“Headmaster!” Oliver hurried over to Dumbledore, who was strolling in the fields, as he was assisting Hooch in one of the supplementary flying lessons for first year students.
“Mr. Wood. Nice to see you, young man! You should know I’m placing all my hopes on you. I expect all my students to be super flyers at the end of the year and nothing less!” Dumbledore smiled brightly at the children, currently trying to summon their brooms to pop into their paws. “But, feel no pressure, my dear boy! No pressure!”
“None indeed, Headmaster!” Oliver shouted over the barks of first year students as he retrieved a piece of parchment from his pocket. “I want to give this to you. It’s all the rules to the competition. I’ve finalized all of it, and I hope you can approve them!”
“Let me have a look,” Dumbledore unrolled the parchment and put on his spectacles, nodding along the way as he read the bold lines out-loud.
“Hmm… Wands allowed… music selection… deadline to sign up… date of competition… so close to exams…
“Criteria regarding safety, creativity and originality… that’s good…
“Head of the four houses will be judges… Headmaster is the fifth judge for the tiebreaker… I’m involved too?” he beamed.
“I can’t leave you out of this! You’re the one that endorsed this event. I can’t thank you more for liking my idea!”
“Well, the students do need something of a distraction given the doom and gloom and everything that’s happened these past few years,” Dumbledore continued scanning the rest of the parchment and started reading out-loud again, as Oliver watched him with the greatest excitement.
“Participants may team with someone from a different house or a different year… I guess there’s nothing wrong with that… I would be surprised to find a Slytherin student teaming up with any of the other three houses though…
“Only Hogwarts students may participate in the competition… Well, logically you wouldn’t expect teachers to participate too,” Dumbledore cracked a hearty laugh. “Imagine Professor McGonagall teaming up with Professor Snape and having Minerva catching our potions master in midair… What’s wrong, Mr. Wood? It is just a joke…”
“Erm… nothing,” he muttered distantly, turning his head to check on the children.
There was a moment of pause punctured by the shouting students as Dumbledore removed his spectacles and studied him attentively with a twinkle in his eye.
“Oliver, I’ve known you since you are a child. I watched you grow up to be a nice young man… and now with an earring and an engagement ring I might add… standing in front of me today, training the wizards and witches of tomorrow.
“I know what you’re thinking. It is indeed harsh, not allowing a natural competitor compete. You know, you are a true competitor at heart,” Dumbledore pulled out his wand and the words to the rule vanished.
“Headmaster__” Oliver’s mouth was hanging open.
“There’s really no purpose to this rule,” Dumbledore laughed mildly. “As you would expect, I don’t see Minerva and Severus suddenly teaming up anytime soon, or Professor Sprout pairing with one Ronald Weasley, or even Dobby for that matter…
“The only likely participant I can think of that’s not a student of Hogwarts is you. As you’re well aware, I’m a very liberal person, and I see nothing wrong with you participating. The competition is your idea anyway! Adding you in the mix might make it even more interesting, because all the students will aim to beat you! I guess I can take this list and have it posted?”
“Yes, and thank you, Headmaster Dumbledore,” Oliver beamed gratefully.
Dumbledore smiled deeply, “Now that’s out of the way, may I ask who I would see you with in the competition?”
“I want to ask Ginny Weasley.”
Dumbledore’s eager smile fainted abruptly.
“She’s an awesome flyer! With her on my side, we’ll have a great chance of winning, if she isn’t taken already.”
“What about your back, Oliver?”
“Oh, it’s fine,” he replied evasively, shifting his eyes to the children.
“OH NO!! I hope Gin doesn’t team with Harry! I can’t believe I told her to team with Harry!” Oliver suddenly shouted frantically. “He has a Firebolt! With her by his side, they’ll be unbeatable! I better ask her quick! Oh, I better get back to the lessons! I forgot about the children! Thanks, Headmaster!”
As Dumbledore watched Oliver galloping back to the crowds of noisy children, who were still struggling with their brooms, a grave sense of regret swept over him.
“Can I once again blame this blunder on old age?” he sighed uneasily, shaking his head. From afar, he spotted Sam amongst the children, and she appeared to be doing very poorly and giving Oliver a hard time.
“One thing is for certain, Miss Ryan," he muttered tiredly. "Your mentor will surely destroy the remains of my office when he finds out about this...”
******
“Bye, Harry. Same time same place next week?” Sam chirped energetically as Harry followed her wearily, the two of them entering the common room.
With his feet dragging themselves to move, Harry let out some kind of tired grunt that was barely audible. From the sound of it, it was unclear whether it was a word.
“Cupcake?” she suddenly squealed sharply and came to a screeching halt as he almost tumbled into her slight frame absentmindedly. She hastily retrieved a round pink metal container from her school bag and pushed it into his hand, but he appeared too drained to care what she was doing.
“Okay. See you,” Sam hopped upstairs, apparently interpreting Harry’s earlier grunt to mean a yes.
As Harry trudged inside drearily, he spotted Hermione and Ron lounging by the fireplace, both sporting their unique derisive smirks, while Ginny was tending to her jigsaw puzzle, seemingly in full concentration. Seeing Ginny somehow lifted his spirits, even though she didn’t acknowledge him because her eyes were solidly locked on the table. He quickly remembered that he still hadn’t asked her to be his partner.
“How was your first meeting?” asked Ron sarcastically, trying to look serious.
“Did she snap her fingers at you… LIKE THIS?” Hermione burst out laughing and snapped her fingers at his face. Harry groaned in frustration, trying to suppress the urge to throw the metal container at her.
“No, she was docile, except that mouth of hers, because I could hardly get a word in,” he took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and crashed to the chair across Ginny, trying fruitlessly to establish eye contact with her again.
“Correction! I absolutely did not get one single word in!
“The idea of having to meet with her once a week…” he sighed in a rather exaggerated manner, hoping it would attract Ginny’s attention, but she maintained her focus on the puzzle. “McGonagall tells me I’m supposed to share my experiences with her, whatever that means! But how can I when she’s the one doing all the blabbing! She’s a real chatterbox!”
“Like this pink box?” Ron pointed at it and whistled teasingly.
Hermione suddenly got up and winked at Ron, who nodded and rose to his feet.
“Where’re you two going?” asked Ginny, finally ungluing her eyes from the table.
“Oh, love to stay and chat, but we’re heading to the library! I agreed to tutor your brother,” replied Hermione deceptively as both quickly slipped out before Ginny could object, leaving her alone with Harry.
“And do you know what she was talking about the entire meeting?” Harry moaned to Ginny, opening the container curiously.
“No,” she replied in a disinteresting tone, turning her focus to the table again.
“Boys!” he was hoping this would elicit some kind of reaction from her. At this point, he would settle for anything from her, a glare, a sneer, even a smack in the face like the one she gave him back at the Burrow, but she just kept her eyes on the table.
“Cupcake?”
“What did you call me?” she zapped, her heart suddenly fluttering uncontrollably.
“No… I mean… do you want… a cupcake?” he retrieved one from the box and handed it to her nervously.
“Oh… I’m not hungry,” she replied guiltily, feeling bad for snapping at him and at the same time, fuming inside for misunderstanding his intentions and getting her hopes up.
There was a moment of awkward pause, with Harry’s hesitant arm outstretched, holding the cake and not knowing what to do with it, while Ginny was trying helplessly to lower her heart pressure.
Harry took a deep breath, gathered up his courage, and deliberately graced her left hand boldly as he set the cake next to it, “Ginny, as you’re well aware of, I haven’t been… you know… with someone before.”
Ginny’s left hand swam mechanically to the edge of the table to escape his touch and she stationed her palm solidly on the corner.
“But that Sam just kept on badgering me…” he continued, blushing heavily now, “asking me… if I… you know…
“Of course I said it’s none of her business…
“And then she goes on and on, telling me all kinds of mushy things about how to impress some guy in school she has a crush on… asking me for my opinion if she should do this or that… or that I even care…
“But I have no idea… what to do… I haven’t been with anyone before…”
Ginny couldn’t help but chuckled mockingly as she closed her grip at the edge of the table, trying to suppress the furious little voice that was sounding cynically in her head.
“If I were to know about it, wouldn’t I be… like… with someone by now?” Harry muttered carefully, seemingly testing the waters and glancing at her boyishly, still trying to re-ignite the connection she stopped granting him since her birthday, unaware that her left hand was gripping the table tighter and tighter with his every foolish word.
“This is the café you ran into Oliver?” he asked flatly, poking his finger at the cake and slowly pushing it towards her left hand, using it as a decoy so he could grace her hand again.
Ginny stopped chuckling and nodded, straightening her face without looking at him.
Seeing Oliver’s gift reminded Harry of his gift to her.
“Erm… did you like… what I gave you for your birthday?”
“Yeah, thanks. It’s cool,” she had packed his gift with her to Hogwarts but to this day, she still hadn’t opened the pale blue box.
Excited with his progress at yanking more words out of her lips, he daringly ventured further, at the same time concentrating on maneuvering the cake towards her, “I’m glad you like it. Hmm… maybe one night… if you’re in the mood… we can use it__”
Ginny suddenly let out a violent hacking cough and cleared her throat severely. She startled him so much he abruptly recoiled his hand from the table. Even though he was disillusioned, he didn’t want to give up. He wanted to try again. He must ask her to be his partner, and his intention was to cheer her up by first launching a variety of compliments at her, then he would proceed to pop his question about the competition.
“I really appreciate you keeping me company like this.”
“And always giving me your ear to my problems.”
“Your mum told me it was your idea to invite me over this past summer. I just want… to thank you, Ginny… for…”
“Thank you for… always looking out for me…”
“You’re the best!” Harry garbled, hoping he would get a hearty cheer out of her, just like Oliver always managed to do. But her expressions just became gloomier as her palm continued to grip tightly at the corner.
Harry gazed at her somberness and muttered faintly, disheartened that he continued to fail in making her laugh, “Why so quiet, Ginny? Is something… bothering you?
“Wait a minute! I recognize that morbid look! Ron’s like that too when he talks about Hermione. Like brother like sister… Are you thinking about… a special someone too?” he glanced miserably at the pile of puzzle pieces.
A piece slipped out of Ginny’s hand and floated to the floor. Harry immediately bent down and retrieved it.
“Ouch!” he deliberately banged his head against the table, but Ginny remained motionless.
Instead of putting it back into the pile, he kept it in his hand, seemingly hoping she would reach for it.
“Is it… Oliver?” he mumbled palely as he hesitantly extended his filled fist, just like the way with the cake earlier. But Ginny just grinned hollowly and reached for another piece in the pile.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked longingly.
It was the last straw for her. She couldn’t take it anymore.
She wanted to scream and explode, and she wanted to take the half completed puzzle and smash it.
The voice in her head was shrieking dizzyingly and she could almost throw up.
She was gripping the table so hard her fingers were about to melt it apart.
She was one second away from lunging at him with all her weight, had it not for her manic left hand that was anchored to the table, refusing to let go and holding her back.
”I already know my reasons for locking you out…
”Yet I still can’t stop myself from dreaming recklessly on too many nights… about you…
”STOP BEING SO NICE TO ME…
“STOP SPARKLING THOSE GREEN STARS OF YOURS AT ME…
“PLEASE… JUST LEAVE ME ALONE…
“JUST GO AWAY…
“Please…”
No words could describe Harry’s feelings right now. His helpless and discouraged face spoke volumes, but Ginny was too tormented with her thoughts to notice. In his mind, he was blaming himself miserably, because once again, not only did he failed to cheer her up, this time he actually managed to upset her even more, judging by her tortured expressions.
Harry swallowed his elusive question and slowly trudged lingeringly to the staircase, feeling that it was the best thing for him to do.
“Bye, Ginny.”
He had forgotten to give her back the puzzle that was still in his fist.