Augury [Harry Potter Fanfic]

c. eight

Sawyer was quite certain that she was the only sane person in Hogwarts.

By the time the holidays were over, tension between the two teams of Slytherin and Gryffindor and their Houses was at the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, culminating in a nasty incident in which a Gryffindor fourth year and a Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears (Sawyer was the one in charge for that, but no one needed to know it, as she blamed Marcos Flint, the captain of Slytherin. She wasn't doing it for team spirit though, it was just funny).

Wood, who now had Sawyer trailing behind him at most times, was the most ridiculous of them all. None of the team members were allowed to walk alone, and Harry was getting crowded more than ever. The whole of Gryffindor House took up the challenge enthusiastically, so that it was impossible for Harry to get to classes on time because he was surrounded by a vast, chattering crowd.

"So Harry gets a whole house to keep him safe, the rest of the team are all walking together everywhere with only Lee with them, and you're all alone?" Sawyer wondered at dinner the day before the match.

"Hey, I've got you and Meeko," Oliver grinned, bumping his shoulder with Sawyer's.

"Like I care about this," Sawyer mumbled.

"You cared enough to  hex this Slytherin from sixth year."

"I also hexed this guy from my year, what's his name,"  Sawyer shrugged, playing with her food. The excitement was rubbing on her, and despite not loving Quidditch all that much, just like the rest of the Gryffindors, she couldn't eat.

"Can't eat either?" Oliver asked as he pushed off his plate, making Sawyer shake her head. "Let's head up to the Common Room then."

Oliver was probably the one most nervous. He either muttered to himself about Quidditch, or was completely silent. Sawyer tried to get him to talk about casual stuff every once in a while but it hardly worked.

When they entered the common room there was a great deal of noise. Fred and George were dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever, which surprised Sawyer since she often thought they're as loud as they get. Oliver was once morr crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner, prodding little figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself, as Sawyer watched him, patting Meeko.

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at Fred's and George's jokes while Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione, removed from the center of things, for once.

Meeko escaped Sawyer's hold at some point and walked over to Oliver, peering up at him, though he hadn't noticed, not until Meeko nudged him.

Oliver turned to look at him, surprised and alarmed.

"Oliver, you should probably sleep," Sawyer grinned lightly, "it's already past nine, and you need to be ready for war tomorrow."

Oliver grinned, nodding. "Guess you're right. I can't do much more now, can I? Alright,"  he sighed, leaning to kiss Sawyer's cheek, "goodnight Saw." Sawyer wanted to comment about it being an awful nickname, but her heart was up too high in her throat, so she just stared at him. "Team! Bed!"

He stood up, as well as the rest of the team, "night Oli," Sawyer managed in a mumble, and he grinned at her as he turned away.

She averted her gaze to the carpeted floor, where Meeko was watching her with satisfication.

"Shut up, you're a cat."

::

The Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall the next day to enormous applause. Both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were applauding them too. The Slytherin table hissed loudly as they passed, but Sawyer noted to herself that the Slytherin team was paler than usual.

Oliver spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat, while touching nothing himself, and wouldn't listen to Sawyer when she urged him to eat. He even dodged a binding spell she attemped to use to force him into eating-- the same guy from her year that she hit with the spell was hit again, and she sheepishly undid the binding.