Here's a short bit before I go to bed!

Rating: T. One or two words in this chapter, nothing extremely profane.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related.

The Next Day, Oliver Wood's Cardiff Home

Cardiff, Wales. One of the least likely places someone would look to find Oliver Wood. He was Scottish, and extremely proud of his heritage, yet why did he chose to live in Wales?

His logic exactly whenever he had purchased his house in Cardiff. No one would think to look for him here. No obsessed fans, no nosey reporters. None of that. Being a wizard and having passed his apparation test, he could live anywhere in the world that he wanted. Even though that statement was very true, he still felt the urge to still reside somewhere in the U.K. Besides, it wasn't like he was fluent in any other languages either. He could passably speak Portuguese and French and there was some other languages that he had picked up a few odd words from whenever he had met foreign witches or wizards on the Quidditch Pitch. But that was it.

His home wasn't too extravagant. Average and simple. That was how he preferred things to be. Simplicity was a helluva lot easier to maintain in his opinion. Sure, he had friends that basked in the lavish lifestyle that Quidditch players could afford to live, but that just wasn't him. Why live in excess when it all isn't needed? Maybe that was expected of him; being a Quidditch star and all. That was yet another reason for someone to roll their eyes. Just because someone excelled at a sport, how does that make them better than someone who is just as talented, but just doesn't make it? It was the prince some people paid in life. If everyone got what they wanted and deserved, what kind of world would we live in?

"I'm home." He called to no one as he entered the house via apparation. "Not like there is anyone here to care," He mumbled incoherently. It's not like there was anyone there to care that he was mumbling, a bad habit he had developed. "Another wonderful night in the life of Oliver Wood!" He exclaimed in mock happiness as he took off his faded black scarf and draped it sloppily on the back of the doorhandle to the kitchen. "And the options are to --" He swung the door open and nearly ran smack into someone. "What the fuck?"

"Nice to see you, too, Oliver." His sister chimed as she popped the top on a bottle of Muggle liquor, whose label was hidden from Oliver's site by her hand.

"Hypatia, what are you doing here?" He took in his sister's appearance. Twenty two year old Hypatia Wood. Naturally curly blonde hair, big brown eyes, the faintest of tans on her smooth skin. She stood about three inches shorter than Oliver and she was dressed in casual Muggle attire, something that was becoming a trend in the wizarding world as of late. Her long, flawless nails were painted bright pink and in her right hand was holding onto a liquor bottle as if it was her last lifeline.

"I only came to see my favorite brother," Hypatia replied with a smile, leaning in close to his face and pausing, a drunken grin plastered on her face. With a swagger, she reeled back and took a swig of her drink of choice.

"Of course, Tia." Oliver replied nonchalantly. He pushed her out of the way with his body as he moved towards the refrigerator. "I'm only your favorite brother until you tire of me and move onto pester Kerr." Oliver referred to their older brother, Kerr Wood.

"Ollie, you know how much I love you!" She exclaimed, throwing an arm around him, spilling whatever she had been drinking onto the floor.

"Good job." He murmured and pulled out a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Would you mind cleaning that up?"

"Just a moment, just a moment." She repeated, walking off towards the dining room, which was connected to the kitchen by a large archway for a doorway. "How was the game today?"

"I'm glad you remembered." He told her as convincingly unenthusiastically as possible. "It was close. We managed to scrape a victory in the end."

"Off your game because of Katie dear?" Hypatia cocked her head to the side before tilting it back and taking a long drink out of the bottle. She had to be near emptying the thing by now.

"As if it's any of your business, Hypatia," He addressed her not by a nick name this time. "It's getting close to being a difficult time for her at the moment, so yes, I am concerned. But, I'm not the only one before you go assuming things."

"I don't assume things -- " Hypatia burst out raising a hand towards the ceiling, pointing her index feeling.

"Oh really?" Oliver mocked sarcastically as he flipped his wand to clean up the spilt alcohol that his sister seemed to so conveniently forget about.

Apparently this didn't deter his sister from continuing. "Ahh. I know things, dear brother! I do not assume."

"Well do you know how long you plan on staying here?" Oliver took a small sip from his water and joined her in the dining room, nearly running into a box of curtains and such that he had yet to unpack and hang over the windows. "Ugh. Got to move that stuff." He scooted around it and took a seat directly across from Hypatia.

She shrugged, her lips yet again on the bottle taking a long drink. "Dunno." She answered whenever she set the bottle back on the table. "I don't want to interfere with your little Norwegian plans."

"What? What do you know of that?" Oliver accusingly looked at his younger sister suspiciously.

"A-A-Alicia! Yeah, Alicia. She sent you a letter!" Hypatia exclaimed perkily, not the least bit worried at the fact that she had invaded her brother's privacy by reading his mail.

"Tia! Uch." Oliver ran his hands through his hair. "Do you mind not going through my stuff? It's enough with the liquor and all."

She stuck out her tongue at him and crossed her eyes at the same time. "Get. Over. It." She taunted.

"Grow. Up." He replied in the same tone, meeting her eyes in a cold stare once she decided to pull her tongue back into her mouth and uncross her eyes.

"Entry hall, on the table under the mirror. Which, is hideous by the way." She added, back to her happy drunk tone.

Oliver's chair grated against the wood as he pushed his chair back and got up. "Thank you." He told her none too happily as he walked out of the room and into the hallway. "And I don't need your decorating advice!" He called back to her once he was out of sight.

"That's what you think." She laughed to herself and teetered on the back two legs of her chair, each time attempting to lean back a little bit farther.

Oliver walked past the paintings in the long hallway, some moving and some now, as he headed towards the front of the house. Which, just happened to be located on the exact opposite side of the house as the kitchen and dining room. Screwy house planning, he had thought of the floor plans. But, he loved it here, so he didn't complain.

Just as his sister had said, there was an opened letter sitting on the lovely oak table under his Moroccan mirror (ok, so it wasn't the most beautiful thing ever, but it wasn't hideous as his oh so polite sister had said. Or, so he thought).

It was a short letter, but it cut to the point.

Oliver-

Katie agreed to come with us on the trip. She wrote me a response this morning. I just sent Angelina and Fred a letter letting them know of her acceptance, and George should be receiving his just about now. If you are still able to come and everything else works out, it will be Ange, Fred, George, Katie, you, and myself. I have a lunch date with Fleur today and will ask her about watching Alan during that time we are away. Take care, and respond as soon as you are sure whether you can make it or not.

-Alicia S.

"Fantastic." He told himself. He would have sworn he knew Katie would push them away again. But now he had a feeling Katie was finally pulling herself out of this depression-like state. If she could make it past tomorrow, Oliver felt sure she could make it past whatever should happen in the future. It couldn't get worse, right.

"SHIT!" There was a loud crash from the dining room, followed by giggles from his sister. It must have been some kind of impact if he could hear it all the way on the other side of the house.

"Hypatia?" He quickly placed the letter back on the table and briskly walked back to the dining room. Only to find his twenty two year old sister sprawled on the floor in heaps of laughter, the chair flipped over beside her.

Oliver turned to where she couldn't see his face and let out a laugh.

All my wonderful reviewers really deserve lengthy thank yous each, but I am so tired! I don't think I could type out everything I want to say! Please forgive me!

Thank You to: Spexy; Apathetically Interested; sassafras; gymcatgrl; TheBrassPotato; Lia06; Sally.

And to answer a few things/comment on a few comments: No, Angelina is not pregnant, she is just having feelings like she's preventing George from having the family he wants. Yes, Katie is gradually making progress . . . for now. Lastly, Katie does sound very beyond her years, and that is difficult for me to write, but I think it's coming through ok, right?

All right. Well, my bed is calling. So, good night everyone! Or good morning/day, depending on when you are reading this. Toodles!

-PiscesWeb25-