Chapter 10
“Why do I even have to go with you?” Alex complained, “I just want to get back to the dorms and get my DADA homework done.”
“DADA? That is your excuse? As if Bode and Rosier haven’t taught you guys more than my class have learned in our first two years anyway,” Lestrange brushed her objections away. Turning to Ginny he continued, “it’s been five minutes since the Hufflepuffs went up to the castle, should we do it?”
Ginny nodded, “Alex, stay here and if someone shows up, start to talk really loud with them and make as much noise as possible.”
“Great, first I will stand here alone like a complete loner, then I will start acting like a crazy person. Aiden, remind me, why am I even doing this?” Alex objected.
“We are your favourite teammates, and you want to support us in the crusade of revenge against our party-pooping, unfair Captain.” Aiden tried to convince her with his most charming smile. “We can’t let him get away with giving us ten laps just for having fun! You do realise we ran around that pitch for over half an hour before he let us go?”
“He did give you two those laps for laughing at him falling over from avoiding the bludger… And you think pulling a prank on him will be a good idea? Really? I think maybe Davies and Samuels will be upgraded to my favourite teammates. They never tried to get me into trouble…”
“No, because neither of them has broken a rule in their entire life… cowards…“ Aiden muttered.
“Please Alex…” Ginny tried her best with puppy eyes at her best friend who just rolled her eyes back.
“Fine. But if you get caught, I had nothing to do with this.”
“You’re the best! Come on Lestrange.” Ginny tried to play if off as what they were doing was risk free. They all knew that irritating their Captain was a real risk. Ginny knew that the blame would never end up on Alex, and if it did – Pucey and Warrington would never let Flint take it out on her. Ginny herself, well, she had a feeling that Warrington would see it as her poking the bear. But she felt pretty sure from her last conversation down at the lake with Warrington that Flint would not throw anything at her that she could not handle – as long as she did not get caught red handed and he would be mad enough to just react without thinking. When it came down to it Lestrange probably carried the heaviest risk – he knew it as well, but did not seem bothered at all. Ginny did not know if she should be impressed or call a Mind-Healer for him.
Sneaking into the now vacated locker room they went straight for the locker they knew Flint usually kept his broom in when he did not take it back to the common room to polish it.
“Lucky he left it yesterday,” Ginny whispered. Aiden nodded back as he pulled his wand out.
“Alohomora”
Ginny rolled her eyes, “No way he is going to be that stupid…”
“Well, you try something then?”
“I got an idea,” Ginny said, pulling a hairpin out of her pocket.
“Going to fix your hair?” Aiden said snidely.
“Watch and learn,” Ginny hoped she would manage at least, she had not tried since Fred taught her how to pick a lock the summer before she started Hogwarts.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we try some kind of spell, rumours say you got Rosier to teach you the reductor curse?”
“Rumours? Alex told you, you mean… Yeah, but don’t you think Flint will notice his locker blown in pieces? And what if I get his broom as well, he will literarily kill us, not even Warrington would be able to stop him…”
Aiden paled, “okey, no blowing up his broom then. Hmm, maybe Spectaculum” an orange shimmer appeared on the locker. Okey, he definitely warded it, I think that might be an Intego or a Sepio involved to get that shape. Either one of them should collide with magic we use to unlock it if we don’t dismantle it.” He went silent for a bit, “I don’t have any clue how to dismantle a ward, Farley still do our dorm-wards…”
“Nope, that is why we are going to try this muggle trick,” Ginny held the pin up before inserting it into the lock.
“Muggle trick? You got to be joking? Are you as muggle crazy as your father is supposed to be?”
“Don’t talk like that about my dad!” Just because she had not written to him since that short message before Yule did not mean anyone else was allowed to ridicule him. “And that is exactly why this might work; wizards always underestimate muggle methods.” She paused, felt the pin hook into the last pin in the locket and twisted. “Aha!” The locker came unlocked and Ginny pulled the door open smiling triumphant at Aiden. “What do you say now?”
“Not bad Weasley,” Aiden admitted before reaching into the locker and pulling out Flints beloved Nimbus 2001.
Ginny hesitated, “Is this really a good idea? He will kill us you know…” the last weeks she actually had managed to follow Alex’ advice and not antagonize the captain. After her talk with Warrington, she had even tried out to ask for his help a few times as well as actually listen to Flint’s coaching. It had worked quite well. He had even agreed to stay after practise a few times to give her advice on and help her out with her favourite moves, the aerial tricks.
“Come on Weasley, don’t be a flobberworm here, I thought you were fun. It’s just a prank and he didn’t have to be as hard on us yesterday – we only laughed; it wasn’t even me who shot that bludger in the last minute after he had landed.” Lestrange coaxed, “besides we will make sure not to get caught! And you can’t back out now, do you have any idea how much my class-mates made fun of me since you told them I was tutoring you in History of Magic and dragged me to the library twice in two days?”
“Okey, let’s do it then,” Ginny took out her wand before she could regret it and look as much as a coward as she felt; Tollo Mittent” a light purple shine girdled the broom.
Aiden took out his own wand; “Praesidium Terminus” a light green vowed into Ginny’s purple shine, he gave it a few seconds before speaking again, ”Coriumdius”. The purple shine seemed to sink into the broom and rendered it looking just as untouched as before. “Don’t look so scared Weasley, I promise it won’t hurt him for reals, we did spend all of today’s lunch researching how to put that height restriction on the curse just because you are a Hufflepuff on the inside.” While talking Aiden had put the Nimbus back into the locker, “ok Gin, do your muggle magic again!”
Ginny looked a bit placated at his words, before putting the hair pin back in and trying to lock the locker again. He was right, it should be completely harmless. Had it been on one of her brothers she would think it was completely hilarious. She did not want to admit it to her older teammate but she was a bit scared of how Flint would react. He would not kick her off the team, Warrington would not let him, she hoped – beside he would not risk having a weaker team just to get back at her. And she believed Warrington that Flint would never punish her like he did Malfoy. Just laps around the pitch she could handle. But still. “There, I think it is locked again,” Ginny looked back up at Aiden who tried the locker door before smiling at her and nodding.
“Relax, I take the blunt of it if he finds out it was us, no worries – I’m like a wizard on a white Hippogriff!”
Ginny snorted, “I’m pretty sure I know how to protect myself. If you want too, I can demonstrate this new Bat Bogey Hex I found in a book Hestia got me for Yule?” Still bickering the two of them made their way out of the locker rooms and headed back up to the castle with Alex.