Off the Pitch

Chapter 10: Victory

Just like the past few months, November went by quickly. We were already on the last week of the month. It was Thursday, and we had our last Quidditch practise before the game against Ravenclaw on Saturday. The evening was pretty cold again, but the sky was clear and the starts were already shining brightly. 

"You must really love Quidditch", Wood said to us in the locker room before the practise. "To train at 9 pm on a school night..." 

"You forced us to come", George pointed out. 

"Was that a joke, Oliver?" Fred acted surprised and gasped dramatically. "Unforeseen..." 

"Oh, shut up, Fred", Wood threw his glove at him. "Okay, let's get going." 

We walked out to the pitch. It was dark, but the moon lit up the field and made it look magical. I got up on my broom and flew a few rounds around the stadium, higher above the ground than usually. I could see the lights of the castle and the moonlight reflecting from the surface of the Black Lake. I closed my eyes and inhaled a few deep breaths of crisp air before flying down to the others. 

The practise that night was our one best yet; Harry caught the snitch within ten seconds and everyone played really well. We tested Wood's game plan for Saturday and it worked out perfectly. It was the first time that he gave us no criticism at all. Everyone was in a great mood, chattering happily when they left the changing room. 

I stayed back and waited for Oliver. It had become sort of a ritual for us; I would hang around in the changing room until only we were left, and then we'd walk back to the castle together. I don't think anyone had noticed anything – well, apart from the twins. They most definitely had noticed, and had started to give us allusive looks and smiles when they left the changing room after practise. I had had to convince them multiple times that there was in fact nothing going on between me and Oliver, but based on their looks they didn't believe me. 

"Wanna make a detour this time?" Oliver asked me as he grabbed his broom and headed to the door. 

"Sure", I replied as he shut the door behind me. 

We walked to the lakefront and sat down on a tree log close to the waterline. I leaned back and closed my eyes, breathing in the cold air. After we had sat in silence for a minute, listening to the sounds of the lake, I opened my eyes and turned to look at Oliver who was sitting next to me. He was leaning back to the tree behind him and staring into the horizon. 

"What are you thinking about?" I broke the silence and he snapped back to reality. I turned my gaze to the horizon as well. 

"Do you ever just feel... meaningless?" he asked me quietly. 

I turned my head to look at him again. "You're not meaningless", I whispered. 

He laughed softly and lowered his gaze to his feet. "You don't know if I am, though", he said. 

I bit my lip. "Well, I don't think you are, if that's worth something", I told him. "I mean, you're a great Quidditch captain..." 

He snorted and turned to look at me. "Quidditch isn't everything, you know?" 

I tilted my head before answering: "Never thought I'd hear that from Oliver Wood." He laughed again, but then let out a deep sigh and turned to stare at the lake again. 

"I just... want to be more than that." 

I placed my hand on top of his. "But you are more than that, Oliver." 

"You have no idea what you are saying", he replied. 

"Do you really–", I started and rotated my body so that I could see him properly, "want me to list every single thing I like about you, Oliver Wood?"