The Pirate Ship Battles:
KBOW Captain
theme: Valentine's Day
WC: 3,123
This is a WWII muggle!AU with Katie Bell and Oliver Wood. I tried to keep everything as close to history as possible (so the bombing that will later occur really did happen in February, just not on Valentine's Day, and V-E Day is really on May 8th) Hopefully you guys enjoy my take on it!
FEBRUARY 14, 1945
I pinned back my curls and straightened my uniform, sighing. It was early, too early, for my job. But at the moment, everything seemed to be too much: 5 AM was too early, the body count was too high, and I was much too young to be seeing all of this death.
I worked in London's central Hospital as an assistant nurse for the wounded soldiers on their way home. There, I worked day shifts and took classes in the evenings to earn my nursing degree so I could become more than just an assistant who washed bandages and changed sheets.
Jabbing one last hairpin into my hair, I slipped on my heels and grabbed my coat. It was still too cold - there was another 'too much' - and the weather outside didn't match the lovey-dovey romantic atmosphere this day should bring.
I hurried down the steps of Gryffindor Boarding House for the Sociable Young Persons, my current residence, and exited into the communal lounge. Gryffindor House was strict in its policy of separation of sexes, and dorm rooms were in two wings with communal eating areas and sitting rooms in between. I waved at the boarding mistress, Ms. McGonagall, who nodded primly in return, before pushing my way out into the chilly morning air.
As I pulled my coat tighter, I felt something crinkle in my pocket. I grinned. The letter from Oliver! It had arrived yesterday, with "DO NOT OPEN UNTIL VALENTINE'S DAY" scrawled on the outside in red ink pen. I'd almost forgotten about it in my sleepiness of the morning; now, though, it was February 14th, and I could open the letter.
Dearest Kit-Kat, it started out. I smiled at the affectionate nickname, which was something Oliver had called me ever since we were little kids. Happy Valentine's Day, kid! Hopefully this is the only letter you're getting from a bloke today - I don't want you dating any boy who isn't man enough to be in the war, you hear me? Besides, you can't start dating anyone until I'm home to intimidate him.
I rolled my eyes at that. Oliver was three years older than me, and we'd grown up together. I didn't know a time when Oliver wasn't my friend. When he'd gone off to join the Royal Air Force, I'd been barely 15, and it had been 4 years since I'd seen him. I still missed my best friend but we sent each other letters about everything. I wrote to him daily, and he wrote to me as often as he could.
Really, though, kid, I hope you're staying young back home. God, you're what, 19 now? I feel like such an arse that I missed four of your birthdays. I guess you really aren't much of a kid anymore, huh?
I felt a tear in the corner of my eye, and I swiped it away as I continued to walk towards the hospital. I hadn't been a child for a long time. I hadn't been able to be a child since Oliver left.
Mam sent me a picture of you and the girls in your new nurses uniforms, and I'm proud of you for working so hard. Soldiers aren't the only ones who are going to win this. We need the strength of our women at home, too. And a little part of me is so glad that you're in London and not out here. The 107th does some work with the WAAFS, and even though they're all tough young women, it's not a job I would ever want to see you in, Katie.
I felt a little knot of jealousy in my stomach at Oliver's description of the women he worked with in the airforce. I'd wanted to work with the WAAFs, but they'd told me I was too young and sent me to the Hospital, something my mum was eternally grateful for.
I wish I had more time to write to you, Katie. I can't tell you where I am or what I'm doing, but I hope to be home soon. I have a feeling it's going to be over soon, one way or another.
Happy Valentine's Day, Katie Bell. I love you more than anything else in the world, kid. Stay safe.
Love,
Oliver
I wiped my eyes dry and folded the letter carefully, placing it back in my pocket. These letters meant the world to me, but at the same time, it broke my heart at how familiar and friendly he was to me. I was just a sister to him. Nothing more.
I loved him too much.
"Katie!"
I plastered a smile on my face as I let myself through the back door of the Hospital, waving at my friend Alicia. I picked up a bucket of water and hurried over to my first patient of the day: George Weasley.
"Hiya, George! How are you today?" I smiled at the redhead, who was only a few years older than I. He'd lost the hearing in one ear in battle when a cannon blast had gone off too close to him and he'd been knocked unconscious. He was trying to adapt to the loss, as well as heal from the other scrapes and bruises he'd received, before he was discharged from the Army.
"Hey, Nurse Bell! Look, look, I thought up another one - answer me this: why did the clown cover his ears when he walked by the henhouse?"
George was coping with his loss mentally by coming up with ear humour. Beginning with a terrible joke about being "deafinately into nurses", he'd moved on to the entire realm of ear related humour.
"Gee, George, why did he?" I asked, smiling as I bustled about his bed.
"He didn't want to hear the fowl language! Get it?!" He cracked into laughter and stumbled out of bed so I could change his sheets, leaning on a nearby chair.
"That's very entertaining, George. Now, if you'd just lie down and-"
"My brother died today, Katie. My twin brother."
I froze, my hands clenching the pillow I had been fluffing up.
"I got the news this morning. His name was Fred. He was part of the 107th, in the-"
"The Royal Airforce," I breathed. Oliver's regiment. I turned to him and grabbed his uninjured arm, desperate for answers. "What happened, Georgie? Tell me what happened!"
He looked shocked at both the familiarity of my tone and that I was so interested; I experienced death all the time and had developed a sort of callous acknowledgment to it. But he continued with his tale, which was all I wanted.
"They were trying to bomb German transports, and then the German's started shooting back. Their pilot tried maneuvering away, but in all the chaos...Freddie's plane got shot down. I'm not sure how many others were taken down as well, but they reported him as KIA. He's - he's gone, Katie," George choked on tears, and I leaned down and hugged him, tears falling from my own eyes.
"Oh, George, I am so sorry. Was he the only brother you had out on the war front?"
George shook his head. "I've got six siblings, and my five brothers are all out there. Bill's working with the Navy, Charlie's on the Italy front, Percy's working in Churchill's office, and my little brother Ron is a parachuter; he's somewhere behind enemy lines, we don't know where. My little sister joined the WAAFs four months ago when she turned 18. Everyone's involved."
"Oh, George…"
"Who do you have in the 107th, Katie?"
"What? I'm not sure what you mean…" I trailed off as he smirked at me, and I blushed.
"Clearly someone you love is in the 107th. You showed far too much emotion for it to just be concern for a hurting friend."
I pulled out Oliver's letter, possibly the last letter I would ever receive from him. "His name is Oliver Wood. He's my neighbor, and one of my best friends, and…" I stopped, unable to speak about him any longer.
"And you love him, don't you? It explains a lot, you know - you never swooned at my charm," he said flirtatiously. I chuckled, shaking my head at his behavior.
"Lot's of nurses don't swoon at your charm, George. Angelina never does," I teased. I'd noticed him looking at my friend Angelina Johnson the other day.
"Oh, that's just cuz she doesn't like my tattoo. She thinks it's vulgar," he said, pulling his sleeve up to show me the tattoo on his arm. It was of a buxom woman, and as he flexed his bicep her chest heaved up and down. Angelina was right, it was vulgar, but it distracted me from my worry all the same.
"Oh, George. She's going to steal your heart, you know that, right?" I laughed as he mimed being shot by an arrow.
"She's my Valentine, Bell," he said, and I tried desperately to hold onto his humor as I went to tend to my other patients.
George's humor didn't even last me an hour. I spent the next week in a worried daze, looking after patients and sitting through classes without even registering what was happening. All I could think about was whether or not Oliver was alive.
My worry only intensified as more time passed and I heard no news. There were no more letters, no more information and anyone I asked simply shot me a sympathetic look and hurried on with their work. It was driving me mad.
George was being discharged when I came into work that morning. Angelina was standing by his bed, along with a shorter, stouter redheaded woman.
"Alright Mr. Weasley, you're all ready to go," Angie was saying as I hurried up.
"George! You're heading out, then? All better?" I asked. He grinned and ruffled my hair, mussing up the curls I'd just spent half an hour trying to tame.
"Of course, Kates. I mean, Miss Bell. You did a tip top job of fixing me all up. 'Sides, apparently they need my bed for some actually injured people. You're going to have lots of work from what I hear." He looked at me closely. "The remainder of the 107th is coming in today."
Angie stood behind him with baited breath as I took this news in. By this point, both of them new exactly what that meant to me.
"Really? The- the 107th?"
They nodded.
"Angie, you've got this, right? Where are they coming in?"
"Katie-"
"Where are they?" Angie stopped at the force in my voice, clutching her clipboard tighter.
"They're due to arrive in five minutes. West Wing - thirty men." I nodded swiftly and hurried down the corridor, towards the West Wing.
"Nurse Bell, where are you-" Dr. Pomfrey tried to stop me as I ran by her, but I hurried past, breaking into a run as I neared the wing. There was something going on; lots of nurses were walking around with clipboards and various instruments, and I hurried into the fray, looking for one man.
"Doctor, I'm looking for a patient- Oliver Wood. Is he here?" I stopped a random doctor - his name tag said 'Remus Lupin' on it - and he glanced at his files.
"We don't have an Oliver Wood on our lists. But we haven't processed everyone yet. They got up to room 14B on this list. Check the other rooms for your patient." He gave me a sympathetic smile and I ran off again.
Come on, Oliver, come on, be alive.
"Oliver!" I was frantic now - what if he wasn't here? What if he hadn't made it out?
And then-
"Katie?"
I whipped my head around, my eyes searching out a familiar face. At first, I couldn't find him, but then my eyes locked with his green ones, and the next moment I was flying into his arms as fast as humanly possible.
"Katie- ow- It's ok, Katie, I'm alive-"
"Don't you dare scare me like that again! Oliver Wood, you damn, stupid lovely man don't ever leave me again!"
He coughed once, and I realized he was in the Hospital for a reason.
"Dammit, wait, let me patch you up. Have they checked you in yet?"
He shook his head, his arm still wrapped tight around my shoulders, leaning against me as I helped him to a bed. "Since I'm concious they aren't as worried. They said a nurse would be here to look at me soon."
I grinned. "Lucky for you, I'm a nurse. Well, close enough." I sat him down and pulled out a small flashlight to check his eyes. "Ollie, what happened? Head injuries? Clearly you injured something on your leg since you can't walk well, but is there any injury on your head or neck I should worry about?"
"Maybe some minor bruising? Honestly, Katie, I'm fine, really, I-"
I glared at him sharply. "Don't you dare to try to play down your injuries just because you don't want to look weak in front of me. I can easily go get another nurse, one who won't be as nice as me. And then you won't get to enjoy my company until after you get out of hospital."
He grinned cheekily at me. "I'm not just enjoying your company, Katie. You look almost grown up in that nurses uniform."
I blushed. "Pity, can't say the same for you," I bantered easily, trying to hide my flaming cheeks, but he saw right through my flippant manner and grabbed my hands, clasping them in his own.
"Katie. Stop for just a second, alright?"
"What is it, Oliver?"
"Thank you. For everything. Your letters, coming to find me, giving me hope… I don't know if I could have survived everything if I didn't know you were back here, waiting for me to come home. And I'm sorry for missing all your birthdays, and Christmas, and Valentine's Day, and-"
"Oh, Oliver, it's ok," I whispered, clasping him tight again. "I don't care how many stupid holidays you missed, what matters is that you're safe again. You're safe with me, Ollie. That's all that matters, ok?" He nodded, but there was disappointment in his eyes, which confused me. I busied myself with his injuries again, which despite his assurances were actually quite severe in some cases.
But all of that was ok, because he was home, and he was safe.
MAY 8, 1945
He was finally going to be discharged. I hurried into a nice blouse and skirt, tying my hair back in a new fashion and dabbing on a bit of makeup. I didn't have to be at work today, but I wanted to be there when he was released. I hurried out the door of Gryffindor House, waving a quick goodbye to my neighbor, Lee Jordan, as I went, and raced the four blocks to the Hospital.
"Oliver!" He was folding up the last of his shirts when I bounced into his room, a grin on my face. Mrs. Wood smiled at me from the corner where she was sipping a cup of tea and talking to the nurse on duty, one I didn't know. Probably because she worked my days off.
"Oliver, I'm so glad you're getting discharged. We can get you home and settled in and then my mum invited you and your family over for tea and-"
"Mum, can Katie and I go to the park for breakfast this morning?" he asked abruptly, not even looking at me. I stopped in confusion.
"Oliver, don't you-" I started, but he continued as if he hadn't heard me.
"We won't be gone long, Mum, but it's such a beautiful day, and you know, I've been cooped up with no one my own age for so long," he said, his voice falling into his 'mum-pleasing' tone. I stared in shock as Mrs. Wood readily agreed and Oliver grabbed my hand, dragging me from the room and out the door of the hospital.
I followed him down the steps as he led me towards Hyde Park, not letting go of my hand.
"Oliver, is everything alri-"
"I meant everything I said in my letters, you know," he stated bruskly, gripping my hand tighter.
"What do you mean? Of course you meant everything - we tell each other the truth all the time."
"No, no I mean everything. I realized something, Katie, while I was out there getting shot at and dropping bombs on things. I didn't want to come home and find you with some other bloke, and I realized that when I said I loved you more than anything else in the world, I meant it. And I want to know if you did too." At some point he had stopped us, and he was gripping both my hands tightly, clasping them between us and searching my eyes pleadingly.
"I don't know what to say, Ollie… are you, are you telling me you love me? As in, more than just a little sister?" I asked carefully, hoping beyond hope I was right.
"I-"
"EXTRA! EXTRA! V-E DAY PROCLAIMED, THE WAR IN EUROPE IS OVER! EXTRA EXTRA! GET YOUR NEWS HERE!'
Our heads snapped towards the newsboy, who was waving a paper over his head.
"Oliver-"
"Oh, screw it," he muttered, and then he had closed the gap between us and kissed me. His arms wrapped around my waist as cheering roared up in the park, everyone was laughing and kissing and cheering about the end of the war, but to me, this made up for all the birthdays and Christmases and Valentine's Days Oliver had had to miss because of the blasted war.
"Katie, I-"
"The answer is yes, Oliver. I meant every word, too," I whispered as he pressed his forehead against mine.
"Good. Happy V-Day, Katie," he whispered, and then all our thoughts were gone as he leaned down and pressed another perfect kiss to my lips.
Victory was truly ours.