There's More To Me... There's Her

.:(~» Prologue «~):.

=From the Author, Oliver Wood=

Looking back on it now, the moment I remember the most vividly was the day long ago... well, the day Gryffindor won the Quidditch House Cup. I know, you're probably thinking, 'What? That was back in the olden days! Stop living in the past, you stupid prat!' I can't help it--that day was just too glorious. And it's not like it was too long ago... just about... five years, tops.

So maybe it was a while back. It's still something to remember.

It's like it just happened yesterday, really...

As I saw Harry grab that Snitch as he had done so many times before, it's like everything else in the world didn't matter--or didn't exist. For one glorious moment, my heart stopped beating. The Cup was ours. About a second or two later, my senses kicked back in and I sped over to young Potter, the rest of the Gryffindor Team following suit.

It was pure ecstasy. I couldn't help but cry. Now, of course I felt like an idiot, blubbering in front of everyone and all, but man... I was so happy, I felt I could care less. We had the Cup. It was ours. The Cup was Gryffindor victory that was to be put in the trophy case in the castle for the next generation of students to admire.

But...as I looked around at the cheering sea of students, something was missing. I didn't know what it was until I saw Percy and his girlfriend Penelope hugging, jumping up and down, and shouting at the same time. So that was it. I had the moment, the Cup, the winning team... but no significant other--no one to share it with, no one to gush about it with for the next couple of weeks.

I didn't think much of it--I mean, Gryffindor had the Cup! And at that time, I couldn't be bothered about not having a special someone.

But then... I saw a girl. A girl with a face that held so much happiness, I was almost certain it matched the unsurpassing joy I had inside. For a minute my eyes lingered on her--but then I remembered just who she exactly was.

Hermione Granger.

Aye, she was a Third Year. Four years younger than I. Age-wise, it wasn't a big gap, but the space between our years at Hogwarts... No, I couldn't pursue Hermione, no matter how pretty she looked.

I mean, honestly... if I did anything of the sort, I'd be looked on as a 'romancer of the young.' And besides, I had a rep. Not a big one, but a reputation all the same. Everywhere I went, there was a small gathering of girls, giggling madly. Every time I passed them, they'd chirp, "Hi, Oliver!" and I'd have to reply back with, "Hello." And somehow, that would make their day. They'd squeal, one would faint, and another would burst into a laughing fit.

I never even knew who they were... they weren't even in my year. But, it was refreshing to know that Hermione wouldn't ever be like that.

However, all that set aside, I could never figure out why the girls in my year were never attracted to me like the younger age group were. I mean, was I only appealing to the preteens? I shudder to think.

I like to think that that day, I changed. My attitude about school changed. Somehow, for some reason, found myself wanting to excel in school. Wanting to impress Hermione was more like it. All this resulted in my hourly stays in the library, half studying, and half trying to just glimpse her. I remember feeling like such a weenie--me, Oliver Wood, spying on Hermione Granger, a thirteen-year-old? I began to wonder how low I would get... would I be eyeing eleven-year-olds tomorrow?

Hah. Like that would ever happen.

Now, graduation was slowly approaching. My time with Hermione was numbered. And she never even knew who I was, much less how I felt.

Well, okay, she did know who I was. She knew I was Oliver Wood, Captain of the Gryffindor Team, and a Seventh year at Hogwarts, the school she attended. But, that's it. That wasn't me. She didn't know how clumsy I was when off the broomstick, nor did she know how much I despised steak and kidney pudding--even though I've never tried it. It was the name that sort of turned me off. Steak and kidney? Why?

But that's beside the point. The fact of the matter is that she had no idea who I was as a person. No idea. And I never gave her the chance to give her some sort of clue--am inkling of some sort that would tell her I wasn't just obsessed with Quidditch. There was more to me than that. I knew and was interested in plenty of other things...

I never did tell her anything of the sort. I never did talk to her. Maybe beforehand, it was always a simple 'Oh hey there' every now and then, but that was it. The only regret I had after graduation.

So now, here's my story. A story about how I tried to change all of that--I am, after all, a determined person. You will read a lot of things about me that you didn't know--my tragic accidents due to clumsiness, my loony family back in Glasgow, and that pesky dog my neighbor has that's always stealing my socks and trousers from the clothesline out in the backyard.

Think of it as an effort for you to get to know me--after all, Hermione had no idea about anything like that until five years after I had left the school.

I do hope you enjoy it--it's my last shred of dignity.