Title: When We Were Little
Author name: Allie-Marina
Category: Romance
Sub Category: Humor/Angst
Keywords: Oliver Katie flashback
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: First three books
Summary: Katie visits Gram, Oliver takes a shower (grins) and does some thinking, while Alicia can read people like books. Especially our friend Wood.
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. May included lines from Friends, Dawson's Creek, Everwood, Smallville, As Told by Ginger, the Great Gatsby, The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson, Love Story to name just a few.
Author notes: Ahhhhh, just a warning, it's a little dramatic, this chapter, but bare with it, please. There is no flashback. A HUGE thank you to my first run BETA Christina, and the divine intervention of the wonderful Araanaz, who with out her help, this chapter would have been really, really bad. Tee hee! Thanks to my reviewers! I got to 50 reviews in four chapters!!!On with the chapter!

Katie was feeling very light-headed, while Ryan looked like he was about to faint.

They were standing outside the house where they'd spent most of their summers, in the cold of February, arms crossed.

Katie's Dad and Mum were already inside. Katie and Ryan, however, were hesitant on entering, not knowing what to expect. The unknown scared them.

Katie readjusted her arms and took a deep breath. She could see her breath in the air, as it floated away. She looked down at her brother. "Maybe we ought to go inside, right?"

Ryan bit his bottom lip and nodded slightly. "You first."

"Fine," Katie said, and took Ryan's hand, trailing him behind her. They went into the house and an odd silence fell over the two.

They slowly entered the living room where they knew they would find everyone. They saw their Grandfather, and he waved them in. "Clarisse..." he said. "The children are here."

Gram had been sitting in her favorite arm chair the whole while. Katie was relieved to see that Gram was looking better than she had expected, although she was looking rather weak, she still had that warm glint in her eyes.

At first Katie didn't know how to act or what to say. She could see that her younger brother was having a worse time of it, if that was possible. But as time passed, the wall came down and in time they were conversing quite normally. Katie actually laughed.

"You have such a beautiful laugh..." Gram put in loftily. Katie just smiled softly.

"You always knew how to get me laughing, Katie," Gram went on, tossing her head to the side, smiling. "By the way, how is your friend Oliver?"

Katie stopped, and waved the question off. There was no need to show any anger towards the boy while in her Grandmother's presence. "He's fine, Gram."

For the first time, Ryan spoke. "They aren't friends."

Katie shot a glare at her brother as Gram tutted. Her smile faltered, exactly what Katie didn't want. She would have hexed Ryan if she were allowed to use magic outside school. "Oh ... such a shame. You two together always had me smiling," Gram reminisced.

Katie nodded absently, a sadness of sorts growing in her chest. "Make up with him, will you, dear?" Gram suddenly pleaded. "It would be so wonderful to have you two together again."

***

On Wednesday, Katie and Ryan had to say good-bye to Gram for the last time. They didn't want to leave Gram, but she'd insisted that they go to school, work very hard to achieve their dreams, and make her proud.

The Bell children did not cry in those last few seconds. They were trying their hardest to be strong for her, as Dumbledore had instructed.

Rather, they had waited until they were almost back at school, Wednesday afternoon, in the horseless carriages. It was mainly Ryan sobbing audibly and silent tears down Katie's cheeks.

When they had gotten back into the common room, Ryan ran up to his room, and demanded that no one disturb him.

Katie was met by the solemn faces of her friends who weren't entirely sure of what to say.

"How was it?" Rhys asked gently.

"How was it supposed to be?" Katie asked blankly. Rhys didn't answer her.

She sat in an arm chair staring into the fire, well aware that the eyes of her friends were still on her. It wasn't helping her upset mood.

Something caught inside of her throat, threatening to work its way out as an audible sob, but before it could, she stood up abruptly. She would not cry. "I'm going to the locker room," she announced.

"Should I come, too?" Angelina asked, and Rhys was already standing up, waiting to accompany her.

"No, I'd actually just like to be alone for a minute," she told them, trying her best for a smile, hoping it didn't look too artificial. If she was right, the locker room would be empty and it would be a place for her to sit and think.

***

At four thirty on Wednesday afternoon, Quidditch practice was finished. Four boys and only two girls made their way into their respective, separated sections of the locker rooms.

The twins had been walking on either side of their Captain who had been nodding on cue, whenever the twins said anything that required a reaction.

"I think we should get one of the girls to steal Davies's broomstick, hey?" Fred suggested when they had gotten inside.

"Why would we want to do that for?" Harry asked incredulously.

"So they'll have to forfeit at best," George answered as if he could read his twins mind. "At worst, he'll be flying a school broom.

"Right," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "It's such a Slytherin thing to do!"

"What do you think, Wood?" Fred asked Oliver with a nudge.

As if being woken up from a deep sleep, Oliver stood up from his position leaning against a locker. He looked between the three of his Quidditch mates.

"Sorry, what?" he asked lazily.

Fred scowled. "Sabotage, Wood! Sabotage!"

Oliver's eyes widened. "Who's sabotaging who?"

"No one to no one," Harry cut in, smirking, ending the confusion. Obviously, Wood had been in another world.

Before the boys all climbed into the showers, Wood had to endure the twins remarks and catcalls as he walked around dressed in nothing but a scarlet and gold-trimmed towel wrapped around his waist.

As Oliver ran his hands through his hair while in the shower, he reflected on his tragically bored mood. The week, so far, really wasn't all that different. Rather, it just felt different.

He'd gotten a new partner in Ancient Runes, as he had requested. A sixth year Hufflepuff. She agreed with all of Oliver's answers, not really caring. He had a feeling that this assignment was not going to be as successful as recent, past assignments. She didn't argue any of the answers. She was pretty, but she was boring.

Lathering his arms, Wood reasoned that being boring was better than being infinitely stubborn and argumentative, wasn't it?

One more thing that did not work for Wood over these last days was the past two Quidditch practices. With one less Chaser there, his whole, planned out practices had been messed up. During passing drills, Oliver had nothing to do. He usually had two Chasers pass with each other, while one tried taking shots on him.

"Oi, Wood!" called Harry from outside the shower, making Wood jump as he was swiftly broken from his thoughts.

"Yeah?" Wood called from inside the stall.

"Have you died?" called Fred. "You're taking forever!"

Wood realized had been in the showers for quite a long time, and called back to his team mates. "Just go on back without me if you're all so impatient!"

"We have zero tolerance for this nonsense, Mister Wood!" George called dramatically, in a voice that sounded eerily like McGonagall. "Good-bye!"

As Wood shut the steady stream of warm water down, he heard the door close and knew that he was the only one left in the boys section of the locker room.

Quietly, he dried himself down and pulled on his school pants and a thin evergreen jumper over a black T-shirt.

He walked to where the locker rooms joined. There were two rows of benches and a chalk board. Staring blankly at it, he sat himself on a bench. His eyes ran over the failed plans he had drawn out for the pre-game week's practices. Katie's name was crossed out.

He looked away from the name, an odd feeling arising in his chest. As well her name should be crossed out. He didn't want a fifth year brat -even one with pretty eyes- ruining the practices he spent so much time planning.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he so often did, only to find the folded paper he had put there in Ancient Runes class. He slowly opened it just to see "Oliver Wood and Katie Bell," as well as half of the answers to all the questions, written in Katie's neat script, and the other half of the answers in Wood's less-than-neat print.

His eyes traveled to the last question, dealing with Ancient Runes. The words

in Katie's distinctive handwriting pounded in his head. Partnership and Love.

He read Professor Terentius's comments. "15 points to Gryffindor! Great team work!"

Wood scoffed at the comment, and with the motion of one hand, he crumpled the paper into a ball, letting it drop to his feet with an insignificant patter.

Sighing deeply, he laid himself on the bench. He clasped his hands together and let them lye on his chest as he stared at the ceiling. He stared for a long time, feeling inexplicably empty, and not in the food sense.

He idly heard the main door to the room open, but was to busy being empty, and for some reason, very angry with himself to care. A face appeared in front of him. It was Alicia.

"Wood, what are you still doing here?" she asked, looking at him as if he was crazy.

"Meditating," he told her, matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I'm sure," she grinned.

"No, really. See?" he said. "Ohm....Ohm....Ohm..." he hummed, closing his eyes.

"You're wallowing, and it's all Katie's fault," Alicia said, poignantly.

Wood sat up quickly and frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you've crumpled up her assignment here, and I'm willing to bet it was the last thing you did, before lying down here."

"So what if it was?" he inquired.

"She gets to you, doesn't she?" Alicia asked, taking a seat by him.

"She makes me want to bang my head on the castle walls over, and over, and over, and over again," he said, nodding each time he said 'over.'

Alicia frowned. "She's my best friend and she's a really sweet girl, Wood. You just have to get to know her."

Wood looked Alicia straight in the eye. "I do know her. She used to be my best friend, you remember."

"Then what?"

"What do you mean?"

"What happened to make you hate her?"

"I don't really hate her," Wood said. "She hates me. She told me so."

"She says she misses the old you, you know. Therefore, she can't hate you. She just wouldn't go to Honeyduke's with you," Alicia reasoned.

"I wouldn't ask her," Wood retorted.

"And that, my friend, is why you're stupid."

"Huh?" Wood scowled.

Alicia stood up and put her hands on her hips. Playing dumb obviously wasn't working in Alicia's favor anymore. "Are you so blind? Maybe everyone else is completely blind around here, but I'm not blind, Wood! I'm not!"

"What in Godric's name are you on about?" Wood asked, sounding panicked.

"Oliver! You love Katie!"

"WHAT?"

"I might be the only one who sees it, but it's there, Oliver. Ever since you saw that-"

"Alicia-"

"Ravenclaw kissing Katie-"

"You don't know what you're talking about-"

"You've been angry with her-"

"You think I'm jealous?"

"You always thought being with Katie was in the bag-"

"No, you're wrong-"

"But you're friend beat you to it-"

"Ridiculous-"

"And you've been treating her like shit ever since, do you realize? You can't have Katie and it brasses you off! It always has!"

Silence. Wood looked away, glaring really hard at nothing at all. He felt like he was slowly being killed. "Damn," he muttered.

Alicia wasn't done yet. "And do you know why she wasn't here these past two practices?"

"Enlighten me," Wood told her.

"She was visiting her sick Grandmother! She could die any day, you know, and yet you still treat Katie like garbage."

Wood didn't answer, he wasn't immediately sure of what to say; he just looked away again, incredible warmth creeping up his ears, and the back of his neck. "Her Grandmother - she's going to die?" he asked softly.

"Didn't you know that, Wood?"

"N-no. No, I didn't." he said. I just yelled at her and didn't even let her get a word in edge-wise, he thought guiltily. On her birthday. He felt like a cold-hearted bastard.

"Moreover, because Katie won't talk to you anymore, you fight with her everyday, because it's the only communication you two have! You don't want to want Katie, but you do. You blame her for your moods, don't you? Merlin, Wood, admit it!"

Wood slowly looked up at Alicia. "Admit what?"

"You've always been in love with Katie."

Wood clenched his eyes shut tightly, as well as his fists. He muttered, "Please, Alicia. Please don't tell anyone."