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Ginny woke with a start.
It was 6 am and she was evidently now up awake before anyone else, having been woken by the sound of Titan scratching at her window. She opened the latch and let her new tawny owl deliver what was clearly her invitation back for the seventh year at Hogwarts. Titan dropped the letter down beside her and proceeded to hiss at Arnold before perching back on the top of her silver cage.
Ginny immediately realised that there was not just a letter in the envelope, as the weight of it had made a dramatic thump on the top of her bed. She pressed her fingers along the outside of the corner and felt a shield pin badge inside of it. She presumed, that as she hadn’t been a prefect, it wouldn’t be the badge for head girl. Besides, that honour she assumed would either be going to Hermione or Astoria, a girl who’d defied the Carrows and other Slytherins to help Ginny with the DA rebellion last year.
She quickly unsealed the envelope and felt the badge fall straight onto her lap. The immediate glimmer of ‘Captain’ began to shine in the sunlight that was peeking through the blinds of her curtains. Her heart swelled as she took the badge into her hands, then chose to fasten it straight onto her plaid pyjamas, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride as she clipped it into place.
Ginny then unfolded the letter that came alongside her new badge, shuffling closer towards the window light to try and make out what it read;
Dear Miss Weasley,
I am pleased to be writing to you this morning, inviting you to return to Hogwarts and complete your NEWT year in September. Students wishing to study…
...Ginny scanned the letter in haste, skipping through the endless textbook lists and flicking through the new NEWT courses being offered to the returning seventh years. Ginny felt excited at the prospect of being able to study new subjects such as ‘Alchemy’, ‘Wizarding Literature’ and ‘International Wizardry’. After all, Ginny thought, she had no need to continue ‘Muggle Studies’ and ‘Dark Arts’ - two of the NEWTs she’d be forced to study during the Carrows’ reign last year...
...Furthermore, I am delighted to be offering you the position of ‘Gryffindor Quidditch Captain’ for this academic year. Having watched you before, I feel that you are the best candidate to take on the challenge of regaining the trophy for Gryffindor. The guidelines for accepting this position are as follows:
- Captains must hold trials within one month of term beginning, to allow a sufficient pitch rota to be formed for the rest of the season
- Captains must swear to uphold sportsmanship values when selecting their teams and throughout the duration of the inter-house matches
- Captains must commit to acting as role models throughout the school year, and breach of this rule may result in the suspension of their captainship
All chosen captains are asked to form and register their teams by 31st September and must include three chasers, two beaters, one keeper and one seeker in their line-up. The selection of a reserve team is not compulsory, but one may be registered if desired.
I hope to hear of your acceptance of the position by no later than 20th August,
Sincerely,
Headmistress M. McGonagall
Ginny’s heart leapt with delight. She squealed into her letter, then proceeded to look out of the window out onto the Devonshire hills of Ottery. She saw how the sun was just beginning to rise, with its beautiful orange rays just hitting the tops of the orchard trees.
Her eyes were drawn to a mysterious figure riding a broomstick in between an obstacle course she’d created last week in preparation for the upcoming school season. After a closer look, it was immediately clear that the person in question was Harry, who she’d already seen throughout the summer rising early each day, to take a morning flight around the countryside.
Ginny, still in her pyjamas, immediately raced down the stairs two at a time to reach the back door of the Burrow. After a few minutes, she reached the broom shed and proceeded to take out her Cleansweep 300. After hopping on, she flew out to the orchard boundary, eyes fixated on Harry’s form and style as he swerved in and out of the apple trees.
She couldn’t remember how long she had ended up staring at him for, if she had to, she’d guess around fifteen whole minutes. By the time she’d snapped back into reality, Harry had now stopped in the air and was looking straight back at her, smiling gently.
It hadn’t taken long for the two of them to reunite after the war, both refusing to wait any longer for the other. It’d been Harry who’d made the first move after it had ended, coming up to the hospital wing where she had been healing the minor injuries of those hurt in the final battle. They took a long walk around the ground that afternoon, mirroring their time together after the Quidditch match in her fifth year. It took a while, but eventually, they had been able to discuss everything they’d each had to endure over the ten months they were apart. By the time the pair were finished talking, it was already nightfall and those repairing the castle had gone to sleep in the empty dormitories. Ginny seized the opportunity to kiss Harry like she’d never kissed him before, and soon she found him to be pushing her up against the second-floor corridor walls and snogging her until both their lips were swollen and bruised.
Ginny was snapped out of her little daydream by Harry, clearing his throat and looking straight at her.
“Not like you to be up and out before lunchtime is it, Gin? Are you feeling okay this morning?” he began. Ginny, playfully rolling her eyes, took it upon herself to slightly jut out her chest, where the captain’s badge sat on the collar of her nightshirt.
She watched as she saw Harry’s eyes trail from looking right at her face, down to her chest where the red pin-badge was still glistening in the morning sun.
Feeling cheeky, she replied, “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed Harry, but my eyes are actually up here you know” pointing at herself.
“Oh don’t you worry Gin I know exactly where-”, Harry then paused as his eyes seemed to finally meet the badge sat on her chest
Playfully, Ginny feigned ignorance and continued “Well, after what we’ve been up to this summer Potter, I don’t doubt you know exactly where my chest is.”
Surprisingly having ignored what she’d just said, Harry began to stutter as his face contorted into what appeared to be a smile of pride and delight at her news.
“Gin...you, captain...quidditch?”
“Fantastic use of syntax there babe,” Ginny said while laughing, staring adoringly at her boyfriend, who was still trying to comprehend what he was seeing.
“Gin you’re absolutely incredible” he chuckled, picking her up and spinning her around as she squealed in return.
“Oh am I really?” she said, trying to keep a straight face as she stared right at his lips, licking her own in anticipation. “Just how incredible would that be-”
Harry then cut her off with a thumping kiss, pressing hard onto her lips as she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer to her.
After snogging until they both needed to stop for air, Ginny (whilst panting) told him, “McGonagall sent the letter early this morning, it was Titan that woke me up to deliver it. I have to reply back to her by Thursday”
“Well then”, Harry said whilst straightening up his glasses, “It’s a good thing you’ll be accepting it, won’t you.”
“Of course”, she smirked, “It’s time Gryffindor had a reliable captain anyways”
Harry could only laugh, taking pretend offence at her dig towards his constant injuries whilst he was captain back in her fifth year. As he did, Ginny signalled towards her broom and asked,
“So are you going to help me train then, my chosen one” adding emphasis onto the name she knew Harry despised being called.
“Of course Ginevra” he smirked, “Despite how good Ron may claim to be, I think it’d be good for you to fly with a little...competition”
“Competition?” Ginny said, faking ignorance, “For it to be a competition there would have to be someone as equally good as me around.” Harry stood there in disbelief, as he struggled to hold back the grin that was forming on his lips. “...so unless Angelina is coming round Harry, I really don’t see how this is going to be difficult for me”.
Winking, she turned to pick up her broom and walked back over to Harry, who stood there with a shifty grin plastered onto his face. “Alright then Gin...” he began, “...let’s make this interesting. One round of ‘catch the snitch’, against me, and the winner is officially declared the greatest of all time.”
Ginny sauntered back over to him, placing her broom on the ground next to his. “Okay then, but when I win, you not only must declare it to me but to my entire family.”
He closed the gap between the two of them and looked her deep in the eyes. He placed his hand beneath her chin, cupped it and tilted it up so their mouths were mere inches from each other.
“Don’t forget that I was the youngest Seeker in a century. It’s not going to be hard for me to win” he said teasingly.
“Trust me, Harry,” Ginny began whispering into his ear whilst pressing herself onto him, “It’s definitely going to be hard.” As she spoke, Ginny was sure that she was able to hear the intensifying of his heartbeat. Harry leant in to kiss her again, but just as their lips touched, she decided to pull away while smirking. Picking up her broom, she then flew up off the ground and towards the golden, morning sky.
“Tease” Harry muttered as he went to pick up his own broom before collecting a snitch from the quaffle box, and (after a moment to calm down) he set off into the air following her.
After releasing the snitch from his grasp, the pair flew with all their power trying to outdo the other. Ginny noted, despite her trash talk at the beginning, that the game was fairly even-matched, with both herself and Harry having moments where the snitch was almost within their grasp.
After what had seemed to be hours of flying in the morning heat, Ginny felt both herself and Harry tiring as neither one of them had been able to spot the snitch in an eternity. She looked over at Harry, who was circling the orchard opposite her, thinking of ways she would be able to distract him for long enough to make a move on the tiny ball that she’d just spotted hovering on a branch of the old maple tree. She deliberated with her conscience for a second whether it was fair, then, after deciding to do it anyway, she scrunched and lifted her pyjama top over her head and dropped it to the ground, leaving her in only her tight black night vest alongside her plaid shorts.
Harry raised his eyebrows at her, (well less at her and more at her now quite revealed chest), and looked her up and down in attraction.
“What?” Ginny said, trying to fake confusion at his reaction, “...the sun is making flying near-impossible. I’m guessing it’s almost thirty degrees, you know”. She whipped her long, copper hair round and began to dive down again for the snitch, whilst Harry, who was still caught up in his moment of distraction, slowly began trailing behind her.
However, his Firebolt broom was no match for her Cleensweep 300, therefore they were soon levelled up together and trying to knock the other off of their respective broom. They continued to dive lower and lower until the snitch was almost touching the grass below them. As they approached the snitch, Harry and Ginny both quickly extended their arms out to grasp it, both of their fingers barely making contact with the delicate wings.
Suddenly, before either of them could come to a halt, they crashed into each other, both falling off their brooms and tumbling onto the ground below. They continued rolling on the grass until they’d finally come to a stop, Harry now on top of Ginny and pinning her down to the floor.
“Well would you look at this Ginevra,” Ginny rolled her eyes at his use of her full name, “It would appear that I have indeed...caught the snitch”, he said while whipping it out from where his arm was caught underneath her.
Ginny rolled her eyes, annoyed that after all the time they’d spent flying she’d ultimately lost their competition. She looked up to find Harry smirking at her, still playing with the snitch in between his fingers and looking extremely proud of his accomplishment over her. Not wanting to put up with his excessive pride for a moment longer, Ginny summoned all of her strength to push him off her and flip him over, until she was sitting on and straddling his waist.
“It appears,” she said slowly, looking deep into his eyes, “...that I was wrong. Maybe you are good competition after all.” She bent down closer until their lips were barely touching and smiled, proceeding to then kiss him softly.
“Ginny Weasley admitting she was wrong, this really is a day full of surprises,” Harry said playfully, after drawing his lips away from hers. “Although, I must say you held me off quite well” he continued, toying with the straps of her vest, “...even with your little distraction.”
After a moment, Ginny rolled off his waist and lay down next to him on the ground, and began running her hands through his hair. The pair remained in comfortable silence, listening to the sound of the morning birds and the wind whistling through the trees.
“I really am going to miss you, you know,” Harry said after a moment, “when you go back to Hogwarts that is.”
“We’ll be okay,” she replied smiling, “besides, you’ll be with me at every single Quidditch match there is.”
Harry scoffed out loud and turned to face her, “and you’ve decided that for me now have you?
“Yep”
The pair found themselves once again in silence, both basking in the sunlight, enjoying the time they had left with each other in the peace of the early morning, without any interruption from the older brothers back inside.
“Besides,” she said to him, ‘I’ll be needing advice it seems, you know, from one captain to another.”
“I suppose that could be arranged,” he replied, standing back up and pulling her with him. “How about we do a rematch now?”
Ginny smiled up at her boyfriend, pulling him in for a final short kiss,
“Prepare to lose, Potter” she smirked.
“Oh, and Weasley,” he whispered, “this time, no distractions.”