CHAPTER 26
"Alicia!" she heard someone call out to her. Alicia, after entering the stadium, turned to see Gen waving and walking towards her. It was still weird to her, that just a few weeks ago they had been old rivals from school and that, over one bottle of champagne, had managed to smooth things over. So yes, it was a strange feeling that she was beginning a friendship with the girl that had always been her biggest competition.
"Hello!" she said, walking towards the girl. Her blonde hair was tied up in a low ponytail that swung as she walked. "Gen, hi."
"Will you be sitting in The Falcons' box today?" Gen asked, curiously, as she approached her new friend.
"'Course," Alicia answered.
"I figured," Gen said, chuckling a little to herself. She had wanted to ask Alicia to sit with them but felt a little silly considering she played for the other team. "Well, if you're not too busy, come out with us afterwards. And bring the team!"
Alicia nodded, "Well, alright. How are you?"
"Good," Gen replied, shrugging a little. There was something in her reply that Alicia didn't quite believe but she wouldn't inquire any further. "You?"
"Good. Nervous for our reserve team. They've just been working so hard, you know?" Alicia answered.
Gen nodded, "Yeah. Me too, though I think I'm more nervous for Oliver. He's been coaching for the reserve team so…"
"Merlin," Alicia groaned.
"Yeah. I can't say I've quite seen this side of him yet so…" Gen trailed off, exchanging glances with the girl. She knew that Oliver was intense but honestly couldn't imagine being coached by the man. He was insanely passionate and had somewhat of a dictator-like coaching style - somewhat, being an understatement. She didn't envy the reserve team, nor Alicia for having to work under him for years.
"You're a saint for staying with him," Alicia joked. She was only half joking, causing Gen to laugh.
"Really though, I'd love for you to come out. One of the team's chasers is having an afterparty and him and his wife's and uh… well my friend is in town. I don't know if you remember him. Adrian Pucey?" Gen continued.
Alicia nodded, "Oh yeah. Course. Slytherin chaser."
Gen nodded, "Yes… yes… maybe you'll have to split a bottle of champagne with him to smooth things over too."
Alicia chuckled, "You lot aren't all that bad, I guess. There seem to be some exceptions."
Gen laughed once more, "Not all of us. Well, I'll see you later. Best of skill to you and your team, Alicia."
"You too, Gen. But just so you know, we're gonna crush Puddlemere," Alicia said.
"Ha! Right. Not if Oliver has anything to say," Gen shot back with a wink. The two girls separated, making their way back to their teams.
Gen made her way back to the Puddlemere box. There was a separate box closer to pitch that they considered "pitch-side" for the team healers, but she'd be permitted to sit in the team's box since it was just a friendly match. If the team needed it, she'd have easy access to the pitchside box. She walked up the set of stairs leading all the way up to the Puddlemere box, searching through the team and their friends and family, in search of Adrian. Adrian had decided to meet them at the game and she had tasked Oliver to find him and show him to the Puddlemere box before he went back to fulfill his coaching duties.
"Ady!" she called out, a huge grin washing over her face as soon as she saw her good friend. Adrian stood up as soon as he saw her and she ran towards him, jumping into his arms for a big hug.
"Hullo," he said, greeting her. They pulled away from their big hug before sitting down in the front row of the box. There were three empty seats next to them for Benjy, Oliver, and Dan.
"Did you find it alright?" Gen asked.
"Yeah, course. Oliver found me right as I walked in. Intense bloke, eh?" Adrian replied.
Gen nodded, "He's nervous. Like really nervous. He did most of the coaching for the reserve team game so… I don't know… he feels like he has something to prove."
"Merlin… we thought he was intense in school…" Adrian trailed off.
"Yeah, Alicia said I'm a saint for staying with him," Gen laughed, recalling her earlier comment.
"You never cease to surprise me. A Gryffindor boyfriend and NOW a Gryffindor friend?! It's like I don't even know who you are anymore!" Adrian exclaimed.
Gen shrugged, "Oh school's long over, Ady. What does it matter anymore?"
Adrian shook his head, "I'm just surprised is all."
The Puddlemere box was beginning to fill up and Gen could hear and feel the rustling of the seats behind her filling up with the first string team. She was excited to have her words collide: her best friend and one of the most important people in her life meshing finally with her current life. Sure, Adrian and met the team before but the more he came out here, the more he'd know her new life.
"Gen, hey!" she heard a voice say as someone sat down behind her. She turned around to see Cress, fiery hair and all, sitting down with Lucy and Addison.
"Hey!" she grinned, greeting her friends. "Ladies, you remember my friend, Adrian."
"Course," Lucy said, exchanging glances with Addison. The two girls giggled a little and Adrian looked to Gen with a small smirk. He was used to it… he knew that he was handsome and he was quite smooth with the ladies, but he didn't think of himself as much of a playboy.. Cress rolled her eyes.
"Yes, it's good to see you again," Cress said, reaching her hand to him to shake once again.
"Ow!" Lucy sounded as Cress elbowed her in the ribs to be cool.
Gen laughed a little, used to girls falling over her best friend. He was a handsome bloke and she wouldn't deny that, but she was always very tickled by it.
"You too," Adrian said back.
"Like you need a bigger head," Gen murmured to her friend, eliciting a laugh from him.
"I can't help it that I'm so dashing and charming. Such a winner with the ladies," Adrian teased, bumping his shoulder up against hers.
"Sod off," Gen shot back, bumping his shoulder too.
"I think they're ready. They're nearly ready! They're as ready as they're bloody damn going to be so I've just got to, well, you know… believe that they are," Oliver interrupted, out of breath from sprinting his way to the Puddlemere box.
"Hi, love," Gen said as she leaned in for a light peck on the lips. "They're gonna be great. I know it." Oliver kissed her back, then proceeded to sit down next to her, in between Gen and the empty seats reserved for Dan and Benjy.
He sighed out, "I think so, yeah."
"Gotta trust the work, mate. They've worked hard. Now we gotta let go," Benjy chimed in, sitting down next to Oliver in the empty seat. He was only a few seconds behind Oliver but knew that the poor guy would need some extra support today. As assistant coach, Wood was coaching the reserve team and now that they're reserve game was here, Benjy had turned the reins over entirely to Wood this go round.
"Agreed, love. Benjy's got the right idea," Gen added.
"Wood," Pucey said, greeting Oliver.
"Pucey, oh ehm, hello," Oliver said back in response, wringing his hands nervously. He could barely focus on anything else but the game with his nerves.
"They're going to be great - regardless of outcome," Gen said, reassuring him. She took one of his hands in hers, giving it a tight squeeze. Gen returned to her conversation with Adrian holding on to Oliver's hand. She knew her boyfriend wouldn't be up for much conversation until the game started.
"What's with the guy?" Benjy asked quietly, leaning in towards Oliver.
"Gen's best friend," Oliver replied. Benjy leaned back to get another look at Adrian
"Friend eh? Huh," Benjy said. "Handsome bloke for a friend."
Oliver rolled his eyes, "Sod off, Williams. Like I need more to worry about right now." He leaned forward towards the pitch.
"Just saying," Benjy shrugged, leaning in to match him.
"Well she's just friends with you isn't she?" Oliver pointed out.
"Yeah, fair enough. But if you hadn't gotten her first I would've at least tried," Benjy said back.
Oliver rolled his eyes about to say something else, but before he could, the lights changed in the stadium to signal the start of the game. The first announcements and reminders boomed around the stadium, silencing the crowd around them. Oliver could hear his heart pounding in his chest, nervous for his team. He wanted everything to go as they practiced. He wanted it to go perfectly. They had worked so hard for a damn win he couldn't imagine that they wouldn't but he would be there with the reserve team every step of the way.
"And NOW… the moment you've all been waiting for… we introduce you, the up and coming, the next in the ranks, the Puddlemere United RESEEEEERVE TEEAAAAMM!" Hamilton, world famous quidditch announcer boomed over his wand under a sonorous charm. "Johnson, what do you make of Puddlemere's second string?"
"Ahhh yes. There's some really quality talent on this team. Some are waiting for first string players to retire. Others have stepped in quite a bit for games. Like Waddington. We've seen him step in for John Bell over the years and, it's absolute, sheer talent coming from that one," Johnson chimed in.
"Certainly. Wood's got a captain spot waiting for him and coaching a team later on sounds like a natural progression, don't ya think?" Hamilton asked. The two announcers went on to announce the rest of the players, along with the Falcons reserve team before beginning.
The ref walked out onto the middle of the field, explaining the rules over her wand.
"I want a nice clean game. Wands away and best in skill everybody. You may begin!" she exclaimed, causing all the players to kick off the ground, floating into the air with speed and agility. "Assume your positions and on my whistle…" She blew her whistle. "May the best team win!"
Oliver's grip on Gen's hand grew tighter and tighter as the game began. She leaned in to him whispering, "They're doing great and if you keep this up I won't have a hand by the end of the game."
"Oh! Sorry," he said.
"Relax," she reminded him.
He nodded, his eyes fixed on the game.
"Waddington passes the quaffle to Duckworth. Duckworth to Lawson. Oh! Lawson back to Waddington and Waddington speeds down the pitch scoring another ten points for Puddlemere!" Johnson announced watching yet another quaffle go through the hoops of the Falcons.
"THAT'S IT, WADDINGTON!" Oliver exclaimed, standing up and clapping for his protege. The rest of the team was excited and invested, but it was clear that Oliver had assumed his role as coach and taken it, well, maybe a little too seriously.
"The Puddlemere reserve team was coached by assistant captain, Oliver Wood, this year," Johnson started.
"Think Wood has potential to coach later on in his career?" Hamilton asked.
"With the way that these kids are playing, definitely," Johnson responded, causing Oliver to blush a little.
"Way to go, mate," Benjy said, nudging Oliver.
He nodded in response, again, afraid to pull his focus from the game. It went back and forth like that. Puddlemere played beautifully but the Falcons were just as strong and talented. It was a tight match, the team pulling off brilliant plays organized and coached by Wood, but it was the Falcons seeker, Devin Murphy, that caught the snitch, pulling ahead in points and capturing the win for the reserve game. Of course, it wouldn't count towards anything but bragging rights for the league, but the team had really wanted the win.
"You alright?" Gen asked.
Oliver nodded slowly, "I wanted the win. But… the team played beautifully. Executed some of the best stuff I've seen in awhile. They did great."
Gen smiled, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek, "YOU did beautifully. With them. I mean."
"Benj and I are gonna go congratulate the team for a good game and ehh, you know, give 'em the old rousing speech," Oliver said.
"Catch up with us at Hornsby's, will you?," Gen said back, understanding he needed some time. "Adrian and I will meet you there."
"Alright, love," Oliver sighed out. He leaned in to kiss her once, before following Benjy to the locker rooms.
"You played a great game today. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. And no one can take that away from you," Oliver started, to a near silent locker room. He hadn't given one of these speeches since school and he was afraid he'd be a little rusty. He could see the defeated look in the reserve team's faces. They had worked so hard and the game was close, but in the end, they wouldn't be taking the win.
He knew the feeling - hell, he felt it himself. But he wasn't allowed to feel defeated about this one - at least not to their faces. He knew it was his job as their coach to pick them all back up and inspire them to keep going. It had been a while since he had felt this way and he had to admit that he missed leading a team.
"Waddington, you pulled every single play that we tried out brilliantly and Finnegan… that was one hell of a swing with that bludger at Murphy. You and Walsh… it's magic - the way you work together. Murphy was simply faster. He spotted the snitch sooner and got to it quicker. It happens. Remember that this is the game. Sometimes you can train the best you ever have the hardest you've ever worked and the other team… wins. We might not have won but, You should be proud of your hard work. You should be proud of how you all played out there. You played together. Like a team. You don't see that in the League all the time, you know. I expect that you get some rest of the weekend and we'll hold a practice next week. I want us to be stronger, faster, and even more unified at our friendly reserve game in the springtime," Oliver continued, his monologue beginning to wrap up. He questioned whether or not he was going on too long or if these were the words that they needed to hear right now.
"And of course that you'll come celebrate… or commiserate with us tonight. Hornsby's has been kind enough to host a party at his home," Benjy added. "Wood's right. You guys did a great job. Now we get better."
"Right," Wood agreed. He opened his mouth to say something else, yet another rousing speech, but before he could say anything Benjy cut him off.
"Now come on, Wood. You give them another monologue and they'll have reached retiring age by the time you're done with it," Benjy teased. "C'MON, everyone! We'll give you lot some time to shower and change and we'll see you at Hornsby's."