Chasing Love

Chapter Thirty-Three - The Fat Lady

Oliver had become even stronger looking, he was now sixteen years old and in his sixth year, as he addressed the team there was a sense of determination in his tone. "This is one our own last chances - one of my last chances - to win the Quidditch cup." Oliver told them as he walked up and down the changing room. "I'll be leaving next year. I'll never get another shot at it. Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world, injuries and then the tournament getting called off last year." Oliver swallowed as though he still hadn't got over it. "But we also know we've got the best ruddy team in the school." He punched his fist into his other hand, "We've got three superb chasers." He pointed at Eliza, Angelina and Alicia.

"We've got two unbeatable Beaters."

"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us." Fred and George both said at the same time as they pretended to blush.

"And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!" Oliver stared at Harry with overwhelming pride and then after a few moments he added, "And me."

"We think you're very good too, Oliver!" George told him.

"Spanking good Keeper." Fred added.

"The point is." Oliver started to pace again,  "The Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally see our name on the thing."

The whole of the group stared at him sadly. "Oliver, this year's our year," Fred said to him.

"We'll do it, Oliver!" Eliza told him.

Harry then added, "Definitely."

The whole team were then full of determination, they started their training sessions, three evenings a week. The weather was getting colder and wetter, the nights became darker and even after they all got covered in mud there was still nothing that stopped them from wanting to get the huge silver Quidditch Cup.

After one of the training sessions they all made their way back up the common room where everyone was extremely happy, "What's happened?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione.

"Fist Hogsmeade weekend. End of October. Halloween." Ron told him as he pointed the bulletin.

"Excellent!" Fred said, "I need to visit Zonko's. I'm nearly out of Stink Pellets." Eliza and Fred then both sat down in the corner where they both went onto finish their homework, George then went onto join them. "Hogsmeade at Halloween George!"

"Great! We need to get more Stink Pellets."

"CATCH THAT CAT." Ron yelled loudly from across the room, George lunged for the cat but missed it.

"Bloody cat." George muttered under his breath.

"Scabbers is a pain though." Eliza replied as she glanced up from her work, "I don't know why Ron keeps it."

Eliza walked out of the entrance hall, where Filch checked her name of the long list and then out down to Hogsmeade. Suddenly, she could hear shouting from behind her, "ELIZA! ELIZA, WAIT UP!" Cedric was running after her, "Why are you by yourself?" He asked her, "I thought you were going to be with the twins."

"Just getting a head start." Eliza told him, "I'm meeting them after I've done some shopping."

"Well, can I join you?" Cedric asked her, "We haven't spent that much time together recently. Oliver's been working you too hard."

"You've been working your team too hard!"

Cedric chuckled, "I just want to win!"

"So do we." Eliza replied.

"So, is training going well?" Cedric asked. "And I am not cheating, I just interested in how it's going."

"Training  is going well." Eliza stared forward, "What about you?"

"The team are improving! They all say I am the best Captain they've had in a long while."

Eliza smiled at him, "That's good then."

"I know right." Cedric grinned happily, "I'm really looking forward to our first game, just want  to go out there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Eliza said as they walked into the first shop. "Do you remember when we went to that tea room?"

"Oh, that was such a great place." Cedric told her sarcastically. "I told the team if they did terrible then I would take them all there."

"It was better when we got to the inn though and had some butterbeer."

"I've promised to take the team there whenever we win a match." Cedric told her, "It's going to be really fun!"

"I'm sure it is." Eliza wished more than anything that she could join the twins or go back to when they first went to Hogsmeade together, "Shall we go to Honeyduke's?"

"Sure." The two of them went into the shop and began to walk around, Eliza looked at one of the jars of sweets before locking eyes with Oliver, the two stared at each before Cedric joined her, "I might buy some sweets for the team, thank them for being so good."

Eliza looked back but Oliver had already gone.

The great hall was full of candle-lit pumpkins, there was orange streamers across the ceiling that looked like a storm and all the tables were full of delicious food, Eliza and the twins filled up their plates and eat quickly so they could get more. After everyone had finished eating there was entertainment provided by the ghosts. They popped out of the wall and tables too do some formation gliding together. But the best bit was from Nearly Headless Nick, he did a reenactment of his own botched beheading causing everyone to laugh.

It was such a great evening that Eliza managed to forget the disaster of a day she had had, Cedric had talked non stop about Quidditch and it drove her mad, she had been busy trying to drink butterbeer to try and tune out her boyfriend but even that didn't stop him from boring into her mind.

Eliza, Fred and George were amongst the fellow Gryffindors as they made their way upstairs to the common room where they met a standstill as no one was moving, "What's going on?" Eliza asked the twins, "Why is no one moving?"

"Let me through, please." Percy shouted as he pushed through the crowd, "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password, excuse me, I'm Head Boy." Silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, Percy then said in a sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

A couple of minutes later, Dumbledore arrived and Eliza went up onto her tippy toes to see what was going on, the fat lady had disappeared from her portrait leaving strips of canvas littered on the floor and great chunks of it had been torn away completely. "We need to find her. Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" Peeves said.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore said causing Peeves's smile to fade, he did not dare taunt Dumbledore. "Ashamed, Your Headship, sit. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful," Peeves said in a happy tone. "Poor thing,"

"Did she say who did it?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Oh yes, Professorhead," Peeves told him, "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves flipped over and grinned at Dumbledore from between his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

Eliza stared dumfounded before turning to the boys, all three of them in shock.