The Gathering: The New Order of Merlin Book 1

28. Tom's surprise

  Ginny sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, where she had a perfect view of Harry Potter who chatted away with his friends with his back facing the giant fireplace. He looked so cute with the crackling fire illuminating his dark hair. She fantasized about smoothing up the mess. Or not. This was such a typical Harry.

Another week had passed by, and she barely exchanged a polite "How are you" with him. She had so many opportunities to talk to him but chickened out each time. It was a wonder she made it into Gryffindor—the house of the brave. Maybe the Sorting Hat had made a mistake. She pulled out her diary but barely managed to dip the quill in ink before being forced to hide it back in her bag. Colin, Merlin, and Jack sat down around her and immediately reached for the food.

"Hi," she said quickly, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Hi Ginny," Colin said, his mouth already full with a sweet bun.

She gave him a weak smile. She was slightly irritated that they interrupted her, but it was hard to stay mad at Colin.

He licked his sticky fingers and started babbling. "I wrote some stuff describing Quidditch in my last letter and dad wrote back that my little brother, Dennis, got so excited, he demanded they bring him to Hogwarts to see the game. I don't think that would be allowed, would it?"

"Likely not," Merlin said.

"Anyway, I hope that he gets his Hogwarts letter too so he could join us here in two years. That would be awesome if he was a wizard too, wouldn't it?"

"Be careful what you wish for," Ginny warned. "Siblings can be annoying. It's nice you got a break from him for a while."

"Nah. My brother is great. I can't wait for him to get here but poor Cleo is going to be so sad. She's an Australian Shepherd, and she's such a good dog. She's white and brown and has a few black spots on her face and back. It looks as if someone spilled paint on her. She's so cute and funny. I wish I could bring her here. It's such a shame we're not allowed to have dogs here. I've seen cats in the dorms, why not dogs? Do wizards not like dogs?"

Boys had their mouths full, so Ginny answered.

"It's a strange rule. I like dogs and cats, and all animals really." Ginny sighed, imagining the dog Colin described. Cleo sounded like a beautiful, happy animal. "But my family only had owls or rats. I think my parents felt that there were too many animals in the house already."

"What animals?"

"My brothers," she said, rolling her eyes. Her brothers were the reason why she could never have the things she wanted.

Colin continued talking in between swallowing food, "It's really cool that two of your brothers both made it onto the Quidditch team. I saw you on a broom during our lesson. You're good. You all are. I'm the only one among you that doesn't know how to fly yet, but I'll be fine watching the practice from the stands. I'm going to take so many photos. I just hope I have enough film."

"Save some film for the actual game, Colin," Merlin pointed out.

Ginny's eyes travelled to where Harry sat. Maybe if she lived in a parallel universe, where she was brave, she would ask him to go to the Quidditch field together for a quick game—just the two of them. They would tumble through the air and share a laugh. It would be perfect because he was perfect.

Colin waved to catch the attention of Fred and George who had just risen from the bench. "When is your next Quidditch practice?"

The twins walked up to them and addressed Ginny. "Ginny, ever so popular with the boys."