Once I settled in my office, I didn't have to wait long for the game to start. The commotion as the players entered the field was deafening. I found myself wandering out onto the sidelines with my omnioculars as anxious for the game to begin as everyone else.
Sometimes, I still had a hard time believing that I was getting paid to watch Quidditch, but that's exactly what was happening right now. I was transfixed as I watched our team with close detail to their movements and cataloging every hit or slip on my clipboard to reference later. As a rule, I usually didn't heal their injuries right after a game unless they were severe. The bruises and muscle fatigue are what make their bodies stronger in the long run. However, I still needed to be aware in case it turned out to be more serious.
Thankfully, while the game was certainly physical, it passed without need for my intervention. Oliver was right, the Chudley Cannons certainly weren't a great team. Despite the easy win, the team was over the moon. They were lifting each other up, fists pumping in victory. Oliver caught my eye and winked. I smiled shyly in return as I finished up filing my notes from the game.
Tasks done for the night, I headed home to change out of my work clothes and into something more comfortable. I hesitated as I exited my apartment. Oliver and I had been in such a bubble for so long, way before we were an official item. The thought of it popping was overwhelming. On the flipside, there was a heard of hippogriffs fluttering in excitement at announcing that he's mine.
The party was already in full swing when I entered. I smiled and waved as I searched the small crowd for Oliver. Groups of people like this wasn't my forte and I was anxious to seek comfort in my boyfriend.
Unfortunately, the first person who caught my eye was one Sophia Rose. Judging by the look on her face, she was not happy I was here. While she was busy glaring in my direction, something clearly clicked in her head. Decision made, she started heading towards the kitchen. When I followed her line of sight, I saw that she was headed straight towards Oliver.
A large stone sank in my gut. Oliver assured me he has no feelings for his teammate and I believe and trust him whole heartedly. Sophia Rose? Not so much. My intuition proved correct. Oliver had yet to notice me. He was cutting up something at the counter and wasn't paying much attention to what was going on. Sophia proceeded to swing her hips as she walked to him, not that she needed to. That skirt left little to the imagination as it was. When she reached her destination, she managed to insert herself in front of Oliver between him and the counter, threading her hands around his neck. I was still making my way through the crowd after being briefly stopped by Dave's wife, Jessica and couldn't hear what she was saying.
The disgust and confusion on Oliver's face was clear, but Sophia continued to lay it on thick. He was trying desperately to get her off him and hadn't noticed me yet. Sophia turned and gave me a smile and a wink before turning back to her target.
No way was I letting this happen. I finally made my way through and positioned myself next to Oliver, tapping him on the shoulder. There was both horror and relief on his face when he saw me.
"Hermione, I can explain. This isn't what it looks like."
I nearly laughed. It was exactly what it looked like.
Sophia flipped her hair. "Of course it is sweetheart. No need to be bashful."
I smiled sweetly in return at her before I landed my eyes lovingly on Oliver. "I think now might be a good time to tell Sophia we're dating so she can stop trying to stake a claim on what was never hers."
Oliver's shoulders relaxed. Clearly he was relieved that I wasn't fooled.
Sophia's face fell, but she didn't remove her hands as her eyes darted angrily between Oliver and me. "What's all this about?"
Oliver took charge and removed them for her, placing them at her sides. "Sophia, it was one time and a long time ago. There is zero chance of anything happening between us ever again. I'm with Hermione."
She continued to look between the two of us. "You've got to be kidding me."
Oliver sild his hand around my waist and pulled me in close. Heat and reassurance shot through me at the contact.
"I assure you, we're not. Now please, Sophia, we were never a thing. I've made this clear but obviously need to do so again. I have no interest in you romantically. You're a great team mate, but that's it."
Hearing the words come confidently out of Oliver's mouth was a relief. I believed what he had told me, but watching this play out only made it all the clearer that he had zero intentions towards her.
Sophia stamped her foot like a toddler while letting out a huff of frustration before turning and walking away.
I turned towards Oliver. "Well, that's one way to start the night."
He shook his head. "I've been open with her since it happened. It was years ago. I don't understand what her problem is."
I laughed. "The problem is that you're a catch and she knows it! No, really the problem is me. She's had an issue with me from the start. I think she knew we had a spark and was jealous. I just hope it doesn't cause any problems."
"It won't. Not for us at least. We will both maintain our professionalism towards her. We've made it clear where we stand and any issues moving forward are on her part. I will notate her file and talk to Coach about it tomorrow so he's not blindsided if something else happens."
Needing a change in topic, I looked down at what he had been doing before we were interrupted.
"Need some help?"
"Please. The appetizer table is already starting to look bare. Two Quidditch teams after a full match is a lot of mouths to feed."
He handed me a watermelon and a knife so I could add to the fruit bowl he was building. They may be a hungry group of people, but they were all still focused on their strict training diets.
We quickly forgot the drama from Sophia as we began to work in sync. Our hips bumping into each other playfully.
Oliver's laugh was magical. I found myself transfixed as the thought hit me that I could hear that sound the rest of my life and never tire of it.
He caught my stillness and set his own knife down before turning to me and placing his hands on my hips. "Everything ok, love?"
On top of my own realization of how serious my feelings went for Oliver, his use of the word love for the first time further deepened the moment. It was all I could do to keep my frazzled thoughts straight as his hands grazed my hips.
"Mmmm. It's fine."
His eyebrow rose. "Fine usually means anything but. You know the thing with Sophia was all her. Right?"
I let out a light laugh. "I'm not upset at you about that at all. She saw me coming and was intentional about what she was doing." My eyes drifted to where Sophia sat on the other side of the room, still gazing bitterly in my direction, but now perched on Alex's lap while she did so.
He still seemed skeptical. "I promise I'm ok."
He placed his hands on my hips and eyed me suspiciously. "If you say so."
Not being able to take the crackle between us any longer, I reached up on the tips of my toes and kissed him passionately to show him just how ok I was.
Of course when I did that I somehow managed to forget we were in a room full of people. The cat calls and whistles brought me back to our surroundings as heat flooded my face.
"Maybe we should have saved that for when we were alone."
Oliver only gripped me tighter. "Let them talk. They're just jealous. I'm not afraid to show others how I feel about you. But if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'll keep it toned down while others are around."
I bit my lip. "I'm not embarrassed about our relationship and I'm fine being out in the open with it. It's just that Ron very much paraded us through the tabloids and did intentional acts to get his name out there. It made it so much worse when things ended and there were so many horrible things said about me. I don't want to go through that again."
His eyes searched mine then raised an eyebrow. "Are you planning for this to end? Because I'm pretty confident it won't."
My heart rate accelerated. We had barely been together any time at all. "That's quite the proclamation."
Taking in the panicked look on my face, he placed a soothing hand on my cheek. "Darling, I'm a strategic planner. I can see this outcome."
I hadn't thought about it until now how much I wanted that future. The realization slammed into me as the complete force of my feelings rose to the surface. "You're right. And I'm confident it won't either. I just have a few lapses in confidence every now and then. Will you forgive me?"
"Always."
His lips crashed to mine once more. The moment we connected it was like the universe fell into place. In the middle of all this noise, I could see it. A whole future with Oliver. Somewhere, deep inside me, I had been holding out. A piece of me expecting to be betrayed. Now, my eyes were open and I knew the man currently making me tingle from head to toe would never put me through what Ron had.
Even though I had told myself I was over it, it wasn't until this moment that I had truly put to bed the hurt and emotional scars Ron had left.
This epiphany had me pulling Oliver even closer. He obliged for a second before pulling away.
"We better tone it down a bit or I'm going to embarrass myself at my own party."
My face heated at his implication. I simply agreed and went back to helping him with the food.
