Disclaimer: sigh I own very little, and among those things is not Harry Potter.

Odd little thought I had last night while I was rereading Order of the Phoenix again.

Lost But Not Forgotten

Many innocent people were killed during the final battle with Voldemort. Among them was Puddlemere United's star Keeper, Oliver Wood. Today's tale is told by one of Oliver's close friends to a London-based freelancer seven years after the tragedy occurred. This is her story.

By Julia Longbottom

I'm always looking for materials for stories, and the final battle, though horrible beyond normal degrees of comprehension, provides me with the materials I need, even after seven years. Today, I am on my way to Glasgow, Scotland to talk to one of Oliver Wood's good acquaintances, Angelina Johnson. I arrived at a small village and quickly found Angelina's house, where we would spend the next few hours discussing the finer and not so fine points of Wood's life, especially when it came to schooling at Hogwarts.

Julia: So, I understand you attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with Mr. Oliver Wood. Am I correct?

Angelina: (nods) Yes, he was a third year when I was a first, not to mention Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Julia: Which you were on as well, correct?

Angelina: Yes, I was a Chaser, Oliver, Keeper.

Julia: And was he good at what he did?

Angelina: 'Good' doesn't even begin to cover it. He always knew exactly what to do and had no problems telling the rest of us when he felt we were doing something wrong.

Julia: He seems to me to be a bit full of himself. Am I correct in that assumption?

Angelina: No, not at all. Oliver may have been a bit obsessed with Quidditch, but he wasn't arrogant in the slightest. You wouldn't be saying that if you had seen the way he bawled after we won the Quidditch Cup his seventh year.

Julia: Ah, I see. The emotional type, huh? And what about off the pitch? Was he as good as they all say?

Angelina: Well, seeing as how I don't know what they all say, I wouldn't be able to tell you. I can tell you what I know, however, and that is that you'll never meet a person more kind, generous, caring, or handsome than Oliver Wood.

Julia: Hmm, sounds like you're a bit infatuated with him. Is this true?

Angelina: Yes, very much so. Even since I first layed eyes on him during the Sorting, I wanted nothing more than to make him happy, no matter what the cost.

Julia: So you joined the Quidditch team.

Angelina: Right. Many people think Oliver's obsessed to an unhealthy degree with the sport, but nothing made him happier than playing Quidditch.

Julia: Sounds to me like he found something he was passionate about. Was there any time for friends or love between practices?

Angelina: (laughs) For Oliver, there was no time between practices. Every moment of every day it was Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch. I don't know how he managed to graduate when he spent the time he was supposed to be doing homework devising new plays or running to the library to look up some obscure fact about an insignificant match that took place over 100 years ago.

Julia: So you two never...?

Angelina: No. He didn't want ant attachments outside of professional relations and I was tired of waiting for him to come around.

Julia: So you hooked up with one of his Beaters, Fred Weasley.

Angelina: Right. That didn't work out once he decided to throw his life away for a joke shop, so I got together with Lee Jordan.

Julia: He did the commentaries at school Quidditch matches, correct?

Angelina: (nods) Yup. We got married a few years ago and formed a family.

Julia: Congratulations. What do you think Oliver would say if he could see you now?

Angelina: I don't know. Probably that he can't believe I didn't go professional like him (Laughs)

Julia: So, do you believe that he made the right choice by going from Hogwarts to play for Puddlemere United?

Angelina: (shrugs) It doesn't matter what I think. But, if I had to, I'd say that he did what he loved and I'm happy that he found something that he could spend the rest of his life doing.

Julia: Do you still think about him?

Angelina: Occasionally. I wonder what life would have been like if he had survived, but there's no point to dwelling on what's already lost, right?

Julia: I suppose. Do you wish he had survived and somebody else went in his place?

Angelina: No. Oliver knew what he was doing when he made the choice to fight, and he's never be able to live with himself is someone else had to suffer so that he wouldn't have to.

Julia: So you'd say it's better that he died?

Angelina: Yes. But there are some who live that deserve death and there are some who have died that deserve life. Can you give it to them? None of us can.

Fin.

Thanks to Rupert's Honey for correcting me on what year Oliver was. You rock!