On receiving their OWL results, it was generally felt, by Ron and Harry at least, that there was something worth celebrating. A thick blanket of depression still hung over Harry's head, but the shout of a word he knew could at least help him forget it for a short time raised his spirits considerably.
"Quidditch!" Ron yelled, already out of the door and running towards the broom shed, Harry grinned and soon caught up with his friend, Ginny was glad of anything to escape Fleur, and, as she explained to her irritated mother, without her the teams would be uneven. With a final glance at the OWL results sheet, Hermione reluctantly followed.
Ron and Harry were already in the air, shouting at the others to hurry up, Ginny was ready to take off. In a moment Hermione joined them, rather unsteadily. Ron held an old football under his arm which was to be used as a quaffle.
"Weasley's versus Potter and Her-me-own." grinned Ron teasingly, he apparently had less trouble forgetting the worries of the rest of the world than the other three.
The ball was thrown in the air, Hermione backed away from it while Harry and Ginny sped towards it at the same time. They found themselves heading straight towards each other, an unavoidable collision unless one of them gave in and turned away. It was Harry who pulled his broom away from the crash, a second later and it would have been dangerous, a second after that they would have collided. Ginny laughed triumphantly, as the ball flew undisturbed over Hermione's head into Ron's hands.
Half an hour later it became obvious that even Harry's quidditch skills could not make up for Hermione's apparent fear of the ball, and she left their make-shift pitch in disgust, muttering something about reading instead. Harry did slightly better on his own. As the sun began to set, they returned inside, exhausted but happy, reluctant to remember that outside of the sanctuary of the Burrow, the world was in chaos.
As usual for dinner that night, Mrs Weasley had prepared far more food than was necessary.
"Pass the potatoes, Ginny." Ron said through a mouthful of food.
"Ron, you already have three times more than everyone else." Hermione said, in a voice which suggested she cared less than she wanted to make it seem.
"I wasn't aware I required a second mother, Hermione." Ron scowled, "Pass the potatoes, Ginny."
Ginny obliged, saying only "You'll regret it when you're fat." Ron rolled his eyes and continued to eat. "Do you want some, Harry?" Ginny asked.
Harry shook his head, continuing to shovel food into his mouth, and seemingly unable to tear himself away from the Daily Prophet article he was reading. It was only when Ginny had diverted her attention, did he allow himself to glance at her.