Strategy { Oliver Wood}

Chapter Twelve

"Well, let's see I have Ollie Bear, Ollie Bean, Hollywood, Firewood, Driftwood, Robin Wood...," Oliver began naming all the nicknames that he remembered Melanie calling him over the years of knowing one another.

"I don't care what she calls you, nothing is worse than Carter Farter," Carter told him. "That's embarrassing. "

Oliver laughed. "Okay, that's a bad one, I'll give you that."

"I like mine," Todd said from where he sat in one of the Gryffindor armchairs. "Todd Pod. I sound like-"

"A weird frog," Carter finished for him.

"Gee thanks," Todd replied. "You know, rather than you two sitting here complaining about your nicknames, why don't you make up nicknames for Mel?"

"Because it won't work," Carter said.

"Yeah, Melanie enjoys that even more than complaining about them," Oliver agreed.

"You guys are spending way too much time on all this. I'm telling you in can all be solved quite quickly," Todd sighed.

"Oh yeah, how?" Carter asked curiously.

"Easy. Wood dates your sister."

Carter's eyes widened in horror before he turned to Oliver with an evil glare. "You want to date my big sister?"

"Whoa! I didn't even say anything!" Oliver told him.

"Yeah but you aren't disagreeing here, either. Oh...so you do like her!" Carter threw an accusing finger in his face. "That's why you've been hanging out with me, isn't it? To get with my sister!"

Oliver facepalmed as Todd laughed and other Gryffindor students stared over in their direction upon entering.

"No and no!" Oliver said. "And stop yelling this stuff out loud for everyone to hear."

"Yeah we wouldn't want anyone to know that Ollie Cakes here has a crush on the girl who obviously like him," Todd replied flatly. "Whatever will the people of Hogwarts think? What will they say? Oh wait, I know. They'll say...about damn time!"

"Shut up, Todd!" Oliver said before going to whack the boy with a throw pillow. "Let's just forget this conversation and head down to the Feast okay?"

"You got it, Captain," Todd saluted him before pushing himself up and leaving out the portrait.

Oliver turned to Carter to see the boy still had a suspicious look on his face.

"Please stop looking at me like that."

"Melanie focus," Ace snapped his fingers in front of his Chaser's face.

"How am I supposed to focus knowing that the Halloween feast is about to start and we're all out here freezing our arses off!" Melanie said steadying herself on her broom. "I can smell the pumpkin pie, but instead of enjoying it, I'm out here listening to you ramble on about the Hawkshead Attacking Formation."

"It's important that we are prepared for it," Ace told her.

"I don't see how we couldn't be. Wood uses the same strategy every time we play them and before Wood, Charlie used it. It's their signature move. When Wood panics, he sets his girls into Hawkshead mode. We've all seen it in action, we know what to expect."

"She's got a point, Ace," Brandon said.

"You're only saying that because your stomach is growling," Ace said with an eye roll.

"Well...Mel mentioned pumpkin pie."

"I don't know about you guys," Jenna Tulley, a fellow Chaser, added, " but I am craving some meat."

Brandon nudged Melanie who snorted only to watch as Jenna punched Brandon hard on the arm.

"OW! That hurt!"

"Serves you right, you stupid git."

Ace realized he had lost the battle with his team. "Alright, alright, let's head to the feast."

"Yay, pie!" Melanie cheered.

"Is that all you're going to eat? Pie?" Andy asked as Melanie worked on her third slice.

Melanie glanced down at her plate. "I deserve this."

"You about ate half the pie."

"I'll eat the whole thing by myself."

"Not again. Remember how sick you got last year doing that...I do. I was the one holding your hair."

"That's true friendship, Andy. I would do the same for you."

"Yes, but I don't get drunk off of pie."

"You should try it sometime, it's an amazing experience. Even after you throw up...no regrets and do you know why?"

'No, why?"

"Because pie!"

While the girls seemed to be enjoying their meal and conversing with fellow Ravenclaws, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Quirrell came running in, screaming like a raving lunatic.

"I think he's drunk but not off of pie," Melanie mumbled to Andy.

The professor yelled about a troll being in the dungeon before he collapsed to the floor after fainting. Younger students screamed and others began yelling in excitement, Melanie and Andy included in the latter.

"I've never seen a troll before...up close that is," Ace said as students were told to return back to their respective houses.

"I wish I had known that," Andy said to him, "I would have let you come with me to visit my Nana."

Melanie smiled. "You know, I've always wanted to see one too," she said. "So why don't we go check it out?"

Brandon overheard them and shook his head in response. "The prefects and Heads of the house just told us-"

"Shhhh...," Melanie pressed her index finger against his lips. "Let's break the rules and have some fun tonight."

Brandon's cheeks turned red as Ace and Jenna laughed and nodded their heads.

So far everything was running smoothly as the quidditch team, Mel and Andy ventured in search of the troll.

They went to round a corner as they reached the dungeons, but stopped as Melanie fell back into them quickly.

"What?" Ace whispered.

"It's Snape," She motioned everyone to remain quiet. When they no longer heard any further noise, they all peeked out to see if the coast was clear.

"Phew, that was a close one," Andy said.

"It was, wasn't it?"

A voice behind all of them caused them to jump only for the group to see Professor Flitwick looking up at all of them while tapping his foot.

"H-hey professor," Melanie greeted him. "Come here often?"