Chapter 29

We returned from Ireland all too soon for my liking and went back to our cottage in Puddlemere. "We leave for the World Cup on Monday," Oliver noted. "So, until then, we have free time." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Really, Bear," I replied. "I've got to start packing because the day after we get back from the World Cup, I'm leaving for Edinburgh."

"Is it that soon?" he said, taken aback. Suddenly, it seemed to me, he was less confident about the arrangements that we had made.

"Yes," I answered. "I don't have to go. I could go in a year or two."

"You're going now," he promised. "We'll survive it." I nodded and for the rest of the afternoon, Oliver helped me pack my trunk. "Promise me that when you go you won't forget about me."

"What's going on?" I asked. "This is not like you. You know I would never forget you."

"We haven't ever spent this long without a serious fight that led us to not speaking for at least a month," he answered. "It's been nice."

"It has been nice," I replied, putting the packing aside for a while. I crossed the room to him and put my arms around his neck. "Let's get out for a while. I want to take you somewhere." He closed his eyes and I apparated us to our cliff side in Scotland.

"Why are we here?" he asked.

"Over there is where I fell completely in love with you," I answered. "Do you know when it was?" He shook his head. "It was when you brought me here after Mum told me about the contract. I know I gave you a lot of crap about who kissed who at that Christmas ball, but I also know you better than anyone else. I knew you'd never intentionally hurt me or that you wouldn't ask me out just to humiliate me.

"Of course, when we came here when we were children, that was when I first realized that you were going to be in my life forever," I finished.

He pulled me into a hug and kissed me for a long time on that cliff. When we broke for air, he said, "Thanks. I needed that."

"Shall we go home and have dinner, then?" I offered. He nodded and we apparated back to our cottage. I tried to cook dinner, which turned into a disaster. At least we had a laugh. Oliver finally took over in the kitchen and was able to make us eggs and toast.

The next few days were spent in much the same manner. We would spend part of the day packing and re-packing my things and then go out for a bit. We met a few of our neighbors, though we didn't really seek them out. Our favorite was Mrs. Bennington. She was a truly hilarious old witch that lived next door to us. During our first meeting, she called us over and demanded to know who we were. "I'm Oliver Wood and this is my wife, Bryony," Oliver answered.

"Married a bit young, wouldn't you say?" she cheeked. "Will there be a little one arriving?" She stared at my belly, as if she had the power to see into me.

"No, Mrs. Bennington," I answered. "As of yet, we have no plans for a little one. We married so young because we're completely in love." I had chosen to not apprise her of the arrangement our parents had made. She tutted and started for her door. Then, she turned around and invited us for tea; we accepted only because we didn't want to be rude. By the time we went home, we had learned that Mrs. Bennington frequently took boarders who played for Puddlemere and she was unimpressed by the fact that we were married, but that I would be going away to school for at least one term.

The following day was Saturday. That evening, the Puddlemere team hosted a dinner for the players and their dates. Naturally, I accompanied Oliver to the event. I met a few of his new teammates and their wives. The seeker's wife, Laurel Thomas, was a very tall and beautiful witch. She pulled me aside. "You're very brave," she said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Married so young to a player on a team that could win the cup this year," she answered. "There are going to be girls literally throwing themselves at Oliver. He's quite handsome."

"That doesn't matter," I said. "I trust Oliver, even if I don't trust the girls. This won't be the first time that girls have thrown themselves at him."

"Trust me love," she warned. "This will also be 100 times worse than anything that happened at Hogwarts. It's a much larger scale. My husband has had marriage offers from at least 30 women this year and they all know that he's married."

"And I'm sure he turned them down," I pointed out.

She gave me a dark look and said, "Yes, but I'm home with him every night. What's Oliver going to do when he's alone all the time?" The question caught me off guard and I didn't know what to do. I found Oliver with some of his new teammates and he introduced me.

"Can we go home soon?" I asked. He agreed and we left the party an hour later. When we got home, I initiated sex with him; I was slightly aggressive.

"What's got into you?" he asked when we finished. "It's not that I mind, but you seem particularly aggressive tonight."

"I'm sorry," I replied, blushing. "One of the wives said something that got to me."

"What did she say?"

"She said that there were going to be literally hundreds of girls throwing themselves at you very soon," I answered. "I just want to be sure that when they're doing that, you're thinking of me."

"Love, there is nothing that will take me away from you," he promised. "I love you and there is nothing that will change that."

We left for the World Cup a few days later. We met the Weasley family there and Oliver officially told them he had been accepted to the Puddlemere reserve team. Fred and George were impressed and offered to sell me some of their joke products to use on unsuspecting broom bunnies. "I'll keep you posted," I promised.

We thoroughly enjoyed the game and had very good seats. Oliver pointed several things out to me as we watched the match. He was not shocked when Krum caught the snitch, even though Bulgaria were down more than 150 points. So, Bulgaria caught the snitch, but Ireland still won. "Why would he end the game if they were so far down?" I asked.

"Because he knew that they would never catch up," Oliver answered. "He wanted to end the game on his terms and save the team as much as possible."

"I still don't get it, but I'll take your word for it," I joked.

"You don't have to understand it, babe," he promised. "I will never understand opera."

"Fair enough," I replied.

We arrived back at our campsite and sipped some cocoa around a fire with some of Oliver's school friends, who had campsites nearby. I was, again, on Oliver's lap and starting to doze. "We should get to bed," Oliver stated. "We have an early morning and then we have to move her into her dormitory on Friday."

"Why do you have to go on a Friday?" Jack asked.

"Because," I answered, yawning, "the first years have to attend a performance on Friday night. Our families may join us and then they all have to leave."

"So, how long will it be before you see each other again?" asked Kevin.

"Probably about a month," Oliver said, sadly. "I'm going for parents' weekend."

"And I'm sneaking out for a weekend, too," I promised. "And don't argue. We've had this discussion. You will require a date to that Quidditch Banquet in October and I'm not letting you go with anyone but me."

"I wasn't going to argue," he said, though I didn't believe him.

We went to bed, but were rudely awakened less than an hour later by the ruckus caused by the Death Eaters. Oliver shoved me into our tent and begged me to stay there while he went to see if he could help. "I'm not letting you leave without me," I said, sternly. He caved and I followed him into the melee.

We were able to stay together, but barely. Oliver held my hand tightly during the running. We got separated for a moment when Tim Jeffries grabbed my arm and pulled me away. Oliver noticed quickly and came back, hexing Tim to the point where he was knocked out. We ran away quickly.

When the melee finally ended, Oliver and I returned to our tent to collect our things. Dawn was just about breaking and we decided that we would not be able to get back to sleep in our tent, so we went home instead. When we got home, we went back to bed for a few hours. Then, we got up and finished packing my bags for school.

"I promise you'll be fine," Oliver said, sitting on our bed next to me and putting his arm around my shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you," I replied, sniffing. "I won't have snuggle time and it will be rather cold in bed."

"You'll have the bear," he offered.

"The bear isn't as good as the original," I countered. "Will you write to me?"

"Every day," he promised. "Of course, you have to write back."

"Every day," I agreed. "And we'll see each other as much as possible."

"Shall we go to your parents' house?" he asked. I nodded and we grabbed my trunk and Oliver's overnight bag before flooing to my parents' house for the night.

Dinner was subdued and Oliver's parents joined us. After dinner, we spent some time with our parents in the sitting room. "Why don't you play for us, Bryony?" Mum suggested. "I haven't heard you in ages." I smiled and sat at the piano.

After a half an hour, Oliver invited me for a fly and we left the house to go to his orchard for a fly. We were outside for an hour. When we landed, Oliver said, "You've become a fair flyer, love."

"Thanks," I replied. "I still prefer my travel on the ground, but if I'm married to a guy destined to be a famous quidditch player, I figured I'd better learn how to fly."

"Destined to be a famous quidditch player?" he teased. I nodded. "I'm not sure about that."

"I am," I replied. "You're brilliant and you're going to be brilliant in the professional league." He started to say something, but I cut him off. "Let me finish, please. The last few weeks have been mostly about me freaking out about school and I seemed to forget that you are freaking out a little about playing in the big leagues. It's my turn to remind you that you'll be brilliant."

"Definitely win the award," he joked. I gave him a quizzical look. "You are absolutely the best wife ever. We should get back before our parents send out a search party."

"They're probably sure that we're shagging in your broom shed," I joked.

"That's not a half bad idea," he mused. "We've never shagged in the broom shed."

"And we're not going to shag there tonight, either," I said. He pouted, so I added, "We'll shag somewhere tonight, just not the broom shed."

"We could at least snog there, then," he begged. I gave in on the snogging, which then led to shagging. As we got dressed to head back, he joked, "And I thought you promised no shagging in the broom shed."

"Shut up," I warned. "Come on and let's get back before they really send out a search party." My parents gave us a knowing look when we returned and said we were going to bed.