Written for the Last Ship Sailing Competition. Prompts: cauldron, knitting needles, on cloud nine, navy, candlelight
Bonus prompts: nervous habit, "I thought I saw something in the window," centaurs, yellow.
The common room was quiet. It was the night before Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw. The two houses had been so tense due to the upcoming game that would be deciding who would be playing Slytherin in the Quidditch Cup. The houses were snapping at each other quite frequently, especially in classes the players were in. During potions, the twins jinxed Roger Davies' cauldron, causing it to turn into a mouse. The potion he had been working on exploded and the twins were given detention for the night. Oliver was livid. His two beaters were now in detention the night before the big game and he still had a few plays he wanted to go over with the team.
After two hours of waiting in the common room, Oliver sent the rest of the team to bed. He went upstairs to his dorm to try to relax. He started pacing around his room mulling over plays and scenarios of things that might happen. He wasn't the Quidditch captain for nothing, it was his job to be aware of all possible outcomes of the game.
Except for the one he didn't want to think about. The potential chance of them losing. Sure, they lost to Hufflepuff in the last match, but it wasn't their fault. With Dementors suddenly appearing on the field, how was he supposed to know Harry would fall off his broom and not catch the snitch? There was no way Dumbledore would allow that to happen again.
"Oy! Oliver, quit pacing already and stop worrying about tomorrow!" Percy yelled from his bed.
"Sorry Perce, my nerves are on edge," he replied as he went to try to lay down and calm his thoughts. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he got back up and went downstairs, maybe a midnight snack might be the best way to help calm his frazzled nerves.
Katie was sitting in a corner of the common room, lit only by the crackling fire that was slowly dying in the fireplace. Her knitting needles were clacking angrily as she was intently focused on the fire in front of her. She couldn't help but think about how upset Oliver had been before he tried to get the team to go to bed. She should be upstairs in her dorm room, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. How Angelina and Alicia were able to sleep the night before a match she would never know.
Not to mention that Roger Davies' exploding potion had singed her hair and ruined her robes. Plus it was her OWL year, and all the professors had assigned mountains of homework for the weekend, despite knowing how important the match was tomorrow. Her knitting needles continued clacking, it was one of her nervous habits that she had never been able to shake. Keeping her hands busy always helped her to de-stress and sort out her problems. For some reason, that wasn't the case tonight. All she could focus on was the fact that if they lost the game tomorrow, it would destroy Oliver. He had been waiting for years to finally win the Quidditch Cup, and if they couldn't pull it off tomorrow, his dream would be finished. Gryffindor was known to have the best Quidditch team this year, but at the same time ever since Harry had joined the team they should have won the cup.
But they didn't.
Something always destroyed that dream. And Katie did not want to let Oliver down. She knew she would play her hardest. She knew that all the others would too. Of course the twins wound up with detention tonight, everyone's stress levels were so high. They all wanted Oliver to finally achieve his dream of getting his name on the cup.
Why did she care about Oliver so much? It was something she had been noticing for a while. She wanted to talk to Angelina and Alicia about it, but she knew she would never hear the end of it.
It was just a little crush. She knew that's what it had to be. It would pass. He was her Quidditch captain for goodness sake.
But what if it was more? She had only recently admitted to herself that she did have some feelings towards him. He was attractive, and his Scottish brogue was wonderful to listen to, even if he was just reciting new Quidditch plays most of the time. She shook her head and willed herself to continue to focus on her knitting.
Oliver headed down to the common room, trying to be quiet as he went down the stairs. As he turned the corner to look into the common room, a familiar blonde head was visible near the fire. No other lights were on, and her hair was shining faintly in the firelight. He smiled to himself, thinking how lucky he was to have her in his life. Things didn't start out as well as they had hoped between them, with her thinking he only cared about Quidditch and with him only caring about Quidditch, but as they grew to know each other over the years they became much more friendly towards each other.
He didn't think he'd ever hear the end of it from Fred and George, they teased him relentlessly about how much he liked her. As long as they didn't say anything to her, he would be happy. There was no way she felt the same way about him that he felt about her.
He continued down the stairs and made his way through the dimly lit common room over to her. He bumped into the edge of the chair, startling her.
She glanced up and gave him a smile, "Hey Ollie, can't sleep either?"
"I wish. But it's impossible before a big game," he paused, questioning what he was seeing in front of him. "When did you start knitting?"
She shrugged, laughing to herself. "This? It's my nervous habit, for some reason it's always easier to think when my hands are busy."
"Better than mine at least, I keep pacing around the room until Percy finally kicks me out because he can't sleep. Do you mind if I join you?"
She smiled and moved towards the end of the couch, leaving enough room for him to sit down next to her. He slumped down, throwing his feet up onto the coffee table in front of them. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes; the only sounds were the clacking knitting needles and the crackling fire. He took a deep breath in, enjoying being surrounded by her presence. He began drumming his fingers on the arm of the couch; the upcoming match was slowly starting to creep back into the forefront of his mind. Maybe he did need that midnight snack. He glanced at the clock, knowing it was after curfew, but that there was a good chance he'd be able to sneak down to the kitchens unnoticed.
Oliver felt a nudge in his side, "You, sir, are getting extremely restless. What are you thinking about? Unless it's the match, then forget I asked," she said as she tilted her head in a teasing fashion. He took a deep breath, trying to settle his thoughts before answering her.
"Well of course it's the match, but I was also thinking that it's time for a midnight snack. It might help both of us sleep better," he stood up and stretched, then offered her his hand. "Would you care to join me?"
She stared at him and his outstretched hand in disbelief. "You, Oliver Wood, Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, willing to sneak out of the common room the night before a Quidditch match?" He started slightly at the amused tone of her voice. "Of course, being with you and breaking the rules the night before the game? How could I not be in?" She reached out and accepted his hand, quickly standing up and leaving her knitting in a pile on the coffee table. "And if we get caught?"
"It will be by McGonagall who will completely understand the necessity of this trip. This game is important!"
"That's your answer?" She shook her head as she raised her eyebrows, "I don't think I will ever understand you." She grinned, "But lead the way!" He pulled her out of the common room, heading downstairs making sure to check around them to confirm there were no professors or prefects nearby.
A thud sounded in the distance, barely loud enough to be heard. "Did you hear something?" Katie asked, worriedly.
"I couldn't tell. Maybe? It was probably nothing. Let's cut through here though, just to be safe," Oliver replied and gestured towards the portrait in front of one of the secret passageways that led to the first floor. Katie nodded as she glanced over her shoulder. She flinched and froze where she was standing. "Kates, what's wrong?"
"I thought I saw something in the window…" she trailed off, looking concerned. Oliver turned and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Must have been the centaurs. The skies are clear after all," he joked. She rolled her eyes in response as she followed him into the secret passage. Once the portrait closed behind them she stopped, leaning against the wall for support. He glanced back at her and gave her a questioning glance.
"Oliver, why are you acting like you're on cloud nine? I thought you'd be more worried about the game. And why am I petrified of the game tomorrow? Did we switch roles or something? Because this isn't normal. Did you get hit in the head with a bludger? It seems to be the only logical explanation. I mean, you're joking around. And you're up late the night before a Quidditch match."
"Kates."
"Plus how is it possible that you aren't more uptight right now? The twins got detention tonight! Normally you'd be freaking out about perfecting the plays to make sure we do everything we can to win tomorrow. I don't want to let you down if we don't win, it's been your dream since you got to Hogwarts to see your name on the cup."
"Katie," he said, more forcefully.
"It's midnight and we're sneaking down to the kitchens, the night before a huge match!"
"Katie!" he exclaimed, placing a hand over her mouth, only to realize that the navy blue in her eyes were sparkling with a twinge of excitement that was being reflected by the candlelight in the passage. "You're rambling again. I'm going to take my hand away from your mouth, but I don't want you to say anything just yet." He moved his hand away from her mouth and lightly brushed against her hand. She sighed and raised her eyebrows.
He took a deep breath, trying to arrange his thoughts before saying, "Yes it is the night before a match. Yes I'm trying to not act worried. In reality I'm terrified as hell that we're going to lose. I don't want to think about it. It's my last chance to get the cup, you know that. The entire team knows it! But right now I need to do something to calm my mind, at least so I can get a little bit of sleep to feel semi rested for the game. And the best way I could think to do that was to go for a walk and get a midnight snack."
Katie's eyes widened as she heard this. What he was saying sounded much more like the Oliver Wood she was used to. How he was forcing his mind to try to ignore all of the stress was astounding. "How are you managing to act so calm then?"
He gave half a grin, unsure of how best to continue. He didn't want her to realize that he had feelings for her. But seeing her leaning against the wall, listening to her worrying about how much she cared that they won tomorrow to fulfill his dream of winning the cup, it meant a lot. She had never looked more beautiful, with the yellow-blonde highlights in her hair gleaming in the candlelight in the passage.
Oliver's mind was racing. All he wanted to do was to take her hand and lace their fingers together.
"Because Kates, for once I'm trying to live in the moment." He sighed, and reaching out he put her hand into his, lacing their fingers together like he had been longing to do. They fit together perfectly, he felt the tension in Katie's body dissipate slightly, replaced with a new sensation of relief. He pulled her closer, trying to extend some of his calm into her anxious body. She moved closer to him, leaning her shoulder into his chest.
"What was that for?" She asked, glancing up to look into his eyes. He could still see the tension in her face, accentuated by wondering what was going on between them. There had always been a spark between them, one that caused them to argue extensively. But it also allowed them to have a lot of meaningful conversation when they weren't surrounded by their friends. These late night adventures were starting to become common between them; it felt so natural to be in each other's presence.
He smiled, his face lighting up as he met her gaze. He squeezed her hand tighter, "I knew it would calm you. Just like being with you tonight is helping to calm my nerves. Just like being with you at any time always helps me to focus, even when we're arguing about nothing important. It's just… us. The way it feels like we're supposed to be there for each other."
She smiled shyly, something that was rare for Katie. "I think I can agree with that. You stopped my rambling, you know how difficult that is."
He chuckled, knowing how true that was. Whenever she got nervous she would ramble incessantly. Most of the time it never made much sense.
Or her true feelings would pour out. It was one of the reasons they argued so much.
But during the other times, it allowed them to get closer. She was becoming his best friend. The person he would always turn to when things went wrong. To share the things he didn't want to admit.
He grinned, pulling her closer. She rested her head on his shoulder as they sat on the ground in the passageway. He was content to be here peacefully with her.
Who knows, maybe he wouldn't need that midnight snack anymore. He was calm, he was with Katie, and sleep might come easier that night as he now had something more important to focus on, at least for the next few hours.
