Chasing The Keeper

End of the Year

To say Flint was Furious was an understatement. Slytherin's loss to Ravenclaw was their second loss of the season, basically ensuring the spot of first place in the quidditch cup to any team other than Slytherin. To add insult to injury, everyone, including his house members, were making fun of his rejection by me. It became an ongoing joke of the school. Lee Jordan did end up asking me on a date, but I told him he was a bit too young for my liking.

"You should get a boyfriend," June yawned, her head in Sarah's lap, who was reviewing the Potions textbook with me.

"Or girlfriend," Sarah chimed in, "she's never expressed her sexual preference to us, or at least to me."

"Hey wait a minute, that's right," June sat up, knocking Sarah's book out of her hands. "You've never told me!"

"I never thought it to be of any importance," I blushed furiously. "And you never asked."

"Ok well, I'm asking now." June huffed, her unruly bubblegum pink hair falling over her face.

"Well I'm not sure, I know I like guys for a fact," I paused to think, "But I think girls are really pretty, and I don't think I'm averse to dating one???"

"So you're bi?" June raised her eyebrows.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "And I don't care enough to find out."

"So you're not even going to try and experiment?" June's eyes were now nearly popping out of her head.

"Well if a pretty girl asks me on a date I won't say no." I shrugged. "Honestly June it's not a big deal."

"She's right June, it really isn't." Sarah smiled at her while picking her book back up.

"Alright well back to my original thought," said a deflated June, sinking her head back into Sarah's lap. "You should get a boyfriend, or girlfriend so that you can go on double dates with Sarah and me."

"Oh yeah, and who do you suggest I start pining over?" I snorted, "Flint?"

"Well, he's single..." June snickered. "I don't really know that many lesbians at this school that you would do well with, and as for the guys here, well you could probably pull any of them."

"No thanks," I rolled my eyes, turning my attention back to the potions textbook. "I'm not interested."

~~~~

The O.W.L's were fast approaching, and the Ravenclaw against Gryffindor match even faster. I was pushing my team to practice harder and longer in preparation for the match against Gryffindor. I was sure Ravenclaw wouldn't win the house cup, so I could at least ensure we won the inter-house quidditch cup. Not to mention I found the thought of Oliver Woods's reaction to defeat bringing me a wicked smile to my face.

When I wasn't playing quidditch or in class, my nose was buried in textbooks and notes. Although I knew I didn't have to, because quidditch didn't require any particularly good grades, I still decided that it would be a good idea to be able to fall back on something. Flitwick arranged for an internship as an assistant for Puddlemore United, a prestigious internship awarded to only a select few.

Gryffindor won their match against Hufflepuff, and so the game between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor was the deciding factor of which team wins the cup. Our match would be the last of the season, and it was the time to prove to Oliver that I was a better player and captain than him.

The day crept up on me very abruptly, and I could feel my teeth jittering when I woke up. As my usual routine went, I rushed to the library early in the morning. It was almost therapeutic for me, as I found myself in a chair with my copy of Quidditch Strategies 101. I guess opening made me feel closer to my father. I remember him giving me the book when I was just five, and how excited I was to learn all I could about quidditch. A picture of him still hung in the hall, smiling with the inter quidditch cup in his hands, his team lined up behind him. He too was the Ravenclaw quidditch captain, and I guess he expected me to follow him in his shoes. He was right. I smiled to myself, absentmindedly flipping through the pages.

Wood didn't come to the library that morning, and I heard some rumours that Harry Potter wouldn't be able to play the night prior, and I thought that was simply a rumour; That was until I stepped on the quidditch pitch. The stadium was filled with a loud cheering crowd, and a large enchanted eagle made out of paper was flapping its wings in the stands.

I looked at the Gryffindor team, with Oliver Wood standing proudly at the front. Behind him was the usual group of Gryffindors I knew to be their team, except instead of Harry there was an uncomfortable-looking third year I've seen around the halls. I raised my eyebrows at Wood, who scowled in return.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch yelled to us.

The match ended quickly, with a crippling defeat of Gryffindor, the heaviest one in three centuries. We won the cup, and Oliver looked like he ate a lemon for the remainder of the school year. Ravenclaw won the Inter-House Quidditch Cup, despite losing the House Cup, which was taken by Gryffindor. The owls felt like they were finished before they even started, and all the months of preparation leading up to them felt like an eternity spent on something so short.

~~~~

"I can't believe I won't see you all summer!" I groaned into June's shoulder as we hugged goodbye at King's Cross station.

"Well, I do need to visit family every few years." She chuckled, patting my back.

"But why do they have to live in Thailand, and why can't they just be my neighbours?" I grumbled, pulling away.

"Oh come on you big baby, you'll be preoccupied with your internship all year anyway." She rolled her eyes.

"You're probably right, but that doesn't mean I'm not butthurt," I said as I spotted my mom waddling towards us through the crowd.

"I'll owl you as much as possible alright?" June smiled, spotting my mom as well.

"You better." I playfully huffed, crossing my arm.

As I walked across the station and towards my mom, with the corner of my eye I could've sworn I caught Oliver staring at me with a smile etched on his face. I turned to check, but he was no longer doing so and rather walking in a different direction. He was definitely trying to fuck with me.