"Wood, just take her flying," the voice of one of the two pranksters he had known for too many years now said. Both of them approached him, looking more mature than the last time he had seen them. Age suited them well, he noticed, but they still looked like they were waiting to for the opportune moment to play an embarrassing joke on him. His eyes wandered from the two red-headed fifth-years coming toward him to the blonde fourth-year who was laughing with her friend, Leanne, and he didn't notice that the twins knew exactly where he was looking.

"What are you two talking about?" Oliver said, taking his eyes off of Katie Bell and looking again at the twins who had sat down on either side of him at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. He glanced from one to another, seeing the mischievous smiles on their faces and wincing, despite the fact that he was two years older and more muscular than them. "What do you guys want?"

"Take her flying," said George, repeating what Fred had said earlier. When Oliver still looked at him with a figurative question mark on his face, both of them sighed, and Fred tried to explain their suggestion better to him. "You know… Katie Bell? Love of your life? The one you drool about every day? The one you dream about every evening?" Oliver held up a hand to stop them from going further after the last one and swallowed hard enough to show it on his face.

"How do you guys know about that?" he asked, forgetting for a moment that he shouldn't have asked, just assume they had spied and/or forced it out of somebody in his dormitory. It was better assuming that possibility, rather than hear them confirm it. "I mean, no. Yes. Never mind. We always fly together at practice." The twins shook their heads and tutted in a perfect impression of Mrs. Weasley.

"Oliver, Ollie Boy," said George. "There's a difference between taking her flying and making her fly at Quidditch practice. It's like the difference between giving somebody something to eat and forcing it down their throat. Just take her flying without all the balls and the other people around. You know, like on a date." Fred nodded his agreement with what his brother had said. They had obviously talked around this before they had come to him.

"I'm too old of her," Oliver said, choosing not to address the part of coercing her to fly. "Anyways, doesn't she have a boyfriend or something?" He figured that this was not the time to deny that he did, in fact, fancy Katie, and he didn't attempt to force the subject of age. He took a glance at Katie and the friend who had finally started eating their dinner. He looked back at Fred and George, who were grinning like you would grin at a four-year-old who had just asked a stupid question.

"Oliver, will you ever learn?" Fred said, his brother loading up both his and Oliver's plate and pouring some pumpkin juice into both goblets. "Why would we be telling you to ask her on a date if she had a boyfriend? She doesn't; they broke up a couple of weeks ago. He was a git, as egotistical as they come." George nodded his agreement while popping a piece of roast beef into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed quickly before continuing the conversation.

"So Wood," George said, while Fred started loading up his plate. "You've got to snatch her up before some other bloke catches her. She's rather pretty, isn't she? Rather nasty temper, though, if you ask me." Oliver was just about to nod and glance over at Katie again when he managed to get a hold on his mind once again. He looked at both Fred and George, who were both eating away and looking smug.

"No," Oliver said suddenly, causing Fred and George to stop eating. "I'm three years older than her… and we hardly ever talk about anything but Quidditch, and that's only when we have to. She's a bit too quiet, I guess. And she thinks I'm a weirdo for being so obsessed with Quidditch." Fred put down his fork with disappointment and then took a long swig of pumpkin juice, as if preparing for a long speech.

"First, Oliver, she was dating a sixth year, so I doubt going one year higher would be off-limits for her," Fred said with an air of false superiority. "You have to talk to her about things other than Quidditch. And who wouldn't think you're a weirdo, realizing how you've gone on and on about Quidditch during practices and games and everything?" George had eaten a bit more food and also taken a gulp of juice as to show that he could continue for Fred.

"After dinner tonight, just ask her if she would like to go flying," George said calmly and without thinking whether or not this would tear apart the team or not. He looked toward Fred, who nodded and drained the rest of the pumpkin juice. After hearing a muttered 'fine,' he stood with Fred doing the same thing at the same time. "Well, you know, places to go, people to prank." With two waves, they were both gone, leaving Oliver alone, wondering if they both were crazy or not.

--

Oliver, having finished his dinner exceptionally quickly after the twins' departure from the Great Hall, had been sitting in the chair nearest the fire for what seemed to be the longest time. Oliver, no matter how you put it, was not a patient man when it came to wanting for somebody to arrive in the common room. He had tried coming up with new plays, napping, even studying, but it was of no use; his eyes always seemed to fall back on the exit which Katie should be climbing through any moment.

He stared into the fire for a moment before hearing some people stumble into, laughing. He raised his eyes and saw that Katie had finally come back from the dinner he had thought was ever going to end. Oliver picked himself up, ignoring the protests flying around in his head, and walked as calmly as he could over to where she was standing with a group of friends. She fortunately saw him coming and slipped away from her friends, obviously expecting to hear the time of the next practice.

"Err, Katie, would you like to go flying?" Oliver said, being uncharacteristically unconfident with his words. Her face portrayed an emotion of confusion, and Oliver wanted to kick him hard in the shin. She probably thought that he was talking about Quidditch practice, which wasn't until Thursday. "I mean, would you like to go flying with me? Like on a…" He struggled to get the word out. "Date."

He was surprised when she nodded and smiled widely, showing her nice, white teeth off. "Sure, now?" she asked, her smile not dimming down a bit. When he nodded without saying a word, she smiled brighter. "I'll go get my broom," she added before walking away up the stairs to the girl's dormitory not leisurely but at a moderate pace. Oliver waited a long moment before racing up to get his own.

--

Oliver had never realized how big he was compared to Katie; his arms were massive with the muscles he had obtained during the summer, he was at least six inches taller than her, she being not that short at all. She was rather quiet, he realized, but then again he had no idea what to say to her. They walked to the pitch nearly silent except for mumbling small talk. He turned his head when he saw Fred and George pass and smile at each other.

As soon as they got to the pitch, they mounted their brooms and kicked off, floating leisurely in the air as Oliver told jokes about everything he could think. There was a twinkling to her laugh that suggested happiness, and Katie, stopping for a moment, pulled down her blonde hair, wrapping the tie around her wrist. The golden hair blew around with the wind, night just beginning to set in on the September night.

"So when did you start flying?" Oliver said with a more series air about him. She smiled as he asked the question, lazily flying in a circle around him with ease. He was still, awaiting the answer to his question.

"I'm half and half, but my first year was when I learned to fly," Katie answered with laughter bubbling up in her throat. "I was so surprised that I actually could. But let me guess. You've been flying your entire life." She easily streaked upward as to look out over the grounds. Oliver rose up to meet her.

"Yeah, my dad started me off pretty early," Oliver said, lounging as much as you could lounge on a broomstick. "Well, he started me off as soon as my mum would allow me to." He laughed at this, letting her imagine a baby on a broom. As they moved closer to each other, Oliver could see that her face was prettier than he thought it was; her hair flew into her face as they were motionless after a moment.

"'It's not that I long to be dead. It's just that I long to dive and fly,'" Katie recited off of the top of her head, suddenly remembering those words from somewhere she couldn't recall. "That would be a good motto for you, Oliver. Always telling us to risk our lives and such." She paused for a moment, biting back her words. "Oh, I didn't mean to be cold or mean to you. It's just…"

"Don't worry about it," Oliver said, a grin coming to his face about her concern. "I get kind of carried away at times with the whole Quidditch thing." He looked into her eyes and saw them gazing back at him with an intensity he had never seen before. "I'm not too old for you, am I?" When she nodded a firm no, he pulled his broom even closer to hers and leaned in to kiss her unexpectedly. After the relatively short kiss, Katie bit her lip.

"This is going to make practice a little awkward, don't you think?" Katie said the figure that was now flying around as the day turned into dusk. "I don't think I really care anymore," came the answer as she joined in flying around.

--

A/N: This is my first Oliver/Katie fic, though I hope it won't be the last. I couldn't find anything out about Katie, so I didn't really know how to write her. Reviews are greatly appeciated. I'd love to know what you think. The title and the quote by Katie both come from Jennifer Daniels' song Dive and Fly.

Beth.