Chapter 10: Out Late With Old Friends
Ginny raced up the steps, cursing herself for not entering her room by apparition. Closing her door, she flung open her closet. Pulling out a black skirt and a light purple ruffle top, and her jean jacket, Ginny dressed hurriedly. Ducking into the bathroom, she groaned at the sight of her rather limp hair, her bare face, and her dull eyes. I really need a night out, she thought.
Taking five minutes, Ginny put some mousse in her hair to liven it up. It was one of the Bewitching products George had given her for her eighteenth birthday. Even as she watched, her hair started to magically curl. She tied her hair up, so that the curls fell down to her shoulders, framing her face. Her bangs even curled a bit. Carefully, she applied some brown eyeliner to brighten her eyes, and a bit of gold eye-shadow. Sliding on her black heels, she shoved her wand and keys into her purse, along with her pink lipstick. After a quick hair flip, Ginny disapparated, instantly apparating outside Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"Hey!" Ginny saw Dalia and Penelope already outside the shop. "You guys look great!"
"Thanks," Penelope fiddled with her red jewel necklace, which she wore over a grey dress. "Whom are we waiting for?"
"Me!" Ashley slammed the door of the shop, and ran toward them. The shop's lights went out, and the door open and shut again. A second person ran after her and the light hit his face. He was cute, vaguely familiar, and smiling.
"Sorry," He said, brushing his hair out of his eyes with one hand. "Ash, you left the lights on again. Hey," The guy said, turning to the rest of the group and smiling.
"Oh, Ginny, you remember Josh, right? We dated in fifth year," Ashley smiled, pushing her hair back from her face. Ginny remembered Josh, alright. He'd been a bit silly and stupid at Hogwarts, but he was a lot hotter with a few years and fifteen pounds on him.
"Sure, I remember you." Ginny laughed, "You spilled pumpkin juice all over me at the Christmas feast that year!" Shaking with laughter, Ginny mimed shoving a goblet all over Josh.
"Yup, that was me! Sorry, again." He grinned, shaking her hand.
"You're forgiven, but you are buying her a drink tonight!" Ashley joked.
"Hey, that's okay with me." Ginny laughed.
"We'd better get moving. The clubs start getting rushed pretty soon, and if we want to get anywhere near the bar, we should go." Dalia cut in. Ginny felt a sudden wave of guilt. She asked Penelope and Dalia along, and then totally ignored them for the first few minutes.
"Oh, I'm so rude. Sorry, guys." Ginny apologized. "This is Ashley, Josh, Penelope and Dalia."
"Hi," Ashley smiled, nodding at the other girls. "You guys are on the Harpies, too?"
"Yup," Dalia replied. "I'm the keeper, Pen's a chaser."
"Wow, you guys are Harpies? Sweet." Josh looked impressed. "What's your position, Ginny?"
"I'm chaser, too."
"But you were a seeker at Hogwarts, weren't you?" Ashley recalled.
"We already have a seeker, Marie Walker. She's been with us five years." Penelope explained, as the group started to walk towards the outskirts of Diagon Alley.
"I've never been this far down before." Ginny commented.
"All of the clubs are down close to Knockturn Alley, since all of the bars are up by the shops. The top part of the area is all wholesome and stuff, like bookshops." Ashley explained.
"Yeah," Josh said, with a chuckle. "All of the clubs are wannabe dangerous."
"Funny," Penelope said, interested.
The group walked into the club Ashley pointed out, a club with the word "SPIKE" written on the sign in (hopefully) fake blood.
"God, vampire themed? That is sad, man." Penelope sighed, shaking her head.
"I know!" Ashley wailed, stomping her foot like a little kid. " This place used to be some awesome, and then it came under 'New Management' and it went all trendy and stupid. Now the only reason I come here is the bands. They've always had great ones." She explained.
"Neat," Dalia said, looking around as they entered the club. "I'm so not into the trendy places, but I love music."
"Me, too." Josh led them over to the bar. "A shot of fire whiskey." He asked the bartender.
"Cider, please." Ginny smiled, a bit nervously. She was used to drinking quietly with friends, but the club was loud and crowded.
"Sparkling pumpkin juice, please." Penelope asked. "I don't drink." She explained to the group.
"I'll have a scotch." Dalia said.
"I'll take a red fizz." Ashley finished their order, and they all chipped in to pay for the drinks. The bartender nodded at them, repeated their orders and started fixing their drinks.
Ginny stirred, waking in her unmade bed as the sunlight danced through the curtains and burned her tired eyes. Groaning, Ginny rolled over, accidentally falling out of bed. She'd stayed out past midnight last night, rocking out to the Scarlet Sisters, a cool new band that Dalia had heard of and of which all of them were now fans. Ginny had a splitting headache, since she'd never drunk more before in her life. After all, she'd only been of age for a year, most of which she had spent at Hogwarts, where drinking was mostly done quietly and out of the way of staff.
Remembering that it was Sunday, Ginny had a small panic attack. Her first game was on Wednesday, literally three days away. Hurriedly dressing and eating, Ginny apparated to the Hollyhead Harpies stadium, where she spent almost the entire day training, and feeling the pain of the previous night.
What she didn't see before she left was Danielle, entering her room and stealing something off of Ginny's desk, something she would barely miss later. Disapparating with a crack, Danielle vanished from the room, as if she had never been there.
Covered in sweat and starving, Ginny showered at three o'clock that afternoon, having hardly stopped for breath since she had arrived.
"Hey, slow down." Penelope walked out of the shower after Ginny, wrapping herself in a towel. "I know you're nervous about your first game, but honestly? You're scaring me." Ginny sat down on a bench by the lockers, and inhaled. Penelope opened her locker and sat down in front of it, glancing at Ginny.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just feeling really confused right now." Ginny tried to smile. "I need some time to practice, clear my head and focus."
"You need to take a break. Don't come in tomorrow, Ginny. You can train again on Tuesday, but take a day off, okay?" Penelope started to get dressed.
"I can't, I would drive myself nuts." Ginny shook her head, putting on a shirt.
"Ginny, don't run yourself into the ground." Penelope told her, shutting her locker and packing up her things. "Take a mental health day."
After Ginny was dressed and clean, she apparated home. Going up to her room, she saw that Charlie was in, Spencer was out, and Danielle was hiding in her room. Ginny could tell, because the light went out in the room just as Ginny was walking up the steps. That bitch is up to something, Ginny thought, bitterly. Immediately, she felt remorse. The girl had done nothing to her and Ginny had decided to hate her. Ginny resolved to try to be nicer to Danielle in the future. Then, she walked into her room and fell onto the bed, closing her eyes and letting herself sleep peacefully.