The Difference One Choice Makes
6th September 1995
As Harry took to the skies to join Katie and the Weasley Twins, he saw that despite this being the first time in five years that positions were open on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team, only three people had turned up to try out for the vacant position of Keeper.
Ron, who was holding onto a Cleansweep Eleven with a nervous look on his face, was dressed in some makeshift red Quidditch robes and leather padding, was stood alongside a pair of fourth-years Harry recognised as the short black-haired Vicky Frobisher and the long brown-haired Geoffrey Hooper both of whom were also dressed in red robes and leather padding like Ron.
Down on the ground, stood opposite the three try-out hopefuls were Angelina and Alicia, the former of whom was giving a speech to the three try-out hopefuls who were not replying to her words, only nodding occasionally.
"Thank god for Mclaggen's stupidity" Harry heard Katie say and he turned to look at her.
"What?" said Harry.
Katie tore her gaze away from the ground to look at him with a mischievous smirk on her face.
"Mclaggen wanted to try out for Keeper… but he ate a pound of Doxy eggs last night for a bet, now he's in the Hospital Wing and can't try out for the Keeper position" said Katie with amusement in her voice.
Unsure of how to react to her words, Harry just nodded to her before Angelina and Alicia flew up towards them while Ron and the other two try-out hopefuls took off to fly a few laps around the pitch.
"None of the three fill me with as much confidence as Wood did… but I hope at least one of them can prove me wrong" said Angelina in a slightly flat voice as she and Alicia hovered opposite them.
As the six Gryffindor players watched the three hopefuls fly around the pitch in a badly organised formation, they saw several people sat in the stands, nearly all of whom were Gryffindors while a few of them were Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaws who had presumably turned up to watch and/or support their friends.
After watching the hopefuls fly several laps around the pitch for the next ten minutes or so, Angelina brought them to a halt and sent Ron and Geoffrey Hooper to cover a set of hoops each while instructing Vicky Frobisher to go and wait for her turn in the stands.
As Katie, Alicia and the Weasley Twins flew off to get the Quaffle and a bludger, Angelina hovered closer to Harry.
"I need you to help us test these three, so you're playing as a chaser for a bit" said Angelina.
Harry nodded, feeling unsure of how good he would be as a chaser having never done this before.
"Okay" said Harry.
As they saw their teammates returning with the crate of balls, Angelina looked over at the hoops on her right and scowled.
"He's still bloody whining about god-knows-what" said Angelina with a stiff groan.
Harry followed her gaze where it became obvious that Hooper was shouting to his friends and muttering to himself about something.
"He was whining when I told all of them to do laps around the pitch, I wanted to get rid of him right then and there… but since we only have three people trying out I decided not to tell him to leave" said Angelina.
Harry could not blame her, not wanting their team to be plagued by someone who whined about being asked to do laps around the Quidditch pitch by their Captain.
When the others released a Bludger and the Quaffle, Harry found himself alternating between each try-out hopeful, testing their reflexes and abilities with shots, though Harry knew that the three Chasers were putting the hopefuls through harder shots than him.
When Ron was facing his shots, Harry felt that he did alright saving twelve out of twenty shots, though some of the shots he failed to save would have most likely been saved by a more confident Keeper.
Geoffrey Hooper only managed to save ten of the twenty shots sent his way, though it was clear that he was a better flier than Ron.
Vicky Frobisher not only proved to be a better flier but also a better keeper saving fourteen out of twenty shots.
Angelina was all ready to name the young girl as the new Keeper before her hope and sheer joy was brought crashing down to a halt.
Being involved in multiple clubs including Charms and Transfiguration clubs, Vicky admitted that if Quidditch training clashed with her Charms club in particular, then she would have to put Charms first.
After that, the Keeper position was given to Ron who was a mixture of nervousness and elation at the thought of playing on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
Once back in the changing rooms after the end of the try-outs, Angelina pulled Harry aside for a private chat after Katie and Alicia had taken Ron away to see if Wood's old Keeper robes would fit him.
"I know he's your mate Harry… but it's obvious he's got a long way to go before he gets anywhere near the level we need from a Keeper" said Angelina, sparing a glance at where Ron, Katie and Alicia had just disappeared.
Hearing those words caused Harry to think back to how Ron needlessly interrupted his conversation on the Hogwarts Express without understanding exactly what he had done but Harry shook those thoughts from his mind.
"But he comes from a family of good Quidditch players so I hope that might help him come good in the end… we just have to push him and help him out where we can" said Angelina.
Harry nodded in agreement.
"Our first practice session is tomorrow at two" said Angelina, nodding to the Twins before walking away from them towards the designated captain's office to work on devising practice sessions and tactics on her own.
As the door to the captain's office shut with a small bang, Fred collapsed onto the wooden bench with a weary sigh.
"She was being kind about Ron, he was lousy today" said Fred wearily.
"She really wanted Frobisher to be Keeper… she looked gutted when she had to turn the position down and she was forced to go with Ron instead" said George in equal weariness.
Harry sighed.
"If Hooper wasn't such a whiner I wouldn't mind seeing him on the team… but Ron… as soon as he makes one mistake he goes on to make more" said Fred wearily.
"Surely he'll get better as he has more practice" said Harry, hoping that he was right but a part of him was not so sure.
It took another few minutes for Ron to return, now dressed in Oliver Wood's old Quidditch robes which actually fitted him, surprising the three boys as Wood was more bulky and broad-shouldered than Ron.
7th September 1995
Taking to the skies in their Quidditch uniforms, Angelina started their first practice session with a simple passing session, with the main aim to test Ron's distribution.
The seven players spread out near the hoops, putting some distance between themselves while the crowd below looked up at them.
While a small crowd of Gryffindors including some of their friends were watching them with vocal interest and support from a small section of the stands. Unfortunately, sat in another one of the stands were a small crowd of Slytherin's including their new Seeker Eric Black, who had openly challenged Lucan Malfoy for his spot at Seeker at the Slytherin try-outs earlier that morning, outflying and humiliating him by catching all three Snitches without difficulty according to the Hogwarts rumour mill.
A furious Lucan had protested this decision after losing his spot, with the Slytherin Captain Michael Montague paying no mind to his former Seeker's complaints, eventually telling him to get lost.
Eric, however, looked slightly uncomfortable and bored watching the Gryffindor's practice above him, while his fellow teammates were making comments about the Gryffindors.
Surprisingly enough, Lucan Malfoy was watching their practice with a small scowl on his face as he sat next to his brother Corvus who looked like a younger but identical version of Lucan, Crabbe, Goyle, Felix Lestrange, Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott who had taken up Marcus Flint's former position as Chaser for the Slytherin team.
Harry, who was focusing his attention on the crowds below them, was almost caught cold as Angelina passed the Quaffle to him.
He threw it to Katie, ignoring the small glare Angelina sent his way, no doubt annoyed at his lack of focus.
The Quaffle was passed between them a few more times before Alicia passed it to Ron, who proceeded to drop it.
The Slytherins below, with the exception of Eric who shook his head wearily, roared with laughter as Ron dove down to retrieve the Quaffle.
"What's that Weasel is flying… who in their right mind would put a flying charm on that mouldy old thing?!" shouted Lucan.
While it was obvious that Lucan's friends found his remarks amusing, it became clear that some of the older Slytherin Quidditch players were casting annoyed glances at Lucan, obviously not wanting him there with them.
"Pass it on Ron" said Angelina calmly, acting as though nothing had happened as Ron returned to their height.
Harry noticed Fred and George cast wary glances at each other as he received the Quaffle from Ron before passing it to Katie.
After a few more passes, Angelina sent a wicked pass to Ron who missed it by inches.
"Come on Ron, pay attention" said Angelina crossly, who must have been wondering if she could tempt Vicky Frobisher to commit herself properly to the Quidditch team, knowing that she would be better suited to being Keeper than Ron.
The Slytherins roared and screamed with laughter as Ron dove down to retrieve the Quaffle once again.
Eventually, Ron's luck appeared to be turning around as he finally caught the Quaffle on his third attempt.
"Better… keep that up now" said Angelina.
Ron feeling giddy and proud that he had caught the Quaffle, threw it at Katie with so much enthusiasm and force that it sailed through her hands and smacked her hard in the nose, giving her a nosebleed making Harry and the others wince as laughter could be heard from the Slytherin's below them once again.
"Sorry" groaned Ron, shooting towards her to make sure she was alright.
"She's fine Ron… get back into position!" barked Angelina.
"But when you're passing to a teammate, try not to knock her off of her broom, we have bludger's for that" continued Angelina as Ron went back to the hoops.
As Katie, pressed her sleeve against her nose to stop the bleeding, Fred flew over to her reaching into his pockets, pulling a small purple sweet out of one pocket.
"Here, take this… it ought to stop the bleeding" said Fred handing the sweet to her.
Katie nodded and put it in her mouth, desperate to stop her bleeding nose as quickly as possible.
"All right, Fred and George, go get your Beater bats and a Bludger, Harry go with them and release the Snitch when I say so!" Angelina called out.
Harry took off after the twins to get the crate of balls.
"Ron's making a right mess of things" muttered Fred as he opened the ball crate.
"I hope he hasn't peaked too soon" muttered George, retrieving a single Bludger from the crate while Fred picked up both of their Beater bats handing one to George.
"He's just nervous" said Harry, pocketing the Snitch as George let go of the Bludger, letting it shoot off into the sky.
As they flew back up to their teammates, Angelina blew into the whistle hanging around her neck.
Harry pulled the Snitch out, releasing it, counting to twenty before shooting away from his teammates to search for the Snitch.
With the wind whistling in his ears as he zoomed around the stadium, Harry tuned all of the other noise out of his mind before a shrill whistle brought him to a halt.
"Stop, stop, STOP!… Ron, you're not guarding your middle hoop!" screamed Angelina, whose patience with her Keeper must be wearing razor-thin right now.
Harry, turned to look at Ron who was hovering in front of his left hoop, leaving the other two hoops completely unprotected.
"Oh… sorry" said Ron, his voice a mixture of nervousness and sheepishness as the Slytherin's roared with laughter once again while some of the Gryffindor's made audible groans.
"You keep shifting around when you're watching the Chasers… either stay in central position until you have to move to defend a hoop or circle the hoops instead… don't drift vaguely off to one side, that's how you let in those last three goals!" screamed Angelina.
"Sorry" said Ron, with his face now beet red to the amusement of the Slytherins below, who were now chanting "Gryffindor are losers" to the displeasure of Harry and the other players.
"And Katie… can't you do something about that nosebleed?!" shouted Angelina.
"I'm trying but it's just getting worse" said Katie, her voice muffled slightly as she was still trying to stem the blood flow with her arm.
Harry forgot about the Snitch and flew towards her, noticing Fred remove something from his robes with an anxious look on his face out of the corner of his eye.
Fred then glanced at George for a moment before turning back to Katie with a horrified look on his face.
"Are you alright?" said Harry as he took a look at her bleeding nose.
Katie's eyes flashed onto his before she nodded her head.
"She's fine Harry, now get back to looking for the Snitch!" Angelina called out.
Ignoring his Captain for a moment, Harry kept his gaze on Katie.
"Do you want to go to the Hospital Wing?" said Harry with concern in his voice.
A small smile flashed across Katie's face before she shook her head at him.
"I'll be fine… go on, get back to practice before Angie loses it with you as well" said Katie.
Harry sighed and flew away from her to resume his search for the Snitch.
Seconds after he had caught it just over three minutes later, Harry heard the shrill of Angelina's whistle once again, calling for them to stop.
Turning to where the three Chasers were practising with Ron, Harry gasped when he saw that Katie's face was now chalk white and covered in blood and shot towards her along with the rest of his teammates.
"She needs to go to the Hospital Wing" said Angelina.
"We'll take her… she er… might have swallowed a blood blisterpod by mistake" said Fred sheepishly.
Upon hearing that, Harry wanted to curse Fred for Katie's condition and judging by the looks on their faces, Angelina and Alicia were thinking exactly the same thing as him.
"There's no point in continuing without any Beaters and a Chaser down… come on, let's go and get changed" said Angelina glumly as Fred and George started to help Katie back down to the ground.
Harry sighed and shot off back towards the changing rooms to get changed, marking the end of a disastrous training session.
21st September 1995
After a particularly gruelling, early morning training session where Ron was showing little sign of improvement in yet another training session as Keeper, Katie finally emerged from the changing rooms.
"Katie, can I have a word?" Katie heard Harry call out to her as she walked out of the changing rooms with her Quidditch uniform in her bag and her broomstick in her hand.
She turned to see Harry standing next to the entrance to the changing rooms holding onto his Firebolt.
She was slightly surprised to see that he looked really nervous and kept glancing at the floor.
"Sure… what do you want to talk to me about?" said Katie taking a step towards him.
Harry gulped and placed his broomstick up against the wall of the changing rooms.
"I… I uhh, I was wondering if… if you and I could uhm…?" said Harry nervously before trailing off.
Katie let go of her broomstick, letting it fall to the floor and stepped closer to him.
"Harry… are you asking me out?" said Katie softly with a raised eyebrow.
Harry turned red with embarrassment and nodded.
"Why don't I save you the effort?" said Katie with her lips curling into a smirk.
Harry sighed and shut his eyes feeling like he might have blown his chance.
Instead, he was surprised to feel her hands on his shoulders and her lips pressed against his, which made his eyes snap open to see Katie's face completely filling his vision.
He had gone from trying to ask her out to sharing his first kiss with her.
"This cannot be happening, this has to be a dream" thought Harry in shock as Katie pulled him closer to her.
He quickly began to kiss her back for a few seconds before she pulled away from him with a smirk on her face.
"That felt great, better than I ever imagined" said Harry feeling a little bit giddy at the fact that he had just had his first kiss with his crush.
Katie chuckled.
"Imagination is nothing compared to the real thing Harry, though if you're still unsure I'd be happy to convince you otherwise" said Katie teasingly as she trailed her hand down his arm and took his hand in hers.
"So I'm not dreaming then?" said Harry.
Katie smirked.
"Been dreaming about me have you?" said Katie teasingly.
Harry turned a little pink.
"Yes" mumbled Harry.
"Tell me what happens when you dream about me" said Katie teasingly.
Harry went from pink to full-on red.
"We were… we were kissing… like a couple, it felt so right and really nice" said Harry nervously.
Katie stroked his arm.
"Now fantasy turns into reality" said Katie in a flirtatious voice locking eyes with him.
Harry felt his heart rate spike as he realised the extent of her words.
She had basically just told him that she would go out with him.
"Can we… can we do that again?" said Harry.
Katie laughed and squeezed his hand.
"So sweet Harry… but boyfriends don't ask their girlfriends for permission to kiss them" said Katie amusedly.
She squeezed his shoulder and licked her lips for him which had him slowly leaning towards her eager to indulge in such a delicious sight.
"They just lean in… and let the rest take care of itself" said Katie slowly leaning towards him.
Harry took the hint and pressed his lips against hers spinning her around to press her up against the wall.
"So forceful, I like that" said Katie teasingly breaking the kiss before grabbing hold of his head and kissing him again trying to dominate him.
She hooked her ankle behind his and pushed herself against him.
She refused to break contact with him as they landed on the grass causing them both to laugh into each other's mouths before Harry's tongue slipped past her lips causing them to break apart in shock and embarrassment.
"Sorry" said Harry feeling embarrassed that he had just inadvertently shoved his tongue into her mouth.
"You don't have to apologise… but be gentle next time you want to stick your tongue down my throat" said Katie laughing as she did.
She placed her elbows on either side of his head, supporting herself as she looked down at her boyfriend.
"Boyfriend and girlfriend then?" said Harry looking up at her.
Katie smirked and leaned down towards his ear.
"Do you want to be my boyfriend?" whispered Katie.
Harry placed his hand on the side of her head and gently moved it so their noses were touching.
"I've liked you ever since we won the cup in my third year, going to the Yule Ball with you last year was one of the best nights I've ever had… and I really wanted to ask you out afterwords but I chickened out, I wish I'd been brave enough that night, then we could have been doing this long ago" said Harry softly before turning them over so he was on top of her.
Not being prepared for hearing such words leave his mouth, Katie let her desire take over, cheeks turning bright red as she pressed her lips against his.
"Harry, you are without doubt… the sweetest boy I have ever met, no one else even comes close to you, and honestly" said Katie breaking their kiss before taking a deep breath to steady herself.
She stroked his arm.
"I've been waiting for you to ask me out all year" said Katie softly.
"She did not just say that" thought Harry in shock.
Katie wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him down into her.
"Had you not asked me out by Christmas… I would've asked you myself, or let some mistletoe work its magic on us" said Katie softly as she traced her hands over his back.
Harry blushed as he felt her breasts pressing against his chest as she tightened her hold on him.
Katie laughed and flicked him on the side of his head as he fought to prevent himself from looking down at her breasts.
"I know my girls have grown up Harry… but my eyes are up here" said Katie causing Harry to blush even more.
Snapping himself out of it he placed his hand on her cheek.
"You're incredible" said Harry softly causing Katie to turn a little bit pink.
"You're as sweet as you are cute sometimes Harry" whispered Katie as Harry leaned down and kissed her.
Feeling wicked she parted her lips and snaked her tongue through his lips finding his tongue, making him jolt slightly before he returned the gesture.
Hands slowly roamed over backs and arms as they let out all of their pent up attraction to each other, completely oblivious to their surroundings or the fact that someone might see them.
Though a part of Katie felt slightly wicked at the thrill of getting caught underneath her boyfriend who was taking her breath away as he snogged her.
Eventually, the need for oxygen caused them to separate with flustered faces.
"Can you imagine the look on Mcgonagall's face if she caught us right now?" said Katie amusedly as Harry raised himself up slightly.
"Yes… can you imagine the look on her face?" said a stern but familiar voice from their left.
Harry and Katie froze for a second and slowly turned to look in the direction of the voice before quickly scrambling to get to their feet.
Professor Mcgonagall was stood looking at them with a stern look on her face.
Though Professor Mcgonagall felt a small sense of pride and happiness when she saw that her star Seeker and Chaser had finally given in to their own feelings, she could not let them go without at least warning them to find some privacy in the future.
"Professor Mcgonagall… we were just… uhm" said Harry quickly and nervously, scratching his head with his face as red as his Quidditch uniform.
"Just practising… for the match" Katie blurted out without thinking, turning the same shade of red as Harry.
"I see… I suggest that you find somewhere a little more private though" said Professor Mcgonagall sternly.
She turned around and left them walking towards the lake.
"The next time I catch you in this situation it'll be detention… separate detentions!" Professor Mcgonagall called out as she walked away from them.
Once she was gone Harry and Katie turned to look at each other.
"That could've been worse" said Katie taking a few deep breaths.
Harry nodded breathing heavily before he took her hand and picked up her broomstick handing it to her.
"How about we go back up to the castle… before someone else interrupts us?" said Harry picking his own broomstick up.
Katie pulled his hand up to her mouth and kissed it.
As they walked up the path Katie kept hold of his hand feeling just as excited as Harry at their new relationship and where it would take them.
Since the start of the last school year, she knew that he had a crush on her, though it took her until they returned to school this year to accept that she liked him as well, finding him to be very sweet, kind, funny and incredibly cute.
Other girls might have laughed at his nervous way of asking her out, but not her. She saw it as part of who he was as a person and she would not have it any other way. She was proud and happy to call him her boyfriend and that was what mattered the most.
"Are you still having trouble with Switching Spells?" said Katie kindly after a few minutes of walking.
Harry nodded.
Katie twirled herself around their joined hands.
"I could always tutor you you know… I did get an Outstanding on my Transfiguration Owl" said Katie softly.
Harry pulled her into him.
"A private tutor eh?" said Harry teasingly.
Katie smirked and looked up at him as she pressed herself into him.
"Just for you… and I am more than willing to reward you for hard work and progress" said Katie teasingly.
"And what would my reward be exactly?" said Harry teasingly.
Katie batted her eyelashes at him.
"I'm sure I can come up with something that will encourage you to work very hard" said Katie softly as she pulled away from him walking by his side once more.
Later that evening…
"This does count as our first date you know?" said Harry teasingly.
Having left the castle nearly twenty minutes ago, he and Katie were taking a nice quiet stroll around the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying their quiet time alone before they would have to go back up to the castle for the evening feast.
After walking back into the Gryffindor Common Room earlier that morning. Harry and Katie were slightly embarrassed when most of the people in the Common Room, including their smirking teammates, watched them walk in hand in hand while making a few teasing comments, with one comment of "It took you long enough Harry" from Alicia Spinnet really embarrassing Harry in particular.
"Does it now… you best impress me then" said Katie feeling Harry pull her towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
As they walked towards the Forest, Katie let go of his hand moving next to him and looping her arm around his waist, enjoying how close she was to him.
Harry placed his arm around her own waist, holding her close and letting her rest her head on his shoulder as they enjoyed their stroll.
"What a day… getting to play Quidditch with the prettiest girl in the school and then snogging her senseless within the space of two hours… I thought Angelina was going to make the Twins pelt me with bludgers since I couldn't take my eyes off you all the way through practice" said Harry amusedly.
Katie laughed and playfully bumped him.
"You are such a flirt and a hopeless one at that… but you're lucky I like you so much" said Katie amusedly.
Harry smirked and spun her around so she was facing him, pressed right up against him.
"And what would you say if I promised to kiss you in front of the entire school if we win the Quidditch Cup this year?" said Harry cheekily.
Katie upon hearing those words, looked up into his amazing blue eyes blushing madly.
"I'll hold you to that" said Katie, her lips forming a wicked grin before kissing him.
Katie sighed into his mouth as she felt Harry's hands stroking the back of her head and lower back.
When the two finally pulled their lips away from each other, they looked into each other's eyes projecting how much they cared for and were attracted to each other.
Katie placed her forearms on either side of his neck smiling up at him.
"It might have taken me until this summer to realise that I felt this way about you… but I always hoped that I'd be lucky enough to land someone like you, someone who treats me as an equal but is not afraid to show me how much I mean to him" said Katie softly.
Harry traced his hand on her cheek, letting her rest her head against it, showing her affection for him.
"At first, I thought that we may never go beyond being friends… I thought that you were far too good for me" said Harry.
Katie frowned and leaned closer to him.
"Please Harry… don't put yourself down like that, you are a very nice and talented boy, and even when I was jealous of you when we first got onto the team you were always so kind to me, kinder than I deserved for how I treated you…and I could not be happier right now, I mean it" said Katie softly.
Harry smiled and gave her a gentle kiss.
"You weren't as bad as that… and we've always had a closer relationship with each other than we had with the others haven't we?" said Harry softly.
Katie placed her hand on the back of his neck.
"Perhaps it's because we joined the team at the same time, while the others had all been on the team together for at least a year… so we gravitated towards each other and became good friends… after I had gotten over my jealousy at least" said Katie softly.
Harry smirked.
"You were a jealous little witch back then weren't you?" said Harry teasingly causing Katie to laugh.
"It's not nice to tease people Harry, least of all your lovely girlfriend" said Katie, holding her free hand over her heart in mock hurt.
Harry laughed and leaned towards her, kissing her as she smirked and wrapped her other arm around his back.