Yay! Another reader! I was waiting for one. Thanks allucha, jess, and mrs felton! Thanks for waiting too; school's quite stressful for me right now. Here's the next chapter; it's a bit longer than the others:

Glowing with pleasure, I nodded eagerly. “Yeah; I’d be honored to help out the team. Would I come to all the practices and warm-ups?” My heart grew lighter and lighter with the very thought.

“Yup. The thing is, do you have a broom?” He asked with concern etched on his face.

I shook my head, my heart plummeting. Would this mean I wouldn’t be able to play? My palms became sweaty. I didn’t want this opportunity go down the drain.

“Hmm…” Oliver thought for a moment, and then his face brightened. “I’m sure there’s an extra broom that you can use. It might just be a Cleansweep, but that’s better than nothing.” His face broke into a dazzling smile.

Oliver stretched his hand out to mine and grasped it in a firm handshake. I felt warmth shoot up my arm. He gazed at me and beamed. “Welcome to the team.”

*

The hustle and bustle of students making their way through the hall met my ears. Each person was trying in vain to get to class on time. Digging into my bag, I pulled out my schedule. My next and last class of the day was with Professor Binns. I moaned and stuffed the paper back into my laden bag. Leanne had decided to take Divination instead, so I was alone.

Finally, I reached the classroom and hastily dumped my books on a table at the back of the class, where I usually sat. Soon after I had organized myself, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Turning around, I noticed that it was Oliver.

“Hey,” he greeted. “Do you mind if I sit beside you?”

“No problem.” I shifted my body and possessions over so that he’d have enough room on the table. Inside, the butterflies were fluttering like crazy. Not sure of what to do, I took out a quill and started doodling. This is how I liked to spend class; drawing all sorts of things from animals to Muggle items I’d seen.

Leaning over, Oliver glanced at my pictures. “You’re pretty good! Do you always draw during class?” He took out what looked like a thick folder.

“Yeah, I always do, especially in Professor Binns’ classes,” I replied and continued to sketch a cat with a toad. I loved it when I could make things come alive on a blank sheet of paper.

“I like to draw too, but mostly Quidditch stuff,” Oliver told me. He pulled out a few pieces of paper from the folder.

My mouth fell open. Every page had a different broom drawn on it. What astonished me was how real the objects appeared. The broom handle was beautifully shaded to give it a smooth impression. “Wow,” I murmured to him. “These are so remarkable!”

Oliver slid the artwork back into the folder because Professor Binns cleared his throat, which signaled that the class was about to begin. His eyelids seemed to be half closed as he talked in a droning voice. The dull lecture began.

I resumed sketching my pictures, but my thoughts kept skipping back to Oliver and his illustrations. If only I could depict an object so clearly and full of detail! Shifting my eyes slightly to Oliver’s paper, I saw that he was also drawing with quick movements of his quill.

Noticing me glancing over, Oliver smiled and wrote some words on the corner of his paper. I craned my neck a little to read, Are you coming to the warm-up today?

I discretely wrote “yes” on the top corner of my page.

The class consisted of writing short notes to each other discussing Quidditch practice. Fortunately, Professor Binns was not aware of the lack of attention (like usual). Actually, Oliver and I may have been one of the few students who were awake for the speech. Most of our peers had their heads on the desks or were nodding off.

The period was over at last. We quickly rushed out of the room to get ready for the warm-up. Leanne was in our room when I sprinted up the stairs.

“How was class?” she asked, sitting down on her bed and carelessly taking all her homework out.

“Good,” I breathed and unloaded my heavy bag hurriedly. I scrounged around in my suitcase for something to tie my hair up.

Leanne eyed me. “Do you have time to talk? I have to tell you something important.”

“Look, I have to go to the warm-up for Quidditch. I’ll be back in an hour or so. Why don’t we chat then?” I suggested offhandedly. “I don’t have time at the moment.”

Hurt flickered over Leanne’s normally cheerful face. Pulling off a slightly rejected smile, she nodded slowly. “Alright, then. Can you come back right after you’re done? It’s something I can’t wait to tell you.”

“Uh, sure,” I agreed. “See you later!” With that, I dashed down the stairs, almost tripping over my own feet.