Disclaimer: I do not own or am endorsed with Harry Potter™ or any of its elements. This plot and its ideas are completely non-profit, original, and owned by me, and unconnected to the actual series. I also do not own the quotes placed at the beginning of each chapter unless stated otherwise. Any lyrics are not owned by me.
Summary: Oliver Wood is twenty-two but very much the same young man who graduated from Hogwarts four years ago, with all the same memories…especially of one girl and a promise. And as he's passing through Diagon Alley, he happens upon her. Oliver/Katie.
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October Sugar Cones
Chapter 4
"If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much space." —GoodQuotes .com
Oliver froze.
"Do come in," Katie called cheerfully. "You'll drip all over the hallway, and I'll get a penalty raise on my rent."
He still didn't move.
"I'm serious. I won't hex you. I know you followed me because you wanted to talk to me, and you probably even made a little strategy about it. Well tough luck. I beat you. So come on in, don't be shy." She pointed her wand at the fireplace and muttered, "Incendio." A roaring fire flared up instantly, and warmth engulfed the room. Oliver stepped in cautiously.
"Good boy," said Katie contemptuously. "It only took you five minutes to step over the frigging threshold." She paused, then added airily, "Good boys deserve fudge, would you like some?" She didn't wait for his answer, and flicked her wand at a glass platter sitting on the table. The saran wrap levitated into the air, and the knife laying the in the platter sliced off a generous helping. She slid the chocolate wedge onto a plate and placed it on the far side of the four-sided table, gesturing impatiently for him to be seated.
Oliver sat. He stared at the fudge warily.
"Oh, don't be stupid, I haven't spiked it or anything. See, look." She promptly took a large bite of fudge and swallowed visibly. "Would I eat it if I wanted to be poisoned?"
"I suppose not." Cautiously he bit the corner. Like all satisfactory fudge, it melted in his mouth, leaving faint but definite traces of creamy chocolate. He allowed himself the luxury of another bite. Then another. It was wonderful fudge.
She watched him expressionlessly. Then without preamble, she said, "I've decided to give you another chance."
Oliver would have choked if he had fudge left. Fortunately—and unfortunately—he did not have any.
"Yes," Katie went on, studying him intently, "after much thought I am going to give you another chance. But any muck-ups and you can forget it, pretty boy." He is still so handsome, said an unbidden and malignant thought. Katie quashed it hastily.
"How do you mean?" blurted Oliver.
"How do I mean? What do you mean how do I mean? Damn it, Oliver, I mean that I will give you another ch—"
"No, no, I realized that. What I mean is," he interrupted quickly, "what kind of—erm…relationship?"
Katie raised a pencil-thin blonde eyebrow. "A friendship, Ollywood," she said flatly.
"Ollywood? You haven't called me that since I left Hogwarts."
"Yes, and, you seem as slow as ever, we're friends again, didn't I just say that?" Oliver flinched slightly but she was smiling. The rays of sunlight kissed her hair, framing her heart-shaped and flawless face with a golden halo. She was as beautiful as ever, ethereal as an angel.
And he was as smitten as ever.
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Dear Angie and Alicia,
Well, Oliver has changed. You were right, and I was wrong. That's how it always was in Hogwarts, wasn't it? This brings back so many school memories. Oliver is as moronic but sweet, you guys—I mean, gals—are with Thing 1 and Thing 2, Harry finally beat back the big baddie…again. You know, I always worried about him. He was always so preoccupied with danger, but he won as usual.
Anywho, I suppose I better be lenient with Ollie. You know wizards. They're 'big boys' with wands that they think can take care of anything. They have egos. Some are sensitive. I know Oliver is, on the inside. But he also slips up sometimes and needs somebody to catch him. So I'm going to be nice Katie (I know, scary, isn't it?) and…well, be nice Katie! I shall write regularly and make certain you know what's going on.
Say hello
to your folks for me! Infinite hugs and kisses,
Katie
P.S. Oh, I always forget things at the end, don't I. If you want any fudge, I'll send Rigby over.
OMG, eleven reviews! I must be in heaven…Speaking of heaven, I just finished my website, cloud 7. For everybody who checked out my old blog, this is my new one. It took me three straight days of creation to perfect, and I'm rather proud of it. (Go to my profile to see it, I'll also post updates and possibly snippets of chapters to come! And I'd appreciate it if you signed the guestbook. (smiles encouragingly)) Okay, off the soapbox. But anyway, back to business…I changed my email address. And I apologize that this chapter took so long and is so short, I had a bit of writer's block. In advance, in case anybody asks me about my choice of the quote for this chapter, I just wanted to represent that both Oliver and Katie are taking a risk in reinstating their friendship, hint hint. Oh, and for everyone who's wondering what Ollie did to get Katie mad, check out my reply to pokethepenguin01.
M.Q.
P.S. Just like Katie, I forget stuff and have to put up postscripts. Anyway. Do you, my dear reviewers, think I should up the rating to T? I was intending a K+ story, but hey, if you want me to bring it up a notch before we get too far in, I most certainly will! Although I will not bring it up to an M and refuse to write a lemon, I do my best to listen to my reviewers. Please put your answers in your review.
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pokethepenguin01—Thanks for reviewing! To answer your review…
Old lady who swears: You haven't met my grandmother. (Well, she's dead, so you can't, but really, she was the most foulmouthed old grandma ever and I loved her very much.) Thing Oliver did to get Katie mad: This is coming up later! It may be considered trivial, what he did, but I'd seriously take it personally. Pumpkin ice cream: I picked that combination out specifically because it sounded horrid. Oh well. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes. Proofing my work: God, I so agree! If somebody wants to post something here on and they want nice reviews, they should proof it! I am one of those people who corrects all her friends. I'm insufferable to them, but they love me anyhow. Katie denying that she is Katie: You think so? I'm sorry. J.K. Rowling didn't go into her character, and I'm trying to write about a person who is mad and upset at somebody they loved. I'll try harder, maybe what happens in this chapter is more like her?
devilishlydreamy—Thank you! I'm so flattered.
Depth.of.a.Shadow—"Cool beans!" Nice phrase, and a great review. For the answer to your question, look at my reply to pokethepenguin01.
Evelas—The plot definitely thickens! But, the chapters won't be happy forever. Ollywood is gonna mess up somewhere.
3musketteers—You're welcome. I just feel guilty for not updating this chapter faster. I'm not going to finish this by Halloween, but I am trying my hardest.
hAndsEt—Aww, thanks. This is only my first story.
Randomisation—Thank you. I like to write stories about intelligent witches. (smiles)
FizzingWhizbeez—Oh, I absolutely agree. Pumpkin ice cream with black licorice sprinkles in a waffle cone is sounds completely terrible, but I wanted Oliver to have something that sounded weird and icky. Still…Katie ultimately won in this chapter! More on this coming soon!
Phyre's child13—About what Oliver did, please see my reply to pokethepenguin01. No, you didn't miss it. I cut off anything that delves into that because I want to save it for later.
fleur137—I'm guessing you based your username on the fact that fleur is French for 'flower'? Anyway, I do think that sometimes pairings that aren't canon are the best. Like, I'm a Harry/Hermione girl, but that's not canon, so it's fun to write about.
TheBrassPotato—I'm sorry if I confused you. I just meant that the line was going really, really, r e a l l y slowly. And I'm glad you appreciate the comment about Zacharias Smith! He is such a creep!