"Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, would you please stay behind?" Professor Bovin asked.

Ron and Harry exchanged confused glances while Hermione looked anxious. The only time they were ever asked to stay behind by a teacher was when they were in trouble, but none of them could think of anything they'd done.

"Please, don't look so nervous," Professor Bovin smiled. "I simply wanted to talk to you about my advanced defense against the dark arts class. I've been watching the three of you over the past few weeks and I'm very impressed with you. I'd like to extend an invitation to the advanced class to you."

Ron, Harry, and Hermione looked at one another, smiled, and nodded their heads. "Very good, the first meeting will be on October 31st at four o'clock."

"Thank you, sir," Hermione said. Harry and Ron nodded their thanks and followed Hermione from the room.

"I can't believe he chose me," Ron said in disbelief.

"Why not, Ron, you're very good when you put the effort in," Hermione smiled.

"I don't know, I don't want to make a fool of myself in the class," he mumbled, looking down.

Hermione's heart melted at the sad look on his face, "I can help you practice, if you'd like."

"You would?" Ron's face lit up.

Hermione nodded, smiling. "Let's go to the first class, see what Professor Bovin plans on teaching us, and then we can practice that.

"Okay. Thanks, Hermione." The two smiled at each other. Harry smirked when their grins lasted longer than usual. He schooled his features into an indifferent look, clearing his throat. They jumped, blushing a little.

"She's right, Ron. You'll be great!" They walked to their next class, talking about what Professor Bovin might teach them.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"We're going to be late! Move faster!" Hermione was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. It was the first day of the advanced dark arts class and while Ron and Harry were very much looking forward to it, no one could compete with Hermione's eagerness for a new class.

"Getting here fifteen minutes before the class starts doesn't make us late," Ron retorted, making Harry smile. They walked through the doors to Professor Bovin's classroom to find that they were indeed the first ones there.

"See," Ron smirked.

Hermione huffed at him and opened her mouth to retort. "Ah, good evening! It's good to see such enthusiasm in my students." Professor Bovin had come out of the office that was attached to the classroom.

"Yes, we're very excited to be here, sir." Hermione smiled, giving Ron a smug look. Harry laughed and the three took seats. They listened to Hermione theorize about the class as more students filtered in. Harry looked around, recognizing a lot of the faces. There was Katie Bell and Carl Hopkins from Gryffindor, Roger Davies and Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff, and Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini from Slytherin.

Harry saw Ron's fists clench at the arrival of Malfoy and Zabini, but Hermione put a hand on his arm, forcing him to look at her. "Please, Ron, don't let him get to you," She pleaded with her eyes. Ron's lips thinned into a tight line, but he nodded his head. Harry noticed that Hermione didn't take her hand off his arm.

Professor Bovin took note of everyone who'd come, checking names off a long list he had. "It seems everyone is here, except for—Ah, there she is! Come in, come in!"

"I'm so sorry I'm late professor, I lost track of the time." Harry's head whipped around at the sound of her voice. Ginny! What is she doing here?

Hermione beamed, waving her over to stand with them. Ginny scooted in to sit between her and Harry. "What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

Ginny shrugged, "Professor Bovin invited me after class yesterday."

Bovin motioned for them to stand and waved his wand, making the desks and chairs shoot to the far side of the room. The class formed a large circle with Professor Bovin in the center. "I have invited you all here today, because in the past weeks each of you has demonstrated abilities that are highly advanced. My hope is that, through this class, you will develop more skill with which to harness your powers to the very best of your capabilities. The magic you will learn here is not to be used against another student, or you will be removed from this class immediately. Is that understood?" The class nodded seriously.

"Very good. Tonight we will be going through the basics. I know this won't be much fun for you, but I can assure you that it is very important for me. Now, please partner up and practice these three spells," He waved his wand again, making a piece of chalk write out the spells on the board. "You may begin."

Ron had quickly asked Hermione to be his partner, fearing retribution from Ginny for all the times he'd made her angry if he was paired with her. Harry turned to her, "Gin, want to be my partner?"

Her eyebrows rose in surprise and Harry realized he'd just called her 'Gin'. Everyone else called her Ginny. Before he could stutter out an apology, Ginny smiled, "Sure, Harry."

They walked a couple feet away and stood facing each other. "You can go first if you'd like," Ginny said. Harry nodded, but hesitated. What if I don't concentrate enough and I hurt her?

Ginny seemed to sense his worry. "Harry, I grew up with six older brothers, you won't hurt me," She laughed.

Smiling slightly at her reassurance, he raised his wand "Expelliarmus!" Ginny gasped as her wand flew into the air, clutching her hand. Harry ran to her side, "Ginny are you okay?! I'm so sorry, I—," he stopped when he saw her laughing hysterically. "I'm sorry, Harry, but you should've seen your face!"

Harry sighed with relief when he saw that she was alright, but put on a mock angry expression, "That's not funny, I thought you were hurt."

"Don't be angry, I just wanted to show you that it takes more than a little spell to hurt me. Now you don't need to be worried when we practice." She smiled, making Harry grin in spite of himself.

"Fine, but don't do that again." She nodded, her eyes sparkling. He handed her her wand and they returned to their positions, this time it was Ginny's turn. "Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand launched into the air, landing neatly in Ginny's palm. She returned it to him and they continued to practice. Professor Bovin conjured overstuffed cushions for them to use when they practiced Petrificus Totalus and Stupefy. At six o'clock, Professor Bovin thanked them and sent them on their way to dinner, promising to let them know when the next meeting would be.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Ron, will you stop acting like a child?" Ron ignored Hermione, continuing to put butter on his bread. This had been going on since they'd arrived at the Great Hall twenty minutes before from Professor Bovin's class.

Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry as she turned to face her brother, "Ron, stop being a prat. The whole point of the class is to learn and practice. Just because Hermione stunned you right away and you didn't doesn't mean anything." Ron still had an annoyed look on his face.

"If you don't stop, I won't help you practice the spells...or help you with your homework ever again." The last part of Hermione's threat caught Ron's attention, "Fine."

"So are you guys ready for your first game?" Hermione redirected the conversation. The first quidditch game of the season was in two days, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.

"It's going to be great, we've got a really good team!" Harry couldn't wait, quidditch was the best game in the world to him, and it always made him feel good to know that he had a knack for something. Growing up with the Dursleys, he didn't get the chance to find out if he was good at anything.

"It's going to be so much fun!" Ginny was excited for her first game. It would feel good to be able to ride a broom again, especially one that she hadn't snuck out of the garden shed.

"Yeah, it's going to be...great." Ron looked down at his plate. He always got nervous before a match, he didn't fancy public humiliation.

"You're going to be just fine, Ron," Hermione smiled sweetly, covering Ron's hand with her own. This brightened Ron's mood considerably and he happily talked about quidditch for the rest of dinner.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Saturday morning Ginny got up early, dressed in her quidditch robes, and went down to the common room. It was too early for breakfast, so she pulled an armchair closer to the fire, getting comfortable. Ginny felt highly anxious for today, but it wasn't about the match. No, she knew what had her so nervous...Cho Chang.

Cho was the seeker for the Ravenclaw quidditch team, but it was Harry's reaction to her that was setting Ginny on edge. Harry had liked Cho, even going on a date with her the year before. What if he sees her again and realizes he still likes her? Cho made Ginny feel like she was second best, mainly because she'd had Harry, but she also made Ginny feel slightly uneasy. Cho was a highly emotional person, but she also gave Ginny the feeling that she was manipulative, as well.

It's probably just jealousy, Ginny sighed, staring into the fire.

"Hey, Ginny, you ready?" Ron's voice called from behind her, making her jump. She turned to see Harry and Ron in their game robes walking down the dormitory steps, Hermione following behind them.

Ginny shook herself from her thoughts and followed them to the Great Hall where they ate breakfast. When they were done, Hermione walked with them to quidditch field, "Good luck, you guys will do wonderfully!" Giving Ginny a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek to Harry and Ron, she walked away to find a seat in the stands, leaving a very red Ron behind her.

The rest of the team arrived, prompting Harry to give the customary pre-game speech. Harry wasn't much for giving speeches, so he opted for a shortened pep talk, "I know that some of you might be nervous with this being your first game, but if everyone plays like they did during practice, we won't have any trouble beating Ravenclaw. Let's go." The team walked onto the field to deafening cheers. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were dressed in their house colors, waving banners, and chanting their team's name. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin students were free to cheer for whoever they wanted, but it was a known fact that Slytherin would support any team that was going against Gryffindor.

Harry, as captain, walked slightly in front of the rest of the team, meeting the Ravenclaw team captain, Roger Davies, in the center of the field. The two shook hands and listened to Madame Hooch give her speech on playing a "nice, clean game".

Harry felt someone staring at him. He turned his head to find Cho Chang, the seeker for Ravenclaw, watching him with a small smile on her face. He jerked his head away, caught Ginny's curious look, and smiled at her. Her returning grin made his heart beat faster. Turning his head slightly to see if Cho was still looking at him, he was surprised to find that she was now glaring furiously at Ginny. He would have thought more about this, but Madame Hooch blew her whistle, signaling the start of the game. Harry shook his head to clear it, straddled his broom, and launched himself into the air with the rest of his team.

Harry circled high above the field, watching for the snitch. Ron positioned himself in front of the center goalpost, Carl and Seamus were circling their team members, bats in hand and ready to fight off the bludgers, and Katie, Ginny, and Fay were racing towards the Ravenclaw goals, Fay holding tightly onto the quaffle. Ginny and Katie flew straight at two of the Ravenclaw chasers, distracting them long enough for Fay to fly ahead of the third and score.

"And they score! 10 points to Gryffindor!" Shouted a boy Harry didn't recognize, but who was obviously taking over the role of commentator since Lee Jordan had graduated.

The Gryffindor side of the stands roared with applause. Harry watched as one Ravenclaw chaser threw the quaffle to another, shock written on both of their faces as Ginny shot up from beneath them, grabbing the quaffle and shooting in the other direction. Harry laughed, it was the same trick she'd done during her tryout.

"And Ginny Weasley grabs the quaffle right from under the Ravenclaw's noses! She narrowly dodges Roger Davies...she's heading straight for the Ravenclaw keeper, Isaac Alexanders...she shoots...she scores! Another 10 points to Gryffindor!" The crowd cheered below them.

"For those of you who don't know, Ginny Weasley is one of the newest members of the Gryffindor team. Right smart girl with a nasty temper if you—"

"James! Focus on the game, if you please!" Harry heard the familiar rebuke from McGonagall and smiled. Looks like they had another Lee Jordan amongst them.

Harry flew in circles, looking for the glint of gold that was the snitch. He saw Cho searching for it as well, which gave him some relief to know she hadn't seen it either.

"And that's 10 points to Ravenclaw!" Harry looked over his shoulder to see Ron's angry face as a Ravenclaw chaser flew away from him.

"Davies has the quaffle, he dodges Bell, he shoots...and he's intercepted by Dunbar! Right pretty girl, that Dunbar. Lovely brown hair and—"

"Mr. James!"

"Right, sorry professor. Dunbar has the quaffle, she passes it to Bell, Bell throws it to Weasley, Weasley heads for the goals...10 points to Gryffindor!"

Thirty minutes later everyone was on edge. Seamus had been hit in the arm by a Ravenclaw bludger, Katie had nearly been knocked off her broom by one of their chasers, and Ron's face was grower darker with every score from the other team. After letting three goals past him in a row, Ginny had flown over to hover just beside him. She spoke quietly to him, drawing curious looks from members of both teams. By the time she flew away from him, Ron had a renewed determination in his eyes.

Harry didn't have time to think about it, though. The score was now tied 80 to 80, and if Cho got the snitch before he did, it'd be all over with. Scanning the area around the field, Harry caught a quick flash of gold. It was so fleeting it might've been the sun reflecting off someone's binoculars in the stands. Harry wasn't taking any chances. He sped off in the direction he'd seen the glint in, alerting Cho to the possible sighting of the snitch.

Harry continued forward, sweeping his gaze from side to side. There! Harry smiled to himself and raced towards the fluttering snitch. "What's this? It looks like Potter's seen the snitch! He's speeding up...he's leaning forward…"

Harry was just about to reach for the snitch when he felt his broom get jostled. He looked over his shoulder to see Cho pulling her broom away from him and pushing forward until their brooms were level.

"And Potter loses the snitch! Got knocked off course by that dirty little—!"

"Mr. James, so help me, if you say one more word!"

"Sorry, professor, just calling it like I see it!"

Harry put more distance between him and Cho, looking around until he saw the snitch hovering just above the Ravenclaw keeper's left ear. He hugged himself tighter to his broom, leaning into the wind to pick up speed, leaving Cho far behind him. "Come on, come on," he muttered to his Firebolt. Isaac Alexanders' eyes grew bigger as he saw that Harry wasn't slowing down, but was continuing to fly straight for him. He ducked out of the way just as Harry flew straight through the center goalpost, emerging on the other side with a struggling snitch clutched in his hand.

"Harry Potter's caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!" The cry that rose from the stands was deafening as Harry descended to the field below. He'd just put both feet on the grass when he was tackled by his six team members. They were quickly surrounded by dozens of Gryffindors who clapped them all on the back and told them to make sure they were in the common room right after dinner to celebrate. He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see a beaming Ginny, "So, ready to beat Slytherin?" Harry laughed and walked back to the castle with his team, the crowd around them screaming victory.