MY TYPE OF LOVE | marauders era

| chapter four |

Fall had yet to actually creep up on Hogwarts, so the sun still shone brightly against the fresh green grass and dark leaves of the trees. I spent the afternoon playfully insulting my friends as we continued to destroy each other in cards.

I still kept an eye out for Olivia, and finally, I caught sight of her. She seemed to be by herself, so I figured now was the perfect time to talk to her about all of the Quidditch nonsense. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go talk to Olivia about Quidditch," I said, rolling to my feet.

"Why?" David asked, "The Quidditch season hasn't even started yet."

"Oh, yeah," I muttered, realizing I didn't tell them what was going on, "I'll explain later. She's our captain this year."

"Olivia!" I called out, trying to be friendly. It would do no good for her to be angry at me before the conversation even started. "How was your summer? I heard you made captain!"

Olivia put down her book and blew a piece of her black hair out of her eyes. "My summer was pretty good. And yeah, I made captain this year."

"That's awesome," I replied and gestured next to her. "Can I sit? I heard some rumors and wanna see if they're true."

Olivia shrugged, and I sat down. "What type of rumors?" She asked, her tone much less friendly than it was before. I decided to pick my words very carefully.

"I heard you're making the entire team try out again?"

She pursed her lips. "Well, yeah. I only want the best on the team. Don't you?"

"Well, of course, I do! It's just really unusual. Any particular reason?" I said, keeping my voice as light as possible. It wouldn't do for Olivia to think I was accusing her of anything.

"I think there's some real potential in the upcoming second years," Olivia said, "Besides, we don't give the younger kids enough of a chance. It's pretty stupid to just pick on age rather than skill, but that's what we've been doing a lot lately. Besides, you know the unofficial rule Ravenclaw has about age."

I nodded my head. Unless we had a severe shortage of players, like we had when I was younger, or if we have a prodigy, like Jane, who'd made Keeper her second year, Ravenclaw Quidditch captains typically didn't choose players unless they were in their fourth year.

"Well, we don't always follow it," I pointed out, "And it's there for a reason. Besides, most of the younger kids get to come and sub with us before they make the team. Even if they don't get to play, they still get to come and play, and the players get to bond together."

Olivia turned to me, and I hoped she wouldn't make me drag the point out. Wyatt hadn't been a sub last year, so giving him a starting position on the Quidditch team this year could spell disaster for Ravenclaw. All the strategy in the world couldn't save us from that.

"What do you mean, exactly?" Olivia said, and I almost swore out loud. Merlin, was she really going to make me spell it out for her?

"A lot of the older players are concerned that younger and inexperienced players will win spots on the team, even if they haven't even been a sub," I replied easily. I hadn't actually spoken to anyone other than Autumn, who had spoken to Avery, but making her think I wasn't the only person nervous would do my reputation loads of good with her.

Dav taught me quite a few tricks over the past couple of years. Not for the first time, I was glad to have a Slytherin as my friend.

Olivia stayed silent, so I continued speaking. "It's not that you aren't fair, because you are, I promise, but we all know how loyal you are."

She snorted. "You make me sound like a Hufflepuff."

I laughed, more out of relief than anything. If she was joking, she wasn't too offended at what I said. Maybe things would turn out right. "Hey, it's not a bad thing! My best friend's a Hufflepuff. You're plenty Ravenclaw though - the flying strategies you helped come up with last year really helped the team."