Flashbulb

Part One

Travelling by international Portkey was one of Ginny Weasley's least favourite experiences. Unfortunately as a member of the Montrose Magpies Quidditch team it had become a necessary evil. It did not matter whether she was destined for Peru or Wales the sensations caused by the trip always left her feeling somewhat nauseous and more than a little unsteady on her feet. It was for that reason she was not surprised to find her feet less than cooperative when she landed in the foyer of the team hotel in Madrid.

An expletive on the tip of her tongue, she stumbled forwards only to have strong hands grab her shoulders to steady her. When she managed to focus on the figure in front of her, Ginny scowled. Her expression turned even darker as the brilliant white light of a flashbulb flooded the scene, signalling that the moment had been caught on camera. To Ginny's dismay she realised that it would probably be splashed over at least one tabloid newspaper the next day.

As she blinked, clearing her vision once again, she heard a tense voice grind out, "I want my team to be close but not that close. Get the hell away from her, Flint."

Eyes shining in amusement at Ginny's mishap, Marcus Flint said, "No problem, Coach."

The large hands holding onto her were suddenly gone and Ginny was forced to take a step backwards. She bristled at her resulting clumsiness even though she was infinitely thankful to be away from the tall man. Her mood was made even worse when she realised that Marcus had caught the reaction. He smirked knowingly at her and then turned away, leaving Ginny with nothing to do but direct a strong glare at his retreating back. To her disgust he did not immediately burst into flames.

A hand touching her shoulder made the redhead jump. She spun around sharply to look up at the tall blond figure of the Magpies star Seeker, Maximus Brankovitch III - or Max, as he was known to his friends and team-mates.

He shot her a friendly, almost flirtatious smile that did wonders to lift Ginny's mood.

"Come on. Let's get checked in before you find some excuse to murder Flint."

Ginny's smiled dryly. "Since when would I need an excuse?"

~

The recent form of the Magpies had been sudden and rather unexpected in the opinion of all but the most obsessive Quidditch observers. However not even they had dared to imagine that it would be possible for the Magpies to fight their way past so many topflight teams and actually reach the final of the European Cup.

If she was being honest, Ginny had not thought they would manage it either - although that was the very last thing that she was allowed say at a press conference.

As a consequence, when a rather nosey reporter from an Italian Quidditch magazine asked her whether, as a newcomer to the team, she was surprised at their success, she fixed a smile on her face and said, "Of course not. We have a great group of people involved in every aspect of the team's development. Besides, we have an unfair advantage. Pier Henry is one of the greatest coaches in the world."

"Miss Weasley," a nasal sounding voice called. Ginny turned her head and fought the urge to frown as she discovered the speaker to be a reporter she knew well from a trashy British tabloid. "What do you have to say about the rumours regarding your relationship with Harry Potter?"

"Harry and I have been broken up a long time, Mr Waspish. So any new rumours are just that - completely and utterly unfounded."

Waspish smirked slightly, and before another reporter could speak, he added, "So he won't be upset to find out that you were caught in the arms of your team-mate earlier today?"

Ginny opened her mouth to reply only discover that the club public relations officer was already well ahead of her. The small dark haired woman stepped forwards quickly, holding her arms up while declaring, "Okay, that will be the last question for today. However, there will be a chance to speak to some of the other team members before the match tomorrow."

"She should have let me answer," Ginny complained as she walked off the platform and away from the reporters. "Now Waspish can write whatever crap he wants to."

Max snorted indelicately. "He would have done that anyway and you know it."

"Why is it that I'm always the one who ends up answering questions all the time?" she added. "I mean, you're the Seeker - the star player. I'm just a lowly Chaser."

"I might be the Seeker but I'm an ugly old brut, Ginny darling. I'm sure that if I was a cute little bundle like you then they would harass me instead. Did I ever tell you that the day you signed for us was the best of my life? I mean, not only do I get to look at you practically every day but the press aren't half as interested in following me around and digging through my trash for dirt anymore."

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't start playing Quidditch to end up as a pin-up."

Max leaned closer. "What we want doesn't always matter in this game."

She scowled at him, hoping to impart some of her complete and utter dislike for the idea of being regarded as anything other than a good Quidditch player. The truth was that she had recently been developing the niggling suspicion that it may well have been her looks that had landed her the Chaser position with the Magpies. It seemed as if every time she turned around the club PR department was finding another excuse to put her in front of a camera or make her give an interview. If they said that she had to do one more charity appearance then Ginny was seriously beginning to suspect that she might hex someone. Indeed it was only the fact that she had maintained her first team spot when there were four other more than capable Chasers available which had stopped her from doing so.

At least the coach seemed to remember that she was there to play Quidditch.

As the tiny PR woman approached them, Ginny gritted her teeth and declared, "There is no way on earth that you're going to get me to speak to them again tomorrow morning."

There was a second when the woman's cheery expression faltered slightly, but then her glowing smile returned and she replied, "Of course not! We couldn't have our star Chaser answering questions before the big match, could we?"

Ginny assumed it was a rhetorical question and did not respond. In truth she was half contemplating how much fun it would have been to have Marcus stood next to her instead of Max when the woman had spoken. She somehow doubted that her fellow Chaser would have taken the comment about their relative positions in the pecking order well. The thought of taunting him with it was entirely too tempting, although it was probably not a good idea when the big game was so close.

Just the thought of the next day made the butterflies in Ginny's stomach start to flutter wildly once more. It really was almost unbelievable that she would end up playing in the European Cup final in only her second season playing professional Quidditch - her first with the Magpies.

As if sensing her growing nervousness, Max placed a comforting hand on the small of her back. His touch was a silent reminder that she was not the only one suffering from pre-game nerves. Even Max, with all his years of experience from playing the American leagues and with the U.S. Quidditch team still managed to get nervous before matches.

She shot him a brief smile as the PR woman prodded them from the conference room and in the direction of the restaurant. It was only when Ginny spied some of her fellow team members heading in for dinner that she realised how long the press conference had gone on. Despite her nerves, Ginny felt her stomach display definite interest in the idea of food. Her pace quickened as she made for the entrance to the restaurant as well.

~

"This time tomorrow we could be European champions."

Ginny glanced sideways at Max, taking in the profile of her team mate. It was late evening and they were seated outside on a private veranda that had been reserved for the Magpies' use. The idea had been to try and relax before heading off to bed, but so far it had not worked. Not for Ginny, anyway. She still could not shake the tension that had been steadily growing in ever since they had won the semi-final match.

As she looked at him, Ginny could not help but notice that Max's expression was contemplative. In one hand he was lightly clutching a glass of Firewhiskey that he had managed to sneakily purchase when their coach had not been looking. Drinking the night before a game was strictly prohibited but it was not uncommon for the players to try and have a quick one when the coaching-staff were not looking. Indeed Max was not the only one sat on the veranda with a drink. Several of the other players had followed his example - Ginny included.

"There's no point thinking about it, right? That's what everyone keeps telling me," she replied. "The more you think about it the more you worry about it. It's just another game."

Max's lips twitched. "Yup, it's just another game." He quickly lifted his glass, draining it. Looking towards Ginny, he added, "I'm going to grab an early night. Don't stay up too late."

She smiled. "I won't."

She moved her legs in order to allow Max to walk past her. Before she could settle back down again another figure moved in front of her. Strong thighs covered in jet black jeans filled her vision and she heard Max say, "And don't you keep her up either."

Marcus made no response, only stepped past Ginny and slid into the chair that Max had vacated. Still somewhat surprised, Ginny said, "I can handle him. You go to bed."

Marcus stiffened, raising an eyebrow while rolling his head in her direction. There was a vaguely amused smile on his features when he said, "You can handle me, can you?"

Ginny snorted. "Not like that - although maybe in your dreams."

"I have far more interesting things to dream about than you."

"Somehow I think exactly what you dream about it the last thing I want to know," Ginny replied. She dared to glance towards him, and added, "What exactly are you doing over here anyway? Aren't there any barmaids around for you to harass?"

"I wanted to have a word about tomorrow," he said.

"You do?"

He leaned slightly closer, and in a light yet low voice said, "Yeah. Listen. We both know that we're the two Chasers that Henry is going to have at the top of his team sheet tomorrow. I just thought that maybe we should spend a little time talking about strategies and stuff."

Ginny frowned, far from convinced.

"What?" Marcus asked.

She shook her head slightly. "I can't remember the last time you made a suggestion like that. In fact, I don't think you've ever made a suggestion like that before. What's the story, Marcus? Why the sudden desire to conspire?"

"It's called working as a team and it's a good idea. You want to win tomorrow as much as I do so what's the harm in actually trying to work with me for once?"

Ginny's mouth fell open in shock. "Me work with you? How about the other way around? Hell, it shouldn't even be an issue if you would follow the coach's instructions like you're meant to."

"I'm... You..." He stopped suddenly before sucking in deep breath through his teeth. The resulting noise grated on Ginny's nerves but she remained silent.

"Okay, let's just say that occasionally we both play a little outside the game plan and leave it there. We might not get along but I can admit you're a bloody good player and if we're going to win tomorrow then we're going to have to come to some sort of agreement..."

Ginny shook her head slightly, not quite believing what she was hearing. Planting her hands on the arms of the chair, she levered herself into a standing position. "I'll tell you what. You promise to listen to the coach and I'll do the same."

She moved as if to walk away only for Marcus to suddenly grab her. His hands curled around her wrist and when she tugged he resisted letting go.

"Just don't do anything to muck up tomorrow," he said sternly, looking more than a little disgruntled. "I'm serious. I've worked bloody long and hard and I don't want anything to ruin it now. Try and remember that some of us have been working on getting here for more than a few months."

Blood rushed into Ginny's cheeks. A surge of adrenaline finally provided her with enough strength to yank her arm away from him. "I've worked as hard as anyone this season. You know that. If you just do your job then I'll do mine and then I'm sure that everything will be fine."

She stalked away, feeling Marcus' eyes heavy on her back as she did so.

~

Ginny cringed, placing a hand lightly on her stomach. It was churning - it had been ever since she had crawled out of bed that morning. To make matters worse her mouth was dry but she had the uncomfortable feeling that if she tried to take a drink then there was every chance that she might throw up.

She drew in a shuddering breath, forcing the fingers she had curled around her broom to relax slightly. It came as a surprise that there were not imprints or nail marks where her fingers had been.

Next to her, Max was practically bouncing. Nervous energy changed his movements making them quick and halting as he checked and rechecked the fastenings on his Quidditich robes. Ginny knew that if she chose to watch him closely enough then she would be able to pick out each and every one of Max's personal nervous tics.

Overhead, she could hear roar of the crowd that filled that Quidditch stadium. It was enough to make her consider turning around and pushing through the rest of her team mate so that she could escape through the back door of the holding pen. The last time that she had heard a crowd being so large had been during the last World Cup she had been to. It had seemed fantastic. However, back then they had not been cheering for her.

The only seemingly calm person was Marcus. Ginny eyed him thoughtfully, careful not to be caught doing so. His tall imposing figure was leaned almost casually against the back wall of the pen meaning that it was impossible for Ginny to read his expression. She was only thankful that the slight gleam of the light on his eyes meant that she at least had some clue as to what direction he was looking in.

Even so, Ginny had guessed almost immediately that Marcus' apparently calm exterior was hiding something. For a start being so quiet was out of character for the man. Prior to the start of a match, Marcus would normally have been loud and boisterous. His current quiet façade had been in place since before breakfast that morning and, if Ginny had not been so caught up in her own bout of nerves, then she would have been worried about it. She sincerely hoped that he was not going to end up passing out half through the match or something equally fatal to their chances of winning.

Just the thought of anyone fainting seemed to make it a very real possibility and once again Ginny felt her stomach churn.

"Stop fidgeting, Brankovitch," Henry ordered. "All of you pull it together. You're about to make history. It's been years since the Magpies won the European Cup but we're going to change that right now."

Ginny could not help but think he sounded less than completely confident.

The doors to the pen suddenly open, making the occupants jump. Bright morning sunlight flooded in, momentarily startling Ginny so that she was forced to bring a hand up to cover her eyes. She blinked furiously and then winced as the crowd noticed that the teams were about to emerge. They roared - the sound almost impossibly loud as it reverberated around the stadium.

Ginny took a deep breath and followed Max's lead by mounting her broom.

~

When Max caught the Snitch and held it aloft to glint in the late afternoon Spanish sunlight, Ginny felt her heart stop for a moment. For a moment, the crowd seemed to go deathly quiet and then they erupted as it dawned on them what had happened.

Max swooped through the air, doing a full circuit of the stadium. Ginny waited for him to come around to where she was hovering. She watched as other members of the team joined him for a victory circuit - first one of the Beaters, then the other, and finally her two other Chasers. Ginny slipped in between them, momentarily meeting Marcus' shinning eyes before the man accelerated away from her.

She laughed, crying out in jubilation. Surging forwards, she followed Max on a lap of honour, and then in smaller and smaller circles as he descended.

There were people invading the pitch as they landed. Other members of the Magpies squad flung themselves at Max as they reached him, nearly throttling the man by accident in the process. Even members of the support staff were running towards them.

She landed heavily and stumbled as she tried to reach Max. Arms caught her from behind before she could fall, and Ginny was forced to drop her broom as she was lifted up into air and spun around. She barely had chance to squeal in surprise before the man holding onto her pressed a quick and clumsy kiss on her mouth. Somewhere in the background a flashbulb went off before Ginny could wrench her lips away, catching the moment.

Marcus grinned at her broadly as he set her down on the ground and then turned to slap Max heavily on the shoulder.

TBC