Chapter 4 Instincts Of The Thumping Heart
“Blimey! You’re so bloody lucky, getting exempted for one subject!” Ron hungrily snatched the letter away from Harry. “How come I’m not the chosen one?”
“Mr. Prefect, where would you find the time to be a mentor?” said Hermione smugly, snatching the letter and handing it back to Harry before he was able to finish.
“I think it’s a great idea. Harry, you’ll be a terrific big brother. Whoever be matched with you will be one blessed kid. I’m proud of you!”
“Oh yeah? Well, I feel sorry for him! Are you kidding? Poor guy here stuck with a first year monster for the whole term, following him around the school and that, like... like... a pair of chopsticks!” George sneered.
Oliver's eyes flickered and his face suddenly stiffened. But no one noticed because they were too occupied with Harry's latest revelation.
“Is Dumbledore for real here? That this idea of his is gonna be enriching and rewarding… to be big brother to a pesky brat?” Fred jumped in and glanced at Ron.
Hermione flashed them a look of disgust, wondering who could ever be more monstrous or pesky than the two of them combined right now.
“Harry, sleep well last night?” asked Mrs. Weasley worriedly, noticing his puffy eyes. “Not used to the bed?”
He grinned and nodded tiredly, knowing it wasn’t the bed that was the problem.
“Mum, it’s not the first time Harry slept here!” added Ron. "You should ask Oliver instead."
"Oh... it... everything's okay, Mrs. Weasley. Thanks," Oliver replied confusedly, waking up from his thoughts as soon as he heard his name.
Hermione glanced over at Ginny, whose eyes were glued to the floor. She appeared to have also endured a rather rough night, judging by the echoes of tossing and turning Hermione heard.
“Okay kids, just be careful! Don’t get too rough. Remember, it’s only a game…
“Oliver, you’re the oldest. I trust you’ll keep them in one piece,” Mrs. Weasley called to him as the seven of them walked out with their brooms.
“Keep an eye out on Ginny!” she ordered him as Ginny rolled her eyes.
“And Harry too… and Ron… and…” her voice gradually faded.
It was a gorgeous cool morning and Fred and George decided to try a friendly game of a much smaller scale of Quidditch before they returned to the joke shop. Breathing in the refreshing air had apparently energized both Harry and Oliver. Because there were only seven of them, they had to improvise and change some rules. The twins suggested eliminating the Seeker and having only one Beater and Chaser on each team. Hermione bewitched some pumpkins and plants and turned them into what looked like a Quaffle, Bludgers, and goal posts standing at opposite ends of the field.
Since Oliver and Ron were trained as Keepers, they were on separate teams and were chosen as the team leaders. Fred and George assumed the role of Beaters, and Fred teamed with Ron and George went with Oliver. The Chasers had yet to be chosen. Amongst the group, Harry, Ginny, and Hermione were left unpicked so far.
“Oliver, you’re the latest guest, you get first pick for your Chaser!” Ron offered graciously.
Remembering that Oliver had made fun of her about playing Quidditch, Ginny slowly marched towards Ron. She had no doubt he would choose Harry.
“Ginny be my Chaser!” said Oliver surprisingly.
Ginny squirmed and stared at him shockingly, seeking reasons for his choosing her over Harry before walking towards him apprehensively.
Hermione, foolishly thinking that since she was Ron’s girlfriend, he would definitely not leave her the humiliation to be the last one standing, so she proudly strolled towards him.
“Harry!” Ron announced happily as Hermione’s enthusiastic steps came to a screeching halt.
“WHAT?? WHAT ABOUT ME??” she shrieked as Harry smirked and quickly hurried over to Ron, seemingly afraid to witness the grave consequences of his best friend’s decision.
“But Hermione… you hate Quidditch… and… and… you haven’t played before…” Ron’s ears were blazing and his cheeks red from embarrassment. “Besides, you must be kidding if you think I would choose you over__”
“Hermione can be our referee,” Ginny immediately jumped in, trying to diffuse the tension, noticing she was ready to bite Ron’s head off. “We need a referee… to keep our scoring. The referee is very important.”
Everyone nodded except Ron, who was staring at the ground sheepishly. Hermione glared at him threateningly, stabbed her broom against the ground and snarled, “Agreed! I’ll be referee!”
“Okay, that settles it. Let’s play!” George announced as everyone flew to the water blue skies.
Before Oliver made his way to the goal posts, he hovered next to Ginny.
“Your mum told me to look after you…” said Oliver presumptuously.
“Is that why you chose me? TAKE A HIKE, YOU MADMAN! I CAN LOOK AFTER MYSELF!” she fired back.
“No, that’s not the reason…
“Go aggressive on Harry, okay? Throw him everything including the kitchen sink if you have to! He won’t fight back!” Oliver whispered excitedly.
“WHAT?” asked Ginny confusedly as she was busy bundling up her hair.
“I know Harry. He’s always a gentleman with pretty girls! We’re definitely going to win this one, you’ll know what I mean!” he winked before he sailed to his position.
Ginny’s stomach lurched slightly but it wasn’t due to his unexpected compliment. Oliver was absolutely right, she thought to herself sickeningly. Harry was a gentleman, in fact, too much of one, at least when he was with her. In the past, she was always the one initiating all the intimate cuddling and kissing. When she tickled him to near death in her bed last summer, he would still never fight back and would always let her have her way with him. It was the reason she concluded last year he never really loved her the way she loved him.
But he certainly wasn’t one with Aria Hannibal, she growled jealously. He was an animal with her, and she had her way with him on a much deeper, intimate level. Ginny had believed all along naively that he was finally complete with her by his side, at least that was what he kept telling her last year. Yet he still went astray. He played with fire, broke her heart, and ultimately burned her to ashes.
She was never fully convinced that Harry’s actions last year were the entire result of Aria’s manipulations. She knew Harry; his will and determination were unrivaled. No one could make him do things if his mind was set otherwise. He was strong enough to even overcome curses that attacked his will power. Anger swept through her veins when she spotted him with the Quaffle and was speeding aggressively towards Oliver, dodging one of George’s Bludgers along the way.
“So that’s why Oliver chose me over Harry… He thinks Harry will be a gentleman with me…” she hissed, clenching her teeth.
“Let’s see how much longer can you maintain your gentleman ways, HARRY POTTER!” she raced viciously towards him, trying to cut him off. Her vision was once again hampered by tears, but this time they were tears of rage.
Seeing Ginny shooting towards him, Harry immediately lost his balance in confusion for some reason. Seizing the opportunity, Ginny smothered into him with all her weight and angrily ripped the Quaffle away from his grips before elbowing him madly in the chest, her mighty efforts almost knocking him off the broom. It was clear she was trying to provoke him to fight back. But he did nothing except wincing in pain. Choking back tears, she quickly sailed away at top speed towards Ron at the opposite end, who seemed startled, because he didn’t expect his little sister was able to steal the Quaffle so easily and would now race towards him like a red fiery beam, threatening to score a goal on him. But before he was able to pull himself out of his thoughts, Ginny had scored.
“SCORE! Point for Oliver!” Hermione screamed hysterically from below. She seemed especially thrilled that Ron got scored on.
“It’s ten points!” Harry corrected her resentfully, catching his breath and rubbing his chest from the thrashing he just received from a very violent Ginny.
“Wasn’t this just a friendly game?” he mumbled to himself in confusion before spotting Ginny’s blazing trail again, in possession of the Quaffle. With his Firebolt, he successfully caught up to her and was now flying next to her. But instead of pushing Ginny and fighting for possession of the Quaffle, he found his arms stubbornly immobilized.
“AAARRGH…” he suddenly bellowed in pain, seeing stars in broad daylight, only to realize Ginny had just smacked him across the face, sending him into a tailspin.
“WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?” Harry yelled to himself.
Too busy with his conflicted thoughts and oblivious to the surroundings, he rubbed his bruised cheek but was very glad he didn’t lose his glasses because she punched him very hard. He quickly steadied himself to look for Ginny, in an attempt to steal the Quaffle from her again.
Ron was more alert this round, having experienced his sister’s talent and aggressiveness just moments ago. Apparently, Fred was too; Harry saw him pounding a Bludger to Ginny’s direction as she zoomed straight-line towards Ron in full concentration.
An abrupt sense of desperation emerged inside him at the sight of this and he was seeing stars again. Immediately, an urgent voice zapped through his head, dictating him to not let the Bludger hit Ginny. Forgetting that she was playing against him, he unintentionally commanded his Firebolt to drive at top speed and raced towards her, clearly wanting to intercept the incoming Bludger.
A loud explosion ripped across the skies when the Bludger splashed Harry in the head and exploded upon impact, the heavy force of the collision sending him crashing towards Ginny. Ginny, being too concentrated on her flight path and her vision distorted by tears, was oblivious to the incoming Bludger and what just took place next to her. The momentum from Harry suddenly colliding into her made her unknowingly lose her balance and her grip on the broom, sending her into a freefall.
Miraculously, Harry, with his face, eyes, and glasses filled with pumpkin flesh, somehow was able to rush to her aid. It was as if he knew instinctively where she was in the air exactly. He accelerated with his Firebolt, managed to grab hold of her by the waist, and they sailed safely to the ground. Everyone quickly abandoned their posts and tailed them immediately.
Mrs. Weasley, watching the match attentively from her kitchen window, had dropped her mug to the floor when she witnessed what just happened, but she stopped herself from running to find out if they were okay, after seeing Harry grabbing hold of Ginny and landing safely on the ground.
She didn’t want to run out anyway; she didn’t want them to catch her joyful tears, which were all over her face now, highlighting a deep proud smile underneath. As she gazed at the two of them, their awkwardness, their innocence, with Harry dripping in pumpkin flesh and still holding Ginny by the waist, she couldn’t help but giggle to herself. She could clearly see how important her baby daughter was to him, judging by what just took place. The bond they shared was unshakable. He would always be there for her, from saving her in the Chamber and the dream curse, to the little silly things like this.
She recalled the night Harry slipped into Ginny’s room and accidentally kissed her goodnight instead of Ginny. She remembered how adorable they were, standing frozen with fear, when Harry finally summoned his courage and asked her for her blessing to date her daughter. They were the perfect couple, she laughed to herself, her precious daughter and the boy she had come to love like her own son. In her mind, whatever he could have possibly done to hurt Ginny last year was entirely forgiven.
The Boy Next Door by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: His mind tells him what he’s supposed to do, his heart tells him what he’s destined to do…