The whole Quidditch team was changing into their scarlet robes. They sat
down on the banks and waited for Ron´s speech. Ginny was in thoughts. She
kept wandering back to her conversation with Harry. Had she heard him
correctly? He had said that he liked her. A feeling of joy came towards
her.
She sat down beside him and asked daringly: "Harry...I –"
"Please. Leave me alone. Let´s talk after the game!" Harry answered
abruptly.
He felt very akward. Came his nervousness from the excitement to play Quidditch again or was it due to Ginny´s presence? "But", began Ginny and was immediately interrupted by Ron, who finally began with his speech. "Boys and girls! This is what we´ve been waiting for. We trained so hard and this year the Quidditch Cup will go to Gryffindor! Good luck!" Katie grinned and whispered to Harry: "Doesn´t this sound familiar to you?" Harry smiled. "I think Oliver has given Ron a hand, writing his speech."
Every member of the team grabed his broom and together, they walked out to the Quidditch field. They mounted their brooms and kicked off from the ground. Ron was shaking hands with Malfoy, who had been made Slytherin team captain. Each of them had a grim look on his face.
Madam Hooch gave her whistle and the Quaffle was released. The two bludgers followed and so was the Golden Snitch. Harry flew ever higher over the others and started looking for the snitch. He saw Ginny in possession of the Quaffle. Dean Thomas who was now comentating the game said: "Ginny Weasley in possession of the Quaffle, she passes it to Katie Bell who gives it to Christopher, who passes back to Ginny, who – SCORES! Ten points for Gryffindor!"
Harry cheered along with the crowd and enjoyed the feeling of fresh air around his face as he flew off again, searching the snitch. Suddenly a terrible pain blinded him. His scar was burning and once again, he saw a kind of rollercoaster in front of him and heard a cold laugh. Then he saw Ginny. Ginny who was tied up against a wall, struggling to get free. ´Ginny, I´ll help you!`, was all Harry could think of. Without noticing, he leaned forward on his broom and sped towards her.
Ginny only backed down in time to avoid a scarlet something knock her over. In her surprise, she let the quaffle fall down. "Harry!What are you doing?" She looked at him, thunderstruck. "What? I – " "You´re flying in the wrong direction!" Harry didn´t understand what was going on. "But, I – " "Malfoy is after the snitch! Catch it. GO!!"
Harry finally came back to his senses and followed Malfoy. He had to catch the snitch before Malfoy could do so. "Faster", Harry muttered to his Firebolt. Malfoy held out his hand, his fingers nearly touching the winged ball. But Harry didn´t give up. He increased the speed of his broomstick and was now at Malfoy´s left. Both boys now tried to catch the snitch and throw each other off his broom.
Malfoy loosened his grip and tried to catch the snitch with outstretched arms. Luckily for Harry, Malfoy wasn´t able to keep his balance and fell off his broom. Harry was now on his own. But the snitch didn´t make it easy for him to catch it. It didn´t want to be caught. So it dived up and down, went zigzagging between the other Quidditch players and made Harry follow it for a couple of minutes. The snitch now took a sudden turn and to Harry´s surprise it flew in his direction. Harry was glad as he finally closed his arms around the cold golden ball. "Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch! Gryffindor wins!" All the Gryffindors came running towards Harry and cheered with him. All, except Ginny. She was standing a few feet away from her team members and was looking in a strange way at Harry.
What on earth had got into him? Why hadn´t he seen the snitch earlier? Was it her fault? So many questions were running through her head and none of them could be answered by anyone than Harry himself. She needed to talk to him. It had indeed been very weird how Harry had been behaving during the Game. Not many students had noticed any of this.
Malfoy was still lying unconsciously on the ground until Crabbe and Goyle brought him to the hospital wing. The Gryffindor team was heading for the castle. Ginny looked around for Harry. He wasn´t with the others. She went back into the changing room and saw him sitting on the ground. "Hey Harry. What´s up?" He looked up and sighed. "Leave me alone, please. I have to think about some things." "But – " "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!", he yelled and Ginny thought it best not to argue.
Back in the castle, her thoughts were spinning around Harry. What was wrong with him. She had to speak with him, even if it would mean being yelled at by him. One hour later, she had a perfect excuse to do so. The whole Gryffindor house was at dinner, celebrating their victory. Suddenly, Ron took a look- around and noticed Harry´s absence. "Has anyone seen Harry?", he asked along the table. Ginny quickly got up and said: "I´m gonna get him. I know where he is."
Ron scowled at her, but didn´t say anything. Ginny went down the changing rooms as fast as possible. Harry was still sitting on the ground. As she entered the room, he looked up and asked: "What do you want? I told you to leave me alone." "Harry, don´t send me away", began Ginny, her heart beating like mad.
Harry looked up into her eyes and smiled weakly. "I´m not sending you away. I just wanted to think about some things." Ginny sat down beside him. "Why didn´t you come to dinner? Everybody´s waiting for you." Harry looked very sad. "I feel like being on my own."
"If you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. I´m always there for you and you can trust me. But I was wondering why you did behave so strangely at the Quidditch match?" Ginny watched him closely. "I don´t know either. That is what I was thinking about all the time. At first, I just thought of beating Slytherin and then ... anyway, the most important thing is we won." She looked sorrowly at him. "So you mean everything you told me this morning wasn´t honest? You just told me all these things so we could win? I am such a fool, I really thought you´d like me..."
Harry faced her. She looked very depressed. With a sudden wave of bravery in his heart, he took her hands. "Ginny, you must believe me that every single word, down at the pitch, was serious. I did mean it. And I can repeat it if you want me to. I have forgiven you about that joke. And I still think, you and me are good friends. You helped me all summer and showed me that life had to go on after Sirius´death. You have become too important for me and I never want to loose you."
He stopped and looked into her eyes. Then he took all his courage and said: "Ginny, I like you very much. I even like you more than a friend." He felt himself blushing and became very nervous. Ginny looked at him disbelievingly. "Are you sure?", she asked with a weak smile on her face.
Harry grinned at her. Now he was convinced, she had the same feelings for him as he had for her. "Want me to prove it?" Ginny nodded and had to grin too.
Their heads bent closer together, their faces only inches away. One could feel the others warm breath on his cheeks. They came ever closer and their lips were touching. They kissed. It was a very soft first kiss.
He felt very akward. Came his nervousness from the excitement to play Quidditch again or was it due to Ginny´s presence? "But", began Ginny and was immediately interrupted by Ron, who finally began with his speech. "Boys and girls! This is what we´ve been waiting for. We trained so hard and this year the Quidditch Cup will go to Gryffindor! Good luck!" Katie grinned and whispered to Harry: "Doesn´t this sound familiar to you?" Harry smiled. "I think Oliver has given Ron a hand, writing his speech."
Every member of the team grabed his broom and together, they walked out to the Quidditch field. They mounted their brooms and kicked off from the ground. Ron was shaking hands with Malfoy, who had been made Slytherin team captain. Each of them had a grim look on his face.
Madam Hooch gave her whistle and the Quaffle was released. The two bludgers followed and so was the Golden Snitch. Harry flew ever higher over the others and started looking for the snitch. He saw Ginny in possession of the Quaffle. Dean Thomas who was now comentating the game said: "Ginny Weasley in possession of the Quaffle, she passes it to Katie Bell who gives it to Christopher, who passes back to Ginny, who – SCORES! Ten points for Gryffindor!"
Harry cheered along with the crowd and enjoyed the feeling of fresh air around his face as he flew off again, searching the snitch. Suddenly a terrible pain blinded him. His scar was burning and once again, he saw a kind of rollercoaster in front of him and heard a cold laugh. Then he saw Ginny. Ginny who was tied up against a wall, struggling to get free. ´Ginny, I´ll help you!`, was all Harry could think of. Without noticing, he leaned forward on his broom and sped towards her.
Ginny only backed down in time to avoid a scarlet something knock her over. In her surprise, she let the quaffle fall down. "Harry!What are you doing?" She looked at him, thunderstruck. "What? I – " "You´re flying in the wrong direction!" Harry didn´t understand what was going on. "But, I – " "Malfoy is after the snitch! Catch it. GO!!"
Harry finally came back to his senses and followed Malfoy. He had to catch the snitch before Malfoy could do so. "Faster", Harry muttered to his Firebolt. Malfoy held out his hand, his fingers nearly touching the winged ball. But Harry didn´t give up. He increased the speed of his broomstick and was now at Malfoy´s left. Both boys now tried to catch the snitch and throw each other off his broom.
Malfoy loosened his grip and tried to catch the snitch with outstretched arms. Luckily for Harry, Malfoy wasn´t able to keep his balance and fell off his broom. Harry was now on his own. But the snitch didn´t make it easy for him to catch it. It didn´t want to be caught. So it dived up and down, went zigzagging between the other Quidditch players and made Harry follow it for a couple of minutes. The snitch now took a sudden turn and to Harry´s surprise it flew in his direction. Harry was glad as he finally closed his arms around the cold golden ball. "Harry Potter has caught the Golden Snitch! Gryffindor wins!" All the Gryffindors came running towards Harry and cheered with him. All, except Ginny. She was standing a few feet away from her team members and was looking in a strange way at Harry.
What on earth had got into him? Why hadn´t he seen the snitch earlier? Was it her fault? So many questions were running through her head and none of them could be answered by anyone than Harry himself. She needed to talk to him. It had indeed been very weird how Harry had been behaving during the Game. Not many students had noticed any of this.
Malfoy was still lying unconsciously on the ground until Crabbe and Goyle brought him to the hospital wing. The Gryffindor team was heading for the castle. Ginny looked around for Harry. He wasn´t with the others. She went back into the changing room and saw him sitting on the ground. "Hey Harry. What´s up?" He looked up and sighed. "Leave me alone, please. I have to think about some things." "But – " "LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!", he yelled and Ginny thought it best not to argue.
Back in the castle, her thoughts were spinning around Harry. What was wrong with him. She had to speak with him, even if it would mean being yelled at by him. One hour later, she had a perfect excuse to do so. The whole Gryffindor house was at dinner, celebrating their victory. Suddenly, Ron took a look- around and noticed Harry´s absence. "Has anyone seen Harry?", he asked along the table. Ginny quickly got up and said: "I´m gonna get him. I know where he is."
Ron scowled at her, but didn´t say anything. Ginny went down the changing rooms as fast as possible. Harry was still sitting on the ground. As she entered the room, he looked up and asked: "What do you want? I told you to leave me alone." "Harry, don´t send me away", began Ginny, her heart beating like mad.
Harry looked up into her eyes and smiled weakly. "I´m not sending you away. I just wanted to think about some things." Ginny sat down beside him. "Why didn´t you come to dinner? Everybody´s waiting for you." Harry looked very sad. "I feel like being on my own."
"If you need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. I´m always there for you and you can trust me. But I was wondering why you did behave so strangely at the Quidditch match?" Ginny watched him closely. "I don´t know either. That is what I was thinking about all the time. At first, I just thought of beating Slytherin and then ... anyway, the most important thing is we won." She looked sorrowly at him. "So you mean everything you told me this morning wasn´t honest? You just told me all these things so we could win? I am such a fool, I really thought you´d like me..."
Harry faced her. She looked very depressed. With a sudden wave of bravery in his heart, he took her hands. "Ginny, you must believe me that every single word, down at the pitch, was serious. I did mean it. And I can repeat it if you want me to. I have forgiven you about that joke. And I still think, you and me are good friends. You helped me all summer and showed me that life had to go on after Sirius´death. You have become too important for me and I never want to loose you."
He stopped and looked into her eyes. Then he took all his courage and said: "Ginny, I like you very much. I even like you more than a friend." He felt himself blushing and became very nervous. Ginny looked at him disbelievingly. "Are you sure?", she asked with a weak smile on her face.
Harry grinned at her. Now he was convinced, she had the same feelings for him as he had for her. "Want me to prove it?" Ginny nodded and had to grin too.
Their heads bent closer together, their faces only inches away. One could feel the others warm breath on his cheeks. They came ever closer and their lips were touching. They kissed. It was a very soft first kiss.