A/N This chapter owes a great deal to the Harry Potter Lexicon. Without it, the following chapter would have been disastrous.

By Wednesday morning the weather was looking much better. Ginny was in a good mood when she woke up, and she cheerfully got dressed for the day. She glanced at the team's calendar and noticed that there was a change for the day's schedule. When she saw what it was, she grinned broadly and ran downstairs. She walked into the dining room where Tank, Jacob, and Harry were eating.

"Good morning!" Ginny said happily.

"Why are you so perky this morning?" Tank asked.

"You'll be perky too when you hear my news!" Ginny replied.

"What news?" Jeff asked as he sleepily walked into the room with Wesley.

"You'll just have to wait until everyone gets here," Ginny said.

"They better hurry or Mason will have our heads," Jacob worried.

"Relax, Jake, we're here," MJ said, sitting down at the table with Dustin.

Tank looked at Ginny. "Okay, so what's the news?"

"Well, I went to go check the schedule this morning when I noticed that today's practice had been cancelled!"

"No practice? I can't believe Mason would cancel practice," Tank said in disbelief.

"Neither could I," Ginny said. "But then I noticed that Mr. Perry had written a note telling Mason to feel better. So I guess all of his making you practice in the rain backfired."

"So, what are we doing instead?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Are you scared of what I might have planned?" Ginny asked, pretending to be offended.

"Yes," Harry replied simply.

"Well, I cleared my schedule because we haven't really had much down time in the house. So I thought we could go out on the pitch…"

"Practice when we've gotten a day off?" MJ asked incredulously.

"Let me finish," Ginny said patiently. "I thought we could go out there and play for fun. Two teams of four, nobody plays their proper position, you know, just like a pick-up game you'd play at home."

"That is the best idea I've heard in a long time," Wesley said grinning.

"I'm glad you like it. Now we just have to decide what the teams are and what positions we're going to play," Ginny said happily.

"Why don't we just leave everything up to chance?" Dustin suggested. "Just draw everything out of a hat or something like that. If you end up with the correct position, well then just consider yourself lucky."

"Sounds like a plan," Tank agreed. "That is if you think you can keep us with us, Ginny," he added playfully.

"It's been awhile since I've flown, but I think I'll be okay," she replied confidently.

"She's really pretty good," Harry added. "At least as good as anyone who was my replacement could be."

"If you hadn't gotten kicked off the team I could have just been chaser all along like I wanted!" Ginny argued.

"Too true. You're a natural chaser," Harry said.

"And you're a natural seeker," she replied.

"Are you two done patting each other on the back yet?" MJ asked.

"I think so," Ginny said with a chuckle. "Why don't you all finish eating and we'll meet out on the pitch in about half an hour?"

"That's a plan," Tank said.

Thirty minutes later they were all standing on the pitch, holding their brooms. Ginny was holding eight pieces of paper in her hand, each one containing a team and a position. They had decided to play with a keeper, one beater, and two chasers on each team.

"Alright, who's picking first?" Ginny asked.

"Me!" MJ called, hurrying towards her. He took one of the pieces of paper from her hand. "Keeper, team one!" he announced to the group.

Wesley took the next piece of paper. "Chaser, team two."

"Beater, team two," Jeff said happily as he read his piece of paper.

"Keeper, team two," Dustin announced.

"Beater, team one," Tank said. "This should be fun."

Jacob looked at Ginny and Harry nervously. He wasn't sure if he'd rather work with one of them or against both of them. He cautiously looked at his piece of paper. "Chaser, team two," he said quietly.

"So that makes the two of us chasers on team one," Ginny said, looking at Harry.

"Alright, team huddle," Tank called. He led Harry, Ginny and MJ away from the others and pulled them into a tight circle. "Okay, so we're at a disadvantage because Jeff and Jacob are playing their own positions, but…"

"Excuse me, but I'm playing my own position, too," Ginny pointed out.

"Okay, a slight disadvantage," Tank corrected. "Anyway, I think I've got a pretty good handle on playing beater, and I have faith in MJ's skills as a keeper."

"But you're not sure about my skills as a chaser?" Harry asked in mock outrage.

"Well, I've never seen you do anything but seek," Tank explained.

"He's good enough. We've played together plenty of times in my backyard," Ginny said.

"Good."

"Hey Gin," Harry said suddenly.

"What?"

"Remember that time after my fifth year me, you and Ron played against Fred, George, and Lee most of the summer?"

Ginny looked at him confused. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, do you remember those strategies Ron planned out for us?" Harry asked grinning.

Ginny's eyes lit up. "You're brilliant! They'll never know what hit them!"

"Do we even want to know?" MJ asked. Harry and Ginny shook their heads.

"Okay, well, Jacob is going to be nervous, so you guys should take advantage of that. And look out for Jeff, he's lethal with his bat," Tank said.

"Well, it is going to be your job to protect us from said bat," Harry pointed out. "MJ, you're also going to have to take advantage of the fact that you know Jacob's flying and scoring habits. You're going to have to anticipate his moves."

"Oy! Is this a fun game or the finals of the World Cup?" Jeff called.

"We're coming, we're coming," Tank called back. "Alright, let's go whomp them!"

The eight people stood in the center of the pitch, each ready to mount their brooms.

"Alright, let's keep this clean. I don't want to explain to Mr. Perry why none of you have ever been injured during practice, but somebody broke a bone during a fun, pick up game. We'll play to 100, or for two hours, which ever comes first," Ginny announced. "Now everybody on your brooms and I'll release the balls!" The team mounted their brooms and soared expertly into the air. Ginny couldn't help but feel a little in awe as she watched them. She quickly recovered, released the bludgers and flew into the air holding the quaffle. "Let's play, boys!" she exclaimed as she threw the ball into the air between herself and Wesley.

All four chasers dove for the quaffle, but it was Wesley with the size advantage who came away with it. He and Jacob started to head towards the goals MJ was defending. Harry and Ginny closed in on Wesley, trying to steal the quaffle. Wesley tried to pass to Jacob, but Ginny dove in between them and intercepted the ball. She looped around and started to head for the opposite goal. Harry followed suit, dodging a bludger in the process, but instead of heading straight for the goal he began to do loops around Ginny. Confused by his tactics, Wesley and Jacob both closed in on Ginny. In an apparent attempt to get away, Ginny headed up at the exact same time Harry was on the downward half of his loop. Ginny dropped the ball to him, performing an excellent Porskoff Ploy. Dustin was so confused at to what was going on Harry was able to score on him easily.

"Yes!" Ginny exclaimed happily. She could hear MJ cheering for them from the other side of the pitch.

Harry and Ginny easily scored again four more times, their only opposition being from Jeff's bat. Jacob and Wesley were both obviously a little hesitant to play against a girl, not playing overly aggressive whenever Ginny had the quaffle and Jacob was still too intimidated from playing against his hero to be aggressive against Harry. Ginny couldn't help but laugh when she saw how frustrated Jeff was getting with his teammates.

Ginny's team was up 60-10 when she and Harry were heading for the goal again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jeff swinging his bat. The next thing she knew, the bludger was heading directly towards Harry.

"Harry, look out!" she screamed. Harry looked over his shoulder and saw the bludger coming right at him. He quickly passed the quaffle to Ginny and performed a Sloth Grip Roll, missing the bludger by inches. Ginny sighed in relief. "You okay?" she asked as she passed the quaffle back to Harry.

"Yeah," he called back as he went in to take a shot, darting past Jacob with ease. The game continued until the score was 90-40, with Harry and Ginny stealing the show by executing daring plays Ron had devised for them years ago. Desperate to avoid being beaten, Dustin was able to make several miraculous saves on the goal so the score could be evened to 90-60, but in the end it just wasn't enough. Ginny scored the final goal of the game, after looping in a figure eight pattern with Harry, passing the quaffle back and forth until she was close enough to score. They all landed back on the pitch, smiling and laughing.

"And why, Miss Weasley, aren't you out here playing Quidditch everyday with us?" Tank asked as he wrapped her in a congratulatory hug.

"I'm really not that good. Harry and I just had really good plays that we've practiced before," Ginny replied blushing.

"I want to know why Jacob was scared to get physical with it. We're never going to win a game if he's scared to play," Jeff said tensely.

"Well, I didn't want to be responsible for anybody getting hurt! Ginny's not a professional player and I didn't want to hurt her!" Jacob exclaimed defensively.

"Calm down, Jeff. It was just a game for fun," Wesley said, putting his arm over the shoulders of his fellow beater.

"I must say I'm a natural keeper," MJ said brightly.

"Or that Ginny and Harry normally stole the quaffle before it ever even came near the goals," Tank pointed out.

Ginny looked at Harry, who wore a grin that covered his entire face. "Does winning excite you that much?" she asked him.

"No, but flying does. I haven't gotten to fly like that, against someone, since the training camps," Harry explained. "I still think that flying is the best feeling in the entire world."

"You're a natural," Tank commented.

"Is it true that you were put on your house team after only one flying lesson?" Jacob asked shyly.

"Yeah, it is," Harry admitted.

MJ let out a low whistle. "Youngest house player in over a century."

"Restored honor to the Gryffindor team," Tank added.

"Hey, I think I should get some of the credit! We won the house cup because I kept us in it after Harry got kicked off the team!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Yes, but things started to turn around when Harry joined the team," MJ explained. "It's not that your contribution isn't significant, it's just that Harry's marked the beginning of the change."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Great, just one more thing to be famous for."

"At least this is something you had fun doing," Ginny pointed out.

"True," Harry agreed.

"Come on, let's go inside and see if there's something to eat," MJ said, walking back towards the house.

"MJ, we just ate about two hours ago!" Ginny said laughing.

"So? Protecting those goals wore me out," MJ said, never stopping on his path back towards the house. The others laughed and quickly ran after him. Ginny started to follow, but she noticed Harry still standing on the pitch looking longingly at the sky.

"You really love flying, don't you?" Ginny asked quietly.

"It's such a freeing feeling. It's like the one thing in my life that has remained constantly good from the moment it was introduced to me," Harry said sadly.

Ginny was about to argue with him, but she realized it was probably true. His parents had died when he was only a baby, his aunt and uncle treated him like rubbish, he had lost Ron and the rest of her family, something had happened to change the foundation of his relationship with Hermione, he had to leave the place he considered to be home after watching so many people die… she could go on and on. Nothing had ever been easy for Harry; nothing but flying, apparently.

"Gin?" Harry questioned, seeing the contemplative look on her face.

"I was just thinking about that summer when Ron taught us those plays," she lied.

Harry grinned. "Despite everything that happened fifth year, when I got to the Burrow that summer you guys were determined not to let me brood. I swear Fred, George, and Lee came by the house every night as soon as they closed down the shop to play Quidditch or something."

"You were a horrid chaser when we first started," Ginny teased.

"True, but you taught me and I got better. I've enjoyed playing the position since then, but it's just not seeking," Harry admitted. "I'll never forget how you yelled at me the first night I was there."

Ginny laughed. "I told you that you were being a selfish prat."

"And that I needed to get over myself and understand that you were all mourning Sirius, too," Harry added. "I think that summer was the first time I really considered you a friend; despite the fact that you were yelling at me half the time."

"So, I wasn't your friend before I started yelling at you?"

"It's not that," Harry said slowly. "It's just that I was finally seeing you for who you were, and I eventually appreciated having someone in my life that was able to put me in my place with out nagging or mothering me; someone who wasn't afraid to let me know how they felt. It was a good thing too, because that's about when Ron started to realize he liked Hermione, even if it took him almost another year to act on it."

"Oh," Ginny said softly. "I never realized you felt that way."

"You wouldn't have. I was sixteen and stupid. I didn't know what it was like to share my feelings with anyone. Besides, even though I hadn't told you guys yet about the prophecy, it was on my mind all of the time. I tried to make myself promise that I wouldn't get too close to anyone again until I had completed my destiny; I couldn't stand the thought of anyone I cared about being used to get to me."

"When did things change?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Well, towards the end of seventh year I had a long heart to heart with Moony and Dumbledore. We had gotten information that Voldemort was planning a huge attack on either my birthday or Halloween. So Dumbledore planned out something he thought would have me prepared in time, and Moony talked to me about how much I was screwing up my life. So I tried to do what Moony suggested… it's not important what. Our information was wrong. Those last two big battles, at Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, and everything leading up to them, changed me. When it was all over I couldn't handle it anymore, things went haywire." Harry shook his head. "I've said too much."

Ginny was trying to put the pieces together in her head. She thought about any kind of change that had happened with Harry before the attack on Hogsmeade, but the only thing she could come up with was that he had asked her out. She wanted to confirm it with him, but she was afraid of causing him to shut down again. But her mind was swarming around the concept; had Harry really loved her? Had he cared for her but been afraid to act on it? Did he want to kiss her again as badly as she wanted to kiss him? She couldn't help but let her eyes be drawn to his lips as they stood together in comfortable silence.

"Are you two going to stand out there all day or are you going to come eat with us?" Jeff called out to them from the house.

"We're coming," Harry called back. Without another word he made his way towards the house, leaving Ginny struggling to catch up with him.

The rest of the afternoon had been spent pleasantly by everyone. They had talked about their school days, played chess, flown for fun, anything their hearts desired. Ginny couldn't help but notice that despite Harry's outward cheerfulness, he looked like he was going to pass out from exhaustion. They had an uneventful but enjoyable dinner, and now everyone was scattered around the house. Ginny found herself in the living room, going over the order for the team uniforms, while Harry lay on the couch reading and Dustin wrote a letter. Her eyes were torn from her work, and for what felt like the hundredth time that day she found her self staring at Harry.

She couldn't help herself. After everything she had discovered since they had been living in the manor she couldn't help but wonder if things could have been different for them. If only she had tried to talk to him; if only Ron had given her his letters. When she closed her eyes she could still feel his lips against hers, despite how brief and innocent the kiss had been. She smiled as she watched Harry's eyes drift closed. If anyone needed sleep it was Harry. She turned her attention back to her work.

A few minutes passed and Ginny glanced over at Harry again. She frowned when she saw him tossing haphazardly on the overstuffed couch. His lips were moving, but she couldn't make out his mumbled ramblings. He lifted his right arm off the couch without ever cracking open an eye.

"What the…" Ginny muttered. Dustin looked up and they watched as the pillow on the couch began to levitate above their heads.

A/N Yep, it's a cliffy. I get accused of doing this much more than I think I do. When I intend for it to be a cliff hanger, it'll be fairly obvious. This will be the last update until midweek next week at the earliest. I'm trying to catch up on my writing so I have plenty of time to get chapters betad before I post them, and unfortunately the stuff I'm writing right now is very important so it's pretty slow going. I hope that everyone has a very safe and happy holiday season and as always thanks for your reviews; they're the best Christmas presents an author can ask for!