Winter 1993
Katie, Angelina, and Alicia collapsed in a tangled bundle of arms and legs on the common room sofa, laughing so hard they could barely form sounds. Eventually Katie managed to disentangle herself and flop onto the warm rug next to the fireplace.
"That was fun," she said, collapsing into giggles again.
Alicia chortled. "The looks on their faces!"
"Don't mess with the Chasers," said Angelina, laughing and tossing her hair. The girls pulled off their scarves and mittens and tossed them in a discarded heap on the ground.
Fred, George, and Oliver burst into the room a few seconds later. "Oh, I am going to kill you three!" Fred leaped over an armchair and began to chase the girls. They jumped up, suddenly filled with new energy and leaping off the couch. They shrieked and ran to the girls' dormitory stairs, standing halfway up the staircase so the boys couldn't get up.
"Oh, you-" They laughed as George pretended to shake his fists at them. Fred whispered something to him and he snickered and whispered to Oliver. The boys ran over to the fireplace, where the girls had discarded their mittens, scarves, heavy coats, and fluffy hats. They each grabbed a handful of the girls' clothing and dangled it dangerously close to the fireplace.
Alicia gasped. "George Weasley, don't you even dare-" He winked at her and examined one of her mittens, which was pink and covered in bunnies. "Very cute, Ali. Where did you get these?"
She made a face at him. "My aunt knitted them for me. George, you give those back right now!" He smirked and twirled them around his pinky finger.
Oliver pretended to toss Katie's scarf towards the fire.
"Ol! My nana made me that scarf!" She stomped her foot, pretending to be angry. Secretly, she was enjoying the flirtation. She'd always had a thing for Oliver, though she'd never show it. Katie was supposed to be the outgoing, confident one, not the hopeless romantic.
Fred held Angelina's mittens tantalizingly out of reach. "Angie, I'll give them back if you go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend."
Angelina pretended to deeply consider his proposal. She looked cool and calm, though Katie knew her friend must be jumping up and down inside. Angie had been waiting for Fred to ask her out since first year. "Sure, Freddo." Fred looked nearly as excited as Katie knew Angie felt.
George winked at Alicia. "Make it a double date?"
Alicia giggled and nodded. George let out a rather girly cheer.
Oliver looked at Katie. "I'd really love to ask you, Kates, but my parents have asked me to go home early, my older sister's having a baby-"
Katie nodded, trying not to look disappointed. "It's fine, Ol. And congrats!"
He nodded and smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Katie was all alone.
1994
Fred asked Angelina to the Yule Ball and George asked Alicia. Oliver had graduated the year before, her best friends already had dates, and Katie was all alone.
1995
Fred and George made their infamous Hogwarts exit. Angelina and Alicia graduated at the end of the year with many tears and hugs. Oliver was signed to Puddlemere United. And Katie was all alone.
1996
Katie's seventh year arrived. Most of it passed without fuss, until the one incident that changed her life forever.
She remembered walking into the Three Broomsticks with Leanne. She remembered some cute Ravenclaw winking at her, and she remembered winking back. Katie remembered that she had given up on Oliver at that time, deciding it was time for her to move on. She'd started responding to other boys' flirtations, trying not to think about Ol 24/7. She'd decided that she wanted to go freshen up her hair and makeup, just in case the Ravenclaw boy came over and talked to her, so she had wandered off to the bathroom.
The next thing she remembered was waking up in St. Mungo's. But as she was lying there, in her hospital bed, she thought she remembered someone standing next to her.
That had confused her. Her parents had been unable to come to St. Mungo's initially, having been stuck in an enormous snowstorm on the way. So who had been next to her? She'd fallen into a deep sleep again, slightly perturbed.
Then she woken up again and saw Oliver. Her heart leaped. She didn't care that it had been nearly half a year since she'd last seen him, she didn't care that her hair was a mess after sleeping for a day, she didn't care that she wasn't wearing makeup and that there were bags under her eyes.
Oliver had been there, next to her, while she was asleep. Oliver had rushed to her bedside when he had learned she was injured. Oliver had been there for her. Oliver hadn't left her alone.
If she wasn't lying in a hospital bed, she would have jumped up and down with joy.
She grinned weakly. "Hi, Ollie."
"Kates," he said, his voice full of emotion. God, she loved that voice.
"I'm okay, Oliver."
"You're beautiful when you sleep."
"How long have you been here?"
"Two days. I thought you'd never wake up." His voice cracked.
"Oh, Oliver-"
"Kates, I thought I was going to lose you. For God's sake, I haven't slept for two days. I Apparated as soon as I could, because I needed to tell you that-" He broke off. "I needed to tell you something, because I could never live with myself if I didn't, if you never woke up and I never got the chance to-"
"Oliver. Oliver, it's fine, I'm okay!" She smiled, which was strange, because tears were leaking down her face and his.
"Katie Bell-" He leaned closer to her.
"Katherine Anne Bell, I love you."
"I love you too, Oliver Wood."
"Kates, I'm never going to leave your side again."
She smiled weakly. "You don't know how long I've waited for this moment."
"You don't know how long I waited to ask you."
"Oh, Oliver, that's the sweetest thing ever." She giggled in spite of herself.
"Oh, and Puddlemere United has a position reserved for you when you graduate. I mean, as soon as you're healthy and well rested, because nothing is more important than your safety. So, anyway, while you're resting, I've drawn up a few plays that you might want to look over, just in case-"
She giggled and kissed him on the cheek. God, that felt so good. "That's the Oliver I know."
She wasn't alone anymore.
May 1998
The war had been raging on for a long time. Katie was scared. She was usually a fighter, but there were so many people she loved and she couldn't protect them all. She waited restlessly, desperately wanting something to do.
Then she felt the old Galleon in her pocket, the one she hadn't used since sixth year but still carried around, just to feel closer to everyone else. She had pulled it out and stared at it, not quite comprehending what it meant.
The message changed. "Meet at the Hog's Head. We're fighting."
She jumped for joy and went to go find Oliver.
They fought in the war, alongside their family and friends, fighting for the ideals they believed in. She fought for Oliver, for Angie and Alicia, for Fred and George and Lee Jordan. She fought for her sister Kim, for her niece and nephew, for the Boy who Lived. She fought on and on until Voldemort's announcement rang through the halls.
She watched Harry defeat Voldemort, she watched the events of the night unfold as if in a dream.
She saw Fred's body lying in the Great Hall. It ripped a hole in her heart, in her soul.
She needed to find Oliver. She ran.
She found him at the Quidditch pitch. He stared blankly at the crumbling remains of his old home away from home.
"They burnt it down."
"Oliver, you can't hide here. There are people in there, people that need taking care of."
"They burnt it down."
"Oliver, we need to be there for the Weasleys. We need to be there for Fred."
The mention of his old friend's name jolted him out of his stupor. "Oh, Kates. Katie, I'm sorry, I just couldn't deal with it. I couldn't be around it."
She touched his arm gently. "I understand."
They sat in silence for a while, until Oliver stood up.
"Thanks, Katie." He began to walk with her arm in arm back towards the castle.
2005
Katie held her new twin daughters, Anna and Alison.
"They're beautiful." The light in Oliver's eyes made him look more amazing than ever.
Five-year-old Olivia looked at her baby sisters with wonder. "Mommy, do they talk yet?"
Katie laughed. "Not yet, darling. But they will eventually."
Two-year-old Kyle tried to clamber up his mother's lap. "Whoa there, little monkey." Oliver scooped him up, tickling him gently. He looked at Katie with love. "I'll put the kids down, you can sleep for a while."
"Thanks, honey, but I'm fine." She touched each of her daughters' fingers softly, marveling in their beauty.
"New lives," remarked Oliver. He thought of the lives that had been lost in the war, and about the new ones that had been created since then.
"I know," she sighed. She had been thinking of the exact same thing.
"By the way, the Weasleys and the Potters are stopping over. So are Alicia and Lee. Is that okay or do you need to rest?"
"No, it'll be great to see everyone." She smiled. "How much do you want to bet Molly will have made the girls sweaters?"
"Five Galleons it's baby booties, not sweaters."
"You're on."
Half an hour later, the large group of visitors traipsed through the living room quietly. Ron accidentally stepped on one of Kyle's squeaky toys. "Shh, the babies are sleeping," hissed Hermione. Katie and Oliver chuckled- Ron and Hermione hadn't changed much since their Hogwarts years.
Molly had brought the babies sweaters and booties, meaning that no one had lost the bet. Arthur had brought rubber ducks, inciting laughter from the rest of the family.
Bill and Fleur were accompanied by their five-year-old, Victoire, and their one-year-old, Dominique. Fleur was as lovely as ever, even after two pregnancies.
Charlie was on holiday from Romania. Oliver grinned at his old Quidditch captain, and they began to talk of Puddlemere's chances in the World Cup.
Percy and his wife Audrey were there, along with three-year-old Molly and two-year-old Lucy.
George was holding his newborn twins, Fred and Roxanne. Fred was the spitting image of his father, while Roxanne looked just like her mother.
Angelina and Alicia came over to hug Katie. She looked at her best friends fondly.
Ginny and Hermione were both pregnant. Harry and Ron announced that the babies' names would be Albus and Rose. Everyone smiled in appreciation. Newborn James let out a gurgle.
Everyone took turns admiring the babies, cooing softly and stroking their hair. Katie smiled. Right now, she was the happiest she had ever been in her life, surrounded by her loving husband, her adorable children, and her best friends in the whole world.
Katie knew she would never be alone again.