Hello, if you are reading this!
Recently I have started to read more and more Katie Bell and Oliver Wood fanfics, and I have really enjoyed all of them, so I have decided to have a go at writing my own. I hope it isn't too bad!
For the sake of this story, Oliver is only a year older than Katie. Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George and Lee are in the same year as Katie.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Katie Bell walked into Kings Cross Station with her parents, pushing a trolley loaded with her trunk and owl cage. This was to be her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and she was excited, to say the least. However, a small part of her was nervous. What if she made no friends? Oliver will let you hang around with him, she assured herself. Katie's parents and Oliver's parents were close friends, so Katie grew up with Oliver Wood. He was like an older brother to her. They got on well, joked around and he filled a hole in what would have been a lonely childhood for Katie, given the fact that she was an only child. She supposed she did the same for him, because Oliver was also an only child.
Katie's father took her trolley off of her and pushed it through the barrier between Platform 9 and 3/4 and the Muggle world. "Are you ready?" Katie's mother asked, taking her hand. Katie nodded, her blonde pony tail swishing, and they walked through the barrier together. Katie looked around, curious and aware of everything around her. There was a gleaming, scarlet train, that had 'THE HOGWARTS EXPRESS' written across it. Many students were loading their trunks onto the train, others were standing in small groups greeting friends and talking about their summer or saying their final goodbyes to their families.
"Oh, there are the Woods." Katie's mother said, leading Katie to where her father was standing talking to Mr and Mrs Wood. Oliver was standing there, not listening to a word they said, but looking at everything going on around him. Oliver would be going into his second year at Hogwarts, so everything still sort of fascinated him, despite the fact that he, as well as Katie, grew up in the wizarding world. As Katie and her mother approached, Oliver turned his head and saw them. He grinned at Katie, who grinned back.
"Hello Katie," Mrs Wood greeted, smiling kindly. "Are you excited?" She asked.
"Yes," Katie replied. "But I'm also slightly nervous." She admitted.
"Oh don't worry, Oliver will keep an eye out for you and help you settle in." Mrs Wood assured Katie. "Won't you?" She asked him.
"What?" Oliver asked at the mention of his name. He had gone back to looking at what was going on. "Oh-yes, sure I will Katie." He agreed, grinning.
Katie stood there for a few minutes, listening as her parents conversed with Mr and Mrs Wood. Grace Wood was tall and slim, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She was always very kind and was happy for Katie to visit Oliver whenever she wanted. She had been best friends with Katie's mother, Andrea, when they were at Hogwarts, and this friendship was still going strong. It made Katie hope that she would make friendships as good as her mother's and Mrs Wood's. David Wood was also very tall, even taller than Grace and had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He had a well built body and was very muscular. He seemed rather intimidating, but in fact he was the total opposite. He was also very kind, but he had a knack for practical jokes. He was serious about quidditch, which is where Oliver gets his passion from, Katie thought to herself. She glanced at Oliver. He was very tall for his age, and had the same colour hair as his mother, however, apart from that, he was very much like his father.
Suddenly, Katie's parents were rushing her onto the Hogwarts Express with her trunk and owl, Joey, and saying their final goodbyes. "Oh goodbye Katie, darling!" Her mother said, tears coming to her eyes. "Write to us tomorrow and tell us which house you are sorted into. Work hard and make good friends, but that wont be hard for you..." She said in a rush. Katie laughed. "Okay mum, don't worry I will." She promised. The train started moving and Katie waved to her mum until she was out of sight. She turned around and faced Oliver, who had been saying goodbye to his parents. "Do you want me to come and find a compartment with you?" He asked her.
"No, it's ok." Katie told him. "Go find your friends, I think I can mange from here."
"Are you sure?" He asked, to which Katie nodded. "Ok, I'll come and check on you in a while." He said, and he walked off down the emptying corridor, looking in each compartment for his friends.
Katie sighed and started walking down the train, looking for an empty compartment. All of them seemed to be full. She eventually reached a compartment which was empty except for two girls who were making small talk. They looked the same age as Katie, so she slid open the compartment door nervously and poked her head through. "Erm, hi." She started awkwardly. "Mind if I join you? I can't find a place to sit." She asked.
"Not at all," Said the darker skinned of the two girls. "I'm Angelina Johnson." She introduced herself, as Katie dragged her trunk through the door and flopped down beside the auburn haired girl. "Alicia Spinnet." She told Katie, smiling shyly.
"Hi," Katie said to both of them. "I'm Katie Bell."
"Nice to meet you." Angelina said. "Is this your first year too, then?" She asked Katie.
"Yes, I'm so excited! But I'm also nervous." She told her.
"Me too." Alicia said. "I hope I'm in Gryffindor." She added thoughtfully.
"Same." Angelina agreed. "Either that or Ravenclaw."
"I don't really mind, as long as it's not Slytherin I'm sorted into." Katie admitted.
The three girls giggled nervously before going into silence. Suddenly, their compartment door slid open where two boys with flaming red hair and mischievous grins, identical to the last freckle stood. "Mind if we join you?" Asked one of them, but without waiting for a reply, they dragged their trunks inside the compartment and sat down beside Angelina. "I'm Fred," Said the one closer to Angelina. "And this is George." he said, indicating to his twin.
"Angelina Johnson." Angelina introduced herself confidently.
"I'm Alicia Spinnet." Alicia said when they looked at her. They nodded in acknowledgement.
They turned and looked at Katie. "I'm Katie. Katie Bell." She said.
"Nice to meet you all." They said in Unison. "All of our family have been in Gryffindor." Fred started. Or was it George? Katie really couldn't tell. "Where dwell the brave at heart!" George said suddenly, posing heroically. This made everyone laugh and the nervousness that was once so obvious seemed to disappear.
They were all talking about what subjects they were looking forward to the most and the ones they were dreading. ("I've been told Snape's a right git." Fred had told them- Katie had of course heard all of this from Oliver, who said that he favored Slytherin over the other houses.) An old lady came down the corridor pushing a trolley full of sweets. "Anything from the trolley, Dears?" She asked them. They all chipped in and bought a few things each so they had a huge feast together. They were having fun eating and testing out various flavors of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. George put one, a particular nasty shade of green, in his mouth only to spit it out moments later, swearing it was bogey flavor. The compartment howled with laughter.
A short while later, the door of the compartment slid open once more, and Oliver, true to his promise, entered. "Hey Katie." He said. "I just came to check on you." He informed her.
"Hello Oliver!" She said cheerily. "I'm very good thanks, just making some friends." She smiled at him. "This is Fred- No George! That's Fred! And that is Angelina and this is Alicia." She introduced everyone.
"Hi" He said glancing around at them all. "Well I guess I'll see you there." He said, and he left.
"Who was that?" Angelina asked. "Not bad looking at all." She grinned.
"Oh that's only Oliver." Katie told her. "He's a good friend of mine, like a brother."
They pulled up at Hogsmeade train station an hour or so later. Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Fred and George all walked off the train together, talking excitedly about the sorting. They knew what to expect, as they all came from wizarding families.
"Firs' years this way! Follow me!" Came a booming voice from a giant man. They followed him to a boat house where they clambered into tiny wooden boats, ready to sail to the castle. Katie shared one with Angelina and Alicia. The sight of the castle took Katie's breath away. Oliver had described it to her in letters, but never did she imagine it to be this amazing.
When they finally reached the castle, they were lead into a chamber off to the side of what Katie presumed, due to the amount of noise, was the Great Hall. A stern looking lady, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall (The head of Gryffindor house-Oliver had told Katie all about her) and told them that the sorting would begin momentarily. They all stood there nervously, muttering to each other every so often.
Professor McGonagall finally lead them into the Great Hall, which consisted of four long tables and then a staff table right at the front. They walked down the middle isle and stopped at the steps which lead to the platform where the staff table was. McGonagall placed a small stool on the platform with a ragged hat. Katie looked around and managed to catch Oliver's eye. He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.
The hat suddenly opened at the brim and began to sing a song about the four houses, however, Katie was too nervous to concentrate on what it was saying. A sudden outbreak of applause from everyone in the Great Hall told Katie that it had finished it's song. "Now when I call your name, you will come up here and put the hat on to be sorted into your house." Professor McGonagall informed the first years as she pulled out a piece of parchment with a list of names. Katie watched as the first few people were sorted into their houses. Her insides squirmed when she heard her name called out. "Bell, Katie."
She trembled as she sat on the stool and placed the hat on her head. The last thing she saw before the hat covered her eyes was Oliver smiling encouragingly at her. Hmm, a very intelligent mind I see. The small voice of the hat said inside her head. But also a loyal friend. Lots of bravery too. Katie was desperate to be sorted. I know where to put you... GRYFFINDOR! Katie smiled, delighted and took the hat off and handed it to the next person. She was almost running towards Oliver at the Gryffindor table, while everyone applauded her. "Well done." He grinned. "Thanks!" She grinned back.
Katie watched as Angelina, Alicia, Fred and George were also sorted into Gryffindor. How lucky, she thought. The chatted happily, enjoying the feast. After they were stuffed, and their plates were cleared, they listened to a few start of term notices given out by Dumbledore. They were then lead to the Gryffindor tower. Katie was showed to her dormitory, which she was to be sharing with Angelina, Alicia and two other girls- Belle and Sarah. She fell asleep that first night with a smile on her face. Katie had a feeling that her time at Hogwarts was going to be amazing and this was only the beginning.
That's the first chapter! I know it wasn't really about Katie and Oliver as such, but I thought that it would be necessary to write a background information chapter due to the fact that I have changed the years that all of the characters are in at school.
Thanks for reading, if it didn't bore you too much!
Reviews are encouraged and very much appreciated.
Thank you!
Lumos-Hermione-Nox