Disclaimer: I only own two things in here: Betsy and the ideas. Oh, I also own Kiara. Anything and everything else is copyrighted by JKR; IÕm just borrowing them and take absolutely no credit for their creation.
(A/N: This chapter starts out as sort of focusing on Ginny, and goes back to normal eventually.)
Part III: The Plan
Lavender and her clique had always been almost --- AFRAID --- of Ginny. Ever since she had come out of the Chamber in her first year, they seemed to think she was a freak, or had special powers or something. And riding back from a battle with Death Eaters at the Ministry on a Thestral hadnÕt helped their impression.
Now, though....Ginny sighed. It was way different. Her dad had always tried to teach her what Muggle girls did for fun, as (according to Mr. Weasley, anyway) Muggle boys liked to do nothing. So, they had made a deal. If Ginny learned one form of Muggle entertainment, her dad would make the boys let her play Quidditch with them for a day. She was always lusting to play Chaser in a family match, so she had chosen the least boring activity --- cheer leading.
And look where it had gotten her. On the Quidditch pitch (strange, huh?) for the third practice, with Lavender Brown whispering to her. Things had changed quicker than you could say, ÒHow ironic!Ó
Soon, though, the cheer leading practice was back to normal, and that meant that Ginny was back to being the semi-nobody who could do the cheers perfectly. Only now, she was a semi-nobody with a plan. Admittedly, it wasnÕt her plan, but she was going to help with it.
They went back to ÒG-R-Y-F-F-I-N-D-O-R! WHATÕS THAT SPELL? GRYFFINDOR!Ó, which they had abandoned the week before. Lavender, with the help of Daphne, helped the others sort out some of their problems with the letters, and assured them that it was okay if their F looked more like an O. This time, Lavender looked much less ready to pull her hair out when she came to Betsy, and Ginny knew perfectly well why.
When they had worked on that cheer for a while, Lavender was ready to make an announcement.
ÒWell, most of you probably know that GryffindorÕs first match of the season is this Saturday. What you DONÕT know is that itÕs also going to be OUR first performance.Ó Here, Lavender paused to wait for the babbling to die down (and for Sally-Anne Perks to regain consciousness). Thanks to a quick ÒEnnervate!Ó from Natalie McDonald, these both happened and she continued. ÒSo, weÕre going to do these two that weÕve learned, and another one, too. This one is a bit --- complicated, so we wonÕt do it all together. First off, we need to stand in a pyramid....Ó
Sally-Anne wasnÕt the only one who looked faint this time. Nearly all the girls looked horrified, and those who didnÕt were too shocked to make their faces do much of anything.
ÒA--- a --- p-pyramid?!Ó squeaked Betsy.
ÒYes, a pyramid. And guess whoÕs going to be on top?Ó said Ginny, stepping forward.
BetsyÕs eyes widened so that the people nearby were reminded very much of Luna Lovegood. She mouthed the word ÒmeÓ several times, but couldnÕt get any sounds to actually exit her mouth.
***
Fortunately, Betsy regained use of her vocal chords just in time for her first class, Charms, the next day. However, she lost her voice again just as fast as she walked down to the grassy area near the Quidditch pitch that evening. They couldnÕt use the pitch itself because HufflepuffÕs team was practicing --- that was who Gryffindor would play in three days.
ÒOkay, I want Betsy to go over to GinnyÓ --- Ginny nodded at Lavender to show she remembered the words --- Òand everybody else over here.Ó
Betsy wandered over and smiled nervously. Ginny tried to look reassuring, but thought she was probably failing miserably. Instead, she began, ÒRight, Betsy, you have a really important part in the cheer.Ó
Betsy gulped.
ÒYouÕre going to stand at the top, obviously. And since this is a call-and-response type of thing, youÕre the caller. Every time you say something, weÕre all going to yell, LIONS! LIONS! LIONS FOR THE CUP!Ó
Betsy nodded in response.
They spent the rest of that practice huddled while everybody else practiced yelling ÒLIONS! LIONS! LIONS FOR THE CUP!Ó By the time they left, all but Hermione had gone, it was dark, and Betsy sort of knew her part. It went like this (the ~ means the other girls are saying their part):
WHOÕS THE BEST HOUSE TEAM AROUND? ~ THEIR TALENT IS JUST SO PROFOUND! ~ DOWN WITH BADGERS, UP WITH ~ HIT THAT BLUDGER, CATCH THAT BALL! ~ IF ONLY WOOD WERE HERE TO SEE THEM ALL! ~ DOWN WITH BADGERS, UP WITH ~ DOWN WITH BADGERS UP WITH (all) LIONS! LIONS! LIONS FOR THE CUP!
A/N: Sorry about the long delay in updates, I have about a billion and two excuses but IÕm not going to tell you them now. Besides, I think I made up for it with a relatively long chapter. Anyway, please R R R &R: read, review, refer [a friend], and recycle!
(A/N: This chapter starts out as sort of focusing on Ginny, and goes back to normal eventually.)
Part III: The Plan
Lavender and her clique had always been almost --- AFRAID --- of Ginny. Ever since she had come out of the Chamber in her first year, they seemed to think she was a freak, or had special powers or something. And riding back from a battle with Death Eaters at the Ministry on a Thestral hadnÕt helped their impression.
Now, though....Ginny sighed. It was way different. Her dad had always tried to teach her what Muggle girls did for fun, as (according to Mr. Weasley, anyway) Muggle boys liked to do nothing. So, they had made a deal. If Ginny learned one form of Muggle entertainment, her dad would make the boys let her play Quidditch with them for a day. She was always lusting to play Chaser in a family match, so she had chosen the least boring activity --- cheer leading.
And look where it had gotten her. On the Quidditch pitch (strange, huh?) for the third practice, with Lavender Brown whispering to her. Things had changed quicker than you could say, ÒHow ironic!Ó
Soon, though, the cheer leading practice was back to normal, and that meant that Ginny was back to being the semi-nobody who could do the cheers perfectly. Only now, she was a semi-nobody with a plan. Admittedly, it wasnÕt her plan, but she was going to help with it.
They went back to ÒG-R-Y-F-F-I-N-D-O-R! WHATÕS THAT SPELL? GRYFFINDOR!Ó, which they had abandoned the week before. Lavender, with the help of Daphne, helped the others sort out some of their problems with the letters, and assured them that it was okay if their F looked more like an O. This time, Lavender looked much less ready to pull her hair out when she came to Betsy, and Ginny knew perfectly well why.
When they had worked on that cheer for a while, Lavender was ready to make an announcement.
ÒWell, most of you probably know that GryffindorÕs first match of the season is this Saturday. What you DONÕT know is that itÕs also going to be OUR first performance.Ó Here, Lavender paused to wait for the babbling to die down (and for Sally-Anne Perks to regain consciousness). Thanks to a quick ÒEnnervate!Ó from Natalie McDonald, these both happened and she continued. ÒSo, weÕre going to do these two that weÕve learned, and another one, too. This one is a bit --- complicated, so we wonÕt do it all together. First off, we need to stand in a pyramid....Ó
Sally-Anne wasnÕt the only one who looked faint this time. Nearly all the girls looked horrified, and those who didnÕt were too shocked to make their faces do much of anything.
ÒA--- a --- p-pyramid?!Ó squeaked Betsy.
ÒYes, a pyramid. And guess whoÕs going to be on top?Ó said Ginny, stepping forward.
BetsyÕs eyes widened so that the people nearby were reminded very much of Luna Lovegood. She mouthed the word ÒmeÓ several times, but couldnÕt get any sounds to actually exit her mouth.
***
Fortunately, Betsy regained use of her vocal chords just in time for her first class, Charms, the next day. However, she lost her voice again just as fast as she walked down to the grassy area near the Quidditch pitch that evening. They couldnÕt use the pitch itself because HufflepuffÕs team was practicing --- that was who Gryffindor would play in three days.
ÒOkay, I want Betsy to go over to GinnyÓ --- Ginny nodded at Lavender to show she remembered the words --- Òand everybody else over here.Ó
Betsy wandered over and smiled nervously. Ginny tried to look reassuring, but thought she was probably failing miserably. Instead, she began, ÒRight, Betsy, you have a really important part in the cheer.Ó
Betsy gulped.
ÒYouÕre going to stand at the top, obviously. And since this is a call-and-response type of thing, youÕre the caller. Every time you say something, weÕre all going to yell, LIONS! LIONS! LIONS FOR THE CUP!Ó
Betsy nodded in response.
They spent the rest of that practice huddled while everybody else practiced yelling ÒLIONS! LIONS! LIONS FOR THE CUP!Ó By the time they left, all but Hermione had gone, it was dark, and Betsy sort of knew her part. It went like this (the ~ means the other girls are saying their part):
WHOÕS THE BEST HOUSE TEAM AROUND? ~ THEIR TALENT IS JUST SO PROFOUND! ~ DOWN WITH BADGERS, UP WITH ~ HIT THAT BLUDGER, CATCH THAT BALL! ~ IF ONLY WOOD WERE HERE TO SEE THEM ALL! ~ DOWN WITH BADGERS, UP WITH ~ DOWN WITH BADGERS UP WITH (all) LIONS! LIONS! LIONS FOR THE CUP!
A/N: Sorry about the long delay in updates, I have about a billion and two excuses but IÕm not going to tell you them now. Besides, I think I made up for it with a relatively long chapter. Anyway, please R R R &R: read, review, refer [a friend], and recycle!