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Chapter Three

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"Does anyone know if that bloke that was hit with the bludger is alright?" Ginny asked as soon as she opened the door. They were in the locker room as she shuffled her way in. She was stiff and sore. It ended up being a five hour game before the snitch was finally caught. They at least won but it was longer than the standard quidditch games she's played before. Her teammates were in a lighthearted mood, some already stripped out of their uniforms to change into after-party attire. But Ginny didn't find herself equal in their celebratory frame of mind, and not just because she was exhausted.

She was concerned. That bludger was going really fast… and especially since it was hit in her family's box seats, so whoever she had hit must have been one of her family's guests. She was ashamed to think that she had paused just to make sure that the person she hit didn't have red hair and was relieved to see that it was jet black.

Her teammate, Andrena, shrugged at her question. "Merlin knows."

Ginny frowned. That didn't make her feel any better. She made her way to her locker and stripped off her jersey. It was damp with sweat. She couldn't wait to get into clean clothes. As she undressed, she ignored the chatter from her teammates all around her, until something Dezma said caused her to pause.

"I heard that the Harry Potter was spotted sneaking in through the stadium today!"

Ginny gasped as her uniform slipped from her hands and whipped around to face the girl. "You didn't?!"

Dezma nodded eagerly back at her, eyes blazed with excitement. "Yeah, he was trying to sneak in unnoticed under a large cloak but it's difficult to not be spotted by at least a few people in such a large crowd."

Ginny could only imagine how more people didn't notice him. Harry Potter was difficult to miss.

"Harry Potter," Andrena sighed longingly as she swooned against her locker, fanning herself dramatically with her hand as she lost herself in a fantasy. "Talk about dreamy."

Ginny couldn't help but agree with her teammate's outspoken sentiment. For as long as she could remember, Ginny had a crush on the boy-who-lived while growing up… just from the stories her dad would tell her about him and his adventures. But he had also been a complete mystery… never a part of Wizarding society while he grew up. She would later find out in an exclusive interview that Harry Potter had given to the Prophet - a copy of which she covertly kept in her desk drawer at home - that he had been raised and trained extensively by his Godfather, Sirius Black. It had been the only interview Harry had ever given and she secretly treasured his every word on the printed paper.

But since he hadn't been in the public eye at all growing up, for so long Ginny had no idea of what he even looked like… that is, until the day of the final battle.

Ginny had been at school at the time. After all, every parent thought that Hogwarts was the safest place for their children during that time. How could they have known that a full-out war would take place there come spring? While running down the corridors and dodging curses and debris, she heard rumours from some of the other students during the battle that Harry Potter was seen on Hogwarts grounds, along with Voldemort. She hadn't believed it at the time and brushed it off, trying to make her way to higher ground with some younger students that she was protecting. But it was when she had peeked out of a shattered window, up in the towers of Hogwarts, when she had finally seen him for the first time.

Harry Potter was in the courtyard, a dead snake and a bloody sword lay abandoned on the stone ground, as he battled tremendously with Voldemort.

Absolute awe still struck her as she remembered the moment.

He had been magnificent.

The best and fastest wand movements she had ever seen as curse after curse shot out of the end of his wand without him even needing to mutter a single word.

But what also struck her in that moment was how grown up and attractive he looked as she watched him from a distance. Up until that point, she had always pictured him as a small, ten-year-old boy-hero from the stories told by her dad. But as she watched him that day as he defeated Voldemort once and for all, she only saw a man. An attractive man, at that.

After the final battle, it seemed that it was finally deemed safe enough for Harry Potter to join Wizarding Society. And all of a sudden, he was everywhere.

Pictures in the papers and gossip magazines.

Advertisements.

People claiming that they spotted him out in public.

And Ginny just couldn't get enough.

She soaked in every word. Every mention. And especially, every picture.

Though, there was one article in Witch Weekly that she particularly despised… 'Is Harry Potter Secretly Dating Singer Sidra Grimblehawk? Spotted Couple Caught Snogging - Source Says'.

She always hated that squawking wench of a singer.

But to think… Harry Potter has seen her playing Quidditch. If she had known that he was coming to the match beforehand, she would've been positively sick with nerves. And she definitely would not have scored as many points as she had.

She was interrupted from her innermost thoughts by the unexpected arrival of a barn owl that flew right up to her, perching itself on the bench next to her locker.

"Oh, hello little one," Ginny cooed at the tiny thing before she bent down and took the note out from its beak. She then turned and grabbed an owl treat from her locker and gave it to the bird. It devoured the treat and promptly flew away without another hoot of acknowledgment. She set about opening the letter.

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Ginny,

Mum canceled dinner tonight on account that we are all currently at St. Mungos. You really did a number on the poor bloke. Did you really have to hit that bludger so hard?

I'll keep you posted on any news.

Ron

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Ginny's blood ran cold. She sent a poor bloke to the bloody hospital?!

"Bollocks!" She cursed as she crumpled up the letter and tossed it in her locker.

Suddenly, she couldn't get dressed fast enough as she tore through her locker for the jumper her mum made for her and the pair of old jeans she had worn in before she changed for the game that day.

All of her teammates watched her with perplexed and surprised looks.

"What's the rush, Ginny?" Dezma asked her.

"I've got to get going!" Ginny got out in a rush as she put her head through the opening of the jumper, "That bloke I hit in the game is in the hospital. My family is with him."

Her other teammate, Thora, spoke up disapprovingly. "Gwenog's not gonna like you skipping the post-game meeting."

Ginny spared time to send her a scowl. Thora was always a stickler for the rules and tended to walk around with a broom up her arse. "Are you serious, Thora?! Someone is in the hospital. Because of me!"

Thora frowned. "You can go after-"

"I'll tell Gwenog what happened. She'll understand," Dezma spoke up, cutting off Thora's insensitive statement.

Ginny sent her a grateful look as she took out her wand from her locker and rushed out of the room, heading straight for the nearest apparition zone.

….

She popped back into existence right outside of St. Mungos and she wasted no time in wrenching the door open to the front lobby. She ran straight to the front desk.

"Hello, are you here to check in-?" The front receptionist greeted her. But Ginny cut her off.

"A man. Hit with a bludger. What room is he in?"

The woman frowned. "Do you know this man's name?"

Ginny ran a hand through her hair before throwing it up in the air in frustration. "No! All I know is that I was the one to hit that bloody bludger at him and I just want to make sure if he's alright!"

The receptionist looked at her disapprovingly. "I'm sorry, Miss. We can't let you through unless you have the name of the person you would like to visit. If you don't have that information, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Ginny ground her teeth in exasperation. The nerve of this woman!

"Please!" She begged. "I just want to make sure he's alright. I've never hurt anyone this badly before."

Well… she didn't count what she's done to Death Eaters.

The woman eyed her, her body language getting more and more testy. "It's like I said before, Miss, we can't just let anyone in without being given the name of-"

"Ginny?"

Her head whipped over to the side so fast that it caused a pang in her neck.

It was Percy. He was looking at her with an expression that matched the disapproval of the bloody receptionist that she was dealing with. It was obvious that he just came back from the hall that lead from the patient ward.

"Percy," Ginny sighed as she abandoned her post with the front desk to stand in front of her older brother.

"Why are you causing such a scene, Ginevra Molly Weasley? It's not dignified in such a place to-"

Ginny cut him off with a pleading look on her face. "Please, Percy. Can you please just tell me what room he's in? I just want- I need to make sure that he's alright. I feel terrible."

It was either her words or the expression on her face that caused Percy to soften before he responded with a sigh. "Alright. He's in room 114. The rest of the family went out to freshen up but Ron's still here somewhere."

She beamed up at him before she got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Perce. You're the best."

She left him then, going down the way that he just came. Her stride got steadily faster until she was speed-walking down the corridor toward the end of the hall, following the numbers outside of each patient room.

When she finally made it to room 114, Ginny burst into the open door of the hospital room and froze.

The blood in her veins ran cold.

She stared, wide-eyed, as she took in the lone, unconscious figure lying in the hospital bed. His forehead was darkened with purple bruises and his glasses were nowhere to be seen but his face was unmistakable.

"Merlin's Beard," Ginny whispered to nobody in particular. "I think I almost killed Harry Potter."