The Breakdown

July 2027

"Care for a dance, Oliver?" Fleur asked softly as she walked up. Even though the years had passed, she still looked the picture of beauty and elegance. Bill was a lucky man.

"Not at the moment. Still waiting on Pix to make an appearance," I said with a sigh. She laughed softly and sat next to me, looking out across the floor. Iris was now dancing with Harry, the two chuckling over something. It seemed Bill still had little Adelaide as Victoire and Teddy were also dancing.

"She will come," Fleur said. I looked over, seeing Dominique speaking with Paul, Lucy and Kelly. "How does it feel to have two children now married?"

"Suppose you would know what it's like," I replied, looking over at her. She nodded and smiled.

"And now with a grandchild," she said. "Somedays I cannot believe they are old enough."

"Same here," I replied.

"And to think the second wedding almost did not happen," Fleur said. I looked over at her, frowning. I hadn't heard that.

"But Dom and Paul seem happy together," I said.

"Oh, they are. And I knew they would be. But Dom had a bit of a fit before they decided to elope," she continued. "She came to Shell Cottage one night in such a frenzy. She and Paul had been talking about the wedding and it just seemed to be too much. They were looking at having to do two, you know." I nodded, remembering that part of his family was muggle and therefore didn't know about our world.

"His mum is muggle, isn't she?" I asked. Fleur nodded.

"She was this close to calling the whole thing off," she said with a sigh. "Until I posed the question why it was so important to have a big wedding."

"That's how they got the idea to elope?" I asked. Fleur smiled and nodded.

"Planning a couple of reception parties was much easier than two weddings, apparently," she said. "But I heard there were some tears with yours."

Of course, Iris had told her. The two had been close since after the war. Even being pregnant at the same time with Dom and the triplets. I thought back to the night in question and nodded as I took another drink. There had certainly been fireworks and tears that night. My little Pix could certainly throw a fit.

"I knew we'd have a wedding, regardless. But there was a moment there when I thought she might call everything off for the time being. Think she was even thinking of staying with the boys for a bit," I said with a sigh.

"Seems tempers run high in this family of ours," she said conspiratorially, as two who had married into it.

"Some days I wonder if it should come with a warning label," I said with a chuckle.

"Dare say Wills was well aware of what he was getting in," Fleur replied.

"The git had been gunning to be part of it for the better part of a decade," I muttered.

"That he has," she replied. "Just how did you talk Daisy down, by the way?" I frowned at her.

"Why do you sound surprised?" I asked, causing her to laugh loudly.

"Just… you weren't too thrilled about all this in the beginning," she said, motioning to the wedding party around us. "I would not have put it past you to take advantage of the moment to talk her into postponing."

"I got on board with it. Had by then, anyway. And I knew Pix would regret it if she made a decision whilst so upset," I said. "I can be decent…"


June 2027

It was a rather quiet night. The following week the playoffs would start up and Red and I were having a quiet night at home before the hecticness started up. Both Puddlemere and the Arrows had made it through and I had upped the number of practices in the lead up. Nilsson had done the same with the Arrows. I had barely seen Pix in the past few weeks.

Red was lounging on the sofa with another of her battered paperbacks while I was in the armchair, watching a football match on the telly, glass in hand.

"Oh, go on then!" I shouted as the referee made a bad call. Red jumped slightly and glared at me.

"I'm beginning to regret that thing," she said, glancing at the TV. I chuckled.

"You certainly enjoy it on movie night," I said. Red just rolled her eyes and returned to her book.

"That involves infinitely less yelling," she replied, reaching for her glass of wine. I just chuckled and returned to watching the match.

Suddenly, the front door burst open and slammed shut, angry footsteps moving towards the living room.

"You expecting someone?" I asked as Iris sat up on the sofa. Daisy came into the living, her face red and splotchy as her hair flared bright orange. "What's this?" I asked, muting the TV. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked back and forth between us.

"Send word to Hans. I'm calling off the wedding," she said. Iris sighed and put down her glass on the table.

"Don't be so dramatic, Daisy," she said, placing the book down as well.

"I'm serious! He's gone too far this time!" Daisy shouted as she made her way to the liquor cabinet and started angrily making herself a drink. Iris looked at me and nodded her head towards Daisy. I sighed, putting my glass down and standing.

"What happened?" I asked. "Surely we can talk this out." Daisy laughed harshly as she turned to face me.

"That's rich coming from the man who was trying to get us to postpone the wedding just a few months ago," she said before taking a large drink and then sputtering slightly. I sighed and shook my head.

"Surely you don't mean to call it off," Iris replied. Daisy looked over at her, her eyes rimmed in red as they turned a dull gray.

"Not really, no. But I am this close to pushing it back," she said before taking another, smaller drink, this time getting it down.

"Why?" I asked, rubbing my forehead.

"We had a fight," Daisy said glumly.

"I gathered that much," I replied, earning a glare from Iris. Daisy, for her part, was staring at the floor.

"Just… well… we've never fought like this before," she said, looking up at me. "Oh, Dad, it was horrible." Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks again. "With the playoffs coming up and, and…"

Iris immediately walked over and took Daisy in her arms, rubbing her back soothingly.

"There, there," she said softly. "Let's just sit down and talk this out. Surely it's not as horrible as it seems." Daisy nodded, hiccupping slightly as Iris led her over to the sofa. "I'll go put on some tea."

I stared at Daisy as she took another drink from her glass and sat it down. I cleared my throat, moving to sit in my chair. Iris was always better at these things than I was. Especially with Pix. She looked over at me.

"You're not gloating," she stated.

"Why would I?" I asked, a bit put out. I may have my thoughts about Wills and Daisy, but I would never gloat when she was this upset. Especially not this soon before the wedding. Not to mention, I didn't want to risk her getting angry and jinxing me. "What was the fight about?"

Daisy reached for the glass, twisting it around in her hands as she laughed shortly.

"It was about… well… we were just talking about the playoffs. We've both been so busy lately. I had asked him to do the shopping this week and he forgot," she said. "It was a silly argument… but it was the 20th time he's done it, or so it seems."

I nodded, taking my own drink.

"So, the argument was because Wills didn't do the shopping?" I asked slowly. Daisy frowned at me.

"Well, there was more to it than that," she said, looking down at her glass again. "And it's the principle of it. We're going to be married! It's a partnership! How can we have a partnership if he's not upholding his end of it!" I sighed. Something told me this was not about Wills doing the shopping. I stood and calmly walked over, sitting next to her on the sofa.

"Go on, then," I said. Daisy sighed heavily.

"Just with the wedding and playoffs coming up," she said. "It's not been easy. Suppose the stress is getting to me. When I came back and he hadn't done the shopping and dirty clothes were all about, I just… lost it. You'd think for someone who's been a bachelor as long as Wills has, he'd be better at taking care of things around the house… I guess I was just feeling… a bit taken for granted."

I frowned. No man was ever going to take advantage of my daughter.

"It was a pretty bad row… I broke a few dishes," she continued. "Accused him of trying to make me into a housewife…"

"And how did he respond?" I asked. I had to admit – part of me wanted to chuckle at the thought of Daisy sending dishes whipping around the place, chasing Wills. Also, the idea of Wills making Daisy out to be a housewife was just preposterous. He worshiped the bloody ground she walked on and couldn't go five minutes without boasting how brilliant she was on the pitch. But instead, I kept my face neutral.

"Not too well… started yelling back," she said glumly. "Said he'd never try to make me into anything other than what I am."

"And how did you respond to that?" I asked. That was the response I was expecting from Wills.

"I asked if that meant he thought I was a housewife rather than a quidditch player because he expected me to do everything around the flat and then hexed him," she said quickly. I couldn't help but snort. The idea of Pix hexing Wills was rather hilarious. But that just caused her frown. "It's not funny, Da."

I attempted to get my laughter under control.

"I know, I know," I said. I looked over at her and sighed. "Look, Pix. You know that you love him. We all know that you love him. And we all know just how much he loves you because he can't bloody shut up about it. What's more, you've connected to him." She nodded.

"I know," she said. "It's not that I don't want to marry him… I just… Why can't he for once take something seriously?" I snorted again, earning another frown.

"Sorry, Pix. Just… we've all long known this about Wills," I said. She sighed and nodded.

"I know… and normally he's so good about things. Kind. Thoughtful," she said.

"Perhaps it's just like you said… the stress of everything is getting to the both of you. Putting you on edge," I replied. "But we'd understand if you wanted to push things back a bit…"

"OLIVER!" Iris shouted from the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as Daisy chuckled slightly.

"She's got a point, Dad," she said.

"Honestly, Pix. All I want is for you to be happy - whatever that is. If that's going through with things as planned, then we'll do it. If you want to wait, we'll do that," I said. She nodded and then looked over at me.

"If it's alright… I think I'll stay here tonight. I think both Wills and I could use a bit of space… to calm down," she said. I pulled her into a hug.

"Stay as long as you like," I said.

"Thanks, Dad," she said. I let go of her.

"I'll go see what's keeping the tea," I said, standing. I strode into the kitchen, finding Red was nearly done.

"Why don't I stay with Daisy while you go see to Wills," she said. I stopped in my tracks, frowning.

"Why does anyone need to go check on Wills?" I asked. Iris sighed and shook her head.

"Oliver, he's soon to be your son-in-law. Seems like it was a rather big row, even if it was over something silly. You should go check on him. Make sure he's not considering something as drastic as Daisy," she whispered furiously. I sighed and shook my head.

"Seems like they'll be fine," I said. "She's about come around as it is. Just wants a night to herself. Should suspect you would too if you lived with Wills." Iris placed her hands on her hips and walked towards me, looking up into my eyes.

"Oliver William Wood. You will go over there now and check on Wills to make sure he's not stuck in some horrible hex," she said, her voice even. "Otherwise you'll need to find another place to stay tonight." I sighed. There was no arguing with her. I pulled out my wand.

"Fine," I said. I was not going to enjoy this.


I popped up outside Wills and Daisy's flat in the Alley. Staring at the door a bit, I frowned before knocking. I heard footsteps walking towards the door and stepped back, waiting. The door flew open and Wills looked around frantically, seeming surprised to see me. He then stepped back a bit, his expression clearly saying he was worried I had come to hex him.

"Coach!" he said, smiling tensely. "What brings you here?" I sighed.

"You know why I'm here. Let me in," I replied. He stepped back and let me into the flat. I looked around, seeing a rather large number of broken dishes littering the kitchen.

"So, she told you about the fight?" he asked. I nodded.

"Just came to make sure there was nothing I needed to, ah, undo," I said, turning to face him. He nodded and walked into the living room, motioning for me to follow him. He stepped over to the cabinet and poured two glasses of whiskey, then walked back, holding one out to me.

"She tell you what it was about?" he asked.

"Something about the shopping," I replied. He nodded.

"And the laundry. And the dishes. And the rubbish. Honestly, I had meant to take care of it all, just slipped my mind," he said, running his fingers through his hair. "I didn't mean to… I wasn't implying that I wanted her to stay home and take care of the house." He looked so wretched that even I was starting to feel bad for the bloke. "You don't think… she wouldn't… call the wedding off, would she? It's only a month away…"

I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't think she will," I said. "Face it, for some reason unknown to me, Daisy loves you. She's just under a bit of pressure at the moment. Just, it would go a long ways if you… made more of an effort to help out more. Make her feel more… appreciated." He nodded.

"I should… I have been a bit caught up in the playoffs and getting things sorted for the bachelor party," he said. "But you're right. I should help out more." I studied him for a bit. "I had been trying to explain to her that I'm sorry, but… you know how she gets when she's in one of her states." He walked over and sat in one of the armchairs, making himself comfortable. I sighed and moved to the sofa, realizing this conversation wasn't going to end anytime soon.

"Truth be told, I'm surprised you got out with just some broken dishes," I said. He nodded.

"She did hex me… Just I was able to undo it before you arrived," he said.

"What she'd do?" I asked.

"Gave me a tail," he said. I chuckled.

"She's done that to her brothers quite a lot. Think she's done a few pig snouts as well. And bat-bogey hex," I replied. "She's tried to hex me a few times, but her mum always shielded me. Got grounded more than a few times." Wills chuckled and nodded.

"I'm not surprised," he said with a sigh. He looked up at me. "She still angry?"

"She was calmer when I left," I said. "Still… wants to stay the night with us. Calm down a bit before coming back."

"Suppose that's a good idea," he said, looking down at the glass in his hands. He glanced up at me. "I do love her, sir. So incredibly much. I'd never dream of making her stay home or… anything like she was saying. I love Pix because of who she is."

I stared at him a moment. Even without Red's ability to read minds, I could clearly see how much he loved my daughter. Even though this would ultimately be labeled a minor argument, he was still beside himself that he had upset her. And he'd likely be up all night fretting about it.

I sighed and stood, putting my glass down.

"Well, come on then," I said. Wills stared at me.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I know you're not going to rest until this row is behind you. Let's go speak with Pix," I said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked, blanching slightly.

"She likely won't try anything again," I said. "She's calm now." He nodded and stood, putting his glass down.

"Let's go."


We walked into the house, hearing laughter from the living room.

"I'm back," I said, stepping in. Iris and Daisy stopped and looked over at us. Iris' eyes widened as she looked at Daisy, whose face had gone rigid.

"Bryan," she said coldly. Bother. That wasn't good.

"Look, Daisy, I-"

She raised her hand, closing her eyes momentarily.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I wanted to-"

"I brought him," I said immediately. Daisy's eyes flew open and looked at me, her eyes flashing red.

"Why?" she asked. I shoved my hands into my pockets and shrugged.

"He seemed rather bothered by the fight and wanted to apologize. And I thought you were calm," I said. Daisy took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at the two of us. She put her glass down and stood.

"I'm not ready to speak to you," she said, leveling her gaze at Wills. "You called me a housewife!"

"I did no such thing!" Wills shouted back.

"You were treating me like one!"

"That was a mistake! I honestly forgot to do it! I hadn't meant that you would do it!" he shouted back. Daisy's eyes flashed as Wills legs flew out from under him.

"Now Pix, he's here in peace!" I shouted, not quite believing that I was actually defending Wills. Wrong decision. Her eyes flew to me as I felt my legs fly out from under me as well. "This is rather uncalled for!" I tried to stand up but found my legs had decided to stop working. "Really? A jelly legs jinx?!"

"Be glad I didn't do something worse!" Daisy shouted as she stomped out of the room and upstairs.

"Red? Some help?" I called out.

"I've half a mind to let you stay that way," she said, walking up to me.

"What on earth? I was trying to help! You told me to go!" I shouted. Iris sighed and waved her hand, allowing Wills and I the use of our legs again. I sat up, rubbing the back of my head. Immediately, Wills was up and running to the stairs.

"Pix! Pix!" he called out.

"Oliver, just what were you trying to do?" she asked. "I didn't mean bring him back here. I just meant to reassure him!"

"Honestly! He was upset and I knew that he wouldn't get any sleep tonight as long as they were still fighting," I said, frowning at her. She stared at me.

"You're sure this has nothing to do with the fact you want him rested for the play-offs?" she asked. I scoffed. Honestly, the play-offs hadn't even entered my mind.

"They were both upset and I knew that the only thing that would get those two on track was to get them to talk," I said.

"Even though she said she wanted to cool off before she spoke to him?" Iris asked. "You know how she is! She won't talk until she's good and ready to!" I sighed and shook my head.

"I really did just want to help," I said glumly. She stared at me a moment and then walked over, sitting on the floor next to me.

"I know, dear. Just… next time… when Daisy says she wants to be left alone… let her alone," she suggested.

"Trust me. I'll no make that mistake again," I muttered. Iris leaned over and kissed my cheek. From upstairs we heard some shouts and a few thumps. Both of us looked up at the ceiling. "Should we go up?"

"No. We're leaving that alone," she said, glancing over at me.

"But what if they blow up the house?" I asked. Iris stared at the ceiling a bit as things went quiet.

"I highly doubt they will," she said with a sigh, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"You think they'll postpone the wedding?" I asked.

"Not likely. We've put in too much work already. There's only a month left," she said. I nodded. She looked over at me. "It was rather sweet… you trying to fix things." I shrugged.

"You know me… I can't stand to see Pix upset," I said.

"Dad?"

The two of us turned to see Daisy and Wills standing in the entryway to the living room.

"What are you still doing on the floor?" she asked. I stood and then pulled Iris to her feet. "I'm… I'm sorry about… that. Guess I'm just a bit… stressed out." I smiled and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug.

"All water under the bridge. I probably deserved it… meddling," I said, kissing the top of her head. She looked up at me.

"You were trying to help," she said.

"And a lot of good it did," I replied. She smiled.

"It did," she said softly. She went up on her toes and kissed my cheek, then stepped back, taking Wills' hand. "We've made up. And… Think I'm going to head home. We've got a bit of cleaning up to do." I nodded, glancing over at Wills. He nodded at me.

"Thanks, D-Coach," he said. I nodded at him.

"Get home safely," I said.

"We will," she said, smiling as she looked back at Wills. They then disappeared.

"Well, how about that," Iris said softly. I looked over at her.

"See, apparently I can do some things right," I said, walking over to my chair. I sat down and retrieved my forgotten glass. Iris sighed and shook her head. She then walked over and sat in my lap.

"You're a good man, Oliver Wood," she said, smiling.

"And you're a good woman, Iris Evans-Wood."


I have now finished writing this story, and I'm so sad... but I've got an idea on a sequel to "When Arthur Met Guinevere" so I've got something to occupy my free time after this... And I'll be honest, I had a hard time coming up with a big enough fight between Daisy and Wills for her to call off the wedding. Thus why she threatens, but it's not really going to happen.

Coming up next... the bachelor and bachelorette parties...

AleenaBean - I seriously agonized over that one. I planned to do a chapter on Oliver searching for the perfect gift from the beginning, but put it off until one of the last ones just because I couldn't come up with the right one. But I'm sooo glad that I got it worked out. Really, it was the perfect gift from Oliver.

As always, thanks for reading, following and reviewing!