CONSOLATION
By Shrk-Bait
Author's Note
This is really unexpected. Signs of life after a solid three years of silent, fanfiction death! Let's face it. Those other stories are old—too old for me to continue. Trust me, I tried to return and pick up where I left off, but I just couldn't. Even so, I love the unexpected review from time to time, and was inspired to write something new.
This story is fully finished, four short completed chapters guaranteed. I wanted to be sure not to post another abandoned story. I know it's not James and Lily, but I like Oliver and Katie. It leaves a lot of room for interpretation since it technically doesn't exist. This was my take. There aren't too many out there and I thought I would put in my little contribution.
It's been so long since I've updated and I don't know if Harry Potter fanfiction has died down, but I really enjoyed writing this and I feel a little proud to have a short, complete story. That being said, I hope you all enjoy it!
Disclaimer
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling.
CHAPTER 1
"Alicia, please. I can feel you worrying from all the way over here," she mumbled. Katie Bell looked over the latest edition of Quidditch Monthly at the nervous figure in the middle of the courtyard. "I'm sure they'll talk some sense into him."
She lay the magazine open on her lap and mustered up a look meant to convey comfort, but failed miserably in actually doing so. Alicia gave herself a little shake and took a deep breath, but seemed as tense as ever. "This is Oliver Wood we're talking about."
"Exactly! He's probably been restored his usual tyrannical self. We'll be back on the pitch by tomorrow morning, probably with doubled practice hours for the next two weeks."
"But it was supposed to be our year, and this was a big loss—especially for Oliver," she sighed, searching Katie's face for a reaction. Katie barely moved. She didn't even look up. Alicia let out an exasperated groan and blurted out, "You really expect me to believe that you're not worried?"
Alicia Spinnet's voice trailed off, leaving behind a strange hint of prying curiosity. If Katie had noticed the peculiar tone, she certainly did nothing to address it.
"Why should I be?" Katie muttered flipping a page in her magazine and continuing to read. It was short and dismissive and not the answer Alicia had been hoping to hear. In fact, with Katie's inflection and slightly raspy voice, it sounded almost cruel.
Still, they had been friends for a long time, long enough for Alicia to know that Katie was not heartless. Katie Bell could be stubborn and guarded and hard to decipher. She could deny emotion and feign indifference, but she always cared—even if she didn't always like to admit it.
Just then, George Weasley leapt into view. He struck an exaggerated pose—hands planted proudly on his hips and chest pushed out with pride. Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson followed with much less enthusiasm.
"We have found our wayward captain," George announced.
"We could barely get a proper sentence out of him." Angelina sat down on the cold, marble bench and let out a frustrated groan.
"The git just blew right past us," Fred grumbled as his lanky arms fell limply at his sides. "I feel so rejected."
"Fret not, brother. It wasn't personal," George assured him. "The time he chased us out of the locker room, spitting and cursing at us for jinxing his broom before practice—that may have been a little bit personal."
"Such a nasty temper, that Oliver Wood. No sense of humor."
"And the things that came out of his mouth! I never—" Fred began, before Alicia cut him off with a testy glare.
"Enough you two," she snapped. "Now is not the time. Where is he, then?"
Getting answers from the Twins seemed like a strained endeavor, so Alicia quickly turned to Angelina. Angelina looked over to where the tower tops peeked over the stone walls, the flags mounted at their heads waving violently in the high winds.
"He was heading out towards the field," She sighed. "Probably moping around in one of the viewing towers."
"Deciding whether or not to throw himself off," Fred chuckled to the side.
His voice hadn't been particularly loud and he didn't mean it as anything more than edgy side commentary, but it was a small courtyard and there was not enough distance between them all to allow fleeting dashes of comedy to slip past unnoticed.
"That's not funny, Fred," she said with a scowl. Angelina was accustomed to rebuking him and Fred was no stranger to her scolding, but he sensed that this was not time for jokes and immediately straightened his face. Having had just lost a match, they were all on edge.
"Oh come off it, Ang." He slid onto the bench and swung his arm around her shoulder. He shook it lightly with a tender nudge. She let him linger there, which he took to mean that the tension had passed. "I'm only kidding."
"—We hope. But let's not take any chances. Someone should try and talk to him," Alicia suggested.
The group agreed almost unanimously. The only exceptions were Katie, so engrossed in her magazine that she took little notice of her teammates, and Harry, who was the newest and youngest and not present at all.
One by one, they looked over at Katie and settled upon the same idea. It was a chorus of suppressed grins and silent nods. With a loud, echoing clap, George gave Katie's shoulder a friendly pat and, on behalf of the team, delivered the verdict: "You're up, champ."
If the suspicious attempts to keep quiet had not caught her attention, then the unexpected conditions of her sacrifice certainly did the trick. She popped up and whipped around to face the others.
"What?" she croaked, breathing deeply and trying to compose herself. "No, no, no. You know I'm terrible with consolation."
"It has to be you," Angelina insisted. "You know Oliver better than anyone."
Katie froze. "That's not true."
"C'mon Katie, it's for the team!" Alicia urged.
"Well, we can just get Harry to talk to him then," she suggested quickly, almost desperately. "I'm sure he's around here somewhere."
Fred let out a bark of laughter. George looked at her like she was mad and Angelina gave her a wilted, pitiful smile that said it all. The idea was ridiculous and Katie knew it, but she resented how easily they dismissed her.
"You think sending Harry to deal with Wood is a good idea?" grumbled George. "We do want him to stay around for the next few years, don't we? We need a Seeker."
Alicia, sensing the tension building and Katie's temper flaring, piped in quickly—"Harry has enough to deal with as it is. Look, we all know that dealing with Oliver at times like this can be a bit tense."
"So you're sending me. Brilliant idea," Katie groaned. "I love Harry, but we've sheltered him long enough. He's young, he's clever, he can't go wrong! Besides, Oliver really likes Harry."
"Well if you put it that way, you know Oliver also really l—" Angelina remarked quietly before being deftly silenced by Katie's frigid glare.
To the others, Angelina was only teasing, but to Katie, it was the sign of an impending betrayal. The two girls had been best friends ever since the start of Hogwarts. They were both outspoken, but Angelina was always a little more aggressive. Still, they shared the same temper, and Angelina knew she had hit a nerve with that one.
Katie had a fight in her that, when provoked, could look quite nasty. It made her an excellent Chaser—driven, aggressive, relentless. With the Quaffle in her arms, she would shoot past the defenders like a hurricane and hurl the ball with singular focus, right past the Keeper and straight into the goal. When Katie was on a rampage, it was in everyone's best interest to proceed with caution. It started with a narrowing of the eyes and a crazed look of simultaneous focus and disassociation. She wasn't just concentrated; she was possessed. It was a fast and deadly shift from her normally easy nature to her brutal wrath.
Years of splintered broomsticks and bruised opponents had warned them of that. Fred, who had been her teammate for all those years and her friend for even longer, saw that look boiling dangerously under the surface. Panic crossed his face and he promptly decided that it was the right moment to change tactics.
"Okay look at it this way. Our Keeper needs a keeper, Bell," Fred told her kindly. "I'd do it, but it just so happens to be your turn."
"It is, is it? How do you figure that?"
"Well, I took the blame for being late to practice before that scrimmage game last week," George said immediately.
"That's because it was your fault," Angelina insisted, shaking her head. "I stayed behind after the great Ravenclaw debacle of last year."
"But was that really by choice? I seem to remember you were slow to leave the locker room and got stuck listening to him rant," Fred teased. Angelina shot him a scathing look and he responded with a wincing smile.
"I don't see you going to great lengths to assist our dear Captain, Weasley," she snapped back.
"Au contraire. Post-Slytherin semifinals—I lent him my beater for… stress relief."
"Oh, like that coun—"
"Enough! Oliver's upset and we're just sitting here arguing," Alicia's voice of reason silenced the bickering. "We've all done our fair share for the team, but let's face it—Oliver's done a lot more. So let's just try to cheer him up, okay?"
Their chatter fell to murmurs of agreement.
It was true that Oliver Wood took devotion to an unprecedented extreme. Quidditch wins and losses were not about the outcome or the thrill of the competition. They were about pride, effort, reason for existence. It was an understatement to simply say he cared about the game. Despite his strict demands and maniacal energy, having Oliver Wood as Gryffindor Captain made Quidditch what it was. They were a family because of Oliver and Katie knew this well.
She took a deep breath and finally conceded, "Alright. I'll go, but don't blame me if he still ends up splattered over the pitch."
Katie stood up, tucked the magazine into her bag, and gave her scarf a firm tug for warmth. She did not look particularly happy, but she wasn't entirely angry either. Angelina swore she saw an anxious blush on her friend's cheeks, though Katie would have certainly attributed the sudden flush to cold weather and poor circulation.
"Now, Bell, remember that he's especially sensitive right now," Fred warned as he and his brother began to follow her out of the courtyard.
"Yes, and you do not want to make things worse, so try not to be so—"
"So what, Weasley," she asked with a threatening growl. "Do you two want to do this instead of me?"
"No, no," they said in unison, trailing behind as Katie sped up to get away. They watched her moved further down the hall, her figure growing smaller and smaller.
"We're just trying to be supportive," Fred hollered, but she was already gone. He gave a shrug. "Think she'll survive?"
"She seems like she's in a bit of a foul mood too. Maybe the real question we should ask is if Wood is going to survive."
They shared a chuckle and headed back to the other girls, who were sitting close together and speaking in lowered voices.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alicia asked, nervously. "Katie's not really the comforting type. I'm more worried she'll toss him off that tower than talk him down from it."
"Trust me," Angelina replied with an impish grin. "If anyone can take Oliver's mind off this, it's her."
Alicia's eyes grew wide in a sudden flash of understanding. She gave a slow nod of delighted approval. Their soft giggles were interrupted by the reappearance of the Weasley twins, hovering nosily around them.
"Oy, what are you two twittering about over here?"
"Nothing," Alicia answered, though a little too nervously.
Fred and George shared skeptical looks. They were natural-born schemers and could smell the hint of a plot. Angelina, however, knew that despite their suspicions, Fred and George Weasley were clueless. They were only boys, and unobservant boys at that.
"Just discussing the welfare of our Captain," she assured them coolly. Angelina looked up at the dark clouds floating heavily above the castle. "We better get inside. It looks like it's going to rain any minute now."
They all began to shuffle indoors. Angelina took one last look at the distant Quidditch towers and smiled to herself before following the others inside.
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