Oliver had called a meeting for the Quidditch team on Thursday and Ella steeled herself for what was sure to be one of his most dramatic speeches ever. Oliver was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts, so he was probably going to push the team harder than they had ever been pushed before.
"We don't have to worry about Sirius Black getting us, I think Oliver might actually kill us instead if we don't win the Cup this year, right guys?" Ella said quietly to Fred and George. She was incredibly disappointed when they barely even chuckled at her joke. That was very odd of them and it made the bad kind of butterflies flutter in her stomach. She was thankful that Oliver had finally strode into the room, his broad shoulders burlier than ever. This way, she didn't have to think about Fred or George.
"This is our chance — my last chance — to win the Quidditch Cup," he told them as he paced in front of them. "I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never have another shot at it.
"Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the word — injuries — then the tournament getting called off last year. . ." Wood swallowed as if the memory still brought a lump to his throat and Ella rolled her eyes. "But we also know we've got the best — ruddy — team — in — the — school ," he said, punching his fist into his other hand, a glint in his eye that made Ella highly uneasy.
"We've got three superb Chasers."
Wood pointed at Ella, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell.
"We've got the most useful and reliable reserve Chaser in the whole school."
He pointed to Alicia Spinnet, who had started coming to practices regularly at this point, seeing as how they'd had to put her in so many times.
"We've got two unbeatable Beaters."
"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us," Said Fred and George together, pretending to blush, and Ella realized how long it had been since she last heard their voices.
"And we've got a Seeker who's never failed to win us a match!" Wood rumbled, glaring at Harry with a furious sort of pride. "And me," he added as an afterthought.
"We think you're very good too, Oliver," said George.
"Spanking good Keeper," said Fred.
"The point is," Oliver said, continuing to pace, "the Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these past two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll finally get to see our name on the thing. . ."
Wood spoke so dejectedly that even Fred, George, and Ella looked sympathetic.
"Oliver, this year's our year!" said Fred.
"We'll do it, Oliver!" said Angelina.
"Definitely," said Harry.
"The other teams won't know what hit 'em," said Ella.
With more determination than they had ever had, the team began training for the season, three times a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights longer, but no amount of wind or mud could deter Ella from finally winning the Quidditch Cup.
Ella was in the locker room one evening with the rest of the team, stripping her Quidditch robes off of her soaked body. It had been a particularly cold and rainy night, but Ella's body was still covered with a sheen of sweat. She was exhausted, but her mood brightened considerably when Fred and George spoke to her substantially for the first time in weeks.
"You're going to Hogsmeade with Cedric this weekend, right?" George said an unmistakable coldness in his voice.
"No," Ella said as she pulled her favorite Nirvana sweater over her head, "I can't go to Hogsmeade."
"Why can't you go to Hogsmeade?" Fred asked. He seemed a lot less tense than George and Ella was happy about that.
"Because I jinxed Malfoy into the ground that one day — George, you were there — and I almost stomped on his nose but Snape stopped me. I got sent to McGonagall, she didn't give me a detention, but she said I'm not allowed on the first Hogsmeade trip.
"So," Ella sighed, "I get to spend my Halloween here."
A grin broke onto George's face, which Ella had not been expecting. "Well, in that case, d'you wanna spend the day with me and Fred? It'll be Halloween! Imagine all the good pranks we could pull!"
"Yeah! We can get Malfoy back for getting you caught!" said Fred.
"Well," Ella said, laughing lightly, "technically I got myself caught. I shouldn't have jinxed him right outside of the Potions room."
"But still," Fred said, closing his locker. "So what d'you say?"
"I can't," said Ella, avoiding eye contact. "Cedric said that he's going to stay here with me on Halloween and we're gonna have our date here."
"Oh," George said, the coldness back in his voice. "Well then, have fun with that."
He slammed his locker door shut and walked briskly out of the locker room, Fred following closely behind. Fred looked at Ella for a split second with what Ella thought might be sympathy, but then they were both gone, leaving Ella confused and feeling abandoned, a feeling did not like. Ever since her father left, Ella had had serious abandonment issues, and between Cho and the twins, she didn't know how much longer she could remain sane.
"C'mon, Ella," Katie said gently, leading her out of the changing room, "let's go back up to the castle."