Chapter 16 - Truths

May 1, 1998

Oliver sat on the sofa in his flat, staring numbly at the wall. It had been over two weeks since he had seen Katie, and he felt no closer to making sense of what had happened than when she had told him goodbye. Over and over, Oliver replayed that morning in his mind.

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When they had returned to her flat after visiting Sean and Claire's for Easter, Oliver had thought that Katie had seemed a bit off, but he'd chalked it up to a long day and worrying about her family. The next morning when Oliver had opened his window to collect The Daily Prophet from the delivery owl, a second owl had been waiting as well. It held a letter from the League – the rest of the Quidditch season, and that summer's World Cup, had been cancelled. While Oliver had been expecting the news to come at some point – all of the teams were feeling the hurt of Muggle-born players missing, and the stadiums were empty when they played, as no one felt safe going in public – it still caught him by surprise. His first thought was to go and see Katie to see if she had heard yet. He'd changed his clothes and Apparated to her flat building.

Alicia had let him in. After they exchanged security questions, he'd found Katie in her room, reading a letter identical to the one he had received.

"So you've heard?" he said as he lingered in her doorway.

Katie looked up at him, a grim look on her face.

"Just got the owl," she replied. "I'm surprised it took them this long. There have been even more disappearances this week. I don't know who they expect to watch Quidditch if half the wizarding population is locked up or on the run."

She cast the letter aside with a sigh. Oliver sat next to her on the bed. He rested his hand next to her leg, but Katie kept her hands in her lap.

"I imagine this means we'll have to suspend our protective patrols," Katie said, her voice flat.

"Well, at least we can spend some more time together now," Oliver had offered in a weak attempt to cheer Katie's mood.

She gave him a pained look that turned Oliver's stomach, then looked at her lap.

"Actually, Oliver, I need to talk with you," she had said. She began to fidget with a rip in the knee of her jeans.

Oliver took a breath.

"What is it, lass?" he asked with concern.

Katie continued to look at her lap.

"I think…" she began uncertainly, "I think I need some space. To figure some things out. Everything that's going on. With the war. And my family. And now figuring out what's next for me now that Quidditch is over. I just…I need to figure out some things for myself." She lifted her head slightly to look up at Oliver, her eyes glistening with tears.

Oliver's thoughts were confused. Katie was asking for space…was she breaking up with him? He understood that she had a lot on her mind, but he didn't understand why he couldn't be with her to help her figure things out.

"Love, I don't understand," he confessed. "Are you saying…you don't want to see me?" He could not hide the pain in his voice.

"I don't know," Katie replied, as she resumed toying with the frayed knee of her pants. "I just don't feel like I know anything right now. I just need some time," she said.

"Did I do something to upset you?" Oliver asked, a pleading to understand echoing through his words.

"I just need some time," Katie repeated. "I think…I think you should go."

Oliver was dumbstruck. He sat in silence for a moment, then rose to his feet. He shuffled toward the door, then turned back to look at Katie.

"Katie, whatever is going on, I'm here for you," he told her weakly. "I'll give you your space, if that's what you need. But if there is anything you need, please let me know. I love you, Katie."

Katie nodded but did not look up. Unsure what else he could do, he turned and left the room. Alicia gave him an inquiring look from the couch as Oliver walked through the kitchen, but he did not respond to her. Instead, he had just given her a nod, then turned to Apparate back to his own flat.

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Since he'd last seen Katie, Oliver had gone over every word they'd spoken to each other, searching for some kind of clue as to what had gone wrong. He'd given her space, but he was desperate to understand. He had sent Quaffle to her flat with notes to her a half dozen times, only to have the owl return with no response. He'd even found a Muggle pay phone and figured out how to call her, but he'd received no answer. He spent his days pacing his flat, or when he could tell he was driving Evan mad, he'd wander aimlessly through the Muggle park near their building. And drinking. Oliver spent a fair share of his evenings drinking, willing himself to forget the ache he felt in his chest. With no Katie and no Quidditch, he felt lost.

It had been eighteen days since he'd seen Katie when knock came at the door. Evan was holed up in his room with some bird or another, so Oliver knew it wasn't him. He hurried over to the door and opened it slightly. He was disappointed to not see Katie standing in the hallway, though equally surprised to see Claire.

"It's me, Oliver," she said as she stepped into his flat. Oliver noticed she seemed distressed; certainly not the usually warm, upbeat witch she usually was. "The first time you changed Annis' nappy when you were fifteen, she peed on you," Claire offered before Oliver could ask her a security question. A slight smile turned up the corners of her mouth at the memory, then faded.

"Is everyone ok?" Oliver asked. He couldn't think of another reason that Claire would be at his flat, alone, late on a Friday afternoon.

"Everyone is fine," she assured him with a nod. "I wanted to speak with you, though. Can we sit?" She gestured toward the sofa.

Oliver obliged and they sat. He looked at Claire expectantly.

"I wanted to speak with you about Easter," she began carefully. Oliver tensed at the memory of that disaster of an evening.

"It's been Nargeling at me," she continued. "I try to stay out of things between you and Sean, but he said some things to you that day that were very unfair, and I wanted to speak up. I don't agree with how he spoke to you, and it's not his place to be meddling in your life. That said, Oliver, I hope you see that he cares about you. He worries about you. Even though he was a proper arsehole, he said what he did because he loves you. But I don't want this mess to drive a wedge between you. So I had to come and say something." She gave him a half smile as she looked at him.

Oliver was surprised at Claire's words.

"I wasn't aware you heard our, er, discussion," he replied uncomfortably.

"Well, it was quite difficult not to," Claire said with a weak laugh. "You were practically shouting at each other. I do hope Katie didn't take offense at what Sean said. Though I wouldn't blame her if she did, he was quite rude."

Oliver felt the color leave his face.

"Katie heard our argument?" he asked with disbelief. Oh Merlin, he though, that explained a lot.

Claire seemed to realize that she had said more than she intended.

"Oliver," she asked quietly, "did something happen? With Katie?"

Suddenly, Oliver stood.

"I've got to go. I've got to see her," he said, his voice frantic.

He looked at Claire, then seemed to remember his manners.

"Thank you for coming, Claire," he told her as he gave her a hurried kiss on the cheek. He left her sitting on the couch as spun on his heel and Apparated.

He reappeared outside Katie's flat and immediately began knocking urgently. He was in danger of beating the door off the hinges when it opened. Alicia was on the other side, looking alarmed.

"Oliver?" she said, looking down the hallway then back at him. "What in Merlin's name are you doing? Prove yourself, please," she added, still looking concerned.

"It's me, Alicia. Your old Quidditch captain. I caught you snogging Lee Jordan under the stands at the Quidditch pitch your fifth year. Now please, I need to see her," he said as he pushed around her, not waiting for her response. He stepped into the flat and saw that Angelina was there too, sitting at the kitchen table. Alicia's concerned look was echoed on her face. Two plates of food sat on the table; Angelina and Alicia had been eating dinner together.

"Is she here?" Oliver asked urgently as he made his way toward Katie's room.

Alicia ran to overtake him.

"Yes but Oliver, I don't think she's ready to see you," she said as she attempted to stand between him and Katie's bedroom door.

"Alicia, please," he pleaded. He called out as he reached Katie's room.

"Katie please, I need to speak with you," he said desperately. "Katie please, just hear me out, I – "

He was cut off as Katie opened her door.

"It's ok, Alicia," she said quietly. Oliver looked at her. It was such a relief to see her face, but Oliver immediately noticed how sad her eyes looked. "Come in, Oliver," she told him as she stepped away from the door and sat on her bed.

Oliver followed her in and shut the door. He stood for a moment, looking at her. A moment ago, his words could not come out fast enough. Now, he was unsure exactly what to say.

Katie spoke first.

"How are you, Oliver?" she asked in a voice that was so quiet, so dull, Oliver could hardly believe it belonged to her.

"Katie, I didn't know," Oliver blurted out. "I didn't know you heard my argument with Sean. I'm so sorry you heard that." He sat on the edge of her bed, several feet separating them.

"He only said what was true," Katie said, a sad smile on her face. "I don't want to be a danger to you, Oliver. And when all this is over, I don't want to be a distraction to you either." She looked down at her lap.

Oliver cursed his brother silently.

"Katie, listen to me," he pleaded.

Katie did not look up. Oliver slid from his spot on the bed and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his.

"Katie, listen, please. Sean's a bloody git. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You aren't distracting me, or holding me back, or any of that other rubbish he said. You're the best thing in my life, Katie." His voice began to crack with emotion, but he continued.

"I've played the best Quidditch of my life since I've been with you. You…you've given my life balance. Without you, I don't want any of the rest of it."

Katie raised her head to look at Oliver, but said nothing.

"Katie, listen. This whole time, I've not missed Quidditch one bit. But I've been out of my mind without you. I love you, Katie. Please, please come back to me."

"You lied to me, Oliver" Katie reminded him.

Oliver's face fell.

"I know," he admitted. "And I'm sorry. I knew that if I told you the truth about missing training, you'd never let me stay with you. But I was so worried about leaving you in that state. I should have been honest, though." He looked at her earnestly. "I'm sorry for lying to you, love. But I'm not sorry for choosing you over Quidditch."

"I also don't want to put you in danger, Oliver," Katie responded with uncertainty.

Oliver finally felt his face crack the slightest smile.

"Lass, I've put myself in plenty of danger," he told her. "If the Death Eaters or the Snatchers are going to come after me, it will be for something I've done myself, not because of what you or your father did." He leaned down to catch her eye. "You don't scare me," he told her playfully.

Katie's face cracked a smile, which she tried to fight

"Are you sure?" she asked timidly. "About me, are you sure?"

"Love," Oliver told her fervently. "I have never been more sure about anything as I am about you. I love you."

"I love you too, Oliver," Katie said, her voice more sure.

She buried her face in her hands.

"Merlin, I'm sorry, Oliver. I was being stupid. I just got so overwhelmed by it all. The war, my family on the run, my dad in Azkaban. And then those things that Sean said…it all just became too much. Please forgive me," she said.

"There's nothing to forgive, love," Oliver told her. "I'm just sorry that my brother is such a bloody arsehole. I'm sorry you had to hear all of that. And I'm sorry I lied."

"I love you," Katie told him again, looking him in the eye.

"And I love you," Oliver replied, his voice breaking again.

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Unable to stand the space between them for any longer, Katie leaned down and kissed Oliver. He returned her gesture, and soon they were kissing one another with a passionate urgency they never had before. Katie's tangle of emotions - worry, longing, loneliness, relief, desire - found an outlet as she pressed herself against Oliver, her body pulsing with a need to touch, caress, devour. Katie hastily pulled Oliver's shirt off, then her own. Oliver pushed Katie against the wall and began kissing her neck as she wrapped her arms around him with a sigh. Soon, their clothes laid strewn across the floor and their wands forgotten on the bedside table as Oliver lifted Katie and set her down on the edge of the desk, her legs hooked around his waist. Katie was overcome by her need to draw Oliver closer to her, and it seemed his hunger for her was equally desirous. Their breath mixed as their bodies found rhythm and for that while, there was no war, no misunderstood words, no friends in the next room. There was only the two of them expressing things that their words couldn't articulate.

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Later, after night had fallen, Katie and Oliver lay on Katie's bed atop of the covers. Oliver had pulled his boxers back on and Katie was lounging in his t-shirt, her body curled into his and her head on his chest.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, lass," he replied as he kissed her. Their kisses were slower, sweeter this time.

Knock knock.

Katie heard a rapping on her door, then saw it open slightly. Angelina stuck her head in tentatively, as though unsure what she would see. She raised her eyebrows slightly at the sight of her former Quidditch captain in naught but his underpants.

"Er, sorry to interrupt," she said said with a blush, then her face grew serious. "But Katie, have you still got your DA Galleon?"

"Yes," Katie said as she sat up. "It's here on my dresser." She got up to retrieve it.

"They've just sent word," Angelina told them. "It's happening at Hogwarts. They're going to fight."

Oliver and Katie exchanged an apprehensive look.

"We'll be right out," Katie told her friend, who exited the room and closed the door behind her.

Oliver stood and took Katie in his arms. He pressed his forehead lightly against hers for a moment, then kissed her lips gently.

"Stay close to me tonight, love," he told her.

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Author's Note: Happy Halloween! Come back next week and read Chapter 17: News. I hope you have a great week!