Celebrate - Slytherin vs. Gryffindor

“I am going to kill Harry,” Ginny thought to herself as she splashed water onto her face after throwing up for the third time in the last ninety minutes.  He was the one who had gotten her into this mess after all.  “Gryffindor is going to need another Seeker for the two remaining games of the year Ginny,” he said.  I think it should be you,” he said.  “I believe in you,” he said. 

 

Stupid prat.

 

Until this morning she had been too busy to be nervous about her first match against Slytherin.  Studying for O.W.L.’s and Quidditch practice had taken up all her time and did not provide her the chance to be nervous.  The truth was that the last month and a half had been the most exciting of her life.  Although she had always enjoyed flying she had never really worked on improving her skills…until now.  Harry’s expertise and his magnificent Firebolt had allowed her to pull off maneuvers she never would have thought possible.

 

Harry’s original intent was to instruct Ginny while safely on the ground.  His plan of barking out orders from below lasted for the first fifteen minutes of their first practice before he quickly scampered to the shed to borrow a school broom for more active instruction.  “The doctors said I couldn’t play in any Quidditch matches Ginny.  They never specifically mentioned practices so technically I’m not disobeying orders.  Don’t tell Hermione though…she’ll kill me if she finds out.”

 

The Firebolt was truly amazing.  Unlike her previous brooms that would begin to wobble or drift when she attempted to go very fast the Firebolt seemed to fly more smoothly as her speed increased, as if it were relishing the fact the she was pushing it to the limit.   She could still remember Ron’s reaction after her first official practice with the team had ended.  “Well I think we’ve found the next Seeker after you graduate Harry,” Ron had said as he flew down from his Keeper position.  “Come to think of it…maybe you should bow out gracefully now and let Ginny play next year as well.”

 

It had indeed been a glorious six weeks.  But that was all over now.  Today was the day and because it was a Saturday she didn’t even have her classes to occupy her time until the match.  “Stop thinking about it,” she kept repeating.  “You’re only making it worse.”
 She tried to distract herself by thinking of other things:  applying a full body bind to Harry and punching him in the stomach repeatedly….performing Petrificus Totalus on Harry and punching him in the stomach repeatedly…performing the Imperius curse and making Harry punch himself in the stomach repeatedly.  But nothing seemed to work.  She still had two hours before the match was to begin and her nerves seemed to be increasing exponentially as each minute passed.

 

Ginny had remained calm that morning and had actually managed to eat a healthy breakfast until that stupid git she called her brother had to open his big mouth.

 

“How are you doing Ginny?  Not too nervous I hope?” Hermione asked as she gave her a reassuring smile.

 

“Not too bad actually.  Believe it or not I’m not that nervous.”

 

Ginny’s words caused her brother to laugh before he spoke.  “Yeah why would you be nervous?  I mean Gryffindor has only lost one match since Harry became the Seeker and that was only because of those blasted Dementors.  What does that make your record Harry?  12-1?  Not to mention the fact that Slytherin lost two of their Chasers when they were called home by their parents when Harry went to fight Voldemort.  Can you imagine how hard it would be to break in two new Chasers?  In the middle of the season?  Their only hope of winning is getting the Snitch before we build up too big of a lead.  So the only way we can lose is if Malfoy catches the Snitch before you.  Nope…no pressure at all.”

 

“Shut it Ron,” Harry muttered as he shot a disapproving glare his direction before turning to address Ginny.  “Don’t listen to him.  You’ll be fine…nothing to worry about as long as you do what we planned.”

 

She wanted desperately to believe Harry but Ron had just voiced the thoughts she had been successfully keeping at bay for the last several weeks.  Hearing them spoken out loud broke down all the barriers she had put in place and panic began to creep…no stampede…into her consciousness.  Other things, specifically her breakfast, began to creep up as well.  “I have to go,” Ginny spat out as she quickly covered her mouth with her hand and sprinted to the girls’ bathroom.

 

She could hear Harry angrily saying “you idiot” as she slammed the door open, barely making it in enough time to avoid Filch’s wrath for making a mess on the bathroom floor.

 

As she remembered her brother’s words she realized her anger was entirely misplaced.  “I’m going to kill Ron,” she thought as she made her way through the common room toward the portrait hole.  A smirk appeared on her face as she imagined applying the Imperius curse to Harry and having him punch Ron in the stomach repeatedly…

 

 

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“Okay this is it,” Harry stated firmly as he paced in front of his teammates, “we are ready.”  He stopped and paused, looking over the group with a stern expression.  “I want you lot to listen to me very carefully.  When the match starts you concentrate on your own positions and leave Ginny alone.  She doesn’t need to hear comments from six different coaches.”  Harry’s eyes fixed on Ron before he continued.  “Got that Weasley?”

 

“What are you talking about Harry?” Ron countered.  “If this is about earlier today I wasn’t trying to make her nervous.  I was simply stating that they have no chance unless-“

 

“For the love of everything that is right and holy shut your mouth Ron.  You are NOT helping,” Harry responded, a mixture of disgust and desperation in his voice.

 

Ron glanced at his sister’s ashen face as she continued to stare at the ground and realized he had done it again.  “Right.  Keep my mouth shut.  Got it.  Sorry Gin.” 

 

Ron’s worries about upsetting Ginny had been unwarranted however.  She had not heard a single word that had come out of his mouth, or Harry’s for that matter.  Her mind was too consumed with planning her escape from the Quidditch pitch and back to her dormitory so she wouldn’t have to humiliate herself in front of the entire school.  As she was reviewing in her mind the various locking charms she would be applying to her room once she arrived there safely she was roused from her thoughts by a hand shaking her shoulder and a faint voice calling her name.

 

“Ginny…Ginny…anybody home?”

 

Ginny’s eyes briefly settled on Harry before scanning the room to find that all her teammates were no longer there.  Before she could ask where they went Harry spoke.

 

“It’s almost time.  I told everyone else to go ahead so I could talk to you for a second.  Are you okay Gin?”

 

“Yes,” she answered with a weak smile.

 

Harry raised an eyebrow at her half-hearted response.  “Honestly?”

 

“No…to be honest I was planning my escape,” she responded as a nervous laugh escaped her mouth.

 

“You’ll be fine,” Harry said as he grasped her elbow and forced her to stand up from her chair.  “You’re doing much better than Ron did before his first match you know.  Of course it didn’t help having your brothers around.  They spent the entire morning reciting Oliver Wood’s career statistics to him.  I looked them up later and realized they had…um…exaggerated Oliver’s achievements.  Then as we were walking out to the pitch they informed him that it was a certainty that I would catch the Snitch so the only conceivable way we could lose is if he allowed Ravenclaw to build up a large lead before I got it.  I thought the poor boy was going to start crying right then and there.”

 

Ginny smiled at the realization that Ron had been put through the same gauntlet she’d been subjected to that morning.  “I remember that game Harry…he was brilliant.  He didn’t look nervous at all.”

 

It was clear this was the response Harry was hoping for.  “I think that’s why they did it.  They had seen Ron in practice and knew how good he was.  If George and Fred were really worried about how well Ron would do they never would have teased him so mercilessly.”  Harry gestured toward the tent opening and slowly began pulling Ginny out the exit.  “We better get out there.”

 

As they slowly made their way toward their teammates to await the introductions Harry began to speak again.  “I suppose this is the part where I’m to tell you that it’s not important whether we win or not.”  Harry paused before continuing.  “But we both know that’s a load of rubbish.  It is important whether we win or not…at least to me anyway.  Just concentrate on doing what we’ve planned and everything will be fine.  Malfoy won’t have a clue what you’re up to until it’s too late.”

 

“How can you be so sure Harry?  The only way this will work is if he doesn’t know how much I’ve improved or what our strategy is. I wouldn’t put it past that lowlife prat to do something underhanded like sneak down and watch one of our practices.  What if he knows what we’re up to?”

 

A smug expression appeared on Harry’s face as he calmed Ginny’s fears.  “We don’t have to worry about that.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because I was a lowlife underhanded prat and snuck down and watched their practice last week.  I heard them talking and they think your going to be totally nutters with no idea what you’re doing out there.  Trust me…they have no idea.”

 

Harry’s revelation caused a wave of laughter to seize Ginny before he continued speaking.  “Well what did you expect? I told you it was important to me!  Now quit laughing…you’re supposed to be nervous.   Remember?”

 

“Right…nervous,” she muttered as she bowed her head to conceal the smile crossing her face.

 

As they reached their teammates Harry spoke again.  “You might want to look up now Ginny or you’ll miss the best part…until you catch the Snitch of course.”

 

She had always thought the pitch had looked magnificent on the day of a match but her normal vantage point from the stands paled in comparison to her view that day.  Her eyes were transfixed by the banners, the flags, the students, the excitement that the scene in front of her exuded.  She spotted a large scarlet and gold banner being held by her fellow fifth years that alternated between flashing “Go Gryffindor!” and “Go Ginny!” and her heart soared.  Suddenly she couldn’t wait for the match to start.

 

She felt Harry’s hand on her shoulder and turned her eyes to face him.  “It’s time for me to go.  Remember what I said and you’ll be fine.  Good luck.”  As he was walking toward the stands Harry quickly turned and offered one last bit of advice.  “I almost forgot,” he yelled to be heard over the noise of the cheering crowd, “don’t listen to the idiot announcing the match…or the Keeper.”

 

“Sod off Harry!” Ron yelled back with a laugh as he turned to look at his sister.  “Ready to spank some Slytherins Gin?” he said with a smile before he kicked off from the ground to circle the pitch.

 

Ginny watched her teammates take off and realized she was the only one remaining on the ground.  Her grip on the broomstick tightened as she placed it between her legs, adrenaline running through her veins.  “Time to spank some Slytherins,” she muttered as she launched herself into the air, determined to extend Gryffindor’s winning streak.