Moonlit Grounds

Chapter 2

Ginny awoke with a start. She felt like she was missing something. But what? She checked her bedside calendar and saw that it was Saturday. No classes, as it was the weekend. Oh no, she thought, quidditch!

She quickly dressed, then dashed out to the quidditch pitch. As she passed the Great Hall she noticed a few stragglers taking their time in leaving the castle. She ran the whole distance and by the time she arrived she was out of breath. She couldn't believe that she had almost missed it! The biggest match up of the year- Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Harry and Ron would never have forgiven her if she had missed it. She breathed a sigh of relief. Gryffindor was up 20-10, and it appeared as if the game had just started.

She felt a sharp poke on the shoulder from behind.

"And just where have you been?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"I slept in. No harm in that is there? I don't believe I broke any rules." Ginny made to turn back to the game, but Hermione insisted.

"Now, really, why aren't you getting enough sleep? Your classes this quarter aren't too bad. I should say two hours tops on homework each night. What are you up to?"

"Nothing! I wish you and Ron would stop bothering me! It's getting very tiresome." She crept down a few seats to get a better view, while this also had the added benefit of leaving Hermione's irritating behavior behind.

Everyone has to be so damn curious. She felt a cloud of gloom settle upon her. She just wanted to be left alone.

Ginny turned her attention to the match. The score was now 30-20 Slytherin. Ginny allowed herself to be distracted by the enthusiasm of the crowd and she cheered right along with them. In the end, Harry caught the snitch and the Gryffindors won 210-80. This victory was followed by a rush of boos from the Slytherin end and a roar of applause and cheers from the Gryffindors.

Ginny felt very satisfied by her mood and decided to take a stroll around the lake. It was such a beautiful day and after a victory like that the sun didn't seem so threatening. She reminisced about the previous year and what it felt like to be the seeker. Harry had asked her to stay on the team and practice with them, maybe even try out for another spot, but she had no other interest than being the seeker. She was able to feel alone in the air. Up, away from everything she felt at peace. She decided to relax a bit and maybe later she would take her brother's broom and fly on the pitch for a while. She headed up the great stone steps to the castle doors and for once felt happy.

*

Draco cursed himself in the locker room. He just wasn't fast enough. It was that simple. His father would hear about it from a family friend or ask Draco for results. No matter what, Lucius would hear of Draco's shortcomings. He could almost remember when he actually had enjoyed quidditch. At the time he was still free from all the responsibility of being a Malfoy. He was happy to fly up high, away from it all. He had felt like he was the only person in the world, and he was at peace with his family and himself. Then his father took matters into his own hands and sent Draco to numerous training camps over summer vacation. Draco had never wanted to play quidditch as a career, mostly because it wasn't a choice. At these camps only extremely serious players attended. He found it difficult that everyone was the enemy. He was used to making allies, so this situation was new to him. He always found himself glad to be home, even though there were worse demons to face there.

He changed out of his quidditch robes and into his school uniform. It was a mild fall day, so he stored his school robe in his locker along with his Nimbus 2001. He needed to blow off some steam so he decided to walk a bit around the grounds. He felt his weariness begin to take its toll. He slowed down to a more leisurely pace. He tried to clear his mind of all thoughts and just enjoy the nice day. He looked up and saw the youngest Weasel walking ahead of him. He tried to think of some biting comment to give, but decided to leave her alone. He just didn't take as much pleasure insulting her as he did from her older brother. Besides, she could look very appealing sometimes. Although she isn't in a high enough class to ever deserve a Malfoy. Mudblood-lovers. What filth, he thought. He would never understand their reasons for associating with such trash. He suddenly felt dizzy, then realized that Ginny wasn't even in front of him anymore. He sat down, trying to regain his composure. He needed to relax. Perhaps he'd lay down for a bit and then practice with the snitch for the next match. He didn't want to think about Lucius's reaction to the Slytherin loss.