Catch up

I was reading through some of my chapters, and I realised that one of the Beaters for the England Quidditch Team has the same name as Harry! Oops! Harry and William were based on the two princes of England.

Ginny met Harry on the way into the house – she took one look at him and bundled him into the house.

'Come on, I have a warm soup waiting for you, and then straight to bed,' she said.

'Where's Teddy?' mumbled Harry, sitting down and pulling the bowl of soup towards him.

'At Dromeda's. He'll be back tomorrow – he's very excited about you coming back. Eat up!' she told him sharply.

Harry nodded and spooned the hot liquid into his mouth. 'You're becoming as good a cook as your Mum, Ginny,' he said.

'Flatterer. Now, go to bed, and go straight to sleep!' she said, clearing his bowl away. Harry stumbled upstairs. He fell into a deep sleep, and slept for about twelve hours.

He woke up and went downstairs to find Ginny making a full fry up breakfast. The delicious smell filled the kitchen, and Harry settled down and pulled the Daily Prophet towards him.

'So, what've I missed while I was away?' he asked. 'They've captured Nott, that's good. I was always surprised they let his son go back to Hogwarts.'

Ginny nodded. 'Oh yes, and Hermione and Ron were wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner tomorrow, maybe? Just to catch up on what's been happening. I won my match against Puddlemere.'

'Congratulations! It looks like you are going to play Ron in the final,' said Harry.

'And win,' replied Ginny, dishing out some bacon, eggs and toast. 'Here, double helpings. I imagine the food at the BWA camp wasn't the best?'

'No!' Harry grabbed the food. 'What time is Teddy coming round?'

'Ten thirty. I was thinking that we could drop him at Shell Cottage tomorrow, and he could sleep there. It could be his first sleepover.'

'Good idea!' Harry grinned.

'Oh yes, and Dynham called to say that you have a couple of weeks free of work.'

'Wonderful!'

'Not quite. Elson called soon after, about you missing training. After he found out that you had a fortnight off, he immediately scheduled extra trainings.'

'So like Elson,' groaned Harry.

'Don't worry, at least you'll be back on a broom,' replied Ginny. Harry nodded and started ravenously eating his food.

Teddy arrived and ran up to Harry, hugging him. Harry picked him up and spun him round. Teddy squealed happily, clapping his hands and turning his hair turquoise.

'So, when're the practises, Ginny?' asked Harry, settling down with Teddy on the sofa to polish their broomsticks.

'Erm,' Ginny looked at the calendar. 'Today, three 'til five, tomorrow, two 'til four, Thursday ten until twelve, and Saturday three to six.'

'Today? But there's no one to care for Teddy!' said Harry, looking up from showing Teddy how to straighten twigs.

'I know, I thought we could take him along. He's constantly begging to come, and the team will want to see him. He can just watch and play around on his toy broom, and maybe go on a real broom with us a few times,' said Ginny. Harry nodded thoughtfully.

'I guess so. What do you think, Teds?' he asked. Teddy grinned and nodded excitedly.

'I'll meet famous players?' he said.

'And ride on their brooms with them if you want,' said Harry. Teddy's jaw dropped open, and his eyes widened.

'Yes please!' He jumped onto the floor and said: 'I gonna go get changed!'

'Whoa, not yet Teddy, you'll have to wait until three,' said Harry. Teddy sighed, but sat down on the sofa again.

'Okay, I'll just make my broom perfect then,' he said. Harry smiled and handed him the polish.

The rest of the day, Teddy was totally centred on going to the Quidditch training. He spent the rest of the morning putting his broom in tip top condition, and got out the mini England Quidditch robes and made Ginny iron them, and after lunch got Harry to go into the garden and practise with him.

'Teds, it's okay, you're a good little player!' laughed Harry as Teddy attempted the Sloth Grip Roll to dodge the football they were using. Teddy frowned.

'Can I try the Wronski Feint?'

'No way!' Teddy scowled.

'Please?'

'One hundred percent no!'

Thomas saw them first, and laughed when he saw Teddy in his England kit with his little broom. Teddy looked scared and nervous, and Thomas ruffled his hair.

'Hey little buddy, you becoming a Quidditch player?' he asked. Teddy nodded, and turned his hair red and white. Thomas grinned, and set off towards the changing room with Teddy trotting at his heels. Harry and Ginny could hear him telling Teddy exciting and amazing Quidditch stories.

'Come on, we'd better get moving,' said Ginny. Harry nodded and they followed Thomas and Teddy.

The rest of the team was glad to see Harry – they swamped him with requests for stories about the camp. Finally Elson had to send them all outside to start training so that Harry could change. When he went outside Harry and William were teaching Teddy to use a Beaters bat by throwing small leather balls at him. When Harry stepped forward to perfect his technique, Teddy accidently whacked him over the head with the bat. Harry fell to the floor, dazed, but sat up again in a second, grinning, and his gingery hair all standing on end.

'Nice one – next time hit the Bludger though!' he called. William roared with laughter, nearly falling off his broom. Teddy zoomed off on his toy broom, his toes only a foot off the ground.

Harry climbed onto his own broom and set off into the air, searching for the snitch. It was harder than usual, as he had to keep an eye on Teddy, but caught it fifteen minutes into the first practise.

'Okay team!' shouted Elson half way through. The players pulled their brooms to a halt, including Teddy, who looked up at them from the ground. 'I think we should work on our balance. Often we have to do manoeuvres which mean we have no hands on the broom, and sometimes we are hanging off it or even standing on it. So, I want you to all do some tactics which need a large amount of balance. Let's start with you, Harry, as you have to use this most of all. Then Thomas, then the Beaters, and finally the Chasers.'

Harry had to do a load of moves including loop-the-loops, flying upside down, standing on his broom and flipping so he was hanging off by only his knees or ankles. Thomas had to do a series of similar moves, but he also had to hang from his broom by his arms, and kick Quaffles away with his feet. By the end of the practise, everyone had fallen off a couple of times, and were battered and bruised. Apart from Teddy that is, who was bursting with happiness and excitement. He chattered about the practise for the rest of the day, and the next morning, and all through lunch, until he was dropped off at Bill and Fleur's for the sleepover.

'He'll probably talk about it all through the sleepover as well,' said Ginny as they apparated away. They were meeting Ron and Hermione at a place called De Spago in London. Ginny disappeared off to get ready. She was wearing a dark green silky dress with a sweetheart neckline, a jewel-embroidered sash which came up to meet it, and a kneelength skirt. She wore her hair up in a bun, with only a few locks framing her face. Harry wore standard black jeans, black jacket and white shirt.

Ron was wearing a similar outfit to Harry, but his jeans were a dark blue. Hermione wore a dark red dress, slightly longer than Ginny's, with a round neckline and thicker straps and no visible sash around her waist. Her hair was silky and fell over one shoulder.

'Wow, this is nice!' Ginny slid into a booth with Harry. The other two sat opposite. 'It feels like we haven't just sat down and chatted for ages! What're you two up to?'

'Hermione's writing a book,' said Ron, looking at the menu.

'Really? What about?' asked Harry.

'It's a complete history of wizards and their fellows since the roman times,' said Hermione. 'It's really long, because it has everything in it. Goblins, house elves, centaurs, etc. I might make it into two or three volumes.'

'Wow!' exclaimed Ginny. 'Where'd you get the idea for that from?'

'Well, I was looking for some new books, and I found that there are next to no books which are unbiased histories of magic. Many of them skirt over the nasty bits which involve, say, the mistreatment of house elves, or make goblins look like vicious greedy fiends. I want to write something which is totally unbiased, which gives the facts, and makes it interesting as well. I went through all the bookshops in Diagon Alley and the streets around, and I only found one book which was anywhere near that: A Wizarding History, by monk Eustace the sixth, and it was really boring, there was only one copy, and about four hundred years out of date.'

'I see. Well, I think it's brilliant!' said Ginny.

'What'll you do once it's finished?' asked Harry.

'I think I'll go into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures,' Hermione told them. 'Shall we order?'

'Of course, I'm starving!' said Ron.

'So, what're you planning to do once your Quidditch days are over, Ron?' asked Harry.

'Go the same way as Ludo Bagman,' said Ron.

'What get disgraced and bankrupt and end up on the run?' cried Ginny incredulously.

'No, go into the Department of Magical Games and Sports,' replied Ron, exasperated.

'Hello, sirs and ladies, I will be your waiter for tonight,' a tall man with greased black hair appeared next to them. 'What would you like?'

After they had finished the meal, and were waiting for the dessert, Ron headed off to the men's bathroom with a meaningful look at Harry. Slightly confused, Harry followed a minute later, and found Ron looking nervously in the mirror.

'Hey mate, what's up?' he asked.

'Hi Harry,' Ron's voice was unnaturally high. 'Do you think Hermione likes me?'

'Of course Hermione likes you, Ron; you're the love of her life!' Harry told him. 'What's this all about?'

'I – I'm thinking of proposing,' he said shakily. 'But what if she says no?'

'Ron, I remember thinking exactly the same thing. It'll be fine – Hermione loves you a lot.'

Ron nodded and smiled at Harry for the first time. 'Thanks Harry.'

'Relax, it'll be fine,' repeated Harry. 'Come on, the girls will be wondering where we are.'

That evening Ron and Hermione set off towards Hyde Park together. Harry watched them disappear for a while with a knowing smile on his face, until Ginny jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

'What is it?' she asked.

'Guess,' replied Harry.

'Proposal?'

'Got it in one.'

'We so have to go to the Burrow tomorrow morning,' Ginny watched them go for a second before signalling for a taxi. 'But now we have to go home.'

They picked up teddy on the way to the Burrow. Molly and Arthur were there, of course, but Charlie and George were there as well.

'Hello you three – my how Teddy has grown! Come in, I've just baked some fresh scones!' Molly appeared, plump and motherly as ever, smiling down at Teddy.

'Hi Mum – are Ron and Hermione here?' asked Ginny, pulling the scones towards her.

'No, but they're coming over in a few minutes. I must say, Hermione sounded very strange over the phone, very strange indeed,' said Molly.

'Really?' Ginny sounded politely interested as she put cream and jam on a scone for Teddy. 'How strange.'

Ron and Hermione turned up a while later. Ron had his arm around Hermione, and was looking extremely happy. Hermione smiled shyly and sat down at the kitchen table.

'Hi Molly,' she said quietly, her eyes sparkling with happiness.

'Hello dear – scone?' Molly passed the plate over. Ron cleared his throat loudly, and Charlie and George, who were outside, came in to see what was going on.

'Erm, we have some news,' he said. 'Hermione, take your gloves off.'

Hermione pulled off her leather gloves to reveal a sparkling engagement ring.

'Oo!' cried Molly and Ginny, leaning forward to have a look. Harry patted Ron on the back, and Charlie and George cheered.

'Well done, bro!' congratulated Charlie.

'I was wondering if I could come over next week and make plans for the wedding?' asked Hermione.

'Of course dear, that'll be lovely!' said Molly. 'Oh it's such wonderful news!' she dabbed her eyes happily.

Sorry it's shorter than usual! The next chapter will be all about the wedding.