Author's note: Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone reading in the US. Here is Chapter 5, which was inspired by a few blurry nights out in my college days. I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Five - Tequila

Ryan pushed open the door to the pub and the trio stepped inside. As they walked by the bar, Ryan called out to the barman. The man looked up and waved at Ryan before noticing Katie.

"Little Katie Bell!" the man called out merrily. "You've certainly grown. Are you finally old enough to join us at our humble establishment?"

"Hello, Thomas," Katie greeted him with a smile. "And yes, I'm 18, so do me a favor and make me a Bramble."

"18, eh?" Thomas said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "So finally old enough to come on that date with me?"

"Back down, Thomas," Ryan said good-naturedly. "Besides, Katie here's brought her boyfriend." He gestured to Oliver with a smirk.

"You've broken my heart again, Little Katie," Thomas said with mock sorrow.

Katie blew a kiss to him with a laugh and turned to Oliver.

"Come on, let's get a table."

Oliver followed Katie to a booth in the corner of the pub away from the other patrons and they sat next to one another.

"Thomas is Ryan's flatmate, he's harmless," Katie told Oliver dismissively. "I've known him as long as I can remember. He and Ryan have been friends since primary school."

Oliver smiled at her reassurance.

"I'm just impressed at how comfortable you are in the Muggle world," Oliver commented.

Katie laughed, thinking of Oliver's reaction to the public transport bus they had taken to the pub.

"Well, I grew up more in the Muggle world more than the Wizarding one, really," Katie said. "When we'd go places as a family we could hardly travel by broom or Apparition, so we drove. Dad took me to Diagon Alley and such when we needed to go, but honestly I prefer to be able to go places where Mum and Ryan can go too. We went to the cinema a lot when we were kids." Katie looked around and lowered her voice. "I take Ryan flying sometimes, though. Mum doesn't know about that."

"Bloody brilliant, that is," Ryan said as he set Katie's cocktail down in front of her.

"Cheers," she said, taking a drink.

"Something from your homeland," Ryan told Oliver as he handed him one of the glasses of Scotch whisky he was holding.

Oliver tipped his glass to Ryan and took a drink. Ryan sat down opposite Katie and Oliver and took a drink from his own glass.

"Remember that first time dad caught us after we'd gone flying?" Katie asked her brother. "Lectured me for an hour about the Secrecy Statute, he did." Katie squeezed the lemon garnish in her glass and took another drink.

"That was no worse than the time he caught me sneaking you home drunk from a party at my flat," Ryan said with a laugh. "Told me I was a terrible influence on you and he'd hex me if he found out I was giving you booze again. You were fourteen, though, I reckon he had a point."

Katie looked over at Oliver, who was watching the siblings' exchange with an amused smile.

"So, Oliver," Ryan said, turning his attention to other man, "Katie tells me you play Quidditch professionally."

"Aye, I play Keeper for Puddlemere United," Oliver answered, taking a sip of his drink.

"He's been named first team for the upcoming season," Katie added with pride.

"Well, cheers to that!" Ryan exclaimed. "I think that calls for shots," he added mischievously.

"Oh Godric, Ryan, no," Katie complained. She knew what Ryan was doing. He was trying to get Oliver drunk so that he could interrogate him about their relationship.

"Thomas!" Ryan called out. "Three shots of Jäger, if you please!

Oliver looked at Katie. "Jäger?" he asked with uncertainty.

Kate made a face. "Jägermeister. Muggle liquor. It tastes a bit like a licorice wand. But bloody disgusting," she replied. "You don't have to drink it," she added. Curse Ryan; she should have warned Oliver that he would try this.

Thomas walked over and set the three shots in the middle of the table.

"Cheers," he wished them as he walked away.

Ryan, Katie, and Oliver each took a glass. Katie noticed Oliver's look of apprehension.

Ryan raised his glass. "To Oliver," he said ceremoniously.

"To Oliver," Katie repeated with a queasy on her face. She turned to Oliver. "Down the hatch, I suppose," she said as she gulped down the liquor. She coughed and made a face. She looked over to Oliver to see a sour look on his face as he set down his empty glass.

"Ah, thata boy!" Ryan said enthusiastically as he reached over to clap Oliver on the shoulder.

"So Oliver," Ryan continued. "Being a professional athlete can't leave much time for a woman in your life, can it? I'd hate to think of my baby sister being neglected." He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Katie rolled her eyes at her brother.

Oliver cleared his throat. "Well, I reckon things do get busy once the season begins. But we get time off between matches, so hopefully we will be able to see each other then," Oliver answered.

He looked at Katie and they shared a small smile.

"And what if your days off don't line up?" Ryan asked.

"If our – wait," Oliver said, turning to Katie with a look of surprise. "Do you mean you've received an offer?" he asked with excitement.

Katie giggled. "I did," she said. "Two in fact." She was unable to keep the chuffed grin off of her face.

"That's brilliant, Katie! Why didn't you say something?" Oliver asked her.

"I just got the owls yesterday," she said.

"Which teams made you offers?" Oliver asked her.

"Pride of Portree and The Appleby Arrows," Katie answered. "Both reserve team offers. I've no idea which I should choose." She shook her head with an overwhelmed excitement.

"Well done, Katie," Oliver congratulated her. "Have they invited you to meet the teams? You should get a clearer idea of which would be a better fit once you meet the team and the staff."

"Yes, they've asked me 'round next week," Katie answered.

"You'll be brilliant whichever you choose," Oliver told her affectionately.

Katie looked up at him and he met her gaze. She reached her head up and gave him a quick kiss.

"That's bloody enough of that," Ryan said, a look of mock disgust on his face. "Although, I think congratulations are in order for you, Katie Cat." He looked toward the bar. "Thomas, another round of shots if you please," he called out as he made a waving circular motion with his hand. "Actually, make it two!"

He winked at Katie. "One for each offer, of course."

Katie groaned. "You sodding git," she said to Ryan.

The shots arrived. Ryan took a glass in each hand and raised them toward Katie.

"To Katie Cat!" Ryan declared as he drained his shots consecutively.

Oliver gave her an amused grin. "To Katie," he said.

"Enough about me," Katie said after she'd emptied her shots. She could already feel her head getting a bit fuzzy. "Ryan, tell me why it is you haven't brought a nice girl home yet." She looked at him expectantly.

"I just haven't met one yet that I want to explain our family to," Ryan said with a laugh. Though he was joking, his statement rang true to Katie. On more than one occasion, she'd wondered what life would be like when Ryan brought home a serious girlfriend. She and dad would have to keep the wands tucked away, that was for sure, but for how long? She hated the idea of Ryan having to lie to the woman in his life, but the Secrecy Statute was nothing to be lax with. If he had children, would they ever know the truth about their Aunt Katie? What about her own children, who were sure to be magical? When they were young, could they play with their Muggle cousins? Merlin, things could get complicated.

"Well, maybe we just need to find you a nice witch," Katie countered.

"So she can hex me if I forget to empty the bin? No thanks," Ryan laughed.

Katie waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah, Mum and Dad have made it work, haven't they?" she replied.

"How did your parents meet?" Oliver interjected curiously. "I've always wondered how it works, a Muggle married to a witch or wizard."

"They met through a cousin of Dad's," Katie told him. "He's half-blood, his Mum was a Muggle-born, so he has some Muggle family. They did Muggle things when he was a kid, bit like me really. His cousin, Auntie Mary we call her, she didn't know he was a wizard of course, set him up on a blind date. He only went so Auntie Mary would get off his back. The date turned out to be our Mum."

"When did your mum find out?" Oliver asked. "That he's a wizard, I mean."

Katie and Ryan both laughed.

"Well, the way Dad tells it, Mum "showed up at his flat unannounced,"" Ryan told him using air quotations. "Recently he let it slip that she, er, showed up looking to shag."

"Apparently Ry was at Nan's for the weekend and Mum was lonely," Katie added. She made a face, then shook her head and laughed.

"Mum said his flat was in a right state, dirty dishes and laundry everywhere. Typical bachelor's flat," Katie continued. "Must be where you get it from, Ry," she teased her brother.

Ryan rolled his eyes. Katie went on.

"Mum went to use the loo and Dad took that opportunity to tidy up. Except Mum didn't take as long as he expected and she came out and saw him waving his wand about with dishes and clothes flying everywhere."

"And she stuck around?" Oliver inquired with interest. "I'd think I'd run for the hills if I was a Muggle and saw something like that."

"Apparently she was pretty freaked out," Katie acknowledged. "But she really fancied Dad. Loved him, I reckon. She said he'd already met Ry and he was so good with him. It was easier for her to accept magic than to lose someone she cared for again. She was heartbroken when Ryan's dad left her."

Ryan's smile fell slightly for a moment.

"I reckon she liked the idea of never having to clean house by hand again either," he joked as his grin recovered.

Katie noticed the slip in her brother's countenance and snuck him a reassuring smile. She knew he didn't speak of, or certainly to, his biological father, but she also knew that he hated the fact that he had anything in common with the man who had abandoned their mother and himself as an infant.

"We're an unusual bunch, but it works for us," Katie summed up.

She rose from the table.

"I'm off to use the loo," she excused herself. Katie looked pointedly at her brother. "Be nice," she instructed him.

When she returned to the table, Ryan coerced them to drink two more shots each – one to celebrate his team's victory that day, and one to Oliver and Katie's new relationship.

They finished their drinks and Ryan ordered a pint of beer for them each.

"Let's play some darts!" he exclaimed, and they moved from their table to the dart board in the back of the pub near the loo.

Katie briefly explained the rules of darts to Oliver, and they began to play. Oliver's aim was decent, considering it was his first time. Katie and Ryan were ruthless. They were neck-in-neck, each heckling the other and becoming more rowdy as their mugs became lighter.

"Alright, I think we need a wager to make the tie-breaking shot more interesting," Ryan told Katie with a glimmer of mischief in his eye.

"And what do you propose?" she asked him. She found herself feeling bolder as the evening, and the alcohol, wore on. She leaned her body against Oliver, her arm wrapped around his waist.

"Loser does a shot of the winner's choice," Ryan offered.

"You're on," said Katie with determination. She took aim and threw her final dart. It landed in a black wedge just left of the center. "Ha!" she cried out, raising her arms in the air.

Ryan threw his dart, and his aim was true. Bullseye. He pumped his fist.

Katie hung her head in defeat, laughing. "Fine, do your worst," she conceded as the trio walked over to the bar.

"Hmmmm," Ryan said, feigning indecision. A wicked smile spread across his face.

"Oliver, have you ever done tequila shots the proper way?" Ryan asked him.

"Er, I don't believe so," Oliver answered uncertainly. From the look on his face, he wasn't sure why Ryan was asking him, since Katie was the one who had lost the wager.

"You arsehole," Katie said, looking at her brother in disbelief.

"Hmm. I think Katie here needs to show you how it's done," Ryan declared.

xxxxxx

Oliver felt uncertain about what was about to happen, but given the impish grin Ryan was giving Katie and the flustered look on her face, it was sure to be memorable.

"A bet's a bet, baby sister," Ryan reminded Katie.

Katie stared at him with an incredulous look on her face.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the house of bravery?" Ryan prodded her.

"Fine," Katie relented. Her face was bright pink, but Oliver wasn't sure if that was from embarrassment or alcohol at this point.

Ryan collected a shot glass full of tequila along with a lime wedge and…a salt shaker? This was surely going nowhere good, Oliver decided.

Ryan placed the items in front of Katie and folded his hands together. He gave her an expectant look.

"Well, do crack on," he said with the same mischievous grin.

Katie turned to Oliver. She looked mortified.

"You're too tall, I need you to sit," she instructed him. Confused at what his height had to do with anything, Oliver did as he was told and sat on the barstool next to Katie. She took the lime wedge and turned to him.

"Hold this with your teeth," she said. Oliver didn't think he'd heard her correctly, but she proceeded to put the lime to his lips. He obeyed.

"Now lean your head over a bit," she said, pushing his head to the side to expose his neck. Oliver again did as he was told. What in Merlin's name was she doing?

Katie placed the shot glass next to him and picked up the salt shaker. She took a deep breath and leaned in to him.

Before he could figure out what was happening, Katie licked his neck lightly. Oliver felt a surge of electricity shoot through his body. He turned to face Katie, but she lightly pushed his head back in place and shook the shaker where she had licked. He could feel the salt stick to his skin. Then she quickly licked his neck again, drained the shot glass, and leaned in as though she was going to kiss him. She stopped short of his lips and instead sucked on the lime held in his mouth. When she pulled away, and her face was so red, it was nearly purple.

Ryan howled with laughter. Dazed, Oliver removed the lime from his mouth and set it on the bar. He then wiped the remaining salt from his neck. He looked at Katie, who refused to meet his gaze. Bloody hell, he was so turned on by her.

"I think we'd best be getting home, Ryan," Katie mumbled. "Dad asked us not to stay out too late."

"Right you are," he said still laughing. "I'm going to take a piss, then we'll go." He walked off toward the loo.

Katie looked up at Oliver, still blushing furiously.

"That was quite something," he said, trying to fight back a smile so as not to embarrass her further.

"Merlin, Oliver, I'm sorry. Ryan can be too much sometimes," she said as she covered her face with her hands.

"Lass, it's ok," Oliver told her. He put his finger under her chin and tilted it upward. She dropped her hands.

"You must think I'm such a tart," Katie said quietly.

Oliver smiled at her. "Hardly," he said. "I think you're wonderful. The fearless Katie I've always loved."

Shite, he thought, as he realized what he said. Katie looked up at him, but before she could respond, Oliver placed his lips on hers. She tasted like salt and lime juice, her mouth deliciously sticky.

"I was only gone a minute," a voice interrupted.

Oliver and Katie pulled apart. Ryan was looking at them with a mixture of humor and annoyance. Katie's brother's timing was proving to be bloody inconvenient.

"I've settled the tab, let's go," he said.

xxxxxx

Katie walked up toward her parents' home, her steps wobbly. Her head felt fuzzy and her stomach was not agreeing with her decision to mix liquors. The door opened, and Mr. Bell appeared wearing a dressing gown over his pajamas.

"It's us, dad," Ryan called out in a loud, merry voice. "It's me, Ryan. You caught me with weed when I was 16 and grounded me for a month. And I'm with Katie!" He threw his arm around his sister. "Lovely Katie. She came home with a navel piercing two summers ago and Mum nearly cried. And we're here with Oliver as well. I don't know anything embarrassing about him yet, but he seems alright! Even if he likes to snog my sister."

Mr. Bell sighed and opened the door to them. The trio walked into the kitchen.

"Ryan, I'd appreciate if you stay here tonight. I don't want you going home alone, and it's too late for me to accompany you," Mr. Bell told him.

"Ok dad," Ryan told him. Ryan, like Katie, must have heard that the serious tone of Mr. Bell's voice was not to be argued with.

Mr. Bell turned to Oliver. "And you, Oliver? If you're not fit to Apparate tonight, you're welcome to stay here."

"Er, thank you," Oliver replied. "I think that may be the best thing."

Katie knew Oliver was worried about splinching himself, a common danger of Apparating after drinking. After all, it was hard to concentrate on "destination, determination, and deliberation" after you'd been plied with shots.

"There's a futon in Ryan's room, you can sleep there," Mr. Bell told him. "Now keep it down, you three. Your mum's asleep." Mr. Bell turned and left the room.

Katie suddenly felt heat in her cheeks again at the thought of Oliver sleeping in her home.

"Have you got an owl?" Oliver asked Katie as he turned to face her. "I'd like to send my parents a message that I'll be back in the morning so my mum doesn't worry."

Katie smiled. She liked that Oliver thought of his mother's worries.

"Yes, she's right this way."

xxxxxx

After Oliver had written a note to his mum, Katie asked him to sit in the garden for a bit before going to bed. She was still feeling slightly mortified about licking Oliver's neck (not once, but twice even), but nonetheless she had enjoyed the evening out with him and her brother. Now, she was hoping to ask him about something she had heard earlier in the day.

Katie and Oliver settled into the chairs overlooking the garden. Just as she turned to speak, the back door opened. Ryan stepped out and threw something gray in Oliver's lap. Oliver held up the sweat pants and looked up at Ryan.

"I'm knackered," he declared with a yawn. "I'm going to bed. You can wear those to sleep in."

"Cheers," Oliver told him.

"And I'm a light sleeper, so you'll be staying put tonight, no sneaking off to Katie's room," he added with a warning. "I'll not have you getting my sister up the duff and ruining her chances at playing professional Quidditch."

"Ryan!" Katie exclaimed. Oh Merlin, could he be any more embarrassing? Oliver nodded once at Ryan but said nothing.

Ryan stepped over and kissed the top of Katie's head.

"G'night, Katie Cat," he told her as he went to inside.

Katie was mortified. She and Oliver had only kissed a few times (and yes, she had licked his neck), but for Ryan to imply they were doing, well, that…Merlin, her brother knew how to make her feel awkward.

"I'm sorry about him," Katie told Oliver apologetically.

Oliver smiled at her. "It's ok, Katie," he replied. "When I heard I'd be meeting your older brother I expected that he'd be a bit protective of you."

Katie gave Oliver a small smile in return. She'd found her opening, and now she needed to summon her boldness.

"I actually wanted to speak with you about that," she began. "Meeting my brother. Today wasn't the first time, was it?" She looked at Oliver, who shifted in his seat.

"No, it wasn't," he said, glancing in her direction. "I met him briefly during one of my visits to you at St. Mungo's."

"You visited me at St. Mungo's?" Katie asked. "When? And you said 'one of your visits,' how many times were you there?" Katie was unsure what to think of this news.

"I visited you three times," he confessed. "I brought you that stuffed unicorn that's on your dresser when I came by at Christmas time. That was when I met Ryan."

Katie was shocked. He had visited her so many times? But if that were true –

"Why didn't you visit when I woke up?" she asked him. She couldn't understand why, if he'd come to see her when she lay there unconscious, that he hadn't come to see her in the two weeks she had been awake in the hospital.

Oliver hesitated. He looked as though he was wrestling with what to say.

"When I visited you over Easter, your boyfriend was there," he finally said. "I…I felt as though I shouldn't be there, not with the way I felt about you. I felt it wasn't fair to you to put all of that on you when you had just woken up from being away for so many months."

Katie sat back in her chair. She was beginning to see more clearly that perhaps Oliver's feelings for her hadn't been sparked by their recent reunion, but perhaps rekindled instead.

"The way you felt about me?" Katie asked in a small voice.

Oliver leaned forward and took her hand. "Katie," he said, "I've fancied you for a long time. At Hogwarts, I didn't pursue you because I thought you were too young. Plus, my no inter-team dating policy," he added with a smile. "But I couldn't help but admire your beauty and your spirit. Even as a second year you called me out on my bullshit."

Katie smiled. She knew the instance he must be thinking of. After a particularly poor Quidditch practice, Oliver had shouted something at the Weasley twins about "flying like a couple of girls." Katie had taken it upon herself to dive-bomb Oliver at his position near the goal posts, pulling up at the very last second. "That's how you fly like a girl!" she had yelled at him.

"I stayed clear of you, but I thought about you all the time," Oliver admitted. "That night after we won the Quidditch Cup –"

Katie sat up straight. Was he about to talk about the kiss? The kiss she hadn't been able to get out of her mind for years now?

"Well, I was pissed," he laughed. "And riding high on the emotions from the match. But when I saw you, I just couldn't help myself. Before I knew what was happening I was kissing you."

Katie took a deep breath to steady herself. She had always assumed that Oliver had been too drunk to remember that kiss, or that it had meant nothing to him. After all, he had acted like nothing happened the next time they spoke.

Katie looked at Oliver blushingly. "That was my first kiss, you know," she told him.

"Oh Merlin, I'm sorry," he told her. "It wasn't a very good one, was it?"

"No," she admitted with a smile. "But I'm glad it was from you."

With that, she leaned over and put her lips to Oliver's. She could feel his warm breath mixing with hers. Suddenly, the chairs between them felt like too much distance. Trying not to break the connection of their kiss, Katie attempted to climb out of her chair and into Oliver's. She misjudged the distance and fell, their lips parting as her bum hit the ground. She laughed. She must still be a bit tipsy, she thought to herself.

Katie pulled herself up and sat on Oliver's lap so that both of her legs were to the side of one of his.

"You know," she said with a more serious tone, "when I was…away… in the hospital I mean. My mind, it wasn't blank. I could think, or actually, I could remember."

Oliver put his arms around her middle and pulled her closer but said nothing.

Katie continued, "I broke up with my boyfriend after I got back to Hogwarts. After we won the Cup, actually. I didn't think it was fair to him to stay together given how much I had thought about you when I was asleep."

"Oh lass," Oliver said. He pulled her closer still, and they kissed again. Katie felt a fire rise inside her, and her kisses became more urgent against Oliver's mouth. She turned her body so that she was fully facing Oliver, with one knee on each side of his legs. Oliver planted kisses on Katie's throat and she moaned, her eyes closed and her head rolled backward. She pressed her breasts against him and leaned down to kiss his mouth again.

Oliver pulled his mouth back and smiled, looking away for a moment.

"Katie, we've both been drinking," he said, his voice husky. "I think we ought to go to bed before this gets out of hand."

Damn his sensibilities, Katie thought to herself. But she knew he was right. Katie sighed and pecked one last kiss on Oliver's lips, then stood up from his lap. Oliver stood up as well; he grabbed Katie's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I'll see you in the morning?" Katie asked him.

"Aye," Oliver said. "Sleep well, Katie."

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A/N: Come back next week for Chapter 6: New Normal. If you like what you've read so far, please post a review!