The Quidditch Match
By the end of January there was more snow on the grounds than Ginny had ever seen before and most students avoided ever going outside if they could help it. Ginny really missed Hermione during those days when she had to make her way down to Hagrid's hut to study Care of Magical Creatures, because she was the one person Ginny knew who could perform a perfect drying charm.
Now that the holidays were over, the pile of homework had also grown tremendously and there were rumours that not only the Carrows, but also Mc Gonagall, had made students cry by telling them that they'd most likely receive a T if they didn't keep up...
Keeping up surely would have been easier for Ginny if she didn't let herself spend so much time feeling like she wanted to punch Blaise Zabini in the face. He was, without question, the most confusing person she'd ever met and no matter how hard she tried she didn't understand him, at all. He was the one who'd started talking to her in Hogsmeade, he'd been civil towards her in Godric's Hollow and he had told her that she looked beautiful at Slughorn's christmas party...
But he was also the one who'd told her that they weren't friends. That she should stay away from him.
Well, of course she could do that but she figured that he at least owed her an explanation!
At least there was one thing to cheer Ginny up in the middle of all stress and frustration: quiddtich. The game against Hufflepuff was approaching and not even the amount of snow could stop her from being excited about it.
On Thursday morning Dean gathered his team in the changing rooms before the game was about to start and Ginny could tell, from the way he went through a lot of tactics, that he was really nervous.
"This game is nothing" Dean said, looking at his teammates intently.
Though Ginny could see that he avoided her eyes in particular. They still hadn't talked to each other since the christmas party, a fact that made things slightly awkward during practises...
"This is just Huffelpuff!" Dean continued. "It's the slytherins and possibly the ravenclaws that we really need to worry about. Now, I admit that Hufflepuff's seeker is quite good and that their keeper seems to have improved since last year... But we can still take them, right?"
"YES!" his teammates all called back and then left the changing room one by one, dressed in red and with their broomsticks over their shoulders.
Just as Ginny herself was about to leave, however, Dean said:
"Ginny... Could you stay for a moment?"
Ginny stopped and slowly turned around. Dean looked troubled and she felt like helping him out, but she had no idea what to say except for...
"I'm sorry!" they both blurted out at the same time.
Then, eyes widening, they both laughed slightly. Dean was the first one to speak up:
"I know I was acting like an idiot at that party, and I'm sorry for what I said..."
"So am I" Ginny interrupted him and then added, her voice low:
"I know things are not easy for you"
They were both quiet for a short while and then Dean said, his voice filled with excitement again:
"Friends?"
Ginny nodded, smiling widely as she shook his hand.
"Friends. Now come on, we've got a game to win!"
How do you make a time line haha
"Well well... if it isn't the heroes of the day!"
Ginny and Dean both stopped at the sound of Daphne Greengrass' sarcastic voice. She stood leaning against the wall just outside the changing rooms, surrounded by Pansy, Millicent Bulstrode and Tracey Davis. Ginny rolled her eyes and then turned around to face them, a fake smile on her lips.
"You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say you're going through some kind of personal crisis, Greengrass" she said. "You've been torturing me for weeks now, something you want to talk about?"
Dean suffocated a laugh behind her but Daphne rolled her eyes and Ginny could see how Millicent clenched her fists.
"The only problem we have is you" Pansy said threateningly, approaching Ginny and Dean with her arms crossed. "It shouldn't be long before filthy bloodtraitors and mudbloods like you two get thrown out of here"
She spared Dean a glance and the latter grabbed his wand from his pocket but Ginny put her hand on his arm to stop him. No need to cause a scene so close to an upcoming game. What if a teacher would show up?
"Wow, Parkinson" Ginny said, locking her gaze with Pansy's.
She wasn't afraid. She continued:
"After all these years all you can do is still picking up Malfoy's lines and re-use them? That's very creative"
Daphne and Pansy both opened their mouths to reply but a new voice interrupted them:
"Why aren't you lot in the stands?"
Ginny froze unwillingly. It was Blaise, accompanied by Theodore Nott. As he got closer and spotted Ginny he looked away from her quickly and told Daphne:
"Come on, let's get out of here. Draco and I have good seats"
"That's great Blaise!"
The way Daphne flirted with him made Ginny feel sick. If the girl smiled any wider her face was most likely to get stuck that way...
"Come on then" Blaise said shortly and grabbed Daphne's arm.
Ginny noticed that he looked almost... furious. Why? And why did she feel angry with the way he touched Daphne's arm?
He'd touched her arm in the dungeons only a couple of weeks ago...
"I'll join you when I'm done with the bloodtraitor and the mudblood here" Pansy drawled and Ginny turned to glare at her again.
"Oh, and you really think I have time to stand here and listen to you?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Blaise had stopped trying to make Daphne leave the scene, slowly removing his hand from her arm. Theodore Nott and Dean both watched the on-going argument curiously. Now that Ginny had told Dean not to take out his wand he seemed to think that his job was quite done here...
"Oh I think you do" Daphne said, her voice cold as ice. "At least considering the fact that your pathetic good-for-nothing brother won't be able to play today. You'll have a much bigger shot at winning without him..."
Without really thinking about what she did, Ginny drew her own wand and walked even closer to the Slytherin girls. She was shaking out of fury.
"Don't say a word against my family" she hissed, feeling her heart pound like crazy in her chest.
She couldn't stand Ron being mentioned like this. Not by them. The worry was bad enough as it was already.
And having Blaise Zabini watching the whole thing didn't exactly make it any easier...
"Your family is a pathetic, worthless couple of bloodtraitors who don't deserve the name 'wizards'. You're all a shame for this world, and I hope that you will be dealt with the way you should have years ago"
Ginny's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to reply but then closed it again. She was too flabbergasted to speak. She knew Daphne was mean, vial even, but this... She couldn't think of anything to say.
She just wanted this to end. To leave the scene. She met Blaise's gaze for a split second. Then he looked away from her again, arms crossed. It hurt.
Why didn't he say anything?
But why should he?
"Let's go Ginny" Dean mumbled from behind her. "The game is about to start"
Ginny spared the Slytherin girls one more look. Pansy and Daphne glared back at her, eyes cold as ice. Tracey Davis looked down, looking almost as indifferent as Blaise. Millicent looked slightly dumbfounded, as if she didn't really understand what was going on...
"Come on" Dean repeated and Ginny moved, as if on autopilot, and they both left the scene.
Blaise's point of view.
They were all quiet. Blaise didn't know where to look or what to do. He saw from the corner of his eye how Ginny left with him, her dark red hair dancing on her back...
"Well, let's go watch the game then shall we?" Daphne asked, sounding as if nothing had happened.
And Blaise really wanted to be able to feel that way, too. But he couldn't. Something had just happened.
And he'd done nothing about it.
He felt the fury grow inside of him and he turned to look at the girls. Tracey was the only one meeting his gaze and Blaise couldn't interpret her face. She looked almost sad.
"You can find your own seats" Blaise hissed, his voice cold, before he nodded towards Theo. "Come on"
They both left, heading for the quidditch pitch to watch the game.
Ginny's point of view
She was angry. Not just because of what Daphne had said.
It was more about what Blaise hadn't said.
And she was angry with herself for feeling that way...
"You okay?"
Dean put his hand on her arm but Ginny pulled away. Right now, she just wanted to be left alone. For some stupid reason, she felt let down.
"You weren't much help back there" she said shortly and from the corner of her eye she could see the surprised look on Dean's face.
"What do you mean?"
Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes as they joined the rest of their teammates. What was the point, really? She'd only cause another fight between the two of them...
"It doesn't matter" she said emptily, mounting her broomstick.
And even if it did there's nothing you can do about it now.
How do you make a time line haha
Ginny soared out after Dean and the others. She heard the shouts and songs coming from the stands and suddenly felt like she couldn't possibly be more ready. Forget what had just happened. Forget Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini. This was what made her love quidditch. The way the people who watched the game made her feel like she could do anything. The way flying made her think that she was really alive...
As soon as Madam Hooch blew the whistle Ginny managed to grab ahold of the Quaffle and with some help from the other two Gryffindor chasers it didn't take long before she'd scored twice. She could hear the Gryffindors scream "WEASLEY! WEASLEY! WEASLEY!" and she grinned widely.
At least quidditch was something that remained the way it was, despite everything else that was changing in the world...
"GINNY! OVER HERE!"
Ginny passed over the Quaffle and then soared towards the Hufflepuff goalposts to help her teammate out. She got the ball again, passed it over to the chaser to her right...
"AND ANOTHER GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR!" Zacharias Smith, a seventh year Ravenclaw who Ginny loathed, called out. "THEY LEAD HUFFLEPUFF THIRTY TO ZERO!"
During the next thirty minutes Gryffindor scored five more times and Hufflepuff six; Gryffindor still led by twenty points but Ginny silently wished that Dean would just find the Snitch already and finish this...
Right as this thought crossed her mind she heard Zacharias Smith call out:
"AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE GRYFFINDOR SEEKER, DEAN THOMAS, HAS SPOTTED THE SNITCH!"
Ginny, just like the rest of the players, turned her head to watch as Dean soared through the air, obviously heading for the small, golden ball that was now somewhere close to Ginny's left. However, the Hufflepuff seeker had noticed that something was going on and was heading the same way...
"LET'S FINISH THIS!" Dean called to Ginny and smirked happily as he flew by her.
It all went so quick; Dean did some sort of manoeuvre as the Snitch changed direction and once again, the Hufflepuff seeker wasn't far behind. Before Ginny had time to react properly they were both flying in her direction, one from each side, getting closer by the second...
She heard screams coming from the stands and then, everything turned black.
Blaise's point of view
Blaise heard the screams around him as Ginny Weasley fell off her broom, landing on the ground a couple of seconds later with a loud thump. Even some of the Slytherin students looked shocked. He froze.
"Well... Let's just hope Thomas won't catch the Snitch now" Draco said, looking completely unbothered about what had just happened and still not taking his eyes off the on-going game.
But Blaise wasn't listening. He was, in fact, too busy glaring at Dean Thomas who was now after the Snitch again. Apparently, it didn't matter to him that he'd just knocked his teammate off her broom... Weren't they supposed to be friends?
"Idiot" he hissed, now watching as two teachers carried Ginny off the pitch on a stretcher.
For some stupid reason he found himself wanting to run down there, grab that stretcher himself and make sure that she was all right...
And why would you do that?
Blaise snorted to himself. Why did he even care? If Ginny Weasley humiliated herself in front of the entire school that was her problem (and maybe Dean Thomas') but Blaise himself certainly had nothing to do with it...
"Who?" Draco asked, turning to look at his friend.
Blaise had been so occupied by his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that Dean Thomas had now gotten ahold of the Snitch. The game was over.
"Who what?" Blaise asked absentmindedly, still not taking his eyes off Dean.
He was now back on the ground, holding up the small, golden ball for everyone to see. He wore a large smile on his face. Was that what Ginny had liked about him last year? That stupid looking grin? That he was talented at quidditch? Well, he definitely wasn't if one compared him to Potter...
Draco interrupted his thoughts again.
"You called someone an idiot" he said as they were heading back to the castle a couple of minutes later. "Who were you talking about?"
Blaise hesitated. If he told Draco the truth the latter would most likely put two and two together... And Blaise didn't want him to know that he cared for Ginny Weasley's well being...
Which he didn't.
"The Hufflepuff seeker" he lied. "He should have spotted the Snitch earlier, it was right in front of him the whole time"
Draco seemed to buy that explanation and simply nodded.
"Looked like Weasley hit her head quite hard though" he said matter-of-factly and Blaise didn't miss the curious and yet cautious look that Draco gave him.
He's testing you.
Blaise knew it. This was all Draco trying to find proof of that he'd been right that night when Ginny had smiled at Blaise in the Great Hall. He wanted Blaise to react to his words, to find out if something was going on...
Nothing was going on. Absolutely nothing.
"Well, the better for us right?" Blaise asked, somehow feeling sick by his own words. "Gives Slytherin a bigger shot at the cup if she stays off the pitch"
"I guess you're right" Draco said slowly. "Though I'm pretty sure of..."
But Blaise had turned him off again. Was Draco right about Ginny? Did she hit her head "quite" hard? How was she? Sure he'd told himself countless of times to stay away from her, but did that really matter if her life was in danger?
The thoughts kept spinning through his head and after spending dinner dwelling about it all he only reached one, somewhat reasonable, conclusion:
I have to see her.
How do you make a time line haha
Ginny found herself staring right into Madame Pomfrey's eyes as she woke up, feeling how the school nurse dabbed her forehead with some sort of wet towel. She immediately tried to sit up but Madame Pomfrey put her hands on Ginny's shoulders and forced her to lie down again.
"Don't you even think about it!" she muttered. "Always told Albus that quidditch was dangerous but did he ever listen to me? Of course not! And Minerva is far too busy worrying about having to hand over the quidditch cup to Slytherin... A mess is what it is"
But Ginny had stopped listening and tried to sit up again.
"What happened?" she asked and rolled her eyes as Madame Pomfrey, once again, forced her down in bed.
"Well, I wasn't there watching the game since I was too busy being here preparing for something like this to happen. And of course I was right, again!"
Madame Pomfrey finally removed the towel from Ginny's forehead and handed her a glass filled with some sort of bright green liquid. As her patient gave her a questioning look she explained shortly:
"Takes away the pain"
It wasn't until then that Ginny felt her head throb painfully and she took a small sip from the glass while Madame Pomfrey continued:
"Apparently the two seekers both spotted the Snitch at the same time and they managed to fly right into you. You got unconscious and fell off your broom, let's just be grateful you were so close to the ground..."
"I know what happened to me!" Ginny said impatiently, actually remembering exactly how Dean and the Hufflepuff seeker both came soaring towards her at high speed... "But who won?"
Madame Pomfrey snorted.
"That's really not what you should worry about ms Weasley, you've hit your head quite hard... But very well, Gryffindor caught the Snitch only minutes after you blacked out..."
"YES!"
Madame Pomfrey couldn't stop Ginny from sitting up this time; the latter was far too happy. This meant that all practising hadn't been for nothing; they still had a chance of winning the Quidditch Cup and their next game against Slytherin in March would actually matter!
Right then, she spotted Neville, Luna and Madison all entering the hospital wing. They immediately hurried towards her bed.
"Ginny!" Madison exclaimed. "Are you all right?"
Ginny grinned widely, having no problems ignoring the pain in her head now that she'd received the good news.
"I'm fine" she said. "We won, didn't we?"
"But you hit your head quite hard..." Neville said seriously, nodding towards the green liquid that Ginny still hadn't finished. "What's that?"
Before Ginny had time to reply Madame Pomfrey cut in:
"That is a pain killing potion and like you just said mr Longbottom, ms Weasley hit her head quite hard and could really use some sleep right now..."
"I'm not tired" Ginny said hastily. "I want to head back to the Gryffindor tower and celebrate..."
She felt happier than she had in weeks but Madame Pomfrey simply snorted.
"That is completely out of the question! For all I know you could have a concussion, you'll get to spend the night!"
"But what about dinner?" Luna asked dreamily, eyes widening as she turned to look at Madame Pomfrey. "At least Ginny should be allowed to accompany us to the Great Hall and..."
"I'll bring her dinner here, the house elves will take care of it"
Ginny sighed deeply. She knew Madame Pomfrey far too well by now to think that nurse would change her mind. And unless she wanted her to contact her parents...
"It's fine" she told her friends, forcing herself to smile. "It'll be nice to get some rest, anyway"
"We can come by later..." Madison started but Madame Pomfrey interrupted them again:
"You can all come back tomorrow! As soon as you three leave I'll close the hospital wing for tonight!"
"Old bat..." Madison muttered under her breath as Madame Pomfrey went to fetch Ginny something else.
"Here's something for you to read tonight, Ginny" Luna said, handing over an extremely peculiar looking book that Ginny had never seen before.
The cover was bright purple and the golden letters on it kept swirling around and made it impossible for Ginny to read what it said... She gave Neville a confused look and he simply shrugged and shook his head slowly as if to say: I have no idea what that is!
"Um... thanks Luna" she said, smiling at her friend. "You just saved my night"
Luna nodded, smiling back.
"That's fine. Good night Ginny, you really played great today! Until you fell off your broom, that is"
Ginny couldn't help feeling quite miserable as her friends left. It was only six o' clock at night; what was she supposed to do until it was time to go to sleep? However, Madame Pomfrey already seemed to have the answer to that question ready... She handed Ginny another glass, this one filled with a dark blue liquid...
Ginny didn't even bother asking what it was this time; she simply grabbed it and emptied its content in a few sips. Then, it didn't take long before she started feeling dizzy and very, very exhausted...
"Relaxing potion" she heard Madame Pomfrey say from somewhere far, far away... "You need to sleep"
How do you make a time line haha
As Ginny woke up the pain in her head seemed to have lifted and she sighed happily. That probably meant no concussion, which meant that she'd be allowed to leave the hospital wing... today? Tomorrow?
What time was it, really?
She glanced at her watch. 9:30 in the evening, what was the point of waking up now? She grimaced, hoping she'd be able to go back to sleep soon... She sat up in bed and looked around the hospital wing.
It was quiet, dark and, unless she counted herself, empty. Madame Pomfrey seemed to have returned to her office for the night... Ginny grabbed the book she'd received from Luna, thinking she might as well try to read it rather than just lie there and wait for the tiredness to return...
She'd only read three pages (and hadn't really understood anything) when she heard something that made her look up. There were steps, and judging from the sound they were getting closer by the second... She furrowed.
Wasn't the hospital wing supposed to be locked at this hour? And since she was the only patient in here, did that mean that whoever the intruder was he or she was here to see... her?
Ginny could only make out the person's silhouette in the darkness and called:
"Luna? Neville? Is that you? I told you you didn't have to..."
But she stopped speaking as the person got close enough for her to make out all his features. It wasn't Luna, Neville or any of her other friends for that matter.
It was Blaise Zabini.