When Ginny saw her brother at lunchtime, she noticed Ron was looking pale and distraught. He was quiet and she gave him a quick hug and whispered, "Good luck, Ron!" before Colin said, "Good luck mate! You'll do great." Colin stopped to talk to Harry and he asked, "Why isn't he speaking?" Harry shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Nerves. So are you and Ginny friends again?" Harry was acting like she wasn't even there.
Colin smiled and nodded, "Yup. I thought that since we're in the D.A together we might as well stick together." He smiled at her happily and she felt herself blushing, not because he was smiling at her, but because this had caused Harry to turn and look at her for the first time and nod, "Uh huh. Well I'm glad you two made up."
Colin grinned, "Thanks Harry! Good luck for today!" He patted Harry on the back and as he did, Ginny spotted Draco Malfoy strutting his stuff down the stairs. She turned quickly and was about to walk into the grounds when she heard Malfoy say, "Weasley is our King!" Him and his gang of Slytherin thugs were chanting it and Ginny noticed that they were wearing badges depicting the same message. Ginny whispered angrily to Harry, "Get Ron out of there. He will blow his game otherwise." Harry nodded and quickly pulled Ron away from the Slytherin's and out the castle.
Eventually the game started at three o clock and Ginny was getting increasingly worried about her brother's ability to fly. She'd heard various forms of "Weasley is our King," on the way down to the pitch. When they got there, the stands were already packed and people were cheering while they waited for their houses to come on. The Slytherin's were all furiously chanting "Weasley is Our King" and this made Ginny incredibly nervous. If they were being brutal now, she didn't want to know how they were going to be during the match.
Finally the players walked out onto the field and immense cheering followed on either side of the stadium. Ginny noticed Ron looking as white as a ghost and Harry was waving to the crowd to try and distract from Ron. Angelina was in front with Alicia, Katie, Fred and George following behind them. At the sound of the whistle the players kicked off and every time the Slytherin's sung the dreaded song, Ron lost any confidence he might have had and fell of his broom or swung to the wrong side. You could hear the deafening groans of the Slytherin supporters across the stadium.
The score was currently standing at twenty to zero, with Slytherin in the lead. Colin was watching anxiously through binoculars, which he handed to Ginny and said, "Have a look at Harry! He seems to have spotted something!" he shouted into her ear excitedly. Ginny took them and saw Harry shoot after what was probably the snitch! The Gryffindor's were screaming his name in support and he climbed high on his broom. It turned out that in this time, the Slytherin's had scored again and this turned the cheering from their team to another groan. Ginny whispered urgently, "Come on Ron!" as if that would help him. The Slytherin chant was getting louder than ever and Ginny felt desperate.
Thirty minutes later, the Slytherin's had scored fifty points due to Ron's clumsiness. Harry was still looking for the snitch and Ginny was watching through her binoculars. Then she suddenly saw him spin in the opposite direction and she knew he'd really seen it this time. The look of intense concentration on his face was almost comical. He zoomed after it at lightning speed, heading downwards and then she realized that Malfoy had seen Harry change course. He was after Harry in a flash and they were almost neck and neck now. Then suddenly Crabbe sent a Bludger flying in Harry's direction. It hit him in the back and the crowd groaned.
But Harry was faster and as he reached out his hand, seconds later it closed around the tiny, flying ball, sending the crowd into an uproar from the Slytherin side and an immense cheering from the red and gold supporters. When the players touched down on the ground, Harry was holding the ball up in the air for people to see, and he was about to shake hands with Malfoy, when something else happened. It seemed as if Malfoy was provoking them when them and Harry and George ran at him. Harry was shot down with a jinx which was aimed by Madame Hooch.
Hermione who was sitting beside her placed her forehead in her hands and groaned, "What idiots! They're going to get themselves kicked off the team!" Sure enough, seconds later Umbridge, McGonagall and Snape had arrived on the pitch as Madame Hooch tried to separate the players from each other. Ginny rolled her eyes in annoyance and McGonagall seemed to be giving the three of them strong words. Judging by the looks on George and Harry's faces, it seemed like they were getting a pretty bad punishment.
When they arrived back to the common room, the party was in full swing. The only people missing were the twins and Harry. Angelina was telling her friends how irritated she was when she had specifically warned Harry not to do anything stupid to get himself kicked off the team. It seemed as if this was their punishment.
Ginny was busy drinking Butterbeer with Colin, Jack (who she had met before the game), Abigail and Lucy. The girls were busy jabbering away about how amazingly talented Harry had been. Ginny glanced around the room and saw Ron sitting on his own. She walked up to him and ask quietly, "How you feeling?" He shook his head sadly and whispered, "I'm quitting the team. I'm no good." Ginny rolled her eyes and retorted, "Oh please Ronald. You're brilliant! Why do you think I quit the team in my second year?" She raised an eyebrow at him and he frowned, "Urm…why?" Ginny smiled kindly, "Because I wanted you to become known for it first. You deserve it more." He smiled at her gratefully and squeezed her shoulder, "Thanks, Gin. I still don't want to play anymore."
At this moment a disappointed looking Harry, Fred and George trooped in and Angelina asked them stiffly as the common room fell silent, "Well?" George murmured, "Ange…McGonagall says we can't play in the next match. You'll have to fill our spots." She looked positively furious with him as she stormed out of the and into the castle.
The party picked up against once she had left and Harry came and sat down beside Ginny looking miserable. She rolled her eyes and murmured, "I don't know why you fell for Malfoy's threats. That's what he does and what he wants." Harry retorted angrily, "He insulted your family Ginny!" Ginny rolled her eyes and retorted, "Nothing new." He grimaced painfully and said firmly, "I need to talk to you outside. Please."
She rolled her eyes but got up and followed him out of the portrait hole. Luckily they were alone. Harry said angrily then, "He called you a bunch of blood traitors that shouldn't be…" Ginny tensed and Harry paced angrily around the entrance as he said, "He insulted your mum, your dad, and my parents. Then he insulted you too!" He clenched his fists tightly and she asked, "What are you saying, Harry?" Harry groaned in frustration and whispered; "He implied that lots of Slytherin's would…would…" she tensed and felt like she knew where this was going as he whispered hoarsely, "Would want to be with you."Ginny blanched and laughed almost hysterically, "Oh come on Harry! He obviously didn't mean that! I'm a blood traitor, remember?" Harry's face was set in stone as he whispered icily, "He said they would just to piss your brothers and me off. And they also said that you're…hot enough."
The way he said the word made her believe that he was telling the truth and she felt sick. Her stomach churned and she rested her back against the wall, feeling the ice cool tiles against her heated skin. Now she understood why he went after them. She would have done the same thing. Her mind spun for a bit before he asked, "Ginny?" She shook her head and she felt like she wanted to cry. Where was Cedric when she needed him? It was in these kinds of moments that she missed his friendship the most. He would have made sure no-one would harm her. She knew Harry wouldn't either or any of her brothers, but in that moment she just craved Cedric's embrace.
Ginny didn't realize she was shaking until Harry put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She felt a few tears pouring down her cheeks and he murmured, "Don't worry they wouldn't dare if they know what was coming for them." Ginny hiccoughed and replied throatily, "He probably said that to get under your skin, Harry. Just ignore him. Don't take him seriously." He was squeezing her so tightly and it felt good. Good that he worried about her so much.
Eventually he broke away when her crying died down two minutes later and he sighed, "If those bastards ever…" she shook her head and smiled blandly, "Don't worry, they wouldn't dare. Not with the display you nearly caused in the middle of the field." He smiled grimly, "They better not dare." She tried to laugh in order to lighten the mood but Harry sighed, "So I guess Angelina isn't my biggest fan right now, huh?" Ginny laughed at that and wiped her wet cheeks, "Nope. You're going to have a serious talking to sometime today." He grimaced and groaned, "Damn. If only I had thought of that earlier." She laughed to try and lighten the mood, but she could tell that he was thinking about whatever Malfoy had said to provoke him. She sighed and pulled him up by the arm, "Come on. Let's go and join the party." He nodded and followed her back inside.
Author's note: Yay I've got another chapter out already! I had so much fun writing this one. I quite like the emotional moments between Harry and Ginny. I find it really strengthens their relationship. They can tell each other things that they probably wouldn't tell anybody else. What do you guys think? Happy Good Friday to those celebrating!