Disclaimer: Me no own Harry Potter. A/N: Some stuff and potential fluff. Love it PLEASE!



Chapter 5 - Lets Talk



When I got back to the Gryffindor common room, Alicia was waiting for me. She was pissed. At me. What have I done now?

"Speak. Tell me what happened at practice!" she demanded.

Thinking of practice itself, I told her. "Well, since you didn't show up, I just flew around for a while. That's all that happened." I said, and I probably shouldn't have done this, but as an afterthought I added, "...At practice."

"Then what happened after practice?" she asked angrily.

"Why do you care? Why do you even suspect anything?" I just asked her back. I never would have thought that she was psychic.

"Because our dear friend Oliver just came in -"

"Oh no..." I sighed. Did he say anything? What did he say?

But Alicia went on, still miffed. "- and I asked him how practice went and he said 'I don' wanna talk 'bout it!!!' Katie, what did you do to him!?" She was now yelling at me, and the Gryffindor common room was terribly silent.

I glared at her. "Nothing! Nothing happened, Alicia!" I stepped away from her and said as calmly as possible. "Now, If your done yelling at me, I'll be in the dorm. That is, if you want to have a civilized conversation." Then I ran up to the dorm.

For the few seconds I had alone, I felt relief that tomorrow was Saturday. I threw myself onto my bed, closed the posters and screamed bloody murder into my satin pillow case. My whole body seized up until my scream was over. When I was through, my poster was drawn aside, and Alicia was standing there, a towering inferno.

"Let's talk." She said sharply.

"OK..." I said reluctantly, and sat up with my legs crossed on my bed. "Why are you so mad?" I asked her.

"Wood's a friend of mine, and if you don't like him than fine. But don't yell at him, we're still a team, you know," she explained, thoroughly cooled down.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell her of what happened, because if it was nothing, I didn't want to be making a big deal about it. I started, "We just had a run-in, is all." It was quite literal actually.

That didn't satisfy her. She was always digging for more information. "Well, what did you SAY to him?!" she asked impatiently.

"Nothing."

She looked at me as if I was out of my head and she continued, scratching hers, "Are you sure? I mean you should have seen him when he came in. He was really pale, but his cheeks were really red. He was really irritable. I knew he had just come from practice, because he had his broom with him. I knew you had been at practice..." she stated, looking at me quizically.

What? This was making less and less sense. If he didn't mean for us to end up like that, then he should not have whispered in my ear! But why would he want that? I shook the next thought out of my head with a random shudder. I couldn't accept it.

Alicia noticed my shudder and asked in her trademark soothing tone, "Well then, what did happen?"

I felt my insides contract at the mere memory of our position. I supposed if it had been any other two people in the world, it would have looked terribly romantic.

"Go on, then..." she pried. I gave in because I knew that she would get it out of me somehow, even if it was the most trivial thing in the world.

I took a deep breath, looked up at her and began. "Well, I was at my locker and he startled me out of my wits because he was at my ear, whispering, and I turned around and I was smack up against him, like....like I dunno." I sighed. "I guess we were both surprised, because we didn't really know what to say. I couldn't back off, because the lockers were behind me, and he didn't back off, so I was stuck there. I must've startled him, too, because he didn't finish what he was going to tell me," I said as fast as I could.

When I looked up again, Alicia had this unexplainably wide grin on her face. Apparently she was amused. "Well? Do you know what he was going to say?!?" she screeched as if she knew. She sounded similar to the girls in years below us act when Oliver passes them in the hall.

"I don't know! 'I' something... What's it matter?" I asked hastily.

As she sat next to me, she looked at me as if I didn't see something that was painfully obvious to everyone else. "Like...'I Like you,' maybe?"

"Uh...no," I objected. "Just...no"

Alicia reached behind my back grabbed me pillow and hugged it in front of her. She smiled at me sympathetically. "I'm not kidding, Katie. You ought to hear the things he lets slip out about you when you aren't around...I guess that's why I freaked at you, because I didn't want you to be mean to him, when he's so fond of you."

The word "fond" sat in my head. It was surreal.

"Ooops, but I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" Alicia finished quickly.

I sighed heavily, looked at Alicia and furrowed my eyebrows. "I wish you hadn't," I said.

She rubbed my back sympathetically and said cheerily, "then again, I could be wrong. You know me. The Stupe, Alicia!"

I didn't sleep well that night.

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When I woke up at 11:30, I was so happy it was Saturday, and even more happy my sleep was completely dreamless.

I stayed in the dorm most of the day, doing homework. I love homework. As if I don't work hard enough during that actual class.

When it was 4:30 I got my Quidditch robes on. I like my robes. The scarlet looks really cute with my dirty blonde, medium brown hair. (A/N: In this story, Katie Bell looks like Katie Holmes, if you know who that is!) But my multicolored hair was my only consolation. For probably the first time in my life, I didn't want to go to practice.

I knew that Alicia would be nudging me and making faces at me all through Oliver's speech. I also knew that Oliver would pretend like nothing happened, and not even acknowledge it. I didn't like the thought of that.

I couldn't find my left Quidditch glove. Mum paid 14 sickles for them! I looked all through the common room, and by the portrait hole. They weren't anywhere to be found. I looked at my wrist watch and it said "YOU'RE LATE!!!" I started panicking at the thought of being late and having the whole team including Oliver stare at me as I walked in. Screw the glove, I thought and ran down the stairs. I almost fell two stories because just as I stepped on the stairs between third and fourth floor, the damn stair case changed.

I sprinted to the Quidditch locker room where the team was sitting on benches. I wasn't late. Harry and even Oliver weren't there yet.

Alicia gave me a devilish grin as I walked into the room. I knew exactly what she was grinning about, and I glared back at her. I sat down between Angelina and Alicia.

I fought the urge to slap Alicia when she whispered as if she was talking to a baby, "Aaaaw, our Kitty is growing up!",when Oliver strode into the room.

He looked stern, and didn't look anywhere near me. "First order of business," he said, "Who does this glove belong to?"

I felt my face go red. I silently raised my hand.

He looked at me, squinting, sighed heavily, and tossed the glove to me. Alicia nudged me in my ribs, grinning.

Then Harry walked in and sat down. Oliver began his speech. I was eager to hear what he came up with and if it accomplished what he'd wanted. "This is our last chance - my last chance - to win the Quidditch Cup. I'll be leaving at the end of this year. I'll never get another shot at it."

This made me sad, because it was also my last year. "Gryffindor hasn't won for seven years now. Okay, so we've had the worst luck in the world - injuries - then the tournament getting called off last year..." He trailed off, looked me at sadly and swallowed hard. "But we also know we've also got the best - ruddy - team - in - the - school," he said, punching his fist into the palm of his other hand, that old confidence back in him. "We've got three superb Chasers," he said pointing at me, Angelina, and Alicia. "We've got two unbeatable Beaters-"

"Stop it, Oliver, you're embarrassing us," said Fred and George together, pretending to blush, and suddenly I realized that is exactly what I was doing. Blushing.

"-And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match!" he glared at Harry, with furious pride. "And me," he added lightly.

"We think you're very good too, Oliver," said George.

"Spanking good Keeper," said Fred. I grinned and nodded.

"The point is," he went on, pacing in front of us "The Quidditch Cup should have had our name on it these last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag. But we haven't got it, and this year's the last chance we'll get to finally see our name on the thing...."

He spoke so dejectedly that even Fred and George looked sympathetic.

"Oliver, this year's our year," said Fred.

"We'll do it, Oliver!" said Angelina.

"Definitely," said Harry.

I wanted to chime in and say something bright, too. But, I couldn't say anything. I was stunned at this speech. It was far better than anything I could have helped him with. I was very, very proud to be part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and very proud of Oliver. Just then I realized why I was not the Captain. I would have just said something sarcastic. Awesome job Oliver, I thought.

I felt another sharp nudge in my side from Alicia, bringing me back to life. "Ow! Alicia, what the hell was that for?" Apparently, I was studying my hands and thinking at the same time.

"Someone is trying to get your attention!" She said.

I turned at her, glaring. Was this some stupid Oliver joke? I primed myself to get ready to rip out her hair when I heard that familiar Scottish accent gently say my nickname, "Kates?" He was standing a couple feet away from me with an expression that said 'Hello? Are you awake?'

He was always startling me. But I have to admit, it's kind of exciting. "Yeah?" I said. This was exactly how it started last night.

"Can I talk to you? Privately?" was his inquiry. My stomach seized, again. I didn't like where this is going. I got up and followed him out onto the pitch.

We walked in silence for about 2 minutes. He took us well out of earshot, I had noticed. He cleared his throat and stopped walking. He turned to me, bowed his head and looked me in the eye. "Katie, I've been doing some thinking."

"Er..." came out of my mouth, and I shut it quickly.

"Last night," he said, and my already seized up stomach felt like it disappeared. "Me and you....You and I, rather..." he continued, as my insides felt like they were replaced by lead."We were talking....like we used to."

I let out a sigh of relief. But he continued "It was nice, Kates. It was like we were second years again. I was thinking, what happened? We used to be great friends."

He looked as though he expected an answer. I looked up into his face, and my eyes lowered to his lips. Then I looked quickly back up to him. I breathed hard, and crossed my arms, "People change, Oliver...I guess we just changed."

"Well, yeah you don't look like a little girl anymore," He stopped and looked terrified. "I mean. Yeah...I noticed that...you don't look like a little girl anymore, not the one I used to know, at least."

"You aren't the little boy I used to know either," Said and cocked my head to the side, looking up at him. But he shook his head 'no.'

"No, Kates, that's not it. I changed. I mean...we act differently to each other now. But when you're with Fred and George you are just like I remembered you."

Again, he had me confused. "Eloquently put." I said, grinning.

"Like that! Right there! You were always so sarcastic, but it was funny," he exclaimed brightly. "I guess I realized that I missed you?" He said squinting, like he was preparing for the worst.

He missed me. He missed me? I said exactly what I was thinking, "How could you have time to miss me? I mean you had Alisa..." I remembered how he just stopped talking to me when he got with Alisa last year, the looks that she used to give me whenever I walked in on them snogging or what not. It was a face of victory and 'I'm-better-than-you-are.'

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, too. She would get pissed whenever I said anything about you," he explained. Maybe Alisa saw me as a threat? What exactly was going on here? "I guess I treated you pretty badly, eh?"

I just grinned up at him. "No, Wood, don't worry about it." I punched his shoulder lightly.

"Good, I'm glad I got that off of my mind."

I looked at his lips again and felt the need to ask him something, but I would wait.

We started walking back, and I was watching my feet. We didn't talk.

Before he walked into the locker room, I tugged at the back of his robes and he turned around to face me. "Oliver?"

"Yeah?"

"Was our little run-in an accident, last night? Did you want that to happen?" I whispered so no one but him could hear.

"What run-in?" he said panicked.

"I'm pretty sure you know what I mean. Did you mean for that to happen?"

"Er..." he said, searching for words. But, I was impatient.

I took a step closer to him looked him straight in the eye and whispered in an unusually high pitch, "Oliver, did you mean to almost kiss me?"



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Resources: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, pages 143-144, 'The Flight of the Fat Lady"

Yes, I used some things from the book and, I'm trying to make it coincide with the book.

Please review. How am I doing? Does it fit well with the book?