Andy's Third Year—Oliver's Fourth Year

The wind rushed through her hair, and Andy thought, briefly, that this was how it was supposed to be. Nothing to disturb her but the sun and the wind and the exhilarating feeling that one wrong move could land her on the far side of pancake-dom.

She went into a dive, vision narrowed to the small strip of land that could end up being her downfall—and wasn't that a clever pun?—eyes watching it carefully, knowing that pulling up just in time would feel better than anything.

And then her concentration broke. "Andy!" a voice called, and she turned her head fractionally to see who it was. Disaster struck, then, in the form of a second of miscalculation. If only the boy had called later. If only she hadn't looked. If only, if only, if only.

When Andy awoke, she was in a red haze. Her mouth was dry and tasted faintly of Skele-gro, the bitter taste familiar after being in Quidditch for nearly two years.

The voice called to her again, "Andy!" and then arms were wrapping themselves around her, and she was wincing. The arms didn't seem to notice.

"Oliver, w'happened? And why'm I in the Infirmary?" asked Andy, her voice thick with thirst. Oliver pulled back a little, mouth gaped open just barely.

"You don't remember?" he asked incredulously. Andy thought hard—until her brain felt like it would explode—before shaking her head slightly.

"I just remember a lot of pain."

Oliver winced. "It's all my fault," he said miserably, "I didn't notice that you were diving, because I'm a git, and then I distracted you and you hit the ground."

Then, Andy remembered, and she cursed herself. What had she been thinking? She was trained not to lose concentration when performing a dive. She knew better than that! She was so busy berating her, actually, that she didn't realize the arms had stiffened around her.

"Oh, Merlin, you hate me, don't you?" he whispered. "I am such an idiot!"

"Of course I don't hate you, you great sod," said Andy. She shrugged Oliver's arms off her and looked him in the eye, "It's not like I could ever hate you. You're my best mate."

And even though Andy wouldn't be able to play Quidditch for the next two weeks, and she had a broken arm and three broken bones in her legs, Oliver's responding grin was bright enough to light up the room and make her feel like she was invincible.

I hate him, thought Andy. I hate him, I hate him,I hate him!

Andy flung herself down into an alcove nearby. She stared heatedly at her feet, wondering why in Merlin's name she had been stuck with the world's greatest sodfor a best mate. Why couldn't she be best mates with Katie, or Angelina, or Alicia?

Because they don't need you.It was fairly common knowledge—at least in Gryffindor—that while the Quidditch team was like a giant family, they were split up into pairs. It was Angelina and Alicia; Katie and Lee; the twins; and Andy and Oliver. It wasn't anything verbal—they'd just ended up like that. The pairs got along best, it seemed, and no one ever protested.

Andy felt like protesting.

Suddenly, footsteps approached, and when Andy looked up she was rather surprised. Strangely enough, it wasn't any of her teamma—friends that came to get her, but Wood's new girlfriend. The short girl—whom Andy couldn't remember anything about other than that her last name was Brocklehurst—caught up with her just outside of the Great Hall. She sat on a ledge near Andy and swung her legs quietly.

"Look," began Andy, "if Wood sent you out here to apologize for him, or, I don't know, insult me for him, or whatever, I don't want to hear it. He can grow some bollocks and talk to me himself."

"Actually, I don't think any of them even noticed that I left," the girl said cheerfully. "They were fighting something awful."

"Oh," said Andy. "So, then what are you doing here?"

"Well," said Brocklehurst, "You seemed upset."

"No kidding," muttered Andy. "But why did youfollow me out here? I mean, we aren't exactly friends."

"That's true," agreed Brocklehurst, "but no one else seemed to be coming, so I thought it might be nice if I did. Was it?"

Andy wanted to get mad at the girl, but she wasright. None of her friends even cared enough to come after her. Sure, they were fighting for her, but they were all so enamored with fighting that they'd have done so for anyone.

Brocklehurst stared intently at Andy. "You know, I was a bit confused this morning when Oliver told me that I was his new girlfriend. I would've probably refused, only I've never actually had a boyfriend and I figured this would be a good source of information. You can only learn so much from a book, you see. Only, I'm quite sure that I never want to have one again."

"But don't you like Wood?"

"I'm not seeing any reason to, really. I only find him marginally good looking, and his personality certainly leaves much to be desired," said Brocklehurst.

"Yeah, but he's ace at Quidditch, and he's rather funny when he isn't being a jerk," said Andy, "Plus, he's got that really intense look that he gives you where it feels like you're the only one in the entire world he actually sees."

Brocklehurst looked faintly amused. "If you fancy him so much, why don't you date him?"

"What? Oh, Merlin, no!" Andy laughed. "Wood's my mate. It'd be like dating a brother." She scowled when she remembered. "A very annoying, git-faced brother."

Brocklehurst just hmm-ed. "I'd tell you that Oliver didn't mean it, only I'm very good at reading people, and he seemed rather insistent."

"Yes, thank you, I understand that Wood thinks I'm a giant slag." Andy slid out of her alcove. "And as much as I appreciate being reminded of that, I think I'll be going back to my dorm to get my things."

She'd begun walking when Brocklehurst stood up. "Only, there's something I haven't said." She looked rather troubled. "You see, I'm not sure you're going to like this, but Oliver has said he's chosen a new Seeker. I gleaned that you used to be Seeker, so I decided this information would be helpful to you. Was it?"

Andy was too shocked to speak. Her stomach had plummeted down to Slytherin, surely, because why else would it feel that bad?

She'd thought that Wood would protest a bit, and then eventually give in because there wasn't any way for him to find a new Seeker in less than a week. But he'd found one in less than a day. He'd replaced her and soon this new girl would be his best friend, and she'd have already taken Andy's spot on the Quidditch team, so taking Andy's friends away from her would be a cinch.

Andy, feeling more alone than she ever had in her life, fled to her dormitory, leaving a smug Ravenclaw alone outside the Great Hall.

Author's Note: Oh no! Who has Oliver replaced Andy with? And why is Mandy smug? AND WHY IN MERLIN'S NAME DOES ANGELINA LIKE TO WEAR MEN'S SKIVVIES? Erm...I mean...uh...stay tuned for the next installment? Eheh, that's awkward.

Much love, and faster updating, will come if you review!

Edited to add year of flashback.