#oliverence

261: OliverTerence

       Chasing his dreams takes a giant dose of courage, more than Oliver thinks Gryffindor instilled in him. Quidditch flows through his veins, but there's a big difference between House rivalries and the professional league. That's why few choose it after school.

      The first familiar face he meets is Slytherin's Higgs. Terence is just as stunned to meet him again, here at Puddlemere. He's still got that polite streak that undoubtedly still spills over onto the field, though he grumps a bit, seeing Oliver again. He's at odds with himself—how cute.

      Suddenly, Oliver's a bit more relieved to be here.

262: VictoireHannah

      They are Diagon Alley acquaintances.

      Victoire never planned on being the bride for Teddy that her family hoped she'd be. She loves being independent and managing herself, studying under Malkin's tutelage at the robe shop.

      Hannah and Neville quickly fizzled out, because romantic affections borne of war don't carry a marriage. But taking over the bar from Tom was her mad idea and she's embraced it ever since.

      Victoire's lunches and occasional dinners here with the talented Hannah lead to a relationship borne of kindness and friendship, a bond formed from constantly disappointing those around them…

      …except for one another.

263: RegulusFrank

      You only have a few years left at school. Sirius makes things at home a walk through the Forbidden Forest, and you think you can talk him into behaving. You want to finish school with your brother.

      But Sirius mostly stops talking to you, and it hurts. The Marauders look on, the Prewetts look on, and you struggle to hide yourself in your brother's shadow.

      It's Longbottom who approaches you later, a dopey smile on his round face. He doesn't ask if you need a friend, just greets you with a secret magic—a Frank Longbottom embrace.

      And it heals.

264: LunaBlaise

      It was four in the morning again. Luna knew because she'd taken to securing her watch on her wrist as well as her shoes on her feet before bed. She wondered where her sleepwalking had brought her tonight. A breeze rustled her hair. Ah—the Transfiguration Courtyard.

      "And here I thought I'd seen all the ghosts of the castle," someone murmured off to her left.

      Luna spied Blaise before he slinked out of the shadows. "I assure you I'm as real as you possibly aren't."

      He softly chuckled. "Then care for this specter to join you on your walk back?"

265: AlectoNarcissa

      The Carrow name carried a long history, long enough that Alecto had trouble making friends at school. Amycus loved her, of course, but even younger brothers didn't want to be around their sisters all the time, nor did they stand their sisters' company all the time.

      Yet…as the years went on, Alecto noted that Narcissa Black eventually stopped shying away from her in the Great Hall, occasionally came and sat beside her fellow blonde, making for a rather pleasant (quiet) meal.

      Alecto hadn't had any expectations of anyone until then. But Narcissa was a glimmer of hope for her.

266: TheodoreDraco

      "You're moping around the castle a lot lately."

      "Leave me alone, Nott. Don't raise your eyebrows at me."

      "I did nothing. Come on, Malfoy. Out."

      "What? Why? Where are we going? I mean—where are you taking me?"

      "Stop with the hostility, princeling. You need some air, and you're not going to find it in the dungeons or anywhere in the castle."

      "…"

      "…"

      "…the Viaduct? This was the best you could think of?"

      "It's got fresh air, Draco. So sue me. Just—take it in. …I won't ask what you've been doing in secret, but hopefully your jitters stop."

      "…Theodore. Thanks."

267: AmeliaAlice

      Amelia kisses Alice's hands when they rest on the grass between classes, since Hufflepuff and Gryffindor don't have much overlap in their fifth year. "Just think—another two years and we'll practically be taking over the Ministry," Amelia declares.

      Alice giggles. "Sounds good to me, Ames. You run the place; I'll keep the law and order. Let's say, by the time we're twenty?"

      Amelia barks out a laugh. When she calms, she runs a hand through Alice's short, soft spikes. "And if we don't?"

      "Then a sabbatical to warmer climates, lovely islands. Places for two. Then we conquer the Ministry."

268: HarryCedric

      At the graveyard, things go awry. The spare is never killed, and Voldemort takes Pettigrew out in frustration. Still Harry triumphs in the short term, and he brings Cedric back with him, alive and well.

      It doesn't make the following days, weeks, and months easier. Even with a golden boy like Cedric supporting Harry's claims that Voldemort's back, the Ministry deems them both crazy. On top of it all, what they witnessed and experienced that night—

      When they return to school, Harry leans on Cedric, and Cedric leans on Harry. Trauma brought them together…

      …but it's the "together" that matters.

269: PercyPenelope

      Percy wasn't used to this.

      Penny smiled from across Flitwick's classroom and surreptitiously waved at him with her quill.

      Percy blinked and produced a splotch of ink in his notes. He quickly dabbed at it, feeling his cheeks redden. He'd been allowing more and more of his waking hours to wander these days, all because of one Penelope Clearwater. But he wondered whether it was a bad thing or just… something new.

      Penny was the first time he'd ever been all right with losing focus, with being distracted, and all because of that sweet smile and those dirty–blond curls.

270: LilyLPScorpius

      Truth be told, Lily Luna didn't go out of her way to make trouble. That had always been her brother, James', role in school; there were detention records to prove it.

      But there was a pull once Scorpius became Prefect along with Al. It was too irresistible, too tempting, too much fun, making mischief, though she had to rely quite a bit on the twins' ingenuity.

      "LILY!" Scorpius finally was learning to raise his voice this year, although he turned pink in the face every time he did.

      Lily laughed. He was so adorably frazzled whenever he finally caught her…!

Remarks for—

Ch264: :3c Well, sleepwalking isn't a curse if you cross paths with someone who piques your curiosity. ;D Also, I may be American, but I guess I read enough/too much Brit & Aussie lit bc "specter" looks so wrong to me??? I wanna leave it as "spectre," *lol*.

Ch265: Re: Carrows—A very interesting mythology to read would be my fic, at last, with you.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew

               "You're not going to find anything useful in there," Terence said quietly as he read a chapter ahead in their Charms text.

               Though that snarky attitude was definitely a Slytherin quality. "Can you blame me? Maybe I can find an old move and make it into my own," Oliver remarked. He put the magazine away, anyway.

               Terence glanced up at him, his brow crinkling. "You'll beat Slytherin. You know that. You've got Potter."

               Oliver frowned. "You shouldn't be so against your own team, Ter."

               The blond wizard sighed. "What do you want me to be? Flint let Malfoy buy his way onto the team—it's true. And now I'm the bloody reserve Seeker." He closed his book and glared at Oliver. "You know what that means? It means I don't get to play. So I don't care if Slytherin loses."

               The Gryffindor whistled lowly and cupped his cheek in his palm as he leaned on the table. "It's our last year at Hogwarts. Try thinking of ways to make it memorable." He winked at the end of his sentence, and the response was a nice one. Terence eased into a smile, something Oliver hadn't seen too much of lately. But that wasn't because he always had Terence angry or annoyed with him. No, it was because—

               "Lookit that. I found the lovebirds."

               Just like that, the moment was ruined. Oliver turned with a dirty look aimed Marcus Flint's way. Marcus sat down at the table, much too close to Terence for Oliver's liking.

               Marcus sneered at Oliver. "Busy corrupting my teammate, Wood?"

               "I never corrupted him, Flint. You, on the other hand…" Oliver bristled and forgot his words as Marcus too casually draped an arm over Terence's shoulder.

               "Were you saying something, Wood?" Marcus taunted, pretending to whisper something in Terence's ear.

               Or maybe he wasn't pretending, judging by the healthy color that flooded Terence's cheeks. Oliver tried to get Terence to look at him, but he avoided the Keeper's gaze. Terence Higgs was Oliver's old friend, even if the school had separated them at age eleven. And Terence was…he was purely Oliver's. Terence had belonged to Oliver for two years, since the snake had been stripped of his Seeker title. Oliver was a shoulder for Terence, and Oliver wouldn't have it any other way.

               Even if he knew that Marcus had flirted with and propositioned Terence. He taunted Terence, saying that maybe he would let him be Slytherin's go-to Seeker once again. But their seventh year (and Marcus' eighth, because that git had decided to repeat his exams instead of just failing) was whizzing past faster than a Snitch. And Oliver hadn't seen nearly as much of Terence as he had hoped, not with Marcus still around.

               Angered enough for a whole month, Oliver let his fury propel him up out of his seat. He grabbed Terence by the wrist, and the two of them ran from the library, much to Madam Pince's dismay and Marcus' disapproval. Oliver knew Marcus would come after them, so Oliver utilized one of the castle's secret passages, the only one he could recall from the Weasley twins' boasts.

               When they stopped, they couldn't hear Marcus' footfall. Both boys were panting, and Terence leaned against Oliver's chest. "He'll be awful tonight in the common room," Terence breathed wearily.

               "Then don't go back to your common room tonight," Oliver said, catching Terence's mouth with his. When would Marcus get it? He was a Chaser, Terence was a Seeker, and Oliver was a Keeper. Marcus would be forever chasing after Terence. Terence would always seek out Oliver. And Oliver… Oliver wasn't just a keeper himself.

               He would keep Terence to himself. No sharing allowed.

X3 This reminds me why I like slash, haha, even though it's a tad odd. I also have a soft spot for Marcus/Terence, dunno why… I took liberties with Terence's year, but I think it makes sense to stick him in Ollie's year. Think of all the nom-abilities… B3

Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave an anon/unsigned review via the FFN link or comment via the AO3 link at the top of the post, especially if you enjoyed this!

~mew