A/N: Well, stirred to motion by a review from IHopeForAnarchy to another story, I have decided to update. I still don't own Harry Potter; if I ever say I do, you'll never get anything when you sue me. (By the way, this is my Christmas present for IHopeForAnarchy)
Atomic Elf: what is it with you and physics? Every time you review you're in the middle of something with physics. (Just kidding, you know I love reviews.) Thanks for reviewing.
FuMrsOW: Well, I aim to please.
SnowHedwig05: I'm glad you liked my sarcasm. Yeah, I was being really sarcastic that day. I scared this freshman at my school because I was being so sarcastic; actually, I do that like every day.
IHopeForAnarchy: Five kids is a lot but you have to remember that I'm one of eleven, so… Yeah, little kids do such weird things, like my sisters who used to try to cut each other's hair. (I'm always glad to review other people's stories. Plus, Remind Me How to Fly was really good.)
FreeSpirit65: I'll try to make this longer. After all, I'm off school until January 3 and the play I was in closed on Sunday. Sarcasm is way too much fun.
Dadswell: I'm glad you liked it.
Chapter Three: Women are Smarter Than Men
Saturday, July 23, 2005: 10:07 AM the Woods' House"No, Kiernan, Aunt Annie wants you to wear the nice new suit she bought for you!" Katie yelled. "She doesn't want you to wear your blue jeans and Puddlemore shirt. I know they're your favorite clothes but they're just not appropriate for the wedding."
Kiernan put on his best pout. "But Mummy! I want to wear this outfit. Aunt Annie told me that she likes it a lot."
"I know she likes that outfit but you don't wear blue jeans and a t-shirt to a wedding; she picked out this suit especially for you."
"But I don't want to wear it," the five-year-old yelled, stomping his foot.
"Oliver!" his wife yelled. "Oliver, I need you in here now!"
Oliver walked into his sons' bedroom, carrying Chris. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Could you please explain to your son that he needs to wear his suit to Annie's wedding? He seems to be under the impression that he can wear his jeans and a Puddlemore shirt," Katie explained with a sigh. "And I don't have time to argue with him. I need to dress Emma, help Mary dress, and dress myself."
Oliver kissed his wife's cheek. "I'll take care of Kiernan; Chris is all ready to go as am I. Christopher, why don't you sit on your bed and play with your Quaffle and Snitch?"
"Okay, Daddy," the cheerful three-year-old replied. His father set him down and he began quietly playing with his toys.
"Have Kiernan ready by eleven o'clock," Katie told her husband as she left the room.
"Yes, Mum," he called after her.
Saturday, July 23, 2005: 11:00 AM the Woods' HouseOliver Wood carried Christopher down the stairs as he led Kiernan down the stairs. "Katie, they're both ready and looking wonderfully" He stopped short as he saw his wife and daughters at the bottom of the stairs. Katie was wearing a pale blue satin dress with a square neckline. A slightly darker blue satin ribbon defined the high waistline and the sleeves were made of an elegant sheer material. Her long light brown hair was pulled back in a sweet and gentle maternal chignon.
"You're gorgeous, Kates," Oliver breathed. "You're a perfect vision."
Emma was wearing a buttercup yellow satin dress with a yellow sash and cute little cap sleeves, and Mary was wearing a pale pink version of her younger sister's dress. Oliver smiled at his daughters. "All three of my women are gorgeous," he said, stroking his older daughter's light brown hair.
"And my three gentlemen are handsome," Katie replied. Oliver was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt and a dark blue tie; Kiernan and Christopher were wearing black suits with white shirts and black bow ties.
Oliver kissed Katie's cheek. "Shall we go?" he asked, taking her free arm.
"Your mother will kill us if we're late," he replied with a smile.
Saturday, July 23, 2005: 11:30 AM St. Andrew's Anglican Church; Chudley, EnglandElisabeth Bell hadn't changed in since Oliver met her eighteen years ago. There was more of a gray tint to her hair and more sadness in her eyes; this was due mostly to the deaths of Greg Bell and Mary, Jonathan, Kevin, Jack, and Loryn Marsden. But all in all, she was still the energetic and smiling mother of a crowded household.
Mark and Joe Bell were both married and were there with their respective families. Mark and his wife, Ellen, had three sons: Kevin, Jack, and Gregory; Joe and his wife, Joan, had three daughters: Laura, Elizabeth, and Rachel. Kevin was five, Jack was three, and Gregory was thirteen months old; Laura was four, Beth was two, and Rachel was four months old.
Anne Therese Bell was marrying Benjamin Nicholas Wagner; they'd met at Hogwarts, but hadn't really started dating until around the time Kiernan and Mary were born.
Annie still looked exactly like her older sister except she was slightly plumper than her older sister. Ben was tall and slender, a wiry fellow with short light brown hair and clear blue eyes.
Lizzie Bell was her sister's maid-of-honor; at twenty-seven, Liz had no steady boyfriend and little or no prospect of marriage. She had recently dyed her once blonde hair a sort of auburn that wasn't really auburn. Her figure was small and bony, sort of sharp and angular, not smooth and gently curving like her sisters, but this somehow suited her in her new profession of investigative journalist.
Gabriel Bell was twenty-six and he looked like Greg would have looked like if he'd lived. He was tall, muscular, and dark; his hair was thick, dark brown, and curly and his eyes were the color of mocha. He had married his longtime girlfriend, Rebecca Sullivan, three months earlier.
Paul Bell was twenty-five; he still looked like Gabriel. He was currently engaged to Shannon Marshall who had been the Ravenclaw seeker after Cho Chang. He was a globetrotting Auror.
David Bell was twenty-four and he favored Mark. (Small, thin, but hair and eyes like Paul) He was currently the Seeker for Puddlemore United. His love life was mostly his Siberian husky Mona, and staring at his female teammates.
Twenty-three-year-old Colette Bell was a tall, willowy blonde. She was currently working the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department as Percy Weasley's boss. She was dating Ryan Gilbert, one of her coworkers.
Twenty-two-year-old Cecilia was a short, slender brunette who was working for The Daily Prophet as a sportswriter. Her love life was more pathetic than David's; all it consisted of was her orange tabby, Horatio.
Twenty-one-year-old Marita was working at Hogwarts teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was a short slender blonde who was dating James Chan.
Twenty-year-old Michael was the only blonde boy in the family; he had dark blonde hair and green eyes. He was playing Keeper for the Chudley Cannons and dating Kerri Neville, one of his teammates.
In short, the church was crowded. Thankfully, Ben was from a small family because Annie was not. Ben had two younger brothers and a few cousins. His family and friends only filled about ten or twelve rows of pews while the enormous Bell clan filled one entire side of the church. Elisabeth and Stephen Bell were both from large families and then there were Annie's eleven living siblings and their families, although Lizzie, Colette, Cecilia, and Marita were in the wedding party.
(If you want an idea of how crowded the church was, think of the wedding scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.)
Katie found herself sitting in the church where she'd been married six long years earlier. But this time she was watching her younger sister get married. Christopher was sitting in his father's lap and Emma was with her mother. Kiernan was sitting between his father and his cousin, Kevin; Mary was sitting between her mother and her cousin, Laura. Katie and Oliver both had an eagle eye fixed on the twins to ensure that they behaved themselves.
Saturday, July 23, 2005: 8:45 PM The Bell Family Home in Chudley, England
During the reception that evening, Oliver and Katie were watching Ben and Annie dance. "Do you think that Ben can make Annie as happy as you've made me?"
Oliver shrugged. "I think he can, but will he?"
Mark walked over just then. "If Ben doesn't treat Annie well and make her happy, Joe, Gabe, Paul, David, and I are going to kill him. Oliver, we may ask you to help."
Oliver smiled. He knew how Mark felt about this; he felt the same way about any guy who looked at Eva, Anna, Abby, Natalie, Lillie, or Jennie. Anna was eighteen, Abby and Natalie were fifteen, Adam was thirteen, Chris was eleven, Jennie was nine, and Lillie was seven. "Mark, I'd be glad to help you if Ben pulls any stunts."
Mark shook Oliver's hand. "Sir, I would be glad to work with you."
"I'll work with you on one condition," Oliver told his brother-in-law.
"What's that?"
"If I ever need help protecting Eva, Anna, Abby, Natalie, Lillie, or Jennie, you'll help me."
"Don't you have five younger brothers?"
"Ed is twenty-four, James is twenty-two, Greg is twenty, Adam is thirteen, and Chris is eleven. How much help am I going to get? Ed just got married, James and Greg are too busy chasing skirts, and Adam and Chris are too young."
Katie smiled. "Oliver, you're not going to have to worry about Jennie or Lillie for a while yet, Eva is married, and I think your brothers will help you with Anna, Abby, and Natalie. But right now, let's stop focusing on killing our sisters' boyfriends and just dance."
"But what about the kids?" her husband protested.
"David is single; he won't mind taking care of a bunch of little kids while we dance."
Oliver couldn't think of any more excuses, so he followed his wife out on the dance floor. The band was playing "Only Hope" by Switchfoot.
There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write
over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
Would you sing to me over and over and
over again?
Oliver held his wife close and kissed the top of her head. "I'll never leave you, Kates," he whispered. "I love you forever."
"I love you too," she replied.
He spun her. "You're my everything."
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
And pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
"Katie, you're my life, you're my wife, you're the mother of my children; you're the greatest thing in my world," he told her as he pulled her back to himself.
"Oliver, you know I'd be nothing without you. I've been in love with you since I was fourteen years old and I intend to love you until the day I die."
"Katherine, you're my queen."
"And you're my king."
Sing to me the song of the stars
Of your galaxy dancing and laughing
and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that you have
for me over again
"So, we're going to have a fifth child?" he asked.
"Of course," she replied.
"How many kids are we going to have?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. We used to talk about seven kids."
"We'll see how we feel about that after number five."
Katie nodded. "That sounds like a plan."
He spun her again. "Well, we always work best as a team."
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
And pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
"That's because two heads are better than one."
"That they are," Oliver replied softly.
"And women are smarter than men."
"Uh, no; honey, I beg to differ."
"Umm, no," was his wife's gentle reply. "I'm the one who knows what's wrong with the children right away."
"Maternal instinct."
"I always know what you need right away."
"We've been together for fifteen years."
"The only class you ever did better in at Hogwarts was Potions."
"Snape thought I was prettier."
"Oliver, shut up and kiss me."
Mr. Wood followed orders, of course.
I give you my destiny
I'm giving you all of me
I want your symphony
Singing in all that I am
at the top of my lungs I'm giving it back
"So, Oliver and Katie Wood, together forever?"
Katie kissed her husband. "But of course. True love only comes along once in a lifetime. When you find it, you've got to grab hold of it."
"Well, then I'm not about to let go of you."
So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
And pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope
As the song ended, Oliver and Katie went over to their children. Oliver picked up a very sleepy Christopher as his wife picked up Emma. "We should take these sleepyheads home," she whispered.
He nodded. "Kiernan, Mary, come here." The twins went to their parents. "We're going to go home now. Let's go say good-bye to Grandmum and Grandpa and Aunt Annie and Uncle Ben."
"All right, Daddy," Mary said as she leaned against her Daddy's leg.
"Well, Mum, we're going to get these kids home and to bed now," Katie told her mother. "Emma is already asleep and her siblings are about ready to join her in dreamland."
Elisabeth Bell kissed her daughter's cheek. "It was lovely seeing you and the children." She hugged Oliver. "We need to have a family dinner after Annie and Ben get back from their honeymoon. Oliver, Katie, it was lovely seeing you."
"Good seeing you too, Mum," Oliver told his mother-in-law.
Stephen Bell stroked his younger grandson's head and kissed his granddaughters. Then he patted Kiernan's head. "It was lovely seeing you all." He kissed Katie's cheek and shook Oliver's hand. "Elisabeth's right; we need to at least have you six over for dinner sometime soon."
After saying good-bye to Katie's parents, they went on to the bride and groom. Katie gave her sister a one-armed hug. "Well, Annie, congratulations!"
"Thanks," Annie replied. "Thank you all so much for coming. Ben and I really appreciate it."
Ben shook Oliver's hand and kissed Katie's cheek shyly. "I'm glad you could come. It was nice knowing that Annie's family approves of our marriage."
Katie smiled. "This is just our way of saying 'Thank God they're finally married.' We were really starting to worry about you two."
"Katie and Oliver, I have to tell you that it would be a dream come true for Ben and me if our marriage could be anything like yours."
"Thank you," Katie replied with a smile. "I pray that you both will have all the happiness life can give you."
Oliver smiled at his sister-in-law and her new husband. "I hope you two are always happy together."
Ben nodded. "Oliver, you and Katie have one of the best marriages of anyone I've ever seen. Sometimes I think you two have the perfect marriage."
Oliver gasped. "Oh no we don't. Katie and I do argue with each other sometimes."
"We just never let on," Katie told the newlyweds. "When we were done arguing, we put it behind us and focus on working towards the future. I've learned to never go to bed angry with Oliver. If we have a fight, we forgive each other and move on. It's the only way we could live together. We're just too volatile of people to do things any other way."
Annie nodded. "So that's your advice for us?"
Katie nodded. "Love each other no matter what and never go to bed angry. That's the secret to a successful marriage."
A/N: Well, that's a chapter. It's not the end; there's still more to come. Please review and I'll update faster.
Well, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Happy Holidays!