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Author: KEDme Story: Ginny Weasley and the Goblet of Fire Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-DH Status: WIP Reviews: 16 Words: 59,242
Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. *** Ginny had not spoken a word to Harry in two weeks and had managed to avoid him whenever possible. Hermione, who was completely on her side, had tried to convince Harry that he was being a horrible prat, but she had only made Harry stubbornly dig his heels in. What's worse, Ron had sided with Harry, saying that Ginny was barmy for thinking she even had a chance at being a Triwizard champion. This had angered both girls and now Hermione wasn't speaking to them either. Ginny was also not speaking to most of her family. Charlie had at first made fun of her for inquiring about the tournament, and then outright refused to give her the application. Ginny had to go directly to Professor McGonagall to get one, but at least she had the satisfaction of knowing that Charlie had been reprimanded for his 'lack of objectivity'. Charlie had immediately owled Bill to 'talk some sense into her'. Bill had promptly sent her a letter begging her to 'consider her options carefully' and threatened to tell their mother if she didn't 'come to her senses'. Fleur had followed up with a long supportive letter, telling Ginny to 'ignore ze stupid git boyz' and do what she wanted. She also implied that she had told Bill as much, and Ginny got the feeling things were a little tense in the Delacour-Weasley household. Percy hadn't bothered to owl at all if he even knew anything about it, nor did she expect to; he was still somewhat estranged from the family and maintained his distance. But, regardless, she doubted he'd approve of her choices. She hadn't heard from her parents either, but she knew that was just a matter of time before her mother sent her a Howler. Her father wouldn't forbid her to enter, but he would express his worry and make her feel guilty for causing so much trouble. It wouldn't make a difference, though; since she was of age now they really had no way of stopping her. The only two who had been supportive were the twins. Fred had sent her a book on 'nasty hexes to get even with your git ex-boyfriend' and George had followed up with a book of rude French phrases to 'insult your friends and enemies without them even knowing'. She loved both books and immediately sent a note back telling them so. Coupled with the grief she was getting from her family was the ache she felt deep in her soul. She missed Harry terribly. If only he could just get over himself, he'd see that her joining the delegation wasn't such a bad thing. But he'd have to come to that conclusion on his own. She knew he was only worried about her safety, but the things he had said to her were horrible. No one treated her as property – not even Harry. Until he apologized, she'd be damned if she spoke to him, even if she did cry herself to sleep every night. If he reacted this way now, what would he do when she told him her life's ambition was to be an Auror? No... he had to come to her, and that was final. No matter how much she loved him, he had to learn that she was the master of her own life, not him. Next to Hermione, her next biggest ally was Luna. Her barmy friend had also come back to Hogwarts – not because she had to (since she had kept up her studies and only lacked actually sitting for the NEWTS) – but because she felt drawn to the aura of the castle. According to her, it was probably because of the large population of Herpuffs that had taken up residence in the castle while it was in shambles. Luna said they lived in the walls and had become part of the castle itself, making students smarter than they would be otherwise. Ginny disagreed, pointing out that Harry had apparently grown dumber since returning. Luna, however, had an answer for that. She said that Harry was obviously infected with the bite of the Microscopic Snapfoot that caused unreasonable and irrational behaviour. Once it wore off, she claimed, he would come to his senses and apologize to her, begging Ginny for his forgiveness. Ginny had laughed but deep down she wished Luna was right. To top it all off, Ginny was beginning to grow nervous about the upcoming duel; to the surprise of everyone there had been over thirty applicants. Judging from the list, Ginny and Hermione both speculated that the majority of them had only signed up in order to get a free trip to the Mediterranean, the region where Beauxbatons was rumoured to be located. However, she was both delighted and nervous to see some familiar names on the list, among them Colin Creevey and Luna. Both had been fellow DA members and she knew they'd be fair competition, although no one on the list had as much real life experience as her when it came to duels. One name on the list of interested candidates that came as a surprise was Theodore Nott. The Slytherin had come back to Hogwarts for some unknown reason and had been taking Draco Malfoy's place as most obnoxious git (next to Harry, of course) in school. Ginny wondered why the pale, skinny boy would sign up for such a dangerous competition, but Hermione thought he was looking for a way to escape England and the stigma of being the son of a Death Eater. Still, he was a fair dueller and Ginny knew that he would be stiff competition. It was two weeks to the day since she and Harry had fought and she was sitting at a table in the Common Room just opening her books to begin revising when Hermione came rushing in excitedly with a piece of paper in her hands. "Ginny," she called, waving the paper above her head. "Professor McGonagall gave me this to post on the announcement board. They've scheduled the duelling tournament for next Saturday to decide who will be included in the delegation to Beauxbatons." Ginny met her at the board where Hermione was pinning it to the wall, reading aloud when she had a chance: Triwizard Qualification Duelling Tournament this Saturday, 12 noon, Open to the Public. Candidates will be chosen to represent Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament held this school year at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The top fifteen duellists will qualify and must be prepared to spend the school year abroad. Please note: Hogwarts is not responsible for injuries or deaths related to the duel or the Tournament (should you be chosen Champion). Certain obligations are required. Warning: putting your name in the Goblet constitutes a binding magical contract! Notify your Heads of Houses if you wish to back out now, before it's too late. "Are you sure Charlie didn't write this?" Ginny said with a grimace after reading the last line. "You know you can always change your mind," a familiar deep voice said from behind her, causing involuntary shivers to run up and down her spine. She spun around, carefully schooling her features even though her heart was pounding. "Why would I do that when I have an excellent chance of winning?" she said coolly, feigning confidence. Harry seemed to be struggling to keep his own emotions under control. On the one hand he was still clearly angry, but on the other he undoubtedly looked like he had been suffering as well the past few weeks. Under his eyes were dark circles from lack of sleep, and his skin was pale and sallow. She hadn't seen him look this bad in a long time. "Ginny," he said with what seemed like real compassion. "This tournament is-" "Dangerous... yes, so I've heard," Ginny finished for him crossly – she was sick to death of hearing it. She turned away abruptly and headed back to her table to get away from him. When she glanced back she was peeved to see Hermione slip away, leaving her to deal with Harry alone. He slid into a chair next to her. "Did you need something, Harry?" she said sharply. "I want to know why you're doing this." His question startled her. She wasn't sure she knew the answer herself. Annoyed, she said tritely, "Since I'm no longer your girlfriend, I don't really think that's any of your business." She slammed her books around on the table, making a show of being busy. "I was an insensitive prod," he admitted, "and I should never have given you an ultimatum, but I did. I hate that I did that, but I still want to know what's going on in your head," he pleaded with her. "Please?" She sighed in resignation, knowing that she could never refuse him anything. "I suppose the bottom line is... well, it's because you told me I can't," she said truthfully. His eyes widened in astonishment. "That's it? You're doing this to prove a point to me?" "Why are you surprised?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "I was telling the truth earlier when I said I only went to Charlie for information. I had this wild idea that I could..." She stopped abruptly. "Never mind, you wouldn't understand." "Try me..." She shook her head. "I was chasing a dream. It doesn't matter, so just drop it." "It does matter," he pressed. "Tell me?" She balled her fists in frustration. "It's difficult to explain. All my life people around me have tried to tell me what to do. Everyone seems to think they know what's best for me, and sometimes I feel like I have no say in anything. I went to Charlie for my own reasons, too, although I didn't know it at the time. Something deep inside of me wants the chance to prove myself. I wasn't by your side the whole time you were fighting Voldemort – not like Ron and Hermione. I did my fair share, but I didn't see the things that you did because I was sheltered here like some stupid princess in a fairy tale, only I was confined to Hogwarts Castle and Gryffindor Tower!" She paused, her breath shaky. "...I want to know if I'm as good as all of you. I need to know. I thought you'd understand that and believe in me..." He hesitated a moment before speaking absorbing her words and the meaning behind them. "That's the problem, Ginny," he answered slowly. "I do believe you have the best chance of anyone here at being the next Triwizard Champion, and frankly that petrifies me. It's not lack of faith in you, love, that's my problem – it's lack of faith in myself. If anything happened to you..." He looked down at his hands, his eyes sliding out of focus as he slipped into the past. "That whole year I was away, I fought with everything I had to get back to you... to have a chance at a normal life. Just when I think we have it, you want to place yourself in danger by voluntarily signing up for a tournament that could cost you your life. It's selfish of me, I know, but I don't understand why you'd want to risk it." His words dowsed her anger like a spray of water on an open flame. "Harry," she said softly. "You can't treat me like a delicate object that's just waiting to be broken. That's not fair to me and it's not fair to you, either. You're the kind of person who needs a bit of danger in their life – I accepted that a long time ago. It's not in your nature to lead a nice, boring life, love." Her eyes searched out his and held his gaze for emphasis. "...It's not in my nature, either." He opened his mouth to protest, but she stopped him with a finger to his lips. "I can't be content to sit on the sidelines any longer," she continued quietly. "I did that once for you, and I swore I'd never do it again. I need you to trust me and believe in me unconditionally, like I believe and trust in you unconditionally." "I do," he insisted. "Then support me in this," she said feeling the seriousness of her words. If he couldn't do this now then there was no hope for a future together, and that would break Ginny's heart more than any stupid argument. He swallowed nervously but his eyes held hers. "Okay." "Y-you will?" she stuttered disbelievingly. His eyebrows fused together in a confused heap. "That was the right answer, wasn't it?" She let out her breath in a whoosh and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Yeah... it was." He grinned. "Good." He picked up her hand and squeezed it tenderly. "I'd rather be together and afraid then apart and miserable," he declared. "Me too," she agreed, glad they could at least agree on that.
[A/N: Sorry this took a little longer than 5 days to get out. I wasn't happy with the first draft so it went through a lot of edits. I hope you enjoy it!]
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