Tensions with the Weasleys.
It was mid-morning on a Sunday as Ron stumbled out of bed and blearily made his way to the bathroom. Ron was slightly hung over following the previous evening where he'd spent more than a few hours in a pub drowning his sorrows. Yet again The Cannon reserves had lost, and Ron had been responsible for letting in far more goals than he would have liked. Even so, the result wasn't quite as bad as it would have been a few months ago. A few months ago, Ron would have worried about his future at the club after another abject display, but no longer. Not now his two best friends were running things and he knew his future was secure.
A few weeks ago, Harry and Hermione had held a private meeting with every player on The Cannons books and let them know where they stood. A great deal of the squad were let go, including some players that had been with the team for years and were guaranteed a spot on the first team. Thankfully, Ron wasn't one of the players his best friends let go, and even though they made it clear that no-one was guaranteed first team quidditch, Ron still wasn't worried about his future. He knew Harry and Hermione had taken the same stance with every player who remained with the club, but he had every faith that he would make the first team next season.
Although that wasn't to say Ron was totally convinced his two best friends were taking the club in the right direction. Their decision to hire Theo Nott, not just as a physio, but as Harry's assistant coach, was a big mistake in Ron's eyes. After all, who wanted a Slytherin anywhere near the team? Their second mistake in Ron's opinion was signing Ginny. Ron loved his sister, and he actually thought she could become a good player, he just didn't think it work out her playing for her boyfriend. Personal feelings and relationship would undoubtedly come into play, and Ron worried that the situation would lead to the pair of them breaking up.
Ron also wasn't happy by the fact he was very much left out of the loop by his friends. He'd figured he would have an inside track as to what was going on with The Cannons, but that wasn't the case. He knew his friends had made a deal with a new sponsor, but since they couldn't announce the partnership until the season was over and their current sponsorship ran out, he had no idea who the team's new sponsor was as Harry and Hermione were playing things close to their chest. It was the same with new signings, and Ron had to read about the newest Cannon players in the papers like everyone else. Although, Ron's nose had been put well and truly out of joint the previous week when the two newest singings for the club were the girlfriends of his twin brothers. Ron just couldn't believe that not only had Hermione and Harry kept quiet, but Angelina and Alicia had done the same and they were virtually family.
Ron hadn't been the only member of the Weasley family unimpressed with the signings. Ginny was also fuming as both witches played chaser like her, and they'd both been playing a lot longer than she had. Suddenly Ginny's prospects of walking straight into the first team looked less rosy. Not that Ron was too bothered with his sister's predicament, his own focus was all about himself and thankfully Harry hadn't seemed to have signed a new big name keeper that would keep Ron out of the team. Although to be honest, he hadn't signed any big names, instead he'd focused on building a squad of solid players.
Ron's thoughts were still on quidditch as he finished his shower and got dressed. Heading into the kitchen of his small flat, he flicked on the kettle for a cup of tea and set about toasting some bread. With his tea and toast made, Ron grabbed his morning paper from the mail box on his windowsill and settled down for a late breakfast. Like a lot of wizards, Ron started at the back of the paper where the sports were located. Turning the paper over as he took a drink of his tea, Ron quickly spat his tea back out over the wooden table when he was faced with the headline and picture on the back page of the Prophet.
'Cannons Sign Two Tornadoes Stars,' screamed the headlines, along with accompanying pictures of Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy taken at the most recent Tornadoes match. In shock, Ron read the beginning of the article, only to find his worst nightmare was coming true. Not only had Harry signed the two former Slytherins, but one of them played the same position as he did. Just how was he supposed to compete with a star like Blaise Zabini?
"Why, Harry?" Ron muttered as he opened the paper to read more as the story spread over a few pages.
Ron read about the deal the pair had signed, and how Malfoy had been given a unique contract with the option to play both seeker and chaser. Not that Ron was too fussed about Malfoy, his focus was on Zabini. He couldn't believe Harry had signed one of the biggest keepers in the league and failed to tell him. The least his friend could have done was offer him some warning.
Throwing the paper down with disgust, Ron contemplated heading round to Harry's to have it out with his best friend, but considering Harry was due at The Burrow for lunch, Ron decided to wait to confront him. After all, if he waited until he was at home, he would have his entire family backing him up. He couldn't imagine Ginny was happy with the news, especially the part about Malfoy having a dual role. The last thing Ginny would want was more competition for the position she played.
By mid-day, Ron was impatient to have things out with Harry, so he flooed to The Burrow hoping that his sister and best friend had arrived early for lunch. As luck would have it, Ginny and Harry were already at The Burrow when Ron arrived. Ginny was helping Molly with lunch, while Harry and Arthur were sitting at the table, chatting about how things were going for Harry and Hermione.
"You're early, Ron," Molly said with a smile when her youngest son stalked into the room.
"I wanted to catch Harry and ask him what the hell he's playing at," Ron replied, glaring at his best friend.
"I don't understand," Harry said with a frown.
"Zabini," Ron spat. "How could you sign him without telling me? Not to mention sodding Malfoy. I don't want to play with Slytherins, Harry."
"Just what is going on here?" Molly demanded before Harry had even had a chance to reply.
"The Cannons new signings," Ron answered. "Hasn't anyone seen today's paper?"
"I've been too busy," Molly replied with a shrug.
"Gin?" Ron turned to his younger sister, wondering how she could have missed the news.
"I was a bit distracted this morning," Ginny replied, a smile flitting over her face as she thought of the morning of sex she and Harry had indulged in, before she focused her attention on her boyfriend. "But is this true? You've signed Zabini and Malfoy?"
"It is," Harry answered. "And before anyone says another word, it has nothing to do with anyone but Hermione and I. The Cannons are our club, and we can sign whichever players we think will help us regain some success."
"But Zabini?" Ron whined. "You might as well sack me now, Harry. You won't pick me over him."
"This boy is a keeper?" Molly questioned. Despite two of her children playing quidditch professionally, she didn't keep abreast of the teams and players.
"Yeah," Ron muttered moodily. "He's one of the top keepers in the league, and you just know he's been guaranteed first team quidditch."
"That is where you're wrong," Harry interrupted. "No-one is guaranteed first team quidditch, you know that Ron. I've made it clear from the beginning that all of the squad will have a fair crack at making the first team. If you play better than Blaise in practise, you'll be the one in the team, not him."
"It sounds fair to me, son," Arthur said quietly.
"Me too," Ginny said.
"You'll not say that when Malfoy takes your chaser spot," Ron snorted.
"Malfoy isn't a chaser, he's a seeker," Ginny retorted, pulling a face at Ron. Just because he was put out with the new signings, it didn't mean he had to try and dampen her mood.
"According to the paper, he's got a contract to play both positions," Ron said as he slouched down at the kitchen table.
"No," Ginny muttered, shaking her head. "There has to be a mistake. Tell him Harry, you can't do that."
"I can and I have," Harry replied. "Granted, I don't know what sort of chaser Draco is, but if he's good I'm not opposed to playing him in that position in the right game."
"But that's more competition for me," Ginny protested with a pout.
"I want competition in the squad," Harry said. "I want everyone to push each other to be the best they can be. People get complacent when they're guaranteed a place on the team. To play for The Cannons you're going to have to fight for your place, and only the best will make our team."
"I think it all sounds very reasonable," Arthur said. "Everyone has a fair chance, and there's no favouritism because you two happen to be close with Harry and Hermione. As long as you work hard and play to the best of your ability, you'll both be fine."
"Exactly," Harry agreed with a nod, although deep down he suspected that even if Ron and Ginny did as Arthur suggested and worked hard and played at the top of their ability, they would still struggle to make the first team. However, he was happy to be proved wrong and if they proved good enough he would have no problems handing his girlfriend and best friend a place on the team.
"It doesn't look like we have much choice does it?" Ginny grumbled as she headed off into the front room to find the paper and read about her new teammates.
Molly watched her daughter leave with a frown on her face, before she turned to Harry on concern. "I don't want to tell you how to run your club, but do you really think it's wise to hire a Malfoy?"
"Why wouldn't it be wise?" Harry asked. "Draco's a good player."
"Maybe he is, but he is still a Malfoy," Molly argued. "Do you want that sort of people associated with your club?"
"There is nothing wrong with Draco, or his family," Harry said in a low voice that vibrated with annoyance.
It was true that a long time ago Draco's father, Lucius, had been a Death Eater, and when Harry had started school, there'd still been a question mark over the family and if they'd truly turned their back on the dark. Harry had to admit for the first few years of school, he was inclined to believe the Weasleys when they claimed the Malfoys were still dark wizards. However, when Voldemort was killed properly while trying to kill Harry at the end of fourth year, the Malfoys true nature was revealed. It turned out that they'd kept up their pretences of still believing the old ways because they knew Voldemort wasn't gone for good and could still come back, and if they'd abandoned the dark before then they would have been in trouble. However, with Voldemort definitely gone, they'd been free to just be themselves.
Harry would freely admit in some respects they were still traditional purebloods, but he knew the family weren't dark wizards and they didn't have a problem with muggleborns, so in his opinion there was nothing at all wrong with the Malfoy family. However, the Weasleys had never quite been able to let go of the feud that had existed between the two families and despite all the evidence to the contrary, Molly and Arthur still didn't like or trust the family.
"I just don't want things to get awkward for you and Hermione because you've made some unwise choices in your players," Molly said defensively.
"Hermione and I are perfectly happy with our choice of players, and we're both confident that Draco will be nothing but an asset to our team," Harry said firmly as he got to his feet. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to go to the bathroom."
"Maybe we should leave the quidditch to one side today," Arthur suggested as Harry left the room and went off upstairs. He suspected that if things carried on the way they were going someone was going to say something they didn't mean and things were going to turn ugly.
Reluctantly, Ron agreed to let the topic drop. Molly also agreed to keep her opinions to herself, and Ginny did the same when she returned to the kitchen. By the time Harry came back from the bathroom and the rest of the family started to arrive, quidditch talk had been banned and in the end it was a peaceful day at The Burrow. However, tension still lingered in certain quarters and it clear that it was only a matter of time before things exploded in respect to the Cannons, their new owners and the choices they were making with the club.