(Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter)
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-Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater-
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Heat cascaded down on Oliver Wood in the form of sunbeams, while the still dewy grass beneath his back provided a welcome chill. A breeze tumbled lazily along, taking with it the few wispy clouds and ruffling his hair.
He didn't notice any of this.
Oliver had commandeered the very center of the quidditch pitch this balmy noon, but had invited none of the Gryffindor team to join him. A book held above his face defied the bright rays and his shaded eyes moved rapidly across the pages.
'Woollongong Shimmy: Perfected by the Australian Woollongong Warriors, this is a high-speed zigzagging movement intended to off opposing Chasers. Intermediate, requires coordination.'
He reread this formation twice and memorized the animated diagram before dog-earing the page and going on. He didn't seem to care that over half of the pages already had identically folded corners, making the act useless. Oliver stopped without obvious reason and set the book down, then reached out blindly and snatched another quidditch book out of the many that were strewn around him on the ground. Each book had an aged look that came with heavy usage, making it apparent how often Oliver had consulted these books over the past few years.
Oliver groaned, rubbed his strained eyes, and sat up slowly. Lying out on the pitch had always been one of his favorite ways to plan for an up and coming match, but this time he couldn't think of a single thing. There was something…off about the pitch today.
Before any more thought could be set to this problem, a soft flit of parchment met Oliver's ears. He rose quickly and spun around with his wand drawn. His eyes told him he was quite alone but the noise has started again. It was coming from his personal playbook that not even his team was allowed to see.
"Wingardium leviosa!" He shook the tattered notebook violently in the air until something dark green was flung to the ground from its pages. It was the smallest of garden snakes.
Feeling like a fool, Oliver looked around to make sure no one saw his impulsive display. He watched with a bemused smile as the frightened snake slithered quickly away up towards the castle. Wait, up towards the castle? Struck by a sudden paranoia, Oliver chased the cold-blooded creature down and grabbed it by what he assumed to be the neck. It writhed, squirmed, and finally sank its fangs into Oliver's calloused hand.
Then, just as he thought, the snake started to twist in a new way, growing in size and mutating.
"Flint!" Oliver bellowed meaninglessly as he shoved an accusatory and bleeding finger into the de-transfigured Slytherin Captain's chest.
Marcus Flint just smirked. "See you at the match, Wood!" The cheat called over his shoulder as he ran away.
Oliver screamed profanities, hexes, and jinxes after his rival, but rage butchered his aim and Marcus got away. "Damn it…" He grumbled to himself all the way up to the Gryffindor common room, and even then some.
The following week was privy to the most intense and rigorous practices the team had ever undergone, but no one questioned Oliver's fierce determination and it paid off.
Gryffindor won and Slytherin lost, but more importantly, Marcus Flint woke up in undiluted bubotuber pus the next morning.
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(A/N- An eternal rivalry. ^-^ For the Out of a Hat Challenge. The prompt was Oliver Wood, Books, and Snakes. I hope you liked it and feedback would be much appreciated.
Forever Yours,
Pyro)