Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 27: Drunk in Love

A/N: Surprise, here's an early update! Buckle your seatbelts everyone because this is a very interesting chapter ;)))

Jessica found her subjects for her sixth year to be both fascinating and exhausting. It was nice to finally only attend classes that she picked on her own instead of being forced to take everything that was required on her curriculum up until her fifth year. N.E.W.T. level subjects were harder than she had expected, but she quite liked the challenge. She was also more than glad that Professor Lupin was her Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He already proved to be an excellent teacher in his first week at Hogwarts, and Jessica would even go as far as to say he may be the best one yet. He certainly made his class something she would always look forward to now, which was something she didn't feel in the previous terms when Quirrell and Lockhart taught them.

Like every year, nothing really stirred up much excitement until the Quidditch season began or when a scandal happened. However, for the fifth to seventh year Gryffindors, they were anticipating the last weekend of September because they had a party planned. Percy Weasley was surprisingly in a good mood and did not stop them from planning it, and Oliver and Carson were almost a hundred percent sure it had to do with the fact that he was dating Penelope Clearwater. He simply warned them to not make a mess and to ensure that the teachers didn't find out about the party, because if they did, he wouldn't hesitate to take loads of points off of his own House.

The Gryffindor common room was loud and full of life on Friday evening. The older students had snuck in firewhisky, gigglewater, gillywater, and pumpkin fizz. The Weasley twins got a bunch of snacks from the house elves down at the kitchen, and they were kind enough to also bring a lot of water and pumpkin juice for those who didn't want to drink alcohol.

But apparently, everyone wanted to drink alcohol that evening. The students in their fifth year and above had been craving for a way to release all their stress or to let loose before they drowned in homework, and this was the perfect way to do so. Bethany had downed an entire bottle of gigglewater by eleven o'clock and was a giggling mess in front of a seventh year girl and a sixth year boy who both seemed highly interested in the redhead.

Meanwhile, Jessica was enjoying her second — or third, she couldn't remember — glass of firewhisky as she conversed with some of her Quidditch teammates. Even with all the drinks she had consumed, her head wasn't spinning yet, giving her the impression that she may have a higher tolerance to alcohol than she thought.

"Lee's being awfully touchy with Nassar, isn't he?" Fred wiggled his eyebrows. He, George, Angelina, and Jessica all sneaked a look at the corner of the common room where Lee Jordan was sitting across a brunette.

"I bet five sickles he'll be snogging her by the end of the night," said George.

"Really? I say he's going to do it in the next fifteen minutes."

"Ooh, that's bold. You're on, Freddie."

"While you two idiots are betting over Lee," Angelina cut in. "Zhang over there has been making moves on Oliver for about ten minutes now."

Jessica searched for Oliver almost immediately. A girl was sitting next to him on the couch in front of the fireplace, inching closer to him every few seconds. She couldn't help but feel something bubble up inside of her. Was that jealousy? That sounded absolutely ridiculous to her, yet she couldn't shake off the feeling.

"Who is she?" Jessica said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Millie Zhang. She's a fifth year like me," Angelina explained. "I'm not close to her, but she's friends with Nassar who's — oh, she's snogging Lee right now."