"It's getting rather late, don't you think?" Harry Potter asked as he pulled the sleeves of his black sweater over his hands and crossed them over his chest to keep them warm. It had been a very nice day, but as the sun sank toward the horizon, it was getting rather chilly.
"Yes, I suppose you're right," replied Oliver Wood, who was directly to his left. It was Harry's fourth year, and Oliver had graduated from Hogwarts the year before, but he had come back to check up on his team. The two of them has spent all afternoon walking around the grounds of the school and had ended up lying on their backs in the spongy grass where they currently were. Of all the people to come back for a visit, Harry never supposed it would be Oliver, but he was glad the other came. The Quidditch team had been like a family to him with Oliver as their leader and adviser.
"But you know, Potter, I reckon you'd make a right good Captain someday," Oliver said as he turned a bit on his side. "Angelina is a great Captain right now, but she wont be around forever."
Harry felt a little smile come to his face. "Yeah… yeah, I'd like that someday." As time went on, Quidditch became more and more important to him. He'd found that it was a great way to forget his horrible dreams and the fact that Voldemort was back. "Do you really think I'm good enough Oliver?"
"Certainly." In his peripheral view, Harry saw Oliver give an affirming nod. "In fact, I can't think of anyone I would rather be in charge of the Gryffindor team." Harry turned his head to meet Oliver's heartfelt smile. He could tell by the little smile lines that appeared around the older boy's eyes when he smiled that he meant what he said.
"Sometimes I wish nothing else existed beyond Quidditch," Harry confessed as he turned his head back to looking up at the darkening sky. "I wish I could just fly high above the ground hunting snitches for the rest of my life, and not have to worry about school or evil wizards, or being wrongfully placed in the Triwizard Tournament, but no, we're not even having Quidditch this year…" He trailed off when he realized his hands were clenching into balls. He was only succeeding in upsetting himself. He looked sheepishly over at his friend. "I bet that sounds rather selfish of me, doesn't it?"
"Oh no, Potter. I think I know exactly what you mean," Oliver replied. "It's a way to forget about what you've got going on… forget about who you are." By the dreamy way Oliver's voice had become, Harry figured Oliver was talking about himself… Although he couldn't imagine the Puddlemere United player having anything to escape from.
Craning his neck a bit, Harry looked toward the looming stone structure that was the Hogwarts castle. The sky and mountains behind it were beginning to blend into one, and the lighted school windows were becoming more prominent. He had never really spent much time out on the Hogwarts grounds, but found that he liked being at one with the nature around him. Moving his hands off his chest, he allowed his arms to drop to his sides, his fingers digging into the cool blades of grass.
"I'm happy that you got onto the Puddlemere team," he said after a long, lazy moment of silence. "You're a very good Quidditch player."
"You should try out for a team when you get out of school, Potter," the other said as he moved to rest his arms behind his head. He was wearing one of his turtleneck knitted sweaters, which Harry thought looked elegant on him. Harry could never pull off a look like that.
"That's a tempting thought, Oliver," Harry said a bit wistfully. There was nothing he would like more, but he felt that life was calling him in a different direction. No, duty was calling him in a different direction. For as long as he and Voldemort were alive, his duty would be to fighting dark witches and wizards. Harry blinked up at the sky again. It was a near inky black now. Before Harry had come to Hogwarts, he had never known the sky could be such a brilliant blue during the day and such a deep black at night. He was used to the Dursley neighborhood where all the orange streetlights prevented one from seeing the sky clearly.
"The stars are coming out," Harry observed. "I think I should probably head back up to the castle now." He moved to get up from his laying position, but found himself stopped by one of Oliver's hands. As he turned to look at the former Quidditch captain, he was shocked to find the other's face so close to his own. He was about to ask what was up, but hesitated when he saw the way Oliver was looking at him. Dark brown eyes searched his as soft lips slowly lowered themselves onto Harry's. Before he knew it, he was kissing his old Quidditch captain with passion in his soul and longing in his heart. Oliver's hand went to rest on his side, and heat seemed to radiate from his palm and fingers, warming Harry's own flesh.
And as Harry pulled back from the kiss, he realized what it was that Oliver wanted to forget about.
A/N: More is on the way. Thank you for reading, please review.
Staple