Many people had tried out for the position of Chaser, but only one had shown themselves up above the rest. She never dropped the quaffle, she worked well with Angelina and Katie, and she wasn't a glory hunter. She dodged the bludgers expertly and she moved with grace and certainty in the sky, and she managed to get the quaffle past Oliver himself a few times. She was the perfect addition to the team. Aquila Virgo Valentine was soaked to the skin, and grinning as the rest of the team patted her on the back and hugged her. Oliver watched from afar and felt relief and satisfaction. He felt that having her on the team gave them a new advantage. She brought morale up, somehow. He easy smiles for her teammates made them smile back, even though the rain soaked them through. He leaned on his broomstick, smiling to himself. This could work. This could be the team that won him the Cup. His heart was pounding. They were going to do it. Stray strands of Aquila's hair were plastered to her forehead, her cheeks were flushed from the cold, and she was chatting amiably with the team. He had been stressed since the year began, but he felt happy. He didn't have to worry for five minutes. Something had gone right at last.
"Time to head in! We've got our chaser!" The team cheered again, then started to make their way into the stands and the changing rooms.
Aquila made her excuses, and headed up to the castle for a warm shower in the prefect bathroom. The rest of the team sang her praises when she was gone.
"You know Oliver… Most boys would see that pretty face and not much else." Fred said as he sidled up to the soaked captain.
"Ah but Freddie, our Olly here can sniff out Quidditch talent like a pig sniffing out truffles."
"Very true George. But everyone saw our esteemed captain and our lovely new chaser walking to dinner together, laughing. Some say they were holding hands." Oliver glared darkly at the boys.
"That's enough. What you are suggesting is highly inappropriate. It would not do for a persona in a position of power, a captain such as myself, to abuse his power like that. Valentine is a good chaser, and she will be an excellent addition to the team. That's all there is to this story. Now dry off and get inside. There's a storm brewing." Oliver set to sullenly peeling his flying robes off, and drying himself off with a fluffy red and gold towel. What Fred and George were saying worried him. Would some people perceive him to like this girl? In an inappropriate manner? It wasn't moral for a Quidditch captain to be involved with one of his teammates. Oliver wasn't involved with anyone, and he wasn't going to be. He was married to his sport, that was the life he had chosen. But he didn't want people to think that Aquila had only gotten on the team because he fancied her. Her talent and merit spoke for itself surely…
Walking up to the castle in the spills of rain, he couldn't stop playing her try-out over in his head. The way she caught the impossible. Avoided and dodged intercepting chasers and rocketing bludgers. Her seamless teamwork with the other girls. The way she got the quaffle past him. Her flushed face in the cold rain, the look of determination in her eyes. He felt that thump of his heart again. He was certain that it was because of the rightness of the team. Because he was excited in the knowledge that they were going to win. His hammered like that every time he thought of her throwing that quaffle right past him, and smiling wickedly in her triumph. It had to be because he was pleased that he had such a good chaser. But he was disquieted. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he just couldn't shake. Even when he was dry and inside his dorm room, staring up at the canopy of his bed, he couldn't shut his mind off. He kept replaying that goal over and over again.
"Amormentia. The most powerful love potion in the world. You will brew it in this double class, and deliver a vial to my desk by the end. Partner up and begin." Snape was always starting his lessons with blunt introductions like this. Oliver looked around the class. Percy was looking at him hopefully. Oliver was actually a decent hand at potions, and Percy was just desperate. Aquila sat just in front of Percy and was scanning her potions book, reading over the formula. Oliver stood up slowly, and made his way to her desk. That niggling feeling in the back of his mind hadn't left him alone for weeks. Even through the horror of the Chamber of Secrets being spoken of again. He wasn't scared for himself; he was a halfblood. But he had muggleborn friends. And he was scared for them. Even if the Chamber of Secrets hadn't been opened, this hate speech was disgusting and worrying. But through all of this additional worry, he still had that persistent feeling that he couldn't name.
"Hey. Need a partner?" Oliver asked quietly. Aquila looked up at him with a smirk.
"What took you so long. Can you grab these?" She pointed to a list of ingredients that she didn't have to hand. They had been working together on homework most every night now, making a habit of it. Oliver enjoyed it. For the relief of having his homework done alone, it was worth it. But he also got to spend time with Aquila Valentine, who was becoming his fast friend. Sometimes she would take a break with him from work, and talk over strategies. She was keeping the stress at bay for him. He looked forward to seeing her every evening before dinner. And even more so for Quidditch practice.
He scooped up the ingredients she had sent him for and started to prepare them as soon as he got back.
"You need to be quicker next time. Percy might snatch you next time to improve his grade." Oliver rolled his eyes as he rolled up his sleeves. Aquila already had the base of the potion bubbling. She was so terribly efficient. She worked fast and damn near perfectly.
"He'd do anything to get ahead. He'd sell his own mum." She gave an amused laugh at that and continued to work on the potion. There was an amicable silence between them as they worked. They would occasionally ask each other for the next ingredient or to pass something. The potion was starting to smell beautifully. The first smell that struck him was a light soapy smell. It was so fresh that he started breathe deeper. He could see that Aquila was doing likewise. The next scent that came to him was… lavander? He hadn't expected that. He had expected the scent of broom polish. Anything Quidditch related.
"Mmm… It's starting to smell." Her voice was a little husky and her eyes hooded. She sighed happily then continued to stir the potion precisely.
"What do you smell?" he asked her.
"Broom polish. Leather…. And… A cologne. I know it from somewhere…. But where?" Smelling Quidditch smells was normal. Why wasn't he smelling them?
"I smell soap, fresh linen, and lavander." He shook his head. "Maybe we didn't get it right." She gave him a strange look. A searching, piercing gaze. He glanced away after he had held her gaze. She leaned across the table to pick up an ingredient, and he caught it. The smell of lavander and soap. He blushed furiously. Aquila smelled of those things. Oh no… he thought.
Finally, the niggling feeling at the back of his mind made sense. He liked her. He really did. It wasn't just a rumour. It was true. He was just starting to panic when she turned around to him.
"The heat getting to you? You're very red."
"Yes." he blurted out." Happens every time." She smirked at him. His heart did that stupid hammering. Merlin's knickers. Nothing was ever easy, was it? Just when he thought his life could be stress free.
"It's turning the right colour. I think we did it Oliver." Her face was quite red as well now, like it had been in the cold. His heart hammered again. She'd never called him by his first name before. He didn't understand why that mattered, but apparently his internal organs deemed it a major event. He hated this. He wondered again why he couldn't just play Quidditch all day. "We should bottle this up. Then we can clean up early and be out of here on time. We might actually get a proper lunch for once." She bottled up their perfect love potion and headed to the top of the classroom. He stared after his teammate, wondering what to do, and absolutely furious with himself.