Seven Flights

A/N Welcome to another one-shot starring tiny Ginny because I love her! This was written for round 9 of season 8 of the QLFC as Chaser 3 for the Tutshill Tornadoes. Enjoy!

Prompt: [Using your power just because (neutral)]

Optional Prompts: [word] shenanigan; [action] fly; [number] seven

WC 2956

"What game did you want to play?" six-year-old Ginny asked Bill as he held her hand and led her out into the yard.

"Oh, it's an easy one," he promised. "It's kind of like hide-and-seek, except you get to decide who wins."

Ginny scrunched up her face. "That's not like hide-and-seek. There's no hiding or finding," she protested. "We can just play a normal game, and not a silly game you boys made up."

"No, no, I promise this will be fun, and we're all going to get to play!" he insisted.

Knowing better than to argue, Ginny sighed and went along with it. Bill was old. He clearly didn't know lots about games.

They reached their brothers at the edge of the garden. Ginny watched as Charlie grabbed a gnome that was sneaking up on Ron and flung it over the tall fence. Percy noticed them first and cleared his throat to get the rest of their brothers' attention. Suddenly, Ginny was surrounded by all six of her older brothers, who were looking at her expectantly.

"So what's this game?" she asked, crossing her arms like Mum did when she wanted answers.

"It's called Favorite Brother," Fred explained.

"So we all explain why we should be your favorite..." George continued.

"And you get to pick who you think is the best brother!" Fred finished.

Ron snorted. "They won't listen when I say I'm your favorite. Just tell them and we can play a funner game."

"Don't jump to conclusions, Ron," Bill scolded. "After all, Ginny was toilet trained before you were."

Ron's ears turned red and he sat heavily on the ground. Ginny giggled, remembering how upset Ron had been when she'd beaten him at that specific feat.

"And besides, Bill and I are always fun when we're around," Charlie said with a grin. "Summers and Christmases are fun times that we get to be together! You lot probably ignore poor Ginny the rest of the year."

"Not true!" Percy argued loudly. "She's always welcome to read with me, or learn chess from me with Ron."

After that, their "game" turned into a shouting match. Ginny didn't get it. Why did her brothers care about who her favorite was? She loved them all in different ways and for different reasons. It wasn't a competition.

But each brother had a reason why they were obviously her favorite. Even when Ginny tried quietly saying she didn't have one, they waved her off in favor of arguing. It was annoying, to say the least. For a game that was supposed to be all about her, they sure were ignoring her a lot. She finally gave a large sigh, flopping to the ground spread eagle.

"How long do we have to play this game?" she asked in a loud voice, grabbing their attention from shouting at each other.

"Until you pick a favorite," Charlie said with a grin, wiggling his brows. "Unless you already have one?"

"Well, what if I don't wanna pick a favorite?" Her voice grew defiant. If there was one thing that Ginny hated, it was being told what to do by her big brothers.

"Just tell them I'm your favorite then," Ron complained. "Come on, nobody else plays with you as much as me."

"Oi!" Fred protested. "Maybe she just can't choose because George and I are one and the same." The twins linked arms and, looking right at Ginny, jokingly pressed their faces together

"It's okay for you to pick both of us," George said winningly. "After all, nothing separates Gred and Forge!"

Charlie reached over and knocked the two boys' heads together. Ginny rolled her eyes like Percy always did when somebody annoyed him by interrupting his reading. Typical. They all wanted to win, and she couldn't win at this game. She had to play the judge.

"But this is boring!" she shouted.

"What if, instead of just explaining, we each prove to you why we should be your favorite?" Charlie suggested. Percy groaned, but the rest of the Weasley boys nodded emphatically.

"Why couldn't we just play hide-and-seek?" Ginny whined.

"Sure, that sounds fun, Ginny," Bill said placatingly, looking at their brothers with an odd expression. "Let's play that inside in case it rains. Does that sound good, Ginny?"

With a smile, Ginny jumped up and nodded, running toward the house. Finally, something fun to do!

"I call hiding first!" she yelled over her shoulder.

Dashing past Mum in the kitchen and crawling under the couch, Ginny couldn't help but feel that Bill and her other brothers had caved way too easily. Normally she had to beg for an eternity to get the twins or Ron to play what she wanted, and she'd given up asking Percy to play with her ages ago.

Then, a light went off in her mind. They all wanted to be her favorite, so she could get whatever she wanted! Oh, yes, this could be fun after all! And they did say it wasn't over until she chose. Of course, she'd have to be clever about it, but Fred and George always told her she was a good help when they pranked Percy.

And what she really wanted, more than anything, was to fly with her brothers. Maybe, if she played this right, she could get them to teach her to fly! It was her dream to fly just like Charlie in his quidditch matches, and between six brothers she could probably figure it out. She just had to make them each think they were the first one to take her, and that it would make that brother win.

Being a master manipulator, Ginny knew she would be able to pull this off. She smiled to herself from her hiding spot. She was a genius.

She started with Bill. Being that he was so much older than her, he was pretty easy to convince. One quick puppy dog look and a promise to send him Mum's cooking while he was away at school had her on his broom in front of him in no time.

She squealed as she looked down over the Burrow from about thirty feet in the air. They flew at a leisurely pace and Bill talked her through how to steer and maintain balance. She only almost fell once.

"You've got to keep a firm grip with your thighs," he explained easily. "The broom will do what you want it to do, but you have to keep a firm hold or else it will easily go out of control."

Ginny mentally took notes of everything he said, and when their flight was done she felt super happy.

Convincing Charlie the next day was even easier than Bill. Her older brothers were away at Hogwarts most of the year, so any chance to impress their baby sister was a good one.

"Charlie, Ron told me that you are the best quidditch seeker ever," she told him after dinner a few days later. "Does that mean you fly fastest, or just always see best?"

Charlie laughed. "Both, I guess."

"Can you show me?" she asked, showing her excitement in her eyes.

"Better," he said with a grin. "I'll take you up with me!"

And so, he pulled her out of the house just after dinner and took her on an hour-long tour of Ottery St Catchpole from the sky. He flew high and fast and Ginny couldn't believe how exhilarating it all was. She let out whoops and hollers, especially as Charlie dipped and looped in the air. Ginny could tell he was partially showing off, but she didn't care as she studied the way the broomstick felt and the way her brother handled it as they flew.

When they finally landed, Ginny was on cloud nine. However, when they walked back into the house, Mum was waiting for them with her hands on her hips and her wooden spoon in one of them.

"And where were you two tonight?" she demanded.

Ginny gulped, looking to her older brother to handle the situation.

"Just flying, Mum," he explained with a shrug, looking at his feet.

"Were you safe?" she demanded. Charlie and Ginny nodded emphatically.

"Ginny just watched," Charlie said quickly, coving for her. Mum looked at Charlie critically before sighing and sending them off to bed. Around the corner, she saw Percy hovering by his bedroom door.

'Drat,' she thought, 'now he won't think he's the first to teach me. Gotta be more clever…' Percy was the kind of brother who needed to think every idea was his own. Her plan came quickly and she had to contain a grin as she passed his door.

"Maybe there's a book that can show me how to get started," she muttered as loudly as she dared, hoping Percy would hear her. Books were his strong suit, but she saw her eleven-year-old brother joining the family quidditch games from time to time so she knew he could fly too.

The following day, a book about flying techniques was shoved under her bedroom door. She grinned, knowing this meant she had his attention.

Of course, at breakfast he asked if she had found the book, and offered to teach her the basics of flying. Ginny's grin took over her entire face and she practically bounced in her seat. That is, until he told her she had to read the book first. She was just glad it had pictures.

So two days later, Percy was showing her the basics. It felt like everything he told her was a criticism, but at least she was holding a broom and not his back.

They barely left the ground as he instructed her to "use caution" and "be more commanding" and "grip more firmly." Ginny was convinced that he was overthinking the whole thing.

So far, it had seemed like grab and go. All Bill and Charlie had to do was hold on tight and guide the flight with their bodies. The book instructions Percy had were just too complicated.

They hovered side by side around the yard for a very tiring hour before Ginny thanked him with a smile and a hug and ran inside.

Even if Percy wasn't a great flyer, at least she knew his advice would be useful. There was nothing the twins loved more than one-upping Percy, after all.

"Freddie! George! Percy gave me a flying book! Isn't that awesome?" she shouted, darting through the house to find them the next day.

Her twin brothers shared a look then grinned widely.

"Well, Percy may be good with books, but can he show you the skies?" George asked confidently.

Ginny shook her head, indicating he had not. She wasn't technically lying. After all, Percy hadn't shown her more than six feet off the ground, let alone the skies.

"Well we can!" Fred proclaimed and the twins whisked her out the door.

The two of them kept her in the skies for hours on end. First Fred, then George, took her all over the property just like Charlie and Bill, but ducking lower and doing a lot more explaining of what to do. Even when she wasn't on a broom with one twin, he flew alongside to offer even more help to her learning.

Ginny mentally took notes. She was ecstatic. Of course, she knew it wouldn't last long since she didn't have her own broom, but for now they were actually teaching her!

Skipping inside after her flights with the twins, Ginny was faced with her Mum's critical gaze for the second time that week.

"What sort of shenanigans are you getting up to with your brothers?" Mum asked warningly.

Ginny tilted her head slightly, feigning ignorance. "What's shenanigan mean?"

Mum pursed her lips. "Do you think that I don't see you sneaking off to fly with your brothers each day? You're far too young to be flying with them."

Ginny shrugged, trying to contain her guilt by looking at her feet. "They just all wanna be my favorite brother... "

"And how does flying tie into that?" Mum asked. Ginny shuffled her feet, still looking down.

Mum waited and waited, and as much as Ginny didn't want to give her an answer, she knew that she wasn't getting out of it.

"They never let me use their brooms, so I'm just asking them for lessons since they think it'll make them favorite," she explained simply.

Mum's eyes softened. "I know you want to fly, Ginny, but you're still only six years old. Wait until you're older. Ron wasn't allowed to fly until this year, and only now because Bill got that new broom."

Ginny stomped her foot and pouted. "I don't want to wait until Hogwarts to learn though. If they're gonna teach me, why shouldn't I learn?"

Mum sighed and shook her head. "If you keep manipulating your brothers, telling them they'll be your favorite if they fly with you, they're going to figure it out and you will lose their trust. Just think about if that's worth it to you."

Mum turned and went back to cleaning pans, signaling to Ginny that she was dismissed.

She sighed as she left the kitchen. She wouldn't stop getting her flying lessons, but maybe she would stop pretending to play favorites just to get her lessons. She still hadn't convinced Ron to take her flying, though. He was always the hardest to convince of her ideas.

Maybe she could milk it just one more time…

So that night, she worked on getting Ron to say yes. If Mum was on to her, she had to speedily finish the process of getting flying lessons out of this game. Sure, her brothers were giving her compliments and doing things like sharing dessert, but she had to get what she really wanted before they all got bored.

"It would make you the best brother though, Ron," she said, sitting beside him on the couch and batting her eyes. That usually worked since Ron always told her she was babyish. If she played it up, he would eventually give in.

"I don't know, Ginny… It doesn't sound safe and I'm not that good at flying myself yet."

"I bet you're as good as Bill at least! And he plays Chaser at Hogwarts!" Ginny said with a nod. Laying on the flattery would do the trick she figured. Padding Ron's ego was always the best way to get what she wanted out of him.

"Well…" Ron said, seeming to consider it.

"Oh, please!" Ginny exclaimed, laying it on thick with doe eyes and a pout.

Ron finally sighed. "Fine, but only one ride with me, and we've gotta be careful not to fall or get caught."

Ginny hugged him around the waist. "Thank you so, so much!"

However, Ron turned out to be the biggest worrywart out of all her brothers. Their flight was short, low, and slow. In other words, it was completely boring for Ginny.

"Fly higher, Ron!" she urged him endlessly.

But each time he only replied, "But it's not safe. I'm not getting in trouble for you falling."

Ginny moaned and groaned, called him boring, and even threw around the fact that it was such a bad flight he could never be her favorite, but he wouldn't budge.

When they finally touched down, Ron slung his broomstick over his shoulder and stormed away.

'Fine,' thought Ginny. 'I don't even need him anymore.'

So, thinking she could get another flight out of another brother, she knocked on Charlie's door.

"Charlie…" she started, poking it open. "Will you take me up high to fly again?"

Charlie groaned from his seat at his desk. Ginny saw him drop his forehead to the table. "Can it wait, Gin? I'm busy," he mumbled.

"Um… okay, I guess so," Ginny replied quietly, backing out and closing the door again. Okay, she figured, so Charlie didn't want to be her favorite anymore. That was fine. She could ask one of the twins.

Running down the hall, she barged into the twins' room with a grin, confident one of them would indulge her. As the door flew open, she heard them shout and watched a jar shatter from one of their shelves. The room suddenly smelled distinctly like the bathroom after Mum's beans on toast dinner nights.

"Now look what you did, Ginny!" one of the twins yelled, frantically opening the window while covering his nose.

"I just wanted to…" she started, only to gag on the smell. The other twin groaned and shoved her out of their room.

"Don't care. You've made a mess. Go away," he said unkindly, closing the door in her face.

Ginny, not one to cry, got angry. Apparently, their Favorite Brother game was over and now she had to play alone.

Defiantly, she marched down to the broom shed on the Burrow grounds and jimmied the lock open. Reaching inside, she pulled out George's broomstick and mounted it just like Percy had shown her. Looking up into the sky, she pushed up hard and rocketed upward.

The wind blew her hair back and stung her eyes. She rose just above the roof of the Burrow. Ginny's seventh, but far from final, flight took her around the Burrow's yard. She sped through the trees and over their small lake, leaning down to feel the water splash against her skin.

Flying with her brothers paled in comparison to flying alone, and she resolved to steal their brooms each day until she could fly as well as Charlie and be able to play in their quidditch games. Never again would she have to beg them.

She could fly all on her own.