Hey there! Thanks for taking the time to click on my story and possibly read this little introduction. Here are some background details before you go on. The story takes place in "Prisoner of Azkaban" with Oliver in his 7th year and Katie in her 4th. I tried to remain faithful to what happened in book 3 when I wrote this. So yes, dementors and Sirius Black are lurking around. =]

I think I've taken up enough space, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or some of the plot events. They belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.

~*~*~*~

'I just want to look into the windows of your soul and get lost in you'

Lyrics from Symphony in Peril's 'Waiting To Breathe'

Katie loathed the first day of school. She hated how early you had to get up so that you wouldn't miss the train. She hated how busy King's Cross Station was. Most of all, she hated how her birthday was just a week after the cutoff date. If Katie had only been born a week earlier, then she could have been with all of her friends wondering about which O.W.L.'s she would have to take and how difficult they would be. But no, she had to be stuck a whole year behind them.

"Come on Kate!" Mr. Bell was using the luggage cart to push her towards the train, "Hurry up or we'll miss the train."

"Dad, I told you to call me Katie. How come you don't?" She had never understood why he never called her Katie. Kate was an old lady name.

"Because," Mr. Bell was squinting down the platform to where the trunks were loaded, "That is the name we put on your birth certificate and that is what I am going to call you."

Katie just sighed. She knew she wasn't going to win; this was a losing battle.

They had finally made it to the luggage compartment and with her trunk successfully loaded, Katie turned to give her dad a hug.

"I'm going to miss you Kate,"

"I'm gonna miss you too," Even though they disagreed a lot, Katie loved her dad. She would miss waking up in their house to her dad whistling old wizard rock songs. It made her remember the good times when her parents were still together. Katie's muggle mom had divorced her dad when Katie was ten. Her mother's memory had been addled so that she didn't remember anything about the wizarding world. It was hard for Katie to stay in touch with her mother because muggle post was so slow, but she tried.

"Well I suppose I'll see you at Christmas Break," Mr. Bell began tearing up, "Don't forget to mail me once a month, it's free on Saturdays!" Katie started blushing. Her dad worked for a small company that made house and garden potions. It didn't pay much and was owned by Marcus Flint's father. She had been urging her dad to apply for a job at the Ministry for the past few months. Katie was sick of having to act cordial to the captain of the Slytherin quidditch team.

"I will," Katie gave him a small wave and boarded the train. Oh great, she thought as she began to make her way down the cramped hallways. Looking for her friends was going to be a living nightmare. Katie thought she was going to have to sit with a bunch of Hufflepuff second years when she spotted two very familiar heads of red hair.

"Fred! George!" Katie had never been so glad to see them before in her life.

"Are these new friends that you've made?" Fred was gesturing to the second years.

"Gosh Katie, I'm hurt," George was pretending to have been stabbed in the heart.

"Oh shut it you two," rolling her eyes, she tried to push her way past them, "Have you found a compartment I can join?"

"Course we have," George watched her stumble over an empty Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean box, "But you're going the wrong way."

"What do you mean?" Katie was pointing down the corridor, "You came from this way."

"That was to get snacks, DumbBell," Fred said, laughing as he put his arm around her shoulder and led her away.

"I told you to never call me that," she said, scowling at the awful nickname they had given her last year.

"Aw but it has such a nice ring to it," said George.

"Just lead me to my seat," Katie couldn't wait to sit down with her much more mature friends, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

"Fine, your highness," Fred and George opened the doors and bowed, "Here it is."

Sitting inside the compartment was Angelina flipping through a copy of Witch Weekly. She looked like she was concentrating hard on the article she was reading. On the opposite side was Alicia who was being explained something by her boyfriend, Lee Jordan.

"And whoever gets the ball through the net- oh hi Katie," Lee had turned around to face her, "How's life been?"

"Pretty good," Katie said sitting down next to him, "When you're not being teased and hounded by them." She gestured over to Fred and George.

"What's wrong with you?" Angelina said, as George sat down next to her and Fred next to him, "She's been here five minutes and is already sick of you."

"We weren't being that horrible, were we Katie?" George asked.

"I would have thought that since today is my birthday, you would have been a little nicer to me," Katie said pretending to be sad and innocent.

"Oh Katie, I'm glad you reminded me," Alicia was digging around in her bag, "I wasn't sure if your birthday was today or tomorrow but I got you this anyway."

"Ahem!"

"Sorry Angelina, we got this for you," Alicia handed Katie a box wrapped in pretty blue paper. Ripping it off, Katie saw that it contained a book called Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Wizards. Laughing at the obnoxious pink cover, Katie began flipping through the pages. They were covered in dazzling hearts and loopy handwriting. She couldn't believe they had gotten her this.

"Wow, uh, thanks I guess," Katie had to sneeze because the book was emitting floral perfume.

"We thought this would give you a head start on the boys," Angelina was smiling as she planted a kiss on George's cheek. Lee was making smooching sounds, while George kissed her on her forehead.

"Hang on now," Fred was putting up his hands, "I don't know if I much approve of our little Katie dating."

"Excuse me," Katie felt like putting her hands on her hips, "I don't need your approval of anyone, I'm just as old as you are. Plus you aren't my dad."

"So?"

"So you can't tell me when I can start dating," Katie gave him a smirk.

"You listen to me now young lady…" Alicia was now laughing at Fred who had begun to act like Katie's dad.

"Hey, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Oliver Wood had just poked his head into their compartment.

"Hey Oliver," Katie gave him a big smile. Their friendship had begun almost immediately after Katie had joined the quidditch team in her second year. Unfortunately, Katie also harbored a secret crush on him but never told anyone about it. She was worried they would laugh at her and say that she was too young for him. She thought she saw signs of him liking her last year, but soon brushed those off as him just acting like an older brother. She pushed all of her thoughts of liking him way back, so that they almost disappeared. But seeing him now, looking at her with that wonderful smile, made her want to read every fail-safe charm in her book.

"Hi Kates," Oliver was really happy to see her. They were pretty good friends on and off the quidditch pitch. Last year Oliver had a crush on her but was worried that he was too old for her. He had tried to forget about liking Katie all summer and instead focused on new quidditch plays. But seeing her now all those feelings came rushing back.

"Ollie, what brings you to our humble abode?" George asked, as he tried to put his feet on the opposite seat. His attempt was foiled by Lee who just shoved them off.

"Well I came here to give Katie her-"

"Oliver, Captain our dear old Quidditch Captain, please give me your honest opinion," Fred was stroking his chin as if he had a long beard, "Do you believe that Katie, our Katie right here, is old enough to be dating?"

Oliver turned a delicate shade of pink. He wondered frantically why Fred would be asking this question. Does she like someone? Is she dating somebody already?! While Oliver was having a mental freak-out, Katie gave Fred a well-deserved kick in the shins.

"Let's get out of here," Katie had gotten up from her seat, nudged Oliver out in the hallway and shut the door behind them.

"What was that all about?" Though he was dreading the answer, curiosity got the best of him.

"Oh Angelina and Alicia gave me this dating book and Fred was acting like an idiot about it," Katie rolled her eyes and leaned back on the wall.

"Oh," Oliver wasn't sure what to say to that. At least she doesn't have a boyfriend, he thought.

"Yeah it's a stupid book, I'm probably just going to get rid of it," Katie thought that was a little harsh considering it came from her two best friends, but she didn't want Oliver to think that she was going to actually use the thing.

"You aren't planning on using it then?" said Oliver, giving her a wary look.

"It's not like I have anyone to use it on," she said.

"Going to study and play quidditch all year then, huh?"

"That's the Oliver Wood lifestyle isn't it?" Katie laughed, "Are you going to give me any pointers?"

"Hey! I'm not that boring," Oliver pretended to look hurt at her comment, "I think I'm going to go return your present now." He started to walk down the hallway.

"Wait, you got me a present?" Katie then noticed that he had been holding a silver bag in his right hand.

"Of course I got you a present, it's your birthday," He began waving the bag in front of her face, "Go on take it, it won't bite."

Taking the bag, she opened it and pulled out what looked like gloves. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was actually new chaser gloves.

"You told me how your old ones had holes in them," Oliver said, "So I figured the least I could do as your friend and quidditch captain, is get you new ones."

"Thank you so much," Katie gave Oliver a quick hug. She had been saving up all summer to buy new gloves; she couldn't wait to tell her dad about these ones.

Out of nowhere, Katie began feeling the train slow down. Oliver must have sensed it too because he started looking out the windows.

"We can't be at Hogwarts yet," he said, as he tried to wipe away the mist on the windows. All of a sudden something large and black glided past the window. A sickening chill went through Katie. She started feeling like she did when her parents were going through their divorce. Sliding down the wall to sit on the floor, she started hearing her parents' voices. Katie shut her eyes and tried to cover her ears to drown out the shouting, but it just kept getting louder and louder.

"Katie!"Opening her eyes she saw Oliver kneeling down across from her. His dark brown eyes were filled with worry. "Are you alright?"

"I heard my parents yelling at each other," she started to nervously pull her hair into a ponytail, "It was so real."

"It's okay," Oliver reached out and held her. Why is she so cold?

"What was that?" He was so warm; Katie didn't want to leave his arms.

"Dementors, I think," He readjusted himself so that his back was against the wall too, "They must be here searching for Sirius Black."

"Hey you guys okay?" Lee had poked his head out the compartment.

"We're fine now," Oliver nodded towards Katie, "It affected her a little more though."

"Yeah same with Alicia," Katie noticed Lee looked the same way Oliver had, "She said she heard her baby sister, but she's been gone for two years-"

"It's the Dementors," Oliver explained.

"What are they here for?" Lee had heard about the ghost-like things that guarded the wizarding prison.

"I'm guessing they're looking for Black, the Daily Prophet says he's looking for Harry,"

"Poor kid," said Katie. She couldn't imagine how he must have been affected by the Dementors.

"Yeah, I'll see you guys later," Lee was going to offer to let them back in, but they looked content where they were.

"Are you okay?" Oliver was trying to read her face, but her sloppy ponytail had pushed the hair back into her face.

"I think so," she brushed the loose hairs back into place, "I guess having a boring life pays off sometimes."

Oliver couldn't help but smile at this. Katie making a joke had to be a good thing.

"I suppose it does," he said.

The train began slowing down again. Katie gripped his arm like a steel trap.

"We're at Hogwarts this time," Oliver gently removed her hand and helped her up. This is going to be an interesting year, he thought.

~*~*~*~

Now I don't believe in begging for reviews (most of the time) but if you want to click that little button down there and tell me your thoughts….

Go for it