hey guys, here's chapter eight. i hope you enjoy it...this one is actually longer than normal, as opposed to the last one that i said was longer than normal. don't forget to read and review!

disclaimer: only the story line

Chapter 8: Fine Enough I Guess, Considering Everything's a Mess

The waiting room on the third floor of St. Mungo's was filled the next afternoon. Or, would have been filled, if the rest of the patrons could stand the odor of day old sweat long enough to actually sit on the half of the room where Oliver, Amelia, John, Matt, Leo, Daniel and Dean sat. Oliver was glaring daggers at Dean as he and Matt talked seeker tactics, while Amelia slept soundly on John's shoulder, and Leo and Daniel utilized the hospitals set of Wizard's Chess.

"Yea, no, the Wronsky Feint is quite possibly the worst thing to do to a fellow seeker. I would only do it to someone who was playing really dirty. There's too much of a chance that the other guy could get needlessly hurt," Dean was saying.

"So, the old saying 'treat others like you want to be treated'?" Matt asked and Dean nodded.

"Yea. Like, let's say you do the feint to someone, and then the next time you play him, he's got a grudge against you, so he –"

"Seems like a weak way to live," Oliver muttered. The two seekers turned and stared at him.

"I beg your pardon?" Dean asked.

"You heard me, Harrison. Don't play dumb. Why are you still here anyway? Shouldn't you be off trying to spread love and happiness?" sneered Oliver.

Dean looked taken aback for a second. "Harry's already beaten Voldemort, Wood. You should know that. There's sort of an abundance of love and happiness going on right now. At least, for our kind."

"I know Harry's already beaten Voldemort! I haven't been living under a rock for the past two years! Harry was my seeker in Gryffindor! Apart from Katie, who's currently regrowing her hand no thanks to you, he was one of the ones that I could count on the most! He used every trick he knew to insure that we would win the cup! And we almost did, but the games came to Hogwarts that year. So, just stop teaching my seeker how to be a loving caring nitwit –"

"I'm looking for a Mr. Harrison?" the nurse had entered the waiting room, silencing Oliver in mid-rant.

Dean stood up saying, "That's me."

"Ms. Bell wants to see you. I'll take you down there. She also says to tell Oliver sorry for 'pulling a Harry' and losing the game." The nurse looked quizzically at the young Scotsman, who just looked confused and pained. The nurse then turned, beckoning Dean to follow her, and they disappeared down the hall.

"Hey, Ollie, mate, it'll be okay. Katie probably just wants to thank him as soon as she can so she doesn't have to see him for very long." Leo reached out and patted his captain on the shoulder. "Katie knows who's got her back, don't worry." Oliver nodded, but the disappointment and confusion didn't leave his face.

&&&&&

Down the hall, Dean entered a dimly lit room to see Katie sitting up in bed, holding her injured hand in the other one. She sat up straighter as he came in.

"You caught me right?" she asked, mentally cursing herself for not putting some effort into her appearance.

Dean nodded, and then sat in the chair Katie motioned him to. "I've already had words with the beater who did this. He claims it was an accident, but I told him to be more careful anyway."

"No, it's okay. I understand. I just wanted to thank you for catching me though. I can't believe I let go of the broom. I haven't done that since I was like, five. Merlin, it's so embarrassing." She blushed, and looked down at her still swollen hand. "Pretty colors though," she remarked.

"You didn't let go of the broom…it, um, let go of you," Dean said with a smile.

Katie looked confused. "What do you mean?" Merlin, he's gorgeous when he does that, she thought.

"The bludger smashed through your broom. There wasn't anything left for you to hang on to. The referee was going to postpone the game for a week or so, but it turns out that your seeker caught the snitch right as your hand went bye-bye."

Katie paled, despite hearing about the win. "My broom's ruined?" her voice came out slightly weaker than before, due to the thoughts of debt running through her head.

Dean nodded, and Katie broke into a long string of swears. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Before you think that all hope is lost, I've talked the Sonic Flashes manager into replacing your broom. Unfortunately, they don't make that model anymore, but I assured him you wouldn't say no to an upgrade. I hope that's okay with you." As Katie's jaw dropped, Dean grinned. "Is that okay, Guppy? That's what they call you, right?"

"It's Puppy," but you can call me whatever you want if you're that beautiful and replacing my broom, she finished mentally.

"Not when your mouth is open like that." Katie's mouth snapped shut, and she breathed a sigh to slow her beating heart.

"I can't thank you enough. I…wow. That takes a sudden load off my shoulders. Uhm, do you want to pay for my hospital bills too?" She grinned cheekily at the young man by her bed.

"Don't push it. You know, for a team whose players have been ranked some of the highest in scoring and attractiveness in the country, it's surprising that you all don't have five brooms each."

"None of us came from extremely rich families, and being a relatively new team as well…well, let's just say our manager happens to be Amelia's father, and the uniforms were all sewn by Oliver's mother. We're popular, but poor. We're a 'team for the masses'," Katie laughed a little as she quoted one of the Wasps advertisement posters.

"As opposed to…?"

"You know, I don't know. I just fly around on my broomstick and follow Genghis Wood's orders like a good little chaser," she joked.

Dean laughed at the team's nickname for their captain. "So, he's really tough is he? I couldn't tell. You know, he only tried to kill me with looks in the waiting room."

Katie winced. "Sorry about that. He's not actually that tough. He's a lot of bark but very little bite. He's a big sweetie when you know how to handle him."

"And how is that?"

"If I told you, you would let the information leak out into the masses and our team would have no edge," Katie said smiling.

"You seem pretty edgy yourself though. Is there a special way to handle you as well?"

"Mr. Harrison!" Katie exclaimed, grinning. "I do believe you're flirting with me!"

"So what if I am? Is Oliver going to try to kill me over that too?" Dean's smile disappeared as he noticed Katie's expression. "I take it there's a history with you two," Dean said leaning back in his chair and cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes. We're actually living together now."

Dean looked confused for a moment. "I thought you were single though. I was all ready to ask you out to dinner, and now I find you're living with a guy. No wonder he –"

"No! No! We're not together. I got kicked out of my house and Oliver's letting me crash on his couch. Well, my couch because his is really icky. He's just very Quidditch oriented. Thinks that romance gets in the way of the game, but um…I'm still open for going out to dinner and things like that." Definitely things like that with someone like you, Katie said mentally, and blushed.

A smile broke out on Dean's face, and the effect was not lost on Katie. She noticed how straight and white his teeth were, and how his tanned face crinkled around his eyes. "How about I pick you up at seven on Friday. You should be out of here by then and you have Saturday off, right?" he got up to leave.

Katie nodded eagerly. "I'll see you at seven. Could you send Amelia in?" she smiled, and giggled as he bowed out the door.

Amelia burst through the door less than a minute later, saying "Katie! You're all right! Kelsey was here all last night, but you didn't wake up, and then her husband came to get her and practically dragged her out kicking and screaming, but he said that she was supposed to be on bed rest and she said she didn't care and you're not listening to anything I'm saying are you? Why are you smiling like that? Katie?"

Katie turned her grin to her fellow teammate. "I have a date in two days with Dean Harrison," she said. Amelia gaped at her for a second before squealing and leaping to sit next to Katie on the bed.

"Oh Merlin, you have to tell me all about it! Where he takes you, what you wear…No! I'm helping you get ready! You're terrible at dressing like a girl…don't make that face, Katie; you know it as well as I do. Plus you live at Oliver's, and in the living room, and you can't get ready for a date with the richest player in London in a boy's bathroom, especially one who draws Quidditch plays in the dust on your television!"

"That was one time, and it's not like we use it anyway!" Katie protested.

"It still happened. You can't get ready there, so you'll get ready at my house, and we'll kick John out. And then when you get back, you have to call me and tell me and oh my! This is amazing! I'm so jealous," she gushed.

"I don't have anything to wear though. The last date I went on was in a pub, and I'm pretty sure that this isn't going to be some pub we go to!"

"No problem! I have an adorable slinky black dress that would look perfect with your complexion."

"Amelia, you're forgetting that you're smaller than me," Katie reminded her friend.

"Magic, sweetie, it's a marvelous thing," Amelia said, patting Katie's arm. "P.S, the bruises are amazing!" Amelia grinned maniacally, and Katie laughed.

The nurse entered the room than and looked at the two women chatting happily. "Well, ladies, I hate to break up a good gossip session, but the doctors have decided that you can go home Katie, m'dear. As long as you keep that hand on ice and don't play any Quidditch for a few weeks, you should be fine. Let the swelling go down before you start lifting anything heavier than a pen with it, and then start small." She smiled good-naturedly and left the room to get the release forms.

&&&&&

When Katie got to her apartment an hour later, she was furious. "Oliver Julius Wood! Where are you?"

"Far away from you!" came his voice from his room.

Katie walked around the couches and into the hallway outside his room. "What is your problem? You sit around in the waiting room all night and all day and then you go home when I wake up? What is that?"

Oliver opened his door, and Katie backed up. His face was a mix of disappointment and anger. "Why should I stick around when you were going to have everyone but me visit you in your room? I'm supposedly one of your best friends, Katie. I'm your roommate for Merlin's sake, and you still ask Dean Harrison in to visit you before me. And then, on top of that, you ask Amelia into your room afterwards. Where was I in your list? After the old man who smelled like cheese and sunscreen?"

"There was an old man who smelled like cheese and sunscreen?" Katie's attention span wavered for a moment before she realized that weird smelling old men were not the point. "Oliver, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was that important."

Oliver snorted. "You didn't care," he said callously.

"That's not true!" Katie protested.

"Really, Bell? I mean, I would have done the same thing if some beautiful blonde had rescued me from the air. Just tell me, did you let him in your hospital bed right off the bat, or did you spend time getting to know each other a little before?" Oliver pushed past her into the living room and Katie followed, shocked.

"You think I slept with him?"

"Why else would he come into the room grinning like a Cheshire cat? Men don't grin like that because a woman forgave them, Katie. They only grin like that when they've gotten some," Oliver spat. He stood next to a pile of papers that Katie knew he had spent hours the night before organizing.

Katie sat on her couch across from him and stared at him. "Sometimes men grin like that when a pretty girl says yes to going on a date with them," she said icily.

"I can't believe you!" Oliver exploded, pushing his hand through the pile in his fury. "Crap! Look at what you made me do!"

"I didn't make you do anything! Stop blaming me for things that aren't my fault!"

"You're the one going on the date with the guy! That seems like its your fault!"

"It's not my fault that some people think I'm attractive and want to get to know me better!"

"That's not all he wants though! Merlin, Katherine, his teammate shattered your hand and you're going on a date with him! I always knew you could play dumb, Katie, but I didn't know you actually were."

Katie exhaled and stood. "Again, Oliver, I'm sorry. I'll be back later. Hopefully by then, you've come to your senses." She walked silently to the fireplace, picked up a handful of floo powder, threw it in, and calmly asked for Alicia's home. As she disappeared in a flash of green light, Oliver muttered a swear and apparated to the Dancing Donkey to get royally drunk.

&&&&&

At midnight that night, Katie got home to see an owl on her porch railing. She opened the front door and stepped outside. The owl stuck out its leg and hooted at her. She dug a treat out of her pocket and gave it to the owl and untied the note from its ankle. The owl flew off into the night with another hoot as Katie opened the note. If you're looking for him, Oliver's at the Dancing Donkey and in need of some assistance, the note read. Katie sighed and stepped back into her house. She locked the door and apparated to the cozy pub.

She arrived with a pop and immediately saw Oliver slumped on the bar. As she walked closer, she noticed him walking peanuts around the edge of his glass and then making them fall in with small cries of "Oh no! Save me! Peanut down!" The bartender looked up, saw her hand and put down the glass he was cleaning.

"You're Katie Bell, right?" he asked, coming around to the patron's side. Katie nodded as Oliver turned and noticed her. "He's been talking about you for hours now. Figured you were the one to notify to come and get him."

"Katie!" Oliver yelled drunkenly. "Come, have a drink with me! Together we'll drown all the peanuts in the world!"

"Oliver, you're drunk," Katie told him, and then turned to the bartender, "I'm so sorry," she said.

"Happens more often than not, Miss," he said, shrugging. "Do you need help getting him out of here?"

"No, I think I'll be okay. I'll just apparate home with him. Thank you for waiting for me. I know it's after closing," she said, smiling.

"Katie! Drown the peanuts with me! Whoops! Peanut down! Peanut down!" Oliver giggled.

"C'mon, Ollie, let's go home, okay? We've got bigger and better peanuts at home for you to drown!" Katie said in a voice that was brighter than she was feeling. The bartender laughed and went back to cleaning glasses.

Oliver shook his head. "No we don't, Katie. We don't have any peanuts at home."

"Yes we do. I picked some up on the way home. C'mon, let's go drown those ones."

Oliver looked at her for a second, as if to judge if she was lying and tried to stand. He staggered against the bar and finally balanced himself in a standing position. "Katie," he said, "I don't think I can walk. I think I might be a little bit drunk!"

Katie sighed, "I know, Ollie. But you can rest on my shoulder and I'll help you home. Okay?"

Oliver nodded and collapsed on Katie's shoulder as she maneuvered next to him. She thanked the bartender again and apparated with a pop.

With another pop, she and Oliver landed in the living room, lost their balance and fell over onto her couch. "Oomph! Oliver, get off me," Katie said, trying to push the blocky keeper off her.

"I'm really sorry about before, Katie. I don't think you're a slut. I think you're a very nice girl. I love you. Marry me," Oliver said, not budging an inch, but instead curling closer to her.

"You're drunk, Oliver," Katie reminded him.

Oliver shook his head and insisted, "No, I mean it! You're not a slut and I want to life the rest of my spend with you! I mean spend the life of my rest with you. I mean –"

Katie sighed. "Okay, Ollie. I'll marry you, but before we tell people, we need to sleep, right? So, let's get off me and we'll go to sleep." She tried to push him again, and he finally rolled off her onto the floor. She looked over the edge to see him sound asleep on the floor. Digging her wand out of her Quidditch bag, she stood up, muttered a levitating spell and narrated him into his bed. The things I do for this man, she thought to herself as she pulled the covers up to his chin and said a quiet goodnight to his sleeping form.

&&&&&

The next morning, Katie stood in the kitchen making tea for herself when from Oliver's bedroom, she heard a smash, a swear and a pitiful wail of "Katie!" She grinned, took some hangover potion out of the fridge and walked into Oliver's room.

"Good morning, sunshine!" she said brightly, opening the curtains.

"I'll beat you with a …I feel sick," Oliver moaned from underneath the covers, trying to repress gagging sounds. Katie laughed and Oliver moaned again. "It's not funny," he remarked.

"Oh yes it is, Ollie. And last night you were entertaining too!" Katie said and yanked the covers down from her keeper's head.

He recoiled from the sunlight. "What happened?" he asked putting one hand to his head and the other reached out to the hangover potion in her hand. Katie pulled her hand just out of his reach and grinned. "I was drowning peanuts again, wasn't I?" he sighed.

"Not only that, but you professed your love for me, and asked me to marry you!"

Oliver tried to nod sarcastically without moving his head too much. "I'm sure I did. Just give me the potion, and I wont make you do ground laps today."

"I'm not allowed to play any type of Quidditch this week, and that includes ground laps. Doctor's orders!" she sing-songed and finally handed him the potion out of pity. After gulping it down, he sat up a bit and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Katie," Oliver breathed.

Katie sat next to him and nodded. "I know. It just hurts to hear things like that from you."

Oliver held out an arm and she crawled under it and rested against him. "We're a pair aren't we?" he asked her.

He felt her nod and then heard her say, "Yea. Me not having my best friend in the hospital room first thing, and you with your drowning peanuts obsession. We're a pretty intelligent duo."

Oliver grinned, "Well, someone has to be the dim candle in the room. Our room just happens to have two."

"That's okay. This way, the fact that you draw plays in the dust on our television isn't as noticeable." She looked up at him and winked.

"One time!" he protested and chuckled. "Okay Kates, let's –" he was cut off by an apparation-pop heard from the living-room. Katie glanced at him and he shrugged. "Let's go see who decided to drop in."

They got up and walked out of Oliver's bedroom to see a muscular man in Wasps colors standing in the living room. "Out!" Oliver demanded, brandishing the beaters bat he had picked up on his way out of his room. I don't believe fans. They know nothing about the privacy of my own home! he thought.

The man stepped forward, and flexed a little as he said, "Get out of the way, Scot. My business is with the lady." Katie shrank behind Oliver and wished fervently that their wands were not sitting in their Quidditch bags on the other side of the room.

"Your business is with me," Oliver corrected the man. He stepped forward and stared menacingly at the keeper. Oliver held his ground.

"I'm here to rescue Katie. Obviously you aren't taking care of her very well if she's getting her hand smashed by useless buggers. So, you either move out of the way, or I make you move out of the way." The man cracked his knuckles threateningly, and Oliver readjusted his grip on the bat. "Now, Wood."

Oliver felt Katie's hand pulling at his sleeve and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She pulled again, stronger this time, so that his hands, and the beater bat came closer to her. While the bulky stranger was still staring at Oliver, waiting for him to move, Katie seized the bat out of the keeper's hands and swung. The man went down like a stone and Katie shoved past Oliver to stand with one foot on his chest and the bat pressing lightly on the stranger's throat.

"I don't need your help. Now, get out of my apartment, or I'll hit you again," she said through gritted teeth. The stranger nodded and apparated out of the apartment, causing Katie to fall forward when his bulk disappeared from under her foot. Oliver caught her and helped her onto the couch where she sat wheezing.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" he asked, kneeling in front of her.

"I … swung … with…" she held up her injured left hand and Oliver leapt up to retrieve ice from the kitchen. When he returned and her swollen hand was ensconced in ice, he sat on the coffee table with his hands still on her shoulders.

"Better?" he asked. She nodded, and he said, "Just, don't hit a man there again. That's just not right."

"I'll continue hitting men there as long as they continue to be led by their peckers," she glowered. "And I told you we needed an Anti-Intruder Jinx on the apartment."

Oliver looked confused for a moment and then said, "Um, Kates, no you didn't."

"Well, then I thought it very strongly towards you," Katie said with a shrug.

"Next time, think it very strongly out loud."

"Next time, read my mind."

the title is from a barenaked ladies song (called: pinch me)

read and review though, please. sorry if it had some long and boring parts...i realize its not the best i've ever written. hopefully, the next will be better.