Soaring Above the Pitch

"Oi! Ref, are you bloody blind? You should borrow this guy's glasses if you need them. That was clearly a penalty!" shouted Dayla from the stands at the game the next day. The glasses she was referring to belonged to the wizard sitting next to her. He was protesting the call as much as she was.

Oliver could hear her clearly from his position in front of the goal posts. He tried not to let the sound of her voice distract him, even though he fully agreed. Then again it was hard to find a referee that would call more then two penalties against the Falmouth Falcons. Puddlemere had just replaced a Chaser because the first one took a nasty spill into the stands after being slammed into by one of the Falmouth Beaters. Oliver set his position as two Falmouth Chasers were soaring in his direction. They tossed the Quaffle between them. He studied their movement quickly and carefully, observing how many tosses before they'd have to throw. One, two, three, four...

"Outstanding save by Puddlemere Keeper Wood! He sends the Quaffle down field where Panzer waits. India Panzer dodges a Bludger and Falmouth Beater Dirks. She shoots, she scores," roared the voice of the commentator.

Puddlemere was up twenty to ten.

"Wait a minute folks. I think Hurley Turner sees the Snitch."

Sure enough the Puddlemere Seeker went into a spectacular dive with the Falmouth Seeker on his heels. Oliver watched as Hurley's fingers wrapped around the Golden Snitch.

"Turner gets the Snitch! Puddlemere gets yet another victory," bellowed the joyous commentator.

Oliver joined his teammates as they celebrated their third victory in as many days. They were still being loud and joyous as they entered the locker room. Oliver showered and changed into his street clothes. Even though the team had won he really didn't feel like dealing with the fans today. Grabbing his broom he Disapparated outside, reappearing a few yards away from the pitch, away from the fans. It only took a few moments before he found Dayla, sitting on the same bench as yesterday. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly.

"Oh, Oliver, you scared me. I expected you to come charging through all your adoring fans," she said with a smirk as he sat down next to her. "By the way, you played an excellent game today."

Oliver smiled back at her, his brown eyes meeting her turquoise ones. He chuckled as he remembered her shouting during the game. "Thanks. I heard you shouting from the stands."

Dayla blushed slightly, looking down at her hands. "You did? Oh, how embarrassing!"

"Don't be embarrassed. I thought it was brilliant!" He glanced over at her with a sheepish grin. Then looked back over toward the pitch and rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell, I've been spotted."

Walking toward them, with eyes locked on Oliver, came two witches who looked almost the same age as Dayla. They were talking softly to one another until they reached the bench. One of the girls smirked at Oliver, giving him the once over.

"You played a brilliant game today, Oliver," she said, twirling her wand in front of her.

"Um, thanks," Oliver said quickly, as he glanced over at Dayla, who looked like she was going to explode with laughter.

The other girl who had obviously come with her friend for moral support was shooting nasty glances at Dayla.

"So what are you doing tonight Oliver? I heard Duncan is having party at his place. I was wondering if you were going to be there."

Oliver never knew how to respond to these girls when they hit on him so obviously. "Um, well I...I am not sure...I..."

Suddenly he felt an arm slip around his waist. His eyes looked down to see Dayla snuggling against him with a devilish smirk on her face.

"Sorry girls, I think Oliver will be a bit preoccupied tonight. But if you want an autograph or something I am sure he would be happy to sign," she said sweetly, not tearing her eyes off the two.

The first girl gave Dayla a look of utter dislike, then turned on her heel and marched back to the herd. The second girl followed her friend quickly, turning back only once to glare at them. Dayla sat up quickly after the two girls left. She smirked and laughed when Oliver looked over at her. His face once again looked bewildered as he stared at her.

"Thanks for that." But that was all he got to say before Brysten came strolling toward them.

Dayla reenacted the little incident as they walked back to the apartment. Brysten chuckled and mentioned that it had happened to him once already in his short time with the team. They all laughed and Dayla continued to make fun of them as they made their way toward the apartment.

***

Brysten unlocked the door and the three of them stepped into the apartment. Strangely enough they weren't the only ones in the room. Standing up as they walked in was a young girl with curly reddish blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Graziella!" Brysten exclaimed. As shocked as he was, he still managed to crack a smile and walked over to her giving her a hug. "What are you doing here, love?"

"If you call me Graziella again, I'll just leave," she said with a huge grin on her face.

"Fine, Ella...what you doing here?"

"I came to see you, of course!"

"As if that wasn't obvious," Dayla added with a roll of her eyes, dropping herself onto the sofa and picking up a stray copy of Quidditch Quarterly. She disappeared behind it, only the top of her ponytail was visible.

Oliver took his leave and went into his room. He rested his broomstick against the wall and threw himself on the bed. He lay just looking up at the ceiling, letting his mind wonder. That was a hell of a game today, he thought. We showed Falmouth that we aren't to be reckoned with this season. Just wait until the regular season; we'll beat them more then once this year! His mind wondered through the highlights of the game. Then he recalled the events after the game. Dayla thought you played an excellent game. She was brilliant to help you handle the situation with those girls.

His thoughts were cut short by Brysten shouting his name. "Oliver! Ella and I are going into town for awhile, so we'll see you later."

Oliver sat up and called back, "Have fun." He hear Brysten laugh as the left. He didn't think Brysten mentioned Dayla's name as one that was leaving. So it would just be him and her, alone in the apartment. He left the bedroom curious to see what she was up to. She was still sitting in the chair, where he had last seen her, reading the magazine.

"Find anything interesting in there?" he asked as he sat on the couch across her.

The magazine moved down slightly so that she was peering over the top at him. "Eh, not really."

They looked at each other for a moment. "So are you bored yet?" Oliver asked, feeling bad that her brother just ditched her, but not really minding in the least.

She nodded, setting the magazine next to her on the couch. "What did you have in mind?"

Oliver stole into his room. Much rummaging and throwing of things could be heard by Dayla in the living room. Oliver reappeared with a small box in his hand and a wide grin on his face. "Wizard's Chess!"

Dayla chuckled. "I warn you. I am no good at this game!"

The two spent the night drinking Butterbeer and playing increasingly worse games of Wizard's Chess. At midnight, when Brysten still wasn't home, they decided to call it a night. Oliver retreated to his bedroom. Dayla was sleeping on the couch for the second night in a row. She didn't mind it at all or at least that is what she told him when he asked. He sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands thinking that he had just spent a remarkable night with someone and didn't really think about quidditch. It was lucky that the team had the next day off. Oliver couldn't remember the last time he had stayed up so late.

***

The next morning Dayla woke up and left early, saying that her mother needed help around the house because their house-elf was ill. Oliver was disappointed to see her go, but she promised she would be back over the weekend.

It wasn't like he would have spent a lot time with her over the next few days anyway. Puddlemere's next four games were in Tutshill against four different teams. Oliver didn't play the first match and Puddlemere barely managed to scrape out a win against the Tornados. He was called upon to play in the second match against the Chudley Cannons. He felt like he wasn't even given a challenge. Puddlemere easily outscored the Cannons three-hundred and eighty to ten. The only goal he let in came about because the Cannon Beater pelted straight at him with his club in the air. He was distracted by this action and missed the Quaffle that was thrown toward him.

The next two matches flew by. Puddlemere lost one and won one. Oliver wasn't keeper for either of them. The coach came to him after the Cannon game and asked him if he wanted to play here or when they got back home. Oliver always enjoyed playing in the Puddlemere pitch, so that's what he chose.

The good thing about being on the road was that he had little time to think about a certain girl. The day they were heading back to Puddlemere, Brysten reminded him that she was coming to visit again. Oliver only nodded when he was told. He didn't want to seem overanxious to see her again. Brysten also mentioned that Graziella was coming too, if her parents would allow it.

The next day Oliver was slightly on edge due to the fact he was playing that night and he hadn't played in two days. Also because he knew she was coming, but they didn't know when to expect her. He spent the morning down at the pitch doing drills with Brysten.

"Come on Whitman, I've seen you fly better then that!" Oliver yelled at Brysten as he waited for him to move forward with the Quaffle.

Brysten was hovering in mid-air, slightly out of breathe, with the Quaffle tucked under his arm, from the work out. "Come off it Oliver. I'm going to be beat for the game tonight."

"Oy, Whitman! I bet you couldn't even get an apple through undefended hoops! And Wood, you couldn't make a save if he threw a troll's head at you!" a voice shouted from below.

The two boys looked down. Standing right in the center of them was Dayla smiling up at them innocently. "Hi boys!"

The two of them dismounted quickly and headed to the locker room for a quick shower. Dayla waited for them just inside the pitch, where they joined her when they were done and the three of them headed home.

***

That night at the game, Oliver made some amazing saves as Puddlemere beat Ballycastle. He had let in a few more goals then he would have liked to, but Ballycastle had put forth a good effort in the night's match. It was the closest game Puddlemere had since the beginning of the pre-season.

"Way to stay in that one team, but tomorrow I want to see a better effort." The coach was giving them their post game lecture. "Wood, I want you in the posts tomorrow. The rest of you will be assigned in morning. Have a good night." And with that he walked into his office and shut the door.

Deciding to face the crowd of fans, Oliver and Brysten left the pitch. Almost instantaneously the girls flocked to them. They signed a few autographs and took a few pictures before saying good night. They only just stepped away when they heard someone say. "Can't I just get one more picture? Puh-lease," said the pleadingly.

Oliver and Brysten turned around to where Dayla was standing. She was holding a camera in one hand. "Come on now boys, group picture! Ella, are you coming or what?" She shouted across the crowd where Graziella was trying to pick her way through.

Dayla asked one of the parents who was standing away from the crowd if she would take their picture. The woman agreed and took the camera from Dayla and waited for them to get situated. Brysten and Graziella stood with their arms wrapped around one another. Dayla moved in next to Brysten, who draped his other arm over his sister's shoulders. All that was left was for Oliver to find a place to be. He wasn't exactly sure where he fit, but that was solved quickly when Dayla grabbed his arm and pulled him in, linking her arm in his. They thanked the lady for taking the picture and the four of them headed on their way home as they always did after games. About halfway there Brysten and Graziella decided to go into town. They asked if either of the other two wanted to join them, but Oliver supposed he shouldn't and Dayla said she didn't feel like tagging along. So each group went on their separate way and once again Oliver was alone with Dayla.

***

Once more Oliver and Dayla stayed in playing games, this time Gobstones. Dayla laughed as Oliver got squirted in face with the black ink. It didn't take long before both were covered in ink as they sat on the rug in the living room. It was Oliver's turn, he moved his piece across the board and a second later a thin stream of black ink shot from the center of the piece and hit Dayla square in the eye. She gave a yelp of surprise.

"It burns," she shrieked, waving her hands in front of her face.

Oliver leapt forward and grabbed her flailing hands. "Stop moving and I'll fix it." He reached with one hand to grab his wand, which sat on the coffee table. He pointed it at her and was about to say the spell, but she interrupted.

Her cries of pain turned into a fit of laughter. "I'm fine..." she said, pushing his hands away. Then she realized the real look of concern on his face. She moved her hand onto his, which was pointing the wand at her. "Really, I'm fine. It was only a hoax." She gave a small smile as he lowered his wand.

He was slightly relieved that she was only joking. He chuckled a little bit as he reached over and wiped some of the dripping ink off her cheek. Her eyes moved from his face to floor with a shy smile as he touched her. Her hand was still resting on top of his, clenching his wand. She looked back up and into his eyes as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

One of the little Gobstones pieces ejected a jet of ink which hit both of their chins. The moment was shattered as they both moved back from surprise, wiping the ink onto the back of their hands. Suddenly, feeling extremely embarrassed, Oliver picked up the game pieces, placing them back into the box. Dayla helped him, both trying to avoid the others eyes.

"Well, I think I'll be off to bed now," Oliver muttered glancing quickly at Dayla, who had dried ink all over her face and arms.

She nodded silently as he moved toward his bedroom door. "Oliver..." she said quietly from her seat on the floor. "Is it because I look funny?"

Oliver paused, looking over his shoulder at her. She had a devilish smirk on her face. He laughed. "No, I really need to get some sleep, game tomorrow and all."

"Oh, right," she mumbled, looking disappointed, as she stood up and walked over to him. She gave him a soft kiss on the cheek before heading into the bathroom.

Oliver stood there for a moment staring at the closed bathroom door. He grinned and turned into his room, shutting the door.