Chapter 1: So Young

�Wood! WOOD! Focus, please?�

Professor McGonagall’s voice rang through the classroom, causing an abrupt end to Oliver’s daydreams. Hastily he shook all other thoughts from his head in an attempt to return his consciousness to the lecture. He leaned forward slightly in his chair, squinting as he tried to focus on the lines he was supposed to be copying down.

It was his final class this afternoon, and he was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate with everything else going on in his head.

“Quidditch tactics?� Lucas teased him after the bell had rung, as they were heading for the door.

Oliver only grunted for in return, slinging his bag over one shoulder and shoving his other hand into his robe pocket.

They were barely out in the corridor when a soft voice called, “Luke!� Melissa Golding, a tall, pretty girl with dark curls and a wide, beaming smile stepped towards them. She embraced Lucas, giving him a quick peck on the lips. “Hi, Oliver,� she added in his direction, still smiling. He gave a nod and a small grin in return. He liked Melissa; she was a nice girl.

“Are we going straight to dinner? Or should we get rid of our bags at Gryffindor Tower first?� Lucas wondered, facing Oliver. Melissa looked up at her boyfriend, indicating that she wanted to go to the common room first.

Oliver answered, “Nah, Luke, you two go ahead… I think I’ll go for a walk before eating.�

Luke stared at him with a feigned look of surprise. “You and your walks,� he muttered, rolling his eyes and placing his arm around Melissa’s waist. They had started in the direction of Gryffindor Tower when he turned and added, “See you in a bit, then?�

Oliver nodded and turned to walk the other way down the corridor. He weaved this way and that through the throng of students, all going in different directions in search of the fastest shortcut to the Great Hall, or rushing to drop their books in their Houses before dinner. The chattering of students and clapping of feet against the stone floors drowned out all other exterminate sounds as Oliver hurried down the staircase to the Entrance Hall. He breathed a soft sigh of relief as soon as the great front door had swung shut behind him, easing his mind to all the stressful noises from inside.

All that could be heard now was a soft, slightly chilly wind rippling through the high grass and rustling through the dark treetops of the Forbidden Forest. Oliver made his way down the front steps and chose the unkempt path that bent off to the left, listening to the frosty grass crunch beneath his soles. Initially he had thought of walking towards the Quidditch pitch, as he often did. Today, however, just for a change he followed the tree line at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

There was a lot on his mind today, even more than usual. Luke was right – he was partly thinking about the upcoming Quidditch game against Hufflepuff, but that wasn’t all. They had had a rough season, but he was content with the team this year and trusted them to do their best. They had trained more than enough; Potter was truly a part of the team now and performed outstandingly in almost every game, the Chasers were getting even better with their team play as the girls grew closer, and the Weasley twins, apart from always adding to the team spirit, always played superbly. No, even if new tactics and game play seemed to constantly sizzle in his head, that was not the only thing that had been clouding up his mind recently.

Oliver was a seventh-year now, well into his NEWT level courses. He was fairly satisfied with the four OWLs he had achieved at the end of his fifth year, but his mother had obviously expected more. She did not approve of all the time he devoted to Quidditch instead of focusing on his studies, whereas his father had been thrilled when his son had first been drafted as Keeper, and then appointed Captain of the House team.

He often thought of what would happen after he had finished Hogwarts. He was going to miss the team terribly, and Hogwarts itself, as it had become his home away from home. Being at school meant that he could see his friends every day – the few that he had, who could stand his fanatic Quidditch interest – something he feared would change once they went off to start their own lives.

He had started to have that feeling already with Luke; he was slipping away. It was funny how close friends they were, considering that Luke had never had an interest in playing Quidditch. He did, however, watch the games with the rest of the House and listened to Oliver if he had problems with the team at practice. Whether he wanted to talk tactics or personal issues with the team members, Luke was always there, ready to give advice. They often agreed that in many cases it took a complete outsider to figure out what was going wrong when the team members themselves were too caught up in it. Luke had been a valuable friend to Oliver ever since their first week at Hogwarts, but he had seen much less of Luke since he and Melissa had started dating. Oliver often reprimanded himself for having these jealous thoughts, because it wasn’t like that. He was happy for Luke - Melissa was a sweet girl and he wished them all the best. They were getting older, after all, and it wasn’t odd for people their age to have found a special someone already. A fact that Oliver’s mother often pointed out as well.

Girls had not really been a priority of Oliver’s, and to be frank, he still hadn’t met any girl that had been able to steal his interest away from Quidditch. He supposed that he would like to meet someone, someday, but for the time being, he would rather focus on his team.

A sudden puff of wind rustled the throng of branches on his left, startling him. A growling in his stomach told him to veer right, and slowly make his way back towards the castle.

Oliver liked his walks. While the grounds could become close to crowded in the summer, people rarely went out more than necessary this time of year. He even had trouble bringing the team together for extra practise time before the Hufflepuff game, despite his persistent speeches of how important it was that they were used to playing all weather conditions and temperatures. Oliver often found that the chilly wind, biting at his cheeks and ruffling his light-brown hair, calmed him and helped sort out his thoughts. Today, however, he was forced to return inside with equally much on his mind.

He had barely passed the threshold when he noticed a bit of commotion in the Entrance Hall. A small crowd had formed against the wall, and he heard the angry voice of a girl amongst them.

“…you wretched, pathetic coward! And you better wipe that smirk off your face, or I’ll gladly do it for you!�

Oliver stepped forward and looked over the swarm of students, mostly first- or second-years, he noticed. A young Gryffindor girl held her arm high, pointed her wand at a stuck-up-looking Slytherin boy holding a shabby, black wizard’s hat, and threw her head back with her long, flaming red hair whipping the air like a lash.

“Give it back, or I swear you will regret it.� Her eyes were narrowed as she looked at the Slytherin with contempt. Beside her stood another Gryffindor, a small boy who looked terrified; the owner of the shabby-looking hat, Oliver presumed.

The Slytherin didn’t even have time to laugh, retort or draw his wand before the girl shot the quickest hex Oliver had ever seen. Instantly, hair started to grow in the boy’s face, rapidly covering it to resemble the features of a monkey. The Slytherin dropped the hat and stumbled a few steps back.

Many of the students were laughing, a few applauding the girl who now bent down to return the hat to her classmate. He stuttered a quick ‘thank you’ to her before heading towards the Great Hall, while she became surrounded by her fellow Gryffindors, and even a few from the Houses.

Oliver was immediately intrigued by this pretty red-haired girl, baffled by her courage and charisma. He felt a sudden attraction and an urge to step forward and say something to her as well, but found himself quite frozen to the spot.

“Nice one, Ginny!� a familiar voice called from the stairs leading down to the Entrance Hall. Oliver turned his head to see the Weasley twins approaching, wide grins spreading on both their faces. They came to a stop at the young redhead, and added, “She gets it all from us, you know. Oh, hey, Oliver!� Fred nodded in his direction. “You headed towards dinner?�

Oliver was about to answer, but noticed his mouth had gone dry on his sudden revelation. Of course it was her; he should have realised. The strong, charming girl was their sister. Their baby, second-year, sister. He was at once somewhat nauseated by his previous thoughts.

“Umm... I just ate,� he stammered quietly, suddenly turning and walking briskly in direction of the stairs. He hurried up them, taking two steps at a time, and did not stop until he had reached Gryffindor Tower and the seventh-year boys’ dormitory.

Repulsion hit him first. She was twelve years old, for crying out loud. Still, she had been able to awaken something in him - not even the most intense moments on the Quidditch pitch had ever made him feel this way. The drive, the strength, the apparent energy in her intrigued him so suddenly and so strongly, yet he had not even spoken to her in person. There was something that made Oliver want to get to know this girl.

But she was so young.

Chapter 2: Now Taken

“Everyone ready?� Harry Potter asked his team, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt. He picked up his broom from the changing room bench, faced the six players and took a deep, shaking breath. “Well then, let’s go beat those lousy Slytherins!�

The team stood, doing their best to stand straight and act confident in front of their captain, and followed him out on the Quidditch pitch.


The moment Oliver saw Harry and the team emerging from the changing rooms, he left his polite conversation with Madam Hooch hanging and strode out to meet his old team mate. When Harry seemed to recognise who was walking towards him, Oliver saw his face light up in a grin.

“Oliver? Is that you? What are you doing here, mate?� Harry covered the last couple of paces distancing them and embraced his old captain, clapping him on the back. “Shouldn’t you be with Puddlemere? Not that I’m not happy to see you or anything.� Harry was still grinning widely and looked relieved to have someone there for his very first match as Quidditch Captain.

“We don’t have practise every day you know…� Oliver winked. “I heard the news, and wanted to come out and watch a game for once.� Oliver, who was slightly taller, placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Congrats on making captain, Harry. I think you’re a perfect fit. Carrying on with my great leadership skills, right?� he said with a wink.

Harry raised his shoulders and made a face. “Well, I don’t know, I figure they didn’t have many other candidates…� he joked. “I’ve tried to keep the team in good shape, I mean, I want to make sure we play a good first match, so I’ve been trying out a few techniques that you actually…�

Slowly, Oliver lost focus on the conversation, as he spotted someone over Harry’s shoulder. God… she’s grown even more beautiful, he thought. And she’s on the Quidditch team…

Oliver was awaken from his thoughts by the sharp sound of Madam Hooch’s whistle. Harry hastily turned to face the pitch, and Oliver gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and wished him luck. He then retreated to the side, numbly proceeding to climb the stairs to the first viewer’s balcony. He sat down in an empty spot beside Professor Flitwick just in time to see the total of fourteen players kick off from the ground. But this match, the only player his eyes would follow was the Gryffindor Chaser with flaming red hair.


Oliver stood with the rest and cheered as Harry, the boy whose role model and mentor he once had been, brought an end to the game by catching the Snitch. He held his hands high and clapped, beaming. He was impressed by the team Harry had picked out; Ron Weasley had turned out to have quite as much talent as his siblings, the new Beaters weren’t bad at all and the Chasers’ teamwork was stupendous. Although Ginny had scored about half the points herself, he guessed.

The rest of the students began milling down the steps and across the grounds, retreating towards the castle. Again, Oliver positioned himself by the door to the changing room, eager to congratulate the team.

First out were the two other Chasers apart from Ginny, closely followed by the Beaters. After a couple of minutes the Weasleys and Harry emerged, all in the middle of a laugh.

“Did you see the face on their ugly Captain?� Ginny was giggling. “It was like he couldn’t believe it, but what did he think, that they could win by drooling?�

The three of them laughed, not noticing Oliver at first. At last, Ron spotted him.

“Hey! Didn’t see you before the game there, did I? I was nervous as hell,� Ron said with a grin, obviously pleased with his efforts.

“Bye all,� a voice called, “I’m off to see Dean.�

Before Oliver managed to speak, Ginny had started off across the lawn, her long hair rippling in the wind. He stopped himself from heaving a sigh and faced Ron again, trying to listen to him repeating scenes from the match.

Behind Ron, Oliver spotted Harry, whose eyes he noticed were also locked on the redhead heading towards the castle. He also noticed the silent longing in his gaze.

Eventually the three of them started to make their way back to the castle, as well. Oliver lagged behind with Harry on purpose, allowing Ron to hop along ahead of them, humming happily.

Oliver first complimented him on the game, and Harry thanked him, insisting that it was Oliver’s mere presence that had let him relax and perform well. He seemed genuinely pleased that his old captain had come to watch his first game as leader.

“Harry,� Oliver then interrupted, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “I just noticed… Is there something between you and her? I mean, between you and Ron’s sister?�

Harry turned and looked in the direction of front door, although Ginny had long since gone inside. His gaze became slightly hazy before he gave a half-sigh and said, “No. Or I guess there’s something there. So someday, maybe. But no.� He faced Oliver. “She’s with Dean Thomas now, a bloke in my year. Why do you ask?�

“No reason. She’s a good Chaser,� Oliver mumbled. He was grateful when they reached the stone steps. He cleared his throat and addressed both Harry and Ron. “I’m heading off now, I can’t stay or my coach’ll kill me. I reckon it’ll take a while to get back through all the security, too. On my way in I thought they were going to go ahead and search my intestines, while they were at it.�

Oliver gave half a smile and squinted up at the two boys in the dim light of the setting sun. They both grinned and raised their hands in a wave.

“Bye, Oliver. It was nice seeing you,� Harry said quietly.

“Bye!� Ron added. “We’ll come watch you with Puddlemere later, once they’ve realised you’re too good for reserve, okay?�

“Come back some time, will you?�

Oliver looked at Harry. “We’ll see,� he answered. Then he turned and headed towards the front gate.

He had come partly to see his old friends and his favourite sport. But deep down, he knew he had also come to see her again. And his premonitions were right – she had grown into a very beautiful, mature young woman. Without losing even a hint of her spark or liveliness.

He had of course known beforehand that nothing was going to happen or change with this visit; it had been a shock if she had been single. But that Harry, one of his oldest mates whom he respected and valued as a friend, fancied her… That was something he would not wedge himself between.

Still, he was glad he had come out today, if only just to see her once more. It pained him nonetheless to learn that she was now taken.