The Keeper and Kadid

4 - Meeting New People

"Ok so you're telling me that celebrities host the show each Saturday and just crack jokes, as a job?" Fred asked after Louise explained the successful American show Saturday Night Live.

"Pretty much I can show you this week because it'll be in the middle of the day instead of 11:30."

"Well I don't mind staying up." Fred said, winking after.

Coming from California where the work ethic was to give so much work that students collapse and then go swimming to forget about it, Louise didn't struggle whatsoever in her subjects. Even despite the rocky introduction from Snape, Louise was excelling in all of her classes, her favorites being potions, herbology, and history of magic. In the days leading up to Thursday, Louise told Elena all about that Monday afternoon and how she managed to get a study "date" with pretty boy diggory. Yet until then, Louise needed to address a more pressing matter, that of Muggle relations.

"Ok so there's this thing in the muggle world called change.org." Louise began to say to Sam and Elena. "Basically we can get a petition to sign that could be sent to the minister of magic, persuading him to use magic to help muggles."
Though everyone in her family despised her for her abilities, Louise thought it was selfish that whilst billions suffered with problems, the only thing that wizards and witches seemed to care about was Voldemort.

"Yeah and I'll write an essay for him as to how we can still make sure muggles don't know about the magic aspect." Sam chimed in.

"Ok perfect and Elena you can get people interested in it, I'll go make the petition now and then I'm going to sleep, goodnight." Louise declared as she walked to her four poster bed.

"You better get your beauty sleep for pretty boy diggory tomorrow!" Elena shouted for all the hufflepuffs to hear, including Hannah who warmed up to Louise the way ice cream warms up in a freezer.

Waking up on a late September morning, Louise slipped on her neon orange shoes, tied her hair pack, and set forth to a gruesome run. However this morning she had an uneasy feeling, as though someone was watching her. Although her father was the mayor of a small suburbia town, it was just five miles from Boston, so it wasn't the first time Louise felt she was followed, running in a big city and all.
But she shrugged it off, continuing to run. For the past two miles, all that Louise could hear was the crunch of the late summer leaves and sounds of thestrals in the distance. Yet flying just a few feet above her head a whoosh sound was received.

"Sorry there overestimated how far that bludger would go!" A Scottish brown haired boy on a broomstick yelled down, steering towards Louise.

"A what?" Louise asked, confused what was going on and wishing she brought her bright pink pepper spray.

"Oh an American I see, and why exactly are you running? Is Filch coming after you for not locking up the Snitch?" The boy asked looking her up and down.

"Isn't that a bit harsh thing to do to a tattle tale? Also what are you even doing on that mop?"

"Are ya kiddin me? It's called quidditch, it's my whole life if that helps. It's a wizarding sport. You know this isn't the first time I've seen you, or your shoes I should say. Got a name?"

"Oh I thought it was a football stadium, and thanks orange is my favorite color. It's Louise, and you are?" Louise asked, slightly worried she won't be back in time for classes.

"Wood, Oliver Wood, you know that running is a punishment for teammates right?"

"Nice to meet you Oliver but I'm afraid you couldn't be farther from the truth. If anything it makes you better at the sport played. And even though I've known about quidditch for five minutes, I'm willing to bet your broom that running helps significantly in performance."

"Well I guess we can agree to disagree, Louise" Oliver said, holding his hand out to be shaken. But when Louise grasped to his hand, she felt blisters and skin like leather grasp hers. And with that they both smiled at each other, Oliver heading to the clouds and Louise circling the castle.

"Alicia I already said that I was playing quidditch!" Oliver bellowed when Alicia, his girlfriend, was acting clingy while he was eating breakfast. But what he didn't tell her was of the muggleborn, brown haired, sweaty, girl he had met that morning met whom he nearly killed.

"Yeah sure," in a slightly lower voice, "do you realize what people would think if my boyfriend, captain of the quidditch team, cheated on me? No I don't think you do, honestly I can't stand you sometimes." The red haired girl scolded Oliver as she stabbed at her eggs.

Without even realizing what he mumbled, or that she heard it Oliver said, "Then don't" causing Alicia to run out of the great hall in an angry fast walk.

"Well who peed in her cereal?" George joked to Oliver, which cheered him up.

"I better go after her, but I don't want to." Oliver sighed, looking around the hall for no one in particular.

"Breakup with her mate, I happen to know a certain slytherin who'd take her." Fred chimed in.

"Wait really? Thanks I owe you one. How about next time we run laps I'll excuse you?" Oliver exclaimed.

"I don't know man maybe I could skip a whole practice?"

"Ok but don't do anything that'll give you probation."

"Wow that girl must really get on your nerves."

As she put pearl earrings into her ears, she checked off everything in her head, looking in the mirror Tonight will be perfect she thought to herself. As she entered the library, her eyes traveled to a certain hufflepuff with honey brown hair, looking up at her, making the butterflies in her stomach flutter.