The next month flew by like an uneventful blur, however despite me not being very involved with the Gryffindor house, and with my nose entirely submerged in textbooks studying I could tell the whole of Gryffindor House was obsessed with the coming match. Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup since the legendary Charlie Weasley had been Seeker. That isn't to say that Ravenclaw was any less invested. The excitement of the Gryffindor rubbed off on the largely apathetic Ravenclaws that simply liked to watch the games unfold, and didn't take our losses to heart. This time was different. The tension in the air was palpable, and I even had our Head Boy and Head Girl lecture me on the importance of sportsmanship, despite never doing so before. I guess they sensed the overwhelming competitiveness in the atmosphere.

Never, in anyone's memory, had a match approached in such a highly charged atmosphere. By the time the holidays were over, the tension between the two teams and their Houses was at the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, culminating in a nasty incident in which a Gryffindor fourth year and a Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears.

"It's madness!" Oliver exclaimed one day as we were idly passing the quaffle between us on the pitch, "I've got the entirety of Gryffindor on their toes and escorting Potter to classes because Slytherin won't leave him alone!"

"From what I could tell, everyone in Gryffindor is more than happy to protect Harry." I chuckled, "You're not even letting the poor kid get to classes on time with the number of people around him."

"What other choice do we have?" Oliver asked, throwing the quaffle back to me.

"Dunno." I caught it and shrugged. "I don't even know why we're talking, aren't we not supposed to socialize with the enemy?"

"What do you think of this whole Celestial Ball after N.E.W.T's?" He said, ignoring my previous statement. "I'm thinking of skipping it."

"Why?" I asked, his words landing a soft punch on my gut.

"Well, for starters, I don't have anyone to go with," Oliver stated matter of factly after catching the quaffle again.

"You don't have anyone to ask?" I frowned.

"I guess." Oliver nodded.

"Well I'm going with my friends," I said as indifferently as I could. Oliver wasn't going to ask me, and even getting my hopes up was stupid.

~~~~

The night before the quidditch match, the usually quiet and serene Ravenclaw dorms were loud and I had an everpresent buzzing in my ears. Liane and I sat together in silence. Cho was panicking on the couch in front of us, and Roger Davies alongside Randolph Burrow was creating even more commotion behind us. I was looking over the strategy map of the pitch. My head felt like it was splitting open by nine o'clock.

"Alright team, time for bed!" I yelled over the ruckus and headed over into the girl's dorm.

~~~~

Both the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor teams entered the dining hall to applause. Only the Slytherin team was hissing in our direction from their table.

I spent time encouraging my team to eat up, before hurrying off to the field to get a clear view of the weather conditions. This was not one of those days where Oliver and I met before each other's matches. But I was content in walking alongside him when going down to the pitch.

"Hey Wood?" I said as we walked briskly down the foresty path to the pitch.

"Hm?" He looked over at me.

"How does it feel to leave your captainship with not a single quidditch cup under your belt?" I snickered.

"Oh, you're going to choke on those words in a few hours, Stone." Oliver shook his head, holding back a laugh.

"Keep dreaming." I rolled my eyes.

The sun was shining brightly, and the ground was hard. The air was still, with little to no wind to be felt. This meant an easy takeoff. I glanced at Wood. It was clear he was making the same deductions because he was jumping in place to check the ground.

Our teams joined us shortly, and Oliver was pacing ahead of all of us, watching the doors. Finally, we saw the front doors of the castle open in the distance and the rest of the school spilling onto the lawn.

"Locker rooms." Oliver and I said simultaneously, and I cast a glare in his direction.

No more fun chatting and playful banter. It was the cup on the line. If they caught the snitch fifty points ahead of us, I knew they would win the cup.

None of us really spoke while changing into our blue quidditch robes, but Liane was going around to everyone with water.

It was in no time that I said the words "Time to go."

They walked out onto the field to a tidal wave of noise. Half of the crowd was wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP" Behind the Ravenclaw and Slytherin goal posts, however, two hundred people were wearing blue and bronze; the dark blue Eagle glittered on their flags, and Professor Flitwick sat in the very front row on an elevated seat, wearing blue like everyone else, and a very giddy smile.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, who was acting as a commentator as usual. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years --"

Lee's comments were drowned by a tide of 'boos' from the Slytherin end.

"And here are the Ravenclaws!" Lee shouted, "Led by Y/n Stone, Davies, De Rose, Burrow, Samuels, Chang, and Page. A good team, but is it on the level of their Opponents?"

I rolled my eyes, and the Ravenclaw stands booed.

"Captains, shake hands!" said Madam Hooch.

Oliver and I approached each other and shook one another's hands very firmly, not dropping eye contact. We both knew this was war.

"Mount your brooms!" said Madam Hooch. "Three. . . two. . . one. . . "

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. I felt my hair fly back off my forehead; my nerves left me in the thrill of the flight.

The quaffle was instantly seized by Alicia Spinnet, but I was fast to intercept her pass and threw myself towards the goalposts. I saw Oliver ahead of me. Katie Bell was tailing me closely, and I could hear both of our brooms whizzing through the air.

"I'M OPEN!" Hollered Davies above me, and I quickly passed it. Katie Bell barely missed blocking and was sent flying in a different direction before she could straighten herself out.

This gave me the perfect opportunity to fly ahead to where Wood was. Roger and Randolph passed between each other until they got to me. They passed to me while providing a good distraction to the other team. I felt the quaffle hit my gut and I gripped it tightly.

My eyes narrowed. I was now only a few paces in front of Oliver. He suddenly flew at me, with a clear intent of stopping me and seizing the quaffle. I pushed on the front of my broom and barreled towards the ground. I heard Oliver do the same behind me. I jerked my broom handle back up to the goalposts. Now I was practically dangling on my broom with one hand and all of the power my thighs could muster. Oliver was good on the broom, but he wasn't a chaser like me. I flew past him while he was still flying down. The goal post was right above me, but so was one of the Gryffindor chasers. I locked eyes on the goal. It was risky, but I didn't have an open pass. I aimed and lightly tossed it over the post.

Time slowed, and I could see Oliver frantically flying up to block it, and their chaser trying to do the same. The chaser's finger touched the ball, but she was too far away, this extra touch furthered the ball into the goalposts-- "AND RAVENCLAW SCORE 10-0!!!"

I fist-pumped the air.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT! OLIVER WOOD GOT SCORED ON THE FIRST PLAYOFF!" Lee continued roaring.

The game continued, but now Gryffindor took the lead with us only being ten to twenty. I felt my palms sweating in my gloves. In the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of Cho. She was making rounds above us, looking for the snitch. Harry was close to her, and I could tell she was nervous. Her flight was nervous.

Abruptly I saw Harry speed up towards our goal posts. Cho sped after him. It was definitely a red herring. They wouldn't go after the snitch before they were in the lead by fifty. Harry must've seen the snitch and is leading Cho away from it. I looked towards where they were coming from, and sure enough, I saw a faint golden glimmer.

I soared above the main game and towards the pair of seekers. When I was close enough I yelled out, "GET THE SNITCH!" and pointed to where the snitch was still flitting about idly.

Cho glanced back and saw it too. She quickly stopped tailing Harry and turned around.

"AND CHANG SPOTS THE SNITCH WITH WHAT SEEMS LIKE THE HELP OF STONE!!!" I heard Lee announce.

I flew back down to the main field, and to my horror saw Alicia Spinnet score a point on Grant. Thirty to ten lead for Gryffindor.

I glanced over at Cho again. She was no longer after the snitch. It had disappeared yet again.

The game progressed with us scoring one more point but the Gryffindors scoring five more. Seventy to twenty. Harry was now able to go after the snitch. Cho knew this, and I saw her circling around the pitch getting more frantic.

I finally got my hands on the quaffle and began speeding towards the goalposts. One more shot and Harry would have to stall catching the snitch...

"AND HARRY CATCHES THE SNITCH!" I hear Lee call. "GRYFFINDOR WINS THE CUP!"

I stop in the air, and I see the Gryffindor stands cheer and my ears begin ringing. I land on the ground without saying a thing. Hot tears began streaming out of my eyes, and I could feel my throat closing up. Oddly I didn't feel any anger or even annoyance at losing. I was... I was happy.

Oliver flew down to me.

"Stone," He reached out to me, "I'm sorry it came to this..."

I felt myself cry even more for no reason. The stress of the past month was coming out in the form of waterfalls.

"Stone, please don't cry." Oliver pleaded.

I heard our teammates land behind us.

"I'm crying because I'm happy," I smiled.

My smile was genuine, even if the tears made it look otherwise.

"Alright Stone, you're off your rocker, I'm taking you to the hospital wing."

"I'm alright, just go celebrate now. I'll see you at the party." I wiped my tears with the sleeve of my robe. "I don't know why I'm crying."

Oliver set his broom down and motioned for me to do the same. I hesitantly sat my broom down and looked at him. He was so much taller than me, and I've been so busy I didn't notice how broad his shoulders got. Without saying another word he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. It was unexpected and warm, and I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. It's hard to tell if I was still running on the adrenaline from the game, or if that was my reaction to Oliver, or maybe a bit of both, but I didn't mind it.

Oliver pulled away and grinned, "You're not crying anymore."

"Thanks, Woody." I grinned back.

And with that, Oliver ran off in the direction of Harry, with tears in his own eyes. I saw Dumbledore in the stands holding the large cup. They deserve it, no, he deserves it.

~~~~

The party in the Gryffindor common room that night was crazy. Lori managed to get in so much weed that pre-made blunts were making their rounds on trays carried by a few terrified third years that were forced into it. And by forced into it I mean that their hands were cursed to the platter by none other than June who bluffed to them that it was no ordinary sticking hex but rather one that if they try to break it or leave the common room they would be turned into slugs. I questioned the ethics of her strategy but she just shrugged it off and made me promise not to tell Sarah.

Oliver got really drunk and had to be dragged back to his dorms by Fred and George on either arm. June and Sarah left for Sarah's dorm early, and June tasked me with unhexxing the poor third years. (I did this as soon as they left.) Lori, Liane, and I hung out on one of the couches for most of the night. After the point where I unhexxed the third years my memory got hazy, probably from the 3 blunts smoked in a row paired with something that could have very well been some sort of an edible. All I could say about the rest of the night is that I have no idea how I woke up in my bed the next afternoon.