Author's Notes: This is going to be a two-shot. Sometimes when I get an idea for a story, I let it run on its own and suddenly I have a many-chaptered monster on my hands. Not this time. Still, this is one of my favorite ideas I've ever had for a fic. Hope everyone likes it.

I do not own Harry Potter.

Catching On

Ginny stuffed the map of the Quidditch pitch into her knapsack and sighed. She'd always dreamed about playing Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, but somehow her fantasies hadn't included a two-week tryout session or staying in tents with all the other hopefuls. Best get on with it.

Opening the flap and walking inside was like a step into another world. The inside was pure chaos. Music blared, clothes were strewn across the floor and a brown-speckled owl was flying around the room, shedding feathers. Before she could take it all in, a beautiful African American girl came bouncing over to her and grabbed her by the hand.

"You're Jenny?" she asked brightly and her smile was so infectious that Ginny grinned back.

"It's Ginny, and you are?"

"Oops sorry, wasn't sure how to pronounce it. I'm Brenda Liss. Our beds are right next to each other's. Come on, I'll show you!" She danced over to the opposite side of the room, dragging Ginny behind her. Is this training already? she wondered, but couldn't say anything since she was being swept into a second round of introductions.

"Over there, the girl with the curly blonde hair is Serena."

"Hi."

"Next to her is Sarah."

"Hey."

"Then Tori, Anne, and Emily. That's it. Us seven. The rest of the competition is out in different tents."

Ginny nodded at all of them and there was a chorus of "Nice to meet you"s, but it was pretty obvious that everyone needed time by themselves to get settled. The alarm whistle was set to blow at 5:00 next morning and then they'd hardly be a spare moment left to unpack.

Ginny approached her trunk guiltily. She'd mostly dumped everything in all at once, so now it seemed like a casserole of clothes, books, food, and pictures. Picking things out one by one, she noticed a small rectangular package near the top of her mess, topped with a conspicuous red bow. Harry.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she grabbed at the package eagerly, tore off the paper, and gasped when she saw what was inside. It was a pretty necklace, mostly gold, with a Snitch the size of her thumb-nail fluttering on the end. His note read:

Hey Gin,

I hate to be without you for a couple of weeks, but I know you'll make an amazing Chaser. The Harpies will be lucky to have you! Included is a little trinket. Do you remember playing Cho for the Quidditch Cup the first day we kissed? I got the Snitch from McGonagall and shrunk it down to jewelry size to remind you of the two things you caught that day.

Love, Harry

For the first time since she'd left the Burrow, Ginny relaxed into herself. Just knowing her boyfriend was thinking about her helped her feel strong.

"Are you a Seeker?" Brenda asked from behind her. The other girl had changed into a pair of Holyhead Harpies boxers and a tank top for sleep, but she still appeared wide awake.

"No. Well, I guess I played some in school, but I'm much stronger as a Chaser," Ginny said, reaching behind her to put the necklace on.

"What are you doing with that then?" she questioned, making a jab with her finger.

"It was a present," Ginny said, simply. Brenda was nice, but she didn't need to know her whole history yet.

"Yeah, my brother got me something too, called a Remembral. Useless thing, but I guess it's the thought that counts."

"Maybe you should give him a list next time."

"And say what? I'm only really after a new broom and those Lightningbolts are expensive. My family doesn't have that kind of money to spend. They're all hoping I'll make it here as a Keeper, so I'll be able to send something back." Ginny looked Brenda over, noticing her tall frame and lean muscles. She could probably block more ground than Ron could, based on size alone.

"Well, I hope you get it too. It would be fun to be on a team together," though the truth was there were only eight positions available and most of the girls would go home disappointed. The Harpies needed a new chaser, keeper, and seeker; plus recruits to fill out their reserve team after the deaths they'd suffered in the war. It was a sign that the world was recovering when people started hitting each other with Bludgers again, instead of jinxes.

Ginny's concentration was broken when Emily let out an excited squeal. "Finally! It sticks!" she said.

Wondering what on earth she could be going on about, she and Brenda turned to see the brunette finish tacking a poster to the wall. "Don't you guys think he's gorgeous?" Emily asked, sighing, and as she climbed off her bed, Ginny was confronted with the smiling picture of… Harry Potter. Oh no.

"Well, duh," Sarah said, tossing a strand of straight, creamy blonde hair over her shoulder, "Those eyes!"

"And that hair. Just makes you want to run your fingers through it," Serena chimed in.

"Are all you fans?" Ginny asked, hesitantly.

Emily, Sarah, Anne and Serena nodded. Tori said, "I'm President of his fan club."

Still holding out hope for her last room-mate, she whirled her head to confront Brenda, only she wasn't there. She was digging through her luggage. When she emerged, she was carrying a cloth doll, with a poorly-sewed lightning bolt scar on the forehead. "I've had him since I was seven," she admitted.

The rest of the girls burst out laughing, clutching their sides. Ginny sat down without saying anything. Her cheeks were burning.

"Well, that's two things we have in common: Quidditch and the Boy-Who-Lived," Emily managed to get out between chuckles.

"Wait," Tori said, "We don't know about Ginny yet." Ginny felt six pairs of eyes lock on her and swallowed. What am I going to tell them?

"Um…. Well, he's definitely good-looking."

"You can say that again."

"I don't have his poster or anything, but, of course, I think he's great…. You know, everything he's done…." Ginny knew that this was a rather hopeless explanation, especially when she wanted to go on and on about all of Harry's good points, but she thought it would be a smart idea to keep the truth a secret, at least longer than the first day.

Everyone seemed to accept her answer fine. Emily pulled out a tabloid magazine, Star, and flipped to the very back page. "They say he's got a girlfriend though."

"But who knows how long that'll last?" Sarah said, snapping on a piece of gum. Ginny narrowed her eyes, unsure of how she'd get along with this particular room-mate if they both ended up on the team. Harry will be coming to watch my games, after all.

"I don't know," Serena mentioned, "He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to mess around."

"He's not," Ginny inserted before she could help herself. Brenda looked at her strangely, brown eyes silver now that night was descending upon them. A second later, she shook her head, like she thought she was being silly.

"I have an older brother who knew Harry from school," Ginny quickly tried to cover her tracks. "He said that Harry's never had more than two girlfriends in his life."

"Really?" They all seemed interested with this news. Ginny was peppered with questions.

"Have you met Harry then?"

"Is he just as dreamy in person?"

"He's not crazy, right? I mean, I didn't believe all those reports about him in the Prophet, but where did that come from?"

"Do you think your brother could get me an autograph?"

"Yes, me too!" Pretty soon, they were all clamoring for autographs and Ginny was starting to feel annoyed. No wonder Harry didn't want much to do with her as a kid if she was this interfering.

"He doesn't really like people approaching him because he's famous or when they want something out of him. I've never heard of him signing autographs. Ever."

Sarah gazed down at her perfectly-manicured nails. "Maybe she's lying. Maybe she doesn't know Harry at all," she said, bitingly.

Ginny stood up instantly and grabbed her wand. Brenda and Emily hurried over to her and pinned her arms behind her back, while Serena scooted away from Sarah, like she couldn't stand being close to her.

"That was out of line," Anne reprimanded, giving Sarah a stern look.

"We believe you Ginny," Tori's voice piped in.

Ginny felt her anger brewing just beneath the surface. She was very tempted to show Sarah Harry's letter and watch the blood drain from her face, but then, almost as if he was standing right next to her, she heard him mutter, She's an idiot, Gin. Someday, it's going to come back and bite her in the arse. Until then, you can wait. Is it really that important for her to know that I love you? You know I love you. So much.

Growling, she threw her wand on her bed. She collapsed onto it soon afterwards not meeting anyone's eyes. "I'm going to sleep. Sarah? You're a Chaser? You better get some rest because I'm going to be wiping the field with you tomorrow."

One by one, the girls all turned out their lights. Ginny fell asleep to the sound of their collective breathing, a lot like the whooshing a Quaffle makes when it is thrown through the hoop. Only thirteen days until I'm back with Harry again….