She ran as fast as she could once she got outside.  She stumbled at the door of the locker rooms and burst inside, interrupting Harry's pre-game pep talk.

          "Well, Ginny.  So glad you could join us," said Harry in his best teacher voice, and winked.  "Have a seat." Ginny gave him a small smile, and sat down to Katie Bell, one of the other Chasers who was now in her 7th year.

          "As I was saying," Harry said, glancing at Ginny and smiling, "This match is going to be harder than ever.  We've got the worst playing conditions imaginable, and we're playing against Ravenclaw. Their team, at times, can be hard to beat." He looked over his newly-recruited team: Ginny, Katie, and Neville Longbottom were the Chasers; Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas were Beaters; and of course, Ron was Keeper.

          Harry ran his fingers through his hair anxiously, and then grinned when he remembered someone else who used to do the same.  He then glanced over to Ginny, who was lacing up her Quidditch boots and tying back her long, fiery red hair.  He couldn't help but smile at her.  He wanted to know when she had gotten so pretty, and why on earth she had to be his best friend's sister.

          "However," Harry continued, shaking off the fluttering feeling in his stomach that he got when he looked at her, "I have faith in you all.  You've trained really hard, and I'm confident in your skills.  We've got great teamwork, and all of you are really dedicated to the team, which I admire and appreciate.  I think this match will be a good one." As he finished, his team continued to look at him expectantly. 

Ginny smiled at him.  "Hem hem," she said, in her best Umbridge impression.  "I would like to add that our team this year is unbeatable, now that we've got the best captain on the planet!"

"Hear, hear!" Ron yelled.  Harry turned slightly pink.

"Oh, and don't tell Angelina I said that," she added.  Harry grinned.

          "You're too kind, Ginny," he said, meeting her eyes.  He found it hard to break his gaze with hers, and when he finally did, they both blushed.  Harry glanced at his watch.  "Well, I think it's about time for us to be on the pitch.  Let's go!"

          The team got up nervously and headed toward the team entrance to the stadium.  As they climbed the never-ending staircase to the top, Harry was overcome with uneasiness.  Ginny seemed to be reading his mind, and said, "Don't worry, Harry.  We'll do fine." As an afterthought, she added, "And I meant what I said back there.  You really are a fantastic captain."

          Harry felt another blush creep up his cheeks.  "Thanks."

          They had reached the top of the stairs.  The team got into their formation to fly out, with the Keeper and Seeker in the front.  Ron looked anxiously out at the hundreds of soaked people in the stands.  Harry cleared his throat.  "Um, Ron, I don't think you're going to be able to see Hermione from here.  If I were you I'd just concentrate on the game."

          Ron chuckled weakly.  "Yeah, I s'pose you're right." He was just about to wish his best friend good luck when the magnified commentator's voice was heard above the noise of the crowd.  Actually, what the audience heard was not the familiar, jovial voice of Lee Jordan, but a high, squeaky voice belonging to Colin Creevey.

          "Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first match of the season: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" Each side of the crowd cheered as their house teams were announced.  "Madam Hooch has entered the pitch.  The teams have flown to the center of the field …"

          Harry flew to his place in the starting formation, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  The rain pounded on his head as he tried to gain composure.  When he opened his eyes, however, he was not greeted with the most pleasant sight.  Across from him, on what looked like a brand new broom, was Cho Chang.  Her wet hair clung to her face, and Harry couldn't help but think how pretty she was.  But then she met his gaze and gave him a dirty look.  Harry sighed and looked at his team below him.  Ginny happened to be looking up into the sky when she caught his eye and mouthed "Good Luck!" Harry felt reassured all of a sudden, and set his jaw determinedly.

          "And… They're off!" Colin's high-pitched voice rang out over the crowd.  Ginny took off after the Quaffle, catching it in midair and passing it across the field to Katie.  "Gryffindor in possession of the… oh yes, the Quaffle.  I think… Katie Bell has it now, and she's heading toward the rings.... Oh, nice block by Ravenclaw!" Colin obviously didn't know that much about Quidditch, and was having a lot of trouble commentating on the match.  Even Professor McGonagall, seated next to him, seemed to be getting frustrated with his lack of knowledge on the sport.

          "Ah, now the Keeper's thrown the…ball… back out to the Ravenclaw Chasers.  They're heading toward the other end, and look's like they're about to score—Oh, what a great save by… one of those Weasleys, can't remember which….  So now he's thrown it back in, and there's Ginny, she's zooming to the other end, and—"

          Colin was cut off by the tremendous roaring from the Gryffindor side of the stands.  As Ginny flew away from the ring she had just scored through and wiped the rain out of her eyes, she squinted at the barely visible stands of red and gold.  She could have sworn that she heard singing coming from over there, but it must have been her imagination.

          High above everything was Harry, and when he saw little Ginny score her first goal as Chaser, he cheered along with the rest of the Gryffindors.  Then he went back into Seeker-mode, when he scanned the stadium for any glint of gold.  He could barely see through the rain, but it looked like Cho was tailing him, as she had the first time he had played against her.  Harry faintly remembered Oliver Wood's words: "This is no time to be a gentleman, Harry! Knock her off her broom if you have to!" He smiled.  That was exactly what he intended to do.

          "And the Ravenclaw keeper has thrown the Quaffle back out to the Chasers after a superb… erm… goal by Ginny Weasley." Colin turned to Professor McGonagall seated next to him.  "They're called goals, right, Professor?" His voice was still magnified, however, so even though he whispered, the entire stadium heard.  His confusion with the game earned several laughs from the audience.  As for McGonagall, however, she seemed to be loosing her patience with him.  She pointed angrily back at the pitch, where the players had continued playing.  "Oh, right.  Neville Longbottom's got the—Quaffle—now.  He's one of the rookies on the Gryffindor team, and he seems to be doing well—Oh, never mind.  It looks like he's having a bit of trouble!"

          Neville had not had very positive experiences with broomsticks in the past, and this game seemed to be a repeat of one of his last times on a broom.  He had gotten the Quaffle from one of the Ravenclaw Chasers and seemed to be doing fine, until he tried to hit a burst of speed and nearly fell forward off his broom.  Luckily, Ginny got there just in time.

          "Neville! Are you okay?" she yelled to him over the roar of the crowd.

          "I'm fine!" Neville yelled back.  He tried to right himself on his broomstick, and then nearly slipped off again.  "I take it back! Help!"

          Ginny sighed in frustration at Neville's clumsiness, and flew over to help him.  She quickly pulled him back on his broom, and took the dripping Quaffle from him.  The redhead looked up, prepared to go toward the Ravenclaw rings once more, but all she saw were the three opposing Chasers heading straight for her.  Ginny quickly dove to avoid them, producing cheers from the Gryffindor side of the crowd.  Without thinking, she flew as fast as she could toward the other end of the pitch, the pouring rain stinging her face.

          "Whoa, there goes Ginny, as fast as a…a… speeding bullet, about to score on Ravenclaw again!" Colin squealed as Ginny did just that.  She scored spectacularly, and when the keeper attempted to pass the Quaffle back to one of the Ravenclaws, Ginny intercepted it and made another two goals.

          The crowd was going wild.  The match continued much like this, with Ginny and Katie making all the goals, and Neville occasionally passing the ball, which was all he would trust himself to do.  Harry kept circling the field in search of the Snitch, Cho close behind him.

          About a half hour later, the score was 170-20, Gryffindor.  Ginny was playing a superb game, as were the other players on her team.  Harry was having great difficulty finding the Golden Snitch through the pouring rain.  But then, next to the deserted Gryffindor goal posts, was a glint of gold.

          Using all the speed and energy he had been saving the whole game, Harry took off at an amazing speed after the tiny winged ball.  Cho noticed this, of course, and zoomed after him.  Her new broomstick must have been just as good as Harry's Firebolt, because she was gaining on him.  They were neck-in-neck as they reached the spot where the Snitch hovered.  More cheers rang out from the crowd as one of the teams scored again, but Harry heard none of it.  There was nothing between him and that Snitch.  Nothing, except—

          The Snitch was in his arm's length when a thin, strong arm pushed him violently out of the way.  Harry quickly tried to gain his composure as the loud buzzer signaling the end of the game sounded.  He shook the water out of his face.  He had lost.  He had failed his team.

          He looked over and saw Cho with a very smug look on her face as she grasped the Snitch in her hand.  Harry looked to the ground, and was ready to fly down dejectedly when he felt a heavy pounding on his back that was definitely not the rain.  He turned, and saw Ron slapping him hard on the back, yelling, "We won! We won!"
          "No, Ron, we didn't," Harry said sadly, "I didn't catch it.  I lost.  We lost."

          He was horrified when he saw that his best mate was laughing at him.  "We didn't lose, Harry! Ginny scored again! We won, 180 to 170!" Harry couldn't believe it.  They had won, thanks to Ginny.  Ron laughed again, and motioned to Harry to join him on the ground, where the Gryffindor team had assembled around their star Chaser.  He and Ron cheered along with the rest of their team, and some of the students from the stands had joined the team on the field, Hermione among them.  She gave Ron a quick hug and peck on the cheek that left him slightly pink before motioning to Neville and Luna.  They and some of the other students began singing at the top of their voice: