The mid November morning of the Gryffindor verses Slytherin match dawned clear, crisp and cold. Harry awoke early, staring at the ceiling. It had been two weeks since Pettigrew had been seen in Hogsmeade and near Hogwarts, and no one could find a trace of the little rat. Even Sirius had lost his scent. The Aurors had found the tunnel Pettigrew had used to enter the castle and closed it off, but apparently Pettigrew had left the area after he had left the castle. Even with Aurors and Hit Wizards checking every port, both Magical and Muggle, there was no sign of Pettigrew or the other escapees.
Harry took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind. He needed to focus. He couldn't worry about Pettigrew or the others at the moment. He had a match against Malfoy to win. Harry thought of all the comments the little git had said over the last week. All Malfoy was doing by making his usual proclamations of how much better he was than Harry, or anyone else, was strengthening Harry's resolve to win. Harry had told Wood that he wanted to embarrass the git so he was going after the Snitch rather quickly. After checking the standings, Wood gave Harry his blessing.
When Harry finally went down to the Common Room, he found an annoyed, frowning Ginny standing at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest. Harry gulped. He knew she could feel his turmoil. She looked tired and grumpy.
"You're brooding again," Ginny said. "It woke me up at half past five in the morning."
"Sorry," Harry said weakly. "I'll try to block..."
"Don't you dare!" Ginny warned. Harry gulped again, looking down. Ginny sighed, taking him in her arms. "You need to stop worrying about Wormtail. Let the Aurors worry about him. And as far as that git Malfoy, well its ferret hunting day." Harry chuckled at that. "That's better."
"Thanks, Gin," Harry smiled. "You always know how to get me to put things into the right perspective."
"That's part of my job, love," joked Ginny. "Now, let's get some breakfast." She took Harry's hand and pulled him out of the Common Room. Harry and Ginny made it to the Great Hall for breakfast without incident. Harry was finally able to relax and focus to get his mind where it needed to be, on the coming match.
Just after they had sat down, his focus was momentarily lost again, thanks to Snape.
"Good luck today, Potter," Snape sneered as he passed them. "You're going to need it."
"Ignore it, Harry," Ginny said, taking his face in her hands, making him look at her and not Snape. "He's just trying to throw you off your game." Ginny added a soft kiss to make him pay attention. Harry took a deep breath and relaxed, regaining his focus.
Soon it was time for the match to begin. Harry never took his eyes off the Snitch as Madame Hooch released the balls. Malfoy was too busy trying to taunt him, that he missed the little golden ball as it hovered near his left ear. Harry lunged forward, grabbing the Snitch and ramming Malfoy with his shoulder for good measure.
"Looking for this, Malfoy?" Harry asked smugly as he held the Snitch up. Malfoy glared at him. In all of ninety seconds the match was over.
The next several weeks seemed to fly by once Ginny had convinced Harry to let the adults worry about the escaped prisoners. Not even Malfoy was making life miserable. Every time he tried he was turned away by two simple words "ninety seconds", and Malfoy would turn red and walk away.
Two weeks before the Holiday Break, Harry received a letter from Sirius telling him to come home with the Weasleys. They would be staying at the Burrow for Christmas. Harry had broken into a wide grin. When Ginny read the letter, her smile matched Harry's.
Harry awoke early on Christmas morning, because of his excitement. He quietly made his way down to Ginny's room to wake her, like she had done to him the previous year. He quietly opened her door and stepped in, closing it quietly behind him. Harry stared at the sleeping form of Ginny curled up in her heavy duvet. Her hair was splayed out over her pillow behind her and Harry had to fight the urge to stroke it. Her face was so peaceful, he almost hated to wake her. Almost.
