Ryan was sitting on the front steps when Ginny met him outside, and leapt up the moment he saw her, as if his Quidditch robes had suddenly caught fire.

"Hey," he said quickly, agitating his hair with his fingers again. "Didn't mean to be rude to your friend, there. I just didn't like, I mean, you two didn't get into a Barney, didja?"

"You mean did we quarrel? No, we didn't," Ginny told him, feeling quite thankful for it.

"Oh, oh good," he responded, though a flicker of disappointment crossed his face. "Well, we're already late, and if we don't get there soon they'll be worrying. I wager Benj's probably chucking up by now..."

----

Ginny had already played a few games at Sydney's largest Quidditch pitch, where the final was taking place, but as she and Ryan approached it she noticed that adjustments had been made to accommodate the ever-growing crowd. Hundreds of extra seats had been conjured for the event, and very excited-looking witches and wizards already occupied a great majority of them. Not unexpectedly, the fans were segregated; Airborne fans were seated beside each other and were sporting sky-blue and white. The Stings fans (who appeared to be a very snooty, affluent bunch) were dressed in black and yellow and sitting collectively as well. Ginny took in the deluge of young and old pouring onto the pitch and felt uneasiness flood her again.

"Mad crowd, isn't it?" Ryan commented, seeing her face.

"I had no idea the whole country was coming," she replied nervously.

He grinned.

"I told you Quid was big here. What you've got here basically are two types of folks - the tall poppies, and everyone else."

"Do the Sting fans always look like they've got dung up their noses?"

"It's their specialty," he said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, let's join the others."

"D'you reckon they're as jumpy as I am?"

"I'd say some are worse."

"Ah, Benjy."

They approached the team. Audrey and Danny were on the grass, stretching, Wirruna and Tommy were taking practice swings with their clubs, and Wirrinun was standing on his head. All had anxiously been waiting for them to show up.

"Where were both of ya?"

"You can't tell us to be here for 4:00 and show up at 4:18. We thought you died!"

"Don't exaggerate, Tommy. We thought they'd been viciously attacked."

"Yeah, we thought the Stings had hired someone to take the two'you out."

"We were bloody worried. The Stings were all here before us."

"Sorry, mates, it really wasn't in our control. Ginny had a coupla temp blow-ins from back home. Where's Benj?" Ryan asked Danny.

Danny jammed her thumb behind her; Benjy's head was buried in a bush.

"Again?"

"Poor bloke goes through this every year," Danny said, shrugging.

Benjy popped his head out, his face pale. Ginny precipitated herself to his side, Ryan in tow.

"Ginny, please! You can't get injured! Please don't get injured!" he pleaded, looking altogether wild with despair.

"I don't intend to, Benj," Ginny told him, trying to muster an upbeat grin.

"Benjy, you've got to pull yourself together, mate," Ryan told him, grabbing both his shoulders. "Ginny's not gonna get hurt. But even if she does," he reminded him, "you can do it. I mean it, mate. You're ready."

Benjy gazed up at him, his eyes filling with tears.

"Aw Ryan, you're a true cobber, y' are!"

"I'd never lie to you mate, y'know that. Now go warm up, a'right?" Ryan told him.

Benjy looked determined as he joined Danny and Audrey. Danny smiled sympathetically at him and cheered him on as he lay down to do some pushups. Ginny stretched beside him, quizzing him on various plays and offering as many helpful hints as she was able to shout over the escalating din.

"You see?" she told him enthusiastically when he'd answered yet another question correctly. "You're so well-prepared! I pity the Stings if they have to reckon with you."

Benjy's face turned purple, and he smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks, Ginny," he said loudly. "I actually think I'll be apples now."

Good, Ginny thought, relieved. Now I've got to find Ryan and get him to calm me down. She smiled back at Benjy, and went to seek out their captain. He was almost finished fastening on his keeper gear. The sound of several hundred people did not seem to perturb him at all.

"It's hard to believe you're so calm," Ginny told him, a mite jealous.

"I'm not."

Ginny raised her arm where he could see it.

"I've got quivering hands. What've you got?"

"Don't be a dill," he said with a small smile. "If they sense I'm nervous, Benjy's head goes back in the bushes and everyone feels sick and we don't perform as well. I can't afford to show it."

"Ah…another motivational technique?"

"You betcha. Now let's warm up, shall we?"

When the Airbornes were limbered up and equipped, Ryan made them all fly across the pitch back and forth, an activity which was somewhat difficult with the Stings up there as well. They raced past each other, the glaring, glowering and scowling become increasing menacing as more of them took to the sky. Nikki persistently zipped past Ginny, her silky blond hair tied back into a very high and very tight ponytail.

Irritated, Ginny grasped the Firebolt tightly and lifted herself a few feet higher. Nikki immediately followed. Ginny let the Firebolt rise another several feet. Before she could peacefully resume her laps, Nikki joined her once again. The two confronted each other, their faces tense, their eyes frozen on each other's, the tips of their brooms almost touching. The wind fifty feet up in the air was (as you may have imagined) much colder than it was in the normal sky range, yet Ginny hardly noticed. Her eyes were fixated on Nikki, whose lips were curled in the inimitable Price fashion, her thin eyebrows raised haughtily in the same way. And while Ryan's blue eyes emanated a comforting warmth and congeniality, Nikki's exuded nothing but gelidity with her icy glares, her blue irises more reminiscent of glass marbles than the avenue to a human spirit.

It wasn't until that moment that Ginny knew just how much she hated Nikki Price. She was the one who had forsaken the Airbornes when they'd needed her. She was the one who had hurt Ryan. She was the one who stood between them-the Airbornes- and the Quidditch Cup they rightfully deserved. And all this she did freely, maliciously.

"D'you mind?" Ginny told her angrily. "I'm trying to warm up here."

"'Don't know why you folks bothered showing up," she responded. "What makes you think you can really win the Cup? Wait, let me guess- your famous Wronsky Feint?"

"Let us take care of that, will you?" Ginny shot back. "You just make sure you find you brother after the game so that we can stuff both your heads into ourCup."

"My brother? Oh, is that it? Are you jealous that Lauren Cordell likes my brother better than yours? I'm afraid red just isn't her favourite colour," Nikki said sweetly, briefly glancing at Ginny's hair.

"All you Prices are good for is telling lies."

"Say what you like about my family but we own nearly the entire city, and your family's got- what was it? That little hut called The Furrow. How quaint." She laughed spitefully.

"Your brother's a git and so are you."

"Say it again; I dare you." Her voice was icy, dangerous.

"Gits."

"GINNY!" Ryan's voice called from below. "'YOU COMING?"

"The boyfriend comes to the rescue," Nikki said smirking. "Hope he can save you when it counts."

With a final swish of her ponytail, Nikki flew back down to her team, and Ginny, her face as scarlet as her hair, followed suit.

"You okay?" Ryan asked, casting an angry look over at the Stings.

"How that demon was ever an Airborne-", Ginny replied through clenched teeth. She took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Let's just squash them, shall we?"

Ryan looked relieved.

"That's the spirit," he said. He got the Airbornes together and soon they hovered a touch above the ground, brooms in hand in a tight circle, waiting.

"Alright team, this is it," Ryan said, looking more sombre than ever.

This time, Ginny remained silent.

"This is likely to be the biggest game of our lives. This game decides more than the winner of the Cup. Though the Cup should not be forgotten," he added quickly. "This game will decide whether certain community members can do what they like around here or whether they will bloody pay for trying."

"Yeah, that's right," muttered Benjy and a few others.

"Quid is the sport of wizards, of all wizards, rich AND poor, and has been that way for the past thousand years. Today is our chance to show Aussies everywhere that those wishing to go changin' things can never prevail!" Ryan declared passionately, fists in the air, eyes sparkling with an intense fire the Airbornes had never seen before. "You've worked for this day. You've trained your bloody socks off for this day, and its finally here. Danny, Tommy, Audrey, Wirinun, Wirruna, Benjy, Ginny – you are the best. This is your day."

"And yours," Wirinun put in generously.

"Thanks, mate," Ryan said, nodding. "Now let's go crush those bities! Who's gonna win the Cup?"

"AIRBORNES!"

"Say it like you mean it, mates!"

"AIRBORNES!"

"So they can hear you!"

"AIRBORNES!"

And as they did every game, the team shot up twenty-five feet before splitting apart in perfect synchronization. Ginny drifted a little higher than the others and looked down at Ryan. He looked back at her and nodded. Ginny gulped, her wet palms grasping the Firebolt with difficulty. There were moments in Ginny's life when she felt very jittery indeed, such as the incident with the Chamber of Secrets, or when Harry came to stay at The Burrow, which seemed to put the Tarantallegra spell on her poor nerves. This moment surpassed every other by a million miles; she had never been so nervous in all her life.

"WELCOME, TO THE ANNUAL SUMMER QUIDDITCH FINAL!" the commentator shouted into his wand. "'YOU FOLKS READY TO START?"

The crowd erupted into a load roar. Ginny felt her broom vibrate.

"This place sure is crowded today," he remarked. "And who is here to show their support for the Aussie Airbornes but the last team they defeated…the Melbourne Mobs!"

Ginny squinted and saw a group of seven people up and waving. She was glad they had come, and suddenly wished she could make out Bill and Lauren's faces in the blur of people below. She knew they were there…but where, precisely?

"Yes, and brought in special from America to cheer on the Sydney Stings, ladies and gentlemen, the Salem Witch Squad!"

A group of giggling, teenage witches popped into view wearing tiny, matching yellow and black outfits, twirling their wands and waving to the crowd. They were greeted with a blend of boohs and cheers (and, though Ginny couldn't see them, several looks of utter bewilderment).

"And now, the moment we've been impatiently waiting for all summa! Ref, whenever you're ready. Now? Okay, then. One, two three-"

The whistle was blown, the Quaffle shot into the air, and the game had begun.

"Airborne chaser Audrey Knox in possession of the Quaffle, passes it to Danny Maguire, Maguire- nearly hit with a bludger fired at her by Sting captain Les Callaghan. Maguire headed towards Stings' keeper Paul Glocks, Maguire shoots… SHE SCORES! TEN POINTS TO 'BORNES!"

The masses in blue beneath them cheered and hooted with pleasure. Magically lit posters read things like "AIRBORNES FOR THE CUP!" and "STINGS STINK…GO 'BORNES!" while Ginny scouted the sky for the snitch.

"Quaffle in the hands of Sting Wendy Binnfield, she's on a breakaway, she goes for the goal…misses! That's a shame, maybe you should learn howta pass…A'right, Maguire gets the Quaffle, passes it to Khoo- good boy- WHOA! Khoo fakes a go at a goal and passes to Knox, back to Khoo, Khoo to Maguire, Maguire goes for the goal, Glocks dives, misses- AND SHE SCORES AGAIN! GOOD ONYA, MAGUIRE! Oh my, the 'Bornes are really working as a team today!"

The sea of blue erupted again, cheering and clapping, and the game resumed.

The next ten points came to the Airbornes almost as painlessly as the last. Danny found herself facing two Stings chasers, Stacey Rewter and Kenneth Holden, and made a back pass to Audrey, who dove under them all and scored. Ginny scanned the horizon, her palms getting sweatier every minute. Seven minutes into the game, and no sign of the snitch.

Bloody...there it is!

It was flying right beside Paul Glocks' arm. Without even glancing at Nikki, Ginny sped towards him, the Firebolt swiftly obeying her slightest touch of the handle. It was after passing beater Tristan Willoughby that Ginny's mind finally registered what her eyes had seen: the snitch was next to Tristan, not Paul. It had been too quick for her. Flustered, she spun the Firebolt around and headed in the opposite direction, only to be more perturbed than ever. The snitch was suddenly everywhere!

I must be going mad, she thought, panicking, for the second time that day. Ginny blinked hard and opened her eyes again; there were snitches zipping past her and then vanishing before she could begin chasing them. One look at Nikki confirmed the belief that she was hallucinating; she was entirely oblivious to the excess amount of snitches on the pitch. There seemed nothing for Ginny to do but to try and catch one. Finding one by Stacey's side as she zipped past, Ginny hurried after her. Stacey glanced back and sped up, as did the snitch. Ginny pressed the Firebolt on, gradually becoming level with Stacey. She looked down at Stacey's arm.

"Hey!" she cried furiously, but relieved nonetheless. "That's not the snitch!" Ginny waved to Ryan.

"Ryan! Call a time-out!"

"Why?" he shouted.

"Just call one!"

He signaled to the referee, and both teams met in the middle of the pitch.

"All the Stings are wearing gold watches," Ginny explained angrily to Ryan and the referee. "Whenever they fly past me they let them show to make me confuse them for the golden snitch!" She stomped over to Stacey and pulled up her sleeve, exposing a large gold watch.

"See?"

The referee made the Stings take off the watches, though they insisted the watches were tokens of good luck given to them by Nikki's father, the famous Mr. Bartelby Price, and not as a means of distracting the Airbornes' seeker.

"Load of dung," Danny said, glaring at them.

"Yeah, but I see why you folks need the luck- you've got no talent," Tommy added angrily.

"Maguire, Anderson, drop it," Ryan demanded. "We're getting a foul shot, let's not give them one, a'right?"

"Got it, Coach," they replied in unison.

"Ace. Okay, Maguire, you're taking the shot."

"A'ready there."

Danny scored the Quaffle, which made the score 40-0. The Airborne fans went wild with excitement. But getting caught appeared to have spurred the Stings on. And their sole target was Danny. She dodged bludger after bludger, even when she wasn't holding the Quaffle. Indeed, the Stings seemed determined not to let her get near it. With the hours of practice kicking in, Danny managed not to get hurt, but when she finally did get the Quaffle it was taken by Wendy, something that shocked Ryan enough to let the Quaffle slip by him and into the left hoop. The Stings fans exploded into deafening applause, and the Salem Witch Squad burst into a little cheer that went something like, "Hey you 'Bornes, you just got stung! Because the Stings, are number one! Go Stings Go!"

Danny was not about to be left alone. As the game resumed, Tristan and Les simultaneously pelted bludgers at her.

"Danny, watch out!" Ginny screamed.

Danny ducked just in time, but one bludger hit Stacey in the face and blood began pouring from her nose unto her robes. Before the referee could blow his whistle, Kenneth used the distraction to score a Quaffle. Below them the American girls began to shout, "Ouch, ouch, that's gotta hurt! Airbornes can go kiss the dirt!"

"They yellin' 'bout Stacey's nosebleed, or Ken's goal?" Wirruna mumbled to Ginny. Ginny's heart began to sink- the score was 40-20. She watched as Ryan used the short pause to race over to Audrey and Wirrinun and say something to each of them. Please help us win, she thought desperately.

"The Quaffle's up in the air and taken by Knox," the commentator reported. "Knox quickly passes it to Khoo. Khoo's got it, he's racing towards Glocks…uh-oh, he's got a history, folks. Not very good at stoppin', see- he easily avoids a bludger, look at that speed- just amazing- He looks like he'll be colliding with Glocks! Glocks dives out of the way…KHOO BREAKS ON TIME AND SCORES! 10 points to the 'Bornes! He really had us hangin' there! What a play! The score is 50-20, ladies and gents, 50-20!"

Ginny gripped her broom tightly. The Cup had to be theirs, she thought, not so much because she desired it (though she did want it, more than anything in the world), but because she couldn't bear to see it go to the undeserving Stings. And by the looks of it, the Stings felt the same way about the Airbornes. They began using tactics Ginny had only ever seen the Slytherins use, like when Kenneth tugged so hard at Danny's broom that she nearly fell off, and other such vulgarities. The boohing from the Airborne section outdid any other noise coming from the spectators. They were furious, as were the Airbornes themselves, at the Stings' tawdry methods. The Sting chasers, playing defensive, were doing anything and everything in their power to keep the Airbornes from scoring, and the beaters aimed to kill, or at least badly injure. Ginny barely noticed this, though. She was searching determinedly for the snitch. And the moment she caught sight of it at last was also the very moment Les fired a bludger at her, the very moment Ryan shouted a warning she was entirely oblivious to.

Bam.

The bludger slammed into her right leg, and Ginny felt the most acute pain she'd ever felt in her life. The last thing she thought before her wits deserted her was that Nikki was going to capture the snitch.


Barney: argument.fight
Chucking up: throwing up
Tall poppies: rich folk
Blow-ins: unexpected visitor
Cobber: friend
I'll be apples: I'll be alright
Dill: an idiot
Bities: biting insects


The next bit is on its way, really! Please review, and thanks for your support:o)