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.
Author's Notes: I made up the park in this chapter. And let's say that Quidditch teams practice year round, for more than just one Quidditch Cup.
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.
---------------------
October Sugar Cones
Chapter 5
"Being horrible is one of my best qualities." —Alex, from the Disney movie Twitches
"And what are you so pleased about?" asked Fred slyly. It was Friday night, and their ritual was to go out to a local diner for supper and a men-to-men chat.
"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Oliver pleasantly. Too pleasantly. Their suspicion was aroused at once.
"Wait, don't tell us, I know what it is!" Lee Jordan announced triumphantly. The other three grinned in expectation. Lee had been telling jokes since he had a nanny. His jokes may have been too rude for Nanny's taste, but as he said, who required a nanny's approval anymore? "You just got laid!"
They choked over their butterbeers, laughing.
"Somebody spiked his drink, mates, 'cause he wasn't talking so horny an hour ago!" said George, chuckling uncontrollably.
"Well, you know, my fingers, they can't help themselves, they just grab whatever's in reach," his twin replied, face serious.
"Yes, Angelina could tell us, couldn't she, Fred?" Oliver interjected. They burst into laughter again.
"Hah!" Fred snapped. "Alicia was smiling last night, even though Percy was the one who cooked the ghoulash!"
George kept calm, although his eyes were twinkling mischievously. "Yes, well, at least my wife didn't walk in on her husband polishing his wand when he was supposed to be taking a shower, eh, Lee?"
"Oh please," said Lee, as the others laughed, "it's only Percy who does that."
"How would you know?" challenged Oliver.
"I have my ways," said Lee mysteriously.
"You mean, you have twenty sickles—"
"Every time you step into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes—"
"For the Peek-O-Pipe rack—"
"And you have a spare house key to the Burrow," the twins chortled.
"All lovely gifts from the depths of our hearts," said George, sighing theatrically and patting his heart.
Lee gave them the benefit of an exaggeratedly rosy flush. "Oh dear, you caught me, please don't tell Nanny! I'll do anything, you know she uses her foul old broomstick like a num-chucks—"
"It couldn't possibly be as bad as Ginny," said Fred, "I once saw her hex Dean Thomas when he tried to French her in a hallway at Hogwarts after they broke up. You know she's practically invincible with her Bat Bogeys at her command."
"No, Katie's punishments are inconceivably agonizing," Oliver alleged. "She knows jinxes like you wouldn't believe—"
"Oh, about Katie," said George, waggling his eyebrows, "what's going on between you two?"
"What do you mean?" demanded Oliver, his faces muscles struggling to keep under control. It was his Scottish accent that gave him away, however. His words became thicker when he became emotional.
"What do you mean what do I mean?" said George in an unconvincingly innocent voice. Oliver was forcibly reminded of how Katie had said the same thing earlier.
"Don't be dense," said Lee derisively. "It is so obvious you still have a thing for her."
"The problem is—" Fred interrupted.
"—does she still have a thing for you," finished George.
Oliver glanced at his friends' faces. For once, they were serious.
---------------------
"Well, I don't know, Kates, I just don't know," sighed Angelina, licking a bit of rainbow sherbet from the corner of her mouth. "With you being antagonizing you and Oliver being stupid Oliver, how are we ever going to get you two together again?"
Katie squinted at her beadily. "Did you just insult me, or were you being sincere?"
Angelina shrugged, grinning playfully. "It could be an insult. But then again half the serious things I say are insults. Or it could be both. Or maybe neither. Or maybe—"
"Shut up," Alicia suggested.
"So how is dear Ollie?"
"Oh, Oliver? Ah, the same old jerk. He's still just as sweet, though."
"Of course, he must be. You only give people you like fudge. Which explains why we didn't get any."
"Excu-use me!" exclaimed Katie. "How am I supposed to know if you're off your diet, Angie!"
"What's the difference between me being off my diet and me sneaking fudge while supposedly on my diet?" asked Angelina, defensively.
"Touché. Point taken," conceded Katie.
"Katalyn Bell, you are horrible."
"How many times did Mum tell that to me while I was at Hogwarts, flunking Potions? What would I be without Mum and my Reeses Pieces, hm?"
"Well, you'd be a fat ogre, is what you'd be."
"It was a rhetorical question!" She threw a cherry pit at Alicia's nose.
"My dear, without rhetorical questions and hypothetical situations…well, imagine, if you will, a world without them!"
"Was that intentionally dumb or just dumb?" Angelina queried.
Alicia thought for a moment. "Both."
"Of course."
---------------------
"Hello, Katie."
"Hello, Oliver," she returned dutifully, the ever-un-cynical friend. "The half-price special today is Lemon Charm, how may I help you?"
"The usual, please. But in a sugar cone," he added.
For some reason, Katie smiled. She was so beautiful when she smiled. It made her eyes twinkle.
"There you go, sir," she finished, handing him his order.
"You're welcome," Oliver answered, handing her twenty knuts.
He started to walk away when Katie abruptly found the nerve to call out, "Hey, Oliver?"
He turned around, tongue halfway on its journey toward the first of the black licorice sprinkles. "Yeah?"
"Meet me at my break at one, in Windsor Park, okay?"
---------------------
"What's all this about?" asked Oliver, when he saw her approach from behind a giant, thorny shrub.
She pursed her lips and gave him a wounded, offended look. "What, not even a hello to your dear friend Kates?"
"Alrighty, then, salutations," he amended, using the largest word in his collection of greetings. She smiled back. "Now what am I here for?"
"Friends take walks in parks and talk, don't they?" said Katie. "If we're friends again, we might as well do it properly. Do friends need excuses to see each other? Angelina and Alicia told me about your Friday night dinners with their husbands and Lee. Why shouldn't you and I spend time together without a reason, too? If we're friends, that is. If you would prefer it differently—"
"No, no, walks are nice, I needed fresh air anyway," said Oliver hastily.
Katie smirked. "Uh-huh. I'm sure a distinguished Quidditch player such as yourself gets very little fresh air on the pitch, eh?"
Oliver flushed. She had always had a habit of doing just that. She could turn even the simplest of declarations ricocheting around back the moment after they rolled off of your tongue.
"Well, anywho," she went on blithely, skipping around a puddle, "how has Puddlemere United been doing?"
"They've definitely honed my skill," he answered, brushing a leaf off of his jacket sleeve. "And we're preparing for the Quidditch Northland Cup, we've won all our games so far. But the team captain is an absolute asshole, he's so fussy and never stops yelling." Katie grinned as he began a tirade of complaints.
"You know," Oliver remarked after a while, "it's nice to vent all this out of my system. You're a good listener, especially when listening to all the bullshit I have to say."
"Was that an insult, or was it sincere?" Katie blinked. This was a question that was coming up quite a bit.
Oliver considered before saying, "Both."
"Of course."
This chapter is dedicated to the reviewers who wanted a longer chapter! I am so sorry I have been writing short, choppy chapters. I am now making an effort to stop that stupid habit…and, just as a bit of a hint, the fact that Oliver has now ordered a sugar cone signals something. And also, everything will not always be this rosy. Oliver will mess up sometime in the near future, and what he does will give all you curious readers a clue as to why Katie was so furious at him before. I have now jacked the rating up to T, according to material in this chapter. And, I also love suggestions and criticisms from my reviewers, so please mention those in reviews so I can clear up confusion. Hugs to you all, cuz you rock out loud!
Maverly Q
---------------------
pokethepenguin01—Kewl username, by the way. And thanks, you're the only person who responded to me about the rating! Yes, it's up at T now. And no, I don't think Katie means to torture Ollie, she's still just pissed at what he did.
3musketteers—Thank you. I do try.
Realist—Really? I've read tons of stories where people respond to reviewers, I didn't think I could get in trouble for it, though…thanks for telling me! Although, I think I will continue responding to my reviewers because they have questions and probably don't want to have to email me.
Randomisation—Dopey, yes, but he is also very sweet. (smiles)
Evelas—Oh yeah, I do think Oliver messed up big time. It may be considered a "little" thing but I would certainly be furious.
fleur137—I know that last chapter was really, really short, but this one's much longer. Hope you like it!
HyperSquishy—I agree. Oliver should be quite confused for a lot of this story, I mean, he's dealing with Katie, right? (grins)
TheBrassPotato—GBDF…what's GBDF? Oh never mind, as long as you're happy. Hehe. And I've always wanted to use allusions to Dr. Seuss, because I'm a big fan of Seussical the Musical…but anyway…Yeah, I know Chapter 4 was short and choppy and all that, but this one's much longer and I worked really hard on it. Thanks for the 'flower', I love flowers!
Phyre's child13—Knowing that you were craving fudge after reading my description makes me über happy! I try to make my descriptions realistic, thanks!
devilishly dreamy—I'm glad you think my story is awesome! And I'm saving the part about the promise for later. Like I said to someone in a reply-to-review last chapter, what Oliver did may not seem like a big thing, but I'd be really mad.