hey everyone, i'm back and starting another oliver/katie fic. this one is post hogwarts, but will probably feature some of the characters from the hogwarts days. i hope you guys enjoy, tell me if it sucks majorly. nitpick it...go wild. just review. also, if anyone has any ideas about what should come next, tell me...i'm always open for ideas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. end of story.

Take Me For Me
Chapter 1: Playing With The Big Boys

"Miss Bell, if you could please stop."

Katie quickly stopped her nervous habit of drumming her fingers on whatever solid object happened to be nearby. At this time, it was Oliver Wood's head. Oliver Wood was her Quidditch captain, incredibly good looking, and her best friend. They had been best friends since they were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team together at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oliver looked up at her as he finished attaching his protective gear to his legs. He was sitting in front of his locker on the bench.

"You're going to do fine," he assured her. This was her first professional game. Oliver had gotten her the position of chaser for his team at the start of pre-season. A few months later and here she was, fully geared up, holding her broom and having a panic attack.

"Ollie, I think I'm going to throw up."

He stood up and put both hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "You will do amazing. I know you will. You always do."

"That was at Hogwarts! This is different! This is big. This is professional. I'm being paid on the basis of whether I win or lose!"

"Wait, what? We're being paid for this? God! No one gave me that memo!" Justin joked as he sauntered through the locker room. Oliver whacked him on the head as he passed and Katie gave him a dirty look that seemed to say 'I can and will hurt you'. He winked at her and motioned that she should call him. She gestured at him rudely, and he made a kissie face at her. Oliver shooed him out of the room and looked back at Katie.

"Do you remember that game where Harry broke his arm and we lost completely and terribly?"

"Yea…and?"

"Just don't break your arm."

"You're so helpful! You should seriously look into counseling. You know that?"

He gave her a smug little smile, "I'm trying to help you here, remember."

"I know, and I thank you for that, but do you have to do it with so much circumlocution?"

"Circumlo-what-tion?"

"-Locution. Circumlocution. It's evading things in speech or writing... What?" she asked, looking at his confused expression.

"Where did that word come from?"

"Well, circum is from Latin meaning round or circle, and locution is like –"

"No, I know that part of it, I'm not that dumb. I'm saying, who are you and what have you done with my Katie Bell? You used to be so … not smart." He bit his lip at the last part, realizing it could be taken badly.

She laughed, thankfully, and patted his head. "You, my dear captain, are very interesting," she giggled.

Oliver blushed.

"Oy, Captain, Rookie, we're on soon! They're introducing the other team!" Amelia said, poking her head through the door. Amelia was a little blonde who measured in at 5'2", 100 pounds and could knock a seeker off their broom from half-way across the field with one whack of her beaters bat to a bludger. She used her small size as an advantage and had helped win the young team many games.

"Coming." Oliver called to her, he turned to Katie, "You ready?"

"No!" she squeaked.

"Well, at least you're upbeat about it."

"I think you misunderstood me, Oliver," she said, following him out to the gate onto the field without even realizing it. She was still trying to explain to Oliver how she really was not ready when the ref blew their whistle and the game started. As soon as she saw the quaffle though, all her panicky thoughts flew as far from her mind as Pluto from the sun. Instincts and Hogwarts training took over.

Two hours later, a sweaty and battered Katie looked over at Daniel and Justin, the other two chasers. The game had ended with Katie's team winning by 130 points. The stands were almost emptied now, but the team was too light-hearted to go back to the locker rooms. They continued to fly slow lazy circles around the field.

Daniel placed a big hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. "You're not that bad. I mean, that last shot could've gone a little faster and you could've not head-butted their seeker and almost falling off your broom is not the best way to get the quaffle, but yea, that was good." He ducked a punch that she aimed at him and laughed.

Justin flew over to her other side and put his arm around her so that she was sandwiched in between the two 6-foot-plus men. Daniel and Justin guided her towards Oliver who was talking animatedly with Amelia and Leo, the beaters.

"Can we keep her, Mommy?" Justin asked when they got within speaking distance.

Oliver glanced over and cracked up at the sight of 5'6" Katie between the two tall men. "Please, we'll feed her and walk her and not let her pee on the furniture, we promise!" Daniel said, continuing the joke.

Amelia gave Katie a thumbs-up and looked to Oliver for permission to go back. He nodded and both she and Leo flew towards the locker rooms. "Justin. Daniel. Locker rooms. Go." Oliver said. "I want to talk the newbie."

"Be nice!" Daniel growled and followed Justin's lazy flight downwards.

"So that wasn't too bad." Oliver said, giving her a smile that seemed to understand everything that she was feeling.

Katie sighed and laughed and wiped tears from her eyes all at once. "It's like my second-year all over again. I feel like I've never done it before, and yet I know I have."

Oliver nodded and held out his arm for a one-armed-hug. She flew into it and he could feel her shoulders loosen up.

"Wow," she said, looking around at the hundreds of empty seats.

"C'mon, Bell, let's go."