True to his word, Dam stopped by Ginny's flat the very next night with a ticket to the Arrows' upcoming game against the Tutshill Tornados. "It's an away game," he said apologetically. "Not as fun, but we can use all the friendly faces we can get; they've been our biggest competition all year."

"Thanks," said Ginny. She looked at the ticket. "I think this date works with my training."

"It does," grinned Dam. "Ron's going too; Harry asked him and Hermione already." He held up another ticket. "You don't mind sitting with them, I assume? Unless you'd like to bring a date yourself, of course." He gave her a questioning look. "Is there anyone special I should know about?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I'm quite single, Dam, and I think you know that."

Dam chuckled. "I do, that. But wanted to hear it directly from your mouth." He drew out the last word suggestively, dropping his gaze to Ginny's lips.

Ginny sighed to herself. The Arrows' captain really was quite attractive, even if blondes were not her usual type. She suspected that at least some of his 'ladies' man' persona was an act; indeed, his exploits didn't seem to be mentioned in the gossip columns any more than the other players'. She'd have to ask Harry how much of Dam's flirting was real and how much was an act; it would be wise of her to keep her wits about her when it came to Damacles Clarke.

She neatly plucked the second ticket out of his hand. "I'll bring my friend Parvati," she said sweetly. "We train together, and I think you and she might just hit it off. For a night at least." Ginny waggled her eyebrows.

Dam gave no indication he'd been beaten. "Parvati, huh? I look forward to meeting her."

HPHPHPHP

Not surprisingly, Parvati was more than delighted to take Ginny's second ticket. In the days before the match, she talked about the various Arrows players so much that Ginny was rather glad she hadn't mentioned that Dam already knew her name. Even so, Ginny had to endure long-winded comparisons of the Vincenti twins (really, she had no idea if one was a little broader in the shoulders than the other), contemplation about whether Adam Ramsey was really as shy as he seemed, and a discussion about whether Wilder had a girlfriend or if the witch he was often photographed with was just for show. After Parvati pulled her into a conversation about "Quidditch arses", Angelina Johnson had taken to flooing to Fred and George's shop during their breaks in training; Ginny suspected she was dating one (or both) of them.

It got to the point where Ginny began making excuses about extra work just to get a break from Parvati's incessant chatter. Still, Ginny couldn't bring herself to ignore the other witch completely; Parvati had lost her best friend and best companion for gossip when Lavender Brown had been killed during the Final Battle, and Ginny knew how much she was missed. Even Parvati's own twin – studious as she was - hadn't filled the same void.

"I know Kipling Cross prefers blokes, so he's out." Parvati took a bite of her sandwich. It was the day before the match and Ginny had agreed to have lunch; she'd be free of Parvati's prattle soon anyway. "But what about Harry?"

Ginny almost choked on her pumpkin juice. "Harry? Harry's not gay. I mean, I assume he's not. I think I'd have heard if he was."

Parvati thumped Ginny on the back and laughed. "Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I'm sure he's not gay. Remember the way he mooned all over Cho Chang at school? Padma said that Cho kept expecting him to ask her out, but he never did. She assumed he was just too shy."

"Cho? I don't remember that at all," said Ginny. She tried to remember back to those years and whether she'd ever heard Ron say anything, but nothing stood out. She made a face. "That's when I was dating Michael, and then Dean. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I certainly didn't notice Harry mooning over anyone."

Parvati grinned. "At one point, Cho thought Harry didn't ask her out because he fancied you. I guess she saw him and Ron catch you kissing Dean and thought Harry looked rather put out about it." Parvati nudged her. "Is it true? You and Harry?"

Ginny snorted. "Not likely," she said. "The only attention Harry's ever paid me was as a guinea pig for one of Fred and George's pranks, or to take the mickey when he and Ron caught me kissing Dean behind that tapestry." She huffed. "Trust me, the only reason Harry was put out was because he had to listen to Ron bluster on about it for far too long. Harry's never had the slightest interest in who I'm with." She sighed. "Not that there's been much to hear about lately."

"All the more reason we're going to have fun at the game tomorrow," said Parvati. "If Harry's not your type, there are certainly plenty of other players to choose from. I call Dam, though."

"I never said Harry's not my . . . oh, never mind," said Ginny. She didn't bother explaining to Parvati. "I'm just excited to see Quidditch."

HPHPHPHP

Contrary to Dam's concerns, there were a fair number of Arrows' fans at the Tutshill stadium; the two teams were neck and neck to be top of the league and excitement ran high. The noise blocked out most of Parvati's commentary as they walked higher and higher – to excellent seats, it seemed – and when they got to one of the highest boxes, Ginny didn't mind at all when Parvati grabbed a pair of Omnioculars and seated herself in the front row "for the best view". Ginny was more than happy to sit further back next to Angelina – whom she hadn't known was coming – and George.

There's one question answered.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here?" asked Ginny. "You could have helped me listen to Parvati all week." Ginny nudged Angelina before sliding down to make room for Ron and Hermione.

Angelina grinned. "You just answered your own question," she said. "Harry got us tickets; I haven't seen a professional Quidditch match in a long time. Did you know that Katie plays for Tutshill? She got Fred a ticket, so he's sitting on the home side."

"Katie, huh?" Ginny filed away all the new information to be used at the most opportune moment. "That was nice of Harry," she said idly.

"He's been good about keeping in touch," said Angelina. "He stops by Fred and George's shop a lot when I'm there, too. George jokes that Harry wants to keep an eye on his investment, but I think he just needs a break from Ron and Hermione sometimes; they keep forgetting to set silencing charms."

There was a lot of information in that sentence and Ginny focused first on the most interesting first. "His investment?"

Angelina looked at Ginny in surprise. "Harry gave the twins his Tri-Wizard winnings to start up the shop, didn't you know?" She chuckled. "They only got up the nerve to tell your parents this year; until then, your mum worried they'd won the money gambling or something."

Ginny knew this; her mum had fretted more than once about how Fred and George had managed to pay for premises during the first year Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was open. But they'd actually gotten the money from Harry? He'd never said a word about it. Ginny didn't even realize that the money had been awarded; Cedric Diggory's death and Voldemort's return had overshadowed everything else that year.

"I . . . I didn't realize," she said. "He never said anything."

"Well he wouldn't, would he? That's so Harry," said Angelina conversationally. "But I figured you would have heard after the twins gave up the secret."

Ginny shook her head. "I didn't, no," she said.

Angelina shrugged. "Harry's pretty embarrassed about it; I think George here finally figured that out." She elbowed him. "Didn't you?"

George looked up from the program he was studying. "Huh? What?"

Angelina rolled her eyes. "I said that you've finally stopped teasing Harry and calling him your 'esteemed benefactor,' she said."

Ginny thought George actually looked a bit uncomfortable. "Oh yeah, that. I've stopped. Fred too. Harry really didn't like it." He looked past Angelina to Ginny. "That means you can't take the mickey about it either, okay? No matter what else you feel the need to tease Harry about, that's off limits."

Ginny was indignant. "Me? What about him? And the rest of you? Remember the Newts? And my dress? And who was it that was responsible for putting a freezing charm on all my bras? That was Harry, wasn't it?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that one," laughed George. "That was mostly Ron, although Harry did help. And before you hex her, let me just say that Hermione wanted nothing to do with it."

"She stayed at work late that night, I remember," Ginny muttered. It had been more than embarrassing, walking around with her nipples hardened little points under her shirt until she figured out what was going on. She was just relieved it had happened before she'd started work.
"It may not have been Harry's idea, but I certainly remember him laughing," she said darkly. "I still haven't gotten any of you back for that one."

Whatever George was about to say was interrupted by a swell of noise from the crowd. The announcers voice boomed out over the stadium, and a moment later, the Arrows were introduced.

Being that Arsenal was the away team, the announcer's voice was not terribly excited as he called out the players' names and positions. Still, the large number of Arrows' fans in the stadium gave up a decent cheer as each player was called. Ginny watched in bemusement as Parvati nearly fell out of the box leaning forward to catch sight of the players as they circled the pitch one by one. A much louder roar startled her and she looked up, assuming the first Tutshill player had just been announced.

Instead, her gaze landed on an enormous moving photo of Harry, flashing on the scoreboards around the stadium. It was the same photo she had seen winking in and out of existence in his flat and Ginny watched his expression change from embarrassed to rather cocky over and over again, until an even louder roar told her that the real thing had just appeared.

Ginny couldn't help but roll her eyes at the oohs and ahhs that accompanied him as he sped around the pitch, so low on his broom he was practically flat. Did he have to show off, flying like that? "Save it for the game, Harry," she muttered.

Ron gave her a puzzled look. Save what? "He always flies like that when he's announced; wants to get it over as quickly as possible. You should see him at home games. Once, he flew too low and a witch managed to shoot a pair of her knickers right at him; caught on the end of his broom." He laughed at the memory. "Actually, I think it was one of the regulars outside our building. She walked up to him the next day and asked for them back."

"If he hates it so much, he could fly just as quickly without using the Babcock posture," disagreed Ginny. "One that doesn't show off his bum quite so much."

Ron elbowed her. "Since when do you pay so much attention to Harry's bum?" he asked.

"I don't," said Ginny, annoyed. She pointed down at the pitch where Dam had just been announced. He flew in the same pose as Harry's but much more lazily, as if he wanted the entire stadium to get a good, long look at his admittedly trim backside before he had to park himself in front of the goal posts. "See? He was just grandstanding like Dam is. Probably in his contract or something, that he has to show off a certain number of times per game." She shook her head. "Professional Quidditch players. It's nothing like at Hogwarts."

"No, it's not," said Ron. "It's a lot harder."

Ginny knew that, of course. She'd been to the World Cup and seen what Quidditch looked like when it was played by the top professionals, but she hadn't really transferred that knowledge to consider that Harry might be that good too. Truly, she'd rather expected him to look more or less like he had when he'd played Seeker at Hogwarts. He'd been good, more than good, actually, probably one of the best Seekers Gryffindor had ever had. But he'd still looked like a boy playing for his House team. Now, watching him fly intently around the pitch, seamlessly weaving in and out of the other players while he kept his eyes peeled for the Snitch, Ginny suddenly had a strange sense of understanding about why Robards was so upset that Harry had left the Aurors. If he put as much focus and energy into catching dark wizards as he did looking for the Snitch, he probably would have finished up whatever special mission he'd been working on in no time.

It gave Ginny sudden pause, to realize that. Why hadn't Harry finished his work to fight dark magic first? She knew him well enough to understand that it must have been something much more than the usual Ministry overreaching for him to walk away so abruptly. Ron knew, and for a second, Ginny considered asking him. But in the next, she knew he wouldn't, and even more, she wanted to hear it from Harry himself, at some point. And he'd made it more than clear he didn't want to tell her right now; he obviously thought that becoming an Auror didn't give Ginny any special right to know. But it had to be big, of that much, she was certain.

She turned her attention back to the game. The Arrows' Chasers were fantastic, and she watched, enthralled, trying to recognize and memorize some of their maneuvers. But her eyes kept drifting back to Harry; he seemed to be featured on the enormous screens more often than befitted his relatively removed status from the action of the game. He might as well have been alone in the stadium, so little did he seem to notice anyone around him. Not once in the first two hours of the game did Ginny see his intense gaze waver or lose focus.

And then, suddenly, he was looping around the back of the opposing goal posts and speeding towards the ground so quickly his uniform became a blur. The sound in the stadium rose suddenly, high-pitched excitement and groans of despair mingling together as Harry almost skimmed the earth before rising back into the air, the Snitch clutched triumphantly in his fist.

Several thousand Arrows' fans leapt to their feet and cheered while nearly four times that number cursed and yelled. Both teams sank to the ground, and Ginny could see Harry and his teammates slapping each other on the back and waving at the crowd as they descended.

"C'mon, Ginny. I want to hear both team's post-game press talks." Ron was tugging on her arm and pulling her out of the box. Hermione gave her a sympathetic grimace over Ron's behavior, but it occurred to Ginny that the other witch's attitude might be more related to the fact that Hermione now had to endure still more talk of Quidditch and less because she was commiserating with Ginny about her brother's behavior. Still, she let herself be carried along by the crowd.

Many of the disgruntled Tutshill fans departed immediately after the match ended, but enough stayed that they, along with a group of excited Arrows' fans, created a decent-sized crowd in the tent for the post-game press conference. Ginny listened to the Arrows' coach – Will McMahon – answer questions about the effectiveness of several new formations the Chasers had developed. Arsenal had been up by only 30 points when Harry caught the Snitch and there was a discussion between Coach McMahon and a writer from Which Broomstick about whether the it made sense to go back to the old playbook instead.

Ginny tuned out when the Daily Prophet's Quidditch correspondent raised his hand. Pansy Parkinson had been an idiot at school only known for her family's money and her rather unfortunate resemblance to a big. She'd never played a match in her life and only held the plum job because her father had been friends with the old editor and had paid to outfit the entire sports department at the paper with new equipment. Ginny had heard rumblings that now that the Prophet was trying to reestablish itself as an independent entity and not the Ministry's puppet, and that Pansy's days may be numbered. She hoped so; reading her attempts to describe something as simple as a Snubbed Feint was almost physically painful for her, and she knew most serious Quidditch fans agreed.

A sudden movement to the side of the press-conference table caught her eye. Dam and Harry were standing there having what appeared to be a lively discussion. Dam was gesturing, and appeared to be trying to convince Harry of something; he kept smiling and shaking his head at his captain. Dam didn't appear to be taking no for an answer; every time Harry took a step or two back, Dam followed him, wagging his finger. At one point, Ginny thought Harry looked towards her, a question on his face. But before she could puzzle out what he wanted, he'd looked away and was talking quietly to Dam again.

A second later, Ginny understood the fuss when Coach McMahon finished speaking and Dam took his place in front of the reporters. He seemed to have won the argument; his arm was clamped firmly around Harry, pulling him along to answer questions as well. Harry looked rather disgruntled, but not really upset, and he stood which his arms crossed, rocking slightly back and forth, while Dam answered a few general questions about the state of the team. He'd just finished explaining to Pansy that no, Legilimency required too much quiet concentration for the team to be able to use it for communication during a game when he twisted suddenly and shoved Harry out in front of him.

"Here's the bloke you want to talk to, of course. Won the game quite handily for us and barely broke a sweat doing it, didn't he?"

Until that moment, the press conference had been rather mundane. As soon as Dam spoke, however, a number of reports began shooting sparks with their wands, asking to be recognized to speak. Ginny turned to Ron. "Why the fuss? Haven't the press talked to Harry before?"

Ron shook his head. "Not since he was hired. Don't you remember? Two questions about Quidditch and then dozens being shouted at him about his post-Voldemort work and why he'd left the Aurors. One reporter – who turned out to be from that rag Love Cauldron – even suggested he'd been caught taking advantage of a Muggle girl he was supposed to be protecting; since then he's stayed away from the press."

Ginny frowned. "Then why would Dam force him now?" Indeed, the captain seemed to be having a good time looking at the raised wands, as if carefully considering which to recognize first.

"Ron shrugged. "It's part of the job, to talk to the press; Harry knows that. The longer he avoids it the harder it will be. Better to get it over with."

"But how will they . . ." Ginny began. She wanted to know what precautions the team had put into place to make sure the questioning was proper this time. But Dam had apparently made his selection, and Ginny stopped talking to hear the question posed by a serious looking man from Quidditch Today.

"Mr. Potter, given the earlier discussion about the new formations your Chasers used, did you feel extra pressure to find the Snitch quickly?"

Ginny saw Harry's shoulders relax. He shook his head. "I trust our Chasers; they are some of the best I've ever played with." He inclined his head over to the spot where the Tutshill team waited. "Although my former teammate Katie Bell is pretty fantastic," he allowed. He looked over the audience and grinned. "And I think I see another Gryffindor Chaser, Angelina Johnson, over there. She could make you dizzy watching her, she was so fast on her broom." He turned back to the questioner. "I always feel pressure to the find the Snitch quickly; that's my job as Seeker. Not because of anything the Chasers are doing."

Ginny felt oddly put out at Harry's omission of her when he recognized his former teammates. I was a Chaser too, she felt like reminding him. True, between Umbridge's ban and his detentions, they had played very few games together, but still, his slight irked her. "Nice of him to remember I played with him too," she muttered to Ron.

He looked at her and rolled his eyes. "So did I," he said. "What's the big deal?"

Ginny flushed. Truth was, she hadn't even considered Ron. "Nothing. It's not," she said quickly. "I'm just used to you lot forgetting I know anything about Quidditch."

Ron rolled his eyes again. "It's not like you're twelve anymore," he said. "Get over it."

Ginny shut her mouth. There was no use trying to explain it to her brother anyway; Harry was talking again. Ginny had missed the question, but it apparently was another appropriate one; he had a small smile on his faced while he answered.

"The crowd today for us was small but mighty," he said. "It always feels great to win for our fans, especially when they've traveled far to see us. I guess maybe that's the pressure I feel, to perform well when I know that people I care . . . I mean, who care about the team, are watching." Harry had been looking at the reporter, but then he looked over at her and Ron for a brief second, smiling, and Ginny felt even more like a bitch for her earlier thoughts.

"You always perform well, Harry, that's what I've heard. You can use your wooden shaft to perform well for me anytime!" The teasing voice came from the right off Ginny, and even as a couple of people around her chuckled, Ginny saw Harry's expression shut down. He turned away. "I'm done," Ginny heard him say.

"Oh, come on, Potter, just one more? If you don't want to talk about your performance, then how about telling us what spells you use on the other teams you play - you must know quite a bit of dark magic, don't you?" The same voice had grown more taunting, and this time Ginny saw the speaker, a thin woman with mousy curls who looked vaguely familiar. She didn't stop to think.

Myotis Mucocus. Ginny subtly pointed her wand at the witch and thought the spell in her mind. A flurry of bats suddenly began pouring out of the woman's nose and pandemonium erupted. Reporters backed away from the woman, who was jumping around and screaming. A few started shooting spells at the bats themselves, although Ginny knew they would eventually dissipate on their own. Most of the Quidditch players were running towards their locker rooms, some with their hands over their faces. Even Dam had pushed Harry aside in his haste to get away. Not surprisingly, the security detail was the last to react, looking around in surprise and trying to figure out if there was anyone to hex.

Ginny was trying to bite back her laugh when she saw Harry still standing in front of the crowd, watching with an unreadable expression as the witch turned and ran screeching out of the tent. His gaze landed on Ginny. She stared back at him; of course he knew who'd done the spell. His lips tightened and for a second Ginny wondered if he was angry. But then he gave her a tiny nod and then turned and slipped out of the opening in the tent though which his teammates had run.

She elbowed Ron. "I'm ready to leave whenever you are," she said.

To Ginny's surprise, Harry caught up with her and Ron and Hermione before they'd even reached the Apparition point outside the stadium. His disembodied voice asking to join them made Ginny jump. Ron was unperturbed. "Sure thing, mate," he said into the air, as if this sort of thing happened all the time. Actually, Ginny supposed it did, Harry being under his invisibility cloak. She tried to figure out where he was.

"Does anyone else know it was me who did the spell?" she asked.

"Don't turn your head," Ron hissed besides her. "People watching will know someone's there."

Ginny flushed; she should know better. She faced front again. "The witch asking the question looked familiar," she said quietly. "Do any of you know her?"

"I think I've seen her outside the building before." Harry's voice was to the other side of where Ginny had thought. "But I don't know what she was doing here. Only reporters with proper credentials are supposed to be allowed in."

"Not to mention all the rest of the fans," pointed out Ginny. "Is there a ward to keep only credentialed reporters from asking questions?"

Harry swore. "I thought there was," he said. "But maybe Tutshill isn't as careful."

"They don't have to be," pointed out Hermione. "You should have waited to answer questions until you were at a home game."

Ginny heard Harry sigh. She was getting more used to not being able to see him, and could imagine the look currently on his face, aggravated and tired. "Dam thought it would be better to start in a less . . . raucous environment," he said. "He thought maybe there'd be less attention at an away game." Another sigh. "He apologized to me in the locker room. As soon as I assured him that no, the bats weren't going to follow him in there, and no, I had no idea who'd done the spell."

Ginny was glad to hear an element of amusement return to Harry's voice, and her opinion of Dam grew as well. "I'm surprised you didn't throw me under the Knight Bus and tell him it was me," she teased.

Harry snorted. "I almost did, if only to make sure he maintained a healthy respect for your talents," he said. "But I figured it's better to keep that information quiet, until we really need it." There was silence for a moment, and Ginny looked around to see that her brother and Hermione had already disappeared. She took another step. "Harry?"

"I'm still here," he said. His voice had gone serious again. "Ginny," he began. He sighed again. "I really do appreciate what you did. Really." He was quiet again.

Ginny sighed too. "But . . .?" she asked.

"But witches like that, they're everywhere, just looking for a way to get under my skin, or to try get people to think they know more about me than they do." He was quiet again. "There's probably going to be more talk now; saying I'm able to hex people from across rooms, or that I have a secret bodyguard that no one else knows about. You know, stuff that just builds on the 'Harry Potter quit the Aurors because he's crazy' story."

"Fuck, I'm sorry," said Ginny. "I didn't think." She felt like an idiot. Of course Harry was able to take care of himself, even in the face of people like that witch. He'd been about to end his interview and walk away without giving her any satisfaction that she'd been able to rile him up. And then Ginny had stepped in.

"It's okay, really." Without being able to see his face, Ginny wasn't sure if Harry was telling the truth. He must have realized that, because a second later, there was a soft touch on her arm. "Your reflexes and silent magic and aim were spectacular," he said. "And damn, that witch certainly had it coming." He squeezed. "I'm sure nothing will come of it anyway; no one knows who shot the spell."

"That's the other reason you didn't tell Dam, isn't it?" Ginny was realizing that even playing professional Quidditch couldn't be simple for Harry.

"It is, yeah," he said. "Better to keep it quiet until it all dies down."

"I really am sorry, Harry," said Ginny. "I'll be more careful next time."

"I know you will." His voice was reassuring and honest. Then he snorted. "It really was funny though."

Ginny laughed too. "I have to admit, it felt good," she said. She looked around. They'd walked to one of the more remote Apparition points outside the stadium. "Do you think Ron and Hermione are back at your flat or hers?"

Harry groaned. "If they're at mine, you're going to have to put up with me for a while. For a smart witch, Hermione forgets the silencing charms way too often."

"And Ron . . .?"

"Don't get me started on Ron," laughed Harry. "Really, you don't want to know."

Ginny nodded. "I'll meet you there," she said, and prepared to Apparate.

Harry's hand was on her arm again. "If you want, I'll take you side-along to the back," he offered. "You only have another week before you'll be cleared to use it yourself."

Ginny smiled. "Thanks, Harry. I'd rather not have to trip over any more fan-witches today."

"Heh, me either," said Harry. "Let's go."