Chapter 9: Bonfire Night

November 5, 1997

Katie waved her wand as she cast a protective enchantment on a two story brick home. It had a children's swing set in the back yard and a green front door. Katie couldn't help but notice that it looked like her Nan's house.

Shortly after she, Evan, and Oliver had brainstormed their plan for placing protective enchantments on Muggle dwellings, Oliver had brought Katie to his check-in with Tonks. The two witches had talked and refined the details of the plan. Tonks had promised to put together a list of Quidditch players she knew could be trusted, as well as identify Muggle towns and villages that might be at higher risk of Death Eater attack. A few weeks later, Katie had met again with Tonks, and the first round of Muggle Protection Patrols, as the two decided to call them, were scheduled.

On this particular night, Katie found herself flying with Isaac Podmore, a reserve Beater for the Applebee Arrows and nephew to Order member Sturgis Podmore. The two had arranged to meet after their teams had finished playing their match. After casting Disillusionment Charms on one another, they took to the sky and began casting protective enchantments over the Muggle homes on the outskirts of town.

The chilly air chafed Katie's face and she felt a shiver that she was unsure had anything to do with the cold. This was the second protective patrol Katie had been on; during the first, she had been incredibly nervous, but she felt accomplished when she returned to her hotel. Tonight, the nerves seemed to have returned in force; she glanced backward to Isaac. The Disillusionment Charm made him blend in with the night's sky, but he was not completely invisible. Reassured that the two had not been separated, Katie refocused her attention.

As Katie turned her head to face forward once again, an explosion of red sparks shot upward right next to her, nearly knocking her off her broom. She ducked her body down and clung to her broomstick, her heart pounding. On her other side, blue sparks erupted and gave off a deafening high-pitched shriek. Panicked, Katie looked around wildly. She had lost sight of Isaac, and her ears were ringing. Her sole thought was to fly, to get away from the explosions. How had they been found? Glancing over her shoulder again, Katie saw the sparks burst in every direction, and a loud crack echoed through the air. What spell was this? It almost looked like….fireworks. Katie looked upward and saw the familiar multi-colored starburst patters peppering the sky. She huffed out a relieved exhale. It was only fireworks. But the experience had shaken her. She felt her hand tremble as she gripped her wand.

"Alright, Bell?" she heard called out from beneath her. Katie looked down and saw Isaac there, also looking a bit unsettled.

"I'm good," she called back. "But we should probably move further south where the sky is dark.

"Lead the way!" Isaac replied, and Katie turned her broom to readjust her course to an area where the two were less likely to be spotted, or set afire.

Katie and Isaac flew closer to one another for the rest of their patrol, casting protective charms on as many Muggle homes as they could. Katie felt a lump in her throat as she spotted a Muggle family with two small children watching the nearby fireworks with binoculars from their back deck. They were so unaware of the danger around them.

When they were finished, Katie and Isaac returned to their rendezvous point near the hotel the Portree team was staying in. They lifted their Disillusionment charms, and Isaac gave Katie a nod.

"Take care, Bell," he told her.

"You too," she replied with a nod, then she turned and walked back to her room. She was rooming with Heidi, who she had told she was going out for a fly to clear her head. Katie re-entered the room quietly to find Heidi was asleep on the bed nearest the window. Katie gently set her broom next to her own bed, but she wasn't feeling like sleeping. Grabbing her wand, she silently slipped back out of the room. Once she was in the hallway, she turned on her heel and Apparated.

xxxxxx

Still feeling rattled, Katie knocked on the door to Oliver's flat. She knew he should be home by now, and she longed to see him. They hadn't arranged to get together, but after her scare on her patrol, she needed his steady arms to hold her.

Evan answered the door and gave Katie a surprised look.

"Katie," he greeted her. "Oliver's not in right now, but you can come in and wait if you'd like." He opened the door wider and Katie stepped in. An overly-sweet scent wafted by and made her nose wrinkle. She hesitated in the entryway for a moment.

"Should you ask me a security question?" she reminded Evan. Now that she could see him more clearly, she noticed his red eyes and dazed stare.

"Right, right," he said unconcernedly. "Er, what did I notice about you when I pointed you out to Wood at the showcase?"

Katie gave him an unimpressed look.

"My arse," she answered flatly.

"Damn right," he replied with a laugh. Katie suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. She realized she had never been alone with Evan before then.

"I'm just taking the piss," Evan told her, noticing her grimace. "You're my mate's girl, I'm not going to try to pick you up."

He laughed again and turned to head to the sitting room. Sitting on the coffee table were a blue glass bong with a faint purple smoke wafting from it, and a bag of crisps. It looked as though Evan was smoking Shrivelfig leaves. Katie had encountered the plant at a few of the parties she had been to at Hogwarts; it was especially popular among the Hufflepuff students and produced a carefree, humorous high; for some users, it caused an excess of laughter and joking and for others, it caused them to become very chatty and jabber on about whatever topic came to their mind. Evan splayed out on one of the couches, and Katie followed, sitting on the edge of the other.

Evan picked up the bong and took a hit, pausing to exhale, then offered it to Katie. She shook her head.

"No thanks," she told him.

"Just thought I'd offer," he said with a shrug. "You know it's true what I told you at the pub, in Cornwall. About Oliver nearly taking my head off for noticing you. Told me later he'd had a thing for you for since you were at Hogwarts."

Katie smiled a small smile at this admission. Evan continued on.

"It's a wonder he's carried such a torch for you, though. He's usually much more of a tits man," Evan said matter-of-factly as he surveyed Katie.

Katie's smile faded as she shifted self-consciously on her seat. She'd never been particularly well-endowed, and it sometimes bothered her.

"He does like blondes though, so I guess you've got that going for you," Evan prattled with a mildly amused smile. "Well, except for those red-headed twins. Had a threesome with them, did he tell you?" He stared into the distance.

Katie wished she could shrink into the couch cushions and disappear. Evan was clearly oblivious to Katie's embarrassment.

"He has brought home quite a lot of brunettes, though, now that I think about it," he continued on to no one in particular. "Not too choosy, I reckon."

Evan glanced at Katie, seeming to snap out of his trance.

"He's a complete nutter over you though, don't worry," he assured her with the wave of a hand. "Cleans up the flat before you come over. Barmy. Never seen him like it before."

Katie cleared her throat.

"Er, did Oliver say when he'd be back?" She asked Evan. If he was going to be long, she didn't care to stay and wait with Evan and all of his recollections.

"He said he had to meet someone after training," Evan answered. His eyes grew wide. "Oh Merlin, I hope it isn't some other witch!" he exclaimed.

Just then, Katie heard the lock turn and the front door to the flat open. Oliver must have returned.

"Merlin's beard, McKinnon," he called from the entryway. "Haven't I asked you to smoke that bloody stuff outside?"

Oliver looked annoyed as he walked into the sitting room, but his expression immediately changed to one of surprise and concern when he saw his girlfriend sitting there.

"Katie," he said, walking over to her. "Is everything ok, lass?" She stood to meet him, an uncomfortable expression on her face. He looked from her to Evan and his paraphernalia and seemed to understand.

"Godric, you tosser," he addressed his roommate. "What have you been nattering on about?"

Evan shrugged nonchalantly.

"Just telling Katie how you usually go for birds with bigger, er, Blouse Bludgers," he said. He grinned. "Oh and I told her about those twins, remember them?"

Oliver glared angrily at his roommate.

"You are a proper arsehole, McKinnon," he told him. He turned to Katie.

"Let's go sit outside," he suggested. They stepped out of the window and onto the small balcony. Oliver set a warming charm and conjured a two-person seat. The pair of them sat close.

"I'm sorry about McKinnon," Oliver apologized. "He likes to, er, unwind a bit after training sometimes. Turns him into a blathering sod."

"It's ok," Katie told him. "I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced."

"You come by any time you want," Oliver told her. "I would have been here earlier, but I had to meet with Tonks."

Katie nodded with understanding. She knew that he checked in regularly with her when he had new information to pass along about Cowley.

"I am glad to see you though," Oliver told her tenderly. "Is everything alright?"

Katie nodded, but snuggled into Oliver's warmth.

"Just a bit jumpy I reckon," she told him. "I was on a protective patrol tonight. We were flying over Appleby in Lincolnshire and all the sudden I saw all of these explosions all around me, and there was a great bloody racket. Scared the hell out of me until I realized it was just fireworks." She shook her head at the memory.

"That's right, I forgot it's Bonfire Night," Oliver said, nodding.

"Merlin, Oliver, for a moment I thought the Death Eaters were after us," Katie said in a small voice. She turned her head to look at Oliver's face.

"What are we going to do if we don't win this war?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Oliver pulled her closer and kissed her forehead.

"Try not to think like that, lass," he murmured. "Potter's got a plan. Dumbledore's got him on a mission. The Order is doing everything they can to slow the Death Eaters down until he can finish it, whatever it is. And then all this madness will be over and we can be together." He gave her a sweet smile. "Go on a real date, perhaps."

Despite her worry, Katie couldn't help but return his smile.

"And in the meantime?" she asked.

"We do everything we can to help, and we make the most of the time we're able to be together," Oliver answered, his smile fading a bit.

Katie looked Oliver in the eye for a moment, then kissed his lips. They shared a kiss for a few moments, then Katie laid her head on Oliver's chest as he held her close. They sat in silence, listening to the commotion of the city around them. For that moment, Katie felt safe in Oliver's embrace, and nothing else mattered.

xxxxxx

Author's Note: Thanks for reading along with me! Come back next week for Chapter 10: The First. Have a wonderful week!