A Special Sort
By Audny
Author's Note: Yet another chapter for you to enjoy. And hopefully review as well. This one's nice and long so savor it. It is summer though and if this chapter is any indication, I'll hopefully have the next one to you before too long. I have realized something though. The next Harry Potter book is coming out THIS MONTH. This is looking to be a rather longish story so there is not a chance that I'll finish it before the next book comes out. This could potentially cause a few problems, but I'll work those out as they come up. Thank you so very much to those of you who reviewed and anyone who read and enjoyed my story so far. Without further ado, here's chapter three. And don't forget to review because reviews are like candy and I like candy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. He belongs to the amazing J. K. Rowling.
Part 3: New Teachers and New Chasers
"Mind if I join you?" It was Harry. Ginny was sitting in the Hogwarts library working on a particularly nasty potions essay a few days after the start of the term. She'd only been back for three days and already she was in the library!
"Sure." She replied, shifting her pile of books over to make room. "You'd think the first week back would be easy, but I've already got a ton of essays to write. The first thing out of every teachers mouth this year was something to do with O.W.L.s. Honestly, they're not until June!" Ginny was more that a bit fed up with the amount of work her teachers had given the fifth years.
Harry slid into a chair across from the somewhat frazzled Ginny. He offered her a lopsided grin. "Really, Ginny. You should start preparing early. O.W.L.s are only nine months away!" Harry said in a surprisingly good imitation of Hermione's voice.
Ginny couldn't help but let out a small giggle. Hermione was her friend, but the girl needed to learn how to relax.
"Anyway," Harry continued in his normal voice, "what are you working on?"
"Potions. We're supposed to research all the ingredients used in sleeping drafts and what effects each has."
Harry grimaced. "Well, good luck with that."
"Thanks." She said dryly.
"No problem." Harry grinned. Ginny had noticed that he seemed less despondent now that they were back at Hogwarts. Of course, if she lived with an awful aunt and uncle who couldn't stand the sight of her, she supposed being back at the first place that actually felt like home would put her in a good mood too.
"What brings you to the library?" Ginny asked lightly. "It doesn't look like you brought anything to work on." Indeed he hadn't. He didn't even have his book bag with him.
"Actually, I came to find you." He grinned and Ginny's heart leapt into her throat. Then, realizing what he had just said, he reddened. "I . . . er . . . just wanted to tell you about . . . erm . . . Quidditch tryouts." He stuttered quickly.
"Oh. Right." Ginny said awkwardly. "What about them?"
"Well, they're going to be next Thursday."
"OK."
"Right, well . . ."
"Right . . ."
Harry started to get up, then stopped.
"Oh, and . . . er . . . I'm captain now."
"Really?" Ginny raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah." Harry muttered, rubbing the back of his slightly pink neck. "All our chasers graduated and I've been on the team longest, so . . . er . . . it just seemed to make sense."
"Yeah. Well . . . congratulations. That's really great."
"Right. Thanks." Harry stood again, looking even more embarrassed. "Well . . . erm . . . I should go."
"Ok." Ginny said quickly, then regretted saying it so quickly. "Ok." She said again. "Well. I'll . . . er . . . see you later."
"Yeah . . . Good luck with the essay."
"Thanks."
"Bye."
"Bye."
As soon as Harry had disappeared from view, Ginny laid her head onto her arms on top of her pile of books. That was possibly the most awkward conversation she'd ever had. Ginny groaned. She'd just made an utter fool of herself in front of Harry Potter. They were talking in one word sentences! That's no way to impress the boy you like! What was she thinking! She groaned again. And lifted her head up.
Madam Pince was frowning at her. Apparently her last groan had been too loud. Deciding that her potions essay could wait another day, she quickly packed her things away and hurried away from Madam Pince's disapproving gaze.
OOOOOO
Ginny didn't see Harry again until lunch the next day. She was sitting with Neville munching on an apple.
"Have you had Defense Against the Dark Arts yet?" Neville asked.
"No, I've got it this afternoon. You had it yet?"
"Yeah. Just this morning."
"How is Professor Lasch? Better than that awful Umbridge, I hope."
"Well, yes." Neville was quick to assure her. "She does seem to know her stuff. We didn't get to practice any spells though. Although she did say we'd be doing that next class."
"She's an auror, come to teach for the year." Harry had just joined them with Ron and Hermione. Harry grinned sheepishly at Ginny. She couldn't help but smile back and all the awkwardness of the other night was forgotten.
"It was a great class." Ron said, his eyes a bit misty.
"Oh, how would you know? You didn't take a single note during class, you were so busy staring at her." Hermione replied tartly. "She's not even that good looking. Her nose is too long and her eyes are a bit off center."
"Oh, come off it, Hermione." Ron retorted. "Just because I didn't take eight pages of notes doesn't mean I wasn't listening."
"Well, maybe if you started taking notes in class, you wouldn't need to ask to borrow mine when we have an exam."
Ron frowned at his sandwich but wisely let it drop.
After lunch, Ginny and Colin walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom together.
"So," Colin began cheerfully. "Have you heard about Quidditch tryouts yet?"
"Yeah. Harry told me about them last night," she said carefully.
"Did he now?" Colin raised an eyebrow at Ginny and she blushed a bit under his scrutiny. Then berated herself for blushing about her awkward conversation of the previous night. Colin saw her blush and quirked a smile.
"I thought you didn't fancy Harry anymore," he said quietly. Colin had always been able to read Ginny like a book.
"I don't!" Ginny began indignantly. "Well . . . not exactly, anyway."
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, Colin, I don't know!" Ginny was feeling a bit desperate about the whole Harry situation and really did want to talk to someone about it. She had ruled out Luna and Neville. They wouldn't really understand. Well, maybe Luna. She was surprisingly perceptive about some things. Colin, however, seemed to understand her better then anyone else. "I thought I just wanted to be friends with him, but after hanging around with him during the summer and really getting to know him, I just don't know what I want anymore."
"Hmm," Colin muttered thoughtfully. "Well, as long as he wants to be your friend, go with that. Who knows? It may turn into something more." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Ginny hit him with her bag.
"Ouch." He began rubbing his arm furiously. "Anyway, about Quidditch."
"Yes, what about it?" Ginny replied just a bit tartly.
"You gonna try out?" he asked eagerly.
Ginny didn't have to think about it before answering. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am."
"Well, good." Colin grinned. "I reckon I might try out as well. We're in desperate need of chasers, and I'm rather good on a broom."
Ginny grinned widely. "Oh, Colin that's great! It would be brilliant if we both made it! And you'd make a wicked chaser."
"Thanks!" Colin grinned. "We'd make an amazing team. I hear Dean Thomas and Natalie McDonald might both try out too."
"I do hope Dean get's it," Ginny murmured. They had just reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
Colin and Ginny took seats together near the front of the classroom and waited for it to slowly fill up with students. Before long all the Gryffindor fifth years had chosen seats and were staring expectantly at the door, waiting for their new teacher to arrive. There was a bustle at the door and it opened to reveal Professor Lasch, her arms full of books and papers. She hurried into the room, kicking the door closed behind her and dropped her pile of books onto the desk at the front of the classroom. Straightening, she pushed some hair out of her eyes and looked up as if surprised to see ten students watching her. She recovered from her shock in a moment and cleared her throat.
"Right. You're the fifth year Gryffindors." She seemed a bit disoriented. Now that Ginny got a good look at their new professor, she did see what Hermione had meant about her nose being a bit long and her eyes not quite straight.
Rifling quickly through the stack of papers on her desk, Professor Lasch pulled out a sheet and looked again at the class before her. "I suppose we ought to start out with role. Beverly Clarke," she began, looking up to see Beverly, a mousy haired witch, raise her hand. "Colin Creevey."
"Here, Professor!" Colin piped in, waving his hand high in the air. Ginny smiled at his exuberance.
Professor Lasch continued until, "Ginny Weasley." She paused for a moment to peer at Ginny who had raised her hand somewhat tentatively. "Hmm . . . I went to school with your brother Bill," she murmured. She set down the roll sheet and brushed off her hands on the front of her robes somewhat absentmindedly.
"Well, we'd best begin then. What were you studying at the end of last year?" she queried.
Beverly raised her hand and said, "We were reading about hexes, but we only learned theory. We weren't allowed to practice." One could easily tell from her tone that she wasn't happy about that.
Professor Lasch was frowning. "Hexes," she murmured half to herself, staring out the window pensively. "And you never practiced the counter-hexes?" she asked suddenly, focused again on her students.
"No," Ken, a rather tall and gangly boy, answered glumly.
"Right. We'll have to fix that." The students in the room perked up at this. Lasch, however, was staring out the window again, seemingly concentrating very intensely. Ginny almost felt as if she could see the wheels turning in her teacher's head. "Not here though," she was muttering. "Right," she said as if making up her mind. "We'll be going outside." The students really perked up at this. The weather was sunny and warm this early in September. Lasch was once again focused totally on her students, very alert.
"You can leave your book bags here, but don't forget your wands." She was already opening the door. "If you'll just follow me."
Everyone was scrambling to do just that. Professor Lasch walked so quickly down the hallway to the Entrance Hall that the fifth years had to jog to keep up.
Whispered conversations had sprung up between the jogging students.
"What do you think she's going to teach us?" Beverly whispered to her best friend, Haylee Fletcher.
"Why do we need to go outside?" Don, Ginny's fellow prefect, asked in a whisper.
Professor Lasch, meanwhile, had stopped briefly at a closet near the door and pulled out a rather ratty old broom. This caused a stir to run through the students following her. Lasch didn't seem to notice; she was frowning at the broom.
She stared at the old Cleansweep in her hands, her head cocked slightly. "Hmm, yes. I suppose this will work," she muttered after a moment and swung the broom over her shoulder, marching down the steps and onto the grounds.
When they were a significant distance away from the castle, Lasch stopped and turned to face her students.
"Hurling hexes," she said, dropping the broom. "Are any of you good flyers?"
Andrew Kirke, the Gryffindor beater, raised his hand, a bit nervously.
"Excellent." Lasch smiled in a reassuring way. "Don't worry, I'm sure your classmates will be able remove the hurling hex before you fall off."
Andrew did not seem reassure in the least bit.
Professor Lasch took out her wand and pointed it at the broom. "Conicio," she said, waving her wand. The broom lifted a few inches off the ground and shuttered once before falling back down to lie deceptively still in the grass.
"Right. Who knows what a Hurling Hex does?" Lasch asked, smiling expectantly at the class.
Colin's hand shot up in the air. Professor Lasch smiled and nodded for him to answer.
"A hurling hex throws someone off their broom when they are flying."
"Correct. Five points to Gryffindor. It can be very difficult to manage a broom with a hurling hex on it."
Andrew's face had taken on a somewhat greenish cast.
"The counter hex is inficticio. The stress is on the third syllable and you must wave your wand in a very tight circle." She demonstrated the movement with her own wand. "Now, why don't we practice that a few times before Andrew mounts."
Andrew looked positively sick.
"Inficticio," the class dutifully chanted in unison, waving their wands. Green sparks shot out of the end of Ginny's wand.
"Very good, Ginny. You've done it correctly. We'll have you start."
Ginny nodded a bit nervously. She offered Andrew a encouraging smile as he walked shakily over to the broom.
"I once heard about a boy getting thrown 100 feet from a broom with a hurling hex on it," Colin muttered into Ginny's ear. "I hope she knows what she's doing."
Ginny swallowed. She hoped she knew what she was doing. Ginny certainly didn't want to hurt Gryffindor's beater.
"Right, kick off from the ground," Lasch was telling Andrew. "Don't go too high up, just hover a few feet from the ground."
Andrew gulped and mounted. He kicked lightly off and rose to hover above the class. Suddenly, the broom started shaking and bucking, trying to throw off its rider. It rose higher, weaving back and forth. Andrew was swung about, barely managing to hold on.
"Go on then, Ginny," Professor Lasch said quite calmly, her eyes never leaving Andrew.
Ginny took a deep breath and raised her wand. "Infiticio!" she yelled, pointing at the wavering broom. Again the green sparks shot out of her wand. At first nothing seemed to happen. The entire class held their breaths, eyes glued to their classmate. Then, quite suddenly, the broom gave a shudder and stopped moving. Andrew paused for a moment, surprised. Then he pulled himself back onto the broom (he had been holding on by only one hand) and flew to the ground.
The class let up a cheer.
"Oh, brilliant!" Lasch exclaimed, beaming.
Andrew landed and dismounted on shaky legs.
"Right. Who's next?"
In the end, Colin volunteered (somewhat reluctantly) to fly, while Don cast the counter-hex. It worked out rather well and the class continued on in this fashion. Only Ken was thrown from the broom when Beverly cast the spell incorrectly, but Professor Lasch used a spell to soften his fall and he came away from it with only a few bruises.
OOOOOO
The next few days past quickly and uneventfully (save for when Neville spilled a Shrinking potion on himself and spent the rest of the afternoon one foot high. Snape wouldn't give him the antidote—said it served Neville right).
Ginny often found herself in the library with Luna, Neville and Colin in the evenings. Her teachers seemed to think that the only way to pass O.W.L.s was to begin studying now. This studying was done best in long essay form it appeared. On the evening before Quidditch tryouts, Ginny found herself seated with her friends in the library working on a particularly difficult transfiguration essay instead of out practicing.
Ginny and Colin had taken to practicing Quidditch when they had a break from homework. Ginny was a bit nervous about tryouts. Even though Harry had all but promised her a spot on the team, she still wasn't sure that her chaser skills were up to snuff. She really wished she could be out there tonight, but she didn't fancy going to McGonagall and telling her that she hadn't finished the essay. Perhaps she'd be able to get a bit of practice in after she finished the essay.
Ginny sighed. There was no way she would be finished with this essay in less than three hours and by that time it would be after curfew. With the Headmaster's new rules it would be very foolish, not to mention very likely impossible to attempt to sneak out after dark to practice.
"What are you working on?" Luna asked, looking up from behind the book she was reading. Remedial Remedies: An Beginner's Guide To Magical Plants And Their Healing Properties.
"Transfiguration," Ginny muttered. "Honestly, O.W.L.s can't be that bad."
"They are very important," Luna insisted. "Our entire education from this point on depends on how we do on them."
Ginny smiled to herself. Luna and Hermione were more alike than either one of them realized—or cared to admit.
"Are they very difficult, Neville?" Luna asked, turning her intense stare to him.
"Oh, yes," Neville said morosely. "I didn't get as many as Gran would have liked."
"Nonsense! You got plenty." Luna smiled reassuringly at Neville and he blushed and looked back down at his books, a small, pleased smile playing across his face.
"I wish we could be out practicing." Colin sighed, staring wistfully out the window. The weather was still nice and dusk looked beautiful tonight.
"Me too," Ginny put in glumly. "But McGonagall had to make this awful essay due the same day as tryouts!"
"Yeah. Bloody rotten, that is." Colin glared at his as yet empty roll of parchment. "I really wanted to practice the Porskoff Ploy one more time."
"And my reverse pass could really use some work," Ginny added. "Just a few more times and I'm sure I'd get it."
"You are both very good at Quidditch and will no doubt make it on the team," Luna said so matter-of-factly that neither Ginny nor Colin could say anything in return and so they all lapsed into silence.
"Do any of you know if there'll be a D.A. this year?" Neville asked some time later, looking up from the Defense Against the Dark Arts homework he was doing.
"I dunno." Everyone had automatically looked to Ginny for an answer. It seems they all thought she was closer to Harry than the rest of them. Well, she supposed that was true. Harry did spend the summer at the Burrow.
"I hope Harry decides to do it again this year!" Colin was practically bouncing in his seat. "I learned soo much from him."
"Yes, it was rather helpful," Luna said vaguely, only her eyes showing from behind the current Quibbler she had just begun reading.
"Yeah," Ginny said slowly. "But we're actually learning stuff in Defense Against the Dark Arts class now. It doesn't seem as important."
"I was much better at learning the spells in the D.A. than I am in class," Neville said quietly. "I hope it continues this year. Even if we just use it to practice what we learn in class."
"Yeah, I hope so too," Ginny said. Neville really did do much better in the more informal setting and he needed as much confidence as he could get. She resolved to talk to Harry about it the next chance she got.
The next day went by very quickly for Ginny. She handed in her Transfiguration essay to McGonagall, proud that she had stayed in to finish it. Defense Against the Dark Arts was another eventful class. They practiced deflecting hexes that Professor Lasch threw randomly about the room. Ginny was getting quite good at it and was very pleased with herself.
By dinner Ginny was feeling very nervous. She sat with Colin picking at her food. She had suddenly lost her appetite. Colin wasn't eating much either.
"Oh, eat something already!" Hermione cried, she had been watching them sit staring at their plates for the past ten minutes.
"Not hungry," Colin murmured.
"Honestly, you two have been practicing constantly all week! You have nothing to worry about."
"Where are Harry and Ron?" Ginny suddenly noticed that Hermione was without her other two thirds.
"They're out setting up for tryouts."
"Is it that late already?" Colin exclaimed shrilly. Pushing himself up. "We'd better hurry Gin. We don't want to be late."
"Honestly! It's only Quidditch!" Ginny heard Hermione exclaim as she followed Colin out of the Great Hall. Only Quidditch indeed!
Sure enough, they found Harry and Ginny's brother on the pitch along with Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke.
"Hello, Ginny. Hi, Colin." Harry had just spotted them coming toward the pitch.
"Hello." Ginny answered back weakly. Honestly, she didn't know why she was this nervous. She had always played chaser with her brothers when they played at home. And as Hermione had pointed out, she had been practicing at every free moment all week. She supposed it might be because she wanted to impress Harry, silly as that was.
"We've just got to wait for a couple more people, then we can get started," Harry was saying. Ginny nodded mutely and stood looking up at the pitch. Luckily the weather had held and their would be good conditions to fly in.
A few minutes later, Dean Thomas and Natalie McDonald came out of the castle and made their way down to the pitch.
"Right, I think that's everyone," Harry said. "Let's get started then. Erm . . . Ginny, you can go first then."
"OK." Ginny picked up her broom (A Cleansweep 11, her mum had gotten her one for becoming a prefect.) and mounted.
"Alright, just take a few shots and try to get them past Ron."
Ron gave Ginny a encouraging smile and shot up toward the goal posts. Ginny followed suit, catching the Quaffle Harry had just released easily. The higher she soared the less nervous she became. She was just having a go with her brother, that's all.
Down below her, Ginny heard Harry blow a whistle, signaling her to start. She clutched the Quaffle to her side and flew toward Ron. At just the last moment she swerved and threw the ball at the lowest goal. Ron dove and just barely deflected the Quaffle before it reached it's destination. Ginny quickly retrieved the ball and flew at Ron again. This time she came down from above and the ball went soaring right over Ron's outstretched fingers to fly threw the tallest goal post. Ginny continued this for a few more minutes. She made one more goal on Ron and he deflected two. She hoped she was doing alright.
Ginny heard the whistle again and looked down to see Harry waving them to the ground. She swallowed nervously, suddenly remembering what she was doing and flew to join the others. Dismounting, she saw Colin smile and give her a thumbs up. She looked at Harry and saw him grinning broadly at her. Her stomach did a little flip flop.
It's only because he thinks I'm good at Quidditch, Ginny told herself. Nothing else!
"Good job, Ginny." Harry told her, coming to stand in front of her.
Ginny felt a blush coming and was glad she was already flushed from flying so hard.
"Right, Dean," he called. "You next."
Dean nodded and kicked off the ground.
"You did really well." Harry was still standing in front of her. He was awfully close. Ginny could clearly see the scar hidden behind his messy black hair. Ginny glanced over to see Colin and Natalie engaged in conversation.
"Thanks," she said.
"I have to wait until everyone has had a chance to tryout before I can announce the new chasers," he was saying, "but you've got one of them."
Ginny's mouth dropped open in shock. She was going to be a chaser! "Oh, thank you, Harry!" she cried. She threw her arms around Harry without thinking, then very quickly released him. She was blushing furiously now, but grinning broadly at the same time.
"Er . . . it's no problem," Harry answered, looking slightly surprised and a little embarrassed by Ginny's sudden embrace. "You're really very good, like I said."
Ginny didn't let the slight awkwardness of the moment phase her and she continued grinning as she looked up to see Dean fly toward Ron, Quaffle in hand.
The rest of the tryouts went by rather quickly. Ginny only really payed attention to Colin. The hours of practice they had the previous week payed off. Colin flew seamlessly. Ginny knew Colin was really a better chaser than she was. She desperately hoped Harry saw how good he was and let him on the team. Ginny was a bit nervous about that. Colin really looked up to Harry and Ginny knew that Harry was rather uncomfortable about his sometimes overenthusiastic behavior.
After everyone had tried out Harry went off with Ron, Jack and Andrew to discuss it. The four would be chasers stood around nervously—well, except Ginny who knew she had it already. After a few minutes, Harry and the others came back to announce the new chasers. Ginny, of course, made it. As did, to her delight, Colin and Dean. Ginny felt a bit bad for Natalie, but she was very happy that both Colin and Dean would be her fellow chasers. She knew she'd be able to work well with both of them.
The newly assembled team was talking rather loudly and excitedly as they walked back to the castle together. Amidst all the noise, Ginny realized something. She was once again stuck with a group of boys. It seemed that she had just escaped most of her brothers when she again found herself surrounded by others. Well, she'd survived six brothers. A Quidditch team full of boys would be a piece of cake.
OOOOOO
TBC