand, and tiptoed with utmost care in the direction of the kitchen. The two men (though from their voices, couldn't be older than Bill) kept arguing.
"Oh no," one of them groaned.
"What?"
"Look at the clock. It's almost four in the afternoon!"
"Bloody-"
"You said we'd be catching them in the evening!"
Catching them? Ginny thought and a cold shiver shot down her back. She moved more cautiously still.
"I thought I'd calculated it right..."
"What's the time difference again?"
"Nine hours."
"This can't be happening. You counted nine hours backwards, not forwards! I'm going to kill you."
Murder! He'll murder the other one, and then he'll find me and kill me too!
"Don't get angry so fast, maybe they're home anyway."
Ginny ducked behind the large plant in the hall.
"They're probably not."
"We can still check!"
"Fine."
Ginny braced herself, clutching the clock for dear life.
"Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill! Ginnyyyyyyy!"
"Ginny? Are you there?"
Ginny's eyes grew wide. Those voices. They belonged to-
"Ron? Harry!" Ginny hurried into the kitchen as fast as her wobbly legs could carry her.
But there was nobody in the kitchen, and for a second Ginny was unsure whether this was part of some strange dream, or that she had simply gone mad.
"Ginny, you're home!"
Ginny jumped.
"Who said that?" she cried out.
"Look into the fire, stupid."
She peered into the fire. Her youngest elder brother waved back at her. And right beside him was Harry Potter. In a fraction of a second, the nightmare she had satisfactorily buried promptly revived itself.
"You are a LIAR, Ginny Weasley!"
She suddenly had a desperate itch to run back out of the kitchen and shrink behind the plant.
"Wha- how did you- that is, I thought you were...robbers... or something," Ginny managed in between breaths, still shaking as she set the gargoyle on the mantlepiece. No amount of pinching would bring her to the realization that Harry was (sort of) in Bill's diminutive kitchen, gazing speechlessly at her.
"Ha! That's hilarious, wait till I tell Fred and George!" Ron guffawed. "But really, we just wanted to say hi, right Harry?"
"Right," Harry said, nodding to Ginny.
"Oh." It was as if she was standing on the edge of a precipice, with nothing hindering her fall but a reproachful look or glance from Harry. But it seemed that he had not come to reprimand her, and the colour was gradually returning to Ginny's cheeks. "That's really...something."
"It is, isn't it," Ron agreed brightly. "It cost Harry a fortune to- oomph," he moaned, as if he'd just (and perhaps had) been sharply elbowed in the ribs. "That is, Mum wanted us to deliver a message to you," Ron added, red in the face. "She said that she's found someone- Dad's friend- to escort you back home."
Ginny gawked at him incredulously.
"Mum bought the powder? How...did she manage?"
"Actually, ah, I bought it," Harry spoke up, avoiding her gaze.
"Oh," Ginny said again, her heart sinking. He must have felt guilty about lending her his Firebolt and helping her run away, so he had done this. He was paying for her mistake.
"Got a scrap of parchment and a quill?" Ron was saying. "You'll want to write down all the information."
"Yes, of course," Ginny said, flustered. Hastening, she fetched them and jotted down what Ron dictated to her.
"So, why're you all dressed up for Quidditch?" Ron inquired as she finished writing the last bit. "Since when do you play, and for a proper team too?"
Ginny's heart plummeted by several more degrees. There was no way the Firebolt could escape mentioning now.
"I, um..." she began, thinking fast as she put down her quill, "It's funny that you mention that, Ron, because, well..."
There was a knock at the door.
"Why is Bill knocking on his own door?" Ron asked. "Hasn't he got a key?"
Ginny looked from Ron to Harry, feeling her cheeks turn pink.
"Um, it's not Bill. It's—oh, just let me get it, will you?"
She hurried out of the kitchen and opened the door for Ryan. He looked ever the formidable captain in his sky-blue robes, broomstick in hand, his face wearing a sober, steady expression (which the Airbornes had dubbed, the "Quid-face").
"Hey, Weasley," he said briskly. "Grab your 'Bolt and let's go. Don't wanna be late."
"Who IS that?" came Ron's shout from the kitchen.
Ryan's expression changed to one of surprise.
"Got company?"
"My brother Ron and...his friend are in the kitchen fire," she explained weakly.
"Not the greatest sense 'a timing," Ryan observed, stepping inside. "But I'd like to say hi, but just for a sec. You said your brother Ron and who?"
Ginny was leading the way to the kitchen. "Harry Potter?" she said as casually as she could, her heart beating a mile a minute. She thought she noticed his body stiffen at once, but could not be sure. In any case, she hoped he would make the conversation between them less awkward.
"Is that you, Bill?" Ron was asking. "I thought it might be-" he fell silent as Ryan entered the room.
"Ron, Harry, this is Ryan Buchanan. Ryan, this is my brother Ron, and his friend, Harry Potter," Ginny uttered in one breath.
The Airbornes' captain was immediately scrutinized by the two heads in the fire. Ryan greeted Ron with a warm "G'day" ("Hi," Ron said stiffly, quickly glancing over at Harry), but Harry he inspected more fully, almost distrustfully, and gave him a curt nod.
Still awkward! More awkward! The task had fallen back into her hands. Summoning her courage, she told her brother, careful not to look at Harry,
"I joined a Quidditch team here called the Aussie Airbornes. I'm their seeker, and Ryan is the captain and keeper."
"You're a seeker?" Ron goggled at her. "No bloody way. Oh wait, of course it makes sense. You're using the Firebolt, aren't you?" he said accusingly.
Ginny turned a deep shade of red as she shot her brother a furious glance.
"Actually, your sister's the most talented seeker are team's ever had," Ryan informed him briskly, his eyes still on Harry. "Potter, nice of you to lend her your Firebolt, though. Guess you've got enough to spare."
Harry wasn't the least bit unnerved.
"Not really. Only Ginny will be joining our team at school next year, and I figured she could use it to practice." He took a quick look at Ginny before adding, "I'm glad to hear she's been using it."
"So you're saying you did for yourself," Ryan shot back cooly.
"I like to think I did it for the team," Harry responded unflinchingly, though Ron scowled at Ryan.
Ryan gave a small nod.
"I s'pose that means you'll let her take you over as seeker, supposing she's gotten better than you are."
Harry hesitated.
"Didn't think so." Ryan seemed satisfied. He turned to Ginny, who was watching the scene in utter confusion and disbelief, and muttered to her, "I'll be waiting outside." With a final penetrating glance at Harry, Ryan turned on his heal and left the room. The front door banged shut. Ginny stood rooted in place.
"What a complete git!" Ron exclaimed loudly.
"Ron!"
"He is pretty intense," Harry muttered to her, searching her eyes for answers.
"Pretty intense!" Ron snorted. "I'm sure he's more intense than You-Know-Who!"
"Shut up, Ron!" Ginny suddenly shouted. "I wonder how you'd behave if you were the captain of a team about to play their final championship match!"
The pair of heads fell silent, and simply stared.
"That is, thanks for visiting," she said stiffly, feeling embarrassed and quite miserable about everything. "I really do appreciate it. But if you'll excuse me, I have a Quidditch final to attend to".
And taking one last peek at Harry's enigmatic face, Ginny turned to leave.
"Ginny."
Ginny turned back to the fire.
"Sorry we upset you," Harry said, looking very much apologetic. "Forget we came at all. You're, you're gonna be great out there."
His apology (When SHE couldn't muster one up herself!) shattered her short–lived bravado.
"Thanks, Harry," she said, a lump the size of a snitch becoming lodged in her throat. "I... I'm terrified," she blurted. "The 'Bornes are an amazing team, and they're counting on me to help them win the Cup, and I'm- I'm-" The boys looked awkwardly away she wiped her eyes on her pale blue sleeves, leaving dark blue patches. "I'm just a kid with a Firebolt," she croaked.
"You are not," said Harry firmly. "Look at me." Ginny's moist hazel eyes slowly met and locked into Harry's vivid green ones. "You're a Weasley, and you're a Gryffindor; two very good reasons why that other team should be mortally afraid of you. And that Ryan fellow said you were the best seeker they ever had, and he (this was costing him a prodigious deal of strength) seems like he knows a thing or two about Quidditch. Ginny, your team is getting that Cup."
Ginny swallowed hard, nodding vehemently.
"Harry's right, Gin," Ron conceded. "Anyone with an ego that size..I mean," Ron said hastily as Harry glared at him. "You'll be brilliant, sis. We have faith in you, right Harry?"
"Absolutely. Just remember to give us some pointers when you get back."
Ginny laughed, feeling curiously at peace. No matter what the outcome of the game, Harry believed in her.
"Ryan's waiting outside," she suddenly remembered. "Thanks again, both of you. It means so much to me."
"We'll see you in a couple of days," Ron told her.
Harry glanced from her to the doorway, and swallowed hard. He mustered up a small smile and nodded to her.
"See you, Ginny."
And the next instant, they were gone. Ginny's eyes lingered on the empty hearth; her heart was back in its place and beating soundly. She went to her room, unwrapped the fateful Firebolt, and grasping it firmly by the handle, went outside to join Ryan.
It's time.
Berko- crazy
Beaut- beautiful
Kip- nap
Yonks: a long time