Special Thanks to: SecretlyAGryffindor, Fallenarchangel, Georgia, annnH, callmedaynuhh, and xXxCastielxXx for the reviews. And thanks to everyone who read and made it a favorite story/alert. This chapter is dedicated to ALL OF YOU because I kept you waiting so long. :-D

I do apologize for not updating. School was brutal this past semester and I'm going to do my best to post more regularly this semester.


Following the Cookie Trail

It was November thirtieth and Oliver's birthday. His wake up was nothing like he'd expected seeing as neither the twins, nor Mercy was there at his bedside to wake him and his roommates at the crack of dawn (or three in the morning if the twins managed to wake Mercy up) with a wet-start firework in the dormitory. There wasn't the charge up the stairs to pour a bucket of ice-cold water on him, nor was there the ridiculous song and dance they did on everyone's birthday that he'd grown awkwardly fond of. Instead, at his bedside was a single peanut butter cookie and a note.

Follow the cookies and you will find,

A lovely present that blows your mind.

Yours truly,

Us

Oliver chuckled and ate the melt in your mouth peanut butter cookie. Yes, he was worried about what his friends had gotten him. The fact that the note said their gift will blow his mind made him think it was a firework or some sort of bomb. He wouldn't put it past them. With a stretch, Oliver moved to the bathroom to shower and get ready for class, secretly wondering when he'd get his next cookie. They were just that good.

Upon entering the Common Room he was greeted by the twins and Mercy who wished him a happy birthday. When Oliver asked them about the cookie and riddle, they shrugged, though all three had a mischievous glint in their eyes. The twins took Oliver by the arms and lead him to the Great Hall where all four sat down for a scrumptious breakfast of pancakes, bacon, sausage, and pumpkin juice. Fred began asking what everyone was doing for the holidays because he and George were staying. As per usual, Oliver and Mercy were going home with the plan that Mercy would go to Oliver's for New Years Eve until the start of the next term. This caused the twins to sigh dramatically and wonder what in the world they would do without their two friends. Mercy suggested that they convince Peeves to send Snape a basket full of shampoo and conditioner.

Soon, Mercy and Oliver were on their way to Charms class where, sitting atop Oliver's desk was another cookie and note. Mercy quirked an eyebrow in his direction and muttered something about eating strange cookies as Oliver scarfed the cookie down. He didn't get to respond to Mercy, nor read the note because Professor Flitwick began talking to them about protection charms similar to those surrounding Hogwarts. Mercy was busy trying to keep up with what the professor was saying, while Oliver fiddled the piece of parchment that had been sitting with his cookie. Slowly, he turned it over and chuckled at the familiar handwriting.

You have found Cookie #2

It does not have the present waiting for you.

It was hard not to elbow Mercy and tease her about the pathetic rhyming clues. He could tell that neither she, nor the twins wanted to admit to their involvement with this little scavenger hunt they were leading him on. Instead, Oliver turned his attention back to the lesson and actually found himself quite intrigued by the security charms. He knew that one day he would put some form of charm around his home, it was just a question of how strong he wanted it to be.

"Professor, is it possible to only have the spell trigger if someone unwanted enters your home?" Mercy asked. Oliver was shocked. It was rare for Mercy to speak in Charms class, never mind asking an intelligent question.

"Excellent question Miss Gauge. It is possible to set more sensitive enchantments that will allow blood relatives through the boundary, though I find them to be quite useless with unwanted family members. There is a lot of research going into new ways to perfect the spell so that non blood relatives can enter the vicinity without tripping the alarm, though none have been very effective." He answered. "Five points to Gryffindor." Mercy smiled and Oliver nudged her in approval causing her to blush. It was the first time Oliver had noticed the tinge in his friend's cheeks and, if he was being honest with himself, the look was quite attractive on her.

Suddenly a piece of paper landed on Mercy's desk and she read it with a smile. She turned and stuck her tongue out at someone. When Oliver followed her gaze it lead straight to Adam Nichol who was blatantly flirting with her. She smiled and gave him a rather inappropriate hand gesture before turning her attention back to the professor, but not before giving Oliver an embarrassed smile. Although Oliver felt himself getting a little jealous, he shrugged and ruffled her hair, letting her know that he didn't care.

When class ended, Adam joined Mercy and Oliver on their walk to Herbology. Outside the greenhouse was another floating cookie with a note, which had everyone in the class questioning who it was for. Adam attempted to grab the cookie but pulled his hand back the second he touched it.

"What's the matter Nichol? Afraid of a floating cookie?" Oliver teased, grabbing the treat and shoving it in his mouth before looking at the note.

"It shocked me!" Adam argued, glaring at Oliver when Mercy laughed.

"Cookie Number Three will give you a clue, it is something you've wanted since you were in year two." Oliver looked up and quirked an eyebrow at Mercy. "Honestly Mercy, you guys are terrible with the rhyming. Why can't you just tell me what you got me?"

"Really Oliver? I'm the one telling you NOT to eat strange floating cookies that shock people. What makes you think I'm involved in this?" She teased.

"Because all these clues are in your handwriting. I'm assuming the twins did everything else. You're rubbish at charms."

"Hey! I made the damn cookies!" She argued.

"And they're lovely." Oliver kissed her forehead. "You can now cross making my cookies off your list." She smiled and they walked into Herbology where Adam seemed to glare at Oliver throughout the entire class. Mercy didn't seem to notice as she helped Oliver trim their tentacula plant, but Oliver could feel Adam's gaze and felt a little better knowing that Mercy was paying more attention to him than the Ravenclaw.

By dinner time, Oliver had eaten five more cookies and laughed at each one of the notes that came along with them. His friends weren't budging on what they got him and he was starting to worry since one of the clues was that it would be something he'd never suspect. This made him think that it might be alcohol, or maybe a blind date, or worse…one of Fred and George's inventions. He'd gotten a few of those over the years and each time he feared for his life.

It was getting later in the day and another cookie was waiting for Oliver in the Gryffindor Common Room after dinner. Since it was getting dark, Oliver could only assume that he was nearing the end of his cookie-journey. Mercy and the twins had mysteriously disappeared after they'd left the Great Hall and Oliver was expecting them to jump out at any second and bombard him with confetti like they had the year before.

It's getting dark, it's getting late

So meet us on the Pitch at eight

Oliver looked up at the clock and saw that it was seven-thirty. This gave him enough time to put his book bag in his dormitory and put on a jumper before heading down to the quidditch pitch. He was starting to wonder if they'd done something to the pitch that would inhibit the team from practicing the following morning. He swore he'd have the twins running laps until they puked if they blew up the goal posts like they did their first year on the team. When it was ten to eight, Oliver made his way down to the pitch and was surprised to find it completely lit up and all his friends standing around a table that had a few presents on it.

"SURPRISE!" They shouted. Fred and George set off a few fireworks, Katie and Angelina blew noise makers and Lee and Alicia threw confetti. Mercy gave out an ear-splitting whistle before raising her wand and peanutbutter cookies began falling from the sky all around Oliver and they hovered at his waist before floating over to a tray where they became inanimate. Fred and George then grabbed Mercy and they began doing a crazy looking ring around the rosie around Oliver, singing Happy Birthday and doing a terrible Irish jig.

"Ready for your presents?" Alicia asked excitedly. Oliver nodded and they all pushed him towards the table. His first present was a photo album from his three Chasers who were photo freaks and made every moment a Kodak moment whether everyone else liked it or not.

"We think you'll be surprised at some of the stuff we got on camera." Angelina teased. Next was the latest Quidditch book on keeper moves from Lee, then a new broom cleaning kit from Oliver's roommates. Finally, there was a large box that had a picture of Mercy, Fred, George and Oliver on it, letting Oliver know that it was from his three best mates. The picture had them waving frantically and the twins giving Oliver a noogie before Mercy put them both in a headlock and threw them out of the way before fixing Oliver's hair and jumping on his back, wrestling him to the ground. All four of them were laughing and care-free.

Oliver unwrapped the present and his jaw dropped. His eyes slid over the sleek wood handle leading down to the well trimmed twigs. Although the handle said Nimbus 2001, Oliver was having a hard time believing that what was in front of him was real.

"We figured a professional Quidditch player like yourself deserved a decent broom." Fred teased.

"It's no Firebolt, but it's the best we could afford." George said sheepishly.

"He's a Keeper, he doesn't need the fastest broom on the planet. Leave the Firebolt to Potter." Mercy added, patting Oliver on the back. "Happy Birthday Wood. Oliver?" She waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't blink. "Oliver…are you alright?"

"His eyes are looking a little wonkey." George observed.

"I think he's in shock." Fred supplied putting his arms over George and Mercy's shoulders. Oliver shook his head turned to his friends and hugged them all at once.

"This is the best birthday present ever!" He exclaimed. "You three are the best!"

"Thanks."
"We try."

"Finally, some appreciation." Everyone laughed and Angelina conjured up some snacks and cocoa and they all started chatting away. Lee suggested that Oliver take his broom out for a spin, which he readily agreed to. Whoever had a broom mounted and everyone began racing around the pitch merrily. Fred opted to stay on the ground with Mercy who was busy sipping her hot cocoa. Oliver had tried to convince her to take his old Comet 260 out for a spin, saying that she could cross that off her list, but the twins shot down the idea immediately. Mercy shrugged and said she wasn't ready for that just yet and insisted that Oliver try out his new broom.

When Oliver kicked off, he immediately let the stress of classes melt away and sighed in content. He couldn't believe that his friends had gone and done this for him. Since he wanted to become a professional Quidditch player, he knew he would have to buy a new broom, but Oliver had been expecting to do that with any money he received upon graduating from Hogwarts, or if he was drafted to a professional team. Now it was one less thing for him to worry about. They all flew around for a while tossing the quaffle back and forth and challenging each other to races but soon had to return to the castle out of fear of losing house points for being out past curfew. Oliver slung his arm over Mercy's shoulders as he carried his birthday present and Mercy carried his tray of cookies back to the dormitory. Mercy was ecstatic that Oliver liked his present. She and the twins had been planning this since the summer and with some luck they'd managed to pool their money and buy Oliver a decent broom.

The two sat in the Common Room for a while chatting about classes and how everyone had managed to keep the party a secret for so long. Mercy attributed it to the fact that Oliver was oblivious to everything during Quidditch season which he tried to argue, but found that he couldn't. She was right, Quidditch always came first with him and Oliver was always amazed at how that had never bothered her. Mercy did her best to come to all of his games and supported him in everything he did, Quidditch related or not.

"Hey Mercy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Being you."

"It's kind of hard for me not to be. I mean it is in my DNA." She teased, giving Oliver a playful nudge.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do. I mean I am just completely amazing. Who wouldn't love me?" She gave Oliver her trademark smirk.

"Touché my dear. Now hand over those cookies." Mercy tried to move the tray out of Oliver's reach and he lunged across the couch, knocking Mercy and the cookies to the floor.


Hope you liked it! Please R/R.

Here's the preview for Chapter 10:

"You're just jealous because Fred loves me most."

"I'll make sure the other blokes at the party don't laugh too hard at your Mum's sewing skills."

"I can't help it…I'm spoiled."

"Relax Oliver. I'll be out in a few hours. I'll make it to the match tomorrow."

"You're my best mate. Massages are strictly off-limits to best mates."