The game has begun, and the Montrose Magpies have the Quaffle.
–Campbell! Maddock! Cornfoot! Maddock!†The Chasers are tossing the Quaffle back and forth, successfully evading my attempts to grab it. I see it coming and reach up to grab it. My fingers brush the edge of the Quaffle, and it gets knocked off course.
–Val!†I shout, knowing that she is in position. Luckily, there is no Bludger headed her way. Valmai grabs the Quaffle and shoots down the pitch towards the hoops. She scores once, twice, three times before Cornfoot grabs the Quaffle from her.
Alicia and I are waiting, though, and we manage to block him. Unfortunately, we forget about Maddock, who is directly above Cornfoot. Cornfoot tosses the Quaffle straight up.
–Maddock!†the commentator announces. –Campbell! Cornfoot! Campbell! Maddock-- no-- Spinnet! Weasley! Morgan! Campbell! Weasley!†The names continue to rattle off as we battle back and forth, each of us trying to move the Quaffle just a little closer to the hoops. I toss the Quaffle to Alicia. Campbell intercepts it. It goes to Maddock. Then Valmai takes it from Cornfoot. Back and forth, back and forth. I can feel the audience holding their breath. The Magpies score. Then we score. They score twice more. They score again, and we are tied. This continues for some time. I begin to feel fatigue, and I can tell that the other two Chasers on my team and the three Chasers on the other team are tired as well. The Magpies call for a time-out.
–Ginny,†Gwenog begins, –good work. Keep your eyes on the Quaffle. And Alicia-†she pauses- –and Val, we’re changing tactics.†She motions us closer. –Val, you get the Quaffle to our end of the pitch. Alicia, I want you to get in the way of their Chasers as much as possible. And Ginny, you stay low,†she whispers. –Val, once you get the Quaffle to our end, you or Alicia needs to get it. Ginny, you need to position yourself directly below the two of them. Once one of you gets the Quaffle, drop it. Ginny, you know what to do then.†The three of us nod before mounting our brooms.
–Campbell has the Quaffle! Now Cornfoot! Spinnet! Maddock! Cornfoot! Campbell! Morgan! Campbell! Morgan! Maddock! Cornfoot! Spinnet!†That’s my cue. Alicia drops the Quaffle, and I am waiting. I catch it and immediately dash across the field, urging my broom to go faster. I aim straight for the bottom of the middle post. I can hear everyone behind me. I know the viewers think I am going to crash, but I turn at the last second. Straight up now, past the post. Alicia positions herself. I toss the Quaffle to her. She catches it and makes a goal. Then another. I continue racing around the pitch, hoping that the Magpies are chasing me. They eventually realise that I no longer have the Quaffle, but not before Alicia can score three goals. We are thirty points ahead.
I am doing a little victory dance on my broom, watching as the Magpies begin making a beeline for Alicia. That’s when I see it. The Snitch. I have to let Cho know where it is before the other Seeker sees it. Luckily, she looks my way. I nod a little, raising my eyebrows a tad. She gets the hint. In seconds, one of my best friends is at my side, snatching the Snitch out of the air. Then the pitch erupts in cheers, for the Holyhead Harpies have won the final match of the season. We are the champions.
---
After the game, my teammates and I exchange high-fives and congratulations in our locker room. Then, slowly, we begin to remove our Quidditch gear. There will be parties to attend, people to see. But before that, we all require a good shower and a change of clothes.
I finish packing away my things and floo home. George is there, waiting for me.
–Hey, sis.†I look over at him and my smile grows. –Congrats on winning the final game.â€
–Thanks.†I give my brother a hug. –Now I should probably go shower...â€
–I definitely agree.â€
---
Forty minutes later, I step out of my bathroom- and into my bedroom, where my dress is laid out on my bed. I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face as I step into the silky gown. As it settles on my shoulders, I look in the mirror. The woman I see is not the same as the woman who tried out for the Holyhead Harpies. That woman was sad and desperate. She was struggling to overcome the death of her brother. This woman is happy. She has had three years to recover. And she is now beautiful.
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–Wow.†George looks at me. I can tell from his expression that I look as radiant as I feel. –Why so beautiful, sister dear?â€
–You never know. Tonight might be the night I finally meet the man I want to marry.†I look up at my brother as he grabs my arm. Together, we apparate to the party.
---
–Ginny! Come meet my friend!†Cho pulls on my arm. A small laugh escapes my lips as she begins to pull me towards a handsome young man. –This is Edric. Edric, this is my best friend, Ginny.â€
–Pleased to meet you, Ginny.â€
–And you as well.†I look around the room for a minute. –Who else is here that would be of interest to me?â€
–Well, I think it might be best if I show you.†I follow as Cho winds through the crowd, leading me to who knows where. We slowly wind our way through the entire room, ending up by a door, but not the one I entered through. –There are some things behind this door that will- shock you. And, just remember, this wasn’t my idea.†I place my hand on the door knob, ready to turn it. Cho turns and returns to the party in the room. My heart speeds up. My stomach becomes a knot. One thought remains in my mind- who is behind this door? Then I turn the doorknob. Slowly, I pull open the door. I look in the room, and then everything goes black.
---
–Ginny, Ginny wake up,†someone calls. My eyes slowly open. George is over me, and Cho is next to him. I smile at seeing my brother and best friend. George helps me to sit up, and I look around the room. The first thing I register is an abundance of red hair. I look away from that, and see Hermione.
–Hey, Ginny,†she says. –Good seeing you. Sorry we gave you such a fright. I told them it was a bad idea, but they wouldn’t listen to me. Especially your parents.â€
–Ginny! Oh my gosh dear I haven’t seen you in forever you never write where have you been what have you been doing- I’m just so glad you’re alright.†My mom is holding me tight, and I can’t help smile, at least a little. I look over my mom’s shoulder and see George in the corner, holding in laughter. This makes me smile, and then I see Cho beside him, laughing quietly. I screw up my face and look at George. This is too much for him, and George begins to laugh. Cho laughs louder, and then I join in. Once I start laughing, so does everyone else. We laugh and laugh. Ron comes over to me and squishes my face, then Bill does the same. Fleur smiles at me, then introduces me to my niece, Victoire. Charlie is here, too, and so is Percy.
–Well, Fleur and I need to take Victoire to her well-check. Bye, Ginny,†Bill says.
–Bye,†I reply.
–Ginny,†Ron whispers in my ear, –I’m taking Hermione to dinner tonight.†I look at Ron and then Hermione. She is standing right beside him. I smile, and nod.
–Bye, Ron. Bye, Hermione.†They leave. Cho sneaks out, and then George leaves. Charlie and Percy say goodbye, and then my parents leave. I sit down on the chair in the room, exhausted. I never knew seeing my family for the first time in a few years would be so momentous. I smile, thinking of the red hair in the room. Victoire was adorable, and Ron was even taller. Mom and Dad had more wrinkles, but they are getting old now. It was just like old times, when we would come home from Hogwarts each summer. We would all gather together in one room, squished up against each other. Hugs were demanded, and Mom would always say something sentimental about how we were family. Then Percy would make some pompous remark, and Ron would start laughing. Then George would nudge Ron to get him to be quiet, and then Fred would- I pause in my thoughts.
–That’s what was missing,†I say to myself. My smile disappears, and then movement catches my eye.
–Ginny.†I look at the boy who spoke my name, then realize he is no longer a boy. He wears new glasses, making him look older. His hair has calmed down and now lies flat on his head. His hands are in his pockets, and he doesn’t look anything like he used to.
–Harry,†I reply. I stand up and look him in the eye.
–It’s been a while.â€
–Yeah, it has.â€
–I think the last time we had a conversation was-â€
–When you told me I had to temporarily leave the Room of Requirement.â€
–Yeah.†There is silence in the room for a moment. –What are you doing for dinner tomorrow? I’ll meet you at the Burrow.†Harry leaves the room before I can say anything. I close my eyes and then Apparate home.
--
George walks in the door and I just look at him.
–Like I said, it wasn’t my idea,†he immediately says before loosening his tie.
–I don’t care about that. I think it was a good idea. It had been too long. But who on earth thought it would be a good idea to have the whole family come to the party?â€
–Not me!†he exclaims. –And stop looking like you’re going to murder me.†I close my eyes and try to relax.
–Sorry. It was nice seeing everyone again. It was just a little,†I pause for a second, trying to think of the right word. –Overwhelming.†I sit down, suddenly dizzy.
–What’s wrong, Ginny?†George asks, sitting on the couch next to me.
–He was there.†George remains silent. –He asked me to dinner, but he didn’t actually ask. I’m supposed to go home tomorrow so he can come kidnap me and take me somewhere I probably don’t want to go. George, I don’t think I can face him. It’s all his fault, you know, what happened. And how exactly am I supposed to sit there with him for who knows how long pretending to be civil and not yelling at him?â€
–I think you are tired and we should both go to bed.†With that, George stands up and walks into his bedroom, shutting the door. I eventually manage to repeat his actions, taking off my dress and putting on my pajamas.
--
The next morning, I show up to practice right on time. It’s horrible. Our win seems to tell our coach that we need to work harder, not take a break. We spend the entire morning on the ground, building strength. Our coach gives us ten minutes to eat lunch, and then we are back on the field, but in the air this time. Three hours later, we get a three minute water break. The day concludes at seven, totaling five hours of strength, three hours of flying, and four hours of drills. No one speaks as we change out of our uniforms and shower, and we all apparate home for a good nap.
George isn’t home when I get there, so I figure he is at work. I go in my room and look through my clothes, thinking about where I should go tonight. I might head to Diagon Alley for the evening, but I haven’t been to Muggle London for a while. I suddenly remember last night, seeing my family again. Maybe I’ll go somewhere with Hermione and ask her how people have been. I hear an owl at the window and open mine up. It’s a generic owl carrying a package. I take the package and look at the note on top. I hope you didn’t forget about tonight, it says in a familiar script. I open the package and pull out a light blue dress and put it on. The dress is so extremely flattering I can’t help looking at the note again. I still don’t know who wrote it, so I decide to apparate to the Burrow in hopes of finding Hermione.
Overcoming by Kaitlyn Snape
Chapter Notes: For your information, here are the team members in this chapter:
Holy-Head Harpies
Chasers: 1. Ginny Weasley 2. Valmai Morgan 3. Alicia Spinnet
Beaters: 1. Gwenog Jones (captain) 2. Tracey Davis
Seeker: 1. Cho Chang
Keeper: 1. Lisa Turpin
Montrose Magpies
Chasers: 1. Alasdair Maddock 2. Angus Campbell 3. Stephen Cornfoot
Seeker: Lennox Campbell
These are the relevant members of the Magpies.
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Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think.