The Keeper

Chapter 4

The songs I listened to while writing were Runaway by Ed Sheeran, Somebody Told Me by The Killers and Alphabet Boy by Melanie Martinez.

This chapter (and possibly the next few) will mostly be normal days at Hogwarts, but please read everything because there will be some small, seemingly insignificant parts that will build up into something important.

Updates will also take longer because I've become busier with school work.

*

Breakfast never ceased to amaze me. Heaps of delicious food were lined up by the dozen along each table, the wondrous smells making my mouth water. After loading up my plate with an array of amazing food, I slipped down next to my roommates.

"Hey guys," I said.

I understood that they tried to say hi back but their mouths were full and chewing.

"Huge congratulations for quidditch!" Aleeza exclaimed once she had swallowed. "You must be so proud."

I beamed. "I am, thank you so much."

"Good luck getting past Oliver Wood," Gillian added. "I hear he's the best keeper Gryffindor's seen for over 50 years!"

"Oliver and I were talking about that after the trial, actually," I laughed.

"That's nice," Gillian replied. She pushed her sausages around her plate slowly.

"He is a very good player," Sasha piped in. "One of the best I've seen."

"Definitely," Gillian said. "I mean, the way he spins to hit the bludger with his broom? Amazing and so nice to watch."

"Quaffle," Louise interrupted through a mouthful of toast.

Gillian cocked her head. "Pardon me?"

"You said the way he hits the bludger," she explained, "but he actually hits the quaffle. Beaters hit the bludgers."

"Whatever," Gillian said dismissively. "He hits the quaffle well, then. Happy?"

Sasha and I shared a look and I decided to just leave Gillian alone for a while. She was known for being irritable - almost anything could set her off, especially if she was being corrected.  I have vivid recollections of having an argument because Gillian couldn't pronounce a spell correctly. And, as always, she was adamant she was right.

"Gillian, I'm certain it's pronounced ascendio, not askendio," I insisted, exasperated. I rubbed my eyes and crossed my arms.

Gillian's face twisted. "You're wrong, Y/N. Stop denying it. If it's not pronounced with a hard c sound, then why is the c there?"

"I'm not going to argue about pronunciation with you," I said.

"So you accept that you're wrong?"

"I'm not wrong," I repeated.

"I think you'll find you are."

At that point, I'd had enough. I gripped my wand and said, "Askendio." Nothing happened. "Ascendio," I said, grinning. Suddenly, I was tossed into the air. When my feet touched the carpet again, Gillian had already left.

For the rest of breakfast, I made an effort to ignore Gillian. She'd act like nothing had happened by dinner, anyway.

I was delighted when the announcement to go to class finally came. Louise, Aleeza, Sasha and I hurried to go, leaving Gillian to sulk at the table.

*

"Morning, everybody," Professor Flitwick chirped as he stepped onto his pile of books. "There's an exciting lesson planned for you today. In preparation for your OWLs, the charm you'll be revisiting today is the summoning charm, one of my personal favourites."

I scribbled down his words in my jotter.

"Now, who can remind the class about the summoning charm?" he asked.

I shot my hand up. As someone who tended to leave things in odd places, the summoning charm had been incredibly beneficial to me. I had saved a lot of time by saying accio.

"Ah, Miss. Y/L/N." Professor Flitwick gestured towards me.

"Accio, the summoning charm, is mostly used to bring an object to the caster," I explained. "You say accio and then the name of the item you want to be brought to you. It's an extremely useful spell."

"Perfect, Y/L/N," he said. "Two points to Ravenclaw."

I smiled sheepishly and Sasha nudged me in the side. "Oh my God - you're such a nerd," she whispered.

"I could swear at you in over ten languages," I replied.

"Nice," she commented. "Teach me later."

By the end of the lesson, I could successfully summon a quill to me from the other end of the classroom. Looking around, only a surprising few could do the same. Professor Flitwick told me to move onto something bigger - one of his obnoxiously oversized textbooks, perhaps.

I didn't notice at first, but most of the class had given up and had resorted to watching others try. Apparently, it can prove extremely entertaining. (There were a few people who seemed to be very skilled at pyrotechnics but not much else.)

Professor Flitwick effortlessly demonstrated the charm, his book slotting into his grip. "Now it's your turn, Y/L/N. Concentrate on the desired result."

I took a deep breath. Planting my feet, I pointed my wand directly at the leather-bound textbook. It stared at me from Flitwick's desk, daring me to do something. I breathed deeply again. "Accio," I exclaimed, feigning confidence. Nothing happened. I felt everyone's gazes on my shoulders. I pointed my wand at the textbook again. This time, my hand was steady. "Accio!" With a sudden whoosh, the textbook flew across the room and into my open hand. It took a second or two for me to process my success.

"Well done, Y/L/N!" Professor Flitwick said, clapping his hands. "Five points to Ravenclaw!"

I beamed proudly as I returned the textbook to the front of the class. I knew people were whispering things about favouritism or showing off, but I really couldn't care less. Charms was one of my strongest subjects and I was definitely taking it for my OWLs.

After the bell, I headed straight for the courtyard. I instinctively took out my sketchbook and a pencil, finding a rare empty space on a page. Twirling the pencil in my fingers, I perused over what to draw. If I was lucky, ideas would just float into my head. Alas, my mind remained empty so I simply let my pencil run over the paper. Eventually, a small sketch of a rose emerged from the graphite.

"That's very pretty," someone remarked.

I glanced up, although pretty sure who it was. "Thank you."

Oliver took his place next to me and I shut the sketchbook, suddenly incredibly self-conscious. He watched me do so but made no comment.

"You did amazingly in Charms," he said.

I blushed. "That's kind of you to say."

"I assume you're taking Charms for your OWLs, then."

"I do well in it, so it makes sense," I said, "and maybe I'll take it for my NEWTs."

"I'm sure you'll do fantastically - you're very smart."

I blushed harder. He really knew how to compliment. "Thank you," I said sheepishly. "That's very kind of you to say."

As he always does, Oliver smiled in his unique. "Considering you're very deserving of compliments, I'd like to think I do alright."

Never could I imagine it was possible to blush as deeply as I was then. Oliver seemed to possess this natural charisma that made me melt.

Suddenly, the bell rang. Oliver stood up and brushed his hands on his trousers.

"Hopefully I'll see you here most days," he said. "Goodbye!"

"Bye!" I said, waving. I found myself excited to see him again, although I wasn't sure why. In any case, I saw a very good friend in Oliver and wanted to get to know him better.