"True love begins when nothing is looked for in return."
--Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Nothing in Return
Ch. 1
Oliver Wood was fascinating from the moment I met him. I was a muggle-born witch trying to find an empty compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He was a pure-blood all alone in his compartment reading a worn copy of Quidditch Through the Ages.
"Hello, I'm Emma Dobbs. Do you mind if I sit here?"
"No, not at...all." he answered, his undivided attention still focused on that book.
"So...what are you reading?" I asked, sitting my stuff and myself down.
"A book about Quidditch."
"What's Quidditch?" That got his attention. He almost dropped his book as his jaw dropped to his navel.
For someone who couldn't tell you the difference between football and rugby, I quickly became an expert in the sport of Quidditch. Not just in the rules of the game, but of current and past Quidditch teams. Before we reached Hogwarts, I had learned enough to tell you who played for the Appleby Arrows in the '52-'53 season and how they turned out against Puddlemere United. 350 to 90 in favor of the Arrows if you must know.
We were both sorted into Gryffindor and he's been my best friend ever since. Not that things haven't changed. Our seven years at Hogwarts made us both re-define our relationships with each other and with other people as well. Besides instantly bonding, we also met a third, and we became a trio. His name? Percy Weasley. Looking back on it now, it seems completely insane to have two opposites (Oliver and Percy) as best friends. But we were eleven, and we had barely begun to discover who we were.
Nothing extraordinary happened in our first two years, besides a few yelling matches over what was more important - schoolwork or Quidditch. Nothing big there, until our third year when it became more prominent that their personalities were so unlike that it was almost impossible to have a civilized conversation. They agreed it was best if they spent time apart so "Nancy-boy Percy can go abide by every little rule and never have any fun." And "Quidditch-obsessed Oliver could go waste his life on something that would never amount to anything."
Three guesses on who was caught down the middle and the first two don't count. They both wanted me to come with them. I had turned out to be the type of friend you could lean on. Have a question on homework and Percy's already turned you down? Go ask Emma. Need someone to talk to about something besides Quidditch? Go to Emma. Need anything at all? Emma will help. Through thick and thin I would be there for you. I supported you no matter what. Now they were asking me to give one of them up.
Personally, I couldn't decide who to go with. They were both my best friends. I did my best with schoolwork and got great marks. And my favorite sport was undoubtedly Quidditch. But I wasn't overly obsessed with either one like Oliver and Percy.
Oliver was there for fun. We would sneak out late at night and practice Quidditch, I would try to be a Chaser to help him practice being a Keeper. Then we would attack the kitchens and the house-elves would give us whatever our hearts desired. Oh the detentions we would get. And when I was sad, he'd cheer me up with a good joke and a charming smile.
Percy was there for intelligent conversation. Try as you might with Oliver, the subject always came back to Quidditch. With Percy it was different. I could talk about the reasons behind the goblin rebellions or about the importance of the 12 uses of dragon's blood without feeling like a complete know-it-all. Discussions about Arithmancy lasted for hours and deliberations on Divination left us in hysterics.
I couldn't make up my mind, so I ended up telling them that I was there for both of them no matter what. I wasn't choosing. They agreed that was fine. That year Oliver joined the Quidditch team and Percy decided to work towards being a prefect and later down the road Head Boy.
Two years later is where our story really picks up. Perce and Ollie are still my best friends, and they have resolved their differences to become cordial to one another, but things will never be like they were. Oliver's made Quidditch captain and is losing sleep over the absence of a Seeker. It looks as though I am the best candidate at the moment, but it turns out no matter how much I love Quidditch, I'm not athletic and I can't fly very well. Percy and I are both prefects, which I somehow got chosen for despite my unclean record. I can honestly say the only good thing about being a prefect is the bathroom. I live in that room. I have to say, with a little help from Percy, who inspired me to really think, I have become a great student work wise. But I miss not being able to get into trouble. Now I can just use the excuse 'I'm a prefect' to get me out of a detention when I'm wandering the halls late at night.
Anywho, not that you know some of the background, we can get to the good stuff. What happened my last three years. What I went through and overcame. The trials and tribulations. The good times and the bad. Learning through trial and error. Learning about emotions. And how I found out who I was.