Strategy { Oliver Wood}

Chapter One

Melanie Anderson remembered the first game she had witnessed Oliver Wood play in. The young determined boy stepped on the quidditch pitch with his team. As Keeper, it was his job to keep the opposing team from scoring and by the looks of his facial expressions, he was planning on taking his position very seriously. His competitive nature was written clear across his face as he mounted his broom. He looked like he would be the toughest Keeper to pass.

She was prepared to see the match of the century.

Instead, Melanie saw Oliver Wood take a bludger to the head two minutes into the game. It had hit him hard enough that the boy didn't wake up until a week later.

It wasn't until their first match against each other that while Oliver tried to keep her from scoring a goal that Melanie slipped and called him a bludger brain idiot. While it didn't come across as the greatest insult, he name calling had caught Oliver off guard. Enough so that she was able to score her first goal against him.

As time went on, it was quite obvious that Oliver was a talented Keeper, but he only had one weakness and it seemed to show whenever Gryffindor had a match against Ravenclaw. Melanie knew how to get Oliver all worked up and flustered and no matter how hard he tried to ignore the girl, her tactics worked every time.

Every year he would vow to get her back, and every year he seemed to fail.

He was set on beating her.

Melanie enjoyed watching his face scrunch up when he was mad.

Walking through Diagon Alley with her younger brother, Carter, Melanie led the way as her brother looked over his list for the upcoming school year.

"Look at all these books!" Carter cried out. "This is horrible."

Melanie shook her head as she glanced over at her brother's list.

"Oh come on, it's not even that bad," Melanie said. "It's just your first year. You should see my list as a fifth year."

Carter grabbed the list from his sister and with a quick glance handed back to her. "Nope."

Melanie laughed. "Yeah your list doesn't seem so bad now, does it?"

"I really hope I'm not placed in Ravenclaw," Carter said.

"Ouch, just hit me where it hurts why don't you? You know, just because you're placed in a different house, it doesn't mean you get less work than Ravenclaw."

Carter frowned. "Aww man."

"You'll live," she told him as she held open the door for him to enter the Flourish and Blotts bookstore. "Besides, you want to be sorted into Ravenclaw, it's the best house."

"Mum says all houses have amazing qualities." Carter said sticking his tongue out at her.

"Yeah, she only told you that so you wouldn't feel bad if you didn't get into Ravenclaw."

Carter made a face at her before taking his list and announcing that he was going to go find his books. Melanie had been given the responsibility to take her little brother to Diagon Alley to collect his school supplies while her mother worked another long double shift at St. Mungo's. They had been to Ollivander's first so that he could get his wand, and afterwards had collected his robes. One of the last places they needed to go was the bookshop and if they had enough time afterwards, Melanie was hoping to head to Quality Quidditch Supplies so she could pick up a new pair of quidditch gloves for the upcoming season.

Glancing over her list, she looked around for one of the bookstore employees, knowing they could find the books in a heartbeat instead of her running around the store like her brother. But instead of finding an employee, Melanie spotted her rival and it was just her luck that he spotted her too.

She smiled at him, and instantly saw his eyes narrow at her.

She walked over to him while he did his best to try and ignore her by picking up the nearest book.

"Well, well, well, what are the odds of meeting here, Wood?" she began.

"Not very likely," Oliver mumbled covering his face behind the behind.

"Oh that's not true. Gryffindor winning a quidditch match, that's not very likely."

Oliver lowered the book and glared at her, his nostrils flaring slightly.

"Gryffindor is going to win this year, Anderson! Just you wait."

"I've been waiting for a couple of years now," she countered.

She watched as his face became red.

"Aww Woody, you know you're absolutely precious when you're upset!" she cooed at him reaching out and pinching his cheek lightly.

He pushed her hand away. "Listen here, Anderson, you've been fortunate these past couple of seasons, but I'm going to lead my team to victory this year."

"You said that last year, Ollie Cakes, and the year before that...you're beginning to sound like a broken record."

"The only broken record will be how badly Ravenclaw is going to lose to Gryffindor this year," Oliver replied confidently but his face dropped as Melanie began laughing.

"Oh Wood, you're too funny."

"I wasn't joking!" The angrier Oliver grew, the thicker his accent became to the point where it was growing to hard anything he was saying.

His face was all scrunched up as he muttered under his breath at her, his brown eyes full of pure determination as they were every year.

No matter how bad Gryffindor lost, there was one thing anyone could count on and that was Oliver's determination to win.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see this season, won't we?" Melanie said to him. "See you out on the pitch, Woody Boy."

She began to walk away to find her brother when she heard Oliver call after her.

"Yeah we will see and stop calling me that!"

She turned around to face him. "Fine. Bye Ollie Bear."