Ginny woke the morning of the match much too early, but couldn't get back to sleep. She laid flat on her back for a while, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the match. She ran plays in her head and worried over tiny details. Typically she didn't worry about matches but, today, there would be scouts in the stands watching her, analyzing her every move, deciding if she was good enough to play professionally, and, possibly, formulating offers to make her to entice her to join their team rather than another. The more she thought about it all, the more she could feel her stress level rising. She needed something to take her mind off Quidditch until closer to the match and, as sleep was still eluding her, she couldn't count on that. She glanced beside her at a sleeping Harry and knew immediately what would help.
She shimmied out of the sweat pants and nightgown she'd worn to bed and, rolling toward him, hitched a leg over his hip. She snuggled into his arms, pulling their bodies flush and kissed his neck. It had the desired effect. Harry opened one eye a crack and asked, "Now? Not that I'm complaining, but it's the middle of the night."
"It is not," Ginny laughed. "It's just very early. The sun will be along shortly."
"Why aren't you sleeping? We have a big match today, you know," Harry said.
"Like I could forget about that," Ginny said sounding a bit desperate. "That's why I can't sleep anymore. I tried."
"I see," Harry said, getting into the spirit of it a bit. "You just want me to take your mind off things for a bit by letting you use my body as your own personal distraction device."
"Yes, please," Ginny said, ignoring the hint of sarcasm in his voice and running a hand down his side enticingly.
As he pulled her even closer, he said, "You know I'd only ever do this for you."
"I know and I will return the favor anytime," Ginny assured him in relief.
"What about the other night when I tried and you whacked me with your slipper?" Harry asked accusingly.
Ginny laughed and said, "That didn't happen."
Harry laughed too and said, "I know, I'm kidding, but you owe me."
"Gladly," Ginny said gratefully, as he shifted their positions got down to business.
An hour later, when the sun had properly risen in the sky, Harry and Ginny lay curled together dozing after their lovemaking. Rising to the challenge, Harry had tried a few new moves with which to distract Ginny. Now, rolling over to peer at the clock on his night stand, he said, "Well, Mrs. Potter, that aught to put a little extra swagger in your step today."
Ginny laughed and said, "What about your step?
"My broomstick will definitely have some extra zip today," Harry countered with a smirk.
"Which broomstick?" Ginny asked playfully raising an eyebrow at him.
He laughed then kissed her heartily again and said, "We'd better go down to breakfast."
Ginny kissed him once more and, wrapping her arms around his neck, said softly, "Thank you. You calmed my nerves a bit and that was exactly what I needed."
"You're welcome, any time," Harry said sincerely. "But you know you are going to be great today, right?"
"Of course," Ginny said, trying to sound cocky but not quite succeeding.
"You will be," Harry said firmly. "Without a doubt."
The couple settled across from Ron and Hermione when they arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast. Ginny noticed that her brother looked nervous too. Glancing toward the Ravenclaw table, she hoped that their Quidditch team looked a bit nervous as well and, seeing several of them seated there picking at their breakfasts, wasn't disappointed. She'd heard that at least one of their players was expecting a scout for today's match as well. She just hoped that once they got onto the pitch and the game was underway, it would feel like a normal game and she'd be able to perform as such. Thinking back over how she'd calmed her nerves earlier she smiled a little.
"You look happy this morning," Hermione commented. "I expected you to be a bit more nervous."
"I was," Ginny said. "Harry helped me calm my nerves a bit." She grinned a little but noticed that Harry was carefully keeping a straight face.
"Merlin," Ron burst out after looking at each for a moment. "How many times do I have to tell the two of you that I don't want to hear about your bedroom activities?"
"Ronald," Hermione scolded, "neither of them said anything of the sort. In fact, I rather think…," the rest of her statement died away as she took in the looks on Harry and Ginny's faces confirming that had been exactly what Ginny had meant.
Ron threw down his fork in disgust and said, "I'm going out to the changing room to polish my broomstick before the match."
Harry and Ginny exchanged amused glances but managed to hold in their laughter at his statement until he'd marched out of the Great Hall. Hermione looked at them, scandalized, and, with a sigh, said, "Really!"
"He's a bit touchy this morning," Ginny said, not really sounding concerned.
Hermione and Harry exchanged a brief look. Hermione nodded carefully giving Harry permission to tell Ginny what they knew that she didn't. "Gin," Harry said carefully, "Ron has as much reason to be nervous about today's match as you do. You see, he's also being scouted today."
"Why didn't he tell me?" Ginny asked in surprise.
"He didn't want to steal your thunder. He knows how important today is for you and how much you've been looking forward to it. You've been dreaming of playing Quidditch professionally for years. He didn't have any idea this would be an option for him until he got the letter," Harry explained.
"I think he felt that you might feel cheated if you weren't the only Weasley being scouted," Hermione offered.
"That's just silly," Ginny said. "Why can't I be excited for both of us? It's not like we're competing. We don't play the same position."
"That's what I told him," Harry said. "But he preferred to wait and tell you later."
"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Ginny said, rounding on Harry. "Isn't that what a husband is for? To let his wife in on secrets so that she won't go around acting big headed and superior."
"He asked me specifically not to tell you," Harry said defensively. "I told him he should just tell you. It wasn't my news to share. Besides, I don't think you were acting big headed or superior."
"Maybe I'll just follow him down there so we can talk about it," Ginny said.
Harry grabbed her arm as she started to stand and said, "Eat your breakfast first."
She rolled her eyes at him but complied. As soon as she had finished though, she set off alone for the changing room. When she arrived, she found Ron sitting on the floor staring out at the pitch. She settled herself beside him and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I feel like I'm crashing your party," Ron said, not even trying to pretend that he didn't know what she was talking about. "You're a natural at Quidditch and the whole family's been expecting you to get accepted onto a professional team. I'm not sure this is going to work out for me. I didn't want to make a big deal about it."
"You're a natural too," Ginny said encouragingly. "You just had to get past your nerves first. Whether you make it onto a professional team or not, I'm proud of you Ron."
"Thanks," Ron said, smiling at her and turning faintly pink at her praise. "I'm proud of you too. I know, without a doubt, that you will make it onto a professional team and I'm looking forward to bragging about my little sister, the famous chaser."
Ginny laughed and laid her head against his shoulder for a moment. When she straightened back up, she said, "If the little comments I make that subtly hint at mine and Harry's sex life bother you that much, I can stop," Ginny offered.
"Nah," Ron said. "Don't worry about it. I know you enjoy making them too much to quit and they don't really bother me as much as I let on. I'm glad to know you and Harry get on so well. But as you're my sister and he's my best mate, I try not to think about it more than strictly necessary."
They heard a door bang somewhere behind them and knew the rest of the team was starting to arrive for the match. As they stood, Ginny said, "Good luck today, Ron."
"You too," he said back with a grin.
The match had started off as it usually did with the commentator announcing the players as they came out onto the pitch. The commentator this year was Dennis Creevey. He had seemed a bit lost all year without Colin, but commentating on the Quidditch matches was the one thing that seemed to give him some extra spark. As Harry and Ginny were co-captains, they took it in turns to shake hands with the Ravenclaw team captain before Madame Hooch released the balls. Ginny got possession of the quaffle first and quickly scored the first goal. The match was off to an excellent start.
Harry flew around in circles, high above the rest of the pitch looking for the snitch. He was listening intently to Dennis and watching Ginny and Ron as closely as he could while still keeping his eye out for the snitch. Currently, Gryffindor was up 40 to 10. He made another loop of the pitch squinting around for the tiny golden ball before pausing long enough to watch Ginny dodge both bludgers, one after the other, as well as all three chasers from the Ravenclaw team trying to steal the quaffle from her, before easily scoring on the opposing keeper. The crowd roared their approval and Harry grinned; Ginny was an amazing player. The scouts were sure to be impressed. Ron had only let in a single quaffle so far, but Ginny wasn't giving the Ravenclaw team much of a chance to get the quaffle to try.
Harry looked around for the Ravenclaw Seeker, making sure he hadn't seen something he'd missed. Annoyingly, he seemed to be tailing him rather than looking for the snitch on his own. Anxious to lose him, Harry sped up and hurtled toward the other end of the pitch. As expected, the other seeker followed. Harry did his best to shake him off while looking around for the snitch. In the bits and pieces of the match going on below, Harry watched Ron saved several goals and Ginny assisted both her fellow chasers in making goals. The score was at 90 to 40.
Harry made another loop closer to the action and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Percy, and Hagrid in the stands with Hermione as he passed. Where was that snitch?
Ginny felt that the match was going well. She was trying to balance the goals she took for herself with the ones she was setting up and doling out to her fellow chasers. She wanted the scouts to see that she was a team player as well as being a force to be reckoned with on her own. Ron was doing marvelously; she just wished that Harry would find the snitch already and end the game on this good note. She was aware that the longer the game went on and the more tired people became, the sloppier the playing would become and that wasn't the impression she wanted to leave the scouts with.
Harry continued circling; he was starting to get frustrated. He wanted to end the game with a victory before it went on too long. The Ravenclaw Seeker was right on his tail again; Harry ground his teeth in frustration. He was about to barrel roll to try losing the other seeker when he saw a golden glimmer down near Ron. Harry sped toward the end of the field. The Ravenclaw Seeker followed and, clearly catching sight of the snitch as well, tried to accelerate past Harry. Not having time to be polite, Harry bellowed at Ron to move. Ron dodged out of the way as Harry flew through the center ring and caught the snitch on the other side ending the game at a score of 290 to 90.
Gryffindor fans poured onto the field as the team remained aloft hugging and screaming. They would play in the match for the cup and they had won the game today in front of the scouts. They couldn't have asked for a better outcome. Harry, Ron, and Ginny remained airborne as the rest of the team landed to be engulfed by their fans.
"Ron, you were brilliant!" Harry yelled happily.
"You really were," Ginny said, beaming at her brother.
"Gin, you're going to have every team in the league fighting over you," Harry said proudly, as he pulled her to him for a kiss.
"You can say that again," Ron agreed.
"But, Harry," Ginny said. "You stole the show. It doesn't matter how well Ron and I play when you make a catch like that. You're the hero of the game. That was amazing!"
"The scouts aren't going to take no for an answer," Ron said.
Finally, the three of them, grinning, returned to the ground and joined the throng of celebrating Gryffindors. They found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Percy, George, Hagrid, and Hermione in the crowd. Excitedly, they talked about the match until Headmistress McGonagall found them and said, "Ron, Ginny, some of the scouts are asking to meet with you. If you're ready, they will speak with you in my office." She turned toward Harry and added, "They're asking to meet with you as well but, as I understand it, you do not wish to pursue a future in professional Quidditch."
"Correct," Harry said. "Ginny, will you explain to them?"
"Of course," Ginny said. She moved forward to kiss him; then, with a smile, she began walking toward the castle with Ron. As much as they knew the match had gone as well as it could have and had been extremely confident just minutes ago, they let the doubt creep in as they silently made their way up to the castle. What if, despite their best efforts, they didn't have the skills the scouts were looking for? Did scouts normally ask to meet with those they were there to watch? Neither was sure. Was it good news or bad news that they wanted to meet them at all?
When they stopped behind McGonagall in front of the gargoyle, they looked at each other and smiled nervously. The gargoyle moved aside for McGonagall and she beckoned them ahead of her onto the spiral staircase. They entered her office ahead of her and moved to the side once through the door to let her bustle ahead of them.
"Here they are," McGonagall said jovially.
"But where is Potter?" one man asked.
"Potter does not wish to pursue a professional Quidditch career," McGonagall said briskly. "He will not be joining us."
"What?" The man said loudly. Several of the others in the room looked shocked as well. "Potter is a very gifted player; clearly he was born to play."
"True as that may be," McGonagall said, starting to get annoyed, "he is firm on his decision not to play professionally."
"I don't understand," the same man said.
Stepping forward, Ginny said, "If I may, Harry is flattered that professional teams have shown an interest in recruiting him, but, despite his love for the sport, he won't be persuaded to play professionally. You see, Harry has been famous in our world since he was just a baby. He never asked for this fame and has struggled with it more than anything. He is unwilling to pursue a career that will just further enhance the problem. He knows that there is no way around it and has decided he would be happier pursuing another career which will not bring more attention upon himself."
"And what career might that be?" the man asked.
"That is not information available to the general public at this time," McGonagall said, cutting across Ginny who had opened her mouth to answer. Then, in an effort to prove that Ginny knew precisely what Harry's thoughts were on the topic at hand, she dismissed her, saying, "Thank you, Mrs. Potter."
Ginny only noticed one of the scouts in the room adopt a surprised expression. Cleary, the rest of them knew exactly who she was and her relation to Harry. Ron and Ginny settled into chairs and McGonagall asked that they get on with the reason they requested this meeting. Looks were exchanged amongst the scouts before one stood and said, "We merely wanted to congratulate these fine players for their superb playing today and to let them know that each of the teams that were represented here today will mail a letter to them shortly with further recruitment communications if they are interested."
"Very well," McGonagall said shortly. "Can I escort you back to the Great Hall or do you think you can manage to find it on your own?"
The scouts sensed the chill in her tone and quickly found their own way out of the office. When sure they were completely out of earshot, McGonagall addressed Ron and Ginny saying fiercely, "What a bunch of rubbish! I'm sorry I asked the two of you up here. I did rather suspect that there were ulterior motives at hand when they asked only to speak with the Gryffindor players they were scouting and not the Ravenclaw ones as well."
"What's going on?" Ron asked sounding confused.
"Well," McGonagall said, puffing herself up a bit, "typically, when a team scout comes to watch a player, they do not meet with them afterward. The player simply waits for any letters which would further indicate interest from a team. Clearly, the scouts here today simply wanted an audience with Potter to persuade him to join their team."
"I'm sure any team that would recruit Harry would show immediate increased popularity," Ginny said. "Which is exactly why he doesn't want this."
"Which rather breaks my heart," McGonagall said. "You can see how much he loves to play and he did inherit his father's talent for it. He's really good. He would do very well professionally."
"But you have to understand his position on it," Ginny said defensively.
"Oh, I do, completely," McGonagall said. "He has absolutely made the right choice. It's still sad that he should have to turn away from something he loves so much."
"So, how long do the letters usually take to arrive if a team is interested?" Ron asked nervously.
"It depends," McGonagall said. "If they are very interested, you could hear from them immediately. If they have more players to scout and you are just one of many possible choices, it could be weeks or months. Usually, professional training and practice start just after the school year ends, so I imagine that by graduation in June you will know for certain."
"Can we agree not to tell Harry that the scouts really just wanted to see him?" Ginny asked. "I don't want him to feel like he took anything away from Ron or me today. It's not his fault that the whole lot of them were a bunch of bloody fame seekers."
McGonagall and Ron nodded their silent agreement to her.
"Now, I'm sure there is a party in the works up in the Gryffindor common room. The two of you should get cleaned up and go join in revelry," McGonagall said smiling kindly. "I believe you'll find that your family is waiting to see you in the Potter's dorm."
Much later, Harry and Ginny found themselves cuddled into an armchair by the fire in the Gryffindor common room as the celebratory party raged on around them. They had enjoyed discussing the match and celebrating with the rest of their fellow Gryffindors but were ready to be by themselves again. As the team's captains, they were expected to come to the party and they were glad they had, but, by this time of the night, the party usually turned less celebratory and into more of a mating ritual. Being past the flirting and games going on around them, they found themselves discussing the future again.
"If I make it onto a team, what are you going to do this summer while I train?" Ginny asked.
"When you make it onto a team, I will probably spend some time at the ministry doing some more Auror training so that I'm ready for that part of my role here next year," Harry said. "That, and I think I will start doing some lesson planning."
"Do you think Ron will make it?" Ginny asked worriedly.
"I think he has as good a chance as anyone, but I don't know who else they're scouting. It's hard to say," Harry said. "But I really hope so."
"Me too," Ginny said with a yawn.
"Tired?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Yes. I was up awfully early this morning," Ginny reminded him.
"Want to go to bed?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Ginny agreed with sparkling eyes.
Author's Note: Hello all! I owe you all a huge apology for the delay in this story. It's not a great or original excuse, but life has gotten in the way. I really am hoping (I know you've heard this all before) that I can get into a more regular schedule with this.
Thank you to my beta, Terra Ferme, for editing this chapter. I can't believe you managed to beat your previous speed record on this one. You are awesome!
Thank you to everyone who sent me messages looking for new chapters and asking if I was ever coming back…they inspired me to hurry up as much as I could and get another chapter ready.
Thanks for reading – you all rock. If you have any excellent ideas of what you want to see for the rest of their school year let me know. I have a few ideas up my sleeve, so stay tuned.