Wood Worshippers and Oliver Oglers
Disclaimer: I don't own this at all. Jo does.
Summery: Leanne convinces Katie to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team in her second year. Katie listens and becomes surrounded by Wood Worshippers and Oliver Oglers.
"Katie, you should try out!" Leanne said to me our first day back at Hogwarts for our second year. We were standing in front of the bulletin board just after the feast and Leanne had ripped off the flier advertising Quidditch try-outs. "You'd be great! I saw you fly this summer!"
"I really don't think I should," I said timidly. I was never one for flying in front of huge crowds for a purpose. I'm more of a backyard Quidditch kind of girl. "I'd screw up big time. And there's no way they'd let me on the team anyway. I'm only a second year."
"So? Angelina Johnson," she pointed over to a third year on the other side of the room, "made it last year when there was only one position open. And Alicia Spinnet," she pointed to the girl Angelina was talking to, "another third year, made it as a reserve. And you know how the teams are with reserves. You have to be just as good as the real thing."
"God, Leanne, you know more about the school teams than I do! Why don't you try out?" I asked with a grin.
"Because I can't fly to save my life." She grinned. "Come on, it won't be that bad. Besides, Oliver Wood is the captain this year and he's gorgeous!"
"Well then, if Oliver is the captain," I said slowly, biting my bottom lip.
"What about Wood?" came two voices in unison.
I could feel my cheeks going red. Great, just fantastic. I finally think I'm going to make something of my year and I embarrass myself before even trying out.
Leanne turned around to face the infamous Weasley twins. They pranked her last year, but it was nothing compared to what they would do to the Slytherin Quidditch team.
"We were just talking about how Wood is going to be a great captain," she explained in a tone that didn't imply that just seconds ago we were talking about how gorgeous he was.
"You're trying out, then?" one of them asked, looking down at Leanne and me.
"I'm not," Leanne said. I've never seen her so bold. "But Katie here wants to. And I think she'll make it. She looks like a Chaser, doesn't she?"
"Oh yes, a Wood chaser, like so many others," the other twin said. I have no idea, which is which. They are completely identical. "See you at try-outs then." The two then proceeded to walk over to their friend Lee Jordan.
"Leanne! Now they're expecting me!" I whispered harshly. "Now I have to go or I'll look like a wimp!"
"Yeah, so?" She grinned and walked up to our dorm.
-+-
I met down for tryouts on the quidditch pitch in my second hand robes. Dad didn't want to buy me brand new ones just for practice, even if I did make the team because they school gives us the robes anyway. I had my Cleansweep Eleven clutched to tightly in my hand so tight that my knuckles were turning white. My hair was already falling out of my hair tie but I was just too nervous to fix it.
Being surrounded by tons of older students is nothing less than scary. There were seventh years that figured a place on the Quidditch team would look good for a job résumé, at least four of them. There were fourth years who, like me, were here in part to see Oliver, though I'm sure most wanted to see him than actually play. There were the returning third years, Fred and George Weasley, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet who was most likely going to get on the team this year. Then there was me, the only second year, and a handful of scared looking first years. I was tempted to hide in with them but I had to have some pride.
"All right, beginners," Wood hollered over the dull buzz of the talking players. "I want you to get in groups by position. Chasers, come over here to my left, with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. Beaters, to my right with Fred and George Weasley. Seekers, I want you next to the Chasers."
The group soundlessly shuffled off to their groups. No one walked over next to the beaters. I walked over to Angelina and Alicia and was followed by a group of giggling fangirls. I didn't turn towards them and try to make acquaintances; I just walked up to Angelina and Alicia and stood there silently.
They looked at me and then up at the fangirls, then back at me. Angelina said, "You have played Quidditch before, haven't you?" Her voice was stern but her eyes were begging for a yes. Even at twelve I could see that.
"I played a lot this summer with my brother in the back yard. I don't know how good I am but I think I'm probably better than these bimbos," I explained, pointing over my shoulder to the still giggling girls.
"Some hope," Alicia said with a sigh of relief. I couldn't help but grin. "What's your name, kid?"
"Katie. Katie Bell." The grip on my Cleansweep loosened up a bit.
"Alicia Spinnet."
"Angelina Johnson."
I shook hands with each of them in turn.
"You've got my vote, Bell. Even if any of these girls can fly, I wouldn't want them on the team. They'd just be ogling Wood the whole time an that's enough to make me want to toss my cookies," Angelina whispered to me, Alicia nodding behind her.
"Thanks!" I said honestly.
"Alright," Wood called to us. "Beaters up first. The rest of you, up in the stands. Stay in your groups."
We all made our way up to the stands. I stayed as close to Angelina and Alicia as possible, not wanting to mix in with the Wood Worshippers. Even if he is a hunk.
The Wood Worshippers sat in the stands a few feet away from Angelina, Alicia, and I, giggling constantly while we watched the Beater tryouts. First, Wood made them fly ten laps around the pitch. Then, in turn, he had them have one on one with a bludger. After he asked a few people to leave, he had them get into pairs to see how well they worked with one another. By the time he was done with the beaters, the team was left with Fred and George Weasley, who were the beaters last year.
They came up to sit with Angelina and Alicia in the stands, identical grins plastered on their faces.
"Well done," Alicia said to both of them.
"You two were the best. The others didn't know what was coming. None of them had Charlie Weasley as a captain last year," Angelina said with a grin.
"Or as a brother," one of the two added.
"Very true," Alicia said. "This is Katie." Up until this point, I was just listening in. "She's our choice for the third Chaser."
"The rest are smarmy Wood lovers," Angelina said a little too loudly. Thankfully, the giggling Wood Worshippers didn't hear her.
"Second year?" one of the twins asked. I nodded.
"Ah yes," said the second. "I remember what it was like to be a second year."
"Good year," said the first. "Many pranks."
"Many, many pranks. Old Montague didn't know what hit him in May, did he Fred?" Apparently this one was George.
"Nope, not in the least. That was a good one." Fred had his head resting on the bleacher behind him, his hands folded across his stomach, and he was, what I'm guessing, recalling the memories of old pranks.
"Seekers!" Wood called up to the stands. "You're up."
No one moved. We all just stared at Wood like he was crazy. Except for the Wood Worshippers who were now ogling him and giggling some more.
"Don't play games with me, Seekers! Get down here!"
We all looked at one another until…
One of the Wood Worshippers stood up giggling and ran, though I wouldn't even call it running, more like skipping, down the stands and faced Oliver. I could see Angelina rolling her eyes out of the corner of my own.
I couldn't hear was he was saying, but in a few seconds she took off and attempted to fly ten laps around the pitch. Around the second she got slower and lower and by the fifth she was about three feet from the ground.
Oliver blew his whistle. She landed ungracefully and walked towards him. If there were any other people going out for Seeker, I'm sure he wouldn't have let her continue, but because she was the only one, he tossed her some golf balls and she had to catch them. She missed them all.
"God, I'm a better Seeker than her," George said with a smirk on his face. "I should just ask Wood if I could play both. I'm sure he'd be desperate enough to say yes."
We laughed at the truthfulness of it all.
A few minutes later, the Wood Worshipper walked slowly back up the stands with a frown on her face.
"It's because he thinks I'm ugly, I bet. I should have put on more blush. He probably thinks I'm washed out," the girl said with a frown.
"Oh yes, I'm sure that's it. Go put on more make-up and try again. And if that doesn't work than we all know you suck at Quidditch," I said dully. I didn't really mean to say it out loud, but it just kind of slipped. It took me a minute before I even realized that it wasn't just in my brain. As soon as the word Quidditch slipped out, I flung a hand over my mouth and my eyes went wide.
The girl looked confused for a second before getting up and storming off. Two or three of the girls looked tempted to follow her to make sure that she was okay, but stayed there to ogle Oliver long. Oh great. They're Wood Worshippers and Oliver Oglers. They didn't say anything to me about crushing their friend's spirits, but just turned to whisper quietly.
"Second year's got spunk!" Fred said, sitting up and thumping me on the back.
"Way to go, tyro!" George said, sitting up as well, grinning.
"Tyro?" I questioned, looking up at Alicia for information.
"Beginner."
"Chasers! You're up!" Wood called to us. Angelina, Alicia, and I stood up and started our way down. Ten seconds later, the Wood Worshippers and Oliver Oglers followed.
"Alright," he said when we were all lined up. "I want each of you to get into groups of three. Angelina, Alicia, each of you are going to rotate groups to see who you feel comfortable with, who has the most team work."
I groaned. I was going to have to work with an Ogler.
All of the Oglers went off into groups of three. There were two left. I'm assuming the 'Seeker' would have completed that group. Grudingly, I made my way over to join them.
"Do you mind if I play with you?" I asked timidly, sounding more like a little kid than ever.
"Nope," one of them said. I recognized her as a fifth year, Gryffindor Prefect, and resident Oliver Ogler. She was at least five inches taller than me and was clutching her broom in a very intimidating way.
"Alright, I want each of your groups, one at a time, to fly around the pitch two times. This is to see if you would be able to stick together during a match," Oliver explained. I honestly think I was the only one actually trying out that was paying attention to the words coming out of his mouth, rather than the mouth itself. He pointed to my group. "You girls will go first, okay?"
I nodded and mounted my broom. The other two looked up at me for a second before copying.
"Go!" he shouted. We took off and flew towards the goal posts. They were flying so slowly and I was trying to hard to stay in line with them. But if I went any slower I'd be going backwards! I wanted to fly just a bit faster but that wouldn't be teamwork.
The Ogler Prefect and the other Ogler kept looking at the ground ten feel below them and gasping. Ten painfully long minutes later, we landed in front of Oliver who just raised an eyebrow at us. I sighed and walked over to Angelina and Alicia.
"I could have gone so much faster! They were so slow! I never went that slow, not even when I was five!" I complained to them. They both gave me sympathetic looks.
"At least you did what you were supposed to, and stayed with your group. That's what he was looking for, specifics," Alicia explained, putting an affectionate hand on my shoulder.
"Yes, but it was so boring," I whined.
"You're up!" Oliver said, pointing to three giggling girls. They mounted their brooms and took off. Two of them flew up to the goal posts while the third couldn't even get off the ground. One of the two that actually made it up flew at an average pace while the third took off without her. The slower Ogler tried to speed up to catch her but it only resulted in her going straight towards the ground and straight back up again.
I couldn't help but put my palm to my forehead and drag it down to my chin. They were just awful. The next two groups weren't any better. I thought Oliver was going to have a heart attack when he saw the girl who tripped over her own broom and then fell off with a scream when she was three feet in the air.
He had the girl who couldn't get off the ground and the girl who fell leave and go to the stands. They left grudgingly but waved at Oliver.
"Alright," he said turning back to those who remained. "Form a line in front of me and we're going to practice some passes in the air. Can you all do that? Because if you can't, you're going to have to leave the pitch." I saw a couple of the girls exchange nervous glances but no one left.
All of the other girls eagerly formed a line, pushing and shoving so that they could see Oliver closely. I just took my spot at the back, not wanting to get scratched in the face or pushed around because they couldn't see him.
After what seemed like ages, all the girls in line ahead of me, minus Alicia and Angelina of course, were sent back up to the stands and when it was finally my turn, I couldn't feel my legs. Which I guess is okay but they do help you steer the broom at some point.
"You're up," Wood said, tossing me the quaffle. I caught it with ease from playing with my brother all summer. "Nice catch," he added with a nod of approval.
"You're just saying that because all of the other girls sucked," I said with a grin. Where was all this talk coming from?
"Well, compared to you, yes, yes they did," he said as I chucked the Quaffle back at him, and not lightly either. "But some," he rolled his eyes, "I don't even know why they bothered coming."
I quickly dashed to the left, going for the quaffle, which he threw rather hard, but I caught it, it did however add a little spin to my broom. "Are you kidding me?" I asked, tossing the quaffle to his right. Mind as well work up his Keeper skills, right? "They came here because they think you're a God!"
…
I didn't really say that, did I?
Oliver raised an eyebrow at me.
Crap. I did.
"What?" he asked, chucking the ball way over my head and to the right. I quickly maneuvered to catch it, which I did, and shot it back to him.
"You can't tell me you haven't noticed! They're all ogling you! It's, quite frankly, gross. And it was obvious that the only player you had for Seeker was doing it for some one on one time with you," I explained. He may be good at quidditch, but he didn't know much about life.
"Really?" he asked, an eyebrow raised. He actually looked concerned, possibly for his life. I nodded. "Well- what did you say your name was?"
"I didn't," I said grimly. "But for further references, it's Bell, Katie Bell." I held out my left hand, my right was currently holding the quaffle against my side.
"Well, Katie, I think you've just got your spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Welcome to Team Wood."
I couldn't help but grin as I sprinted off to tell Angelina and Alicia, who weren't surprised in the least. Though they both clapped me on the back and told me congratulations. Fred and George also came over to congratulate me. They gave me a pastry with a wink but once they turned their backs, Angelina whispered, "Don't eat that."
By the time I got up to the Common Room, I was starved and everyone was already at dinner. So I changed out of my sweaty clothes, took a quick shower, and put on some jeans before running down to the Great Hall. I was in such a good mood.
It only took me a minute to find Leanne. She was at the end of the table eating with another girl from our dorm, Virginia. When she saw me coming, especially with the huge smile on my face, she jumped up and yelled, "YOU MADE IT?!"
I nodded and she engulfed me in a lung-crushing hug.
"I knew you'd make it!" she bragged, moving her bag off of the empty space to her left.
"Well," I said honestly, lowering my voice, "there wasn't much competition."
"But still!"
"What'd you make?" Virginia asked curiously, peering around Leanne.
"The Gryffindor Quidditch Team!" Leanne replied before I could even open my mouth. I did however grin.
"Really? That's awesome, Katie! Isn't Oliver Wood the captain this year? He's so cute!" Virginia said, causing the three of us to fall in a fit of giggles.
"Congratulations again, Bell," said Angelina to me as she and Alicia passed by where we were sitting.
"Thanks," I replied with the straightest possible face.
Once they were out of earshot, Virginia said, "You talk to Angelina Johnson?"
"Yeah," I said as if it was no big deal. But it was, because Angelina Johnson was the star Chaser of the team last year. And I'll be playing with the star Chaser, and another amazing Chaser, and then I'll be as good as them and together we will with the House Cup.
Especially for Oliver.
Yeah, this year was going to be good.
A/n: Alrighty, there's Wood Worshippers And Oliver Oglers. I hope you liked it! I've been in a one-shot mood lately, so if anyone has any ideas that they want written, message me and let me know and I'll do my best to do it. Thanks guys. Don't forget to review, they make my day. You guys rock!
-Siriusly Klutzy