Strategy { Oliver Wood}

Chapter Nine

Carter stood outside the Common Room faced with the Fat Lady and could not for the life of him remember the password. The woman of the portrait continued to stare at him as he thought about it, but it didn't come to mind as he stood there.

"Mercy?" he smiled at the woman.

"No password, no entrance. Sorry."

Carter groaned and sat outside the portrait hoping a fellow Gryffindor would come by soon to let him in.

"You better learn the passwords or you're going to be spending a lot of quality time with me out here," The Fat Lady mused.

"Give me a break, I'm learning a lot in my classes, a password is the last thing on my mind."

"It should be the first thing on your mind if you want to get in the common room."

"You're just going to keep rubbing this in my face, aren't you?" Carter sighed.

"I don't get out much, forgive me when I find some form of entertainment I see that I enjoy it for as long as I can."

"Glad I could be of service to you," Carter mumbled.

Suddenly, he heard someone climbing the stairs, he felt a surge of happiness race through him until he saw who it was.

Oliver made it to the top of the stairs and stood before Carter and the Fat Lady.

He eyed Carter carefully as if at any moment his sister would appear with a verbal attack.

"What's going on here?" he asked the first year.

Carter peered up at him before pushing himself up from the floor. "I forgot the password," Carter admitted shamefully.

"Already?"

Carter looked to the floor. "Yes."

"Pig Snout," Oliver said. The Fat Lady portrait swung open allowing both boys entrance to the Gryffindor Tower.

Carter ran in first. "Thank you!" he said before running towards the boy's dorm but stopped when Oliver called after him.

The younger boy froze unsure of what his sister's enemy was going to say to him.

"Y-yes?"

"Don't...Don't tell your sister about this," Oliver said.

"About what?" Carter asked confused.

"About me helping you inside."

Carter stared at him confused. "Uh okay?"

"She would never let me hear the end of it," Oliver told him. "So just keep it to yourself."

"Will do!" Carter nodded obediently. He went to leave up the stairs but stopped. He turned around on the last step to face Oliver. "Do you really hate me because of my sister?"

Oliver looked at him slightly wide eyed before his expression relaxed.

"What? Did she tell you that?"

"No, I just assumed. I mean, she is my sister and you hate her so I thought-"

"I don't hate her," Oliver said quickly as several other Gryffindors in the room glanced over as they eavesdropped on the conversation. He walked closer to the boy.

"I don't hate you...or your sister. Your sister ...just..."

"Bothers you?" Carter finished for him.

"Yes."

"That's a good thing, you know?" Carter told him.

"I'm going to have to disagree with you there," Oliver said with an eye roll.

"No really, trust me she bothers me all the time too. But it's her way of showing she cares...in a weird way. "

"I don't know about that."

"Well, you should take my word for it, she's my sister. I have to live with her."

"I'm so sorry," Oliver said making Carter laugh.

"Okay so you don't hate her, but you really don't like her."

"She hasn't given me much reason to like her since I've known her."

"She only does that stuff because she knows it bothers you, if you don't give her a reaction-"

"She'll stop?"

"No...she'll try harder," Carter told him. Instead of heading upstairs, Carter walked over and plopped down onto one of the armchairs.

Oliver remained still but the boy had his attention.

"So, how do I get your sister to stop?"

"You don't," Carter smiled. "Melanie doesn't have a stop button, you just have to learn how to play her game."

"Play her game? No," Oliver shook his head. "I'm not playing her game of nicknames and teasing."

"Alright, I was just trying to help," Carter said.

"How do I know that you're not just saying this stuff for your sister?"

"I guess you don't," Carter shrugged. "I guess you're just going to have to deal with her on your own then. Good luck with that. "

Oliver was passing down one of the corridors and saw Melanie leaning against the wall talking to the Ravenclaw quidditch captain one afternoon, after his conversation with Carter.

He wanted to ignore them, but as soon as he looked at her, she looked at him.

It was over.

They were going to have to exchange some form of conversation.

Ace glanced back and forth between them before throwing his hands up and leaving down the corridor.

Melanie folded her arms over her chest.

"Hey Hollywood."

Oliver bit the inside of his cheek.

"Oh...I see..not feeling Hollywood today...more Firewood. Gotcha," she winked at him.

"Are you ever going to run out of those stupid nicknames?"

"Nope," she smiled. "I think you secretly look forward to the nicknames I come up with for you."

"No...not really."

"Keep telling yourself that. Bye Wood," she waved at him and left.

Oliver stood in the corridor for a moment after Melanie disappeared around a corner.

"Tsk. Tsk."

Oliver jumped to see Carter standing next to him.

"Still don't think you need my help?" he asked Oliver.

Oliver sighed. "What's in it for you?"

"She's my sister, it's my job to work against her."