October came, and with it, came a new Quidditch season. Wood, who
was wound up for his final season, came to the sixth year girl's dormitory
early one October morning. He knocked on the door.
"Katie, Angelina, Alicia! Let's go. Practice in the pitch. Ten minutes." He hissed through the heavy oak doors.
The girls got up slowly, silently cursing their beloved captain for his maniac Quidditch obsession.
Katie was the first ready. She grabbed her broom and walked through the chilly castle corridors and across the lawn to the Quidditch pitch. She spotted a groggy Harry Potter and a gleaming Oliver Wood in the middle of the pitch.
"Morning, Kates." Wood chirped.
"G'Mornin'" Katie mumbled to the two.
"Come on Kates! Wake up! Aren't you excited?" Wood grinned like a madman.
Katie smiled, "Oliver, I love Quidditch, you know that. But I will NEVER love your early morning practices."
"I agree." Harry piped up. Katie rested her head on Wood's shoulder, waiting for the other chasers and the beaters to saunter onto the pitch.
Eventually, Alicia and Angelina appeared, dragging a tired and yawing pair of red-heads behind them.
"Glad you decided to join us." Wood said, slightly irritated.
"These clowns took forever. George lost his broom." Alicia jerked her thumb and the tow red-heads who were rubbing their eyes behind her.
"Well, not that my team decided to show up, let's get started." Wood urged, the maniac-glint returning to his eyes.
Fred and George whined loudly about being so cold and it being to early in the morning for practice.
"Oh, shut up. Katie, Wood and I've been out here waiting for you for 15 minutes." Harry snapped.
Fred and George gawked at him and one of them mumbled something about Harry not being a morning person. Katie grinned, "Harry, I like you more and more every practice."
Harry smiled back while the Weasley's glared at both she and Harry. Katie turned and threw a quick grin back at the red-headed boys and then mounted her broom and kicked off into the air.
After an hour and a half of flying in the brisk air and catching the Quaffle with ice-cold hands, Wood finally let them finish. The team went into the warm locker room and headed for steamy showers.
Katie turned off the faucet and heard only one shower still on- Oliver's. She wrapped a towel around herself, walked to her locker and pulled on the gray uniform skirt. She heard Wood turn off his shower and grunt as he walked through the locker room.
Katie buttoned up her white shirt and tied the gold and maroon tie around her neck and finally dragged the sweater over her head.
Katie grabbed her socks, shoes and robe and threw her Quidditch gear into her locker. She walked around to Wood's locker and found him sitting in front of his lover, black pans and his white shirt open, tie thrown over his shoulder.
"Ol?" Katie sat down next to him.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "What am I going to do with those to Weasleys Kate?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, pulling on one sock and unrolling it to her knee.
"I mean, Angelina and Alicia are so distracted by them. We got very little done at practice today because Fred and George were cracking jokes every two seconds and you and Harry were the only ones doing anything because Angelina and Alicia were to busy laughing at the twins." Wood said grumpily. He stood up and placed the rest of his belongings in his locker before shutting it. Wood turned around and leaned up against his locker, buttoning his shirt slowly.
"It's a phase-or at least I hope it is. They'll either get over their crush and realize how stupid their jokes are, or they'll end up dating them-" Katie stopped as Wood interrupted. "DATING! Like going out? Being a couple?"
'Yes Oliver, dating. I'm glad you're familiar with it. But, as I was saying. Or they'll start dating and THEN realize how stupid the Weasley's jokes are." Katie finished tying her shoe.
"I suppose you're right, Kates. At least, I hope you are." Wood sat back down beside her and it was his turn to rest his head on his best friends shoulder.
"They will, Ol. Don't you worry." Katie patted his knee and rose, "now, o-captain. I'm hungry. So, if you'd hurry up, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Wood smiled up at her and pulled the dull, gray, school sweater over his head. "Let's roll, Bell."
Katie shook her head as the seventeen-year-old boy pranced out of the locker room.
~*~
"KATIE!" Angelina came running into the common room on the Friday evening before the first Quidditch match. Katie looked up as she came rushing in, closely followed by Alicia.
"Katie!" Angelina cried again.
"Angie!" Katie mocked. The two girls sat on either side of Katie on the couch, "what's going on?"
"You left dinner too early." Alicia began.
"Well, go on. What'd I miss this time? Flint snogging a second year?" Katie asked, an amused smiled playing on her face as she set her Transfiguration book on the table.
"Oliver got in a fight." Angelina blurted out.
Katie raised an eyebrow, "what? With who? WHY?"
"Flint." Angelina muttered.
"Why?" Katie asked again. Before they answered, Fred and George came busting into the room, dragging a slightly disgruntled Wood in tow.
Angelina and Alicia jumped up and ran over to the three boys. "George!" Alicia cooed, "what happened?"
"Well, Fred and I were walking out of the Great Hall and we spotted Wood here-" George began, but Katie turned away when she saw Wood slink over to an armchair by the fire.
Katie followed him and sat in the chair opposite his. "Well?" Katie urged after a moment of silence.
"Well, what?" Wood asked, Katie could hear the irritation in his voice. But she couldn't decide if it was because of her, or George's story.
"Come on, Oliver. Tell me what happened."
"Why? So you can weave your own story about what happened so you become the hero." Wood snapped.
Katie stared at him for a moment, gawking. "Oliver- you know I'd never do something like that."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think George would either. For all I know, you'll tell your own story and milk it for all its worth, like he is." Wood said crossly.
Katie stood up and took a long stride so that she was standing before him. She bent down and leaned in on Wood. "I can't believe you Oliver Wood." She growled.
Wood reached up and pushed her back. "Oh, right." He said sarcastically.
Katie spun around and marched up to her dormitory and slammed the door roughly, causing the windows in Gryffindor Tower to rattle. She collapsed on her bed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Some best friend." She muttered. She flopped over on her stomach and threw her head into a pillow and drifted into a dreamless, uneasy sleep.
After sitting in alone by the fire for almost ten minutes, Wood realized his mistake. "Damn." He muttered under his breath. 'I can't stand when she's mad at me. And I just pushed her away.' He thought to himself.
Oliver rose from his chair and climbed the stairs to the girls dormitory and knocked gently on the door. There was no answer and he muttered, "Kates?" With no answer again he cracked the door ajar and peaked in. He looked at the only occupied bed and saw Katie's back, slowly heaving up and down with a the even breaths of sleep. He smiled to himself and shut the door. He turned and found himself face to face with this other two chasers.
"What did you do to her?" Alicia demanded.
Wood didn't answer and pushed past them gently and walked down into the common room and the mounted the stairs to his own dormitory.
Wood woke up the next morning around six and couldn't fall back to sleep. It was Saturday, so breakfast wouldn't be until 8:30 or 9, so he decided to go down to the pitch and get in some early flying.
He entered the pitch and breathed the cool October air. As he made his way to the center of the pitch, he noticed another person on the pitch. A person, they were running. As they neared, Wood saw the swish of a long, brown ponytail and knew who it was.
As Katie ran closer, Wood noticed how much her form had changed since the last year. Wood had only seen Katie in her school or Quidditch robes since the year started, he hadn't seen her in muggle cloths since the end of last Quidditch season. Katie was had never been fat, but her body hadn't been the easiest on the eyes. Wood noticed the curves that seemed to appear since he had last seen her. He admitted to himself, 'Katie looks pretty damn good.'
Katie realized who the character standing in the pitch was from about 200 yards away. She watched as Wood stared at her approaching figure. She slowed herself to a gently jog and arrived at Wood's side.
"Wood." Katie nodded.
"Katie." He nodded in return.
After an awkward silence, Katie spoke up, "See you at breakfast." She turned and waited a second before she started walking.
"Kates?" Wood asked quietly.
Katie turned around quickly, "hmm?"
He hesitated and then said, "yeah, I'll see you at breakfast. Make sure you eat up. We play Slytherin today."
Katie nodded and jogged off to the castle. 'Damn it, Wood. That was your chance to apologize.' Wood thought to himself as he kicked off into the air.
"Katie, Angelina, Alicia! Let's go. Practice in the pitch. Ten minutes." He hissed through the heavy oak doors.
The girls got up slowly, silently cursing their beloved captain for his maniac Quidditch obsession.
Katie was the first ready. She grabbed her broom and walked through the chilly castle corridors and across the lawn to the Quidditch pitch. She spotted a groggy Harry Potter and a gleaming Oliver Wood in the middle of the pitch.
"Morning, Kates." Wood chirped.
"G'Mornin'" Katie mumbled to the two.
"Come on Kates! Wake up! Aren't you excited?" Wood grinned like a madman.
Katie smiled, "Oliver, I love Quidditch, you know that. But I will NEVER love your early morning practices."
"I agree." Harry piped up. Katie rested her head on Wood's shoulder, waiting for the other chasers and the beaters to saunter onto the pitch.
Eventually, Alicia and Angelina appeared, dragging a tired and yawing pair of red-heads behind them.
"Glad you decided to join us." Wood said, slightly irritated.
"These clowns took forever. George lost his broom." Alicia jerked her thumb and the tow red-heads who were rubbing their eyes behind her.
"Well, not that my team decided to show up, let's get started." Wood urged, the maniac-glint returning to his eyes.
Fred and George whined loudly about being so cold and it being to early in the morning for practice.
"Oh, shut up. Katie, Wood and I've been out here waiting for you for 15 minutes." Harry snapped.
Fred and George gawked at him and one of them mumbled something about Harry not being a morning person. Katie grinned, "Harry, I like you more and more every practice."
Harry smiled back while the Weasley's glared at both she and Harry. Katie turned and threw a quick grin back at the red-headed boys and then mounted her broom and kicked off into the air.
After an hour and a half of flying in the brisk air and catching the Quaffle with ice-cold hands, Wood finally let them finish. The team went into the warm locker room and headed for steamy showers.
Katie turned off the faucet and heard only one shower still on- Oliver's. She wrapped a towel around herself, walked to her locker and pulled on the gray uniform skirt. She heard Wood turn off his shower and grunt as he walked through the locker room.
Katie buttoned up her white shirt and tied the gold and maroon tie around her neck and finally dragged the sweater over her head.
Katie grabbed her socks, shoes and robe and threw her Quidditch gear into her locker. She walked around to Wood's locker and found him sitting in front of his lover, black pans and his white shirt open, tie thrown over his shoulder.
"Ol?" Katie sat down next to him.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "What am I going to do with those to Weasleys Kate?"
"What do you mean?" She asked, pulling on one sock and unrolling it to her knee.
"I mean, Angelina and Alicia are so distracted by them. We got very little done at practice today because Fred and George were cracking jokes every two seconds and you and Harry were the only ones doing anything because Angelina and Alicia were to busy laughing at the twins." Wood said grumpily. He stood up and placed the rest of his belongings in his locker before shutting it. Wood turned around and leaned up against his locker, buttoning his shirt slowly.
"It's a phase-or at least I hope it is. They'll either get over their crush and realize how stupid their jokes are, or they'll end up dating them-" Katie stopped as Wood interrupted. "DATING! Like going out? Being a couple?"
'Yes Oliver, dating. I'm glad you're familiar with it. But, as I was saying. Or they'll start dating and THEN realize how stupid the Weasley's jokes are." Katie finished tying her shoe.
"I suppose you're right, Kates. At least, I hope you are." Wood sat back down beside her and it was his turn to rest his head on his best friends shoulder.
"They will, Ol. Don't you worry." Katie patted his knee and rose, "now, o-captain. I'm hungry. So, if you'd hurry up, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Wood smiled up at her and pulled the dull, gray, school sweater over his head. "Let's roll, Bell."
Katie shook her head as the seventeen-year-old boy pranced out of the locker room.
~*~
"KATIE!" Angelina came running into the common room on the Friday evening before the first Quidditch match. Katie looked up as she came rushing in, closely followed by Alicia.
"Katie!" Angelina cried again.
"Angie!" Katie mocked. The two girls sat on either side of Katie on the couch, "what's going on?"
"You left dinner too early." Alicia began.
"Well, go on. What'd I miss this time? Flint snogging a second year?" Katie asked, an amused smiled playing on her face as she set her Transfiguration book on the table.
"Oliver got in a fight." Angelina blurted out.
Katie raised an eyebrow, "what? With who? WHY?"
"Flint." Angelina muttered.
"Why?" Katie asked again. Before they answered, Fred and George came busting into the room, dragging a slightly disgruntled Wood in tow.
Angelina and Alicia jumped up and ran over to the three boys. "George!" Alicia cooed, "what happened?"
"Well, Fred and I were walking out of the Great Hall and we spotted Wood here-" George began, but Katie turned away when she saw Wood slink over to an armchair by the fire.
Katie followed him and sat in the chair opposite his. "Well?" Katie urged after a moment of silence.
"Well, what?" Wood asked, Katie could hear the irritation in his voice. But she couldn't decide if it was because of her, or George's story.
"Come on, Oliver. Tell me what happened."
"Why? So you can weave your own story about what happened so you become the hero." Wood snapped.
Katie stared at him for a moment, gawking. "Oliver- you know I'd never do something like that."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think George would either. For all I know, you'll tell your own story and milk it for all its worth, like he is." Wood said crossly.
Katie stood up and took a long stride so that she was standing before him. She bent down and leaned in on Wood. "I can't believe you Oliver Wood." She growled.
Wood reached up and pushed her back. "Oh, right." He said sarcastically.
Katie spun around and marched up to her dormitory and slammed the door roughly, causing the windows in Gryffindor Tower to rattle. She collapsed on her bed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Some best friend." She muttered. She flopped over on her stomach and threw her head into a pillow and drifted into a dreamless, uneasy sleep.
After sitting in alone by the fire for almost ten minutes, Wood realized his mistake. "Damn." He muttered under his breath. 'I can't stand when she's mad at me. And I just pushed her away.' He thought to himself.
Oliver rose from his chair and climbed the stairs to the girls dormitory and knocked gently on the door. There was no answer and he muttered, "Kates?" With no answer again he cracked the door ajar and peaked in. He looked at the only occupied bed and saw Katie's back, slowly heaving up and down with a the even breaths of sleep. He smiled to himself and shut the door. He turned and found himself face to face with this other two chasers.
"What did you do to her?" Alicia demanded.
Wood didn't answer and pushed past them gently and walked down into the common room and the mounted the stairs to his own dormitory.
Wood woke up the next morning around six and couldn't fall back to sleep. It was Saturday, so breakfast wouldn't be until 8:30 or 9, so he decided to go down to the pitch and get in some early flying.
He entered the pitch and breathed the cool October air. As he made his way to the center of the pitch, he noticed another person on the pitch. A person, they were running. As they neared, Wood saw the swish of a long, brown ponytail and knew who it was.
As Katie ran closer, Wood noticed how much her form had changed since the last year. Wood had only seen Katie in her school or Quidditch robes since the year started, he hadn't seen her in muggle cloths since the end of last Quidditch season. Katie was had never been fat, but her body hadn't been the easiest on the eyes. Wood noticed the curves that seemed to appear since he had last seen her. He admitted to himself, 'Katie looks pretty damn good.'
Katie realized who the character standing in the pitch was from about 200 yards away. She watched as Wood stared at her approaching figure. She slowed herself to a gently jog and arrived at Wood's side.
"Wood." Katie nodded.
"Katie." He nodded in return.
After an awkward silence, Katie spoke up, "See you at breakfast." She turned and waited a second before she started walking.
"Kates?" Wood asked quietly.
Katie turned around quickly, "hmm?"
He hesitated and then said, "yeah, I'll see you at breakfast. Make sure you eat up. We play Slytherin today."
Katie nodded and jogged off to the castle. 'Damn it, Wood. That was your chance to apologize.' Wood thought to himself as he kicked off into the air.