CHAPTER 27

Adrian and Gen had run home to change and get ready for the afterparty at Nathaniel Hornsby's home. Since he had gone through the trouble of taking off work to come into town, Gen had insisted that he stay in her guest room. They got ready from the afterparty - not much to do since neither of them played - then headed over to Hornsby's via apparation.

"We'll probably hit up Tom's afterwards. It's a fun, little local bar in town… you know if you have the stamina for more quidditch players," Gen started.

"Oh absolutely. A chance to hang with the Puddlemere United team again? Count me in," Adrian replied.

"Did you ever think about it? Playing quidditch?" Gen asked, curiously.

Adrian shrugged, "Thought maybe I could. I dunno. If I got recruited out of school maybe… but I like magical law and… well, the war changed a lot, you know? I wanted to help rebuild the world after You Know Who destroyed it."

Gen nodded, "Yes, I-, I understand. Well, get ready." She raised her hand to knock on the door, knocking three times to the beautiful home. She knew that Hornsby was married and had the whole white picket fence thing going for him. He always went out with the team and so this would be a different side of him.

"Come in, come in!" A voice said, as the door flung open. A dark skinned woman opened the door, smiling at both Adrian and Gen. "Hello, loves. I'm Josephine, Nate's wife."

She ushered the two through the front door, following behind them. Gen took a good look at her. She was much taller than Gen, with a slender yet strong body, and her hair was naturally curly and pulled up into one top knot above her head. She wore a long sleeved dark green jumpsuit and gold jewelry to accent the look. She was stunning.

"Wow, your home is beautiful," Gen marveled, looking around.

"Thank you," she smiled, stopping as they reached the foyer. "Feel free to put your coats in the closet and join the rest of the team in the backyard.

Adrian and Gen exchanged glances, taking their coats off. It was much too cold to not wear a coat outside, but she was curious as to what they had enchanted into. They put their coats up in the coat closet with a plethora of coats.

"I don't think that we took that long," Gen said, beginning to follow Josephine out to the back porch.

"Well, we did reheat leftovers from last night," Adrian pointed out.

"Fair enough… I guess everyone's already here," Gen said.

"Yes, I think a lot of them just popped over right after the game. The reserves just got here. They played well, don't ya think?" Josephine asked, her perfect English accent shining through.

"Brilliantly. Some of the best stuff I've seen in awhile," Adrian answered.

"They did a phenomenal job," Gen agreed. "My boyfriend actually coached the team. Worried sick a whole week leading up to today about 'em."

"Boyfriend? You two aren't-," Josephine started. Adrian and Gen both laughed in response, exchanging glances once again.

"Happens all the time. 'S alright," Adrian chuckled.

"No, no. We're old friends. Wood is… ehm, my boyfriend. You know, the keeper?" Gen chimed in.

"Ahhhh yes, right. Nate has told me all about you two and I saw the kiss in the Daily Prophet!" Josephine exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in recognition.

"Right," Gen chuckled. Seemed that that's all people recognized her for these days.

"I don't care much for quidditch but… that certainly got my attention. And Nate barely entertained my curiosity. It was so romantic! And all over the papers!" Josephine continued, as she pulled open the back door. Her feet stepped out on the deck overlooking the huge backyard that the Hornsby's had. It seemed that they had enchanted a heated bubble around the entire area of the backyard, allowing for it to be warm enough to be on for a long period of time.

"There she is!" Benjy called out, spotting Gen. Hornsby was tending to the grill on the porch and both Benjy and Oliver were huddled up next to him with reserve player, Justin Waddington, and Alicia.

Gen smiled, nodding for Adrian to follow her. She walked through the groups of people, huddled up together having a drink, across the large deck to her friends.

"Sorry we're late. Didn't know everyone would be so… prompt," Gen started, joining the circle with Adrian.

"'S alright. You're here now," Benjy shrugged.

"If you don't already know… this is my best friend, Adrian," Gen said, eager to introduce everyone. "Adrian, this is: Benjy, 'course you know Oliver, Justin, and ehm, well, Alicia… I don't know if you guys ever DID meet in school."

"Hello," Adrian said, nodding to her. Alicia had always been beautiful, but he had forgotten what a knockout she was.

"Yes, I remember you," she said back, politely.

"Can I get a drink for either of you?" Benjy asked.

"Sure, I'll have a beer, thanks," Adrian replied.

"Me too," Gen replied.

"HORNSBY?! You wan' another?" Benjy called out.

"Sure!" Nate called back, busy at work cooking for the team. Benjy left the group to bring back drinks, allow Gen to leave Adrian's side and slip in right next to her boyfriend.

"He on something or what?" Gen asked, chuckling.

"You know, Benj. He loves a party and any excuse to get the whole team together. Besides, before you came up, we were just talking about what a brilliant job Waddington did today," Oliver answered, shifting the focus to Justin Waddington.

"Thanks, coach," Justin mumbled, shyly.

"Suppose we'll have someone to fill in when Hornsby takes a year off next season," Oliver continued.

"What?" Gen asked, caught off guard.

"Dan didn't tell ya? Nate's taking a year off. Don't know why but I suppose we'll find out tonight. Keeps saying he's got a big announcement," Oliver replied.

"No, no he didn't. Wonder why," Gen said. "Well, did you think we'd ever see ourselves here? Two ex Slytherin quidditch players and two previous Gryffindor players, all getting on well?"

"Definitely not," Alicia laughed out. "Especially with you."

"Fair enough," Gen said back.

"Did I miss something?" Adrian asked, curiously, looking from his best friend to the blonde next to him.

"Ehhh, long story short: a family friend of mine is getting married to Alicia's older brother. This one got a little too drunk at the party with Alicia and ehm, well… they're friends now," Oliver explained.

Adrian laughed, "You know, I'll never quite get how women can do that.. But alright."

Gen rolled her eyes, "A bottle of champagne can fix a lot, Pucey."

Alicia shrugged, "At least in our case."

"Still find it weird," Adrian concluded.

"And you all… went to Hogwarts around the same time?" Justin asked curiously. He

"Yeah, I forget. You're a bit younger than us, Justin. Was a first year after I graduated," Oliver explained.

"Alright, you lot. Who needed a drink?" Benjy asked, interrupting the conversation, bringing the group their beers. "Cheers! To Puddlemere!"

"To Puddlemere!"

The sound of a butter knife hitting a glass grabbed the attention of everyone on the heated deck. The part was beginning to wind down: food had been eaten, drinks had been had, and it was about time for The Hornsby's to make their announcement.

"I've got an announcement to make!" Nate said, his voice booming over the patio.

"I tell him all the time. Woulda made a great announcer," Oliver said, leaning in and whispering in Gen's ear. She shrugged, entertaining the idea.

"Thank you SO MUCH for coming over to the house. We… we were happy to host and show you guys a small bit of what goes on outside of the pitch for me," Nate continued. Josephine was right by his side, looking eager for what came out of his mouth next. "You see, as some of you know, I'm taking the year off next year. Waddington will be stepping in for me most games and ehm. Well… we've got a bit of news."

"Oh my," Gen said quietly, Oliver's arm wrapped around around her waist.

"You see, we're pregnant with our first child and ehm, well, I wanted to fully be a part of that process," Nate announced. There were more 'oh my gods,' cheers, and gasps of surprise from the team.

"Couldn't believe it when he first told me I'd be seein him THAT much!" Josephine teased, eliciting a laugh from everyone.

"You guys are my team and my family. I wanted to get us all together before I step back. I ehm… well, I can't imagine sharing this with anyone but you, my family. And you, my lovely, wonderful wife. I'd like to propose a toast: to Puddlemere, my family up until this point. You will all continue to be my family, even in this new chapter of our lives."

"To Puddlemere!"

After the big announcement at the Hornsby's most of the first string team and all of the reserves continued the party at Tom's - as expected. Oliver was really trying to make an effort with Adrian, especially after what Gen had told him earlier that day in the kitchen. He had to admit that he was a bit jealous of the bloke, but wanted to try his best to be mates. It's not like they didn't have much in common, but they had only met once and he hadn't quite yet made the effort that he was tonight.

Gen figured it was best to leave them to their own devices and had given both boys some space to get to know each other better. Instead, she had taken up to being the social butterfly of the evening, flitting from group to group to catch up and say hello. She had found herself at the bar with Benjy after watching him flirt with everything that moves all night long.

"When are you gonna find a nice girl to fall for, Benj?" Gen asked, curiously, only half joking with her friend.

"Blimey, Zhao. Not all of us on track for what Hornsby's got, like you and Wood are," Benjy said, brushing off the comment.

"I resent that! We are NOT," Gen protested.

Benjy chuckled, "Your modesty is so endearing, Zhao. The man is enamored with you. I think even a blind man can see that!"

Gen smiled, "Well, thank you. But doesn't mean we're walking down any aisle any time soon."

"Please. You've got him wrapped around your finger," Benjy said.

"Well he's got me like that too," Gen said back.

Benjy sighed, "I don't know. Don't know if I'm ready to settle down. Don't know if I ever will be." Gen nodded, listening to her friend. "Dunno. It's gonna take an honest woman."

"To tie you down?! It's gonna take a miracle and a frozen Hell," Gen shot back in jest.

"If Wood hadn't gotten to ya first…" Benjy started.

"Come off it, Benj. You know Oliver hates when you hit on me. Especially when he's right over there," Gen interrupted, nodding over to her boyfriend.

Benjy chuckled, "Oh he knows I'm only joking."

Gen rolled her eyes playfully, taking a sip of her firewhiskey.

"What're the two of you talking about?" a female voice asked, coming up to the bar. Gen shifted her focus to see both Alicia and Cress coming up to the two.

"Alicia! Cress! Hey," Gen said, excitedly. "What've you been up to?"

"Oh, you know, just getting to know one another," Cress replied.

"I don't know why it's taken me this long to get to know other players in the league," Alicia added.

"Yes, darling, I don't know WHY it's taken us this long to meet," Benjy smirked, flirtatiously. Gen and Cress exchanged glances, rolling their eyes at their teammate.

"Merlin," Alicia chuckled. She was flattered by the comment but knew that Benjy was a notorious ladies man.

"You ready to go home, love?" Gen heard someone ask, as they placed a hand on the small of her back. Turning her head to see Oliver, she grinned.

"Yes, I'm exhausted. Plus, I think Benjy's begun his prowl for a conquest tonight," Gen replied, in jest.

"Am not! I resent that," Benjy protested.

"Tell me I'm wrong," she challenged, playfully.

Oliver chuckled, "Enough of that, you two. Hey, Pucey's gonna stay a while so… he'll meet us back at the house."

"You know what that means," Alicia teased. "Don't worry. I'll tell Pucey not to come home for another hour or so." She winked at her friends as Oliver turned a beet red.

"Alicia!" Gen exclaimed.

Cress smirked and thought, directing her thoughts to Gen: "Please. He can't wait to get you alone."

"Cress, get out of my head!" Gen thought back. She only giggled in response.

"We'll leave you to it," Benjy said, winking at Oliver.

"Goodnight, guys," Gen said, as they parted from their friends.

"They are the worst," she groaned, as she and Oliver, arm in arm, separated from the group.

"They're not wrong," Oliver shrugged, eliciting a giggle from his girlfriend. "I can't wait to get you home."