Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 33: Pursuit

A/N: I haven't been able to update once a week like I originally planned, so here's a longer-than-usual (kinda?) chapter to make up for that 😅

As January faded into February, a lot happened within the walls of Hogwarts. It all began with the teachers dumping loads of requirements onto the students, which was a drastic change from their homework-free holidays. For the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. level students, this was especially stressful for them. It only made it harder for those who played Quidditch — the added training sessions and upcoming matches took up a whole lot of their time as well. Jessica's late-night shifts as prefect also ate up the only few hours of free time she had left, so she found herself lacking sleep. Then again, she wasn't going to let that stop her — she did want to win the Quidditch Cup along with her teammates, perhaps almost as much as Oliver did.

Harry fortunately managed to get his Firebolt back from Professor McGonagall. Needless to say, the team gushed over his brand new broomstick. Their last practice on Friday evening before the match was possibly the best they had in a while. Harry was flying extraordinarily on that Firebolt, and everyone else seemed to have gotten inspired by it so much to the point that even they all performed well, too. Oliver also brought up the fact that the Ravenclaws only used Cleansweep Sevens and Comet 260s — despite that, he didn't forget to remind his team to not get complacent because a lot was on the line.

On the fifth of February, it was finally the day of the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match. Slytherin had already beaten Ravenclaw previously, so if the Gryffindors won this one, they would be advancing to the final round.

The Gryffindor Quidditch Team walked into the Great Hall for breakfast that morning in high spirits. Unsurprisingly, all heads turned when they spotted Harry Potter with his Firebolt. Everyone rushed towards him before he even got the chance to sit down at his house table. Meanwhile, his teammates managed to get seats nearby, eager to eat their meal before the big game.

"We're lucky McGonagall gave it back to Harry on time," Katie commented as she and the rest of the team looked at the boy in unison. He literally had no space because everyone was crowding around him to get a good look at his broom.

"We're more lucky she didn't curse Oliver after what he told her," Jessica pointed out. As promised, Oliver sought Professor McGonagall out shortly after their conversation with Harry that night they returned from the break. He tried to persuade her to return the Firebolt to him, but the woman was not exactly happy with the Scottish boy's choice of words.

"What? I just said I didn't care if it threw Harry off as long as he caught the Snitch first with that Firebolt!" said Oliver indignantly. The others merely laughed; he proved their point precisely with that one sentence, but he didn't seem to notice. "Honestly, the way she yelled at me, though..."

"Right? You'd think you said something terrible," Jessica said sarcastically.

"Exactly. Like, the death of our youngest teammate, perhaps?" said Fred, pretending to be in deep thought.

"You really do need to sort out your priorities, Ollie," George teased.

"I do have them sorted out! The Quidditch Cup is on the top of that list," Oliver said. The others exchanged amused glances at his answer.

"Just let it go," Angelina whispered to the twins before they could continue making fun of their captain.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said a cold, drawling voice. The team stopped teasing Oliver and turned to the sound of that voice. Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had neared the Gryffindor table and were glaring at Harry and his Firebolt.

"Yeah, reckon so," Harry replied casually.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it? Shame it doesn't come with a parachute — in case you get too near a dementor," Malfoy went on while Crabbe and Goyle sniggered.