𝟏.| ✬ 𝒟ℯ𝒶𝓇 ℬ𝒾𝓁𝓁, ✬ {ℬ. 𝒲ℯ𝒶𝓈𝓁ℯ𝓎}

\𝓈ℯ𝓋ℯ𝓃𝓉ℯℯ𝓃\

~

After Christmas, Wood started working the team harder than ever. When he'd gotten back to Hogwarts after the holidays, he'd kissed Eleanora hello in front of the entire common room, and then gotten to work on his practice schedule. Dating Oliver was weird. Eleanora liked him a lot, she always had, but sometimes it was hard to get him out of his own world.

He trained them relentlessly until rain replaced the snow, and then trained them some more. One particular evening, in the locker room, the Weasley twins started to let the cold and sleep deprivation get to them. "Wood, this is insane," George complained, pulling on his quidditch robes. "It's our fifth practice this week and we've got homework."

"Since when have you cared about homework?" Wood asked.

"All I'm saying is that it's getting to be too much," said George.

"You're becoming a fanatic," Fred said.

"It's an obsession," said George.

"Frankly we're a little worried-"

"-maybe instead of practice, we could get you some help."

Wood cut them off with a sharp look. "Shut up you two, come on, let's go." They marched out onto the field, into the rain and kicked off.

Practice was terrible. It was wet, and soggy, and miserable. Eleanora had just missed her ninth goal of the game, and she could tell Wood was trying to figure out how best to tell her off for this. Dating made that part more difficult. She felt a whoosh of air and Fred slammed into her.

"Again?" she shrieked, grabbing onto her broom and his arm for support.

"Ha! Gotcha!" he said, laughing. "Oy! Don't hold onto my arm- that- woah... woah!" he pretended to slip off his broom, catching himself at the last second.

Eleanora leaned to the side, pushing him. "Do it again, Weasley, and I'll really knock you off your broom," she said, unable to keep from laughing.

"Focus!" Wood shouted from the goalpost, aggravated.

Eleanora made a few more shots, missing most of them. George dive-bombed Fred again and Eleanora caught Oliver glaring at them. "Will you stop messing around!" He started to fly towards them. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George really did fall off his broom this time, landing face first in the mud. The rest of the team landed next to him. "Snape's refereeing?" George spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."

The rest of the team chorused their complaints. "Snape hates Harry especially, he's not going to be fair," Eleanora said.

"It's not my fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."

Back at the locker rooms, the team continued to complain. "Why would Snape referee the match? He hasn't played a game of quidditch in his life," said Angelina.

"Wonder if he even knows all the rules," said Eleanora.

"Bet I could knock him off his broom," said Fred, pulling on his robes. Eleanora grabbed Fred's jacket before he could get to it and pulled it on. He shook his head at her. "Do you even own your own jacket? Maybe that's what George and I should've gotten you for Christmas."

"Yours are just warmer," she countered, thinking back to all the times she'd stolen a Weasley brothers' article of clothing. She didn't see Oliver frown from the other side of the locker room.

When they got back up to the common room, she joined Oliver on a couch by the fire to do homework. "Did you take ancient runes?" she asked.

He shook his head, then handed her his potions paper. "Could you read this? I'm not sure if I got all of the terminology right."

~

The next week was horrible. Every time Eleanora saw Snape, he gave her some snide, offhand comment about the match, and she was starting to have trouble thinking up witty comebacks. The match was getting closer, and she couldn't help feeling nervous. She knew it was ridiculous to get like this about a school quidditch game, but after all the work they'd put in... and what if Snape did mess with the game? As much as she was favored, she knew it wouldn't make up for how much Snape hated the rest of Gryffindor, especially Harry.

One night, while they were roaming the halls, Eleanora opened up about her fears with Fred and George. They both listened in silence, which was unusual for them. "Do you think you could do anything about it? Talk to Snape or something?" Fred asked.

Eleanora almost laughed. "Talk to Snape?"

"You're his favorite student, he loves you!"

"He does not love me, and if he does, it's only because I'm not bad at potions." At the words "not bad" the twins rolled their eyes at each other. "That's all we talk about, you know. Potions and sometimes quidditch, it's not like we're friends or anything. He would take points away from me in a heartbeat."

The twins looked dejected at this. "We'll just have to look out for Harry, then," George said. "You know he'll be the main target, so we'll just have to make sure he's safe, and play the game as best we can." Eleanora and Fred nodded in agreement.

On the day of the game, Eleanora watched Oliver talk privately with Harry after giving the team the usual pep talk. Fred got up to peer out the door of the locker room. "The whole school's out there!" he said. "Even- blimey- Dumbledore's come to watch!" Eleanora and Harry both rushed to the door to check.

"Dumbledore?" Harry said incredulously. Eleanora saw how relieved he was and thought they must be thinking the same thing. With Dumbledore there, they'd be alright.

Snape looked meaner than Eleanora had ever seen him when they stepped out onto the pitch. She exchanged a worried look with Oliver, then he gave her a small smile. She nodded to him, then mounted her boom. Within the first five minutes, Hufflepuff was awarded a penalty because George Weasley had hit a bludger at Snape.

"Sorry" he said, not sounding very sorry. Eleanora pretended to push him off his broom and he laughed. Cedric Diggory gave her an apologetic smile after scoring the penalty shot. Eleanora scored a goal for Gryffindor with the help of Alicia, and then noticed Harry going into a sharp dive.

Almost knocking Snape off his broom, he pulled out of the dive, the golden snitch clutched in his hand. It was one of the shortest matches Eleanora had ever had.

Eleanora tossed her hands up, cheering with the rest of the Gryffindors. She threw her arms around Oliver as soon as they landed, kissing his cheek. The twins made fake retching noises, but each gave Eleanora a hug. "I think it's time for a trip to the kitchens, don't you?" Fred muttered into her ear before pulling away.

When they got back to the common room, Oliver was the first one to greet them, putting an arm around Eleanora. "Where've you been?" he asked. She dumped a handful of cakes into his arms.

"Just getting provisions. Let's get this party started!"