Annie sighed and draped herself over Lee's lap, humming as he ran his hand through her hair.
George looked bored out of his mind from his position on the floor in front of the hearth. He was on his back and tossing up a ball; it was the most quiet Annie had seen him.
"You're awfully silent this evening" she remarked, turning her head towards the boy.
"M'bored" he mumbled.
"I'm sure Freddie and Daisy will be back soon enough..." Annie trailed off as Oliver Wood descended the stairs of the boys dorm, striding across the common room and walking out of the portrait hole, "have you ever noticed how nice the quidditch robes are? I think they're rather fitting."
George and Lee let out matching groans.
"What?"
"You're obsessed with him"
"Am not-"
"Are too." Lee tapped her forehead lightly, before going back to his book. Annie swiped at his hand and turned so she was facing away from him.
"Heard about the picture on the nightstand-"
Annie and George's heads shot up, Annie smacking her head on Lee's book with a loud thwack and a yelp.
"Ow!" She held her head in her hands, wincing, while George looked on gleefully.
"What picture Anniekins?" The boy scooted closer as the girl glared Lee down.
"I told Maisie not to tell anyone!"
"Wasn't Maisie-so it's true then?" Lee gave her a shit eating grin, George matching it.
As Annie was about to complain further, the portrait hole opened to Fred and Maisie, linked at the arms, holding their stomachs as they cackled, out of breath, leaning into each other.
"Did you-" Maisie got out, giggling halfway through.
Fred let out a loud guffaw and nodded, "And he!-" Maisie let out a whoop.
"Oh-that was good!"
It took them a moment to calm down, before realizing they had an audience.
"What's got you two so chummy?" Lee asked, brow raised.
"Who are you and what have you done with Fred and Maisie?" Annie narrowed her eyes, pointing an accusing finger at them, "why aren't you yelling at each other?!"
"Detention was brilliant!" Fred broke off from Maisie and joined George on the floor, grabbing the ball from him.
"Oi-"
"It was hilarious!" Maisie collapsed on top of Annie and Lee, who both whined about being squished.
"You alright Wannie?-"
"Don't change the subject-"
"Just glad you're not at each other's throats" Lee mumbled, pushing the girl off. Maisie landed on the floor with a thud.
"Rude-"
"You were squishing me" he shrugged, before going back to his work.
Maisie got up, losing a shoe in the process, before traipsing over to the big, comfy chair, and plopping herself down with a grin. Annie pinched Lee's elbow, before resting her head on his shoulder.
"Mixed signals" he sighed, before patting her head.
George whispered something to Fred, and the boy looked over at Annie with a grin.
"Oh Wannieeeee" Fred called in a sing song tone.
"Whatever it is, I don't wanna hear it-"
"I heard a rumour-"
"Don't you dare-"
"About a lovely little picture on your bedside-"
Annie lunged at the twins, the two scrambling to get up before the shorter girl landed on Fred and managed to get him in a headlock.
"Off! Off!-"
"I was the last to know-"
"You b-" George managed to pry her off his brother. She turned to Maisie, who held up her hands in defense.
"Wasn't me."
Annie took a moment, before looking towards the dorms, "Alicia" she hissed, before stalking upstairs.
Maisie ran after her, only to stop when a barrage of yelling came from the first year girl's dorms.
"Oh dear-" she rushed into the room.
                                      ⋆⋆⋆
Annie arrived at the table with a split lip the next day, grumbling as she reached for her eggs. Everyone had kept their distance that morning, Fred and Maisie whispering to each other, while George and Lee took turns taking glances at Annie.
"She looks worse, I'll tell you-"
"That's because you barreled into the room and gave her a black eye-" Angelina walked past her, "which, was a little much, even for you..."
"Where's Leesh now?" George asked, mouth full of eggs.
"She's refusing to come down. She's fine, though. Pomfrey fixed her up good and well." She took a seat next to Annie.
"Ben!" George called, relieved, as the curly haired girl approached them. She gave a shaky wave and a small smile, before sitting next to him.
"Hello Georgie"
"Hey-"
"Hello Mais-well, that's a new development" Bennett motioned to Maisie and Fred, still deep in conversation.
"And-Annabelle, what happened to your lip?" Her brows furrowed.
"You should see the other guy-"
"Who's currently hiding in our dorm-don't give me that look, she is."
"What happened?"
"Long story, we'll tell you later" Lee Answered, "Hello Bennett"
"Hello-"
"BENNETT" Maisie nearly lunged over the table to Hug the girl, "I've missed you so!"
"I've missed you too" Bennett chuckled, "oh you're getting eggs all over your uniform, Maisie."
"I shall ask auntie Cel to clean me up, I don't mind-how are you this morning?"
"I'm alright," Bennett patted her friend's back before pulling away with a smile.
George was giving Fred an odd look, before Fred pulled something out of his pocket, capturing his attention.
Annie turned to Lee, "you sleep well last night?"
Lee gave her a grin, "I've got noise blockers. Like a baby. And you?"
"Ehh, I've had better-Alicia snores like an elephant-"
Lee snickered, "does she really?"
"Aye," Annie rolled her eyes, "wish I had noise blockers-"
"Lay off her a little" Angelina nudged her lightly."
"But I don't sound like an elephant-"
"Better not let her hear you sayin that. Remember last time..."
"What last time?" Lee asked, interested.
"Annie and Leesh ended up in a full on argument the other day because Annie was being a prat...again."
"I was not being a prat! Not that time!-"
"There's been more times?-" Lee's brow lifted
"You were being a prat" Angelina chuckled, before filling up her plate with food.
                                       ⋆⋆⋆
Annie and Bennett held Maisie's hands as they walked away from their flying lesson, both giving her concerned looks.
"It wasn't that bad!" George tried to lighten the mood, but even Fred gave him a look, "oh you're just mad Annie beat you in a race-"
"She cheated-"
"Did not!" Annie whipped her head back to look at Fred, "I'm just faster-"
"You started early-"
"You started late!" Annie tossed a pebble at him, hitting him in the head.
"Oi!"
George grabbed the back of Fred's robes as he lunged for the smaller girl, Annie screeched and hid behind Maisie and Bennett.
"Don't want another detention" Lee took Annie's hand, "you've both already lost us points"
"Points are stupid anyway" Annie grumbled,
"Won't be so stupid when we win a house cup"
"And what exactly do we win?!"
"A trophy"
"Pathetic." Annie turned back to Maisie, "you feel alright enough for lunch?"
Maisie perked up a little, "I think so."
                                      ⋆⋆⋆
Maisie stared at her plate, moving her fork around, playing with her food.
"Not hungry?" Bennett asked, sliding over a cup of tea. Maisie shook her head and picked it up before taking a sip.
"Thanks"
"Anytime."
"I rather like Quidditch, I do" Annie stuffed her sandwich in her mouth, "worked up quite an appetite"
"Well, obviously, you're good at it" Lee stole a potato wedge from her plate, avoiding her smack.
"Off!-It always seemed fascinating, from the little me mam let us see-"
"Us? You've got siblings?"
"One sibling, he's two years younger-"
"So is ours!" George grinned, "S' he magic too?"
Annie nodded, "much to the surprise of me da."
"What's he like?" Fred rested his chin on his hand.
"Annoying, pain in my arse...not much else to him."
"Aren't any siblings?"
"I guess so, he just cries a lot" everyone gave Annie a look, "what?"
"Says the girl who cries every other day" George snickered, "pot, meet kettle"
"Oh you're oh so very funny" Annie sneered at him, before taking a large bite of her sandwich.
"How are you trolls doin?" Charlie Weasley sat next to Fred and George, accompanied by two Hufflepuff girls and a boy, who swept Maisie into his arms gracefully and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Afternoon, cousin-"
"Why is this the first time we're meeting your cousin?-" Fred asked, brows raised.
"I am an enigma, dear Frederick." The boy answered, setting his cousin down and squeezing between her and Annie.
"Sure, an enigma is what he is" the neon haired girl remarked, smirking down at her food.
"Needn't mind our dear Tonks, cousin, she's a grumpy one-and to think I was going to give you my pudding today, tsk tsk, I guess it's for Arlie now."
The girl with the bob-Arlie, smiled sweetly at him.
"You know just the way to a girl's heart, Aurelius"
"I try-"
"Why are you sitting here today? Shouldn't you be sitting at their table?" Fred asked, turning his attention to Charlie and blocking his plate from his older brother.
"Felt like a change of scenery today." Charlie smiled charmingly.
"You just wanted to bug them, admit it" Arlie laughed, "although, it'll be much harder to avoid my brother here."
"Brother?" Annie asked, "who's your brother?"
"Oliver Wood" Annie's eyes widened.
"You said the buzz words-" Lee snickered, cut off by Annie's elbow jabbing him lightly in the ribs.
"Well, if you're a good listener, I'm sure he'd love to talk" Arlie chuckled again, smiling at the first year.
"Speak of the devil-" Charlie muttered, as the boy in question entered the great hall, practically lighting up as he saw the redhead.
"Weasley!" He rushed over, inserting himself in between Charlie and Tonks, earning a groan from the girl.
"Every time" she mumbled, eyes rolling.
"Just brings us closer together, darling" Arlie wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulder before going back to her food.
"I've been practicing-" Oliver started, starry eyed as he looked up at Charlie.
"I've noticed, great work, Wood" Charlie clapped the boy on the shoulder and the grin Oliver gave him looked as if it threatened to split his face in two. Aurelius let out a chuckle.
"Dearest Olliekins-" the boy groaned, "no hello for the rest of us?"
Annie perked up as Oliver surveyed the table, giving them all a quick wave before turning his attention back to Charlie.
"I-"
"Ollie, did ma send you anything today?" Arlie asked, leaning over Tonks to speak. Tonks let out a huff and sat back in her seat.
"No-"
"Well, I suggest you check the owlry then, it's probably there-heard something about qui-" the boy was up before she finished her sentence, speeding out of the great hall.
"You've got ten minutes. Tops." Arlie chuckled as Charlie let out a sigh of relief. Aurelius raised a brow at her.
"Tsk tsk."
Annie's shoulders slumped. Arlie reached over to pat her shoulder.
"S'alright little one, he'll be back" she chuckled.
"Are you lot going to the game Saturday?" Charlie asked, attempting to steal something from Fred's plate.
"Not if you're going to steal my food."
"If I don't steal your food?"
"We'll consider it."
"A match?" Annie's face brightened.
"Yes, watch our lovely Charlie beat out the other players with his handsome charm and rugged looks." Aurelius quipped as Charlie smiled.
"And Oliver will be there" Arlie whispered to Annie.
"Who are we playing?" Maisie asked.
"Us" Arlie smirked, before turning to Charlie, "see if any of your players can get much past me."
"They will"
"I dunno bout that, mate" Tonks snickered, "she's been running us ragged, she has."
"And aren't we better for it?" Arlie winked at her.
"All I am is tired, my plate is looking more and more like a pillow."
                                     ⋆⋆⋆
The days came and went, and before they knew it, it was the first match of the season: Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff.
Annie could barely sleep, rising with the sun before pounding on Maisie's bed.
"Psst!"
"Ah! Oh, Annie, what?" Maisie woke with a start, nearly shoving her friend off the bed.
"Sorry-what?" She yawned, rubbing her eyes and squinting at Annie.
"It's the match today!" Annie bounced excitedly, jostling the girl on the bed.
"Cool! What time is it?"
"Uh-" Annie looked at the clock at her bedside, "six?"
"Wake me up in two hours then" Maisie gave her a tired smile before waving her off and pulling her covers over her head.
Annie pouted for a moment, before walking towards Angelina's bed.
"Don't even think about it" a soft voice called from behind the curtain.
Annie groaned, before opening her trunk and pulling out her warmest socks and heaviest jumper. Once she was dressed for the day, she tip toed down the stairs book in hand-she was far too excited to sleep, so she figured she could catch up on some homework. As she approached the bottom stairs, she froze; Oliver Wood and Percy Weasley were sat on the couch. The ginger had his head buried in a book, spectacles balancing precariously on the tip of his nose, while Oliver was muttering to himself, sketching something furiously on a piece of parchment.
Annie dropped her book, the loud thud disturbing the silence of the morning. Her cheeks burned as the two boys heads snapped in her direction.
"Sorry!" She scrambled to pick her book up, before moving to a table at the opposite end of the room. Soon enough, the two went back to her work, and she opened her book.
In the hour that passed, she got absolutely nothing done, glancing every once in awhile at the two boys on the couch, eyes lingering in the quidditch player.
As they left to go to breakfast, Lee Jordan stumbled down the stairs, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
"Annie?"
"Hmm?" She looked up as he approached the table.
"What're you doing up so early?"
"Too excited."
"I can see that" he chuckled, and sleepily wrapped his arms around her in greeting, before slumping into the chair next to her.
"What are you up to?"
"Studying. Charms." Lee peered over her shoulder at the book.
"Studying the table of contents?" A smile tugged at his lips, "Now that I remember, I did see a pair of quidditch robes slip out the portrait hole as I came down. Have a fun time with your view? No wonder you didn't get anything done.-"
"I did get something done-"
"What-"
"The book's open, isn't it?"
Before Lee could answer, Annie sighed heavily and rested her head on her book.
"I made such a fool of myself Lee, I don't know how I can-"
"Did you talk to him?"
She shook her head, "worse-I interrupted his planning!" She buried her face into her elbow and groaned.
"I'm sure you're fine, you've done much worse before" Lee ruffled her hair with another chuckle.
"Don't laugh at my pain" she freed a hand to blindly smack his hand away, "I'm in distress."
"Get some food in you and then see how you feel"
Annie opened her mouth to argue, but was cut off by a barrage of voices.
"Whooo! Charlie!" The excited chants of Fred and George echoed through the common room as Charlie Weasley stumbled downstairs, attempting to free himself from the grasp of his younger brothers.
"Off! Off! I've got to eat!" He managed to push George off, the boy sprawled on the last step, but Fred held on.
"Avenge me!" George yelled as Fred wrapped his gangly body tighter around his older brother's leg.
"You will pay for this betrayal!"
"Oi! Quiet!" A prefect appeared and scowled at the twins, "get off your brother!"
Charlie used this distraction to pull out his wand as Fred's teeth clamped down on his leg.
"You little-"
"Revenge, dear brother-"
"Off!" Charlie waved his wand, and his brother was propelled back, stopping with a thud at the couch.
"Ow!" Charlie threw him a rude gesture before rushing out the portrait hole.
George helped Fred up before the two were berated by the very tired, and very irritated prefect.
Annie and Lee watched the scene, amused smiles on their faces, until the prefect left.
"You been practicing with your picture at your bedside this morning?" George teased after the twins sat across from them.
"Wax poetry about dear Oliver?"
"Well-" Lee started, but cut himself off as Annie's elbow jabbed into his side.
"Not another word from you"
"And here I was, being nice to you-"
"I am being antagonized-by all of you-"
"I'm being genuine-" Lee started
"I'm not"
"I'm not-"
"You're all horrible-"
"Ahoy lads!" Maisie greeted them, traipsing over to the table and sitting next to Annie.
"Morning Maisie"
"Morning"
"Good Morning Maisie!"
"Oh thank Merlin you're here-"
"You see Ollie this morning?" Annie nodded.
"Ooohoo you're leveling up from the picture-ouch!" Fred yelped as Annie kicked his shin under the table.
"Restrain her! she's rabid!"
                                     ⋆⋆⋆
The five managed to make it to the great hall, meeting Bennett there, before digging in, Annie barely looking at her plate in order to look down the table at Oliver.
"Annie, eat your food. Your lap's catching more than your mouth." Lee wiped at her chin with his napkin as eggs spilled down the front of her clothes.
Bennett waved her wand and the mess had cleaned.
Over at the Hufflepuff table, Charlie Weasley was teasing Arlie Wood.
"Ready to lose?"
"You think your chasers can get anything past me?"
"I'm more talking about your seeker-"
"Cedric is just fine-thank you."
"Sure. You keep thinking that-" he chuckled as she swatted at his arm.
"When is the match again?" Angelina leaned over to get Annie's attention.
"What?"
"Match? Time?"
"Ten." Annie looked down at her plate and focused on taking a bite. Lee looked satisfied and went back to his food.
"Are you going to get there early?" Annie nodded.
"I hear they let us in the stands around half nine."
"I'm sure we will be there bright and early then" Fred garbled through a mouthful of eggs, "either by Annie's insistence or Charlie letting us see him"
"You really think he'd let you in the tent? After the show this morning?" Annie raised a brow.
"Needn't you worry-just basic sibling banter!"
"How's yer head?" She laughed as the boy rubbed the spot where he'd hit it that morning.
"Nothing to write home about. Sure Charlie will let us in either way-our first time seein him play!"
"You tell us how that goes then"
                                       ⋆⋆⋆
The group pushed forward to the front of the stands, Lee catching the back of Annie's robes as she leaned a little too far over the edge, pulling her back beside him before the two settled on the bench.
"You seen the twins?" Maisie asked, pulling Bennett to sit next to her.
"No, but I did hear ole Charles goin on about his bloody baby brothers" a voice came from behind them as Aurelius squeezed between Annie and Maisie. Maisie squealed in delight and wrapped her arms tightly around him.
"Aurelius! Good of you to join us!"
"Well, everyone id normally sit with is playing today, so I figured I'd join you lot. Seems I'm not alone in my desire to sit outside my house" he nodded to Bennett, "goodmorning Bennett."
"Morning, Aurelius."
Annie held onto Lee's hand as she peeked over at the field.
"When do you think they'll be out?"
"Not for a while, my dearest Annabelle" Aurelius slung an arm around the girl's shoulders, "but it is quite a show, when they do."
"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up as she listened intently to him rambling on about the opening antics of each quidditch game.
Fred and George sat next to Lee, Fred grumbling about how Charlie was 'an ungrateful prat' and how he and george had 'risked their necks to wish their brother luck.'
"You'll see him after the game, yeah?" Lee grinned, knocking Fred's shoulder with his lightly, "I'm sure he'll appreciate your efforts then"
"Speaking of luck-" Maisie pulled out an armful of flags and passed them down the line, all decorated with various names. Aurelius snatched the three with his friends' names on it, while Annie was handed one with 'Wood' scrawled in gold glitter.
"Oh Daisy, this is grand!" She held it to her chest, before pulling back to look at it again in awe.
                                     ⋆⋆⋆
The sharp ring of a speaker cut through the crowd, disrupting the chatty students.
"Hello all, and welcome to another exciting Quidditch season" the speaker droned, voice void of any excitement.
"Uriah is commenting again?" Aurelius whined, glaring up at the speaker stands.
"Uriah?" Lee asked, attention peaked.
"A dreadfully boring commentator, doesn't appreciate the art of the game." The older student sighed, and directed his attention towards the field.
"How did he get the job anyways?"
"Filled in for our last one, who left early. Games just haven't been the same. No excitement, no invigorating commentary. It's as bad as listening to Snape drone on and on about some special plant. And no one has volunteered to take his spot-"
"How would one do so?"
"Why, Mr. Jordan, are you interested in filling the position?" Aurelius turned to him with a wide grin, hand perched under his chin.
"Well-" Lee was cut off by an excited roar of the crowd as the Gryffindor team was announced.
Fred, George, and Annie nearly shot out of their seats, arms flailing, flags waving, loud whoops coming from their mouths as they cheered for their team. Aurelius tugged on the back of Annie's robes as she leaned too far forward again.
"Annie, you're going to fall"
"It would be for a worthy cause!" She started waving her flag around again.
"You can't cheer him on with a cracked skull-"
"I can very well try!-"
"The game hasn't even started-" Aurelius cut himself off with a whoop as the Hufflepuff team flew onto the field, Cedric and Arlie leading the team out.
                                         ⋆⋆⋆
Gryffindor was losing-horribly, purely because Oliver had been hit with a bludger and had been sent to the infirmary in the first five minutes, stopping the game for a good while while Arlie berated her beater.
"Ah, this is becoming a tradition" Aurelius mused.
"A tradition?" Maisie asked.
"Someone is always sent to the infirmary the first game of the season. Oliver holds that position for the second season in a row. Dont wanna know how that has affected his brain."
Annabelle had nearly fled the stands, but Lee kept her there, reminding her the game would probably be over soon; and it was.
Tonks was making goal after goal, flipping off Charlie once and getting a foul, Arlie blocked nearly every try the Gryffindor team made, and Charlie was wandering around, clearly distracted.
"And he said he was great" George mumbled.
"It's like watching a train wreck" Fred peered out from where his hands were covering his face. Percy smacked them on the backs of their heads and hissed
"Show some moral support for your brother!"
"When did you show up?"
"Yeah, you're not the boss of us-"
"He's caught the snitch!" Aurelius cried, pointing to where the Diggory boy was looking at his outstretched arm in awe.
"I thought quidditch would be more fun"
Maisie pouted, as she stood up, ready to leave.
"Maybe next time" Bennett patted her arm softly.
Annie was out of the stands quickly, pulling a surprised Lee behind her.
"We should visit him, shouldn't we?"
"Check in on him later, Annie, you probably won't have a chance to talk to him-"
"I'm feeling a little feverish, don't you think?"
Lee guffawed, "you're mental!"
"I'm feeling a little faint" Annie collapsed dramatically in Lee's arms, causing the two to stumble backwards a bit.
"Carry me to the infirmary?"
"What do I get if I do?"
"My charms homework answers for a fortnight"
Lee thought for a moment, and hooked his arm around her waist and her arm around his shoulders.
"You've got a deal"
"Have I ever told you that you're my favorite?" Annie leaned heavier against him, feigning illness, as the two limped to the castle.
                                         ⋆⋆⋆
Annie had actually, accidentally given herself a concussion on the way up, dedicating too heavily to the bit and smacking her head against a pillar.
Lee actually carried the half conscious girl to the infirmary, dropping her in the bed set next to the passed out Quidditch player.
"A month of charms" Lee whispered.
"You look funny" Annie giggled and pressed her finger to his forehead, "why are there two of you-"
"Madame Pomfrey!" The woman shooed him away and checked on Annie, giving her some pink colored potion before setting her head back down.
"Shouldn't be here longer than today-although, you should refrain from doing too strenuous thinking activities these next few days."
"Needn't you worry, Madame Pomfrey" Lee smiled, "we'll make sure she doesn't"
Aurelius, the twins, Maisie, and Bennett entered the infirmary, Aurelius heading to where his friends were huddled around Oliver, and the rest around Annie.
"That's dedication, that is" Fred whispered as he got close enough to speak.
"You really went for it. It's admirable." George grinned down at her.
"Too loud" Annie grimaced, shoving her hand in his face to push him away.
They all chatted for a while, Fred and George testing out Annie's reflexes, until Madame Pomfrey shooed them away, insisting she get some rest.
                                        ⋆⋆⋆
Annie turned to her side to see Oliver, holding his stomach and wincing.
"You took quite the hit"
"Hmm?"
"Surprised you didn't get more hurt..." She cradled her head.
"Yeah? What got you here?"
"Smacked into a pillar...you were great today, you know-well, before..." she motioned to him.
"Thanks...still not as bad as last year, it wasn't"
"Oh? What happened?"
"Got hit in the head with a bludger. Woke up in the hospital a week later." Annie winced at that, rubbing her own head as Oliver slid down in his bed, curling into himself.
"Have you ever-have you ever thought of teaching quidditch? To someone who didn't know?"
Oliver turned his head to her, "I don't believe I have, why?"
"Just-you seem so passionate, and taught me a great amount last time-"
"Oh, yeah, that was you-"
"Yeah...do you think you could teach me flying techniques? So maybe I could get on the team next year?"
Oliver's face brightened, "You really think I could teach you?"
Annie nodded slowly, "positively."
He thought for a moment, "ask me again when I'm more coherent, then we'll see."
Annie felt as if her grin were to split her face in two, "alright, then."
                                       ⋆⋆⋆
Annie felt as if she floated down to breakfast that next morning; drifting on daydreams of possible trainings and alone time with Oliver.
As she sat down at the table, two owls landed in front of her.
"That's new, why are you early?" She untied the letters and package addressed to her. She patted each on the head before inspecting her gifts.
One letter was written in fine cursive, the edges crisp and parchment clean, although the pen had seemed to write the girl's name as if it were a curse, half hazardly and unclean
The other letter was attached to a small parcel, that jingled when she shook it. The writing was messier, but her name was written with care. She decided to open that one first.
She used a table knife to rip through the top of the envelope, sliding the paper out.
The folded, lined paper was slightly crumpled, ink bleeding through the back, the familiar scrawl of her father looking more jumbled than anything. Her brows knit together as she carefully unfolded it, eyes scanning the page. Her breath caught in her throat at the first line.
Your mother and I are getting a divorce.