Flipping through a copy of the team's schedule, Ginny glanced up at the clock on the wall. She and Harry were back in Tibet, and while she was working, Harry was working out with the team. They were supposed to decide today whether Harry or Caleb would be playing in the next match. She hadn't been able to eat all day because her nerves were so bad.
Harry had been nervous as well, but almost more for what would happen if he made the team than for what would happen if he didn't. They had learned right before they left England that their next match was going to be against Bulgaria, meaning that if Harry played, he'd be playing against Victor Krum. Ginny knew that Caleb wouldn't stand a chance against Krum, but she was worried that Harry wouldn't either if he wasn't back to one hundred percent.
There was a loud crash behind her as Harry stumbled over her bed. Ginny couldn't tell from the look on his face whether he was happy or disappointed.
He let out a long sigh and sat down on the edge of her bed. "Well, I'm playing."
"That's… great?" Ginny asked, moving from the desk to beside him on her bed.
"I'm nervous," Harry explained. "And not just for me, but for you, too. I know that they think the Witch Weekly article took some of the attention away from you, but I'm scared that whoever it is that doesn't want me to play will still come after you."
Ginny let out a long sigh. The pictures of her out with Harry had been published in Witch Weekly, accompanied by a long article about their day together. The article had made a very simple, pleasant day sound like a torrid affair, going so far as to suggest a threesome with Tonks. It bothered Ginny that the article had been written by the same author as the last slanderous article on Harry. It was really starting to look like the person had a vendetta against him.
What bothered Ginny the most, though, were her brothers' reactions. They had all sent her owls, demanding that she leave Harry immediately. Even Charlie, who didn't recognize Tonks in the pictures, was threatening to hex Harry. Since she was in hiding, she sent them all very long letters, explaining that it was really her in the pictures, and demanding that they trust Harry more. It physically pained her to see Ron turn on Harry again so soon after they had made their first attempt to patch things up. She could only hope that they'd all apologize to Harry the next time they saw him.
"Don't worry about me," she said finally. "I'm under constant Auror supervision."
"That didn't help you last time," Harry argued.
"And they've tripled security at the stadium and around us since," Ginny reminded him. "You just need to focus on playing."
"I'd rather not," Harry said quietly.
Ginny poked him in the ribs. "Why?"
"Because I know that the press is going to bring up the Triwizard Tournament. I know the focus of the entire match will be on the rematch between Krum and me. If I don't get the Snitch, I'll be a failure who got lucky all those years ago."
Frowning, Ginny slipped and arm around his shoulders. "That's not true. Well, the stuff about the press probably is, but the rest of it isn't. You are not a failure. We probably would have lost the last match if it wasn't for you. Besides, you guys could still win even if you don't catch the Snitch… Remember the last World Cup?"
"Bulgaria's a lot better now," Harry sighed. "And we're worse without Dustin."
"But Jacob is playing the best Quidditch of his life, and Steven's not bad," Ginny argued. "But if your head isn't in the game, you won't be at your best and you'll just be giving the match to Krum."
"You're supposed to eat dinner with all of us tonight," Harry said.
Ginny rolled her eyes at the change of subject. "I know. A big team dinner before the match tomorrow… It sounds more like a last supper to me."
Harry's head snapped around and he glared at Ginny. "So you don't think we're going to win?"
"No," she replied tensely, "that'd be you who doesn't think you'll win. I was just talking about everyone's mood around here lately. You're all acting like you've already lost!"
"We're just being realistic," Harry fought back.
Ginny jumped off the bed and put her hands on her hips. "What happened to the team I worked with in England that was determined not to come home until they were the winners of the World Cup? You're faced with one tough opponent and you all just give up."
"We haven't given up!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up from the bed.
"Well, it sure sounds that way to me!"
"I'm going back to my room!" Harry yelled before turning around on his heel and heading for the door.
"Fine by me!"
Harry opened the door before slamming it shut and turned around to face Ginny. "Where's the invisibility cloak so I can get out of here?"
"In the closet," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "You remember the proper procedure for leaving my room, don't you?"
"Of course I do. I'm not stupid," Harry huffed as he pulled the invisibility cloak over his shoulders.
"No, but you might give up if it looked to be difficult," Ginny retorted.
Harry glared at her before turning around to face the door. He knocked lightly three times and the door opened.
"Everything alright?" Susan asked as she opened the door wide enough for Harry to sneak out.
"Brilliant," Ginny replied sarcastically.
"Well, I'm supposed to walk you to the dining room around six, so just come on out when you're ready," Susan said cheerfully before closing the door again.
"Arg!" Ginny cried as she kicked the desk. Her foot immediately began to throb in pain. "Bollocks!" She hopped towards the bed on her not sore foot and sat down. Slipping off her shoe, she began to massage her foot.
There was a knock on the door and Ginny distractedly called for whoever it was to come in, hoping it was Harry so she could yell at him for causing her to hurt her foot.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked, sounding highly amused.
"I kicked the desk," Ginny explained as she slipped her shoe back on and stood up. "What are you doing here?"
"Why did you kick the desk?" Ron countered.
Ginny glared at him. "Because it made me angry."
Ron held his hands in front of him defensively. "It was just a question."
"One I'd rather not answer," she retorted. "Did you need something?"
Ron bit the corner of his lip and ran his hands through his hair. "I wanted to talk to you."
"About?"
"About the lunch I just had."
"Who'd you eat lunch with?" Ginny prompted as she walked back over to her desk and began to flip through the team's schedule.
"Padma, Hermione, and Krum."
Ginny dropped the papers and spun around to face Ron. "How in Merlin's name did that happen?"
"Well, I was eating breakfast with Padma this morning after she arrived for the match at the restaurant down the street and Krum walked in. He remembered me, and came over to talk. While we were talking, Hermione walked in, and Krum called her over. It was bloody awkward trying to make conversation… I've only just started speaking to Hermione again, and you know I never liked Krum."
"You liked him before he showed any interest in Hermione," Ginny smirked.
Ron glared at her. "As I was saying, Krum got the bright idea that we should all eat lunch together. I was going to say no, but Padma kicked me under the table and accepted for both of us. Apparently, it was the perfect opportunity to ask him for an interview."
"So how was lunch?"
"Awkward, uncomfortable, and long."
Ginny was torn between trying to be patient for her brother and wanting to satisfy her curiosity. "What happened?"
"Well, you know I'm really happy with Padma, right? I mean, she's brilliant, and we always have a good time together," Ron began slowly.
Ginny fought to keep the smile off her face. She just knew that Ron was going to admit that he never stopped loving Hermione, and that he had broken things off with Padma.
"Padma is starting to become friends with Hermione, and I mean, they're really getting along. They both have brilliant minds, but it's bloody uncomfortable for me. Then we had this lunch with Krum, and he was flirting with Hermione again. I'm worried that he's just using her to try and find out stuff about Harry."
Ginny frowned. "Victor is a good bloke, Ron. He helped us during the war, and he wouldn't take advantage of his friendship with Hermione to try and cheat or hurt Harry. Maybe it just bothered you that he was flirting with Hermione…"
"Actually, I didn't even notice it. It was all the girly talk between Padma and Hermione after Krum left. Padma was so happy for Hermione that Krum was still interested after all these years, and Hermione was blushing and denying it. It was really annoying listening to them go back and forth for, well I don't actually know how long it was but it felt like hours."
Trying to fight her disappointment, Ginny frowned. "What exactly do you need from me?"
"I want to know if there's some way to keep my girlfriend and my ex girlfriend from becoming best friends. I'm all for them getting along, because I am trying to be Hermione's friend again, but I don't want to have to listen to them chat about blokes all day."
"Have you thought about talking to Padma about it?" Ginny asked.
"I was actually thinking about talking to Hermione about it."
"I wouldn't if I were you," Ginny replied. "Your friendship with Hermione is on shaky ground at best, and this could look like you were trying to push her away again. Although, talking to Padma could make it look like you still have feelings for Hermione and you aren't comfortable being around her."
"I don't have feelings for Hermione!" Ron exclaimed quickly.
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Defensive much?"
Ron began to pace the room. "I just don't want you jumping to the wrong conclusions about this. Every time I look at Hermione I'm reminded of how much she hurt me, of how much it killed me when she broke up with me. It is so hard for me to try and be her friend again, but I'm trying. Merlin, Ginny, I'm trying so hard! When we almost died I couldn't stand the thought of leaving things the way they were, but actually doing it is hard."
"I'm proud of you, Ron," Ginny said quietly. "You're finally trying."
"I'm trying to make up for what a jerk I've been. I'm not going to apologize for all of my actions over the last year, because I'm not the only one at fault, but I'm going to try and make things right," he said.
"You have no idea how happy that makes me."
"I do, because I've seen first hand how much Harry means to you," Ron replied.
"It's not just that," Ginny insisted, pulling Ron over to her bed and sitting him down. "You've been miserable for the last year and it was tearing me up inside to see you like that. Dad was miserable, Charlie was miserable, I was miserable… It wasn't good. I feel like we're finally starting to live again and, despite my current annoyance with Harry, we're all happy."
"Why are you annoyed with Harry?" Ron asked curiously.
Ginny rolled her eyes and leaned back onto the bed. "He's given up at the mere thought of playing against Victor. He thinks that the press will be all over it, and doesn't think he stands a chance."
"He's just as good as Krum," Ron replied.
Ginny laughed bitterly. "Try telling him that. He's just tense and nervous and he was taking it out on me. I'm sure things will be better before we go to bed tonight… they always are." Ron stared at Ginny in shock and she realized her mistake. "I mean, neither one of us can stay mad at the other for much longer than a day. We love each other too much to let something this silly come between us," she added quickly.
"Ginny, he's not pressuring you or anything, is he?" Ron asked tensely.
"No! Harry would never do anything like that!" she insisted.
"You're still young, and you don't need to rush into anything."
"Like you and Padma?" Ginny countered, her anger level rising at Ron's hypocrisy.
"What we do is our own business. You shouldn't go around making assumptions!"
Ginny laughed cynically. "Trust me, I'm not making any assumptions. First, you not coming home at night--"
"That doesn't mean anything," Ron broke in.
"True, but that coupled with a neat little charm that the twins put on the family clock doesn't leave much to the imagination."
Ron's face paled. "When?"
"The night of my birthday, actually. It was a nice little present to come home to. You should just be grateful that Harry took the charm off the clock before Dad saw it."
"Why was Harry in our house the night of your birthday?" Ron asked quickly.
Ginny sighed. "He was actually at my party under his invisibility cloak. No one but Luna knew, and she only know because of her mirror. He's the one responsible for turning the twins into birds… some kind of potion he put in their drinks if I'm not mistaken."
"Merlin, Ginny. You should have just told me. I wouldn't have invited all of those blokes to your party if I had known," Ron said, shaking his head.
"Yes you would have, but you would have been doing it intentionally, trying to keep me away from Harry, instead of unintentionally."
"No, I wouldn't," Ron insisted.
"Yes, you would. If we had told you, we still wouldn't have been able to explain anything about Hermione, so you'd still think Harry was guilty," Ginny argued.
"Maybe… But we've strayed from the point. The point is you shouldn't do anything with Harry you're not ready for."
"I love him, Ron. Can you at least say that about Padma?"
"I'm not sure…" Ron said slowly. "I know I don't feel the same way about Padma as I did Hermione, but I don't think Padma could ever hurt me the same way Hermione did. Padma makes me feel good about myself; she makes me enjoy life again. When I'm with her, I actually care about the future again."
"So why does that make it okay for you to do with Padma what you've determined I shouldn't do with Harry?" Ginny asked.
"I just can't trust him again, yet," Ron sighed.
"And he can't trust you again yet, either," Ginny replied. "I had a hard enough time breaking down his walls so that he'd trust me again."
There was a knock on the door, and Ginny left Ron sitting on the bed while she got up to answer it. "Hermione! What are you doing here?"
"Well, I wanted to see if you were interested in eating dinner with Lily and me," Hermione said, shifting the baby's weight on her hip.
"Actually, I have to eat with the team, but you're more than welcome to come in for a bit, if you'd like."
"Thanks," Hermione said as she walked into the room. "Would you like to hold-- Ron!"
"Hello, Hermione," Ron said awkwardly.
Ginny noticed the frozen look on Hermione's face, and took the baby from her arms. "I assume that you're not bringing Lily to the match tomorrow."
Hermione slowly tore her eyes off of Ron and looked at Ginny. "No, she's staying with a babysitter. It's hard for me to leave her still, but I know it'll be for the best."
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Ginny said, bouncing Lily on her hip. "I bet you miss traveling. Harry told me you used to travel all the time for your work in the Department of Mysteries."
"Well, it was fun getting to travel around the world. Remind me to tell you about my trip to the Bermuda Triangle. But it's nothing like being a mum. I'm overwhelmed, overworked, and I hardly get any sleep, but I'm happy. I'm happy that I can give someone a home. It frustrates me to no end that I can't solve all of my problems by researching and studying, but I'm getting by." At some point during her speech, Hermione had turned her focus solely on Ron. Ginny couldn't help but notice that their eyes were locked, and the tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.
Lily coughed, and Hermione seemed to remember that she and Ron weren't the only two people in the room. "I'm sorry again for leaning so much on Harry when I first got Lily. You were right to be upset with me, and I'm sorry for interrupting your birthday."
Ginny waved her free hand in the air dismissively as she kissed the top of Lily's head. "It's all in the past now. You've been figuring things out on your own."
"It was just a hard adjustment for me, realizing that I was wrong about something," Hermione said quietly.
"What were you wrong about?" Ron spoke up.
Ginny's eyes widened and she knew that this conversation was quickly about to become one of the most important conversations of their lives. She knew that her presence in the room was forgotten as Ron and Hermione stared at each other.
"I…" Hermione began but was cut off by a knock on the door.
No one moved from their place as the knocking continued. Ginny had a feeling that if she answered the door Ron and Hermione would never say the things that needed to be said.
"Ginny? Is Ron with you?" Padma's voice came through the closed door.
Ron jumped up from the bed like it was on fire and hurried to the door. "I'm right here," he said as he opened it.
"I was getting worried when you were late," Padma said, looking flushed.
"I'm sorry, I meant to tell you I'm eating dinner with the team in a little bit. I'd say you could come, but it's supposed to be strictly the team and the people who have worked with the team," Ron explained. "I just lost track of time while talking with Ginny."
"Oh… Well, that's fine. I'll just find something on my own. You'll come by after dinner though, right?" Padma asked.
"Of course. I can't stay late because tomorrow will be an early day, but I'll definitely come by," Ron assured her.
"Good." Padma peered into the room and saw Ginny holding Lily. "Is Hermione in there with you two?"
"Yes," Hermione spoke up, moving into Padma's line of vision. "I stopped by to see if Ginny wanted to eat dinner with Lily and me, but I ran into the same problem as you."
"Well then, we'll just eat dinner together," Padma said smiling. "I'd love to spend some more time with Lily. We did bond in the box, you know."
"Well," Hermione said, chewing on the corner of her lip.
"I'm sure Hermione wants to call it an early night," Ron spoke up quickly.
"Nonsense. She already said she wanted to eat, so we'll just go down the street and grab something quick," Padma said. She walked over to Ginny and took Lily from her. "Come on, let's go ahead and go. Maybe we'll run into Victor and he can join us."
"Maybe," Hermione said as she chased Padma out of the room. "I'll see you around, Ginny, Ron."
"Bye," Ginny called as the door shut.
"Arg!" Ron exclaimed. "Do you see what I mean? I know I wouldn't want to get all chummy with Padma's first love, I can't understand why she wants to become best friends with mine."
"It is odd," Ginny mused.
"I can understand wanting to be on good terms, since we're trying to work on our friendship, but this is ridiculous!"
"Maybe she's trying to stake her claim," Ginny suggested. "You know, make sure that Hermione knows you're not available."
"But Padma's not like that," Ron insisted. "She knows that Hermione and I ended on terrible terms, and she knows that Hermione has no interest in being with me anymore. Hermione went to great lengths to prove that."
"You're probably right," Ginny said with a shrug. "We're going to be late for dinner."
"Well, let's get going then," Ron said as he headed for the door. "I hope this doesn't take too long. I really do want to call it an early night, and I don't want to get to Padma's room too late."
"Just tell her you need to get to bed if it gets too late," Ginny said as she entered the hall. "Hello, Susan."
"Just pretend I'm not here," Susan said with a smile as she began to follow them.
"Is that what'd you'd say to Harry if he showed up at your door tonight?" Ron teased. "Just tell him that you need to call it an early night?"
"Actually, I would tell him that I needed to go to bed," Ginny replied, omitting the fact that Harry would be going to bed with her.
"I'm sure," Ron replied sarcastically. "Do you know where we're going?"
Ginny nodded. "Dinner will be in the conference room on this floor, just around this corner."
"Good. I'm getting hungry."
"When are you not?" Ginny laughed. "Here we are."
"I'll be waiting right outside the door," Susan spoke up. "There will be enough Aurors inside."
"Thanks, Susan," Ginny said as she and Ron entered the empty conference room. "It feels weird to have Susan around instead of Michael."
"I still feel terrible about what happened to him," Ron said. "Where do you want to sit?"
"At the end of the table is fine," Ginny replied. "I'm actually surprised no one is here yet."
"Maybe practice ran late," Ron suggested.
Ginny shook her head and took her seat. "Harry came by my room after practice and that was before you came by."
"Well then, they must just all be running late," Ron said with a shrug.
"Ginny! I'm glad you made it tonight," Tank said as he walked into the room with MJ, Jacob, and three Aurors Ginny didn't recognize.
"Wouldn't have let anything keep me away," Ginny replied smiling.
"Well, I know the last time we spoke you weren't sure where you'd be today," Tank said.
"Oh," Ginny said, feeling a little flustered. She hadn't even thought about the fact that she'd have to react to whatever her double had said. "You know how crazy my schedule can be."
"Well, we've missed you being around," Jacob added. "Things haven't been the same since you stopped working with us. No offense, Ron."
"None taken," Ron replied. "Where is everyone?"
"Dunno," MJ said. "I thought we were running late."
"Apparently so is everyone else," Ginny said.
The door opened again and Harry walked in with Perry and Mason. His eyes locked with Ginny's and they didn't break their gaze as he took his place at the other side of the table. He looked like a wreck. Ginny wanted nothing more than to get up, throw her arms around him, and hold him until he thought that everything would be okay. She didn't care how annoyed she was with him, he was hurting and she wanted to make it better.
"Ginny?" Ron asked quietly.
She snapped back into the present and realized that the rest of the team had arrived. Jeff had sat down across from her, and Wesley was sitting on her other side. She smiled embarrassedly and nodded at the new additions to the table.
"Sorry, I zoned out for a minute there," she said sheepishly. "There's so much on my mind with the match tomorrow."
"Are you glad to be back?" Jeff asked.
Ginny froze and everyone stared at Jeff. "Um," she muttered, chewing on her lip nervously.
"I mean, back on the job," Jeff corrected himself quickly. "I know they were keeping you pretty much locked up for awhile."
"Definitely," she replied with a sigh. "I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do when this is all over."
"I'm sure Mr. Perry would recommend you for a job in my department," Ron said.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Ginny said.
"Why not?" Wesley asked. "I know I'd recommend you."
"We just had a slight disagreement, that's all," she explained.
"You never told me that," Ron said. "Is that why I pretty much took over your job?"
"It's a long story," Ginny said, tugging on a strand of her hair nervously. "I'd rather not spend dinner getting into it."
"That's fine," Jeff said, but Ginny noticed he was looking at her strangely. "I enjoyed getting to spend the extra time with Ron."
"You did pretty much fall off the face of the earth after you made the team, mate," Ron said with a chuckle. "I was lucky if I could get you to answer my letters."
"What can I say?" Jeff teased. "My time was in high demand."
Wesley rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah. Just wait until you have a wife and kids to demand your time."
"Is your dad going to be here tomorrow?" Ron asked.
Jeff shook his head. "He's in Germany now. I can't remember the last time he caught one of my matches."
"Odd that the Ministry keeps him out of the country since they're so short on Aurors right now," Ginny mused. "I mean, half of the ones here are still trainees."
"I guess they just have to spread around the experience," Jeff replied with a shrug. "He prefers working out of the country, and somebody's got to do it."
"I wouldn't mind doing some traveling for work," Ron said.
"What do you call this?" Ginny teased.
"Well, this isn't really working here," Ron argued. "This is so stressful, and there's really no difference in working here than at home."
"You think this is stressful?" Wesley asked. "Try actually being the one playing! There's so much pressure on us to win. Everyone's watching our every move!"
"Well, some of us more than others," Jeff added. "You've been more in the spotlight ever since your great hit at the end of the Japan match."
"True, but Harry always gets the worst of it," Wesley agreed. "Although Tank has been getting a lot of attention lately due to his impending retirement. And MJ is just the type of player the press loves to interview because he's so animated."
"I think Jacob would quit if he got anymore attention than he already does," Ginny chuckled. "I hate to say it, but Dustin's name has been all over the press lately as well. I wish that they'd be reporting a change in his status, but no luck with that so far."
Everyone sitting around her grew quiet as they all thought about their fallen teammate. Ginny picked up the glass of water she hadn't noticed was in front of her and took a small sip.
"Excuse me," Mr. Perry spoke up from the other end of the table. The room quieted and everyone turned their attention to him. He began to make a speech, but Ginny found her mind wondering. Something about the conversation they'd just had felt wrong to her, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She caught Harry's eyes again across the table, and she had to fight the urge again to go comfort him. He gave her a small smile and she returned it with a sigh of relief. She had a feeling that he would come to her room tonight and everything would be okay.
Ginny sat on the edge of her bed, anxiously awaiting Harry's arrival. Dinner had been long and boring, and she was ready to go to bed. Despite her brief moment with Harry during the dinner, she was still worried that when he arrived they would start fighting again. She also wanted to talk to him about her conversations at dinner and her conversation with Ron. She still couldn't figure out why she was bothered by the dinner conversations, and she thought Harry might pick up on something that she hadn't.
There was a knock on the door and Susan stuck her head inside. "Are you decent?"
"Yes," Ginny replied, standing up.
Susan opened the door wider and smiled. "I'll see you in the morning then. I'm just about to get off my shift."
As soon as the door closed the invisibility cloak fell to Harry's feet and he was revealed standing near the door. "Hey," he said quietly.
"Hey."
"I'm sorry for being a jerk earlier. I was nervous and I was taking it out on you."
"Was?" Ginny asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, I am nervous. I'm scared. I'm a big chicken. Are you happy now?" Harry asked tensely.
"No," she replied, shaking her head. She walked towards him and slipped her arms around his waist. "Haven't you learned yet that I'm happy when you're happy?"
"It's easy to forget," Harry replied sheepishly, pulling her close. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"You looked so nice tonight at dinner that I just wanted to get up, pull you out of the room and have my way with you," Harry whispered in her ear.
"It's a shame you didn't," she replied coyly. "I'm much too tired now, and you need to get your rest before the big match tomorrow."
"Shame then," Harry sighed.
Ginny grinned at him. "Just get ready for bed." Harry waggled his eyebrows and Ginny laughed. "For sleep, my love, for sleep."
A/N I'm sorry this is late, but I didn't have internet access yesterday. I'm actually on my lunch break right now for my new job. Thank you as always for your reviews… they really do make my day!