Chapter 15: Trouble, My Name Is Ginny
Ginny woke up early on the day of their first Quidditch Match filled with excitement. It was her chance to finally get out there and show what she could do. While it was true they had only been working together for a short time the team was coming along nicely. The only snag was the loss of Katie, but her boyfriend Dean Thomas had stepped in for her when she had gotten hurt and had been working well with both her and Demelza Robins. Speed was useful, but they were starting to appreciate that extra reach and the strength he had to fight through tough spots. Their beaters were adequate if not quite as brilliant as the twins had always been. She wasn't worried about Harry at all not only was he a great seeker but he had a firebolt to outstrip the competition in any races towards the snitch. Her only concern at the moment was how Ron would do. He was a great keeper, but she knew that nerves had a tendency to get the better of her brother. She took a quick shower and donned her Quidditch gear before grabbing her broom and making her way down to the common room. To keep her long red hair out of the way she'd pulled it back into a simple but effective ponytail for the match.
When she got down to the common room Ginny saw Harry dragging a queasy looking Ron out the door, telling him he would feel better once he got some food in him. There were a few students in the younger years she wasn't very familiar with sitting and talking with each other. Dean was either at breakfast already or yet to come down since he was absent, and her roommates Parvati and Lavender were in the corner giggling and gossiping. She figured that Dean would be alright and was about to make her own way out so she could grab a quick bite before heading to the pitch when she heard a snippet of what Hermione's roommates were gossiping about, making her face burn red with both embarrassment and her temper. Why the two of them couldn't leave well enough alone she would never understand. Lots of people heard or passed on rumors occasionally, but the two of them were always trying to use it to their own benefit or humiliate people for no reason other than they were bored or simply waned to.
"Oh come on Parvati, you know she's only with Dean because Harry's not on the market. She's just using him as a distraction while she waits for him to become single again. I mean, you don't really think that him and Loony Lovegood will last, do you?" Lavender asked, barreling on when she got a nod from her friend. "Of course they won't. She'll want to be there to pick up the pieces. But let's talk about how I can get Ron, I was thinking maybe I could make a move tonight if we win the match today. There's usually a party, so that would be the perfect time to strike." she said, leaning closer and talking quieter so she couldn't hear the rest of what they were saying. Hearing the girl talk about making a move on her brother was enough to make her queasy, but Ginny decided to push through and her anger quickly burned it away. She had to say something, this wasn't an instance she could just let go and walk away..
Ginny picked up on the fact that part of that conversation had been about her basically using Dean while she waited for Harry and Luna to break up. She really didn't think she was that type of person. Did she have feelings for Harry still? Okay yes, maybe a little...but, she liked Dean too! On top of that hearing anybody call her friend Luna was sure to set her off, and she stalked over to them and grabbed Lavender's shoulder to get her attention. "You know, usually gossiping about people works better when they can't hear you. I'm glad I caught it though, because you seem to be very confused on a few details. I'm not just using Dean while I wait for Harry you bitch, and him and Luna make a great couple. As for my brother, he may be thick when it comes to girls but I'm sure even he is smart enough to avoid the likes of a slag like you." she said angrily, but trying to keep a low enough tone so as not to draw too much attention. "I'd love to duel you, maybe that would teach you some manners. So what do you say, think you can back up your words with some well-placed spells?" she asked, giving her an unsettling grin as she imagined what she could do to her. Nothing permanent mind you, but hopefully effective.
Lavender was surprised when the subject of their conversation appeared and interrupted their gossip session but she was not at all intimidated by Ginny. She was well aware that the girl would beat her in a duel, but when it came to mincing words she could more than hold her own with anybody at Hogwarts. "Ginny, Ginny, Ginny...it's obvious to anyone with half a brain that you don't really like Dean." she said, putting the emphasis on really to drive her point home. "You might think he's fun to make out with but I've been here long enough to know that you only care about Harry. You're just lying to yourself to justify it. As for Ron, I don't think he knows what he wants. Maybe he just needs a girl to show him. So unless you intend to start a fight with me and get in trouble for it I have no intention of dueling you. Now...run along, Parvati and I were busy. Now, run along." she said, glaring daggers at her before a wicked smile appeared on her face. "Oh look, there's Dean now. Hi, Dean." she said, giving him a cheery wave. The timing couldn't have been more perfect in her book, but Ginny felt like the floor had been pulled out from under her.
She whirled around to find Dean frozen at the foot of the boys' staircase, having heard a lot of what Lavender just said because unlike Ginny she'd made no attempt to be quiet. He looked hurt and met her eyes, waiting for Ginny to tell him Lavender was wrong. Deep down though, she knew that there probably was some truth to what Lavender was saying. Harry had always had a special place in her heart and that hadn't changed even though her friend had started to date him. Maybe she'd made a mistake in trying to date Dean so quickly after the two of them got together. Dean was replacing Katie since she was still recovering, and he just shook his head as he walked up to Ginny. Her moment of hesitation had told the boy everything he needed to know. "Don't you dare try and apologize or talk to me, we're through. I'll still play in the match, but don't expect anything else from me. Lavender might gossip too much, but clearly she actually does know who you like. It's my own fault for getting fooled, I guess." he said, walking by her and out the door to go and head down to the pitch. He was using one of the school brooms, and oddly enough after that little display he wasn't feeling all that hungry.
Some tears started to fall down Ginny's face and she scrubbed them away before looking at Lavender with a hate-filled glance. "Happy now? You should try getting your own life instead of picking apart everybody else's." she spat venomously, before leaving as well. She heard the two of them giggle behind her and start talking again, clearly not upset that they'd just broken up a relationship. It was enough to make her sick to her stomach, and all of a sudden a game of Quidditch with both Dean and Harry out on the Pitch seemed a lot more daunting of a task than it did a fun one. She knew she would need some energy though, and made herself go down to the Great Hall to have some beans on toast and some juice. She ate mechanically and was so distracted she didn't even really taste the food at all. More than being mad at even Parvati or Lavender though, she was angry with herself for not recognizing where her own feelings were still directed earlier.
`(OvO)´
Harry was starting to feel a little better about the game as he'd finally gotten Ron to eat something. He still looked a little green but he'd started to talk strategy with him. Those hopes were dashed when he saw Ginny eating her food like it was cardboard and not talking to anyone at all. Usually she was talkative, funny, and he would have thought she would be excited about the Quidditch match instead of nervous. She didn't even seem to take notice of her surroundings as she picked at her food and he frowned. It really wasn't like her and he was starting to wonder if something happened between her and Dean or something else. After all, they had been dating last he checked. "Hey, Ginny. Are you okay?" he asked, wondering if he'd even be able to get her attention because she seemed a million miles away.
She looked up at him, seemingly surprised to see him there. "Oh, hi Harry. I'm fine, it's just...Dean and I broke up." she explained, looking down at her plate and picking at her food some more. "Don't worry though, he said he'll still play the match. We won't let it affect our teamwork too much." she assured him. It was obvious that she was anything but fine, and he wasn't sure how a break-up on the morning of a game would be manageable for their teamwork but decided being optimistic was about all they could do. He'd told Dean the replacement spot was his, and if the boy wanted to play he wasn't going to take that away from him.
While Harry appreciated that they would try their best to keep the team going, he was also worried about his friend. He would talk to Luna later and see if she could help cheer her up. Hermione was the only other female friend he'd had and since she'd never really dated yet he hadn't had much practice in comforting the opposite sex. "Don't worry about the match too much, just do what you can. It's a fun game, but one lost match isn't the end of the world if they get the better of us. Sorry about you and Dean." he said, trying his best to sound supportive. He figured that was safe territory, and honestly a simple sorry about the break-up was about all he had at the moment.
Ginny just nodded and went back to her food, but left after a few minutes since it was obvious she wasn't in the mood for it right now. Harry turned back to Ron who seemed to be getting ready to say something disrespectful about Dean. Clearly, he'd heard enough of the conversation to know they hadn't worked out and was preparing to go all big brother on Dean when he saw him. "Stop it, we don't know what happened between them or why they broke up. You can confront him later if you want, but we really should get down to the pitch so we can warm up." he told his friend, who begrudgingly nodded. Harry got up, and when he saw Ron still wasn't moving he dragged him up and walked behind him, nudging him when he would slow down. "Come on, Ron. We only have so much time to warm up before the game and I need you at your best." he said firmly.
As they were walking out of the great hall to head towards the pitch they bumped into Hermione and Harry stopped briefly to talk with her. "Ginny and Dean broke up, no idea why. Can you let Luna know that Ginny could probably use someone to talk to, later?" he asked her. There really wasn't all that much time before the match or he'd look for her himself. Something told him this game was going to go badly with how distracted everybody was, and he knew he would have to find the Snitch fast or Slytherin would take advantage of it. He did not want to see a gloating Draco flaunting a win over him, blaming their loss on Potter's leadership abilities as their team captain. Imagining that was enough to make his skin crawl and he would do what he had to do if he could avoid it.
Hermione looked surprised to hear the two had broken up but nodded. "Sure thing, Harry. Good luck out there, today. I heard that one of the Slytherin Chasers had a head injury at practice the other day and I don't think he's playing, so don't lose hope yet. I know you can do it." she said, flashing him a friendly smile before heading inside to get some food and talk to Luna. Harry was grateful for the help, he would talk to Luna himself but he knew it would take all the time he had to refocus Ron on the match and he needed to start soon.
Harry smiled at her and nodded, clapping Ron on the back as they continued out onto the grounds. "Hear that Ron? They're down a chaser. That should make your job a little easier." he told him. He was a little nervous about what he'd find when he got out to the Pitch, but Ginny seemed to be using flying and Quidditch as her escape from reality as her and Demelza were flying around and tossing the Quaffle back and forth. Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote were already there hitting a bludger up and down part of the Pitch, and he saw Dean coming their way. He helped Ron get warmed up by shooting with him and let Dean join the Chasers. Things seemed a little awkward between them, but for the most part they seemed to be keeping it together alright.
After about fifteen minutes he gathered everybody on the ground. "Okay, it looks like Malfoy's a no show plus one of their chasers is out. Slytherin is weak right now and I know we can crush them. Everybody do their best." he said, putting his hand in and waiting for the others to do the same. "One, two, three, Gryffindor!" he shouted, the others joining him before they flew up to their positions. The match was about to begin and Harry closed his eyes briefly as he took a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts. The quicker he ended this the better for them, so he would need to be at his best. It was true that a low scoring game might hurt them down the road, but it was better than a loss.
`(OvO)´
The game was a fairly short one, with Gryffindor winning by a 250 point margin. In spite of the team drama with Dean and Ginny and Ron being angry that Dean might have hurt his little sister, they all played pretty well. Ginny and Demelza worked great together, and Dean did an excellent job of breaking up passes to get the quaffle back in their hands. Ron struggled a little at first, but once he started to focus on the game did an excellent job. Their backup seeker was much better than Malfoy, which wasn't really all that surprising...but Harry still managed to get the snitch in the end. While he was glad they'd gotten their first win of the year, it kind of felt like a hollow victory with everything that was going on.
The team all hit the showers and then went to find some food and have a celebration in the Gryffindor common room. Harry stayed behind to clean up their locker room a bit and then go and find Luna. He was sure the party would be fun, but he would have a better time celebrating with his girlfriend. After he'd gotten changed and went to leave he saw Ginny watching Dean walk off with a sad look on her face and he figured he should probably say something. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her. "Did he break up with you because he likes somebody else or something?" Harry asked. He of course had already been eating with Ron so hadn't heard anything about what had happened in the common room after he left.
Ginny seemed startled when Harry spoke to her, clearly not having noticed him there. "No, we broke up but it was more because of things on my end." she said, looking at Harry and biting her lip. "Look, I know you probably don't want to hear this but...you see...I like you." she said, pausing a little before looking at him with a fire in her eyes. "I always have, and I don't think that's going to change. Do you think you might ever like me back?" she asked him. The words had slipped out before she'd even realized what she was saying, but once they were out in the open she felt relief at not having to keep it in any longer. Some guilt too, but she wasn't going to try and take it back after finally coming so far.
Harry could see the hope in her eyes and while he didn't want to hurt her feelings he didn't want to lie to her either. "I don't really know, Ginny. Right now I care about Luna, and I don't see that changing any time soon. She told me she talked to you about it when we first got together, because she knew you had had a crush on me. You'll always be a friend, I can't promise more than that." he said, feeling rather uncomfortable with the turn this conversation had taken. "Maybe you need to go and relax somewhere, it's been a trying day for all of us." he suggested.
At first Ginny seemed to nod and listen, but when he said that she would always be a friend she moved closer to him. His suggestion of her going off somewhere to relax didn't seem to register at all, and before he could do anything to stop her she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down for a rough kiss. When he pulled back and swatted her hands away from him she smiled, shooting him a wink. "And what do you think now...still think we'll always be just friends?" she asked, thinking she may have gotten him to come around to her way of thinking. Her inner Gryffindor was shouting at her to snog him senseless, and she was about to try for a second attempt when Harry spoke up.
More than a little shocked that she would do something like that, Harry just shook his head in disbelief at the lengths she would go to try and get him. "Now I'm not so sure. If you keep acting like this I don't think we can be friends." he said, grabbing his broom and turning to leave. At this point he didn't care if he hurt her feelings, she needed to know that this sort of behavior was not something he was going to accept or brush under the rug. When he started walking he saw Luna standing there, clearly having come by to congratulate him on a game well played. There were tears streaming down her face that he could make out even from a good fifty feet away. "Luna, wait! It's not what you think!" he called out, but she was already turning and walking off, disappearing into the stands. By the time Harry got to where she'd been and looked around, she was nowhere to be seen. The look in her eyes chilled him to the bone, it was like seeing that had ripped the bright light she had always had in them and stomped on and ground it into the dirt.
Turning right back around, he found Ginny still standing right where she'd been trying to process what had just happened. "Luna's been one of your best friends since you were a kid, and you repay her by trying to get her boyfriend to cheat on you. A boyfriend who still doesn't want you by the way. Earlier I told Hermione to go and talk to Luna so she could try and comfort you on your break-up with Dean, but clearly you weren't all that broken up about it in the first place." Harry said angrily, glaring at her. "Look, you need to apologize to her. I don't know if she'll believe me or not when I tell her I was pushing you away and that I wasn't interested. She's your friend, maybe you should stop acting so selfish and try acting like hers." he told her icily before walking off. Things had been like a dream since he'd started dating Luna, and he could feel it crashing down around him as cold reality set back in. He should have known better than to think he could keep something so good alive, everything always tended to die around him.
Luna had quickly become the most important person in his life in the short time they'd been dating. He still cared about his friends but they didn't share the same bond that he had with Luna. If he lost her...he knew he wouldn't ever be the same. Maybe he had been harsh with Ginny but right now he was more concerned with how to try and salvage his own relationship. Harry didn't know if Luna would believe him, he hoped so...but it had to have looked pretty bad seeing them kiss. Plus she'd been too far away to hear anything of what they'd been talking about. For all he knew she might have thought the only reason they'd stopped kissing was because she had shown up. He wouldn't blame her if she decided not to be with him any more, and he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for hurting her like that. Even if he hadn't been the one to initiate the kiss, he should've seen it coming. Luna herself had told him about Ginny's feelings so he should've been more cautious around her.
Meanwhile, Ginny had taken a seat on the ground when her feet had started to get unsteady beneath her. She'd brought her knees up to her chest and was holding onto them as tears started to fall hot and fast down her face. Never in a million years would she have thought Harry would threaten to end their friendship, and he was right about her essentially stabbing Luna in the back. Today had just happened so fast that she hadn't been able to catch up, and her emotions had taken over when she'd seen Harry and thought they were alone. It didn't change the fact that what she had done could have cost her both Harry and Luna's friendships though, and she pressed her forehead tight against her knees as she tried to block out the world. "What have I done?" she asked herself quietly, rubbing at her eyes as she tried to get a grip.
It took her a good ten minutes before she was able to pull herself up off the floor and head back inside. Ginny would try to talk to Luna eventually and explain things, but right now she just needed to find her bed and pull the curtains closed. All she had done today was hurt her friends, and she needed to try and find a way of coping with all this without anyone bothering her. With a look of determination, she just kept walking forwards when anybody tried to congratulate her on a game well played. Things got rather challenging when she got to the Gryffindor common room, but she eventually fought her way through and found both dorm and bed waiting for her. She curled up on her bed after drawing the curtains closed and hugged her pillow for dear life as another wave of tears threatened to drown her. Already her stomach was starting to hurt from the sobbing, but she figured that pain was the least of what she deserved for all she'd done today.
A/N: Sorry about the delay in posting, I've been a little busy and started back to work so this story got bumped don a little on my priorities list. Hope you all like, I've been looking forward to adding some drama into what so far has been a pretty fluffy ship. Would love to hear your thoughts on the story so far. Anyways, thanks for reading.
Also, I have been going back and editing what I've done so far. Already through chapter four. One person gave me a review pointing out some problems that I wanted to address and I wanted to fill in some detail that I noticed was sorely lacking when I started to skim through. It's not necessary to reread the story to keep going, but I think it's improvement so if you get curious feel free to go back and look. Hopefully it reads a little better.
