Across the room a tall man with a thick Scottish accent made his way into the little diner. Asking the hostess for seating for one he shook the water from his coat and sat down. He was starving and wanted to order quickly so after a quick glance through the menu a waitress came over and he placed his order.
Sitting back he looked around a bit noticing the other people in the diner. He saw a couple of young ladies together having breakfast, a few families were there with their young children having a nice morning together as well, but his favorite was the elderly couple at a table near the counter.
The man was pouring a cuppa for his wife who looked a bit more frail than he did. She sat their stooped over at her age and when he handed her the cup she looked at him with pure adoration and love. He smiled at her just the same way. It was a little thing, making someone a nice hot cup of tea but, sometimes those little things held the most meaning. You could look at these two people clearly in their later of years still loving each other to see the emotion written across their faces.
Oliver Wood, star Quidditch player, Captain of Puddlemere United, and Keeper, wanted that for himself more than anything in the world. He wanted to find someone who would look at him like that when his eyes were old and cloudy and his joints were stiff. When his skin sagged and he couldn't fly anymore, he wanted someone to look at him like he was still the best thing they ever had.
His parents had that kind of love. They were still so in love that even that it rolled on them in waves making everyone who entered their home feel calm and settled. No one ever felt unwelcome in Wood Keep because the place was so steeped in love. You could feel it as a guest and growing up in a home like that set a very high standard for any future relationships.
His grandparents had a love like this as well. Although they passed while Oliver was still at Hogwarts he could remember running to the dower house where they lived after Oliver was born with scrapped knees or hurt feelings from the other children in the village, and they made him feel so cared for. He would feel like he was the center of their world.
His grandfather would go out every day and pick a flower for his grandmother. He would trim back the thorns on a rose or search field after field to find the perfect flower and leave it for her on her dressing table. He did this everyday for as long as Oliver could remember. He still left a fresh daily flower on her dressing table after she passed. He told Oliver that even if she wasn't there to enjoy it she could still see him honoring her even from the beyond. He followed her into peace less than a year later.
Oliver wanted a love like that. He wanted what his parents and grandparents had with each other.
When he started his Quidditch career he was happy to just receive the attention of beautiful women and share his evening with them. He had so many stunning women throw themselves at him that he couldn't deny he sampled a fair few. It went straight to his head to be so chased after and coveted. He let the fame and fortune go to his head along with the attention and while nobody expected anything beyond a tumble in the sheets he now had a reputation to just that.
Oliver Wood was nothing more to women than a fantastic fuck.
No one was looking to be the next Mrs. Wood anymore when he met them. At first when this started he had a few women attempt to throw a fake pregnancy at him or claim that he promised more than he did. The more years he played in the league the less this happened. He had a reputation. Anymore he didn't even have to make it clear that this was just a one off. They all expected this. It didn't make him any different from a lot of the other Quidditch players, but it started to bother him deeply.
He finally started noticing that he wasn't getting much out of his encounters. He had a good time and he made sure the ladies did too but it was all feeling meaningless and hollow. Even the bragging stories the lads told now didn't matter much to him. They seemed empty.
He also noticed that the older guys on the team only gave hallow laughs to these stories. The married guys would smile but look vaguely pitying.
His mother had stopped introducing him to her friends daughters in an effort to see him settled down. When he asked her about this a few months ago she told him she couldn't stand to see her friends daughters treated in such a way by her very own son.
She had such a disappointed look in her eyes when telling him this that he was properly ashamed of himself.
So he did what he did best. He threw himself into change. You don't become the best Keeper in the league by not being adaptable. He had spent the last several months without the company of a woman by his side at every event. He had gone home and reflected on what he needed to do to change and then he did it. He quieted his sex drive with intense work-outs with his trainer. Hard to feel like you are missing anything on a night out if you are exhausted from 8 hours of training plus two hours lifting weights and cardio training. He study old Quidditch plays from around the world. He learned how to cook because he found that when he stayed home to eat he not only ate healthier but he was not approached by women who did their best to make him regret his decision to change.
Then he noticed something amazing. With his new dedication to his training and his health and fitness, his teammates began to listen to him more. He created better plays for the team and was more organized in his training. He felt better over all. He added muscle mass and flew faster and better than he had in a long time. With the changes he had made in himself he managed to change his whole team.
They trained better and harder than ever before.
They got better results than ever before.
They were the top in the league at the end of last season thanks in small part to his amazing leadership.
The team unanimously elected him captain for this season and he was so honored. He wasn't the eldest on the team or the one with the most experience. They chose him to lead by example.
However the longer this went on the more lonely he felt. He had great teammates, he had friends, and he had his small but close family but, he wanted something else. He wanted someone to share his time with away from Quidditch. He wanted long walks and late night conversations about everything and nothing.
Oliver Wood wanted more than he had but, he didn't want something shallow. He wanted something forever.
He was headed to his family Keep today to talk to his mother about maybe introducing him to some of those nice girls she had talked about in the past.
He didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted someone to talk to over dinner, someone to tell about his day, someone to share all of life's victories and defeats with. He wasn't expecting easy but he wanted someone to complain about his singing in the shower and his habit of leaving his clothes where he took them off. He wanted someone to dishes with and dance in the rain with too.
He wanted a connection to someone that would last.
Looking up he noticed his waitress carrying out three plates and watched her walk over to a table to deliver the food. He noticed Harry's partner Theo sitting on the outside. He was talking to someone next to him who Oliver guessed was Harry so he decided to stop over and say hello. Walking around would distract him from his hunger anyway. He should not have waited so long for breakfast.
As he approached the table he did see Harry but, noticed they were talking with someone else too. He glanced and noticed that they were having breakfast with Harry's best friend Hermione Granger. Oliver remembered her a little from Hogwarts as a small girl with big crazy hair and large front teeth. That Malfoy kid had insulted her at some point and the whole team jumped all over the kid for it. He also remembered that she saved a game for the team by waterproofing Harry's glasses during a rainstorm so he could actually see the snitch to catch the thing. When they had won Oliver had given her a big spinning hug and a kiss on the cheek where she turned beet red. That was a funny memory.
She was brilliantly smart, a war heroine, and very kind. That was about all he knew about her really.
"Hey Harry. Hey Theo." Oliver said as he approached. "Noticed you from across the room and thought I would swing over for a quick hello. Didn't realize you had company so I won't interrupt."
"No, Oliver sit down with us!" Harry said in excitement. He and Wood had always gotten on well but, it increased exponentially within the last half a year. Oliver had changed quite a bit and he thought maybe Hermione should start meeting some new people.
Theo wasn't sure if this was the best idea but, Hermione looked okay with him sitting down with them for a bit. Trust Harry to find another star Quidditch player to introduce Hermione to first. He loved him but, my goodness, he was an oblivious Gryffindor sometimes.
"Oliver you remember Theo I'm sure but, do you remember Hermione Granger? She was in my year at Hogwarts." Harry said introducing the two of them.
Oliver thought Harry was acting a little touched right now. Hermione was a war heroine. Basically everyone knew her. She was the brightest witch to pass through Hogwarts since Rowena Ravenclaw and quite pretty as well.
"Ahh, yes I remember you Hermione," he said looking straight into her eyes, "You are the girl who is always saving Harry's life right?"
Oliver felt all warm inside when she tossed back her head and laughed. She had some red puff eyes and it looked like she could use a good laugh. She was stunning when she laughed.
"Well thankfully it has been a few years since he needed saving and it seems to be on a much lesser scale now so I can send that job off to Theo and enjoy some actual peace and quiet." she replied to him with a soft smile.
Theo heard his name mentioned but, he honestly was not really paying much attention. Oliver and Hermione were flirting. Or what would count more as Gryffindor flirting. Not skilled or tactful but, he could see some kind of weird attraction there even if it was really minimal right now. Maybe his boyfriend wasn't an idiot. Maybe she had a type too. I mean Viktor Krum, Ron the douche Weasley, and Marcus Flint, perhaps Hermione had a Quidditch fixation. They really looked pretty together even if nothing else happened.
"Hey! That isn't the job I signed up for." Theo shot back in mock outrage.
"Oh yes, then what did you sign up for?" Hermione quirked at eyebrow at him. She moved over so Oliver would have room to sit down.
"I didn't read the fine print but, I am sure it was not to make sure he survived. That is a job no one except you could ever handle. Smarmy managing Gryffindors all tilt at windmills together if you please. The snakes just sit back and watch and offer our constructive criticism."
"You mean smart ass remarks and not so very subtle innuendo?" Hermione asked and Harry and Oliver both burst out laughing.
"Well of course that is what I meant." Theo added with a saucy smile.
"Hey!" Harry replied with a fake pout, "I don't need looking after thank you very much. I managed to do just fine now that snake faced megalomaniacs aren't trying to kill me constantly. And you," he said poking at Theo, "seem to like taking care of me don't pretend otherwise!"
Theo gave him a soft smile. "I do actually like taking care of you. Dotty Gryffindorish tendencies aside."
Oliver looked at the two and noticed how genuinely happy they were. It made him smile to himself. He shifted his attention to the pretty witch sitting next to him and gave her a smile. Red puffy eyes aside she was truly stunning. She smiled at her friends practically bathing in their love and adoration.
"Well aren't the two of you disgustingly cute together," he commented, "How can you stomach your eggs in the face of all this?" He asked giving Hermione a questioning look.
"It makes me happy to see them so happy." She told him honestly. "Plus they just offered me free room and board at Hotel NottPott so I can change directions in my life. So I find that this time they are saving me. Plus honestly they make me hopeful I can find this whole nonsense for myself one day." She replied gesturing at the love birds across the table.
"Sounds like a good goal and I should know I am a Keeper."
"Did you just Dad joke? Really at this table with a teammate, two former housemates, and a Slytherin you told a Dad joke?" She looked at Oliver like her was crazy while Theo smirked, and Harry tired to stiffle his laugh.
Oliver just grinned. His mission was complete he made a pretty witch smile today and he felt amazing.
"Well is it really a Dad joke if someone laughs?" Oliver asked as he snatched a piece of toast from Hermione's breakfast.
"That was definitely a Dad joke and Harry has no sense of humor. Everything amuses him." Theo said.
At that moment the waitress came to the table with Oliver's food and he got ready to excuse himself and go eat, at their insistence though he stayed where he was and ate with them. Conversation ebbed and flowed around the table and all the friends made sure that Oliver was included in all the conversation even though they were such a tight knit group. All in all it was the best day out with friends he had in a while. He sat next to a beautiful witch, across from a teammate, and his very happy partner. Oliver was so content that he didn't even notice how long they had been sitting at the table until the waitress came over to ask if they wanted lunch as well.
All of them were slightly embarrassed that they were there so long and they left a hefty tip as they got up to leave. As Hermione, Harry, and Theo were departing it was all smiles as Oliver told them he hoped to see them at some of the upcoming games and that he would see Harry at practice Monday.
Oliver left the cafe full of lighthearted happiness. That was a wonderful morning and if a certain curly haired war heroine featured prominently in his thoughts and smiles that really was not so bad. He hoped he would get to spend more time with the trio but for now he was off to his family home. All thought however of asking his mother to introduce him to some nice young ladies had vanished before he stepped through the floo.