There were a lot of competitions at Hogwarts. Oliver liked that. He liked to compete, because he liked to win. They were probably meant for students to get into the spirit of competition by banding together with their own house to have a friendly competition against other houses. But Oliver took the term friendly competition very loosely. He would compete his hardest to win, and be able to go back to being friends with people of other houses after the competition. After being the key word, because there was no room for friendship in a competition.

Oliver pulled a pair of skates onto his feet, glad that he was a first year. Being the one to skate around on the ice seemed a lot more fun than having to push someone else. If he had been an older kid he would have been disappointed at not getting to skate. Maybe they would get an opportunity later. After the competition.

When his skates were on and tied, Oliver got to his feet. He wobbled a bit, but managed to keep his balance. Hopefully the same would be true even when he was on the ice. He walked carefully over to the paint and dipped his skates in green paint. Gryffindor was still going but he was ready. As soon as they were done, he would be next. Slytherin was going to win this thing.

"I'm ready," he announced to his team in case they weren't paying attention. He waited by the edge of the ice. Oliver still needed an older student to push him. There were more of them, right?