The Best Laid Plans.
For Harry, Hermione and The Chudley Cannons the New Year signalled a fresh start, and hopefully a chance to put the bad times behind them. Fortunately, fate seemed to be smiling on Harry, Hermione and The Cannons and the year got off to the perfect start.
Privately both Harry and Hermione were in a good place. Towards the latter end of the previous year, Harry and Ginny had gotten their relationship back on track and Ginny had slowly moved in with Harry. Now the couple were happier than ever and Harry had high hopes for the future. Hermione's romance with Draco was also going great guns and the couple were loving living together.
Things with Ron were also still going well. Losing his career and being on the verge of losing his two best friends was the wake-up call Ron had so desperately needed, and his change of attitude was genuine and refreshing. Still, there was an air of fragility around his friendship with Harry and Hermione, especially with Hermione. The truth was, things would never be the same again, and while in time the trio were all hoping their friendship could become solid again, they all knew the trust had been shattered and it would never be as strong as it was before. Still, they weren't giving up and they were all determined not to lose the friendship they'd shared since their very first year of Hogwarts.
The only slight annoyance in their private lives, came in the form of Molly Weasley. While Molly had been distinctly unimpressed with Ron and the scathing interview he'd drunkenly given to Rita Skeeter, she'd been equally unimpressed that Hermione and Harry had terminated Ron's contract with The Cannons. Even though Ron had accepted things, Molly still brought the topic up and it was clear that she would never forgive Harry and Hermione for cutting her youngest son's quidditch career short. Although it really didn't help that Ron hadn't yet forged a new career path for himself. Instead of jumping into something he wasn't ready for, he was content to work for the twins while he decided on his future. However, Molly took his hesitance to start a new career as a sign he was still heartbroken over losing his dream job as a quidditch player. Although, Molly's mutterings were very much ignored by Harry and Hermione, as they were hoping that in time the older witch would calm down and realise that the only person to blame for his loss of career was Ron himself.
Fortunately, things were going just as well professionally for Harry and Hermione. After the winter break The Cannons came back in fine form and won four matches in a row, all in very impressive style. The consecutive wins catapulted them to the top of the league, and turned the season into a two way competition between themselves and The Tutshill Tornadoes. As the season drew to an end, it was neck and neck between the two teams, and they were both in the form of their lives. The Cannons had never played better, but the Tornadoes had responded like the champions they were and were playing some of their best quidditch. Fittingly the last match of the season was between The Cannons and The Tornadoes, and things were so tight between the teams it was winner takes all situation. Whoever won the final match of the season would win the quidditch league.
The week before the final match, Harry and Hermione were having a quick meeting before Harry was due to oversee training. In the last week training sessions had been added to the schedule and some sessions increased as Harry and his team strived to get the best out of the squad. Everyone could sense they had a real chance of lifting the championship trophy in a week's time and no-one wanted to be the weak link that cost The Cannons their first title in over a century.
"Will you sit down," Hermione barked as Harry paced the floor in the office. They were supposed to be discussing business, and so far Harry hadn't sat down and looked at the paperwork once.
"Sorry," Harry apologised, sinking onto the sofa next to Hermione. Rather than working at their desks, they were settled in the corner of the room, where the comfortable furniture was placed. "I'm just nervous. I didn't get this nervous when I was playing."
"I doubt it meant as much when you were playing," Hermione pointed out. "This is our business and what happens next week could really determine the future of the club."
"You really think so much hangs on next week?" Harry asked nervously. He'd thought things were going well with the club, regardless of if they won the league or not.
"I think a lot can ride on next week's match, and not just the result," Hermione replied. "We're the underdogs, we all know that. There's not many people out there who think we can win. But we don't have to win, we just have to put in a good performance. Even running The Tornadoes close can do wonders for us next season. We'll get people wanting to come and see us, because they'll believe we can challenge for the title."
"Even a bad performance next week won't affect our place in the league," Harry pointed out. "We're too far ahead for The Harpies to catch us up. Win or lose, we're guaranteed second place."
"But a bad performance could lose us some of our new fans," Hermione argued. "If we play badly next week, people will think we choked. Win or lose we need to show that we believe we can win this league. It won't be good for us to get to this position, and blow it spectacularly."
Harry nodded, seeing Hermione's point. He could see that they needed to show that they were up to competing with the top teams. It was no good to get to this stage in the season and let themselves down in the biggest game of their lives. They needed to show they could rival the top teams and that their success this year wasn't a fluke. Fortunately, the team were in top shape and Harry knew that every single player desperately wanted to win the league.
"We won't disappoint, Hermione," Harry vowed. "Every player is at their best and they'll play their best next week."
"As long as they do, we'll be fine," Hermione said with a thoughtful nod. "This season has been great for the club, and the future is looking promising."
"So we're turning over a profit?" Harry asked eagerly. The previous season they'd ran at a slight loss, but that was only to be expected.
"Not yet," Hermione replied with a rueful smile. "It'll still be a few years before we can say we're making a profit. But we're keeping our heads above water and the future is looking very promising. Ticket sales have been strong this season, and getting stronger as the season has progressed, and more importantly we've sold over half our season tickets for next year already."
"And a good performance next week could help sell the rest," Harry finished.
"Exactly," Hermione said. "And good ticket sales means we can plough some more money into merchandising. That's where we're going to start making our money. Our new stuff is flying off the shelves on match days, and we've had several enquiries about quidditch shops around the country stocking some of our stuff."
"Can we manage that?" Harry asked.
"I'm still juggling some figures, but it's looking promising," Hermione replied. "Especially if I can get our sponsor to help out."
"Well then isn't it lucky you're very close with our sponsor's son," Harry chuckled. "I'm sure Lucius will be happy to help the witch who's putting such a smile on his son's face."
"I don't think Lucius works like that," Hermione said with a smile. "He's not a successful businessman for nothing you know. If we need more money from him, I'm going to have to prove that it's a good investment."
"Can you do that?" Harry asked.
"I can certainly try," Hermione replied. "I think it's a good investment, so all I have to do is show that to Lucius."
"I have perfect faith in you," Harry said as he checked his watch. "I need to be going soon. Is there anything else you want to discuss?"
"Nothing that can't wait, you get yourself down to the training ground," Hermione said with a wry smile. She knew Harry was eager to get ready for the day's training, and she knew if she kept him much longer he wouldn't be able to focus. It was better to let him go and finish their meeting when he was more focused.
"Thanks Hermione, you're the best partner a guy could ask for," Harry said, jumping to his feet.
"Someone needs to focus on the business while you're focused on the quidditch," Hermione replied. "And that's why we're the perfect partnership."
"You won't get any arguments from me," Harry said, flashing Hermione a quick grin before he darted off to prepare for training.
As usual the training staff arrived first, and Harry spent half an hour running over what he wanted the team to focus on. With the final match being so crucial, Harry also wanted to ensure that the team were in top shape so he arranged for Theo to give everyone a once over. He wasn't leaving anything to chance in his bid to win his first of what would hopefully be many titles.
When the players arrived for training, Harry was already on the training ground. Barely bothering with greetings, he set his squad off training for the biggest match of their lives. Despite not being able to fly for long periods of time, Harry could still manage a broom and he spent the first hour of training bobbing up and down, albeit resting every few minutes to make sure his knee didn't seize up. As practice was going on, Theo was taking each player to give them a check-up, before arriving on the ground to help with the training.
"How's it going?" he asked Harry when he arrived.
"Good," Harry answered. "Is everything okay with the team's fitness?"
"All tip top and in the best shape," Theo confirmed.
"No niggles?" Harry checked.
"Not with anyone expected to play next week," Theo replied. "There's a few niggles in some players, but no-one in the top band of players."
"That's good," Harry replied with a relieved sigh. "We've been playing well lately, so I was thinking of playing the same team as the last few matches. What do you think?"
"It's worked for the last handful of matches," Theo replied.
The current team structure had Ginny playing as chaser alongside Alicia and Angelina, while Draco played seeker. Just after Christmas, Draco had been playing chaser but a minor injury to their new seeking star, Sylvie Knox, had necessitated a change in tactics. Draco had reverted back to seeker and Ginny had gotten her chance of playing chaser. Ginny had grabbed her chance of first team quidditch and so far she'd been a real asset to the team.
"Even so, make sure Draco runs through his chasing duties," Harry said. "I want to be prepared for every eventuality."
"Of course," Theo said, searching the skies for his blond friend. "I'll make sure Draco is up to speed. He might be knackered by tonight, mind you."
"I'm sure Hermione can look after him," Harry replied with a laugh. "Just make sure he's up to speed with both aspects of his game."
"Will do boss," Theo called as Harry headed off to check on some of the others.
Ten minutes later, Harry spotted Draco soaring into the skies with the other chasers for his chaser training. He briefly paused to admire the blond for all the extra work he put into playing dual positions, but he was soon distracted by some of his other players. It looked like a couple of the keepers had been working on their game and they were starting to give Blaise a run for his money. However, Blaise wasn't one to be usurped without a fight and Harry was impressed to see the former Slytherin putting in extra effort to ensure his game was in top shape.
"This is great, Harry," Oliver said to Harry. "The younger players are coming up brilliantly, and they're really putting pressure on the established stars. People know they need to be at their best to keep their place."
"That's the vision I had when I built the squad," Harry replied with a proud smile. "I want competition for places."
"Well you're getting it," Oliver said. "This is quickly becoming the best group of keepers I've ever had the privilege of coaching."
Harry smiled at the remark, hoping his other training staff felt the same way. He really wanted to build a talented squad, and he felt as though he was on the right track. Feeling happy with how things were looking in the run-up to the big match, Harry decided to head back to the office. Heading back over to Theo, he handed over the reins to his second in command, before turning to leave the training ground.
Harry had barely made it halfway across the ground when he heard an almighty thud, accompanied by a couple of screams. Whirling around, he watched in horror as two figures crashed to the ground. Whatever had happened had obviously taken the entire training staff by surprise as no-one had managed to stop the fall, and none of the other players looked to have been close enough to have intervened, and since they didn't carry their wands during matches and training, they couldn't have used magic to help.
Harry didn't think twice before he sprinted back over to where the accident had occurred, where a group had started to gather. Pushing his way to the front of the group, he felt his stomach drop as he spotted the unmoving figures of Ginny and Draco, tangled together in an uncomfortable mass of limbs. Theo was already kneeling at their sides, checking them out and when he looked up at Harry, his face was deadly serious.
"We need help," he whispered. "Call for the Medi-Wizards."