Oliver Wood & the Reluctant Contestant

Ginny's long lost Sister

Hermione glared at the book. "Are you really the Hermione Granger?" She looked up to see one of the girls. Geranium maybe.

"Of course she is, why else would Oliver Wood keep her? I mean just look at that atrocious hair." One of the girls remarked before walking away, shouldering Hermione a little as she passed.

Hermione touched her hair biting her lips.

"Keep walking you JELOUS HARPY!" Geranium yelled after her.

"You didn't have to but thank you and yes I am Hermione Granger." She sighed smiled sadly, she was rather used to the comments now.

"Of course I had to. Ugh hate those kinds of girls. So you want to be my roommate?"

Hermione blinked. "Uh yes, but I thought you were-"

"Going to ask about the war? Nah I've had enough of it. And I've heard through the grapevine that the boy who still lives is not going to be on the market much longer." Geranium shrugged.

"Thank you." Hermione said giving a smile, more than relieved than she wasn't going to be grilled on either subjects.

"Why are you thanking me? I haven't done anything. The asking you to room with me is completely selfish. Have you talked to some of the girls or been around them? I mean the one that got a mirror; I just saw her practicing puckering up in front of the mirror while moaning Ohhhliveeeeer." Geranium bemoaned. The mirror girl was rather confident she'd win so she hadn't bothered to make nice with many if any of the girls. 

Hermione laughed at her roommate's imitation. "Well I would love to be your roommate Geranium."

"Ugh please just call me Gerry. It's a more common boys name but anything is better than Geranium. I swear my mum must've been on something when she named me."

Hermione thought she reminded her a little of Ginny, the non engaged Ginny at least.

"Hey we better pick our room before all the good ones are taken." Gerry added as she started going up the stairs of the old Scottish castle.

"This place is gorgeous." Hermione murmured, looking around. Parts here and there reminded her so much of Hogwarts that she already fell in love with the ancient castle.

"Hey Hermione this room is really nice you want to check it out?" Gerry yelled from one of the rooms.

"Sure." She said still looking at the ceiling of the corridor, in awe and nostalgia.

"So how do we get our luggage?" Gerry asked looking around after Hermione had approved of the room.

Hermione looked around and spotted a piece of parchment on the bed closest to the window. She walked towards it and picked up said parchment. Then read it out loud.

"To claim a room, write your name on the whiteboard hanging by your door on the outside and while you are at dinner the PAID house elves will bring your luggage. Dress as you would in your own home. Do not forget that there are cameras everywhere except in your rooms. The competition is never ending and soon our viewers will get to choose the one character they want to keep. So let the games begin ladies. After all the prize is one of the most eligible bachelors in Europe, this castle...and much more." Hermione paused. "Wait this is Oliver Wood's castle?"

"How do you not know that? I mean it was all over Witch weekly and the entertainment section of the Daily Prophet." Gerry said as she checked around the room for closet space.

"I've never read Witch weekly unless Ginny leaves the magazine behind at the flat. Then I'll skim it when I have nothing out. As for the Prophet. I think that speaks for itself." Hermione made a face of half annoyance half disgust.

"Oh yeah I understand your sentiments. I mean I haven't gone through it but I know what happened..." Gerry trailed off. "So you want to know the gist of the story behind the castle?"

"Sure." Hermione said, thinking why the heck not.

"Well this is Oliver Wood's hometown you know?" Gerry began, peering at Hermione.

Hermione shook her head.

"Oh sheesh now you make me feel bad, they're right you really are anti fame and glam despite the fact that you're famous. I'm the reason why the press hounds you and Oliver Wood, because I buy those awfully gossipy magazines." Gerry sighed dreadfully feeling guilty.

"It's okay Gerry. Almost everyone reads those things. Even a lot of my friends and old classmates. There is just some kind of magnetism." Hermione tried to cajole. Merlin, Gerry was starting to really remind her of Ginny. If she had red hair, Hermione would've thought that she had found Ginny's long lost sister.

"Maybe but sorry." Gerry sighed once more before continuing on. "Anyway, two days after he became the starting keeper, there was an announcement that the old owner of this old castle was dying and these contractors wanted to buy it so that they could tear it down and make a plaza. An international plaza that would have the best fashions and a concert every week and stuff of the like...a huge attraction, really. But when Oliver heard, he quickly apparated to see the owner and offered exactly as much money as the contractors were offering. 2 million galleons! But the old man told Oliver that he would give it to him for free if he promised to restore the castle to its old glory along with some kids of his own to make the castle more lively. Since well the old owner didn't have any children of his own and the only one was his sister's child and he remembered Oliver as one of the kids that would come with his Mum to visit him long ago. I think he mustn't have like his nephew very much and not that I blame him. After a year and a half, Oliver had fixed up this castle, the nephew demanded that the castle belonged to him. Rightfully his inheritance blah blah. So for a whole year he fought Oliver for the castle." Gerry finished her rather in-depth story almost making Hermione want to clap.

"I remember that and Oliver kept the castle... well obviously since we're here." Hermione said thinking how stupid she sounded for pointing out the obvious.

"Yep, Oliver kept the castle of course since it was his money that went into renovating all this. Though I don't think that he ever meant for it to be used to house us girls." Geranium giggled at the thought.

Hermione joined her in laughter, remembering everything Oliver Wood had told her the few minutes they had in order to catch up. She sighed. Maybe she couldn't blame him too much for keeping her here in this living torture. But she probably would hex him with rigor if she had to room with one of the other girls except Alicia or Gerry. Then he would've been a dead man.