Hey! First, a stupid writer's block kept me from writing more than a sentence (again), then suddenly, I found myself writing very much and thus, found the chapter to be longer than I intended (especially if I wanted to post it anytime soon). So I divided the chapter in two parts. Here you'll find the first one and the second one will hopefully be up soon.

Okay, so I've noticed I've been a bit too unclear about why Adrian couldn't touch her. But I just didn't want to write it was her time of the month or something like this. I was about to clear this in this chapter, but it wouldn't have appeared until the second part of the chapter, so I thought I should clear it here.

I'm making it short again. (I'm tired as hell!)

Tiarwen: To say the truth, I also like the chapter before better. But well, I'll try to make it better again…

TriGemini: I know, not that much action right now, but it'll change already at the end here (at least slightly)…

Andybear09: okay, so it took me again a bit longer than it should have… but I hope the chapter itself will make up for the delay. As for the sleeping read second paragraph of my AN above.

Ashliegh: Ah, don't worry, the fawning bit is not at all annoying:D As for the sleeping read second paragraph of my AN above.

BattlestarPolaris: Oh yes, Denton will surely make up for the loss Angelina has suffered…. (Yes, this is pure sarcasm :D)

Fujutsu: thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

AngelinaBallerinaJKOL: Thank you! Sorry it took me again a bit longer to update.

Offprint: Aww, thank you! I'm glad you like it!

Abbey: Thank you!

bRaTsKi: Thank you!

Mistyqueen: Thank you! Glad you liked it!

Rupert's honey: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it! As for the sleeping read second paragraph of my AN above.

Angelface04: Oh yes, we will definitely see all three persons again!

Chapter 8

Mine!

"No, that's just not it." Sophia said for about the twentieth time. Angelina sighed when she went to change into the next dress. When she came back out, Sophia's eyes widened slightly and she smiled.

"Yes. That's the perfect dress for the reception." The old woman arose from her chair and walked towards Angelina.

"Sì, perfetto!" she turned Angelina towards the full length mirror to her right and let the young woman look at herself.

The dress was made of green velvet and shimmered in the light of the shop. It fell around her body like a second skin. Two silver brooches held the fabric on her shoulders and let the dress fall on top of her breasts, looking like green waves on her dark skin. Most of her back was bare and just like over her breasts the dress fell in waves over her bottom.

"Come una principessa." Sophia smiled and tried to hold Angelina hair up.

"All we need is a nice hairdo and the princess is perfect. Your mother would be so proud could she see you now."

Angelina sighed. She knew Sophia was right. She remembered the look on her mother's face when she had showed her the picture of her at the Yule ball Alicia had taken.

"I wish she could see me now." She whispered and touched the locket.

"I'm sure she does." Sophia replied and put her hand onto Angelina's shoulder. "If there was one person who would be an angel now, it was your mother."

Sophia turned around towards the shop owner and nodded at him.

"We'll take that dress. Deliver it next Saturday."

"And we are going to see Adrian now." She said when she turned back towards Angelina.

Angelina stopped when they stood in front of the stadium of the Ballycastle Bats and frowned. She knew that Sophia's husband had been the owner of the Bats but…

"I take it that Adrian hasn't told you he inherited the team and the stadium from Briscoe?"

Angelina shook slowly her head and Sophia sighed murmuring something in Italian while she shook her head and lead Angelina farther towards the stadium. When they entered Sophia lead her through the hallway which led to the pitch. On the walls were pictures of former teams looking at them. Angelina stopped in front of one from the seventies.

One of the chasers, a tall, dark skinned man smiled broadly at her and waved slowly. Angelina reached her hand out put before she could touch the picture she let her hand fall to her side again.

"This was the season when you were born." Sophia said behind her. "Your father scored every goal for you."

Angelina smiled sadly at her words and took one last look at the picture of her father before she turned around. She could see the pitch now where the current team was standing in the sand, obviously just finished with training and discussing it. She watched the members of the team and suddenly frowned. She almost believed….

"Angelina? Are you feeling indisposta… ill?" But Angelina didn't react to Sophia's voice.

There is a proverb that says there are first times for everything. Today, the members of the Ballycastle Bats were witnesses of such a first time. And what a first time! Never before had anyone seen this happening, and probably, no one would ever again.

While they stood there in a circle on the pitch, talking about the training and the upcoming game Oliver Wood, the team's keeper dropped his broom.

"Wood? Are you alright?" Steven Bartleby, the seeker and captain of the team asked him. But he didn't get a reply. Oliver was staring straight at the opening of the building where two woman, one of them was obviously Mrs. Pucey, were standing.

"Oliver?" Steven had never seen his keeper so pale, not even during one of his stays in St. Mungo's. Oliver murmured something and then walked slowly towards the two women, leaving a baffled team behind.

"Oh my god!"

"Angelina?" Sophia followed Angelina's gaze and saw one of the players heading for them.

Oliver walked slowly closer to Angelina and shook his head when he finally stopped right in front of her. He took her face in his hands as though he wanted to make sure that she was real while he continued to shake his head.

"Angelina…"

Hearing her name brought Angelina back to reality and she threw her arms around Oliver's neck. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her while he tried to understand how she could be here.

Oliver pulled slightly back from her and looked at her face.

"You're alive! You're back! And… and… you're alright, aren't you?"

Angelina laughed at Oliver's confused babbling and the look on his face.

"Of course I'm alright."

"And Jul?"

"She's fine, too."

"But… why didn't you come back when I wrote you the war was over? I thought you…"

Angelina frowned at this.

"I never received a letter from you." She told him while Oliver continued to look at her, his hands moving from her waist to her shoulders, to her face and back to her shoulders as though he wanted to make sure that she was really standing in front of him.

"What are you doing here? Where have you been all these years? What happened…?"

"I don't think I've ever heard you ask so many questions." Angelina smiled at him.

"I…I..." Oliver wasn't sure what he wanted to say. For four years he had thought her dead and now she was standing in front of him, smiling, healthy and wearing a dress – a dress! – which must be very expensive.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her once more. Angelina looked at Sophia who was standing behind her, looking curiously at the two. Angelina bit her lip unsure how she should explain what had happened in the past years. She couldn't very well tell him this in the middle of a hallway – with several people watching them.

"Sophia, would you please excuse us for a moment?" She asked with pleading eyes. Sophia nodded at the request.

"I could need a break anyway. I'll be in the bistro." She said and pointed towards another hallway. "The young man can surely show you the way when you're finished talking and then we can go to meet Adrian."

Angelina nodded at this and felt herself relax slightly when Sophia headed towards the bistro. She hoped Sophia hadn't gotten any wrong ideas about her and Oliver.

"Can we talk somewhere?" she asked as she turned around to her old friend. Oliver nodded and lead her to one of the stands.

"So, where were you and Julia all those years?" Oliver asked her once they were seated. But Angelina shook her head.

"Later. First I want you to tell me about the war. What happened?"

Oliver sighed. His gaze followed a sparrow that flew over the stadium, following another of his kind as he remembered.

"I was in St. Mungo's, so I might not be the best source of information." He started. Angelina noticed that was nervous as though he didn't want to think about it. The way he alternatively squeezed and stroke her hand was a huge indication for this.

"At first there were several attacks from the death eaters. Theatres, restaurants, stadiums… wherever they could reach a lot of people. These attacks seemed to be completely uncoordinated. They happened sporadic, no sign of a real meaning behind it other than to kill and to scare those who survived.

"Four days and about seven or eight attacks." His hand squeezed hers tightly when he continued.

"On a Saturday afternoon one of the mediwitches came into my room and told me that my parents had died in an attack that morning."

"Saturday?" Angelina asked, her heart clenching together.

"Yes, during their weekly brunch."

"I always wondered how and when my parents…"

"I thought about sending you an owl but I didn't want you to find it out this way. I wanted to tell you to your face. It's bad enough that there is no grave for them, the least I wanted to do was be there when I told you what had happened to your parents." They sat in silence for some time before Angelina asked Oliver what happened after this attack.

"I don't really remember what day it was, but I was still in St. Mungo's. – Stupid blugder had hit me really bad that time – But I was allowed to leave my room and walk around. I heard another patient reading from the newspaper. Harry Potter had been killed by You-Know-Who. The killing curse straight through his heart. His body was found in front of the Ministry. Next to him were the ones of his friends, you know, the younger brother of Fred and George…"

"Ron."

Oliver nodded at the name.

"Yes, Ron. And the girl who was always with them. The one who charmed Harry's glasses during one game… Hillary, Harmony…"

"Hermione."

"They weren't killed by the killing curse. They must have been tortured before they had died. And not only with curses and hexes. At least, the girl had also been tortured in a non-magical way…"

Angelina shuddered as images of what the three of them must have been through before they had died entered her mind. Although the day was rather sunny, she felt rather cold all of a sudden.

"Then everything went rather fast. About a week, maybe two, later, the Minister resigned. The deatheaters which had still been in Azkaban were freed and instead of them several aurors and people of a group called the order of… phoenix, yes, I think that was it, were imprisoned there.

"There was no one left to fight. With Harry gone, Dumbledore dead… there just wasn't anyone left. I remember the day I was allowed to leave St. Mungo's. It was the day when the death eaters held the trials."

Angelina looked confused at Oliver and he went to explain.

"They wanted to make an example of some aurors and some members of this order by killing them publicly. To make sure no one would ever think about revolting against You-Know-Who. We… we were gathered together. Everyone had to witness one of these trials. Executions would be a better name than trial. There was no judge, no lawyer… nothing. Just those who were meant to die and the… things… that would kill them…"

"Things?"

Oliver nodded and shuddered as he recalled that one day four years ago.

"Do you remember Professor Lupin?" He waited for her saying yes before he continued.

"He looked already more dead than alive. And then there was this… I don't know, he looked like a man but… then he growled and… he was like one of those monsters you dream about as a child. He looked like what my parents told me werewolves look like, but it was the middle of a day and the full moon was still two weeks away and … it was horrible…"

He looked at Angelina and she could see the horror in his eyes.

"You can really be glad you weren't here then. You must be the only person in this country who hasn't seen one of these murders. And believe me, it was something I wouldn't wish on anyone."

"Everyone was killed in such a way?"

"No, not everyone who fought against them. I don't exactly know what happened with the rest. I guess no one but the death eaters does know that." He shook his head and tried to fight the memories. When he turned his face around to her he had a smile on his face.

"But enough of the bad memories. Where have you been all these years? And what brought you here today?"

Angelina swallowed. Hadn't Oliver just said they should leave the bad memories?

"I… it was hell." She started and looked down.

"I… I don't want to talk about it … ever… you just have to believe me…"

Oliver placed his hand on Angelina's shoulder and rubbed it gently.

"It's okay, I didn't mean to cause any bad memories."

Angelina shook her head and looked at him again.

"As for why I'm here… one evening … someone found me and offered to bring me back to England. That's how I came here." She was playing with the thin white gold ring on her finger.

"You're married?" Oliver asked when he saw the ring on her finger.

Angelina nodded and cleared her throat.

"With Adrian Pucey."

She could have suddenly turned pink – Oliver couldn't have looked more shocked at her statement. It took him a few moments before he got a grip on himself again.

"Has he threatened you? Is he forcing you to do this?"

"No, no, Oliver it's not like this. He's treating me with respect and he's not forcing me to do anything."

"He's not abusing you, is he! He's not hitting you or …!"

"No. Oliver believe me, I'm fine. Better than I've been in the past years. And so is Julia."

Oliver took her face in his hands and looked deep in her eyes.

"You're saying the truth, right? You are alright? And Jul is alright, too? And you married of your own free will and you're happy with him?"

Angelina covered his hands with her own and tried to smile at him.

"I'm as happy as I could be in a marriage." She told him truthfully and Oliver winced at this.

"I'm going to kill him if he hurts you."

"I know." Angelina said gently and hugged Oliver once more.

"We should head back. Your husband doesn't like to wait."

"Why are you playing for him anyway?" She asked him while they walked back. Oliver shrugged.

"I've got to play somewhere. It's not like there is a team left which isn't owned by some death eater."

"Do you know what happened to Alicia and Katie?" Angelina wanted to know before they reached the building.

"I know that Alicia is living in France now. She married some French guy two years ago. And Katie has moved to Ireland. Her parents went there to take care of Katie's grandmother and she went along with them. They both wanted to be away from here."

By now they had reached the entrance of the stadium's building. They heard footsteps and when she turned around, Angelina saw Adrian heading their way. His face was a mask of stone. She turned back to face Oliver.

"I have to go now." She told him and smiled at him. Oliver looked at Adrian and frowned.

"I'll see you again, right?"

"Of course." She said and hugged him before she told him to go while she turned around and went hurriedly to Adrian. Oliver, however, was still standing where she had left him and watched the two of them, ready to stand in front of Angelina if she needed him to.

And to judge by the look on Adrian's face, he was sure she would need him…