Chapter Fourteen: Sins

"You will always be fond of me. I represent to you all the sins you never had the courage to commit."
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oliver waited. Something he seemed to be doing a lot more as of late. Jack had sought him out Saturday afternoon with the news that Dani and Reagan would be choosing the girl he was supposed to make fall in love with him. The only reprieve he felt was hearing that he and Jack would pick the unlucky victim Dani would be stuck with until May.

He hadn't spoken to Dani since Saturday and it was now Monday... Okay, so maybe he felt a little guilty about what he said to her on Saturday and had avoided her… something she seemed to be doing as well. Not that it bothered him or anything. He had been basically calling the kettle black when he himself was not exactly clean of what he had accused her of. And maybe he shouldn't have said it. Not that he truly cared or anything… right?

He ran his hand down his face roughly and tried to ignore the niggling feeling at the back of his mind. Tried being the keyword.

"Starting the self-loathing a bit early, aren't we?" said the subject of his troubling thoughts.

Oliver glanced down at Dani. "To what do I owe the pleasure of you gracing me with your presence?"

"I decided to be the bigger person and forgive you."

Oliver frowned. "Forgive me? Why would I need to be forgiven?"

The small voice – that bothersome nagging one – cheered loudly. She wanted to forgive him for what he said. He wasn't about to tell her that the thought of her forgiving him was like a balm to his soul… the hell? Oliver fought the urge to bang his head on the wall. Since when did he start thinking like a girl? Oh bloody hell.

"For being a complete arse. That's why."

A groan escaped Oliver's throat. "I am sorry that you were offended by my honesty." He smirked. He wasn't going to allow himself to give in so easily. She scowled at him. "Maybe you would have better luck with men if you didn't scowl so much. It makes you look ugly."

A small smile peeked from behind her scowl. Oliver had the presence of mind to feel a slight bit of fear attaching itself to him as the weight left by her silence came off his shoulders. He felt relief that she didn't look at him in horror again. He had felt Saturday's mistake like a searing knife thrusting into his gut.

"Oh, Oliver," Dani said, shaking her head. She put her hand onto his shoulder, almost as if she were comforting him. She dropped her hand and walked away without another word.

He had a fleeting thought of watching her walk away. Then a larger thought joined his conscious mind and his feet followed without being given any direction. He met her pace and walked beside her.

"I'm going to find the worst possible bloke to fall in love with you," he said quietly.

"Good," she replied. "At least we'll be evenly matched."

He rolled his eyes. He regarded her, looking for anything that could give him an edge in their competition. "You're a small thing, aren't you?" he observed.

Dani frowned. And curse him if it wasn't the cutest thing he'd seen all day. He mentally slapped himself for his traitorous thoughts. She's the enemy! his reasonable inner voice screamed.

Oliver felt himself tall for a bloke, which was an advantage for being a Keeper. A Chaser, however, needed to be lithe and of average height. Too short and the Chaser couldn't reach out to grab the Quaffle. Too tall and they were an easier target for Bludgers. But Dani. Well, she was perfect in every way, shape, and form.

As hard as he tried, he couldn't find fault with her. Apart from her inescapable need to compete against him, her incurable lying, and her uncanny ability to get right beneath his skin to the point of distraction.

"Are you even listening?" she said, drawing his attention.

"Of course I am," he answered automatically.

She gave him a disbelieving look with a roll of her eyes. "And you say I am a bad liar."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. He hitched his book bag higher onto his shoulder and continued walking down the corridor. Girls, he decided, were difficult.

From the corner of his eye, he studied her face. Her brown hair was tied high on the back of her head. Her ears held no earrings, even though he knew her ears were pierced. He liked to think he knew everything about the girl walking beside him. He was best mates with her twin brother. He had grown up with the two of them… yet he didn't really know her.

"Why Ravenclaw?" he asked suddenly.

She looked up at him with confusion spelled prettily across her face. "What?"

"I've heard that the Sorting Hat takes into account what the student wants. Why Ravenclaw?"

"Why do you assume I chose Ravenclaw?"

"Your entire family is Gryffindor."

"Oh," she said. She shrugged and pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. After a moment, she said, "It's hard to be your own person when you're seen as half of a matching set."

"You and Jack are hardly a matching set."

"I'm far prettier."

"No one can deny you that," he said.

She smiled at him and nudged his arm with her shoulder. "No one would dare try."

Oliver smiled as they walked into the Transfiguration classroom and took seats with their respective group of friends. He looked at the five male Ravenclaw seventh years and frowned at each of them. None of them were deserving of Dani's attention, of that he was certain. He didn't like any of them, and if memory served, Dani didn't fancy any either.

Unfortunately, he didn't get the option of being too critical of Dani's potential victim. His eyes scanned along the rows as McGonagall spoke to the class before landing on the least likely candidate: Jeremy Riker. Captain of the Wizard's Chess club, Prefect since fifth year and – if the rumors were true – would have been Head Boy if he weren't taking N.E. in all of his courses. He was straight as an arrow and spent more time in the library than Oliver spent on the Quidditch pitch.

In Oliver's mind, there was no man who was more opposite than what Dani needed in a boyfriend than Jeremy Riker. It was all too perfect.

He then turned his attention to the girls of his House and his heart sank. He wasn't with any of them for good reason. That reason being they didn't like Quidditch half as much as he did and none of them played… at least not that he was aware of. Knowing Dani, she would pick the least likely girl in his House for him to win over.

Dani's hand shot up in the air to answer the question McGonagall had posed. Oliver's attention was drawn invariably to the girl who had been the bane of his existence since childhood and – if he were being honest – his secret desire for just as long.

Stick with the play, Wood, he reminded himself. Sticking with his plan was the only play he could make right now and make it he would. Come May everything will have fallen into place. Or so he hoped desperately.

Dani was the wildcard he couldn't plan for. She was unpredictable at best and in this play, she was the key to it all falling apart or coming together. He would prefer the latter. But it would only work if Dani cooperated.

Please cooperate, Dani. Then another thought floated threw his mind as he looked back at Jeremy Riker. Please don't backfire on me.

A/N: I am so sorry for posting nearly a month after my last chapter! Things have been crazy at work and this chapter has been a pain in my side since I started it a month ago! Grr. Now that it's posted, I will hopefully get the next one up before June. :P

sarahmichellegellarfan1: Thank you for writing a review on each chapter! I appreciate knowing that you liked them all. :)