Finding Heather

Year 6 Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

The next two weeks proved difficult for Heather to be able to see Justin. The quidditch season was about to commence on the second weekend of November, and a fervor had gripped the castle. Daily, Heather was fighting with the Slytherin team captain, a rather large boy named Urquhart, for times to practice. Almost every other time she booked the pitch for Gryffindor, it would seem some sort of emergency would come up for the Slytherins and Snape would override her.

As the match came closer, Heather had to start worrying for the safety of herself and her team. Constantly reports reached her ears of attempts by the Slytherins to put her players out of commission. This, coupled with their predictable taunts and jeers, did much to undermine Ron's courage. While Heather was fairly confident that she could handle anything that would be thrown at her, Ron's face went pale almost anytime he saw anyone from Slytherin.

Gone was the skill he had shown not even a week ago during practices, seemingly overnight. To Heather's dismay Ron had turned surly and was quick to call out other members of the team for minor mistakes. It also didn't help that Ginny's mood towards him had soured as well, and Heather was sure that had to do with more than just his behavior during practices.

On their way back from the last practice before the match, Heather and Ron were walking together, the rest of the team having left them behind. She was doing her best to try and bring him around, for the team's sake as much as his own, but wasn't having much success. As Heather pulled open a tapestry that hid one of her secret passages, both she and Ron came to a sudden stop. There in the hidden passageway were Ginny and Dean, locked together and deeply invested in each other's mouths.

"OY!" cried Ron, going bright red in the face. His words rebounded off the stone walls creating an echo.

With the sound of a drain plug being pulled, the two of them pulled apart. Dean looked almost embarrassedly at Heather, but Ginny looked defiantly at Ron.

"What?" she asked with the same tone of voice that made her mother feared by her children.

"I don't want to find you snogging like that in public!" yelled Ron, clearly not as intimidated as he probably should be.

"Hark who's talking?" answered Ginny, voice dripped with derision. Dean tried to interject here and pull her away, but she brushed him off. "Listen here, you prat, I am free to kiss anyone I'd like, wherever I like, and it's none of your business."

"Oh yes, it is! You think I want people saying my sister is a slut?"

"A what! You dare to call me that after how you've been behaving? You and Lavender right there in front of everyone, looking for all the world like you're attached at the mouth. And don't think I don't know how that started" she finished, her voice going frosty again.

Ron seemed to deflate slightly, but his face remained a brilliant shade of red. "What I do with Lavender is no one's business but mine." He growled.

"Exactly, just what I do with Dean is none of yours. So, good night." After a quick look at Heather, she shoved Ron backwards into the corridor and attempted to slam the tapestry closed. It didn't quite come off with the effect she intended, but before Ron could rip it back and resume the argument, Heather put a restraining hand on his arm. He whipped around, fire blazing in his eyes at her.

"What?"

"Don't, Ron. Just don't." Heather responded simply before moving off. Her mind was filled with Ginny's expression during that last look at her. For the briefest moment her face wasn't showing rage or anger, but almost... regret? That didn't make any sense, what did she have to be regretful about? It wasn't like Heather was getting kissed. Ron walked beside her fuming all the way up to the common room.