The Keeper

Chapter 16

The songs I listened to are Tear In My Heart by Twenty One Pilots, Over And Done With by The Proclaimers and Songbird by Oasis.

*

Focus. That's all I needed to do. Focus.

Gryffindor took possession first, their chasers swooping effortlessly across the pitch. I marked Angelina as she flew along the side of the pitch. I decided to dip lower to try and make Katie pass. She did, and I shot up to intercept.

I gripped the quaffle, blocking out the cheers of the Ravenclaw spectators. Sasha flew into my line of sight, unmarked, so I hurled the quaffle at her. She caught it easily. Liam and I flanked Sasha as she neared the goals. At the last minute, she threw it to Liam, who took a shot.

But Oliver appeared out of thin air, spinning to whack the quaffle away from his broom. He smirked at me and I rolled my eyes playfully, before flying off to chase the quaffle.

The game was intense. Scoring happened nearly every minute at extremely high paces. It reached the point where I was desperate for someone to catch the snitch. Preferably our seeker.

Two chasers were hot on my tail. I didn't dare turn around in case I lost control. I was nearing the goals. Sasha was quite far to my right. Although she was open, I knew it would be too risky to pass that far. It was now or never.

I leaned forward, flying faster than I had ever done before. Oliver hovered around the goals, eyes fixed on me. My next move was fundamental. I took a deep breath and poised my arm. I noticed Oliver tense. At the last moment, I dove to the left, praying Oliver's reactions couldn't keep up.

I threw the quaffle as hard as I could to the goal and...it went in.

"10 points to Ravenclaw!" Lee Jordan declared, with a hint of disappointment in his tone.

I raised my fist and cheered. I had scored before, but against a keeper as wonderful as Oliver? Never. I turned to face him. He clapped politely and I laughed as I dived back into the game.

We were ahead by 50 points when I heard the whistle blow.

"Richard Steer has caught the snitch! Ravenclaw wins!" Lee announced. He suddenly sounded more solemn than usual.

In an instant, the Ravenclaw team gathered together, Richard and Sasha in front, to fly a victory lap around the pitch. I was ecstatic!

All of the Ravenclaw students were cheering, waving scarves and banners in the air. Slytherin joined in, happy to see Gryffindor beaten.

Felicity, one of our beaters, threw her arm around my shoulder as we flew. I turned and saw her face bright red from joy.

"We won!" she exclaimed. "We won! We beat Gryffindor!"

There were no words to explain my emotions so I laughed with her. It wasn't until I looked back at the ground that my happiness started to diminish. Oliver was walking slowly off the pitch, shoulders slightly hunched. I swallowed.

*

When we returned to the common room, we were swamped by an overjoyed group of students. They were adamant on congratulating us all. Even people who couldn't care less about quidditch would say well done. I felt myself swelling with happiness and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

Sasha ran up to me. "We won!" she yelled, pulling me into a hug.

I squeezed her back. "I can't believe it!"

"You played so well," Sasha said as we separated. "It was incredible. I'm so glad you're on the team. It makes all of the stress and planning worth it."

"Thanks so much," I replied. "And we really would've lost without you're amazing captaining. Sure, we all played great but you pulled us together."

She opened her mouth but closed it after a second. Her eyes were focused on something behind me. "It's Oliver," she explained. "I know how disappointed he is after losses. You should go talk to him."

Before I could speak, Sasha spun me around and pushed me towards him. He noticed me and smiled weakly.

"Congratulations," he said. He sounded sincere, which I knew must've been hard. "You played so well."

"Thank you. Hey, I know you're sad so you don't have to pretend," I said, refusing to make eye contact.

Oliver chuckled quietly. "While I may be overcompetitive and therefore disappointed, I can still genuinely feel happy for you. Because you played amazingly today. I was so impressed."

I finally gathered the courage to meet his eye. "You honestly think so?"

"I do."

"I managed to score against the famed keeper Oliver Wood so I guess I'm at least above average," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood and cheer him up.

"True. Anyone who scores against Oliver Wood should be considered for an award," he added.

I laughed.

"But I mean it," Oliver said. He paused and I looked into his eyes. "I'm happy for you."

"Oliver!"

I whipped my head to the side. It was Gillian. My stomach fell. I was having a moment, I was connecting with Oliver, which was a rare occurrence.

"Hi," he said flatly.

"Sorry about your loss," she cooed, resting her hand on his shoulder. I clenched my jaw. "Gryffindor were amazing, as usual!"

"Thanks."

"Y/N, so proud," Gillian continued. "You even scored against this guy! Incredible."

Neither of us replied.

"Sorry," she said, "did I interrupt something?"

Oliver cleared his throat and moved to stand closer to me than Gillian. "Actually, I was about to ask Y/N if she wanted to come to Hogsmeade with me."