Chapter Seven

The opening game of the Junior Quidditch World Cup finally arrived at the end of the week. After countless hours of practice, Harry felt the team was ready. Most of the team had gathered in the locker room, ready for the game. Ginny was the only one who seemed particularly anxious and with good reason. As Harry glanced around the locker room, he noticed that one of their team members was missing. Draco Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. Ginny was pacing near the chalkboard when Harry approached her. It was getting close to game time, and they needed to make a decision soon as to whether or not they were going to go on without him. After another moment of indecision, Ginny grabbed Marcus Belby's arm and pulled him aside while Harry listened.

"Marcus, please go retrieve Zabini from the stands. We can't wait for Malfoy any longer."

Harry noted that Ginny looked particularly stressed by this decision. As Malfoy had been at all the team practices, she hadn't trained with any of the alternates.

Marcus wasted little time heading out of the locker room to fetch Blaise Zabini to take Malfoy's place for the game. Ginny continued to pace as they waited for Zabini to join them. Once he was in full gear and everyone was seated, Ginny stood in front of them all.

"This is it. This is what we've all been waiting for. This tournament will determine the best school team. I know that it is us. We just have to go out there and prove it. The seven of us in this room are the best in the school, and we are going to go out there and show that other team why. Now, let's go out there and win this thing." The team cheered as Ginny finished up her speech. They stood up and headed out of the room toward the pitch. Ginny grabbed Zabini's arm to hold him back for a moment. Harry decided to wait for Ginny and stood where he would be able to overhear their conversation.

"Do you've any idea where Malfoy is?" Ginny did not look pleased.

"No, I don't. I haven't seen him all morning."

"Alright. I hope you're familiar with all of the plays. I want to decimate this team. Also, be at the next practice. You'll be replacing Malfoy until he decides to smarten up, if at all." Zabini nodded to Ginny and left to join the rest of the team waiting to start. Ginny nodded at Harry as they joined up with the team as well. Once everyone was ready, the players mounted their brooms and waited to be introduced.

"Welcome, everyone, to the first Junior Quidditch World Cup," the familiar voice of Oliver Wood announced. "The first match up is between Hogwarts and Salem. Without further ado, please kindly welcome the Salem ladies - Washington! Willows! Carr! Evans! Kennedy! Jones! aaannnd ANDERSON!"

Harry could barely see, but he caught a glimpse of a few players on the other team flying around the pitch with pale violet Quidditch robes on. Knowing they were next, Harry prepared himself to fly out onto the field. A rush of excitement surged through him as Oliver spoke.

"And now, welcome the Hogwarts team - Weasley! Weasley! Smith! Belby! Robins! Zabini! aaannnd POTTER!"

Harry kicked off from the ground and took off onto the pitch as his name was announced. The crowd cheered loudly before everyone took their places. Harry watched as Viktor Krum carried the chest of equipment to the centre of the field.

"And, as special referee to the opening game, please welcome Bulgarian Seeker, Viktor Krum!"

The cheers started up again as Krum set the chest down in the middle of the field. Both Ginny and the captain of the Salem team moved towards each other and shook hands before taking their rightful places on the field. Once Krum was sure everyone was ready, he went over the game rules quickly before releasing the Bludgers and Snitch. He then picked up the Quaffle and threw it into the air to start the game. Harry immediately started searching for the Snitch, mostly ignoring the rest of the players. Now that he no longer had to worry about captain duties, he concentrated fully on finding the ball that would win them the game.

"And it's Weasley with the Quaffle, darting quickly between the Salem Chasers to pass to Robins. Robins passes to Zabini. Zabini passes to Weasley, and Weasley scores the first goal of the game for the Hogwarts team. Washington passes to Willows who flies quickly towards the Hogwarts hoops. Willows passes to Carr. Carr passes to Willows. Willows passes to Kenne - NO! The Quaffle is intercepted by Robins."

Harry glanced over at the Chasers for a moment before turning back to his search for the Snitch. He was rather impressed with Ginny's eye for talent. She, Demelza, and Zabini were working well together. The crowd was cheering loudly for the Hogwarts team as they scored a second goal. Harry was momentarily distracted as he watched his team's Chasers zooming around the other players on the field. He could see the determination in Ginny's eyes as she snatched the Quaffle from one of the other team's Chasers. She passed the Quaffle to Zabini, who then performed a flawless Porskoff Ploy, passing the Quaffle back to Ginny. She rocketed towards the goal with the Quaffle tucked securely under her arm. Harry shook his head as he realised he should have been searching for the Snitch. His eyes went back to scanning the pitch.

"Weasley shoots, but it's saved by Washington. Washington passes to Kennedy. Kennedy passes to Willows - Carr - Willows - Kennedy - scores! Ten points to Salem."

A flash of gold caught Harry's eye as he floated above the game. He focused on the quickly moving object and smiled as he turned and sped towards it. He could hear the wind whistling past his ears. Suddenly, he felt someone at his side and glanced over to see the Anderson girl right next to him. He elbowed her away but she hit him back. They continued to push at each other until both of them had lost sight of the Snitch.

"Weasley passes to Weasley - Robins - Weasley - Zabini - Weasley - Zabini! Zabini scores! The score is now Thirty - Ten for Hogwarts. The Salem team is really trying their best to stop Hogwarts from scoring, but the Hogwarts Chasers are just too much for the Salem girls. Carr with the Quaffle passes to Kennedy - Willows. Nice save by Weasley! Excellent execution of the Starfish and Stick move."

It didn't take much longer for Hogwarts to score two more goals while Salem scored only one. Harry searched for the Snitch the entire time, but still hadn't spotted it again. Anderson had given up looking herself in order to mark Harry. The Snitch seemed to be particularly elusive in the match today. Harry was thankful that at least the Chasers seemed to be having fairly good luck. All of a sudden, Harry saw it, just out of the corner of his eye. He continued to fly around, keeping the Snitch in his sights as he pretended to be looking for it. As soon as the Snitch started to move quickly towards the ground, Harry broke into a dive and headed towards it. It took a moment for Anderson to realise what was happening. She quickly turned into the dive and started to catch up with Harry. He reached out as he started to get closer to the Snitch. He then felt someone slam into him hard, and he realised that Anderson had caught up to him and was right at his side. They both dove down towards the Snitch. Harry's broom was a little faster, but the ground was quickly approaching. Anderson looked at Harry with a bit of worry. The Snitch kept flying down. Suddenly, Anderson pulled up out of the dive, not wanting to crash into the ground. It wasn't long before Harry pulled out of the dive himself, nearly level with the ground as he sped towards the elusive Snitch. Harry reached out, urging his broom to go a little faster as he leaned against the handle. As soon as he felt the cold metal, he clasped his hand around it and slipped off his broom onto the ground below. He grinned as he held the Snitch in his hand.

"Potter has caught the Snitch! One hundred and fifty points to Hogwarts! Hogwarts wins!"

The crowd cheered loudly and started heading out onto the pitch to celebrate. The rest of his team landed and Ginny, Demelza and Ron ran towards him and hoisted him up into the air. Harry continued to hold the Snitch high in the air as the team celebrated. They had won the first game and were well on their way to winning the entire tournament. In a show of respect, Harry watched as Ginny slipped away from the crowd to shake the other team's captain's hand. He smiled at her proudly when she wasn't looking. Harry was finally let down as the crowd started to disperse, no doubt going to celebrate in their own common rooms. Harry continued to watch Ginny through the crowd. She smiled into the warm sunlight with a gleam of satisfaction. He realised that she had proven herself to anyone who doubted she could do the job she was given. She had pulled together the best team possible. No one would question her now. He watched as a Gryffindor girl in Ginny's year took her hand and started leading her towards the changing rooms, talking to her about something. The girl pushed Ginny into the changing room, sending a clear message to hurry up. Deciding that it was best, Harry called for the rest of the team to change and head back to the dormitories for continuing celebration.

By the time Harry had finally gotten a chance to shower and change, the rest of the team had already left back to their common rooms to continue celebrating the win. He fixed his tie before he headed back up to the castle. As he walked towards the front doors, he happened to glance over towards the Forbidden Forest. Standing at the very edge of the forest was none other than the missing Quidditch player himself, Draco Malfoy. However, he wasn't alone. Harry squinted his eyes as he tried to make out who was with Malfoy. As the other boy turned towards the castle, Harry immediately recognized him as Durmstrang captain, Mark Ferrars. The two of them were speaking to each other, and even from where he stood, Harry could tell the conversation was not meant to be overheard. Not wanting to be spotted, Harry headed inside the castle and tried to see if they could be watched from inside. Unfortunately, they just happened to be in the right spot as any view from the Entrance Hall made it impossible to see them both. The only thing that made Harry leave from his spot was the knowledge that everyone was waiting for him in the Gryffindor common room.

Harry walked into the common room to the sight of a few students with instruments including spoons, bagpipes, and a fiddle. He wasn't sure where they had gotten them, but decided not to question it. There was a party going on. There were students dancing in the middle of the common room, furniture having been banished, perhaps even shrunk to make room. Among those dancing was Ginny Weasley, being held closely by Seamus Finnigan as they danced to the upbeat Celtic music being played. No one seemed to know any proper steps to the dance and were just dancing and hopping around in circles, however, it seemed to fit. Harry spied Oliver and Charlie sitting in a corner, laughing and watching the couples dance around the floor. He managed to sneak by the dancers without getting in the way and took a seat with them at the table.

"Your sister sure has that Weasley spirit!" Oliver laughed as he watched Ginny and Seamus dancing around. "That one is surely going to be a handful for anyone."

Harry turned his gaze back to Ginny who had linked arms with Seamus and spun around in a circle before he pulled her close again. They danced around, seeming to have more knowledge of the dance, but Harry assumed that was Seamus's doing, having an Irish background. As the song ended, the pair parted ways and Ginny started towards Harry's table. She grabbed Oliver's hand and pulled him up onto the dance floor. She smiled at him as she pulled him close, and they spoke for a moment before they started dancing to the song that was playing. Harry turned his eyes away until they landed on Ron across the room. He saw Lavender Brown perched on his lap, leaning back against him with a wicked smile. He seemed too engrossed in the girl to notice that his younger sister was being passed around by the men at the party as a dance partner. She didn't seem to mind so Harry couldn't figure out why it bothered him so much. Ginny was laughing along with Oliver as they hopped, skipped and danced around the floor with the other pairs.

A butterbeer appeared in front of Harry, and when he looked up, he saw Hermione smiling at him sweetly. She took a seat in Oliver's vacated chair to watch the festivities. Harry took a swig of the drink as he eyed Ginny as she was being spun around the makeshift dance floor by Oliver Wood. Though no one had a clue what they were doing, they all looked like they did. Perhaps it was the spirit of the festivities that brought out the cheerfulness in them all. They had won a major Quidditch game and were well on their way to proving that Hogwarts had the best Quidditch players in the world. There seemed to be nothing to bring down any of their moods that night, Ginny in particular. She again switched partners as Oliver went off to dance with Parvati Patil, ending up with Seamus again. She squealed a little bit as Seamus swung her around sharply for a moment, and they danced towards the other side of the room, out of Harry's sight.

The party lasted late into the night, until finally Professor McGonagall had to step in and break it up. None of them had classes the next day, but according to Professor McGonagall, that was no reason not to get a good night's sleep. Charlie had slipped away earlier, but Oliver was still around. He had taken up in Charlie's chair when he had left. Slowly, Gryffindors headed to their dorm rooms, the younger students leaving first. Once most of Gryffindor had filtered up to their rooms, Oliver said goodnight to Harry before he slipped out of the common room to head to his accommodations in the castle. Dean, Seamus, and Ginny were the last to leave after they had put all of the furniture right again. Harry watched as they too left to their dormitory rooms for the night, but he stayed seated at the table. Once he was sure no one would be returning Harry moved to the couch by the fireplace. He needed time to think in peace. There was so much going on at the moment and he needed time to figure it all out. First, there was Ginny and her secret boyfriend. There were so many people it could have been. The only people Harry could think to rule out were Dean Thomas and Ron, for obvious reasons. He assumed it was a Gryffindor, given the location of their secret tryst he had stumbled upon. Not many students outside of Gryffindor came up to the seventh floor. But then, there was the mysterious circumstances surrounding Malfoy. He hadn't shown up to the Quidditch game that day, and Harry had never known him to miss playing a Quidditch game. Also, he spotted Malfoy talking to Ferrars later on just outside of the Forbidden Forest, and he had a feeling they were up to something.

On top of all this, he and Ron still hadn't made up. When Harry had gone to tell Ron about his break up with Hermione, he had walked in on Ron having a good snog with Lavender. He knew better than to interrupt and had simply walked away without sharing any news with Ron. He still hadn't had the chance to talk to Ron since then. He was his best friend and he wanted to make amends as soon as he could.

Harry could hear the sound of someone's bare feet against the floor, and his eyes glanced over towards the two sets of stairs. Through the dim light of the fading fire, Harry could make out a feminine silhouette coming down from the staircase leading to the girls' dormitories. He watched silently as she walked over to a table across the room and picked something out. He smiled softly as the dying flames caused the red strands of the girl's hair to seemingly glow warmly. She turned around to head back upstairs until her eyes caught sight of Harry still sitting where he had been all night.

"Harry! What are you doing down here? You should be in bed," Ginny whispered loudly. Instead of going back upstairs, she walked slowly over to him. "We have practice in the morning. You should get some sleep."

"I can't... sleep... There's just so much..."

Ginny nodded softly as she took a seat beside him. "Yeah. I couldn't sleep either. As much as I am enjoying all this, it really is a pathetic waste of time. I mean, he's out there, just waiting for the right opportunity, and still, the Ministry ignores all the warning signs and creates this bloody farce to distract us all. I don't think this tournament is going to have a winner. Something's going to happen. I can feel it. He's out there, biding his time."

Harry simply nodded before pulling Ginny close, giving her an affectionate, reassuring hug. He wasn't sure what to say to her to ease the weariness he could read in her expression. He wasn't even sure how to ease his own weariness. They sat there, holding each other in silence for what seemed like hours, but could have been only a few seconds.

"Hermione and I; we broke up." Harry wasn't sure what made him say it. It was a random thing to say in a conversation that had nothing to do with his relationship Hermione, but he felt he had to tell Ginny.

"I know. Oliver told me." Ginny paused for a moment before continuing. "You didn't do it for my stupid brother, did you?"

"Err, no. I just realised... she wasn't the one I truly wanted."

"And who is it that you want?" Ginny looked up at Harry with a bit of wonder and mischievousness as she pulled away. Harry took a moment to take her in while trying to decide how to answer her question. He wasn't sure there was a 'one' yet, but a fluttering feeling in his stomach as he looked at her made him wonder.

"I don't know quite yet. I'm sure she's out there. I'm just not sure who she is yet."

Ginny seemed fairly satisfied with his answer as she smiled at him. "Well, I've no doubt that you'll find her. Who knows? Maybe she's right under your nose, and you just don't know it yet." Ginny got up from the couch and walked over to the stairs. "Goodnight, Harry."