Summary: *** Winner of The People’s Choice Award in the Quidditch Challenge ***
Ginny Weasley is on the verge of making the English National Team when she starts receiving concerning notes from an obsessed fan. She turns to the Auror Department and Harry Potter for help.
Rating: PG-13
Categories: Alternate Universe, Quidditch Challemge (2014-4), Quidditch Challenge (2014-4)
Characters: None
Genres: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 2014.11.12
Updated: 2014.12.06
Index
Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Seeking Help
Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Stalking
Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Investigating
Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Try outs
Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The World Cup
Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Seeking Help
Author's Notes: This is set in a world where Harry and Ginny have not previously met. Harry never attended Hogwarts. I'm deliberately vague about how he ended up with Sirius and how he defeated Voldemort. This is set four years after the end of the war. Enjoy!
Thank you to both my Brit picker Mark and Beta seekers_destiny.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.
Ginny looped her teammate as she finished her scoring run. Glenna playfully shook her fist at the younger girl. Ginny grinned at her fellow Chaser as she flew back into position.
A whistle blew. The witches spiralled to the ground and gathered around their captain, Gwenog Jones. Gwenog looked around at her team. “I’ve just had word that the coach for the English team will be holding open try-outs next month.” She held her hands ups to quiet the protests that had broken out. “I know, I have no idea why he’s doing it this way. He’s attended matches and seen all of the teams. He says that holding open try-outs might find some hidden talent.”
“Please,” Giselle said sarcastically. “There is some Ministry worker or shop clerk out there who can play Quidditch better than a professional player.”
“Wait, they are letting non-professionals try out?” Glenna asked scandalized.
“I’m sure it’s some publicity ploy,” Gwenog reassured her players. “You know everyone loves an underdog.” She eyed her girls critically. “That being said, I don’t expect to hear that one of my girls was beaten out by some shop clerk. Information on try-outs will be in the locker room. There are forms that need to be filled out and sent in. Please make sure your physical is up to date. Healer Davis will be here next week and will be able to perform a physical if you need yours updated, but she will not be checking when yours expires. That is up to you to make sure your paperwork is up to date and complete.”
Ginny headed into the locker room with Glenna, her closest friend on the team. “I’m actually excited about the try-out process. With the last English team it seemed like Coach Knight picked his favourites and didn’t give any newer players a chance.”
“That’s true,” Glenna agreed reluctantly. She smiled at her friend. “You won’t have a problem making the team. You were the highest scoring rookie and the last two years you’ve led the league in scoring.”
“I hope so,” Ginny said. “I think representing England would be wonderful!”
After showering and changing, Ginny made sure to grab the packet of paperwork required for the try-outs. The thought of flying for England was thrilling. Waving to her teammates, Ginny headed into the crisp Welsh evening. Most of the girls preferred to Floo to the stadium or Apparate, but Ginny liked to ride her bicycle. She lived in a small two bedroom house near the beach. Her first two years on the squad she’d shared a flat with some of her teammates, but now she was living on her own. It was a new experience for her and she found that she liked it. After growing up in such a loud and crowded house, her quiet little house was paradise. While she missed her family, she loved living on her own and earning her own way.
Approaching her bicycle, her smile slipped off her face. Sitting on the seat of her bike was a rose and a note. Pulling her wand, she cast a few spells. There didn’t seem to be any spells on the flower or note, but the security wards she’d placed on her bicycle had been taken down.
Reaching out, she gingerly lifted the flower and note. Ignoring the flower, she opened the note.
Dearest Ginny,
You looked amazing out there today! Of course you always look beautiful! I saw you walking on the beach yesterday afternoon, you looked so lovely in that little white dress. I think you should wear dresses more often.
I was glad to see that photographer was nowhere to be seen this weekend. You do know he’s no good for you, right? I knew it was only a matter of time before you realized he was not right for you.
Soon it will be time for us to meet.
Your Love
Her hands shook slightly. She’d really hoped she’d heard the last from him. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was 5:30. Ron might still be at the Ministry.
Recasting the security charms on her bicycle, she headed into the stadium and Flooed to the Ministry of Magic in London. Arriving in London, she cast a quick cleansing charm to remove the soot. She really hated Flooing long distance, but this warranted it.
She hurried past the fountain in the Atrium. In the centre of the fountain was a statue depicting Harry Potter’s final battle with You-Know-Who. She was never quite sure if she liked the statue or not, there was something about it that seemed a bit off to her.
As she reached the Auror Department, her heart sank. It was obvious that most of the staff had left for the day and there was not even a receptionist at the desk. Hoping that maybe Ron was still working, she headed towards the back of the department where the trainees had their cubicles.
The cubicles were all empty. She could see Ron’s cubicle with a pennant for his beloved Chudley Cannons tacked on the wall. He also had several pictures — a large one of his long-time girlfriend, Hermione Granger, as well as several family photos. Ron’s best mate, Neville’s, cubicle was next to his. Ginny recognized it by the plant on the desk. Neville had a small picture of him and his grandmother at his Hogwarts graduation.
Ginny sighed. She’d really hoped that Ron and Neville would still be there. She wondered if she should talk to another Auror, but she remembered how sceptical Ron had been of the anonymous notes. She didn’t imagine an Auror she didn’t know would take her seriously when her own brother was so disbelieving.
As she turned to leave, she saw movement from one of the offices around the cubicles. She suddenly realized how dark it was in the near deserted department. In the larger room she could see the on-duty Aurors, but there was no one else near her.
“Can I help you?”
Ginny whirled around at the voice, but was relieved to see a young man in Auror’s robes. His robes were open revealing a tight white t-shirt and jeans. He was rather good-looking with dark hair and glasses. As he stepped further into the light, she revised her opinion — he was extremely good looking. His hair was worn a bit longer than might be fashionable, but it seemed to suit him well. Now that she could see him more clearly, she could see his gorgeous dark green emerald coloured eyes underneath his glasses. She didn’t recall seeing him around before, she was certain she would have remembered him.
“I…no…I was hoping to catch my brother,” Ginny blushed as she stumbled over her words. She hadn’t blushed in front of a boy since Hogwarts.
“Your brother?”
“Ron Weasley,” Ginny explained. “He’s one of the Auror trainees.”
“Oh, yes,” the man replied as his gaze moved to the trainees’ desks. “Tall, red-head.”
Blushing again, Ginny nodded.
The man grinned in a way Ginny found very sexy. “I think all the trainees went out drinking. They had an unexpected test today and they all did rather well, I believe they were going out to celebrate.”
“Damn!” Ginny swore softly. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what she should do. Ron certainly wouldn’t thank her for chasing him down if he was out drinking with his mates. Not to mention she was wearing her work out gear which consisted of a dark green sports bra with the Harpies’ logo and lighter green trousers with the words Harpies up the leg. Ron hated her work out gear, he complained every time he saw her wearing it. If she turned up wearing it, Ron would never help her.
She glanced over at her companion trying to figure out how old he might be. It seemed as though he was probably in a year or two of her own age. But if he was in his early twenties, why wasn’t he in training? It was obvious from his robes and the fact that he had an office that he was already an Auror.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
Ginny bit her lip as she tried to decide what to do. Although Ron and Neville had both laughed off her concerns when she’d mentioned her other notes, it scared her that someone was keeping such a close eye on her.
“I…I’m not really sure, but I think so,” Ginny replied at length.
He nodded. “Why don’t you come into the consultation room?”
She followed him into the small room that she hadn’t even noticed. Entering the room, she noted two comfortable looking chairs with two low tables next to them. The Auror took one of the chairs and pulled a sheaf of parchment and quill out of his robes before sitting down.
Sinking into the chair, Ginny noticed a pitcher of ice water with goblets had appeared on one of the tables along with a box of tissues. She had to smile, the Auror department was rather efficient.
“I guess I should start with introductions. My name is Harry Potter.”
Ginny dropped the goblet of water she had just poured. Embarrassment flooded through her and she hastily picked up the goblet. Before she could clean the mess she’d made, Harry calmly cast the appropriate spells while she collected herself.
“I am so sorry,” Ginny said, her face flaming. “I’m Ginny Weasley. I’m not usually such a klutz. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”
“That’s okay,” Harry replied easily. Something seemed to click and he leaned forward. “Ginny Weasley, the Quidditch player? I saw your match against the Arrows. You are a great player.”
“Thank you,” Ginny blushed again. She mentally cursed the fact that she was a red head and blushed so easily. This was Harry Potter! The Harry Potter! Why couldn’t she be witty and flirt? No, instead she was blushing and stuttering like a school girl.
“What is the problem?” Harry asked.
“I’m not exactly sure there is a problem,” Ginny said. “Ron and Neville both laughed at me when I mentioned it, but…”
“Why don’t you let me make that decision?”
Taking a deep breath Ginny began her story. “It started two or three month ago. I’m not exactly sure when. I started receiving these letters and at first I thought it was just fan mail. It was never signed or anything, but at first the letters just talked about how great I played or how pretty I am.” She flushed slightly. “It seemed a bit much, but I asked some of the other girls on the squad and they’ve all received fan mail so I didn’t worry about it.”
“Something happened,” Harry said.
“One of the letters was left with a bouquet of flowers on my front porch,” Ginny said. “At first I thought the florist had delivered it, but I realized there was no florist’s name and it wasn’t a professional looking bouquet. You know how florist’s bouquets usually have those little white flowers and just look professional?”
Harry nodded and she continued. “This didn’t look very professional. They were wildflowers and they weren’t…I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but they weren’t matched like a florist would. The flowers didn’t seem to go together.”
“As in the colours didn’t go together?”
“Yes,” Ginny said relieved she’d explained it well enough for him to understand. “The colours didn’t go together and the flowers were all different sizes.”
“So he knows where you live,” Harry frowned.
Ginny smiled ruefully. “It took me a lot longer than that to work it out.”
“Did you save any of the letters?”
“I have them at home,” Ginny said. “I keep files of my fan mail and I have a folder of these…disturbing letters.”
“Great, that will be helpful,” Harry said. “Is there any evidence he’s been inside your house?”
“I don’t have any evidence, but I think he has,” Ginny admitted. “Two weeks ago I came home from an extended road trip. I hadn’t been home in almost ten days. When I went inside it just…it felt different. Nothing was missing, but some of the pictures on my mantle were moved around. My brothers all thought I was remembering wrong. Ron and Neville listened to me, but they said I had a fan and what did I expect playing professional Quidditch.”
“What happened today?” Harry asked. Ginny explained what had happened and showed him the flower and letter. To her surprise, he didn’t reach out to take them. Instead, he reached for his wand. “I’m going to cast a few spells.”
She nodded and watched as he worked. She didn’t recognize any of the spells and she really couldn’t tell from his reaction what they might be showing. After the spells, Harry reached out for the items.
He dropped the flower into an evidence bag and encased the letter in some sort of clear cover. Picking up the letter, he read it. Frowning as he re-read the letter, he asked, “Did you wear a white dress on the beach yesterday?”
She nodded. He looked back at the letter. “Who is the photographer?”
“My friend, Colin Creevey,” she explained. “We’ve been friends since Hogwarts. Some papers have wrongly reported that he’s my boyfriend, so maybe that’s why he mentioned him.”
“Who knows where you live?” Harry asked.
Ginny frowned as she thought about it. “My family — my parents, my brothers and their girlfriends. A few friends from Hogwarts and my teammates.”
Harry slid a sheet of parchment over to her and handed her a quill. “Can you make a list?”
She did as he asked and was rather surprised to discover the list was longer than she expected. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines as he looked at the list.
“How long have you lived there?”
“About a year,” she replied.
“You live alone?”
She simply nodded. As she watched him, she became a bit more nervous. He set down his quill and looked at her for a minute. “Miss Weasley, I’m going to have to ask some questions and they are very personal questions and indeed might seem quite rude. I wouldn’t ask them if I didn’t need to do so. I need you to answer as honestly as you can. I can assure you that your answers will in no way be shared with anyone.”
Ginny swallowed and poured herself another goblet of water.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No.”
“Can you tell me about the last several men you’ve dated?”
Damping down her initial response, Ginny replied, “I dated Neville Longbottom briefly whilst I was at Hogwarts. We broke up when he graduated from Hogwarts. I dated David Yates during my last year at school and my first year on the Harpies. We broke up almost two years ago. I haven’t really dated anyone since then. I go out dancing with my friends and I might dance sometimes or flirt with guys, but I haven’t really dated anyone. I did go on a picnic with a friend of my brothers last month — my mum insisted I bring someone so Bill asked a friend of his to be my date.”
“Any one night stands?”
“What?” Ginny was offended he would even think that. “I know that’s what a lot of guys think about female Quidditch players, but I’m not like that. I like to go dancing with my friends, but I don’t sleep around! Why do people always assume that female Quidditch players are tramps?”
“I’m sorry, Miss Weasley,” Harry said soothingly. “I did tell you there would be very personal questions. I have to ask.”
Ginny fumed quietly for a minute before she realized that if he had no way of knowing what sort of person she was after talking to her for a few minutes. Merlin knows that she had friends who wouldn’t think twice about having a one night stand or sleeping with one of the fans. She blushed. “No, I’m sorry, Mr Potter. You don’t know me and you are trying to help me.”
Harry smiled. “Thank you. I do understand it is a difficult subject to discuss. When you read the letters or think about the letter writer, does anyone come to mind?”
Ginny thought about it for a minute. “No. I think that’s part of what makes it so creepy. He seems to know so much about me and I don’t know anything about him.”
Nodding, he glanced down at the letter once more. “Miss Weasley, have you heard of the term ‘stalker’?”
She shook her head.
“I’m not surprised,” Harry said. “It is a phenomenon that has been noticed in the Muggle world. Basically it means that there is a person out there who is fixated on you and engaged in a course of action directed at you that causes you to fear for you safety or the safety of others or to suffer emotional distress.”
“Yes!” Ginny blushed after her exclamation, but she pushed on. “He makes me feel uneasy and I don’t know why.”
She frowned. “Ron and Neville both told me they thought it was a fan.” She dropped her gaze and fought back a blush as she recalled the rest of their assessment.
Harry noticed her facial expression and mentally cursed both the Auror trainees. “Did they place the blame on you?”
Ginny looked up startled that he’d realized that. “Yes, they said that I was inviting crazy fans by playing professional Quidditch. Ron said I must have done something to encourage him because he keeps leaving the notes. I don’t think he believed me when I said I didn’t know who it was.”
“This is in no way your fault,” Harry reassured her. “I believe this stalker is displaying signs of erotomania or the delusion that they are in a relationship or in love with the object of their attention. This often happens with famous people, but honestly it can happen to anyone. He may have seen you playing in a match and in his mind, you acknowledged him. Maybe you looked over at the section of the stands in which he was seated, it is something little that he is imbuing with all sorts of meanings. If you wear your hair differently, he thinks it is because of him, he might see a picture in the paper and swear you were looking straight at him. Unfortunately, he believes that the two of you are in love and looks for confirmation in all sorts of actions. He might twist the fact that your friend didn’t visit this weekend to mean that you don’t like your friend and are ready to start a relationship with him.”
“What can I do about it?” Ginny horrified at what she was hearing.
Harry smiled reassuringly. “First, I would like to see where the note and flower were found and then I’d like to see your house.”
“Of course,” Ginny said.
The pair stood and Harry led the way back to his office so he could grab a few things before heading to Wales. Almost as soon as he entered, the Floo lit up. Turning, he smiled. “Hi, Dad.”
His godfather, the man who had raised him since infancy, Sirius Black said, “Hi, Harry. Someone was just wondering where you were.”
Harry laughed. “Put him on.”
A second later, the face of his four year old godson, Teddy appeared in the fire. “Harry, when you comin’ home?”
“I will be home later, kiddo,” Harry answered gently. He glanced over at Ginny who was trying to give him so privacy on the Floo. “I’m going to see if I can help a lady with her problem.”
The little heart shaped face pouted for a moment before the more familiar grin stole across his face. “You give my bath tonight?”
Harry laughed. “I will give you your bath tonight. Are you being a good boy for Papa?”
Teddy nodded. “We played lots today. Papa taked me to the park and we played. I maked a picture for you.”
“I can’t wait to see it, Teddy,” Harry replied with a smile. “Put Papa back on, okay?”
“Okay,” Teddy replied. “I love you, Harry.”
“I love you, too.”
Sirius face reappeared. “I heard. I’ll see you later.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
The Floo connection broke. Harry grabbed his cloak and scanned his desk. He didn’t see anything else he’d need. After setting the appropriate security charms on the desk and files, he turned to Ginny. “We can take the Floo in the Atrium.”
She nodded. As they walked toward the elevator, she said shyly. “Your little boy is adorable.”
“Thank you,” Harry said proudly. “He’s my godson. His parents were killed in the Battle at Hogwarts, so my godfather and I are raising him.”
“How old is he? Three or four?” Ginny guessed.
“He’s four,” Harry replied.
“I thought so,” she said. “I have a niece who’s three and he speaks a bit more clearly than she does.”
“I noticed on the list you made, that you have quite a large family.”
“I’m the youngest of seven,” Ginny explained. “I had six older brothers. One of my brothers was killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. Three of my brothers are married and are starting their families. So far I have two nieces and now a nephew on the way.”
“Wow, that must be nice,” Harry replied a touch enviously. “I always wanted lots of brothers and sisters.” He laughed. “When I was little, it was just me and Sirius. He’s great, but I always wished for a brother or sister to play with.”
“I will admit, I had a great childhood,” Ginny said with a smile. “We grew up all playing together. We spent a lot of time outside — playing in the orchard, swimming in the river, or flying. Of course my brothers wouldn’t let me play Quidditch with them when we were younger. They claimed I was too small and would get hurt easily.” She laughed. “My second year at Hogwarts I made the Quidditch team as Seeker and shocked the hell out of my brothers who didn’t even realize I could fly at that point.”
Harry laughed appreciatively. “That’s great. Judging by the fact that you are a professional player, I’m guessing you were the best of the lot.”
She blushed slightly. “I’d like to think so. My brother Charlie was a great player, but he chose to go raise dragons in Romania. I was on the Gryffindor team with three of my brothers at one point, it was rather fun.”
“A Gryffindor? My parents and godfather were all Gryffindors,” he said a touch wistfully. “I always imagined I’d be a Gryffindor if I made it to Hogwarts.”
As the elevator took them to the Atrium, Harry realized how at ease he felt with Ginny Weasley. He usually didn’t talk so much about his childhood and family. Glancing over at her, he had to admit, she was gorgeous. He’d seen her picture in the paper and had always thought she was pretty, but he hadn’t expected that she would be so easy to talk to. In his experience, girls as pretty as her were usually well aware of their looks and used them to get what they wanted. Ginny didn’t seem to be that type of girl. After her initial start when he introduced himself, she didn’t fawn all over him as witches tended to do.
Realizing where his thoughts were leading him, Harry reined in his thoughts. She wasn’t just some girl, she’d come to him for help. He snuck another look at her as they crossed the atrium. She was gorgeous, though.
Ginny stood back as Harry spoke to Peter, the head of Security for the Harpies. She ignored the angry looks Peter was shooting in her direction. When she’d first started receiving the notes, she’d talked to Peter and he assured her that it was nothing — all the girls received fan letters. The first time she’d found a note in the locker room she’d again gone to Peter and he’d just laughed it off. If he didn’t like her going to the Aurors, he needed to take her concerns more seriously.
She followed Harry as they left the Security office. As she watched he cast a series of complex spells and charms. He cast them all wordlessly, so she really had no idea what he was doing. He didn’t seem happy with what he’d found.
“I think this guy is good with Charms,” Harry said after a few minutes. “Most of the security charms over the stadium are intact, but he’s made little changes that allow access to certain areas. That security guard is not very helpful. I don’t know if he didn’t notice the breeches in security or if he just didn’t think they were important.”
“He never really took my concerns seriously,” Ginny commented. “He just had the same attitude that my brothers showed — it was just a fan with a crush, nothing to be concerned about.”
Harry shook his head in disgust. “I would think with an all-female team they would have better security.”
“Why?” Ginny asked offended by the implication. “We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves.”
“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Harry said quickly. “It’s just that women tend to be the focus of certain types of crimes and he seems particularly clueless. He should be on the lookout for the overzealous fans, but instead he thinks they are a joke or even something that should be encouraged.”
Those were remarkably close to her thoughts on Peter, so she didn’t argue. “Can you fix the gaps in the wards?”
“I can, but I’d rather have someone from Gringotts come and fix the charms,” Harry replied. “They set the wards to begin with and no one is better at wards than the goblins and their employees.”
“My oldest brother, Bill, is a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts,” Ginny commented.
“That’s good to know,” Harry said. “I’ll request him to be part of the warding team. His relationship to you will strengthen the wards. Did he ward your house?”
Ginny shook her head. “No, I didn’t think it necessary. I mean the war’s over and…” she shrugged. “I don’t know. That sounds really stupid now that I say it out loud. None of my teammates have their places warded and I guess it seemed like an unnecessary expense.”
“I understand,” Harry said soothingly. “After the war a lot of people wanted to ditch their precautions as soon as the battle was over.”
Ginny watched him as he said that and it struck her anew that he was the one who’d ended it all. “I guess it wasn’t that easy for you.”
He grinned ruefully. “No, and my godfather is the most paranoid person in the world. He’d still have us under Fidelius with all manner of protective charms if I didn’t complain so much.”
“I can only imagine. My parents kept the protections up for a full year after the war. I think mum liked it because she was better able to keep track of us.” Ginny laughed.
Ginny watched anxiously as Harry walked around her house. While she was very glad that he was taking her so seriously, she was starting to get worried about it now. The thought that some stranger thought she was in love with him and may have broken into her house was chilling.
Leaving Harry to his own devices for a moment, she refilled Chaser’s food and water. She looked around, but couldn’t find the calico stray she’d found a few years before. Glancing out into the yard, she couldn’t see the cat, but Chaser loved to race over to the nearby beach and had even been known to drag home a dead fish or two.
She was glad she’d taken the time to shower and change after practice. Often she waited until she arrived home, but today she’d felt especially grimy after practice and wanted a shower before leaving the stadium.
“Is this your room?” Harry asked indicating her bedroom.
She nodded.
“May I go in?”
“Of course,” Ginny replied.
She watched Harry as he efficiently worked his way across the room. He was casting spells and looking at everything. He frowned as he neared her wardrobe. She watched as he opened the wardrobe and cast a spell. A spot lit up on the floor in front of the wardrobe. Frowning, she watched as he cast several more spells.
“He’s been in here,” Harry said grimly.
“What?” She was shocked. “In my bedroom?”
He nodded. “It seems he spent some time here pleasuring himself in your room.”
Ginny stared at him for a minute as what he’d said started to make sense. Immediately she turned and just made it to the bathroom in time to lose what was left of her lunch. Disgusting pictures of some unknown man rummaging through her knickers and touching himself kept flashing through her head.
Shaking her head, she forced those images out of her head. She stood and washed her face and brushed her teeth.
“Are you okay?” came Harry’s voice from just outside the bathroom.
She opened the door and nodded. “Sorry, that…that is disgusting.”
He nodded. “Is there somewhere else you can stay for the night? I don’t think you should stay here until the wards are improved.”
While she wanted to protest, the knowledge that someone had been in her room forced her to acknowledge that it just wasn’t safe. The thought of returning the Burrow for the night depressed her. If her mother had any idea that she wasn’t safe, Ginny would never hear the end of it. Her mother would be after her to quit Quidditch, not that she wasn’t doing that already, but Ginny imagined she would be much worse.
She was reluctant to go to Ron — he’d laughed at her concerns and she was sure that Hermione would be there and they
weren’t really getting along that well. George’s house was out as Angelina was pregnant and not having the easiest time of it — she didn’t want to add to their concerns. Percy was out of the question. The only one of the brothers she would feel comfortable in going to was Bill, but he was on holiday with his wife and daughter.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think I should probably go to a hotel.”
“Why don’t you pack a bag?” he suggested.
Harry returned to her sitting room while she quickly packed enough clothes for a few days. She was going to thoroughly wash everything before she wore anything. Merlin knows how many things that man touched.
Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Stalking
Author's Notes: Thanks again to Mark and seekers_destiny for their work in helping with the story.
Harry looked up as the Auror trainees ambled into the department. He’d honestly not had much interaction with them so he’d looked over their training records. Six of them had started the year after the war ended. Neville Longbottom was a hard worker and very diligent. He tried hard and had done well with his studies. Ron Weasley had done well in most of his classes. Both Weasley and Longbottom had spent their first year out of Hogwarts brushing up on their Potions, Transfiguration, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. It wasn’t uncommon for Auror candidates to take extra classes before applying for the program. Weasley was rumoured to have a keen analytical mind, but Harry hadn’t seen any sign of it so far. From what he could tell, Weasley liked being the class clown and tended to be a bit lazy. It was curious that he also did better in his written work than his practical work.
Walking to the edge of his office, he called out, “Weasley, Longbottom! In my office.”
The two men exchanged a surprised look before joining Harry in his office. Harry sat behind his desk while the other two stood awkwardly in front of him. Weasley was the first to speak. “What can we do for you, Mr Potter?”
“Mr Weasley, you have a sister who plays for the Harpies?”
Ron relaxed when he found out this was about his sister. “Yes, sir. She’s a great Chaser.”
“She’s also managed to attract a stalker,” Harry stated.
Ron’s eyes widened for a minute, but he recovered quickly. “No, no. She’s just making a big deal out of nothing. She didn’t come in here, did she? I am so sorry. I’ll talk to her. She’s just being a bit of an idiot at the moment.”
Harry raised an eyebrow. “A bit of an idiot? You’ve checked out her claims?”
Ron shrugged. “We went to a few matches and no one out of the ordinary approached her. She’s just looking for attention.”
“You went to a few matches? That is your idea of checking out a claim?” Harry asked incredulously.
“Sir, I’m sorry she involved you in her drama,” Ron said desperately.
“You’ve never really taken her claims seriously?”
“We did look around,” Neville spoke up for the first time, “but she couldn’t really tell us anything. She’d felt someone was watching her or something, but there was no one there. I think she’s just not used to getting fan mail and she’s reading things into them.”
“So the fact that a ‘fan’ found her house wasn’t concerning to you?”
Ron shrugged and looked a bit uncomfortable. He glanced at Neville for a minute before he said, “She probably told him where she lived or had a one night stand or something. Ever since she broke up with her last boyfriend, she’s gone a bit wild.”
Harry glared at the two men. He really couldn’t believe how cavalier they were about Ginny’s safety. He handed Weasley a copy of the last letter the stalker had left. “What do you make of this?”
The two men read it, but neither of them reacted. Harry exploded. “It doesn’t concern you that someone knows where she lives, is following her and keeping track of her visitors?”
“She just needs to be more careful who she’s bringing home,” Ron retorted angrily.
Harry stood and beckoned to the two men. “Follow me.”
Exchanging a frustrated look, the two best mates followed Potter out of his office and down the hall into the Forensics department. Harry headed towards the corner of the lab. Ron and Neville followed closely. Neither of them had much experience with this new branch of wizarding crime fighting and were quite frankly rather uncomfortable.
Their first stop was in the office of a rather pretty witch whose office door read, ‘Grace Mendel, Questioned Document Division.’ Harry knocked on the open door and the witch looked up.
“Hi, Harry. I’ve been looking over the documents you sent over. All six were written by the same wizard, well I am guessing it is a wizard from what is written and the style of writing. The parchment is standard grade parchment available in any shop and there is nothing distinctive about the ink either.”
“Damn,” Harry said, “I was hoping something would show.”
Grace nodded. “There is a disturbing increase in the subtle threatening. He’s obviously watching her and he’s encouraged by the tiniest of changes she makes. In one note he raved about her wearing her hair down and how she must have known he like it when she liked it like that.”
“Thank you, Grace,” Harry said.
She nodded. “I’ve sent the parchment over to Trace. Sometimes they can pick up spells that have been cast in the presence of a document. I don’t believe any spells were cast on the documents themselves.”
Harry nodded and led the two now very quiet Aurors to another corner of the lab. Several witches and wizards were running tests on various items. It looked rather like a Muggle laboratory. One of the wizards looked up as Harry approached.
“Hello, Harry,” the wizard greeted him. “This is a nasty one.”
With a wave of his wand, the wizard projected a three dimensional display of Ginny’s house. “I detected the wizard’s magical signature in three main spots — the kitchen, the sitting room, and of course her bedroom.”
Ron spoke up. “All this shows is she suddenly has bad taste in men.”
“Who might you be young man?” the wizard demanded.
“Ron Weasley, Ginny is my sister.”
“I feel badly for her. She was not at home when this wizard was there - their magical signatures don't overlap at all. He spent time in her kitchen, I believe he may have eaten some of her food — perhaps a treat or something. He didn’t spend much time in her sitting room. A bulk of his time was spent in her bedroom.” Looking at Ron, he said, “No time at all in her bed. He went through her knickers and other intimate clothing — pleasuring himself multiple times.” Looking over at Harry he said, “I trust she has been removed from her home.”
“Of course, Patrick,” Harry replied. “She stayed in a hotel last night. I’ve already contacted Gringotts to renew the wards at the stadium and ward her house. Her oldest brother is a Curse Breaker and he’s already been contacted. He’s cutting his holiday short and returning home to help with the warding.”
“It’s nice she has one brother who cares,” Patrick said pointedly.
Harry smiled. “Thank you, Patrick.”
Harry led the trainees back to his office. Closing the door, he turned and looked at the two of them. “A formal reprimand is going into both of your files. You are required to attend a seminar on the crime of stalking and present it to your fellow trainees. I am amazed and disgusted at how easily you brushed off your sister’s concerns. If anyone comes to you with a concern about their safety you will thoroughly investigate that concern and not take the opportunity to slander them. If you didn’t feel you could conduct and unbiased investigation of your sister’s concerns, you should have asked someone else to investigate it for you.”
Neville looked thoroughly ashamed of himself. “Are you saying that Ginny is really in danger?”
“Yes!” Harry yelled. “What did you not understand about that? Someone is sneaking into her house, spying on her, and seems to assume he has a relationship with her.”
“How do we know he doesn’t have a relationship with her?” Ron asked a touch belligerently. “She’s been out partying with all sorts of people. Maybe she picked up a creep and now she’s embarrassed about it.”
“I believe her,” Harry said coldly. “I don’t know what is behind the disdain and dislike you have for your sister, but she is in danger and needs to be protected. I suggest you take some time to adjust your attitude.”
“Miss Jones? I am Harry Potter. I am here to investigate some incidents against one of your Chasers — Ginny Weasley.”
Gwenog Jones looked up as Harry approached. While Gwenog had a hard-nosed reputation when it came to Quidditch, she was also very protective of the girls who played for her. It disturbed her that one of her girls had been targeted. “I heard. You believe she is being stalked.”
“Yes,” Harry was relieved that she had some familiarity with the phenomena. “She’s been receiving increasingly intimate letters from an unknown wizard that indicate he believes they are in some type of relationship. He’s managed to breach the wards here at the stadium and he’s been in her house.”
Frowning, Gwenog nodded. “I’ve spoken to management and they are willing to extend whatever courtesy they need to do find this man. I understand we have you to thank for the warding team repairing the wards?”
Harry nodded. “Yes, Peter, the security officer I spoke with yesterday didn’t seem to understand the issue.”
“He wouldn’t,” Gwenog said with clear disdain in her voice. “Management was quite concerned at his handling of the whole affair. He is being replaced.”
“Good,” Harry replied. “It was very concerning to discover that the wards had actually been breached and no one realized it. I’m sorry to have to tell you, but the warding team discovered surveillance equipment in the locker room."
What?!” Gwenog swore loudly. “Are we going to see lewd pictures of my girls splashed all over the papers?”
“I don’t think so,” Harry replied. “He seems very fixated on Ginny.”
Gwenog nodded distractedly. “I hope you find him soon. She will most likely make the National Team and start training with them next month. I’d hate for this to follow her there.”
“I saw the article in the paper about the open try-outs,” Harry said. Suddenly he swore. “Damn! This means he can try out for the team.”
Gwenog’s eyes widened. “You don’t think he’d make it, do you?”
“I doubt it,” Harry replied distractedly, “but if he can get into try-outs he might have access to her.”
Gwenog nodded. “If he’s granted credentials to try-out, he would be able to interact with any of the other players.”
“Are they having the professionals and non-professionals trying out on the same day?” Harry asked.
Frowning, Gwenog tried to recall the details she’d read that morning. “They will try out separately on the first day, but everyone who makes it past the first day will be put in together. I honestly don’t think any non-professionals will make it, but I think they will make it past the first day. I think Coach wants the publicity of having an average Joe flying with professionals.”
Looking over at Harry she asked, “Are there any Aurors who could try out? That way they would at least be in the mix.”
Harry nodded. “I’ll speak to Mr Robards when I return to London. I’m sure we have a few people who would like to try out.”
Leaving Gwenog’s office, Harry made his way to the stands and looked out over the pitch. The Chasers were practicing. He smiled as he watched Ginny fly — she was really good. Looking around the stands, he couldn’t see anyone else watching, but he cast a few spells just in case. To his relief, there was no one hiding.
Settling into a seat, he sat down to watch for a few minutes. This morning his godfather had asked if he was interested in trying out for the National Team. Watching the girls fly, he had to admit he wanted nothing more than to grab his broom and join them in the sky. When Gwenog asked about Aurors trying out, Harry couldn’t deny his pulse had jumped at the thought.
When he was younger, before he’d defeated Voldemort, he’d always wanted to play Quidditch. He’d played in pick up matches, but he would love to play on a real team. Sirius had encouraged him to go for Professional Quidditch rather than working for the Ministry, but Harry had thought he needed to continue to make certain all of the Death Eaters were put away. Now all of the Death Eaters were either dead or in prison, so did he dare to try out? It really would be a dream come true.
Glenna laughed as Ginny had to dive slightly to catch the Quaffle. “Weasley, you’re supposed to be watching the Quaffle, not the sexy Auror in the stands.”
Ginny flushed to the roots of her hair. “I just glanced over,” she said defensively.
Glenna laughed. “Sure you did…for about two minutes.”
“Girls!” Simone, the Chasers coach, called them down to the field. “Good job today. Weasley, you seem a bit distracted.”
The rest of the Chasers dissolved into laughter. Simone laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Don’t worry; he didn’t take his eyes off you. I want everyone to keep up their conditioning and you can use the pitch to practice — just let me or Gwenog know when you want to practice. Healer Davis will be here on Monday and Tuesday. You can schedule time with her through the front office.”
Simone handed each of the girls an ID badge with their pictures and magical signatures imbedded into the card. “These are part of the new security system. You will not be allowed past any of the public areas without your card. It will get you into the training rooms, classroom, infirmary, and locker room. When you leave the locker room, the security guard will show you how to swipe your card. It will show what time you leave and who is with you. It will allow you access to the team Floo and the offices.”
Ginny looked down at her ID badge. The picture was her publicity picture, which she had to admit was nice. It was amazing that so many changes had already been implemented.
The girls headed into the locker room in high spirits. Ginny was thrilled with how well practice had gone which was rather surprising after the confirmation of her stalker last night. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she thought of Harry. He’d been so patient and so helpful.
After Ron and Neville had dismissed her concerns and her mother had turned her concerns into more reasons to quit Quidditch, it was nice to have her concerns validated. Harry had taken her to a hotel and made sure she had something to eat before he headed home to give his young godson a bath.
Ginny took a shower and changed. She knew the holes in the wards were being repaired, but she didn’t want to be in the locker room much longer than her fellow Chasers. Luckily Glenna waited for her and the two girls walked out of the locker room.
The changes in security were immediately apparent. There were now barriers between the locker room and the stadium exit. A guard turned as they walked out and nodded to them. “Good afternoon, ladies.”
He showed them how to use the ID badges and they both started towards the front office to arrange for their physicals with the healer. To Ginny’s delight, Harry was leaning against the wall just around the corridor from the locker room. It appeared that he’d been waiting for her.
“Ginny.”
“Hi, Harry,” Ginny replied. She could feel the flush spreading across her face. “This is my friend, Glenna. Glenna, this is Harry Potter.”
Harry shook Glenna’s hand. “It is nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” Glenna replied. For a moment Ginny was afraid that Glenna was going to tease him about watching her practice, but it seemed that Harry’s celebrity status had momentarily stilled Glenna’s teasing. Looking over at Ginny, she said, “I’m going to head out. It looks like you are in good hands.”
Laughing, Glenna continued on to the office. Flushing, Ginny looked over at Harry.
“You’re really good,” Harry said honestly. “I’ve seen you play before, but it was amazing to watch just the Chasers.”
“Thank you,” Ginny said. “I love playing. I originally made the team as Seeker in my second year, but the next year one of the other Chasers, Katie, decided she'd rather play Seeker and we switched. I started playing Chaser during my third year at Hogwarts and I was made captain in my fifth year.”
“I always wanted to play,” Harry said. “I wanted to play Seeker — the few times I’ve played that’s the position I’ve liked the best. I love the diving.”
“We could have used you at Hogwarts,” Ginny laughed. “We didn’t have the best luck with Seekers. Even after I switched to Chaser, I had to play Seeker two different games when our Seeker was injured. I always liked playing, but I liked Chasing better than Seeking.”
As they started walking towards the front office, Ginny glanced over at Harry. “Do you still fly?”
Harry nodded. “Every chance I get. My godfather gave me a Firebolt Extreme two years ago.”
Ginny’s eyes lit up. “They are amazing brooms. I have an original Firebolt — the Extreme is better for diving so it sounds like a great broom for you.”
“I was talking to Gwenog earlier,” Harry said. “She mentioned the National team try outs.”
Ginny looked confused for a minute, but soon enough comprehension settled in. “You think he might try out for the team.”
Harry nodded. “It makes sense. It would be an easy way to get to you and you might not be on guard on the pitch as much as you would in public. She suggested that we have some Aurors try out for the team, even if no one makes it they would still be here.”
“You should try out!” Ginny exclaimed.
“That’s what my godfather said this morning,” Harry admitted. He grinned. “I have to admit watching the three of you fly this morning made me want to jump on my broom.”
“I’m going to practice here tomorrow,” Ginny said. “Why don’t you come and bring your broom?”
A smile stretched across his face. “Okay, that sounds great.”
Ginny stopped in the office and arranged for her physical on Monday afternoon. When she was done, Harry said, “Would you like to get something to eat? I have some things I want to update you on, but I figure you must be starved after practicing all morning.”
“Okay,” Ginny replied suddenly feeling rather shy. “There is a great little restaurant near the harbour.”
Twenty minutes later the two of them slid into a booth at the restaurant. Harry looked around in surprise. “This is a Muggle restaurant.”
Ginny nodded. “Most of the places around here are Muggle. They know we play on some sort of sports team, but they are a bit fuzzy about what type of sport. It’s a great place to live. All of team and most of the management live here on the island. I lived with some of my teammates when I first moved up here. We lived in a Muggle building. It was very confusing for me at first, but I love it now. My dad loves Muggles and he loves coming up to visit.”
They both ordered and chatted casually while they waited for their food to arrive. Once the waitress set their plates down, Harry casually cast a privacy charm along with a mild repelling charm so they wouldn’t be interrupted.
“Ginny, what is the deal with your brother?” Harry asked. “He’s determined to somehow make this your fault.”
Ginny flushed and picked up one of her chips just to give herself something to do. “Ron and I used to be fairly close when we were little. We’re only 18 months apart and we’re the youngest of seven. Occasionally Ron would kick up a fuss over having to play with a girl, but overall we got along well. Then we started Hogwarts and everything changed.
“Ron suddenly had cooler friends and he didn’t have time for me. He didn’t write to me and he didn’t even come home for holidays. He and Neville have been fast friends since their first day of school. He spent half his summers at Neville’s house. Once I started Hogwarts a year later, he didn’t even want to see me.”
“That’s awful,” Harry said. “I always imagined having brothers and sisters would be great and mean built in friends.”
“It often does,” Ginny said. “The twins, Fred and George, were three years older than me. They didn’t always welcome me, but they showed me around a bit. Percy was in his sixth year when I started and he didn’t have any time for a little sister. It took me a while, but I eventually made friends and started having fun. I committed the unforgivable sin of making the Quidditch team before Ron could even try out. He was so angry at me — I don’t think he said two words to me that whole year.”
Harry made a face and Ginny laughed. “I know he was rather a jealous, immature git when he was in school. My fifth year that all changed when suddenly Neville decided that he fancied me. Neville’s a nice guy and at first I was flattered by the attention. The war was heating up and Professor Dumbledore held a Yule Ball, I guess to distract us from what was going on outside. He wanted us to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas so we would be safe — that’s what my mum always claimed.”
She shrugged. “Anyhow, I started dating Neville and by that time Ron had gathered up the courage to ask Hermione out so the four of us spent a lot of time together. I liked Neville, but I wasn’t in love with him. When he was getting ready to graduate, he started making noises about proposing. He and Ron were going into the Auror program and they were planning their whole lives. Ron and Hermione will eventually get married, but Neville wanted to get married as soon as I finished. He imagined I would be a stay at home witch and a great hostess.”
She read the look on Harry’s face. “Exactly — not my idea of fun. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to get married someday, but I’m not going to stay home barefoot and pregnant. That’s what Neville, Ron, Hermione, and my mum all assumed I was going to do. When I mentioned professional Quidditch, Ron laughed at me. He said I wasn’t good enough and I would just embarrass myself. Neville was horrified at the idea and we fought. I broke up with him and Ron was furious.
“I dated David the next two years mostly to prove that I wasn’t going to change my mind and marry Neville. David’s a nice guy and we had fun, but neither of us were looking for something serious.”
Harry nodded. “Another Auror interviewed him and that was basically what he said as well.”
“David was interviewed?” Ginny asked in confusion.
Harry nodded. “We wanted to speak to him and rule him out. Sometimes stalkers turn out to be old boyfriends who can’t let go.”
“That’s not David,” Ginny said firmly.
“What about Neville?” Harry asked.
“Not anymore,” Ginny said sadly. “He did pester me for a while, wanting to get back together with me.”
“He and Ron both told me that you were wild and party a lot,” Harry observed.
“Of course,” Ginny said bitterly. “After I broke up with David, Neville wanted to get back together. I told him I didn’t want to. I go out with my teammates and I will admit some of them are wild, but I never did anything like that. Neville was horrified at my choice of career, my clothes, makeup, and friends. What really set them against me was not my fault.”
Ginny took a long sip out of her drink before continuing. “I assume you know Draco Malfoy.”
“Whiny little Death Eater wannabe?” Harry laughed. “Yes, I know him.”
“He had delusions that he could play Quidditch,” Ginny explained. “I laughed when I heard. Our Seeker, Katie, wasn’t the best, but she beat him every time. Anyhow, he used his money to wrangle a try out on the Falcons. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I was at an official Quidditch function at the Ministry. It was a ball to raise money for war orphans, but it was sponsored by the Department of Magical Games.” She glanced over at Harry. “Actually I think you were there.”
“I was,” Harry laughed. “God, that was awful. I hate balls and I hate the press so the combination of the two of them weren’t good. Kingsley basically forced me to go — he even found me my date for the night.” He shuddered. “Janet Stabler. She was so thrilled to be my date. Ugh, that was not fun.”
Ginny laughed. “I’m so glad I’m not the only one who has those problems. Anyhow, I was at the ball and Malfoy cut in while I was dancing with a friend of Percy’s. I didn’t want to dance with the little creep, but I was also new in the league and didn’t want to make a scene on the dance floor. Luckily, the song was almost over. I left the floor immediately and when Malfoy followed me I ended up smacking him across the face for trying to feel me up.”
Harry started laughing. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer person. Creepy little wanker. He was never evil like his dad, but he wanted to be. I think he would have taken the Dark Mark if the war had gone on much longer. He tried to duel me once when we raided Malfoy Manor — stupid little ponce. He can’t fight worth a crap.”
Ginny grinned. “Really? He always made it sound like he was a champion dueller whilst we were at school.”
“No,” Harry shook his head. “He could pose, but once it got to the spell casting he had no idea what he was doing.”
“Wait, are you telling me your brother and Neville hold that against you? That you danced with Malfoy?”
Ginny nodded. “Yes, there was a picture of us dancing in the paper the next day and I don’t think Ron has had a nice word to say about me since. He believes all Slytherin are evil and I was friendly with a girl in my year who was in Slytherin. Between that and me dancing with Malfoy, I was suddenly a Death Eater in training according to my brother. He is convinced I had a fling with Malfoy and determined to believe the worst about me. It’s been almost two years and he seems to hate me. I think he feels I betrayed Neville somehow — at least that’s how my mum sees it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Poor Neville, you broke his heart. I hear that every time I go home.”
“I would bet that doesn’t make you want to go home much,” Harry observed.
She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Well, we’ve ruled out both David and Neville as your stalker,” Harry said. “I’m afraid your brother will probably be angry that I put him and Longbottom on probation for their failure to take your complaint seriously.” His eyes darkened. “I still can’t believe they were so oblivious. That doesn’t bode well for their future in the department.”
They ate their meals in silence for a few minutes before Ginny asked, “So how are you already an Auror? I checked, you are only a year older than me — you’re the same age as Ron and Neville.”
Harry smiled. “Unfortunately, I’ve been training for this job for years. I imagine you’ve heard how my parents died when I was a baby, right?”
Ginny nodded and Harry continued, “My godfather, Sirius, raised me since that night. He’s great. He’s a father, older brother, playmate, and pet all in one.”
“Pet?” Ginny laughed.
“He’s an Animagus,” Harry explained. “I guess Professor Dumbledore wanted me to go to my aunt and uncle’s, but Sirius wouldn’t let me go. He took me to South Africa until I was almost eleven. We had a great life. We lived in a magical community and I was raised as Harry Black so no one knew who I was. Just before I turned eleven, Professor Dumbledore tracked us down. He was sure that Voldemort was going to return and he’d come after me. Sirius didn’t like it, but eventually I returned to England and learned to fight.
“Kingsley, Moody, Professor McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, and others helped training me. I met your two oldest brothers. Bill’s great — he taught me some great curses.”
“Really? I never knew that.”
“He wasn’t allowed to tell anyone that he knew me,” Harry explained. “Anyhow, I spent my adolescence training and fighting. I defeated Voldemort when I was sixteen and I rolled right into Auror training. I was exempted from a lot of the training because of what I’d already learned. I was an Auror before my seventeenth birthday.”
“Didn’t you ever want to do anything different?” Ginny asked.
Harry shrugged. “Sirius tried to get me to try out for a Quidditch team, but I didn’t feel right about it. I thought I should be chasing Death Eaters. After all, I’d given up my childhood to learn how to do it; I figured I should do it.”
“Now I definitely think you need to try out for the team,” Ginny said. “I bet you’re really good.”
Blushing Harry shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I do enjoy it.”
They spent the rest of the meal trading stories and getting to know one another. Ginny was sorry when she had to head back to the hotel. Harry Potter certainly was much different than she would have ever imagined.
Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Investigating
Author's Notes: Thank you for the wonderful response so far! Thank you to everyone who pointed out my continuity problem with Ginny's Quidditch experience at Hogwarts. I have corrected it, but to summarize she joined the team as Seeker in her second year then she and Katie switched positions in her third year. This chapter is unbetaed as I want to get it up before the deadline. Thanks to Mark for his Brit picking. I'm hoping to finish this in the next twelve hours to make the deadline :)
Ginny watched in amazement as Harry rocketed off into the bright early morning sky. He’d vastly underplayed his flying ability. She glanced over at Gwenog and saw the same look of shock on her captain’s face.
“Damn, Mr Potter is full of surprises,” Gwenog said. She watched him for a minute before summoning the box of Quidditch equipment. “I wasn’t going to waste a real practice Snitch on a non-professional, but I take that back. I want to see how he’ll do.”
Nodding Ginny took off and soon was flying with Harry. The pair spent some time flying and looping each other. For Ginny it reminded her of flying with her oldest brothers. It had been a long time since she’d just flown for the fun of it. Once they’d flown for a while, Ginny signalled to Harry who flew up next to her. His eyes were bright green and his hair was wind-blown, she thought it was an incredibly appealing look on him.
“Gwenog wants to see how you handle the Snitch,” Ginny explained.
“Great,” Harry replied cheerfully. Ginny activated the Snitch and released it. The tiny golden ball flew away and Harry tore after it. Ginny slowly circled the pitch while she watched Harry. To her amazement, Harry suddenly turned and dove. He was almost perfectly vertical as he headed towards the Snitch. She was almost afraid to watch because the speed he was diving would make it difficult to stop.
Just when she was afraid he’d plough himself into the ground, he turned and skimmed the ground. He raised his hand and she realized he had the Snitch in his hand.
Clapping sounded from the stands and Ginny turned to see both Gwenog and Glynis, the Harpies’ Seeker watching Harry. She flushed slightly to realize she’d been so caught up watching him that she didn’t notice them arrive.
“Not bad, Potter,” Gwenog called out. “You got the Snitch in under a minute.”
“Can ye stand some competition?” Glynis asked as she mounted her broom.
Harry grinned. “Bring it on.”
Ginny joined Gwenog in the stands and watched as Harry and Glynis battled for the Snitch. It was amazing to watch them. While Glynis certainly had more experience, Harry had a lot of natural skill. After thirty minutes, the pair were tied a three captures a piece.
“He is really good,” Gwenog commented. “I think I’m glad he chose to become an Auror.” She glanced over at her Chaser. “He has an actual chance to make the team. Maybe Coach Gibbs has the right idea. Is Potter trying out?”
Ginny nodded.
“Good,” Gwenog said. “Make sure he has all of the right paperwork. I imagine Healer Davis can work him in on Monday if he needs a physical.”
Ginny looked over at her captain in surprise. “I thought you weren’t in favour of non-professionals trying out.”
“I wasn’t,” Gwenog admitted, “but if I’d known there were people like Potter out there…he could easily go professional. He’s better than the Seekers on the Falcons, Arrows, and Cannons without even trying. I imagine with a bit of training he could challenge Glynis and Blythe, maybe even Krum.”
Harry followed Ginny off the pitch. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. He couldn’t believe he’d actually beaten Glynis a few times.
“Potter! Why is it you’re having fun and I’m working?”
Turning Harry saw his partner Hamish Smyth striding towards them. He laughed. “What are you upset that you have to actually work for a change?”
When Hamish drew up to them, Harry introduced Hamish and Ginny. Hamish nodded respectfully at Ginny. “Miss Weasley, it is nice to meet you.”
“Thank you,” Ginny said flushing slightly.
“I believe the warding team is looking for the two of you,” Hamish said. “They are in the locker room. Afterwards the three of us need to sit down and talk.”
“Okay, thanks mate,” Harry replied as the two of them headed off to the locker room.
“What does he mean we need to sit down and talk?” Ginny asked nervously.
Harry wanted to reach over and take her hand, but he knew he couldn’t do that. “It’s okay. We need to get more information from you about your activities and places you normally go. I imagine that Hamish has gotten some results from the tests we’ve had the lab running.”
When they reached the locker room, the new security guard allowed them to enter. There were a combination of goblin and human workers spread over the room. The guttural sound of Gobbledegook filled the air. Harry was surprised to hear the human workers also speaking the goblin language.
“Bill!”
Turning Harry saw Ginny running towards a familiar looking, tall, slender, red-haired man. Harry watched the two siblings. Ginny seemed happy to see her oldest brother. From what he’d gathered, Bill was Ginny’s favourite brother.
After greeting his sister, Bill smiled at Harry. “Harry Potter! It’s been ages.”
Shaking Bill’s hand, Harry grinned. “It has. It’s great to see you again.”
“Thank you for helping Ginny,” Bill said. “I’m furious with my brother, Ron. I can’t believe he blew her off like that.”
“I’m not exactly thrilled with him either,” Harry admitted.
Bill looked over at his sister. “Ginny, do you mind if I cast a spell on you?”
Ginny looked at her brother in surprise, but shook her head. Bill soundlessly cast a spell with which Harry was unfamiliar. Bill frowned at
the results. A goblin who had been watching the exchange said, “This is concerning.”
“What is it?” Harry and Ginny both asked at the same time.
Leading the younger two over to a quiet corner, Bill explained, “Somehow this person knows a lot of personal details about Ginny. I don’t know how he knows these things, but it is worrisome. I was speaking to your partner earlier and he said one of the letters mentioned something about Ginny passing a test, do you remember that?”
Both of them nodded. “You’ve discovered what that means?” Harry asked.
“When he modified the wards, he cast some form of a purity spell in the locker room. I believe from what happened when Ginny entered, he was somehow alerted as the results of the spell.” Bill explained.
Ginny blushed. “So because I’m…pure I passed this test of his?”
“I believe so,” Bill replied.
“How could he have been sure it was Ginny?”
Feeling like her face was on fire, Ginny replied, “It would have only been me who passed that test. Glenna is engaged to be married, Gia, and Glynis are married and…well most of my teammates are a bit wild.”
Harry couldn’t deny he was strangely happy to discover that Ginny was still untouched, he couldn’t really explain his feelings, but they were certainly there. He was glad her brother allowed her a bit of privacy while explaining the results. Seeing that she was rather embarrassed, he asked, “How is the warding going?”
“This guy is unfortunately really good,” Bill explained unhappily. “As you may know, Anglesey is a restricted flying area except for the stadium. Because of the RAF facility over on the main island, a lot of concealment and oasis charms had to be employed. I’m not completely familiar with the Muggle terminology, but I understand they fly planes and…copters.”
“Helicopters,” Harry supplied. He frowned. “So it is a no fly area because of the radar?”
“Radar, yes that is it,” Bill replied. “This radar can somehow track things flying in the sky, so the Ministry has had to use a lot of experimental charms to conceal the brooms and hide the stadium. It is one thing to make people think they need to leave, but it is quite another when Muggles are flying over the stadium. I understand some of these planes fly quite high and very fast. The Muggles also a group of flyers that look for lost people so the Ministry had to perform a lot of charms to hide the stadium, but ensure that the Muggle flyers could still do their job.”
“I never thought about that,” Harry said. “You wouldn’t want to hamper any search and rescue operations.” He frowned. “So what do the pilots see when they fly over the stadium?”
“They see the landscape that was here before we built it,” came a voice from behind them. Harry turned to see an older wizard in Ministry robes. The man extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Bernard Handle. I helped develop the original charms.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe the Ministry has become so lax. These charms should be reviewed and updated annually. The Muggles are always developing new technology and we should be doing the same. We started developing these charms during the war with Grindelwald and the corresponding Muggle war. There were so many planes flying over the country that we had to develop new charms to hide from them. I’m leading a team that is checking the charms at all of the stadiums.”
Bernard glanced over at Ginny. “I am sincerely sorry for what you are going through, but if there is a silver lining it revealed a huge security risk without a disaster to accompany it.”
“That is a good thing,” Ginny agreed. Harry’s heart went out to her; she looked so bewildered standing there. He wished he could comfort her and was glad to see her brother reach out and draw her into a protective embrace.
“It will be okay, Gin,” Bill whispered. “We will find this guy.”
Ginny rested her head on her brother’s shoulder for a moment, seeming to draw strength from him. “Thank you, Bill.”
Bernard took his leave and strode over to an all human team that Harry had not noticed working in the back. Ginny frowned. “Is that Hermione?”
Following her gaze, Bill nodded. “She’s part of Handle’s group. She and a bloke named Michael are apprenticed to the Ministry Arithmancy experts on the team.”
“Who is Hermione?” Harry asked the siblings. He remembered hearing the name, but couldn’t recall from where.
“Ron’s girlfriend,” Ginny explained. Harry nodded as he recalled the conversation about Ron and Neville. He looked between the siblings.
“Is there a problem?”
“Not really,” Ginny said. “She’s not as close minded as Ron, but she thinks I broke Neville’s heart and that I’m acting wild.” She rolled her eyes. “I am so sick of having that thrown in my face by people who should know better.”
Ginny followed Hamish and Harry into a disused conference room in the lower level of the stadium.
“Miss Weasley,” Hamish began. Ginny interrupted him. “Please, call me Ginny.”
He nodded. “Ginny. I’ve reviewed the letters. It seems as though this wizard started writing to you in March. Is that your recollection as well?”
“I think so,” Ginny said as she thought back. “I didn’t realize at first the…significance of the letters. I asked the other players and they all said they had odd or intense fans so I thought maybe that’s what this was, but when I received the flowers at my house — that’s when I started becoming so nervous.”
“Ginny, we are going to ask you a series of questions that will probably seem intrusive and annoying, but we are trying to discover if there are other places he may have seen you and followed you. We are trying to see if we can discover his identity,” Harry explained.
Ginny nodded nervously. Harry smiled at her reassuringly and began. “Can you tell me about a normal day? What do you do and where do you go? Is there any place that you go every day?”
“I like to ride my bicycle,” Ginny explained. “I love the beach. So on my days off I might ride down by the beach.”
“Is there any place you eat down by the beach?”
“There is this cute little tea room,” Ginny said naming the place. “I like to stop in and have some tea and a cake. My mum is great at making treats, but I’m not quite as good at baking so sometimes I will go to the tea room for cake.”
Harry nodded reassuringly. “You like to ride down by the beach. What else do you like to do?”
“I run — usually down to the beach, but I also go into town sometimes as well and run with Glenna. She’s my best friend on the team. We go out to the restaurants near the harbour sometimes.”
“When you and your teammates go out clubbing and dancing, where do you usually go?”
“There is a wizarding club in Liverpool and there are several clubs we enjoy in Cardiff,” Ginny said as she gave them the particulars of those clubs.
“Do you go to London much?” Hamish asked.
“Not usually,” Ginny replied. “If I’m in London it is usually to go to the Ministry or a sponsored function.”
“Where does your family live?”
The questioning went on for quite some time. Ginny was grateful for the calm manner of questioning that Harry and Hamish used. It did seem a bit much and while she didn’t see how knowing she went to the farmer’s market or used a certain dry cleaner would help them; she readily answered all of their questions.
At length, Hamish declared he had the information he needed. Harry and his partner conferred for a few minutes before Hamish took his leave.
“You did great, Ginny,” Harry said. “Thanks for hanging in there and answering all of them.”
Flushing slightly, she said, “I’m just glad that you know what to look for.” She looked over at him hopefully. “Do you have any idea who it might be?”
Harry shook his head regretfully. “We don’t know who it might be, but he’s left us a few clues. He’s most likely in his early to mid-twenties and he’s not concerned about blood status so he’s either from one of the Light houses or he’s a half blood or Muggle born.”
“How do you get that?” She asked curiously.
“He’s described all of the things he finds attractive about you, but he’s never mentioned the fact that you are a Pureblood. When he wrote disparagingly of your friend Colin he didn’t mention the fact that Colin is Muggleborn — if he was at all concerned with blood status he would have pointed out to you how much better he is than Colin because of blood status.”
“That’s true,” Ginny breathed. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”
“It looks like you had fun today.”
Harry finished stowing his broom and turned to look at Sirius. “I did. I’m going to try out for the National Team.”
“Yeah!” Sirius cheered. “I knew you’d come around eventually. So what happened today?”
“I flew with Ginny in the morning, but then Glynis, the Harpies’ Seeker came out and we played a little one on one. It was great. I caught the Snitch half of the time. Glynis gave me some good pointers. I was really surprised, but Ginny, Glynis, and Gwenog all encouraged me to try out for the team. I figured the professionals would discourage non-professionals from trying out, but they’ve all been great.”
Harry headed into the kitchen with his godfather happily talking about his day. When he entered the kitchen, he grinned at the little boy sitting at the table sharing his macaroni and cheese with their golden lab, Nimbus.
“Hi, Teddy!” Harry leaned over and kissed the boy on the cheek.
“Teddy,” Sirius said as he sat down next to the boy. “Harry is going to try out for the Quidditch team.”
Teddy’s eyes lit up as his hair began to change to black. “Really? You gonna fly Harry?”
Harry nodded. “I’m not sure if I’ll make the team, but I’m going to try.”
“Can me and Papa watch?”
“If I make the team, you certainly can,” Harry reassured the boy.
“Is anyone else trying out?” Sirius asked as he made a sandwich for Harry.
“Dad, I can make my own sandwich,” Harry protested when Sirius handed him the sandwich. Reading the look in his godfather’s eyes, he sighed and simply said, “Thank you.”
After taking a bite of his sandwich, Harry said, “I think there are one or two other Aurors who are going to try out. Robards is encouraging anyone who’s had any Quidditch experience to try out. We figure this stalker will be trying out, so we want to have as many people around Ginny as possible.”
“Ginny? What happened to Miss Weasley?” Sirius teased.
Silently cursing, Harry glared at his smirking godfather. “She’s…she’s different.”
“I see,” Sirius said. “How is the case going?”
“We are making progress,” Harry said after finishing his sandwich. “I’m going back to Wales with Hamish this afternoon. We’re going to see if there are other indications as to who this man might be.”
Hamish looked up as Hermione, Ron, and Neville filed into one of the conference rooms near the Auror Department. He stood and shook their hands and gestured for them to take seats around the table.
“Thank you for seeing me,” Hamish said once everyone was seated. “I’ve been working on Ginny’s case and I wanted to talk to the three of you to see if you have any idea who may be behind all of this.”
Ron glanced at his friends with the stern reprimand he’d received from his oldest brother was still ringing in his ears. He was finally starting to realize exactly how serious this was an exactly how much he’d let his sister down. He shrugged. “Neville and I went to a few matches after Ginny told us about the letters, but we never noticed anyone paying extra attention to her. I mean she has fans, but nothing out of the ordinary.”
“From the letters we’ve determined the wizard who wrote them is within a few years of her age and not at all concerned with blood purity, but he was pleased to discover that Ginny was pure. He’s well educated, so he may have gone to school with you. Is there anyone you can recall from your school years who paid Ginny undo attention?”
“Draco Malfoy used to watch her a lot,” Neville said after a moment.
“What?!” Ron turned to his best mate.
Neville shrugged. “He used to watch her.”
“Harry has already eliminated him,” Hamish said. “Ginny mentioned how she humiliated him at a ball a few years ago, but his magical signature doesn’t match.”
“What do you mean she humiliated him?” Ron demanded. “She danced with him.”
“She did,” Hamish agreed. “She is a public figure and didn’t want to cause a scene in the middle of the dance floor. However, when Mr Malfoy followed her, she was forced to put him in his place.” Hamish laughed. “I was at the ball. I saw her smack him across the face. It was rather entertaining.”
“Are you sure it isn’t a Death Eater?” Hermione asked as Ron tried to wrap his head around Hamish’s version of events.
Hamish shook his head and gave them the same explanation Harry had given Ginny. Ron looked as though he’d been kicked in the stomach. “Ginny really is in danger, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” Hamish replied emphatically. “I don’t understand your reluctance to believe her. She has done nothing wrong and she has been targeted by someone.”
“But someone she’s never met?” Hermione asked sceptically. “Why would someone she’s never met think she was in love with them? Isn’t it more likely someone she’s already met? Someone she’s dated? She’s been very wild.”
Hamish looked at them with pity on his face. “I don’t know why you believe this, but she honestly hasn’t. She does go out with her friends drinking and dancing, but there is no indication she’s ever indulged in a one night stand. She doesn’t lead men on, she doesn’t take illegal potions, and she’s never been implicated in a scandal. She goes out drinking and dancing.”
Listening to the Auror, Hermione felt a stab of guilt. Had she really judged Ginny so unfairly and so harshly? During her school years, Hermione had always had difficulty making friends. Eventually she’d befriended Ron and Neville, the three of them had become fast friends by the end of their first year. Neville had opened his home to both of his new friends and they’d spent a lot of time at the Longbottom’s.
When Ginny started at Hogwarts, Ron was adamant that she couldn’t be friends with them and Hermione had no reason to object. Ginny made her own friends and Hermione didn’t really have anything to do with her. Inside Hogwarts, the students were isolated from the war raging outside the walls. Professor Dumbledore encouraged students to stay at the school over Christmas holidays and organized a Yule Ball. It was then Neville made his move on Ginny.
Over the years, Ron had become closer to his only sister. The two of them were on the same Quidditch team and by that point they were the only two Weasleys left at Hogwarts. Ron was happy to have Neville dating his sister and seemed to view it as the perfect way for the two boys to actually become family. Hermione admired Ginny’s work ethic and the two girls got along well together, even if they didn’t have much in common.
When Ginny broke up with Neville, it was a shock for all of them. Ron was upset at Ginny for wrecking the plans the two boys had dreamed up of the two couples getting married and living next door to each other. While Hermione refused to get married at that point in time, there was no doubt she and Ron would eventually get married. It had shocked her to realize Ginny wanted something different. Ron had taken his sister’s actions as a direct betrayal. With each of her actions, he became angrier and angrier with her. Glancing over at him, Hermione could how hard he was taking the new revelations. She knew that whilst he might be angry with his sister and disagree with her choices, he’d never wanted her to be hurt.
Hamish seemed to realize he was getting through to them. “She’s certainly crossed paths with him, but he’s fabricated the entire relationship. If she looked up in the stands, he assumed she was looking at him. If she smiled in a photo in the paper, he thought it was for him.”
“I’ve heard of stalking,” Hermione admitted uncomfortably, “but I never…I just didn’t connect it with Ginny for some reason. The amount of effort he put into modifying the wards at the stadium is incredible.”
“What skills would a person have to have in order to do that?” Hamish asked curiously.
“Advanced Arithmancy,” Hermione said promptly. “I didn’t realize how complex the wards around the stadium were. For him to modify just a bit without bringing everything crashing down, I imagine he would have needed some idea of what the old wards entailed.”
Hamish nodded. “It that something he may have discovered on his own or would he have needed official records?”
Hermione considered it for a moment. “I think he might have discovered them on his own if he had some idea what he was looking for. He certainly must have had advanced training in order to find the charms he wanted to change or modify.”
“That is what our experts have concluded as well,” Hamish agreed. “Is there anyone you went to school with who excelled at Arithmancy and Charms? They might not have top grades, but they would have been really good.”
“You should speak to Michael Corner,” Hermione said. “He was in the Arithmancy Club at Hogwarts and might have a better idea who would fit in that category.”
Ginny rummaged through her trunk, but she couldn’t find her second set of practice clothes. Frowning, she tried to recall where she saw them last. Suddenly she realized they were probably at the bottom of her clothes hamper.
When she’d left her house, she hadn’t even thought about the hamper of dirty laundry she’d been planning to do the next day. Damn! She really wanted some of those clothes. Glancing outside she realized there was plenty of daylight left. She could Apparate over to her house, grab her clothes and be back in less than five minutes.
Making up her mind, she Apparated to the secluded lane that led to her house. She could smell the beach as she hurried up the lane. She wished she could take the time to go to the beach, but she knew it would be better if she grabbed her laundry and headed back to the hotel.
It wasn’t until she reached her porch that she realized something was wrong. The door wasn’t closed completely and there was a dark stain on the door. Had the Aurors left her house in this condition?
Pushing open her front door, the smell of blood was overwhelming. Looking around the sitting room, she screamed. How could this have happened? Pulling her wand, she called for Harry the way he’d showed her. As she waited, she suddenly realized the source of the blood. She could feel the blood rushing to her head and darkness threatened around the edge of her vision.
Suddenly she heard footsteps coming up behind her.
Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Try outs
Author's Notes: Thanks for the great response to this story. I apologize, it is not complete. The last chapter will be posted once the voting is complete. You should be able to figure out most of what is going to happen by what happens in this chapter. This is completely unbetaed so any mistakes are my own. *Thanks to seekers_destiny for a rapid beta job and Mark for his Brit picking! Thank you!*
“What have you found?” Harry asked Hamish.
“I gathered some CCTV footage from some of the places she mentioned,” Hamish said as queued up the footage. The two were meeting at the Holyhead Police Station so their magic wouldn’t interfere with the electronics.
The two men watched as Ginny wandered through the aisles of the ASDA Supermarket. Harry frowned as he watched the footage. “I don’t see anyone paying special attention to her.”
“If he was obvious, he probably would have been caught by now,” Hamish pointed out.
As the footage showed Ginny leaving the supermarket, the camera angle changed as video from another camera picked her up. Harry watched as she headed towards the farmers’ market. She really was very lovely. Mentally, Harry smacked himself. He wasn’t supposed to be watching her like a lovesick fool; he was supposed to be looking for a stalker.
“Wait!” Harry called out. “Rewind it a bit.”
When Hamish obliged, Harry pointed out a tall, slender man at the edge of the frame. “Wasn’t he in the shop as well?”
Frowning, Hamish pulled up the footage in question. “There,” Hamish said pointing out the man. The man in question was forgettable enough. He was dressed very casually in jeans and a t-shirt. The shirt had a stylized picture of a Common Welsh Green dragon with a phrase in Welsh.
“He’s definitely a wizard and he is watching her,” Harry said
“He could simply be a fan or some poor sap watching a pretty girl,” Hamish argued.
Harry nodded, knowing they would need more than someone watching her shopping. He watched the man as he watched Ginny. The wizard was pretending to shop, but it looked like he’d thrown random items into his shopping trolley.
The man appeared to be in his mid-twenties with short dark hair. He was wearing a baseball cap so much of his face was obscured. “We need a better picture of him.”
Hamish replayed the entire sequence. The wizard had entered just after Ginny and followed her around as she shopped. When Ginny was done, he abandoned his groceries to follow her outside.
“He doesn’t seem to be avoiding the cameras,” Harry mused.
“No, but he’s wearing that baseball cap that makes it difficult to see his face.”
As the Aurors watched, the suspect removed his cap and ran his hand through his dark, thick hair pushing it out of his face before replacing the cap. Hamish quickly captured the image even as the wizard pulled his cap back on and with a wave of his wand had a hard
copy of the picture.
Handing Harry a copy, Hamish sent another copy to the Ministry for identification. “Do you know who he is?” Hamish asked.
Harry shook his head. “No, but I want to show this to Ginny. She may know him or have seen him before.”
“We still need to confirm this is her stalker,” Hamish reminded him. “It could just be a fan.”
Harry nodded as he studied the face. “I know, but I imagine a fan would have approached her.”
Before he could say anything else, he received Ginny’s call for help. “Shit! She’s at her cottage.”
He and Hamish ran out of the station house, shouting a brief explanation to the Sergeant at the desk. Dashing around the building, they Apparated to Ginny’s cottage once they reached the alley.
With wands drawn they approached the cottage. The smell of blood reached them and Hamish circled the house to enter from the back. After quickly ascertaining there was only one person in the house, Harry went in through the front door. Ginny was pale and shaking as she stood staring around her sitting room in shock. She had obviously thrown up when she realized what happened.
“Ginny!”
Whirling around, she bit back a scream as when she saw Harry. “He…he…Chaser!”
Harry looked around the room trying to make sense of her statement. When he saw the bloody remains, it clicked. She’d talked about the calico cat who had befriended her.
“He killed Chaser!” Ginny looked at him in confusion. “Why would he do that? Chaser never hurt anyone. I just came to get laundry.”
Quickly running through the options, Harry said to her, “Ginny, I’m going to take you over to my house until I’m done here. My godfather will look after you.”
Ginny nodded rather vacantly. With a quick word to Hamish, Harry Apparated with Ginny to the house where he lived with his godfather and godson. Ginny looked around, but was obviously overwhelmed. Harry entered through the kitchen and was extremely grateful to find his rather unflappable godfather there.
Sirius took one look at Ginny and immediately poured some tea with a liberal dose of Calming Draught.
“Ginny, this is my godfather, Sirius,” Harry introduced them as he led Ginny to the table. He handed her the mug of tea from his godfather. “I need to get back to your house. The wards here are very strong and you will be safe. I’ll be back once I know a bit more about what happened.”
Ginny nodded. Harry pulled Sirius aside and quickly explained the situation to him.
“Go,” Sirius said. “Be careful. I’ll watch over her while you are gone.”
Ginny looked up as Harry left. Sirius Black was almost as famous as his godson; she’d heard him described as Harry’s greatest protector and best teacher. It was rather a relief to be here. She wouldn’t have felt safe in returning to the hotel and she was afraid if she’d gone to the Burrow her mother would have never let her leave.
Sipping the tea, Ginny felt the Calming Drought take effect as she relaxed. She was rather grateful Mr Black hadn’t asked and had simply given it to her.
“Are you hungry, Miss Weasley?”
Ginny looked up in surprise. She should have realized in a house of two men that they would have to cook, but her mother’s insistence that the kitchen was a woman’s place was what she’d grown up with. She started to refuse, but realized she actually hadn’t eaten in a while. “I am a little hungry and please call me Ginny.”
Sirius nodded and smiled. “Okay, Ginny. Is a soup and sandwich okay for you?”
She nodded and watched him work. “Harry told me the two of you lived in South Africa.”
“Yes,” Sirius smiled. “I loved it there. I wanted an out of the way place and there was a bloke at school with us who was from South Africa. He used to show us pictures of the beaches and the exotic animals. After Harry’s parents were killed, I wanted to get far away from here so I up and moved us to Cape Town.”
“What was that like?” Ginny asked curiously.
“It’s a fascinating place,” Sirius replied. “While we were there, there were a lot of racial and ethnic tensions that I didn’t fully appreciate before I moved down there. The magical world has always been integrated, but the Muggle world was not integrated until after we moved back to England. We met some of the most amazing wizards among the Nguni and Tsonga tribesmen. They were so connected to the land and their magic, I really learned a lot from them. Harry and I have gone back many times over the years. He spent one summer learning from the tribesmen tracking skills, navigation skills, weapons handling, survival skills, and of course animal tracking. He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. He considered going back and becoming a guide, he loves it there.”
“Did you consider moving back there?” she asked.
“I have,” Sirius said, “but we’ve been back here for a little over ten years. We still holiday in Cape Town. Teddy’s looking forward to our next trip. We’re going on safari so he can see some of the animals. Kruger National Park is an amazing place.”
“It sounds amazing,” Ginny said. “I’ve been to Romania and Egypt on holiday and I’ve travelled with the team, but I’d love to go someplace I don’t have family and just see the sights.”
“Weasley, your two oldest brothers worked with us during the war,” Sirius said. “I hadn’t put it all together before.”
“I never knew about that until Harry told me,” Ginny admitted. “Bill and Charlie were remarkably quiet about it.”
“As I recall your mother was quite insistent that her youngest were kept out of the war,” Sirius said as he thought back. “You have many brothers, right?”
“Six,” she said. “My brother, Fred, was killed in the last battle at Hogwarts.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sirius said sympathetically. “Teddy’s parents were killed that night as well.”
He walked to the door of the kitchen and yelled, “Dinner’s ready!”
The sound of footsteps was almost instantaneous and Teddy burst through the door. He was a cute little tyke with oddly blue hair. Harry had told her his godson was a metamorphmagus, but it was a bit odd to see such a young boy with blue hair. The boy was followed through the door by a golden lab.
“Finally! Me and Nimbus was getting so hungry, Papa!” Teddy stopped short at the sight of Ginny sitting at the table.
“Teddy, this is Miss Ginny,” Sirius introduced them. “She is a friend of Harry’s.”
“Hello,” the little boy mumbled as he walked over to the sink to wash his hands. Looking up at Sirius, he asked, “Is Harry here?”
Sirius shook his head. “Harry is working right now.”
After getting cleaned up in the nearby bathroom, Ginny joined the little boy at the table. Sirius ladled thick potato soup into each of their bowls and set a platter of grilled cheese sandwiches in the centre of the table before joining them at the table.
Ginny found the food to be simple, but delicious. Sirius was a wonderful host and kept both her and Teddy entertained with stories of both South Africa and a few stories from his days at Hogwarts. Ginny was surprised to discover Sirius had attended school with both Harry’s and Teddy’s fathers.
After dinner, Teddy and Sirius took Ginny into the sitting room. The walls were decorated in a unique way with bright colours outlined in
black. Tribal masks and an intricately made blanket were hung on the wall. Teddy saw her looking around and explained. “Papa and Harry lived in Africa before I was borned.”
“I heard that,” she said with a warm smile for the boy.
“Me an Papa an Harry are goin to South Africa on holiday,” Teddy told her excitedly. “We’s gonna get to see lots of aminals.”
“Animals,” Sirius corrected. “Do you remember what kind of animals?”
“Lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos,” Teddy recited. “They have monkeys an cheetahs an hippos. Do you wanna see?”
“Of course,” Ginny replied.
Teddy ran over to the book shelves and from one of the lower shelves he pulled out a children’s book of Africa. From the condition of the book she could tell it was a much loved book, Teddy ran over and plopped down next to her. “Papa gived me this for my birthday.”
“Gave you,” Sirius corrected. He looked at Ginny. “Would you mind if I left you here with Teddy while I clean the kitchen? If you need
anything at all, just yell. I reactivated all of the wards on the house after Harry left, so you are safe here.”
“I’m fine,” Ginny reassured him. She turned her attention back to Teddy who was waiting not very patiently to tell her about the animals.
Teddy flipped through the book and showed her the pictures of his favourite animals. She had to hide a smile at how he pretended to read the pages, but it was obvious he was repeating information that Harry or Sirius had told him.
“You are going to have so much fun on your trip,” Ginny said at length.
Teddy nodded. “I can’t wait. Harry lived there when he was little like me.”
The little boy got up to put his book away. He looked over at Ginny. “Do you wanna play a game?”
“Sure,” Ginny replied. She was slightly surprised to see him pull a box from the shelf. While her family had a few board games, it wasn’t a very popular pastime at the Burrow. Usually any games had missing pieces or no one could remember exactly how to play so they didn’t often even attempt them. Looking over at the shelves, Ginny could see an entire shelf of games.
Teddy brought over the game of Snakes and Ladders. “This is my favouritist,” he announced. “Harry plays it the best. He talks like the
snakes.”
“He talks like the snakes?” Ginny asked.
“He can talk to snakes,” Teddy said simply. “We finded a snake when we were out walking one day and Harry talked to him. It was fun.”
Ginny wasn’t entirely sure how to respond. She recalled hearing rumours that Harry Potter was a Parselmouth, but there were so many rumours regarding the wizarding world’s greatest hero that she’d discounted it as made up nonsense. Perhaps that had been a bit hasty.
Deciding to think about it later, Ginny watched the little boy set up the game. “I don’t remember how to play.”
“That’s okay, Miss Ginny, I can teach you,” Teddy said importantly.
The pair played several games of Snakes and Ladders before Teddy decided he wanted to colour. He gave Ginny a colouring book of magical beasts while he coloured in a dragon colouring book. After finishing in the kitchen, Sirius checked in on them periodically, but from what Ginny could tell he seemed to be doing chores. It was a bit odd for her to see a grown man doing so many chores, but he did use quite a bit of magic she wasn’t familiar with and it seemed to work in the small household.
Ginny was turning the page in the colouring book when it opened to a picture of kneazle kittens. Thoughts of Chaser ran through her head.
“Are you okay, Miss Ginny?”
Blinking back the tears that suddenly filled her eyes, Ginny managed to summon a smile for the little boy. “I’m fine.”
“Do you have a kitty?” he asked looking at the picture.
“I did,” she whispered.
“Did he get hurted?”
Ginny nodded and wiped her eyes.
“Is Harry helping?”
She nodded again.
“Don’t worry,” Teddy said sweetly. “Harry takes really good care of us and makes the bad guys go away. When I was a little baby, Harry maked the bad guy go away.”
“I know,” Ginny said with a smile. “He is very brave.”
“My mummy and daddy were there,” Teddy said pointing out pictures of them.
It took Ginny a minute to work out his meaning that his parents had been at the Battle of Hogwarts. “My mummy and daddy were there as well. Actually several of my brothers were there also.”
“Are your mummy and daddy in heaven?”
“No, one of my brothers is, but both my parents are alive.”
Teddy’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Both your mummy and daddy are alive?”
Ginny nodded. It had never seemed like a big deal before, but she could see that Teddy found it to be.
“My mummy and daddy are in heaven and so are Harry’s mummy and daddy,” Teddy told her. “Papa’s mummy and daddy died a long time ago — they weren’t very nice. They liked the bad guy.” His wide eyes told how weird he found that thought. He shrugged. “But that’s okay, because me and Papa and Harry get to live together. And Nimbus.”
Ginny smiled at him. It was amazing to her that he’d been through so much, but he was still such a happy little boy. Deciding to change the subject, she asked, “Did you name Nimbus after the broom?”
“Yes,” Teddy shouted excitedly. “Did you know that Harry is going to fly? He’s going to fly for Quidditch.”
“I know,” Ginny said as she deciphered his happy words. “I flew with him yesterday. We’re both going to try out for the English team.”
“You play Quidditch?” Teddy was bouncing around the room he was so excited. “I want to play Quidditch when I’m big. I just have a baby broom now, but Harry and Papa say I can get one when I turn five.” He held up five fingers to emphasize the age.
“How old are you now?” Ginny asked smiling at the enthusiasm of the young boy.
He held up four fingers. “I’m four.”
“You’re a big boy,” Ginny said. “I have a niece who is three. She’s a lot smaller than you.”
Teddy wrinkled his nose. “I not like girls.”
“Why not?” Ginny asked.
“They don’t be wanting to play outside. They wanting to play inside,” he explained.
“Not all girls are like that,” came an amused voice from the doorway.
“Harry!!” Teddy ran over and threw himself in Harry’s arms. “You camed back! Did you make everything safe at Miss Ginny’s house?”
Harry stood with the boy on his hip. Teddy automatically reached out for the Auror ID hanging around Harry’s neck. It was a magical ID that for some reason had fascinated Teddy since he was a baby. Harry wrapped both arms around the boy so he wouldn’t drop him. He cuddled with his godson for a minute, before kissing him on top of the head.
“I need to talk to Miss Ginny right now,” Harry explained gently. “I think Papa has some ice cream for you in the kitchen.”
“Okay!” Teddy kissed Harry before scampering off to the kitchen.
Harry came in and sat down next to Ginny. “How are you holding up?”
She wanted to copy Teddy and just throw herself in his arms, but she knew that wasn’t appropriate. “I’m better. Sirius fed me and Teddy played with me.” She glanced over at him. “How bad was it?”
Reaching out, Harry took her hand in one of his. “I’m sorry. That was Chaser.”
Closing her eyes for a moment, Ginny nodded. “I thought so.”
“We buried him in the yard,” Harry said. “I remember you said he liked to get fish from the beach, so we buried him just before the path that leads down to the beach. Hamish marked it so you will be able to find it.”
“Thank you,” Ginny said in amazement. She honestly never thought they would take the time to bury the poor animal.
“He left another note,” Harry said.
“Can I see it?”
Reluctantly, Harry pulled a sheet of parchment from his pocket. “This is a copy, the original is being analysed at the Ministry.”
In contrast to the other letters, this did not start in a loving way. The writing was much angrier with more capital letters, exclamation points, and underlined words.
How could YOU?! I leave a beautiful rose for you and you find another boyfriend? How could you? I thought you were finally starting to realize it was time for us to be together!! You throw me over for some muscle bound idiot??!!!
At first I believed he was just some Auror, but I saw you flying together! I saw you Watching HIM!!!! It was sickening!!!! Watching you throw yourself at that ponce!
I didn’t want to hurt the cat, but it came looking for you. I knew you would just disappoint it like you disappointed me. I put it out of its misery.
We will meet, soon!!!
Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them. Embarrassment and anger warred within her. She hadn’t been obvious, had she? Had she thrown herself at him?
“He killed Chaser because of me,” she said in a horrified whisper.
“No, he killed Chaser for his own deranged reasons,” Harry said firmly. “You did nothing wrong. He’s imagining the relationship between the two of you and so he imagined a relationship between you and whatever wizard you happened to be talking to. If you smile at me, he imagines you are in love with me. When you walk on the beach with your friend, Colin, he imagines the two of you are lovers.”
“How will you find him?” Ginny asked. It seemed hopeless to imagine they would catch someone like that.
Harry showed her the picture he and Hamish had pulled off the CCTV footage earlier that day. “Do you recognize this man?”
Reaching out a shaking hand, she took the photo. She studied it carefully trying to remember if she’d ever seen him before. Slowly she shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. It reminds me of someone, but…wait it reminds me of Michael Corner. It’s not Michael, but it reminds me of him for some reason.”
“Michael, he was one of the wizards helping with the wards at the stadium, wasn’t he?” Harry asked as he rifled through his notes.
Ginny nodded. “Hermione always talks about how good Michael is at Arithmancy.”
“Did you have much interaction with Michael?” Harry asked.
“He asked me out while we were at school,” Ginny said, “I had just started dating Neville. Once I told him about Neville, he apologized and didn’t bother me again.”
She looked at the photo once again. “You should show it to Michael.”
“I’ll send a message to Hamish,” Harry said squeezing her hand gently. “I brought your laundry. That’s what you were looking for, right?”
“It’s seems so stupid,” Ginny said. “I just wanted my extra practice clothes and then I realized I was supposed to do laundry so I thought I’d run over to my house and get it.”
She frowned. “I don’t know if I can even do laundry at the hotel.”
“You can do it here,” Harry offered.
“I’ve imposed on you long enough,” Ginny protested. She really did want to stay, but she didn’t feel it was right.
“Actually, I was going to suggest you stay here,” Harry said. “We have loads of protections here and Sirius and I are both trained in protection. We have several extra rooms.”
“It honestly wouldn’t be any trouble,” Sirius added as he joined the younger pair.
“You’re sure?” Ginny asked.
“Positive,” the two wizards replied.
In short order, Ginny found herself in a pretty lilac coloured bedroom that had apparently belonged to Teddy’s mother at one point in time. Her laundry was being washed in the laundry room and she felt much safer than normal.
Harry looked over at Ron and the other Aurors and trainees who were trying out for the team. “Does everyone have a copy of the picture?”
Everyone nodded and Harry noticed that Ron had the picture attached to his forearm so he could see it whilst flying. In the past week, there had been no new developments. Harry and Hamish had no luck identifying the wizard. Harry felt that both Michael and Neville knew something more, but they refused to say anything more.
Ron was very apologetic towards his sister, but Ginny thus far wasn’t impressed by his apologies. Harry had a feeling she was going to break soon, but she hadn’t quite yet.
“Sir, you are trying out for the team as well? Ron asked in surprise.
Harry nodded. “Please don’t call me sir. My name is Harry.”
“Harry, what position are you trying out for?”
“Seeker,” Harry explained.
They arrived at the stadium to find it in organized chaos. The new security measures seemed to be holding. In the past week, the Ministry had conducted background checks on all of those who were applying for a spot on the team. While they’d yet to identify the stalker, Harry was confident he’d show up today.
There were tables for each position. Each candidate signed in and if their credentials matched their packet, they were issued a number to attach to their shirt or jersey. Harry received his number S670. Looking around, he was relieved to see an Auror or trainee had made it into each of the positions. Ron was trying out for Keeper, Dean Thomas was trying out for Chaser as were two girls Ginny knew from Hogwarts — Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson. Aurors Greenleaf and Summerland were trying out as Beaters.
Registration took most of the morning, but it was a little before noon when the groups finally took to the air. Half of the candidates were dismissed in short order. A group of Aurors were by the exit to destroy the credentials of any candidates to be dismissed. Thomas, Spinnet, and Summerland were all dismissed on the first day, but Harry, Ron, Angelina and Greenleaf made it through the first day of try-outs.
It was late afternoon when the candidates were dismissed. The Aurors took the precaution of destroying all credentials. Everyone would be given new credentials during the second day of try-outs.
Harry pulled together the Auror team prior to dismissing them for the day. As he’d surmised, no one had identified the suspect or seen any sign of him.
Harry circled the pitch searching for the Snitch. Between all the practicing he’d been doing and Glynis’s coaching, he felt he was doing quite well. It was early afternoon and the number of candidates for each spot was down to less than twenty.
To his dismay, all candidates who were dismissed were allowed to stay and watch the rest of the try-outs. There was a small contingent of press on hand and Coach Gibbs had shown up at lunchtime to watch the process. A whistle recalled all of the candidates to the ground.
“We’re breaking you up into four teams. We will have two scrimmages and then pick the team and the reserves,” Coach Gibbs announced. With a wave of his wand, everyone’s number appeared on the board behind him in the appropriate spots. “You have a twenty minute break before the first group must appear on the pitch.”
Looking at the names, Harry was happy to see that Ginny was on the team his team was playing. While he’d prefer to play with her rather than against her, he was glad they were playing at the same time. He looked over the numbers again and realized that he was the only Auror left on any of the teams. There were three other non-professionals, but by now most of candidates were professional Quidditch players.
Ron and the other Auror candidates were in the stands keeping an eye out for their suspect. So far no one had reported seeing him, but Harry wasn’t convinced the wizard wasn’t in the area. Thus far he’d displayed the ability to hide in plain sight.
While Harry was busy at try-outs, Hamish was busy following up other leads. He’d confirmed their suspect had followed Ginny on multiple occasions. He did not appear to be using a disguise of any sort, but he was rather forgettable and tended to fade into the background.
On a hunch, he called Longbottom in for an interview. Perhaps he would be more forthcoming if he wasn’t with Weasley. Hamish was convinced the Auror trainee knew more than he was telling, but Hamish couldn’t figure out what that might be. They knew the magical signature wasn’t Longbottom’s, but something about him just didn’t sit right with Hamish.
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Longbottom, come in,” Hamish said genially. “You’re not a Quidditch player?”
Neville shook his head as he sat down across from Hamish. “I like watching the game as much as the next guy, but I’m not very good at flying.”
“Me neither,” Hamish confided. “My partner, he’s amazing. I just heard from him. He’s in the last phase of try-outs. Only one of four non-pros left. I think he’ll make it on the team.”
Neville nodded, but didn’t comment. Hamish produced the picture of the suspect once again. “Are you sure you’ve never seen this wizard before?”
“Positive,” Neville replied. “I’ve never seen him before.”
“Do you know who he is?”
Neville hesitated and Hamish pounced. “I know you know something, Longbottom. What is it?”
“I don’t know anything about the crazy notes or the flowers,” Neville protested. “I sure don’t know who killed that cat!”
“What do you know about?” Hamish asked patiently. He waited silently for Neville to answer. Silence stretched on and finally after ten
minutes, Neville couldn’t take it anymore.
“A cousin of Corner’s set up the purity charm,” Neville burst out.
“Why?”
“I asked him to,” Neville said miserably.
Chapter 5: Chapter 5 The World Cup
Author's Notes: Thanks to Mark for his Brit picking and suggestions and thank you to seekers_destiny for his betaing! Thank you for the People's Choice Award - I'm thrilled that so many people liked the story. There are areas of the story that could be longer, but I was trying to keep it around the 20,000 word limit for the challenge. I'm sure I've gone over a bit, but I could easily have doubled the word count.
“What?” Hamish stared at Neville in astonishment. “Tell me what you know.”
Longbottom squirmed in his chair. “I honestly don’t know anything about the stalker or any of the notes and things. I’ve been crazy about Ginny for years. She broke up with me when I left Hogwarts, but I always thought we’d eventually get back together. She’s a beautiful pureblood witch from a good family and she would make the perfect wife, if it weren’t for this Quidditch obsession. I’d even received permission from her father to court her and propose. Her family is in favour of the match and my family is in favour of the match.
“Her family and I thought she just needed to get this dream of playing Quidditch out of her system before settling down and getting married. After she started with the Harpies and broke up with that other boy, she started going out drinking and dancing with her teammates. My grandmother started making comments like maybe I needed to give up on Ginny. Obviously if she wasn’t pure and untouched, she wouldn’t make an appropriate bride.”
Hamish listened in amazement. “So that gave you the right to check up on her?”
“I wanted to make certain she was still a virgin,” Neville said. He flushed bright red as he squeaked out the last word. “I know Ron and his parents were worried about that as well. I was talking to Michael Corner one night and he said that he’d developed a purity test. For the older pureblood families, it is very important that the bride be untouched on her wedding night. Michael has registered his charm sequence and is making quite a bit of money in testing prospective brides.”
“So you retained his services,” Hamish prompted when Neville fell silent.
Neville nodded. “I paid the fee and gave him the particulars of her schedule and the address to her house. He was going to try to place the charms in her house, but…I don’t know why he switched to the locker room. I think maybe he was intrigued by the challenge. The last time I talked to him, he was going on about the Arithmancy involved in the ward sequence at the Harpies stadium. He said if he couldn’t make it work at the stadium, he’d go back to her house.”
Sighing Neville admitted, “He mentioned something about recruiting his cousin to help with the complex equations. I never took Arithmancy so I didn’t really understand what he was talking about.”
“What did he tell you about his cousin?” Hamish leaned forward.
“Not much,” Neville replied. “He had a very common name like Jack or John or maybe David. He’s older than Michael and I know Michael really looked up to him.”
Trying to restrain his impatience with Neville, Hamish sat back and glared at the younger man. “Do you realize what you’ve help perpetrate? Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
Squirming, Neville said, “Ron didn’t really believe that she was in danger. We didn’t see anything out of the ordinary at her house and…I know we messed up, but I honestly didn’t think she was in danger. I love her. I would have never knowingly put her in danger. I want to marry her, why would I put her in danger?”
Hamish shook his head in disgust. “Mr Longbottom, I am revoking your Auror trainee status and placing you on immediate suspension. I would suggest that give serious consideration to resigning. I can’t speak for your supervisor, but I would imagine your position in the Ministry is in jeopardy.”
Harry circled the pitch searching for that elusive flash of gold. He was on the white team and the opposing team, the green team, was doing well. Ginny had scored numerous times so far. Even if he didn’t make the team, the sheer exhilaration of flying with such talented players was the experience of a life time.
To his surprise, the green Seeker was following him rather than looking for the Snitch. Another circuit around the pitch showed the Snitch was nowhere in sight. Glancing back at the other Seeker, he decided to go for it.
Acting as though he’d seen the Snitch, he dove almost straight down. He loved diving. Timing it perfectly, he made a seemingly impossible turn and straightened out flying less than a foot off the ground before rising rapidly. He heard rather than saw the Seeker hit the ground. He quickly returned to his previous spot to search for the Snitch.
The score was 120 to 40 in favour of the green team. While one of the Chasers and the Beaters were both good on the white team, Ginny and Glenna were almost scoring at will against the white Keeper. Harry knew that if his team was going to win, it would be up to him to catch the Snitch.
The green Seeker re-joined him above the pitch, but stayed a healthy distance from Harry. Grinning Harry wheeled around to scan for the flash of gold. He watched for a minute as Glenna stole the Quaffle and tossed it to Ginny who took off towards the goal. She dodged the Bludgers sent her way by the white teams’ Beaters and faked to the centre before sending the Quaffle through the left goal. Belatedly realizing he wasn’t supposed to be watching, he looked around once again.
This time he saw the elusive Snitch flying near the goal posts. He started casually flying that direction so as not to alert the other Seeker. A murmur in the stadium let him know others had now spotted the Snitch. He flew flat out to reach it first, dodging both other players and Bludgers. He could feel the other Seeker gaining on him, but it didn’t matter as his fingers closed over the Snitch. He raised his fist in triumph.
A whistle blew, indicating the match was over. As the players landed, Harry was congratulated by members of both teams.
“You were great,” Ginny said happily as they made their way to the stands to watch the second scrimmage match.
“Thanks,” Harry said. “You were also. You and Glenna were really good.”
Harry didn’t like how crowded it was as they walked to the stands. Not only were there players and those who had been cut, but now there were reporters and photographers wandering around. The concession area was full of people. There were two stands operating, selling food to the crowd, as well as a cart selling World Cup related merchandise.
To Harry’s relief, the players were able to bypass much of the concession area and enter and more restricted corridor. There was a booth set up with food for the players. With their players’ badges, the pair could eat for free.
Harry grabbed a bottle of water with grilled chicken, rice, and broccoli. Ginny chose a sports drink with chicken and pasta. Once they had their plates, the pair made their way to the stands. They settled into a pair of seats not far from where Glenna was sitting.
“Don’t look at her meal,” Ginny warned Harry.
“Why?” Harry asked curiously as he, of course, looked over at her plate.
“She eats the weirdest combination of foods,” Ginny said. Glancing over, she said, “I guess she’s not too bad today. She has eggs and potatoes, but she has them covered with hot sauce. She has rules on what she can eat.”
“They aren’t weird,” Glenna defended herself. “I just don’t eat any chicken before playing. I have porridge and fruit before the match.”
“You make it sound so normal,” Ginny laughed. Turning to Harry she explained, “She only eats fruit in one colour. So if she has berries, she’ll pick out all of the blueberries and blackberries so she only has red berries.”
Glenna shrugged. “It makes perfect sense to me. People who don’t wash their hair on match day and have a special hair tie, shouldn’t make fun of me.”
“You have a special hair tie?” Harry asked amused.
Ginny laughed. “I do. I’ve never washed my hair on match day, but on the day of my first match with the Harpies, my hair tie broke. One of my former teammates, Angelina, gave me a hair tie and I scored ten goals.”
“It makes sense to me,” Harry laughed with her.
The three quieted down as the second scrimmage match got under way. The two teams were fairly evenly matched. Leaning over Harry asked, “Who do you like for Keeper?”
Ginny frowned slightly. “Unfortunately, the best Keeper right now, Oliver Wood, is playing for Scotland. He was my first Quidditch captain, he’s really good and very dedicated.”
“He plays for Puddlemere, right?”
Ginny nodded. “Grant Newton, is playing for the red team. He’s on the Arrows. I think he’s the best I’ve seen over the last few days.”
“He’s good,” Harry said as he watched the man block a goal. “Who was on the white team?”
“Denison Frisby. He was Keeper on the English Team in ‘94 and ‘98, but I’m thinking he’s past his prime. Glenna and I were able to score on him easily.”
“You two are really good,” Harry pointed out.
“Thank you,” Ginny said. “I really hope we make the team. My dad took me and my brothers to the World Cup in ‘94. It was amazing.”
“I wasn’t able to attend,” Harry said. “We’d hoped to, but…well events dictated otherwise.” He shrugged. “Where is the World Cup this year?”
“Germany,” Ginny replied. “I read in the Quidditch Weekly that they spent a lot of money in updating their stadiums and making certain there are enough accommodations for everyone.”
“That’s good,” Harry replied seriously. “I was rather shocked to discover that so many of the stadiums have outdated systems. I hate that you are going through this, but at least it has brought to light the issues. Kingsley has appointed a new group to review the charms as well as the Muggle technology to make sure we remain hidden.”
Ginny started at hearing the Minister of Magic referred to in such as casual manner, but recovered. “I’m glad they are going to be looking into this. I hate going through this, but if it can spare someone else from going through it as well I will choose to look at it as a silver lining.”
A gasp from the crowd drew their attention back to the field. “Why aren’t they going after the Snitch?” Harry demanded.
“Where is it?”
Harry pointed out the tiny golden ball that was flying in a rather aimless pattern at the far end of the pitch.
“I didn’t even see it,” Ginny admitted.
It was another few minutes before either of the Seekers spotted it. The blue team won that match. After the teams left the field, Coach Gibbs strode onto the pitch.
“I want to thank everyone. I’ve seen some amazing plays over the past few days and I have some hard decisions to make. Please relax and get something to eat. Return to the stand in one hour for the announcement of the English National Team.”
Cheers rose from all sections of the stands. Harry rose and accompanied Ginny and Glenna back to the concession area. The crowd made Harry quite uneasy. Several photographers stopped Ginny and Glenna to ask for pictures.
Ginny glanced over at Harry. She was a bit worried that he would be upset that she and Glenna were received so much attention and him none, but to her surprise he didn’t seem at all upset. He’d tried out under the name of Harry Black and thus far, no one had realized exactly who he was. It had taken her a while to realize that he was perfectly content out of the spotlight.
Leaning close to Harry, she said, “I want to grab something else to eat.”
He nodded and she jumped as he reached out to take her hand. “I don’t want to risk getting separated.”
“Of course,” she replied, hoping he wouldn’t notice her wildly beating heart as he laced their fingers together. As they walked along, she wished with all her heart they’d met under different circumstances. When he glanced over and smiled, she couldn’t help but return the smile. He was so good looking and he didn’t even seem to notice the attention he received.
When they reached the food table, Ginny wasn’t surprised to see her brother loading up another plate while talking to his former roommate, Dean Thomas. She glared at him as she moved to the opposite side of the table. He’d apologized, but she was having a hard time forgiving him.
“Are you okay?” Harry asked quietly as he looked between the siblings.
She nodded. “I’m just…I’m not even that angry anymore. I’m more hurt. I don’t know why he always thinks so badly of me. He always takes Neville’s side against me and if I disagree with anyone, he’s always quick to tell me I’m wrong. He made the Quidditch team the year before I became captain and I almost had to replace him a Keeper because he couldn’t accept that I could tell him what to do. After we had a few rather loud rows, he finally accepted that I’d been on the team much longer than him, but he always seemed to hold that against me.”
“Git,” Harry muttered.
Ginny flashed him a smile as she reached out to grab a peach off the table. Taking a bite out of her peach, she stepped back out of the way. Harry made a move to join her, but Glenna said, “Harry, can you reach one of the jugs of pumpkin juice? I can’t reach them.”
As Ginny watched, Harry complied with Glenna’s request with a smile. She was glad that Harry and Glenna were getting along so well. A hand on her arm caused her to look up. Thinking it was fan looking for an autograph, Ginny smiled as she peered up into his face.
Shocked recognition flooded through her and she screamed even as she felt the familiar sickening tug of a Portkey.
Hamish watched Michael Corner for a minute as he laughed with his friends. According to everything he’d read, Corner was an Arithmancy whiz. He was currently apprenticed, but he was rapidly completing his training. As Longbottom had told him, Corner had registered the charm sequence to his purity test and was apparently making quite a bit of money working for matchmakers and some of the older Pureblood families.
Unfortunately, he’d been unable to discover anything about a cousin. Wizarding family relationships were often confusing and cousin could cover many different degrees of relationships.
Striding across the Department of Charm and Spell Development, Hamish found himself in front of Corner.
“Mr Corner, I’d like a few minutes of your time,” Hamish said with an easy smile. “I’m hoping you can help me with an investigation.”
Michael Corner turned and looked at Hamish with a touch of amusement. Corner was young, good-looking, and wealthy and from his actions, he seemed to believe he was entitled to all of it. His posh accent, well-cut robes, and dragon skinned boots screamed wealth that went along with his Chelsea address. He obviously looked down on Hamish with his working class accent and off the rack robes.
“I’m sorry,” Michael said, not sounding at all sorry. “I’m a bit busy at the moment.”
“So you don’t wish to cooperate with my investigation,” Hamish said.
“Not at this time,” Michael said rather pompously.
Hamish shrugged. “Very well. Michael Corner, you are under arrest for hindering an investigation, unauthorized surveillance, and tampering with Charms in a public building.”
“What?!” Michael managed to choke out as Hamish pulled him to his feet.
Without another word, Hamish Apparated with Michael back to the interrogation rooms. Auror and Ministry Security were the only groups with permission to Apparate in the Ministry, so Michael was doubly disorganized when they arrived. Hamish pushed Michael down into his chair which automatically secured the young wizard. After summoning Corner’s wand, Hamish sat down across from the now, much less arrogant, wizard.
“I understand you are making quite a bundle with your purity charm,” Hamish said conversationally.
“I am,” Michael acknowledged. “That is not illegal. I’ve registered the charm with the Ministry and I work with several Matchmakers.”
“Distasteful as that is, you are correct, it is not illegal,” Hamish agreed. “However, planting purity charms in a public building without the owner’s permission is illegal as is changing the security wards at Harpies’ stadium.”
“Okay, I’ll pay the fine,” Michael said with a touch of impatience. “I realize I shouldn’t have changed the wards, but it was a fascinating challenge.”
“You allowed a dangerous stalker unlimited access to his victim.”
“What stalker?” Michael asked scornfully.
Hamish once again showed him the picture from the CCTV footage. “I know he’s your cousin.”
“Fine, he’s my cousin, but he was simply helping me with the Arithmancy equations. David is very good with Arithmancy. He was also fascinated with the possibilities,” Michael said. He shook his head. “That’s why I didn’t identify him. He has nothing to do with this alleged stalking incident.”
“David who.”
Michael sighed. “David O’Conner. He lives here in London.”
“I need his address.”
With an impatient eye roll, Michael provided the address. Hamish quickly relayed it to the rest of the team so they could present the evidence to the local magistrate for a search warrant.
“You’ll see,” Michael said confidently. “You are looking at the wrong person.”
Harry spun around when Ginny screamed. He had his wand out, but he was too far away and he couldn’t prevent her from being taken. Even as he was casting spells, he sent a message to the Ministry to track the Portkey, but it was often difficult to track Portkeys.
“Where did she go?” Ron demanded as he looked around. “How did he get so close? I thought you were watching her?”
Harry stood glaring at spot from which she’d been taken. Closing his eyes he tried to concentrate on the wisp of Ginny’s magic before it dissipated. It was difficult to track trails of magic, but Harry was the best tracker the Aurors had. Calling on the skills he learned in Africa, he was able to discern where she’d been taken.
Opening his eyes, he looked at Ron. “I know where he’s taken her. You can come if you can listen.”
Swallowing his anger, Ron nodded. Harry grabbed his arm and side-along Apparated with Ron to the edge of Ginny’s property. As soon as they landed, Harry had his wand out and was casting spells.
After a moment, he nodded. “They are here.” He looked over at Ginny’s brother. “This is the plan.”
A knock on the door indicated to Hamish that someone needed to speak to him. Leaving Corner in the interrogation room, Hamish let one of the other Aurors take over.
“Ham, you need to see this,” Robards said tersely. The Head Auror side-along Apparated Hamish to David O’Conner’s flat. “He’s not here; we have people out looking for him.”
Robards led the way into O’Conner’s bedroom. Hamish gasped when he saw one entire wall covered with pictures of and articles about Ginny Weasley. Some of the pictures appeared to have been cut out of other photos or group shots. There were even a few pictures of Ginny as a child, but most of the photos were recent photos. Hamish thought most of them would have been taken with a telephoto lens from a distance. There were pictures of her walking on the beach, flying at the stadium, and puttering around her house. There was a stack of picture of Ginny in various stages of undress next to the bed. “Merlin.”
“You can say that again,” Williamson said. “It appears as though he started helping his cousin and ended up fascinated by Miss
Weasley. He’d gone back and found pictures from her Hogwarts days, copies of some essays, some newspaper articles, and even scouting reports.”
“Are we sure this is recent?” Hamish asked. “There’s a copy of one of her Potions essays from Hogwarts.”
“I was concerned about that as well,” Williamson said, “but the articles are all reproductions, not the original.” He gestured to one article from Quidditch Weekly that featured Hogwarts’ players. “That came out in ’96, but I dated the parchment and it is only a few months old.”
“Is that…” Hamish trailed off when he realized that it was indeed a small pile of Miss Weasley’s knickers folded in a place on honour on the dresser. “Shit, that’s the cat’s collar. He killed the damn cat and took it’s collar?”
Williamson nodded. Hamish swore. “Do we know where he is?”
“We haven’t spotted him,” Williamson said. “I spoke to some of his professors from Hogwarts. David was an exceptional student, very gifted in both Arithmancy and Charms, but Professor Flitwick shared that there was always something a little off about David. There was an incident while he was at school of him making multiple unwanted advances on a girl.”
Harry’s Patronus bounded into the room. “Hamish, come to Ginny’s house, now.”
Ginny shivered as she watched the man stalk around her bedroom. She didn’t recognize the charms he’d used to immobilize her.
“You looked wonderful out there,” he enthused. “You are far and away the best flyer out there.”
“Thank you,” Ginny replied after a minute. While she didn’t really want to talk to him, maybe if she was nice to him he’d let his guard down. She prayed that Harry would find her soon.
“Why did you let that man hold your hand?” he raged.
The lightning fast mood changes scared her. She couldn’t figure out what to expect next. One minute he was nice and paying her compliments and the next he was furious with her for imagine slights.
“He’s an Auror,” Ginny explained. “I was scared after I came home and found Chaser. He was watching out for me.”
The man laughed. “He wasn’t doing a very good job, was he?”
After one more circuit around the room, he said, “I’m sorry about the cat. I shouldn’t have done that. I was angry when I saw you flirting with that Auror.”
“I wasn’t flirting with him,” Ginny protested. “My captain asked me to fly with him. She was really impressed with his ability.”
“Please,” he replied meanly. “You kept blushing and smiling. You do realize he was checking you out, don’t you?” He shook his head. “I don’t understand you. I earned eight NEWTs. I’m known as a prodigy in Charms and Arithmancy. Why didn’t you choose me? Instead you go for some fit Auror bloke. I don’t understand.”
Ginny froze, unsure of how to respond. She certainly didn’t want to encourage him, but she didn’t want to anger him either. The memory of what he’d done to Chaser was fresh in her mind.
Before she could decide how to respond, the room seemed to explode in noise and bright flashing lights. She felt someone grab her arm and Apparate away.
Ron brought another cup of tea and plate of shortbread biscuits over to his sister. Ginny was wrapped in a warm blanket sitting in one of the conference rooms. The events of the last hour were extremely confusing for Ron.
When he’d seen his sister disappear, he’d been outraged that the man was able to reach her so easily. While he wanted to blame Potter, he knew that he’d been standing close to Ginny as well and should have been able to stop it. As he’d watched Potter track down and apprehend the suspect with seemingly so little effort on his part, it was eye-opening. Ron didn’t recognize most of the spells Potter had used. It was embarrassing to realize that Potter didn’t need his help, Ron was positive Potter could have apprehended the suspect and rescued Ginny without any help at all, but he’d allowed Ron to help rescue his sister.
Ginny glanced up at him as he set the plate of biscuits down on the table. He cleared his throat. “Look, Ginny…I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
She shook her head contemptuously. “You’re glad I wasn’t hurt. That’s all you have to say.”
Ron sighed. “I’m not very good at this, Ginny. You know that.”
“It’s really easy,” she said. “I’m sorry for being such a huge prat, Ginny. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry I’ve been looking down on you for things that aren’t your fault.”
The tips of his ears darkened as he looked down at the table for a minute. “I am sorry, Ginny.”
She looked him over for a minute. “I don’t understand why you always think the worst of me. If someone says something about me, instead of taking my side, you always believe whatever they say.”
“I just…everything is always easy for you!” Ron burst out. “You make friends easily, everyone likes you. You always made great grades and had no problems in school. You made the Quidditch team in your second year, you made Quidditch captain. You graduate from Hogwarts with six NEWTs and earn a spot on your favourite Quidditch team. You never had to prove you were different or that you had something to contribute.”
“You’re an idiot,” Ginny said after a moment. “You’re jealous of how easily things came to me so you treat me like dirt? Why couldn’t you have been my friend? It was always ‘Go away, Ginny’. Why couldn’t we have been better friends? We got along well once I started dating Neville.”
“It was nice hanging out with you,” Ron admitted, “but then you screwed everything up by breaking up with him.”
“You just did it again,” Ginny said. “I screwed up. How did I screw up? Because I didn’t fall in love with Neville?”
A knock on the door interrupted the siblings’ conversation. Relieved, Ron opened the door. He was happy to find Neville on the other side. Potter was with him.
“Are you okay?” Neville asked both of them.
“We’re fine,” Ron answered promptly. Ginny glared at her brother, but didn’t contradict him.
“I’m sorry,” Neville said to Ginny.
Her eyes narrowed. “For what?”
Neville’s eyes widened and the colour drained from his face. He turned to Potter. “She doesn’t know?”
Potter shook his head.
Swallowing, Neville said, “I asked Michael to do the purity charm.”
“What?!” Ginny stared at him in shock.
“Why?” Ron asked.
“I was worried about the company she was keeping,” Neville explained. “My grandmother was starting to say I needed to look elsewhere for a bride. I know your parents were worried about it as well.”
Ron nodded in understanding. It did make sense and he had to admit he was relieved to discover she was still pure. Ginny had another reaction.
“What the hell gives you the right to check up on me?” Ginny raged.
“Your father gave me permission to court you,” Neville replied nervously.
“He’s not the person you should have asked for permission,” Ginny said icily. “I am my own person.”
“I just wanted to make sure that you would still be a suitable bride once you got this Quidditch nonsense out of your system.”
Ron watched in shock as Ginny flew across the room and punched Neville in the jaw. Neville fell to the ground and pulled away from her.
“How dare you?! I don’t want to be your bride! I don’t need your grandmother’s approval. Maybe if you grew a pair you wouldn’t need it either.” Ginny stood over Neville like an avenging fury. “Listen to me very carefully. I do not love you. I do not wish to marry you.”
“Ginny!” Ron was shocked at his sister’s anger.
“Don’t you even start with me, Ronald Weasley!”
“Ginny,” Neville said as he pulled himself to his feet.
Pulling her wand, Ginny cast her infamous Bat-Bogey Hex. Ron rushed over to help his friend, while Harry pulled her out of the room.
Harry and Ginny made their way to the chairs that had been set up on the Quidditch pitch. After Ginny’s kidnapping, Coach Gibbs had delayed revealing the team. The candidates on the final four scrimmage matches were all seated on the pitch.
Coach Gibbs and his staff were up on a raised platform with members of the Department of Magical Games and Sports as well as members of the British and Irish Quidditch League. There were a whole group of reporters watching the proceedings.
Glenna hurried over and sat down next to Ginny. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” Ginny replied as she accepted her friend’s hug.
“I am so sorry I distracted Harry,” Glenna said.
“That was my fault,” Harry reassured her.
“No, it was that wacko’s fault,” Ginny said firmly. “I was surrounded by Aurors and he still found his way to me. I’m just glad that Harry was able to find me so quickly.”
The conversation was stopped as Coach Gibbs stepped up to the podium. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming today. Without further ado I would like to announce the English National Team for the 424th World Cup.”
With a wave of his wand, the coach projected a picture displaying the logo for the upcoming World Cup. “Keeper — Grant Newton.” As the names were announced the picture changed to show the player’s official publicity shot as well as their statistics.
“Beaters: Jamie Defoe and Randel Thompson.”
There was a slight pause as the players joined the others on the platform. Coach Gibbs shook all of their hands and gestured for them to stand in the centre of the platform. “Chasers: Ginny Weasley, Glenna Rogers, and Jacob Barnes.”
Harry clapped and cheered with the rest of the audience as the Chasers made their way to the stage.
The coach turned back to the audience. “Seeker — Harry Potter.”
The crowd went wild as Harry sat for a moment in shock. He hurried up to the stage and shook hands with the coach before joining the others. Ginny and Glenna both hugged him as he joined them.
“Sirius!” Bill called out as Sirius and Teddy entered the family’s box at the World Cup finals. “Teddy! How are you doing? Love the hair.”
Teddy giggled as Bill ruffled his Teddy’s dark red hair. Teddy had changed his hair to match the colour of the English team’s uniforms and he was wearing a replica of his godfather’s jersey. Victoire came over to greet Teddy. She was wearing a replica of her aunt’s jersey.
“Teddy, does you want to look over the edge?”
The little boy nodded and the two of them raced over to the edge of the box to look over at the pitch. The protective charms kept the children from leaning out too far or falling.
Sirius laughed. “Those two are thick as thieves. He told me last night that Victoire was fun for a girl.”
As he talked to Bill and Charlie, Sirius looked over the rest of the box. George was hovering over a very pregnant and annoyed Angelina while Percy was sitting towards the back of the box reviewing some papers.
Over the past month and half, Sirius and Teddy had been slowly getting to know the Weasleys as they travelled to various matches together. Arthur was very welcoming and appreciative of everything Harry and Sirius had done for Ginny as were Bill, Charlie, and George. They had all worked together in the Order of the Phoenix and were enjoying the renewed friendship. They thought that they could have lost Ginny made them realise how important she was to their family. Arthur had apologized for giving Neville permission to court her without even discussing it with her. Percy treated them with a polite indifference.
Ron and Hermione were coming to terms with everything that had happened. Sirius had witnessed several loud rows between Ron and Ginny that usual ended in hexes being thrown, but there was a genuine friendship developing. They were actually working through their issues. Harry was developing a friendship with them as well and the four had gone out to eat together a few times. Ron and Neville’s friendship had suffered as a result of everything and both young men had resigned from the Auror program. Neville was returning to his interest in Herbology while Ron was working for his brother and looking for a job in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Last Sirius had heard, Neville had taken a job traveling to the Amazon in search of rare potion ingredients. At least he seemed to have given up on Ginny and realized she would never be his.
Molly Weasley was the biggest surprise to Sirius. Once she realized the lengths to which Neville had gone to keep track of Ginny, Molly went from his biggest supporter to his biggest critic. From what Sirius could tell, Molly and Ginny had reconciled and Molly was even much more accepting of Ginny’s choice of career. Teddy adored her and was soon calling her Granny just as Victoire did.
Sirius’s thought were cut short as the announcer opened the match. The final was England against Bulgaria. It was the first time England had made it to the finals in over one hundred years.
After the teams were announced, Sirius kept his eye on Harry who was flying above the pitch with Viktor Krum.
“Is he nervous flying against Krum?” Bill asked.
Sirius nodded. “He’s a bit nervous, but he’s mostly excited to the chance to as he put it ‘see how good he really is.’ He’s been having such a great time flying; I really wish he’d started playing Quidditch right after the war.”
“I heard Kingsley talking the other night. He’s amazed at Harry’s talent,” Bill said. “I can’t believe he’s never played on a team before and now he’s playing for England in the finals.”
“He’s always been a natural on the broom,” Sirius remarked as he watched Ginny score the first goal. “James had him up on a broom when he was about six months old. He’s always loved to fly. When he was younger, if he was troubled by something or angry, he’d get out and fly around and forget all of his troubles.”
Harry circled the pitch watching for the Snitch as Viktor circled in the opposite direction. He was distracted for a moment as he watched the Chasers fly across the field in a Hawkshead Attacking Formation with Ginny in the lead position. She scored easily and Harry cheered before resuming his search.
A sudden movement caught his attention as Krum suddenly dove. Harry swore and dove as well. As he descended he realized that he didn’t see anything. Jerking up on his broom, Harry resumed his search as Krum realising Harry wasn’t falling for it straightened up. As he joined Harry above the other players, he gave Harry a nod of respect. Harry grinned in response.
Harry was forced to dive as a Bludger came hurtling towards him. As he dove, he saw an opportunity to disrupt the Bulgarian team’s formation. He simply dove through them causing them to scatter. Jacob snatched up the Quaffle and scored.
Just as he returned to his searching pattern, he saw the elusive gold Snitch rising in the middle of the pitch. Without hesitation, he dove. He could tell the crowd realized what was happening by the noise. Krum was coming in from the other direction.
Leaning down over his broom, Harry tried to squeeze every bit of speed out of it. A Bludger smashed into his right leg knocking him off course, but he quickly righted himself. The Snitch seemed to sense it was being chased and wove in and out of the players in an attempt to distract the Seekers. Harry felt someone reach out and grab his broom, but Jamie sent a Bludger at him and the Bulgarian released Harry’s broom to avoid the Bludger.
Harry swore as it looked like Krum was going to beat him to the Snitch. Just as Krum was about to grab it, the Snitch zig zagged causing Krum to topple over slightly. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Harry reached out and grabbed the Snitch. Krum’s hand closed over Harry’s, but Harry had grabbed it first.
England won! The crowd went wild as the team all descended on Harry. Both teams landed, the English team jumped from their brooms as they neared the ground. Harry still had the Snitch in his hand as hands pounded him on the back and congratulated him.
He looked up as Ginny met his eyes. She ran towards him and he opened his arms. He was never sure later exactly whose idea it was or who made the first move, but the next thing he knew he was kissing Ginny Weasley in front of a packed Quidditch stadium.
As he pulled away, he saw the joy and excitement in her eyes, but he also saw something else. Leaning down he kissed her again, before Glenna interrupted them.
“Come on! It’s time for our victory lap!”
Laughing, Harry mounted his broom and the team headed up for their victory lap and to receive the trophy, but he knew that he’d found something much more important than a Quidditch victory.