"Ow. Ow. Fuckity, ow." Ginny cursed, falling back onto her flat feet and holding her side which was aching in pain. She glared up at the cabinet, a small part of her actually hating that high shelf. Of course she could just do the sensible thing and use her wand, but it was really the principle of the matter, wasn't it? She ought to be able to something as simple as grabbing a mug for tea without the use of magic. She also ought to be able to move around at a normal person's speed rather than the cripple pace she'd been at since she'd gotten home. It was infuriating considering she was in shape and fit and all. Excepting the still sore ribs that she'd shattered and bit of nerve damage of course. The healers told her that she ought to be up and about soon enough, but apparently not soon enough for the redhead.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Harry's voice came from the other room and was getting closer. He'd been staying on her couch for the past few days, trying to keep her out of trouble. He should have probably realized that task was as impossible as she was stubborn, but he still managed to be surprised by her innate ability for the mischievous. It didn't help matters that she thought she could do as she pleased, despite Tracey Malfoy's explicit instructions of what she was and wasn't allowed to do while in recovery.
"I'm fine." Ginny grumbled, still eying the high shelf menacingly when Harry entered the room. He knew that look all too well and quickly moved to intervene before she ended up hurting herself worse. She was honest to goodness a full-time job and he was suddenly very glad he'd put off going down to the Ministry to talk with Kingsley about perhaps getting into the Auror training program
"Which one?" He asked as he physically moved her out of the way and into a chair at the table.
"I can get it myse-"
"Which one?" Harry interrupted. If it hadn't been for the vividly clear memory of her lying helpless in that hospital bed haunting his thoughts, he might've let her test her strength and abilities. As it was, he'd sooner sacrifice a limb than see her end up back there.
"The one with the snitches on it." She relented, still pouting. "I would've gotten it." She muttered, mostly to herself.
"Yeah, and either injured yourself or ended up with mugs all over the floor." Harry reached easily to grab the mug for her. He set it down in front of her and grabbed the kettle from the stove top and poured her tea for her as well. "You remember that tiny detail about not doing anything strenuous for a few days? Taking it easy and all that nonsense? That includes finding other ways to get mugs down from the top shelf. You've got three options aside from reaching yourself." He took the seat beside her and put his hand gently on her back.
"I ought to be able to reach a bloody mug for myself if I want one." She was acting like a child, but she felt she was entitled. After all, she'd been cooped up in St. Mungo's for far longer than she would've hoped (though when measured against not wanting to spend iany/i time there at all, two days seems much longer) and the last thing she wanted to do was feel like a prisoner in her own flat.
"Or you could use your wand, like a grown-up witch." Harry suggested teasingly. At the look he received for that comment, he couldn't help but laugh. "Or you could ask me to help you?"
"I shouldn't ineed/i help." She grumbled under her breath. It vaguely bugged her when Harry was just being gentlemanly, opening doors and pulling out chairs and the like, the fact that he was practically caring for her like a child was maddening.
"Well, you do until you're all healed and everything. Magic is fast, but only so fast and there was quite a bit they couldn't get to." Harry said with a gentle smile, leaning to kiss her lightly on the head. He knew she was having a rough time of it, but she was strong. She'd make it through.
"What's the third option then?" She asked a bit skeptically.
"Will the bloody thing down with the sheer power of your mind?" Harry teased with a smirk. He flinched at her playful swat and stole a bite of her toast. "Mmm, blackberry jam." He laughed with a mouth full of toast.
"Prat." She chuckled, giving him another half-hearted smack on the arm.
Be that as it may, he'd gotten her to nearly smile for the first time since she'd come to and that in itself was accomplishment enough for Harry. After the news she'd gotten about where she stood as far as Quidditch went, it was hard to even coax anything but a sarcastic comment from her mouth. As it stood, Harry was trying his best to avoid any conversation pertaining to flying, Quidditch, brooms, her money situation or anything that might remind her of any of those things. He'd tried telling her not to worry about the money. He could very well take care of them, but she didn't quite want to hear it, so he'd let the subject drop.
"What's the plan for today then?" He asked, stealing another bite of her toast. He'd been trying to get her to leave the house a bit, but so far he hadn't much luck in that department.
"No plan." Ginny said a bit dismissively, taking a sip of her tea.
"Why don't we go for a walk or something then?" Harry coaxed gently. She had to get back into a regular schedule and the sooner she did it, the sooner she'd realized that things would go back to normal eventually.
"I'm not supposed to go for walks for another two days." Ginny reminded him, annoyed. "That's considered strenuous and I might re-pull a muscle or some shite."
"Right." Harry said with a sigh. "Well how 'bout a Muggle flick then?" Harry suggested. "I heard about this one that's supposed to be a laugh…"
"Dunno. Not really feeling like laughing." She pushed herself up from the table and made her way to the counter to grab the iProphet/i which had been delivered that morning.
"Gin…" Harry said a bit hesitantly, eyeing the paper. "Why don't we go clean out that back closet then? You keep saying how you want to get that organized." He was trying desperately to keep her from reading about the Harpies match, because either way it was going to upset her and she was upset enough, he figured.
"Maybe. After I finish this." Ginny said a bit distractedly, turning directly to the sports section. If she wasn't going to be allowed to play Quidditch, she was going to bloody well read about it.
"Ginny, I don't thi-"
Harry was cut off by a rapping at the window. Both of them looked up quickly to see a large tawny owl hovering just outside the glass carrying a letter. Ginny set the paper down on the table and started to make her way over to the window.
"I've got it." Harry said quickly, jogging over to the let the bird inside. The owl took off as soon as he was rid of his burden and Harry was left scratching his head. He glanced down at the envelope and saw Ginny's name scrawled hastily across.
"Who's it from?" Ginny asked, curiously, the paper laying forgotten on the table.
"Dunno. It's for you." He said turning the envelope over in his hands as though it would reveal something to him. When he reached the kitchen he handed it off to her and waited somewhat impatiently.
Ginny tore the envelope over and unfolded the paper.
"Who is it from?" Harry asked. Ginny didn't respond as her eyes scanned the page. "Well what does it say?" Harry asked again. Ginny was still reading and then started again from the beginning. "Ginny, you're killing me here." Harry half laughed. "Who is it?"
"Shh." Ginny hushed him as she furrowed her brow and kept reading.
Harry sighed and waited patiently as she re-read the letter for a third time, it really wasn't that long, why was she taking forever? She slowly lowered the letter and looked at Harry, still vastly confused.
"Well?" He prodded, not able to fix her confusion if he didn't know anything about what was going on.
"It's from Gwenog." Ginny said handing him the letter, and trying to work it all out in her mind.
"She wants you to go to the office?" Harry asked, eyes skimming it again.
"That's what it says. But I don't understa-"
"What does she mean 'talk about your future with the team'?" Harry asked, cutting her off.
"I don't iknow/i" Ginny said exasperated.
"But I don't underst-"
"Neither do I, but we'd better go. She said now, so …" Ginny slid off of the chair and stood up to go get changed out of her pajamas, moving as quickly as her body would allow her to, which wasn't very quick at all.
"We?" Harry asked looking after her, more confused. He wasn't usually allowed to go down to the Harpies' clubhouse. Mostly because of the press that was there and the like, but partly because Ginny said she'd never hear the end of it if she'd brought him by. He got free tickets to matches, so he didn't complain too much. Besides, it wasn't as though he needed any help landing himself in the tabs.
"Well I can't very well apparate on my own just yet seeing as my parts aren't all settled inside like." Ginny called back to him. About three seconds later she cursed loudly as a fairly loud bang was heard from her direction.
"Ginny…" Harry asked, his eyes squeezed closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'm fine." She grumbled back at him. It took a bit of time, but she managed to dress herself and get her shoes on, only resulting in a bit of pain, which she managed to deal with silently so Harry didn't get himself in a strop and decide that Gwenog could wait. "Well let's go then?" She said with a bit of impatience. She moved to pull her hair back to a pony-tail, wincing at the pain it caused in her ribs.
"Alright?" Harry asked, pulling on his left trainer and grabbing his cloak off the hook.
"M'fine. C'mon." Ginny sighed, growing more and more anxious about what it was Gwenog wanted to discuss that couldn't be talked about over owls.
"Okay, okay. Keep your socks on, would you?" Harry laughed, taking her hand in his. "Ready then?" He asked with a supportive smile. When she nodded, he flicked his wand and with a loud CRACK they were gone, feeling the familiar sensation of being squeezed from all directions at once.
Harry was careful to keep her steady when they landed just outside the clubhouse. He gave a quick look around for any reporters who might be easily spotted and when he didn't see any, he gave her hand a gentle tug towards the door.
Ginny could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she thought about what was going to happen in this meeting with her team captain.
Harry gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "It'll be fine, love. Just relax, yeah?" Of course, Harry didn't really know one way or the other, but her hyperventilating definitely wasn't going to help anything.
The redhead gave a nod and led the way towards Gwenog's office. It was an off day, because of the match the night before, so there wasn't very many people around as far as teammates went. That was for the best though. She didn't really want to see anyone. She hadn't since she left Mungo's and it was bad enough they'd seen her there. She'd told the healers not to let 'em in, but Sandy had, of course, found a way in.
When they reached Gwenog's office Ginny paused to take a preparatory breath before reaching for the handle. She gave a glance back at Harry, a mixture of worry and anticipation written all over her face. He went to say something, but she shook her head. "You want to come in or wait out here?" She asked.
"Erm…" Harry hesitated. He wanted to be there for Gin, he really did. But to be perfectly honest, Gwenog was vaguely scary and he didn't get the impression that she was particularly impressed with him. It might be better for everyone involved if he just stayed outside…"Where do you want me?" Harry asked, choosing the safest answer he could think of.
"I want you next to me, holding my hand." Ginny answered, silently contemplating how true they were not just for this circumstance but for the bigger picture. She gave a quick shake of her head as though to refocus her thoughts.
"Then I'll be there." Harry said, giving her hand another squeeze and a supportive smile. "Ready?"
With that, Ginny pushed open the door, without bothering to knock. She was suddenly filled with an overabundance of confidence.
"Weasley." Gwen remarked, not facing the door, but instead, buried in a playbook with her feet up on the desk. "Sit."
"You owled?" Ginny asked as she and Harry took a seat in the empty chairs facing Gwen's desk. She was trying to keep the mood a bit on the more pleasant side.
"I didn't say it was an open meeting." Gwen's eyes narrowed a bit when she focused on Harry, who gave a small, awkward wave.
"I couldn't come alone and he's…He was at my flat." Ginny gave a small shrug. "Besides, I told him to come in." As much as she wanted to stay away from any bad news, the redhead also wanted to make it clear that she was prepared to fight if she had to.
"Right. The healers said you'd be limited until everything was settled." Gwenog said off-handedly. "I've got Cofey seeking in your place. She's not half-bad. Bit of an attitude and all. Plus she's sloppy in her form, but not half-bad." The blonde was mostly musing to herself, not realizing the panic she was causing for her injured seeker.
"Gwen, not that I don't find it fascinating that Cofey is terribly brilliant, but what is it you dragged me to Holyhead for?" Ginny asked, her anxiety getting the better of her. Harry could hardly believe she'd talked to Gwenog Jones (THE GWENOG JONES) that way.
"I never said she was brilliant." Gwenog pointed out. "And if you would keep from getting your knickers in a bunch, I'd have told you already. Merlin's bloody beard." Gwen shook her head and moved a few papers around on her desk.
"Sorry. I just…Your note was cryptic like." She said, trying to emphasize that that was a problem, but Gwen didn't seem to get it.
"What? I told you I needed to see you. It's not as though there was a secret message hidden in there like. I said I needed to meet with you and now you're here. I don't understand the problem." Gwen said, giving a vaguely confused look. She never did quite get why anyone got frustrated with her. She wasn't known for being verbose. She was known for being the best female beater Britain had ever seen. What did she need words for? Her Quidditch playing spoke volumes.
"Not the point, Gwen." Ginny said exasperated. "But in getting to the point, what was it you wanted to discuss?" She was trying not to sound condescending towards her captain, but sometimes…
"I wanted you to take a look at this contract they drew up for you for a starting position next season. But if you don't want it, Weasley, I know about fifteen seekers who would love it." It was Gwen's turn to be exasperated.
At that Ginny was struck speechless and sort of stood there with her mouth hanging open a bit. It took a gentle nudge from Harry, who was beaming ear-to-ear at that, to get her to somewhat snap out of it. "Ex-Excuse me?" She finally managed after a moment.
"I wanted," Gwen said again, speaking much slower and louder. "you to take a look—"
"No, I heard you, but I don't think I iunderstand/i you." Ginny clarified.
"Ginny, she's offering you a starting position." Harry was trying his best to contain himself, suddenly very happy he'd come inside to hear the brilliant news.
"But—But I thought Cofey…" Ginny stammered, apparently slow that day.
"Cofey didn't take a fall off her broom in the roughest match we've played in over eight years and still manage to capture the snitch on her way down to the ground." Gwenog stated, not meaning it as a compliment, though Ginny would take it as one in the privacy of her own slightly deluded mind.
"Yeah, but—"
"Look, you're out for the rest of the season--which I still don't quite understand seeing as you're clearly mobile right now, but that mouthy Healer, the twiggy one, she said that if I let you on a broom I'd be in deep shite and so I guess that's out. Anyhow, the way I see it, you can sign this contract now which gives you two seasons with us, starting seeker and all the benefits that accompany it, or I can go offer it to Cofey and you can find another team to play for. I'd rather you didn't, mind, but I really don't see any other options on the table, so." The blonde was losing patience, which wasn't anything out of the ordinary for her, but was still unsettling for the redhead.
"You want me to start for the Harpies for the next two years?" Ginny asked, mostly in awe. Harry couldn't help but smile and he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"This is about the time you stop asking questions, love." Harry chuckled.
"The boy is right." Gwenog said nodding towards Harry, though he couldn't be sure that she wasn't entirely shocked by that revelation. "Now, do you want to see the contract or not? It's fairly straight forward, mostly a fill in your name in the blank sort of thing. We pay you weekly and you start for us and if you get injured you get a fraction of your pay for the time you're out while the reserve plays for you. You attend press conferences if you need and you do promotional things for the team occasionally and you stay the bleeding hell out of trouble because I'm not a huge fan of seeing my team's name dragged through the mud like."
"Right, right." Ginny said, still flustered and trying to get her mind around the notion that she would be an actual starter on an actual pro-team and not only that, the Harpies, which in her mind was the best bloody team in the league. "So I'd be a starter. For two years. You'd keep me as the starter and I'd get to play in every game." She was mostly talking to herself as if it would help make the idea a bit more real.
"Not as dense as I was beginning to think you were." Gwenog said with a hint of a smile on her face. "I'm not allowed to let you sign it today because you're supposed to have time to go home and look at it and all, but you bring it back to me by the end of the week."
Ginny stood and nodded. "Right. End of the week like." Gwen handed her the parchment and Ginny gave a small sigh. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Gwen said in a bit of a short tone, going back to the paperwork on her desk. "And Weasley?" The blonde added as Ginny's hand reached the doorknob.
"Yeah, Gwen?"
"Do hurry up with signing that thing. You stick me with Cofey next season to go play for the likes of the Pride or the Kestrles and I will consider it a personal offense. I want that blasted League title next year." Gwen said, and Ginny knew that was about as close to a compliment as she was going to get.
"Yeah, Gwen." Ginny said, unable to help the smile that was spreading across her face. "I'll owl it tomorrow."
"Bring it by. I'd rather the tabs not get a hold of this just yet."
"See you tomorrow then." Ginny said, following Harry out the door.
Once the door was shut behind them, the redhead turned to him and grinned madly. "Starting position!!!" She squealed in as low of a voice as she could manage. She jumped up and down, "Ow." At that Harry laughed and placed his hands on her shoulder.
"You deser—" Harry started, but he was cut off by her kissing him and after the moment of surprise and shock had passed, he was kissing her back. And suddenly it felt just like it had back in seventh year. Back before he'd disappeared; before he'd messed everything up. Suddenly none of that mattered. All that mattered was her and that she was there and she was kissing him.
"OI WEASLEY! QUIT MACKIN' IN THE CLUBHOUSE!" A very loud and brassy voice bellowed, the grin clearly evident even without looking.
Ginny jumped back, ignoring the pain it caused. "Sandy…" She breathed, her face beet red and she smiled sheepishly up at Harry. "You're timing is impeccable, wench." The redhead called over to her mate.