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Quidditch at the Burrow | ||||
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Category: Pre-OotP, Post-OotP, Post-DH/AB Characters:All Genres: Drama, General Warnings: Mild Language Story is Complete Rating: G Reviews: 5 Summary: Harry goes flying at the Burrow after the war. He takes a moment to reminisce all the previous times he has played there. Hitcount: Story Total: 2443 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. |
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Quidditch at the Burrow May 1998 It was two weeks after the War. The events of the Battle were still fresh on Harry’s mind. He was wandering around aimlessly on a glorious, spring afternoon in the Weasleys’ paddocks. Through Kingsley’s influence, he had nothing to do that particular afternoon. The preceding days were a busy affair for Harry and his friends. Interviews, testimonies, funerals and other legal matters had constantly kept them occupied. The day was sunny and bright. He was lost in thought. ‘Was it all worth it?’ thought Harry. Of course it was. The only downside was the price paid for the Wizarding peace was just too much. A family had lost their son. A toddler had lost his parents. Many others had lost their loved ones. It was war. People knew the risks involved. Yet, Harry couldn’t help but blame himself. It was simply in his nature to take up the responsibility. ‘Hi!’ cried out a familiar voice, breaking him out of his reverie. Looking around, Harry saw Ginny walk up to him with a blazing look on her face. She had a broomstick in both hands. She threw one at him and said matter-of-factly ‘We’re flying, Harry.’ Catching the broomstick, Harry merely smiled and nodded. He mounted his broom and took off. She had given him an old broom that was in the shed. It was nowhere near as good as the Firebolt. However, Harry could care less. The cool, rushing wind always cleared his emotions. He began to fly in lazy, aimless circles in the air. Ginny followed him closely behind. ‘Do you remember the last time we went flying out here?’ she asked. ‘Yeah, I do.’ replied Harry and thought about those relatively carefree days two years ago. August 1996 It was a cloudy summer morning. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were getting ready to play a two-a-side Quidditch. The Daily Prophet hadn’t carried good news. Many more muggles were being murdered by the Death Eaters. Some of the experienced Aurors had died as well. The mood at the breakfast table was grim. Ginny was having none of that and had forced the trio to play a game of Quidditch. ‘Come on! Let’s go flying! It’ll clear out our minds.’ said Ginny. ‘Since when are you so interested in Quidditch anyways?’ asked Ron in annoyance. ‘Hey! I was the one caught the snitch last time because the Chosen One was banned. Forgot that in your glorious moment, did you?’ ‘Hey! That was Umbridge’s fault, not mine! Besides, you should be taking my side because I was defending your family.’ said Harry in an indignant tone. ‘Oh, relax Harry. I was just refreshing the memory of my idiotic brother.’ replied Ginny. ‘Why do we have to play Quidditch? I’ve got revising to do. Did you know that we have nonverbal spells to be practised this year? It might be useful to get a head start, especially considering the present climate.’ said an irate Hermione. Mrs. Weasley, who was listening to this argument had had enough as Ron started to argue. ‘Alright, you lot. You should get some more sun. Now OUT!’ shouted the Weasley matriarch. The children had gone through a lot in the past few weeks. They were growing far too fast for her liking. Some games will certainly help them remain kids, she thought. So that’s how the four teenagers found themselves in the paddock playing Quidditch. Hermione had borrowed Charlie’s old broom. Clearly, this was not something she enjoyed. They had played with an old worn-out Quaffle. Two hours later, ‘Way to go, Ginny!’ cried out Ron as Ginny scored another goal past a helpless Hermione. Harry had to chuckle a bit watching the siblings’ skills. Ginny certainly, was exceptional. He would have to pick her in the team. Ron was good as well. He had blocked most of Harry’s shots. If only Ron could replicate his form in the matches. Hermione was still not at ease after flying for a good couple of hours. Their team was losing spectacularly. Since Hermione rarely strayed past their goal, Harry had to do most of the work, which was, dispossess Ginny and score past Ron. Harry was not used to playing chaser. He could weave in and out of teams and was there to seek the snitch, not bludgeon past his opponents and score goals. Despite being on the losing team, Harry was pleased by the Weasleys’ performance. Gryffindor would certainly be a force to deal with, he thought. However, replacing the Weasley twins was an arduous task. So lost in thought was Harry, that he nearly missed a pass from Hermione, who had somehow saved Ron’s shot and passed it to Harry. However, he recovered quickly and raced to score a goal past an empty hoop. ‘You hardly tried, Ron! You practically passed the ball to her.’ cried Ginny. ‘Hey, your pass was off the mark and I had only a split second to shoot.’ replied Ron. ‘No one was marking you! You could’ve aimed and shot!’ ‘Well, I at the least, made Hermione pull off a save!’ ‘Ah! That’s it! I’m done. You do not have to gift saves to me, Ronald! I’m going to go!’ huffed Hermione and began to descend. Ron was taken aback and followed her as well. The two began to argue as they moved towards the Burrow. They hardly glanced back and seemed to have forgotten the other two. ‘Well, now it’s a fair game, Potter! Get ready to have your arse whipped!’ cried Ginny and began to fly away. The game now began in earnest. Not being restrained by Hermione’s weakness, Harry flew with more license. Ginny made him work hard for his goals. Harry could just about keep up with her because of his broom. He certainly was not made for the Chasing game. ‘Wherever on earth did you learn to fly like that?’ asked an exhausted but delighted Harry ‘You really are amazing on that old broom. You’ll certainly make the team.’ ‘Oh! Don’t flatter me, Captain. It’s probably because you’ve gone slow in your old age!’ said Ginny and threw out a tongue at him. ‘I’m serious, Ginny. On a good broom, you’ll be unstoppable. Here, have a ride on my broom. Gryffindor will be amazing this year, I am sure.’ Touched and delighted at his confidence in her, Ginny grinned. His words meant a lot to her. Her family didn’t think much of her flying skills. Her brothers certainly didn’t support her in flying. They would never let her play with them when they were younger. But Harry was different. Harry wouldn’t just praise anyone lightly. After a bit of hesitation and convincing on Harry’s part, she rode the broom. It was exhilarating and she took off laughing like a banshee. Harry admired her from the ground. The diffused sunlight through the clouds struck her hair at all angles and created a vivid red colour all around her head. It resembled the colour that shot out of his wand at the Graveyard. His mood quickly plummeted, bringing him to reality. Flying certainly distracted him from the grim present times for the good part of three hours. Ginny’s plan seemed to have worked, he thought. Refusing to let the bad mood trouble him, he continued to watch her zoom around and a smile lit up on his face. Sirius wouldn’t have wanted him to mope around. Looking at Ginny fly made his heart a lot peaceful. ‘Harry! Harry! Did you just see me fly past that tree with the crooked branches? I didn’t even scratch myself. Firebolt really is amazing, Harry!’ she chattered delightfully as she landed. She handed him back the Firebolt with a touch of reverence. ‘We should probably get you a new broom, Ginny. You can’t just fly on those old school brooms.’ said Harry. ‘Yeah. Tell that to my parents. Mum will nearly have a heart attack. She was already outraged when she realised I had played last year. Besides, I can use Fred or George’s old brooms. They don’t need it anymore, do they?’ said Ginny reddening slightly. They really couldn’t afford a new broom. Making the Burrow the new Headquarters had certainly set them back slightly. There were a lot more security measures at the Burrow now that Harry was here. She certainly wouldn’t tell him all of that. ‘Yes, of course. With their business booming, I doubt they’ll have any time to fly around. Come on. Let’s get going.’ said Harry having sensed her internal musings. Money was a sensitive subject with the Weasleys, especially Ron. Deciding not to embarrass her further, he began to talk about some of the nuances of the game. They walked back together to the Burrow for lunch. Thus, began their daily habit of playing Quidditch. The four of them would play until noon before heading back to the Burrow. Harry was rather looking forward to Ginny’s company especially after Ron and Hermione left. The two would practise and comment on the finer points of their game. The previous time he had played at the Burrow, it wasn’t as much fun, he thought. August 1994 Harry Potter was shaken from the events from the Quidditch World Cup. What had started out to be an enjoyable and fun-filled affair had instead turned out to be a nightmare. Mr. Weasley had left to work immediately. Percy had also left along with him. Mrs. Weasley began to cook with a mixture of fear and concern for her family. The girls had shut themselves in Ginny’s room. Bill, Charlie, Harry, Ron, Fred and George all moved to the Weasley paddock. They picked up some round apples from the nearing tree and began throwing it at each other, taking turns, catching the apples. ‘This is just like cricket. This is how they practise catches. They throw the ball at each other in pairs.’ said Harry. ‘Really? I never knew that those small insects could catch actual balls!’ replied Fred, mock-seriously. ‘Nah! It’s the name of that nutter game that those Muggles play. Sort of like throwing small bludger balls at bats.’ said Ron. Harry looked at him incredulously. ‘Since when do you know about muggle sports, Ron?’ Ron’s ears slightly tinged red. He said, ‘I’ve looked at those Muggle Studies book Hermione keeps reading and saw a photo of the same.’ ‘Oh, look! Ickle Ronnikins is taking an interest in Muggle Studies. He probably is going to take after his father, working round the clock with Muggles.’ teased Geroge in a serious tone. ‘No, don’t be silly George. Ronnikins is taking more of an interest at a student that takes Muggle Studies. Don’t you, Ronald?’ replied Fred. Ron spluttered and threw out a big apple with extra force in Fred’s direction. ‘Gee, Ron! You must learn to control your temper if you have any chance of working with those Muggles.’ taunted George. Sensing a fight about to break out, Harry quickly asked ‘What would happen to those muggles in that camp?’ as he caught an apple. ‘Like they said, they’d be obliviated and sent into memory therapy.’ said Charlie. ‘Memory therapy?’ asked Harry curiously. ‘Obliviated Muggles are sent into the memory therapy ward at St.Mungo’s. They’re sent only rarely in case they have a lot of magic memories that is difficult to make them forget in one go.’ said Bill throwing an apple to George. ‘What happens after the treatment?’ ‘They’re patched up and sent home. They are filled with alternative memories as to what happened in the preceding days.’ ‘But, the camp manager was there with us right, while we were leaving I mean? Wouldn’t they have sent him and his family immediately?’ ‘Not until there are replacements to take over. It’ll take a lot of cleaning up to do. I wonder if England will be given a chance to host the World Cup in the near future again. Other ministries won’t take chances, especially if You-Know-Who is involved.’ said Bill in a grave tone, catching an apple from Charlie. They played for some time until the girls called them back for lunch. Harry’s mind was however far away. He rubbed at his scar absent-mindedly. It seemed like Voldemort was somehow behind all this. His scar had hurt three days ago. It was no coincidence. He left the paddock in a hurry to see if Hedwig had returned. He certainly wasn’t worried the last time they had played out here. August 1992 Harry had never seen a house quite like the Burrow. It was finally nice not to do some chores and playing at the paddock was a definite plus. It was turning out to be one of the best summer vacations for him. They were playing Quidditch again today. After having caught the apples quite a few number of times, they began to take turns on the Nimbus 2000. ‘I must say Fred, this broom is really amazing.’ said a happy George as all the others were watching him fly. ‘Yeah, George. Shame we can’t play ‘Race Ronnikins’ again!’ replied Fred mournfully. ‘Race Ronnikins?’ asked Harry ‘Yeah. We will try to beat Ron on foot while he rides his Shooting Star.’ explained George. ‘To be fair, it was not a competition anymore. Ron would still lose even when we walked!’ said Fred. ‘Hey! I can beat you all in a good broom!’ cried out Ron indignantly. ‘Of course Ron! Behold Ronald Weasley! Future Gryffindor and England Quidditch Star’ said George and made a mocking bow. Ron cried out angrily and tried to reach out to George, but he zoomed away. ‘Hey George! Our new game is ‘Evade Ronnikins’! I’d say it’s even better. It’ll give Ron some much needed exercise to match his diet!’ laughed Fred. Harry was watching all this friendly banter with interest. Never had he been in a loving family before. The Weasley twins didn’t tease Ron as much at school. This was how it would have been since their childhood. Percy was always pompous, but the other brothers, he supposed were also fun loving. The Weasleys all loved each other despite their supposed fights and arguments. He looked at them with a bit of happiness, wistfulness and longing. He hoped that one day he might belong to such a family. May 1998 Ron and George joined Harry and Ginny after some time on. The absence of Fred was still fresh on their minds. In the place of three brothers there were only two of them. Ron coaxed George onto the air and soon all the four were flying about. There was no happy dialogues or witty remarks amongst them, just silence with the occasional cry of a bird. Soon, they were passing the Quaffle to each other. All of them were too distracted to think and their bodies began to play on their own. Hermione soon joined them. Harry could still not face George properly. He couldn’t still fathom as to why they did not blame him. They went on like this for a long time. Even Hermione didn’t seem to mind the flying. Flying on a dragon had probably acclimatised her to this, he thought. Seeing them fly about, Percy along with Charlie soon joined them. They were having a holiday and with most of the clan outside, they began to fly as well. Bill and Fleur were at Shell Cottage, with Bill working hard to re-establish Gringotts and their cooperation with the Goblins. Soon, without their conscious thought, they had formed teams and were playing against each other. Harry, Ron and Ginny played against the rest. The match was slow with none really having the heart to play to their full energy. ‘No one blames you, Harry.’ said Charlie without any preamble. Ginny had just scored and all were waiting for the restart. ‘What?’ asked Harry as everyone was going back to position. ‘I know everyone has told you this before. It’s not your fault. We were always at war, with or without you. We’d lost our uncles Fabian and Gideon as well. I liked them and so did Bill. This lot don’t really remember about them, but it was a tough blow to take as children. Mum was really broken though. She had to go through the loss of her brothers along with children to take care as well. However, having to take care of us kids eventually brought her to normality, I guess. Families look out for each other. Mum made it through with Dad’s and our help. We all will also make it.’ ‘Yes. Charlie is correct. You’re also a part of the family, Harry,’ said Percy having heard the conversation ‘I may not have acted well these 3 years, but I’ve understood that families survive through everything. You have been more of a brother and a son for the Weasleys than I have.’ ‘Yeah. But not to every Weasley though. Especially that girl over there.’ said Charlie pointing at his sister. Harry suddenly felt nervous having been confronted by Ginny’s older brothers. The other three, no two, didn’t bother him. But, Bill and Charlie certainly did. Having understood his dilemma, Charlie quickly affirmed his confidence in Harry in being with his sister. The two brothers then went on towards the post leaving Harry alone. Ginny had scored again. She turned around and threw a smile at him. Harry smiled back and reflected on all times that he had played Quidditch in the Burrow. In the summer before the second year, he had hoped to be a part of a loving family. After the World Cup, he had felt nervous and anxious towards his life past Voldemort. Playing and flying with Ginny before his sixth year had actually helped him heal and move past Sirius’ death. That’s when he had probably even fallen for her. Now after the war, even though the times were tough, he finally had the sense of belonging to a family. Things would get better eventually. All would be well. |
| Reviews 5 |
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