Author Note: So here it is, the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch game that was mentioned in Order of the Phoenix, but the finale of which was never seen by Harry and Hermione!
4:
Ginny felt her stomach plummet as Roger Davies' Quaffle shot powered into the upper hoop, beyond Ron's outstretched arm. Quite predictably, the crowd of emerald and silver, mock-conducted by a certain detestable blonde-haired student, launched into 'Weasley is our King' with gusto.
"Weasley cannot save a thing
He cannot block a single ring…"
"Someone's asking for a Bat-Bogey," Ginny muttered threateningly, while Ron's head sagged as the jeers rose for the second time within five minutes. Ignoring the chants from the Ravenclaw stand of "Ravenclaw, make them sore!" and doing her utmost to avoid eye contact with Michael, whom she'd spotted in the crowd below, she spotted it.
A glimmer of gold.
"Keep your head in the game, Ron!" she called out as she whipped past him in pursuit of the Snitch. However, as quickly as it had appeared, the glimmer of gold had disappeared again. That was the part she hated about being Seeker – the uncertainty of it all.
As Angelina also flew over towards the Keeper's positions to give Ron a brief pep talk, Ginny did her utmost to pull her mind away from Ron's woes. It was all just nerves, she mused. All Ron needed was a confidence boost.
Thirty minutes later, Gryffindor was determinedly doing its utmost to retain momentum – they had scored six goals, sending the gold and scarlet crowds below into an ecstatic frenzy of excitement. It was as if Harry and the Twins had never been chucked from the team; the tension was now palpable. Could this hastily cobbled together team pull off the same outstanding results as it had done previously?
Her heart was in her mouth as she listened into Lee's commentary, throwing a dirty look at Cho who was aggressively boxing her in.
"And Bradley has possession of the Quaffle, Katie Bell attempts to block him, she misses…now Angelina Johnson's forcing him off to the right…by Merlin, that girl can fly; she's such a stunner, that one…"
"JORDAN!"
"Just commenting accurately and professionally, Professor, like you asked. Anyway…"
Typical Lee, Ginny thought, smirking. Turning briefly to watch the action, the grin faded from her face as the last remaining Gryffindor defences crumbled.
"…And Sloper fires off a Bludger at Bradley….he misses, Bradley now has a clear shot on goal, Ron needs to keep his head…come on Ron, block him…..HE'S DONE IT! EXPERT FEINT MOVE BY BRADLEY BLOCKED EFFORTLESSLY BY KEEPER RON WEASLEY! So we're forty minutes in, folks, Gryffindor are still forty points up, sixty-twenty, still seen very little of the Snitch, both Seekers Weasley and Chang will be searching for that instant rapid victory…"
The triumphant save by Ron was followed, Ginny was pleased to see, by a superb spinner from Katie that soared home inches from the Ravenclaw Keeper's right shoulder.
"If only Oliver Wood could see this," Ginny muttered to herself, just as Angelina yelled out "Great job, Katie! Let's keep blitzing them."
Ravenclaw's counterattack was lithe, vicious, and well-coordinated, though Andrew Kirke's Bludger shot retarded Chambers' assault on the Gryffindor goalposts and gave Ron the chance to catch the Quaffle almost nonchalantly. As he threw the ball to Alicia, the Gryffindor stands launched into a new version of 'Weasley is our King,' led on by what appeared to be Colin Creevey's squeaky voice, discernible due to its enthusiasm even at a great altitude. Ginny slowed to a hover, craning her neck around to see Ron's flushed expression of euphoria as the Gryffindor crowd roared in approval:
"Weasley can save anything,
He never leaves a single ring,
That's why Gryffindors all sing:
Weasley is our King."
"Ginny? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? CHANG'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" bellowed Angelina, nearly making Ginny jump off her broom. Pirouetting to face the other side of the field, she saw it.
Cho Chang had also spotted the telltale glimmer, and was diving at maximum speed towards her own house's stands, who were yelling themselves hoarse.
Ginny egged her Cleansweep on….this was not how it was supposed to end. Her costing the team its victory was not, dammit, part of the game plan.
As Ginny drew near, the Snitch changed course, ascending vertically and causing Cho to smash into the fabric coating of the lowest stand, though she remained upright. Her eyes widened as she saw Ginny's scarlet streak headed for her, and with a scowl and a determined shake of the head, kicked off again.
As the slipstream's noise built up to a deafening howl, Ginny jerked her broom upwards, now tailing Cho by mere feet. Cho had the altitude advantage, but Ginny still had the advantage of speed she'd gained from her rapid dive.
Cho made a blind, desperate grab for the snitch, sending her broom into wild oscillations and forcing Ginny to veer right. She could hear, as if underwater, Lee bellowing himself hoarse, but it and the crowd's cheering or jeering was oddly muted. All that mattered was that tiny golden ball that was now flitting its way towards her outstretched hand. She smiled. After all this drama, it was going to be an easy catch….
WHAM.
A Bludger connected painfully with her right knee.
Ginny cursed herself. As if the Ravenclaws would simply let her grab the Snitch from under Cho's nose! As her broom finally ran out of airspeed, the broom pitched down of its own accord, and with a horrible start, she saw to her displeasure that Cho had recovered, and was now diving towards the Snitch. Not so much flying as freefalling, she corkscrewed down towards Cho and her prize.
As Cho exclaimed in fright, pulling away and pushing her broom into a prolonged barrel-roll, all the while probing Ginny's defences, neither could grab the Snitch.
The ground was now about to swallow them up.
Her best chance about to evaporate, Ginny darted inwards, her fingers grazing the Snitch's wing…
...only to collide with Cho as she instinctively made the same move.
The green was now spiraling up to meet her….she closed her eyes and braced for the impact.
The Cleansweep's front end dug firmly into the soft turf, and Ginny was propelled head over-heels.
As she rolled over, she was dimly aware of something brushing feebly against her fingers.
She opened her mud-encrusted eyes, trying not to think about the injuries her foolhardy move might have inflicted on her. She turned to see Cho, picking herself off the ground and also looking rather worse for wear. Ginny saw the other girl's eyes widen as she spotted Ginny lying half-upright and grimacing on the field.
"Ginny!" She rushed forwards. "Oh my - you all right?"
"Been better," Ginny admitted with another grimace, considering Cho's proffered right hand of assistance. A thought suddenly crossed her."Er, hang on…" Brushing mud off her left hand, she starred dumbly at her enclosed right fist lying on the ground. Hoping beyond hope, she opened it slowly….
Cho's face fell as tears began to well up, and she turned away, chucking her broom aside.
"Cho…" Ginny began, but Cho was now gone, swallowed up by her sympathetic teammates landing all around her. Relief and euphoria flooding every inch of her body, Ginny gingerly got to her feet and stretched out her fist as the stadium all but exploded.
"SHE'S DONE IT!" Lee bellowed into his megaphone, and Ginny could see Professor McGonagall blowing into a handkerchief beside him. "Ginny Weasley secures the Cup for Gryffindor, two hundred and twenty points to twenty! What a daring move, not since Harry Potter swallowed the Snitch during his first game have I seen such a display…"
Laughing, Ginny turned to her teammates, only to have all the breath knocked out of her as Angelina wrapped her in a bear-hug and smashed her lips onto Ginny's forehead, followed by similar treatment from Alicia and Katie, their cries of elation drowning out the other sounds from the stands. Her hair was ruffled by the clumsy hugs and pats of Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke, and then she turned to see a swaggering, ecstatic Ron, having now landed to take part in the celebrations himself. On cue, the Gryffindor crowd burst into song again.
"Weasley is our King,
Weasley is our King,
He didn't let the Quaffle in,
Weasley has made sure we'll win,
Weasley is our King…"
"Well, well, well," Ginny called out, separating herself from Angelina for the second time, who now looked as if she was about to have an emotional breakdown. "Well done, Your Majesty. Am I meant to curtsey?" she added sardonically.
Ron wrinkled his nose. "Nah. It doesn't really suit you, Gin. Never one to respect authority, are you?"
"Damn right," Ginny nodded in affirmation, abandoning her dignity and rushing in for a hug.
"Ugggh," Ron muttered as he returned the favour. "Take it gently – need my ribs intact, you know?"
"Thankfully, feels like I still have mine," Ginny replied, breaking away and rubbing her hands over a particularly painful twinge in her left leg. Nothing broken, she reasoned. Just heavy bruising and a slight twinge or two. Then something caught her eye.
"Ron! Look," she exclaimed, pointing to where a most disgruntled Umbridge was passing the Quidditch House Cup to the still-sobbing Professor McGonagall with perhaps her most forced saccharine smile yet, if that was possible. Ron snorted loudly and moved away to greet the other team members.
The rest of the celebrations on the pitch passed in a blur for Ginny. All her teammates embraced Ron in a frenzied manner as the Gryffindor crowd continued its chant, some now spilling onto the pitch to congratulate the team.
"He didn't let the Quaffle in,
Weasley is our King…."
Colin Creevey was eagerly snapping left, right and centre, while Luna, she was pleased to see, had arrived, simply patted her shoulder and said "well done," before vanishing again. Ginny beamed as Professor McGonagall presented the trophy to Angelina, who passed it onto Ron. Ron, however, blanched and shoved the trophy towards Ginny.
"You won the match, take it."
"Rubbish. We all won it," she admonished. "You're the 'king,' you take it."
Smiling, Ron raised the trophy aloft to the heavens, and the Gryffindor crowd roared its approval for the umpteenth time.
"Congratulations," came a quiet voice from behind her. She jumped, and turned to face Michael, who was smiling at her, though something didn't quite feel right.
"Well done on the win," he said, in a rather flat tone. Ginny's eyebrows knotted themselves into a scowl.
"What's with the tone?" she chided.
Ron had turned at the sound of her heated voice, and his face went from joyful to something distinctly uglier. "Hi Michael," he said stiffly. "Ginny, do you have any idea where Harry, Hermione and Hagrid are? They'd surely be here by now."
"Haven't the foggiest," Ginny responded, dismissively waving Ron away. "Later, Ron."
She turned back to Michael. "See you this evening after dinner, okay?"
"Okay," he half-mumbled. "See you then." He squeezed Ginny's hand. "Got to be off, need to talk to Cho and our team."
Ginny shook her head in exasperation at her boyfriend's prickly demeanour. He could have after all sounded a bit more genuine in congratulating her, surely? Turning to face Ron once again, she had to roll her eyes as a horde of Gryffindors, including but not limited to her teammates, hoisted her brother onto their shoulders and set off for the path towards the Castle, singing out their new version of 'Weasley is our King' even as their voices became steadily more hoarse with overuse.
A/N 2: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Coming up: the aftermath of the Ginny-Dean row over McLaggen injuring Harry in HBP when she visits Ron and the unconscious Harry in the Hospital Wing, a quiet moment between the two siblings over the Summer break after Harry and Ginny have split up, and a final humorous moment at Bill and Fleur's wedding before the Trio go on the run.