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harry potter - ginny weasley

098.

[ video ]

Two things!

[Behold Ginny Weasley, the camera enchanted to float in front of her as she broadcasts this from... Her broom? That's right; she's back where she belongs, up in the air and the summer wind pulling at her hair and clothes, face alight in a smile. She looks infinitely better than she did a week ago, that's for certain.]

Firstly, I believe I owe drinks to quite a few people for the madness that was a few weeks ago. The Anonymous people graciously paid me in liquor from my world for helping restore the Hall of the Missing and it's not like I can drink all of it by myself—have you seen me? I'm too small for all that firewhiskey.

Priority goes to all my doctor friends, because I said so.

Secondly, FLYING LESSONS!

[Yes, it's about as loud as capslock.]

I usually offer this earlier in the summer but there's that little matter of a City-wide rebellion and being struck down with a magical plague, so I decided I'd best wait it out until people were a little more available, myself included.

I know I've spoken to a few people about this—Sulu? Stiles?—but it's open to anyone who's interested in brooms and isn't afraid of heights. I've never had anyone fall while I'm in the air with them, so don't worry! It's fun.

And if someone just wants to watch, come along. This is something I love, why not share it in any way I can?

That's all!

[AND OFF SHE ZOOMS, the camera following her for a minute as she speeds around the Quidditch pitch the twins built, corkscrewing and ~soaring, tumbling, freewheeling~ through the air. And it cuts out as she whips past the device.]

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[And then some directions that would take him a bit into the forest where he'd come across a massive clearing with three goal hoops on either side of it and some benches on the edges but no grand stands like what the pitch at Hogwarts might have. They never meant for a real Quidditch game to happen there, they'd never have enough players.]

I look forward to seeing you.

[ it'll be about an hour before he turns up, and to be honest, he's impressed by the set-up. it's nothing that he's ever seen before and he finds himself curious what it's all for. instead of investigating, he simply turns towards the sky, shading his eyes so he can see her and standing in the middle of the clearing so she can see him. ]

[She doesn't notice him right away because she's up high, enjoying the wind, and moving in lazy circles. But she thinks she ought to test the braking charms on her broom and so pulls a tennis ball from her pocket and tosses it a few times in the air before simply dropping it below her.

Sorry, Chakotay. But what you're about to see is Miss Weasley diving headfirst at breakneck speed to chase after that ball and she catches it a foot off the ground, pulling into a smooth sweep and ruffling the grass beneath her with the wind. And as she's moving off again, she realises there's a man a few feet to her left and she spins the broom around and lights up in a grin, waving the fist clutching the ball.]

HEY! Sorry, didn't see you there!

[ he watches her, fascinated and impressed by her skill. he doubts even tom paris could pull something like that off, though the idea of tom riding a broom is more than a little hilarious to him. ]

Impressive. I see you're just as good a flier as you suggested.

[She would like to meet your Tom Paris for some shenanigans, Chakotay. She's always up to a challenge. Ginny flies over, the toes of her shoes skimming the grass as she goes until she's hovering in front of him, beaming.]

Yeah, well, I'm never modest when it comes to flying and Quidditch. [She tosses the ball in the air and catches it as she speaks.] I'm glad you found the place alright! Welcome to Weasley Stadium, so named by my brothers.

[Who wanted to call it Ginevra Stadium as a birthday gift and she insisted it was a family thing.]

[ he's fairly certain the two of them would get along way too well and would definitely not encourage a meeting if tom ever returned. nope. ]

It looks nice. I assume everything has a purpose.

[ tell him about quidditch, ginny. ]

[She breaks into a broad smile.]

Yeah. Here— [She points out the goal posts.] Those are the goals and the Keeper guards them from the opposing team when they try to score. There are three Chasers—that's the position I play at home—that score with the Quaffle, which is a big red ball that's got to be passed round. It's different from the Bludgers that fly on their own and they're erratic, they're these iron balls that try to knock players off their brooms. So we've got two Beaters with clubs that try to get them off their own team and towards the other.

Meanwhile, the Seeker spends the whole match trying to find the Golden Snitch. It's about the size of a walnut and it's really fast and catching the Snitch is what ends the game and wins the Seeker's team 150 points. A goal with the Quaffle is ten points, by the way, I forgot to mention that.

[She pauses, wondering if she's left anything out.]

Erm. I think that's about it. Oh, I was a Seeker on reserve for my House team and I actually played once and won the match and the Cup! But I love Chasing loads more. My twin brothers were Beaters and my other brother Ron was a Keeper. And Charlie, he's the second oldest, he was a Seeker and team captain back in the day.

That sounds like a pretty intense game. Maybe being a Quidditch player is hereditary, too.

[ excuse him for a minute. he's imagining some of voyager's crew playing quidditch now. tom would be a chaser, harry another chaser. tuvok referees, if they even have one. b'elanna would be a beater and loving the chance to get out some of her tension and inward anger. kathryn would be either chaser or keeper and chakotay isn't sure what position he might play. everything sounds fun in some capacity. ]

I guess this is the part where I ask if you give lessons.

[ teach him something new, ginny. ]

Edited 2013-08-21 04:16 (UTC)

Maybe being competitively reckless is hereditary.

[But she looks so pleased, okay. Right now, she's grinning so broadly, it's almost a little worrying—like someone's about to get pranked. But it's no such thing.]

I give lessons in flying. I'd love to teach the rules of Quidditch, I've got all the balls and equipment here, but I don't think I'll ever have enough players for teams and a game. But there's no harm in going after a Snitch for fun or tossing a Quaffle back and forth. Why not?

You never know. You might come across a lot of people who are interested in a way to keep themselves occupied. But for now, I'm a quick learner and the very least, I can throw things for you catch like you did a little earlier.

I'd love that.

[BEAMING, okay.]

D'you want to try sitting on a broom? [She draws her wand without waiting for an answer, Summoning another (Accio broom!) and waiting for it to fly over from the cabin in the woods that remains a secret to people outside her world.] It won't carry you far away, I promise.

It might be easier to do if we're both up in the air, wouldn't it?

[ oh, well then. he'll just watch as another broom comes zooming over. interesting. ]

That's certainly useful. [ the ability to summon things, he means. ] May I? [ he's assuming yes, but he'd rather not assume and be wrong. that's just how he works. ]

Of course.

[And she waits patiently, hovering on her own broom. They're far more comfortable than they look, of course, with the invisible Cushioning Charm on the handle almost like a bike seat, the footholds to feel more steady, more connected to the broom as a whole.]

Got it?

[ give him a moment or two to get used to the feel of it. he flexes his hands around the handle, getting a feel for how different this is. it isn't particularly uncomfortable, but he's not so sure how he'll feel about being so far off the ground without knowing exactly what's keeping him up there and that someone can fix it. ]

I think so. [ he gives her a wry sort of look, accentuated just slightly with wariness. it isn't enough to indicate fear, more a sense of being uncomfortable. ] So, if I happen to slip off, is there anything to prevent me from breaking my neck at my landing point?

[ he might be teasing her, but he's also pretty serious. he'd like to know what he's getting himself into here. ]

Me.

[Just as teasing, just as serious.]

That's why I start everyone low. If you do slip, it isn't that far off. I like to take people to the beach, too, somehow the water makes it a little less daunting. But I've never had anyone fall or get hurt while I've been in the air with them—remember, reflexes of a Chaser and a Seeker?

[And she flashes her wand briefly.]

This, too.

That's a very good idea. [ sounds like his starfleet pilot training. start low to the ground, head for the upper atmosphere, and if you're lucky and talented enough, you'll eventually end up in space. ] Then I'll trust you can keep any clumsiness to a minimum.

[ definitely trusting her to know how to teach this and to protect her student should he need it. ]

Do I at least get to know the controls or is that for next time?

[ still teasing. he has to keep pretending he's never flown anything or been a formal military student before. ]

[She brings her broom along side his and demonstrates, hands shifting on the handle as she talks, but the movement is subtle.]

Pull up to rise, guide it back down to descend. Left and right are fairly self-explanatory. Just be gentle, don't tug it around too quickly or too sharply or the movement'll translate to the broom and it'll be too rough. I mean, it happens fairly often in Quidditch matches if you're trying to dodge a Bludger or something, but you don't need to learn defensive flying here. [She grins.] Think of the broom as an extension of yourself.

[ he's a quick study and has the controls committed to memory, but as he's trying to appear as though the entire concept of flying is new and that he hasn't spent years and years in starship pilot training and five years living on a starship lost in deep space, he's doing his best to make it look as awkward as possible. she might even have to adjust his grip herself. ]

Right. [ and it takes a monumental effort not to say "aye" or some variation therein. it takes him a short enough time to get everything else, carefully demonstrating up, down, left, and right. ]

I guess if you're good enough, you could fly this thing without thinking.

[ almost like flying a starship. except much less strenuous and with less risk of blowing up if you hit something wrong too many times.

he's careful when he finally gets the broom moving forward, circling the clearing at a slow speed to start. ]

[She does adjust him a bit but for the most part she sits back and watches with narrowed eyes, because something about this is off to her; not awkward, per se, but it is that too. A different brand of it. But she follows him on her own broom, flying a bit higher so she can make sure his form is right, dipping in briefly to throw in a bit of advice on utilising the footholds as more than just a grounding point, that the broom can intuit the speed its rider wants.

And then, after a few moments, she comes up alongside him again and grins.]

You sure you haven't done this before?

[She doesn't suspect anything, not quite yet.]

[ he flashes her a smile in return. ]

We don't have flying brooms in my world.

[ chakotay, that's not an answer.

though, flying a broomstick is a lot different from piloting a starship. less pressing buttons and more actually physically guiding it. there's definitely more wind sheer to worry about. it's different, but he can see why ginny likes it so much. ]

I've never had this opportunity before.

[ also not an answer but shhh ]

The broom likes you.

[It's a light, easy comment and she means that they're working together quite well; she's pleased, impressed, and pulls up alongside him.]

We'll just keep circling for now, nice and low. You've got to get the basics first, but I think you're well on your way.

Maybe another day I can graduate to the next year of training.

[ it's a joke, his version of trying to take some of the pressure off how well or poorly he's doing. flying like this is definitely taking a bit of getting used to, but it's not entirely bad. it does make him miss voyager and the rest of the crew, but he's careful to hide that. ]

There aren't years, don't be ridiculous. Some people haven't got years in the City, lucky buggers, so I'm going to make sure you lot can fly to the best of your ability as soon as you're able. I'm not about to push anyone harder than they can take, of course, but I think if you've got the bollocks to want to learn in the first place, you'll pick it up faster than someone forced on a broom.

Pushing us to be better than we think we can be in half the time. Sounds like [ his pilot training in the belt ] fun.

No one really taught me, so I had to do that to myself to get to the best level. Enough to get on the team, anyway. It'll be great, I promise.

[She pats her broom as they fly, pleased.]

Trust me.

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