Strategy { Oliver Wood}

Chapter Twenty

Melanie walked into the girl's dorm to find Jenna and Andy talking but as soon as she walked in the two fell silent.

"Well, don't let the party end just because I walked in," she said before flopping onto her bed.

"Where have you been?" Andy asked changing the subject entirely.

"I was helping Carter with his potions homework. Apparently, Professor Snape really has it out for the Gryffindor first years this year. I know he gives the most homework out of the professors, but I don't think we got that much homework first year.. Between all of us, Carter is not destined to be a potions master, thank goodness he didn't have to brew anything or we probably would have been dead."

"If I remember correctly you weren't so great at potions either," Jenna pointed out.

"That's because Mel was always trying to make up her own potions rather than the assigned one."

"Pretty colors!" Melanie laughed imitating her first year self throwing all sorts of ingredients into her cauldron to create a rainbow effect.

Jenna and Andy laughed with her until Melanie focused her attention on them.

"What have you two been up to?"

"Nothing," they said simultaneously.

Melanie raised a brow. "Riiight. Well, are you guys going to join me in Hogsmeade tomorrow...I need to pick up a new pair of quidditch gloves, mine have finally seen their end of days. I was thinking about giving them a proper burial near the Black Lake."

"Can't," Jenna said without offering an excuse. "Busy."

"Alright, Andy are you-"

"I'm sorry Mel, but I made plans, but we can go next time."

Before Melanie could say anything else, Jenna claimed she had to go find Brandon and Andy excused herself to the showers.

Sitting in total silence, Melanie gave a quick sniff to her shirt. "It's not like I stink!"

She left the girl's dorm and headed downstairs to the common room to find Ace. She sat across from him on the sofa and waited for him to acknowledge her.

He raised his eyes from his book briefly.

"Yes?"

"Why is everyone avoiding me like the plague?"

"Who is avoiding you?"

"Andy and Jenna."

"Well, that hardly constitutes as everyone, Mel."

"I know but...it still doesn't make any sense. We were fine earlier, and when I walked in they were whispering."

He gasped. "Not whispering!? Those foul cows."

She smiled. "Okay so I might be slightly paranoid."

"Oliver must be rubbing off on you then," he said returning to his book.

"I haven't spoken to him in a few days so I doubt it. I'm just wondering why everyone is being...weird."

"Am I being weird?"

"No...well no more than usual."

He grinned before setting his book aside. "Well, I don't know what to tell you about Jenna and Andy but I'm sure that they aren't avoiding you. Maybe they are planning something."

Melanie pouted. "But Andy and I always plan things together.."

"But Andy and Jenna have been getting closer this year so maybe their spending time together to bond."

Melanie suddenly screeched scaring Ace enough that he fell off the sofa.

"What?! What?!" he looked around. "Why did you scream like that?!"

"Because I figured it out!" Melanie said once all the pieces of the puzzle clicked in her mind. "Those mother..."

She arose and left the common room without saying anything else. Ace remained on the floor for a few moments trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

Suddenly, Melanie came back in.

"Ace, come on!"

"But where are we even going?!"

"You brought me out here...to the quidditch pitch? I can't get you out here during practice, yet you bring me out here," Ace rubbed his face. "Mel...sometimes I could just give you a swift kick in the arse."

"Careful I might like it," she winked at him.

"Why are we out here?"

"I don't know, I didn't want to be in the castle right now. Too much drama going on."

"I don't even know what you screamed for back there."

"Well, this stays between you and I and if you tell anyone I swear you'll somehow go missing in the Forbidden Forest."

"Merlin, Mel..alright go ahead I promise I won't say anything."

"Good, I wouldn't want to kill you Ace. Anyways, Andy and I were talking about crushes and what not, and she told me that the person she was interested in was on the quidditch team."

"Our quidditch team?"

"No, Saturn's quidditch team...yes our quidditch team. Keep up with me here Ace. Anyways, I thought it was you at first."

Ace made a face. "Er... well the thing about that is I don't feel that way about her...she's like a little sister..."

"I know..shh...it's not you. It's Jenna...I figured it out. I am a freakin' genius."

"You think it's Jenna?"

"Yes."

"But what about Brandon?"

"Jenna and Brandon?" Melanie snorted. "Yeah okay."

Ace rubbed his face. "Relationships confuse me. Why can't it be just as simple as looking someone in the eye saying you like them and boom it's done."

"It is that simple, Ace," Melanie said resting her head on his shoulder. "It's just people make it way more complicated than it needs to be."

"Tell me about it," he said glancing down at her through the corner of his eye before resting his head on top of hers.

Suddenly, the moment was interrupted by Ace's stomach rumbling.

"Good grief man! What the hell was that?!"

"I haven't eaten much today!"

"I think we just heard your stomach's dying wails."

"It wasn't that bad!"

Oliver was sitting in the corridor in one of the window seats looking out, avoiding everyone who basically decided it was okay to call him stupid. He was glancing out when he caught sight of Melanie walking towards the castle with Ace McGregor.

"Because you know what's going to happen? One day Mel is just going to give up getting you and you're going to realize that you like her, but it'll be too late."

Todd's words ran through his head and finally it him it. It felt like he had just been hit by the Hogwarts Express, but everything finally made sense.

"I really am stupid."