"Do we know what the Slytherin's team looks like?" Harry looked around the Gryffindor table as he spooned more eggs on to his plate. It was the day before their quidditch match against the Slytherins and there was an edge in the atmosphere. Losing this match didn't just mean Gryffindor wouldn't advance to the championship, it also meant that they would have to listen to the Slytherins boast about it for the rest of the year.

"Malfoy's on the team, obviously," Ron scowled.

"I know Zambini's a chaser, and Crabbe and Goyle are the beaters," Ginny added.

"That leaves two chasers and the keeper," Hermione counted off.

"Let's ask Lavender and Parvati," Seamus suggested. "They tend to know things about everyone's lives, they might know who Malfoy found for the team."

They scanned the long table for Lavender and Parvati, Dean spotting them at the far end near the Great Hall doors, "Lavender! Parvati!" The two girls' heads turned towards them and Dean waved them over.

"Can we help you?" Lavender sat next to Seamus as Parvati took a seat beside Dean.

"Do you know who Malfoy got for the Slytherin quidditch team?" Dean asked.

"Ah. Well, Malfoy is seeker, Crabbe and Goyle are beaters, Zambini, Pansy, and a fifth year, Toby Reuben are the chasers, and the keeper is some seventh year named Zachary Bard," Parvati rattled off the names.

"Told you they'd know," Seamus grinned at them.

"Why would you think we would know," Lavender inquired.

Seamus made a face, knowing he needed to choose his words carefully, "Because you guys are so social, we figured you'd know?" His response ended as a question instead of the statement he intended.

Lavender sniggered, "That's better than being called a gossip, I suppose." Seamus smiled in relief.

"At least we know most everyone on their team," Ron thought aloud. "Malfoy's not as good as Harry and Crabbe and Goyle are rather strong, but they've got less sense put together than my left shoe. As for the others, I'm not sure how they play."

"No use worrying about it now since the game's tomorrow," Ginny stood up. "I've got to go grab a book I left in my room, I'll see you guys at lunch."

Harry watched her walk away, narrowing his eyes as he saw her stop suddenly near the Slytherin table. Seeing Harry's expression, Hermione whispered quietly so no one else would overhear, "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Harry got up and made his way towards Ginny. She was speaking rapidly, her cheeks flushed, and Harry knew she was angry. As he got closer, he could see that Ginny was standing in front of three first years, protecting them from who she was talking to.

"Don't you ever go near them again!" Ginny said with a steely voice.

"Or what? You and the other Weasel going to beat me up? You can see how scared I am," mocked the arrogant voice of Malfoy.

"Don't tempt me," She answered.

"What do you want, Malfoy," Harry glared at him as he came to stand next to Ginny. Looking down, he recognized the students behind her as the two first years he'd met the first night back to Hogwarts, along with one he didn't know."

"Oh, isn't that sweet, Loverboy to the rescue," Malfoy smirked.

"Actually, if you fought Ginny, it'd be you who needed rescuing."

Malfoy glared daggers at Harry, "Not that it concerns you, Potter, but I was just giving these ones," he pointed to Rowan and the other boy, "a bit of advice."

"Any advice from you belongs out in Hagrid's Hippogriff pasture with the other dung heaps," Ginny retorted, making Harry laugh.

"Watch your mouth, you filthy little muggle-lover," Malfoy stepped forward, making Harry take a step closer to Ginny.

"Why don't you run to your father and tell him how your only power comes from bullying first years. I'm sure that will earn you loads of respect from the other scum he's locked up with." Ginny stared him straight in the eye.

Malfoy turned red with anger, taking out his wand and holding it to Ginny's head. Unbeknownst to Harry and Ginny, several of their friends had come to stand behind them at some point, and when Draco had pulled his wand on Ginny, they all pounced. Harry shoved Ginny behind him while Seamus knocked Malfoy's wand from his grasp. Dean was holding back a fuming Ron, who had drawn his fist back with the intention of planting it in Malfoy's face. Hermione was pleading with Ron to stop, and Lavender and Parvati stood to the side, their wands at the ready in case they were needed.

"Mr. Finnigan! Unhand Mr. Malfoy at once!" Professor McGonagall's sharp voice came towards them. Seamus released Malfoy, whose arms he had pinned to his sides.

"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall demanded.

Ginny spoke up, "It wasn't Seamus' fault, ma'am. Draco was being rude to these first years, and when I defended them he pointed his wand at me. Seamus was only trying to protect me."

McGonagall eyed Ginny for a moment, nodding her head. Ginny had never caused trouble with the teachers and never got into a fight unless she was defending someone, which lead McGonagall to conclude that she was telling the truth. "Very well. Mr. Malfoy if I catch you intimidating these students again, rest assured that I will not hesitate to give you detention for a month. Now, I suggest you all get to class before I change my mind and give you all a detention right now." She turned and swept away, heading to her classroom.

"You'll regret this," Malfoy hissed, striding out of the Great Hall.

After a moments silence, a small voice spoke, "Thank you for defending us, Ginny." The girl, Harry remembered her name was Evie, smiled up at them.

"No problem, Evie. You know that what Malfoy said isn't true, right?" Ginny questioned her.

"What did he say to you?" Dean asked her.

"He called me a Mudblood," Evie replied, as the group gasped. "Rowan and William stood up for me, and that's when Ginny came along."

"Don't listen to Malfoy, he's a git. And you're lucky to have two strapping lads defend you," Seamus told her, making Rowan and William stand straighter.

"Besides," Ron added, "Hermione here has muggles for parents and she's the smartest witch I know." Hermione beamed at him.

"If Malfoy gives you any more problems, just come get one of us." Harry pointed at the group, introducing Seamus, Dean, Parvati, and Lavender. The three of them thanked them all again and left to go to their class. The rest of them left to get their things and go to class.

"Come on, Ginny, I'll walk with you to the dormitory while you grab your book." Harry followed her up the marble staircase.

"I'm fine, Harry. Malfoy doesn't scare me."

"I don't trust him, and I wouldn't put it past him to curse you if he catches you alone."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Alright, but I still think I'm fine." They walked in silence for a bit before Ginny asked the question that had been gnawing at her, "So, has Cho asked you about the ball again?"

Harry flushed red, "No, but I'm hoping she won't."

Ginny inwardly sighed with relief, "Oh. Do you have someone you want to ask?"

Harry tugged at his collar, "Um, no." Harry could have kicked himself. Ginny had given him the perfect opportunity to ask her to the ball and he'd blown it. He dreaded the answer to his next question, "Have you had any more invitations?"

"Three," She wrinkled her nose as if she was bothered by being asked so many times. They didn't talk the rest of the way to the dormitory or to Ginny's class that Harry walked her to. He knew that there would be more invitations for Ginny, and he didn't know how long he had until she accepted one.

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

Come on, Ron, just ask her! What's the worst that could happen? She could say no, that's what. Ron groaned, throwing himself on the couch in the common room.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry sat across from him in an armchair. They'd just gotten back from dinner and the girls had gone up to their rooms.

"Nothing."

"You and Hermione have a row?"

"No."

"Hermione not help you with your homework?"

"No."

"You ask her to the Yule Ball, yet?"

"N—. What!?"

Harry grinned, "Have you asked Hermione to go to the Yule Ball with you, yet?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Ron shifted nervously. Harry just stared at him, his smile growing wider.

Ron let out a defeated sigh, giving up trying to pretend, "Fine. No, I haven't asked her."

"Why not?"

"What if she says no?" Ron knew he'd be crushed if she did.

"Well, you better hurry before someone else asks her."

"Who?" Ron demanded.

"I don't know, but you can't think your the only one that thinks she's pretty."

Ron had no answer to that, mostly because he knew Harry was right. He couldn't be the only boy at school that had noticed how beautiful Hermione was. That thought didn't sit well with him. An even more unpleasant thought came to him soon after: What if she'd already been asked?

"What are you two doing?" Ginny joined him on the couch, Hermione taking the chair opposite Harry.

"Nothing," Ron said quickly. Earning a curious look from Ginny, he changed the subject. "What are you doing, Hermione?"

Hermione had pulled a small end table towards her, laying parchment on it, a quill and ink beside it. "I'm just answering a letter from Victor."

Ron thought his head would explode. How Hermione could still be writing to Krum was beyond him, "What are you talking to him for? The Triwizard Tournament ended two years ago."

"Yes, but there are other things to talk about."

"Like what?"

"What Victor and I talk about is none of your business!"

Ron's heart beat painfully hearing her call Krum by his first name. "And why not? Trading secrets with Vicky, are we?" Hermione shoved the table away from her, gathered up her stuff, and stomped up the dormitory staircase, slamming the door to her room shut.

"You know you're an idiot, right?" Ron glared at Ginny.

"Well, why does she have to write to Krum?"

"They're friends. And people usually expect a response when they send a letter. I think the problem is that you're jealous."

Ron opened his mouth to protest, but knew it was futile. "What do I do now?"

"You've got to apologize, mate," Harry told him.

Ron nodded, "Ginny, will you go ask her to come back down?"

"Why don't you go get her?"

"Because that bloody staircase will turn into a slide when I step on it and I can't bloody well apologize if I've got a broken neck!

"Since you asked so nicely, I'll go talk to her." Harry snorted as Ginny hopped up and jogged up the stairs, but he was silenced by a glare from Ron.

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

"Why should I go talk to him?" Hermione put her hands on her hips.

"He feels really bad, Hermione. He wants to apologize." Ginny tried to appeal to Hermione's soft spot for her brother.

"Good! He had no reason to yell at me, I didn't do anything."

"He knows that. I think he got jealous about you talking to Krum. He did take you to the ball when he was here, and he invited you to visit him in Bulgaria." Ginny saw a flash of hope cross Hermione's face.

Hermione thought for a moment, "Do you really think he was jealous?"

"Yep," Ginny grinned at her. "I'll go get Harry and we can go somewhere else so you guys can talk. The common room is mostly empty, too."

Hermione watched Ginny leave, deciding to give it a couple minutes before she went down. It's true that she had gone with Krum to the ball, but she hadn't had any romantic feelings towards him. She'd been flattered, more than anything, to have a boy think she was pretty enough to ask to a ball. She had wanted to go with Ron, but the stupid git never asked her.

Straightening her clothes a little, Hermione left her room and walked down the stairs to see Ron. He was standing in front of the fireplace, a mixture of guilt and sadness on his face. "Ron?"

He spun towards her at the sound of his name, taking a step forward. He stopped himself, shoving his hands in his pockets. Hermione moved to stand a couple feet in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him to speak.

"Mione," She forced her face to stay neutral as he used the nickname he'd given her. She loved when he called her that, it made her feel like she was special to him.

"I'm really sorry about what I said. I just got angry, I suppose, that you were talking to Krum. I guess I thought you might prefer him as a friend over me," Ron stared at the floor.

All of the resolve Hermione had disappeared as Ron spoke, "Ron, no one could ever replace you. Or Harry or Ginny. Victor is just a friend that I write to every few weeks, but I wouldn't trade you for anything."

Ron looked surprised by her words, so to prove her point Hermione gave him a tight hug, loving the feel of his strong arms going around her to hug her back. She took a second to breathe in the smell of his sweater, before stepping back.

"Now, ready to be defeated in a game of wizard's chess?" She smiled.

"You're on!" They spent the rest of the night playing chess, Ron beating her every time.

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

"Alright, we're going up against Slytherin and we all know that they play dirty." Harry stood in front of his team in the changing rooms. No one was nervous, but resolve was in everyone's eyes.

"Seamus and Carl, keep an eye on Crabbe and Goyle. They're stupid, but they're strong. Katie, Fay, Ginny, you guys just need to watch out for each other, and Ron, don't let them get into your head. Everyone ready?" Six heads nodded at him with grim determination.

Everyone stood and followed Harry out of the changing rooms and onto the quidditch field. Cheers and whoops came from the Gryffindor side of the stands, while boos and hissing came from the Slytherin's. Walking to the center of the field, Harry shook hands with Malfoy, who was the captain of the Slytherin team. Both boys gripped the other's hand much harder than necessary, refusing to be the one to show weakness. They dropped their hands as Madam Hooch gave her pregame speech. She blew the whistle that hung around her neck a couple minutes later and both teams mounted their brooms, shooting high into the air.

"Dunbar's got the quaffle...she passes to Bell...Bell throws to Weasley...Weasley's flying towards the goal posts...Oh, and Weasley's slammed by Parkinson." Harry turned to see Ginny righting herself on her broom, a furious look on her face. He grinned, the last thing you wanted to do was make Ginny mad. She proved him right as she shot straight for Parkinson, passing in front of her as she went to throw the quaffle through the Gryffindor goalpost. Ron flew to the right, the quaffle glancing off the tips of his fingers. Ginny snatched the quaffle out of the air seconds before it went through the hoop, throwing it to Katie who took off in the opposite direction. Parkinson looked at Ginny in shock before her eyes narrowed in hatred. Ginny smirked at her before flying away.

"An amazing save by Weasley! Did you see the look on Parkinson's face? She didn't see that one coming, did she."

"Mr. James, focus on the match, if you please," McGonagall said tightly.

"Right you are, Professor! And Bell dodges Zabini...she tosses the quaffle to Dunbar...and Dunbar scores! 10 points to Gryffindor!"

The Slytherin keeper, Zachary Bard, glowered at Fay as she flew back to join the other chasers. Harry watched as Parkinson slammed into Katie, stealing the quaffle from her hands. Before Katie could steady herself, Reuben, one of the new Slytherin players, flew by her and knocked the handle of her broom. Ginny and Fay raced towards her, Ginny circling below her in case she fell, while Fay helped Katie right herself.

"10 points to Slytherin! Mind you, they shouldn't even count. The great flying gits try to kill someone and what do we do? We give them points for it!"

"Oliver, so help me, I will turn you into a teacup if you don't—"

"Sorry, Professor. I was taught honesty was the best policy." Oliver James received a swift clout to the back of his head from a well-aimed spell cast by McGonagall.

An hour later, the score was 60 to 90 with Slytherin in the lead. They'd continued to use harsh tactics during the game, taking every opportunity to try and cause injury to the Gryffindor team. Zambini had purposefully flown straight at Fay as she carried the quaffle under her arm. This move was followed by a bludger sent by Crabbe that came so close to her head that she was forced to roll over the side of her broom, dropping the quaffle into the waiting arms of Reuben, who flew off to the goalposts, scoring another ten points. Ginny and Katie helped pull Fay, who was hanging by her fingers, back onto her broom. Carl's shoulder had been hit by a Slytherin bludger, forcing him to switch his beaters bat to the other hand. The chasers took great delight in jostling Carl's broom after this, which caused him severe pain.

Harry needed to end the game as soon as possible to prevent anyone else on the team being seriously hurt. He flew from one end of the field to the other, searching for the snitch. Seeing something green out of the corner of his eye, Harry turned sharply. He spotted Malfoy following him instead of looking for the snitch on his own.

"What's the matter, Potter? Afraid your team won't make it!?" Malfoy jeered at him as he followed closely behind him. Harry ignored him and continued to look for the snitch. Come on, where is it?

"10 points to Slytherin!" Oliver James called. Harry paused in his pursuit to watch the team. Ron hadn't been the victim of any bludgers, but he was becoming more scarlet the longer the game went on. Ron may not like to lose in general, but he especially hated losing to the Slytherins.

Harry laughed out loud as he saw Ginny snake the quaffle away from Zambini. She urged her broom to the goalposts, the Slytherin keeper preparing to block her. Ginny flattened herself against her broom and flew straight at Bard, but as she got closer, she rolled herself and her broom over and over, looking like a corkscrew as she spun. The closer she got to Bard, the wider his eyes got until he dove out of Ginny's path, at which point Ginny stopped spinning and hovered two inches from the hoop. She lightly tossed the quaffle through, making the Gryffindor students in the stands below roar with laughter.

"10 points to Gryffindor! And what an amazing 10 points they were! Never seen anything like it!" Harry noticed that McGonagall didn't reprimand him for being biased, mostly because she was just as impressed as he was.

Harry grinned at Malfoy, who was glaring murderously at Ginny. Harry saw a flutter of silver wings flash by Malfoy's head and he followed them with his eyes, trying not to make it obvious that he'd seen anything. He flew slowly, turning his head as though he was searching, but always keeping the snitch within his line of sight. When he'd gotten some distance away, he put on a burst of speed and raced forward.

"It looks like Harry Potter's seen something!" Harry heard the cheers from the crowd as Oliver alerted them to him seeing the snitch. "Malfoy's got some catching up to do if he has any hope of catching the snitch now!"

Harry ignored everything around him as he kept his eyes trained on the snitch, which was now flying beyond the border of the quidditch field. "Malfoy's gaining on Potter...He's closing the distance between them...And he's cut off by Weasley as she flies by with the quaffle! There's no hope for him now!"

Malfoy had been forced to pull up short as Ginny flew across his path, trying to get away from the Slytherin chasers. This brief pause had been enough to give Harry the extra time and space he needed to close his fist around the fluttering snitch, ending the game as Gryffindor was put in the lead, 220 points to 110. "Potter's caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins!"

The cheers from the stands were deafening, drowning out the angry shouts from the Slytherins. Harry still had his back to the quidditch field when he heard the celebratory whoops turn into horrified screams. Harry spun his broom around, horror filling him as his eyes connected with the cause of the screaming.

As the Gryffindor team had flown together to congratulate one another, Malfoy had taken Goyle's beaters bat and swung with all his strength, sending a bludger careening at Ginny. The bludger slammed into the center of her chest, the force of it sending her flying off her broom, where she hovered in midair, her arms stretched out as if she was embracing the sky. Her eyes were closed and her hair flew around her like a curtain of fire, before her limp body plummeted one hundred and fifty feet, landing with a sickening thud as she hit the field below, where she lay motionless.