Written for HSWW Assignment #10

Muggle Music Task #1: write about someone pining

The Quidditch League's annual Christmas party was always exciting. The drinking had started early and with inhibitions reduced to next to nothing, the fun had already begun. Katie looked around her, standing apart from it all, and wondered how so many players who were known for their skill on a broomstick could barely dance for five minutes without treading on their partner's toes. Although, the extra alcohol added to the eggnog probably had more to do with the lack of grace on the dance floor than anything else. This was only her second year in attendance, but she'd heard enough stories from senior players to know that every year was different.

And that was the very reason she'd decided to come. Last year, from the little she could remember, had been a complete bust. She'd ended up in a stairwell somewhere, making out with one of the Appleby Arrow's Chasers. Since one of them was a woman she had it narrowed it down to two. At least, she was pretty sure she hadn't made out with the female Chaser. Merlin, she desperately needed this year to be different.

She watched Angelina and Alicia heading towards her from across the room, threading their way through the dancers, dodging elbows and feet along the way.

"Are you planning on standing in the corner all night?" Angelina asked when they'd finally made it over to her.

Katie smiled, hugging her friends. "Nothing good came of me venturing out of the corner last year, so I think I'll stay put."

"Yeah, but this year, Oliver's not here, so I think your safe," Alicia said.

Katie blushed. She and Oliver Wood had dated during her last year at Hogwarts, but as soon as she'd entered the League a couple of years later as a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, the rivalry between the two teams had driven them apart. Their obsession with Quidditch and their equally competitive nature had made it difficult for them to hold a conversation. When she'd seen him at the Christmas party later in the season with another woman, she'd proceeded to drink herself under the table, or to be more precise, under the lips of an Appleby chaser. The fact that he'd moved on so quickly had hurt. She had thought that she'd put up a good front, but her friend's comment said otherwise.

"I really couldn't care less if he showed up. I'm over him," she said, waving a hand dismissively.

Angelina and Alicia shared a look and then shrugged. "Alrighti, if you say so," Angelina said.

"But do try to have some fun," Alicia added, giving her an imploring look.

Her friends walked away together, arm in arm, to find their boyfriends.

Katie stared at her eggnog, the buttery, creamy color a stark contrast to her current mood. She took a long drink, the taste of rum not nearly strong enough. She sighed. Who was she kidding? She missed Oliver and the only reason she'd come was to see him. Even after everything, she still wanted to be with him. At one point she'd even contemplated quitting Quidditch just to mend their relationship, but she didn't want to take the chance of him not feeling the same and then leaving her with nothing. She had felt her heart sink when Alicia had said he wasn't coming. And if he wasn't going to be there, there was really no reason to stick around.

Katie looked up when she heard Angelina and Alicia laughing, as they dragged their respective partners into the middle of the room to dance. No, there was definitely no reason to stay. She drained the rest of her eggnog and turned to edge her way along the wall, but only managed to walk straight into someone she could have sworn wasn't there a minute ago.

"I was hoping to see you here Katie."

A beautiful brunette witch stood in front of her, her smile wide and dazzling.

Katie thought for a moment, her brow creasing in concentration as she tried to remember the woman in front of her. Her eyes widened as it came to her. "Oh, you're one of the Chasers for the Arrows. Jesse, right? I didn't realize you knew me."

Jesse tilted her head. "Of course I know you." she bit the corner of her lip. "Very well actually."

Katie scrunched hey eyes. "Really? I don't-," her jaw dropped slightly as she realized what the beautiful Chaser was referencing. "Oh, you're the Chaser from last year. The one from..." She waved her hand in the air, searching for the word.

"From the stairwell," Jesse said, nodding her head eagerly.

Damn, she was really hoping that it had been one of the male Chasers. Mail chasers, she giggled.

Jesse leaned forward, taking Katie's reaction as a positive sign. "I was actually hoping that you might like to go somewhere with me.

Katie turned red. "Actually, I think there was a little bit of a misunderstanding. I was really drunk last year and..."

Jesse's face fell and she stared at her feet, taking a step back, "I see. I completely understand. See you then," she turned and hurriedly walked away.

Katie slapped her palm against her forehead. Unbelievable. Definitely time to go. She'd almost made it to the main doors when she bumped into someone else.

"I'm so sorry, I just need to get past you, if y…" her voice petered out as she looked up into the warm brown eyes of Oliver Wood.

"I do mind actually." The corner of his mouth turned up in that smile that she remembered all too well.

She opened her mouth but couldn't find anything to say, her eyes flitting back and forth between his.

"Would it be too much to ask you for a dance?"

It took her a minute to register what he said, but when she did, her eyes softened and a smile spread across her face. She wasn't sure whether the man in front of her was a hallucination brought on by the eggnog or if it was really happening, but no matter which one it was, she was just going to go with it.