The Weasley Household of Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, was the picture of chaotic calmness. Pigwidgeon, Ron Weasley's owl zoomed happily around as the Weasley family performed their after breakfast activities. Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley were in a corner, talking about something or another. Harry Potter was being shooed away from trying to help Mrs Weasley dry the breakfast dishes - "Harry dear, we've got magic to do this for us." It was in this setting that Fred Weasley stepped up.

"Picture this, ladies and gentlemen." Fred began quietly, but with an air of the grandiose. "The sun is rising to its zenith. Below, IS THE GREATEST WEASLEY FAMILY QUIDDITCH GAME EVER PLAYED!" Fred finished abruptly.

Ron, George, Harry and Charlie were immediately up for it. Bill Weasley, whilst he hadn't been a player on his house team, was willing to join in, but Percy had reports on cauldron bottoms to make, and hurried off to his room. Mr Weasley was fiddling with some old muggle stuff, and Fred thought that he'd much rather continue doing that than play Quidditch, and Mrs Weasley had her own concerns. "I have to make sure your father doesn't get in too much trouble."

Fred strode over to where Hermione and Ginny were discussing whatever-it-was. "Hey, want to join us?" Fred asked Hermione, but from his mannerisms, it could have been construed as a general invitation.

"Sure." Ginny replied.

"I know it will be four on three, but we're at different experience and skill levels so we can work something out." Fred continued.

"It will be four on four if Hermione plays." Ginny added.

"I'm thinking Harry, Ron, yourself and Charlie against Bill, George and I." Fred extended, completely obliviously.

"Well…" Hermione spoke up.

"Of course, it might seem slightly unbalanced, but I think that when you have Ron against Bill, they basically are on each other's level. Harry and Charlie against George and I is close because we're all House Players, and you provide the balance against the fact that George and I play together all the time and know each other very well whereas Charlie and Harry never have."

"I don't know whether I really want to play." Hermione began. "But maybe Ginny does. Why don't you ask her."

Fred blinked at Hermione, quite sure she'd lost her marbles. George, however, came to the rescue.

"Oh, Ginny, we're so sorry." George apologised. "Guys, we'll start a bit later so Fred and I can teach Ginny how to fly."

Ginny stared back at George disbelievingly, torn between keeping her long-held secret abilities just that and grabbing Harry's Firebolt and performing a dozen Wronski Feints. She settled on looking exasperated and smug at the same time.

However, Ginny was not without a helpful friend at this time. Her brother Ron stepped in to champion her cause.

"Ginny would have had flying lessons," Ron reminded them. "So we don't need to wait to play."

Nods all around as Ron's words of wisdom permeated through the room. The matter was settled, and the Twins, Ron and Bill and Charlie, who had missed the conversation because they were preparing to play, were all ready.

Hermione went over to help Mr Weasley with some questions he had; both were delighted with this arrangement. Hermione had an eager listener, and Mr Weasley had one of the brightest minds explaining things to him. But amongst this consensus of satisfaction was shattered when Harry spoke up.

"Guys, I might join you later." Harry told the Quidditch playing posse.

The five skidded to a halt in utter disbelief.

"Are you okay, Harry." Fred asked, in utter disbelief.

"You're not dying or something." Ron asked, completely tactfully.

"No, it's nothing like that." Harry waved them on. "You guys go on."

The five brothers exchanged looks, but decided to go on. "Join us whenever you're ready." George said.

"Mind if I join you?" Ginny felt the sofa next to her sink. Turning her head and seeing Harry there, she shook her head.

"I know how it feels not getting picked." Harry began sympathetically. He knew that Ginny had a hard time talking to him, but he couldn't just go off and play without trying to talk to her. "But I think your brothers are just thick, rather than…"

"You don't need to tell me how thick my brothers are." Ginny smiled wryly, which elicited a grin from Harry. "You don't like talking about your muggle life, do you?"

"It's not something I really want to dwell on." Harry replied. "But, always getting left behind, I can relate to that in some way."

"Thanks for trying to help Harry, I really appreciate it. But you should go and play. I'll be fine."

"I could help convince them to let you play." Harry offered.

"Thanks for the offer, Harry, but I could do that myself."

"Why didn't you?"

"I wanted to avoid humiliation."

"Yeah, I understand." Harry answered. "Still, I don't think you'd be that bad." Harry added kindly.

"Did I ever say," Ginny began with shrewd relish, "that I would be the one who would be humiliated?"

Harry was taken aback. Ginny was normally so shy around him, but she seemed to be holding a conversation with him. Maybe she was able to do so because her brothers weren't around at that moment.

"Do you mean to tell me that you could engage your Quidditch-playing brothers and emerge victorious?"

Ginny just winked enigmatically, leaving Harry quite surprised at just how much he didn't know about her. And she wasn't done surprising him.

"Ron's planning to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team." Ginny said in a hushed voice, moving closer to Harry so as not to be overheard. Hermione, looking on but unable to hear the conversation, regarded the close proximity of her two friends with great approval. Mr Weasley would probably have felt the same, but he was entranced with a blown out light bulb.

Harry was astonished at the news. Ron never even gave the slightest hint to him about that.

"He told you?" Harry asked.

"No, I don't think he's told anyone." Ginny replied. "He's not very confident in his abilities, though he is quite good. Not as consistently brilliant as Wood, but he comes close when his attitude's right. Now that Wood's gone, he's going to try out for the Keeper's spot."

"Have you told Hermione this?" Harry asked.

"Only you. You know how Fred and George are, and Mum and Hermione might be a bit too supportive. And when Ron loses his confidence, as I'm surely the delightfully debonair Draco Malfoy would be only too happy to facilitate, he becomes about as useful as a wet paper bag. Of course, I could beat Malfoy up, but that wouldn't help Ron."

Harry nodded, but another scheme was rising up in Ginny's mind.

"Maybe I should leak it so I can beat him up anyway." Ginny wondered.

"Ginny!" Harry replied, half torn between bursting out laughing and being shocked at her audacity. "You shouldn't think such naughty things!"

Hermione, who heard that rather louder piece of the conversation, offered Harry a nod of approval. Harry, of course, was oblivious to its true meaning, which was approval for his interaction with Ginny rather than his admonishment of her mental processes.

Harry, though, was succumbing to laughter at the thought of Ginny's righteous vengeance wreaking havoc on Draco Malfoy. With a shudder, he realised that he'd never really seen Ginny angry.

"What about you? Where would you play? Are you going to try out?"

"Well, I don't really have much of a desire to be a Keeper, and the other positions are pretty much secure for the next two years. But if, through injury or something or other, a position opens up, I might try out. Until then, I'll just keep on practicing."

"You use the school brooms?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded. "Do you think you could use a better broom to practice with?"

"Are you offering?"

"You're my friend, of course I am."

At this moment, the Weasley boys returned to guzzle drinks.

"And you're quite small and petite, just the right build for a seeker. You can be my heir apparent."

"GINNY'S GOING TO BE GINNY POTTER!" Fred shouted. "HARRY'S GOING TO ADOPT HER!"

An apple whizzed through the air and shattered Fred's glass into a billion tiny shards.

"I prefer being Chasing." Ginny said in an undertone to Harry, leaving everyone else to laugh at Fred's situation.