Dean Thomas (artsydean) wrote in plagued_logs, @ 2015-08-17 19:47:00 |
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Entry tags: | dean thomas, ginny weasley, rating g |
Who: Dean Thomas and Ginny Weasley
What: A post birthday get together.
When: Saturday, August 15th
Rating: PG?
Status: Incomplete - Started in Gdoc, continued in comments.
Honestly, Dean was a little surprised that Ginny wanted to spend time with him as a birthday gift for her. It had been a long while since they had hung out together, in a group or alone. The reason behind that didn’t need to be said, but they could always make up for lost time. She was still one of his best mates after all.
The tickets for the first West Ham game for the season were a little difficult to get, only because Dean needed to borrow some money. However, borrowing entailed completing a few chores around the house, which was fine. He wasn’t ready to toss himself in the real world like Seamus, who obtained a job at the Leaky a few days ago. Or at least, not yet. After everything that he had been through, family was what he needed for a while, even if his mother rightfully smothered him the second that she could. In the end, it was worth it, especially with the company.
Dean picked the redhead at the Burrow. It was a miracle that he got out of there without Molly catching sight of him, escaping her motherly ways. Not that he minded it much with the few times that he had seen her, but there were times that it was a bit too much.
“Ready for your first game?” he asked giving her a sideways smile, after taking the liberty of apparating them to a secluded area not too far off from the stadium. Dean had talked about West Ham frequently when they were together and silently wondered how much Ginny remembered.
---
Ginny honestly couldn’t believe that Dean had gotten them football tickets for her birthday. Part of her wanted to insist that it was too much. That he couldn’t have possibly spent that kind of money on her (not to mention time with that completely brilliant flip-book he’d made). But she’d been wanting to actually see a football game since he’d started telling her about it. She wasn’t quite as fascinated by Muggles as her father, maybe, but she still found some things intensely interesting; the idea of ground Quidditch with just one ball was intriguing enough that she hadn’t ever really stopped hoping that she’d get to go to a game eventually.
She hadn’t really snuck out of the house when Dean arrived to pick her up, but she didn’t make too big of a show about leaving. Molly was distracted and she wasn’t sure how much extra time they’d have and she didn’t want to risk being late by her being...well...Molly. Besides, Ginny had just managed to calm her down after the latest Witch Weekly debacle, so it was best if she didn’t get it in her head that Ginny was back together with Dean. They were just going as mates, after all.
“Beyond ready. I’m so excited!” Ginny said, her voice just shy of a squeal. “I can’t believe you got tickets. Between this and Verity getting me a signed Weird Sisters’ poster, I’m feeling very spoiled.” She laughed. They walked easily towards the stadium, which was massive, really. Not quite as big as a Quidditch pitch, but then, they didn’t have to worry about flying into one another, so it sort of made sense. “Okay. So. There’s a keeper just like in Quiddy, yeah? But there’s only one ball. Like the Quaffle. And everyone else is basically a Chaser and they can only use their feet?” She said it like a question because grasping the concept was still a bit beyond her.
---
If Dean wasn't excited enough to see his favorite team play, Ginny's own was more than enough, as a smile spread across his features. It almost reminded him of his own first game years ago.
"Alright!" he let out his own exclamation with a small fist pump just in front of his chest. It took him a moment longer to look over at her once again, continuing forward to the stadium. "Weird Sister poster. Is that signed by the entire band? And here I thought that I got your number one gift this year." Dean let out a short laugh. To him, the tickets were better, but he knew the redhead well enough.
Dean nodded his head when Ginny recounted what he had told her previously about football, "Basically. You can use your head, chest, and legs too. It's to get better handle of the ball, since hands are a big no-no during a play." The question like tone went over his head as he rattled on a few more things. Mentally, he had to stop himself because it was a topic that he could go on and on about, much like the subject of art if it popped up into a conversation.
Really, he could.
"They've got venders if you're hungry or thirsty too. Oh, and stands of souvenirs if you want to get something with their logo," he stated off handedly. Dean had a couple of extra bucks with him just in case, but not enough to purchase something expensive like a jersey. (It was free to stare longingly though...) However, a poster was a different story though, but he doubted that Ginny would want him to spend more money on her. But he still wanted to make sure that she knew of these things.
----
“Yes! I dunno how she got the whole band to sign it. And write ‘to a rockin’ redhead, Ginny’ on it, but she did.” Ginny barely wanted to even touch the poster too much. She was afraid she’d damage it someway. The Weird Sisters were her all-time favourite band, which was mostly her older brothers’ fault, and it was a little overwhelming to have something so brilliant of theirs. “Oh, but this is at least equally as good.” She assured him, giving him a sort of half hug. “A whole day of hanging out and getting to see a professional football match? Very brilliant, indeed.” She added with a grin.
She listened closely as he explained things a bit further, nodding along when she remembered that he’d told her that before. “Right. Okay. Any other rules besides no handsies?” She wiggled her fingers playfully. “I mean, that are loads different from Quiddy?” She was sure there were plenty of rules, but they had to be similar right? Like fouling another player was probably frowned upon. Though, they didn’t have magic, so they probably had to worry less about someone sneaking in a wand to hex someone mid-flight.
“Oh. I wish I had any muggle money on me.” She said, pursing her lips. She still wasn’t entirely sure how the strange little papers and coins worked, but she knew that Dean would know. If she’d thought to get any changed at Gringotts, she’d have done it. She had a bit of gold saved up from working at the joke shop for the past few weeks.
---
"Hrm, a rockin' red head, eh?" he questioned playfully with a sideways glance in her direction, eyeing her. It broke shortly after with a grin. Even if his gift was second on the, what he thought was a slew of others, then Dean would take it. All of it was worth it to see Ginny's excitement, feeling her half hug against him, "Now, you're just trying to make me feel better. Remember, I know how much you like The Weird Sisters. I'll take it though. No complaints from me." His words were stated in a joking matter, obviously. They both made it apparent already that they were both enjoying the day so far.
Dean knew all the rules to football, but where to start to start? To him, it was all straightforward, yet a part of him wondered if it would come off confusing. Quidditch felt like that when he was trying to piece the game together properly. "Well, the players can't make any contact with each other. It doesn't matter if its on purpose or accidental. That player gets a red card. If five players get red carded, the game is done. That doesn't include substitutes though, but sad day when that happens early," he explained with a shake of his head. Too many times hyped up games turned sour in such a way.
The money in his pocket was his own this time, savings that he was surprised that his brothers didn't snatch up while he was gone. It wasn't as much as the tickets costed, but he knew that there was a chance that Ginny wouldn't think of muggle money. Or really, he knew she wouldn't. No problem though. "I've got some money on me. So, if you want a snack or a flag as a souvenir, let me know," he stated.
Leading the way further into the stadium, they passed a few more stands with individuals making exchanges. The crowd became larger with, what seemed like each step, so followed the noise level as well. "Stay close," he said a little louder as his hand was placed on her back to urge her closer instinctively. “Can’t go losing you in the crowd.” Hey, Ginny was short compared to him. It could happen!
----
"Wow. Loads stricter than quiddy." Ginny half laughed. She couldn't count the number of times a Slytherin had tried to knock her off her damned broom in a match. Not that it was strictly legal in quidditch, but Madam Hooch couldn't see everything. And even when she could people hardly ever got chucked from the game. "Okay. Anything vital for me to know?" She gave a look around. "I gather it's the maroon and blue shirts we're rooting for, yeah?" She nodded towards one of the stands selling jerseys and little flags.
"You've already gone and got me too much." Ginny said with a wave of her hand. "Really. It's alright." She was happy to just spend the day with him, and a slew of muggles watching what she was sure was going to be a brilliant match. No one here had read the Witch Weekly articles. No one here was giving her strange, pitying looks or mumbling "poor thing" under their breath as they passed by. So already it was miles above any day she'd had this week.
The crowd thickened and she made sure she could feel Dean beside her. Between her distinct height disadvantage and her penchant for wandering, it was always possible she'd get separated from him and she didn't have the foggiest how to get home from here so that'd be awful.
---
Dean nodded in agreement. While it took some time to learn all the rules of Quidditch, it took lesser time to learn how to play. He was a natural on the broom, and found himself to be a decent player on the field. No where near as good as Ginny though, but everyone has their different talents. The fouls there were far and few in between compared to football, knowing the game would have ended immediately if they were in the muggle world. Probably the front page of the local paper the next day too. He half pointed in the direction of the team's colors as she spoke of them, "Good eye." He managed to tease with a tiny nudge of arm against hers. "Other than staying in between the lines, you've got the basics all covered."
Well, there were the various kicks that were involved too, but Dean could explain that when they happened. It would give them something else to talk about too.
"Figured that, but the offer is still there if you want it," he replied. Maybe Dean had spent too much on his ex-girlfriend, but they were still friends. In his mind, friends did this for each other once in a while. There was always his birthday that she could make it up to him. He wasn't about to stop her for doing something nice for him in a couple of months.
Continuing to lead the way forward, Dean managed to get them to a break in the crowd, and clear view of the stadium where the game would unfold soon. He checked the seat number on the tickets, knowing that they were on the right side, but had a bit to walk still. While he did spend good money on the tickets, they were no where near the expensive ones. The box seats and the ones in the middle cost more. Dean ended up purchasing two near the West Ham goal in the middle of the section. "Just down this way," he said and turned to look at her briefly. "I forgot to ask how your birthday was, so how was it?"
-----
The view of the pitch was wonderful and Ginny paused for a moment to take it all in. The grass was a beautiful shade of green and looked immaculately kept. The seats were much closer to the ground than in Quidditch, which was understandable considering where the actual play happened. Still, it was massive and Ginny was a bit in awe of it.
Dean’s comments shook her out of her shock enough to get her to keep moving towards their seats, but she kept wanting to look around so she grabbed onto his hand to keep herself from getting lost. “This place is amazing.” The energy in the air was palpable. It felt just like the bit of time before a Quidditch match. The fans were practically buzzing with excitement and it made everything around them that much more enjoyable.
“Oh, it was great. I couldn’t believe the number of owls. Honestly, you’d think we lived at a post-station. And all my brothers came home to the Burrow for cake and things, so that was brills.” She didn’t mention the fact that she’d spent at least part of the day in her room thinking about Fred and Colin. She didn’t mention the parts that were hard and difficult to deal with. For one, she didn’t want to spoil the mood and for another, she wasn’t really great at talking about those sorts of things.
---
It wasn't until Dean felt Ginny's hand slip into his hand that he realized that he was heading to the seats too fast. Of course, she would have wanted to take the sight in. He reduced his pace to give her plenty of time to look around, not caring if they were too slow for the rest. As for his hand, it closed around hers almost as though it was a normal act between them. Almost.
"Yeah, it's brilliant," he remarked, casting his eyes in the direction of the field as well. "You haven't seen anything yet. Wait until the game starts." To Dean, each moment watching West Ham was great. Not every moment was action packed, but he enjoyed it all. If the crowd was buzzing now, it would only get more intense as the game went on.
Dean could imagine how stock full the Weasley kitchen was with owls coming through every which way. And the mess that Molly would have to clean up most likely, especially if that many came by throughout the day. "Sound like the perfect birthday, spending it with your family." If there was one thing that people knew about him, it was how much Dean cared about his own family. And after all they had been through, his friend's family meant a lot to him too, especially the Weasleys. They probably needed more time together. "I'm glad that you have fun."
As they ventured further towards their seats, Dean nudged Ginny again, and pointed in the direction of double closed doors. "That's where the players are going to come out."
----
“Yeah, it was nice. It’s been a few weeks since everyone’s been all together so.” She gave a small shrug. “It was nice.” Even with everyone there it still felt a little empty with Fred’s absence. And they tried not to talk about it too much, but by not talking about it, it made the hole that was there that much bigger. But it had been nice to see everyone. Truly. Losing Fred had been hard, but having Percy back and realizing how important family was, made things at least bearable.
Ginny felt a bit like a child in a toystore. She kept trying to reign in the excitement a bit, but it just wasn’t going to happen. Dean pointed to where the team would be coming out from and she let out a bit of a squeal and jumped a little. “Really, just there?” She said, pointing. “Merlin’s tits this is excellent.”
They started the climb to their seats and the redhead could feel the excitement around them growing and buzzing. As the game time crept closer, the crowd was getting noisier and noisier. The stands were filling in pretty quickly. It was a great day to be outside in the sunshine. The weather was lovely, which was a blessing in the middle of August. Not too hot and the sun was welcomed. Once they found their seats, Ginny took hers, but was still vaguely bouncing. “Have I mentioned how brilliant you are for getting us tickets? Cause you are.” She said with a wide grin.
---
Just like Dean had expected, the Weasleys hadn't seen all of each other in the same room for a while. It took an event like Ginny's birthday to get together, which is when it mattered. And better later than never. They made an effort where it counted. However, the body language that followed the red head's statement seemed as though everything wasn't positive. If she didn't make a comment towards it, then Dean wasn't going to press too much on it. "As long as it was nice," he replied with a squeeze of her hand.
A smile spread across Dean's features as Ginny's excitement poured out of her. If she was attempting to hide it, she was failing at it miserably. Not that he wanted her to contain all that she was feeling. It was a place to get excited after all, which reminded him of his first game. He could barely hold anything in, even if West Ham did lose that particular game. The outcome wouldn't be the same today. He let out a small laugh, "You said you'd have some residual reaction today, but I didn't think this much. It's kind of cute."
Dean took his seat shortly after Ginny, and leaned back a little in the seat. "Not that I can recall. At least, not today you haven't," he teased with a smirk. "I'm just glad that you're having a fun time, even though the game hasn't started yet. Soon though." Briefly, he looked down at the watch on his wrist. Just a few more minutes, which was obvious to see, especially since the stands were beginning to fill up all around them. Any moment, the music would blare, the crowd would roar, and the players would run out on the green field.
----
“Oh shush you.” She laughed, giving him a playful nudge on his arm when he called her excitement cute. She didn’t tone it down though. Partly because Dean had seen her at her very silliest. And also because it’d be nearly impossible to tone anything down at this point.
There was some loud music and then the players burst through the double doors, and the noise in the arena exploded. In a second, everyone was on their feet and Ginny hopped up too, swept up in it all. People were chanting for specific players, but as she didn’t know anyone on the team, she was just yelling. Loudly. And waving her arms. There was some business with a coin toss and then they set up for the kickoff. Within a few moments things were off and people had found their way back to their seats.
“Okay, okay. So. They’ve got to get the ball into the big netted thing at the other end, yeah?”
---
Just as the music started up, Dean jumped to his feet as well. The rush of the electricity from the crowd was in the air, cheering for the team that jogged on to the field. He joined in it all, chanting a few of the players names as well. There was a certain tone of Ginny's extremely loud yelling that struck his ear oddly, but he just chuckled lightly to himself.
How could he forget just how loud she could yell? Only Merlin knew.
With the coin toss over and done with and the ball finally in play, Dean had taken his seat once again. He leaned forward a little unconsciously, balancing his gaze between the plays and Ginny. "No, this one is their goal," he nodded to the one that was nearest to them. If he couldn't get tickets in the middle due to the price, then he made sure they were near the proper goal. "They want to get here, opposite side scores for Sheffield." It wouldn't be the first time that a player got confused and scored on the wrong side.
The players hustled back and forth on the field, as West Ham continued to keep up a good defense. A few of the plays had been near misses, causing the crowd to rustle from their seats and increase the cheers. The fans had been doing their part on the opposite side by waving their hands and banners in hopes to make a distraction to cause the other team to miss the goal. Close, but no cigars for both sides.
"Still a good game even though it's scoreless," he stated with a bit of a sigh and leaned back on his seat finally. The venders of popcorn walked down the aisles calling out to make a sale.
----
Ginny was a bit transfixed by the gameplay. She knew enough about sports to figure out the basic gist of things. It wasn’t an overly complicated game, but she knew she was missing some of the nuances. Still, she knew athleticism when she saw it and some of these players were just phenomenal. On both sides, really.
She was surprised by how difficult it seemed to be to score a goal. For one thing, the target was massive compared to the hoops on the Quidditch pitch. For another, they were on the ground and didn’t have anything hurtling through the air at them trying to knock them from their brooms. Still, aiming with one’s foot was probably harder than it looked. Both teams seemed to have excellent defense.
“It’s aces. We need to get Ron to one of these matches so he can learn a thing or two from these keepers.” Ginny said with a laugh. She loved her brother, but it was no secret that he sometimes struggled in front of the goal posts. “How do they stop these shots? It’s mental!” She was sitting practically on the edge of her seat.
---
"Ron would probably complain about the way that they were playing to make him look better," he replied with a short laugh. Dean could already picture the other Weasley already with a few grumbles under his breath. Although, it could all be entertaining to say the very least. "He'd probably get that entire stock of popcorn though." There was a nod of his head in the direction of the vender only a few feet away from them.
Just as Dean was about to make a comment about how the players successfully block the incoming shot, West Ham had possession of the ball, claiming it as it's own halfway down the field. The crowd immediately had increased the sound of their cheers, which Dean found himself snapping back into the game and leaning forward with high anticipation. Each time his team had the ball, a surge of energy caught him. It was the same for those around them, knowing that the player could score a goal. No, it was time for West Ham to score.
The player trekked the ball down the rest of the field, dodging the players of the other team, before passing it to one of his own. The other had kicked it hard into the air, over a few that were aiding the guarding of the goal. It soared through the air, perfectly colliding with a player named Wright's head and into the goal.
Chaos of ecstatic cheers from the crowd roared loudly. Dean joined into it all and leap to his feet out stretched arms to celebrate and yells to match.
---
Ginny had turned to see what had made Dean distracted and she saw the breakaway. Even not knowing much about the sport, she knew this was a big moment. If nothing else, the crowd's reaction would have been enough to tip her off. There was a moment of hushed excitement as everyone seemed to be processing at the same time before the eruption of sound. Ginny found herself nearly on her feet as the player kicked the ball. As soon as it hit the other bloke's head, she jumped up with a yell.
She hadn't thought the stadium could have gotten louder, but it did and the pulsing energy from the fans was almost intoxicating.
"Merlins tits!! Did you bloody see It?! It went right off his sodding head!!" Her ever running Quidditch brain was already coming up with new practices for the team. "That was one of the most brilliant things I've ever seen!"
---
It had taken the majority of the game, but West Ham scored! And it was an amazing play! A part of him thought that maybe it would have gone scoreless, which he felt that wouldn't have been the entire experience of football for the ginger. However, that wasn't the case.
"I saw it! Bloody brilliant!" he exclaimed loudly for the both of them to hear over the roar of the crowd. Even in close proximity, it was difficult to hear with the various cheers that echoed off the walls of the stadium. Dean leaned a bit closer to Ginny so she could hear him better.
The players showed their appreciation for their fellow player, rushing over to him and toppling into him in celebration. With a few more pats all around, the players dispersed into order to continue the game, time ticking down. The end was almost near, and he didn't want to.
"Not bad for your first game, eh?" he asked with a grin after it all settled down. It didn't stop the buzz from the crowd though.