Bite The Dust

Perfect Situation

Here ya go. I'm on holiday so I figured I may as well write a new chapter, enjoy it.

Oh, and things might be a little out-of-order in this chapter. Hope it's all okay though.

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Harry Potter sighed thoughtfully as he hovered above The Burrow's garden. His thoughts were centred on a particular red-headed girl flying below him, as he partook in a friendly game of Quidditch with the Weasley siblings. It was a typical, lazy summer at the Weasley's, and Harry was enjoying the last few moments of late nights and dozing in the sun he had before school began for the year, and he would be a 4th year. The days at The Burrow had been happy ones, filled with heaping helpings of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking, mock Quidditch games and evenings of wizard chess with Ron.

Harry had also been spending a lot more time with Ginny, Ron's younger sister, as he found himself liking this new, confident, carefree girl, who didn't blush at the mere mention of his name. Although he was relieved that they could now have a conversation that progressed further than 'hello', Harry was concerned as to what the cause of her change of heart was. Had he become suddenly unattractive? Was there an aspect of his personality that was a turn-off? 'What's the deal with my brain?' He frowned.

Thoughts such as these tumbled through Harry's mind as he half-heartedly played the magical sport he loved. 'Am I so obviously insane?' Harry shook his head to rid himself of distracting thoughts. A flash of gold on the other side of the garden caught his focus as Harry recognised the snitch, a part of the brand new Quidditch set Fred and George had bought with money from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

Pressing himself close to his Firebolt, Harry flew towards the sparkling gold ball. Reaching out a hand for the snitch, a shadow in his peripheral vision forced Harry to settle back onto his broom. Ginny flew up beside him on her old broom, shooting him a grin as she too reached for the elusive snitch. Managing a slight smile back, Harry nudged the younger girl gently with his broom, effectively clearing the path towards the snitch.

"There's the snitch!" Ron was now hopping about on his broom in front of the single goalpost, waving his arms excitedly and pointing in a vague direction.

Fred flew in circles above Harry, as the bespectacled boy flew in a fast dive towards the ground, perhaps too fast.

"Slow and straight, Harry! Slow and straight!"

Fred and Ron cheered as Harry's hand closed around the flying ball, while George was still down the other end of the makeshift pitch making sure Hermione didn't fall off her broom. As Harry touched down on the soft grass, Ginny landed beside him, heartily clapping him on the back in congratulations.

With Hermione safe on solid ground once again, George flew towards his twin, who was proudly exclaiming his beating prowess to Ron. "All I have to do is swing," Fred began, as he imitated the beating motion. "And I'm a hero."

George laughed as he slowed to a stop beside his brothers. "Oh, and I'm a zero, am I?"

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The wind whistled through the trees of the Forbidden Forest, carrying dead leaves and dust into the Hogwarts' kitchens. House-elves bustled about, cleaning and cooking, preparing for the day ahead. The halls of Hogwarts were mainly silent, except for the occasional snore from one of the portraits lining the walls.

Soft footsteps echoed across the floor as the door to the kitchens slowly swung open, and a house-elf wearing a tea-cosy glanced up, startled at the ghostly occurrence. His large eyes widened even further with joy as a cloak of silvery, transparent material was flung to the ground, revealing two sheepish-looking boys.

"Hungry nights once again, sirs?" Dobby clasped his knobbly hands together as several other house-elves rushed about preparing a heaping tray of food for the peckish pupils.

Ron, who had only visited the kitchens a few times before, gazed in awe at the attractive array of food prepared by the helpful elves. "Unbelievable!"

Harry nodded as he helped himself to some Pumpkin Pasties and a few Cauldron Cakes. "I couldn't have it any better!"

Ron, Harry and Seamus Finnigan were wandering the grounds of Hogwarts, aimlessly lamenting their lack of dates for the Yule Ball coming up. "I just can't get no play from the girls." Seamus sighed as the trio paused to stare at the Beauxbatons girls chatting in corner of the courtyard.

Ron nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'm gonna search the night for someone to hold on to." Harry just shook his head, smiling.

It seemed the beauty of the Beauxbatons students had attracted others as well, as Draco Malfoy roughly pushed through the crowd, flanked by his ever-faithful cronies Crabbe and Goyle. Seamus turned to face Malfoy's retreating back, throwing a clump of dirt at the young wizard. "Oh just pass through, why don't you!"

Harry frowned as well, but his attention was caught by a flash of vibrant red hair. His gaze centred on Ginny, who was sitting alone on a stone bench, reading. Seeing his opportunity for a 'just friends' sure-fire date to the ball, Harry strode over towards the younger girl.

Partway through their conversation, which was going very well in Harry's opinion, a rough hand seized Ginny's upper arm. Startled, Harry looked up to find Michael, a student from Ravenclaw, glaring jealously at Harry.

Harry glared back, angry at the intrusion and Michael's grip on Ginny. "Get your hand off the girl!"

"Can't you see she belongs to me?" Michael roughly pulled Ginny to her feet and away from Harry. "And I don't appreciate this excess company." He glared dangerously at Harry, still with a firm grip on Ginny's arm.

The red-headed girl glared at Michael an, without a word, strode off in the direction of the castle. Harry smirked at the older boy, leaning casually against the wall. Michael just shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "So I can't satisfy all the needs she has."

"So she starts to wander." It was more of a statement, not a question. "Can you blame her?"

"You better prepare, Potter!" Michael angrily rolled up the sleeves of his jersey and advanced towards Harry.

The younger boy, however, looked nonplussed and casually straightened himself. "Oh?"

Before the fight could get started though, Professor McGonnagal (sp?) appeared and grabbed both Harry and Michael by their shirt collars. "There's room for you both in detention." The professor glanced sternly at the two boys as she pushed them into her office.

The last thing Harry saw before the heavy wooden door closed behind him was a pair of bright brown eyes twinkling at him, as the youngest Weasley waved her hand at him.

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All done! R&R please.