Contentment

Monday came faster then anyone had wanted, and Madeline was grateful that it was finally Friday.

She was sitting in her last class of the day, Arithmancy, and she wasn't surprised that Percy was in the class with her.

They shared most of the classes together through the week, and somewhere in the middle of Wednesday, during lunch, he had asked her if they could start over, again, being the third person to apologies for Saturday.

Safe to say that she had told him yes, since they were now sitting together in the middle of the classroom.

She shared a few classes with Oliver as well, but he hadn't said anything to her throughout the week, and she didn't bother with it.  Or she tried not to.

They shared Potions, DADA, one class of History of Magic and Astronomy together. Coralina was in the first three, save for Astronomy and Madeline took the small victory that she would at least not have to watch the girl drool over Oliver in one of her classes.

That was one thing that had become clearer as day to Madeline.  Coralina was, for a lack of a better word, obsessed with Oliver.  She was constantly glued to his side, and it didn't escape Madelines notice when she'd watch the girls face turn from irritation when she was talking to someone she didn't like, to one of fondness when she'd turn her attention back to Oliver.  It was hard for Madeline to tell whether the two were dating, or if Coralina was just a lost puppy looking for love where it didn't exist. 

Oliver Wood on the other hand though. What an interesting person he was. Anytime she heard him talking with his friends, his accent jumping on words, it was about two things. Quidditch, and one guess on the second. More Quidditch.

He was Captain of the Gryffindor team. Of course he was. And Madeline hated him a little for it because she loved watching the games. It felt like home to her.  And she hated him a little more for the fact that she'd find her mind thinking about how good he'd look all decked out in Quidditch gear.  

"Hey, you still here?" Percy asked, leaning a little into her.    

"What?"

"I was asking if you wanted to come to game night tomorrow night." Huh?

"What game night?" Madeline asked, turning to face Percy who gave her a tsk followed by a cunning smile.

"Well, if you were listening, you'd know." He teased, actually teased her, and Madeline gently smacked his shoulder. "No but seriously, would you? It'll be just the seventh years in our house, in an old classroom. We've been playing since first year, and it would be nice to have you there."

Madeline considered him, wondering what kind of games they played.

"What games?" Percy's face dropped and he shook his head in embarrassment.

"Honestly, probably a little childish, but you know the muggle truth or dare game? That usually starts it off. We mostly all do the game, and then the night just goes from there."

Of course Madeline knew about truth and dare. Her whole school got Alec, a boy a year above her, to run around the school in nothing but a sheet covering his body.

It had been a bizarre night, and the faculty did not like it one bit, but what could they do? It was childish, and harmless, and as they had discovered later that night, he had pants on under the sheet anyway, loosing the dare.

"Sounds like a lot of fun." She told him in a teasing tone, smirking when Percys cheeks heated.

"You don't have to-"

"No, I'd love too. Thank you for inviting me." She quickly told him, not wanting to make him feel any more awkward and was pleased when he sighted in relief. 

"Great. I can walk with you to the classroom, if you'd like." Madeline nodded her head, refocusing on the class then.

Dinner wasn't much to her liking that night when the Headmaster announced that their Ministry of Magic was sending Dementors, in addition to the Aurors they already had, to guard the school, in case their escaped prisoner was going to show up.  Why they thought Sirius Black would want to come to Hogwarts after getting free, was beyond her. 

Ginny had introduced Madeline and Eli to her brother Ron during dinner and Madeline instantly felt at ease with Hermione. The girl emanated intelligence and kindness and compassion from the moment she had opened her mouth, and a thought came to Madeline as she realized that for the past six nights she'd been surrounded by younger kids.

She didn't mind it though, coming to really like Eli who was sweet, and Ginny who proved to be a little pit of a fire ball.

Telling Eli she'd see her in the common room in an hour or so, Madeline made her way to the Astromony tower, wanting to get a head start on her homework.

Professor Sinistra had given them a list of stars to look for, and to write down where their approximate locations were.

She expected her hour to be spent looking at her book, trying to connect the dots to see if she could see the stars that they were told to look for.  What she didn't expect though, was to walk into Oliver who was descending the darkly lit stair well.

"Shites, you alright?" Oliver asked, steadying her with firm hands so that she wouldn't fall backwards.

"Bloody hell." Madeline whispered, breathing in to try and calm her beating heart.

Oliver chuckled, letting go of her, but not taking a step back. "Trying to get a head start on the assignment?" She felt a shiver go down her spine at how close his voice sounded.

"Yes and yes."

"Well, hate to disappoint, but the sky is clouded, and I couldn't even see one star." Madeline took a step down, not wanting to crowed him.  She felt at odds at the way she reacted on Saturday. She didn't blame him for coming to his friends aid.  Hell, she couldn't blame him when she'd probably do the same. Just not for someone like Coralina. Plus, who was Madeline to him?  No one. He didn't owe her anything. 

"Right, thanks." She told him, taking another step backwards, before turning around to go back down the stairs.

"Madeline, wait." Oliver called out and she stopped in her steps, turning towards him. "Please." He added and she tried not to smirk at the way his accent was kicking in, making him sound that much more attractive in the dim light.

Oliver came down a few steps, leaning his back against the wall. "How was your first week?" She raised her brow at that.

What?

"Fine. Yours?"

"It was good. Too many assignments if you ask me, especially combined with all the Quidditch practice, but, you know. What can you do."

"Right. How are the tryouts going?"

She saw him lean away from the wall. "Fine, I guess. We only have a few spots we need filled, but there are some promising players. Have you ever played?"

Madeline shook her head, and realized that he probably had as hard of a time seeing as she had in the darkly lit stairway. "No, but I love to watch the games. The thrill of everyone so high up, it's amazing."

Oliver chuckled at that. "You like to watch the games?" He asked in a teasing voice, and Madeline shifted on the stairs, not understanding the situation. He was teasing, but he had a girlfriend. At least that's what it looked like. Although she never actually seen the two of them act chummy, she told herself. Maybe she was putting thoughts about the two of them into her head because it would make it easier to not want to get to know him.   

"No." She told him. "Not like, love. I love them."

Oliver sighed in satisfaction. "That's good to hear. We love a good Quidditch game around here." Oliver told her, coming down to her step.

Too, fucking, close. Madeline thought when she could practically smell him. He even smelled nice.

Fuck.

"Hey, I really am sorry about last Saturday."

Madeline shook her head. "Water under the bridge." She told him and could barely make out his smile. They were sharing the same step and all she could think about was how good he smelled.

"Thank you. And I'm sorry about what I said. I wasn't trying to make any excuses for Lina, but thinking about the way I said things, it did sound like it."

Madeline shook her head again, taking a step down. He was too close. And he didn't need to apologize. 

"It's all good." She told him, and Oliver stepped down to her. "Wood, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean."

She raised her brow again. She'd never raised her brows this much until she'd come to Hogwarts.

"Never mind. I should get going."

A small, awkward silence filled the stairwell, and Madeline wasn't sure why she hadn't moved. He was taking steps down to her because he probably wanted to leave, but she was holding him back.

Gods.

"Oh, sure, yeah." Oliver told her, and she was sure that she heard disappointment in his voice. "Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask you. Are you free tomorrow night? There is this thing we seventh years do once in a while. Game night? Umm..." Oliver trailed off and Madeline smiled, enjoying his slight awkwardness despite telling herself not to.

"Percy invited me."

"Oh. You two friends?" Oliver asked and Madeline felt a shiver run down her spine at the way his tone changed at the word friends.

"I think so. I mean, yeah. I guess."  She made a face, feeling her neck heat.  She didn't know why she was being so awkward. 

"Right. I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then." Oliver told her and Madeline took another step down, taking this as her dismissal.

"Sure Wood."

"Oh, also, Lina isn't my girlfriend." Madeline turned her head again, not really understanding. The girl was always around him, and sure, one could assume that they were just friends, but Coralina didn't act like they were. "You had called her my girlfriend, or rather my girl, the last time we talked, and she's not. We're just friends."

"Right." Madeline said, suddenly feeling a weight drop off her shoulders. "Does she know that?"

Oliver chuckled, and she really liked the way it sounded.

"She does. We've been friends since first year, but she's not my type. At all. Just thought I should put that out there." Oliver told her, brushing his hand against her side as he walked by her, heading down the stairs.

"See you in the common room." Oliver said, and Madeline was left standing there, alone and fucking confused.

What did he suppose was going to happen now that he's put that out there? Was she supposed to jump for joy that he wasn't dating the fake little witch?

Deciding to go up to the tower anyway, Madeline sank against one of the walls, not really thinking about anything except that Oliver Wood was single. But so was she. No one even knew that she had a boyfriend when she got here, or that she thought that she had one. And now she couldn't use him dating Coralina as an excuse to ignore the damn butterflies she got whenever her eyes found him.  

He was single and nice looking.

Fuck.

And she really liked his voice.

Double fuck. 

And the way his voice sounded when he laughed? Genuine and inviting?

Tripple, well, you get it.  Fuck.