Forgive And Forget - Chapter Three: Hogwarts, Quidditch and Friends Again at Last
Title: Forgive And Forget - Chapter Three: Hogwarts, Quidditch and Friends Again at Last
Author: ginnyweasley777 hannah_ward
Pairing: Harry/Ginny (main), Ron/Hermione
Word Count: approx 3975 words
Genre: Fluff, General, Angst, Romance
Warnings: None
Rating: PG
Setting: Post HBP, Alternate Universe
Summary: DH disregarded for the most part. The final battle has been fought, and now Harry, Ron and Hermione are joining Ginny at Hogwarts for her seventh year. Ginny vowed not to let Harry break her heart again and is determined to keep her distance from him, but can Harry win her back?
Author's Notes: Thanks to Amelie for the excellent beta work on this chapter.
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling. I own nothing and receive no profit from this. This is for entertainment purposes only.
“Ginny, hurry up and bring your trunk downstairs,” shouted Mrs Weasley. “We’re going to be late."
“I’m coming,” replied Ginny as she opened her bedroom door and heaved her trunk to the top of the stairs. She pulled out her wand and levitated it down the stairs while carefully carrying her pygmy puff, Arnold, in his cage in her other hand.
Ginny reached the bottom of the stairs to find her mother waiting for her with a scowl on her face; the others were already outside, climbing into the Ministry cars which were to take them to King’s Cross. Mrs Weasley pulled Ginny to one side as Tonks came into the house and took her trunk from her.
“Ginny, I know that it hasn’t been easy for you this summer with Harry staying with us. I don’t know what happened between the two of you at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, but I do know that you’ve been avoiding each other ever since, everyone knows that.”
“Don’t, Mum,” said Ginny quietly, sighing. She didn’t want her mother making things difficult just when they were all about to leave.
Mrs Weasley carried on regardless. “Can’t you at least try to become friends again this year? Now that the war is over, I’m sure that you can put aside your differences and make a fresh start.”
Luckily, the cars were ready to leave and Mrs Weasley had to drop the subject for the time being. Ginny made sure to get into a different car to her mother before she said something that she would regret.
Really, I know that Mum is a matchmaker at heart, but that is just too much, thought Ginny as she slid into the backseat next to… Harry. Why does this keep happening to me? she thought angrily.
The journey to King's Cross would have been filled with an uncomfortable silence if it hadn’t been for Tonks’s steady stream of chatter about the wedding plans for her upcoming marriage to Remus Lupin.
“We’re going to start looking for a house in Hogsmeade soon so that it’ll be easy for Remus to get to the school every day to teach,” said Tonks as the car pulled into the station.
“Remus is going to teach again?” asked Harry.
“Yes,” replied Tonks. “He’s teaching Defence again, and he’s Head of Gryffindor as well. Professor McGonagall asked him last week; he’s got the full backing of all the governors this time.”
Ginny felt great relief at the news. With Lupin teaching again, she knew that there would be proper lessons this year. The previous year there had been no official Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at all, as no one was willing to take the job, so Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had taught the sixth and seventh year’s, in addition to teaching their own subjects.
She got out of the car and soon the little group was at the ticket barrier which masked the entrance to platform nine and three quarters. Pushing the trolley with her trunk and Arnold on top, Ginny followed her father through the barrier and onto the platform where the Hogwarts Express was waiting.
After saying her goodbyes, Ginny was about to follow the trio onto the train when she felt her mother’s hand on her arm. Turning, Ginny said quickly, “Don’t start, Mum, Harry made his mind up last year and so did I, this isn’t something that can just be taken back easily.”
“But, Ginny, he’s seemed so down over the summer. I know that you weren’t together for long, but it made a difference to Harry,” said Mrs Weasley sternly, looking her only daughter in the eye.
Ginny felt her temper flare. “It made a difference to me too and, if you must know, it wasn’t me who walked away in the first place!”
Laying a hand on his wife’s arm, Mr Weasley spoke quietly, “Molly, the train is about to leave, let Ginny get on. This isn’t the time or the place to argue about this.”
“Fine, we’ll see you back at the Burrow for Christmas then,” said Mrs Weasley, hugging Ginny goodbye.
Quickly, Ginny jumped onto the train just as it started to pull away from the platform. Grabbing her trunk and Arnold’s cage, she made her way along the train until she found Luna Lovegood sitting in a compartment at the end of the train with the latest issue of the Quibbler already open on her lap.
“Hi, Luna,” said Ginny as she made her way into the compartment.
“Hi, how was your summer?” asked Luna as she looked up from the magazine.
“Difficult,” replied Ginny, stowing her trunk in the luggage rack and then sitting down in the seat opposite Luna.
“I heard that Harry was staying at your house,” said Luna dreamily.
“Yes, that was the difficult part,” grimaced Ginny.
There was a rattle as the compartment door slid open and Hermione looked in. “Can we sit in here?” she asked, “Everywhere else is full.”
Luna nodded and Hermione, Ron and Harry came into the compartment. They all stowed their trunks away and sat down. Ron nudged Harry into the seat next to Ginny, ignoring the frown on her face as Harry sat down next to her.
In truth, the train ride to Hogwarts wasn’t too bad for Ginny, even though Harry was sitting next to her. She spent most of the time catching up with Luna and teasing Ron about how long it had taken him to finally ask Hermione out. Ginny managed to ignore the tingles she felt whenever Harry’s leg brushed hers and tuned out every time he laughed with her about Ron. As far as she was concerned, this was progress.
***
It was late that night when Ginny was finally climbing the staircase to the seventh year girls’ dormitory. There had been an uproar in the Great Hall when Harry had first entered and it had taken Professor McGonagall several minutes to regain enough calm to begin the sorting ceremony. The sorting had taken longer than ever as there was such a large number of first years starting Hogwarts this year. Now that the war had ended, parents obviously felt that it was safe to send their children to school again.
Ginny entered the dormitory and went straight over to her bed - noting that there was now an extra four poster in the room for Hermione - and sat down where she was immediately accosted by her other roommates, Vanessa Williams and Grace Maddison.
“Ginny, how are you?” asked Vanessa in a rush. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, “I heard that Harry was staying at your house over the summer, is that right?”
“Yes,” replied Ginny warily. Honestly, these two are such gossips. They can easily put Lavender and Parvati to shame, she thought.
“So, does that mean that you two are back together?” asked Grace.
“No! He’s my brother’s best friend, nothing more,” said Ginny angrily.
“It didn’t look like nothing, the way that he was looking at you at dinner,” said Vanessa, grinning.
Ginny was annoyed now, so she snapped, “As far as I’m aware Harry was not looking at me. If, by some small chance, he was looking in my direction then it was probably just the way that his eyes were pointing.”
Luckily for Ginny, Hermione came into the room just then and Vanessa and Grace rushed over to ask her about Ron without saying anything more to Ginny.
If they weren’t such good friends underneath it all, they’d be looking down the business end of my wand right now, thought Ginny grumpily as she pulled the hangings shut around her bed.
***
A week had passed during which Ginny had found that there was little difference having the trio in most of her lessons to previous years. She sat with Luna for the most part and generally ignored the fact that Harry was sitting in the same room as her.
Ginny was sat in the common room near to the portrait hole when Harry and Ron entered, discussing Quidditch.
“Are you going to hold the tryouts this Saturday?” asked Ron eagerly.
“Yeah, I’ll put the notice up now,” replied Harry, not noticing Ginny as he made his way past her to the notice board.
Ginny’s heart sank. Quidditch. How could she have forgotten that Harry had been made captain again? She watched miserably as Harry placed the notice on the board and made his way up to his dormitory.
Ginny sat thinking long and hard about what to do. Finally, she came to the conclusion that, as much as she loved playing Quidditch, she just couldn’t put herself into Harry’s presence for the extra hours that Quidditch would require as they would only end up fighting again. She decided that if she didn’t go to the tryouts then they’d just find someone to replace her. She just hoped that Hermione wouldn’t bring the subject up in the days leading up to the tryouts, although she didn’t hold her breath.
***
Ginny was curled up in her bed in the seventh year girls’ dormitory, blissfully unaware of anyone who was awake.
“Aguamenti!” said a loud voice above Ginny before cold water splashed down onto her face, waking her up with a start.
“Hermione, what do you think you’re doing?” yelled Ginny, jumping out of her bed and grabbing her wand off the bedside table to quickly cast a Drying Charm.
“Waking you up, you can’t sleep in today,” replied Hermione sharply.
“Why not, it’s Saturday?” asked Ginny, glaring at Hermione.
“Because it’s the Quidditch tryouts this morning; Harry and Ron have already gone down to the pitch. You should be down there with them.”
Ginny’s heart sank, she had hoped that Hermione would go straight down to the tryouts with Harry and Ron and not come to find her until it was too late. “I’m not going,” she replied quietly.
Hermione looked bewildered. “Why not? You were on the team before, what about last year?” she questioned.
“There wasn’t any Quidditch last year with the war going on,” answered Ginny miserably.
“So what’s the problem?” asked Hermione.
“Harry,” said Ginny quietly, “I can’t be on the team this year because it would mean that I’d have to be around Harry even more than I already am. I don‘t think we could work together in a team with the way that things are between us right now.”
“Ginny, you’re just being stupid. You enjoy playing Quidditch; you can’t just give it up.”
“I can, Hermione, and you’re not going to change my mind.”
“Fine!” replied Hermione, stalking out of the room.
***
“Was that the last one trying out for Chaser, Harry?” asked Ron as he landed in front of his best friend.
“Yeah, but we’ve only found two people good enough for the team so far,” replied Harry, looking around. “Where’s Ginny, why isn’t she playing?”
“She doesn’t want to play this year,” replied Hermione, leaving the stands and walking across the pitch to join Harry and Ron.
“Why not?” asked Harry.
“She doesn’t want to be around you,” replied Hermione sadly.
“But that’s stupid,” said Ron, looking sideways at Harry.
“Yes, but she’s made her mind up. Is there no one else who can play?”
“No,” replied Ron shortly. “Harry, you’re going to have to talk to Ginny and get her to play.”
“Ginny won’t even look at me, let alone talk to me. How am I supposed to do that?”
Ron glared at Harry. “Look, Harry, you’re going to have to apologise to her.”
“Apologise to her! Ginny was the one who walked away, not me,” replied Harry, feeling slightly guilty as he had pushed her away to begin with. He looked at Ron and Hermione who both wore angry expressions. “Fine, I’ll try!” he relented, making his way off the pitch.
Harry climbed into the Gryffindor common room and immediately spotted Ginny sitting on a couch in the corner, working on an essay.
Ginny started to gather up her work as soon as she saw Harry making his way over to her. She stood up just as he reached her.
“No, don’t go, I need to talk to you about Quidditch. Ginny, we need you on the team, we’ve only got two Chasers so far because there’s no one else good enough to play.”
“I’ve already told Hermione that I don’t want to play Quidditch this year.”
“Ginny, we need you, the team needs you. I know that you don’t want to be around me because you’re angry, but can’t we at least come to a truce so that you can play?”
“I don’t know,” replied Ginny. In truth she did want to play on the house team again, but she wasn’t ready to back down just yet.
“Please, Ginny, I know that I haven’t made it easy for you.”
“Too right, you haven’t,” said Ginny icily.
“Well?” questioned Harry.
“Well what?” asked Ginny folding her arms across her chest, an angry scowl on her face.
“Will you play?”
Ginny gave in. “Fine!” she replied.
“Great! I’ll go and tell Ron and the rest of the team,” said Harry, sighing with relief as he walked back out of the common room.
***
After dinner, Harry decided that he would go and fly his Firebolt for an hour. Ron was off on one of his ‘walks’ with Hermione so Harry made his way down to the Quidditch pitch on his own after getting his broomstick from his trunk in the dormitory. He reached the pitch and was about to mount his broom when he saw that he was not the only person there. A solitary figure was flying loops around the pitch and they flew slowly towards Harry as soon as they saw him. As the person drew closer, Harry realised that it was Ginny.
“Hi, Ginny,” said Harry as she stopped in front of him.
“Hi, I thought I’d come down here and fly for a while. I didn’t fancy sitting in the common room tonight,” replied Ginny.
Harry nodded. “Me neither. Do you mind if I fly with you for a bit?” he asked.
“No,” said Ginny, mounting her broom again. “What are you waiting for?” she asked when Harry didn’t move.
Harry quickly got onto his Firebolt. “Nothing,” he said, taking to the air after Ginny and streaking across the pitch after her.
Harry and Ginny spent the next hour chasing each other across the Quidditch pitch. Finally, they had to stop when the light started to fade and they couldn’t see clearly in the shadow of the looming stands. As they landed, Harry was startled to realise that it was the first time that he and Ginny had managed to be alone together for longer than one minute without fighting.
“I enjoyed that,” said Harry as they made their way back to the castle.
“Me too,” agreed Ginny, “It’s good to get out and just fly around a bit for fun.”
“Yeah,” replied Harry as they entered the castle.
***
The first game of the Quidditch season was against Slytherin, and Harry was feeling his usual pre-match nerves as he left the changing rooms and walked out onto the pitch with the rest of his team.
Harry was glad that he had managed to convince Ginny to join the team again; he knew that with Ginny, Demelza Robbins who had also joined the team again, and the new fourth year Chaser, Lexi Collins, they had a good chance of winning the Quidditch cup once again. Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote were, once again, the Beaters and Ron, the Keeper.
After shaking hands with the new Slytherin captain, Wallasey, Harry shot into the air on Madam Hooch’s whistle with the rest of the team. He immediately went into a loop around the pitch while Maud, the Slytherin seeker followed him.
The Slytherin team were as brutal as ever and Harry spent most of his time avoiding the Bludgers which were sent his way rather than looking for the Snitch. The Chasers were doing a good job of scoring goals - Ginny especially - amidst all of the fouls which were being committed against them by the Slytherin front three.
Slytherins never change, thought Harry as he hovered in midair to watch Ginny dodge a Bludger and score her fifth goal of the game, bringing their score to ninety compared with ten to the Slytherin team.
After playing for another fifteen minutes in which Ron saved two goals from the Slytherin chasers, Ginny was once again heading for the Slytherin Keeper when Harry saw a Bludger, hit by one of the Slytherin Beaters, heading straight for her. Peakes and Coote were too far away on the other side of the pitch to stop it and Ginny was still unaware of the Bludger pounding behind her.
Without thinking, without planning it, Harry flattened himself on his Firebolt and urged it forwards as fast as it would go. He reached Ginny a split second before the Bludger did and quickly intercepted it just as Ginny finally looked around in time to see the Bludger smash straight into Harry’s right arm, breaking it with a sickening crack.
Harry felt white hot pain all down his arm as he had in his second year when his same arm had been broken by a Bludger. Suddenly, he saw a glint of gold fluttering in front of him as the Snitch flew towards the stands. He dove after it, clinging to his broom with his left arm while his right hung uselessly at his side.
Maud finally realised what was happening a second too late and streaked after Harry just as Harry relinquished his hold on his broom to catch the tiny Snitch in his left hand before crashing straight into the front of the stands, unable to turn his Firebolt in time.
***
The first thing that Harry was aware of as he groggily regained consciousness in the hospital wing later that afternoon, was the dull throbbing in his head. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked owlishly, realising that the reason he couldn’t see anything was because he didn’t have his glasses on. As he struggled to sit up, someone gently placed his glasses on his head and the room immediately became clear, allowing Harry to notice three figures huddled anxiously around his bed.
“How are you feeling?” asked Hermione gently.
“I’ve been better,” croaked Harry as he cleared his voice.
“Here, Madam Pomfrey said that you were to take this as soon as you woke. It’ll help with your head,” said Hermione, handing him a small goblet filled with a pale coloured potion.
Harry lifted his newly repaired arm and drank the potion in one. His head immediately felt better and the throbbing lessened considerably as he sank back against the pillows.
“We were all worried, mate,” said Ron from Hermione’s side while the third figure remained out of view behind him. “The rest of the team has only just left to go down to dinner.”
“I’m okay. We won the game, though,” replied Harry happily.
Ron grinned. “Yeah, it was a good game apart from those foul Slytherins fouling us all the time.”
“Come on, Ron, let’s go for some dinner. We’ll see you later, Harry,” said Hermione, dragging Ron away by the arm as he opened his mouth to object.
“Oh, okay,” agreed Ron after Hermione gave him a very pointed look.
When Ron and Hermione finally moved from his bedside, Harry was finally able to see the third person who was standing at the bed. It was Ginny, and she didn’t look happy.
“Why did you take that Bludger for me, Harry?” asked Ginny, an angry scowl on her face.
Harry swallowed nervously. “You didn’t know that the Bludger was there, and Peakes and Coote were too far away to do anything about it,” he replied.
“So you just decided that had to protect me from the Bludger! Even though the Seeker is the most important player in the game, not the Chasers.”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Oh, so it’s okay for you to go around just about getting yourself killed all the time so long as you protect me first!” exclaimed Ginny.
“What is this really about, Ginny?” asked Harry, even though thought he already knew the answer.
“This is about you always having to protect me, Harry,” replied Ginny stiffly, looking out of the window at the rapidly darkening sky. “No matter what I do, you’re always trying to look after me. You broke up with me to protect me, you told Dean to leave me alone to protect me and now you fly in front of a Bludger to protect me! Why?” she asked.
“I’ve told you, I don’t want to see you hurt,” replied Harry, knowing that Ginny wasn’t going to like his answer.
“I don’t need your protection, I can look after of myself,” said Ginny firmly.
“I know you can,” replied Harry quickly.
Ginny sighed and sat down heavily in the chair next to Harry’s bed. “Then why don’t you let me?” she asked.
“Ginny, I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you with the way that I’ve handled things,” said Harry sincerely. “I can’t help that I don’t want to see you get hurt, and I don’t want us to fight all the time.”
“Me neither,” replied Ginny quietly, looking at her hands. “It’s only making things worse; we argue more than Ron and Hermione now,” she said with a hint of a smile.
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” laughed Harry. “Can we try to be friends again from now on?” he asked.
“Okay,” replied Ginny. “We can try.”
***
Harry was let out of the hospital wing the next morning and he headed straight down to the Great Hall for breakfast. He made his way over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ginny.
“How are you feeling?” asked Ginny as Harry reached for the toast.
“Great,” replied Harry.
“You just can’t make it through a whole year without ending up in the hospital wing, can you?” said Ginny with a smile.
“No, he can’t,” said Hermione severely as she reached the table with Ron and they sat down opposite Harry and Ginny. “And I certainly hope that that’s going to be his only trip there this year.”
“Since when are you two talking again?” asked Ron, looking pointedly at Harry and Ginny as he filled his plate with food.
“Since yesterday afternoon,” replied Ginny, not looking at Ron. “We’ve decided to stop arguing all the time and try to be friends again.”
“That’s good to hear,” said Hermione, looking at Ginny and silently indicating that they needed to talk later.
“Yeah, we’ve agreed that we need to stop arguing more than you and Hermione,” said Harry, laughing at the disgruntled look on Ron’s face as he said this.
“I’ll get you for that,” joked Ron, returning to his food.