The following three chapters (CH 24-26) I wrote a while ago...but kept forgetting to upload ahaha. Sorry about that.

A person from the past offers Lyra a possible path for her future...

We settled on the couch, me leaning into George. He automatically put an arm around me, hugging me closer.

"Oh!" I sat up, rummaging in my pocket. "I almost forgot. Here." I thrust a something into his hands. "I thought you might like this."

George inspected it: A photo of seven red and gold Quidditch players arranged around a silver trophy. The silvery-blonde girl on the immediate left of the cup had a wide grin plastered on her face.

"So you did win the Cup," remarked George, grinning. "Oliver will be pleased."

"Oliver? Oliver Wood?" I tilted my head at George. "What's that supposed to mean?"

In reply George turned away. "Hey Ollie! We're in the living room!"

Ollie?

The burly man walked in. "Oh, great, you're all back."

"Ollie?" I said incredulously.

Oliver chuckled, somewhat embarrassed. "It's a nickname the team gave me in Hogwarts."

"How long have you been here?" I asked, surprised.

"An hour, tops," Oliver replied.

"How are you? I heard you got picked for Puddlemere United."

"I did," replied Oliver. "I've moved on to England now."

"Really? That's great! Congratulations!" I exclaimed happily. Oliver acknowledged this with a nod.

"Speaking of playing for England, have you ever wanted to play for them?" he asked me.

I snorted. "Hasn't everyone, Oliver?"

"Point taken," he replied. "What I meant was, would you like to make that dream a reality?"

I stared at him. "So that's why you're here," I finally managed. "Looking for fresh talent?"

"Guilty as charged," replied Oliver with a nod.

"But," I stammered, "me? Are you really that desperate?"

"Don't be like that," George said, elbowing me lightly. Looking at Oliver, he said, "She captained our team to victory this year."

I scowled. "And I got hit by a Bludger and fell off my broom. I spent the next two days in the hospital wing." I elbowed George back.

Oliver grinned. "George is right-stop being so modest. Besides, we know how the Quidditch finals went down-clubs send scouts to Hogwarts, especially during semi-finals and finals matches. That's when players tend to perform at their peak. The England scout saw you and Ginny play."

"You're not that special," added George, "he asked Harry, and me as well."

"Thanks ever so much," I said dryly to George. "What did Harry say?" I asked Oliver.

"He turned me down. He said he wants some time to himself."

He would," I remarked. "Sometimes I feel sorry for him, the Daily Prophet is still all over The Chosen One."

Anyway," said Oliver, "what do you say?"

I met his gaze. "I'll have to think about it," I replied.

Oliver nodded. "Okay. In that case, I'm off to talk to Ginny."

"Are you trying to shame Charlie into joining or something?" I asked as he rose. Oliver just laughed.

George waited until Oliver had left the room before speaking. "Well," he said, "what do you think?"

"I think," I replied slowly, "that someone is having me on."

George grinned. "Not this time."

I shook my head in wonderment. "Me? Play for England? Oliver must be mad."

"If Oliver was mad, would he have ever gotten our team to victory?" George wanted to know. "Or played for Puddlemere United, then England?"

I shook my head again. "This must be a joke. I mean, I just got back from school, and I've already been approached."

"That's how Ollie was snapped up," George responded.

"It's a joke," I repeated. "They can't be serious."

George shrugged. "I don't know. But on the off chance that they are, I'd take the offer."

"You would?" I asked, astonished.

"Put it this way," replied George, pulling me against him. "I'll say yes if you do."

I was so stunned that George became concerned. "Are you alright?"

"But George," I finally murmured, "what about…"

George tangled his fingers through mine, meeting my gaze. "Fred is gone," he replied softly. "I've got the rest of my life to miss him. But I know that he would really want me to have a shot at this. And," he added, "I may have seen you play, but I've never actually been your partner." His eyes bored into mine. "So, what do you say?"

I looked down, studying our interlinked fingers. "You know what this reminds me of?" When George paused, I smiled down at our hands. "When you asked me to the Yule Ball."

George chuckled softly. "Well, that means you have to say yes," he said, lifting my fingers to his lips.

"It does too," I murmured, my breath quickening as his lips brushed my fingers.

Both of us looked up at the sound of footsteps. Oliver re-entered the room. "Ginny said no," he said, an odd look on his face.

I shrugged. "I thought she might. She doesn't want to throw herself into something straight away."

"Actually," said Oliver, his gaze thoughtful, "it's because I'm not the first to give her an offer."

The two of us blinked at this. "What?" I demanded, shocked.

Oliver shrugged. "You heard me." He studied me. "Surely you know that students are pounced on the moment they leave school."

"I do now," I muttered. "Who's Ginny playing with?"

"She wouldn't tell me. Said I might get jealous," replied Olive, shaking his head with a grin. He turned his gaze back to me. "But on that topic: are you two in?"

I glanced at George. He looked back, his expression serious. I made a split-second decision, and looked up at Oliver. "When does the next World Cup start? I want to know how long I have for practice."

"We want to know," George corrected. I squeezed his hand.

Oliver's face split in a grin. "Awesome guys. The 424th Quidditch World Cup starts in 2002-that's three years from now. We've got to get started straight away."

"As maniacal about Quidditch as ever I see," drawled George.

"We're starting now?" I said sharply.

"Merlin's beard, no," grinned Oliver. "Recruiting wizards straight out of school is one thing-making off with them with only their verbal consent is another. Without any form of documentation, I believe some people will see that as kidnapping. Though how anybody would manage to capture not one gifted witch, but her partner as well, is beyond me." George and I both grinned, even as George hugged me tighter. "You guys get a week to say goodbye, then another week or so to draw up the contract and all. It usually comes up to a month."

"You can't count," I pointed out. "That's only two weeks."

This time Oliver laughed. "Trust me, everything takes double the time it's supposed to," he replied. He stood in a quick motion. "I'll owl you two. See you in a month!"

Not the path you might have expected, is it?

Did you like it?

~MagicalLeaves