Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters - all belongs to JK Rowling

Oliver Wood used to be the captain of my quidditch team. I was now in my sixth year at Hogwarts, and hadn't managed to keep properly in touch with him since he graduated ahead of me at the start of last summer. We'd been friends back then, though we were never particularly close. It was a lot more like being forced to spend immense amounts of time together, mostly due to the intense training schedule he dictated for the Gryffindor quidditch team. Each year he'd said that it would be our year, but every year through some kind of drama or accident, another team beat us to the cup (it probably didn't help that we were over-worked thanks to Wood's harsh training schedule). He wanted to have his name engraved on the house cup and in his final year at Hogwarts we managed to achieve it, which resulted in one of the most riotous parties Gryffindor house had seen in a long time.

Anyhow, I digress; I had hardly spoken to him since his graduation - just one catch-up during the summer with the rest of the team - which was why it was so odd to receive an owl from him in the morning post in the second week back at Hogwarts.

Hi Katie,

I realise that this letter will be a little unexpected, but I've been thinking a lot about Hogwarts recently, how much I miss it there, and I thought I'd say hello and catch up with all the news from you and the rest of the old team.

I'm sure you've heard about my new job, though I've had to move to France to build up my career with the team, which is a little unfortunate. Still, I think it's the right thing for me to do and my host family here is lovely, despite the awkward communication issues. I can't speak French to save my life.

I'll be back in Britain in a few weeks to catch up with family and have a break from training over here, and I hope to catch up with all of the old team then. I've been missing you heaps; say hi to the Weasleys and Alicia and Ange for me when you see them. I hope to see you soon.

Much love,

Wood.

I couldn't think why he'd want to owl me out of the blue. It really was very strange, and at 8am my mind was still half-asleep. I didn't really think much more about it before scribbling off a quick reply on a spare piece of scrunched up parchment from my pocket, and racing up to the owlery before the start of transfiguration.

Wood,

Haven't heard from you in a while, how's life? Yes, I had heard some rumours about your new job with Puddlemere, but I haven't heard much else. How does the professional league stack up against Hogwarts? It's a pity that you have to spend so much time out of the country and away from your family, but if you ever got desperate, I guess you could swim across the channel, huh?

I'm already running late for McGonagall, so I'd better go, but I hope to hear from you soon.

xx Katie B.

There was nobody in the owlery, which would usually mean a very speedy visit to the tower, but my owl doesn't tend to function very well in the morning, somewhat like myself, and took some coaxing before she finally let me attach the parchment to her leg. I made sure she was off safely and made a mental note to get her a mouse from Hagrid as a treat before sprinting in the direction of my class, I couldn't afford to be late for McGonagall, especially after she had given me special permission to take NEWT level transfiguration while I was still only in 6th year. I stopped just outside the door and fixed up my robes – McGonagall was a stickler for uniform policies – and entered into the large classroom just on time.

I went and sat down next to the Weasley twins in my usual spot near the back of the classroom and got about 5 seconds to myself before they started quizzing me about my unusual mail at breakfast.

"What was that scrawny looking owl doing in front of you at breakfast?"

"Yeah, Katie, you never get mail, are you sure it didn't get lost?"

The twins seemed amused with themselves while they mocked me for being unpopular with the owls. It was true though, I never got post, nearly half the Gryffindor table looked a bit surprised to see an owl stop in front of my bowl of cereal. Not to mention the fact that I was so used to not getting post that I didn't notice it standing in front of me until it waved its leg in front of my face, at which point I nearly tried to shoo it away before noticing my own name on the sealed envelope.

"So, do tell us how you came to get mail this morning. We want to know all about your secret admirer," the twins chanted in unison.

"I don't really know why I got mail. I was a letter from Wood. He just wanted to say hi, and pass on the message to the rest of the team."

"Wow. So you DO have a secret admirer."

I swiftly kicked Fred in the shin under the desk for that one. He looked at me cheerily before bending down a bit to rub his leg.

"No. He just said he missed Hogwarts and he wanted to catch up when he's back in the country next."

"More like he wanted to see you after quidditch training again, he missed seeing you all hot and sweaty and covered in mud..."

That comment warranted a kick in the shin for George, who protested loudly.

"OW! Blimey Katie! What was that for?"

"Is there a problem Miss Bell?" Professor McGonagall politely enquired from the front of the classroom.

"No, Miss. I'm sorry, Miss."

Both of the twins sniggered underneath their breaths, resulting in another set of kicks before the three of us settled into silence for the rest of the period. The twins spent their time plotting new pranks and coming up with inventions for their most recent endeavour, while I spent my time studiously taking notes on animagi. I was grateful for the break from the interrogation, despite knowing that it would without a doubt resume as soon as we were let out for lunch, and I would get more questions from Angelina and Alicia later tonight at dinner.

A/N: I've made a few edits, it's pretty much the same though, please review (even if it's negative) I value all of your advice.