"Did you see this morning's ranking?" Brandon asked me when I walked onto the pitch one morning for practice?
Most of the season had gone by and we had been doing amazingly.
"Uhuh" I shook my head with a piece of toast I was trying to quickly finish still hanging from my mouth as I stretched.
"WE ARE IN SECOND PLACE! The Wasps just pulled into second!" He screamed and Chilton pushed him over.
"I'm not going to bother telling you who is in first" He said, getting back into a sitting stretch.
"Good, please don't tarnish the good day I'm having so far" I said squinting into the sun and laughing.
"Katie, could you come in here for a second?" Jon said from the ledge in front of his office.
I jumped up and trotted over to the sounds of my teammates oohing like school children witnessing someone getting reprimanded. I had noticed that Jake hadn't come out to stretch yet so was a little concerned it could be something to do with him.
"Katie this is Gregory Sommerville, he is the manager for the English National Quidditch Team and here to talk to you about taking a spot on his team." Jon said, introducing me to a man with short light red hair and glasses wearing a blue suit with the three lions on it.
"You want me? On the national team?" I asked as I fell into one of Jon's office chairs looking at both of them wildly.
"Yes, the league and I are very interested in seeing what you can do for the team, but there is one issue that we need to address you with." Gregory said with a cautioned look on his face.
"We understand that you were moved onto this team because of a dispute between you and Mr. Wood, we would very much like to have both of you representing our nation, but we needed to make sure that this will not be an issue for either party involved." Gregory said like he was in a divorce court hearing.
"I can't see why it would be a problem." I said in the most business-like voice I could muster.
"Great! Then we will talk with him and make sure we get this all squared away. The first practice is in three days in London, and then we have a friendly against the Irish in a few weeks. After that then our tour starts in a month and ends two weeks before the qualifiers start for the world cup. Do you have anything that will conflict with this schedule?" Gregory said almost like a cattle auctioneer.
"What about this team?" I asked, looking at Jon.
"We don't have another game until the league championship which isn't for another few months." Jon said to both Gregory and I.
"Well we will have all of your players back to you by then." Gregory said to Jon.
"Why, who else on this team is coming?" I asked curiously
"Jacob McDermott is going to be on the team." Gregory said to me and then looked back at Jon.
"Do you have any other events that will conflict with being away for the next five or six months at least?" Jon asked me.
"Not that I know of" I answered still in shock.
"Well then, will I see you in London in three days?" Gregory turned to shake my hand.
"Yes…definitely" I said beaming up at him.
"Thank you for your time Jon," Gregory said, shaking Jon's hand. He nodded to both of us and turned and left the office.
"I don't even have to ask how excited you are" Jon laughed seeing my smile.
I left Jon's office and Jake was waiting outside the door for me.
"You got on too!" Jake said excitedly
"YEAH!" I said and we jumped up hugging each other continuing to jump. When we stopped jumping there was a split second where our eyes met and we both got very still before breaking apart and continuing to whoop and laugh. I'm still not exactly sure what that was about but I was almost so happy that I could have kissed him.
That day after practice I ran as fast as I could to Alicia's coffee house and as soon as I entered the back room I shouted "I GOT INVITED TO PLAY ON THE ENGLISH NATIONAL QUIDDITCH TEAM!" and when Alicia wasn't in there and all of her workers stared at me funny I ran into the other side of the store.
"I got invited to play on the English national quidditch team!" I shouted when I saw that Alicia and Angelina were sitting at a table talking with each other.
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Angelina screeched and jumped up in excitement when I fiercely shook my head up and down.
"But I'm going to be busy for the next five or six months, more or less," I said in a more serious and calm manner.
"Blimey, what are you going to do in five or six months!" Alicia asked in shock.
"Well we have practices, then a friendly against Ireland, and then we go on tour or something, and then we start playing games for the world cup." I said listing each thing off on each of my fingers. Stopping to think about it, I am going to be absolutely dead at the end of this.
"This is great Kates! Oh wait….is Oliver going to be on the team?" Angelina freezing the middle of her happy dance.
"Yeah, but I'm not going to let a small issue with him mess up the fact that I'm going to be playing quidditch for England" I said as we all screamed.
Before I could blink it was the first day of practice and Jake and I were walking into the locker room together. I couldn't help but think about how somewhere in the pitch Oliver was flying around and I was going to have to face him again sooner rather than later.
"Are you okay? You look like you're about to be sick." Jake said laughing at me.
"Yeah….Thanks for your clear concern. I'm good….just a little nervous" I said glaring at him trying to supress the panic. I've got this, right?
"Sure you are. Are you worried about Oliver?" he asked as it was clearly written across my face.
"No. I'm just nervous that I'm not as good as all of the guys who are on the team. Yeah did you know that I'm the only girl that they picked this year?" I said clutching my gut and trying to distract him from the conversation that he was trying to have.
"Well then that just means that you are as good as all of the guys, maybe even better, because if you weren't then you wouldn't have been picked at all." Jake said as I belched nervously.
"Cute" he smirked at me.
Still no sign of Oliver anywhere while we got changed and ready to start practice. I was beginning to hope that he wasn't there yet, maybe I could have a couple minutes or even a day would be nice to just get my footing on the situation before throwing him in as well. Unfortunately this was not the case. As soon as I stepped out onto the pitch the very first thing I saw was Oliver on his broom near the goal hoops. Best of all he was looking directly at me.
"I lied….I can't do this." I said starting to hyperventilate a bit and bend over. Jake came up behind me and I ran back into the locker room and sat on a bench.
"Come on Bell, you've got this" Jake said, squatting on the floor in front of me so he could see into my eyes.
"I can't be on the same team with him, not right now…" I said on the verge of bursting into tears.
"Why what's the matter….what happened between our game against him and now?" Jake asked, still forcing me to make eye contact.
"I miss him!" I shouted and then started to cry
"You do?" Jake said in a very shocked voice now quickly looking away.
"Yes I do…UGH!." I wiped my eyes and tried to pull it together. "I went through some things from when we were at school a bit ago and I have been missing those days ever since. And now I'm going to be away from Alicia and Angelina so it's going to be even worse….and I always did fancy him, ever since my first year when I went to a quidditch game. Then I liked him even more the next year when he was my captain." I blushed. It was clear this conversation was making Jake uncomfortable as he shifted on his feet in front of me.
"So what do we do?" Jake said after running his hand threw his hair a few times.
"I don't know…" I said trying to wipe away any signs that I was crying.
"Are you thinking of going home…or what are you planning on doing…?" he asked.
"No I can't go home…I'm being ridiculous. It's just a brief moment of weakness. I gotta get it together." I said standing up and he patted me on the shoulder slowly.
"There was like a tidal wave of other emotions in that brief moment of weakness" he smirked.
"Yes. Occasionally it can happen to a girl with residual anxiety disorder. Please disregard." I said wiping off my kit as if I could wipe away the breakdown I just had.
"I'll do my best. And I'll do my best to fill the voids of Alicia and Angelina, and any others that I might fit in" He said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we walked back out onto the pitch. I felt like there was some extra weight to that statement but I needed to not think about it in fear that I'd unravel again.
We walked out together and I saw Oliver on the pitch and took a deep breath as we walked over to where the chasers were all standing.
"Nice of you to show up" Greg stated.
"Sorry sir, I was having some... technical difficulties" I shrugged.
"Oh…are you okay?" He asked looking from me to where I knew Oliver was.
"Yeah I'm good now." I said, nodding my head and taking another deep breath.
"Alright, then let's start practice….this is the chaser's coach Mr. Tom Dillon…." Gregory was saying.
I don't know why I miss Oliver so much lately. I really just wish that I could go back in time and make sure that the gang all stayed together. We worked out perfectly too. There were six of us, three girls and three guys. Even to the Yule ball in my fifth year, Oliver was out of school by then but he came to the ball with me. Fred went with Angelina and then Alicia and George went together. Though George never actually asked Alicia because he was always too preoccupied, but we convinced them to go together. Those pictures of us all together are priceless, we were so happy and having fun together. Oliver even came back to go to every task with us, and we had so much fun together. Even with Cedric dieing and Voldermort coming back we still dubbed that our second best year at school, of course it would be the best year but Oliver said that we had to say that the year before was our best year. For no reason other than that was the year we won the quidditch cup under his captaincy. I never had a bad year at Hogwarts. Bad things were always happening to me of course. You don't go to Hogwarts at the same time as Harry Potter and leave unscaved. However nothing ever truly drastic happened to me while Oliver was still in school. My sixth year I got a massive bloody nose, thanks to three of the Weasleys, but it was okay because it gave us something to joke about. Angelina had to call off practice and Fred and George were always wondering why they didn't break my nose and feed me some sort of nosebleed nougat when Oliver was captain. Fred and George dropped out of school later that year but it was okay because that gave me a reason to sneak out of school with Angelina and Alicia and go to London on the weekends. Even my seventh year, through being cursed, almost dying, and then Dumbledore dying, it was an okay year because I got to hang out with the gang at hospital while I was recovering.
"Bell….BELL!...Are you still with us?!" Tom was yelling.
"Oh yeah, sorry sir, don't know where I was." I blushed.
Practice was half over and I was playing but not at all paying attention to what I was doing. It just was weaving and passing warm ups so it didn't involve much thought process when you had been doing it for so many years. But it was noticed when I was still waiting for the quaffle in position after they had finished that drill for a few minutes.
"Okay, now we are going to do a practice game so Wood, Bell, McDermott, Owen, Wilson, Andrews, and Hermit put these on and play against Simms, Judge, Collins, Edwards, Renton, Guy, and Quinn. Then after the game, the winners can go." Greg yelled.
"Are you going to be okay playing with him?" Jake asked in a quiet voice when we were going down to put the practice vests on.
"Yeah….I'll be fine." I said and he patted me on the back.
"Alright Bell and Owen play the wings…" Oliver started to say.
"Wood, I'm terrible at center." Jake interrupted saying.
"Plus McDermott and I work better together on the wings." I added.
"Alright then," Oliver took a deep breath. "Owen you play center and McDermott and Bell will play the wings. Then Andrews I want you to go above the pitch where you can't be seen and look out for the snitch so that if you see it first Renton won't be able to notice that you know where it is. Plus it keeps you out of the way from the Bludgers.(Oliver's classic seeker advice…that was his only plan for what Harry would do during games) And then Wilson and Hermit make sure to aim mainly at Simms and Collins, they are the best chasers on that team." Oliver said, clearly designating himself in charge of our team.
So we all flew up into our starting positions and Jake and I were just goofing around. I think he was mostly trying to keep my mind from falling back inside my thoughts. So he and I started singing random songs to each other and dancing like lunatics on our brooms. When the game started Mica passed Jake the ball and he did this flippy distraction swerve away from the other chasers then he came over and passed it to me secretively and then went on flying like he had the ball causing the other chasers to follow him instead of me. I then flew up and threw the ball easily into the highest hoop while everyone was still paying attention to Jake. Jake and I broke into a little victory dance we had made at our last practice with the Wasps and like that Andrews caught the snitch.
"Well done, well done. We know that the dance would be seen as poor sportsmanship during an actual game, however I'm glad you seven work well together because you will be the starting team." Greg said as we each landed on the ground.
"Now I need you back here tomorrow for practice and then Thursday we leave for Ireland so I need you here around six." Greg finished and we all headed back into the locker room.
Jake and I started to sing in the locker room as had become our post game locker room victory ritual. Owen and Andrews joined in and the four of us were dancing around like idiots singing Beach Boy songs. Why, Well I don't think I'll ever really know why, but Jake started singing and I continued. Oliver, Wilson, and Hermit just stood in the corner clapping to the beat.
"Hey Kate, do you want me to wait so we can walk back to the flats together or what?" Jake asked.
"Nah, I think I'm going to do some shopping with Angelina in Diagon Alley. I've got to get my time in with them where I can. You're welcome to join us for lunch if you want. " I said
"I'll pass for today. So I'll see you later then?" Jake smiled.
"Yeah, see ya" I continued to get changed and he left.
"Hey Katie…" I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around to see Oliver standing a little ways behind me.
"Yes?" I asked
"Are you and him…you know?" He asked very awkwardly looking anywhere but at me.
"Me and Jake?" I asked almost laughing.
"Yeah…" He shifted his weight, almost daring to look up at me.
"No, Jake and I are just really good friends." I said, thinking about his comment from earlier for a moment.
"Are things going to be awkward with us?" he asked, finally facing me.
"I don't see why they have to be," I said, attempting to smile.
He just stood there and looked like a sad puppy. I had never in my entire existence of knowing him thought that I would see him as a sad puppy. He was always happy, strong, and confident. Now here he was like he didn't even remember who he was…and I was doing this to him.
"Hey…do you want to go get some coffee or something?" I finally asked.
"I thought you were going shopping with Angelina…" he said, shifting his glance from me again.
"Yeah….I just said that so Jake wouldn't want to come with me" I said with a smile.
"So, are you up to it?" I prodded.
"Yeah…I guess so, yeah" he said, building confidence as he spoke.
We walked out to a small muggle shop near where they had the team all staying together.
"So you're not like planning my death or anything?" Oliver said once we were sitting down with our drinks.
"No, why would I be?" I asked.
"Well," He gulped "because everything that happened with us was my fault. When we played each other that first time I could have sworn you were going to throw a bludger at me instead of the quaffle." he awkwardly chuckled before taking another sip of his drink.
"Ha! Interestingly enough, as hard as I was trying to be, I wasn't mad at you during that game. Though, the landslide victory obviously helped heal the wound of being thrown off team like yesterday's Quibbler. Most of the time I had to focus on my game face so as to not smile at you" I snorted.
"Smile at me?" he said in disbelief.
"Yeah, because every time I looked at you I pictured you covered in paint" I said as if this would have been obvious to anyone.
"Should I even ask why?" he shook his head and actually managed to sneak a bit of a smile out.
"Very inconveniently to my war games, right before stepping onto the pitch I was having flashbacks to that time at quidditch practice in Hogwarts, where Fred and George cursed the hoops to spill paint out all over you." I said almost as if this had been the result of something he had done.
"Ha…Oh yeah I remember that, because you guys were having a competition to find out who could annoy me the most." Finally a full smile presented itself though it seemed to be putting some strain on the rest of his face muscles.
"Yeah, we never did figure out who won that." I said with a sad face.
"Without a doubt you" he chuckled.
"Ha, why me?" I acted offended.
"You always had some smart remark to say after everything I said and I always ended up repeating myself because they would just pay attention to you and not me. That amongst other things" He explained.
"Yeah, well it's not my fault I'm just a better leader than you." I jokingly bragged.
"Yeah that's why you were never Gryffindor captain." He smiled.
"Ouch, burn! It's not my fault that Harry is lucky and got to start the same year as me" I defended.
"We all know Harry is famous for his fantastic luck" He laughed. "He was really good. Plus I was quidditch captain in my sixth year, you could have beat out Angelina and had three years at it like me" It finally seemed like he was almost starting to loosen up a bit sitting with me. And it in turn made me feel more comfortable again. Like we were back to old friends catching up after a long separation. And not scorned lovers or whatever the media wanted us to be.
"Yeah well you lived, breathed, and ate Quidditch. If you weren't captain there wouldn't have been much else for you. Did you even get any O.W.L.s or N.E. ?" I laughed.
"Exactly" He just smiled, not answering the rest of my question.
"Oh whatever, shut up" I pushed him.
"It's not my fault you suck at quidditch" He smiled, it was ALMOST the cocky smirk I had always known and loved….maybe not loved...or not like that...well now I made it awkward again.
"Oh yeah I suck. That's why I scored ten goals against you in a shutout victory" I said sticking my tongue out and trying to get back into the playful banter and out of my head.
"Now that was luck" he said, raising his eyebrows and taking a sip of his tea.
"Luck doesn't happen ten times in a row" I protested.
"Well that wouldn't happen again for a while" he shrugged.
"Sure it would. I still know all of your weak spots." I pointed at him.
"No, it won't happen again because now we are on the same team." He chuckled, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh yeah, nice save" I nodded sipping my own tea.
This was the Oliver I knew and loved, the happy, cocky, stubborn Oliver. Not that weak, sad, quiet thing that was talking to me at the pitch.
"You want to go walk along the shops?" Oliver asked and I nodded my head yes vigorously while finishing my drink.
We were walking along when I saw Weasley's Wizard Wheezes down the road a bit.
"You know, I haven't been in there since they opened it," I said pointing to the shop.
"Neither have I. And in that I mean I've never been in. Want to go in and see if anything has changed?" he asked skeptically.
"You know what…why not" I said and marched through the door dragging him along behind me.
Nothing had changed really. Everything looked pretty much the same, the only thing that had really changed was the lack of the twins and there were a few newer products.
"It's almost depressing coming in here" Oliver said looking at a stack of skiving snack boxes.
"Yeah, I miss them" I said looking at some pygmy puffs that were rolling around their holder.
"I think we all do" Oliver without looking back at me. I was a bit surprised at this statement honestly. He never really let on that he was all that close to the twins. I guess it was one of those love to hate each other type relationships.
"Hey Kates, come here and look at what I just found," Oliver laughed, waving his arm at me from one of the top floors after a few minutes of us wandering around independently. .
I rushed up to him at a newer looking display with a bunch of Red and Gold boxes surrounding a quidditch pitch that had tiny figurines walking around in it. Next to the shelf was a picture of Oliver, Harry, Angelina, Alicia, Fred, George, and I jumping on each other and around the pitch while Oliver was holding the house cup with this huge stupid grin on his face.
"Bell! Spinnet! Less talking, more catching!" A very high pitched Scottish voice yelled from below me.
"No way" I chuckled as I looked down into the small pitch and noticed that the little people flying in the pitch were little versions of our old quidditch team.
"Wood, we've known you for three years! You know our first names!" My high pitched voice shouted as the tiny me flew over with her arms on her hips.
"They are quite accurate," Oliver said and laughed.
"I see you might be interested in the 1994 Hogwarts Quidditch Cup winning team." Said a sales woman from behind us.
"We're for sale?" I said mostly to Oliver and then more loudly asked the woman how the figurines were sold.
"Oh well you can purchase different teams or individual players. Get a few different teams and have quidditch meets with friends or family! Though this seems to be the favorite team these days though. They were just put on the market a few days ago and already they've been selling like hot cauldron cakes" said the woman.
"Really…what's so exciting about it?" I asked still in utter disbelief.
"Well, of course Harry Potter is on this team and it's the only way you can collect his figure. In the box you also get a playing card for each player that tells you a little about where the players are now. So I guess kids just love reading about Harry Potter." The woman answered.
"A playing card? Interesting" I said reading the back of the box she handed me.
"I'm so buying a box!" I told Oliver after the woman left to go try to sell some love potions to some teenage girls nearby.
"I think they made me look fat," Oliver said holding the display him.
I laughed so hard I snorted which made him smile again. I bought the set and then Oliver and I immediately walked out and sat on a bench to open it and read the cards.
"So, it seems that they miss us as well," Oliver said, looking into the box to see all of us just sitting on the bottom of the box.
"'Katie Bell" I read in an announcer voice as I pulled my card out of the deck. "That's a good picture of me," I said holding up my card and showing Oliver the picture of me on my broom smiling and sticking my tongue out.
"Hey I think I took that picture" Oliver said, taking the card from me to look closer.
"Katie Bell was right chaser of the Gryffindor quidditch team and was the youngest player next to Harry. You would have never known that were you ever to be around her on the pitch. Katie at times had more control over the team then captain Oliver Wood." He began to read my card furrowing his brow at this line.
"HA! See even they think I had more control!" I said taking the card back from him.
"'Katie Bell now lives in an apartment outside of London with fellow Chaser Alicia Spinnet and is captain of the Wimbourne Wasps. Recently Katie Bell has joined the English National Quidditch team.' That's kind of creepy that it knows that much about me" I finished throwing it back in the stack with the rest.
"It's probably a self updating" Oliver said now digging threw the box for his card as the team below yelled at him.
"It's kind of creepy to think that I'm a hit selling toy to today's youth" I said holding the smaller me in my hand as she went on ranting about a potions test that she had the morning after the next quidditch game.
"Yeah…but I guess for Fred and George they got their entertainment out of our team so when thinking of a new toy they thought of the things that entertained them." Oliver said and I shrugged, continuing to listen to myself complain.
"Do you think they made it to their opinion of us?" I said as the little me was still whinging.
"No," Oliver said, looking up to see me staring down strangely at the little me.
"First, that's a very precise version of you. And then Alicia and George were just holding hands. So I'm guessing it's either a take on how we were then from a video or a picture or it's a spell that gets the opinions of all of us somehow from each other. Because you called me a cow earlier and Fred and George would have had us snogging the whole time, and you, Alicia, and Angelina would have you calling me a cow." Oliver said looking back into the box, with a quick bit of awkwardness.
I smiled and put…well myself back into the box.
"Goodness look at the time! We should head back to the flats so we can get some sleep before we have to go to practice." I said as it was close to nine at night and we had practice in nine hours.
"I'm glad we got to talk, I missed this, all I ever wanted was to get back to this" I said as we walked along towards our lodgings.
"I know, I'm glad we talked too. And I really am sorry...for everything. Hopefully we can continue on as friends. We were always good at being friends" He said and was back to where he seemed to be struggling to smile.
"We were pretty damn good at being friends when we got into a good run of it. I think that's best." I said, struggling to return the smile. We were going to make it through this and it was all going to end up okay. A few months of rough dating shouldn't undo years of friendship. And maybe the time apart to be brought back to play together now like this is what needed to happen for this to work. When I got into bed that night I was really feeling hopeful about our team and what was ahead of us.