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Author: Heliona Story: Wood & Wild Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: WIP Reviews: 1 Words: 37,132
Author's Note: I'm not sure if I can dedicate a chapter to a fictional character, but I'm going to anyway. This chapter is dedicated to Neville, mainly because it involves a lot of Snape and a lot of frogs (which is pretty close to toads!) and I thought of Neville when I wrote it! ~*~*~*~*~ Oliver's thoughts were concentrated on Quidditch, and he called his team together that Thursday evening, to discuss tactics. To avoid the distraction of the common room, he made them all meet in the changing rooms. It was cold, but Oliver was too wound up to notice his team members' shaking. He paced back and forth in front of them, trying to impress upon them the need to win the Cup this year. Finally, they seemed to understand, and Oliver told them that practice would take place three times a week. They all left full of determination, and Oliver followed them back to the castle with thoughts of holding up the Quidditch Cup at the end of the year running through his head. As always, when his thoughts were of Quidditch, they turned to Fiona. Fiona, whose birthday it was in two weeks, and whose present was still non-existent. I'll ask Joe for ideas, Oliver decided. That settled, his thoughts turned to the Reserve team. I think I'll see if Fiona wants to get them to join some of our practices. It would do them good. Planning to have a long talk with Fiona that night about the Quidditch teams, Oliver climbed up the long staircase, following the sounds of his team's laughter. When he entered the common room, the first thing he saw was Fiona's auburn hair glowing in the firelight, as she and Joe lay on the floor in front of the fire, heads bent over a book. They looked up as he sat on the sofa behind them. "How'd it go?" Fiona asked. Oliver grimaced. "We have to win this year, Fiona, we just have to. I think I got the team to realise how important it is, but...." He threw his hands up in the air. Fiona and Joe exchanged a look, and Joe said, "Oliver, the rest of the team want to win just as much as you do. Don't worry; this year it will happen." Oliver's face brightened slightly, and he nodded. Then he turned to Fiona. "I was thinking that the Reserves could maybe come to a few of our practices. We could play against each other, get the teams working together properly." Fiona's eyes glowed, and Joe suppressed a groan. It looked like he was going to be getting more practice in and hence less time with Margaret. Fiona was as obsessed as Oliver sometimes. "That'd be great, Oliver," she gushed. "When's your next practice? I'll put a notice up for the team. We might as well practise at the same time, anyway; it's not like one team needs both sets of hoops, so I can use one end while you use the other." Oliver nodded. "The first practice is on Monday. We're having practices Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings." "Right. I think I might still have early morning practice on Saturdays as well, though, except for match days, of course," Fiona said thoughtfully. "The team's in terrible shape, and we need more practice than you lot do." "Hey," Joe protested. "Terrible shape?" "You're not, but the rest of them are. Morna needs as much practice as possible as well. I want to win the Reserve Cup, and to do that we need to be in tip-top condition. Slytherin's Reserves are bloody good," Fiona said, a worried look coming over her face. Joe groaned. "Honestly, you two are bad for each other sometimes. Okay, I think I'll be able to cope with four practices a week. I don't know how everyone else will cope, though. You're pushing the Reserves harder than Oliver's pushing the First team." Fiona frowned. "They'll be fine. Besides, the First team have just started to practise. Anybody knows that you build up the number of practices gradually. It's about time the Reserves got more practice in." She reached out for a piece of parchment, and wrote the announcement of the change of practices down, ready to place on the notice board. As she walked away, Oliver and Joe watched her. Then Oliver turned to Joe. "Do you have any ideas for her birthday?" Joe looked surprised, and then smiled. "That's funny. I was going to ask you the same thing. I know what I'm getting her, but I was curious as to what you had planned." Oliver's face fell. "I haven't a clue. What do you think?" "Oliver, you know her better than anyone else, including me. How should I know? Why don't you get her something like the necklace you got her last year?" Joe replied. Oliver looked dubious. "Well, Fiona doesn't normally wear jewellery, and besides, it was a special occasion, after all. It was her sixteenth birthday." "Oliver, I hate to point this out to you, but this year's even more special. It'll be the last year we're all together," Joe said gently, hoping that Margaret was right. Oliver's face suddenly fell, and his eyes looked sorrowful. "You're right, of course. I guess it's something I've never really thought about it. Fiona's always been there." Oliver paused for a moment, and then seemed to gather himself together again. "This is going to take some thought." Joe laughed. "What with all this homework, your Quidditch practices, and thinking of a present for Fiona, you're in for one hell of a time." His friend grimaced. "You're right. But, we need to win this year." Fiona overheard his last comment, and sighed. "Oliver, stop it. You know we're going to win, so stop worrying about it, and get thinking about practice." "Once again, Fiona brings my feet back down to earth," Oliver said, smiling. "Okay, boss. And, just for that, I'm getting you up extra early this Saturday to discuss tactics." Fiona groaned dramatically, but Joe could see her heart wasn't in it. Her eyes sparkled at the thought of a long Quidditch discussion with Oliver. "Where's Audrey?" Oliver suddenly asked, looking round. "Over there, doing Divination homework with Sally. I think we annoyed her a little with our dire predictions of chaos and mayhem," Joe told him, grinning. "Speaking of mayhem," Fiona started, and then stopped, looking at Joe. "Don't you have to see Margaret tonight?" Joe looked at her suspiciously, and then his face softened at the thought of his girlfriend. "Yeah, guess I'd better go. See you later." "Bye," Oliver said as Joe closed his book and left. Then he turned to Fiona. "What was it you were going to say?" Fiona smiled mischievously. "Well, we haven't planned anything recently, and I figured Joe needed some comeuppance. Wanna help?" Oliver returned the grin. "Sure. But why Joe?" "Well." Fiona drew out the word, thinking fast. "There's been all the digs at us about being single. I just think he's been getting too big for his boots." "Good enough for me," Oliver said, his eyes sparkling silver. "What do you have planned?" "Here are a couple of ideas I had." Fiona leant towards Oliver, and spoke to him softly. Audrey looked across the room at them, noticing the auburn head and the brown head close together, Fiona and Oliver talking in whispers. She shook her head. Sometimes those two were worse than Fred and George. She had a feeling that Joe was going to get a surprise. ~*~*~*~*~ All day on Friday, Fiona and Oliver were conspiring in whispers. Audrey realised that Joe wasn't particularly suspicious. In fact, he and the rest of the year thought that they were talking about Quidditch strategies, but their blonde friend knew better. They were frequently told off in all three of their classes. Professor McGonagall very nearly gave them a detention when Oliver turned into a laughing hyena as opposed to the puppy Fiona was meant to have transfigured him into. She eyed them suspiciously, and said, "Wood and Wild, I don't know what you are planning, but be aware that you are skating on thin ice. One more upset today, and you're both in detention. That should have been an easy transfiguration for you, Miss Wild." Fiona flushed, and glanced at Oliver, who was somewhat unkempt from his experience. He was still stifling giggles as McGonagall told them off, and nearly set Fiona off again. The rest of the lesson passed without incident, but Oliver and Fiona continued to whisper throughout. Potions didn't pass nearly as well. Fiona managed to chop her horned slugs slightly too large, and when Oliver put them into the cauldron, the dungeon was rocked by a large explosion. Once the smoke had cleared, and Snape had ordered everyone to remain seated, Fiona and Oliver could be seen covered in the green solution. The Slytherins burst out laughing, and even some of the Gryffindors looked amused, although the look of ferocity on Snape's face stopped them from voicing it. "Wood and Wild!" Snape's voice was quiet and venomous. "Once again you have disturbed a Potions lesson. In fact, I'm surprised it took you this long. You both have detention tonight. Be down here at nine o'clock. And fifty points from Gryffindor." All the seventh year Gryffindors groaned quietly, and then shut up when Snape glared at them. "Stay behind and clean this mess up, Gryffindors. Slytherins, you may go." The Slytherins dashed out of the dungeon with triumphant grins on their faces, and the Gryffindors began the unpleasant task of tidying up the dungeon under Professor Snape's sharp gaze. Audrey muttered curses under her breath at both Snape, and Oliver and Fiona, who were trying not to laugh at each other's appearance. Finally, they were let out, and just had time to grab a bite to eat before having to dash off to Charms. On the way there, Fiona and Oliver performed a derivative of the Scouring Charm to clean themselves up. They then managed to apologise to the rest of their classmates for forcing them to miss lunch. "Just as long as we win the Cup this year, we'll forgive you," Stuart said good-naturedly. He, like the rest of them, thought that Oliver and Fiona had been preoccupied with thoughts of the Cup. "Don't ask for much, do they?" Oliver muttered to Fiona as they entered Professor Flitwick's classroom. Fiona snorted, and refrained from replying. Charms was a subject she enjoyed, but she had to work quite hard at it, unlike Oliver and Joe, who were naturals in it. This meant that the lesson passed somewhat more quietly than the previous two, although Audrey and Fiona managed to explode their figurines, which they were actually meant to be animating. Fiona had been able to animate hers to an extent as was evidenced when Oliver poked it with his wand; it rolled over and groaned. Audrey's, however, was still inanimate, which was probably a good thing, seeing as it had lost both arms and a leg. Once Charms was over, the four dashed back to the common room. Oliver and Fiona were intending to head for an early dinner, and then getting as much homework done as possible, before going to their appointment with Snape. In the Great Hall, Oliver and Fiona were still in high spirits, and Joe began to suspect something was up. "What's wrong with them?" he whispered to Audrey. "They've got a detention with Snape, and they're high as kites. They're planning something, aren't they? I knew it'd been too quiet around here." Audrey grinned. "I think so, but I'm not in on it. You know those two, they like to surprise everyone." Joe grunted, and returned to his meal. "Well, let's hope it's less surprising than today's Potions lesson. Although, I have to admit, they did look pretty funny covered in green goo." Audrey laughed. "Yeah. I'd treasure that memory, though. Fiona's not going to let that happen again. In fact, I'm surprised Snape's not wary. Whenever 'Wood and Wild' do something wrong in Potions, a few days later, they play a trick on Snape." Joe grinned. "I think Snape's been lulled into a false sense of security by the lack of activity this year. You're right, though. Fiona's the best in the year at Potions; usually those two get everything right." His blue eyes twinkled at the thought of something happening to Snape. "Here's hoping they get their own back for this detention." Audrey smiled, and thought to herself, He's going to get it bad, and he doesn't have any idea at all. ~*~*~*~*~ Fiona and Oliver left the Great Hall before anybody else, ignoring a facetious remark from Marcus Flint as they passed out the door. "Ugh, I hope he gets hit by a Bludger in the first match," Fiona muttered. "I'll have a word with the twins. I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige," Oliver said, laughing. Then he sobered. "What do you think Snape has planned for us?" Fiona shook her head. "Don't know, but it's bound to be particularly nasty. This is the first chance we've given him to get at us this year." "It had better be worth it," Oliver said, grimacing as they descended the stairs and the air became musty. "Oh, it will be, Oliver, you know it will." Fiona grinned, her eyes sparkling. "Good to know you're happy about this detention, Miss Wild," Snape said, appearing behind them. Fiona started, and grabbed hold of Oliver's arm. When she realised who had startled her, she released her friend's arm, and stood up straight, looking the Professor in the eye. Oliver admired her courage, as Snape's black eyes glittered dangerously at the challenge Fiona was wordlessly giving him. Suddenly he turned, his robe swirling. "This way." He led them to a deserted dungeon, lit only by a few flickering torches. It smelt like a sewer. "You are to collect frogs," Snape informed them. "Put them in this box. Once it is full, bring it to my office." He then left them in the dingy dungeon. "Frogs?" Oliver whispered, his voice echoing around the room. "Well, that's not so bad." Fiona snorted. "Yeah, right. That won't be all, and you know it." She attempted to light her wand, but nothing happened. Swearing, she tried again, but still there was no response. "Here, let me try," Oliver offered. He got as much result as Fiona had done. After several failed attempts, he sighed. "I think this room's charmed against magic use." Fiona groaned. "Typical. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. If we'd been able to use magic, all it would've taken was a few Accio frogs, and there you are. But no, Snape wants both Gryffindor Quidditch Keepers to spend all night on their hands and knees." "You think that's it?" Oliver looked thoughtful. Fiona had already shoved her sleeves up and was stalking towards a dark corner. "Yeah," her voice was quiet. "If we're both out of commission, who's going to captain the team? Joe could do it, but he's never had to think about it." She launched herself off to the right with the speed only a Quidditch player possesses, and stood up a moment later, a frog struggling in her hand. Oliver handed her the box to put the frog in, and then threw himself forward, catching two frogs. "Maybe you're right. Still, I think it's quite good practice. I mean, talk about increasing your reflexes." "And night vision," Fiona added, placing another amphibian into the box. "Still, I'm going to be black and blue by the end of the night. This floor isn't exactly soft." Three hours later, Oliver and Fiona inspected the box, being careful not to let any frogs leap out. "I think this box is magically expanding. It still looks empty," Fiona retorted. Oliver shut the lid. "That's just your imagination. Well, it's midnight now, I should think he'd be satisfied. Come on." The two friends made their weary way to Snape's office, carrying the box full of frogs between them. They quietly knocked on his door, and waited patiently. A few minutes later, the Potions teacher opened the door. He took in the two teenagers standing in front of him, clutching a box between them, their faces bruised and battered. Both Fiona and Oliver had cuts on their faces and hands from hitting snags in the stone floor and walls. Snape levitated the box toward him, and opened the lid. "I suppose that will be sufficient," he finally declared. "You may leave now, but come back tomorrow at the same time to finish your detention." Fiona's face went white, and, even in the dark, her eyes could be seen to be green. "Excuse me? Finish our detention?" "Yes, Miss Wild, finish it. Your task was to catch the frogs and then take their brains out. I'm requiring frogs' brains for your lesson on Monday," Snape told her, his voice brooking no argument. Fiona opened her mouth to protest again, but Oliver stepped in front of her. "We'll be back," he told Snape shortly. "Come on." He grabbed Fiona's arm and dragged her away. As soon as they were out of earshot, Fiona let fly. "That, that, that...argh! I wish Joe was here; he could think of some words that suited Snape." Joe's knowledge of swear words and insults was renowned. "Calm down, Fiona. We need to get to bed. We've got practice tomorrow morning, remember?" Oliver reminded her, keeping hold of her arm, desperately ignoring the shivers the contact created. All fight went out of her. "We?" was all she said. "Of course. We're a team, remember?" Oliver smiled. "Plus, you're coming to all the First team's practices as well." Fiona shook her head then, and smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I remember. Come on, bed is beckoning." "A shower first, though. I don't think a charm will get the smell of frogs off us," Oliver commented. "Right, a hot shower, then bed." Fiona set off up the stairs. "Come on, race you." Oliver laughed, and chased his friend up the stairs, leaping over a bewildered Mrs Norris. The cat yowled, and ran off, but the pair were already gasping the password at the Fat Lady and had entered the common room before Filch had time to investigate. ~*~*~*~*~ The next morning, Fiona's alarm woke her up at six o'clock. Groaning, she turned over and waved her wand to turn it off. She was about to snuggle back under her covers, when she remembered why she'd set the alarm. Sighing and yawning widely, Fiona climbed slowly out of bed. She looked out of the window to discover that the sky was dark with clouds. Shaking her head at the weather, she searched through her trunk for suitable clothes. Attiring herself warmly, she grabbed her broom and headed downstairs. She met Joe and Oliver in the common room, both looking tired, although Oliver looked worse than Joe. In fact, both Fiona and Oliver had a hard time keeping their eyes open. "So, what did Snape make you do?" Joe asked, looking from one to the other. Oliver yawned as Fiona explained. "And we have to go back tonight," she added. "You're kidding? No wonder you two look shattered," Joe said, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "Listen, if you two want to get more sleep, especially if you're up late tonight as well, I'll take the practice if you want." Fiona shook her head. "Thanks, Joe, but I, at least, have to make an appearance. It wouldn't do for the Captain to not show up to practice. You can go back to bed, though, if you want, Oliver." "I'm up now. Besides, remember what I told you last night?" Oliver smiled. Fiona rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and I know that means you're going to get me up at some God-awful hour, when I don't have to be awake, to go to a practice I don't need to be at." "Of course." Oliver grinned. "Come on, let's go." Fiona smiled, and the two Quidditch Captains exited Gryffindor Tower, followed by Joe, who muttered something about deranged Quidditch Captains. The three shivered as soon as they stepped outside. Winter had come early. "I think I'll start flying now; I might warm up," Fiona said, mounting her broom. Oliver and Joe agreed, and soon all three were warming up, dodging each other as they tried to knock each other off their brooms. The friends were happy and warm when the rest of the Reserve team came trudging down the hill half an hour later. Two hours later, the team had showered and was heading back up to the castle. Oliver, Joe, and Fiona lagged behind, discussing the training. "Morna's going to be a great Seeker," Oliver said. "She's a good Chaser as well," Joe added. "She's got the determination." Fiona laughed. "If it's even remotely dangerous, Morna will do it. I think that's why she likes Seeking so much. And Chasing, you can be guaranteed that she'll score when everyone else will have given up. Which reminds me, I was going to talk to her about getting in some more Chasing practice." Fiona ran ahead of them to talk to her sister. Joe turned to Oliver. "So, do you know what you're getting Fiona yet?" Oliver nodded. "At least, I have an idea. I'm going to talk to Professor Lupin about it, though." Oliver laughed. "It's nothing to do with Defence Against the Dark Arts; it's just that Lupin's a nice sort, and I think he'll be able to help me." "Oh, that's all right then. Just as long as whatever it is doesn't leap out at her as soon as she opens it," Joe said, smiling. "Nah, that'd be something that Fred and George would do," Oliver returned. "Besides, my life wouldn't be worth living if I did that." "I don't think that the twins would, actually. Fiona has a reputation for pranks. She'd get them back," Joe pointed out. "That's true. They'll probably just get her some sweets, or something. It's not like they know her that well. I think Angelina, Katie, and Alicia will get her something, though." Joe nodded. "Especially Alicia. After all, if it hadn't been for Fiona's gruelling training, you wouldn't have picked her." Oliver's face grew thoughtful. "Don't you sometimes get a little jealous of her?" Oliver inquired curiously. "I mean, you're still on the Reserve team, and yet you're older than Alicia. You would have been my second choice, actually, if Alicia hadn't proven herself." Joe looked contemplative. "Not really. I'm not bothered. I mean, I would have liked to have played for the First team, but, at least there's less pressure playing for the Reserves." "Not much!" Oliver grinned. "Come on, I need food desperately." "You're not the only one," Joe said, and the two of them jogged the rest of the way to the castle, catching up with the rest of the tired-looking Quidditch players. After breakfast, Fiona and Oliver retired to a sofa near the fire in the common room, attempting to finish their Potions essay. Audrey found them later, both asleep, Fiona's head resting on Oliver's shoulder. She rescued their quills, and let them sleep a little more. Joe came back from seeing Margaret, and grinned when he saw Audrey standing over them. "This I have to have a photo of," he said, before dashing off to grab his camera. Once he had taken a few wizarding photos, Audrey smiled. "Maybe this will make them see the light." Joe rolled his eyes. "I don't think anything less than a nearby supernova will do that, but there's always hope." A log on the fire shifted, causing sparks to fly out of the fire, and waking up Fiona and Oliver. When they realised the position they were in, both blushed and looked away from each other. Joe managed to snap another photo, before Fiona noticed what he was doing. "Hey, stop it!" she shouted, launching herself at him. Joe laughed, and danced away, dodging her attempts to grab him. Fiona finally gave up, and sat back down, sticking her tongue out at him. He waggled his finger at her, saying, "Don't stick it out if you're not going to use it." Fiona blushed slightly, and noticeably didn't look at Oliver, but she retorted, "Who says I'm not going to?" "Oh, yes, I forgot about that midnight meeting with Snape tonight," Audrey teased. "And you were all for me going out with him." Fiona swatted Audrey playfully, who then feigned injury, and rolled about on the floor. "You're just plain evil, Miss Wild," she muttered. Fiona laughed. "Yes, I am, and don't you forget it." She picked up her quill, and inspected her Potions essay. "Only two more inches," she noted. "I'm going to get this done today. That way tomorrow is totally free." "You mean you've finished that Defence Against the Dark Arts essay?" Joe asked, incredulous. Fiona nodded absently, her eyes skimming the parchment. "I did it before detention last night." Joe turned to Oliver. "Have you done it?" The Gryffindor Quidditch Captain nodded. "I finished it at the same time." Joe shook his head. "I don't know where you two find the time. I mean, I've done it, but I didn't have a detention to go to." "Speaking of which, will you please go away and let me finish this, so I can go back to sleep before serving the second half of our sentence?" Fiona asked pointedly. Joe held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Come on, Audrey." He pulled the blonde to her feet. "Let's leave these to workaholics to themselves." Fiona and Oliver continued to work in silence, occasionally asking each other a question. Finally, the time to go to dinner arrived, and soon after that, they were entering Snape's office again. "Here are the implements you will need. The frogs have been freshly killed," Snape told them, handing them several lethal looking instruments. "Once you've excavated the brain, place it carefully into this glass jar. And, once you've finished, clean up after yourself." He left them in their cold classroom alone with what seemed like several hundred dead frogs and a glass jar. "Excellent," Oliver said sarcastically. "Still, at least we can use magic here." He demonstrated this by casting a Heating Charm on them both, stopping Fiona's shivering. "Thanks," she said gratefully. She picked up a frog dubiously, and laid it on the chopping board. "I really don't want to know how they died." "Just be thankful that they're not alive," Oliver said, as he carefully made his first incision. Fiona removed the brain intact, and placed it carefully in the jar provided. "The rest of the class had better appreciate what we've done for them." "I doubt they will, you know. We're just the misunderstood heroes," Oliver said mournfully. Fiona laughed quietly. "Yeah, right. Me maybe, but you're not. You're revered by the rest of Gryffindor for all the work you put in for the Quidditch team." "Not like any of it's showed," Oliver pointed out glumly. "Yes, it has," Fiona objected. "You've put together a brilliant team who's got the best chance of winning the Cup since Charlie Weasley left. Now, if that's not an achievement, I don't know what is." Oliver smiled. "Good to know someone has faith in me." Fiona rolled her eyes, but her smile softened the expression. "Everyone has faith in you, and the rest of the team. Don't worry, Oliver, it will happen." "You thinking of retaking Divination, Fiona?" "Yeah, because I want another fight with Trelawney three minutes into a lesson," Fiona said sarcastically. "No, this is something I can feel in my heart." She laid her clean hand over her heart. Oliver's eyes followed the gesture, and tried not to notice the swell of her breast underneath her tanned hand. "Well, in that case, it must come true," Oliver said, finally managing to tear his eyes away. Fiona returned to her work, glancing sidelong at Oliver. She'd noticed that his eyes had taken on a silver sheen when he'd looked at her, and she imagined that he'd been staring at her chest, but then she was always imagining things like that. Sighing to herself, she concentrated on getting the brains out intact, and tried to studiously ignore the presence of Oliver's body inches from hers. They continued to work in companionable silence, each engrossed in their own thoughts, which, if they had been voiced, would have taken their relationship up to the next level. As it was, both kept silent, each unsure of themselves, and content to remain frustrated. They finally finished a few minutes before midnight, and began to employ the Scouring Charm to clean the mess the frogs had made. Oliver conjured up another container to place the remains of the frogs in, since Fiona had pointed out that Snape might want to use them for something. Once the dungeon was as clean as it had ever been, the two of them delivered the brains and the frogs to Snape's office. Snape was grudgingly thankful, which surprised them both, and made Fiona look at him queerly. Oliver was convinced it was lack of sleep that was making them delirious, and that they'd imagined the remark, that, coming from Snape, was a compliment. They trudged up the stairs wearily, and stumbled into their respective shower blocks. After quick showers, both of them fell into bed, and dropped off to sleep straight away, dreaming dreams of Quidditch intermingled with ones of a much racier content.
Come along to Oliver and Fiona's Quidditch Practice, for discussion and new updates of Wood & Wild. The more the merrier.
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