Everything- Oliver Wood

𝟚. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕄-𝕊𝕝𝕦𝕣

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I grab my trunk and broomstick and make my way off the train, following closely behind my friends as to not get lost in the crowd. 

We join the clump of people waiting for the carriages to come. 

I set my trunk down and look up to see Marcus Flint and a couple of other Slytherin quidditch team members approaching us. 

"What do you want?" Candace asks, protectively. 

"Yeah, don't you have somewhere to be?" Ambria says, crossing her arms. 

"Nah- I heard they've made Parker the Ravenclaw quidditch captain-" he said, smirking. 

"And?" asks Ambria. 

"Well, I just wanted to see if it was true." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask, my eyes narrowing as I step closer to him. 

"I didn't believe they were thick enough to make a mudblood the quidditch captain."

Shouts and angry noises of protest arise from my friends and even people in the small crowd around us. 

After the chatter dies down, I retort, "That's funny, Flint- I'll check in with you after we beat your arses; see if you still think I'm so incompetent."

"Yeah, as if," he rolls his eyes. I stare at him until he motions for him and his friends to leave. I glare at him as he walks off.

"God, I hate him," Ambria scowls. 

"I swear to Merlin, tonight I'm going to sneak into his dormitory and slit his throat," Candace says, "I'll do it, just wait- it'll be the talk of the castle." 

I laugh. "Don't waste your energy- after our quidditch game he may as well just drop dead from embarrassment." 

"Laur, you better beat them," Penelope shakes her head, climbing into the horseless carriage. 

I follow her in. "I just hope we get decent players at tryouts." 

"Any definite returners?" asks Ambria. 

"Roger Davies and Hadley Erving will be chasers, so I just need one more of them. And It's not hard to find mediocre beaters, so I'm really just hoping for a good seeker." 

She nods, "I wish I understood quidditch." 

I laugh. "I've explained it to you a thousand times."

"Yeah," she sighs. 

"When's the welcome party?" I ask her; the Hufflepuffs always host the first party of the year. 

"This Friday," she grins.

"Oh, are we all going to that?" asks Candace, looking at Penelope. 

"Um, I really shouldn't..." she says, looking away. 

"C'mon, Penny! You're fifteen! Party it up a little." 

"I'm a prefect-" 

"You're not going to report us, are you?" smirks Candace. 

"No, of course not!" She sighs, "I guess I'll go. As long as none of you tell anybody I was there." 

"My lips are sealed," Ambria nods.

"Are we going to the upperclassmen's party?" 

Ambria's face lights up. "Yeah! It starts at nine in the come and go room. Wear your house colors." 

I nod, grinning. This is the first year me and my friends are old enough to go to the cooler party for 5th through 7th years.

"God, we're getting so old," Candace sighs. 

"We're only fifteen," Penelope points out. 

"Yeah, but it seems like only yesterday we were eleven years old, taking the Hogwarts train for the first time," I sigh, smiling. 

Ambria leans in towards the middle, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I heard they'll have firewhisky." 

Candace's eyes widen with mischief. "Wicked." 

I glance beside me to see a worried looking Penelope. "Don't worry, Pen, we won't get caught." 

"Yeah, the come and go room is super secure, I'm sure the 7th years planning it will make sure no teachers can get in," Ambria nods comfortingly. 

Penelope nods. "Okay..." 

"It's gonna be fun," Candace grins. 

"Lets meet in my room after dinner," Ambria says. 

"Mkay," I say, smiling as I see the castle from the window of the carriage. 

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The first week of term is rather stressful. Despite my excitedness to come back to school, I underestimated the amount of work that 5th year would be. 

Finally, the day of the party comes. I put on gray jeans, a black tube top, and a blue cardigan and call that good. I put on my gold locket and slip it inside my shirt. 

I'm sitting in Ambria's dormitory with Candace and Penelope, as well as the other 5th year Hufflepuff girls and some of their friends, too. 

I brush some mascara on my eyelashes carefully while Ambria excitedly chatters about the person she likes. 

"What's his name?" asks Candace. 

"Ohh, I can't tell you," she goes red. 

"Why not?" 

"It's a secret! You probably know who they are." 

Penelope rolls her eyes. "What house is he in, at least?"

"They're in Slytherin," she answers. 

Candace sits up abruptly. "Oh my god do I know him." 

"Yeah..." 

"It's not Marcus Flint-" I look back. 

She looks mortified. "Oh no, no, never. No, this is a nice Slytherin." 

"Are they in 5th year?" asks Candace, determined to figure out who Ambria likes. 

"I'm not telling you!" she shouts. 

"Come on, Ambri," I say, pouting. 

She shakes her head and crosses her arms. I just roll my eyes and continue with my makeup, applying a thin layer of lip gloss and then slipping it in my pocket. 

About an hour passes and its finally time to go down to the common room. There are heaps of food stolen from the kitchens. Mostly just desserts. 

I smile remembering all the parties like this I've attended before. Yeah, they're fun, but its mostly just a lot of playing innocent party games and eating candies. I'm excited for the upperclassmen party. 

Ambria walks with us out of the common room, looking around carefully for any teachers. We make it up to the 5th floor corridor and stand in front of a wall, where a door appears. 

The room is full of yellow, blue, red, and green streamers. However, the majority of the decorations are yellow. The lights are dimmed, and a floating disco ball rotates in the middle of the air, casting sparkly shadows all over the walls.

A seventh year hufflepuff boy sees us come in and walks over. "Hi guys! Welcome to the beginning of year party!" 

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