A/N: I'm going to keep this brief, because lengthy author notes are boring as hell and no one really reads them unless they have much too much time on their hands. I'm writing one more chapter before I leave to go to the Hamptons for a week or so with my family. It will also give me some time to work on summer reading assignments and such so that when I get back, I can devote more of my time to this story . Thanks to the two reviewers who complimented me, I appreciate it more than I can say.
P.S: I stuck in a little cookie about Ron and Hermione. Have fun .
Nameless926 – Oh, absolutely. I 3 Alanis. I try to sneak her in there when possible.
Kwndnl – Thanks for sticking to the story and reviewing the second chapter.
Everyone who added me to their favorites list – Thank you SO much.
Disclaimer: JKR owns everything here. Duh.
Note: 's indicate a point of view change. If I try to do anything else, make a line out of underscores, etc… just rejects it. If anyone knows a way to solve this problem, PLEASE let me know.
Ginny looked at the notice board in the common room. It was the announcement of Harry's becoming a quidditch captain and also of the upcoming chaser tryouts. The news brought mixed feelings. She wanted to be happy for Harry, but was angry at him still for assuming her knew her feelings, like she was some uncomplicated child or anonymous fangirl. He was absolutely right about her feelings and that was what aggravated her the most. Was she that predictable? As for being chaser, she was nervous for tryouts but excited that it was finally her turn to shine. She knew she could work magic with a quaffle and broom.
She didn't act any more pleasantly toward him for the rest of the week during meals, and by the time tryouts rolled around, she still wasn't feeling any better about it. It wasn't that she didn't want to forgive him, but he wasn't showing any signs of remorse for how he reacted in the common room only a few days prior.
To make matters worse, Ron and Hermione were now an "official" couple, which would have been sweet if it didn't leave her alone with Harry all the time. They went off frolicking into dark corners of the corridors to sneak a kiss. It was very un-Hermione like, Ginny wanted to point out, but both of them were absolutely glowing and she didn't have the heart to say anything snide. It wasn't her place. Why should she care that her brother and one of her best friends were going out? It didn't change anything.
Well, except for the fact that she was hardly spending any time in the common room at night. Both she and Harry were nocturnal and thrived during the night, so they were often the last ones to sit by the fire in the late evening hours. Normally, Ginny didn't avoid confrontation or a challenge, but this just seemed like one that was completely hopeless.
In the meantime, she was having quite a lot of difficulty deciding what to do about Seamus. He was clearly very into Ginny, talking about arranging visits over the Christmas holiday, and her feels towards him were lukewarm. The thought of being together until December was almost nauseating. This was definitely not a good sign in a relationship: the thought of being with each other for more than a month causes one party to become ill.
While she wanted to break up to prevent her from leading him on, she also wanted to stay together because he was such a sure thing. He'd be faithful, mild tempered, and almost perfect for her. It was almost scary. She made up her mind to dump him within the next week.
- & -
Hermione looked into Ron's eyes and whispered something very quietly into his ear. He blushed and looked almost a little shocked before realizing that he was finally living out his fantasy. For years he had looked on at her, wishing he could have her, but never daring. He loved the way her hair looked when they sat and studied by the lake, glistening from the sun and the water's reflection. He loved the way she snorted just a little bit when she giggled at a joke from the twins. He even liked the way she never hesitated to call him out when he was wrong. Which was a lot of the time. He didn't love that, but he liked it.
Now she was sitting on his lap, whispering things into his ear and kissing him in the common room, and he was almost euphoric. The great thing was that they were already best friends so they didn't need to 'waste time' getting to know each other.
Ron had been so afraid to tell her. Harry had finally forced him to admit it one day after he had blubbered away two hours' worth of quidditch practice by analyzing whether or not Hermione had kissed Krum and whether or not they were only penpals. After arguing with himself for quite a while, Harry made him say out loud that he liked Hermione. It had terrified him since.
For some reason, it seemed horribly unlikely to Ron that Hermione could ever like him. After going to the yule ball with a world famous quidditch seeker, going out with Ron Weasley, a scrawny redhead who wore secondhand robes, seemed very unlikely. He obviously hadn't thought, or even looked, very hard about it because it was blatantly obvious in the way she quarreled and looked at Ron that she was head over heels.
Then, the night before term started, Ron and Hermione got into the biggest row in their short history. If you asked either of them today what that argument was about, they probably wouldn't be able to tell you. It was probably over quidditch, divination, or even the thickness of cauldrons—it didn't matter. They got into a horrible screaming match.
"Why do you have to do stupid shit like this, Hermione? Jesus!"
"Honestly, Ron can't you stop swearing for a moment and just see—"
"Just see what? There's nothing here!"
"Oh yes there is. I can't believe how childish you're acting!"
"How childish I'M acting? You're the one who's acting like a baby because she can't get her way!"
"I'm a baby? A BABY! Maybe I am, because I'm about to cry. Are you HAPPY now?"
Ron stopped shouting for a second and looked at Hermione, tears of anger forming in her eyes. He was about to yell when he stopped himself.
"You think I like fighting with you?" he asked earnestly.
"Well yes, I suppose I do," she said shakily, but still defiantly.
"I don't though."
"So why do you do it then? Huh?"
Ron paused for a moment, hesitating.
"I do it because… If we don't argue, I might tell you how much I love you. And the results of that could be a lot worse than some stupid fight over nothing."
Hermione's eyes became as wide as saucers. A mix of confusion and pure glee crossed her face.
"Say it again, Ron. Please."
"Which part? The part where we argue or the part where I tell you the feelings I've been hiding," he said with a tiny half smile.
The rest was their very short history. Neither of them could believe that the other had been feeling this way for years. It was pre-made bliss.
Now they kissed every chance they got and never took it for granted.
- & -
Ginny grabbed her secondhand Cleansweep. She had worked hard over the summer at Fortescue's to earn the money for it. It wasn't nearly the best broom on the planet, but it was better than anything her brothers had leftover.
She joined the procession of Gryffindors heading toward the pitch to either watch the tryouts or take part in them. Eleven girls with brooms, she counted, all trying out for chaser. They could theoretically be trying out for beaters, since Fred and George were gone, but she doubted that any of their petite frames could handle whacking the bludger.
The stands filled up quickly, speckling the stands with an array of scarlet and gold hats, scarves, and signs. The familiar rush of playing in front of a crowd flooded back to her. She wasn't a half bad seeker, but chaser was always her favorite position. She took a number and pinned it to her robes and waited to be called.
There were plenty of girls who were trying out for chaser none of which were particularly horrible, but not showing any aptitude in the position either. The only player that seemed to show any real skill with the quaffle was Alaina McCormack, a third year who was the granddaughter of the famed Pride of Portree chaser, Catriona McCormack. Ginny could feel in her bones that Alaina was going to make it, so that left only one spot open.
As for the search for beaters, Ginny had to admit that Seamus was really quite good. She hadn't even known he was trying out, but she should have guessed. Dean wasn't spectacular on his own, but when paired with Seamus, he really shone. All the others, including the Creevey brothers, paled in comparison.
Finally, number sixteen was called. Ginny's number. The Creeveys were set up as beaters, with Ginny in the chaser spot and Ron as the keeper. The Ravenclaw chasers had agreed to play the opposition so they could see how a chaser would react in an actual competition, rather than just shooting drills.
Ginny kicked off the ground, putting herself into 'quidditch mode'. When she was in the air, she forgot everything. She forgot that Harry was watching her intently, that Neville was holding a sign for her and Seamus, and the fact that it was beginning to rain quite hard.
Ignoring the rain drops attacking her, causing her red-gold hair to stick to her face and neck, and gained control of the quaffle. She sped up, zooming full speed to the opposing goal hoops. She was flanked on either side by a Ravenclaw chaser, but she did a backwards flip, allowing her drop just enough to be out of their reach. Finally, she chucked the quaffle as hard as she could. It zoomed through the left hoop. She raised her arms in triumph before getting focused again.
She repeated this process three times before Harry blew the whistle.
"That's enough," he called out. If Ginny didn't know better, she could have swore he was grinning.
When she returned to the ground, Seamus ran up and hugged her.
"You were fantastic, beautiful," he said breathlessly. His sandy hair was matted down to his forehead and he was dripping wet. Mud was caked all over the bottom of his jeans, but he was grinning ear to ear.
She was so happy she didn't care about how they looked. She kissed him and tightened her grip.
"You were fabulous, too! You're a sure thing," she replied. She wasn't lying. There were only two more people trying out, and they didn't look like they would be anything special.
She leaned her forehead against his and stared into his eyes. She thought maybe she could stay with him and be really, really happy like she was right now. She leaned in and started nibbling gntly on his bottom lip, just the way he liked it. Being with Seamus was so comfortable, so familiar.
They stood out in the rain and kissed for a long time. It was the first time in a long while she felt truly happy.
- & -
It only took Harry two hours to finalize his decision and post the results in the common room. It was pretty clear who was going to make it anyway. The list only confirmed it.
Ginny and Alaina took the two remaining chaser spots and Seamus and Dean were the new beaters. It was the first time in almost 50 years that the beaters weren't brothers, making the victory all the more sweet. There was a party in the common room with tons of food courtesy of the kitchens. Hermione, out of S.P.E.W. protest, didn't eat a bite. Except for the one pumpkin tart Ron fed her.
Ginny spent most of the evening curled up with Seamus by the fire. Things had never gone so well before. After such a spectacular night, how could she dump him?
"You seem different tonight," Seamus said, Irish accent as thick as ever.
"Really? I don't feel any different." Ginny knew he had been noticing her lack of "passion" lately.
"When we kissed in the rain, it seemed so different from normal. In a good way, I mean."
"Yeah, it did," Ginny agreed, "Thanks for being so good to me." She squeezed his hand. It was important to her that he knew that she meant every word. It was only then that she noticed that they were the only people left in the common room.
"I'm getting really tired," he said, "So I think I'll just hit the sack, ok?"
She loved how he asked her what she thought. She just smiled at him, and he turned to go up the stairs.
Ginny looked into the fire, thinking. As usual. It felt like all she ever did these days was analyze everything, and she was really sick of it. She felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier. She began to dream about quidditch, sweets, and other things…
"Ginny?" A male voice inquired, gently nudging her shoulder.
"Not yet Seamus, just another minute," she mumbled.
"C'mon, you're sleeping in the common room. I'd carry you to your room, but I can't get up those blasted stairs." Ginny's eyes fluttered open.
"Harry!" she said in surprise. She wasn't sure why she was surprised, but she was.
"Yes, that's my name," he said, grinning, "I was just coming down here to get a book I'd forgotten, and I saw you sleeping here. You'll get a nasty neck ache in the morning if you sleep in one of the armchairs all night."
"Oh," she said standing up, "Thank you. And thanks for making me chaser. It means a lot to me."
"Er, how could I not make you chaser? You were amazing," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ginny blushed. "I'm sorry about the other night."
He didn't say anything. "Why don't we just forget about it?" Ginny nodded.
"You looked pretty comfortable with Finnigan on the pitch before," he started again.
"Why shouldn't I? We're going out, remember?" She knew quite well that he remembered, she just wanted to hear his motives.
Harry looked away for a minute. "Well I'm glad things are going so well," he said. It came out a little too quickly. All at once, the room felt too small for the both of them.
"Well, um, thanks for waking me up. I guess I'll see you… um, tomorrow," Ginny blurted as she turned to leave.
"Goodnight," he called.
She didn't reply.
