This is just a small story that etempts to highlight the chiverally of everyone's favourite Gryffindor Quidditch Captain!
Katie's a Heavy Sleeper
Katie's Pov:
I was exhilarated enough but the frosty temperature and snow covered pitch added to my natural and sublime, flying induced, high. Spying Fred sizing up a bludger for my direction I plummeted and swept low pulling up close to ground level, and arching across underneath my fellow chasers. I then bolted up to in front of the goals and called and received the quaffle from Alicia and then, still with momentum, spun up and around in my seat pelting the quaffle at the top hoop. Wood flashed up immediately, from the second ring, and lunged forward grasping the quaffle with one hand and then brought it safely into his chest. Another save.
"Wow Katie!" gasped Angelina.
"YEAH WOOD, you show that girl!" cheered Fred.
"Fred this may not be the opportune weather for Oliver to partake in a game of striptease", jeered George, at his brother, while eyeing Oliver and then slowly winking at Katie.
"George I'm shocked, Striptease is an 'all weathered' sport!" countered Fred, who was with his brother nodding in Oliver's direction and had his hands at the bottom of his jumper suggesting to take it off.
"Alright boys!" stammered an uncomfortable Wood. In a more controlled but still tight voice, "Well done chasers, that was an excellent play, and that was very daring of you Bell, pulling a move off like that in weather like this".
"Do you know what else is daring in this weather Oliver?", chimed both Fred and George, eyebrows raised identically in Oliver's direction.
"Enough!" howled Oliver.
Just then snow started to drift down on the suspended team, assembled near the hoops.
"Ok there's no point flying in this – Changing rooms everybody please!" ordered Oliver to a silently elated and relieved team.
Well everyone except for me and most definitely El Capitano Wood. I was suspended in mid-air absolutely deflated in response to the thought of a short practice in such interesting conditions and all. I noticed that the suspended practise quaffles had been left by my team mates, in the wake of a hot shower, and I turned into a sharp dive just for the thrill and swooped down to retrieve the bag continuing on low for a bit, allowing myself to bend and brush the now thick layer of snow covering the pitch with my fingers, before leaning back slightly and bolting up for the area of quaffles. Suddenly a blur of red shot out from underneath me and came to halt in front of the quaffles.
"Bell why aren't you inside taking a hot shower?", questioned Wood.
"Personally Wood, I'm in no hurry and I love this weather".
With an appraising look that could warm me through to the core he replied with a hint of a smile, "Oh, I can see that Bell".
He then came to silently grab one side of the opening to the quaffle bag, and we smoothly sailed around collecting the quaffles. At that I grabbed the full bag and tied the entrance shut, automatically releasing the spell on the tampered quaffles, and faltered in altitude for just a second while adjusting to the new weight of the drooping bag. Wood humpfed and calmly soothed "chiverally isn't dead yet you know Kates" and casually grabbed the bag off me and glided on down to the sheds and turning slightly in his position ordered back "and take a hot shower Bell". Oh but I no longer needed a hot shower I was warmed right through. After all my strapping athletic and quirky Scottish Quidditch captain had just called me by my first name, on field! He doesn't even call me anything but Bell off field let alone on! Silently, I reluctantly swept on down to the changing rooms and headed straight on into the girls showers, of which two were still in use.
Oliver's Pov:
I breathed in deeply and then let out an absolutely contented sigh, spurting some hot water too. Turning off the water I hurried to dry and get changed planting myself on the benches, as soon as my pants were on, to relieve my warm feet from the frozen wooden floors. I noticed that the change room was free of the sound of showers, or any sound for that matter, and deduced that Katie had returned to the tower with the rest of the team. Well that settles it, the twins were right, if a girl beat me out of the showers I really do take too long a time.
I trudged through the ankle thick snow and furious wind to the tower, grimly happy that I had made the call to cease practice. I was greeted to an empty common room and hence stiffly marched to the 'prime couch' the closest couch to the fire and settled in, lying down and slouching my head against one of the arms. I lay there for a moment and then identified shrill laughter emanating from a girls dorm followed by the raucous laughter of boys; the twins to be precise my brow furrowed. As Quidditch captain I should advise them to separate in fear of McGonagall or worse Percy but I'll save my harsh side for the pitch only. The twins had found out quite early, only in their third year, how to evade the enchantment that turned the steps of the girls dorm stairs into a slide – brooms! After a moment more of squeals and shushing I, shockingly, found myself deciding whether or not to go join them! Then the laughter slowly died down and I heard a dorm door creak open, followed by the careful patter of footsteps which suddenly stopped at what I imagined to be the section of the higher bridge, where a view of the common room floor is achieved.
With my voice slightly raised and with a hint of humour I jeered, "You know you might need to use muffliato on that room if Fred and George intend on staying".
To which silenced followed for a moment and then in a strongly cautious but alarmed voice belonging to Angelina "Um, Wood have you seen Katie?"
My eyes ripped open and I sat up and swiftly turned to face her "What do you mean have I seen her, I thought she was up there with you!"
"No Wood she's not ", hitched Angelina.
With greater intensity I probed "Well Johnson! Does she have anything due soon, or did she say what she was going to do once she got back from qu…Oh fre!… STAY THERE!"
I swung off and out of the couch hitting the ground running, heading towards the common room entrance. Flying through the castle, I wrenched the great doors open and flew straight back into a sprint past the clock yard and over the old valley bridge, ignoring the violent creaks I was creating from the icy floorboards as I pelted by. Lungs burning, and feeling like steel pipes due to the continuous intake of ice hard air, I lunged through and out of the changing rooms and halted in the now shin deep cover of snow frantically searching the pitch with my eyes. Near the south goal posts a sliver of brown, in the white landscape, suggested itself to be Katie's thick woollen jumper. Furiously wading over to her I threw myself down next to her and felt for her pulse while simultaneously cautiously open one of her eyelids. Relief flooded through me when she stirred slightly, like one would do waking from a pleasant dream. Her eyes continued to roam till they met mine and shocked, she yelped.
"KATES, it's ok! Katie what are you doing out here?", I probed.
A smile appearing on her face she gently clutched my arm an indication of her will for support in getting up to which I obliged.
"Sa sa ssuch a nnnice nn night, fff ffelt like a ss ssnow annngel", she stuttered.
I noticed the glazing of the eyes and then a gentle sway had her firmly heading into my arms with a light thump. Tingling from the contact and befuddled I swept my arm underneath her knees and cradled her close to me as I surveyed the remnants of a snow angle. Next to this I spied her broom and set out to position myself on it with Katie behind me. I cautiously grabbed both of her hands, and stifled a nervous laugh as my stomach tensed when I wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, and holding them there with my right arm, I glided off. Before I even reached the midpoint of the pitch I could feel my grip failing and her weight shifting on my back. I sailed down and got off, repositioning myself, I crawled behind her so that she was flat on the broom and with my right arm draped it around and underneath her while holding onto the broom with that hand. Again, feeling sheepish, I did a quick scan of the pitch and surrounding stands, "Nobody, and no twins". Hovering closely over her, and praying that she would not wake at this very moment, I slipped into the night sky and rushed for the entrance hall.
I tenderly motioned into the toasty common room, easily managing to support Katie in my arms, and balance her icy broom lying on top of her. I looked up to the balcony to find an immensely relieved Alicia flee back to her dorm, sure to tell her team mates the latest. I stared down at the girl in my arms again and then slowly made my way over to the fire and gently sat down on the floor in front of the couch, still with Katie in my arms. I then proceeded to take out my wand and whisper, "Wingardium Leviosa" at the frozen broom obstructing me from balancing the girl right, and positioned it down at a safe distance from the fire to thaw. Already on the floor, I let out a small grunt, as I positioned myself against the couch and adjusted Kate.
"Now would be an excellent time for striptease Oliver", taunted an utterly stealthy George.
"I disagree though George, poor Katie's going to get a big enough shock waking up in the arms of her one and only Quidditch Captain!", mocked Fred, while leaning against the balcony railing with his brother, both of whom where raising their eyebrows, in their identical fashion, towards Oliver.
"Will you both shu!…" I began, but my breath suddenly hitched and I let my head fall back against the couch while bitting my lip to control my breathing, as Kate stirred to readjust her sleeping position, grinding all across my body as she went.
Still with my head back and struggling to control my breathing, as she continued to frequently quickly readjust, I stole a glance sideways at the twins. One of which was precariously collapsed, straddling over the balcony managing to balance himself with only one hand as the other was preoccupied in his mouth and the other popped up from the floor, to steel another look, and convulsed again only to eventually wheeze out, "Looks like Katie's showing you now, Ollie!"