The gold she had won from the contest, along with her summer in Australia, was ending too quickly for Ginny's taste. What a wicked summer it was turning out to be! Ginny couldn't bear the thought of returning to England when it was all over.

"Nothing in the world could beat Aus, not even seeing Hogwarts again," Ginny declared to Bill when they were alone. (Though I'm sure she didn't really mean it.)

It seemed to Ginny that there was no better place in the world than where she was. She spent most mornings at Burton's Beach, surfing the crystal blue waves and more than occasionally falling off her broom. Yes, this broom was actually hers, not Harry's- the day after winning the gold she had gone with Ryan to buy one, finally settling on a Comet 500, an upgraded, beautiful new model. According to Ryan's proficient knowledge on the subject, the Comet was definitely better to surf with than the Firebolt, as it came with a built-in surf-spell. It was fast, and though it was certainly not on the Firebolt's caliber, Ginny felt a lot better getting her own broom wet than the precious Firebolt, which would be reserved strictly for Quidditch. The Airbornes practiced religiously ever afternoon at 5:00 per Ryan's request. As Ginny became better acquainted with teammates, it turned out she wasn't the only who found Ryan conceited.

"Yeah, Ry's always been a spot bigheaded," Danny laughed after catching Ginny scowling at Ryan behind his back. "But that's what makes him an ace captain. Bloody loyal, too- there's no one more dedicated to this team than he is."

Ginny had to agree with that. Ryan knew everything about his players- their strengths, their weaknesses, their moods, their favorite color…everything. He was always in the air with them but could still analyze each situation with an objective eye, rarely satisfied, but always believing that perfection was possible. He loved his team, and they knew it; it was why they allowed him, day after day, to yell, criticize, and train them until they collapsed. After being an Airborne for almost a month Ginny was really beginning to feel a sense of belonging…and a lot of pain. Her race with Nikki's new boyfriend seemed to have spurred Ryan to greater heights and it looked to Ginny as if he spent every waking, breathing moment of every day with his thoughts bent upon one thing: The Quidditch Cup. I can only presume that this speculation on Ginny's part had something to do with the fact that he was working them to death, and combined with surfing in the morning, she could hardly enjoy spending time with Bill in the evening.

"I guess I'm not taking you out tonight either," Bill said as she came home one day worn out, caked with mud and covered in scratches and bruises.

"Smurfleimbiffle," Ginny mumbled, feebly closing the door behind her before falling into a heap in the hallway. Bill stood over her, peering strangely at her.

"'Sure you're having fun out there, Gin?" he queried.

Ginny agonizingly opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"I am, honest," she insisted, groaning as he helped her off the floor. "He just doesn't get that I can only do the Wronsky 'in the moment', you know? It's not something I can switch on and off, like," Ginny explained, wincing as she removed her filthy Quidditch equipment. She followed Bill into the kitchen.

"He made me try it twenty-seven times, can you imagine, Bill? TWENTY-SEVEN times I either crashed to the ground or flipped over and landed on my back. If I didn't know he wanted want to win so badly I'd think he was trying to kill me."

Bill handed her a tall glass of cold pumpkin juice and she accepted it gratefully, sipping it as she recounted the day's events.

"Ryan's a fierce competitor alright. It's why he wins at everything he does."

"Fierce is too delicate a term. We've already beaten the Opaleyes. the Billywigs AND the Mobs," Ginny pointed out."With all the practices we've had lately we could surely have a day off now and then, but Ryan can't be satisfied until he's beaten the Stings and has his fingers wrapped around that Cup."

She sighed.

"Don't get me wrong, Bill, I want the Cup really, really badly, but we'll all die from exhaustion before we even get to the game, so what's the point?" she vented passionately. She took a deep breath and gave him a tired smile. "So, was your day as pleasant as mine?"

"Never, you win by a mile," Bill said grinning. "I got these, by the way."

And he reached into his pocket, retrieved a small envelope with gold writing on it, and handed it to Ginny.

The enveloped read Mr. Bill Weasley. She eyed him curiously.

"Just open it," he urged her.

Ginny's thin, grimy fingers tore it open and she pulled out three golden pieces of paper.

You are cordially invited to attend the annual Gringotts Banquet for Gringotts members of staff. The banquet will take place August 27th at 6:00 sharp at the Enchantment Hotel.

This ticket admits one. We look forward to the pleasure of seeing you.

Formal Attire, please.

"Wow, a banquet," Ginny said slowly, trying to hide her slight disappointment. She had been certain he had gotten tickets to see the Thundelarra Thunderers. Getting all dressed up and acting like an adult had never made it onto Ginny's list of fun things to do.

"I knew you'd be excited," Bill replied gaily, slapping her on the arm. He laughed. "Yeah, I'm also dreading it. Do you see me sporting dress robes for fun?"

He made a face.

"I was hoping you'd do me a gigantic, enormous favor and accompany me, to make it all less torturous, you know."

Ginny laughed.

"Sure, it's the least I can do," she agreed. She waved the tickets in her hand.

"Um, who's the third ticket for?"

Bill shrugged as he put away the groceries he'd bought.

"I d'know, they just gave me three," he told her. "Want to invite one of the Airbornes?"

"I guess…" Ginny trailed off. Then her eyes widened. "Hey! Why don't we invite Ren to come with us?"

Bill nearly dropped the box of eggs he was holding, his face turning a bright shade of pink.

"Ren?" he echoed.

"Yeah, I mean, she's both our friends, and she's fun to be with and I'm sure she'd love to go," Ginny prattled on enthusiastically.

"Nah, I-I couldn't drag her to one of those things," he said, almost to himself.

"You're dragging ME to 'one of those things', remember?" Ginny retorted, slightly offended. "Just ask her…what's the worst thing that could happen, she'll turn you down?"

"I guess," Bill admitted, pouting. Abruptly, he stopped putting food away, slumped down in his chair and sighed. "It's just…well, if I ask her to this thing, then it's so formal…and it'll be like I'm asking her out on a…well, you know, on a------"

"A date," Ginny filled in promptly.

"Yeah, exactly. And then if she says no, then we won't be going out, but we probably won't be friends either."

Bill looked hopelessly at Ginny.

"It's…complicated."

Ginny smiled knowledgeably.

"Not really," she said matter-of-factly. "I could ask her for you, so it just seems like one of those things we're doing altogether, and then if she decides not to go, it won't harm your friendship in any way."

Bill looked at her, amazed.

"How do you DO that?"

"Quite simple, really- I haven't got a thing for her."

And she sauntered out of the kitchen and headed for the shower.

---

A few hours later, when Ginny had washed and eaten, she sat on the back porch, joined shortly by Bill. He sat beside her on the large legless bench (which swung back and forth by itself), where they watched the sun set and splash the sky with breathtaking streaks of orange, pink and yellow. When the spectacle was over and the sky had fallen dark, Ginny spoke.

"There's so much magic in the world, and we can't even conjure one sunset."

"It's wicked sitting out here," Bill said, nodding. "Nothing but you and the elements."

"HEY THERE, BILL!" a voice shouted, cutting through the silence.

Both Bill and Ginny turned their heads to see a short, stocky wizard waving energetically at them from over a wooden fence, the wand in his other hand squirting a gush of water from its tip.

"Just out here wetting my garden," the little wizard said laughing. "Whatchoo doing?"

"Hanging with my sister, mate," Bill called back.

"Oh, that's right! Ginny, is it?"

"Yes, sir!" Ginny shouted, suppressing a laugh.

"Well, don't let me bother ya," the wizard shouted back, and he began humming loudly as he watered his plants.

"So," Bill said to Ginny, his eyes alight with mischief. "Wanna camp out here for the night?"

---

"…and we were all trying not to, you know, go mad or anything, but imagine us- lost in the Outback with barely enough food to last a day, and THAT'S when about eight Tropitus show up!"

"What are they?" Ginny asked, captivated by Bill's adventure, happy that he had actually followed up on his idea of putting up a tent in the yard.

"They're these snakes with really rough scales and completely flat snouts that make them kinda look like ducks but are nowhere near as harmless. Virtually every part of them is poisonous."

"Wicked…so what'd you do?"

"I went mad," Bill admitted, but Ginny couldn't tell if he was in earnest. "But then I got my mates together, and we battled the Tropitus until nightfall."

"And you killed them all?" Ginny squealed in spite of herself.

"Nah- most ran away after we'd knocked a couple of them out." Bill took a swig of Butterbeer. "It doesn't compare to your Basilisk tale I know, but my mates and I really gloated about it afterwards."

Ginny's face went pale.

"Don't mention it again," she said quietly. "I'll never forgive myself for it."

"Aw, Gin, it wasn't your fault. Nobody blames you for it, I swear," Bill insisted.

"Yeah, right," she replied, her expression sullen. "Little Ginny's too stupid to recognize dark magic when it hits her in the face. I nearly…killed three people, Bill!"

"-And one cat, for which we'd have all been very thankful," Bill said lightly. "Ginny, some of the greatest wizards and witches in the world have been duped by Voldemort. Killed by Voldemort. You're friends with Harry Potter, just look at what Voldemort did to his parents. Whatever happened to you three years ago could have happened to anyone."

"Maybe," she gave in slowly. "And Harry's NOT my friend."

"Right, uh huh," said Bill, waving his Butterbeer around. "I always lend my million-galleon broom to people I don't like."

"Harry's friends with Ron, that's all."

"I see… then why didn't he lend Ron his Firebolt?"

"Because he didn't ask for it! Forget it Bill…anyway, since when do you call the Dark Lord by his name?"

"Since I realized how stupid it is to call him the Dark Lord. He isn't worthy of such a title. Besides," he said in a deep, low tone, leaning towards her with his wand lit right beneath his face. "The only thing we have to fear is fear it-"

Ginny had clamped her hand over Bill's mouth. Motioning him to be silent, she removed it.

"What, what is it?" Bill whispered.

Ginny pointed to a large, dark shadow that had appeared outside their tent.

"Oh."

The shadow remained, looming ominously above them.

"What do we do?" Ginny hissed.

Bill gestured to her to move behind him. Wand in hand, he carefully began unzipping the entrance, which was luckily on the opposite side of where the prowler stood. The figure stirred, hearing the soft noise, but did not probe to learn its source. The entrance was almost completely open.

Stay here, Bill mouthed out.

I'm coming, she mouthed back.

No! He shook his head vehemently. Wait here.

Ginny obeyed, but her heart was skipping in every direction. She scarcely breathed; indeed, she tried not to breathe at all, for fear of being heard.

Bill waited another agonizing moment, his wand at the ready. Then he shot out of the tent, and yelled,

"Petrificus Totallus!"


Quidditch teams mentioned:
Adelaide Opaleyes
BrisbaneBillywigs
Sydney Stings
Melbourne Mobs