DISCLAIMER: It's STILL JK ROWLING's
Back to Oliver's POV!
Enjoy!
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Lunch
She finds me in the Great Hall, sipping my Pumpkin Juice, staring helplessly at my Muggle Studies homework, and half-reclining on the bench seat. She sits down opposite me and throws her books down with a loud slam! It jerks me from my panicked confusion and I look up at her with a smile.
"Oliver. Wood." She says, both loudly and angrily.
Three Ravenclaws, a Slytherin and about thirty-five Hufflepuffs turn to look at us. She flushes pink and leans forward, lowering her voice.
"Wood." She hisses, her face not exactly the picture of amusement it was half an hour ago. "You, are a total liar." Folding her arms, she mimics me.
"Oh." I frown, playing the confusion card. Well… it's not exactly playing the card, it's more… total and utter confusion. "What's this about?"
"The lunch bell."
"Katie, that was a joke." a short, awkward silence ensues.
"OK, maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but still! You left me." She says with a little sadness in her voice, then, playing my sense of chivalry, "Who knows what could have happened?" There's a small pause and she starts to laugh.
"Katie, what are you on?"
"A bench." She says jovially, "Give me your homework, you look confused." She stares at the essay title for a few moments, and then looks down onto the parchment, expecting an essay to be sitting there, in glistening ink. "Where is it?"
"You're holding it."
"This is a title."
"I know." She looks at me with a face that demands an explanation. "I don't… exactly…" I look at her, she knows what is coming next, but is waiting for me to say the words. I bite my lip and look up at her. "Help me." I murmur.
"You, Oliver Wood, need my help?" She says, loud enough for the Hufflepuffs to hear. The look at me, and I see Cedric Diggory pull a face that makes me feel about two inches tall.
"Shut up!" I beg, she turns around and sees Cedric's expression, sighs and pouts as though her fun has been ruined, but scratches some notes down with my borrowed quill. "Look, I'm really sorry for lying to you, alright, and I probably shouldn't have left you by the lake."
"Hmm?" She doesn't look up, just keeps scrawling notes down. "And?"
"I'm a generally crap person?" I'm looking for the right way to win her back, muttering random compliments. "You're pretty-" Oh, shit! "-good with the Quaffle?"
"Well saved, Oliver," George and Fred slide in either side of my blonde, Irish chaser, she leans forward and puts her head tiredly on the table. "Wouldn't want to, you know, bring up her self-esteem or anything." There's a small pause, "Of course, we think you're beautiful, Katie."
"What do you want me to test now?" She says without raising her head.
"Nothing." Fred smiles evilly, "But… we would like you to try…" he reaches into his bag, but suddenly I have had enough. Not when I've seen her sick, unable to move, and rendered totally helpless by their stupid concoctions before.
"No." I interrupt. The twins look at me, shocked, and Katie raises her head far enough for me to see her grateful smile.
"Why not, Lord Quidditch?" One of them pouts. "What gives you the right to tell her what to do?"
"I'm concerned for her health."
"Yeah, right." The other says.
"She's not eaten, the last time you made her do something like that, she was throwing up for an hour and a half," I stop, "And… it's just not very nice. Go hire some first years or something."
They look at each other, then, as though their minds have clicked simultaneously.
"Brilliant!" They grab a loaf of bread and walk away.
Katie looks at me, a small smile playing about her lips, then her eyes close for an eternity and she sighs.
"Thank you." She murmurs. I miss the next part of her sentence, so feel compelled to lean forward and ask her to repeat herself. "I said, Thank you, I've been trying to get them to stop for ages."
"No problem." She looks at me and smiles again, handing me a page of points and notes for a perfect Muggle Studies essay, "Thanks." and she blushes bright pink.
"Think of it as making us even. No more twins for me, and your professor off your back. No problems." with a distant look at the concrete wall behind me; she rises and manages to half-trip over the bench, gathers her things and walks away.
This would be the moment to go after her, to catch her and say what I wanted to say before Potions this morning. But I never know with Katie. If there was an obvious sign, like her mooning over a picture of me in the common room or something, but with Katie, you never know, and it's not worth trying it just to be shot down.
I wouldn't want to hurt her.
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A/N: Multiple updates today! I'm impressed with myself! Although this one was winging it a bit – I didn't think about putting a lunch session in until I'd practically written it into the last chapter!
Thanks to all of you who've reviewed, it's much appreciated – I like to know I'm getting out to people, and that you're enjoying it
Please R&R, and so to... Oliver's "Favourite" lesson
xx