Chapter 2

A little less than two weeks had gone by since Ginny's 13th birthday, and she was thriving. Every morning she'd wake before everyone else, even her mum and dad, and head out to the orchard to practice for a bit. Her days were filled with completing as many chores as possible, as that seemed to enable her to fly without her mum chiming in too much about how dangerous and reckless the sport was. Every evening she'd rush to clear the dinner table, help her mum with the dishes, then dash out the door with her Comet 260 to end her day with as much flying as she could.

"She's addicted, that one," her brother Ron mumbled one evening as Ginny snatched up his empty plate just as he'd taken his last forkful.

"You could do with taking a leaf out of Ginny's book, Ronald Weasley. She's been nothing but helpful as of late, and while I don't quite understand her preoccupation with the sport, at least she's passionate about something!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed as she gave Ron a look. "Ginny, hold on a moment!"

Ginny froze in the frame of the back door, Comet 260 in tow. "Yes Mum?"

"Hermione will be arriving within the hour, and it would be nice if you were here to greet her."

"Uh, why? She's Ron's friend, not mine."

"Ginny Weasley you will be hosting her in your room until the start of term, the least you could do is be here to welcome her to your room when she gets here!" Mrs. Weasley's patience was wearing thin and Ginny could feel it, but she could also hear the orchard calling out to her. She knew her mum had been so understanding in letting her fly as much as she had been though…

Ginny sighed "Okay, okay Mum. I'm sorry." Ginny turned and walked back into the kitchen. "I'll go put the finishing touches on my room."

Ginny strode past her mum and brother and began to climb up the stairs to the first landing. She passed one door and opened the next, it quietly creaked open to reveal a room that was undoubtedly Ginny Weasley's bedroom. Even though it was a bit small, Ginny loved her room. She'd papered her walls with posters of the players of her favorite Quidditch team, the Holyhead Harpies, the biggest being the poster of Team Captain Gwenog Jones that was plastered right beside her bed. She also had one non-Quidditch related poster, that of the Weird Sisters, her favorite band. Her bookcase was filled with her school books and a few loose quills, as well as numerous copies of the Seeker Weekly, a Quidditch magazine. She walked to the window, placed her Comet 260 in the corner of the window that overlooked the orchard, and sighed again. Missing just one practice wouldn't be so bad… Turning back towards her room, she surveyed the layout. She had shoved her bed up against one wall as tightly as she could, and had set up a cot on the opposite wall, again, as tightly as she could, up against it. With her mum's persistent guidance, she'd decided to let Hermione sleep in her bed, while she would take the cot. Ginny didn't really mind, but it was a slight inconvenience to her to be sharing a room with someone she honestly didn't know too well. Yes, Hermione was one of Ron's best friends, so she knew the girl through her brother, and yes, they were in the same Hogwarts house, but they'd never really spent any time together just one on one. What would they talk about? Ginny frowned at this, what would they talk about? She knew that while Hermione did come to Gryffindor quidditch matches during the school year, it was strictly to support their friend Harry. Hermione was known to think very little of the sport, and that was all Ginny was talking about, thinking about, living for these days. Ginny ran a hand through her long red hair before shrugging. They'd figure something out, it would only be for a few weeks anyway.

Ginny cleaned off the bench below the window, shoving an old beat up Quaffle she'd been using for practice towards the Comet 260 that was sitting against what would be her side of the window, and punched a pillow into shape before setting it on Hermione's side of the bench. She did the same with her bookcase, quickly organizing her schoolbooks and stacking her many copies of Seeker Weekly into a neat pile on top, giving Hermione her own side of the bookcase to use if she wanted to. Ginny figured she would, as Hermione was known for lugging around what appeared to be some of the largest books in existence for "a bit of light reading". Ginny pondered for a moment, maybe Hermione would just read the whole time? Actually, it's more likely that she'd just be hanging out with Ron, and then once Harry arrived the trio would be back together again, and Ginny would be totally free to return to her multi-day Quidditch trainings. Ginny smiled at this, and her over-thinking ended.

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley called, "Hermione is here!"

Ginny gave one last glance to her bedroom, deemed it to be good enough, and headed downstairs.