Quidditch Doubles

Quidditch Doubles: Chapter 1, Getting Cut

She tore down the Quidditch Pitch, only those three makeshift hoops in her mind's eye. There was a certain severity in her locked gaze, something in the tenseness of her form and the grace with which she flew, that just spoke of the fierce passion that matched the girl's brilliant red hair. With the Quaffle in hand, she twisted and turned every which way, evading each opponent and displaying the sort of impassioned fluidity that inspired artists of the highest caliber. It was love; her love of the game that just immediately drew your eyes to her when in a match as it was also what pioneered that undeniable talent she possessed.

All around the girl, her friends roared, especially so when she did a quick dive and somehow, was able to thrust the Quaffle into the middle hoop, just behind the baffled Keeper who had hardly moved an inch. Off to the side, a group of boys cheered and admired the ongoing action. There was a distinct "Go, Ginny!" amongst the cheers that diverted the flame-haired Chaser's attention to the boys and made her grin. She swooped over them, then back again as she dropped a brief, teasing kiss on the lips of the gorgeous boy in the middle; her boyfriend, Seamus. A collective hoot of light mockery and approval resounded just as Ginny rocketed away, quickly intercepting a pass from the Chasers of the other team.

It was quite obvious where the game was heading so as the sun's biting rays soon died across the horizon, Ginny's team set up the play for the last shot of the game. From about a quarter of the Pitch away from their opponents' goals, Ginny threw the sizeable red ball into the air and spiked it forward with a firm first, sending it barreling through the highest hoop. The crowd erupted into applause, whoops and a boisterous round of "Ginny Is My Queen." Just in time, Andrea, the Seeker of Ginny's team, raised her hand high in the air, Snitch in her grasp and claimed their solid victory. Ginny landed on the newly Shearing-Charmed grass and whooped along with the rest. Her teammates gathered around her, throwing themselves onto her in great big bear hugs. On the edge of her vision, she noticed Seamus on the other side of the hoops, catching the Quaffle deftly and beaming at her. As the crowd around her dispersed, she made her way to him. Seamus immediately grabbed her and threw her over his shoulders none too gently. He twirled her around as Ginny laughed heartily.

"Seamus, put me down!" she shouted along with some good-natured chuckling.

"You want me to put you down, eh?" he said as more of a statement than a question. "Alright, then." He lifted her off the ground roughly, feigning a toss but after a moment, only laying her gently on the soft grass. He positioned himself on top of her and kissed her lightly.

"So... Do I kick arse or what?" joked Ginny with a blinding smile. Ginny was known for her make-you-want-to-do-anything-she-asks smiles. Well, then again, Ginny was known for just being Ginny. First off, she was beautiful. She had the kind of exquisiteness that was impossibly hard to come by. The notorious fiery red hair that had boys weak in the knees upon looking at it billowed around her supple form in delicate waves. Almond-shaped eyes that told tales of an endless blue often mirrored her every emotion and was said to envelope you in a sort of warmth that made you never want to leave her side. Her body was slender, toned and curvaceous in a way that made mouths water in both admiration and envy. However, more than anything, Ginny was known for what she was as a person. She treated everyone as her equal, just as she expected to be treated like an equal. Whatever she felt, she felt ferociously. No matter what challenges might stand in her way, she was determined to take it down and be what she wanted to be. However, her smiles were just in a universe of their own.

Seamus was often still blown away by that simple yet intoxicating upturn of her lips, just as he was now. "Seamus? Did you hear me?" Ginny asked, waving a hand before his face.

Seamus shook himself from his dizzy stupor. "Yeah, I did. Sorry, I was just caught up in..." he trailed off. "Yes, you do kick arse. In fact, you're bloody wicked on the Pitch."

She pushed against him lightly. "Just on the Pitch?" she said jocularly.

A wide grin spread out over his handsome features. "No, not just on the Pitch. In other areas too..." he said, raising an eyebrow in mischief. He bent down and kissed her deeply.

Eventually, she pulled away and said, "You're not so bad yourself."

"At Quidditch?"

"That. And at kissing... You have to thank me for that. When we first got together, you couldn't snog if your life depended on it. But I have taught you well, my handsome little apprentice..." she said. "You still have to admit, though, that I am terribly fantastic at Quidditch. Bloody wicked, just won't do."

He laughed, the light playing off his sandy hair and his eyes filling with a cheery spark. "Fine. I admit it. You're terribly fantastic," said Seamus. "Ah, sod it. You're loads better than half the blokes on my team. If only you could play for us... We'd make Wentworth Academy look like skrewts on sticks."

"Um, Seamus, I'm flattered but... I don't think you quite remember skrewts in CoMC. They were nasty little buggers," reminded Ginny.

"Fine. Little furry koalas on carrot sticks."

"Carrot sticks?"

"Cute. Cuddly. Non-about-to-be-beat-you-savagely-with-my-big-broomstick. You get the picture," explained Seamus fervently. His navy eyes were wide with feeling and his hands were gesticulating the measure of his commitment all over the place. Seeing as he was lying on top of Ginny, her head had fallen victim to some of his more exaggerated movements.

"Ah, yes. I think I understand now," she said. Ginny looked around at her surroundings. The Pitch was a beautiful one, albeit the informality and it seemed like the owners seemed to have forgone some of the regulation designs. It was set in Tatum Witches and Wizards Summer Spot, where a lot of the youth of the renowned Hogwarts went for their holidays. The sun was quickly dipping from their view. Soon, the shadows would wrap around them like a cloak of night. She sighed and just as suddenly, something else cloaked her with an uneasy sensation. I don't like the feeling I'm getting in my gut, she thought. It was a stir of impending gloom; a feeling that things were just not going to go right.

She couldn't focus, however, due to her boyfriend's still insistent movements, as if already fighting the battle against Wentworth Academy that was sure to ensue in this year's opening match against the two archrivals. Tired of the occasional jabbing against the side of her head, she snatched his offending hands and put it against her chest. "Now, about this whole being better than half your team... Well, I'm deeply moved. Even though I knew that already, I am so touched that I feel like I should show you some of my gratitude."

Seamus grinned impishly. "And how would that go about, luv?"

"Well..." said Ginny. For the rest of that sentence, she demonstrated to him that her lips were not just for excellent conversation.

~+~+~

Ginny was on her way to the Groovy Hall a while later, freshly showered and not without a bounce in her step. Alongside the lively girl were her best mates, Andrea Estevan-Pennant and Rain Bodley. Rain was completely gorgeous, all ebony locks and skin of her. Andrea was a stunning girl with her Spanish features and hourglass figure.

"That game was truly ace, Gin. I can already tell this year is going to be a doss for the Girls team," said Andrea. She clapped her hands together in excitement as they passed between the Hall's massive double doors. It was similar to Hogwarts' Great Hall. However, the Groovy Hall's ceiling was one large morphing expanse. It would change from purple zigzags to lime green swirls. Its motions were all governed by the beat and rhythm of whatever music the students had requested for that evening. The focal point was not the enchanted ceiling however. Instead, like every other situation the girls had ever been in since puberty, all attention was on them. It was like a breath was immediately sucked in whenever they walked into a room. Now was no exception.

"Right-o. That last shot you made: brill, Gin, brill," commented Rain.

"Rubbish. You know I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without you lot," said Ginny as they chose the nearest table by them to sit in. They swung their legs over, a span of their toned legs stretching out for the Hall to see. The boys almost died. The girls tittered at the looks on the boys' faces. "You guys are some of the best players on the team. No, in the LEAGUE!"

Rain beamed, the smooth skin on her eyes crinkling. "Don't flatter me, Ginny, or I might just have smother you with my loving appreciation."

"Oh, you read my mind," replied Ginny with a conspiratorial wink.

"It's a shame that Mica Eberstark had to leave, though, isn't it? She was a smashing beater. We're down one now that she's moved back to Germany," said Rain woefully. She propped her arms up on the table.

"Don't forget Tiffany Wells. Choice Keeper, that one. The slot's free since she transferred to Italia," remarked Andrea dolefully, a lapse of worry forming on her lovely face. Her sea green eyes were curiously murky and the standard glint in them unlit. Ginny recognized this look. It was the telltale sign her best friend possessed whenever she was distressed.

"Ladies, you know we have tryouts every year. I'm sure, whoever is Quidditch Captain, will rumble out the best for us. Alright?" said Ginny, laying a comforting arm across each of their backs. This movement caused some of her scarlet tresses to fall into her eyes so she tried to move them off using only her mouth and without moving an inch. This was actually quite the funny sight. Andrea and Rain, however, were oblivious.

Rain, who had laid that beautiful head of hers on her crossed arms, now shot up. "Whoever is Captain? What do you mean whoever is Captain?"

"Well, you see, Rain, every year Coach Pistonmi picks a girl from the team to..." began Ginny, exasperated.

"Gin, we know what a Captain is. We didn't go through all those years of Quidditch Little League to be that blissfully unaware." said Andrea sarcastically. "What we do want to know is...you weren't chosen? And if so, WHY BLOOMING NOT!?"

Ginny looked at her mates quizzically. However, they just kept staring on as if Professor Snape had just proposed to her on bended knee and in a bright pink tuxedo. Besides, the most Snape had done was eye her a little dodgily and pink was definitely not his color. Eventually, she finally relented and shook her head fervently. "Nope. It's not me. As per the why blooming not part... maybe I'm just not good enough."

Rain snorted, somehow still managing to retain some sort of grace. "Bollocks. You're the best player on the team! You've been chosen as MVP in almost every tournament we've ever competed in and scouts have been after you since you started riding a broomstick!" she said.

"That's a complete exaggeration!" said Ginny. "Well, whatever, it still doesn't change the fact that I am not Captain."

"Are you sure you didn't get the Captain letter over the summer? They usually inform us at least midway through hols," asked Andrea.

Ginny furrowed her brows in annoyance. "Don't you think I would've told you that sort of thing? You don't reckon I would've been aerated enough about that sort of thing to fuel the energy supply of Hogwarts for years AND still jump up and down telling you the news?" replied Ginny.

Rain sighed. "She does have a point."

Andrea looked down, abashed. "Well, Gin, if it's not you... Then who is it? I was just chatting with the other girls a while ago and we all reckoned it was you who was Captain. No one else said a word about getting the letter."

Ginny recoiled a tad. The complete shock registered in her dancing blue eyes. "No one else?"

"No one else," repeated Andrea.

Silence encased the trio in a tight embrace. No movement, not a single reverberation. One thought ran through the minds of the three girls: What was going on? This wasn't normal. A heavy feeling settled over their stomachs. Everything was fine. Wasn't it?

Ginny was the first to jump back into reality. She looked around and saw her friends' eyes were glazed over in thought. She broke the quiet. "Pistonmi probably just wanted to announce it in person. Wanted it to be a surprise or something."

"Right. Surprise. That's definitely it," agreed Rain, perhaps a little too quickly.

"Of course. It couldn't be anything else," said Andrea. Although the thump of a beating drum against their heads, screaming that they knew they were lying to themselves, chose that instant to make its appearance.

Ginny bit it all back down and said, "We'll talk to Coach tomorrow morning. After all, training always starts two weeks before school and it'll be exactly two weeks tomorrow."

"Till tomorrow," said Andrea.

"For now, let's get some sleep then," suggested Rain, throwing a thumb in the direction of their rooms.

"Let's go," said Andrea. All three girls got up and began to head for the door when a voice stopped them.

"Hey, ladies! Where are you beautiful girls heading off to? I was just about to pop over your table and grace you with my company," joked a handsome boy they knew to be Jake Myers.

"Hey, Jake," they said in unison. He was not too ecstatic at the bored tone they faced him with, though. Most girls drew out trails of drool at the sight of him.

"Sorry, Jake, but we're terribly knackered. We're going to get some shut-eye," said Ginny, hardly even looking back as she walked out the door.

"We're done in for the night. Sorry, Jake. You be good now," said Rain, exiting the Groovy Hall swiftly.

"Thanks for being so sweet, Jake," said Andrea before she walked over and plopped a peck on his cheek. "We'll see you around." She followed her friends out.

Jake lifted his hand slowly and touched his hand to the cheek Andrea had kissed, as if in a dream. After a moment, an animalistic hoot of joy boomed through the Hall and Jake was jumping up and down thrusting his arms and legs about. He walked back to his table, as there were murmurs of "lucky bastard" along every step in his gait.

An indigo-eyed boy said, "I saw that, Jake. How did it feel?"

Starry-eyed, Jake replied slowly, "Like heaven."

Several of the boys muttered, "I knew it," as the girls still occupying the room rolled their eyes.

"Why'd they leave so suddenly, though?" another boy with spiky hair asked.

"They said they were knackered and were heading in."

"Great! Just as one of us mustered up the nerve to go over to them!" replied yet another boy.

"Ginny, Rain and Andrea are all crackling. I wouldn't mind heading to bed with any of them!" said a blonde boy with dyed blue tips.

"Hey, Greeley! Shut it! That collective 'them' you're speaking of contains my girlfriend so pipe down before I beat seven shades of shit out of you," said Seamus, who had just walked into the room in time to hear the boy with blue tips' comment.

"My bad, Finnigan."

~+~+~

As the first waves of sunlight rose, so did Andrea, Ginny, and Rain, all dressed and ready for some Quidditch. They Apparated to their destination, which was just outside the boundaries of Hogwarts. They made their way past a large gate, vines spiraling what seemed like iron (but probably wasn't) and forming an intricate pattern. They strolled past all kinds of things: rose gardens with patches of mandrake, a courtyard with statues of different magical creatures and historical figures, the lake with its giant squid, until they finally reached the Pitch. It was vast and as finely-made as they had always remembered it. In the middle of the grand coliseum-like area, Coach Pistonmi stood, looking over the Boys Quidditch Team, who were locked in a fierce scrimmage. They were soon joined by the other remaining members of their team, Pansy Parkinson and Alona Cleaver. As a group, they sauntered over to Coach Pistonmi. Ginny sneaked up behind him before shouting into his ear, "HI, COACH!"

Coach Pistonmi nearly jumped out of his skin, dropping the wand he had in hand and fumbling for it as it fell through the air. Unfortunately, it still dropped on the ground and he bent down to pick it up. As he straightened himself once more, he said these deeply tender words, "Hello, girls."

There was a combined "Hello, Coach!"

"So, Coach, when are we going to get a turn on the Pitch?" asked Pansy Parkinson, pug nose thrust into the air in that haughty way the team had come to love.

He turned back to the game. The answer was simple for the Coach. His tone matched his answer. "You're not going to."

"What do you mean we're not going to?" asked Rain.

"You're not going to get a turn. I don't need to give a turn to those who don't have tournaments to practice for."

The girls turned to each other with wide, uncomprehending faces. "Coach, explain," said Alona.

Coach Pistonmi sighed and whirled around to face the girls. "Your team was cut, ladies. Now, will you please leave me to do my job?"

A moment of total hush blew over the girls. Then, the girls burst into a flurry of outrage and commotion. "WHAT!? WHY!?" screamed Ginny.

"WE'RE THE BEST GIRLS TEAM HOGWARTS HAS SEEN IN YEARS!" shrieked Pansy.

"DUMBLEDORE WOULDN'T DO THIS TO US!" yelled Andrea.

"Dumbledore had nothing to do with this," replied Coach Pistonmi. They could see the slight smirk at the sides of his mouth threatening to break out. There was a little twitch right there that made that much obvious. Ginny wanted to slap his face inside out.

"THEN, WHAT!?" screeched Alona. "WHAT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY CAUSED THIS WHOLE THING!?"

Coach Pistonmi raised an eyebrow at them as if the meaning was staring at them in the face. "Not enough people signed up for tryouts."

"That's impossible! All the girls in school are dying to get into the team! Hell, I've gotten bribes from girls in other years!" said Rain.

"Well, that's not what the signup sheet states. I'm sorry, girls, but I really have to get back to the game," said Coach Pistonmi, his attention returning to the boys.

"Coach, you hardly even seemed bothered by this. You've coached us ever since we got into Hogwarts!" remarked Andrea, the pure rage filtering through her fine features. Her plump lips were set in a thin straight line.

"That's right! You sweated with us, stood in the blistering sun for hours with us for years! Doesn't this affect you at all?" said Ginny.

He turned back to them. "Of course it does, girls," said Coach Pistonmi but the expression on his face said otherwise. More than anything, he just seemed annoyed that they kept interrupting his game watching. "But we all have to move on. I know Quidditch was important you but if you loved it that much, let me coach this game. Let me coach these boys and let me bring them to victory. It's all for the love of Quidditch."

The Coach had definitely ruffled some feathers but he was making sense as well, in some strange way. Then, a thought struck Ginny like metal hitting metal. It reverberated with utmost brilliance and it made the very skin on her bones tingle with excitement. The more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea. Coach Pistonmi drew his wand, flicked it one way and soon a whistle-like sound darted through the air. It caused the boys to stop mid-game and start to drift down towards them.

By the time the boys reached their little group, Ginny couldn't hold it back anymore. "Well, then, if that's the case, Coach, let us try out for the team," said Ginny. The girls looked on at Ginny with pride, then turned their defiant expressions to their former Coach. "You know we've got talent and why not add that talent to the team?"

Coach and the boys laughed all the way from pit of their stomachs. Then, as the graveness kept on in their faces, Pistonmi spluttered out, "Preposterous! Incomprehensible!"

"And why is that?"

Coach looked at them as if they had said they were all elected Minister of Magic. However, a moment later, he regained himself and said plainly, "Simple. Girls just aren't as strong as us blokes. You girls would die out there on a Pitch filled with them."

"Excuse me? What are we? In the Dark Ages?" said Alona.

"Yeah, Coach. Ever heard of equality amongst genders?"

Coach Pistonmi shook his head feverishly. "It's a proven fact, girls."

Ginny, furious beyond belief, looked across the gathered and her eyes fell upon the boy she knew she could count on. He could do something about this. "Seamus! You're Captain of this team. You tell him that girls are just as good as any boy."

Seamus, upon hearing his name, shot his head in her direction. "Luv, I'm sorry but Coach is right. Girls can't play with us. It's too dangerous."

The unexpected slap from his answer and the terrible way the boys were looking at her made Ginny's temper spiral towards breaking point. "Are you bloody serious? Have you gone completely mad?"

"No, I'm just stating that based on facts..." began Seamus, the faith he possessed in his answer showing in his taut stance.

"To hell with the facts! Just yesterday you told me that I was better than half the blokes on your team! You specifically said 'if only you could play for our team...'" screamed Ginny, ready to pounce on anyone who dared cross her right now.

"What?!" came the outraged chorus from the Boys Team.

Seamus looked her directly in the eye. "I never said that..." he lied. Her Seamus. The boy she had been with and loved for a year now. She stared into those bright blue eyes, filled with mirth. Sure, maybe there was a twinge of guilt splattered in there but that would not overcome the betrayal. Those same blue eyes that she had been driven into the first time she met him, had deceived her. She would make him pay.

Everyone seemed to have quieted down at this point. "Come on. Quit playing around, Gin. This game is getting old," said Seamus.

"Yeah, well, so are you and our relationship. Let's just forget we were ever together," said Ginny venomously before stomping away. The boys 'ooh-ed' and shoved Seamus around.

"What?!" Seamus called out to her. "You don't mean that!" Ginny didn't even turn around, nor did her gait ever falter.

"Serves you right, Seamus," said Andrea, following in Ginny's wake.

"Yeah, arse-licking charver," came the united two cents from the rest of the girls team.

~+~+~

"Ginny, there you are!" shrieked Rain as she found Ginny sitting below the shade of a gigantic Willow tree. It offered much room to move beneath the shadow it cast upon the grounds so along with the rest of the team, she took her seat around the melancholy redhead. There were no tear tracks down the girl's face, no signs of incessant sobbing... She had gone long past the hysteria and zoomed straight into the dead feeling of grief. It was in the silence and complete stillness that one knew she was deathly unhappy. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"I've just been here," replied Ginny, not even lifting her gaze to meet Rain's. Her head lay against the trunk of the tree as she situated her tiny form in between two enormous roots.

"Yes, well, this isn't exactly the easiest tree to find," said Rain. Ginny just nodded her head in reply.

Andrea crawled up closer. She laid a hand on Ginny's knee in consolation, a kindly sheen in her coffee-colored eyes. "Ginny, I know it's hard but we all have to get through this. We'll figure out what to do eventually," said Andrea.

There was yet another moment of silence. This what taking Quidditch away would mean. The Girls Quidditch Team was known for their spirited attitudes. There was never a practice or a day for that matter where each of them wouldn't be up and about, busying around the campus. The gravity of it all had somehow quieted them. It could not come to this. The buzz of life that Quidditch gave them could not be taken away. If that were so, they would never be the same.

However, some others could not find the fighting spirit in them. The same spirit that had led them to all their victories in the past, had now gone astray. It was as if it was all a memory from long ago that seemed so out of reach. Did they have what it took to push forward and take that memory back in a firm grip? Did they believe enough in everything they had grown up with to fight for their dream, for themselves?

Now, a voice put into words the very thing that could break a team. "Girls, you know I love you. We've been through so much together but maybe... we should just give up."

All heads spun towards the pretty strawberry blond head that was Alona. Even Ginny looked up at this. None of them could believe their ears. "Alona, are you barmy?" asked Pansy.

Alona reached into her blond tresses, then pulled her hand out again in nervousness. "I just mean... Look, if Dumbledore's cut the team, it's official. Solid. How can we change that?"

"We can speak to him!"

"You know that wouldn't work. It's probably already sealed into some official book or something," replied Alona.

"We can petition against all this! I'm sure we can find loads of girls that'll support us!" said Rain.

Alona gazed directly into Rain's blue eyes. "If they didn't support us in signing up for tryouts, they won't support us now," she said with all solemnity.

Andrea shot up from her seat abruptly. "Alona, what the bloody hell!? You're really going to give up everything we've ever worked for as a team for one minor setback!?"

"MINOR!? YOU CALL THIS MINOR!?" yelled Rain, standing and matching Andrea in all her fierceness. They stood very close to each other, glaring holes into each other with faces a breath apart.

Ginny, who had been quiet so far, rose from her seat and put some distance between the two. "Girls, this is not what our team is about. Maybe the team won't be playing together for a little while but we still need to keep the foundations we worked so hard to create," said Ginny. The two girls, still glowering at each other, stepped away and took seats as far away from each other as they could.

When things had settled a little more, she fixed each and every girl with an affecting gaze. "I don't know about you but I am not ready to give up. We have worked too bloody long, too bloody hard to be taken down by this and I will not stand for it. We may not be able to do anything here at Hogwarts but that will not stop us from doing what we love. Nothing can stop us from doing that," spoke Ginny. There were murmurs of agreement. Alona just sat to the side, a resolute expression in her dainty features but still not daring to face any of the girls.

"But, Gin, just what will we do now?" asked Pansy.

"What we must do now is just keep calm and think. We need to figure out what our next step is, NOT immediately go at each other's throats," said Ginny, looking specifically at Andrea and Alona. "Can we handle that, team?"

"YES!" hollered the girls.

"Great. Now, I suggest we all head back in before the Hogwarts population starts complaining that we were away from them too long," said Ginny with what she hoped looked like a genuine grin. The girls laughed, helping each other up.

Then, as they all trailed inside, Ginny thought back to what Pansy had said. But, Gin, just what will we do now?

If only she had a clue herself.

~+~+~