You guys all rule! And yes, I understand how much you want Oliver to go streaking…………. Well, read on. Anyway, this is it. The last one, the end, the goodbye, so long farewell. I must say I am extremely sad to be ending this. I'm really proud of this story and it probably is my best yet, in my opinion. I never would have been able to continue this without the motivation from all of you and I can't say how thankful I am. I still can't believe all of the fabulous feedback I got! Ok, enough with the mushy crap. So, without further ado, I give you the last chapter of Remind Me How To Fly.
"On my way to a better life, one with you. This is something I've always wanted to do. I'll fly free, if I fall, I know you're there to catch me."
"I can't believe it," Katie said as she and Oliver walked home. "Angie's pregnant."
"Maybe it will make Fred mature a little," Oliver said.
"Yeah right," Katie laughed. "Fred Weasley, mature? But you know, it does seem as if everyone has grown up a bit. I mean, Fred and Angie are married and are going to have a baby, Alicia and George are engaged, it just seems like everything has settled into place." A silence settled between them and she sighed. "I don't want to be old."
"You're not old," Oliver laughed, taking her hand.
"Well, I'm going to be soon."
"Katie, you're only 22," Oliver reminded her. "I would hardly consider that old. And besides, even when you are old, you'll still be beautiful."
"So I'll be a beautiful old woman?"
"Yes, but you won't be old for a while. So for now, you're a beautiful young woman."
"Yay," Katie said, hugging him.
As they continued to walk home with light conversation, fluffy white snowflakes softly began to fall. Katie gasped and stopped walking, catching them in her hand. "It's so pretty," she said softly.
"Not nearly as pretty as you," Oliver whispered. Katie laughed and began catching the snowflakes on her tongue. "You know how they say no two snowflakes are ever alike?" Oliver asked her.
"Mmm hmm."
"Well, I think the same thing goes for people too. I mean, I know that everybody's different, but I never really actually thought about it," he told her. "But I know that there's absolutely no one like you in the world." He smiled and kissed her. "Because, you are amazing."
"You're just saying that because I let you eat my cookies."
"Maybe," Oliver laughed. "Maybe."
"Hey!" Katie suddenly exclaimed. "Let's race back home."
"Race?"
"Yeah, it's only about half a block away. Loser goes streaking."
"Streaking?!"
Katie smiled mischievously. "C'mon, Ol, you know you'll probably win so why don't you seize the opportunity?"
"I'm not turning your offer down," Oliver grinning.
"Good," Katie said. She pushed him aside and took off running. Needless to say, she won, much to Oliver's dismay.
"Look at this!" Angelina gasped. "It's adorable! Oh, we have to get it!" She showed Katie a pink baby blanket and then hurried off to find Fred, who was looking nauseous.
"Why is everything in this store pink or baby blue?" he muttered to Oliver, who shrugged. "Wait, why did we have to come anyway? These women are lunatics."
"Angie, look at this!" Alicia squealed, holding up a small blue outfit. "No wait, look at this! Ooh, look at these little shoes!"
"Alicia," George whined. "Can we leave?"
"No!"
"Katie," Oliver whined. "Can we leave?"
"No!"
The men sighed. "Why must we be attracted to them?" George complained.
"I don't know," Fred sighed. "Speaking of, how are things between you and Miss Bell, Wood?"
"Fine," Oliver replied.
"Fine meaning, fine, or fine meaning, absolutely brilliant, she's amazing in bed, and I'm going to propose to her."
Oliver looked up quickly and gave him a sharp look. "Who told you that?" he asked, dropping his voice.
Fred shrugged, grinning slyly. "We have our ways, don't we dearest brother?" George nodded.
"You won't say anything, will you?" Oliver begged.
"What kind of people do you think we are?" Fred asked in a false hurt tone. "But here's a little advice, avoid the traditional "take her out to dinner and ask her there" thing. Angie and I saw a poor bloke do it and get turned down because his lady claimed she wanted a 'real' proposal."
"Don't worry," Oliver assured. "I already know how I'm going to ask her."
"How?"
"Like I'd tell you?" Oliver shook his head. "You'll have to find out later. No doubt Katie will end up telling Angelina and Alicia, who will go on and on about it to the two of you."
"Fine, keep us in suspense," George said dramatically. "After all we've done for you."
"You mean torturing me for 3 years straight while all I was trying to do was win Gryffindor the quidditch cup?"
"We were only doing it for your own good," Fred said. "We were trying to toughen you up."
"I didn't need 'toughened up.'"
"Well, we figured it'd do you some good," George said. "But, we realized it only made you worse. I remember that time we practiced until 3 in the morning and you got us all up at 6 the next day."
"Remember Katie and Angie each threw tantrums and chased you around the pitch, trying to beat you with their broomsticks?"
"How could I forget?" Oliver asked. "Angelina gave me a black eye and Katie tackled me, nearly breaking my ankle."
"Hey, Fred!" Angelina's voice called from across the shop. "What about this?"
"Yeah, sure, it's fine," Fred said distractedly.
"How much longer is this going to go on?" George complained.
"Hey, why don't we go hang out in the shop?" Fred suggested. "We still have the back shelves to stock anyway."
"What do you say, Wood?"
Oliver sighed. "Anything's better than this," he said. They turned around to see the women squealing over another blanket and slipped out of the shop.
"So Angie," Katie said, eyeing a small blue suit. "Have any names picked out?"
Angelina shook her head. "We don't even know if it's a boy or girl," she said.
"Or both," Alicia added.
"Yes, or both," Angelina agreed. "But seriously, can we stop talking about me?"
Katie and Alicia's jaws dropped. "Am I hearing her right?" Alicia asked Katie. "Did she just say she doesn't want to talk about herself?"
"Yeah," Katie said. "Angelina Weasley, the most conceited woman we know."
"Shut up," Angelina said, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, Katie, how are things really going?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe between you and a certain sexy Puddlemere United Keeper?"
"Fine," Katie said, trying to sound simple.
"It doesn't look fine," Alicia said, sharing a smile with Angelina. "It looks more than fine."
"Well, let me see," Katie said. "I'm Chaser for the Puddlemere United pro-quidditch team, my once bitch of a sister is actually being nice to me, I'm making tons of money that I don't even need, oh, and I'm completely in love with my boyfriend. Yeah, things are all right."
"Hey!" Angelina said. "Where'd they go?"
Oliver lay in bed, almost half asleep, when the door creaked open and a figure clad in bright blue blankets moved through the dark and stood next to his bed. "No!" Oliver shouted. "No! It's going to rape me!"
Katie threw the blanket off and laughed. "Don't you wish?" She jumped onto the bed and pulled the covers over herself. "I can't sleep," she said.
"Why not?"
"Too much coffee."
"Figures."
"I even tried counting quaffles. It didn't work."
"Ah, what a shame."
A silence settled between them and Katie cuddled up against him. "Angie and Fred are going to be great parents," she said. "And Alicia and George are going to be really happy."
"Not nearly as happy as I am," Oliver said.
Katie smiled. "I love you."
Oliver grinned and kissed her. "I love you too."
There you go. The final chapter. Was it good? OK, OK, I know it didn't exactly end with a bang, but don't worry, the epilogue will be arriving shortly. And yes, it will be the chapter that you all have been dying for. OK, once again, thank you SO MUCH to anyone and everyone who read and reviewed. You guys all are awesome! I'm so sad to be finishing this, but ::insert drumroll:: there will be a sequel! ::insert your gasps and noises of excitement here:: It won't exactly be Katie and Oliver, but they will be making plenty of appearances. It actually, will be about their son. (Mello80-I swear you read my mind when you guessed that was what I was gonna do.) OK, I'll make you a deal: you review and I'll give you the summary. How's that sound? OK, here goes:
Andrew Wood, Katie and Oliver's son, is about to enter his 4th year at Hogwarts. Then he meets the new girl-pretty, popular, and perfect Jenna Davies. But, what about his best friend, Anna Weasley? Hate, lies, secrets, deceit—falling in love is tough.
Also, after I finally, eventually finish Walking on Broken Glass, look for another Katie/Oliver post-Hogwarts fic. It won't be as simple as this one and will have just a tad more angst. It'll be up as soon as everything else settles down.
The epilogue will be making an appearance soon, so make sure you check it out. After all, it's pretty much the real ending. And for about the 3rd time, thanks SO MUCH to everyone who supported this story.
Hugs, anarchy, and a chocolate-covered Oliver,
Stephanie
