*Author's Note* Sorry! I've started high school, and have had NO TIME to write! Plus, I lost my disk which had the story(found it though!) But seriously, I'm so sorry I made all of your wait! You could prove you still love me by reviewing! :) Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and hang in their for the next installment!
Feel free to send suggestions to me at Cinderella49@another.co.uk. Oh, and if I don't have the next chapter up by January, feel free to send me a Howler!
Disclaimer: HP and all them are JK Rowling's. I wish they were mine, they're really divine....(sound familiar? Couldn't resist it!)
CHAPTER 6: QUIDDITCH AND EPIPHANIES
September turned cool and crisp on the Hogwarts grounds, the ideal fall. Though not yet cold, many people had already taken to wearing their cloaks.
Ron found the following week interminable. He and Harry were training every day, as were many other Quidditch hopefuls. Monday night they had to fight with some Hufflepuffs over training space, but they found out why. Hufflepuff was holding tryouts on Tuesday night, Ravenclaw on Wednesday, and Slytherin on Thursday. Ron was very glad he didn't have to tryout until Friday. He had more time to practice. Plus, he wasn't going to be in class right before(they got Friday afternoons off). And, since he had a whole weekend to deal with assignments, he wouldn't have to rush upstairs and work on essays.
Everyone felt the tryouts couldn't come soon enough. All of the Gryffindors who were trying out had been practicing every night, which wasn't so bad. They weren't disturbing anyone. But then they started bugging other people to help them practice. Tuesday night was one of the few times Harry had seen Ginny lose her temper.
"Oh come on Ginny! I really need someone to serve as Chaser. I can't practice blocking without someone to block!" Colin Creevey begged Ginny on Tuesday.
"Sorry, Colin, but I just can't right now, I told you that. Twice" an exasperated Ginny replied, not even looking up from her Muggle Studies text book.
"Well, why not?"
"Because I have homework, Colin."
"Well, so did I! But I had time to do MY homework, and I did a good job on it too, thank you very much! If you didn't have time to finish your homework, it's your own fault. Why should I be punished!?"
Ginny finally looked up, a stern look in her eye, "Colin Creevey, I am taking Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes, two classes YOU are not. So I have two extra subjects to do assignments for. I just don't have time to help you-" Colin opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny stopped him, wagging her finger at him "No you don't Colin! I'm going to say what I have to say. I'd like to mention the fact that my brother Ron is also trying out for Keeper. What kind of sister would I be if I trained the competition? And what kind of friend would I be to you if I trained Ron? So I won't help either of you, and I'll cheer for both of you." That said, a satisfied Ginny turned back to her chapter on Muggle Transportation.
But worse than Colin(as hard as that may seem) was Ron. Ron was constantly training, and as a consequence, he was falling back on his homework. Hermione was forced to help him keep up(well, not really FORCED, but she wasn't about to see her friend fail). And Harry was also helping Ron train and subsequently falling behind on his work. Hermione was therefore doing her homework, helping Ron and Harry with their assignments, and finding helpful Quidditch books for Ron. Ron had become a fanatic lately, spending almost as much time as Hermione in the library. When not practicing, Ron was reading books such as "Quidditch Through the Ages," "Quidditch: The Ultimate Guide to Strategy," and "Quidditch for Beginners."
Ron awoke Friday morning to perfect Quidditch conditions. The sun was gently, peacefully streaming through the windows. The landscape out the window was so serene, it was hard to believe that somewhere out there, Voldermort and his henchmen were committing haneous crimes. But Ron pushed all thoughts out of his mind, except Quidditch. He needed to be focused to make the team.
Ron hurried into the shower. He had purposely woken early, so as to have the bathroom to himself. He would then go down to the Common Room (also presumably empty) and do some last minute technique studying(and read over his Charms notes for the quiz, if he had time). But when Ron got down to the Common Room, he couldn't focus on Quidditch plays. His mind, and eyes, kept drifting to the beautiful surroundings. Resignedly, Ron closed "Keeping: How to Block AND Stay on Your Broom(containing tips from professional Quidditch Keeper Barry Sanders)" and opened his Charms notes. It was still hard to focus, but the lessons kept his mind off the tryouts and the funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Ron?" a soft voice came from the stairwell. Ron turned, startled, to see Hermione standing at the bottom of the Girl's stairs, brushing her hair.
"Oh, hey Hermione," he replied, equally quiet.
"Ron, you're up early. I usually have the Common Room to myself. Although I expect you came for the peace and quiet too. Oh, I see you're studying strategy again." Hermione said, frowning. She disapproved of the fact that Ron would spend hours on Quidditch tips, and only minutes on Potions essays.
"Actually, it's Charms note." he said, holding up his parchment. The piece of paper was covered by Ron's untidy scrawl, along with a few doodles he had drawn out of boredom. One such doodle was a very unflattering characature of Snape.
"Really? You're studying?" Hermione asked, impressed.
"Yeah. I haven't spent much time studying lately. And it'd be a shame if I made the team, but was pulled because of grades. Hermione?"
"Mmm?" she replied.
"D'ya think you could help me with this one charm? I just can't get the wand movement down!" Ron said, swishing his wand around recklessly.
"Sure!" Hermione replied helpfully, and sat down next to Ron. They sat there for ten minutes, practicing a spiral wand movement, until Harry came down. The trio headed down to breakfast. Talk about tryouts surrounded them. As they walked down the stairs leading to the Great Hall, Ron separated from the other two and talked to Lee Jordan. Hermione and Harry both shot nervous glances at Lee: they were afraid he would get Ron all riled up. But it seemed to be the opposite. Lee had Ron laughing and talking easily. And then Hermione realized that this happened to everyone that was around Lee. Lee's mood was absolutely contagious. It was like he had some mysterious power which could control people's attitudes. Whenever Lee was happy, everyone around him was happy. And when Lee was angry, everyone sided with him. So maybe some of Lee's exuberance about the tryouts would rub off on Ron.
But as they sat at the table, Ron seemed to pale a little. The smell of food seemed to nauseate him. But Hermione wasn't going to let him go to tryouts on an empty stomach. "C'mon Ron, you've got to eat something! Just some toast, it's easy on the stomach, nothing big." she tried.
"No thanks 'Mione, I'm not that hungry..." Ron began, but Harry cut him off.
"Ron, you're not pulling any of that crud with me. I've played Quidditch, I know how the nerves make you feel. 'I'm not hungry' is just a bad way of saying 'I don't want to risk it.' Well, bacon never killed me, and I've had some pretty awful nerves. So eat, before I have to source some food down your throat."
Ron smiled and took some toast and marmalade "Alright Harry, but geez, you sure sound like my mum!" They smiled. Harry reached over to grab the pitcher of pumpkin juice from Hermione, but was suddenly splashed by it.
"What the heck!?" Harry exclaimed, wiping his glasses as owls landed all over the table.
"There's something gray in there. Hold on..." Hermione said, reaching in and pulling out a limp figure, covered in thick pumpkin juice.
"Errol!" Ron shouted, taking the poor bird from Hermione. "I reckon it's time we retire you Errol! Here have a bit of toast." Hermione smiled at the way Ron gingerly nursed the animal.
After a few minutes, Harry realized something. "Ron, he must have been carrying something. I doubt he just was on an early morning flight and decided to visit you."
"True." Ron said "But where is the letter?"
"Right here, I think." Neville, who was sitting next to Hermione, had just poured himself a glass of juice. A folded piece of parchment was floating at the top.
"Oh! Sorry about that Neville! I guess the letter was in the juice." Hermione said, taking the letter from Neville's glass as Ron and Harry laughed.
"Yeah, and Neville, you might not want to drink that. Looks like Errol molted in that pitcher." Harry pointed out. Neville spit out his mouthful of juice.
"Right. Good idea, Harry." Neville said, walking to the other side of the table and pouring himself a glass from a different pitcher.
"Well, since Errol nearly killed himself to deliver this letter, the least I can do is read it!" Ron said, unfolding the note. As he red it, his forehead and ears turned red. By the time he was done, the color had taken over his face.
"So what is it?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"Letter from Mum," Ron replied, trying to put the letter into his bag, but Hermione snatched it before he could and read:
"Dear Ron,
Hope your term is going well. We miss you here, as always. Your father and Percy are so swamped with work! It seems I'm by myself most of the time. Oh well.
I wrote to wish you could luck! Ginny told me tryouts were today. Just do your best, we'll be proud of you no matter what!
Love Always,
Mom
P.S.-Please let Errol stay at the Owlery to recover. He didn't seem quite up for the journey, but I had no choice but to send him."
"Aw, Ron that's so sweet!" Hermione said, passing the note to Harry, much to Ron's dismay.
Harry read the note, chuckled, and replied "Look at it this way Ron: at least she cares! Could you imagine me talking to the Durselys about Quidditch!" Ron laughed and turned back to his normal color.
The day seemed interminable. Every class seemed twice as long as ever before. When lunch rolled around, Harry and Hermione were glad to see Ron was eating. He didn't need any encouragement. He'd used a lot of energy trying not to set off Snape. He was hungry.
"So Harry, how long do you think tryouts will take?" Hermione asked as they hurried up to Gryffindor Tower after lunch.
"Dunno. Depends on how many people try out. Why?"
"I was wondering how long I'd be sitting in the stands, and if I should bring my cloak."
"What, you mean you're coming to tryouts?" Ron asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course! I want to cheer you on! Besides, everyone else will be down watching. I'm not gonna stay up here by myself!" Hermione replied.
"Higitus Figitus." Harry said to the Fat Lady, and they scrambled into the Common Room.
Gryffindor Common Room was a flurry of activity. Team members were running around in their scarlet robes, talking with one another. Team hopefuls were scrambling to find their brooms, their service kits, and all their other stuff for try-outs.
Harry groaned as he saw the other team members. "Looks like I've gotta get changed. C'mon Ron." Ron nodded, and said to Hermione "We'll be down in like five minutes."
There pounded up the spiral staircase. The dorm room was empty: Neville, Dean, and Seamus were already down in the Common Room. "I'll get changed in the bathroom, and you can get changed in here and get all your stuff together. Sound good?" Harry asked, grabbing his Gryffindor robes from his trunk as Ron took out his broom. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." Ron responded as Harry slipped into the bathroom.
Ron managed to get changed, despite the fact that his hands were shaking like mad. Ron surveyed in Cleansweep and its awry twigs. With a sudden thought, he called out "Harry, I'm gonna borrow your Broom Servicing Kit." Harry's answer was muffled through the door, but Ron took it as a yes. He began clipping the tail and polishing the handle, but it was no use. Ron sighed and slipped the kit back into Harry's trunk.
Harry reappeared in full Quidditch garb. "Shall we go then?" Harry asked. "We shall." Ron replied, slingin the ol' Cleansweep over his shoulder. The guys descended the stairs and met up with Hermione in the Common Room. Ginny, Hermione told them, had already set off with Colin. As they scrambled out the potrait hole, Harry noticed how few people were left and wondered just how many people would be at tryouts. Ron was nervous enough as it was, and Harry wasn't sure how Ron's stomach would react to a large crowd.
But Ron seemed confident, even if it was just a facade. He was mentally reviewing all the plays Harry and he had gone over. They walked down the corridors, discussing who else might be trying out and also who had made the other house teams.
"I'm tellin' you, Malfoy was not happy when that second year got on the team! Seems to think he wasn't good enough. Unfortunately for us, Malfoy's wrong. That kid is good, which gives Slytherin a boost-" Harry was saying as they rounded the corner to the Entrance Hall, when they heard a cold drawling voice that could belong to none other than Malfoy. "Speak of the devil." Hermione muttered as Malfoy's pale face came into view.
Malfoy had justed noticed the three, who were trying to walk across the Hall as quickly as possible without looking obvious. "So, trying out, are you Weasley? Or is the Mudblood trying out? Wait a minute...can she even fly? Either way, neither will head Gryffindor win." Malfoy said, chuckling at (what he thought were) some scathing remarks.
"Shove off Malfoy!" Ron said, turning red as he swatted at Malfoy with his broom handle.
Malfoy gave a mock gasp. "Dear me, you don't expect to make the team with a...with a...with a Cleansweep, do you!? Geez Weasley, that broom must be older than you!"
Ron started to reply, but Harry cut in "Malfoy, not that it's any or YOUR business, but Ron has to fly with my Firebolt today, because his new broom hasn't come in yet. And, for your information, Hermione is an excellent flyer, better than your whole Slythering team," Hermione blushed, but nodded subtly "Oh, and may I add that Gryffindor will kick Slytherin's butt even without a Keeper. Now move it, Malfoy, we're late." and the three stalked off, leaving Malfoy speechless.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other and then began to clap for Harry, much to Harry's embarassment. "Nicely done, Harry, very nice. But one thing...I'm flying a Cleansweep and I didn't order a new broom!" Ron said.
"Malfoy doesn't know that! And," Harry said, turning to Ron "You're welcome to use the Firebolt is you want to. And after you make the team, you can order a new broom."
Ron paused, letting this sink in. Harry was offering to let Ron use one of the best brooms in the world, which was also one of Harry's most prized possessions. Ron thought, for a minute, that Harry was treating him like a charity case. But then Ron realized he was being stupid and that Harry was being very nice. So Ron took him up on his offer.
"Thanks Harry, that'd be great!" Ron replied, smiling.
As the three of them walked in the Quidditch Stadium, the surronding noise went up at least a decibel. Most of Gryffindor Tower, it seemed, had shown up to watch the tryouts. Ron seemed to tense up next to Harry. Harry was going to make a comment to relax Ron, but decided against it: sometimes you just can't control your nerves. And also, Harry played better when he was a bit nervous. Ron might just be the same way.
Ron took a death breath and said "Well, I reckon I ought to go warm up."
"Yeah, alright. Oh, and here Ron," Harry said, handing Ron the Firebolt, and adding with a wink "Take good care of her."
"I will Harry, don't worry." Ron said, grinning as he gingerly picked up the broom. Hermione merely rolled her eyes.
"Good luck, Ron! We'll be cheering for you!" Hermione said, giving Ron a quick hug and running over to join Ginny in the stands. Harry gave Ron a clap on the back and walked over towards the other players, his robes billowing out behind him.
'Alright, this is it.' Ron thought. 'Just me. Harry can't help me, or Hermione, or any of my brothers. It's all me here.' The thought both scared the snot out of him and cheered him up.
Ron walked over to the other half of the field, where the other hopefuls were stretching. Ron dropped his broom, and became to stretch out his arms, while surveying the competition. He recognized Colin Creevey, and a sixth year girl named Julia or Janet, something like that, but Ron couldn't quite remember it. Ron also recognized a friend of Ginny's, named Amy, but the other two competitors were a mystery to him.
Madam Hooch walked up to them, crate of balls in hand. "Alright folks, five minutes up there to warm up, and then we get down to business. But first, each of you need to reach into this bag and choose your number. The number's will dictate the order you fly in." she said, indicating the velvet bag in her hand.
One by one, they each walked up to the bag and pulled out a number. Some looked relieved at their number, will others looked more shaken than before. As Ron reached in, he thought to himself "Not first, not first." And he didn't get first. Quite the opposite. Sixth. Ron groaned. "Great, I've get to go last, while everyone's watching. But at least I didn't get first!" But Ron, realizing he was stuck with the position, quickly warmed up to the idea. He would have time to stretch, and he'd also get to see how good everyone else was. Plus, by the time they got to him, the Chasers would be pretty tired, and might go easy on him. After convincing himself he had gotten the best deal, Ron pushed off on the Firebolt.
It felt amazing to fly with a Firebolt! The wind whipped at his face as the air rushed past his feet, dangling below the broom. The Firebolt seemed to respond to Ron's very thoughts. Up in the air, Ron's fears were squashed. This was where he belonged. Ron had been hooked on flying ever since he had snuck a ride on Bill's Nimbus 1500 way back when. It was second nature for him now.
Ron must have gone into his own world, because only vaguely did he hear Madam Hooch's whistle. All six Gryffindor's came back down, and sat on the bench. Now that he was back on the ground, Ron's fears were returning, though less significantly now. It was then that Lee Jordan's voice came over megaphone. "Alright folks! Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch Tryouts!" a roar of applause "Professor McGonagall here has told me to skip all the chitchat and get to the game, and for once, I'll listen to her!" Lee got a look from McGonagall. "As I'm sure you all know, the Gryffindor team has the position of Keeper and the reserve positions available. And here comes contest number one, Amy Lesnik, a fourth year. Here we go!"
Ron watched as Amy nervously pushed off the ground towards the goal post. Ron felt bad for her, having to go first. But, as Ron found out, no one had to worry about Amy. She pulled off quite a few spectacular moves. When her allotted ten minutes were, she returned to the ground, greeted by wonderful applause. After giving Amy a thumbs-up, Ron tuned into Lee's commentary again(Lee had been doing play-by-play, but Ron had been too focused on Amy to really listen.)
"Now, for the scoring. In order to have a fair and unbiased score, the team has created an intricate and detailed scoring system. Not to worry folks, we up here in the commentator's box have done the math for you! Amy blocked nine out of fourteen shots, giving her an accuracy of 64%! The judges, the Quidditch team members, have ranked Amy's skill and effort as a 17 out of 20, or a percentage of 85%. Now, with a few calculations here, we find that Amy's average, and therefore final score is a 74.5%! Way to go Amy!"
Amy smiled proudly as people congratulated her. Even Ron had to admit she'd done a great job.
And so it continued. Everyone went and earned an average of their accuracy and effort. Amy seemed to do quite well. She was still in first as the fifth competitor, a third year named Paul, came down and Ron prepared to go up.
"Lastly, but not leastly, we have Ronald er...Ron Weasley, a fifth year! He needs more than a 74.5% to secure the position of Keeper. And here I'd like to add that the first and second runners-up will be asked to fill the positions of Reserves. And he's up!"
As Ron left the ground for the second time that day to the roar of the crowd, the feeling of sheer exuberance returned. He was so much more confident and calm up here.
Ron positioned himself in front of the middle goal post, waiting for the inevitable attack by the Chasers.
Katie, Angelina, and Alicia came barreling down the field. Katie had the Quaffle and seemed to be heading towards (Ron's) right goal post. Ron moved slightly to the left, in case they followed through, but he felt they wouldn't: four years of watching them play had taught him they weren't that predictable. Sure enough, Katie kept coming, so Ron moved more to his right. As she was within scoring range, she pulled off a marvelous Reverse pass, tossing it over her shoulder to Angelina, who was positioned near the left post. Ron quickly shot over there (he did have a Firebolt, after all) and prevenedt Angelina from scoring, but just barely. He couldn't cut it that close again.
And that was how went. The girls tried to score on Ron using well planned and executed manuevers, but rarely prevailed. Ron had let only 3 out of 10 go through. He could see the clock winding down to 1 and a half minutes. He put himself on guard: the girls were sure to try something tricky in the final minutes.
Was he ever right! The three girls were in a straight line, rising slowly, Quaffle with them. Ron knew they wanted to lure him away from the goal so they could get a good shot. Ron also rose a bit, but still stayed near the hoop.
And then it happened! Angelina had the Quaffle, and was preparing to pass to Alicia. Ron knew he had to stop them: Alicia had great aim, and could make nearly any shot. Ron shot up to where the girls were, lunged at the Quaffle and...missed! He quickly turned to block Angelina, only to find she didn't have the Quaffle! A quick glance told him that Katie, twenty feet below and within scoring range, did. Ron thought all hope was gone...until he remembered he had a Firebolt! Mustering all the guts he had, Ron forced the broom nearly straight down. He saw Katie wind up, then release the Quaffle, and then WUMF! He had it, clutched safely against his chest. Katie was hovering, shocked, then began to clap. As the buzzer sounded and Ron returned to the ground, he realized the ground was on their feet.
Ron could now hear Lee's voice clearly. "...Ron Weasley, blocking an astounding 8 out of 11 attempts. The team has ranked his effort a 19, giving him an average of 83.5%! Ladies and gents, meet your new Keeper!"
Ron's ears were pounding from all the cheering, but it came nowhere near the pounding of his own heart. He'd did it! He'd made the team on his own accord. He hadn't needed Harry or Fred or George's or anyone's help! He'd won fairly; numbers didn't lie.
The team was beaming down on him now, with high-fives and hugs. Ron saw the mischievious glint in Fred's eyes that could only mean one thing: party.
"Congratulations, Ron!" Katie said with a smile. "I'm sure we all want to get back upstairs for a celebration, so I'll be quick. Here are you Quidditch robes. It looks like we'll have to get first initials and last names on the backs, what with three Weasley's on the team, but we'll deal with that later." Ron took the scarley robes from Katie's outstreched hands.
"Well, put 'em on!" Harry said, excited. Ron slipped the robes on, fingers still shaking slightly. He was justing turnind around to tell Harry how perfectly they fit(the rest of the team had gone back to the locker rooms to change before heading upstairs) when Ron was practically knocked down by Hermione and Ginny, embracing him in a celebratory hug at the same time.
"Hey, geroff!" Ron said, gently pushing them away.
"Sorry, Ron! We're just a bit excited. I just knew you could do it, Ron!" Hemione said a bit quickly.
"C'mon guys, let's head back to the castle. I'm sure Ron'll wanna rest after that." Harry said.
Ron snorted. "Are you kidding!? I don't mean to sound conceited, but I'm sure there'll be a party or something. After all, we are dealing with Fred and George here!"
Hermione smiled and Ginny said "Of course there will! There's always parties with those two!"
Just then they were coming into the Entrance Hall. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. She spoke in a business like manner, but with a smile on her face. "Congratulations, Weasley. It seems Quidditch talent runs in your family! Of couse, you'll still be expected to keep up your studies, and it's ever so important now, what with OWL's around the corner..." Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and groaned. McGonagall could go on for hours about academic responsibility, and the party was about to start(Harry had just seen Fred sneaking upstairs with what looked like a vat of ice cream.) Luckily, Hermione stepped in.
"Umm, Professor? Ron, as well as Harry, are aware of the importance of the OWL's, I've made sure of that" the Professor smiled "but were we hoping to get back to the Common Room and uh...unwind after such a long day."
"Of couse, Miss Granger. But I'm sure none of you will be able to relax upstairs with that party up there" Ron went to interject, but Professor McGonagall stopped him "Don't be silly Weasley, I wasn't born yesterday. I'm well aware that party foods have gone missing from the kitchen, and the house-elves have said they had red-headed visitors. A party is fine, as long as it stays under control, which I'm sure it will, given Miss Granger reputation" Hermione beamed "Now off you go. You wouldn't want all that ice cream to melt." And she walked away with a wink.
The foursome, marvelling at what they'd just heard, had only walked a few more feet into the hall when Malfoy and his goons stepped out of the shadows.
"So, Weasley," Malfoy sneered, "you made the team. I'd suggest you'd bought your way onto the team, but that's impossible-"
And before Harry had the chance to restrain Ron, a flash of red hair went past him, and next thing he knew, a smack was echoing in the hall. Everyone turned and saw Ginny, who had grown a bit that summer, towering over Malfoy, her face as red as her hair.
"Can it Malfoy! I am sick of you making cracks on me, my family, my friends! I've had it! You're a good for nothing twit who finds you in playing sick, twisted mind games, with nothing better to do than lurk in the shadows, waiting for someone to come along for you to insult. You just insult people to crush their spirit whiles still bolstering your own over-large, inflated ego. And I'm betting you didn't understand half of what I just said, but I'm not surprised! I could give you a lovely psychoanalysis now, delving into you underlying Oedipus complex and what not, but I don't feel like wasting intelligent conversation and big words on you and your peanut-brained friends!"
And with that, Ginny marched off with her friends, sore throat and all, leaving a stunned and speechless Malfoy behind.
Once they were safely around the corner, the four Gryffindors burst out laughing. Ginny had always been soften spoken, and this outburst seemed quite unlike her. After they all stopped crying with mirth and resumed walking, Harry commented on (what would become known as) "Ginny's Moment."
"Ginny, I didn't know you had that in you!" Harry said admiringly.
"Ah, the good ol' Weasley temper." Ron said nostalgically, making Ginny laugh.
"OK, so your family explains the temper, but where did you learn psychology from, Gin?" Hermione asked curiously.
Ginny giggled. "Well, Dad collects any and all Muggle books he can find in his "study," which is really a few shelves in his workshed. The year that Ron was at Hogwarts and I was the only kid home, I was really lonely. So I started going into the shed and choosing a "book of the week" every week. I read the fiction first, then the fourth grade history book, the eighth grade geometry book, then the Muggle King James Bible dad picked up only God-knows-where. I had stayed away from the Introduction to Psychology for as long as I could. I figured by the time I had to resort to that, everyone would be home. Alas, I read to quickly and wound up reading all about brain triggers and conditions. But I guess it did come in handy!"
Hermione was thoughtful for a moment, and then summed up the day: "It's just be one surprise after the other today! First, we find out that Ron is an amazing Keeper, then that McGonagall is onto our party habits, and finally that Ginny is a loaded pistol who could be a psychologist!"
They had just reached the Fat Lady, who asked for the password.
The four friends looked at each with smiles in their eyes and gave the new password: "Epiphany!"
*Author's Note* Phew! Was that ever long! Hopefully that made up for the time I forgot to post. Please review and give me feedback, and, if you get the chance, check out my other fics too. I recently read Oedipus(pronounced Edipus) Rex, and really liked it. Our teacher explained the Oedipus Complex is the desire to kill your dad, and marry your mom, or something of that nature. Correct me if I'm wrong about anything psychological in there(except for the spelling, cause I know I messed that up!) because I've never taken a class, and really don't know what I'm talking about!! :)
Feel free to send suggestions to me at Cinderella49@another.co.uk. Oh, and if I don't have the next chapter up by January, feel free to send me a Howler!
Disclaimer: HP and all them are JK Rowling's. I wish they were mine, they're really divine....(sound familiar? Couldn't resist it!)
CHAPTER 6: QUIDDITCH AND EPIPHANIES
September turned cool and crisp on the Hogwarts grounds, the ideal fall. Though not yet cold, many people had already taken to wearing their cloaks.
Ron found the following week interminable. He and Harry were training every day, as were many other Quidditch hopefuls. Monday night they had to fight with some Hufflepuffs over training space, but they found out why. Hufflepuff was holding tryouts on Tuesday night, Ravenclaw on Wednesday, and Slytherin on Thursday. Ron was very glad he didn't have to tryout until Friday. He had more time to practice. Plus, he wasn't going to be in class right before(they got Friday afternoons off). And, since he had a whole weekend to deal with assignments, he wouldn't have to rush upstairs and work on essays.
Everyone felt the tryouts couldn't come soon enough. All of the Gryffindors who were trying out had been practicing every night, which wasn't so bad. They weren't disturbing anyone. But then they started bugging other people to help them practice. Tuesday night was one of the few times Harry had seen Ginny lose her temper.
"Oh come on Ginny! I really need someone to serve as Chaser. I can't practice blocking without someone to block!" Colin Creevey begged Ginny on Tuesday.
"Sorry, Colin, but I just can't right now, I told you that. Twice" an exasperated Ginny replied, not even looking up from her Muggle Studies text book.
"Well, why not?"
"Because I have homework, Colin."
"Well, so did I! But I had time to do MY homework, and I did a good job on it too, thank you very much! If you didn't have time to finish your homework, it's your own fault. Why should I be punished!?"
Ginny finally looked up, a stern look in her eye, "Colin Creevey, I am taking Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes, two classes YOU are not. So I have two extra subjects to do assignments for. I just don't have time to help you-" Colin opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny stopped him, wagging her finger at him "No you don't Colin! I'm going to say what I have to say. I'd like to mention the fact that my brother Ron is also trying out for Keeper. What kind of sister would I be if I trained the competition? And what kind of friend would I be to you if I trained Ron? So I won't help either of you, and I'll cheer for both of you." That said, a satisfied Ginny turned back to her chapter on Muggle Transportation.
But worse than Colin(as hard as that may seem) was Ron. Ron was constantly training, and as a consequence, he was falling back on his homework. Hermione was forced to help him keep up(well, not really FORCED, but she wasn't about to see her friend fail). And Harry was also helping Ron train and subsequently falling behind on his work. Hermione was therefore doing her homework, helping Ron and Harry with their assignments, and finding helpful Quidditch books for Ron. Ron had become a fanatic lately, spending almost as much time as Hermione in the library. When not practicing, Ron was reading books such as "Quidditch Through the Ages," "Quidditch: The Ultimate Guide to Strategy," and "Quidditch for Beginners."
Ron awoke Friday morning to perfect Quidditch conditions. The sun was gently, peacefully streaming through the windows. The landscape out the window was so serene, it was hard to believe that somewhere out there, Voldermort and his henchmen were committing haneous crimes. But Ron pushed all thoughts out of his mind, except Quidditch. He needed to be focused to make the team.
Ron hurried into the shower. He had purposely woken early, so as to have the bathroom to himself. He would then go down to the Common Room (also presumably empty) and do some last minute technique studying(and read over his Charms notes for the quiz, if he had time). But when Ron got down to the Common Room, he couldn't focus on Quidditch plays. His mind, and eyes, kept drifting to the beautiful surroundings. Resignedly, Ron closed "Keeping: How to Block AND Stay on Your Broom(containing tips from professional Quidditch Keeper Barry Sanders)" and opened his Charms notes. It was still hard to focus, but the lessons kept his mind off the tryouts and the funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Ron?" a soft voice came from the stairwell. Ron turned, startled, to see Hermione standing at the bottom of the Girl's stairs, brushing her hair.
"Oh, hey Hermione," he replied, equally quiet.
"Ron, you're up early. I usually have the Common Room to myself. Although I expect you came for the peace and quiet too. Oh, I see you're studying strategy again." Hermione said, frowning. She disapproved of the fact that Ron would spend hours on Quidditch tips, and only minutes on Potions essays.
"Actually, it's Charms note." he said, holding up his parchment. The piece of paper was covered by Ron's untidy scrawl, along with a few doodles he had drawn out of boredom. One such doodle was a very unflattering characature of Snape.
"Really? You're studying?" Hermione asked, impressed.
"Yeah. I haven't spent much time studying lately. And it'd be a shame if I made the team, but was pulled because of grades. Hermione?"
"Mmm?" she replied.
"D'ya think you could help me with this one charm? I just can't get the wand movement down!" Ron said, swishing his wand around recklessly.
"Sure!" Hermione replied helpfully, and sat down next to Ron. They sat there for ten minutes, practicing a spiral wand movement, until Harry came down. The trio headed down to breakfast. Talk about tryouts surrounded them. As they walked down the stairs leading to the Great Hall, Ron separated from the other two and talked to Lee Jordan. Hermione and Harry both shot nervous glances at Lee: they were afraid he would get Ron all riled up. But it seemed to be the opposite. Lee had Ron laughing and talking easily. And then Hermione realized that this happened to everyone that was around Lee. Lee's mood was absolutely contagious. It was like he had some mysterious power which could control people's attitudes. Whenever Lee was happy, everyone around him was happy. And when Lee was angry, everyone sided with him. So maybe some of Lee's exuberance about the tryouts would rub off on Ron.
But as they sat at the table, Ron seemed to pale a little. The smell of food seemed to nauseate him. But Hermione wasn't going to let him go to tryouts on an empty stomach. "C'mon Ron, you've got to eat something! Just some toast, it's easy on the stomach, nothing big." she tried.
"No thanks 'Mione, I'm not that hungry..." Ron began, but Harry cut him off.
"Ron, you're not pulling any of that crud with me. I've played Quidditch, I know how the nerves make you feel. 'I'm not hungry' is just a bad way of saying 'I don't want to risk it.' Well, bacon never killed me, and I've had some pretty awful nerves. So eat, before I have to source some food down your throat."
Ron smiled and took some toast and marmalade "Alright Harry, but geez, you sure sound like my mum!" They smiled. Harry reached over to grab the pitcher of pumpkin juice from Hermione, but was suddenly splashed by it.
"What the heck!?" Harry exclaimed, wiping his glasses as owls landed all over the table.
"There's something gray in there. Hold on..." Hermione said, reaching in and pulling out a limp figure, covered in thick pumpkin juice.
"Errol!" Ron shouted, taking the poor bird from Hermione. "I reckon it's time we retire you Errol! Here have a bit of toast." Hermione smiled at the way Ron gingerly nursed the animal.
After a few minutes, Harry realized something. "Ron, he must have been carrying something. I doubt he just was on an early morning flight and decided to visit you."
"True." Ron said "But where is the letter?"
"Right here, I think." Neville, who was sitting next to Hermione, had just poured himself a glass of juice. A folded piece of parchment was floating at the top.
"Oh! Sorry about that Neville! I guess the letter was in the juice." Hermione said, taking the letter from Neville's glass as Ron and Harry laughed.
"Yeah, and Neville, you might not want to drink that. Looks like Errol molted in that pitcher." Harry pointed out. Neville spit out his mouthful of juice.
"Right. Good idea, Harry." Neville said, walking to the other side of the table and pouring himself a glass from a different pitcher.
"Well, since Errol nearly killed himself to deliver this letter, the least I can do is read it!" Ron said, unfolding the note. As he red it, his forehead and ears turned red. By the time he was done, the color had taken over his face.
"So what is it?" Hermione asked impatiently.
"Letter from Mum," Ron replied, trying to put the letter into his bag, but Hermione snatched it before he could and read:
"Dear Ron,
Hope your term is going well. We miss you here, as always. Your father and Percy are so swamped with work! It seems I'm by myself most of the time. Oh well.
I wrote to wish you could luck! Ginny told me tryouts were today. Just do your best, we'll be proud of you no matter what!
Love Always,
Mom
P.S.-Please let Errol stay at the Owlery to recover. He didn't seem quite up for the journey, but I had no choice but to send him."
"Aw, Ron that's so sweet!" Hermione said, passing the note to Harry, much to Ron's dismay.
Harry read the note, chuckled, and replied "Look at it this way Ron: at least she cares! Could you imagine me talking to the Durselys about Quidditch!" Ron laughed and turned back to his normal color.
The day seemed interminable. Every class seemed twice as long as ever before. When lunch rolled around, Harry and Hermione were glad to see Ron was eating. He didn't need any encouragement. He'd used a lot of energy trying not to set off Snape. He was hungry.
"So Harry, how long do you think tryouts will take?" Hermione asked as they hurried up to Gryffindor Tower after lunch.
"Dunno. Depends on how many people try out. Why?"
"I was wondering how long I'd be sitting in the stands, and if I should bring my cloak."
"What, you mean you're coming to tryouts?" Ron asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"Of course! I want to cheer you on! Besides, everyone else will be down watching. I'm not gonna stay up here by myself!" Hermione replied.
"Higitus Figitus." Harry said to the Fat Lady, and they scrambled into the Common Room.
Gryffindor Common Room was a flurry of activity. Team members were running around in their scarlet robes, talking with one another. Team hopefuls were scrambling to find their brooms, their service kits, and all their other stuff for try-outs.
Harry groaned as he saw the other team members. "Looks like I've gotta get changed. C'mon Ron." Ron nodded, and said to Hermione "We'll be down in like five minutes."
There pounded up the spiral staircase. The dorm room was empty: Neville, Dean, and Seamus were already down in the Common Room. "I'll get changed in the bathroom, and you can get changed in here and get all your stuff together. Sound good?" Harry asked, grabbing his Gryffindor robes from his trunk as Ron took out his broom. "Yeah, sounds like a plan." Ron responded as Harry slipped into the bathroom.
Ron managed to get changed, despite the fact that his hands were shaking like mad. Ron surveyed in Cleansweep and its awry twigs. With a sudden thought, he called out "Harry, I'm gonna borrow your Broom Servicing Kit." Harry's answer was muffled through the door, but Ron took it as a yes. He began clipping the tail and polishing the handle, but it was no use. Ron sighed and slipped the kit back into Harry's trunk.
Harry reappeared in full Quidditch garb. "Shall we go then?" Harry asked. "We shall." Ron replied, slingin the ol' Cleansweep over his shoulder. The guys descended the stairs and met up with Hermione in the Common Room. Ginny, Hermione told them, had already set off with Colin. As they scrambled out the potrait hole, Harry noticed how few people were left and wondered just how many people would be at tryouts. Ron was nervous enough as it was, and Harry wasn't sure how Ron's stomach would react to a large crowd.
But Ron seemed confident, even if it was just a facade. He was mentally reviewing all the plays Harry and he had gone over. They walked down the corridors, discussing who else might be trying out and also who had made the other house teams.
"I'm tellin' you, Malfoy was not happy when that second year got on the team! Seems to think he wasn't good enough. Unfortunately for us, Malfoy's wrong. That kid is good, which gives Slytherin a boost-" Harry was saying as they rounded the corner to the Entrance Hall, when they heard a cold drawling voice that could belong to none other than Malfoy. "Speak of the devil." Hermione muttered as Malfoy's pale face came into view.
Malfoy had justed noticed the three, who were trying to walk across the Hall as quickly as possible without looking obvious. "So, trying out, are you Weasley? Or is the Mudblood trying out? Wait a minute...can she even fly? Either way, neither will head Gryffindor win." Malfoy said, chuckling at (what he thought were) some scathing remarks.
"Shove off Malfoy!" Ron said, turning red as he swatted at Malfoy with his broom handle.
Malfoy gave a mock gasp. "Dear me, you don't expect to make the team with a...with a...with a Cleansweep, do you!? Geez Weasley, that broom must be older than you!"
Ron started to reply, but Harry cut in "Malfoy, not that it's any or YOUR business, but Ron has to fly with my Firebolt today, because his new broom hasn't come in yet. And, for your information, Hermione is an excellent flyer, better than your whole Slythering team," Hermione blushed, but nodded subtly "Oh, and may I add that Gryffindor will kick Slytherin's butt even without a Keeper. Now move it, Malfoy, we're late." and the three stalked off, leaving Malfoy speechless.
Hermione and Ron looked at each other and then began to clap for Harry, much to Harry's embarassment. "Nicely done, Harry, very nice. But one thing...I'm flying a Cleansweep and I didn't order a new broom!" Ron said.
"Malfoy doesn't know that! And," Harry said, turning to Ron "You're welcome to use the Firebolt is you want to. And after you make the team, you can order a new broom."
Ron paused, letting this sink in. Harry was offering to let Ron use one of the best brooms in the world, which was also one of Harry's most prized possessions. Ron thought, for a minute, that Harry was treating him like a charity case. But then Ron realized he was being stupid and that Harry was being very nice. So Ron took him up on his offer.
"Thanks Harry, that'd be great!" Ron replied, smiling.
As the three of them walked in the Quidditch Stadium, the surronding noise went up at least a decibel. Most of Gryffindor Tower, it seemed, had shown up to watch the tryouts. Ron seemed to tense up next to Harry. Harry was going to make a comment to relax Ron, but decided against it: sometimes you just can't control your nerves. And also, Harry played better when he was a bit nervous. Ron might just be the same way.
Ron took a death breath and said "Well, I reckon I ought to go warm up."
"Yeah, alright. Oh, and here Ron," Harry said, handing Ron the Firebolt, and adding with a wink "Take good care of her."
"I will Harry, don't worry." Ron said, grinning as he gingerly picked up the broom. Hermione merely rolled her eyes.
"Good luck, Ron! We'll be cheering for you!" Hermione said, giving Ron a quick hug and running over to join Ginny in the stands. Harry gave Ron a clap on the back and walked over towards the other players, his robes billowing out behind him.
'Alright, this is it.' Ron thought. 'Just me. Harry can't help me, or Hermione, or any of my brothers. It's all me here.' The thought both scared the snot out of him and cheered him up.
Ron walked over to the other half of the field, where the other hopefuls were stretching. Ron dropped his broom, and became to stretch out his arms, while surveying the competition. He recognized Colin Creevey, and a sixth year girl named Julia or Janet, something like that, but Ron couldn't quite remember it. Ron also recognized a friend of Ginny's, named Amy, but the other two competitors were a mystery to him.
Madam Hooch walked up to them, crate of balls in hand. "Alright folks, five minutes up there to warm up, and then we get down to business. But first, each of you need to reach into this bag and choose your number. The number's will dictate the order you fly in." she said, indicating the velvet bag in her hand.
One by one, they each walked up to the bag and pulled out a number. Some looked relieved at their number, will others looked more shaken than before. As Ron reached in, he thought to himself "Not first, not first." And he didn't get first. Quite the opposite. Sixth. Ron groaned. "Great, I've get to go last, while everyone's watching. But at least I didn't get first!" But Ron, realizing he was stuck with the position, quickly warmed up to the idea. He would have time to stretch, and he'd also get to see how good everyone else was. Plus, by the time they got to him, the Chasers would be pretty tired, and might go easy on him. After convincing himself he had gotten the best deal, Ron pushed off on the Firebolt.
It felt amazing to fly with a Firebolt! The wind whipped at his face as the air rushed past his feet, dangling below the broom. The Firebolt seemed to respond to Ron's very thoughts. Up in the air, Ron's fears were squashed. This was where he belonged. Ron had been hooked on flying ever since he had snuck a ride on Bill's Nimbus 1500 way back when. It was second nature for him now.
Ron must have gone into his own world, because only vaguely did he hear Madam Hooch's whistle. All six Gryffindor's came back down, and sat on the bench. Now that he was back on the ground, Ron's fears were returning, though less significantly now. It was then that Lee Jordan's voice came over megaphone. "Alright folks! Welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch Tryouts!" a roar of applause "Professor McGonagall here has told me to skip all the chitchat and get to the game, and for once, I'll listen to her!" Lee got a look from McGonagall. "As I'm sure you all know, the Gryffindor team has the position of Keeper and the reserve positions available. And here comes contest number one, Amy Lesnik, a fourth year. Here we go!"
Ron watched as Amy nervously pushed off the ground towards the goal post. Ron felt bad for her, having to go first. But, as Ron found out, no one had to worry about Amy. She pulled off quite a few spectacular moves. When her allotted ten minutes were, she returned to the ground, greeted by wonderful applause. After giving Amy a thumbs-up, Ron tuned into Lee's commentary again(Lee had been doing play-by-play, but Ron had been too focused on Amy to really listen.)
"Now, for the scoring. In order to have a fair and unbiased score, the team has created an intricate and detailed scoring system. Not to worry folks, we up here in the commentator's box have done the math for you! Amy blocked nine out of fourteen shots, giving her an accuracy of 64%! The judges, the Quidditch team members, have ranked Amy's skill and effort as a 17 out of 20, or a percentage of 85%. Now, with a few calculations here, we find that Amy's average, and therefore final score is a 74.5%! Way to go Amy!"
Amy smiled proudly as people congratulated her. Even Ron had to admit she'd done a great job.
And so it continued. Everyone went and earned an average of their accuracy and effort. Amy seemed to do quite well. She was still in first as the fifth competitor, a third year named Paul, came down and Ron prepared to go up.
"Lastly, but not leastly, we have Ronald er...Ron Weasley, a fifth year! He needs more than a 74.5% to secure the position of Keeper. And here I'd like to add that the first and second runners-up will be asked to fill the positions of Reserves. And he's up!"
As Ron left the ground for the second time that day to the roar of the crowd, the feeling of sheer exuberance returned. He was so much more confident and calm up here.
Ron positioned himself in front of the middle goal post, waiting for the inevitable attack by the Chasers.
Katie, Angelina, and Alicia came barreling down the field. Katie had the Quaffle and seemed to be heading towards (Ron's) right goal post. Ron moved slightly to the left, in case they followed through, but he felt they wouldn't: four years of watching them play had taught him they weren't that predictable. Sure enough, Katie kept coming, so Ron moved more to his right. As she was within scoring range, she pulled off a marvelous Reverse pass, tossing it over her shoulder to Angelina, who was positioned near the left post. Ron quickly shot over there (he did have a Firebolt, after all) and prevenedt Angelina from scoring, but just barely. He couldn't cut it that close again.
And that was how went. The girls tried to score on Ron using well planned and executed manuevers, but rarely prevailed. Ron had let only 3 out of 10 go through. He could see the clock winding down to 1 and a half minutes. He put himself on guard: the girls were sure to try something tricky in the final minutes.
Was he ever right! The three girls were in a straight line, rising slowly, Quaffle with them. Ron knew they wanted to lure him away from the goal so they could get a good shot. Ron also rose a bit, but still stayed near the hoop.
And then it happened! Angelina had the Quaffle, and was preparing to pass to Alicia. Ron knew he had to stop them: Alicia had great aim, and could make nearly any shot. Ron shot up to where the girls were, lunged at the Quaffle and...missed! He quickly turned to block Angelina, only to find she didn't have the Quaffle! A quick glance told him that Katie, twenty feet below and within scoring range, did. Ron thought all hope was gone...until he remembered he had a Firebolt! Mustering all the guts he had, Ron forced the broom nearly straight down. He saw Katie wind up, then release the Quaffle, and then WUMF! He had it, clutched safely against his chest. Katie was hovering, shocked, then began to clap. As the buzzer sounded and Ron returned to the ground, he realized the ground was on their feet.
Ron could now hear Lee's voice clearly. "...Ron Weasley, blocking an astounding 8 out of 11 attempts. The team has ranked his effort a 19, giving him an average of 83.5%! Ladies and gents, meet your new Keeper!"
Ron's ears were pounding from all the cheering, but it came nowhere near the pounding of his own heart. He'd did it! He'd made the team on his own accord. He hadn't needed Harry or Fred or George's or anyone's help! He'd won fairly; numbers didn't lie.
The team was beaming down on him now, with high-fives and hugs. Ron saw the mischievious glint in Fred's eyes that could only mean one thing: party.
"Congratulations, Ron!" Katie said with a smile. "I'm sure we all want to get back upstairs for a celebration, so I'll be quick. Here are you Quidditch robes. It looks like we'll have to get first initials and last names on the backs, what with three Weasley's on the team, but we'll deal with that later." Ron took the scarley robes from Katie's outstreched hands.
"Well, put 'em on!" Harry said, excited. Ron slipped the robes on, fingers still shaking slightly. He was justing turnind around to tell Harry how perfectly they fit(the rest of the team had gone back to the locker rooms to change before heading upstairs) when Ron was practically knocked down by Hermione and Ginny, embracing him in a celebratory hug at the same time.
"Hey, geroff!" Ron said, gently pushing them away.
"Sorry, Ron! We're just a bit excited. I just knew you could do it, Ron!" Hemione said a bit quickly.
"C'mon guys, let's head back to the castle. I'm sure Ron'll wanna rest after that." Harry said.
Ron snorted. "Are you kidding!? I don't mean to sound conceited, but I'm sure there'll be a party or something. After all, we are dealing with Fred and George here!"
Hermione smiled and Ginny said "Of course there will! There's always parties with those two!"
Just then they were coming into the Entrance Hall. Professor McGonagall was waiting for them. She spoke in a business like manner, but with a smile on her face. "Congratulations, Weasley. It seems Quidditch talent runs in your family! Of couse, you'll still be expected to keep up your studies, and it's ever so important now, what with OWL's around the corner..." Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and groaned. McGonagall could go on for hours about academic responsibility, and the party was about to start(Harry had just seen Fred sneaking upstairs with what looked like a vat of ice cream.) Luckily, Hermione stepped in.
"Umm, Professor? Ron, as well as Harry, are aware of the importance of the OWL's, I've made sure of that" the Professor smiled "but were we hoping to get back to the Common Room and uh...unwind after such a long day."
"Of couse, Miss Granger. But I'm sure none of you will be able to relax upstairs with that party up there" Ron went to interject, but Professor McGonagall stopped him "Don't be silly Weasley, I wasn't born yesterday. I'm well aware that party foods have gone missing from the kitchen, and the house-elves have said they had red-headed visitors. A party is fine, as long as it stays under control, which I'm sure it will, given Miss Granger reputation" Hermione beamed "Now off you go. You wouldn't want all that ice cream to melt." And she walked away with a wink.
The foursome, marvelling at what they'd just heard, had only walked a few more feet into the hall when Malfoy and his goons stepped out of the shadows.
"So, Weasley," Malfoy sneered, "you made the team. I'd suggest you'd bought your way onto the team, but that's impossible-"
And before Harry had the chance to restrain Ron, a flash of red hair went past him, and next thing he knew, a smack was echoing in the hall. Everyone turned and saw Ginny, who had grown a bit that summer, towering over Malfoy, her face as red as her hair.
"Can it Malfoy! I am sick of you making cracks on me, my family, my friends! I've had it! You're a good for nothing twit who finds you in playing sick, twisted mind games, with nothing better to do than lurk in the shadows, waiting for someone to come along for you to insult. You just insult people to crush their spirit whiles still bolstering your own over-large, inflated ego. And I'm betting you didn't understand half of what I just said, but I'm not surprised! I could give you a lovely psychoanalysis now, delving into you underlying Oedipus complex and what not, but I don't feel like wasting intelligent conversation and big words on you and your peanut-brained friends!"
And with that, Ginny marched off with her friends, sore throat and all, leaving a stunned and speechless Malfoy behind.
Once they were safely around the corner, the four Gryffindors burst out laughing. Ginny had always been soften spoken, and this outburst seemed quite unlike her. After they all stopped crying with mirth and resumed walking, Harry commented on (what would become known as) "Ginny's Moment."
"Ginny, I didn't know you had that in you!" Harry said admiringly.
"Ah, the good ol' Weasley temper." Ron said nostalgically, making Ginny laugh.
"OK, so your family explains the temper, but where did you learn psychology from, Gin?" Hermione asked curiously.
Ginny giggled. "Well, Dad collects any and all Muggle books he can find in his "study," which is really a few shelves in his workshed. The year that Ron was at Hogwarts and I was the only kid home, I was really lonely. So I started going into the shed and choosing a "book of the week" every week. I read the fiction first, then the fourth grade history book, the eighth grade geometry book, then the Muggle King James Bible dad picked up only God-knows-where. I had stayed away from the Introduction to Psychology for as long as I could. I figured by the time I had to resort to that, everyone would be home. Alas, I read to quickly and wound up reading all about brain triggers and conditions. But I guess it did come in handy!"
Hermione was thoughtful for a moment, and then summed up the day: "It's just be one surprise after the other today! First, we find out that Ron is an amazing Keeper, then that McGonagall is onto our party habits, and finally that Ginny is a loaded pistol who could be a psychologist!"
They had just reached the Fat Lady, who asked for the password.
The four friends looked at each with smiles in their eyes and gave the new password: "Epiphany!"
*Author's Note* Phew! Was that ever long! Hopefully that made up for the time I forgot to post. Please review and give me feedback, and, if you get the chance, check out my other fics too. I recently read Oedipus(pronounced Edipus) Rex, and really liked it. Our teacher explained the Oedipus Complex is the desire to kill your dad, and marry your mom, or something of that nature. Correct me if I'm wrong about anything psychological in there(except for the spelling, cause I know I messed that up!) because I've never taken a class, and really don't know what I'm talking about!! :)
