Five~ Badger Awakening



A hand rested on Oliver Wood's shoulder and he did his best not to jump. He moved his head to look around to see the kindly face of Professor Dumbledore.

"You have been asleep here for a while. Perhaps you should get something to eat."

Oliver blinked a few times and uncrossed his arms from their position on the bed where Jae Long lay. Everything came back to him now. Dumbledore had found them and brought them back to the medical wing of Hogwarts. His stomach grumbled as he realized he hadn't eaten since the game. He didn't even remember what day it was.

Professor Dumbledore just smiled knowingly at Oliver. "I have brought you dinner. You have been here for a week."

Oliver looked from the food now beside him and then to Jae Long. He could see the rise and fall of her chest but she was still quite unconscious.

"She is fine, Oliver. She should reawaken sometime this week, perhaps even today."

"Thank you for bringing me food, Professor," he finally responded as he moved to satisfy his stomach's growl.

"Madame Pomfrey informed me that you refused to leave Miss Long's side."

"Well she is kinda my responsibility isn't she?"

"She saved your life and you in turn saved hers. In a way you are now both even."

"But how did I?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid no one is quite sure what happened for you are the only conscious witness."

"And I have no bloody clue what I did."

"Sometimes the most significant acts we do we cannot explain. It is the unexplainable that makes these acts great."

"So she'll be okay?"

Dumbledore simply smiled knowingly. "Yes Oliver, she'll be fine."

With those words the Headmaster left Oliver to his thoughts, his food and alone with the unconscious girl.

He was very grateful to be fitted with such excellent cuisine. He had forgotten what it had been like to eat at Hogwarts. He felt a nudge on his leg. He looked down and saw a badger. The black nose poked at him and the critter looked up at Oliver with big brown eyes.

Oliver smiled and found a couple chocolate chip cookies and gave them to the badger. The animal scarffed them down quickly and then looked back up at Oliver, cookie crumbs glittered over his black and white striped face markings. "More?" the man asked with mock amazement, "Cheddar I think you've had enough."

Cheddar proceeded to fall over on his back. Oliver looked down at his badger and groaned. "Oh no, not again," he sighed, "You've been into the scotch again haven't you."

The badger had passed out where he lay at his master's feet.

When Oliver finished his dinner he looked again to Jae on the hospital bed. He traced his finger along her blond strands of hair and looked into her face.

"I don't think you can hear me but I just wanted to say you were bloody brilliant back there. You could stand up to You-Know-Who like one who didn't fear death. It was wicked I believe. You spoke words that were probably more unwise and foolish than brave. I fear though that if you hadn't done that I would've been killed regardless of how you felt. For that I thank you."

There was no change in the girl that lay on the bed.

Oliver took the hand that was closest to him in his own. He noted that her hand was very slender and soft on the top. Her palm had a callus on it and a few other marks that showed her less than feminine. Her hand showed years of Quidditch training and he could tell she didn't care about much else. Her nails were kept short but had a natural gloss to them. Her middle finger was slightly bent back and a little more inflated than her others. Oliver supposed she had jammed it a while back and it never completely recovered. Also on that finger he thought he saw a slight long scar.

"Rose bush."

Oliver was startled and he raised his eyes to notice Jae's sparkling hazel eyes looking at him curiously.

"I was playing basketball one time..."

"What's basketball?" Oliver asked curiously.

Jae laughed. "A muggle sport played either indoors or outdoors involving bouncing a ball around and trying to get it into baskets or hoops."

"Sounds..."

"Similar but not quite. I'll have to show you sometime. Anyways, I was playing basketball in my driveway with a muggle friend of mine and the ball got caught in a rose bush. Those thorns are killer."

"And you jammed it?"

"Also basketball. It's a very involved and violent sport, at least it is when I play."

"Intriguing."

"Most muggle sports are. I should show you some of the injuries that hockey players get."

"Hockey?"

"A Canadian sport involving ice skating, a big stick and a puck."

"You'll probably have to show that to me sometime."

"Gladly. Hockey can be more violent than Quidditch, especially with fights and board checks and all that other great stuff."

"Sounds fun."

"Oh, it is."

Oliver just stared down into her eyes, lost, not really knowing what else to say.

"How am I still alive?"

"What?"

"Voldemort did and Avada Kedavra. I should be dead. But I'm not."

"I can't say how."

"But you did something Oliver. Something made it backfire."

"That's just it. It didn't backfire."

"Then how?"

"Jae, I only remember lightning."

"You don't remember what you did?"

"No I don't."

"But you did something."

"I guess so."

Jae paused. "Well thanks."

"For what?"

"Saving my life you idiot."

"What was I supposed to do? Let him kill you?"

"That was completely up to you."

"You wanted to die?"

Another pause. "Well no. Not particularly."

"Then there's your answer."

"I suppose so."

"Besides. You could say I owed you one."

"You didn't owe me anything."

"But you saved my life."

"I didn't ask for anything in return."

"It was implied."

"Why are you still here, Oliver? Don't you have a life out there?"

Oliver gulped. "Well, no..."

"Nothing better to do than be right here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe because I hoped you survived."

"Why would you even care?"

"I have nothing else left okay?!"

With that Jae was silent. Oliver rested his head on the bed in exasperation.

"Our teams are gone," he said muffled into the sheets, "Our Quidditch season is over. I couldn't very well go home. My parents expect a lot from me. They expect my life to be Quidditch, Quidditch and more Quidditch. That was all my life was. They would be very disappointed despite the circumstances."

Jae looked away, blinking back tears. What he had said had hit home to her, but he wasn't allowed to see her tears. "Well at least you have your parents."

Oliver looked up at Jae, and turned her face towards him. He noticed her tears, but did not react the way she had expected. "You don't have parents?"

"They died when I was four and my Gramma who rose me died last year."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know," he said wiping a tear from her eye.

She looked confused on her face, but softened her features. "I'm sorry I ask too many questions. I'm very analytical."

He smiled. "I could tell this."

"You're still holding my hand."

He quickly let go. "Oh sorry."

She looked at his now lonely hand and opened hers up and looked him in the eye. "It wasn't a complaint. It was an observation." He smiled and took her hand again in his. "So why are you still here?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No. I like the company. I want the company. It's nice to not be alone."

"Okay then."

Jae reached with her free hand and placed it on Oliver's cheek. "Fuzzy."

Oliver blushed a little and used his free hand to rub his chin and move her hand away from his cheek. "Yeah I know."

"Haven't left my side?"

"Guilty as charged."

Jae smirked.

"I don't like to shave anyway."

"That much is obvious. Grooming doesn't seem to be your forte either."

Oliver noticed his hair had not been cared for in a while maybe. "Uh, oops."

"Washing hair would be a good idea, but messy hair is interesting."

Oliver smirked. "That would be bed head."

"Ah yes, bed head."

"So long as my hair doesn't look like Snape's I'm fine."

"Snape? Severus Snape?"

"Yes. Do you know him?"

"Know of him. He knew my mother."

Before Oliver could inquire about that he noticed a nudging on his leg again. He bent down and picked up Cheddar.

"Badger?"

"This is my badger, Cheddar." He then put the animal on the bed with Jae.

"Oh hello Cheddar."

He proceeded to nuzzle next to Jae and then waddle about the bedlike he owned it.

"Affectionate badger, ain't he."

"He can be."

"He smells like alcohol," Jae pointed out.

Oliver was shocked at her pointing out the scent as quickly as she did. He gathered it was a woman thing and overlooked it. "Oh. Cheddar fancies his scotch. He has a slight drinking problem. But he's somewhat sober right now."

"More like hung over."

"Yeah."

"So he's a Scottish badger?"

"We Scottish aren't all drunks."

Jae laughed. "I didn't say you were Oliver."

"You implied it," he added a pout to emphasize his point.

"Cheddar is still Scottish though."

"He's more like a cheesy badger."

"Perfect name choice."

"I thought so."