A couple of days passed and the gossip had fully spread around the castle. What was once just a boring story of seeing Dumbledore talk to some first year students had spiraled into multiple narratives of what had happened deep inside of Hogwarts that night. Some people had speculated that another mountain troll entered the castle and attacked Harry Potter, or that he somehow managed to nearly drown himself in the Black Lake after encountering the Giant Squid. The stories were getting out of hand, and despite how much more information seemed to be sprouting everyday, Jessica was still not sure what exactly had happened, except that Harry was confined in the hospital wing.

Another rumor was that Professor Quirrell was said to have resigned from his position since he had suddenly disappeared without warning. Although, not many people cared that much because it was almost the end of the school year. Still, it piqued Jessica's curiosity, finding it odd for a professor to vanish without a trace.

Amidst the gossip, the regular activities within Hogwarts had to keep on going, and that included Quidditch. Oliver and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team had never been more nervous in their entire lives for one match, but they had no choice but to keep the show going. While there was still no definite news on Harry's condition, his team went on to play against their last rival of the season: Ravenclaw.

In the nicest way possible, the match was a disaster. Bethany accompanied Jessica to watch their house's team compete for the last time, and the redhead wished she didn't go because it was almost painful to watch the Gryffindor players fail and to see Jessica react to almost every wrong move with a cringe or wince. In the end, Gryffindor lost with them not having scored much goals in the first place coupled with the fact that their reserve Seeker was unable to catch the Golden Snitch.

"No offense to Wood and the others, but..." said Bethany. "That was the worst game they had ever played."

"I hate to admit it, but I agree," Jessica sighed as the Gryffindor team began descending to the ground to dismount their broomsticks.

"I'm heading to the Great Hall for a nice glass of pumpkin juice. Watching that was... tiring," Bethany announced, getting to her feet. "You coming?"

Jessica watched as Oliver dismounted last, looking beaten up as the rest of his team shared defeated glances and comments with one another.

"I'll catch up with you in a bit," she finally answered. Bethany's eyes flitted from the black-haired girl and to the Gryffindor Quidditch Team Captain. With a small knowing smile, she nodded and left.

Jessica stood up, watching as Oliver started to walk towards the locker rooms. As she made her way down the stands, she passed by a group of Ravenclaws on their way out of the stadium.

"Are you serious? Harry Potter and some measly first years did that?"

"That's what I heard. I can't believe they kept a troll locked up to guard something hidden in the castle. Maybe that's why there was a rogue troll here last Halloween, too."

"Troll? I thought you said it was an erumpent guarding whatever it was."

"I don't think it was an erumpent, though. How could they get past that and manage to find out that Quirrell..."

Jessica frowned at the new piece of information she had just gathered in passing. What exactly happened between Harry Potter and Professor Quirrell?

Before she could hear more, the group of Ravenclaws were already exiting the quidditch pitch, and she didn't realize that she had reached the bottom row of seats already. She was grateful that she and Bethany decided to sit somewhere in the middle because she was able to make in time before Oliver could retreat to the locker rooms.

"Wood," she said, loud enough for him to hear now that the venue was emptying out.

The fifth year boy could only glumly walk towards Jessica, sighing wordlessly. He set his broom down next to him and leaned on the barrier that separated them from one another.

"It must have been an eyesore to watch that match, huh?" he said sadly, though there was a hint of humor laced in his voice.

"I've seen worse," Jessica half-lied, not wanting to rub salt on the wound. She would've teased him on another day, but since that was the last game of the season and they clearly were not going to be contenders for the House Cup, she kept her mouth shut. "You all still tried your best."

Oliver chuckled and shook his head.

"Now, that's a lie. We were all completely out of it."

"It's understandable, though. You had to adjust with a Seeker who hasn't played before, and the news about Potter must've thrown you all off."

At the mention of Harry's name, Oliver perked up as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Speaking of Potter, the team and I have more details about what happened to him."

Jessica raised her eyebrows and urged, "What do you know?"

Oliver motioned for her to move closer as if what he was going to say was top secret. Jessica rolled her eyes at his antics yet obliged anyway, eagerly awaiting the news.

"Apparently, Quirrell has been playing around with the dark arts for a while."

Jessica's eyes widened in disbelief.

"No bloody way. A Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that's into the dark arts?"

"It's true," Oliver said simply.

"Well, what does that have to do with Potter?"

"Remember that night Holmes and Chapman said they saw Dumbledore speaking to Weasley and Granger?" Jessica nodded quickly at his words. "Turns out they were looking for him to help Potter. They were with him just before they found Quirrell, and that man nearly killed Potter."

"You're joking," Jessica gasped. It was sort of starting to make sense, though; what Oliver had just relayed to her and what she had overheard from those Ravenclaws only moments ago fit the same story pretty well.

"Am not," Oliver said, feigning offense. "My sources are accurate."

"By sources, do you mean Fred and George?"

Oliver sent her a small glare. "They're Ron Weasley's brothers. I'm sure they have the most accurate story possible."

Jessica scoffed. "They live off of pranks, Wood."

"Well, then, lassie," Oliver said, sounding like he was going to test her. "I have more information up my sleeve, but let's hear what you found out first. Let's see whose story is more true."

"Fine," she agreed, leaning closer to challenge him. "I heard that Potter and his friends faced a mountain troll before finding Quirrell."

"A troll? Again?" Oliver repeated, unimpressed. "After what happened during Halloween, that's unlikely. I heard it was either a sphinx or an erumpent."

"Sphinxes are highly intelligent creatures. I don't think first years could outsmart one that easily."

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't a sphinx. What about an erumpent?"

"I heard that, too, but I highly doubt it," Jessica said confidently. "Their horns are explosive. Do you really think first year students could defeat one without accidentally causing a massive explosion inside the castle?"

"I — wait, explosive horns?"

Jessica laughed lightly at how clueless the Scottish boy suddenly looked.

"Aren't you taking Care of Magical Creatures?" she questioned in amusement. "If I'm not mistaken, erumpents are covered in your year."

Oliver huffed. "I was too busy trying to win the House Cup to remember. Besides, I didn't fail. Professor Kettleburn's been on probation way too many times to be in class consistently, so he probably just gave us all passing grades."

As the two of them continued to bicker, Fred and George Weasley had reemerged from the locker rooms, having already taken quick showers and changed into more comfortable clothes. They were in the midst of planning another scheme to try and get their mind off of the misery they were feeling after losing to Ravenclaw when they spotted Oliver and Jessica looking strangely close by the stands.

"Hey, Gred," said Fred, nudging his twin.

"Yes, Forge?"

"Why does it look like Ollie and Hawthorne are going to kiss?"

George looked over at the stands and finally saw what his brother was looking at. They shared mischievous grins, and as if they could read each other's minds, they sneakily made their way towards their unsuspecting housemates.

"Oi, mate," Fred called out loudly. "Didn't know you had it in you."

"Sharing a kiss after a Quidditch game, eh?" George finished teasingly.

Jessica sprang away almost immediately when she realized why the Weasley twins were saying that. Her and Oliver's faces were dangerously close, and she didn't notice that had happened because they were so focused on proving each other wrong.

Meanwhile, Oliver sighed and didn't want to give Fred and George the satisfaction of being affected by their teasing like he usually was. After all, he wasn't exactly in the best mood after losing horribly to Ravenclaw.

"So, what if we were?" he challenged. Jessica's face grew warm at his words, and the image of it flickered in her mind for a second before she forced herself to push away the thought. How ridiculous, she thought, like that would ever happen.

The twins also shared brief looks of surprise at Oliver's retort, clearly not expecting it. However, they recovered quickly, plastering their signature grins back on their faces.

"Aw, Ollie's growing up," Fred cooed.

"It's like it was just yesterday that we found out he'd be captain, and now, just look at him," George added, pretending to cry proud tears. Jessica couldn't help but chuckle at their silliness while Oliver sighed.

"Did you two forget that I'm older than you?"

★ ★ ★

The blow from losing their last chance at winning the House Cup became less painful for the Gryffindors as the day of the end-of-year feast arrived. Jessica couldn't believe that another whole year had passed in Hogwarts, and it was already the last day of her fourth year in the school. Interestingly, it seemed that the story about Harry Potter finally cleared up as much as it could, though it remained quite vague to an extent. What most students knew and agreed on were the following: Potter and his friends faced and got past more than one obstacle, including a three-headed dog, a gigantic chess game, and a potions set-up that required walking through fire; and that Quirrell's affiliation with dark magic was so strong that he wasn't a professor at Hogwarts anymore. Not much information was given aside from that, such as what exactly Quirrell was doing and where he was now, but it seemed that Harry Potter and his friends' adventure was enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity.

The Great Hall was buzzing with chatter, everyone expressing that they were both sad that such a good year has come to an end and excited to go back home and see their families. Jessica felt exactly the same way, though she couldn't hide that she was slightly bitter that the hall was decked out in the green and silver colors of the Slytherin House as they won the House Cup yet again. It had been seven years in a row already and she couldn't wait for the Slytherin serpent banners to instead display the Gryffindor lion one day.

And then, the massive doors of the Great Hall creaked ever-so-slightly, but it was enough to send a sudden hush throughout the room. Harry Potter had entered and shown his face for the first time in almost a week since the incident.

Like every other student at Hogwarts, Jessica couldn't help but stare at him, and yet she felt a bit guilty seeing how uncomfortable he looked as he brisk walked to the Gryffindor table. He sat in between Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, trying to avoid everyone else's eyes. Some people even stood up to get a better look at him, but Dumbledore had fortunately arrived and made his way to the podium. Another silence ensued, this time out of respect for the headmaster.

"Another year gone!" he beamed. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts. Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points..."

The Gryffindor table didn't even need to hide their bitterness as they clapped glumly.

"In third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six; and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

The Slytherin table broke out into rowdy and triumphant cheers.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."

The change in his tone caused Jessica to sit up straighter, wondering what he was up to.

"I have a few last-minute points to fish out. Let me see. Yes... first, to Mr. Ronald Weasley — for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

The Gryffindor table cheered loudly, and Jessica could even hear Percy Weasley boast to the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"

"Second, to Miss Hermione Granger — for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

The young witch looked to be so overwhelmed with the attention that she burrowed her face into her arms while the rest of the house was becoming noisier at the fact that they had just earned a hundred points on the spot.

"Third, to Mr. Harry Potter..." The Great Hall turned deadly quiet. "... for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points."

This time, Jessica and Bethany joined in on the victorious shouting and clapping that their house had been doing. They were now tied with Slytherin.

Dumbledore raised his hand, cutting their early celebration off.

"There are all kinds of courage," he continued with a faint smile. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."

If Jessica was an outsider and didn't know that the Gryffindors were celebrating, she would've thought that there was an explosion somewhere with how loud the applause and shouts were. It was deafening, but no one really cared because they were all too caught up in their happiness. Even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were glad that Slytherin finally lost after seven years straight.

"Which means," Dumbledore raised his voice to get everyone's attention once again, "we need a little change of decorations."

The old man clapped his hands, and in an instant, the green and silver ornaments transformed into scarlet and gold, and the serpent disappeared and was taken over by a strong-looking lion.

This was possibly the happiest that the Gryffindors had felt in a long time. Though it wasn't how they pictured it to happen, they had finally won the House Cup. Jessica could only hope that next year would be as fun and eventful as this year was and that they could snag that House Cup once more, this time with the Quidditch Cup, too.

★ ★ ★

After the festivities died down, Dumbledore announced that it was time for the students to return to their dorms and finish packing up whatever was left there before they were to head to the station in Hogsmeade. As usual, the Great Hall was a mess, being a mixture of students immediately exiting to get back to their house tower or students lingering in the hall to converse with their friends from across all houses.

Jessica and her friends were the latter. Alista had made her way to the Gryffindor table to meet up with her and Bethany. They would, of course, still sit in the same carriage in the Hogwarts Express on the way back to Platform 9 3/4, but the three girls had plans of meeting up over the summer that they just couldn't wait to talk about it.

"Bring me to that muggle café you two always talking about," Alista whined to Bethany and Jessica.

"Alright, alright, but don't bring your puffskein this time," Jessica reminded her.

"Hey, that was an innocent mistake. You said you guys were bringing your pets to the park so I thought —"

"The muggle park, Alista. We brought our dogs."

Although both of Alista's parents were half-bloods, she had grown up mostly inside the wizarding community, making her quite clueless about ordinary muggle things. But before she could continue to defend herself, Jessica felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning on her heel, she came face to face with Oliver Wood.

"Jess, we'll head out already," said Bethany, sensing that they'd want to talk to one another privately. "Let's meet up before we ride the carriages, okay?"

The redhead and blonde girl left Jessica with Oliver, still bickering about Alista's mistake as they walked out of the Great Hall.

"Hawthorne."

"Wood."

A pause. Jessica raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"Do you have something to say?" she asked.

"Oh, right," Oliver shuffled a bit in place as if he did not know how to phrase his next words. "How do I put this? You, er, me — well, you wouldn't mind if I wrote to you during the break, would you?"

Jessica snickered in entertainment.

"You were struggling just to say that?" she teased. "You don't even have to ask. Of course, I'll write to you, Ollie."

Oliver practically recoiled at that nickname.

"Please don't tell me you'll be calling me that from now on."

"I can't help it," she shrugged with a smile. "After Fred and George kept saying it, it sort of stuck."

A/N: Random thought, but I really wish my future husband would be a Harry Potter fan, too. I'd love go back to and/or visit more Harry Potter related places with someone special 🥺 It sounds pretty cheesy, but idc I need someone to take cute pictures with me + take solid photos of me, too HAHA.

Have you guys been to any Harry Potter world or filming location? I've been to the Wizarding World in Orlando as well as the Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, but that was a few years ago already so I really want to see them again when I'm older and have more freedom and money haha. My parents and sister aren't big HP fans so I felt like I was just dragging them along lmao. If you read until the end of this A/N, I appreciate you HAHA 💓