Chapter 2
Ginny POV
A week later, Ginny and Hermione sat in the stands watching Harry lead the quidditch team through a practice. Everyone on the pitch was aware that Ginny wasn't supposed to even be sitting in the stands, but Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall had made a quiet exception and permitted her to watch.
Ginny sighed heavily and wearily rest her head in her hand that was propped up on her knee. She gave a sideways glance coupled with a small smirk to Hermione who placed a comforting hand on her leg, giving a reassuring squeeze.
"You'll be back out there in no time," Hermione patiently reminded her.
"I guess," Ginny conceded as she crossed her arms across her lap and leaned forward to watch a bit closer as the chasers, minus her, dipped in and out of formation. "Doesn't make sitting out any easier. I'm going to miss the Slytherin game for Merlin's sake," she pouted, knowing that her constant griping must be getting on Hermione's nerves by now.
"So should I be rooting for Gryffindor to win or lose in your absence," the brunette teased.
"Win," Ginny exclaimed. "Though, there should be a noticeable void in the team without me there," she noted in concession.
Hermione smirked and rubbed Ginny's knee, "I think you got your wish," she commented as she nodded to the pitch where one of the new chasers, substituting for the sixth year, had just dropped the quaffle.
Ginny smiled smugly, not out of spite, but knowing that it would get a reaction out of her girlfriend. Sure enough, Hermione admonished the redhead and nudged her, giving a pointed look that couldn't mask her disapproving amusement.
"You're not flying close enough!" Ginny yelled as she cupped her hands around her mouth.
Harry manoeuvred his broom to face her and waved her off. "I'm sorry, did you want to coach?"
"Yes, thank you!" The redhead called out across the pitch in retort. She could see Harry's smirk in the distance and he turned away, blowing the whistle and ordering them to redo the play.
Ginny groaned as the play went awry again. "This is driving me crazy," she growled through gritted teeth and only barely heeded Hermione's requests to calm down. "Harry's great, but he's not a chaser," Ginny stated before rising from her seat and bounding down the rows to the banister. "Demelza!" She called, waving the girl over.
Demelza looked over, seemingly surprised and flew over after a moment's hesitation.
"What's up?" She asked as she slowed to a stop just in front of Ginny.
"You're doing all the heavy lifting out there, hey?" Ginny joked, receiving an appreciative, if not tentative, laugh from her fellow chaser and ex, the two having had an oddly easy time settling into a truce at the start of the new school year. "I think Erica needs a bit of encouragement. She looks afraid to fly too close to you or anyone and anything else for that matter. She's too far away to react in time for the plays," Ginny said, looking for any signs that Demelza agreed.
"Yeah, I think you're right," the dark-haired girl said as she glanced back at the other chaser before turning back to face Ginny. The fleeting look that Demelza cast over Ginny's head didn't go unnoticed by the redhead, knowing Demelza was gauging Hermione's reaction to the two of them talking.
"Hey," Demelza said in a hurried breath, suddenly looking a bit tenser. Ginny looked intently at her ex and waited for her to speak. "Um, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about the whole Ministry deal," Demelza continued a bit quieter than before. "I hope it turns out okay for you."
Ginny nodded as she tried to determine whether there was anything more to read into regarding the girl's statement. "Thanks, Demelza. I appreciate it. I hope it goes well, too. I think it might - I have some good people on my side, at least."
Demelza gave her a smile that was a little bit tight and nodded her head a bit vigorously, her nervous laugh ringing in the air. "Right," she said as her eyes flashed unmistakeably over Ginny's shoulder, "I know. Well," she paused awkwardly for a second before making eye contact and smiling affably, "I guess I'll go try to string this play together."
Ginny smiled. "You know what to do."
"Thanks," Demelza replied with a nod before flying back out to join the rest of the players.
Okay, perhaps things between them weren't entirely easy. However, all things considered, they weren't half bad.
Without another glance toward Demelza, Ginny turned and jogged back up to join Hermione, who gave her a small smile.
"Think they're going to pull it together?" Hermione asked, her voice light and attention focused on the activity on the pitch. Yet, Ginny knew better - finally, she wouldn't have last year.
"They'll be fine," she said and leaned over to kiss Hermione's cheek. The small gesture caused the brunette to look over and eventually gave a hint of a sheepish grin. Ginny kissed her once more and reached over, lacing her fingers with Hermione's. After a short while, Ginny felt the older girl subtly relax and they settled in to watch the remainder of practice.
As the team landed on the pitch and marched to the locker room, Ginny saw Harry signalling for her to come down.
"Wanna come with?" Ginny asked as she and Hermione stood, fingers still entwined.
"That's alright," the brunette answered with a shake of her head. "I'll save us some seats in the Hall," she said as she picked up her book bag, still the same one that Ginny gave her last year.
"Okay," the younger girl nodded her assent. "I'll be quick," she promised as she gave Hermione's hand a faint squeeze and descended the stairs down to the pitch where she could access the locker rooms.
After speaking with the team, giving her insights and briefly discussing future tactics, Ginny walked with Ron and Harry to the Great Hall where Hermione was waiting patiently for them.
"Hi, Love," Ginny greeted as she sat down next to Hermione while giving her a fleeting kiss on the cheek before piling food onto her plate. "Miss me?"
Hermione rolled her eyes, but indulged Ginny in a faint smirk, removing her free hand from the table and placing it on the redhead's leg. "How'd it go?"
"Blimey," Ron snorted in mild disgust. "I almost miss when you guys weren't together. All this lovey-dovey rubbish is making me lose my appetite."
"Please, Ron," Hermione said in a flat voice. "You expect us to believe that you could ever lose your appetite? Next week you'll find me on the cover of Quidditch Weekly, I'm sure."
"Ignore my miserable brother," Ginny advised dryly as she gave him a dark, yet playful stare. "He's just miserable because Katie's not around anymore."
"Watch it," Ron warned. "You're going to be in this very same boat next year when Hermione's gone, plus us."
"Oh, 'cause I'm severely lacking in friends," Ginny retorted. "Although, I will miss you dreadfully," Ginny stated with puppy-dog eyes aimed at her curly-haired companion.
"I'll miss you, too, Gin," Hermione said with exaggerated patience followed up by a laugh, knowing that Ginny was just trying to get Ron riled up.
"Argh!" Ron exclaimed. "Now they're even worse," he said with a shudder.
"Just eat your food, you bloody prat," Ginny laughed.
November 30th came shockingly fast, yet unbelievably slow. Though it was a school day, Dumbledore had granted Hermione permission to have the day off, and the never-tardy, always-present Head Girl had taken him up on his offer with so little hesitation that it surprised Ginny. Despite the nerve-racking situation that the youngest Weasley was currently in, she felt a warm kind of comfort and safety at being surrounded by the people who waited outside the courtroom with her.
Her parents and Hermione were here, of course. Dumbledore, always true to his word, had left Professor McGonagall temporarily in charge of Hogwarts and had come here to the lower levels of the Ministry to provide support. Even Mad-Eye Moody was here, though Ginny knew that had much more to do with the fact that he was required to show up since he was the one responsible for the memory charms.
Ginny sat in one of the hard, wooden chairs lining the wall of the corridor, biting her lower lip nervously and absently kicking at the marble floor with her rarely worn dress-shoes.
"Mum!" She whispered harshly as her mother reached over for what had to be the tenth time to straighten Ginny's blouse and hair. She knew her mom was just doing it out of anxiousness, but all this fussing was starting to get her all worked up as well.
"Molly," her father chided, "leave her be," he said gently as he came over from where he was talking with Dumbledore and Moody, to rest a hand on his wife's arm, flashing her a reassuring smile. He then turned to Ginny and quietly told her, "Ms. Blake isn't presiding over your trial anymore - last minute change. The replacement is a guaranteed win; he's had a long running dislike of the Malfoys."
Ginny forced herself to smile up at her dad. She knew she should find great relief and comfort in his words, but for some reason, the knot in her stomach only grew bigger each time anyone mentioned the trial in any capacity. Everyone had been really supportive, even Moody offered her a bit of comfort, simply grunting that he'd been to court for worse and this was nothing but a slap on the wrist. However, Ginny just couldn't relax.
The sound of a chair scraping on the floor drew Ginny's, along with everyone else's, attention and they all turned to see Hermione, who was growing very red in the face, but now sitting close enough to Ginny that their shoulders and knees touched.
"Sorry," Hermione whispered, before giving the younger girl a cursory glance.
Once the adults returned to their previous conversations Ginny felt comfortable enough to lean just slightly into the subtle contact that she had with the other girl. Though they were out at school, they were not out to Ginny's parents, or Hermione's for that matter, and had to keep their displays of affection to a minimum on this excursion.
"Dumbledore is here, you have nothing to worry about," Hermione said. Her voice was hushed but held enough conviction that Ginny found the knot in her stomach actually shrinking - just a tad. She looked over at her girlfriend and the care and concern in the brunette's eyes were plain to Ginny and she relaxed just a touch more, giving the older girl a grateful smile.
Hermione had been truly wonderful throughout this whole debacle. She had been encouraging and had provided unwavering support. She had even helped Ginny plan a defense for today and had rehearsed it with her numerous times without so much as a complaint or hint of impatience. Ginny wished that she could kiss her right now, but knew that she couldn't.
A comfortable lull formed between them and it was a short while later that Hermione discretely leaned over and whispered, "This is probably slightly inappropriate, but you look really great in that outfit."
Ginny looked at her companion, bewildered. "No, not the right time - but thanks, I'll keep that in mind," unable to stop a smirk from eventually forming across her lips.
They smiled quietly at one another when suddenly the large courtroom doors opened with a sound that reverberated down the mostly empty corridor.
"Weasley, Ginevra!" A man in black robes called out, eyeing their group.
Fear coursed through Ginny and any remaining colour that was in her face drained promptly away as she stood, unable to help herself from looking to Dumbledore for guidance. He gave her a reassuring smile and nodded towards the courtroom, beckoning her.
As she started to walk, Hermione fell into step beside her, walking flush against her, and sneaking her hand into Ginny's to offer a squeeze of encouragement before departing for the stands.
A cold shiver ran through Ginny as her girlfriend walked away, leaving her feeling scared and unsure. With another look to Dumbledore, Ginny made her way into the center of the barren court room and sat down in the oversized chair. If the whole situation wasn't enough to make her feel intimated, just sitting in that chair made her feel incredibly small and powerless. She looked up uncertainly at the man who was seated in the booth directly across from her, but up high enough that he was heads above everyone else in the room and Ginny had to tilt her head just so to center him in her line of vision.
As the judge quickly flipped through some documents, Ginny took a quick look around the darkened room. Dumbledore had remained standing next to her, though a few feet off, but the rest of her support group were far off to the right and a bit behind her. They smiled nervously at her, though she was sure they meant to appear confident. The opposite side of the stands housed a single man in Ministry robes. Ginny didn't know who he was, but he seemed somewhat out of place and looked quite relaxed, a sharp contrast to herself, her parents and Hermione.
The time that Ginny served under question went by in a blur. She did her best to sound confident, channelling as much of her Gryffindor bravery as she could. She surprised herself with how little she stumbled over her words, despite not being very cognitively aware of what she was saying. She couldn't really read the judge's reactions to her statements, maybe because she was focusing too much of her energies on appearing composed, but by the time Dumbledore patiently signalled for her to retreat to the stands, she had no idea if she had incriminated herself or pulled off a good performance.
With poise, she hoped, Ginny walked calmly over to her family and Hermione, all the while chanting inwardly to not break out into a skittish run like she wanted to. With an overwhelming rush of relief, she climbed into the stands and took up a seat between her mum and Hermione - both women putting their arms around her simultaneously and her dad reaching across to pat her on the shoulder.
There was a bit of a shuffle as Moody took the stand and Hermione took the opportunity to lean in, Ginny feeling the girl's lips brush against her ear, and whispered, "You did great, Gin. Really great. I'm proud of you," and pulled the redhead towards her in a subtle sideways hug.
Ginny almost had to laugh at how painless this process seemed for Moody, who responded to the interrogation in his normal gruff manner, and managing to sound annoyed and bored. Afterward, Dumbledore put in a short word providing essentially a character reference for Ginny and she felt extraordinarily lucky to have such great support.
Before she could feel too confident though, the judge gestured to the man at the door, and in walked Lucius and Draco. With a look of disdain, Lucius fleetingly cast his gaze upon Ginny and her family, Hermione included, before greeting the judge with a slight bow and a stream of false pleasantries. Draco was less gracious and swaggered to the chair and sat down looking much like he considered it a throne more than anything else.
Draco's account of the incident was as shameless as Ginny should have expected, but no amount of preparation could stop the rage from bubbling up within her. However, she was more than well aware of how now was definitely not the time to let on that she had a bit of a temper. Somewhere in the back of her mind she made the amused observation that her mother was itching in her skin to lash out at the brat as well.
After a short deliberation, the judge looked across the court room to Ginny. She was hardly aware that she stopped mid-breath and waited for him to speak further.
"The Ministry dismisses Ginevra Weasley of all charges," he announced, and relieved murmurs came from Ginny's portion of the stands. She ignored the scoffs and protests at injustice coming from Draco, whose father appeared furious, but remained silent.
"However," the judge continued, speaking up to be heard over the rush of chatter, "Miss Weasley, please consider this an official warning. If you find yourself in here again, you will not be awarded the same allowance."
Ginny nodded earnestly, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," she said, not breaking eye contact with him and was too nervous to even blink.
"Very well, have a good day. Case dismissed," the judge stated as he rose and left the booth to walk through a door hidden just behind, and was followed out by the Court Scribe.
Ginny finally released the breath that had caught in her throat earlier and she slouched dramatically in relief of this nightmare being over. She was promptly swallowed up by hugs and congratulations.
After the sensation of the win died down, they climbed out of the stands and onto the open floor. Ginny bit back a derisive laugh as the Malfoys stormed past them and out of the room.
Moody was quick to walk over and restate, "See, told you it was nothing. Say my 'hellos' to Potter and Lovegood," before giving her a very firm handshake and departing down the hall.
Ginny smiled once more and turned to Hermione again, now free from the confines of the stands. The brunette returned an excited smile and scooped Ginny up in an enthusiastic hug, and both girls made an effort to not linger too long in the embrace. Both reluctantly pulled back, blushing, but smiling at the moment.
The redhead turned sharply as Dumbledore cleared his throat next to her, Hermione turning just as abruptly. He smiled kindly at them and he congratulated Ginny on her win.
"Thank you, Professor. I really appreciate you coming down here to support me - it means so much," she said sincerely, receiving an amused smile from him and a subtle nod.
Only when the Headmaster nodded did Ginny notice that the unknown man that she spotted in the stands earlier was now standing behind Dumbledore, waiting patiently, holding his hat behind his back. As Ginny made eye contact with him, he stepped out from behind the professor, offering Ginny a brief congratulation before turning to Hermione.
"-but the true congratulations belong to Miss Granger, here, for her sharp work."
Ginny couldn't help but arch an eyebrow in confusion as she looked to her girlfriend for a hint of what was going on. Ginny watched as Hermione gave him a short nod. Though not as perplexed as Ginny was, the younger girl could still tell that Hermione had some questions of her own.
"I should properly introduce myself this time," he went on, still speaking to Hermione. "My name is Jacob Noirent. Miss Granger, I would appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes of your time and meet with myself and Professor Dumbledore in my office - there are some matters I wish to discuss with you."
AN: Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in the sequel - I really appreciate the faith lol. I imagine some weren't expecting Ginny's trial to wrap up so quickly, however, there's a lot of ground to cover in this story, so I had to move things along ;) Either way, I hope you enjoyed the update