A/N: Not mine. JKR's world, I just live in it. Enjoy.
Near the end of the practice, the coach called the team down to the grass.
"Excellent practice, folks. I like where your heads are at. Let's keep it up and Ireland won't stand a chance. Now, hit the showers," McManus said loudly. "Wood, Cook; stay."
Oliver sighed inside. 'Here it comes,' he thought.
"Now, that was some good keeping I saw up there," McManus growled. "Cook, you could stand to work on your speed a bit, but it will come to ya, boy, mark my words. And Wood, keep playing that way, and we will be back on track sooner than you think. Good job coaching Cook today; he will benefit from it in a big way. Now, off with you two."
Michael nodded at both men and strode off to the locker rooms, confidence in each step.
Oliver watched him go and then turned to the coach. "Sir, a word please."
"What's on your mind, Wood?" McManus asked gruffly as he corralled the errant equipment into the trunk with his wand.
"Uh, sir. Do you think that Cook will be ready when the time comes?" Oliver asked, rubbing his moist forehead with the back of his hand. Man, did he need a shower.
"Sure, he will. Our scout was dead on with that boy. Has the skill and innate abilities necessary to do the job. And he loves it," McManus said with a small bit of admiration. "You can see it in the way he flies. His every movement is spare, with no waste of energy. Reminds me of another young buck I met once," he said, looking pointedly at Oliver.
"Right. Look, sir. He won't be ready if he doesn't practice with the team more. The reserve team is great, but they all need to spend more time working with the front squad if they expect to be able to keep up in the major matches," Oliver said with some heat.
"Really? You think so, do you? Well, I happen to agree with you, so from now on, the reserve squad will be practicing with us full time," McManus said with a touch of respect. "We need for them to be ready to come in at a moment's notice, without dropping the ball, literally speaking."
Oliver was a bit surprised that his idea had met with no resistance. Usually, the coach would shoot them down, hem and haw over it for a week, then implement it in his own way.
"Okay sir. Sounds good," Oliver said offhand. "Excused, sir?"
"Yeah, get out of here," McManus grumbled as he checked the pitch for leftover water bottles and the like.
"Thank you sir," Oliver said, as he turned to go to the locker rooms.
McManus watched Oliver walking and shook his head. 'That is not a happy man,' he thought to himself.
Oliver walked into the locker room and heard the ruckus of his teammates harassing Cook. He rolled his eyes and just made his way over to where his things were. He pulled off his gear and stowed it in the locker, and flopped down on his bench. 'Why does this feel so wrong?' he asked himself. 'Why do I feel like I am on my way out and this new guy is on his way in?'
Oliver shook his head to clear it and proceeded to take his uniform off. He pulled the heavy top over his head and tossed it to the laundry bin by the doorway. He had a couple new bruises on his shoulders from trying to block the Quaffle without doing his standard tuck and roll, causing him to slam into the hoop. He rubbed his left shoulder and tried to stretch the strained muscle. A hot shower would feel so good. He removed the rest of his clothing and grabbed a towel around his waist. Most of the team was on their way out of the showers when he walked into the large tiled cubicle.
"Good practice, guys," he said encouragingly. "We are going to knock Ireland all the way back to their precious Blarney Stone." His teammates hooted and hollered, feeling the adrenaline pump through their veins at Oliver's words. Oliver smiled and proceeded to douse himself in the steamy hot water that his aching body so desperately needed.
Oliver had just put his boxers on, preparing to get his slacks from the locker when he heard the door to the locker room creak.
"Excuse me, Mr. Wood, you have a visitor waiting on the pitch," the equipment manager called out from the doorway.
Oliver looked up and nodded. "Tell her I will be a few moments, please."
The equipment manager waved 'okay' and retreated.
Oliver felt the excitement prickle his skin and flush his face. Hermione was waiting for him outside. He could hardly get dressed fast enough.
Hermione sat on the player's bench and looked around at the green grass and gravity defying stands surrounding it. The sun was shining; it was a nice summer's day. The blue sky above almost reminded her of the ceiling of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. She looked up as she closed her eyes to the sun. She could feel the vibes deep down through the earth that this was a place of sweat, blood, love, and hate, all rolled into one. It was almost like a cathedral now, with none of the daytime street noises intruding and a sense of peace fell over her. She took a deep breath and the scent of grass filled her nose. She had never experienced this when she was at Hogwarts, although that could be excused, she supposed. So many things going on, so much drama all the time from the ever present threat of Voldemort. But, here, now, she felt the calm flow over her.
Oliver watched Hermione from the darkness of the tunnel and was entranced. Her hair was lifting slightly when a small breeze flowed through the pitch. The sun shining down on her was causing her hair to glow like a beacon from the shore to a drowning man. Her eyes had closed and she lifted her face to the warmth the sun provided, a small smile on her pale pink lips. Her shoulders lifted as she took a deep breath and let it out. Hermione's hands were on the bench on either side of her and her legs were crossed demurely at the ankle. She was leaning back slightly, but not stiffly. Her slender body was encased in a light blue sleeveless tank and blue jeans. A pale yellow sweater lay next to her on the bench. Hermione was just breathing and Oliver felt like he was being called to her. Sitting there like that, she pulled at him as nothing ever had before in his life. He felt his senses heighten and his body respond to her presence. The excitement he had felt before was nothing compared to this and he was a bit shocked. He had never responded to anyone this way, at least not anyone he had never even kissed. 'Her lips are just asking for it,' he thought as she parted said lips and let out a deep and contented sigh.
Oliver reined in his errant thoughts and took control of himself. 'Down, boy. She is doing research for you; not sitting there, waiting for your imagination to run off with her,' he scolded himself.
Oliver shook his head and began walking out to the benches. His shoes crunched on some gravel and Hermione shot up from the bench, and turned towards him with her hand reaching in her pocket.
Oliver held his hand up and said, "Hi. Yeah, just me. Don't hex me, okay?" He smiled down at her as she removed her hand from her pocket.
"You did give me a bit of a start," she said, slightly flustered that her peace had been disturbed.
"Well, for that, I apologize. Enjoying the sun, eh?" He asked with a slight smirk.
Hermione's eyes narrowed a bit as she looked up at him. 'Lord, but he was a tall one,' she thought. "Yes, it is a beautiful day today. This stadium is quite the place," she admired.
"Yes, it is. I love being here when no one else is around. The peace that flows at that time is quite magical," he said with a trace of humor.
"Oh, ha ha," she laughed. Hermione's hands smoothed down her top and she tucked them in her front pockets.
"Good practice today?" She inquired.
Oliver shrugged. "Same as the others, grueling, painful, with a bit of flying mixed in between." He went on to explain that they needed to train their new reserve keeper and all that entailed.
Hermione looked at him while he talked. His eyes were warm and bright as he explained and she seen that he had just got out of the showers by his damp hair and spiky eyelashes. The smell of soap and the forest met her nose and she breathed deeply. 'Such a nice smell really,' she thought to herself. Her face flushed as she realized this thought and she looked around at her sweater on the bench.
Oliver watched her from the corner of his vision as he was demonstrating with his hands the patterns they flew in one of the formations. Her nose expanded a bit and so did her chest as she breathed in deeply. A slight pink tinted her cheeks as she turned to look at the bench. 'Aha, so she is not completely oblivious either then,' he thought smugly. He had made certain to put on some aftershave before he came out and was pleased that she noticed.
Hermione looked back at him after the flush had receded and smiled. "Want to grab a drink and go over what I have so far?" she asked. She needed to return this appointment to its original track.
"Sure, any place particular in mind?" Oliver said.
"Your choice," she called over her shoulder as she grabbed her sweater and the tote she had brought that carried all her notes and things.
Oliver waited until she was ready and then held out his arm. "Care for a little Side-long Apparition, lass?" his accent in full effect.
Hermione just nodded and placed her hand on his arm with gently. A quiet pop was heard and then was restored in the cathedral of the Puddlemere Quidditch pitch.
A/N: Boy, I am really sorry! I had to expand that over two chapters. And I am still not to the actual discussion of the mystery book yet. Never thought I would have all these chapters. LOL Ah well, I am enjoying writing the story as much as I hope you all are enjoying reading it. Now, a shout out to my friendly reviewers. Oh yeah, by the way, if you couldn't tell, I am an American. HA HA
Lazyllama: it is cute now, but wait. It is almost puppy like later on! LOL
Lioness96: I agree completely. I must have more OLIVER:)
Atomic Elf: What can I say to my most faithful reviewer? You have helped me so much with your advice and I want to thank you for all you write in your reviews. I adore the twins, as I have said before. They are much needed comic relief in my little soap opera. I am blushing from your praise, as I always thought my writing to be to wordy. Thank you for your support and I look forward to your great reviews.
Vagrantben: I just started writing this story on Wednesday. Can you believe it? Friday evening and it has almost a 1000 reads? I am in awe of people reading my story and I am thankful to your thoughts. Like I said, I adore the twins.
Mandy g: I agree. I think that a grown up version of HP characters is so different from what we know from our illustrious muse, Ms. Rowling. I love Hr/O fics.
YoursAlways: I know what you mean about Oliver and slash, as stated on your profile. I don't have anything against it either, but some characters are dear to my heart and I just would be heartbroken if that was to happen. I also realized that even tho Hermione is a main character, there isn't much back story on her. I find this to be an open canvas for my imagination and I am grateful that you all are giving your time to read it.
Kari-Hermione and Gaby B: here is a double shot of O/Hr! Take it and check back in the morning. I will have probably stayed up another nite to crank out some more! LOL
Thank you all again. Please review.
