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Harry stared at his partner, appalled. "And he didn't give any notice?"
Ron looked every bit as annoyed and worried as Harry. "Nope. And you'd think he'd understand—" He made an expansive gesture. "Since it's against the bloody coops.''
"Any other chasers around?" Harry asked.
"Nope. Morgan's on paternity leave, Reeves is with her parents, and I sent a patronus to Williams but he isn't responding."
He cursed, closing his eyes to think. They could play without a third chaser, but they'd probably get slaughtered since the bloody coops were actually good. And then they wouldn't be able to show their faces around the Ministry any time soon.
When it came to the Inter-Departmental Quidditch League, life and death was an understatement.
Suddenly an idea occurred to Harry. "Get me the rule book."
The broom they could get Ginny was rickety and ill-maintained. It'd be a wonder if it could fly straight.
Still, she called it, and when it came straight to her hand, she felt satisfied with it.
Ginny Potter was an intimidating sight even with the scrounged up backwater broom.
Everyone knew not to underestimate her - not after the Prophet and Quidditch magazines had written articles upon articles about how her pregnancy and maternity leave meant she would lose her touch, and then Ginny had proceeded to be the MVP of the next season.
"This is crazy!" Burdock yelled. "She's literally a professional player!"
"Against the rules!" O'Sullivan added. "Only members of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement are allowed to play on your team!"
"She's my wife," Harry said, unable to remove the pride from his voice, despite it having been years since the wedding. "She's signed a contract with the MLEP." A lot of spouses and partners were required to do that if the official in question was important enough. "Not to mention Robards named her an honorary Auror for the Blackwood investigation."
"Entirely by the book," Hermione, holding James in her arms, nodded from where she was walking to the stands.
"Massively unfair anyway!" Montague scowled.
"Sucks to be you!" Ron called back with a rude gesture.
It did, indeed.
After a lot of arguing, the referee from the Department of Magical Games and Sports lost her temper and ordered them to start the match or concede it as a tie.
Since neither of the teams was willing to do that, they played.
Anyway, Ginny Potter was good, no doubt, but not impossible to beat, especially when not with her team of professionals.
Unfortunately, this confidence on behalf of the Department of International Magical Cooperation was sadly misplaced.
Ginny scored seven goals and assisted in another five before Harry caught the Snitch.
"Potters," someone muttered in disgust as they celebrated.
"Quidditch Power Couple!" Someone else cheered.
"Let's hope Jamie gets those - genes, right?" Ron looked at Hermione.
"Yes," she replied and then shot a wry look at the kissing couple. "And I think it's a virtual certainty."
(It was for the best, really, that no one knew it was the inappropriate locker room high of playing quidditch together again that day that led to the birth of Albus S. Potter exactly nine months later, the only one of their children who despite being excellent at quidditch, didn't play.)