Commonality

[Marisol Woods]

Now that Marisol no longer had to practice for Quidditch, and she was no longer really hanging out with Octavian anymore either, she found herself with a lot of free time. As her NEWTs were this year, she decided to finally be productive and try and use some of that free time to study. The idea wasn't too appealing, when was studying ever fun, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to just push herself for this final year and then she'd never have to study ever again, since wizards didn't seem to have any higher education.

Rather than coop herself up in her dorm room, Marisol took her book bag and decided to hang out in the student lounge so she felt a little less pathetic for not having anyone to hang out with lately. Though as soon as she took up residence in one of the armchairs and made herself comfortable with her feet tucked underneath her and her textbook propped on her knees, she thought perhaps being in a room where people hung out together might be having the opposite effect. She sighed as she tried to get through the current History of Magic homework and recall all the old facts and stories from wizarding history, wondering how Asaiah thought this was interesting at all and wishing he was still here to help her with it.
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[Odette Madison]

Seeing Asaiah during the weekend had really made Odette remember she wasn't as alone as she had thought. She had vowed at the start of the year to stop pushing people away so much, but her breakup with Harley had made her old instincts flare up again. Hayley had been reasonable and even nice to her, despite the breakup, and Odette knew she hadn't exactly been warm to the other Slytherin. But there was a large part of her that felt like there was just too much history there to erase. They were never going to be friends, not in the way they might have been if things hadn't gotten so complicated with Harley.

But Odette had to remind herself that not everyone in the world was her enemy. Especially not if she didn't make them so. Today, she was planning to study a little for the OWLs. Despite not caring too much about her grades, she was nervous about these exams. Every professor kept mentioning them and how important they were, and with her future uncertain she knew she had to keep her options open. If it were up to her, she would play Quidditch professionally for the rest of her days. But even if she was accepted onto a team after school, she knew that wouldn't last very long compared to other jobs. She needed decent NEWTs, and for that she needed decent OWLs.

With a book under her arm, she made her way to the student lounge. She was sort of hoping to run into Margo there, but instead her eye fell on another girl in an armchair. Marisol was someone she knew through work and through Quidditch. While her instinct was to dislike the girl for being the captain of a rival team, she knew that wasn't fair. From their interactions, the girl had seemed alright. And she knew she was the reason Asaiah was traveling all over the place looking for something mysterious, and if he was willing to do that for her she couldn't be so bad. Besides, Gryffindor hadn't won the cup. She had to admit that helped a little. She headed over to the armchair and sat down in one next to it, giving her a slight, wary smile. "NEWTs?" She asked, nodding at her book. Then she held up her own, it was her Charms book which at least wasn't a horrible subject. "OWLs." She said with a sigh. "Guess you miss Quidditch about as much as I do now, right?"

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol glanced up as someone entered her peripheral vision and sat in the armchair beside her. She was expecting it to be someone unknown whom she didn't care for, but she was surprised to see it was someone she vaguely knew. Odette also worked at the Quidditch store, but neither of them were much for small talk when they worked together. It was a sort of a comfortable-uncomfortable silence between them. She'd never really had a reason to talk to the girl, but she knew Asaiah was friends with her, and she trusted his judgment so she couldn't really be that bad.

Mari returned the smile as the girl settled beside her and nodded at the question she posed. She chuckled at the Quidditch comment, remembering the poor season Slytherin had had. That made her feel better about their loss of the Cup, because at least they'd made it to the championships. Rather than rub anything in the girl's face, her experience in being a captain this year and knowing this had also been Odette's first year as captain allowed her to sympathize with the younger girl. It was a tough position and the slightest thing that went wrong felt like it all fell on the captain's shoulders. Odette probably berated herself enough, Marisol wasn't going to make it worse. "You have no idea," Marisol responded, glad for the distraction despite her initial attempt at focusing. "I tried going out to practice just for fun, but it's not the same when there's no game to look forward to," she said. "Kinda embarrassing really."

Marisol looked down at her book. She didn't know whether Odette had just said something quickly to be polite, or if she really wanted to start a conversation, but the words came out of Marisol anyway before she could stop herself. "It just sucks because I didn't realize I'd be playing my last game when I walked out there that day. Wish I could've stopped to enjoy it, or whatever," she chuckled as she shook her head. She kept her eyes on her book as she turned the page absentmindedly even though she hadn't read it all yet. "At least you've still got a few more years though," she turned to smile at Odette.
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[Odette Madison]

Odette had been a little nervous about approaching Marisol, but once the girl responded in a friendly manner, the Slytherin relaxed. It had been a while since she just sat down and talked to someone who wasn’t Margo, and it was nice to speak to a fellow captain. Even if she was a little bitter that the other girl’s team had done so much better. Odette cracked a smile. “I’ve been itching to do the same thing. Not embarrassing at all,” she said with a small shrug. “During team practice I’m usually so busy looking around at what everyone is doing and trying to help, that I sometimes forget my own training. There’s nothing wrong with some individual practice. Or with just one person.” She added the last part as an afterthought. “If you want, we could practice together sometime. Are you thinking of going professional after school?” Odette had had this conversation with Asaiah, but she was curious about other people who might do that too. She herself wasn’t really very good at anything but Quidditch, so it was an option she was considering herself too. She was surprised at the next words that came from Marisol. She hadn’t expected the Gryffindor to open up to her in any way. It seemed like the girl had really expected to play against Beauxbatons rather than Ravenclaw, and while a part of Odette thought that was a bit arrogant, she also had to admit it was a bit warranted with their track record. “You played well, if that helps,” she said after a small pause. “And maybe you’ll be playing again in the future, even if it’s just a casual game.” The thought of never playing again made her sad, and she was glad she wasn’t in her final year yet. It seemed like Marisol had a similar thought. Odette nodded. “I’m glad about that… I want to win the cup at least once before I graduate. This year really wasn't our year."

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol smiled weakly at Odette as she reassured her that practicing even though there was no game to look forward to wasn't embarrassing at all. It seemed easier for her to say given that she had a few more years of playing so there was still something for her to work towards, whereas Marisol thought this was it for her Quidditch playing days. As the thought crossed her mind, Odette asked if she was thinking of playing professionally just after she offered practicing together. Marisol sighed as she considered her answer. "I used to think about it, but now I'm not so sure anymore," she said, shifting in her seat a little to better face Odette. "I used to dream of the day Asaiah and I could play on the same team together after Hogwarts," she said, laughing as if it was a ridiculous idea. Wyatt had always hated the Macaws so he would never have agreed to play for them alongside the other two, but he was destined to be a Healer anyway. Marisol figured he could look after the two of them if they ever got injured during games. But now those dreams seemed so silly, wishful thinking, compared to the reality of the three of them slowly drifting apart.

She smiled a genuine smile when Odette complimented her on her playing in the final game and said, "Thanks, you're pretty good too, it's no wonder Asaiah always spoke highly of you." Marisol could understand why the younger Slytherin had been chosen as captain despite the poor year the team had had. "Yeah, I have to admit I was surprised by that," she said with a small frown. "Maybe Asaiah's absence really left an impact," she joked. "Just kidding," she chuckled, "All the teams had new line ups that changed up the dynamics of the season," she said, sourly thinking of how they hadn't won when they were supposed to, "but I'm sure you'll find your bearings next year," she reassured the young captain. Odette had done well for her first year as captain, and she still had a few more years to improve in the role, so Marisol had high hopes for her. "Now that I'll no longer be up against you, I'll be rooting for Slytherin," she chuckled.
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[Odette Madison]

Odette wondered why she hadn’t talked to Marisol much before. She supposed she had a bit of a prejudice against Gryffindors with the trouble she’d had with them before, though that hadn’t stopped her from dating Harley. They had gone almost straight from dislike to romance though, so she knew that wasn’t really a normal occurrence. It had probably partially been why they hadn’t worked out. She was surprised to hear Marisol wasn’t sure about playing professionally anymore. She had assumed the girl would want to, but she realized that was because she wanted to. It was hard to imagine anyone with Marisol's talent would give up Quidditch after graduation without giving it a shot, but she supposed the girl must have other dreams. And probably better grades than Odette did. The way the girl laughed about her old dream to play with Asaiah made Odette a little embarrassed, because she pretty much had the exact same hope. She missed playing together with Asaiah a lot, and hoped they would one day end up on the same team again. If she ever made it as a professional player, at least. “What will you do instead?” She asked her, curious. Graduation still seemed so far away, but Odette knew it really wasn’t going to be much longer until she was in Marisol’s shoes. It was always interesting to hear what older students were planning to do after Hogwarts.

The compliment Marisol gave her was a slight surprise, and it got a genuine smile out of Odette. “Thanks, he’s the one who taught me most of my skills though, so he was kind of complimenting himself.” She said with a small shrug. Odette admired Asaiah a lot, and she wasn’t going to make a secret out of it. As much as she enjoyed being the Slytherin captain, she still wondered what it would have been like if he stayed in school another year. Undoubtedly, he would have been captain instead. She couldn’t help but wonder if the team would have done better under his leadership, but she forced herself to push the thought away. That was not productive in the slightest. “I think it did leave an impact, combined with the fact that our seeker had to be replaced.” She said with a small shrug. Leda was good, but she was new at the job. “Honestly, I mostly worry I’ll lose the respect of my teammates after this year, especially the older guys.” She wasn’t going to be the oldest member on the team yet in a year, as Rory and Hayden were both on the team too. She thought Hayden was probably going to be fine, even if things between them were a bit awkward. But she wasn’t so sure about Rory Fergusson. “I’ll definitely try my best next year, though. And I’m glad we weren’t as bad as Hufflepuff.” She cracked a smile. “I’m surprised to hear you’d be rooting for us, don’t you have loyalty to your own team?” She wondered who Marisol would pick as captain to replace her, but she didn’t ask. She would find out soon enough, “do you have any tips? For being a captain, I mean.”