Author's Notes: I do not own Harry Potter. I hope everyone likes this chapter as much as the last.

Catching On

Two Weeks Later

Ginny felt Sarah's hawk-like gaze on her back. She needs to stop making me the target. It would be okay if the other girl was just after the Quaffle Ginny had tucked into the crook of her elbow, but the way she was flying, just barreling through the air, suggested it was more than that. She's going to miss seeing the- CRUNCH- Bludger.

Sarah's grunt of pain came twenty feet lower than her last location. Her broom was aimed straight at the ground. Not knowing why she would spare the witch even this ounce of sympathy, Ginny told her to "Suck it up," before speeding again towards the goal posts.

When she got near enough, she pulled back her arm, released the red ball from her grasp and watched it go soaring through the hoop. The enemy Keeper, a girl named Astrid Deary, cursed loudly and threw down her hands. The crowd was going wild.

It had been a hard couple of weeks for the competitors. Every morning, they had to wake up before dawn for warm-ups and exercises. Keepers and Seekers were given Quaffles and Beaters' bats, told "any decent player is able to cover their teammates' position, so if you want to prove to us you're worth the money we're spending just on your practice jersey, don't stand there. Do something."

Ginny had impressed the captain, Gwenog Jones, with her versatility, which is why she was one of the fourteen girls left: her, Sarah, Wendy Lackett, Grace Foger, and Maci Janton were out for the three Chaser positions. Brenda was still in it for Keeper, along with Astrid. There were also two seekers and four beaters left, perfect for a last-day scrimmage.

Ginny shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Wendy, throw it here," she called out to the other girl, who tossed the Quaffle over her shoulder and then sped away. Ginny surged forward, this time aiming for the left hoop. She changed the angle of her shot just at the last moment, after Astrid had lurched in the wrong direction.

"Score!" someone yelled. Ginny would have guessed it was one of the red-heads taking up a large block of the stands. All the girls were surprised (and thrilled!) to learn that their family and friends had been invited down to the pitch to watch them play, though their screaming and cheering had assaulted them practically from the moment they woke up.

"Lookie here, folks," the commentator sounded excited, "It appears GiGi Michaels has spotted the Snitch!" Ginny held her breath while her team-mate executed a seriously risky dive, her opponent right on her heels. "Almost got it…."

The second the little gold ball fell into GiGi's hand, Ginny knew that they had won. She was practically tackled by Brenda who had become an increasingly good friend to her, "Impossible! Amazing! Can you believe we actually did it?"

"Why are you so surprised?" Ginny asked, "I mean, I understand if you doubted your own Keeping Skills… but you had to know Wendy, Grace and I are so good there would hardly be anything for you to do." Brenda could tell Ginny was teasing, but gave her a playful punch in the shoulder anyway.

"You little minx. Well, come on, I want you to meet my parents. It looks like my brother came also." Grabbing Ginny's broom by the handle, she tried leading her over to that corner of the bleachers.

"You're always dragging me places. I assure you if you let me go, I'll come of my own free will."

"Fine," Brenda relented, though there was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes, "but hurry up." When they touched ground, Ginny noticed how shaky her legs were. Games at Hogwarts only lasted a couple of hours usually. Playing half the day would take some getting used to.

"Mom, Dad, Jeremy, this is Ginny. Ginny, this is everyone." They all chatted for a while. Ginny learned more about Brenda's upbringing at an all-girls wizarding school in southern England. It sounded interesting, but she was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the way the brother was looking at her. After ten minutes, she used the excuse (it didn't matter if it was true), "I've got to go see my boyfriend now. Brenda, do you want to tag along?"

"Oh, yes," Brenda squealed, bumping hips with her, "You never mentioned a boyfriend before. What's with all the secret-keeping?"

"You'll see," Ginny said mysteriously. Before they could get there, Anne, Tori, Emily, Serena and… Sarah came bounding up, though she stayed skulking in the background, nursing a broken arm. I hope it hurts.

"Gwenog said the people who were cut could still come see the game. You guys did great!" Anne mentioned. She didn't seem bitter at all.

"It was perfect Quidditch conditions," Ginny made sure to point out.

"Right, that was it," Emily snorted. "Where are you guys heading?"

"Oh, you won't believe this!" Brenda gathered them in together, like she was conducting a secret meeting, "Red over here has been hiding a boyfriend from us. I think we all need to check this guy out, make sure he's good enough."

All of the girls seemed awed, but didn't understand it when Ginny broke down in a fit of giggles, "Trust me, you guys are going to love him. Just not too much," she added, warningly. Though Ginny tried to forget it, she still had a jealous streak in her. How else was she supposed to feel when girls all over the country, including her friends, were gaga over Harry? They even hung up pictures of him!

"I'm still reserving judgment," Brenda said. Everyone besides Sarah nodded, but even she followed the group when they started moving towards the stands.

"So what should we be looking for?" Brenda asked. As the tallest of all the girls, she could see over the tops of people's heads, but Ginny still saw him first: "It's this way."

Harry was talking with Ron, so his back was turned to them as they approached. Ginny could usually appreciate this angle, too, but right then she was nervous about how her room-mates would react.

"Hey," she murmured, once she was close enough to him, "I've brought some friends over. Try and go easy on them."

Apparently he wasn't paying so much attention to what she said, just that she had said it. He whipped around excitedly, "God, I've missed you Gin!" And then he kissed her. It was the Gryffindor Common room all over again. Ron cursed under his breath, "A minute ago, I thought I couldn't get more annoyed than having my best mate whine about seeing my sister again. Now, I have to deal with them snogging."

Ginny pulled back, grinning. Nothing in the world could compare to having Harry Potter, not the Boy-who-Lived but just Harry, as a boyfriend. Speaking of which….

Brenda's mouth was gaping open. Anne and Tori were leaning against each-other, looking like they'd fall over if it wasn't for the support. Serena was flustered, but handling it well. Emily just kept saying, "No way," over and over again. Ginny's eyes followed the line of girls to Sarah, who she was disgusted to see was smiling painfully at Harry and combing blond hair over her shoulder with her fingers.

Harry, who just seemed to realize that they had an audience, blushed. "Um, hi. Nice to meet you. I think I saw you cheering for Ginny earlier," he grinned sheepishly.

"You're- Harry- P-P-Potter!" Tori couldn't have known she sounded very much like Quirrel at that moment.

Harry flattened his bangs, uselessly, "Yes… I am."

"I've got your poster at home," she said, dazed, then clamped a hand over her mouth, "Did I just tell you I have your poster at home?"

He nodded, "But I'm willing to forget if you are."

"While we're letting things slip, Ginny," Sarah's voice dripped sweetness, "You might as well tell us what' s really going on here."

"What do you mean? We're talking to my brother and my boyfriend." Since, apparently, there isn't anyone here to see you, Ginny felt like adding, but bit her tongue against saying anything snarky.

"Boyfriend! Yeah, right! It's really nice of you, Harry, to pretend to date Ginny just because she wants to save face with the girls, but we've all caught on to your little trick. You can fess up now."

His eyebrows came crashing together, like two waves, "Now, wait a minute…"

Sarah steam-rolled on, "You're the Chosen One! That means you can choose any girl you want." She squeezed his arm, suggestively, "There's no way that Ginny's it for you…."

Apparently none of the fan magazines have reports on his famous temper, Ginny thought proudly. She could see it in his eyes, which were full of dark shadows.

Harry pointed his wand at Sarah's face. She shrinked away a little bit, but mostly tried to save the situation by putting her hand on his chest.

He shrugged it off, "Don't think I won't hex girls," he warned, "I know many who are a good deal smarter than me, so if one asks for trouble, I assume they can take care of themselves. If Ginny wanted to, she could Boogey-Bat hex me into oblivion, or I would do it to myself, if I thought that I'd done something to hurt her.

Out of all the guys in line to date her, she chose me. I still don't know why, only it doesn't have to do with my fame or my fortune. She's the best thing in my life, and if you're bad-mouthing her, the only thing you're going to get from me is a good jinx up the nose. Understand?"

"Noooo!" Sarah wailed, trying to push Ginny away. Harry was really mad now. He made a decisive cutting motion with his wand and muttered "Imparvia". All of the girls look confused when the blue light around Sarah's arm died away without doing anything.

"It just means you can't heal the bone with magic," he explained. "You won't always get what you want when you want it. It's better that you learn that from me now, than Death Eaters later."

"I- I-"

"Was just leaving." Harry supplied, looking perfectly happy again.

"Yes-s-s, bye," Sarah scurried away, pink robes quickly getting lost in the crowd.

"She runs funny," Ginny commented, absently, before grabbing Harry's hand, "Thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure."

"What are the rest of you going to do?" Ginny asked her friends.

"I think we just need… a moment… to take this all in," Tori was having some trouble breathing.

"Why didn't you tell us the first day?" Brenda demanded, "We could have saved ourselves from looking like idiots."

Ginny squirmed uncomfortably, "You know how you think of Harry differently just because he's The Teenager who Defeated Voldemort?" They quick-glanced at Harry, before turning away embarrassed, "I've had people go from seeing me as Ginny Weasley to Girl-Who's-Dating-the-Most-Awesome-Guy-on-the-Planet. It was important that you got to know me first, so that titles wouldn't matter as much."

"We would have gone crazy, wouldn't we?" Brenda said with a flicker of a smile.

Ginny nodded, "Even more than your usual levels of insane."

"If we promise not to drool over your boyfriend," Emily asked, while Harry pretended not to be listening, "Can we still hang out sometimes?"

"Of course. How about we all go to Diagon Alley next weekend?"

"Sounds good." They all gave various forms of consent. Brenda, digging the toes of her sneaker into the dirt, took this as the cue to leave. "Okay, well, we'll see you then…. I should probably find my family again."

"Wait!" Ginny grabbed her by the arm, stopping the girl in her tracks while she whispered in her boyfriend's ear. At first Harry looked uncomfortable, but then he locked eyes with Ginny and titled his head to the side, in what was obviously acceptance of her idea.

Rifling through his backpack, Harry found a notebook and pen. He settled himself on one of the bleachers, and looked up at the girls still gathered around Ginny like a guard, "Who should I make the autographs out to?"

Epilogue:

"Owls are here, owls are here!" Ginny's voice carried through the entire house. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were at her side in an instant, wondering if this was the news they were waiting for.

Dear Ms. Weasley,

The Holyhead Harpies' staff is pleased to inform you that you have qualified for the position of Chaser on the regular team for the upcoming Quidditch season. Practice starts July 12th at 8:00 AM.

Gwenog Jones

P.S. Also included is a copy of the new Holyhead Harpies' posters going up in September.

The foursome looked at each-other astounded. Ginny couldn't believe all her dreams were coming true! But before she could break out into full on celebration mode, she noticed Harry's dark expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Tell me."

"It's just, guys are going to have pictures of you hanging up in their bedrooms…."

She laughed, feeling a twist of irony in her gut, "Worried, Harry?" She wrapped his arms around her waist, "Well, you shouldn't be. I'll tell all the other Seekers… I've already been caught."

Author's Notes: Over 20 reviews! I really have to thank you guys- everyone who favorite-d or story alert-ed- but especially those people who took the time to write in: Poser16 (Hope you like it), Elise Suzanne (I've read some of your fics and really liked them), NegligibleNania (Thank you. I'm actually fixing a typo with that last line.), nellstyx12 (Ginny wasn't the one to hit her with the Bludger, but I hope it still counts), Aggiebell (Hope you like the rest), rb2312 (I'll save the engagement for some other time, okay? It is a good idea), Lightbulb Moments (I'm glad you like the idea. Also, I love your username), Hp twiheart (Hope this is quick enough), kiwifan13 (I can't help but loving putting Ginny and Harry in awkward situations), pinkdreams (I got it finished. It's my first "complete"!), ladystalke (Thanks so much), Pink Wolf Princess (Definitely one of my nicest reviews, plus I like the use of the word "bloody"), Mystery's realm (I'm glad you gave my story a shot. Maybe, you'll become a convert), Dreamsb223 (I hope the wait wasn't too long), Youji Sagan (Thanks, I always try to keep my characters as close to the book as I can), .223 (Thank you so much!), People-Are-Crazy (Thank you. I noticed how you've reading both of my HP fics. I appreciate it a lot.), mechanical-cat-is-rusty (I hope this is soon enough), Cass (Thank you so much!), CrazyDyslexicNerd (Is your username a reference to PJO too? Love the series, even if I haven't read the Lost Hero. Thanks for reviewing), and RemusandRomulus (my first review for this story. Thanks so much!)