Obsessive Compulsive Keeper
Disclaimer: All characters and elements of Harry Potter you recognise belong to J.K.Rowling.
Obsessive Compulsive Keeper
Oliver Wood loved Quidditch, that was for certain. In fact, he lived and breathed the game. The pre-dawn practices, rigorous training schedules and complaining team mates proved that. But what Oliver Wood wasn't sure of, was why he really loved Quidditch in the first place.
Sure, he'd always felt more at home in the air than on the ground, but somehow that wasn't quite right. Maybe he'd become obsessed when he became Gryffindor Captain in his fourth year. It was hard to explain. Fred called him an obsessive compulsive Keeper, which Oliver supposed he was. But he guessed it was just one of those passing things, you know? Oliver sighed. He'd never been great at expressing himself. Although, come to think of it, he'd never needed many words to complete his Quidditch plays. Bell double barrel roll followed by a fake pass. Bell swerve to the right and avoid opposition by taking centre-field. Bell alternate position with other chasers here. Bell.
That was a name which appeared regularly in his thoughts recently. But of course it didn't mean anything. Katie Bell was just one of his chasers.
Bell was just the girl on the end of most of his complaints – "Bell that was a pathetic pass, you're playing like a girl again." or "With that dive Bell, you might as well hand the cup to Flint already!" It wasn't like Oliver was trying to degrade her though, Bell was a superb chaser. She always took his comments with a wild grin on her face and a roll of her eyes. He admired her strength, especially when that idiot Montague had grabbed her head instead of the Quaffle. Oliver had felt a strange urge to take George's bat and inflict some pain upon the Slytherin chaser after that.
Bell was the only one who he trusted to look over his Quidditch plays. She annotated his playbook in History of Magic which comments like – "Are you a chaser Oliver? No, I didn't think so. This move is completely ridiculous and Alicia would probably die if she attempted it." Bell was the only one who he wouldn't yell at for drawing cartoons of the team in his playbook. Her latest addition was a cartoon of her and Oliver passing a bright pink Quaffle between them, which she'd charmed to move.
Bell was the girl who wouldn't think twice about hexing any Slytherin in her way, especially those insulting the Gryffindor team. Recently, Marcus Flint had enjoyed a visit to the Hospital wing after sprouting large purple boils on his forehead which read – I love Gryffindor.
Bell was the girl who he'd rescued from the moving staircases in the first week of her second year. The next time he saw her was at the Quidditch trials at the start of October. She trailed behind her friend, Lucy or Leanne – something like that. It was obvious she hadn't really wanted to be there, but she'd soon found a love for Quidditch that was nearly as strong as Oliver's.
Bell was the girl who'd cry with laughter after he was mauled by his so called 'fan club' around the school. She'd nearly got him thrown out of the library yesterday…
Madam Pince glared disapprovingly as Katie snorted at a failed attempt I'd made at a joke. Something involving bludgers and Warrington I think…
"Well I thought that was simply hilarious Oliver." drawled a voice from behind me. I turned to see a Ravenclaw girl who I didn't recognize. Katie's smile grew even bigger as the girl asked me to sign her Charms textbook. Fits of laughter erupted from the other side of the table as the girl gave me her spare tie as a token of her love. I kicked Katie lightly, but she still cackled away. As the Ravenclaw walked away, glaring daggers at Katie, she began to bang her fight on the table and when she looked up at me, her eyes were dancing with amusement.
"Oh, Oliver. You and your desperate fan club…" she laughed.
"I haven't got a fan club." I hissed, trying to keep the noise down. I could almost see the steam coming from Madam Pince's ears and decided that now would be a good time to get Katie out of the library, fast.
"I love you Ollie-wollie." she giggled. "Please except my tie as a token of my deepest affections" I smirked as she skipped away down the corridor…
Bell was the one who deliberately sang in Potions to annoy Snape and, on the day she learnt Cheering Charms with Professor Flitwick, had charmed the entire Slytherin team into smiling at the Gryffindor's.
Bell was the girl who seemed to fly effortlessly every Quidditch practice, her golden hair trailing behind her like a veil. She threw the Quaffle with ease, her sea blue eyes lighting up in amusement every time she got a goal past him. She seemed more at home in the air than on the ground, where Oliver constantly had to rescue her from falling down stairs or crashing into suits of armour.
Bell the only girl who wouldn't complain if he tried to have an in-depth Quidditch conversation with her, in fact she welcomed them. Angelina and Alicia would set the Weasleys and their portable prank shop on him; that was for sure. He knew how crazy those boys were about his other chasers.
Bell was the one who smiled without fail every time she passed him in the corridor and always asked him about his day, even if hers had been a complete disaster. She was the first to join him for his gruelling pre-dawn Quidditch practices and the last to leave, claiming she wanted to work on her shooting techniques for a little longer. Oliver talked to her about anything and everything, confiding in her more than anyone else. Now that he came to think about it, he didn't know who he was going to turn to when he had to leave Hogwarts.
It was then Oliver Wood realised the reason why he loved Quidditch so much had been staring him in the face all along…
- The End -