"He did what!" Ginny's shriek drew the attention of the whole common room. Harry had gone to find her immediately after the last class of the day had ended to tell her what Ron had done during Care of Magical Creatures.
"Sshhh!" Ginny slapped a hand over her mouth and peeked around the common room. "Nothing to see here, just listening to a very interesting story." Most people just shrugged and returned to whatever they'd been doing, but the few people who knew the group of friends better than that knew which story Ginny was being told. After all, several of them had been there during Ron's grand apology.
"This is great, Harry!" she told him excitedly. "We should use this as a way to throw hints at them tonight, it's the perfect excuse to talk to them about their feelings for each other."
"Okay, that's a good idea. I almost got Ron to admit he fancies her at lunch, but he stopped."
"I wonder why," she drew her eyebrows together, thinking.
"It's hard to tell someone that you like them when you don't think they'll like you back," Harry had a sad expression on his face.
Ginny mind raced with questions, but her throat was so tight she couldn't speak. Why does Harry look so upset? How does he know what Ron feels? Is he in love with someone? Ginny was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she almost missed it when Harry spoke again.
"I'm guessing that's how it feels, anyway" Harry seemed nervous now, like he'd said something he shouldn't have.
"Right, well, we're going to have to keep gently nudging them together. If that doesn't work we'll have to go a little more drastic." Harry's eyes widened, but he didn't argue. Being a part of this plan gave him alone time with Ginny, and he'd take whatever he could get, even if it meant getting killed by Ron or Hermione if they ever found out.
"How much more drastic?"
She thought for a second before saying, "Ron is extremely jealous towards Hermione, especially when she talks about Krum. We'll just ask Hermione how he's doing or you could ask her to tell him you said 'hi' next time she writes to him."
"I don't know Ginny, that could cause a really bad fight, and they're impossible to deal with when they argue."
"That's the point. They always feel awful when they fight, which makes them want to make up. Maybe adding in a little jealousy would help things along."
"Alright, it's worth a shot, I suppose," He sighed.
"Don't worry, I have a feeling this could work." He gave a wry smile at her words. Their plan decided, they spent the next hour talking about their first quidditch practice, which was in a week. They were using his birthday gift from Ron and Hermione to try out different plays, Ginny sneaking glances at him when he wasn't looking. He was the most handsome boy she'd ever seen with his messy pitch black hair and emerald green eyes. She loved everything about him. The way he'd run a hand through his hair trying to make it lay flat. How he'd do anything for his friends. That he tried to handle things on his own, so he could spare everyone else.
"You guys ready to go down to dinner?" Ron's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Yeah," Harry got up, holding a hand out for Ginny so he could pull her to her feet. They waited for Hermione to get back from the library, then went down to the Great Hall, sitting at their usual spots.
"Who's that?" Ron nodded towards the professors' table. They all turned to look. Sitting to Professor Dumbledore's left was a tall, wiry man who looked to be in his fifties. He had salt and pepper colored hair that just reached the tops of his ears and he had a pleasant expression on his face as he talked with Professor Sprout.
"You think he could be our new dark arts teacher?" Ginny asked.
The group's eyes lit up at the prospect of finally having a new teacher. They silently will Dumbledore to stand up and give his speech announcing who their guest was. They waited fifteen minutes for their unspoken pleas to be answered.
"Your attention please!" Dumbledore motioned for the man beside him to stand. "I have a brief announcement to make before we enjoy our delicious meal. I would like to introduce Professor Godfrey Bovin, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." A cheer rose up from the hall.
"Defense classes will begin next week, at which time you will learn as much about Professor Bovin as he wishes to tell you. Now," Dumbledore clapped his hands, making the tables fill with food.
"This is so exciting!" Hermione gushed, obviously enjoying the idea of more homework. The others nodded their agreement, they all had a good feeling about this one.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Come on, Ron, we're going to be late!" Hermione pulled on Ron's arm. The week had passed too slowly at Hogwarts, everyone was waiting for their first DADA class. Ron was walking too slowly for Hermione's tastes, and she dragged him and Harry down the halls to class. They arrived with ten minutes to spare, Hermione forcing them to take seats at the very front of the room. Ron watched with an amused grin as Hermione took out parchment, a quill in her hand, ready to take notes. Harry just shook his head and smiled. The class began to fill with talking students, everyone eager to start.
A sudden hush fell over the class as Professor Bovin came into the room and walked to the front, turning to face the students. "Good afternoon, class," he smiled kindly. "I, as you know, am Professor Bovin. I will learn your names as we go, I promise. We will cover a wide range of topics this year and we will seldom be taking notes." There were excited whispers amongst the students at this statement.
"Each class will also be slightly different. Everyone from fifth year to seventh year will begin at the same level. After several weeks, I will form another class that will be filled with the more advanced students from those years. Everyone will have the opportunity to join as soon as I have deemed them ready. Sound fair?" The class nodded excitedly. "Very good. Today's class will be very simple. I am going to give you a handful of spells to research. Now, I don't need you to look up the history of the spell, who created it, or anything like that. I want you to learn what the spell does, different situations you can use it in, and the emotion you need in order to do the spell." He waved his wand and dozens of scrolls of parchment flew across the room, one landing in front of each student. "Class dismissed."
"This seems easy enough," Ron scanned the list of spells they'd been given as they left the class.
"Come on, if we go to the library now we can finish before dinner," Hermione grabbed their arms and steered them in the direction of the library. The boys rolled their eyes, it'd be easier to just go and get it over with than to protest. Nothing got in the way of Hermione and the library.
They got there a few minutes later, found a table, and sat down to go over the spells. "Have either of you ever heard of any of these? Harry gestured to the list of five spells. Ron shook his head, Hermione nodded her.
"Of course you have," Ron scoffed.
Hermione ignored him and started pulling books from the shelves. She scanned through the book until she found the first spell on the list, "Arcere armum is a shielding spell," she read.
"Protego is a shield charm, what's so special about this one?" Ron asked her.
"Protego makes whatever the person casts on you rebound back onto them. This says that arcere armum creates an invisible shield in front of you that simply blocks. It doesn't cause the other person's spell to rebound, it just protects you from getting hit."
Hermione handed a heavy book to Ron and one to Harry, telling them to go through them to find what they could about the other spells.
"I found one of them," Harry showed them his book. "Elementum. It allows you to control the four elements, but only one at a time. Controlling earth would be 'elementum telluris', air is 'elementum aeris', fire would be 'elementum incendo', and water would be 'elementum nympha'. It says you don't make the elements appear, it lets you control the elements that are already around you."
And so it went for the next hour, the three would look through the books, find one of the spells, and answer the questions Professor Bovin set them. They finished much earlier than they thought they would, so they went back to the common room to wait until dinner. Harry said the password to the Fat Lady's portrait, "Hippogriff." Her painting swung forward, allowing the three of them to climb through the opening.
"I thought Ginny and Dean had broken up," Ron had a disgruntled look on his face. Harry's head snapped around, his gaze scanning the room until it landed on Ginny and Dean sitting at a table in the corner of the common room and laughing. What is he doing with her? Are they back together? Harry felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. He had to find out.
"Why don't you just ask her?" Harry said as casually as he could.
"I can't do that, you know how bad her temper is," Ron's eyes widened. "Hermione you ask her."
Hermione hesitated, but one look at the distraught expression on Harry's face convinced her otherwise. "Oh, alright. Just don't watch us or she'll figure it out." Both boys faced the other way.
"Hey, Ginny. Dean." She greeted them both.
"Hi, Hermione. What's up?" Ginny looked at her.
"I was just going to ask if you wanted to go down to dinner together. Dean, you're welcome to join us, too. I didn't know you two had gotten back together." Hermione tilted her head questioningly.
"Oh, no, we're not," Ginny laughed. "We were just working on the homework for Professor Bovin."
"Besides," Dean added, ducking his head, "I'm sort of talking to someone else now."
"Really? Who is it?"
"Parvati," Dean mumbled, blushing a little.
"If he ever plucked up the courage to ask her out, I'm sure she'd say yes." Ginny smirked at him.
"I will," he sighed. "Eventually. You won't say anything, will you, Hermione?"
"Don't worry," Ginny smiled. "Hermione can keep a secret. I'll just finish up this homework real quick and join you guys in a minute."
"Okay. See you later Dean," through him a friendly wink, making him laugh.
"So, is she seeing him again?" Ron demanded as she sat next to him on the couch.
"Not that it's any of your business, but no, she's not. They're just friends."
"Seem awful comfy for 'friends'," Ron muttered under his breath.
Hermione rolled her eyes at him, but saw a somewhat relieved look cross Harry's face. She smiled to herself. Even if Dean hadn't asked her not to say anything about him liking someone else, she wouldn't have. It'd do Harry some good to think he had a little competition.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Two weeks later, Harry scheduled the first quidditch practice of the season for a Saturday. The first part of the day would be used to find the four new team members they needed. Harry had posted the tryout date on the bulletin board in the common room the week before. He was walking to the quidditch field after breakfast with Ron, now, to get things set up. They carried the large trunk that held the quaffle, beaters, and snitch between them.
"What do you think the odds are of us finding two beaters as good as Fred and George and two chasers as good as Angelina and Alicia?" Harry asked out loud.
"I don't know, but we need at least a decent team if we want to make it to the finals."
They got to the field, setting everything up as people started arriving to tryout. Harry's heart skipped a beat as he saw that Ginny was there to tryout, as well. He pulled his thoughts from her, waiting until everyone was there.
"Okay, so we're doing tryouts for two beaters and two chasers. After the decision's been made, I want the team to practice for the rest of the afternoon. Now, everyone who's trying out for beater form a group over here and chasers over there." He pointed to two spots on the field.
"Let's do beaters first. Ron, Katie, and I will act as the chasers. First up is Carl Hopkins and Michael Stewart!" The two seventh year boys stepped forward, mounted their brooms, and rose into the air. Harry, Ron, and Katie followed suit. They passed the quaffle between them, dodging the bludgers that Carl and Michael sent their way. Harry was quite impressed with Carl's abilities as a beater.
"Next up is Seamus Finnigan and Cormac McLaggen!" Harry watched as Seamus got into position while Cormac swaggered onto the field, throwing a flirty wink at Ginny as he passed her, making Harry's blood boil. He prayed he would be awful. By the end of the play, Harry got his wish, as Cormac was a terrible beater. Harry smiled as satisfaction filled him.
They continued sifting through the beaters until it was time for the chasers to tryout. Harry called two people at a time, one to tryout and one to wait until it was their turn. "Dean Thomas and Fay Dunbar!" This time, Ron took up his normal position as keeper, with Katie and Harry playing as opposing chasers who would try to get the quaffle away. Dean was a fairly good chaser, but Fay's lighter build made her much faster.
"Colin Creevey and Drew O'Connor!" Neither of these two were bad, but they weren't great either. After ten more tryouts, there was only one person left, "Ginny Weasley!" Ginny walked onto the field with a determined look. She swung a leg over her broom, rose into the air, and waited for Harry to give the signal for the play to start. Harry forced his heart to slow down, gave a nod indicating they were starting, and went to catch the quaffle as Katie threw it to him...but it was gone. Harry looked around, trying to see where it had gone, but cheers from the crowd below made him turn towards the goalposts.
Ginny was flying like a rocket towards Ron, who looked nervous at how fast his sister was flying at him. Ron went to dive out of her way when she swerved just six inches away from him, scoring a goal through the hoop to his right. Harry's mouth dropped open, seeing the same look on Katie's face.
"Blimey, I didn't even see her!" Katie said.
"Let's go again, Ginny!"
She circled around to where she'd begun, waiting for Harry's signal. He nodded, tossing the quaffle to Katie who took off. Harry sped in front of her to catch the quaffle as she tossed it to him, but the sudden appearance of a red blur caught him off guard. Ginny had shot straight up from underneath him and Katie, coming between the two of them to grab the quaffle. She raced to the goalposts towards Ron, who was ready this time. Ginny flew up over his head and circled him once, scoring a goal as he looked up to find her. This was the cycle for the next ten minutes: Harry and Katie would run increasingly difficult plays, Ginny would get the quaffle, get past Ron, and score every time. She didn't miss once.
Harry motioned for everyone to land. They all dismounted and walked back towards the waiting crowd, everyone staring at Ginny. The expressions ranged from admiration to awe. Harry forced himself to stop staring at her. "Okay, we're going to go talk and we'll be back with our decisions."
Harry led Ron and Katie away from the group, "For beaters I liked Carl and Seamus. What about you guys?"
"I thought they were both good. I didn't know Seamus could hit so hard," Ron rubbed his arm where one of Seamus' bludgers had just barely hit him.
"Seamus was good, and Carl is a good guy. I think he'd be a good team member," Katie said.
"Alright, so Seamus and Carl are our new beaters. What about the chasers?"
"You're joking, right?" Katie raised an eyebrow. "We've got to take Ginny, she's one of the best quidditch players I've ever seen!"
Harry nodded, "Ron, why didn't you tell us that Ginny was that good?"
"I didn't know," Ron turned slightly red.
"Who do you guys think we should take for the second chaser position?"
"Definitely not that McLaggen guy, he's an arse," Katie said wrinkling her nose. Harry felt immense relief knowing he wouldn't be on the team or anywhere near Ginny.
"I liked Dunbar, she was really good," Ron put in. Harry and Katie agreed and they all picked alternates in case any of the team members couldn't play. They went back to the group, announcing their decisions.
"For the positions of the two beaters, we've chosen Carl Hopkins and Seamus Finnigan!" The two boys whooped, receiving slaps on the back from their friends.
"And, for the positions of the two chasers, we've chosen Fay Dunbar and Ginny Weasley!" Both girls were congratulated by the other students.
"The alternate for the beaters will be Michael Stewart and the alternate for the chasers will be Dean Thomas!" Seeing Ginny give a friendly hug to Dean for being the alternate made Harry want to take back his decision, but he tamped down the urge to do it.
"Thank you for coming to try out. I'd like the new team members to stay so that we can start practice."
As the students wandered back to the castle, Harry started to go over the basic plays he wanted to run through before they had to go to dinner. They practiced for two more hours, running through every maneuver they could. Katie had a near miss with Carl's bat, Seamus spent the better part of thirty minutes trying to catch a rogue bludger, and Ron's face was steadily turning redder as he tried and failed to block Ginny. By the end of practice everyone was sweaty and dirty, but thrilled. They'd done a fantastic job and they knew it.
"Bloody hell, Ginny, where'd you learn to play like that!?" Ron was disgruntled about being beat by his younger sister, but impressed nonetheless.
Ginny smiled, "I was never allowed to play with you guys at home when we were younger, so when no one was paying attention I'd take each of your brooms out to practice." Ron's mouth fell open as Ginny laughed and headed back to the castle.
