Author's Note: This is a companion piece to my other one-shot,Rule Number Five. It would be better if you were to read that story first, but I believe you can understand this one by simply knowing that in RN5 Katie and Fred were dating and Oliver was upset with them, because they were openly disregarding the fifth rule of the decalogue of the perfect quidditch player, which stated never to date a teammate. Of course, that had nothing to do with the fact that Katie Bell was so attractive.

I hope you will enjoy this little one-shot :)

Disclaimer: I still have erotic dreams featuring a naked Oliver Wood with a Santa hat, but that doesn't make him, or anything Harry Potter-related, mine in any way, unfortunately.

A Merry Christmas Practice

This is not going well.

This is not going well at all.

We should be outside, on our brooms, practising. That's what I meant when I said we were going to have practice today. I surely didn't mean that they could bring firewhisky with them and get wasted and sing and shout and...WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING? WEASLEY!

Yes, well, George, there's no need to be so rude, you know.

It should have been the Perfect Practice. I had organized every single detail, so that we could then survive the holidays without losing our good shapes, and be ready for our first match against Hufflepuff in January. But no, obviously they don't care about anything but having fun, and spent the evening turning our locker room into a rubbish dump, with dirty napkins and empy bottles of butterbeer AND EVEN ONE OF FIREWHISKY thrown all around the place.

I don't understand. Do they really care so little about our team? How could they be so willing to throw away all the efforts we've made these past four months? I thought they were better than that! Maybe not the Weasleys, that's true, they're too irresponsible to care about such things – but what of the others? How can Angelina, who is most probably to be the next captain of the team, be laying on that bench, half asleep, after Merlin-knows-how-many butterbeers? And Alicia, serious, reliable Alicia, does she really prefere to sit in a corner, right on the floor, giggling to herself for no apparent reason, than to be outside playingthe most wonderful game of all, with the wind blowing on your face, easing all your worries...well, yes, practising for our next match?

Good Lord, even Harry seems more interested in whatever it is the Weasleys are telling him than in the possibility of doing what we're supposed to do, practise.

And Katie, let's talk about Katie. How can she possibly be...where in Merlin's name is Katie now?

"Is there a reason why you haven't eaten anything at all? The house elves are not going to be pleased, you know."

Oh, here she is.

Why is she handing me a plate? Do I look like I'm in a mood to eat anything?

"They've been very happy to prepare all this, they even said Christmas food is the funniest for them to make. They would be sorry to see we haven't finished it."

Of course, poor elves. "Then you should have told your friends not to drink so much, so they would have been able to eat something more."

At least she's putting away that cake. I can accept to jump pratice (if I'm forced to do it), but I cannot settle for gaining weight instead.

"Oh, come on, don't be so unfair. You know butterbeer is as analcoholic as pumpkin juice..."

"Not exactly."

"Well,almost. They're surely not drunk, they're just tired for the dancing. You would have been too, had you deigned us with your presence tonight."

"I've been here..."

"In a corner. Alone."

Of course I was in a corner, alone. I had to be ready, in the – quite idle – possibility that one of my teammates would actually decide to practise.

"Oh Merlin, Oliver, stop it at once."

Stop what? What sin have I commited now?

"Your face." Great. Now she can read my mind, too.

"You're looking as if you would like to shout "WE HAD TO PRACTISE AND WE DIDN'T AND NOW WE ARE GOING TO DIE" or something along that line."

"You're not funny, Bell."

"Tell me I'm wrong."

"You're wrong."

"Am I?"

"Of course you're not. Because, as you well know, we DID have to practise. And we DIDN'T. And now..."

"Now nothing is going to happen, except perhaps that we will be spared to spend the Christmas holidays aching all over."

"So that's what it is all about. Your own comfort. Good to know that that is more important than our team's sake."

"Oliver, the only reason why I'm not going to tell you you're being stupid, is that you know perfectly well that you are, even without my telling you so."

Now that is unfair. "I'm not being stupid."

"Oliver, you're sitting alone in a dark corner while all your best friends are, or should I say were, celebrating Christmas. How is that in any way not-stupid?"

I hate to admit it, but she's has a point.

"Ollie, we didn't do that to damage the team, and I believe you're smart enough to understand that. We only wanted to celebrate Christmas together, since tomorrow most of us are going back home."

Yes, well, that much I had been able to figure out myself, genious. I can't see how this changes anything, though. We still had to practise, and we didn't.

"To be honest, Oliver, I believe you should be happy about it, because it means that our team - yourteam, Mr. Captain - is so close to be actually more like a family than anything else. So, do me a favor, and stop pouting like a three-year-old and enjoy what remains of the evening. I'm sure you will not regret it."

"What does it remain of the evening, Bell? Look at them, Angelina is sleeping, Alicia is still laughing at herself..."

"Yes, well, she was the one who brought the firewhisky, and she didn't feel like sharing."

"WHAT? ALICIA? I thought the Weasleys..."

"Well, yes, because you always blame Fred and George, of course. How kind of you."

Here it is, possessive Katie Bell.

"Bell, don't get all protective of your boyfriend, there's no need for it."

"My what?"

Why is she looking at me with that expression, now? And how could her eyes – well, anyone's eyes – go so unnaturally round? Not that they're any less beautiful, because really, they're always sparkling, and those eyelashes...Wait, what the hell?

"Oliver, are you all right?"

"Yes, well, yes, I mean, I'm fine. Yes."

"Are you sure?"

Great, now she's looking at me as if I were insane.

"Your boyfriend, Bell. We were talking about your boyfriend. The one who is currently kissing...WHAT THE DEVIL?"

Angelina and Fred? How did that happen? And OH MY MERLIN does anyone ever take that blasted rule number five into any consideration?

"Oliver, don't start yelling about rule number five now, please." She must be a legilimens, there's no other explanation. "As you can see, everything worked out perfectly well between Fred and me, so I don't see why anything horrible should happen now that he's dating Angelina. Quite the opposite, in fact. I should say that, were you to try to separate them, you would find yourself without two of your best players. They like each other way too much to let you ruin their happiness."

"Ruin their happiness? Bell, she was prattling about how cute you and Fred were together not three months ago!"

"Well, yes, we were cute. Like brother and sister, in fact, while them..."

"You were not kissing like brother and sister Bell, I assure you."

All right, that came out a bit harsher than I intended.

"I know, Ollie."

Good Merlin, how I like it when she calls me Ollie. Well, yes, I mean, I like it when anybody calls me Ollie.

"We tried, because I had such a huge crush on him, and he obviously liked me...but it didn't work, because we clearly didn't feel for each other the way we were supposed to feel. It was so strange, you know, to kissFred."

"Yes, well, it was strange to seeyou kissing Fred, too."

Oh Lord, this sounded even harsher than before.

"I can easily believe so. But the important thing is, we realized that and took a step back. We're as friends as we were before, and he's now with the person he was supposed to be with all along. And maybe soon I will find the person I should be with, too."

Why is she looking at me like that now? What does she want me to answer to that? Yes Bell, go on and find yourself a stupid boyfriend that will distract you from Quidditch, practice, study, friends, me...Oh Merlin, I'm doing it again. I should stop thinking, really, it does me no good. I should become a brainless idiot, if it works for Flint I don't see why it shouldn't...

"OLLIE!"

"WHAT?"

Oh my, I've been rude again.

"You were fuming again."

"I'm sorry."

Good. That sounded mortified enough. I see my mouth can still work the way it's supposed to, at least from time to time.

"It's all right. I don't suppose you can tell me what you were thinking of."

"Of course not."

"Of course. Well then, captain, I understand you don't want to party – and it would be stupid to do so now that the others are all gone"

Are they gone? Oh Merlin, they are. When did that happen?

"Fred and George thought it wise to put Alicia to bed."

Well, they too realized that at last.

"Anyway, Ollie, I believe that as much as you don't want to celebrate, you will not object to opening your present."

"A present?" Really? For me?

"Yes, well, don't get too excited, I couldn't afford anything too expensive, but I saw this last Saturday at Hogsmeade and it made me think of you, I couldn't stop myself from buying it. Open it."

Open it. As if it were easy. How am I supposed to unwrap this damn thing if she continues to smile at me that way? Oh, all right, it seems I made it. Let's see what's inside...oh, well that's nice. That's really really nice. And she's still smiling at me, which is even nicer than the gift. Well, yes, anyway, it is a leather bracelet with a silver broom charm. Adorable. Not as much as she is, but nonetheless.

"Don't worry that you have nothing for me, I didn't do it to have something in return. I only bought it because it looked as if it were made for you."

"Yes, Kittie-Kat, thank you..." Wait, what? "Wait, ehi, I do have something for you."

"You do?"

Why does she look so suspicious now? Of course I bought something for her.

Was that not the reason why we went to Hogsmeade last week? To buy presents for people we love? I mean, people we care about. Very much.

"Yes, I do. Only I didn't bring it with me because I thought I should send it to you on Christmas day. Since, you know, tonight we were supposed to be practising."

"Yes, Ollie, yes, I KNOW. You've made it perfectly clear already. By the way, I shall look forward to receive your gift."

Oh, that's good. I hope she'll like it. Because I think it's perfect for her, since she is so...

"Ollie, you're looking rather stupid right now, grinnig like that."

"What?"

"Now it's better. That is still not a normal facial expression, but a less scary one for sure."

I did it again :)

I know this is not a masterpiece, and it is way too similar to "Rule Number Five" under a lot of aspects, and it doesn't have this great a plot...but I continued to play this little scene in my head, and *had* to write it down.

I hope I didn't make too many mistakes, please point them out for me if you find any, I'm still not very good at writing in English.

I hope I'll have time enough before starting studying for my exams to write about Oliver's present to Katie before it is completely unseasonal. Do not worry, though, it will come anyway, even if I were to post it in July :)

I know I'm late for Christmas, but I'm still in time to wish you all a very happy 2012, hoping you will all have time enough to read a lot of beautiful fanfictions before the end of the world.

Christmas-y cupcakes to everyone who leaves a comment ^^

I love you all!

Ly