Disclaimer: Fine! It�s not mine! It�s JK�s! But do you people have to rub it in?
Dedicated to: Gambit Gurl Isis, Darcel, Cloudy_Skiez, Loves Kiss, Azalai, East Angel, animezebra, kranestad, Silver Essence, Felton Fanatic, dropped rose, HarryPotter4ever, purus.flere, Plush Appeal, Athena Lionfire16, Nyah, Lyss, Lenore, Freakyfroggurl 22 and Willow, reviewers who have diligently spent their time reviewing every chapter of my story. Thank you, I really appreciated it. Oh and if I forgot someone, please let me know ^_^.
Chapter Seventeen: In Which the Bludger Proves it All
Your love is thick, and it swallowed me whole.
You�re so much braver, than I give you credit for.
That�s not lip service.
You�ve already won me over, in spite of me.
And don�t be alarmed if I fall, head over feet.
And don�t be surprised if I love you, for all that you are.
I couldn�t help it.
It�s all your fault.
--Alanis Morisette
�The professors have reached a decision,� Seamus Finnigan announced, his voice chilling the back of Ginny�s bones. She closed her eyes, waiting in anticipation, rolling her fingers in a clenched fist, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms. Beads of sweat were seen rolling from Derrick�s forehead. Trent was taking in deep nervous breaths. Malfoy decided to stare unto the ground instead of the back of Ginny�s head. The Ravenclaw team were like statues, unmoving, waiting for the ulitmate decision.
Seamus gave a dramatic pause before saying, �Virginia Weasley, of Gryffindor House, is playing for the Slytherin team.�
A loud roar of protest quickly emerged from the Ravenclaws while the Slytherins leaped in joy. Roger Davies and Cho Chang approached the professors with very aggravated faces while Malfoy and the rest of the team, which now included Ginny, led the way towards the broom shed for Ginny�s necessities.
�Does she need robes?� Tracey Bale asked Malfoy, �I can lend her my robes�I have an extra one in the shed.�
�Yes, that would be nice,� Malfoy replied sarcastically, �if you want Weasley to be flying fifty feet in the air with your robes at the bottom of her feet�admit it, Bale, you�re no pixie.�
Tracey Bale made this incoherent noise beneath her throat but even she can�t deny the fact that she was a hundred times bigger than Ginny.
He thinks I�m a pixie, Ginny thought silently, carefully hiding her smile from the team.
�So what would she be playing in?� Derrick asked thoughtfully. �She can�t possibly be playing in those thick scarves and coats�I mean, that�s too heavy, isn�t it? She�d weigh like a flying hippopotamus.�
�Well,� and this time, even Ginny can say proudly that Malfoy�s response was not very clever, �she can play on her school robes.�
�Just in case you forgot, Malfoy,� Bole reminded him sardonically, �the girl�s school robes consists of a very thin polo shirt and a very short plaid skirt. She�d be freezing to death.�
�We have another problem,� Ginny announced fretfully, �I don�t have a broom to actually be flying in.�
�We don�t have to worry about that. Snape has this broom at the back end of the Slytherin shed that has been charmed by numerous potions that can be as fast as any latest broom,� Malfoy answered hastily.
�Wow, I wonder why that didn�t make it to the business community,� Ginny whistled, amazed.
�Because one, it�s basically cheating, and two, Dumbledore wouldn�t allow such a thing because it�s�well�yeah, cheating,� Malfoy said derisively.
When they reached the broom shed and Trent was sent out to find Snape�s magic broom, they were in an absolute panic. Ginny had nothing to wear in a game of Quidditch at when it was -2 degrees cold outside�it was really the perfect time to push the panic button.
But when Trent came back with the broom, in his hands were sparkling clean Quidditch robes, made for a�as Malfoy so kindly puts it�pixie, and it was green too. Compared to the other robes the Slytherins were wearing, that robe was fit for a princess �Where the hell did you get those?� Tracey Bale asked, noticeably jealous of Ginny, for she gets to wear a spanking, cool robe while she had to suffer with her old, filthy one.
�It was inside the box where this broom was kept,� Trent explained, showing the old broom to everyone. It wasn�t exactly what anyone would call fancy, but it was enough to keep Ginny�s spirit high. On the rear tail of the broom, in silver handwriting, there was something written in some other language that made Ginny glance twice.
�Hey, look at this,� Ginny proclaimed, beckoning everyone to come nearer to the broom.
�Ego amare tibi perubique,� Derrick said, his pronunciation differing slightly from the original context. �Sounds Latin to me.�
�Maybe it�s a good luck charm or something,� Tracey suggested positively.
�Or maybe it�s a curse that makes anyone who rides in that broom fall one hundred and fifty feet from the ground,� Trent stated heinously, making Ginny squirm fearfully.
�Thanks for scaring the death out of our Chaser, Trent,� Malfoy said, rolling his eyes.
Ginny glanced at Malfoy, feeling her cheeks redden like they did before. He was protecting her�he certainly was! But then again, as soon as she saw Malfoy rolling his eyes at her, maybe he just really wanted to win the cup this time�that he�d go to the low odds of actually protecting a Gryffindor.
�I never wanted her here in the first place,� Trent sniped in rudely.
�Well, who wants you?� Ginny cried out, having just enough of the egotistic Chaser.
�Obviously the whole of Slytherin,� Trent answered shrewdly. �Just don�t go crawling back to me with tears in your eyes, begging for forgiveness, when you make our team lose today.�
�Oh, you�d be betting I��
There was a soft knock in the door that made them all turn around in astonishment.
�The competition is about to begin,� declared Madam Hooch as she appeared in the doorway. �Are you game?�
*.*
Ginny felt the massive amount of eyes staring back at her, and she was also aware of the multiple livid glares that she was receiving from her school. The cold December wind was seeping through her thick robes, and her hands were shaking as they tried hard to steady herself in a broom. Although she always had Quidditch practice with her brothers every summer, she still wasn�t exactly what you call an athlete. First of, she was afraid of heights, not to mention she gets all giddy once she sees everyone gawking at her like starving hawks.
Madam Hooch gave a loud whistle that sent Ginny spiralling to the air. She had to steal the Quaffle somehow, before Lisa bloody Turpin scores. She sped towards the Ravenclaw�s goal post and gave Tracey Bale a kindly grin. Tracey gave her back a thumbs-up sign.
Padma Patil suddenly popped out behind her with a flirtatious throw of her hair over her shoulder. Her eyes were so lit up that Ginny knew right then and there that she was up to something, and that something wasn�t very nice.
When Turpin was flying towards the goal post, Ginny felt an unanticipated tug behind her that sent her going around in unstoppable circles.
�Virginia Weasley seems to have lost control with her broom!� Seamus blared over the microphone, �I wonder what�s going on!�
At the corner of her eye, she saw Turpin preparing to throw the Quaffle. Ginny, heart pounding, then stretched her arms out while she was circling just as the Quaffle was about to pass her. With an insistent yank, Ginny managed to grab the Quaffle before it hit the goal post and also handled her broom expertly to stop it from going around in circles.
Seamus was in a roll.
�Weasley seizes the Quaffle out of nowhere�her circling movements allowing her to gain access to all directions into whichever angle the Quaffle chooses! Speeding up towards the Slytherin goal post is Weasley with Bole and Derrick, the Slytherin Beaters�they have passed the Ravenclaw Beaters�onwards to Trent and Montague�wherein in Weasley should pass the Quaffle to Trent��
Ginny�s head snapped towards Seamus who was announcing to everyone that she would, of all people, actually pass the Quaffle to Trent! Why would she pass it to Trent? Of all people, why Trent? That egotistic, barbaric, narrow-minded, an awful pain in the neck�freak?
The other Ravenclaw Chasers seemed to have made a decision that she was indeed, passing the ball to the overconfident Chaser, as they had positioned themselves behind him, planning to intercept.
Montague stayed coolly on the other side, obviously just there when something goes wrong.
That Ravenclaw up there in the stands said that Montague had the talent of a wet mop when it comes to Quidditch, just because he was overshadowed by Trent and Warrington. But Ginny was pretty sure that Montague also had a little talent left in him.
With an ill-behaved smile, Ginny threw the Quaffle towards the clueless Montague, who caught it easily with his left hand.
�Why me?� he moaned confusedly, his jaw dropping to the ground.
Seamus� gasp was heard all over the field as well as the many shocked outbursts (some dirty) from the Ravenclaws.
Trent looked simply furious.
Montague was absolutely shaking. With closed eyes, he gave it a try and hurled the Quaffle towards the posts. The Ravenclaw Keeper, Roger Davies, arranged himself to allow himself to lunge towards the Quaffle to prevent the Slytherins from scoring. As if in slow motion, Davies reached out a hand as a barrier. Trent closed his eyes. Bole closed his eyes. Derrick closed his eyes. Tracey closed her eyes. Ginny closed her eyes. Malfoy closed his eyes. Montague opened his eyes.
�And the Slytherins scores! 30 to 60, again in favour of the Slytherins!� Seamus shouted animatedly as the tiny Professor Snape jumped up and down, all dignity forgotten. Professor McGonagall simply gave a tight-lipped smile while Professor Dumbledore nodded in appreciation.
Madam Hooch gave another whistle which sent Ginny blasting through the air, her nervousness gone. Padma Patil caught the Quaffle with her arms as soon as Madam Hooch threw it in the air. Ginny gave the broom a hard kick, making her soar faster. As Padma was passing the ball to Stephen Cornfoot, Ginny cleverly intercepted, catching the Quaffle inside her loose robes. Breathing hard, she reached the front of their goal post, again with Trent and Montague in front of her.
�Please don�t pass it to me,� Montague whispered silently.
Ginny launched the Quaffle to him.
�I swear to the gods, Weasley!� Montague roared angrily as he caught he Quaffle once more. With a frustrated scream, Montague flung the Quaffle towards the goal post, catching Davies in surprise.
�Slytherin scores again! 30 to 70!�
Ginny threw her first in the air in joy. She was laughing hard at Trent�s menacing glare and Montague�s pouting face, most especially, she was enjoying the angry howl the Ravenclaws were giving exclusively for her. But all too suddenly, the crowds suddenly became eerily quiet, making Ginny�s head snap upwards.
There, a few feet above her, Malfoy was racing towards the ground, with Cho Chang tailing behind him, in hot pursuit of the Golden Snitch.
Momentarily forgetting that she was still in the field, Ginny paused, her eyes never leaving Malfoy for a second.
His left hand was stretched in front of him, his loose emerald robes hanging under his arm. His eyes were squinted in concentration and his lips were set in a determined grimace. Without even noticing it, a loud whistle coming closer behind Ginny made the players beside her rush away without hesitation.
Ginny was confused when Malfoy suddenly looked up at the sound of Seamus� panicked voice, his eyes staring right through her.
�No!� he screamed at the top of his lungs. �Ginny!�
Confused, Ginny turned around slowly, trying to see what Malfoy was looking at.
She gasped in fear.
It was a speeding Bludger.
Ginny gave a terrified scream before fully shutting her eyes and simply waited for the pain to come.
A/N: Tsk, tsk, another nasty cliffie�sorry y�all�
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