It took a few days after that for things to settle down. Oliver was tense and I tried my best to help make things easier for him. By the time our next game came around, we were ready to put the altercation behind us and win.

Things seemed to be a bit harder for Alvarez and Sophia. It's a good thing they didn't play the same positions because their relationship was beyond strained. It made our potlucks and team events slightly awkward, but by the end of the following week, they seemed to have talked through things and were in a better place.

Since then, I've been having regular meetings with them, both together and separate. I didn't know in taking this position that I would effectively be playing the role of relationship counselor, but hey, I wear many hats. There was a little bit for the three of us to work through together, so in the end, it worked out that I was the one helping them through their rough patch.

After that rough week, we left for the road again. I was beginning to get into the routine of being away from home and I didn't dislike it. Though we were too busy to do any sight-seeing while we were away, there was still plenty of things to keep us busy and seeing the different landscapes and eating the local foods kept the experience interesting.

Oliver and I continued to grow closer and, eventually, coach stopped ordering us separate rooms because we always ended up sharing anyways. It was a little scary to me how close we had become in what felt like a short amount of time, but I was aware that I never wanted to be with anyone else. As far as I knew, Oliver felt the same.

We didn't get many breaks, but Oliver didn't let that stop him from showing me how much he cared. Even with the busy schedule and traveling, I would come home to find flowers in the kitchen, or new earrings on my nightstand or whatever little gift he thought I would appreciate.

The media speculation had moved onto another couple to focus on and going out in public had gotten easier. It still wasn't without challenges, but we managed to go on a date once a week when we were home. To give ourselves more privacy, I had been introducing Oliver to some muggle classics. We went to the movie theater, bowling, and even mini golfing. It was an absolute joy to see him experience these things for the first time and that we were doing it together.

By the time the Easter holidays rolled around, Oliver and I asked our parents to join us for dinner to celebrate. While he had met my parents before we started dating, this would be my first time meeting his mother and his first time being introduced as my boyfriend. Needless to say, I was incredibly nervous.

My palms were sweaty as I diligently prepared the holiday meal.

"What if she doesn't like me?"

Oliver had his arm wrapped around me as I stirred batter for the cake. We had decided to cook at my place, and serve at his since mine had all the supplies and his had the extra space.

"Nonsense. You're Hermione Granger. Everyone loves you." I glared. He knew this wasn't true and I hated that people assumed that life had been easy for me since the defeat of Voldemort. "Well, I love you and my mum loves me. That should be enough."

Nodding, I took a deep breath and focused on my task. I was just finishing bringing the last of the food over to Oliver's when there was a knock at the door.

I froze, but Oliver leapt into action. Pleasantries could be overheard and I knew it was his mother. Smoothing down my hair and the pale pink floral dress I had bought just for this occasion, I made my way out of the kitchen and towards their voices. I had seen a few pictures of his parents, so I wasn't completely surprised at the small Scottish woman talking to my boyfriend. Her hair had grayed, but she still held a quite youthful appearance and I noticed Oliver had her eyes.

"Ah, my son has invited his poor, lonely mother for a visit at last."

She continued to fuss over Oliver without so much as a glance in my direction. To his credit, even as his mum hugged him, he eyes, which had found mine, never strayed.

"You know you're welcome any time. I can't help it that you find it too stressful to watch me play. But now is not the time to rehash old arguments. Mum, this is my girlfriend. Hermione. Hermione, meet my mother, Ava."

I smiled warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ava." I offered up my hand and she looked at it reluctantly before taking it.

My heart rate picked up. This wasn't going well so far.

Oliver's arm snaked around my shoulders and squeezed as he said to his mother, "Mum, Hermione is important to me. If you have something to say, say it. Hermione is welcome here as a part of my life as much as you are. She's not leaving."

She hmphed. "I just assumed you'd meet a nice pureblood girl that wasn't so tainted with the war. That's all."

I fought back the tears that threatened. We had come too far for blood status to still matter. And I didn't quite understand why it mattered. From my understanding, Oliver's family was mostly removed from the major impacts of the war. Oliver was there during the final battle, but he was playing quidditch up to that point which was one of the few industries that wasn't tattered by the war. Besides, his mother wasn't even a pureblood herself, she was a halfblood.

Instead of succumbing to my tears and licking my wounds, I decided to tap into that Gryffindor bravery. "I'm sorry you feel that way Mrs. Wood. If there's one thing I know though, it's that I didn't spend months on the run nearly starved to death and being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange herself to be standing here all these years later being looked down upon for my blood status and involvement for helping maintain peace in the Wizarding World.

Ava stared at me as if trying to decide how to react and the silence stretched between us.

Oliver growled beside me. "Are you feeling alright? Since when does blood status matter in this family? And, for the record, I am proud of Hermione's war efforts. There wouldn't be a wizarding community at this point if it wasn't for the sacrifices she made along with Harry. If you're going to be critical and bring up a past that has no business interfering with our future, then you can leave."

I stood shell shocked that Oliver was standing up to the last of his mother over me. He had always spoke kindly and fondly of his her. As far as I knew, there hadn't been any disagreements between them other than her fear that he would fall of his broom and follow in his father's footsteps. I thought they had a great relationship.

Finally, she spoke. "My apologies. I had to make sure you weren't some bimbo after his salary and fame."

"Mother!" Oliver nearly shouted.

She shrugged her shoulders at him and I turned to give her my complete attention while also giving Oliver's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Mrs. Wood, I have plenty of publicity on my own without Oliver's help and, quite frankly, I'd prefer to have none of it. As for salary, I am the sole healer responsible for keeping this team of seven fully functional and in prime shape for the season so they can win. I assure you I am in demand and my salary is near equal to Oliver's."

I saw the surprise shock on her face and had to keep from smiling. I had been surprised too when I found out, especially since that meant I made more than some of the players. In the end I decided it showed I was an equally valued member of the team.

"I see that now, dear. Forgive me. I only have one child and I need to make sure the person he chooses respects him. I had to do my due diligence to make sure you were with him for the right reasons." She turned to Oliver. "It's been so long since I've seen you, I haven't even seen your new home. It's lovely. Thank you both for having me today."

My pulse was still beating frantically at the almost confrontation. I knew I needed to let it go before my parents got there and picked up on it.

"Why don't you two catch up. I'm going to finish setting the table."

Sure, I could have used my wand to set everything perfectly. But the task of placing each piece just so was what I needed right now.

Ten minutes later, my own parents arrived. They were thrilled to see Oliver again and I was pleased that Ava had perfect manners throughout the evening. She was even asking questions about the muggle world with keen interest and attention.

While it had been a rocky start, the rest of the evening actually went well. Ava complimented my meal and was quite nice to the point I almost wondered if I dreamt up her frosty introduction.

Towards the end of the night, my mother asked me for a photograph she knew I had of me with my long since passed grandparents. She came with me next door while I looked for it.

"I do want the picture, sweetheart, but I also wanted a second alone with you." My mother was beaming. "We don't get to see you too often and I just wanted to check in. You seem so happy and things seem to have worked out with Oliver, but I wanted to hear from you how you're really doing."

And wasn't that just so like my mother. It was one of the reasons it was difficult to obliterate her memories all those years ago. Despite her not fully understanding my magical lifestyle, she 100% cared about me and supported my decisions.

"It's all quite lovely actually. I feel like I'm living a fairy tale."

Her eyes got wide with excitement. "Do you think this is it? Is this the man who will finally make an honest woman out of you?"

Ugh, what an awful saying. I was perfectly content being an unmarried, independent woman shagging the brains out of her boyfriend.

"It's quite early to be talking about that, mum. We haven't even been together for a year. When it comes to that, I promise you'll be the first to know."

She clapped her hands under her chin like an excited child. While she had been pressing for gossip, I had found the picture and handed it to her. We made our way back to Oliver's and the evening was dying down.

My father spoke as we entered. "There they are. Sweetheart, our portkey leaves in five minutes. We should get ready to go."

My mum's face fell a little at that. "It's just never quite enough time, is it?"

I looked into my mum's sad eyes and knew what she meant. It was hard to grow up and have a life independent from your parents as a regular muggle, but now we not only straddled two different continents, but two completely different worlds. Gone was my childhood of following my parents around as I told them about the latest book I was reading.

Oliver hijacked our goodbye hugs by offering up his own, as well as a reminder. "The season is winding down now. Just a month and a half left. Obviously, we will have more work to do if we make it to the World Cup, but we could find some time to pay a visit for sure."

My mother's face brightened. "That would be lovely!" the portkey began to glow and my parents rushed to place a hand on the old receipt. "Send me a letter with the details!" were my mother's last words before they were quickly whisked away into the abyss.

This left us with just Ava and Oliver turned to her. "That goes for you too. We'd love to visit if you'll be welcoming."

He hadn't said much, but it was enough to tell me that while she had changed her tone, she wasn't completely forgiven for her lack of welcome.

"That would be wonderful. Send me your schedule and I'll make sure mine is clear." She glanced at her watch. "For now, I really should leave you two to enjoy what's left of your evening. Hermione, that meal was fabulous. I look forward to seeing you again soon."

And with that, she was gone and for the first time all day, we were left alone with nothing to do.

Oliver came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist as he nuzzled my neck. "I feel like I owe you a giant apology."

I sighed into him. "Has she ever been like that before?"

He shook his head and spoke into my neck, "Never. It was completely unexpected. She isn't like that. I'll talk to her and make sure everything is good and that she knows she is never to pull that shite again."

Turning around to face him, I tried to comfort him. "Not everyone will like my past. I've come to terms with that and made peace with it. I can respect that she has her own opinions. I just need to hear from you that it doesn't change anything between us."

"Trust me, love, no one can change how I feel about you. In fact," He seemed to hesitate a minute. "In fact, I'd like you to move in with me."

I stumbled back in surprise. "Are you sure? Is it too soon?"

Oliver stilled, obviously thinking of what to say to keep me from running scared. "Hermione, love, this is us. There's no rules for this. We do what's comfortable and feels right for us. What feels right to me, is for us to live together. Think about it this way, how does it make you feel to think about going to bed with me every night and waking up together every morning? Think about it before you answer. Do you feel scared to think about that? Like you'd lose all your personal space? Does it make you want to hyperventilate to think of your clothes hanging next to mine in the closet or our toothbrushes sitting on the counter together? Or does it fill you with joy? Does it make your heart happy to think of being with me and knowing that I want to spend all the time I can with you?"

I took a sharp intake of breath at his words and braced myself on the counter as I thought them over. It didn't take long for me to realize he was right. The thought of living with him didn't fill me with dread or scare me, it filled my heart with happiness. I looked forward to making and eating meals together, getting dressed together in the morning and sipping coffee before work. Suddenly, I wanted nothing more.

"Ok."

"Ok? Really?" His eyebrow raised to the ceiling.

"Really. You're right. I want it, too. I just didn't realize it until you asked so it took me a little off guard. We spend most of our time together anyways. When we're apart, I find myself distracted and wishing I was with you. Not in an unhealthy way, just... I love you."

His smile lit up the room and I pushed off the counter to step back into him. I proceeded to show him ever so slowly and tenderly just how happy I was.