Well, this happened way sooner than she expected. Bright green eyes look around her office curiously and Lucinda couldn't bring herself to look away from the boy in order to glare at Oliver Wood properly. Honestly, no wonder the boy couldn't look her in the eye, she was basically gaping at him. Pull yourself together Lucinda, she rebukes herself and shakes her head slightly.
"Wait, you said the boy needs a broom? Absolutely not," she says strongly. An involuntary shiver crawls down her spine at the thought of how all of the parents would react to that if they found out.
Oliver Wood falters slightly but responds, "Professor McGonagall is the one who said he should join the Gryffindor Quidditch team and he doesn't own a broom at home. I thought that meant he would get a school broom." The part of Lucinda that could never move on from the student-teacher dynamic from her younger years cringes at the idea of going against Professor McGonagall so directly. The younger witch can barely bring herself to call her Minerva like she had insisted on. The other part of Lucinda cringes even more at the idea of the board of governors hearing about it and coming to complain to her. She could already hear the complaints of favoritism and special treatment for the boy who is basically a carbon copy of James Potter.
Merlin, Professor McGonagall's obsession with Quidditch and fierce house pride is going to be the death of her.
With that in mind, she eventually said, "This will need to be cleared by someone else besides the head of your house, Mr. Wood. Until then, he is not allowed to participate in any official practices."
Panic flares in the older boy's eyes while the younger's shoulders slump with disappointment. "But we have a game coming up soon and a lot to catch Harry up on!"
Honestly, Lucinda could not bring herself to care about any kind of Quidditch game. Wasn't there supposed to be like back up players so they wouldn't have to worry about scrambling for a seeker at the last minute? She pinches the bridge of her nose and peers at Harry Potter again, who was looking around thoughtfully.
"Like I said, there are rules that must be followed, especially if you plan on keeping Mr. Potter on your team and not getting disqualified for the House Cup." Oliver faltered at that, glancing uneasily to the side. Yeah, she thought that might bother him. Honestly the sooner he stopped arguing and let her get to work, the sooner she could get the ball rolling on this for them. Gryffindors never could understand that not everything could be rushed into.
"You said no official practices, Professor?" Ah, clever boy. Harry's eyes were shining as he looked at her expectantly
The words slipped out before she could stop them. "I don't know if you remind me more of your mom or dad with that look." She did her best not to react to the curiosity that appeared. "But yes Mr. Potter, no official practices. I, of course, have no say in what happens in either of your own free time."
Her eyes did their best to somehow convey the loophole available to Oliver, who just seemed slightly perturbed and looked between the other two slowly. "I don't see how that helps-"
"Mr. Wood-" Lucinda couldn't believe she had to spell this out for him. " I cannot provide a broom for Mr. Potter right now." She held up her hand to stop the boy from interrupting. "However, since this is a time sensitive issue, I will be able to push for approval much faster than usual. Until then, I advise Mr. Potter does his best to catch up in case he does get approved. Maybe some private lessons would be helpful. Of course, he would have to borrow a broom from someone who does not use a school broom." Ah, there it was, an epiphany.
Harry and Lucinda watch Oliver work through the option she provided, straightening up as he got caught up in planning. "Yes, yes, of course. Maybe after practices… I'd have to be able to keep the equipment longer though-." He trails off into muttering and then snaps back to the present, smiling slightly. "Thank you for the help. Potter, follow me." He strides out of the room, still muttering about scheduling.
Harry trails after, tossing briefly over his shoulder as an afterthought, "Thank you Professor."
She couldn't help the twitch of her lips. Definitely like his father.