Chapter six.

Ayla slowly made her way home, alone. Oliver had been sweet to offer to walk her home, no-one had ever said that to her before. But it was probably best if he didn't, who knew who they'd bump into. Besides she didn't have far to go. Plus she needed to get her head together before Sarah turned up. Ayla could only guess what Sarah would say about the whole Oliver thing. Right time to get things straight she thought. The evening had gone well, Oliver Wood, she'd met some interesting people, Oliver Wood, talked to a lot of Quidditchy people, Oliver Wood, and had left around midnight, Oliver Wood.

It was hopeless. He's invaded her head and she couldn't get rid of him. She couldn't lie to Sarah, she was her closet friend, almost family even. Sarah didn't deserve to be lied to either. Besides she would see through Ayla straight away. So she'd have to mention Oliver at some point. And she had to remember to call him Wood, Oliver was far too familiar. Ayla began to list the things she couldn't mention about Oliver in front of Sarah. His hair, his eyes, his smile, his...everything! This was not good. When had he changed from being just another Quidditch player to stare at into the star main attraction of all her dreams? This was definitely not good.

By the time she reached home Ayla was completely confused. Ok so Oliver was nice to look at, there was nothing wrong with appreciating his, his...him. But she didn't know him. He liked Quidditch, that about summed him up to Ayla. So therefore it was just a crush. She'd had those before. Crushes were perfectly normal. Though crushes had never felt like this before. Strange really. But Sarah would understand. She had enough strange crushes herself. So to sum up, a stupid but completely forgivable crush. Not like she'd Avada'd someone was it? And they'd just had a couple of drinks together, nothing huge. Now that she thought about it he hadn't really shown any real interest in her, as a person. She'd barely even call him a friend. He was an acquaintance, a business associate. Nothing more. Just a good looking business associate. Well everyone had one of those didn't they? So nothing to worry about. She could tell Sarah everything, with a clear conscience. She'd probably just laugh at Ayla anyway. Especially if she found out how stupid Ayla had been acting.

She relaxed, waiting for Sarah to pop out of the fireplace. Why had she gotten so worked up over Oliver king of the Quaffles Wood? Maybe she was turning into a crazy old cat woman. It was a bit soon for that though surely? And besides she didn't technically own a cat, just a kneazle, which was cat-like but not a proper cat. Maybe she should stop drinking Butterbeer. It didn't agree with her, and it always made her ramble on about strange things. Yes it was the drink. Definitely. Damn that Wood he was the one who kept buying them for her.

"Boo!"

Sarah. Sarah was here. Ayla jumped up and rushed at her friend, pulling her into a huge hug. Ayla felt like it had been months since she had seen her best friend.

"Hi, hi, hi. Hello little baby!" Ayla patted her friend's large stomach. "You being a good girl for your mama?"

Sarah swatted Ayla's hand away, she was frustrated with the number of people who thought that because she was pregnant, it meant they had a right to touch her ever increasing belly. It didn't.

"Don't say that! As far as Melvin's concerned we're having a boy."

"Don't you think you should tell him you're having a girl? Be less of a shock when she you know, pops out. I mean you cast the spell to find out the sex of the baby months ago. If you'd told him then he would have adjusted to the idea by now."

"Well I don't want to disappoint him. I know he'll love her, despite the fact she's not a boy. Plus I promised I'd wait 'til the birth 'til I found out. Besides we're not here to talk about my little bundle. Come on, tell me about the Ball. Was it fabulous?"

Ayla snorted, most women were desperate to describe every second of their pregnancy, it glorious detail. Not Sarah. She took a deep breath, this was it. Ayla told Sarah everything. All that she could remember about the Ball, the guests, who was with whom, & what they were wearing. She told her about how she had been knocked over by Oliver Wood, and how she managed to spill both drinks over herself. Sarah had laughed so hard she could barely breathe, she knew how clumsy her friend could be. Ayla even mentioned how good looking she thought Oliver was, to which Sarah's face turned as white as a sheet before she started to pretend to be sick into an imaginary bucket. Ayla threw a pillow at her giggling. Well that wasn't so bad.

Now that she'd gotten the Ball out of the way Ayla was anxious to hear any of Sarah's news.

"So what did the in-laws have to say this weekend? What fantastic new baby names did they give you this week? What's the latest can't-live-without-it advice that they decided to impart on you?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. Ever since she found out she was pregnant every family member she had was eager to give her advice. She had lost count of how many baby names had been suggested. As well as the numerous potions they prescribed to deal with morning sickness, swollen ankles, her expanding stomach and more besides. It was all getting a bit much and she still had another four months of her pregnancy left. Her in-laws were adamant, not to mention completely wrong, that the baby was going to be a boy. As such they were suggesting names from generations of Melvin men, and there were plenty on them. Sarah's family was more realistic. It was a fifty-fifty chance either way.

"Well the latest suggestion from Melvin's family is Hilary."

"For a boy?"

"Yup, it was his great-great-great-grandfather's brother's name. Or maybe it was the grandmother's brother? I'm not sure, I lost interest."

Ayla smirked she could tell her friend was bored to tears of being harassed about her unborn baby. She also knew that Sarah was probably dying to tell her family that she was expecting a girl, if only to make things easier. But most people liked surprises in that department. Not Sarah, she liked to know what was happening all the time. Her body, her baby, her business. Which was entirely fair.

Ayla could also sympathies. Her own family was itching for her to settle down, get married and raise a family of her own. It was what every good witch did apparently. Before she died her grandmother had even gone as far as to tell Ayla that if she didn't get herself hitched up soon she'd be left on the shelf for the rest of her life. Ayla had been nineteen at the time and didn't really see what all the fuss was about. She still just laughed it all off though. Her family had a very old-fashioned view of life, like most pureblood families. Ayla knew that were she in Sarah's position things would be exactly the same, which was comforting in a way. It did nothing to comfort Sarah however.

Instead of thinking of the coming weekend and the horrors it would bring her Sarah spent the rest of the night teasing Ayla about her new crush. Ayla took it all in good humour, there was no other way to take it, and laughed along with her friend. Still she couldn't help wondering when or even if she'd see Oliver again. Maybe tonight was just a one off? She had to admit she did want to get to know him better. To see if there was a single thought that entered his head that wasn't Quidditch related. Maybe her other friends, the ones who were Quidditch and gossip obsessed, would know some more about him. But then it would be difficult, they were sure to tease her mercilessly about it. Ayla with a crush on a Quidditch player, had the world gone mad? Having Sarah tease her was one thing, having six other people tease her all at the same time was another thing altogether. She could just wait until they started talking about him and then pay really close attention. They'd be too distracted then to realize what she was up to.

It would probably be a good idea not to obsess over him as well. The way she saw it life was too short to waste time thinking about someone she may never see again. Who also didn't appear to show even the smallest trace of interest in her. Who was in almost every single way her complete opposite and was bound to drive her insane with his constant talk about Quidditch. The more she thought about it the more she became sure she knew all there was to know about him. He'd talked to her for a total of six hours about nothing but that damn sport. Maybe she should forget the getting to know him thing and just continue to stare at him. It would take far longer for her to get bored of him that way. Plus the view was always pretty.