The Difference One Choice Makes
12th November 1996
With tonight being Gryffindor's last practice session before tomorrow's opening game of the season against Slytherin, Harry was hoping that there would be no problems from any of his players and for the most part that was the case.
Janet Spinnet and Jimmy Peakes were quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with as Beaters. Katie, Ginny and Demelza Robins were playing well as a team, with Harry predicting that they could even match the trio of Katie, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet for ability and cohesive teamwork before the end of the school year.
The only problem was Ron whose bad mood had calmed down slightly in the last few days, only to shoot back up again five minutes into their practice session.
Over the course of the next hour, he failed to save any goals from all three Chasers, bellowing at everyone on the team, with his anger increasing as time went on.
Eventually, the practice descended into chaos as Ron reduced Demelza Robin's to tears which angered everyone else.
"Stop shouting at her Ron, it's not her fault you can't save a bloody thing!" shouted Janet, flying towards him, her eyes blazing with fury while tightening her grip on the heavy Beaters bat in her left hand.
"That's enough!" roared Harry, flying over to where Ron, Janet and Demelza were hovering in mid-air, with Ron and Janet still continuing their argument.
Fortunately, that was enough to make Ron and Janet end their argument, though the two were refusing to look at each other.
"I think that's enough for this evening, make sure you all get a lot of rest before the game tomorrow…Janet, you and Peakes go and put the Bludgers away, Demelza, pull yourself together, you did well tonight… and Ron" said Harry.
He waited for Janet and Demelza to fly away from them.
"Cut the attitude out and pull yourself together… it's a big game tomorrow and I need you" said Harry sternly.
Ron ignored him and flew down towards the changing rooms.
As Harry floated there he let out a weary sigh and dropped his head forward slightly.
"I don't know what would be worse… putting up with Ron and his temper or having to listen to Mclaggen criticizing every move each of us makes while he can do no wrong if he was our Keeper instead" said Katie flatly as she flew towards Harry.
Glancing at her for a moment, Harry sighed.
"Tell me I'm doing a good job with this" said Harry, sounding a little dejected.
Katie sighed, reaching out and stroking his arm.
"You're doing a good enough job Harry… it's not your fault Ron can't keep his temper in check" said Katie, trying to be supportive in a slightly difficult situation.
Harry frowned.
"Can we go and sit down for a bit… just me and you?" said Harry.
"Come on" said Katie, taking his hand and leading him towards one of the towers so they could sit down in the peace and quiet, which would allow Harry to try and cheer himself up.
They reached the tower they dismounted their brooms and sat down next to each other on one of the benches, looking up at the increasingly dark evening sky.
"I feel like I'm losing control… of the team I mean" said Harry wearily.
Katie sighed and took his hand, lacing their fingers.
"We'll get through this… hopefully after we win tomorrow the others might settle down and stop arguing with each other, or a win will hopefully curb Ron's temper and nerves at least" said Katie warily.
"Everything was going so well up until three weeks ago… and now look at the team, Ron and Ginny aren't talking to each other… and lord knows why he won't talk to Janet either… as far as I know she hasn't done anything to him" said Harry wearily.
"I thought they liked each other?" said Katie with a raised eyebrow.
Harry sighed.
"Not that either of them will admit it… and that's why I don't get the silent treatment between the two, you'd think that two people who obviously like each other would avoid the silent treatment" said Harry.
Of course, the fact that Ron and Janet held some sort of romantic feelings towards each other was obvious to quite a few people in Gryffindor. The two never seemed to act on these feelings, however, the fact that they were avoiding each other right now made it appear that those feelings might never come to pass.
"Perhaps we should just lock them in a broom cupboard and not let them out until they do something positive about the whole situation" said Katie with a hint of amusement.
Turning to her, Harry was glad she was able to find some humour out of the whole situation even when he could not.
"You're doing a good job at this Harry… as for dealing with the arguments of your teammates, that's what a good Captain does" said Katie softly.
"Good thing you're doing such a good job as Co-Captain… I'll miss playing with you after you graduate this year" said Harry softly.
"I know… I'll miss this as well Harry, I'll look forward to seeing you go pro after you finish school though… maybe we'll play against each other" said Katie softly.
Leaning back on the bench slightly, Harry and Katie moved closer to each other, enjoying their peace and quiet in the Quidditch Stadium, knowing that the stands would be full tomorrow for their highly anticipated match against Slytherin.
They only hoped that after a good nights sleep, Ron would be ready for the match and that his bad mood and temper would finally disappear for good.
If it did not and Ron ended up costing them the match, Harry had to admit to himself that he might consider removing Ron from the team if he could not cease his arguing with his teammates.
13th November 1996
Harry woke up early on this slightly chilly Saturday morning and walked over to the window of his dormitory to have a look at the weather for today's match.
A small blanket of thin snow covered the ground but other than that the weather was ideal for Quidditch with a clear blue sky and what appeared to be little wind as the trees of the Forbidden Forest hardly moved as they would if it were windy.
Hearing movement behind him, Harry turned around to see his roommates waking up in turn with the last to wake up being Ron who looked dejected and moody.
Still feeling bitter at Ron for his actions towards himself and Ginny, Josh Sloper quickly went into the bathroom to get dressed for the day and left the dormitory shortly after he was ready followed by Seamus and Dean, both of whom wished Ron and Harry good luck for the match.
Once Harry, Neville and Ron were ready, they left the dormitory to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast with Ron still looking dejected and moody about the upcoming match.
Ten minutes later…
When they finally arrived in the Great Hall, they saw that it was a lively affair with a sea of red and dark green with students from all four Houses showing their support for Gryffindor and Slytherin.
As they walked along the table towards where the rest of the Gryffindor team were sat engaging in light conversation over their breakfast, many of the Gryffindors gave them words of support and encouragement for the match while the Slytherins hurled insults at Ron.
Taking their seats at the table next to their teammates, Harry helped himself to a small English breakfast while Ron did not put any food on his plate or pour himself anything to drink.
"You need to eat something Ron… you'll need your strength for the match" said Janet Spinnet, who despite the frustrations the two had with each other, was trying to support Ron knowing that he needed it at the moment.
Taking her advice, Ron got a few pieces of toast and a fried egg and slowly started to eat.
"You need a drink as well mate… tea, coffee, pumpkin juice?" said Harry.
"Anything" said Ron moodily.
Harry poured Ron a goblet of pumpkin juice and slid it across the table to him.
Harry, Katie and Ginny then watched with mild curiosity as Lavender Brown, clad in a thick red and gold Gryffindor jumper walked up to Ron and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to turn around to look up at her.
"Good luck today Ron… I know you'll be brilliant" said Lavender in an overly supportive tone, leaning a little bit closer to him for the second part of her speech.
Katie glanced up the table to where Janet was sitting next to Hermione and Demelza Robins, looking at the departing Lavender with a slightly frosty look on her face.
Ron also glanced at Lavender as she walked away with a nervous look on his face before placing his hands on the table and turning back to Harry.
"I'm resigning… after today's match, Mclaggen can have my spot" said Ron with a hint of panic in his voice.
"Just get over yourself" said Harry flatly.
Ron took a sip of his pumpkin juice before returning to his food as Harry and Katie started talking to Ginny and Josh Sloper.
Half an hour later…
Harry, Katie, Ron and Janet were the last one's to arrive at the stadium to get changed for the match that morning, with Ginny, Demelza and Jimmy Peakes already dressed in their robes waiting for them.
Once they were all dressed in their Quidditch robes, Ginny handed Harry a sheet of parchment which was the final team sheet for the Slytherin team.
"Conditions look ideal… and we're in with a bit of luck, that Slytherin Chaser Vaisey took a Bludger to the head in practice yesterday, so he's missing today's game… and he's their best goalscorer" said Ginny, casting a glance at Ron, knowing that the absence of Slytherins Chaser would make his job just a little bit easier.
Looking down at the parchment, Harry studied the Slytherin team for a moment, with the new Captain Eric Black keeping Theodore Nott and Robert Runcorn on the team from last year with new recruits making up the remainder of the team.
Receiving the Captain's badge during the summer had been one of great pride for Eric, making him the youngest Quidditch Captain in Hogwarts history.
Waiting until it was time for them to enter the stadium, the Gryffindors filled the time by waiting in silence with only the sounds of footsteps above them for noise.
Several minutes passed before Harry finally stood up and announced that it was time and they left the tent walking towards the stadium entrance.
Raucous cheers could be heard above their heads before they mounted their brooms and shot out of the player's entrance.
They flew a single lap around the edge of the pitch in formation before finally moving over to the centre of the pitch where the Slytherin team were waiting for them.
Eric, with a proud look on his face, moved into the centre of the circle of players to shake hands with Harry, with his teammates behind him watching the Gryffindors in silence.
Theodore Nott had been joined at Chaser by the short, black-haired seventh-year Travis Urquhart and the long, blonde-haired fourth-year Isabel Warrington, the latter of whom had replaced fellow fourth-year Andrew Vaisey for today's match. Crabbe and Goyle had lost their places as Beater's and had been replaced by the short, brown-haired sixth-year Tracey Davis and the black-haired, third-year Duncan Bletchley while Robert Runcorn had kept his place as Keeper.
"Captain's… shake hands!" Madam Hooch called out.
Harry and Eric shared a firm handshake before flying higher up into the air while Ron and Robert Runcorn moved towards their respective hoops.
After another thirty seconds or so, Madam Hooch released the Bludgers, Snitch and finally the Quaffle, starting the game.
As Harry started circling the pitch looking out for the Snitch, he saw Demelza shoot towards the Quaffle to catch it.
A familiar, snide, drawling voice on the commentary made Harry's blood boil as the game started.
"I think we're all surprised to see the team that Potter's put together this year… given Ron Weasley's patchy performances last year as Keeper, we thought that he might be off the team this year, I guess that proves that a friendship with the Captain goes a long way… as does a relationship it seems when it comes to Bell keeping her place as Chaser!" shouted Zacharias Smith.
"Mr Smith… either do the commentary without such remarks or I will do it myself!" shouted Professor Mcgonagall, who might have been regretting her decision to allow the Hufflepuff Chaser and Captain to do the Quidditch commentary this year.
Harry made a mental note to ask one of his Beater's to hit Smith with a particularly hard Bludger later on before resuming his search for the Snitch.
"Oh and here comes Slytherin's first attempt on goal, Urquhart receives the Quaffle from Nott, he streaks down the pitch towards the Gryffindor hoops and…!" shouted Zacharias.
Groans erupted from the Slytherin's who had been enjoying Zacharias Smith's anti-Gryffindor commentary as Ron swooped down to his right hoop and kicked the Quaffle away, seemingly banishing his nerves with his first save of the match.
"Well… Weasley's bound to get lucky sometimes!" shouted Zacharias.
"Laugh it up you little shit… just wait until we play you" said Harry with amusement in his voice.
Though the faces on the Slytherin team would change over the years, the tactics it seemed, would never change as the Slytherin Chasers shoulder barged Katie, Ginny and Demelza to get the Quaffle from them while the Slytherin Beaters did their part to dispossess the Gryffindor Chasers of the Quaffle.
Ginny who had just intercepted a pass from Warrington, was quickly shoulder barged by Nott who moved into position and took another shot at Ron's unguarded left hoop only to see Ron pluck the Quaffle out of the sky with ease.
Tossing the Quaffle out to Ginny who sped away from him with Katie, Demelza and Janet flying close to her in formation. Ron pretended to conduct the roaring chorus of "Weasley is our King!" as he guarded his middle hoop.
Breaking out of the formation, Ginny flew low across the middle of the pitch with Warrington and Nott in pursuit of her, ducking her head to avoid a Bludger sent her way by Davis which ended up knocking Warrington off of her own broom.
Tilting her broom up after a few seconds, Ginny flew up into the air and then down at an angle towards the Slytherin hoops and hilarity ensued.
Ginny threw the Quaffle onto the inside of the left hoop, causing it to bounce in off of the hoop making the score ten to zero in favour of Gryffindor, while Nott ended up crashing into Runcorn causing them both to hit the hoop with a metallic thud before falling to the ground to cheers and laughter from the Gryffindors.
Eric, upon seeing that three of his teammates were on the ground, called for a time-out so they could get some treatment before resuming the game.
Nearly ten minutes passed before the game was resumed as Runcorn, Nott and Warrington were allowed to continue with a few bumps and bruises.
After another twenty minutes, Gryffindor had opened up a seventy to zero lead with Ron pulling off some truly spectacular saves, some of which were by the tips of his fingers.
Zacharias Smith, who had given up on criticizing Ron, started to criticize the rest of the team instead. With one comment about how Harry had filled half of the team with girls in an effort to gain certain favours had Professor Mcgonagall threatening to give him detention for the rest of the school year if he ever mentioned such a thing again.
The fact that the Snitch was near impossible to spot for either Seeker, meant that as the game went on, more goals were flying in for Gryffindor while Ron was saving shots with apparent ease, though he did let a few in.
Finally, with the score at a staggering one-hundred and seventy to thirty in favour of Gryffindor, Harry saw Eric shooting towards the Snitch which was hovering near the teacher's tower and took off after him.
Knowing that if Eric caught the Snitch now then Slytherin would win the game by a difference of ten points, made Harry push his broom harder than he had ever pushed it before as he tried hard to beat Eric to the Snitch.
After a few seconds, Zacharias Smith noticed that both Seekers were after the Snitch and he again started to criticize Harry for not spotting it sooner.
Moments later, however, Harry could not care about the criticism as he pushed Eric's outstretched hand away from the glittering gold ball and closed his own hand around it, sealing the victory for Gryffindor in what must have been one of the most one-sided games in years with a final score of three-hundred and twenty points to thirty points.
After their usual mid-air hug, the Gryffindor team shot towards the ground, soaking up the roars of their supporters as they went to go and get changed, ready to start the party in the Gryffindor Common Room.
Later that evening…
After an afternoon of mild celebrations and congratulations for the Gryffindor team who had flattened Slytherin, including words of congratulations from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw who wanted to see Slytherin defeated. The party inside the Gryffindor Common Room that evening was in full swing with one player in particular, standing in the centre of a circle of students who were enjoying sweets, cakes and butterbeer.
Ron, who was stood up on a large box, making him look taller than his near six-foot-two frame had a wide smile on his face as he soaked up the chants of "Weasley, Weasley, Weasley!" from his housemates.
"Do you still want to change Keeper?" said Katie, watching the scene with her arm around Harry's waist and a goblet of butterbeer in her hand.
Like their teammates, the two had changed out of their Quidditch robes back into the red and gold jumpers they had been wearing this morning before the start of the match.
"After that performance today… no… just as long as he doesn't start acting like he has been for the last few weeks again" said Harry, sipping his own butterbeer.
"Here's hoping" said Janet, appearing next to them.
Katie sipped her butterbeer and turned to the taller blonde-haired girl next to her.
"Aren't you going to tell him?" said Katie.
Janet turned a little bit red in the cheeks for a moment before sighing.
"After the attitude he's been giving me for the last few weeks, why should I… I'm not saying anything to him until I get an apology" said Janet flatly, with a part of her sounding like she did not mean everything she said.
"Why is he acting like that anyway?" said Harry.
Janet sighed.
"I don't know… but it all started after that argument he had with Ginny that night after practice, I think something might have been said about me and whatever it was has annoyed or upset him" said Janet.
As Janet stepped away from them towards Neville and Hermione, everyone in the common room watched in shock and amusement as Lavender Brown stepped out of the circle of students, pulling Ron down from the box before wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a full-blown snog.
Cheers and laughter erupted from around the common room as Ron brought his hands up to Lavender's waist returning her kiss with equal enthusiasm.
Glancing to their side, Neville and Hermione saw Janet back away from them with a hurt look on her face before turning around and running out of the common room.
Neville left Hermione before following Janet out of the common room.
Walking along the corridor and down the stairs, Neville eventually found her sitting on her own on one of the desks in the nearest classroom, conjuring various shapes from different colours of wispy smoke as she let a few tears fall.
As he approached her warily after shutting the door behind him, Janet turned to look at him as she conjured a pink broken heart from the wispy smoke.
"What do you think?" said Janet sadly.
"Um… it's really good" said Neville warily as he sat down next to her on the table.
Janet wiped a few tears from her eyes.
"Is this how it felt… when you saw Hermione with Krum in fourth year?" said Janet sadly.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, seeking some comfort from him.
"She's my best friend Neville… I remember the way you looked at her, the way you still look at her… and I knew she belonged with you rather than Krum, we all did" said Janet.
As Neville was thinking of a response, the door to the classroom burst open and Ron and Lavender quickly walked in, holding each other's hands and laughing.
Lavender then caught sight of Janet and Neville.
"Oh" said Lavender.
Neville sent both of them a look, giving them a silent message to leave them alone.
"Oops… I think this one is already taken Won-won" said Lavender with a giggle.
"What's with the smoke?" said Ron, letting Lavender leave the classroom first while he looked at Janet.
Shooting to her feet looking even more hurt and upset, Janet pointed her wand at Ron and hit him with a silent Stinging Hex.
"What the hell?" said Ron in shock and discomfort where he had been hit in the stomach by her hex.
"You shouldn't keep Lavender waiting Won-won… she might wonder where you went" said Janet with a hint of venom in her voice and tears falling down her face.
Ron could not run out of the classroom quick enough as Janet collapsed back into a sitting position on the desk next to Neville, with her sobs still echoing around the room.
"Yeah… it felt like this" said Neville placing his arm around her shoulders, letting her sob into his shoulder for comfort.
2nd December 1996
With the Christmas break fast approaching, with Hagrid delivering the usual twelve Christmas trees into the Great Hall in time for breakfast on the first of December. Harry and Katie liked the changes they saw in Ron who was now laughing and joking instead of being moody and angry.
This new Ron, however, came at the price of having to endure the presence of Lavender Brown, who seemed to regard any moments where she was not kissing him as a moment wasted. This was made worse at Quidditch practice as she continuously gave Ron loud, vocal support which meant Ron would not always listen to Harry's instructions, frustrating the Quidditch Captain.
Janet meanwhile, was treating the new Ron as though he were invisible as well as giving the same treatment to Lavender, who was too occupied obsessing over Ron to notice that her housemate was treating her with disdain and mild jealousy.
Ginny found Ron's situation highly amusing as well, pulling Euphemia and Lacey to one side after lunch in the Great Hall one day last week to tell them.
"And he had a go at me for kissing in public… the filthy hypocrite, I doubt there's a corner of this castle that he hasn't snogged Lavender in yet" said Ginny haughtily, watching as Ron and Lavender spent so much time kissing at the Gryffindor table that morning, making it look like Ron was eating her face.
Hermione and Neville tried to get Janet to just talk to Ron about what had happened over the last month but she refused to even look at Ron when he was with Lavender
Quidditch practice sessions with the two were perhaps the worst in Harry's mind. With the tension between Ron and Janet ready to explode at the slightest wrong move but thankfully it never went beyond a few harsh glares sent back and forth between the two.
As the days got colder and the snow covering the ground got thicker, Harry and a few others were hoping that being away from each other for the Christmas break might make Ron and Janet at least act civil with each other, with Neville even counting down the days, willing time to go faster.