For the QLFC Procrastination Thread Boot Camp
Prompt: Stone
Level: Hard
Character: Oliver Wood
Words:515
Summary: Inter-house cooperation.
There were, Oliver was learning, a blissful few weeks after term started, that it was still warm enough outside to spend time in the grounds.
He was now allowed to try out for the Quidditch Team, but it would be a few weeks until the try-outs themselves. No one was allowed to practice beforehand, but Oliver had to get his frustration out somehow.
The only idea that had come to mind had been tag.
There were a few of them—himself and Percy, of course, and Penny with a few of her friends, and even Bill and Charlie had joined in for a few rounds.
Their robes lay abandoned on one of the many stone walls—they had either not been finished when the castle was being built or had fallen down over the years—and their books had been left inside the castle itself. It was a Saturday. Even Percy, surprisingly competitive, was determined to have fun.
Oliver wanted to attribute that to his own influence. They had written to each other during the summer, holding a month-long game of battleship using letters. It was an odd game, introduced to him by Percy, who had learned it from his father—a Muggle game, though wizards had ships, too—and much more fun to play in person when it rained. It was nothing compared to seeing Percy in person. They hadn't managed to meet up over the summer except in Diagon Alley, which taught Oliver that Percy had the most interesting taste for ice-cream in the world. Oliver himself preferred vanilla. Maybe orange if he was feeling adventurous.
He snuck up behind Penny and tagged her—she had been too focused on not tripping over the ground—and laughed when she shrieked in annoyance before tailing after him.
It wasn't long before Percy fell to her wrath, tagged a Hufflepuff, and pushed Oliver into his way.
Oliver set his sighs on his best friend.
Percy, then Penny, then the Hufflepuff, then one of Penny's friends, then Oliver one more were tagged.
It was another hour before Oliver, out of breath, leaned on the wall with their robes, the moss-covered stones smooth under his hand. He was the last one standing, everyone now on the ground—towards the end, they had been barely walking, stumbling over the uneven ground but determined not to give up.
Oliver heaved a breath and sat down, too.
The sun was almost down now. Dinner was soon going to be served in the Great Hall.
A hand swatted at Oliver's foot. He looked over.
"Done?"
Oliver laughed and nodded to Percy. "Done."
"I had fun," someone said breathlessly.
Oliver didn't know who it was; his eyes were closed, but he still nodded, banging his head against the earth when he moved.
Percy laughed.
Oliver did, too. He was going to get up soon. They all were. They were going to pick up their robes and trudge back inside, tracking mud that Filch would yell at them for, back to their bookbags and homework, to their divided house tables.
But not yet.