WHO: Ginny Weasley, and various Holyhead Harpie NPCS WHEN: March 9, 2005; Late afternoon WHERE: Holyhead Harpie Stadium, Holyhead Island, Wales RATING: PG-13 for violence STATUS: Log/Complete SUMMARY: Quidditch practice goes horribly, horribly wrong.
The end of a practice was always Ginny's favourite point. It was the one portion of the day where she could ignore flying patterns, strategy, and adjusting both things to make sure that the chasers reached the ultimate goal of the hoop for simply flying and playing for the love of the game.
As lead Chaser, the flying pattern was commonly determined and lead by Ginny which had the effect of sometimes limiting what she could do with her flying ability for the sake of her other teammates. But that was the beauty of a drill - she was free to be as reckless as she dared. And today reckless meant a double barrel roll, a fake to the left hoop, and a jerk of the broom to send her upward as the first string Keeper Josie ignored the fake to the left for protecting the right and left the centre wide open for Ginny's quaffle to sail through.
"YES!" Ginny cheered, diving down to catch the quaffle as it fell back to the ground with every intention of passing it back to the newest team member, a young Hufflepuff, to give her another chance. The sounding of Gwenog's whistle kept the quaffle in Ginny's hands though, and she sank to the ground to a shout of 'hit the showers!'
The practice had been productive, albeit nearly excruciatingly long. But the upcoming match with Puddlemere had promised to be one of the more difficult games that the Harpies would face both in pre-season and regular season play. In fact talk among those who followed quidditch as their own personal religion had pegged the two teams to be playing for the League Cup when the time came.
Ginny wasn't going to pretend that a certain thrill didn't run down her spine at the idea of helping her team get that title. Winning would go a long way towards putting her name into the pot for national team selections, something which the outcome of the season would help determine as 2005 marked the European Cup, and 2006 the World Cup. England's national team would be determined as the current season came to a close, and Ginny wanted to be on it.
The question was only if she wanted to spend two more years of her life on a broom just for the chance at a World Cup. It was practically a never-ending debate as her head said yes and her soul said no, because it wanted something that was so drastically different but still sent the same thrill tingling through her body as dreams of a red and white national team jersey with Weasley printed on the back did.
"Oh Merlin help us, she's got that soppy love sick look." a voice said, effectively snapping Ginny out of thoughts of white dresses, and - eventually - small little bodies with hopelessly messy black hair.
"I know" another voice said amidst the snickers and cat-calls from the other Harpie players as they all entered the stadium on a march to the locker rooms, a shower, and to what was left of the day. "I'd be disgusted if they didn't seem so happy. Who wants to bet that Ginny is remembering her last shag?"
"Sod off Clara!" Ginny laughed, her words a contrast to the grin she was wearing on her face even if shagging Harry had been the last thing she was thinking of, "It's not my problem if you haven't gotten any in a few months and I won't let you live vicariously through me."
The answering laugh from behind her was enough of an answer for Ginny as she stepped into the locker room behind the young 'Puff, a reserve Chaser named Marian who was fresh out of Hogwarts.
She didn't know why she had taken to the Hufflepuff so much, but Ginny had made it her personal mission of the season to pay close attention to her progress and to attempt to encourage her. The potential was easy enough to see, as was the determination to prove herself and move up the ranks on the team. It was something Ginny admired and something she remembered from her own days as a reserve.
And maybe she was just looking to mentor her replacement when the time came to step down.
"What were you thinking about?" Marian's voice was muffled by the metal locker blocking most of her face as she dug around inside it. "Seemed like a good thought, whatever it was."
For a moment Ginny hedged on answering, unwilling to share that sort of secret with someone when she hadn't ever mentioned it to Harry. And beyond that? Any hint that she might leave would send the managers and the other players into a tizzy - especially since the season hadn't even started.
"Oh just the future." she replied, hoping her vague answer would satisfy Marian. But to her credit, the younger woman looked unconvinced as she shut her locker and tucked a towel under her arm.
"What sort of future?"
"Nothing specfic, really." Ginny said, making the split-second decision that she'd rather just shower at home instead of waiting another half-hour for a free one. "Odds for the team for the season, what to get George for his birthday, if I want to invite some friends for dinner after the game Saturday....that sort of thing. Incredibly interesting, I know." she grinned, tugging her t-shirt over her head and reaching for the jacket hanging in her locker.
".....you are so bloody domestic that its sad." Marian replied with a chuckle, "I'm thinking about which pub I want to go to tonight and you're planning a dinner party."
"Well, I got tired of going to the pubs every night." she shrugged, closing her locker and hoisting her bag over her shoulder. "It was brilliant for a while, but eventually I just decided that I liked being home. It's better to save my wild pub nights for special occasions like winning a match." Ginny grinned, waving goodbye to Marian as she headed to the shower and Ginny made for the door.
"See your lazy arses tomorrow!" she called to the room at large, laughing at some of the more colorful responses that came in reply before Ginny could step out the door and into the quietness of the hallway.
Except the quiet only lasted long enough for four steps down the hallway as the explosion radiated out from the Captains Office and tore into the hallway, locker room, and other offices nearby.
The smell of smoke and fire came next as piles of debris from the stadium and its contents still crumbled into the large hole the bomb had made. And seconds after that screams and shouts for help began to fill the air from those that were still alive, or conscious enough to make a sound.