The new Gryffindor Chaser

"If I were you... I'd go to that damned try out."

"But what if she doesn't want to go?"

"Don't be silly, Chris. She's good at playing, and she has to go!"

"We can keep each other company, you know... I also want to join the team and after eating I'll go to the try outs," William cheerfully said while they were in the Great Hall for lunch, one Saturday a week after the expulsion of three boys from the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"But by doing so, you'll give up the Spell Club," Ginny objected, dismayed.

"Yes, but Quidditch is more fun."

"Yes, but the Spell Club is nicer..." Vicky suddenly sighed, languidly batting her eyelashes, and stuffing a spoonful of stew into her mouth. Demelza looked at her perplexedly, then shook her head as if to say that was a lost cause.

"She's getting to know that boy she told you about," Ritchie said, confirming Ginny's suspicions, who laughed.

"I wish I could get to know some girls... that Padma Patil is really pretty," Colin chimed in, without even a hint of embarrassment. "After all, she practises with us and sometimes I find myself next to her. I naturally spoke to her, but she's not very talkative and in fact... our conversations last only a few minutes, not to mention that in the end, I find myself talking alone... like now," he added, and huffed in annoyance.

Colin had always had a tongue as long as the tail of a Hungarian Horntail and it was impossible to shut him up when he talked. Ginny, noticed with quite displeasure, that she missed everything about him and continued to miss everything: even though they saw each other every day in class or at dinner and during the DA lessons, Colin didn't hang out with her and the others like before. And the same could be said about Vick, Christopher, Ritchie, and William... with their damned clubs!

"I'm listening to you, you ungrateful wretch!" Ginny burst out amiably, giving Colin a nudge.

They smiled at each other as they hadn't in a long time, then Colin said, "You could do it, you know? After eating, go to the try outs... you could make it. Who better than you could do it? You have the game in your blood, and when something runs in your blood... well, you have to try!" he concluded simply, starting to drink his juice.

Ginny stared at her friend in disbelief, then nodded and also took a long sip of pumpkin juice.

After eating, the boys practically forced Ginny to sign a sheet that McGonagall had to give to the Gryffindor Captain and after waiting for the right time for the auditions they forced her to go down to the Quidditch pitch. As the girl and William joined a large group of aspiring Beaters and Seekers, the others went to sit in the stands where Colin was already getting to work to take some photographs; his subdued clicks kept the girl busy counting them, then William spoke to her.

"Ginny..." he said, with a rather worrying tone.

Now what?

"Yes?"

"Uh... I'm sorry about what happened last year," the boy muttered unexpectedly, starting to turn as red as his friend's hair while staring at her as if he expected her to slap him hard again. He even began to stammer, and that was not a good sign, then continued with a fairly steady voice, "You understand... right? The kiss, the fact that I was extremely jealous of everyone and of Micheal Corner... I'm so sorry. I've wanted to tell you for a while, but I wanted to put it all behind me... really, I'm sorry," he added, mortified, as Angelina gathered everyone.

"William, it's all in the past... now you... well, we're friends," Ginny said quickly, tense, hoping that William would tell her that for him it was just a passing crush on a friend who had changed a lot lately. As if reading her mind, the boy reassured her promptly.

"Yes, it's over! I-I tried to get to know a girl at the chess club and... well, we're getting to know each other."

Ginny wasn't disappointed that William had replaced her because knowing they had become friends again as before brought her immense joy, such great joy that without knowing it, she threw her arms around his neck. William hugged her amiably, and at that moment, both knew they had removed that bad memory from their minds. A cough from Angelina calling everyone to order made their hug dissolve and the students watched the Captain.

"So, today will be an important day for three of you," announced Angelina Johnson loudly and confidently, "an important day that hadn't been seen for many years, since the team had already been formed by the old Captain:Oliver Wood. So, I ask the aspiring Beaters to come forward... I will call you in order and you will start your audition. Uh... Amelia Hooper!"

A very tall girl with very short hair and a swaying gait came forward and mounted her broom to audition and become the first female Beater for Gryffindor. There were at least twenty boys who wanted to become Beaters, but not as many as the aspiring Seekers: a good thirty were scattered all over the field waiting.

"... and then she asks me to go to Hogsmeade with her," William was saying, when about fifteen aspiring Beaters had already done their audition. He was telling her about the various clubs and his first date with a girl who was with him in the chess club, named Natalie Pond and was in her third year in Hufflepuff.

"She asked you out?"

"Yes!"

"But that's not... not fair! It shouldn't always be the women who do everything!"

"Well said," an amused voice said in Ginny's right ear, and she turned slowly to find herself very close to Dean Thomas. He smiled encouragingly at her and sat down next to the two teens, asking, "Are you also trying out to become a Seeker? I've been wanting to join the Quidditch team for ages."

"Me too! And him," the girl burst out, pointing at William. "Will, this is Dean Thomas... he's a friend of my brother and Neville, but we've known each other for quite a while too. And Dean, this is William Todd: a very dear friend of mine since I stepped foot in this castle!" and she smiled brightly at her friend.

The two boys shook hands politely.

"Only one of us will join the team now," Dean said cheerfully.

"Come on, in the end, more than fighting... nothing can really happen," Ginny intervened with a marked sense of humour, which, thank goodness, had not abandoned her in that situation. The two boys burst into laughter, and Dean even teared up from laughing: he probably imagined the scene. "I want you to behave well with me because I'm a girl... but you can still pull my hair," she added, giggling.

"Joking aside, I'm harmless," William reassured, throwing back his curls and causing giggles of excitement from second-year girls nearby.

"Me too, I'm harmless."

"What we need to worry about is her."

The three laughed again until Angelina Johnson's voice interrupted them. Ginny noticed that the aspiring Beaters had all stepped aside and that only two boys, probably the new Beaters for Gryffindor, were on either side of the Captain and smiling.

"The new Beaters are Andrew Kirke and Jack Sloper!" announced the girl clapping her hands, and many imitated her. "Now it's the aspiring Seekers' turn, the first to come on the field is... Jonathan Collins!"

And so, the teens had to wait another hour because of all the people who had shown up for the try outs. When they were halfway through, Dean did his turn and was really good and agile, except for the fact that perhaps he was a bit too slow for the Snitch; William had practically the same flaw as Dean, so it was unlikely he would end up on the team when half the people had caught the Golden Snitch before the two of them. Ginny was surprised to find that she wasn't last on the list, but somewhere in the middle between the centre and the final ones: there had been many latecomers, after all.

"The twenty-fifth aspiring Seeker is... Ginny Weasley!" called the Captain, who by now had a hoarse voice from the effort. "Oh, hello... I didn't know you played! The twins and Ron's sister... uh, then a new promising talent!" she added excitedly, because evidently those who had shown up as Seekers hadn't even remotely met Angelina Johnson's expectations.

"I'll do my best," the girl said determinedly, and nodded.

"Perfect, mount your broom!"

Ginny mounted an old school broom because she had never had a personal one to bring to Hogwarts, and kicked off the ground with all her might with the wind whistling in her ears: in a flash, she was many metres above the ground and saw the silhouette of Angelina giving her a wave. The girl dove sharply and stopped several metres below, where she could hear the Captain's voice.

"Let's try a lap around the field and then we'll release the Bludgers, okay?" Angelina asked with a smile. "We'll see how you dodge the Bludgers and then we'll release the Snitch, to see how long it takes you to catch it. All clear?"

"Very clear!"

Ginny flew higher and made a quick lap around the field, free from any worry. She had never felt that sensation and finally could say she had flown at Hogwarts, could say she had participated in a try out and had already won the Captain's favour. After that lap, Ginny quickly lowered herself to avoid a Bludger: she hadn't even heard it coming. But she avoided them all, even though the last Bludger was very fast and took her longer to dodge and completely shake off. Below, Angelina Johnson was beaming.

"Now I'll release the Snitch!" she shouted while Colin started his camera again.

Ginny just had time to see the tiny golden ball dart up and then it disappeared after a few seconds. She imagined it, she had always imagined it: she wasn't cut out to be a Seeker. Now it would take her years and centuries to find that damned golden ball, for sure she would have been better off if the audition was for aspiring Chasers... because she loved scoring so much. The girl's gaze quickly swept the field for many minutes, and suddenly she saw the Snitch flying low: she didn't hesitate for a moment and dove sharply, reaching the fluttering ball and grabbing it.

"Very good, very good!" praised Angelina, now in the throes of excitement.

"You were great, Gin! I checked... and you caught the Snitch before anyone else!" said a smiling William, hugging her while she threw the broom to the ground and caught her breath from the long flight, her heartbeat starting to return to normal.

Dean also complimented her, and while the few who were left gradually went onto the field, it was already time for the aspiring Seekers to find out who would become the Seeker par excellence for Gryffindor.

"And the new Seeker for Gryffindor is... Ginny Weasley!" announced a jubilant Angelina Johnson, and the students clapped politely while William and Dean celebrated her warmly. Only at that moment did the girl realise she was the only female former aspiring Seeker in the group, and that only made her blush more. "Congratulations, I knew you had the right stuff!"

"Thank you so much, Captain."

Angelina smiled encouragingly at her, and declared the exhausting try outs over.

"See, what did I tell you? For once you listened to me!" retorted the amused voice of Demelza, who ran up to Ginny and immediately threw herself into her arms and then quickly stepped back, her nose wrinkled.

"Yes... I always listen to you!" replied the girl, with a huge smile.

"Yeah, and listen to me this time too: go clean up immediately!"

Ginny followed Demelza's advice eagerly and, along with her two friends, headed towards the girls' bathroom, intending to clean up thoroughly and chat with her friends about the try out before heading to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. She still couldn't believe it: she was really part of the team!

"What did Dean Thomas want from you?" Vick asked curiously, quickening her pace while dragging a smelly and muddy Ginny up the corridor on the fourth floor. "I mean, from up there we saw there was some interaction between you two but we couldn't know exactly what you were up to. Also because we were like metres and metres away and then..."

"With William there, Dean surely didn't make a move on her," Demelza interrupted, annoyed.

"Oh, but now that Dean broke up with Lisa Turpin, he's probably scouting the field... don't you think?"

"No," Ginny replied immediately, opening the door and quickly slipping into the bathroom.

"But how can you be so... ssssshh!" Vick hissed, raising a hand to stop the two girls from saying anything, and listened intently. There was definitely someone else in that bathroom besides them, and it seemed like there were two: one was crying her eyes out and the other was trying to console her, and they seemed so engaged with each other that they hadn't even heard the door creak and open.

"Marietta... I want to be alone!" the girl sobbed loudly, yelling at her friend.

"How can I leave you like this?"

"Go, I'll join you in the room."

"Oh... holy... shit!" Ginny whispered very quietly, as Vicky took on the expression of someone who had suddenly understood something. Demelza, for her part, hadn't understood a thing and for that reason let herself be dragged by her two friends into an empty cubicle next to that of Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe; Vick even pressed a hand over Demelza's mouth and the three squeezed into that miserable and smelly cubicle, with Ginny almost falling into the toilet and getting stuck there.

"Mmhm..." mumbled Demelza, her friend's hand still over her mouth.

"Quiet," Ginny harshly ordered her, moving aside to peek through the keyhole: what she saw was a cascade of copper-coloured curls moving away from the bathroom and running towards the door, then disappearing, leaving Cho to blow her nose and cough.

Ginny pressed her index finger to her lips to prevent the impetuous Vick from making any comments, and after a couple of minutes that seemed an eternity, the blonde let go of Demelza and dragged Ginny away from the keyhole to take a look herself. They heard footsteps, and presumably Cho was leaving the bathroom cubicle to head towards the door, with a trembling and cautious step. Ginny heard the door creak, then open again, and at that moment Cho gave a cheerful exclamation: a strange noise was heard.

"What is she doing?" Ginny whispered to Vicky, nudging her without much ceremony.

"She hugged a boy," she replied, focused to the maximum to be able to see through that narrow slit.

"A boy? Which boy?"

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Demelza snapped, being utterly ignored.

"I don't know... he's tall and has dark hair, but I can't see anything else..."

"Move over."

"No, wait... oh my... that's Micheal Corner!" Vick hissed excitedly, as the door closed with a sharp snap and subdued footsteps gave the idea that the two were moving away quickly from the bathroom door.

"WHATTHEHELLISMYBOYFRIENDDOINGWITHHER?" Ginny shrieked, alarmed to the max, literally throwing her friend onto the toilet seat and opening the cubicle door, letting Demelza roll out like a ball and smash against the opposite wall. She took a deep breath: she seemed like a maniac of every race and species in existence, sexual first and foremost. (TN: it sounds weird in English but in Italian I swear it makes sense TT) "What the hell is Micheal doing with her? He told me he was going to spend the afternoon in the library!" she added, furious.

"Well, maybe he wanted to get some fresh air and met..." Demelza tried to reason, massaging her cheek.

"... HER?"

"Will you tell me what's happening?" Demelza huffed.

"Oh, damn the devil! What do you think is happening, dear Demelza of my boots? I just wanted to know why the hell Chang is crying!" the girl retorted angrily, not realising she was raising her voice a bit too much.

"Oh, but mind your own business, why don't you?" Demelza exclaimed, also very angry, as she continued to rub her now completely red cheek. "You dragged me in there by force and even prevented me from speaking to gossip about that girl?" she added, huffing again.

"Yes!" Ginny roared, pacing back and forth in the bathroom like a psychopath.

"Calm down, Gin! It doesn't bother you that Micheal met someone else in his free time... it bothers you that Micheal met her!" Demelza blurted out, annoyed, crossing her arms while Vick cast a curious glance at the two friends, her eyes darting from one to the other.

Ten points to Demelza, smack in the centre.

"I'm n-not..."

"Come on, you can tell us!"

"Yes, you're right. I can tell you two..." Ginny said with a falsely sweet tone, "... mind your own business!"

Point for Ginny: ten all.

Vick burst into laughter, even though the situation was far from funny. Then she regained control, coughing slightly and saying, "I think Demelza is right, and you need to calm down. When I played along, I just wanted to have my suspicions confirmed: Cho needs someone to console her because she cries all the time. In the bathrooms, after classes... I always see her crying. I heard she likes Potter -as you well know- and maybe that hurts her because she was with Cedric. And then, she's also afraid of being kicked out of the Quidditch team because she's flying terribly!"

Ginny took a long time to process her friend's words, and took another deep breath.

"And when were you planning on telling me all this?" she asked, trying to sound calm as she went to the bathroom sink to clean up.

"I forgot, okay? But the reality is you can't deny that you hate her because she likes Har..."

"CAN YOU DANCE LIKE A HIPPOGRIFF? MA MA MA MAAA!"

"Vick's argument is solid, and so is mine," Demelza countered confidently, beginning to gloat and making that expression Ginny hated with all her heart: an expression that said she knew more than anyone.

"SWOOPING DOWN TO THE GROUND! MA MA MA MAAA!"

"And that means you're not mad at her for spending time with your boyfriend and becoming friends with him, but because you're jealous that she likes Har..."

"WHEEL AROUND AND AROUND AND AROUND! MA MA MA MAAA!"

"... and you're afraid she'll take him away from you because you also like Harry Potter!"

Long seconds of silence followed her words, then Ginny's audacity reached the sky: "Shoot, I forgot the words to the song! Can you suggest a verse? You know, I've loved that song since I heard it at the Yule Ball."

Demelza slapped her forehead.

From the very beginning of the DA lesson, it was clear to Ginny that things between her and Michael were not going very well, and in the vain hope of proving Demelza wrong, she behaved with absolute calmness with her boyfriend. Moreover, the fact that she had joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team as a Seeker seemed to interest many people: many were eager to see her, and the twins heartily congratulated her for the tryouts they had seen.

"I heard you were amazing," Neville cheerfully told her that evening in the Room of Requirement.

"Oh no... she was more than amazing!" corrected Dean Thomas, giving the girl a big smile.

"There was a moment I didn't know what I was doing, especially when Angelina released the Snitch and..."

"Ginny," a familiar voice interrupted.

The girl turned sharply to her right, her long mane of red hair swaying: predictably, it was Michael.

"Can we talk?" he asked, already deciding to remain in his sullen mood.

"Yes, darling," Ginny replied sweetly, with a menacingly unsettling sweetness. She waved goodbye to Neville and Dean (the latter gave Michael a look full of envy and disdain) and followed Michael away from them, where he was dragging her without much explanation.

"So, you're with them instead of with me?" Michael finally burst out, positioning himself in front of her.

"And you're with Cho Chang instead of with me... see, this way we're even," retorted the girl, with disdain.

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"Of course not, I was just chatting with friends."

"Friends!" Michael burst out bitterly. "I remind you that you went to the ball with Longbottom, and that Thomas... I'm not convinced by him."

"Not convinced," repeated Ginny absentmindedly, her gaze fixed on Cho Chang at the back of the room. "I'm not so convinced by her either, but I'm not bothering you in any way when you're together. You told me you were going to study in the library, and instead, you go wandering around with Cho!"

"Are you jealous?" Michael smirked.

"Oh, fuck off... hell no, I'm not jealous!" the girl yelled, making a couple of people turn around.

"Listen, Cho is a friend who is suffering a lot right now and needs the support of a friend," Michael tried to explain, ignoring the swear word, and Ginny muttered under her breath that she would break his support column in his face. "Anyway, I'll make it up to you: I'll spend my free time with you. But you must not start talking too much with that Dean Thomas... have I not already told you that I don't trust him at all?"

"Yes, and I don't care because we're friends."

The lesson began, and Michael sulked the entire time, throwing glances at her now and then and huffing his displeasure at the quite embarrassing situation. They paired up and practised various defensive Spells and Charms, with Harry moving around everyone to see how they were doing. Taking advantage of the fact that he was checking on Ginny and Michael, Harry complimented her on making the Quidditch team, and Michael reached the peak of his whininess: he was truly unbearable.

At the end of the lesson, the boy said goodbye to his girlfriend with a kiss on the cheek and left with Marietta and his two friends. Ginny was so furious with him and with the world that she brushed past the Creevey brothers and quickly outpaced them, without even giving them a glance. It was precisely when Ron and Hermione began to argue, several metres ahead of her, that Ginny realised she was missing something: her bag was in the room!

She ran back, bumping into the Creevey brothers again but greeting them distractedly, and as soon as she opened the door a crack, she also realised another horrifying thing: Harry was not with Ron and Hermione, and Cho was not with Michael, Marietta, and the Ravenclaw gang. But then this meant that...

No, impossible.

The girl opened the door a little more, just enough to sneak a peek inside, and got confirmation of everything: Harry Potter and Cho Chang were kissing.

A tiny sob escaped Ginny before she ran away, leaving her stuff behind.

Ginny didn't offer any explanation to her friends when she dashed into the dormitory, closing the curtains of her four-poster bed around herself and starting to cry her eyes out. She knew this day would come... but she wasn't ready for it all at this moment.

The result of all this was that Ginny fell into a restless sleep, until...

"Miss Weasley, can you hear me? Miss Weasley, wake up!" an anxious voice echoed in her ears, but she was only sleeping: none of her dorm mates had such an adult voice and so similar to the voice of...

"Professor McGonagall!"

Ginny's eyes flew open and she sat up, squinting at her in the darkness. She was all dishevelled and wearing a tartan dressing gown, her wand lit and nearly blinding Ginny: she looked absolutely distraught, and determined to wake her. Could it be that Ginny had done the worst Transfiguration assignment in the entire school? Had she gotten a zero and McGonagall was so upset that she came to wake her up at night?

"Sssshhh! Miss Weasley... erm... Ginny, you must come with me immediately."

"Wh... what?"

"Get dressed and put on your robe, we must go to the Headmaster."

Ginny obeyed, still sleepy but practically lucid as she slipped into her robe.

"What happened, Professor?"

"Harry Potter had a nightmare," replied McGonagall, uncomfortable because it seemed she couldn't explain what had happened. "No, it was some kind of vision. And your father has been injured while working for the Order of the Phoenix."

Translators note

So I am back. I'm posting this chapter as soon as I translate it, i have no proof reader and taking into account my Dyslexia diagnosis please be merciful lol.

I'm going to translate the next right after this so hopefully I'll also post that in a couple hours.

Here is the original authors note translated:

Author's Note

As you can see, I haven't changed much about the Quidditch tryouts part. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter because I've given it a yellow rating, which means our Ginny is fully entitled to swear, and there will be slightly stronger content later on but it will still fit within the yellow rating, of course. This chapter focuses on the furious Gryffindor Seeker, who tries to deny to herself that she likes Harry and that her jealousy of Cho is solely because of Harry and not because of Michael. Ginny cares about Michael, but not as much as she cares about Harry... and she will come to realise this later on.

Hugs!