"Ginny! Colin! Look!"
Ginny was sitting by the fire in the Gryffindor common room doing some homework over the weekend. They both looked up at the shout of their names. Demelza Robins had just come hurrying through the portrait hole, bearing a wide grin and a broomstick.
"My parents sent me a new broom as an early birthday present!" said Demelza, lifting the broom over her head.
"Brilliant!" said Ginny, jumping to her feet and hurrying over to Demelza, "What model is it?"
"It's a Nimbus two-thousand!" said Demelza, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet in happiness, "It's my birthday tomorrow so my parents sent it as an early present!"
"Wow!" said Colin, "That's the same kind of broom Harry had before it got ripped up by that crazy tree!"
"Can I hold it?" asked Ginny.
Demelza handed the broom to Ginny. She took it and began to examine it. The handle was smooth, and the whole broom had a lightness to it. In comparison to the tired, messy brooms her family owned back home, this was magnificence itself.
"Can we try it out?" asked Colin eagerly.
Ginny looked to Demelza quickly.
"Sure!" said Demelza, "Why don't we go now?"
"Yes!" said Ginny and Colin together.
Ginny was glad to have something to take her mind off of the whole boggart thing that had taken place only a few days ago on Wednesday.
While Viola was still obviously very mad at Ginny, she wasn't the only one. The day after the event occurred, Ginny had asked Bertha, when passing her and Morgana in the hallway, if she was alright.
"Of course I am!" Bertha had growled. Morgana gave her an approving look, then the two stalked off. Apparently despite the fact that Ginny had comforted Bertha and talked to Lupin for her, that didn't mean they could be friendly with each other.
But this bothered Ginny much less than the angry, hurt glares she was receiving from Viola Lestrange.
Ginny felt bad about accusing the girl, but she didn't regret doing it either. Viola was still a prime suspect in Ginny's mind, especially after she remembered something. Ginny had lay in bed Wednesday mulling over the day's events, when she suddenly remembered Viola asking Professor Lupin how to catch a boggart! Ginny didn't see how she could ignore that piece of information. Viola could very well be the culprit.
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Viola and Ava had just come from the common room and were going to meet Hugo in the library, when Viola spotted Ginny Weasley. She was with Colin Creevey and Demelza Robins, who had a broomstick in hand. They were all laughing, smiling and having a good old time as they headed across the entrance hall.
Viola had been trying to think of a way to get back at Ginny ever since Wednesday, but only now did an idea occur to her.
Viola grabbed Ava's arm, pulling her to a stop.
"What?" said Ava, making her blonde curls bounce as she looked around in alarm.
"We're going down to the Quidditch pitch," said Viola, her eyes fixed on the three Gryffindors as they headed outside.
"What?" said Ava with a frown, "Why?"
"Because," said Viola, starting to walk towards the exit.
"But we're supposed to meet Hugo in the library!" said Ava, hurrying after her.
"Fine, you can go," said Viola, "But I'm going to the Quidditch pitch."
"No, I want to go with you!" said Ava, "But why are we going?"
"Because," said Viola, turning to Ginny with a excited sparkle in her brown eyes. "Ginny's going down to the Quidditch pitch and I think it's about time I got back at her, don't you?"
Ava bit her lip. "Oh, Viola, I don't know if that's a good idea!"
Viola's excited expression disappeared to be replaced with one of annoyance.
"Look you agree Ginny accusing me of letting that boggart loose was foul of her, don't you?"
"Well yes, but-"
"Then I need to get revenge!"
Ava sighed. "Well yes. I suppose you do. We'll need to get revenge on someone at one point in our lives . . ."
Viola grinned. "Right. So let's go."
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Ginny's first ever flying lesson at Hogwarts during her first year had gone excellently, as it should've done, seeing as she'd been flying since she was little. She also possessed some natural talent. Colin, well, he did not have that.
She and Demelza both winced as he slipped off landing hard on his bottom while the broom fell to the ground beside him. Unaffected by the fall, Colin jumped immediately to his feet.
"Wow!" he said with a broad grin, "that was so much fun! I wanna go again!"
"Er . . . Colin," said Demelza as he reached for the Nimbus, "Why don't you let Ginny have a turn?"
Colin willingly handed over the broom. Ginny climbed on wearing an excited grin. She had never been on such a good broom before. Ginny kicked off the ground and went speeding into the air.
It was amazing. Utterly amazing.
The cold January air blew Ginny's vivid hair this way and that, and the Nimbus two-thousand cut through the air with grace and speed.
Ginny shot to high in the air and looked out across Hogwarts grounds. She could see everything, the castle, Hagrid's hut, the black lake, and the forbidden forest stretching out around it all.
Up so high, the air was even colder. The slight breeze nipped at her cheeks. When her nose started to run, Ginny decided she would go a little lower and fly around the pitch a couple of times.
As Ginny was going around, she spotted two people in the stadiums, and it wasn't Demelza and Colin. If Ginny was seeing things correctly, they were both wearing Slytherin scarves.
There was a shout from down below and suddenly Ginny's face was being attacked by bat bogeys.
Ginny let out a yelp of alarm, trying to fend the bats off, and stay on her broom at the same time.
Slowly Ginny brought the broom down. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Demelza and Colin came running to her side.
"Ginny are you alright?" Demelza asked.
"Oh, I'll be just fine once we gets these bloody bogey bats away from me!" said Ginny as an especially large one attached itself to her cheek.
Once the three of them managed to get the bats off and away, Ginny asked, "What even happened?"
"It was that girl Viola Lestrange!" said Colin, "She hexed you! I saw her!"
Ginny suddenly knew who the people on the Slytherin scarves must've been.
"It's true," said Demelza, "Her and her friend ran off after you'd been hit. Although I don't know why she would want to hex you!"
"Hmm," was all Ginny said.
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"Where were you two?" demanded Hugo when they came to sit by him in the great hall at the Hufflepuff table, "Did you forget we were supposed to meet up in the library?"
"No," said Ava, "We didn't forget."
"We just didn't come," said Viola.
"Well why not?" asked Hugo.
"I was busy getting revenge?"
"On who?" demanded Hugo.
"Ginny Weasley," said Viola.
"Viola did her Bat Bogey Hex," said Ava.
"Aw, why didn't you tell me you were going to do that?" said Hugo, "Your Bat Bogey hex is wicked!"
But Viola wasn't listening to Hugo's praise. Ginny Weasley had just walked into the great hall with her friends.
From across the hall Ginny met Viola's eyes. Ginny narrowed her eyes at her, then, with a toss of her red hair, she went to sit down at the Gryffindor table.
It was clear they were both on the same page. Once again they were enemies rather than friends.