Title – Falling
Author – Briar Oswald
Couples – Katie Bell/Oliver Wood
Disclaimer – Anything that you recognize does not belong to me
Katie Bell was currently standing in the changing rooms along with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Their Captain, Oliver Wood, was giving them his usual pep talk.
"Okay guys, let's beat those Slytherins!" The Scot shouted, earning a cheer from the group. He led them out onto the school's Quidditch Pitch, shook hands with the Slytherin captain, then ordered them to mount their brooms. Katie clambered onto her old Cleansweep then pushed herself up into the air, hovering between her best friends, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the game began. Slytherin had got off to a good start, it was ten minutes in and they were already forty points ahead. Katie watched as her friends whizzed through the air, flanked by the red-headed twins. She looked down at Harry, who was looking for the Golden Snitch.
"Bell! Look out!"
The brunette turned to see Oliver go pale. Not a second later, she felt a stinging pain in the back of her head. She had been hit by a stray Bludger. Her head spinning, Katie tumbled to the side, effectively falling off of her broom. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Oliver flying over to Madam Hooch.
Katie slowly opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. A sea of red and gold surrounded her, worried faces blocking her view.
"Hello." She murmured., her head stinging as she tried to sit up.
After realizing no one was going to break the silence, she spoke up. "So, how long was I out for?"
"Not long, an hour tops." Angelina said, sitting on the bed next to her friend.
"Who won?" asked Katie. She saw everyone look at each other nervously. "What?"
"Well...ffter you fell, Wood...he...well, it was really out of character of him..." Fred stammered, shaking his head in confusion.
"What did he do?" She was curious now.
"He...forfeited the match." said George disbelievingly. It was Katie's turn to look confused. Oliver Wood? Quidditch fanatic, wouldn't-stop-a-game-of-Quidditch-if-somebody-died Oliver Wood? He had willingly forfeited?
"Why?" asked Katie. The group surrounding her all shrugged.
The group chatted for a while, mostly about their Captain, who they think has had a psychotic break down, until Madam Pomfrey ushered them away.
The next day, Katie was allowed to leave the hospital wing. She headed back to Gryffindor tower to get showered and changed. She had just decided to head down to the Great Hall to have a late breakfast when she ran into Oliver in the Common Room.
"How are you?" He asked.
"I'm fine, what about you?"
"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Well, the team told me you willingly forfeited a game of Quidditch."
He shrugged. "We were losing anyway."
"The game had barely started." She retorted, "Harry could have still caught the Snitch."
They stood in silence for a while, until Oliver muttered something incoherently.
"What?" She questioned.
"I was worried about you." His honesty caught her off guard. She had had a crush on the older Gryffindor for a while, but she never thought anything of it. She looked up at him, and realised they were only inches apart.
"Why would yo-" Katie didn't get to finish whatever she was about to say, because the Scot had pressed his lips to hers. After a moment of shock, she kissed back, wrapping her arms around his neck. They broke apart, panting for breath.
"What did you want to say?" He asked.
"Never mind." She whispered, pulling him back for another kiss.
The two Quidditch players were so caught up in each other that they didn't here footsteps climbing through the portrait door, or see Angelina smiling and saying, "Pay up" to the stunned twins.