CatB: I just tried to do some math and this story so far has...well, let's just say my concept of time is all over the place but basically it's only been about two weeks. Maybe even less. (I really need to go back and edit this!) I need to skip some time here and there, or else this story is going to feel dragged out than it already does.

Also, I realized belatedly that Katie is a year below Angelina and Alicia, so they likely wouldn't have classes together, but oh well. Call it artistic license.

Katie spent much of her Thursday classes brainstorming what to write in her anonymous letter to her Quidditch captain.

'Hey, Wood, just thought you should know your girlfriend's a cheat'? She feared that was too direct.

'Mr. Wood, as a concerned bystander, I felt it only right to come forward with some information involving your girlfriend. Sources spotted her engaging in mouth-to-mouth activities with another individual.' She dismissed that as being too formal, maybe even clinical.

'Oliver, I-'

"Miss Bell, surely you are scribbling notes for my class and not something entirely unrelated?" Katie looked up and gulped. Professor McGonagall was peering down at her disapprovingly.

"Y-yes, of course, Professor," she said quickly.

"Well, perhaps you would like to inform the class exactly what you found so interesting about Switching Spells?"

"Er..." Katie stared down at the piece of parchment she had been writing on, willing something, anything, related to her professor's inquiry to appear. When nothing did, she took a deep breath and meekly informed the irate witch that she had not been paying as much attention as she should have been. "I won't let it happen again, Professor," she finished, flushed.

"Take care that you don't, Miss Bell," Professor McGonagall harrumphed.

Katie crumpled up the piece of parchment and shoved it deep inside her bag. This stupid letter was going to be the death of her.


That afternoon, in History of Magic, she was able to focus more clearly upon her task. Professor Binns rarely noticed if anyone was paying attention to his boring lectures or not.

Chewing on the end of her quill, she wrote,

Dear Oliver,

Please read this entire letter all the way through. I don't think that's too much to ask.

I am aware that you have been seeing a girl called Maud. I am sure she has many perfectly nice qualities - Katie grit her teeth as she wrote that - but she is undeniably using you. For what, I don't know. I only know this: there is a third-floor corridor on the east side of the castle that contains a small alcove at the end of it. Yesterday during the lunchtime hour, I happened upon your girlfriend and a blond-haired boy in that alcove, locked in a very passionate kiss. I am sure you have questions, but I do not wish to reveal my identity to you, as I...

Here, she paused. How would she justify remaining anonymous to him?

Angelina tapped her shoulder and she jumped.

"Merlin, Angie, don't do that!" she whispered.

Her friend gestured to the letter, and Katie passed it to her. She scanned it carefully, Alicia reading over her shoulder. Angelina gave her a thumbs-up when she had finished.

"Brilliant!" she mouthed.

"It doesn't sound like you at all," Alicia added, sounding impressed.

Katie nodded, then pointed at the last sentence with a frown.

Angelina caught on immediately. She leaned over and muttered, "Just say that you want to remain anonymous in order to let him figure things out. He'll appreciate that, I think."

Katie mouthed back, "Thanks!"

...as I feel it best not to meddle too much in affairs that do not concern me. I am certain you will pursue this information in whatever manner you see fit.

Sincerely,

A concerned passerby

She waved her wand to disguise the handwriting, then carefully rolled up the letter and placed it in her bag.

After class, she all but ran to the Owlery, where she picked out a school owl to make the delivery. She watched it fly off, a sort of dread heavy in her stomach. She had no idea how Oliver would react to the news. As it turned out, she needn't have worried.


At dinner, she watched Oliver and Maud surreptitiously, and enlisted Angelina and Alicia to do the same. It was odd, though. Every time she glanced over at them, they appeared to still be very happy together. Maud leaned her head on his shoulder at one point, and Katie's fists clenched painfully.

"What's he playing at?" Angelina wondered.

Alicia shrugged. "Maybe he forgave her."

"Or maybe he didn't get it yet," Katie fretted.

"Oi, why do you lot keep looking over at Wood?" Fred joined in. "Come on now, he's not that fascinating."

"You're right," Angelina deadpanned. "He's quite boring, in fact. His girlfriend, on the other hand...well, let's just say her behavior has been considerably more interesting."

"Got some dirt on her, then, have you?" Fred looked between the three girls.

Katie shrugged uncomfortably, unsure of how much she should tell him. "Something like that. Anyway, where's George?"

Fred looked glum. "In our room. I promised I'd bring him some food."

"You're a good brother, Fred," Angelina smiled, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

"Katie," Alicia said suddenly, "I think Oliver's leaving."

Sure enough, Oliver was standing and gesturing at Maud to follow him. He appeared a bit terse, and Katie wondered if he was going to confront his girlfriend.

"I've gotta go," Katie said, jumping up and following a short distance behind the couple. From the back, she was able to see that they were paired extraordinarily well; Oliver was tall and muscular, while Maud was petite, lithe. Katie was short as well, but a bit less slender from years of playing Quidditch and developing her own muscles. She knew it was stupid but she envied Maud's slender, girlish figure. Clearly Oliver was into that sort of thing, judging by the way he was grabbing her wrist...and pulling her into a classroom? Katie sincerely hoped they weren't about to start snogging in there. Assuming Oliver hadn't received her note, of course.

She crept towards the door and was relieved that they had left the door ajar. A good sign, she hoped, that they were not planning on making out.

"-interesting letter this afternoon," Oliver was saying. So he had gotten the letter! Katie noted that he sounded a little snippy, as well he should.

"Let me see." Maud's voice, sharp and uncompromising. There was a wrinkle of paper and a quick intake of breath. "Who-"

"It doesn't say, does it?" Oliver sounded frustrated now, and Katie imagined him running his fingers through his hair.

"You don't recognize the handwriting?" Maud again.

"The writer's magicked it, I reckon."

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it."

"Wouldn't worry about it? Wouldn't worry about it?" Oliver echoed, incredulous. "Maud, this could ruin everything!" Katie thought this seemed a little dramatic. And why wasn't he more upset at Maud's actions, anyway? She had kissed someone else!

"Oliver." Maud sighed his name, and Katie froze. The way she uttered it sounded so...blissful. Katie really hoped they weren't going to start snogging now.

"I'm sorry," Oliver murmured. "Just...be more careful, please. I really want this to work."

Katie's brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what Oliver meant. What was he trying to make work?

"Of course." Was Maud purring at him? Katie rolled her eyes.

"We should get back to dinner, don't you think?" Oliver suggested.

Katie didn't wait to hear what was said next. She moved quickly from the doorway and rounded a corner, slipping into the broom cupboard there. After a few minutes had passed, she pulled open the door and made her way up to the common room, appetite gone and a million questions swirling around in her head.


"You're sure he said he really wanted something -'this'- to work?" Angelina pressed.

"Yes," Katie said, pulling on her Quidditch gloves. "I just don't know what he could have been talking about."

"Me neither." Angelina frowned and glanced over at Alicia, who was busy pulling her hair into her trademark ponytail. "Leesh, you got any ideas?"

Alicia sighed. "Not a clue, girls, sorry."

"It's okay," Katie assured her. "It was super cryptic." She grabbed her broomstick, marveling at its slight weight. She had always admired the way a seemingly lightweight object could support a person, or indeed, multiple people, and give them the power to fly through the air.

Looking back at Alicia and Angelina, she found that they were just pulling their gloves on, too.

"Come on," she said impatiently.

"Alright, alright," Alicia said with a giggle. "My, someone's eager to get practicing."

Katie's face grew hot. "I just-"

"Want to see Oliver?" Angelina teased.

"No," Katie said, shooting daggers at her friend. "Well, I guess so," she relented. "I actually wanted to give his handkerchief back to him. It's hard to find a time when he's not, you know, glued to his girlfriend's side."

Angelina and Alicia grabbed their brooms and followed Katie, who was clutching Oliver's handkerchief in her free hand, to the door.

In the small corridor that joined the two changing rooms, the three Chasers found Oliver and Maud wrapped in each other's arms.

"Babe, I have to go," Oliver was saying gently.

Katie heard Maud sigh his name for the second time that day and felt a pang of jealousy which grew even larger and more painful when the pair locked lips. How could he kiss her after what she had down to him? She looked down at the handkerchief, which felt hot and heavy now.

"This is for you," Katie managed to bite out. She flung the offending piece of cloth at her crush and stalked away. Oliver deftly caught it while Angelina and Alicia glared.

"Gross, Oliver," Alicia said with a shake of her head.

"Really gross," Angelina added.

"It's no worse than I've seen from you and Weasley, Johnson. Now both of you shut up and get on the field," Oliver snapped.

Alicia and Angelina hurried to catch up with their friend. Alicia squeezed Katie's arm and looked at her pityingly.

"I'm fine," Katie whispered, holding back tears. "Just...fine." Angelina gave her a quick hug, and Katie let out a small sob.

"Oh, Katie," Angelina said softly, "you're not fine. But you will be. I know you will. Quidditch always cheers you up."

Katie knew it was unlikely to cheer her up this evening, but she smiled bravely at the other two and walked to the side of the pitch to join the rest of the team.

Fred and George looked up at her approach. They had been talking in low voices and looked uncharacteristically serious. Katie zeroed in on George in particular. She had barely seen him over the course of the week, and she was shocked at his appearance. It appeared that he hadn't even tried to tame his hair that morning, his face looked gaunt, and his eyes were flat, dead. Katie thought his robes looked looser, too. She wondered how she had failed to notice all of this at practice yesterday, although, she reminded herself, she had been a little preoccupied with Oliver and Maud.

She saw her captain jogging towards them now, teeth gritted.

"Alright, you lot," he yelled, "let's work on a few of the new plays I've come up with. Spinnet and Johnson, practice scoring a little closer to the goalposts today. It'll only cost you a bit more time and it gives the Keeper less of an opportunity to figure out where the Quaffle is going. Weasleys, keep smashing those Bludgers, particularly when Spinnet and Johnson are about to score. And Harry...well, you're golden. "

Katie raised her hand. "What about me?" She saw George's gaze flick over to her for a moment, and then he looked back at Oliver, who was frowning.

"What about you, Bell?"

"I-I just wanted to know what I'm supposed to do-"

"What you can do," he cut in, "is start thinking for yourself. Honestly, do I have to spell out everything for you?"

"I-" Katie could feel the eyes of her teammates on her. She couldn't quite believe what was happening. She knew Oliver could be blunt, especially when he was stressed out about Quidditch. Their next game would be against Hufflepuff, however, and he had never been particularly worried about beating them before.

"I-" she tried again.

"Oliver, that's enough," Angelina said loudly. "You're being unfair."

"I'm being unfair? Johnson, if you have a problem with my leadership, you can take it up with McGonagall."

"Maybe I will," she challenged.

"Fine!" he shouted back. "Does anyone else have a problem?" He glowered at them all, and Katie shrank back when his eyes met hers. She had never seen him look so angry, not even that day in The Three Broomsticks.

"Come off it, mate," Fred said with a clap on the captain's shoulder. "Katie asked a simple question and now you've frightened the poor girl."

George was looking at her again. She couldn't quite read his expression, but she thought it might be a mixture of pity and vindication.

"She's fine," Oliver said hotly.

"No, she isn't." Katie sent a grateful look George's way, which seemed to bolster him. "You're the captain, Oliver. Why don't you start acting like it?"

Katie's mouth dropped open. George Weasley was many things, but as far as she knew, being rude to Oliver was not one of them. Everyone else looked equally stunned.

Fire flashed in Oliver's eyes. "Dismissed, Weasley." George bowed his head and began to walk off.

The rest of the team began to shout at their leader.

"Really, Oliver, this is ridiculous-"

"You can't just dismiss-"

"Why are you punishing-"

"He was only trying to help-

"ENOUGH!" Oliver roared. "You're all dismissed."

Katie didn't wait to be told twice. She hurried off the field and caught up with George.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly.

George wouldn't look at her. "No problem."

Katie reached out to touch his arm and he winced.

"Sorry," she said quickly, withdrawing her hand. "George, I'm...sorry. About everything."

She knew this didn't even come close to making up for the pain she had caused him, but the apology had slipped out without her thinking about it and now hung in the air between them.

George finally spoke. "It's fine." He finally looked at her again, and Katie knew that it was not fine, because she recognized the look in his eyes. The hurt and anger that she saw there was the same hurt and anger that she felt whenever she looked at Oliver and Maud.

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