Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 28: Hesitation

"No bloody way."

"You snogged Wood? I knew this would happen!"

"Shh!" Jessica shushed her two best friends frantically. It was the Saturday morning following the party. Right after grabbing breakfast, the two Gryffindors met up with Alista, and then Jessica told them everything that happened on her end the night before. Her friends listened to her with rapt interest that their reactions were almost comedic, and she would've laughed at them if she herself wasn't so concerned about her situation.

"I wish I was at the party," Alista said sadly. "What's one Slytherin in a room full of Gryffindors gonna do?"

"They'd probably hex you before you even enter the common room," said Jessica.

"Well, I was there the entire time and I still didn't see Jess and Wood in action," Bethany said in disappointment.

"You were too preoccupied with that boy and girl who both wouldn't stop flirting with you."

"They bored me after a while," Bethany waved her off. "Seriously, though, I didn't even know you guys left the common room."

"We were only supposed to be going for a walk..."

"Yeah, and then you ended up kissing," Alista said giddily. "Or, eating each other's faces."

"We didn't —!"

"Admit it, you did!"

"Either way," Bethany cut in. "I've been waiting for this to happen. It's so obvious you and Wood fancy each other."

"Lower your voices, will you?" Jessica hushed them again, looking around her. Thankfully, everyone else at the Transfiguration courtyard that afternoon were too busy doing their own thing to pay any attention to them.

"Why aren't you excited? Isn't this the part where you start dating him?" said Alista.

"Well... what if he doesn't remember what happened? He had a lot to drink by that time."

"I'm pretty sure he remembers. Didn't you say he gave you the option to back out? That must mean his brain wasn't complete dragon dung at that time," Bethany said thoughtfully.

"Okay, but... what if he's just the hookup type of guy?"

"Are you joking right now? Jess, that boy fancies you big time! You fought with him about Terence so he was obviously jealous, he visited you and gave you your favorite flowers when you were petrified, and now this."

"I don't know..." Jessica said anxiously, her face burning red at the memory of her and Oliver. She shook her head furiously when the image of him pressing her up against the wall flashed in her mind again. She hadn't seen Oliver yet that day, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to. There was so much on the line, now that she thought about it. Oliver had grown to be one of her closest friends, and that could all go down the drain if they weren't on the same page.

"Talk to him, then."

"What am I even supposed to say?"

"How about, 'Hi, Oliver. You're really hot and I like you. Let's make out in a broom closet.' Sounds good, right?" Alista suggested.

"Alista, no!" Jessica and Bethany chorused.

"What? You can't deny that the tension between them is intense!"

Before lunch time, the girls returned to their respective dormitories. Bethany chose to take a nap since she claimed that the previous night's events had drained her, while Jessica sat in silence on her four poster bed with the miniature Golden Snitch that Oliver gave her two summers ago as a congratulatory present for making prefect. That had only been roughly a year ago, but it felt like so much had happened since then.