Ginny bolted towards Luna, both hands in front of her, both hands flashing red and white, both eyes fixed on her rival, both legs carrying her closer, level, and past. Luna spun to face her, but Ginny was off again, throwing spells behind her, zigzagging and shielding until she was out of easy hit range.
Ginny ducked heavily.
behind
a
tree,
breathing
"Hi!" Luna's face appeared around the tree.
"Gah!" Ginny swung around to get away and they began a frantic game of chase around the large tree trunk. She formed her next stunner and brought it to her finger tips. Suddenly, her foot caught in a tree root. She stumbled backwards, Luna appeared, and a flash of red shot towards her. She made to hit at it, but the stunner slipped straight through her fingers-tips. The last thing she saw before darkness took her was Luna looking at said red-lit fingers, seemingly equal parts surprised and curious. "Push the stunner to the very tips of your fingers."
Ginny nodded, eyes closed, Harry's arms on her own, his chest against her back.
"Now, pool your magic again, form a stinging hex, and push it into your hands."
She nodded uncertainly, dipped deep down into her occlumency, split her consciousness between the intent to stun and the intent to sting, and tried to form two different spells at once. The stinger wobbled into existence, unsure of itself, and dribbled through her body, moving with a nudge of her stinger consciousness here and there. The stinger slowly pooled in her hand.
"Well done, Ginny. Now, as carefully as you can, push the stinger up into your fingers." She tried. Her lip trembled. Her finger tips glowed redder and redder. "H-Harry, I'm going to lose the stunner."
"Shh shh." Harry whispered into her ear. "No, you're not — just a little more."
Ginny's whole body quivered. She could feel the stunner on the very tips of her fingers, no, it was beyond the tips. It was like the magic was both in and out of her body at the same time. It was raw intent given shape in the world. Holding it there was the hardest thing she'd ever tried to do. Every part of her brain screamed at her to cast the damn spell, to make real what she intended.
"Hold it there — Just like that." Harry slid away from her, and she was left alone. He walked in front of her and pointed his wand at her. "Ready?" She gave a single slow nod. She didn't trust herself to move any more than that. "Stupefy."
The bolt shot towards her.
She swung.
The bolt hit the tips of her fingers… and bounced away.
She let out a long breath. She'd done it. "Ginny! What are you doing?" Ginny came to a stop, gave her mum a blank look, and glanced down at the vaguely wand length stick she'd been gripping. She looked back up. "Running trees?"
"Why?"
around
the
orchard
She smiled, innocently. "It's fun?"
Molly Weasley put her hands on her hips. "Well, enough of that then. Come back to the house. We have guests tonight and we need to get started."
Ginny nodded and left her makeshift obstacle course, with its apples for jump points and pine cones for crawl points.
She was so close. So close. Luna wasn't steam rolling her anymore. Power could only take you so far, and Luna wasn't nearly as fit as she now was. Ginny's eyes flashed and danced. Magic flew between the two girls. She was holding her own!
Every time Ginny's casting slowed, she backed off and evaded her gray eyed, dirty-blonde haired nemesis until she was back to strength.
Whenever Luna slowed, she'd pursue.
Back and forth. Back and forth.
Luna was tiring, but then, so was she.
The two stared at each other across the Lovegood woodland clearing, moon shining down through the opening in the canopy, casting silver light on everything it touched. Luna's normally dreamy eyes hardened. Ginny scowled. Luna straightened. Raised both her hands and let loose.
If Ginny thought before that Luna couldn't match her powerful defence with a powerful attack, she instantly found herself to be sorely mistaken.
Spell after spell shot towards her. She spun away and legged it for the safety of the trees again, dodging as much as she could, shielding everything else, and ducked behind the nearest trunk.
Now.
Magic pooled in her hand. A stunner formed on her fingertips. She pushed it as far as she could. It vibrated, desperate to become real, to fulfil its purpose, but she held it, not letting it escape, unwilling to will her will. Yes. YES!
She stepped out from behind the tree and instantly swatted away Luna's first stunner. And the second. And the third.
Luna's eyes widened.
Ginny grinned. "That's right, Luna! How do you like this!?" Luna frowned, looking thoughtful, and raised her other hand.
Ginny crouched, eyes gleaming.
Luna shot stunner after stunner towards her and she swatted away every single damn one of them.
Yes yes yes. This is how it was supposed to go! Then, suddenly, something unseen slammed into her, she doubled over, lost her stunner swatter, red light filled her vision, and darkness took her.
Harry withdrew his legilimency probe. "It is there. If you watch Luna's hands you can see the whiteness of the stinging hex that she lined up just after one of her stunners."
Ginny pouted. "I didn't think this was going to be this difficult."
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