Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Katie Bell has been alone for the last four years. After the wedding of her best friend, she heads to the Leakey Cauldron. After she gets drunk, will she make some mistakes that she'll regret later? Oliver Wood/Katie Bell
Disclaimer: Don't you guys already know that I don't own Harry Potter?? Why would J.K. Rowling be writing about Katie and Oliver, when she could be working on the sixth book???? HUH??
Author's Note: Hah, sorry that took so long people. I was reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix you know! (Greatest book so far! Loved it, loved it, loved it!) So of course, I have a slight spoiler in this chapter for OotP. Nothing huge, like who dies or whatnot, but a very slight spoiler. (Let's see how many people can spot it!) Actually if you read it over, I think the people who haven't read OotP yet, (BAD HARRY POTTER FANS!) won't even notice really...they'll just think it's something I've made up...
Chapter Ten: Made of Glass
"Guess what?"
I looked up from a case that had been weighing on my mind for a couple days. I stared at Ron, who was looking like a little kid that had found the Christmas presents that had been hiding in the dryer, only two weeks from Christmas. I laid my quill down and pretend to ponder his question. "I'm guessing you just interrupted a pregnant woman, who is liable to go off at any point in time, and she can blame anything, including murder, on her out-of-wack hormones." I said. I grinned a fake smile at him. "Am I close?" I asked sweetly.
"You know, normally, I'd be insulted, Katie." Ron said, coming into my office, and sitting down in the chair that was in front of my desk, looking happy he was annoying me.
Yes, I finally got my own office! Only the Junior Officers (such as as the ever-annoying Ron) have cubicles. I got my office two days after my promotion, and this being the third day after my promotion, so it was still a bloody mess. The walls I had just charmed to be a light blue color, a tad lighter than my eye color, and the window behind me, was like Kevin's office, had a window that took up the entire wall. But usually my back was to the window, so I didn't enjoy the view as much as I would have liked to. I had been in the process of putting up framed pictures of me, Alicia, Angelina, Fred, George, Harry and Oliver (yes, the old Quidditch team at Hogwarts.) and some others from Alicia's wedding, and my parents and several other sentimental things when I had a sudden urge to get that damn case done, so I had sat down, and that is when the candidate for "Most-Annoying-Junior-Officer of The Year" had show up at my door.
"But today," he continued, "I'm too happy to hex you." Ron said, with a huge smile, and he put his arms behind his head, in a happy gesture. It was almost enough to make my morning sickness return.
"You'd be too scared of me taking away your ability to procreate if you were to hex me." I muttered under my breath, scribbling a note on the parchment to have a chat with Morgan Greene, the surveying officer on the scene to get his comments on what happened.
"What did you say?" Ron inquired earnestly.
"Nothing." I said under my breath. As Ron stared at me for a good thirty seconds, I began to wonder why I had befriended him in the first place. I put my quill down gently and looked at him. "What?!" I cried exasperated.
"I just asked Cassidy out!" Ron burst like a balloon, looking proud. "And she said yes!"
My mouth fell open and I felt light headed. "Are you playing with me Ron?" I said in hushed tone. "Because I'm not in the mood for your tricks today of all days."
"No, I'm dead serious." Ron said, looking almost as excited as the day the Chudley Cannons had actually won a game. (Personally, I think the other team felt sorry for them, since they hadn't won the League since the 1800s and let them win.) But on that day, he had run around the office, dancing in his Chudley Cannon's hat and shouting at the top of his lungs. "I've been wanting to ask her out for a couple months now, but I was always scared she would turn me down, but Mya convinced me."
I choked on my tea that I was trying to drink to clear my head from the ridiculous notion of Ron asking Cassidy out. "Excuse me, did you just say Mya, convinced you?" What on EARTH had possessed her?
"She said that if I really liked Cassidy, then I should take the risk and ask her. If she said no, then it wasn't meant to be. But Mya said that she didn't think that Cassidy would say no! Isn't that great?"
Ron was looking for my approval? Wasn't I the one that was suck with two kids on the way, with no father present so far? I was not the great Goddess of Love here!
"Great..." I repeated mindlessly. It felt like my mind had been ransacked, and I couldn't move at all. Ron and Cassidy?! Those two barely have anything in common...Except they work in the same building, but that's hardly grounds to begin dating someone. Ron should know better than to date someone that has the nickname "Ice Queen" in the girl's locker room...
But then again, I don't think Ron has been in the girl's locker room.
Oh who am I kidding? This is RON I'm talking about.
"Well, I just wanted to let you in, you know...tell you the good news and everything." Ron said, looking slightly put out. He stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and made to leave.
"Wait!" I exclaimed, my brain finally realizing the horrible truth. "When's the date?" I said, trying desperately to look happy for him.
Ron turned around and gave me a grateful smile.
"Friday... In two days." And with that, he opened the door and left, leaving me to stare and wonder.
What in Gaia's name was Hermione thinking??!!
*+*
Where the heck was my tea kettle?
All my stuff, excluding the necessities, were already packed up in boxes. But finding the necessities was a whole other, difficult story. It was nearly impossible to find anything in the maze of boxes that were around my flat. I didn't even know I owned this much stuff.
"Come here, kettle, kettle, kettle..." I said in a sing-song sort of voice. "Where are yooou?" I peered underneath the table in my kitchen, searching with my hand to find it.
"Who are you talking to Katie?"
I started at the sound of someone's voice, jerking my head upwards and hitting it sharply on the bottom of the table. "Ouch!" I cried out, my vision going black for a second, before everything came back into view. "Jeez!" I crawled out backwards from the table to look at my fireplace to see Hermione's head looking at me strangely.
"What were you doing?" Hermione's head was on the verge of laughing.
"Searching for the Holy Grail." I said sarcastically. When Hermione's head gave me a dirty look, I sighed. "I'm searching for my tea kettle. But I'll forgo my expedition for a bit. What's up Mya?"
Hermione's head bit her lip. "Do you mind if I pop around your flat for a while? I don't want to be on my knees, sticking my head in the fire all night."
"Sure." I said, shrugging my shoulders. "I'm not doing anything anyways. Come over."
"See you in about ten seconds." Hermione said, and her head disappeared from my fire with a small 'pop'. I heard another small pop about five seconds later outside my door, and I heard her knock twice.
I walked over to my front door (jumping over several piles of boxes in the process) and opened my door to an upset looking Hermione. "Why don't you just Apperate into my flat, Mya?" I asked as I opened the door further to let her in. I must have looked a terrible mess, while Hermione looked like she had walked out of a fashion magazine. Her hair was twisted up in an elegant on the back of her head, and some wisps of hair hung dangerously close to her eyes. Her normally shining brown eyes looked dully at me.
"I just think it's rude to Apperate into someone's flat with no warning." Hermione said simply as she walked into my flat and nearly tripped over a small box that contained some cooking supplies, including my tea kettle.
"Mr. Tea Kettle!' I exclaimed. "Yes! You found it, Mya!" I picked up the tea kettle and hugged it. I noticed Hermione staring at me intently, and I let go of my tea kettle slowly. "Okay...erm, well I'll make some tea eh?" I laughed nervously and Hermione gave me a very strange grin. I turned on my heel and worked my way towards the kitchen.
I set the tea kettle on the stove and lighted it. As it started to warm up, I sat down next to the table next to Hermione. "So spill." I said. "I know you didn't come over here to discuss the weather."
Hermione sighed. "I don't know how to phrase this...but..." She took a shaky breath, and gave me a pleading look. "You've got to make sure this isn't reviled to anyone, Katie, please promise me that!"
"Alright already, I promise." I said, but as soon as Hermione opened her mouth to speak, the kettle started to whistle. I frowned and held up my index finger to Hermione. "Hold that thought, Mya, okay?" I hurried to get the tea and I looked at Hermione over the kitchen counter. I wondered what was eating at her. She looked a horrid mess.
I set a cup of raspberry tea with a touch of honey (any tea goes well with honey.) in front of Hermione and she smiled gratefully up at me. "Okay, now continue." I said, sitting down, and I ran my hand along my stomach as I took a slip of tea, smiling at how well I had made it this time. (Isn't lil' Katie modest eh?)
"Katie..." Hermione took a deep breath, and I could tell that she was drawing up every ounce of courage and might in her Gryffindor body to say whatever she was going to say. "Katie...I think I might...have feelings for Ron." She said the last four words in a rush, almost in a hurry to get them out of her mouth.
I smiled and nodded. "I've known that for a while, Mya."
Hermione looked astonished. "What? You could tell? Does Ron know? What did he say?" The questions were rapid fire out of her mouth and I was taken aback.
"Whoa, hold on, Mya." I said, holding one of my hands up as I took another sip of tea. I swallowed and opened my mouth. "One question at a time. Yes I could tell, No Ron doesn't know."
"Was it that obvious?" Hermione asked, sinking back into the wooden chair, looking only slightly panicky.
"Just to the female species." I said gently. "Guys haven't the slightest...well, maybe Harry...Ginny's training him."
Hermione snorted, and looked away from me, staring at a carton that was labeled, Kneazle Cleaning Supplies. Don't ask.
"So...what prompted this cleanse of the spirit?" I asked her.
Hermione sighed and looked at me. "I think I've known for a while that I've liked Ron as more than just a friend...Quite possible from our school years..."
"Yes, I seem to remember those Lover Quarrels..." I said fondly, pressing a hand to my heart.
"Shut it." Hermione said, flushing. "But anyways, Ron came up to me two days ago and told me that there was a girl he liked and he wasn't sure if he should ask her out, because he was nervous that she'd say no. And insanity decided to take over my brain at that moment, and I thought he was talking about me... So I told him what I thought he should do, and then the next thing I know, he's telling me that Cassidy said yes, and they're going out."
"Oh baby..." I said softly. I winced. I think every girl's made that mistake, and more will. "Okay, Mya." She was looking at her knees, clasping the china cup in her hands, her knuckles white. I was half-afraid the glass would shatter from her tight grip. "It's painful to go through something like this. I've done it. My second year, Roger Davies was being all nice to me and wonderful and I thought he could walk on water."
"What happened?" Hermione asked breathlessly.
"Turns out he wanted to date my best friend, Alicia." I said off-handedly. "But the point is that it's painful. But look at me, I got through it. I'm still living and happy. Men aren't everything...true they are a lot, but they aren't everything." Hermione gave me a small smile. "Look, Cassidy is a Barbie-Doll Bitch, and Ron will see that. I've seen the way he looks at you, he cares deeply for you, I know he does, as much as he tries to deny it."
Hermione gave me a look out of the corner of her eyes. "Do you think so?"
I gave her a look right back. "I could be a really good friend right now and say he's fallen in love with you and wants to go out with you this very instant, but he's a guy and he hasn't realized his true feelings yet. But I'm going to be a better friend here and tell you that it's Ron we're dealing with. He always has to make a couple mistakes before realizing what's good for him. Don't you remember in fifth year when he became Keeper for Gryffindor? He was terrible! Then he came through for us in the very last game of the season."
Hermione grinned. "He never let us forget Weasley is our King song after that game."
I took a sip of tea. "Malfoy was hitting himself 'round the head for making that song up in the first place after that match against Ravenclaw. I could have sworn him trying to convince that lump Crabbe to punch him..." We both laughed.
"Well, Mya." I said after we had stopped our laughing, our tea now vanished from our cups. "Just give it time. I do know this. Ron cares about you. If he doesn't see it, that's his issue and you'll find someone better."
Hermione nodded sadly. "Hey." I said. "You'll never get him if you're depressed all the time girl!"
Hermione gave me a small smile and she Disapperated out of the chair with a pop and I was stuck looking dumbly at an empty chair.
Maybe I am the Goddess of Love...
No way. I leave that up to the people that have time to listen to other's love lives. I've got enough issues in mine.
*+*
The next day was Saturday, but I had to come into work anyways. I didn't have paperwork, but I needed to shape up for some training checks that were going to happen at the end of the month. Some Ministry officials would dress up as Dark Wizards and cause magical mayhem for a while to see if our skills were up to date. Even though You-Know-Who had been killed, nearly two years ago, there are still some Death Eater's that are still fighting hard in the name of their former master. Many are still in hiding. The Ministry thought that actually getting out there and fighting them would be better than just giving us a test on paper in our office's, since, well...that doesn't do squat to test our abilities in the field. I hadn't been up to scratch in the last test and they had told me to work on my martial arts. (My wand had been expelled from my hand and I had to fight one-on-one with a Ministry official which I had eventually lost.)
I changed into my workout clothes, a pair of spandex shorts (can you say eurk?) and a black skin tight top, that didn't quite conceal my budging belly. I pulled my hair that had been growing over the last couple months, and that now reached a little past my shoulder blades into a neat ponytail. I grabbed my wand from my robes and then I reached for my gym bag that mostly contained water and my sparring stuff. I tucked my wand neatly into one of my gym bag's empty compartment and I left my office.
I saw out of the corner of my eye that I wasn't the only one that had come in early. Ron was at his cubicle, working rather diligently at his work. I walked over to his cubicle and leaned over the wall. "Boo." I said with a grin.
Ron faked a surprised face. "You scared me, Katie." He said with no conviction at all. "So whadda doing here this early?"
"I could ask you the same thing, since you had a date last night." I said with a furtive smile.
"You could...but getting an answer is another story." Ron said. "And I asked you first."
"I need to work on some martial arts techniques." I said. "I'm heading down to the gym to work in the Wizard Boxes. Do you want to come with?"
"Sure." Ron said. "I was never much good in the morning with paperwork. You'd think I would be after seven years of doing my homework at breakfast at Hogwarts."
I snorted. "I'll meet you down there, give you some time to change." I called over my shoulder as I headed down the stairs.
I was in the middle of putting on my foot protectors when Ron came into the room. His eyes widened at the sight of them. "What's wrong Ron?" I asked, bewildered at his expression.
"You don't expect me to fight you, do you?" Ron asked, looking at me as though I had accidentally lost my mind in a sewer. Then I saw his glaze dropped down to my stomach and then back up to my eyes.
I gave Ron a toned down Katie-Bell-Death-Glare. "Ron. I'm pregnant. Not made of glass. Besides." I picked up my wand and pointed it at my stomach. "Protego." I said softly. "There. There's a Shield Charm on my stomach. You can't hurt the babies."
Ron bit his lip. "Now you realize just because you're pregnant doesn't mean I have to go easy on you, right?"
I nodded swiftly. "I'm counting on it."
Ron shrugged and we stepped into a Wizard Box, and we were suddenly in the middle of a street at night, only a few lamps on. I took up a stance on one side of the box. I closed my eyes, trying to focus. I could hear a drip of water from the sewer below. I felt a dry breeze play with the hair that curled at the back of my neck, and I heard Ron's shallow breathing. Suddenly, a rustle of clothes and I felt Ron attack. I opened my eyes to block his punch to my face.
"Hah, not so fast, are you, Ron?" I laughed.
"This fight is only beginning." Ron said, circling me. "You do remember that I've beat you in every other fight, correct?"
"Don't get so cocky." I said, and I jumped into the air and hit his chest with a jumping front kick, leaving him breathless. "You're holding back on me, Ronald." I said, knowing he couldn't see my grin. He hated it when I used his full name.
"Really?" Ron asked me, and I could feel his confidence grow, and I was attacked suddenly by his hands and feet.
I couldn't see him clearly, and I felt my arm connect his his shin bone and I knocked it away from my head where it was headed it a second before. I heard the slap of his feet on the ground, I knew he had launched himself in the air, and I leaned back, feeling his foot miss my head by an inch, and I heard saw him land again, and saw him trying and land another punch on the side of my face. I deflected it with a high block, and I punched his gut. "You've got to make sure not to only attack, Ron." I said softly, trying to open my eyes wide as possible, so that even the tiniest bit of light could be seen.
Ron didn't answer me, but I felt him kick the side of my head with a solid roundhouse kick. I was pushed to the side and I groaned softly. I turned my head up to see Ron coming up to kick again, and I moved out of the way so that he only got air. "It takes twice as much energy to hit and miss than to hit." I muttered under my breath the saying Darryl had said so many times to me.
"What?" Ron asked, hearing my mutter.
"Nothing!" I turned around fast, crouching down and swinging my legs out to try and trip him, but he jumped effortlessly over my legs. "So," I asked, as we circled each other. "How did your date go last night?"
"Wonderfully." grunted Ron, and I ducked and I felt winded above my head as his leg went flying over my body and I jumped up to hit him in the chest with a perfectly executed jumping front kick and I managed to land a punch before he recovered. "We went to..." Kick to my legs, I deflected it, but had to move to the sides. "A sweet French restaurant, ow! Katie!"
"Oops..." I said, laughing. I had got him a little too close to his groin area. "Sorry, Ron!" I laughed and I threw a couple punches, he deflected most of them.
"Anyways." We had started to circle each other again. "I can't even pronounce the name. Cassidy was gorgeous..." I could just see him getting that dreamy look on his face.
"Oh make me get morning sickness again." I muttered under my breath. I feigned right and as I felt Ron come towards me, I brought my leg up to hit him, but he caught it and flipped me onto the ground.
"What was that?"
"You need your hearing checked, you know that right?" I said, sweeping my feet under him and he fell over as well, and I clambered to my feet. I took a stance as I waited for Ron to get up and kicked him in the shoulder, and he landed a couple good punches on me. "So what did you do then?" I asked, as I feigned left this time and he jerked.
"We went to see one of those things...you know, that Muggle invention with the huge screen, and the photographs actually move and make sounds..."
"It's called a movie, Ron."
"Oh."
"Uh-huh!" I said, and I kicked my leg over in a high crescent kick, but Ron ducked, and did a hook kick to my side. "Nice!" I exclaimed, holding my side tightly, pain shooting across my right side.
"Thank you." Ron said brightly.
I responded by hitting him with a spear hand to the side of his head. He recoiled, holding his cheek. "So did anything else happen?" I asked, taking up a stance again, using my hands in fists near my face. I heard Ron splash in a puddle on the ground to my right and I ducked left, avoiding his kick and hitting him the stomach. Ron didn't realize I had to the upper hand in this fight. I had been practicing more with Darryl.
"Nothing much. I took her home..." He attempted another punch, but missed. "We kissed, you know, the usual."
"You didn't sleep with her?" I pretended to gasp. "Ron, you're slowing down in your old age!"
"Sod off." Ron said, throwing a punch which actually hit me on the cheek this time. I recoiled and attempted to fight off his other punches. "Not everyone gets it on after one date."
"Well...ah no, it's too easy." I grunted and I did a spinning hook kick, smacking Ron on the side of his face, and while he grabbed his face, I ducked down to sweep my feet under him, but he jumped up, tucking his legs under himself, and my legs hit air.
"Good try, Katie." Ron said and I didn't need to see that a grin was dominating his facial features.
"Oh bite me." I said dryly as I got back up from my position on the floor.
"That can be arranged."
"Oh die."
"Maybe later." Ron said. He threw a punch near my eyes, but I jumped up, kicking his fist away from me and I landed wrong on my ankle.
"Ouch!" I cried out, but I regretted it.
"Oh shit." Ron muttered. "Katie, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said through clenched teeth.
"Maybe we should stop." Ron said, coming up next to me.
"No freakin' way." I said, bringing up my leg to kick Ron in the side. "I told you, I'm not made of glass, Ron. In the field, the Enemy doesn't tell you that you need a time out because you're pregnant!" I grunted and punched him twice, the second one he deflected.
"Wow, I don't want to see what happens to your kids when they get in trouble." Ron said, ducking the third punch at his face.
While Ron was ducking the punch, I brought my leg to kick him in the side, receiving a sharp pain in my ankle at the same time. Ron groaned, and I elbowed him in the back, and he fell to the ground, and I brought my legs over him so that he was lying on his back, with his hands secure behind him.
The dingy street disappeared, leaving both Ron and myself inside a blindingly white box. I let Ron up, who was wincing in pain and grimy, and I didn't suppose I looked any better than he did. "The round has been completed." A pretty airy voice echoed throughout the box. "Please exit, or if you wish for another round, say Continious."
Ron shook his head at me. I, myself, didn't feel up for another round. They always constantly tell us not to talk during the fights, but personally think that builds up your lung capacity. Darryl and I have had great conversations on that. Ron and I walked out of the Wizard Box together in silence.
"I beat you, Ron, fair and square." I said proudly after about five seconds of silence. There were the clinks of the weight machines being used. We had obviously been in the Wizard Box for a while, since more people had come in, even if it was a Saturday.
Ron gave me a look and headed off the boy's locker room, while I laughed and headed to the girl's one.
I took a short shower, trying to get all the sweat and grim off of my body. I had to wash my hair nearly three times to get it to feel soft again. It took me nearly ten minutes to get dressed and then walk back up to the Department of Magical Catastrophes. Ron was already there, his hair was wet, and the back of his shirt, near the neck line was wet as well, telling me that he hadn't though to dry his hair properly.
"You do know that you owe me a nice Latte, right?" I said with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah." Ron muttered under his breath, shaking his head, and drenching me with droplets of water.
"You know, you could just use a simple Drying Charm on your hair, right?" I asked him.
"Nah." Ron told me, scribbling something on the case file he was working on. "Wet hair is good for two reasons. Keep the back of my neck cool, and it annoys people when I get them wet."
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Ron was just a little kid at heart, after all these years. I bit my lip and blurted out the question that I had been wanting to ask him since he had busted into my office a five days earlier. "Why are you going out with Cassidy, Ron?"
Ron looked up at me, taken aback by my sudden question. "Why?" He asked suspiciously.
"Well, I dunno." I said slowly. I didn't want Ron to use the infamous Weasley Temper on me. I've seen Harry at the wrong end of it, from both Ron and Ginny... "I just suppose, I don't think that...well...Cassidy, is your type."
"Not my type?" Ron repeated. I cringed. It's not really until after you say something, you realize how pathetically lame, stupid or insulting it sounds. "You don't think I'm the kind of guy that gets the gorgeous blonde, do you Katie?"
"What?" I exclaimed, now feeling like Ron was attacking me the same way he did in the Wizard Box, but this time with his words. "When the hell did I say that?"
"You don't need to." Ron said in a deep voice, with no emotion. "I see how people look at me now. They wonder how a Junior-Officer is going out with the most beautiful woman in the Ministry. Cassidy much more than a pretty face though. She's smart, funny, generous, talented, talkative..."
"Oh, I've had enough." I said, exasperated, and I escaped to my office, closing the door behind me.
With my back up against the wall, my mind could only think of one thing. All the words that Ron had used to describe Cassidy, it sounded more like he was describing Hermione...
Author Note: (yes another one...) Oh, sorry you guys for not having an Oliver filled chapter...*sob sob* I know, I miss him too. Desperately. Many of you fine reviewers have asked me whether Oliver is going to find out about the twins, and if he's going to be mad. This I can tell you. Yes he will find out, and yes he will be severely ticked off at Katie for not telling him. I hope you liked this chapter, for putting some Ron and Hermione stuff on the side. It needed some side plots...heh heh heh.
And also, five house points to the people that can point out where the OotP comes into play in this chapter...rather easy if you ask me!