"Ren, I need your help. Desperately."
Lauren, on the verge of piercing a herculean man's ear, glanced up at Ginny.
"I'm all yours. What is it?"
"The Gringotts Banquet. I haven't anything to wear."
"Ah, fashion advice," said Lauren, punching the man's ear.
"Ooooooooh!" the man howled. "Bloody hell, that hurt!"
"Kroller, this is the eighth time you get this done. Reckon you aughta be used to it by now?"
"'Spose," he groaned, clutching his earlobe.
Lauren gave him a sucker and left him whimpering in his chair to recover.
"So, it's almost noon. Like to do some shopping, Miss Weasley?" she asked Ginny.
"Would you?" cried Ginny.
"Too right, I would. Why don't you look around here for a bit while I get my things. Then we'll go and find the most glamorous dress in Aus."
---
"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you."
"You're very welcome."
"Did I say thank you?"
Lauren gave Ginny a warm hug.
"You really aren't choosy; it wasn't hard to find something you liked. Anyways, it looks like it was made for you."
"And it's comfortable, something I hadn't thought was possible in dresses. Good on ya for finding two nice dresses in less than an hour. You're perfectly lovely in the one you bought."
"I'm glad you said so! My parents' 25th wedding anniversary is coming up and it's going to be a really big affair," Lauren explained. "I can't say I'm dreading it though. It's fun to get dressed up occasionally."
"Well, I've got another occasion for you to dress up," Ginny mentioned, quasi-casually. "The Banquet. Bill's got a third ticket, see, and he said I could bring anyone I wanted to, and since you are the first friend I made here I really want you to accompany us. That is if you want to," she rattled on, crossing her fingers behind her back.
"That's very thoughtful of you," Ren said, touched. "When is it?"
"August 27th."
"You're joking! That's the date of my parents' anniversary!" exclaimed Lauren. She frowned. "If it were any other night I would go with you, I mean it."
Ginny's face fell. She thought of Bill and felt even more disconsolate.
"I'd come and join you both once most people started leaving," Lauren said, hating to see her unhappy, "but you'd be better off just giving the ticket to someone who could be there the whole time. I'm really sorry, Ginny."
---
"I'm really sorry, Bill."
"You've got nothing to be sorry for, Gin. I'll just tell Gringotts to reschedule their banquet, that's all," he joked, though visibly disappointed.
Ginny smiled sadly.
"Do you want me to give her the ticket incase she can show up at the end?"
"That's all right, Ginny. I'll think I know someone to bring instead. I don't want to force her to leave her party."
---
The following week was the most tumultuous of Ginny's life. Her emotions were like a massive windstorm: the anxiety over the Quidditch final, the jitters from the banquet, the sadness that overcame her every time she remembered this was her last week in Australia, and the excitement of her burgeoning friendship with Ryan all swirled inside of her, making her dizzy. Her concentration also had to be divided over a series of tasks, ranging from finding the best way to fool the Stings' seeker (Nikki) to deciding on her hairstyle for the banquet. Then there was always packing, but Ginny avoided this job as much as she could. She spent most hours of every day with Ryan, reviewing strategies, practising their hearts out, and when all of that had been done, just sitting around and crying of laughter.
Ginny never felt so comfortable hanging out with anyone in her life than she did with Ryan. Beyond the arrogant and intimidating Quidditch captain was a sixteen-year-old guy with a sense of humour that would impress even the Weasley twins. Though he was a tad fanatical about "Quid", he was remarkably patient when explaining the finer points of the game which may not be obvious to everyone (ahem, Ginny). Ginny was also surprised by the similarities between them; they liked the same foods (bread with TONS of butter, Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans), the same music (The Plunky Queeves) and the same classes at school (Transfiguration and, obviously, Quidditch).
"So, got a best mate at your HOGwarts?" Ryan asked her, smirking.
It was the night before the match, and to Ginny's amazement, Ryan had suggested they keep their minds off the game in order to stay calm. Naturally, they were hanging out in Bill's tent, sitting beside each other on the red couch and munching on Every Flavour Beans. Ginny threw one at him.
"Don't you dare mock my school, Buchanan. And no, I don't. I have friends," Ginny hurriedly reassured him, "I just don't have a best friend. It's hard to find a girl who's more interested in Quidditch than in the actual Quidditch players."
"Yeah, but what about the blokes at your school? None of them 'your type? Not even the famous Harry Potter?"
"What is with the whole world thinking I'm friends with him!" Ginny exclaimed, frustrated. "He's not my friend, he's my brother's, and the only reason he lent me his Firebolt is because I lied to him and told him I was going to practice flying it around my backyard!"
Ryan's eyes widened.
"Ha! So THAT'S where you got the broom! Ever time I ask you, you somehow avoid answering me! That broom is Harry Potter's?"
"Yes, well, now you know," Ginny said curtly. "Now you tell me something. Why did you ever date Nicki Price?"
"Cause I've got a thing for female seekers."
"I'm serious. I mean, what were you thinking?" Ginny said, ignoring his remark. "She's a (she shuddered) - a Price."
"I know," Ryan said grimly. "But you've seen her; she's an attractive little sheila, and a wicked seeker. I guess I couldn't help it."
Ginny rolled her eyes.
"Men."
"Come on, you know what it's like," Ryan protested, his expression earnest. "When you fall for someone you're trying very hard not to like, but you can't help it, because something draws you to them; you feel vulnerable around them. Whenever they're around they make you feel something that you don't feel around anyone else; y'know?" he finished off (decidedly closer to her than he'd been a minute before) .
"Like there's only the two of you in the room," Ginny whispered, though she hadn't meant to whisper.
"Yeah, exactly," Ryan said softly. A pause. "Ginny, I-"
"We need a lot of sleep for tomorrow, don't you think?" Ginny cut him short. She didn't mean to be rude, but their conversation had taken an unexpected turn, which made her feel somewhat panicky. She was aware of a sense of betrayal very deep inside her, but of whom and why she wasn't sure, nor was she quite ready to find out.
"What? Oh yeah, that's right," Ryan said, checking his watch, the awkwardness between them gone a moment after it had come.
They got up, exited the tent and walked together to the front of the house. The sky was dark and peppered with stars, the moon waxy and full and shining brightly above them.
"They say when the full moon's out a witch flies across it on her broom," Ginny told Ryan, her head tilted back as she inspected it.
"That witch is my mum."
Ginny gazed at him in shock, her cheeks turning pink. He grinned.
"I'm kidding."
"You're still weird," she laughed, giving him a light shove.
"Sweet dreams," he said, starting to walk home. "Dream of catching that golden, winged little ball, and of a nice, big Quidditch Cup."
"I've been living and breathing Quidditch for nearly two months; I don't think I can dream about anything else! Until tomorrow, then," she answered, waving.
"Tomorrow! Can't wait!"
Ginny watched him go. She let out a long sigh.
"I can," she said aloud, feeling her nerves come to life. It was going to be a long night.
