Loser, Whatever!

Oliver and I spent the rest of the afternoon alone with each other. I really enjoyed those times. I loved talking with him, and other times, just making out. I never really imagined myself having someone around that liked me enough to make out with me. I just thought I was too quiet for someone to get to know me as well as Oliver knew me.

"Have you made a decision about tonight's opportunity?" He asked in a low voice between kisses. I laughed out loud.

"I'm coming." I whispered once the giggles had subsided. He beamed.

"Then we'd better get going." I took my hand pulled me up from the bench we were sitting on, "It's a my place."

"Ooh, I finally get to see your house!" I exclaimed.

"It's not that amazing." He said.

"Yeah, but still. You've seen my place, and I've never seen yours." I pointed out.

"True. You may be disappointed though." He warned.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see." I smiled. We spun as soon as we were covered in the shelter of the trees and apparated to Oliver's house.

"It's so beautiful!" I exclaimed as I caught a glimpse of it. It was a gorgeous Edwardian style house with white trim and shutters and a deep green colour on the walls outside. The garden was layered around the house with lilies, orchids, daisies and pansies of ever colour. There was a stone path that divided the garden and led to the front door of the house. Trees surrounded the backyard and there was a silent brook that wound around the yards, "How do you manage it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He slapped my arm playfully.

"How does a guy maintain the yards and the garden and the house?" I demanded. He laughed.

"I'm an over-age wizard, Bridgette dearest, I can do anything I want!" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and guided me up the stone path. I heard noises coming from inside and I gripped his arm. He just chuckled.

"Don't worry about that, it's just the guys. I told them they could come and set up." He explained. I let go an exhaled. He opened the door to an even more magnificent hall. It had green and gold paisley wall paper tat matched the walls outside and a golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. To the left was a sitting room with elegant leather couches and mahogany coffee tables. To the right was another room similar to the one on the left, except the furniture was velour. In the middle of the hall between the two rooms was an elaborate marble staircase that led to the upper floors. I could see a balcony on the second floor and another staircase leading to the third.

"This is amazing." I breathed. He laughed again.

"It pays to be a Quidditch player." He chuckled. There were footsteps and I recognized the Beaters and two Chasers.

"Hey Oliver, Bridgette! We were wondering when you guys would be in. Everyone else should be arriving soon." said Peter. A few seconds later, his Eliza joined us.

"When did everyone else say they'd come?" Oliver asked.

"We told them 7:00." Peter replied. Oliver looked at his watch.

"It's 7:00 now." He said. As if on cue, the doorbell rang and about ten people cam through the house. Music started playing and Oliver got himself and me a butterbeer each.

I was introduced to other players formally and their girlfriends and wives. Peter and Eliza wasted no time in telling everyone that they planned on being married as soon as the World Cup was over and Jered and Janna announced their engagement. They planned on getting married in a few years.

"He said he just wanted to make sure I'd have him. He's not the most secure person." Janna blushed later on in the evening. Oliver had disappeared to talk to some other people.

"What did you have to say to that?" I was polite enough not to laugh.

"I just told him that it didn't matter if it was or in ten years, I would always be his." Her cheeks darkened still, "So this is your first party then, how long have you and Oliver been going out?"

"About a month." I estimated.

"Really?" Oliver suddenly reappeared, "I would say at least three months."

"I didn't even know you three months ago." I reminded him. Janna laughed.

"Are you sure? Isn't three months the point of no return?" He asked.

"That's what I've heard." Janna agreed.

"Good, then I still have time to get away." I said. Janna laughed again, but Oliver held me tighter.

"Oh, you didn't mean that!" He told me and stroked my hair, "Here, let me make it up to you." Janna left to find Jered.

He bent down to kiss me. I placed my hands on his cheeks and he placed his hands on my neck to pull me closer still. There was urgency in the kiss, as if we didn't have much time left to be together. I waved this off and interpreted it as passion. I saw flashes, but didn't dwell on them for too long. There were wolf-whistles and catcalls as the room realized what we were doing.

"Get a room!" Someone yelled, everyone laughed and we pulled apart, smiling.

"You still think it's been three months?" I asked him.

"If it has, they've gone by too quickly." He chuckled.

I woke up late the next day to yells coming from the kitchen. I couldn't hear what the yelling was about, but I knew it was my mom and dad shouting.

I sighed and got up. When I was more fully awake, I could pay proper attention to the bellowing.

"...Nothing I want a child of mine doing!" From my dad.

"She was just trying to live a little, she's of age after all!" My mom retorted. So this was about me. I sat perfectly still and listened.

"But I specifically told her she could not attend these parties! Who knows what happened last night?" Uh oh, so they knew about the party! How?

"She was home before her curfew." My mom said calmly

"But we thought she was at the game!" My dad was determined to be furious.

"It was probably a short game and they got bored." My mom guessed.

"That doesn't condone what she did! How do we know if she-"

"Don't even start with that! She was home too early." My mom was starting to get mad. I froze, did he think Oliver and I did it?

"Laurie, just think about it! It says here that the game was only 38 seconds long, that gives them practically the afternoon and evening. You know how happy she is whenever she comes back from dates." My mom was silent. She couldn't honestly be considering this! I decided now was probably a good time for me to 'wake up' before things got out of hand. I climbed out of bed and headed to the still silent kitchen.

Both parents were quiet as I entered, their eyes narrowed and I saw the subject of their arguing at the center of the kitchen table. It was a picture in the Daily Prophet in the Sports section. The picture was me and Oliver kissing last night! So that was what the flashing was about! The headline read, 'Are Wood And Eisenberg Getting Serious?' The caption read 'Oliver Wood and Bridgette Eisenberg were seen kissing shortly after Jered Hassle (Seeker) and Janna Walshe announced their own engagement. Are Wood and Eisenberg next?' Well, now I could see why my parents were so mad. At least they spelled my name right, that was one consolation.

"I promise you, nothing happened at that party!" I assured them, my eyes wide. They folded their arms and glowered at me.

"Why should we believe it?" My father demanded.

"Because I'm your daughter!" I answered.

"But I specifically told you not to go to those parties and you deliberately disobeyed me! Why should we trust you?" He shouted.

"Dad, I'm of age! You don't really have control over me anymore." I argued.

"So long as you live under this roof, you will obey me." He stated, "You will no longer be seeing this Oliver Wood, I will be sure of that."

My mouth dropped. It took a while before the words processed. He couldn't do that! I was seventeen, he couldn't tell me who I could and couldn't go out with!

"You can't do that! A few days ago you said you liked how happy Oliver was making me!" I stuttered through tears.

"That was a few days ago. I don't know if I can trust Oliver Wood. He's a Quidditch player and a young man. I was his age once and I knew what I wanted. I just don't want you to get hurt!" H tried to reason.

"How can you say that? You're hurting me right now!" I sobbed. My mom tried to place a hand on my shoulder, but I ran back to my room and threw myself on to my bed. I spent the rest of the day in my pyjamas, sometimes sobbing, others just laying there thinking.

How could they do this to me? I'm a legal adult now, and Oliver isn't like that! I heard the doorbell ring at one point and recognized Oliver's voice as my dad opened it. Then I heard my dad shouting and Oliver trying to explain. Eventually, the door was slammed in Oliver's face. I didn't want to go out to see him. He most likely hated me now. I didn't see why he put up with me for this long with a family like mine. He knew now that we couldn't be together. When my dad said he's make sure we'd never see each other, he meant it. He had so many contacts at the Ministry and he was a talented wizard, so he could track Oliver and me for as long as he lived. Sometimes, I was in awe over the power of my father, now, it all came back to slap me in the face.