Authors note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I did take into account the personalities of Ginny and Harry. All I can say for the story's is the end justifies the means.
Chapter 2 Plans Deterred
"Honestly, Ronald, why don't you sit down and stop complaining? You can't just leave your sister's first press day!" Hermione nagged, pinching a distracted Ron on the ear.
"Ouch, but 'Mione, I see Cannons' players over there. I could just go get a couple of autographs and come right back before she ever even noticed," Ron wined, trying to defend himself from Hermione's hellacious ear grab.
"Ronald Weasley, I will have none of your shenanigans during this press conference. This is a big day for your sister, and I won't have you or your brothers mucking it up," Molly Weasley chimed in, staring in the direction of her sons, particularly Ron and George.
"Oh come on now mum, you know I'm an angel," George said while snickering at Ron for getting lectured by both Hermione and his mother.
Angelina sat beside George with her arms crossed, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend trying to play innocent. She knew full well that he planned to approach other Quidditch players about endorsements for the joke shop later.
"You know I'm not going to mess it up for Ginny. She's my little sister after all," Ron wined. George and Harry both chuckled as Ron was getting lectured by both his mother and girlfriend while the rest of the family rolled their eyes.
Today was the big press day for the whole quidditch league. Each team took turns going and introducing their roster for the year. The Harpies were up next, and Ginny had her whole family there to show their support. She had made the starting lineup, which was quite the big deal for a rookie. Her entire family was extremely proud of her, especially Harry. It had been a few weeks since they had moved in together, and during that time, he did whatever he could to make Ginny's life less stressful. Her last few weeks of camp after the cuts were even more intense. With Ginny starting, Gwenog Jones demanded perfection out of them at all times. The stress was going nowhere soon with the season fast approaching its start.
The Holyhead Harpies' General manager Audrey Roberts, a rather tall slender woman in her 40s, stepped on the stage to speak. The press poster changed from Puddlemere United blue and gold to Holyhead Harpies green and gold colors. Immediately cameras from the Prophet and other media outlets began to flash all over the place as Roberts took the podium.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to thank you for coming to our press event this year. We think this is going to be an exceptional year for Harpies' Quidditch, and we're excited to get out on the pitch. Before we move forward, I would just like to give a hand to Margaret Baker, owner of the Holyhead Harpies," Roberts explained and then began to clap her hands along with the rest of the room. Miss Baker was a little old lady well over hundred years old, who smiled and raised her hand waving politely to the crowd and press. As the applause died down, Roberts went back into her speech.
"Now as you all know,the job of a general manager of this team is to finalize the roster spots and manage the money. But if we are really going to get to the heart and soul of this team, we need no further look than our very own captain Gwenog Jones!" Robert announced as she started clapping and moved away from the podium to give Gwenog the stage.
Gwenog Jones walked onto the stage as authoritative as ever in her full Quidditch outfit. At once,the cameras began to flash and hover above her in order to capture every angle.
"Good afternoon everyone. I'd like to welcome you all to another year of Holyhead Harpies Quidditch. We feel the 1999-2000 season Will be our best one yet. We are bringing back a lot of familiar faces and also adding a few more. So without further ado, I would like to introduce you to our starting lineup. At keeper and returning for another great year, we have Gwendolynn Stacy. Georgina Gabert is returning as our other beater. Chaser Honora Grendel is back for another year as well," Jones introduced as the room began to clap for the veteran players, dressed in their quidditch robes.
"Next, I would like to introduce our rookie Harpies," Joan said while for the women to walk on stage.
"First, we have our new chaser Alice Gamal. Next, we have another new chaser Ginny Weasley, and lastly, we have our brand-new seeker Gabby Canon," Joan finished. The room erupted into praise, especially the Weasley's who all got particularly loud. Friends and family alike waved and took pictures of the veteran and rookie players as they all stood on stage smiling from ear-to-ear. After a while, Jones quieted everybody down again and took over the press conference once more.
"Okay, it is at this time I would like the reserve Harpies to come out as well, and we will open up to some questions," Gwenog said, motioning for the other six women to come out and stand with the team. When everybody was properly on stage, Jones pointed to a reporter down in front for the first question.
"Gwenog, how do you think the team is going to mesh with the distraction of Ginny Weasley on the team?" the first reporter asked as a quill flew from his head to the parchment hovering in front of him.
Before Gwenog could even respond to the first question, another reporter spoke up as well.
"Miss Weasley, how does Harry Potter feel about you playing Quidditch? Did he give you any pointers or tips? Furthermore, do you think your presence will be a distraction for the Harpies' other players?"
Ginny, who had been beaming with the accomplishment from making the starting roster and putting in that hard work over the summer, looked quite taken aback by all of the questions directed her way. That expression only lasted a few seconds as it was replaced with one of anger and annoyance. Ginny's family wasn't taking it too well either, but they all were trying to stay quiet. It wouldn't be long until Harry and her six older brothers, all bubbling with anger, interjected. Harry clinched both his fist at his sides and cursed under his breath.
"Oh boy they've done it now," George said with a mischievous smile on his face.
"I, for one, don't need Harry Potter's permission to do anything. Oh, but I definitely have to credit my quidditch skills to Harry. It's not like I've flown a broom as soon as I could walk, grew up with six fierce competitors in my brothers, or learned to take leadership on the field as two-year captain of Gryffindor's quidditch team," Ginny projected throughout the room, dripping in sarcasm. "When wizards ask witches questions like these, it digresses from the progress that the wizarding world has made. I believe all members of this team are strong witches independent of the wizards in their family or their relationships. We all worked our tails off to make this team, and I am proud of myself and this team for accomplishing that goal." Ginny fired as a lot of peopleIn the stands thought she might bite the reporters head off.
"Let's make this unequivocally clear so that we don't have this problem in the future. Ginny Weasley, or any of our other players, is more than qualified and doesn't need tips from anyone to play the game of Quidditch. Secondly, this is a team press conference, so from now on when we have a TEAM press conference it shall remain a TEAM press conference. Lastly, all of our players got in on their own merit. I don't give a damn who they know or how popular they are. People can either play this game of Quidditch, or they can't; it's very simple. I understand it, and the organization understands this as well," Jones fired back.
"Furthermore, if we run into this little snag again, the news organizations that ask these types of questions will be excluded from our press pool for the rest of the season," Jones finished, giving all the reporters in the room a bone chilling stare.
"Ladies, we are done here," Jones said with a smile as her turned towards her teammates.
Jones went back to the podium one more time as the Harpies players walked off stage.
"Oh I almost forgot, friends and family are welcome backstage for pictures and refreshments," Jones said in a light hearted manner before she followed her teammates offstage. A lot of the family members looked taken by surprise. Never had they heard someone go from deadly serious to kind and sweet so quickly.
As soon as the witches walked back stage and were out of sight, Gwenog pulled Ginny aside.
"Listen, Weasley, that's only the tip of the iceberg for you, I'm afraid. The media is going to be relentless in their pursuit of you because of who you date and to a lesser degree, your family. Now I have no problem with you because you're a hell of a quidditch player. So my best advice to you is to go out there and shut them up," Gwenog said, quietly giving her a understanding look.
"Thanks, captain. I knew that this attention would come I just didn't think it would be this soon. Regardless of that, I plan to kick some arse this year I promise I won't let you or the team down," Ginny assured with a fire in her eyes that demanded a chance to prove herself on the pitch.
Gwenog smiled, nodded, and gave Ginny a pat on the shoulder before she walked away to converse with other players and family.
As Ginny turned around she saw her family approaching. They all looked a bit worried, not knowing how she would react to the blind sided questions.
"Merlin's beard, Gin. They really did quite the number on you," George, coming up first, stated the obvious.
"Well thanks for your support, George,"Ginny sarcastically replied and rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Enough out of you already!" Molly Weasley scolded, smacking George on the back of the head. She ran up and gave Ginny one of her signature Molly Weasley bear hugs.
"You're going to do a fantastic job, sweetie," Arthur Weasley added, stealing a kiss on her forehead while giving her a proud look.
Seeing as Arthur had a new high position job at the ministry, there was a heightened scrutiny for everyone in the family. For once in the Weasley's lives, the media didn't just pay attention to Harry Potter. Every once in a while there would be a story on Arthur and how his job was going. So it was safe to say that he felt a little bit guilty for what had just taken place on stage to his daughter.
Bill and Charlie were next to give her praise and congratulations, stating that they couldn't have been prouder of their little sister. Percy followed with a firm handshake and a loving smile he didn't always show. Fleur and Angelina both gave her quick hugs and proud smiles.
"Honestly, sometimes I can't believe the audacity of some reporters. They just act like vultures out there. It truly is unbecoming," Hermione said in a caring voice, tackling Ginny into a loving hug.
"Jeez, Hermione. She's quite famous now; it comes with the territory. Harry knows all about that," Ron chimed in as Harry gave him an annoyed glance.
"Oh shut it, Ron. You're just upset because you couldn't get any of the Cannons' players' autographs," Hermione retorted back as she scolded Ron for being insensitive.
Ignoring Hermione, Ron snatched his sister into a giant hug and brought her feet off the ground.
"You know regardless of everything, when you play the Cannons, I'm going to mostly root for you," Ron joked, whispering in Ginny's ear like it was just their little secret. Ron sat her down as Cannons' player Xander Barkley caught his eye. His eyes got really big as he went past his sister and family.
"Looks like I haven't missed my chance yet!" Ron said, rushing into a crowd of Harpies players and family alike. Hermione was close on his toes.
"Ronald Weasley, that is no way to act. This is supposed to be your sisters day, not get-as-many-autographs-as-you-can day!" Hermione yelled while chasing him, secretly knowing she enjoyed his antics from time to time.
The rest of the Weasley family scattered about talking to a couple of other players and grabbing food from the generous buffet the Harpies offered. It was only Ginny and Harry left as he stared at her with a troubled expression on his face.
"Gin, I…," He started to say, but he was cut off by Ginny before he had the chance
"Before you begin, Harry, it's not your fault that the media did any of that. It's not your obligation to apologize for things that are out of your control," Ginny said, bringing her hand up to stroke his face tenderly while giving him a loving smile.
"But you do understand that I am truly sorry things haven't always been easy for us. And it looks like that's not going to stop anytime soon. I know I can't stop everything that happens to you, but maybe I should just go kick that reporters arse, what do ya say?" Harry propositioned, pulling her hand that was stroking his face into a loving kiss.
"Why, Mr. Potter, it is quite the turn on that you would defend my honor so mightily," Ginny said stepping a little closer to him as she looked up to meet his eyes with a mischievous smile.
"Well, Miss Weasley, I would love nothing more then to defend your honor all the time if it ends in you being turned on. Who do you think I should fight first? How about we start with the reporter and see where things go?" Harry smirked and closed the gap between them just that much more.
"You know, I'm proud of you for making the team. So proud of you in fact, I want to take you home and show you just how proud of you I am. Ya know, I've always wanted to be with a professional Quidditch player," Harry said as his face inched closer yet to hers.
"Well, I guess you could test my stamina. All the trainers say it's pretty good," Ginny said as her lips finished the distance to claim his in a kiss.
"You two do realize that you were still in public?" Hermione rhetorically quipped, snapping them out of the trance they seemed to have gotten themselves into. They pulled apart immediately with them both blushing immensely.
"Yeah, sorry about that," Harry said, dragging his hand through his messy hair.
"Yeah, what Harry said. This press event is actually going to last most of the day. So I'm afraid our plans will have to wait till later, love," Ginny sighed, realizing how long this day was actually going to take.
"That's okay, love. Ron and I actually have some business to take care of at the Ministry. We have to follow up on a couple of cases that we have been slacking on," Harry said as he looked over at Ron. Ron meanwhile was now stuffing himself at the buffet area much to Alice's, and a couple of the other Harpies' players, disgust.
It was true both Harry and Ron were aurors with lots of paperwork to complete. Harry had just passed the one and a half year mark as an auror, and Ron had just started a few months ago, having worked for George in the joke shop for a year. To be truthfully honest, the paperwork could have waited. Harry had been putting in a lot of work lately to make sure that he didn't have to miss any of this day, so it was a little disappointing that Ginny was going to be preoccupied all day.
"How about we meet up for dinner, just you and me?" Harry asked looking hopeful that he could get a little time away with her.
"That would be great, love, but the team is going out tonight for dinner after all of this mess is done. Can I have a rain check if I promise I will use it later?" Ginny asked, knowing that Harry was disappointed
"That's fine, Gin. We'll make it another time. Go be with your team, and I will see you tonight at some point. Plus this will just give me an opportunity to get some of the papers off my desk at work," Harry said trying to sound as optimistic as possible while motioning for Ginny to go be with her friends.
"Thanks love, I'll talk to you later," Ginny gave Harry a quick kiss before she went off to join Alice and the other players.
The next few weeks had been a whirlwind for Ginny and the Harpies. Game after game flew by in a hurry.
When they beat Puddlemere United, Ginny was the highest scorer in the game, even with Gabby capturing the snitch to end the game. After that game, Ginny was beaming with confidence. Puddlemere was their fiercest rival, and they had convincingly pounded them into the dirt. It only made Ginny more ecstatic to see her family in the crowd. Even Ron was excited, wearing a half Cannons-half Harpies shirt. Harry brought her flowers and gave her a big kiss.
Ginny and Harry had been having a rough patch lately since Ginny was always with the team. Whenever she had a little bit of free time, Harry was always at work. However, the moment was so perfect that seeing Harry with the flowers, getting the kiss in front of the crowd, and celebrating the team's win negated all of their problems for the time being. Ginny had such a high after that game that she didn't think she'd ever come down.
Her next match versus the Falcons was similar. They ran up the score to over 500, and even though the Falcon seeker caught the snitch, the Harpies had solidified their victory against the 280 score. This win really skyrocketed the Harpies to a whole new level of excitement. With their two new rookie chasers and lightning-quick rookie seeker, they were quickly becoming a fan favorite. Only two games in, and Ginny was in discussion for rookie of the year since she currently had the most points scored and assisted of any chaser in the league.
Everything was running smoothly until they played the Montrose Magpies. The game was much more treacherous as it was raining and very windy. The Harpies had a lead of only 30 points, and that margin still wasn't quite enough because if the Magpies seeker caught the snitch, it was all over. Ginny also didn't feel the overwhelming support she felt in the last two games. Her fan section was much smaller since a few of her brothers, Harry, and Ron all had work that could not be missed for the match. Even though Harry couldn't make it, he assured her that he would be listening to the game on the wireless. This promise did little to raise her confidence with all the bloody rain in her face.
To make matters worse, Gabby was not faring too well with the Magpies seeker, who was gaining on the snitch. Ginny was not doing much better since the Magpies chasers acted as though they want to play bully ball, with one almost knocking her off her broom a handful of times.
It was wet and cold, and the Magpies were really starting to piss her off. Ginny looked over to find Alice's head in the path of two oncoming bludgers.
"Alice, throw me the bloody quaffle!" Ginny yelled as she caught Jones' eyes at the same time she yelled at Alice.
Gwenog nodded at Ginny, knowing what the Weasley had planned and smacking a bludger In Ginny's exact direction. Alice threw her quaffle and ducked as a bludger almost hit her. Ginny caught the quaffle right as the Magpies' chaser pushed her and tried to intercept it. The chaser was a bit late and missed the quaffle by centimeters. Before he knew what was going on, Ginny tucked the ball under her arm and went into a nosedive.
The Magpies' chaser had every intention of following her, but he realized too late that a bludger was coming straight for him. The bludger ripped straight through his broom sending wood pieces everywhere as he went crashing down into the pitch, landing with a muddy thud. Ginny was sure that the chaser had at least a broken arm or leg as she pulled out of her nose dive and picked up as much speed as she could while she gained altitude. She rose up at a 45-degree angle upwards towards the goal as she cocked her arm back and threw the quaffle towards the goal with all the anger and aggression she was feeling.
The Magpies' keeper was a bit taken back from watching her teammate fall to the ground and failed to notice that quaffle coming at her from such a sharp angle. The quaffle went through the goal, and the crowd went into a frenzy.
After they got rid of the chaser who was playing dirty, they were able to put a healthy lead in between the Magpies and themselves. Gabby was still struggling with the Magpies' seeker. The Harpies only gained a 70 point lead, so if they didn't do something about the seeker soon, the game would be lost. Both seekers were currently a few feet behind the snitch, and the Magpies seeker was nosing closer and closer.
Ginny had to think fast otherwise they were going to lose, so she grabbed the quaffle and gained as much speed as she could. She calculated the trajectory to the goal perfectly as both Gabby and the other team's seeker were headed straight towards the Magpies' keeper. The keeper saw both seekers speeding towards her and moved up out-of-the-way, at that precise moment Ginny threw the quaffle at the goal as hard as possible. Gabby saw this play, but the other team's seeker didn't as he was only centimeters away from catching the snitch.
As the Magpies' seeker looked up, he saw the quaffle headed straight for his face. He dove immediately to avoid being hit. As a result of the play, the Harpies got an 80 point lead and simultaneously caught the snitch since Gabby and Ginny timed their actions perfectly. The crowd went crazy along with all of the Harpies' players. Gabby held the snitch up triumphantly as Ginny threw her fist into the air, proud as ever.
Ginny and the team knew that tonight was going to be a big celebration for them. They didn't have to play for two weeks after the Magpies' game, so they were going to make sure that they had a good time.
The party at the pub after that game was a blast. None of the Harpies were holding back the drinks. There was butterbeer flying left and right. Alice hadn't found a decent-looking bloke to snog in the corner yet. Ginny and Georgina decided to take to the dance floor. The night was going great, too great, and that's when it all came crashing down.
Two aurors came into the pub and started talking to the barkeep. The barkeeper immediately pointed at Ginny and they walked up to her with somber expressions on their face. Ginny's face immediately dropped fearing the worst had happened to Harry.
"Miss Weasley, can we speak to you outside?" one of the male Auror requested, as he motion towards the exit of the pub.
Ginny followed the aurors out of the pub while trying to slowly breathe in sobering breaths.
"Miss Weasley, we're here to inform you that your brother and your boyfriend have been injured on a mission today. We went to your residence, but we couldn't find you there. After a little searching, we heard you were at the pub and came here as quickly as we could."
"Are...are they okay?" Ginny asked in a concerned voice, still trying to sober up as best she could.
"Yes, for the most part they are fine. Nothing that won't be healed up in a couple of days," the female Auror added, giving Ginny a judging look.
Even Ginny would admit that she was not the most sober witch in the world right now. She and her teammates had been having a good time. It's quite easy to get drunk after a big win when you play for the Harpies. It's even easier to get drunk when you didn't know that your love ones were injured, but she supposed that was how fate works sometimes
"They're at St. Mungo's hospital. We can take you there if you would like?" the male auror asked.
Giving herself an up-down and deciding she was probably not in the best of shape to be apparting on her own, Ginny, slightly annoyed with herself, nodded to both aurors and accepted their help.
Harry was annoyed at himself for letting Ron and himself drop their guards. They were better than that; he was better than that. He didn't train all that time to have a broken leg and arm like he did now. Harry was even more upset at the fact that he was helpless when Ron took a nasty curse, though he did take solace in the fact that he deflected part of the blow with a shield charm. If Ron had taken the whole curse, they might have been in a worse predicament. Since Harry and Ron were hit with dark magic, it was going to take their bodies a little bit longer to heal, which was why both Ron and he were in the hospital. He got off easy compared to Ron who had quite the nasty flesh wound over his chest.
Regardless of it all, they were both doing much better now. Hermione was with them, which made both Ron and Harry feel better. Hermione always did have a way of calming them both down and settling a situation. Ever since their Hogwarts days, she was seen as the most level-headed one. Her presence somehow always assured Harry that they would be okay.
Hermione wasn't the only thing bothering Harry; he was wondering where Ginny was. Harry knew he couldn't make her game today, but they were supposed to meet at a muggle steakhouse at 8 PM. It was 10 minutes till 12, and most of the Weasley clan had been up to see them both. It was weird that none of the family knew where Ginny was. They told Harry about how she had an amazing game earlier that day, but Harry already knew that much since he was listening to it on the wireless before the raid where Ron and he got hit.
"Harry, do you need anything?" Hermione inquired, as she sat next to Ron who was now sleeping at this point.
"I'm okay, Hermione. I'm just a little tired at this point. I guess I should really get to sleep," Harry stated as he looked down at his injuries.
Like usual nothing got past Hermione Granger. She frowned and stared at Harry with her piercing brown eyes.
"Harry, I'm sure she will be here soon. I know George went looking for her," Hermione replied, trying to calm the growingly agitated Harry as best she could.
"Donovan said they would send a couple of aurors to find her," Hermione recalled, having heard Harry and Ron's boss Calvin Donovan assure everyone.
Calvin Donovan was a big stocky bloke, standing at about 6'4". His wife worked in the Department of Mysteries and made some of the best cookies you would have ever tasted. Donovan was a good man, and he had fought in the Battle of Hogwarts. He proved to be a great asset to the ministry. As one of the ten auror captains, he had a lot of respect from his peers since captains only reported to the Vice Head and Head auror.
Harry had a tendency of being combative when it came to his work. He had killed the darkest wizard of all time, so there really wasn't a lot you could tell him. However, Calvin was the perfect man to have as Harry's superior. You could come Harry and even show him a few things that he didn't know. A lot of people thought Harry would move up the ministry ranks fast. However, he still had things to learn when it came to being a auror. Kingsley, who had become the Minister of Magic, even said that after Harry learned how to complete his paperwork in a timely fashion, he would be promoted to a higher rank.
Harry knew the stipulation, but he wasn't going to rush a promotion. It all just meant more work and less time with Ginny, which if he was honest was really lacking lately. They just never seem to have time to hang out or do much of anything. Everything had settled down to a degree when they first moved in together. The Harpies partying however had just gotten worse and worse the more they won. It all boiled over a couple of weeks ago when they had a huge fight, and Harry stayed at Hermione and Ron's for a few days. Ginny was the most fiery witch Harry had ever known, as passionate and strong-willed as the best of them.
Lately however, Harry only saw her passion for quidditch when he looked at her. There was nothing wrong with that, but their relationship suffered greatly because of it. Harry wasn't trying to make Ginny into a housewife or mother, or a submissive girlfriend. Bloody hell, he just wanted to hang out with her. He loved her. He felt like he barely knew Ginny anymore, and even when they did hangout it didn't feel like she was fully there. Harry was not the type to quit on someone, and he wasn't going to quit on Ginny. Still, there was only so much that he could take, and tonight was one of those nights. He was pissed off, and as long as Ginny wasn't hurt or kidnapped, he was damn sure going to let her know how he felt.
"Hermione, they shouldn't have to go look for her, she was supposed to meet me at the steakhouse at eight," Harry replied, irritated with the whole situation.
"Yes, yes I know," Hermione responded. As more time went on it got, the harder and harder for Hermione to defend Ginny's actions.
Hermione would not admit it to Harry, but Ginny just seems like a young witch who had other priorities besides a boyfriend. She couldn't blame Ginny for that; Hermione had her own career goals as well. Though She also knew that she wanted to have a family one day. These plans for Ginny had drastically change over the years. Before the Battle of Hogwarts when Harry and Ginny dated in their six-year, Hermione and Ginny had had conversations about one day having families of their own, but something in Ginny without Hermione's knowledge. After Ginny started playing for the Harpies, her priorities really changed. Hermione always tried to dig deeper and see what the real cause was, but Ginny would always shut her out.
"I'm sure there's an explanation for all of this," Hermione said as she sighed.
At that moment, the door to the room opened, and there were Ginny and George. Hermione could tell Ginny had been drinking. Her face was noticeably red, and her clothes screamed 'I've been at a pub with my friends.'
Ginny looked notably embarrassed as George stood behind her with both his hands on her shoulders. Ginny then looked over to Harry with a guilty expression written all over her face.
"I found our little winner over here," George said trying to break the ice and make light of the situation.
"The aurors dropped her off to me personally. It's not every day a big brother sees the authorities escorting his little sister. It really does show how important she's become lately being a big quidditch star and all," George said as he squeezed Ginny's shoulders lightly and lovingly.
Ginny quickly walked over to Harry and took his hand in hers.
"Are you okay, Harry?" Ginny asked with a mixture of worry and guilt written on her face and heard in her voice.
"I'm okay. It's just a broken foot and arm," Harry said as he glanced at his arm in a sling.
"You've been drinking," Harry said after examining her appearance with irritation in his voice as he removed his hand from Ginny's.
"Um, yeah. After the big victory today, the team went out for drinks," Ginny replied, biting the inside of her cheek as she finally remembered that she was supposed to meet Harry for dinner.
"It's funny Ginny, you must win every other day," Harry retorted as he looked away from her.
Hermione decided to try and break the ice at this point; otherwise, tempers would explode.
"George, why don't we try to go find some sobering potion?" Hermione rhetorically asked. She gave Harry one final look before dragging a nosy George out of the room.
Harry took the liberty of gesturing his hand towards the door, making it close. He then put a sound charm on Ron with the snap of his fingers, having become quite skilled at wandless magic.
"So another party? You always seem to have a terrific time with your teammates. I'm glad you could grace me with your bloody presence," Harry said with fire in his voice.
"Harry, it's not like that at all!" Ginny pleaded with him.
"Bloody hell, Ginny you're drunk!" Harry shouted back.
"What do you want from me? I can't make a mistake?!" Ginny hurled back at him feeling herself coming to anger as well.
"It's perfectly okay to make a mistake Ginny. It's when the mistakes happen every day that it gets alarming. I think the bigger question is what do you want from me?" Harry quipped, lowering his voice as his green eyes pierced through her.
Ginny's eyes got wide at his line of questioning. She went and sat in the chair next Harry's bed and put her face in her hands. She took a deep breath and then looked at him.
"Do you think this conversation can wait until Hermione gets back with the potion?" Ginny asked as she leaned her head back against the chair sighing. Trying to hold temper back as best she could.
Harry didn't speak or even look at her for that matter. He just let out a sigh and turned his head to look anywhere but at her. This is how life had gone for them lately. Neither one of them wanted to admit it, but they weren't happy.
Hermione came back soon with the potion for Ginny. When she did, the room went icily quiet. As Ginny drank the potion, Harry snapped his fingers and removed the silencing charm from Ron. This earned him a glare from Hermione to which he just shrugged. After about 10 minutes, Ginny came fully to, and asked Hermione to give Harry and her a little time to discuss things.
"Listen, Harry, I know that I messed up. I do, and I'll make it up to you. You're an important part of my life, and I don't want you to feel like I don't care about you. Professional quidditch is just so new to me. It's exciting, and I feel like I have to make a name for myself. Regardless of that fact, I should have been here. You would've been here for me," Ginny quiveringly responded. The guilt was beginning to turn into true remorse.
Harry sighed and began running his hand through his hair. He paused for bit and then looked at Ginny.
"It's okay Gin, mistakes do happen. We'll just have to communicate better. I feel like we can still get the hang of this whole having-careers-with-a-relationship thing."
Harry knew he should be angrier, and he also knew he shouldn't just give Ginny a pass. But he was tired, and he didn't want to sleep at Ron and Hermione's again.
"Thank you," Ginny said gratefully. She then got up and leaned over the bed and gave Harry a kiss on the forehead. Ginny then took his hand in hers and looked him straight in the eye with all the love she has for him.
She squeezed Harry's hand tightly, and he return the favor. Ginny and Hermione spent the rest of the night in the hospital with Harry and Ron.
The weeks that followed after their argument at the hospital had been somewhat better. Ginny still went out more than Harry approved of, but for the most part, he kept his mouth shut about it, pretending it didn't bother him.
After the Harpies' break, they had to play the Wimbourne Wasps. They won that game by only 20 points. It was much closer than they wanted, but like Jones said at the end of the day, a win is a win. The great part about the game was Harry and the family got to show up since it was on a Saturday night.
The buzz circling the league for Ginny to be rookie of the year only seem to grow as she led the categories on scored goals and assisted goals, and she was also top five in chaser defense. She now even had different witches and wizards approaching her about endorsement opportunities.
However, Ginny's first endorsement came from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' shop. Ginny's mother and father couldn't have been prouder of the siblings going into business together. George even started producing a Ginny Weasley action figures for kids. He also created a candy that turned your hair red in honor of the starting chaser.
After her close game against the Wasps, Ginny and the team decided to go out for drinks. Harry was working late, so she figured she would go out and not stay too horribly late at the pub. When Harry worked too late, he usually made it a priority to get home, especially after Ginny's games. She figured she wouldn't stay out past 11 since he was bound to be home by then.
"See Ginny, I told you we would win it the whole time!" a drunk Alice shouted as she raised her pint of Fire whiskey into the air.
"Oh yeah, Alice, you never had a single bad thought enter your head about us not winning the game," Ginny replied, smiling and rolling her eyes as she flagged down the barkeep for a another beer.
"Oh, come on now, Ginny. You can't tell me that you didn't have at least a little fear?" Alice questioned.
"To be honest with you, I felt like we were going to win the whole time. You never believe me, but I tell you my gut's always right!" Ginny yelled in response to Alice.
"Well I have a few days to prepare for the game against the Bats. If we can kick their arses, then the whole legal will start taking us seriously," Ginny said.
"I'm right there with you!" Alice agreed, pumping her fist in excitement.
It was at this moment the Ballycastle Bats' players entered the Three Broomsticks.
"Zachary Nelson, don't tell me you came in here to forfeit before we even have the bloody match!?" Gwenog joked and slammed her beer down on the table.
"Oh come on now, Jones. We can have one night in peace before the festivities of kicking your arse begin," Nelson replied as he grabbed a butterbeer from the barkeep.
Zachary Nelson was the captain of the bats. They had beaten the Harpies out of the playoffs last year and won the championship. Nelson himself was a fierce competitor, and his team was no different. He was two years older than Jones and had five league MVPs under his belt. People always speculated when he was going to retire, but why would he retire when he kept on winning? He was a tall, stocky fellow and definitely wore the label "pretty boy" well.
"My team just came here to enjoy themselves like your team. You know game days can be quite the pain in the arse," Nelson says and grabbed a seat right next to Gwenog to continue the smack talk.
"I'll tell you what, even though we are going to kick their ass, some of these Bats boys are quite the lookers. I could most definitely give one of them a ride," Alice said while ogling the Bats players.
"You should close your mouth before you drool," Ginny said and rolled her eyes.
"The objective, Alice, is to beat them, not sleep with them," Ginny lectured as she sized up all of the players.
"Oh, you're just saying that because you're in a relationship. Me on the other hand, I need something to snuggle up to at night. A girl can get lonely in her flat all by herself. It's always good to have company every once in a while," Alice giggled, batting her eyes at Ginny.
At this point the pub divided into two sides, Harpies on one side and Bats on the other side, with Jones and Nelson sitting in the middle. The pub was packed with fans from both teams, and as of yet, everybody was getting along peacefully. Despite Ginny's short time with the Harpies, she had seen things go south quickly. Ginny let out a sigh and glanced at her watch to note that it was quarter to 10.
"Well, Alice, I really should be getting home. Maybe Harry and I can go catch a muggle film if it's not too late," Ginny said while beginning to get up.
"Oh come on, Ginny. It's way too early for you to call it quits now," Alice complained, shoving another butterbeer Ginny's way.
"Alice, it's been a hell of a day. I think I just like to go home and relax," Ginny complained.
"At least help me find the right guy to play with before you leave," Alice pleaded holding onto Ginny's arm.
"Oh Merlin help me, fine I'll stay for a little while longer," Ginny submitted.
Both girls sat and had a few more drinks as the night went on. Alice couldn't make up her mind as to who she was going to snog for the night, so she settled for having a ball talking and joking at the bar with Ginny.
"Do you think I could join you ladies?" both Alice and Ginny looked up to see Rory Wilson pose the question.
Rory was the second-year seeker for the Bats, winning Rookie of The Year the previous year. He was a fierce competitor, and Ginny admired his play and dedication to the game. He had a slender, muscular build and was around Harry's height. (Ginny and Alice figured he was definitely in Quidditch shape.) He has brown, loosely curly hair and a nicely groomed beard that framed his face nicely. His hair was perfectly groomed to match his cocky, sly smile and insured that no other conclusion could be drawn other than that Rory Wilson was an undeniable jerk. Jerk persona aside, neither Ginny nor Alice could deny that he was a very attractive wizard.
"Well, of course you can!" Alice said scooting over putting a bar stool between her and Ginny.
"I'm not sure about that. Why should we drink with the enemy? And out of all of the players for the Harpies, why did you talk to us, Wilson?" Ginny demanded, putting her hand on the stool as Rory gave her a questioning look much to Alice's disappointment.
Rory looked at Ginny giving her a bored smile while running his hand through his hair in a motion very similar to that of Harry. He then put his hands up in a defensive manner as Ginny kept giving him a death glare.
"Well, for one I would like a butterbeer, and for two I really don't mean you any harm. Last but not least, I had to deal with the game and then the media all day today, so I'm not going to harass you two. Because Merlin, I know what that feels like," Rory replied.
Alice gave Ginny a pleading look. Ginny finally sighed before relenting and moving her hand off the seat.
Rory graciously took a seat between the two ladies while gesturing for the barkeep to bring him a butterbeer. He looked between the two as he began to talk.
"You know, your game today was quite rough. I thought Jones was going to lose it if you all lost."
"Well our captain is quite vicious. It's something you really have to get used to. She also has a passion that is unmatched, which you respect and willingly follow after," Ginny chimed back with sass in her voice.
"Oh, don't get me wrong. I love it. That dedication is quite like that of our own captain," Rory replied, motioning his head in the direction of Jones and Nelson. The two captains were fiercely debating the history of quidditch and completely unaware of the stares directed their way.
"As the season goes on, so long as you play well, the media will tend to lay off of you. Well... they won't ask as many tough questions, I should say, but more so they become fascinated with your play and your personal life and what you ate for breakfast," Rory said.
This description of the media got quite the giggle out of Alice, and even Ginny smirked a little bit.
"I mean, you've been shutting them up this far. Do you intend to continue your streak ladies?" Rory questioned with a sly smile.
"Wilson, I will say that sometimes I can have my head in the clouds, but this is my profession. I intend to be an elite professional player for many years to come," Alice said, showing a bit of seriousness for once.
"The second they want to start writing fan- fictions about me and plastering my face across the wizarding world, I'll be ready for my close-up," Alice replied in mock seriousness while framing her face in a Vogue-like manner.
"Bloody hell, dedication and optimism. I love it!" Rory said giving a charming smile to both Ginny and Alice
"And what about you, Weasley?" Rory questioned.
"Well I don't think that Rookie of the Year should be that hard to win since you won it," Ginny remarked with a smirk on her face as she sipped her butterbeer.
At this, Rory became very entertained and flashed Ginny and Alice a handsome grin. He finished off his beer and gestured for the barkeep to bring him another one, which slowly levitated his way.
"You really think it's going to be that easy for you? Quidditch is a relentless game. I wouldn't want you getting hurt, Weasley," Rory countered.
"I am well aware of what it takes to play quidditch, Wilson, regardless of what you think. I didn't just get here because of who I know," Ginny hotly fired back at him.
"Hey now, I didn't mean it like that, but I do think you just tried to diminish my accomplishments and boast your own, Weasley," Rory accused Ginny in a playful manner.
"Well, Ginny is, if I'm honest, quite a better chaser than me, and I don't think I am any type of scrub either. I know Jones sees that as well. She can fly faster and harder than almost anyone on the team," Alice said talking up her friend.
"Oh I took notice of that. I saw Weasley play a lot at Hogwarts, and I must say you're very impressive. The fire and passion that you fly with along with the gracefulness in which you move is something to marvel at. I do mean that with the utmost respect, Miss Weasley," Rory said. He had an appreciative glimmer in his eye as he looked at her.
At this, Ginny did something she did not think she would do. She lit up embarrassingly red at his compliment, something that both Rory and Alice took notice of. Maybe it was the fact that he genuinely meant what he said, or maybe it was the fact that he was a devilishly handsome individual. The fact that he could elicit such a reaction out of her shocked her to say the least. The three of them talked for a good hour and a half before Alice, of all people, though genuinely enjoying the conversation, tried to get him to scram.
"Well, Ginny, how about we go over and talk to the rest of the girls? I think we played nice with the enemy enough for one day?" Alice prompted glancing between Ginny and Rory with a questioning look.
"Trying to get rid of me already, Alice?" Rory asked in a jokingly shocked voice.
"Well, it is getting late, and we have not bonded with our teammates as much as we should have. Ginny and I can both be selfish in that regard. We just get to talking to each other and stay in one place the whole night," Alice replied.
"Why don't you go and I'll catch up with you in a little while?" Ginny asked Alice.
Alice gave her the are-you-really-sure-about-that look to which Ginny waved her off and show her friend that she was just fine. That was the problem Alice had already noted; Ginny looked like she was a little bit too fine with Rory Wilson. Nonetheless, Alice relented and gave Rory a big smack on the back as she gave Ginny one final look before joining the rest of the team.
Rory and Ginny talked about everything from quidditch to their childhood for the next hour. Ginny and he were both telling jokes and laughing their arses off. It was funny that during that hour of conversation, Harry's name never came up once. It was as if he had just slipped from Ginny's mind for the night.
"Well, Weasley, I found out something new about you today. You will be quite the fierce opponent. More than that, you are an exceptionally funny witch. I don't want that to go to your head because I'm still going to kick your arse on game day."
"That's funny, you know you really should be a comedian," Ginny countered while smirking.
Rory shook his head and laughed in response.
"I'm not sure you have the stamina to keep up with us, especially me," Ginny added, gesturing a big "L" with her hand on her forehead.
"Weasley, I have the stamina to keep up with any witch, no matter how talented they may be," Rory counter giving her a suggestive wink.
Ginny and Rory both laughed at one another. Their stools were nearly touching after having inched closer together throughout the night. Ginny reached out to steady herself, gently brushing against Rory's arm. Rory looked at Ginny in response, and when their eyes met, the two of them leaned into one another, almost involuntarily. Rory reached out towards Ginny's face, drawing her face closer to his, and just when they nearly kissed…
"I have to go!" Ginny abruptly said as she leaped off of the stool. She threw money on the bar as she hurried out of the pub. Alice saw this and followed behind Ginny as quickly she could.
Rory attempted to follow her, but he bumped into a man on the way out of the bar with a camera in hand.
"Hey, you're Rory Wilson! Mind snapping a photo with me before you go?" the man inquired.
"Sure thing, mate," Rory offhandedly remarked.
After the photo, Rory hurried out to the empty street that no longer carried any trace that Ginny Weasley had been there mere moments earlier. Rory looked forlornly down the streets, paying no attention as the wizard snapped another picture of him looking for Ginny.
She was walking fast, extremely fast. She didn't even know where she was going. She felt sick to her stomach, like she was going to throw up all the alcohol she had tonight and most of her meals for the past few days. She was so deeply confused. Ginny had never felt anything for anybody who wasn't Harry Potter. Ginny has never had the desire to kiss another man until tonight. Even though she wasn't sure about marriage with Harry, she always thought that she would be with him forever. For the first time in a long time, Ginny Weasley was lost without any answers.
"What the fuck was that?" she mumbled loudly to herself as she walked with no particular destination mind.
She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice Alice appearing beside her breathing heavily. Alice grabbed her by the shoulder to halt her movement. When Ginny finally stopped, she looked at Alice like she had seen a ghost.
"Ginny, are you ok? What were you thinking?" Alice questioned.
"Ginny, did you kiss him?" Alice asked after hearing no response from the pensive Ginny.
"I...I don't know what I did. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know if it was the alcohol or just me. I didn't kiss him, but bloody hell I wanted to. And the fact that I felt that way makes me a awful person," Ginny said as she brought both her hands to her head pulling at her hair.
"Come with me…," Alice said, softly taking Ginny by the hand to a street bench.
As Ginny caught her bearings, she realized that she was in the outskirts of downtown London. Sitting there with Alice, the world began to spin, and it had nothing to do with the alcohol they consumed. She felt truly lost, but worst of all, she felt scummy and dirty. She had betrayed the trust of the person she loved the most, and that feeling dug so deeply into her, she could feel her heart clenching from it.
"How could I do this to him? How could I do this to us?" Ginny moaned as she put her head in her hands.
Alice stroked her back slowly and supportively as she tried to calm her friend down.
"So… what are you going to do now?" Alice asked in concern.
This moment is exactly why Alice didn't do relationships. It made things difficult. It made her more emotional than she otherwise was. Plus, the last time she was in a relationship she got hurt just like this. Except in Alice's case, she wasn't Ginny; nonetheless, she understood the emotions that Ginny was going through.
"I don't know," Ginny said numbly as she stared off into the nothingness of London's late-night streets.
Then Alice asked the question that made Ginny's stomach turn worse than it ever had before.
"Are you going to tell Harry?" Alice wondered it's so quietly that you could've heard a pin drop on the street three blocks away. She looked Ginny straight in the eyes searching for that answer.
"I…I cannot tell Harry," Ginny said quietly. "I can never tell Harry about any of this. I just want to forget this happen."
"Are you sure...?" Alice asked while trying to get a feel for how her friend was thinking. She could hear the pain in Ginny's voice.
"I'm sure," Ginny said quickly and quietly.
"Can I please stay at your flat tonight. I can't go home to him tonight. I don't think I can stomach it," Ginny pleaded as she looked Alice in the eyes.
"Come on, let's go," Alice said as she helped her friend off the bench, and they walked in silence back to Alice's flat.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Harry sat at home, putting the book he was reading down and checking his watch seeing it was past two. He had planned and cooked an elaborate dinner and had everything set out on the dining room table. He had even enchanted the ceiling with candles. Some of which had burned their lifespan, flickering out as other candles carried on.
He got off work early and decided he would surprise her with a special dinner. He knew the past few months they had been growing distant to each other. Harry was doing everything in his power to keep her happy and keep them together. But tonight, tonight was hard. He wasn't going to dwell on that. It was frustrating, but he figured he would go to sleep until Ginny returned. Harry took out his wand and flicked it to make all the candles he enchanted in the ceiling disappear. He then turned to Ginny's and his bedroom, not even bothering to put the food on the table away.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o Dear Alice,
Thank you for helping me out last night. I really don't know what I would do without you. I'm going to go home and face Harry. I'm not going to talk about what happened last night; at least, not right away. I still need time to process this myself. I promise I'll come over tomorrow afternoon and fill you in on the details as soon as I get my head sorted straight.
You're the best, Ginny.
As Ginny entered the apartment, she first saw the set table and now cold meal. She was guessing Harry made this last night in anticipation for her possibility only added to the guilt that she felt about the whole situation. She quickly brought her wand out and cleaned up the table before going back to the bedroom where Harry slept. When she open the door, she felt her heart drop. Harry was fast asleep. He looked so peaceful and so painfully handsome. All of the guilt and remorse she felt last night came bubbling back to the surface. She took a deep breath and went to the bed, settling herself under the blankets. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry, and he stirred in his sleep. Harry let out a gaping yawn as he turned around to face Ginny.
"It looks like somebody had fun last night," Harry said in a sleepy voice as he stretched a little bit and took Ginny in his arms.
"You could say that. Just another night with the team. I am sorry that I stayed out so late, I came in and… I saw the dinner, and Harry, I'm so sorry. I just lost track of time," Ginny stammered out, giving Harry the most apologetic look.
Harry frowned remembering how he waited for Ginny all night.
"Where were you last night? I waited up till after two in the bloody morning, and you still weren't home. Look, I love that you have fun with your friends, but bloody hell, you can at least let me know where you're at. I don't think that's too much to ask," Harry said as he woke up with more and more anger. Frustration was still written on his face and in his eyes. "Shit, Ginny. I don't own you, but I at least feel like I have a right to know you're safe," Harry said as he let out of breath and composed himself.
"I know, love. Things just got a little crazy last night, but it won't happen again. Next time I will at least send you a patronus so that you can sleep better. It's just that we stayed out late, and then I was so pissed, I didn't think I could apparate properly. I just stayed at Alice's flat for the night." Harry's demeanor seemed to have lighten a little at Ginny's explanation.
"How about I make you some breakfast, and we can spend the day together?"
Harry let out a sigh, "Fine."
"Great! I'm going to go get started with breakfast," Ginny excitedly said as she hopped out of bed grateful and relieved that he wasn't too upset or asked too many questions.
Harry went through his morning routine: brushed his teeth, washed his face, and showered. As he went into the kitchen, he could smell the aroma of a breakfast cooked similarly to that of Molly Weasley's.
"Well the breakfast smells great, Gin," Harry said as he sat down at the table. He flicked his wand. The morning paper and a cup of coffee hovered over to him as he got comfortable.
He took a sip of his coffee and thought maybe the day wouldn't be so bad after all. He felt Ginny and he just needed to get on the same page. While he had been frustrated with her lately, he was willing to work it out. They just needed to communicate, he thought as he opened the daily profit.
"You don't usually read the paper. Anything good?" Ginny observed as she flicked her wand, levitating two breakfast plates out of the cabinet.
Ginny snatched the two plates out of the air as she went over to the stove to check on the bacon.
"I know I don't usually read this rubbish, but I figured it was worth seeing if they put anything about the Harpies game in the paper. Look here's an article now," Harry stated as he read the headline out loud.
"Ginny Weasley and Rory Wilson having a secret love affair...?" Harry read out loud, as his voice tailed off towards the end. His eyes got wider, and he adjusted his glasses to make sure he wasn't seeing things. With a wordless expression on his face, the paper dropped to the table.
At the exact moment that Harry read the article's title, there was a loud crash in the kitchen as Ginny had dropped the two plates meant for Harry and her.
Harry dropped his eyes below the article to the picture that kept moving, repeating itself over and over. There was Ginny Weasley and Rory Wilson. Both quidditch players' faces were just centimeters apart and getting closer together as the picture replayed itself on the front page of the profit over and over again.
Don't forget to review guys! I usually have the story written a few days before I post it so I can always make tweaks or changes accordingly. Keep reviewing and don't forget to follow the story!