Disclaimer: Only Andy is mine-well I suppose Cassiopeia is as well...(but really, you can pretend she isn't. I won't mind).
Andy's Third Year—Oliver's Fourth Year
"The giant squid is going to eat you!" Andy yelled at the idiot boy who thought that a midnight trip to the lake was a splendiferous idea. He merely grinned at her before stripping down to his skivvies and jumping into the water. Several seconds ticked by and Andy had just started running to save him, when Oliver's head popped up. He grinned again when he saw how close she was to the water.
"What's the matter, Carrins? Afraid that you'd lost the most handsome and amazing man in your life?" he teased.
Andy snorted. "Please; first off, no one can be handsome when their ribs stick out so far that they makeme look fat. Second, if you ever call me Carrins again, I'll quit being your best mate, and no one else is quite idiotic enough to take the job."
Oliver pouted; Andy could just see the curve of his mouth in the pale moonlight. "Why are we friends again?"
Andy pretended to think for a moment. "What, you mean besides the mutual love of Quidditch? I think it's probably because we both have such amazing hair."
Oliver laughed—it was a loud sound in the stillness of the night. "That is true. Plus, we're the only ones genius enough to go for a swim in the giant squid's house."
"Pretty sure you're the only one swimming there, mate," Andy pointed out. She really should have realized what Oliver was planning, only she wasn't known for being superiorly bright. Which is why she was so shocked when a cold hand grabbed her ankle, and dragged her into the water.
It was cold and murky beneath the surface, and Andy swore she could see one of the giant squid's tentacles reaching out to grab her before Oliver pulled her to the surface, spitting and spluttering.
"Merlin, Andy, what the hell's the matter with you?" exclaimed Oliver. He dragged her over to the shore. "Can't you swim?"
Andy continued heaving out water, but said nothing. Oliver apparently thought the silence was a confession. There was only a moment's pause before he said, "Why in Merlin's name didn't you tell me?"
When Andy didn't answer again, Oliver ran a shaky hand through his hair. "Is this another one of those pride things? Because if it is, I'm going to have to kill you, you realize."
"I can't help it that I was raised by about a billion Quidditch players," muttered Andy, "It isn't my fault that they've given me a complex."
Oliver didn't speak, so Andy lay back on the grass, dangling her feet in the water. A few seconds later, Oliver followed suit.
The tickle of grass against Andy's neck had nearly lulled her to sleep when Oliver spoke up.
"You know, Andy, you have far too much pride to be an entirely good Seeker," he mumbled. When Andy sat up to reply, he had a dreamy sort of look on his face, like he didn't really know what he was saying.
"And you are far too much of an egotistical prat to be a good captain," she replied in the most saccharine voice that she could muster. Oliver's eyes snapped open and he glared at her. She—barely—refrained from smiling smugly; she knew more than anyone how much he wanted to be captain the next year.
Suddenly his face crumpled. "Do you really think I'm not going to get it?" he asked; his voice was barely even a whisper.
Unfortunately, while Andy had entirely too much self-confidence, Oliver never seemed to have enough nowadays, and there was only so far one could get on bluster and bravado. He really hadn't been the same since Arthur.
"Of course you're going to be captain, you git," she said fondly. "because not only are you obviously the most qualified in Gryffindor, you're probably also the most qualified in the entire school.
"On a side note, if you ever tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it and tell them that you're just an egotistical prat."
Oliver laughed, and all was silent for a good long while.
When Hagrid found them in the morning, they were given detention, but Andy couldn't find it in herself to mind. Sometimes, Oliver was a prat, and she doubted that he even considered her his friend, let alone his best mate.
And then there were times when she wondered if she was his only real friend in the entire world.
Andy was quite probably going to die of humiliation before the day was over. Still, she'd promised herself she'd go back to the team, even if it meant getting down on her knees, and begging Wood for the position back.
Which, she reflected, as she made her way down to breakfast, she very well might have to. This feeling was only intensified when she found the entirety of her—not yours anymore, a little voice reminded her—Quidditch team apparently laughing at something their new Seeker had said.
She was a bit mollified, then, when Angelina quietly asked her if she thought Alicia was more bulldog-ish when defending George's honor, or just completely maniacal. So, the idiot girl had been flirting with George, then? Andy revised her previous statement—there was no way that the new Seeker would steal Alicia away from her now, and if she had Alicia, then she definitely had George and Angelina. So, she won't be able to steal all of my friends, then, just Oliver. Not that Oliver's my friend. No, Oliver is just a prat. Er, wait, I meanWood is just a prat. Merlin, I really need to quite talking to myself.
"So, Carrins, you're looking particularly morose this morning," remarked Wood, looking completely happy about it. Andy gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile.
"I need to talk to you, W—Oliver," she managed. He looked slightly interested, but then he shrugged.
"It will have to wait until later; I need to show Cassiopeia how to perfect a Wronksi Feint," he said. There were several things wrong with that sentence, not the least of which being the fact that Andy had just perfected a Wronksi Feint, so there was no way the blonde bint would. (Also, the name Cassiopeia? Not exactly stunning for a girl so dull.)
"But it has to do with that," said Andy. Wood fixed her with a level stare.
"I need to show my Seeker this, Carrins," he said slowly. "Frankly, I don't give a damn what you have to say."
Then, he grabbed the blonde bint's arm, and they were off to apparently the Quidditch pitch.
And Andy? Well, she was forcefully reminded that, although she was going to have to be fine with having Oliver as a captain, again, she was nowhere nearfriends with him.
She honestly doubted she ever would be that close to him again, the pillock.
Author's Note: I am such a terrible person, I know, but RL got the best of me, and one of my friends is actually a complete pervert (not in the joking sense, unfortunately), and the ensuing drama of realizing that took up a GREAT deal of my time.
I know I don't deserve it, but reviews would be incredibly nice.
Edited to add year of flashback.