"Fiona, Fiona, Fiona, Fiona!" Oliver called quickly, not taking a single short breath whilst speaking so quickly. He sped walked (almost ran) over to where you were sat at the Gryffindor table eating your lunch next to Ginny and opposite Hermione, who seemed to scowl once Oliver finally came over. You put down your fork and smiled up at the teenager with flushed cheeks, concerned that he had been over doing himself with being fit and healthy.
"Oh, hey, Oliver. What's up?"
"It's Harry," he began, finally taking one heap of a breath once he stopped running. "that blasted Snape has given Harry two weeks detention for something Malfoy did, and can't make it to Quidditch this Sunday! It's completely outrageous!" He almost yelled every single word, his face boiling with anger and reddening even more when each word was spoken.
"Let me guess, you want me to fill in for him?" you asked knowingly. Wood grinned.
"Would you? I mean, that would be really helpful if you did, considering that you're the only one who is good at nearly every position in Quidditch I thought that I would come to you first." You sighed heavily. You knew that he would actually beg you to fill in for Harry, and that he would get down on his knees and plead if it meant Gryffindor winning. You looked over at the desperate boy again. The hopefulness that he had in his expression was just hilarious, he would do anything for Gryffindor to win in Quidditch.
"Ok, fine." you sighed again, smiling. Oliver almost leapt in joy, but held it back just in time with a 'casual' cough and 'cool' smile.
"Great, er, see you at practice then?"
"Sure,"
"Or, we could practice now, if you like? The team is having a practise in an hour or so, but I thought that you might have wanted to get used to the seeker position and chase after the snitch?"
"Er, yeah, ok. I need to get my Firebolt from my room first, if that's ok?"
"Yeah, sure," he nodded, thrilled that you said yes to being seeker just for this game coming up in a couple of days time.
"Hermione, is it alright if I catch up with you later? I will still come with you to the library later on." You looked over at an irritated looking Hermione, glaring annoyingly over at the teenager beside you.
"Promise?"
"Promise," you nodded.
"Very well," she sighed heavily and shoved in a forkful of food into her mouth to prevent her from saying anything that she might regret. You smiled weakly to your annoyed friend, deciding that now was the best time to leave before she has another go at you both. She waited until you two had walked off out of ear-shot and leant over to Ginny and whispered loudly. "I swear that he likes her."
"Of course he does!" George chuckled, interfering with the conversation. "She's good at Quidditch, pretty, smart and actually laughs at his jokes."
"She laughs at practically everything," said Fred as he sipped at his goblet filled with pumpkin juice.
"Yes, she does." agreed George, nodding his head. "Best get her before Wood does, eh, Fred?" Fred laughed sarcastically and his smile soon left as soon as it came. A frown was now planted on the once cheerful face of Fred, haunting him for the rest of the day.
The game of Quidditch against Ravenclaw soon came, and Oliver was leading the group over to the door where they'll await the signal to enter the arena.
"Right, you know what to do, Fiona?" he asked. You raised your eyebrows at his ridiculous question.
"Er, catch the snitch?" you said with a light laugh.
"Right," he nodded with a blink, having just realised his stupid question. "sorry." Fred gripped the beater's bat tighter in his gloved hand, wishing he could smack it around that Scottish teenager's head. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't make the game either because Snape meant his word when he said that Harry would get detention and made sure that he spent every last minute of it. You couldn't help but feel sorry for Harry, you saw what Draco did and Harry had nothing to do with it. You would've said something, but Snape scared you a little and would most probably have given you detention as well for disrupting him. You felt a little sick. The nerves built up more and more inside of you the more you thought about it. You swallowed. Then, the doors opened. Oliver smiled eagerly and his eyes sparkled at the thought of winning the house cup. He kicked off from the ground as did the others and flew right up in the air, you did too after snapping out from your thoughts. You soared into the sky, faster than anyone else on both teams thanks to your Firebolt. You took your place in the sky nervously. You didn't know why, but the fact of having the role as seeker had more pressure than the other positions did, it was you who could win the game for Gryffindor.
"How am I meant to do this?" you said quietly to yourself and took a heavy shaken sigh, trying to calm yourself down before the game began. You looked over at Fred and George who were hovering nearby. They both smiled and waved the bat towards you, mouthing 'good luck'. You smiled weakly, unable to get rid of the nerves that fluttered sickeningly in your stomach. A few seconds later, the whistle was blown and the quaffle was thrown high into the air, starting the game. You weren't sure what to do. Should you stay where you are and hope that the snitch would fly nearby soon? Or maybe you should fly around in search of it instead of being such a chicken. You decided that the second option was best and began to fly at a steady pace around the arena, dodging past bludgers and players that came whooshing by you. You also kept an eye on the Ravenclaw seeker, making sure that they weren't following you around. As you flew, you watched your team-mates play. Fred and George were terrific beaters, Oliver was a great keeper, and the chasers were really good too. Then there was just you. Your first time at seeker and you desperately didn't want to screw this up and lose the game for Gryffindor.
After half an hour of just plain flying, a glisten of gold caught your eye. There, fluttering near George, was the snitch. You gasped and blinked. You quickly snapped out of your daze and sped after the snitch, almost knocking George off of his broom.
"Sorry, George!" you called back as the snitch fled.
"I'm Fred!" he yelled back.
"Not now, George!" you shouted as you followed after the snitch at quite a fast speed, gaining on it more and more with each second that went by. Oliver kept an eye on you, just in case if anything went wrong and you needed some help. But, he was quite impressed with how well you were actually coping. Your hand was stretched out in front of you as you chased after it. Your front teeth were clamped down onto your bottom lip as you focused on the glittering gold ball in front of your eyes. The Ravenclaw seeker was a bit oblivious to your position, as a bludger was on their tail and they were trying very hard to lose it. Your fingertips were only a few inches away from the fleeing gold, straining your arm to stretch any further. Three inches... two... one... The very tips of your fingers brushed ever so slightly against the polished gold and felt the gentle very swift beats of its wings glide over your skin.
"Come on," you groaned to yourself as you made your broom go a little faster. But as your broom's speed increased, so did the snitch annoyingly. But that didn't stop you. You forced every last grain of energy to be released as you eagerly stretched for the winning piece. You could feel the eyes of the Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's watch you like flies to a bright light, glued as they awaited the fate of the game. With one last stretch you reached the snitch closer, but as you attempted to grab it, your other clammy hand slipped from the polished wood of your broomstick handle, sending you spinning down and crashing onto the ground below. You could hear the gasps of the crowd as they watched. Madam Hooch blew her whistle for a time out and a few people flew down to the ground.
"Fiona, Fiona, are you alright?" Katie asked as she rushed over.
"Fi-Fi?" Fred asked as he ran over to where you were on the ground, accompanied by Oliver and George, who all looked as worried as each other. You attempted to sit up but groaned at the small pain. You shakily stood up with the help of the twins and then looked down to your hand. Inside, was the golden snitch, shining brightly as you held it in your gloved hand. The crowd cheered loudly as Lee yelled 'GRYFFINDOR WINS!' The team patted you on the back in praise, and even the Ravenclaw's congratulated you on your success. But, you received a different praise from Oliver, who swept down and kissed you right on the lips.
