Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 217: Ginny's Game
"Here, try holding the broom like this. It will give you better control when making sharp turns." Harry moved Ginny's hands to a different spot.
"Ah…I see." Ginny tried her best to hide her embarrassment.
It's only been two days since the students returned to Hogwarts.
Harry was giving her a private lesson, and there was barely anyone on the Quidditch field right now.
"Let's do a real practice. Stay close to the circles, and I will release the golden snitch. Let's see how long it takes you to catch it." He told her.
Once she was in position, Harry opened the box and sent the small ball flying.
He then stood on the ground and observed her movements from there. She began chasing the snitch and using the method he had taught her to make quick changes of directions.
"Oh…that's bad." During one of the turns, Ginny put too much weight on the front of the broom and lost her balance.
The broom tipped forward at great speed, and Ginny was not able to hold it. She was sent flying in the air and she screamed loudly.
Harry casually strolled forward. His wand was ejected from the holster and appeared in his hand.
With a smooth motion, he used a silent levitation charm on her robes to slow down her fall.
Ginny noticed this and calmed down a bit. She glanced at the ground just in time to see Harry waiting for her before catching her in his arms.
"It looks like you need more practice with that," he said.
"Harry!..ehm…I mean, thank you." The redheaded girl said.
"Don't mention it. Do you want to keep going?" Very gently, he let her down to her feet.
"Yes!...if you have time?." She said, feeling a bit bashful.
"It's no issue. I would not have offered otherwise." He had done plenty of training during the break, and now he just wanted to rest for a bit.
"Ah, I almost forgot! I haven't said thank you for these!" Ginny lifted her hands. She was wearing a pair of Quidditch gloves made of black leather.
He had sent these to her for Christmas. They were made of black dragon hide and were nearly indestructible.
"I'm glad you liked them."
"I know these are very expensive. My brother Charlie told me that black dragons are nearly extinct and it is almost impossible to find anything made with those materials."
"I just got them because I thought they would be useful to you, not because I wanted to give you something expensive."
"I know, but this and…the broom…" She said softly.
"Oh? You knew it was me?" Harry asked with interest.
Ginny grinned, feeling a bit proud. "It wasn't hard, with that note… you are one of the few whom I told about sneaking into the shed to borrow my family brooms. You and Lyra are the only ones with money to buy something like that broom and Lyra… well, she would never have been able to keep it a secret. I would have found out long before the present arrived."
Harry chuckled. "That's true… but I think she is trying to work on it." He had not checked on her progress with occlumency for a while. He will have to ask her on the next chance he has.
It took him a bit off guard when Ginny leaned forward and gave him a soft hug. "So…thank you for the gloves and the broom, It was the best gift I have ever received."
"I'm glad you liked them, but speaking of the broom…" Harry pointed in the distance, where the Nimbus 2001 was slowly floating down. It had a safety feature that allowed it to do that if the rider fell off.
"You should go fetch it before a gust of wind sends it into the Dark Forest or something."
Ginny saw this and panicked. "Ahh!, come back here!"
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On Saturday, most of the school was at the Quidditch field. The first game of the year was about to be played… Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff.
"How do you think your sister is going to do?" Seamus asked Ron.
This put him in a bad mood. "Tsk…she has no chance against Cedric Diggory. He is the best seeker in Hogwarts." He could not understand how could they take his little sister as a main player but he didn't even make it into the reserve.
"Yes, since Harry quit….but I think Ginny is doing great. She caught the snitch against Slytherin, last year." Neville reminded him.
"That's just because the Slytherin team bloody sucks now. Half their team are reserves or not even that." Ron huffed.
"Even so…I think she is a great seeker." Neville insisted.
Ron threw him a suspicious look. "You are not going after my sister, right?. "
"What?! No!" Neville panicked and became embarrassed.
"Oh, I smell gossip!" Lavender leaned forward.
"Stop, you are going to fall!" Hermione exclaimed. They were sitting on the first row after all.
"Let her…maybe she'll learn something," Parvati told her.
Lyra and Harry were seated together just one row behind.
"It is rare to see you here. You never come to watch the games." His sister commented.
"I don't find it fun to just be the spectator. But I made a promise to watch this one. " Harry told her.
"To Ginny, huh?. That must be why she looked so happy this morning." Lyra said.
Moments later, the announcer started to shout in his usual cheerful tone. "Welcome to the first Hogwarts Quidditch game of the year! I am Jordan and will be your commentator for the evening!"
"It's morning…" McGonagall muttered from his side.
"In any case… let's welcome the players!" Jordan shouted.
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