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.