Ginny Weasley waited impatiently as the stadium announcer finished calling the Ballycastle Bats players onto the field. She shifted from side to side, feet shuffling, causing her fellow Holyhead Harpy, ahead on her in line, to turn and arch an eyebrow in query at her. Ginny shrugged in reply, nerves building but just so eager to get out onto the ground and begin flying around in preparation for this big match.

She liked to be the last one to fly out, just a quirk of hers, and thankfully, they soon began to announce the Harpy player's names. Ginny had been out on the ground earlier in the day, flying around, getting a feel for the surroundings, but there was nothing like flying out to the roar of the fans and flying up, up as she circled the stadium.

She was living her dream, like, literally.

Throughout those dark days in the last months, the last year of the war, it was only the thought that, should she survive, she would go on and give professional Quidditch a fair go, that kept her going. It was truly the only career she could see herself doing, not being one for an office job and no interest in any career at the Ministry of Magic.

And now, here she was, not even twenty one and playing in the Quidditch final. All the training, the missed parties, the lack of dating, even time with her family, it was all worth the sacrifice.

Her family had taken a hard hit during the war. Bill had been bitten by a werewolf named Greyback and had been touch and go for awhile whether he would actually transform or not. It had been an anxious wait for the next full moon, but thankfully, apart from being moody and hungry for rare meat, he had not transformed. A healer named Fleur Delacour had overseen his recovery, and along the way they had fallen in love. They had married last year and were now expecting a baby.

Charlie had stayed in Europe in the lead up to the final battle, risking his life by carrying messages throughout Europe as he went from one dragon reserve to another, trying to gather support for Dumbledore and Harry Potter. He had returned to England in time to help during the final battle at Hogwarts, but had been badly injured trying to save his two brothers from a falling wall. Sadly, only one had survived. Charlie had lost a leg, and was now sporting a prosthesis, which hadn't slowed him down one bit. But losing his Hogwarts sweetheart, Nymphadora Tonks, during the battle had been hard and he returned to Romania and his dragons not long after her funeral, vowing to never marry at all. He only returned to England sporadically, sometimes turning up simply to appease his mother's worries.

Fred and George had left Hogwarts midway through Ginny's fourth year, going out in a blaze of glory. They had opened up their own joke shop in the heart of Diagon Alley, but had to close when Voldemort and his Death Eaters began to try and take over control of the wizarding world. They had set up a mail order business and, with their friend, Lee Jordan, had run a program on the wireless, to help keep people informed of what was going on, of the many rumours, for many had to go on the run and go into hiding.

But once the battle was over and reparations began in Diagon Alley, they re-opened with a flourish and the store continued to thrive. Fred was dating Angelina Johnson and George, Katie Bell. Ginny liked both girls and hoped her lovable brothers didn't mess up these relationships, for she felt the girls were good for her brothers.

Ron had been one of the leaders at Hogwarts that terrible year, leading up to the battle. It had been his seventh and final year and he was Head Boy. Ginny had never been more proud of him, as he protected the younger students.

Voldemort had positioned two Death Eaters in the castle, posing as teachers. The Carrows, a husband and wife team, used the opportunity to promote propaganda against Muggles and Muggleborns, and there was no Defence against the Dark Arts, no, that year it was simply The Dark Arts. Which simply meant that if one was to go against the ideals that they were promoting on Voldemort's behalf, that student would be used as practice in the Unforgivable curses.

Ginny herself had been under the Cruciatus curse several times, by gleeful Slytherin students who had been brought up by parents who endorsed Voldemort's Pureblood ideals. But there were also students from Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and even Gryffindor, who decided it was best to go along rather than suffer the same fate, or were simply too scared to join the rebellion.

But there had also been students for Slytherin who had rebelled against their parents and the seventh years had provided a strong leadership group from each of the Houses. Ron and Neville Longbottom from Gryffindor, Susan Bones and Justin Finch-Fletchley from Hufflepuff, Terry Boot and Head Girl Hermione Granger from Ravenclaw, and Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott from Slytherin.

Whilst the leaders primarily looked after those in their own houses, they also helped those students who were struggling in lessons, thus likely to be targets for curse practice. Other older students, including Hannah Abbot, Mandy Brocklehurst and Lavender Brown helped with the injured students, struggling to recover from the effects of the Cruciatus. Parvati Patil and Anthony Goldstein brewed potions to help the injured, for Madame Pomfrey had been ordered by the Carrows not to help the 'çonfused' students, in the belief they would eventually succumb and join the dark side.

It had been Hermione who had suggested they start a defence club and Ginny had promptly named it Dumbledore's Army. She, along with Terry Boot, Michael Corner and Blaise Zabini helped the younger students learn defensive spells, for their safety, particularly against Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle from Slytherin, who delighted in cursing students randomly for no reason, even as they walked from lesson to lesson.

It had been Neville Longbottom who discovered the Room of Requirement, and by the time the battle had started, many of the students were living in the special room. When the battle did commence, it was from this room that the older students escorted most of the younger students to safety, thus saving many lives.

Ron had thought about becoming an Auror when he finished his seventh year, as most students did through home schooling for the next year. But in the end, his love for Quidditch won out, and he secured employment at the Department of Magical Games and Sports. He'd begun dating Hannah Abbot only recently. Ginny knew the witch had had a crush on her brother for ages, and fed him well every time he ate at the Leaky Cauldron, where she worked as a cook. Love blossomed over bangers and mash and Ginny had high hopes for them, too.

Percy...it still hurt to think about him, even now, four years later. Initially he'd turned his back on his family and their support for Dumbledore and the Boy-Who-Lived.

Percy had always aimed for a high spot at the Ministry, and without even questioning it, soon found himself as the Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge.

Percy had found himself believing Cornelius had the Ministry under complete control and urged his family to break away from the beliefs of an old man, that Voldemort had indeed returned. However, once Percy had seen it for himself, he returned to his parent's home, and quickly told them all he knew.

He was offered the chance to go into hiding, for by now, his absence would have been noted, for he was ignoring urgent owls to return to his employer. But he refused the offer, instead, returning to his job to effectively become a spy for the reformed Order of the Phoenix.

He'd only sought sanctuary in the last days before the battle, when the Death Eaters had overtaken it completely. He stayed with Great Aunt Muriel until Fred, George and Charlie had come to take him with them to Hogwarts.

The battle had begun.

Her family had tried to keep her hidden away, to keep her safe, but that was not who she was, never had been. When word had gotten out that Harry Potter himself was in the castle fighting, Ginny joined her family and friends in support of the Chosen One.

Harry Potter had won...but Percy had died. So had her dad, protecting her mother.

"-and next we have Deidre Attwood, the Harpy's beater," boomed the announcer, to great applause.

Her family were all out there, here to support her as they always had.

Sally, her fellow Chaser, shuffled forward, the next to be announced. "You know, I heard Harry Potter himself is here to present the trophy to the winning team. Can you believe he'll be out there, watching," she giggled.

"Playing Chaser is Sally Anne Perks."

"Right, I'm off," nodded Sally, and with a kick, she flew out into the sunshine and waving to their screaming fans.

"And last but not least, in line for Chaser of the Year, it's Ginny Weasleyyyyy!"

Ginny took a deep breath, kicked off and flew out to join her teammates, in the Quidditch final of the year.

*HPGW*

Two and half hours later, the Harpys commanded a comfortable, but not impossible to beat, lead. The Harpy chasers were on fire, but the Bat's beaters had taken to playing dirty. Cobbing, while technically a foul, was par for the course, especially in their tight formations, but during this match the beaters had done everything they could get away with. Cries of "blatching" or "blogging" could be heard from the angry Harpy fans, but the referees seemed to be turning a blind eye.

This had only made Ginny more determined, and her performance so far was sure to secure her the title of Chaser of the Year. She had scored several goals, and assisted in several others. She was playing the match of her life in the biggest match of the year.

"And Summers is diving, she's seen the Snitch!" cried the announcer.

'Come on, Suzy,' thought Ginny, as she accepted a pass and headed for goal.

"Ballycastle's seeker is chasing after her, but I don't think he'll get there. And yes, Summers has caught the Snitch! It's a Harpy's victory today, they are this year's Quidditch champions!"

The Harpys stopped flying, crying out cheers in ecstasy as they all hugged each other. As Ginny hugged Sally, she grinned at her fellow Chaser.

"Bring on Harry Potter, is all I can say," grinned her friend.

"Harry Potter," murmured Ginny, distracted as she looked for her family in the stands.

"Ginny, look out," someone cried.

Naturally, Ginny turned, in time to see a bludger heading straight for her. She tried to turn away, to take it on her shoulder, but it was too late. The bludger hit the side of her head and she tumbled off her broom, already knocked out cold.

HPGW *

Ginny felt someone stroking the side of her face. It felt nice and comforting. She leaned her cheek against it.

" -think she's coming around," she heard someone say.

"Slap her face, Harry," suggested someone.

"Ronald," chided a female voice. Of course, it would be her brother Ron who suggested she be slapped.

The stroking continued. "Gin," crooned someone in a low soothing tone, " come on love, open your eyes."

"Mmmm," moaned Ginny, turning slightly so she was closer to the person who was stroking her face.

She felt cool lips press against her forehead. "Please, Gin," his voice whispered, somewhat shakily. She wondered if only she heard him say it.

She moved her head, wanting to see who belonged to that pleading, husky tone. She tried to open her eyes, but then quickly shut them again, almost blinded by the white light.

"Hermione, could you turn off the lights, please?" he asked.

"Sure, Harry. Nox," said the person she supposed was Hermione. The only Hermione she knew was Hermione Granger, from their Hogwarts days.

Wait, Harry? A memory niggled. 'Bring on Harry Potter, is all I can say.' Who had said that – was it her?

"Harry Potter," she muttered, eyes still shut.

"and she's back," declared Ron.

"I'm here, Ginny," assured this Harry, softly. He took her hand, linking their fingers together; she liked that. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

It gave her the strength to open her eyes slowly. Instead of looking up, she looked to her side, seeing a man that could possibly have been her brother Ron, only about ten years older than she remembered. She frowned. "Ron?"

"Hey, sis. Bout time you woke up. I would have hated to miss dinner," he quipped.

Ginny smiled, now that definitely sounded like Ron. "Far be it for me for me to make you miss a meal, Ron."

She heard them chuckle, Ron, this Hermione and Harry Potter.

"Hermione Granger," she realised, eyes struggling to focus on the bushy haired woman at Ron's side. She looked older too, but it was definitely the witch she remembered from Hogwarts.

The woman's hand rested on her arm as she leaned in closer. "Yes, Ginny, is there something I can do for you?" she asked earnestly.

Ginny frowned again, wondering why she was here. "Been awhile," she muttered. The last she had heard, Hermione Granger was an Unspeakable at the Ministry.

"Yes, well, I've been busy," agreed Hermione, albeit uncertainly. She didn't see the concerned looks between Ron, Hermione and Harry.

"Ginny, wake up, love. Come on, wake up properly." Harry's hand stroked her cheek again, and she turned to look at him finally.

Wow, she could stare into his eyes all day long. She wondered what they would look like when he was angry or mad, or sad or happy. Now they only showed concern, care and...something else.

"Harry." She kind of meant it as both a statement and a query, but the hand stroking her face grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth.

"Thank Merlin," he said in relief, kissing the inside of her palm. "How do you feel?"

"Strange. Different," she admitted. "Where am I?"

"St Mungo's, of course," said Ron.

"What happened?"

"Bludger. Teddy mishit it and it was heading straight for Al. You got there just in time, taking the hit."

Ah yes, the match. "We won, though," she said, sure of that at least. She wasn't sure who these Teddy or Al people were, though. The names didn't sound like those of any of the Ballycastle players.

Ron and this Harry laughed, but Hermione looked upset. "Honestly Ginny, that is hardly what's important."

"You never did understand Quidditch, Hermione," mumbled Ginny. She yawned. "Sleepy."

"No," said Harry immediately. She felt his fingers grip her chin, and his face got up close and personal with her own as he peered into her eyes. "Gin, you can't go to sleep, you have a concussion. Stay awake, love, come on, for me."

"Pretty eyes," she murmured, struggling to do what he asked and stay awake. But her eyelids were so heavy and she reluctantly shook her head, wincing as it hurt to do so.

"Too hard." She squinted at him.

"I'm going to get a healer." Harry turned to nod at Hermione, and Ginny closed her heavy eyes, just wanting to sleep. She heard the sounds of footsteps, then the door opening and closing, then silence.

She opened her eyes again at the silence, only to see Harry hadn't moved, still peering at her anxiously.

"I love you, Ginny," he whispered, "try and stay awake."

"Come on, Ginny," urged Ron on the other side of the bed, "the kids are asking where their mum is. Stay awake, for Harry's and their sake."

It was only as she felt the darkness creeping over her that she realised what Ron had said. Kids? What kids? Whose kids?

"Harry?" she whispered, hating the frailty in her voice. "What's going on?"

"I'm here, love," he whispered back. "I'll always be here."

With that comforting thought, Ginny didn't fight the darkness anymore.