A/N: This was a surprisingly entertaining chapter to write. There's some Ginny in there... but she'll come in handy later on, so please bear with her! To Louise, like always, for beta'ing. Good work :) Oh, and it might take a while before you get any more chapters... You might change my mind with feedback, of course! *evil grin*
Forget Me Not Part III: Dreaming
~~~
Ginny was reading the most recent issue of Witch Weekly when Oliver entered the living room. He was horrified to see his own face on the cover. "Oliver Wood - The secrets of the Keeper of Puddlemore United revealed!" Oh, God. Witch Weekly had to be the most awful magazine there was.
"Hi, Oliver," Ginny said brightly, looking at him over her magazine. She was sixteen now, not the same shy girl she had been. She had grown up a lot but no one knew if it was a good or a bad thing. All they knew was that she had been flirting with Harry through the summer like crazy. "They have a massive article about you!"
"Uhm...they do?" Oliver asked unenthusiastically. He *really* didn't want to talk about Witch Weekly's horrible articles right now. Those people, those reporters - they never left him alone. They wanted to know what he was doing, why he was doing it and especially, whom he was doing it with.
"Yeah. They've even interviewed you, look!" Ginny turned the magazine around and Oliver was faced with a picture of himself. While the real Oliver looked bored and annoyed, the picture Oliver was smiling and waving at the readers. He actually remembered that interview, it had been a few months earlier. All the reporter had wanted to ask about had been, "So, do you have a girlfriend?" instead of something actually interesting like, "So, what do
you think about this season? Do you think United has a chance to win this year?"
"Great," Oliver mumbled, but then something in the text caught his eye. He grabbed the magazine rather violently from the girl. At Ginny's yelp he said, "Sorry, sorry," half-heartedly and turned his attention to the article. "Are they still talking about this... this...shit?"
"What? Oh, the stuff about you being gay? Oh sure, they haven't talked about anything else for weeks!" Ginny said grinning.
"God," Oliver muttered and tossed the magazine back to the girl. "I should've gotten used to it by now, eh?" he said, a hint of his usual playful self in his tone.
Ginny kept grinning. "Oh, well, no one actually knows it's true."
It took Oliver two heartbeats to actually understand what the girl had just said. "What?"
"They don't know it's true. They're just joking, trying to sell their magazine. They say the same about every Quidditch player, you know. Some of the girls just hope you are, because they fantasize about you sleeping with
a bloke."
Some of what Ginny had just said hadn't registered in Oliver's head at all, but one thing he remembered. "What do you mean 'they don't know it's true'?" he demanded, looking horrified, again.
"Well, you are, aren't you?" Ginny said. She had become quite aggressive, Oliver noted, and for such an aggressive girl, she had the smile of an angel.
"What makes you say that?" he said, though he knew he had been caught. He didn't really care. The only reason he hadn't come out to the press yet was because he thought it was nobody else's business. So what if he liked to
shag guys, too?
"Er... I'm just so smart that I figured it out? Okay, okay. I saw you snogging with my brother in my second year," Ginny said.
Oliver actually laughed, finally letting go of his defences. "You did, eh? When?"
"I dunno, around Christmas. You were alone in the Common room and I got there. You didn't even notice me! So I thought you two probably wanted to be alone and left," Ginny grinned.
Oliver chuckled. "I remember that. We had thought it was safe, everyone was running around and I...well.just one kiss, what could it hurt? Besides, most of the Gryffindors were always so noisy that we would've heard them coming. So it was *you*! I knew I heard something! Percy didn't believe me."
"I never forgot about that, by the way. You know, everyone thought Percy was that annoying Prefect and Head Boy. It was just so amusing to see him, well, actually do something that was, like, a bit against the rules."
Oliver opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny beat him to it.
"I mean, snogging *anyone* like that, in the Common room - Percy would've been deeply humiliated if someone had caught him like that, no matter who it was he was with. And oh, I've been meaning to ask you about him. I mean, you two, sleeping in Percy's room? Do I even want to know?" the girl teased.
Oliver shook his head. "We... he... uh, it's not like that, anymore. He... kind of... we ended it when we left Hogwarts." He was pleased with the sound of that. It sounded like it had been unavoidable and they had ended it in peace.
He really didn't want to blame Percy, not anymore. When had *that* changed? *How* had that changed? He had been swearing he'd take revenge and now, he was like a lovesick puppy again. God! He was pathetic.
Ginny's voice woke him. "So you're just friends?"
Oliver shrugged. "He... well... it only lasted our last year at Hogwarts, our seventh year."
That in itself didn't really mean anything, but Ginny wasn't that stupid. There was a sparkle in her eyes. "Oh. Oh! *OH*! So he doesn't remember! Fuck!"
Oliver turned to look at her, a look of amusement on his face. "It's never nice to hear a pretty girl swear, Ginny," he said teasingly, not serious.
But she wasn't ready to drop it yet. "You have got to tell him!" She was enjoying this far too much.
"Oh yeah? And say what? 'Oh, Perce, you don't remember but we used to be lovers'? No one's even said I still fancy him," Oliver said and sighed. "Besides, I don't want advice from a sixteen-year-old. No offence, but I'm not *that* desperate."
"Aww," Ginny said with an innocent smile. "But you *do* fancy him, don't you? I mean, you've been acting all weird around him. I'm sure he's noticed."
"Well, yeah, I still fancy him," he said, not knowing why he admitted it to the little sister of the person he was talking about.
Ginny flashed him an evil grin.
~~~
So what was wrong with Oliver? Percy didn't like how uncomfortable Oliver seemed to be around him. They were friends, right? So why was it that he seemed to be faking his smiles? Was it about him? Had he done something wrong?
Ginny was downstairs. Percy could only hope she'd leave Oliver alone. The last thing he needed was some sort of argument between his friend and his little sister. Ginny had become *such* an annoying teenager! Without doubt, she was driving Oliver insane. Oh, he shouldn't have decided to take a shower when everyone else was gone. If the twins had been there, they could have rescued Oliver. But they were shopping in Diagon Alley with Ron, Mum and Dad.
Percy decided he'd better hurry up, so he grabbed the soap and started to wash his arms and shoulders. "Will you let me wash your back?"
What the hell was *that*? A flashback? A dream? It was Oliver's voice that's for sure.
"Don't worry, Perce, if the water gets too cold, I'll keep you warm." Oliver said, with a grin.
Why would he ever have showered with *Oliver*, let alone let him wash his back? A dream.this had to be a dream. Something he had dreamed a long time ago. Or, maybe he was starting to remember?
Oliver had pushed him against a shower wall and started kissing his neck. Percy had tried hard to keep quiet. Oliver's hands had been all over him, holding his hips tightly. Percy had turned around in his arms and they had kissed, passionately, and between kisses Oliver had murmured, "I love you," all over again.
'It was just a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream,' Percy told himself firmly.
Just a bloody dream.
~Feedback more than appreciated~
Forget Me Not Part III: Dreaming
~~~
Ginny was reading the most recent issue of Witch Weekly when Oliver entered the living room. He was horrified to see his own face on the cover. "Oliver Wood - The secrets of the Keeper of Puddlemore United revealed!" Oh, God. Witch Weekly had to be the most awful magazine there was.
"Hi, Oliver," Ginny said brightly, looking at him over her magazine. She was sixteen now, not the same shy girl she had been. She had grown up a lot but no one knew if it was a good or a bad thing. All they knew was that she had been flirting with Harry through the summer like crazy. "They have a massive article about you!"
"Uhm...they do?" Oliver asked unenthusiastically. He *really* didn't want to talk about Witch Weekly's horrible articles right now. Those people, those reporters - they never left him alone. They wanted to know what he was doing, why he was doing it and especially, whom he was doing it with.
"Yeah. They've even interviewed you, look!" Ginny turned the magazine around and Oliver was faced with a picture of himself. While the real Oliver looked bored and annoyed, the picture Oliver was smiling and waving at the readers. He actually remembered that interview, it had been a few months earlier. All the reporter had wanted to ask about had been, "So, do you have a girlfriend?" instead of something actually interesting like, "So, what do
you think about this season? Do you think United has a chance to win this year?"
"Great," Oliver mumbled, but then something in the text caught his eye. He grabbed the magazine rather violently from the girl. At Ginny's yelp he said, "Sorry, sorry," half-heartedly and turned his attention to the article. "Are they still talking about this... this...shit?"
"What? Oh, the stuff about you being gay? Oh sure, they haven't talked about anything else for weeks!" Ginny said grinning.
"God," Oliver muttered and tossed the magazine back to the girl. "I should've gotten used to it by now, eh?" he said, a hint of his usual playful self in his tone.
Ginny kept grinning. "Oh, well, no one actually knows it's true."
It took Oliver two heartbeats to actually understand what the girl had just said. "What?"
"They don't know it's true. They're just joking, trying to sell their magazine. They say the same about every Quidditch player, you know. Some of the girls just hope you are, because they fantasize about you sleeping with
a bloke."
Some of what Ginny had just said hadn't registered in Oliver's head at all, but one thing he remembered. "What do you mean 'they don't know it's true'?" he demanded, looking horrified, again.
"Well, you are, aren't you?" Ginny said. She had become quite aggressive, Oliver noted, and for such an aggressive girl, she had the smile of an angel.
"What makes you say that?" he said, though he knew he had been caught. He didn't really care. The only reason he hadn't come out to the press yet was because he thought it was nobody else's business. So what if he liked to
shag guys, too?
"Er... I'm just so smart that I figured it out? Okay, okay. I saw you snogging with my brother in my second year," Ginny said.
Oliver actually laughed, finally letting go of his defences. "You did, eh? When?"
"I dunno, around Christmas. You were alone in the Common room and I got there. You didn't even notice me! So I thought you two probably wanted to be alone and left," Ginny grinned.
Oliver chuckled. "I remember that. We had thought it was safe, everyone was running around and I...well.just one kiss, what could it hurt? Besides, most of the Gryffindors were always so noisy that we would've heard them coming. So it was *you*! I knew I heard something! Percy didn't believe me."
"I never forgot about that, by the way. You know, everyone thought Percy was that annoying Prefect and Head Boy. It was just so amusing to see him, well, actually do something that was, like, a bit against the rules."
Oliver opened his mouth to protest, but Ginny beat him to it.
"I mean, snogging *anyone* like that, in the Common room - Percy would've been deeply humiliated if someone had caught him like that, no matter who it was he was with. And oh, I've been meaning to ask you about him. I mean, you two, sleeping in Percy's room? Do I even want to know?" the girl teased.
Oliver shook his head. "We... he... uh, it's not like that, anymore. He... kind of... we ended it when we left Hogwarts." He was pleased with the sound of that. It sounded like it had been unavoidable and they had ended it in peace.
He really didn't want to blame Percy, not anymore. When had *that* changed? *How* had that changed? He had been swearing he'd take revenge and now, he was like a lovesick puppy again. God! He was pathetic.
Ginny's voice woke him. "So you're just friends?"
Oliver shrugged. "He... well... it only lasted our last year at Hogwarts, our seventh year."
That in itself didn't really mean anything, but Ginny wasn't that stupid. There was a sparkle in her eyes. "Oh. Oh! *OH*! So he doesn't remember! Fuck!"
Oliver turned to look at her, a look of amusement on his face. "It's never nice to hear a pretty girl swear, Ginny," he said teasingly, not serious.
But she wasn't ready to drop it yet. "You have got to tell him!" She was enjoying this far too much.
"Oh yeah? And say what? 'Oh, Perce, you don't remember but we used to be lovers'? No one's even said I still fancy him," Oliver said and sighed. "Besides, I don't want advice from a sixteen-year-old. No offence, but I'm not *that* desperate."
"Aww," Ginny said with an innocent smile. "But you *do* fancy him, don't you? I mean, you've been acting all weird around him. I'm sure he's noticed."
"Well, yeah, I still fancy him," he said, not knowing why he admitted it to the little sister of the person he was talking about.
Ginny flashed him an evil grin.
~~~
So what was wrong with Oliver? Percy didn't like how uncomfortable Oliver seemed to be around him. They were friends, right? So why was it that he seemed to be faking his smiles? Was it about him? Had he done something wrong?
Ginny was downstairs. Percy could only hope she'd leave Oliver alone. The last thing he needed was some sort of argument between his friend and his little sister. Ginny had become *such* an annoying teenager! Without doubt, she was driving Oliver insane. Oh, he shouldn't have decided to take a shower when everyone else was gone. If the twins had been there, they could have rescued Oliver. But they were shopping in Diagon Alley with Ron, Mum and Dad.
Percy decided he'd better hurry up, so he grabbed the soap and started to wash his arms and shoulders. "Will you let me wash your back?"
What the hell was *that*? A flashback? A dream? It was Oliver's voice that's for sure.
"Don't worry, Perce, if the water gets too cold, I'll keep you warm." Oliver said, with a grin.
Why would he ever have showered with *Oliver*, let alone let him wash his back? A dream.this had to be a dream. Something he had dreamed a long time ago. Or, maybe he was starting to remember?
Oliver had pushed him against a shower wall and started kissing his neck. Percy had tried hard to keep quiet. Oliver's hands had been all over him, holding his hips tightly. Percy had turned around in his arms and they had kissed, passionately, and between kisses Oliver had murmured, "I love you," all over again.
'It was just a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream,' Percy told himself firmly.
Just a bloody dream.
~Feedback more than appreciated~