Wow! 89 reviews! I must say I only expected to get half of that number. I
was estimating 8-10 a chapter but, wow, I'm on cloud nine! I have to say
reviews do a lot for one's self-esteem, not to mention ego. I hope none of
them have gone to my head. As you can probably tell, updates take me
forever. The institution of school doesn't help much either. I'll try as
hard as I can will myself to write more. I don't like it anymore than you
do but please be patient. I promise I won't die on you guys. I might enter
a coma but I will regain consciousness with time. Ok, I apologize for the
lack of Katie/Oliver material in this chapter. Good things come with time,
right? Oh, and I've got the feeling this is gonna become slightly AU-just
so you know. I'll make up for it soon, you have my word. Thankyous at the
end. Anything else? No, okay you may go read...
~Right In Front of Your Eyes~
Disclaimer- Why state something so obvious? Read HP and then read this. You tell me what you think.
Chapter 7- A Little More Than Nothing
"Can you believe it's our last year here?" asked Alicia. "It was like yesterday we were first years!"
"Yeah, yeah Ali, we've been through this before. 'I can't believe we're seventh years! Ahhh!' " Angelina mocked. Alicia glared.
"You guys, be nice," Katie said, "Besides, we're gonna need all the help we can get. We've got N.E.W.T.s, which is enough alone, but we also have Quidditch. You know Oliver's gonna squeeze in every bit of practice he can manage."
"Not unless you talk some sense into the boy. He only listens to you," Angelina said, clearly implying something.
"Oh, really? Just like Fred does anything you say?" Alicia smiled while Katie waited for a reply to her question.
"No comment," Angelina uttered.
"I rest my case," Katie said with a look of victory on her face. The three continued eating their dinners amidst avid talking and friendly jeering. Towards the end of their meal, right about when the desserts popped up, Oliver and the twins came over.
"See you've come to join us," Alicia said.
"Well, Ron and Harry refused to try our mints so we figured you ladies may be interested." George said.
"Eat something you're handing us? Do you think we've gone mad?" Angelina asked.
"That's exactly what Ron said. You didn't hear us talking did you?" Fred inquired.
"Why? Did you say anything about us?" Alicia asked with interest.
"Of course not, why would we," George said. Alicia and Angelina glowered. Now that comment was either comforting or highly unflattering and clearly the two girls took it as highly unflattering.
Katie smiled at her friends; she simply could not grasp the fact that this was her last year at Hogwarts. This time next year she would be at a university or out hunting for a job. Slightly depressed by these thoughts, Katie failed to notice everyone rising to go their dorms. A few students lingered behind as Katie ventured up to the Gryffindor common room. Somewhere after the second changing staircase and the fifth corridor Katie lost her way.
"Left or right at the portrait of the Frolicking Friar? Umm, right." Leave it to Katie Bell to get lost on her way to the common room she's been going to for the past six years. " Which way from the Statue of the Silver Sphinx? Err, right again." This went on for quite a while, the changing staircases, moving pictures, and talking portraits didn't help the directionally challenged.
Katie walked on for a few more minutes after declaring herself completely lost. She had never set foot in this part of the castle before. The damp, cold, stone walls, the smooth shiny floor, and the gothic arches were all new to Katie. She decided to stay put in hopes that someone would chance to walk buy and help her out. A far away cackle told her Peeves was near. 'Some help he'll be.' She waited a bit longer.
A brief period of silence was broken. One, two, three, the footsteps grew louder. 'How cliché, a girl lost in a dark castle with footsteps approaching her. All I need is a raging storm outside.' The footsteps stopped. There was silence for a moment and then more footsteps. This time louder and less spaced apart.
Katie waited for the person to step out of the shadows into the shaft of moonlight. Normally, one would run away or ask, "Who's there?", but Katie just waited. At the worst it was Professor Snape.
Scratch that, at the worst it was Marcus Flint. And it was.
"Well, well if it isn't Miss Bell. So tell me Bell, what would a Gryffindor House Chaser be doing in this part of the castle?"
Katie stood stolid and didn't utter a word.
"No answer? Well, I'd have expected better manners from a Gryffindor." Flint inched closer.
In hopes of stopping him from moving any further, Katie spoke. "MR. Flint, would you be so kind as to tell me how to get to the Great Hall?" She would never trust him to give her the right answer but he stopped moving and that's all she wanted.
"Lost are we?" His lips curled into a malevolent smile. "All you do is go to the Fountain of the Frisky Fairy and then make a left. It's as simple as that." With his crude directions said, he inched closer to Katie once more.
"Left? Ok thanks Flint." Katie said as she edged out of his range. Katie was a few feet away from the Slytherin Captain when he called out to her.
"Bell! See you on the pitch!" She took in his words and continued shuffling towards the fountain. Maybe Flint had told the truth?
"Hey, Flint what took you so long?" Warrington asked. Flint, who had just stepped into the Slytherin Common Room, answered him.
"I stopped to have a chat with a certain Gryffindor."
"A Gryffindor?! Blimey, all you were supposed to do was get Diggory's playbook!"
"Relax Montague, I did. It's right here," Flint handed the Chaser a yellow and black book.
"So who was the Gryffie you had a 'chat' with?" Bole asked. The whole lot of the Slytherin team, except Malfoy, was in the Common Room waiting for Flint's return.
"Bell."
"Bell?" Derrick, the Beater, asked.
"Yes, Bell! Are you hard of hearing Derrick?"
"Well? What did you say to her?" Bletchley inquired.
"Nothing much. She was lost. She wanted to know how to get back to the Great Hall so I told her."
"You did give her the wrong directions, right?" Warrington questioned.
"No, I told her the right way."
"What?" All five of the players couldn't believe their ears.
"Why in Salazar's name did you do that?" Bole asked.
"Why in Voldemort's name are you asking me all these questions?" Flint yelled in anger. An interrogation was something he would rather pass.
He stomped off to the boy's dormitory stairs, but not before he retrieved the book from Montague's hands. Just before stepping out of view, Flint spoke. "Relax boys, it's just part of a plan I've got." He smiled maliciously and continued to the dorms.
***
"Rise and shine Katie! It's the morning of our first day of classes. Oh joyous day!"
"Drop the sarcasm Alicia, it's way too early."
"Actually it's pretty late. What time did you go to bed yesterday?"
"Umm, sometime around eleven. I was putting together a few Quidditch plays we could try out."
"That's great Katie, but you should ease up a bit on the Quidditch and concentrate on resting." Alicia said in a motherly tone. "You're just like Oliver. I bet he beat you though. I'm certain her stayed up till 12 doing plays of his own."
"Ok ok, I get it. Sleep first and Quidditch plays later."
"See that's all I'm asking. Now hurry up Katie we've got classes in an hour!"
***
"Can you believe Sprout gave us detention?" Fred asked.
"Yes, yes I can." Angelina spoke. "You two stole some Buboter Pus to put in one of your concoctions."
"Hey, I'm telling you one of these days our snack boxes will become big."
"No one's doubting you George," Angelina said, "But until then can you try to stay out of trouble?"
The twins looked questioningly at Angelina. "Okay, can you keep it to one detention a week?"
With smiles on their faces, the twins answered with a, "Yes, we most certainly can try that."
"Oi, where's Katie?" Alicia asked as she joined the trio. She had just returned from Ancient Runes.
"Dunno, she must still be in her astronomy class." Fred said.
"Tell me, how do they have an astronomy class during the day?" George asked.
"It was our first day, we didn't do much. She just told us the outline of what we will be learning this year."
"Katie, there you are," Alicia said.
"Hello Katie. Goodbye ladies." The twins said. "We've got to go tell Oliver that we can't make practice today. Isn't it a shame?"
Angelina and Alicia perked up. "No practice? Yes, what a shame." They all exchanged smiles except Katie. She had a feeling Oliver wouldn't feel the same way.
***
"Finished!" Katie had finally completed her essay for Potions. Leave it to Snape to give an assignment on the first day of classes, fourteen inches at that.
She lazily got up from her cozy spot on the couch and sauntered towards the girl's dormitory stairs. "Ack, I really need to stretch. My leg's all cramped up from sitting on that couch for two hours."
Katie trudged up the stairs and into her dorm room. She walked over to her bed and collapsed onto the scarlet duvet covers. "Mmm, so soft. It's quiet too. I think I'll take a well deserved nap."
Fred and George were out serving their detentions while Alicia and Angelina were in the Great Hall saving the twins some dinner. Katie traipsed over to the cherry wood bureau, pulled out a pair of corduroys and a hooded sweatshirt.
She undid her tie, pulled off her vest, and unbuttoned her blouse before pulling on her sweatshirt. Unfastening the clasp on her skirt, Katie made a mental note to talk to Dumbledore about the school uniforms. "Honestly, skirts? Even in the winter?"
Katie walked over to her bed, leaving her clothes in their messy piles on the floor, and undid her ponytail. She was two feet away from her bed when she spotted someone sitting by the lake outside.
"Oliver."
She really was too tired to go outside, but for a friend she'd do just about anything. But maybe Oliver was more than a friend?
Katie slowly walked up to the keeper, trying not to make a sound. His back faced to her, she could tell he was slightly shivering. Oliver was skipping, or rather, trying to skip stones on the frigid lake.
She mutely moved up to him and then swiftly covered his eyes with her hands. She felt him jump a bit in initial fright but then felt him ease up upon realizing whom the hands belonged to.
"Katie? What are you doing here?" Oliver asked as he pulled her hands away from his eyes.
"Oh, nothing just out for a stroll. Saw a friend incredibly bored and decided to help him out and give the poor bloke some company. You?"
Oliver didn't answer, he just silently smiled. She always made him smile. He picked up a smooth flat stone, flicked his wrist, and let the stone graze the surface of the tranquil lake. It only skipped twice before plopping down into the dark waters.
Katie picked up a stone as well, flicked her wrist, and did the same. Her's, however, skipped three times before 'kerplunking'.
Oliver turned, looked at Katie, and picked up yet another stone. One, two, three, four. It skipped four times before disappearing into the abyss. The stone from Katie's hand came next. One, two, three, four, five.
Oliver smiled. "You always beat me in everything Katie."
"What? Skipping a stone five times hardly counts as everything Oliver." She had no clue as to what the boy was on about.
"No, I mean you're a better student, a better Quidditch player, a better friend, and a better person."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I resent that Oliver." Katie had a serious look on her face. "So I get higher grades. It doesn't mean I'm any smarter than you. You're brilliant Oliver. The plays you come up with are amazing and they've never let us down. And me, a better Quidditch player? Do you use your eyes? You've let about 40 maybe 50 goals by in your 5 years of keeping. I'd say that's damn good! As for a better friend, well I do learn from the best."
Oliver simply couldn't wipe the grin off of his face. He needed that.
"Oh and what made you say or even think that I was a better person than you? Huh?"
"You're so easy to talk to, Katie. You always get along well with others and you always make the people around you smile."
"And I suppose you don't? And don't tell me you don't get along with Flint. He doesn't count. Besides there's this third year in Slytherin that I absolutely loathe! I'd die if you locked her with me in a room for more than a minute."
Oliver couldn't contain his laughter. He broke out in a small chuckle. "See, you make other's laugh. Your spirit is contagious. I'm just an obsessed guy that no one really knows."
"No one knows Oliver Wood? The Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Keeper? The student who has his very own fan club? That is the Oliver Wood no one knows?"
"Not like that Katie, I meant no one knows who I really am. What I like. What I don't like. Things like that. People know the real you and they like you for who you are not what you are."
"Yeah, there goes tedious tomboy Bell with simply Quidditch and school on her mind."
"That's not what people think about you, Katie. You're a beautiful person inside and out."
"Thanks, but I'm not exactly popular with the school's boys am I? Bet most of them don't even know I'm a girl or I exist outside of Quidditch." Katie sighed. "But I'm okay with that. You win some you lose some."
Oliver couldn't stand Katie putting herself down like that. Of course they noticed she was a girl. Fred noticed, George noticed, he noticed and he was sure others did too.
"So is that why you're really out here? Because you doubted yourself as a person?"
He wasn't doubting himself. He was simply stating the truth. Wasn't he? No, he wasn't.
"I s'pose so." How was it that she knew what he was feeling before he did? "I just really want Gryffindor to win that Cup. It's not a matter of winning because I am Captain. I just feel we've worked so hard and that we deserve to win. I don't know how to tell everyone to take this seriously without making them upset or making it seem all about me. We're a team. We need each other to do this and I just sorta hoped we all wanted the Cup as much as I did."
Katie nodded in understanding. "Oliver, I know for a fact that we all want this Cup and that we're willing to do anything for it, for each other, for the team."
"I just wonder whether or not McGonagall picked the right person to be Captain."
"Oliver stop! Of course she picked the right person. You're an amazing Captain and coach. Your parents are proud of you, the team's proud of you, the House is proud of you, and I'm proud of you."
The last bit mattered the most to him.
"I'm really lucky to have you as a friend, Katie."
"No, I'm the lucky one." Katie shifted herself so she was facing Oliver. "Oliver, do you remember when we were nine and we were catching fireflies in your backyard? We each had a glass jar and we were running around trying to capture the bugs."
Oliver smiled. "I remember. You caught more than me. I just wound up hurting the poor creatures with my big, clumsy hands."
"Well, I remember that time everyday. I remember thinking that I could do that forever. I was having fun with my best friend with not a care in the world. I really am the lucky one Oliver. I was new and you befriended me. To me that's something special; I know I could never lose you as a friend, Oliver."
Sitting there across from her was the boy she had known for almost ten years of her life. With his tie loosened around his neck and his shirt improperly tucked in, he sat there.
The only person who truly knew him and understood him was right there in front of him. She was his best friend. The person who knew everything about him.
"Thanks Katie, I really needed to hear that." Katie smiled and answered.
"No problem Oliver. I know you'd do the same." Oliver nodded and stood up. He held out his hand for Katie to accept, which she did, and the two walked back up to the castle.
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Ok you guys there's chapter seven. Hope it was up to par. I had initially written this and would have posted quite some time ago but then I came up with this idea and had to add in a few crucial yet small details-srry. I thank each and every one of those who reviewed. I'm incredibly happy that people are reading this. I'm not bombarded with things to do but I am juggling more than usual and I'm trying to manage my time. Hopefully I'm getting better. I'm trying to build up their relationship as friends so do forgive me for making them have their 'moment'. I think it should be something special and not something rushed into. So drop me a review and tell me how you like it or perhaps don't like it. Hope to see 100 there in bout a week. C'mon people make it happen! I believe in you-lol =D
"Pum pa pum!" Presenting the royal thankyou's in order of review appearance... Sunnyflower2005- Thanks for the compliment and yes you'll find out soon. kat6528- Thanks for reviewing and update soon. Fears-N-Jeers- Thanks for the motivation, hope you liked this. Gizelle- Hope this is better interaction-let me know and thanks. LilseckzieBaBeZ- Aw stop I'm blushing-thanks. peregrinestar- They've arrived-lemme know how u like it and thanks. RonWeasley2- Yes, he can make me cereal too- thanks for the review. Update! nevermind-Well I can't tell ya yet but stay tuned and thanks. Wiccan-One14- Mayebe fate's against you reading this, but I'm glad you overcame the forces of the Gods-thanks for reviewing. Update soon. grrbaby- Glad you liked it, lemme know bout this one-thanks. pokElilpupE- Ooo, I am so very much looking forward to see you write something, thanks a lot for reviewing. AshCarrol(aka Ollikat- Let's just say it was food poisoning, or was it? Hmm, thanks. I love your story!!! MadMadamMim-I still can't believe you're reading this. I love your reviews as well. Hope you liked this-thanks. Love your story!!! Elle-poohbear- Thanks a lot for reviewing and wishes will be revealed soon. elevencherry07-Hmm, does he, I dunno? Anywayz, thanks for reviewing. potterchica02- Thanks for the esteem-boost, hope you liked. CraPpLeb33- He is just too darn sweet! Gotta love him-thanks. magickEpoetry- Yay I wowed you, that's definitely good. I'm glad-thanks. amnesia- Erm, well, thanks for the compliment and hope you liked it. IEatGlue17- Let's just say it was food poisoning, or was it? Hmmm, thanks for the review-luv your fic. icegirl-kat- Hmm, new reviewer, yeah! Glad you liked it-thanks for reviewing. Cho-Look-Alike-You are soo kind for reviewing each chapter. I thank you soo much! Update soon-
~Right In Front of Your Eyes~
Disclaimer- Why state something so obvious? Read HP and then read this. You tell me what you think.
Chapter 7- A Little More Than Nothing
"Can you believe it's our last year here?" asked Alicia. "It was like yesterday we were first years!"
"Yeah, yeah Ali, we've been through this before. 'I can't believe we're seventh years! Ahhh!' " Angelina mocked. Alicia glared.
"You guys, be nice," Katie said, "Besides, we're gonna need all the help we can get. We've got N.E.W.T.s, which is enough alone, but we also have Quidditch. You know Oliver's gonna squeeze in every bit of practice he can manage."
"Not unless you talk some sense into the boy. He only listens to you," Angelina said, clearly implying something.
"Oh, really? Just like Fred does anything you say?" Alicia smiled while Katie waited for a reply to her question.
"No comment," Angelina uttered.
"I rest my case," Katie said with a look of victory on her face. The three continued eating their dinners amidst avid talking and friendly jeering. Towards the end of their meal, right about when the desserts popped up, Oliver and the twins came over.
"See you've come to join us," Alicia said.
"Well, Ron and Harry refused to try our mints so we figured you ladies may be interested." George said.
"Eat something you're handing us? Do you think we've gone mad?" Angelina asked.
"That's exactly what Ron said. You didn't hear us talking did you?" Fred inquired.
"Why? Did you say anything about us?" Alicia asked with interest.
"Of course not, why would we," George said. Alicia and Angelina glowered. Now that comment was either comforting or highly unflattering and clearly the two girls took it as highly unflattering.
Katie smiled at her friends; she simply could not grasp the fact that this was her last year at Hogwarts. This time next year she would be at a university or out hunting for a job. Slightly depressed by these thoughts, Katie failed to notice everyone rising to go their dorms. A few students lingered behind as Katie ventured up to the Gryffindor common room. Somewhere after the second changing staircase and the fifth corridor Katie lost her way.
"Left or right at the portrait of the Frolicking Friar? Umm, right." Leave it to Katie Bell to get lost on her way to the common room she's been going to for the past six years. " Which way from the Statue of the Silver Sphinx? Err, right again." This went on for quite a while, the changing staircases, moving pictures, and talking portraits didn't help the directionally challenged.
Katie walked on for a few more minutes after declaring herself completely lost. She had never set foot in this part of the castle before. The damp, cold, stone walls, the smooth shiny floor, and the gothic arches were all new to Katie. She decided to stay put in hopes that someone would chance to walk buy and help her out. A far away cackle told her Peeves was near. 'Some help he'll be.' She waited a bit longer.
A brief period of silence was broken. One, two, three, the footsteps grew louder. 'How cliché, a girl lost in a dark castle with footsteps approaching her. All I need is a raging storm outside.' The footsteps stopped. There was silence for a moment and then more footsteps. This time louder and less spaced apart.
Katie waited for the person to step out of the shadows into the shaft of moonlight. Normally, one would run away or ask, "Who's there?", but Katie just waited. At the worst it was Professor Snape.
Scratch that, at the worst it was Marcus Flint. And it was.
"Well, well if it isn't Miss Bell. So tell me Bell, what would a Gryffindor House Chaser be doing in this part of the castle?"
Katie stood stolid and didn't utter a word.
"No answer? Well, I'd have expected better manners from a Gryffindor." Flint inched closer.
In hopes of stopping him from moving any further, Katie spoke. "MR. Flint, would you be so kind as to tell me how to get to the Great Hall?" She would never trust him to give her the right answer but he stopped moving and that's all she wanted.
"Lost are we?" His lips curled into a malevolent smile. "All you do is go to the Fountain of the Frisky Fairy and then make a left. It's as simple as that." With his crude directions said, he inched closer to Katie once more.
"Left? Ok thanks Flint." Katie said as she edged out of his range. Katie was a few feet away from the Slytherin Captain when he called out to her.
"Bell! See you on the pitch!" She took in his words and continued shuffling towards the fountain. Maybe Flint had told the truth?
"Hey, Flint what took you so long?" Warrington asked. Flint, who had just stepped into the Slytherin Common Room, answered him.
"I stopped to have a chat with a certain Gryffindor."
"A Gryffindor?! Blimey, all you were supposed to do was get Diggory's playbook!"
"Relax Montague, I did. It's right here," Flint handed the Chaser a yellow and black book.
"So who was the Gryffie you had a 'chat' with?" Bole asked. The whole lot of the Slytherin team, except Malfoy, was in the Common Room waiting for Flint's return.
"Bell."
"Bell?" Derrick, the Beater, asked.
"Yes, Bell! Are you hard of hearing Derrick?"
"Well? What did you say to her?" Bletchley inquired.
"Nothing much. She was lost. She wanted to know how to get back to the Great Hall so I told her."
"You did give her the wrong directions, right?" Warrington questioned.
"No, I told her the right way."
"What?" All five of the players couldn't believe their ears.
"Why in Salazar's name did you do that?" Bole asked.
"Why in Voldemort's name are you asking me all these questions?" Flint yelled in anger. An interrogation was something he would rather pass.
He stomped off to the boy's dormitory stairs, but not before he retrieved the book from Montague's hands. Just before stepping out of view, Flint spoke. "Relax boys, it's just part of a plan I've got." He smiled maliciously and continued to the dorms.
***
"Rise and shine Katie! It's the morning of our first day of classes. Oh joyous day!"
"Drop the sarcasm Alicia, it's way too early."
"Actually it's pretty late. What time did you go to bed yesterday?"
"Umm, sometime around eleven. I was putting together a few Quidditch plays we could try out."
"That's great Katie, but you should ease up a bit on the Quidditch and concentrate on resting." Alicia said in a motherly tone. "You're just like Oliver. I bet he beat you though. I'm certain her stayed up till 12 doing plays of his own."
"Ok ok, I get it. Sleep first and Quidditch plays later."
"See that's all I'm asking. Now hurry up Katie we've got classes in an hour!"
***
"Can you believe Sprout gave us detention?" Fred asked.
"Yes, yes I can." Angelina spoke. "You two stole some Buboter Pus to put in one of your concoctions."
"Hey, I'm telling you one of these days our snack boxes will become big."
"No one's doubting you George," Angelina said, "But until then can you try to stay out of trouble?"
The twins looked questioningly at Angelina. "Okay, can you keep it to one detention a week?"
With smiles on their faces, the twins answered with a, "Yes, we most certainly can try that."
"Oi, where's Katie?" Alicia asked as she joined the trio. She had just returned from Ancient Runes.
"Dunno, she must still be in her astronomy class." Fred said.
"Tell me, how do they have an astronomy class during the day?" George asked.
"It was our first day, we didn't do much. She just told us the outline of what we will be learning this year."
"Katie, there you are," Alicia said.
"Hello Katie. Goodbye ladies." The twins said. "We've got to go tell Oliver that we can't make practice today. Isn't it a shame?"
Angelina and Alicia perked up. "No practice? Yes, what a shame." They all exchanged smiles except Katie. She had a feeling Oliver wouldn't feel the same way.
***
"Finished!" Katie had finally completed her essay for Potions. Leave it to Snape to give an assignment on the first day of classes, fourteen inches at that.
She lazily got up from her cozy spot on the couch and sauntered towards the girl's dormitory stairs. "Ack, I really need to stretch. My leg's all cramped up from sitting on that couch for two hours."
Katie trudged up the stairs and into her dorm room. She walked over to her bed and collapsed onto the scarlet duvet covers. "Mmm, so soft. It's quiet too. I think I'll take a well deserved nap."
Fred and George were out serving their detentions while Alicia and Angelina were in the Great Hall saving the twins some dinner. Katie traipsed over to the cherry wood bureau, pulled out a pair of corduroys and a hooded sweatshirt.
She undid her tie, pulled off her vest, and unbuttoned her blouse before pulling on her sweatshirt. Unfastening the clasp on her skirt, Katie made a mental note to talk to Dumbledore about the school uniforms. "Honestly, skirts? Even in the winter?"
Katie walked over to her bed, leaving her clothes in their messy piles on the floor, and undid her ponytail. She was two feet away from her bed when she spotted someone sitting by the lake outside.
"Oliver."
She really was too tired to go outside, but for a friend she'd do just about anything. But maybe Oliver was more than a friend?
Katie slowly walked up to the keeper, trying not to make a sound. His back faced to her, she could tell he was slightly shivering. Oliver was skipping, or rather, trying to skip stones on the frigid lake.
She mutely moved up to him and then swiftly covered his eyes with her hands. She felt him jump a bit in initial fright but then felt him ease up upon realizing whom the hands belonged to.
"Katie? What are you doing here?" Oliver asked as he pulled her hands away from his eyes.
"Oh, nothing just out for a stroll. Saw a friend incredibly bored and decided to help him out and give the poor bloke some company. You?"
Oliver didn't answer, he just silently smiled. She always made him smile. He picked up a smooth flat stone, flicked his wrist, and let the stone graze the surface of the tranquil lake. It only skipped twice before plopping down into the dark waters.
Katie picked up a stone as well, flicked her wrist, and did the same. Her's, however, skipped three times before 'kerplunking'.
Oliver turned, looked at Katie, and picked up yet another stone. One, two, three, four. It skipped four times before disappearing into the abyss. The stone from Katie's hand came next. One, two, three, four, five.
Oliver smiled. "You always beat me in everything Katie."
"What? Skipping a stone five times hardly counts as everything Oliver." She had no clue as to what the boy was on about.
"No, I mean you're a better student, a better Quidditch player, a better friend, and a better person."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I resent that Oliver." Katie had a serious look on her face. "So I get higher grades. It doesn't mean I'm any smarter than you. You're brilliant Oliver. The plays you come up with are amazing and they've never let us down. And me, a better Quidditch player? Do you use your eyes? You've let about 40 maybe 50 goals by in your 5 years of keeping. I'd say that's damn good! As for a better friend, well I do learn from the best."
Oliver simply couldn't wipe the grin off of his face. He needed that.
"Oh and what made you say or even think that I was a better person than you? Huh?"
"You're so easy to talk to, Katie. You always get along well with others and you always make the people around you smile."
"And I suppose you don't? And don't tell me you don't get along with Flint. He doesn't count. Besides there's this third year in Slytherin that I absolutely loathe! I'd die if you locked her with me in a room for more than a minute."
Oliver couldn't contain his laughter. He broke out in a small chuckle. "See, you make other's laugh. Your spirit is contagious. I'm just an obsessed guy that no one really knows."
"No one knows Oliver Wood? The Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and Keeper? The student who has his very own fan club? That is the Oliver Wood no one knows?"
"Not like that Katie, I meant no one knows who I really am. What I like. What I don't like. Things like that. People know the real you and they like you for who you are not what you are."
"Yeah, there goes tedious tomboy Bell with simply Quidditch and school on her mind."
"That's not what people think about you, Katie. You're a beautiful person inside and out."
"Thanks, but I'm not exactly popular with the school's boys am I? Bet most of them don't even know I'm a girl or I exist outside of Quidditch." Katie sighed. "But I'm okay with that. You win some you lose some."
Oliver couldn't stand Katie putting herself down like that. Of course they noticed she was a girl. Fred noticed, George noticed, he noticed and he was sure others did too.
"So is that why you're really out here? Because you doubted yourself as a person?"
He wasn't doubting himself. He was simply stating the truth. Wasn't he? No, he wasn't.
"I s'pose so." How was it that she knew what he was feeling before he did? "I just really want Gryffindor to win that Cup. It's not a matter of winning because I am Captain. I just feel we've worked so hard and that we deserve to win. I don't know how to tell everyone to take this seriously without making them upset or making it seem all about me. We're a team. We need each other to do this and I just sorta hoped we all wanted the Cup as much as I did."
Katie nodded in understanding. "Oliver, I know for a fact that we all want this Cup and that we're willing to do anything for it, for each other, for the team."
"I just wonder whether or not McGonagall picked the right person to be Captain."
"Oliver stop! Of course she picked the right person. You're an amazing Captain and coach. Your parents are proud of you, the team's proud of you, the House is proud of you, and I'm proud of you."
The last bit mattered the most to him.
"I'm really lucky to have you as a friend, Katie."
"No, I'm the lucky one." Katie shifted herself so she was facing Oliver. "Oliver, do you remember when we were nine and we were catching fireflies in your backyard? We each had a glass jar and we were running around trying to capture the bugs."
Oliver smiled. "I remember. You caught more than me. I just wound up hurting the poor creatures with my big, clumsy hands."
"Well, I remember that time everyday. I remember thinking that I could do that forever. I was having fun with my best friend with not a care in the world. I really am the lucky one Oliver. I was new and you befriended me. To me that's something special; I know I could never lose you as a friend, Oliver."
Sitting there across from her was the boy she had known for almost ten years of her life. With his tie loosened around his neck and his shirt improperly tucked in, he sat there.
The only person who truly knew him and understood him was right there in front of him. She was his best friend. The person who knew everything about him.
"Thanks Katie, I really needed to hear that." Katie smiled and answered.
"No problem Oliver. I know you'd do the same." Oliver nodded and stood up. He held out his hand for Katie to accept, which she did, and the two walked back up to the castle.
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Ok you guys there's chapter seven. Hope it was up to par. I had initially written this and would have posted quite some time ago but then I came up with this idea and had to add in a few crucial yet small details-srry. I thank each and every one of those who reviewed. I'm incredibly happy that people are reading this. I'm not bombarded with things to do but I am juggling more than usual and I'm trying to manage my time. Hopefully I'm getting better. I'm trying to build up their relationship as friends so do forgive me for making them have their 'moment'. I think it should be something special and not something rushed into. So drop me a review and tell me how you like it or perhaps don't like it. Hope to see 100 there in bout a week. C'mon people make it happen! I believe in you-lol =D
"Pum pa pum!" Presenting the royal thankyou's in order of review appearance... Sunnyflower2005- Thanks for the compliment and yes you'll find out soon. kat6528- Thanks for reviewing and update soon. Fears-N-Jeers- Thanks for the motivation, hope you liked this. Gizelle- Hope this is better interaction-let me know and thanks. LilseckzieBaBeZ- Aw stop I'm blushing-thanks. peregrinestar- They've arrived-lemme know how u like it and thanks. RonWeasley2- Yes, he can make me cereal too- thanks for the review. Update! nevermind-Well I can't tell ya yet but stay tuned and thanks. Wiccan-One14- Mayebe fate's against you reading this, but I'm glad you overcame the forces of the Gods-thanks for reviewing. Update soon. grrbaby- Glad you liked it, lemme know bout this one-thanks. pokElilpupE- Ooo, I am so very much looking forward to see you write something, thanks a lot for reviewing. AshCarrol(aka Ollikat- Let's just say it was food poisoning, or was it? Hmm, thanks. I love your story!!! MadMadamMim-I still can't believe you're reading this. I love your reviews as well. Hope you liked this-thanks. Love your story!!! Elle-poohbear- Thanks a lot for reviewing and wishes will be revealed soon. elevencherry07-Hmm, does he, I dunno? Anywayz, thanks for reviewing. potterchica02- Thanks for the esteem-boost, hope you liked. CraPpLeb33- He is just too darn sweet! Gotta love him-thanks. magickEpoetry- Yay I wowed you, that's definitely good. I'm glad-thanks. amnesia- Erm, well, thanks for the compliment and hope you liked it. IEatGlue17- Let's just say it was food poisoning, or was it? Hmmm, thanks for the review-luv your fic. icegirl-kat- Hmm, new reviewer, yeah! Glad you liked it-thanks for reviewing. Cho-Look-Alike-You are soo kind for reviewing each chapter. I thank you soo much! Update soon-