Ron went straight up to bed early, and Harry and Ginny sat down by the fire. Hermione stayed for a while, but since Ron was not there, she decided to go to bed, too.
                              
"Maybe you should go up and talk to him," Ginny said. 
                              
"You think so?" Harry said, looking at her.
                              
"Definitely," Ginny said, smiling.
                              
"Alright," he said, glancing over to see Neville, Dean, and Seamus were still in the common room and decided to go on up.
                              
He said goodnight to Ginny and headed up to the dorm room. Ron was lying in his bed pretending to sleep, but Harry was not falling for it.
                              
"Wake up, mate," Harry said throwing a pillow at him.
                              
"What?" Ron said angrily, sitting up, but avoiding Harry's eyes.
                              
"What's wrong?" Harry asked.
                              
"Nothing, trying to sleep," Ron said feigning a yawn and went to lie back down.
                              
"No, you weren't. Everything's going to be fine, tomorrow," Harry said, walking over to Ron's bed.
                              
"I don't know, Harry. The Slytherins are out for blood," Ron said, dropping the act completely, and sitting up again.
                              
"They always are, but we've held them back before. We have to fight them. It is not always just about Quidditch. It's more important to fight now, more than ever," Harry said.
                              
Ron looked up into Harry's eyes and only nodded. The Slytherins had been at him all year. It was payback time. They did not say anything else, but lay down their beds and after a long silence, they both fell into a restless sleep.
                              
No one said anything when they woke up. They moved slowly out the door and headed down to the common room. Harry stowed his wand up his sleeve and just in case, his mother's wand, too, went down stairs and ate breakfast with Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
                              
It was excellent Quidditch conditions as they walked out into the pitch. Hermione wished them good luck as they went to the changing rooms. Harry saw that Filch had repaired the stairwell up to the stands and he gave a cautious look to the Forbidden Forest before heading to the changing room. They silently changed and then the team looked to Ron for direction. He took a few deep breaths and glanced around at his team before finding his voice.
                              
"This match is going to be the hardest one we ever have played. There is no doubt about that. The Slytherins are going to get tough and they are going to play dirty. We have to play just as hard. Capitalize off their attacks. They'll focus so hard on hurting us that their offense will crumble," Ron gulped. "Be careful, watch yourselves," he added nervously.
                              
They all nodded their heads in agreement.
                              
"Let's go do this thing," he said, determinately.
                              
They opened the doors and rode their brooms out into the sunlight.
                              
"Here comes Gryffindor! Weasley, Weasley, Finnigan, Bell, Sloper, Williams and... Potter!" Colin shouted loudly through the megaphone. 
                              
Harry saw Hermione and Hagrid in the stands cheering them on, as they circled the field once before landing near Madam Hooch in the middle of the pitch.
                              
"Alright, guys..." Ron said.
                              
"And girls..." Ginny interjected.
                              
"...and girls... let's put their face in the dirt. Remember half, if not all, of their team's parents are Death Eaters. This is our match," he said.
                              
"And here comes the Slytherin team, who has changed their lineup, yet again, with some heavy hitters," Colin announced, as the green and black players flew out of their doors. "Pucey, Crabbe, Goyle, Warrington, Bulstrode, Bletchley... and Malfoy," Colin finished, somewhat lazily.