“Let’s go out and celebrate,” said Jade as we all gathered in the Great Hall for dinner on Friday evening. “I’m working at the Hog’s Head tonight from eight to twelve.”
“What are we celebrating?” asked Olivia.
“Do we have to have an excuse to party?” asked Jade. “The point is, I’m working and I don’t want to have to pretend to flirt with old wizards all night. You guys can bring whoever you want, I don’t care.”
“Can I bring Miles?” asked Olivia.
Serena spat out her drink in shock.
“Miles? Miles Bletchley?” she demanded. Olivia blushed.
“You and Miles?” asked Maggie. “Since when?”
“Since he told me I have the most beautiful chocolate brown eyes he’d ever seen,” she said.
“You’re joking?” asked Serena. “I didn’t know he was capable of feelings.”
“Oh come on,” said Olivia. “He may not be the brightest, but he really tries. We have Arithmancy together. We help each other out.”
“He’s in Arithmancy?” asked Maggie.
“Yes, and he’s quite good. So stop making fun of me.”
“Whatever,” said Jade. “Bring whoever you want. I don’t care. Besides, as long as he has a dick, I don’t see a problem with him.”
“That’s actually the sluttiest thing you’ve ever said,” said Serena with a laugh.
“Well, I’m in,” said Olivia. “I’m off to find Miles and let him know.”
“What about you two?” asked Jade.
“I’m in,” said Serena.
“Sure,” said Maggie agreeing.
“Great,” said Jade. “I’m off to get ready. Don’t be late!”
Jade sauntered off and Serena noticed multiple boys staring at her from every single house. She didn’t understand why every guy wanted her.
“So, are you into anyone these days?” asked Maggie as she took a bite of vegetables. For some strange reason, Oliver Wood’s face popped up in Serena’s mind.
“No of course not,” said Serena. “I’m too busy worrying about Quidditch to worry about boys.”
“I thought you liked Wood,” she said. Serena snapped her head over in Maggie’s direction.
“What?” she asked a little to frantically.
“I said ‘as well you should’,” said Maggie raising an eyebrow. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” said Serena turning back to her plate of untouched food.
“You aren’t eating,” said Maggie noticing. “Is Flint bothering you?”
“No,” said Serena. “I just – uh – I need to go for a walk.” Serena stood up from the table.
“I’ll come with you,” said Maggie.
“No, I uh – I just need some fresh air for the moment, I’ll be right back,” said Serena as she bounded out of the Great Hall.
Oliver was too busy laughing with Fred and George during dinner that he almost missed seeing Serena practically sprint out of the Great Hall. He eyed her carefully and noticed she looked like she was about to suffocate. He looked over at her friend Maggie and saw that she looked flustered and confused before she sat back down. He scanned the Slytherin table looking for Flint, but didn’t see him anywhere. For some reason, that worried him.
“I’m going to head back to the common room,” said Oliver as he stood up from the Gryffindor table.
“Oh come on, Ollie,” said George. “We’re about to sneak to Hogsmeade. Surely you can take a break from Quidditch tactics long enough to have some fun.”
“There’s just something I need to take care of,” he said as he left. Fred and George were left just as confused as Maggie was.
He rounded the corner trying to see if he could find where Serena went. He had a bad feeling that Flint was looking for her or hurting her in some way. He wasn’t sure why he cared, he just felt like he needed to find her. That’s all that mattered.
He wandered up and down the halls trying to find her when he finally caught a glimpse of someone with long brown hair headed for the courtyard. It had to be her. She had a distinguished walk that he could point out in a crowd. He made sure to keep his distance so she wouldn’t see him.
What’s wrong with me? Oliver Wood? Since when did I start thinking about that prat? He’s a cocky, arrogant arse that needs to be taught a lesson, thought Serena. She was having an internal battle between her thoughts and her emotions. She finally stepped into the courtyard where there were only a few students heading back into the castle. She found a bench that was hidden away in a corner and she looked over at the magnificent view of the mountains. The fresh air was nice, but it wasn’t doing a good job with clearing her head. At least she could hear herself think.
What are you going to do about this, Serena?
Who says I have to do anything? I can’t control my feelings.
But you sure as hell could at least do a better job at hiding them!
Should I tell my friends about this?
No of course not! He’s a Gryffindor. They’d exile you!
What about just Maggie? She’s the most reasonable.
She’d blab to the others eventually.
Do I even know if I really like him? I could just be feeling weird from that awkward moment we had on the field earlier this week.
What? When he saved you from Flint? He’s a good man.
Why does he even care about me?
The battle between her mind and feelings was interrupted when she noticed someone watching her.
“You going down to the pub tonight?” asked Marcus Flint as he approached her.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said.
He sat down next to her on the bench.
“I’d like to be alone,” she said as she slid down, away from him.
“And…I’d like to shag,” he said. “I see that you have broken our little agreement already.”
“I did not,” she protested.
“Then why is Carmelita Thomas a reserve?”
“Because she’s a damn good player!” snapped Serena. “She can play any position you ask for. She’ll help us if we need her.”
“Jacob Stockworth was a good player too,” sneered Flint. “Why isn’t he a reserve?”
“Because I picked Terence and Carmelita,” said Serena as she stood up. “I don’t have to answer to you, Flint.”
“Oh yes you do,” he said as he stood up. “Remember who’s in charge here.”
Serena glared at him. She wanted so bad to just punch him in the face. She wanted to tell him that it was SHE who was in charge and ONLY she.
“You said you’d have my back,” she said quietly.
“And you said you’d shag me whenever I wanted it,” he shot back.
“Quidditch hasn’t started yet,” she said.
“You know, I feel like you’re lying to me,” he said as he stepped closer. She instinctively took one step back. “You’re not like your friend Curtis. She’d give it up to anyone. But you…” he laughed. “Terence told me all about you.”
“Leave him out of this,” said Serena.
“He said you’d only given it up to him once,” he sneered as he grabbed her arms lightly. “Is that true? I mean – you’re practically still a virgin.”
“Shut up, Flint!” yelled Serena as she tried to escape his grasp.
“Fine. Just don’t forget our deal, Carrow,” he said as he finally backed away. “Just remember, I always get what I want…and I will want you…very much.”
He walked away with a smirk on his face and left Serena crying on the bench.
Oliver watched the whole thing. He was nervous that Marcus was going to pull another one of his stunts, and Oliver had his wand out, just in case. Finally Flint walked away and left Serena all alone sitting on the bench. He couldn’t tell if she was crying, but he figured she wasn’t. Did Slytherin girls ever cry? He waited there, watching her for a few minutes wondering if he should approach her, or if that would just anger her more…probably the latter. He figured that since Flint was gone, he wouldn’t disturb her.
He turned to walk back into the castle and ran into Fred and George as they were on their way to Hogsmeade.
“Wood! Just the bloke we were looking for!” said Fred.
“Not now you two,” said Oliver as he tried to push his way past them.
“Not so fast, you’re gonna like this,” said George as he grabbed his arm. “Fred and I have been thinking…and he have a brilliant plan.”
“Quidditch, of course,” said Fred as Oliver eyed them suspiciously.
“Go ahead and tell him, Fred,” said George.
“Well, we’ve been thinking a lot about the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match,” said Fred.
“And we think that we have the perfect plan to win,” finished George.
“Serena Carrow is the only girl on the team, not only that, she’s also the Captain. Every Captain has a weakness.”
“So?” asked Oliver very confused.
“What’s every girl’s weakness?” asked George. They stared at Wood waiting for him to answer. He just raised an eyebrow.
“Men,” said Fred. “They drive women crazy.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” asked Oliver.
“Seriously,” said George. “We thought you were supposed to be smart.”
“George, what’s a better weakness for an attractive, sporty girl?” asked Fred.
“An attractive, sporty man…with a Scottish accent,” answered George.
“I don’t understand what you two are playing at,” said Oliver. He felt like he was being burned under a spotlight.
“Simple,” said Fred. “You swoon Carrow. Sweep her off her feet. Make her fall for you, and then the Quidditch Cup is ours.”
“How does that make it ours?” asked Oliver.
“All her guards will be down,” said George. “She’ll be spending less time with Quidditch and more time with you. Obviously we don’t expect you to go and talk to her right now, but closer to when the time is right.”
“Like, in October,” said Fred.
“Who knows, we might even get lucky and she’ll fall for you so hard that she’ll LET you win,” said George.
“You two really think this could work?” asked Oliver.
“Absolutely. Wood, we’ve just conducted a survey and nine out of ten girls say they would shag you if you take them on a date,” said George.
Really? That’s all it takes to get a good shag? Some girls were too easy.
“Carrow may be tough, but underneath her exterior, she’s still a female,” said Fred. “And you seem like the right guy for the job.”
“You two are morons,” said Oliver. “That will never work.”
“Maybe,” said Fred as he started backing away. “But you’ll never know if you don’t try.”
“And hey, it’s not up to us,” said George as he followed his twin. “It’s just a suggestion.”
“It just depends on how bad you want to win, Ollie,” said Fred as the twins walked off. Oliver was now faced with the hardest decision of his life. Throw away any chance he’d ever have with Serena…or win the Quidditch Cup for himself and his team.
“Dammit,” he mumbled as he sulked towards the castle.