To pick your battles
The fourteen players of Slytherins Quidditch team hit the ground after the first practice of the school year. Ginny smiled happily towards Alex as both of them tried to catch their breath after the practice game that had ended the almost three-hour long Sunday morning practice session.
“White, good speed but you really have to practice that shooting technique, pair up with Adrian next practise. Lestrange – a bit less waiving around that club and more actually hitting the Bludgers ah? See if you can get Derrick or Bole to do some one-on-one with you before next practice. Weasley, you need to get your speed up – maybe start with throwing away that poor excuse of a school broom and buy your own. Stay after and I give you some advice on which one.”
Damn, there was no way she was going to be able to get a new broom anytime soon. Ginny felt her happy mode evaporate. She had been saving a couple of years, but still – she only had like a tenth of what it would cost to get a Cleansweep Seven, not to speak or even think about any of the newer Nimbus models. She looked up from her thought to watch Flint berating Samuels about his bad performance. He did have a point; the boy had been so nervous during practice that he had let way more goals in than he had managed to save. Though she was sure that getting a scolding about it in front of the entire team probable wouldn’t make him less nervous.
“… you do realize that it had been more affective to put a troll in front of the posts? At least it would have covered the one it was standing in front of.” Ok, this was taking it to far, Ginny could see Samuels eyes getting moisturized. “Why don’t you teach him how to do it instead of yelling at him?” Everyone’s eyes snapped towards her; this might not have been her best idea.
“Who is Captain of this team, you or me? I didn’t even want you in the team, I will not let you tell me how I’m going to run it.” Ginny flinched at the cold glare Flint sent her but wasn’t going to back down that easily.
“You. But…”
“No buts, five laps if since you can’t be silent while I’m speaking.”
Ginny opened her mouth to continue the argument but stopped herself when Malfoy caught her eye and shook his head. Belated she remembered his advice from last year ‘Don’t start a battle if you can’t win the war.’ Instead, she mounted her broom to do her laps before going up to the Castle for a long-awaited lunch.
“Not by broom you stupid girl, by foot – I want you to run five times around the pitch. It’s not that hard. The rest of you, clear out – I see you Tuesday at six, remember to eat an early dinner.”
It was a bit rich of him to call her stupid, Flint wasn’t really known as the brightest bulb. She had an insult ready on her tongue when she felt a nudge from Warrington behind her.
“Don’t provoke him more, just do as he says.” Reluctantly, Ginny handed Alex her broom, mumbled “save me a seat?” and started to run her first lap as the rest of the team wandered off the pitch towards the Great Hall.
Doing some calculations in her head she thought the pitch probably had a circumference on about 300 to 350 meters. So, five laps should be about a mile. She hadn’t really run before, outside of being late to class or playing some game at the Burrow, but a mile shouldn’t be that hard, right? Though it was a bit uncomfortable having Flint sitting on the railing of the stands watching her. Already after the first lap she realized that she wasn’t as fit as she thought, running was actually exhausting – especially after a three-hour long Quidditch practice. “Come on Weasley, if you put some speed into it, I won’t have to be here forever!” He was so annoying, but she did increase her pace – didn’t really want to risk antagonizing him more today.
Though after the second lap her shanks was burning like they never had before, just behind the bone. She felt her pace going down and tried to keep a limp out of her step. Should it really feel like this?
“Weasley, what’s wrong?” Flint had left his spot on in the stand and was jogging effortless next to her.
“Nothing” Probably best not to complain, he had looked pretty mad at her before. Also, her breathing was getting faster and made it hard to speak at the same time as she was running.
“Don’t take me for stupid, Weasley.” Ginny dared to look up towards him, he didn’t look as mad as before, just a bit annoyed. She took a chance and make a gesture down, towards her legs “They hurt,” Ginny managed to get out between her breaths.
Looking down, Flint frowned and stopped, grabbing her arm and thus forcefully making her stop as well. “Where are your quidditch-shoes?” Ginny felt herself blush involuntary. “I don’t own any.”
“Come on, you have to know that you can’t run in your school boots, you really shouldn’t do any ground training in them. It can hurt your feet and legs; don’t you know anything? You shouldn’t even use them in the air – they would limit your agility. Not even Weasleys can be too poor to get some trainers.”
Ginny’s embarrassment was trumped by her anger. “It’s not about not knowing, If I spend money on trainers, I will set my broom savings back to zero. Then I won’t get rid of that school broom that you were nagging me about before I graduate!” Ginny felt herself yelling and blushed again. She made a move to continue her laps but Flint caught her arm and dragged her back. “I just told you not to run in those. And never yell at me again.” If he hadn’t been still holding her still by the arm, she would have backed away seeing the way Flint glared at her. He released her while still glaring. “Get off my pitch.”
Walking up to the castle from the Quidditch pitch, Ginny fumed. She really had tried to hold her temper but money was a bit of a sour subject. He was right about the shoes though, all her brothers had quidditch-shoes when they played. But her mother had never gotten any for her, guess that was just one of the things she thought girls didn’t need. And her pride didn’t really allow her to ask for them. Especially since she and her mother never really had reconnected after the whole getting sorted into Slytherin thing. At least Flint had let her go without any talk about a new broom, Ginny guessed she had gotten her point through at last.
Still in a really bad mood Ginny entered the castle, on her way to the Great Hall, hoping that she would be able to catch the end of the Sunday lunch. A couple of corridors away from the Great Hall Ginny heard a high, childish voice, presumably belonging to a first-year “Please let me go.” Ginny increased her pace until she got to a side corridor leading away. There saw the shapes of two boys, maybe sixth- or seventh-years, judging by the size, standing over a smaller boy. “What do you say Steven, should we let the mudblood go?”
A voice in the back of Ginny’s head, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Hestia’s, told her this probably was a bad situation to barge into unprepared and without back-up. But her reckless side had already tricked her into drawing her wand and taking a few steps into the side-corridor. “Let him go,” the older boys twisted around. She could see behind them that the small figure that they had been leaning over took his chance and run off. Good, now she only had to get away herself as well.
“What do we have here, a little Blood traitor?” Damn, she recognized one of the seventh-years, Kyle Travers. The known bully of Slytherin. The same one who sent her to the Hospital Wing last year and there was no Rosier around to save her this time. Ginny realized, too late, that this probably hadn’t been a good fight to start.
“Look, I don’t want any trouble, I will just go on to lunch, okey?” Ginny started to back away.
Travers friend, dressed in a Ravenclaw tie, laughed at her and sent a purple hex toward her. Her chaser reflexes saved her by an inch but now she was backed up against the wall. Traves looked at her and raised his wand, lazily saying “Digiaugeo”. Ginny felt a tingling sensation in her fingers and she saw them growing slow but steady. Before losing the ability to aim she managed to get out “Locomotor Wibbly” and pointed her wand towards the Ravenclaw boy who laughed and sidestepped her jinx.
“Weasley!” A voice behind her exclaimed “I was just looking for you, we forgot to discuss what broom to get.” Flint had showed up behind her. “Oh, hi there Kyle, Steven!” he waved towards his classmates “I see you found my chaser; I hope I’m not interrupting something but I do have to discuss some team stuff with her.” Before the other boys had the opportunity to say something Flint had dragged her off the side-corridor and towards the Great Hall. “Blimey, Weasley, are you trying to antagonize the whole of seventh grade today? Did he get you with anything?” Ginny lifted her hands embarrassed. “Finite Crescere, there – that worked for Professor Flitwick when Travers hit Wendy with it in class last week. Though I’m not sure mine is strong enough, take a detour to Madam Pomfrey if they are still tickling after lunch, counter-curses aren’t my strong suit.”
“Thanks, and thanks for saving me.” Ginny still wasn’t sure why he had saved her, especially since he had still been mad at her when she had left the pitch. And everything she had heard about the guy from her brothers said that he was a real jerk. But she was grateful for the help whoever it came from, she had been completely out of her league going up against two seventh-years.
“I get wanting to hex you, but stay away from those guys Weasley. Yeah, yeah, I heard about the famous Weasley temper and all, but for the sake of Salazar – learn to control it and learn who not to antagonize.”
“Like you?” Ginny asked in a failing attempt to relieve the atmosphere.
“Merlin Weasley, don’t you know who Travers and Taylor are? I’m not saying I want you to piss me off, I will snap one day – my patience is really short with annoying twelve-year olds. But those guys will hurt you for real, not make you run some laps on a Quidditch pitch. Not only are their fathers are known Death Eaters, I think at least Travers’ father is in Azkaban. I’m not in the habit of judging people for their parents’ ways, it would be a bit hypocritical, but they are themselves exactly as invested in Dark Magic and as ruthless as rumours have it.”
“I didn’t know, and I didn’t know it was them in that corridor before going in, I just heard someone yelling for help…”
“Well, make sure you know next time before barging in, I never met a Slytherin with less self-perseverance” they had reached the Great Hall and walked towards the Slytherin table. “And Weasley, do try to ask your parents for those shoes even if you don’t manage a new broom.” Ginny nodded before making her way further down the table where she could see Flora and Alex waving to her.