AN: The usual disclaimers apply. Hello everyone, sorry its been a while since the last update. I have had a lot going on including some changes at work. I hope that everyone has had a wonderful autumn this year and that your Holidays are warm, bright and filled with lots of love and laughter.
I am still working to find a Beta Reader for both this story and the alternate version. If you know of anyone interested do reach out and we can discuss further. On with the show shall we.
Harry stood beside Professor McGonagall as they waited for the Gryffindor Team to join them. He was relieved that the Firebolts had finally arrived, the last two weeks wait had been hard to keep from the others. He sighed, his breath fogging in the morning air as he saw Wood and the twins emerge.
"Good Morning Professor." Oliver said with a smile as he gave her a puzzled look at her presence at their practice.
"Good Morning Wood." McGonagall said in her usual stern tone as the twins looked abruptly at her as they came to a stop before her and Harry.
"Good Morning Professor." George said with a wave.
"What are you doing here?" Fred added his twin echoing his surprise.
Harry smiled at them and sighed as the rest of the team came bleary eyed and dragging their feet into view. The yawns from Alicia and Katie as they came to a stop were enough to echo his own feelings of tiredness at the fact that it was only seven in the morning.
"Now that we're all here." McGonagall said as she looked them over before keeling and tapping the crate at her feet. "I have an announcement to make."
Oliver looked at her and then down at the crate, realizing that it was just the right size for a Quidditch delivery. "Er...Professor?" He said with a frown.
"Lord Potter has made a very generous donation to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team." She said, ignoring his puzzled look and unsteady question. "From now on, each of you will be playing on the Team Brooms while here at School."
She flicked her wand at the crate and the lid came off, landing neatly on the ground beside it. The others looked in excitedly, finding that their vision of what the new brooms were was obscured in the mess of wrapping paper and twine. She knelt down and pulled one of the brooms out handing it to wood who took it.
"Do not open the wrapping until everyone has been handed a broom, pass them along." She instructed, reaching into the crate and pulling out another.
Wood and Harry helped to pass the brooms along until everyone except the Professor was holding a wrapped broom. She looked about at each of them and made a motion for them to open the wrappings. The exclamations of shock and admiration at the new brooms could be heard from the others.
"There's more." Harry said as he smiled at each of them. "These are for the school and can only be used for practice and games for the Gryffindor Team."
The others cried exclamations of gratitude and amazement that he would make such an expensive donation. He took their praise and smiled widely as they held the brooms dear as if they were likely to explode at any minute.
"That's not all though." He said, his grin growing broader as he felt Hermione listening to the conversation from the stands, her pride glowing through their bond. "Each of you will be receiving your own personal Firebolt soon to be delivered to you from me."
The others looked at him in awestruck silence, each of them looking at each other before turning back to look at him. He could tell that they were pleased but also confused as if this was not something they could fully fathom.
"You're joking!" Cried Fred with a dumbstruck grin forming on his face.
"Our own personal-" George continued before he was abruptly cut off.
"Firebolts?" the rest of the team echoed, causing him to laugh at the fact that they seemed to have become triplets to the Wealey Twins.
"Yes." He said with a nod. "As a thank you for your friendship and our bonds of being a team."
The others cried their thanks as he was pulled into a crushing hug by all of them. As he managed to pull away again, McGonagall informed the others that they were only allowed to use the Team brooms for games and practice. Wood in his ecstatic stupor only managed to stare dumbfounded at the broom in his hands while the others all began to mount up.
"Oliver, if you're gonna fly with us you better get a move on." Harry called as he mounted the firebolt he had unwrapped, he could feel it vibrating in anticipation.
He and the others kicked off hard into the air, the immense speed and precision handling of the Firebolts immediately noticeable. Harry hoped that none of the Slytherins found a way to spy on today's practice session, he had made sure to have McGonagall do everything she could to deter any but Gryffindors got onto the Pitch while they were practicing today. The others were a blur as he watched them pass the quaffle, the twins almost bludgers themselves now in their new speed.
He could taste the victory in the air as he and the others got more used to the Firebolts throughout the morning, it would not be long he felt until they were unstoppable. He smiled with pride nearly four hours later when they landed with dazed looks on their faces.
"We're gonna win!" Wood shouted into the air, his fist raised in triumph. " Oh I have never seen something so beautiful as this."
The others laughed as Wood pulled the broom into his arms, kissing it fervently. He sighed, Harry knew that this was going to raise morale greatly for the team and the rest of the House. It was with this excited thought that he made his way into the changing room and then back to the castle for lunch.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Ginny sat quietly in the common room of the shared quarters, she had gone down to breakfast with Ron hours ago. She sighed as she looked up at the clock above the fire, it was already after one and still Harry and the others had not come back from practice or their other activities. It had been odd how quickly they all seemed to get along, especially with a Slytherin in the mix, but she would not trade her new family for the world.
It no longer bothered her that she was not to be the only wife of Harry, though in reality she had never thought about it after she learned she was to get her wish. She had not had a chance to be along with him since moving into the quarters, the others were always around whenever she was near him. She wondered on occasion if this was intentional due to her being the youngest, but she did not complain as she knew that they were all only looking out for her in that regard.
She looked toward the door that lead out into the hall as it opened, she could immediately hear Harry, Hermione and Ron on the other side as the former entered first. It took a moment for the three of them to register that she was there as they were discussing something to do with brooms which immediately caught her attention.
"What about brooms?" She asked, sidling into the conversation as the three of them settled into the couch opposite her armchair.
"Oh." Harry said as he turned to her with a grin. "I made a donation to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team."
She blinked at him as she took in his words. "You made a donation, what kind of brooms?"
"FIREBOLTS!" Yelled her brother in his excitement. "Seven of them, only for the Team to use."
She felt her jaw drop at the thought of such a magnificent and extremely expensive donation. "Wow..." She managed to say after a few moments, but was too stunned to say more.
"That's not all Ginny-" Ron began but was quickly cut off by Harry.
"We'll wait until everyone is here to spread that good news shall we." Harry said with a look that she saw Ron take to mean 'Shut it'.
"But." She said, her curiosity now running high. "Do we have to?" She asked with gusto. "I want to know now."
Harry grinned at her and chuckled softly. "Yes, it's a surprise for everyone." He said looking up at the clock with a start. "Better go get changed and we can go down to the lake for a few hours to enjoy the last of the good weather."
She frowned, she was not good at waiting for surprises even if it was just being told something. She sighed as he stood and made his way into his room, watching him go with a frown.
"So, what have you been up to this morning Ginny?" Hermione asked with a gentle smile as she watched her.
"Oh, well I went to breakfast with Ron while you and Harry were at Quidditch practice." She said, thinking back on her morning thus far. "After I came back up here to study for potions on Monday, Snape assigned us an essay on bezoars."
Hermione smiled softly as she looked at the stack of books on the table. "Well, if you need any help let me know."
She smiled, it was great having her around when homework was being done. "Well, would you mind looking my essay over?" She asked, picking up the furled scroll from the top of the stack.
"Not at all." She said as she reached out and took the scroll from her and opened it, disappearing behind the parchment while she read.
"You were doing this the whole morning?" Ron asked with a frown.
She nodded, "Yeah, you all were busy so I figured I'd get things done." she said with a sigh as she settled in for to wait for Harry.
Ron didn't reply to her statement but she knew that he always tried to put his homework off until the last possible minute. She never understood how anyone could work that way, always rushing to complete assignments.
"Well, thus far the opening is really good Gin." Hermione said as she looked over the top of the scroll of parchment with a smile. "I don't have any corrections to make thus far or really anything that you could add that hasn't already been mentioned."
She beamed at her, pride filling her as she took the praise. "Thanks." She said as Hermione disappeared again.
Several minutes later Harry finally rejoined them as Hermione handed her back the scroll with nothing to add. She was surprised that there wasn't even a correction on spelling made as she looked over the parchment. They all stood to head out into the grounds for a while and made their way out into the hall.
"Where are the others?" Harry asked as they walked, the corridor surprisingly empty despite the early afternoon.
Ginny thought for a moment as she tried to remember where everyone had said that they were going. "Well, Daphne wanted to spend some time with the Patils, I think they went to the Library." She said with a frown as she continued to think. "Susan said something about catching up with Hannah Abbot."
She knew that Abbot was good friends with Susan, Lavender Brown was also probably with the twins and Daphne as she was a good friend to both Padma and Parvati. It was strange how everyone continued on despite the fact that they now almost all lived in the quarters from their now large group of friends.
"Well, we'll catch up with them later then." Harry said as they began to descend the stairs toward the lower levels. "Until then lets just enjoy the day."