A/N - Short but exciting chapter! Things are heating up finally. How are things going to pan out? Scroll down for more obviously ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Oliver stared expectantly at the girl in front of him. As soon as he heard that Harry wouldn't be able to play, he thought he was going to pass out. The first thing he thought of was going and talking to Tori and then it had hit him. She could play! It was perfect! All other thoughts abandoned, he had sprinted towards the Heads' Tower at 7 in the morning and told her exactly that without any preamble.

"Oliver."

He raised his eyebrows, wondering why she wasn't saying anything else. He took in her messed up hair and flushed cheeks and slowly it dawned on him that he had burst into her room and woken her up. Her attire seemed to finally strike him and he felt a strange sensation at the pit of his stomach.

"Right, erm," he cleared his throat and looked away, "meet me in the kitchens. We'll have breakfast there and discuss your training."

With that, he left, not waiting for her response.

Tori huffed and fell back into bed. Why was this happening?

…

"What would Mr. Wood and his friend like to eat?"

Tori stifled a snort and looked at the house elf in front of them. He had large, twinkling eyes that resembled tennis balls, pointy ears and confident smile on his face. Dobby was also wearing a pair of very mismatched socks. All in all, extremely adorable.

"Anything you have around. We're just dropping by early because we have some urgent work."

"Say no more, Mr. Wood," said Dobby and scurried off.

Oliver turned to Tori while settling down at one of the tables.

"So, first off, I'll have to see how well you fly. I'm hoping that won't be much of a problem. Then we'll have to practice everyday in order to get you back in shape. I was thinking, around 5 in the morning, before any of the other teams are up and-"

"Oliver, I can't play."

"Don't be ridiculous. A little practice and you'll outfly that smarmy git, Malfoy. As I was saying- "

"No. You don't understand. I'm Head Girl now. I'm not allowed to play."

Oliver's mouth fell open and he stared at her blankly for a few minutes. She felt terrible watching the disappointment slowly cover his features.

"But I can help you out. Mary is a fair flyer. I can help train her along with you so that she'll be ready in time for Saturday's match."

Oliver looked unconvinced.

"It'll work. She just needs some practice, is all."

"McGonagall. I'll go and talk to her about this 'Head Girl not playing' rubbish."

He dashed off once again and Tori sighed in exasperation. She ate the delicious breakfast that Dobby got her and made her way to the common room. She needed to speak to Mary.

…

"I'm sorry, Wood. The Head Girl is debarred from participating in any House activities. It is the rule. And I cannot break it, no matter what the circumstance."

Oliver glanced at his Head of House with a look that bordered on utter betrayal. She had a grim look on her face and her words had an uncomfortable finality about them.

"However, I will talk to the Headmaster once. Though I seriously doubt anything can be done. Try and find a good replacement Seeker for the final, Wood." She finished gravely and patted him on his shoulder.

Oliver stopped himself from cursing out loud and walked out of McGonagall's office instead. There was no way he would be able to find a replacement good enough at this point of time.

…

It was a little after lunch and Oliver found two unlikely people flying out on the pitch. He almost immediately identified Tori's silhouette and the other could only be that friend of hers whom she had mentioned earlier, Martha or something.

He could see what Tori meant when she said that her friend was a fair flyer. She was light and speedy, picking up the little drills that Tori made her go through quite easily. However, Oliver's eyes kept drifting over to the Head Girl. She flew like an expert. Her grip on the broom handle was casual and adept, her turns were performed with pinpoint accuracy and there was an easy confidence about her as she helped her friend, Maggie or was it Mavis, get used to flying after a long absence.

She caught sight of him and waved. They both flew down to meet him and he stood rooted to the spot. Even her landing was lithe and fluid. She was a natural.

"Oliver, this is my friend Mary. She tried out for the team in our second year but didn't make it onto the team because of William Donovan."

He nodded and took in the girl's appearance. She was a lot shorter than Tori and slightly built; the perfect build for a Seeker.

"Hold on," he said, brows furrowing, "Donovan played Chaser for Gryffindor. How could he have beaten her to a spot on the team?"

"Basically, she couldn't try out for Seeker because Charlie was there and the only other position she's comfortable with playing in, is Chaser. That's it, really," said Tori, shrugging her shoulders.

Oliver frowned. He didn't like the idea of changing positions. He felt like it took away from a player's hard work. But he saw the look in Tori's eyes and nodded his head.

"Let me go get my broom. Then we'll do a few more drills. After that, I'll release the Snitch. Let's see how you fare…?"

"Bronson!" said Mary, catching on to what he was asking, a slight tinge gracing her cheeks.

"Right. I'll meet you out here in 5 minutes, Bronson. McCaul, stay back as well."

He left with a frown etched on his forehead and Tori couldn't help rolling her eyes. She glanced at her friend who had a very dreamy expression on her face.

"He's so bloody fit. And what the hell is with his accent? How do you manage to listen to it so much and not collapse with giddiness?"

Tori snorted at the irony of the entire situation. She smacked her friend lightly on the arm and motioned for them to go back up in the air. It had been difficult to convince Mary to come and fly in the first place. She had been utterly confused when Tori let on that she could fly as well. After a long session of ranting about her being a terrible friend, Tori had managed to convince Mary to at least attempt practice as a Seeker. The fact that she'd be spending time with the 'fit' Gryffindor captain was something that tipped the balance of the scales in her favor.

"Bronson, McCaul, you'll be rival team Seekers. After the warm up drills, I'll release the Snitch. Try and catch it before the other person does," Oliver barked, not really looking at either of them.

Tori frowned. She didn't want to take part like this although she couldn't really back out, now after she had told Oliver that she'd help train Mary.

Oliver watched the two perform the drills; Tori, quick and agile, Margot, initially hesitant but catching on pretty fast. He released the Snitch and his mouth was drawn into a grim line.

It took a while but Meredith finally caught the Snitch. Instead of looking pleased, he glared at Tori.

"McCaul, you were holding back. You're here to help train Bronson and boost her ego. Test her speed and reflexes. You aren't doing her any favors by going easy on her."

Tori frowned at him. She hated the tone he used when he was captaining. It irritated her beyond anything but she could see that he had a fair point. She gave him a curt nod and resumed her position. This time, she didn't wait after the Snitch was up in the air.

Oliver narrowed his eyes as he watched her fly. She ducked and rolled, matching the Snitch's movement was precisely. It took her less than half the time it had taken Mandy to catch the little golden ball.

"Alright. I'm going to release one Bludger this time. So it'll be harder to catch the Snitch. Remember, there are no Beaters to save your arse."

Tori could feel irritation swelling inside her but she flew out nonetheless. It was trickier to fly this time. She and Mary were both significantly slower but neither of them got hit by it. She could see Mary struggling to keep up with the Snitch and almost slowed down. But Oliver's words rang in her head and she sped up instead. She dodged the Bludger coming towards her and lunged at the Snitch, catching it near one of the goal hoops.

There were two more rounds, during which Tori caught the Snitch both times. The last one had two Bludgers and one had scraped Mary's ankle.

"Go see Madam Pomfrey about that bruise, Bronson. Practice tomorrow at 5 am. Don't be late."

Mary nodded her and walked off, her entire form sagging from the exhaustion and heat. Tori waited for her to get out of earshot before turning around and glaring at the brown haired boy.

"Why're you being such a prick?"

"I'm doing my job as a captain."

With that he walked away, leaving Tori increasingly frustrated and angry.

…

"Wood, Ms. McCaul, the Headmaster would like to see you both before dinner."

Both of them had just returned from the pitch and were surprised to be greeted by this strange request by their Head of House.

"What's this about, Professor?"

"You'll find out soon enough, Wood."

They entered Dumbledore's office and waited patiently in front of the older wizard.

"Ah, Mr. Wood, Ms. McCaul! So nice to see you both. How was the year been so far?"

They both nodded, not sure what he was getting at.

"Prof. McGonagall informs me that there has been an unfortunate accident regarding Mr. Potter. I understand, there were certain unworthy intentions behind this incident. I have heard about your request, Mr. Wood. As it, stands, the Head Girl is not allowed to take part in House activities. It has been thus for centuries."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes.

"However, seeing as these are rather rare and unprecedented circumstances, I think we might be forgiven to bend the rule slightly."

"Prof., what- "

"Ms. McCaul, Prof. Dumbledore and I have decided that you will be allowed to play against Slytherin, taking into account the circumstances of Potter's injury and the fact that this is the only match you can ever play as Head Girl and in Hogwarts itself. Wood, Madam Pomfrey has told me that Potter should regain consciousness tomorrow. Do go visit him once and tell him the good news."

Oliver had a huge grin plastered on his face as they left the Headmaster's office.

"This is brilliant! I knew McGonagall wouldn't let us down. Not when we're this close to winning the Cup."

"I can't play."

"Why the bloody hell not?"

"My broom. I-it's back at home. I can't fly on a Cleansweeps in the final."

"Not an issue. I'm sure I can coax Harry to lend you his Firebolt. He'd be delighted to contribute to the victory somehow."

"Victory? How can you say that so confidently?"

"Because you're fantastic. I saw you today. You might be better than Harry, actually."

He turned around to grin at her but she had run off in the direction of the girl's dormitories.

"I'm not going to play, Oliver," she shouted after reaching the top of the stairs.

…

"Why the bloody hell not?"

Tori dug her face into a pillow and screamed. She tried to drown out Alex's voice but the girl was relentless.

"Don't give me that shite about your dad not knowing. We both know that he found out during Christmas break in first year. You not playing has nothing to do with him. You were going to try out for Seeker after Weasley left but you backed out. I don't remember you telling me why. And I seriously don't get why you keep your flying a secret. What the fuck is up with that?"

"It's not that! UGH!"

"Then what is it?"

"Oliver Wood!"

"Huh?"

"I do not want to play on the same team as him. That's the whole reason I didn't try out for Seeker in fourth year. He had become Captain."

"Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. I would've hexed him into oblivion if he tried to boss me around like he does with the rest of his team. As much as I like him, there is no way in hell that I'm going to be playing with him. Fucking mental, he is."

"Tori, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in my life. You're seriously not going to play Gryffindor's most important match because you don't like Wood's attitude as Captain?"

"Yup."

"Merlin! Can you hear yourself? You're making no sense! That's the most pathetic excuse I've ever come across. You're just scared that you'll have to work hard and actually be under the authority of someone you consider your equal at best."

"That's not it!"

"It definitely is! Now lose your fucking ego and start practicing. The match is in 5 days."

Alex shut the door in irritation while Tori screamed into the pillow once more.

No fucking way!

…

SO I thought it was quite funny that Oliver could never remember Mary's name in his head. Just shows how intent he was and making her play as a Seeker, I suppose.

Anyway, please review! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Cheers!