Chapter 45

A week later, Oliver was still not talking to Tiannah. It was proving to be a difficult task, as they were living in the same house. Oliver had decided that giving Tiannah the silent treatment would be a mature way to deal with his anger.

If only Oliver would talk to Tiannah, she would explain what happened and how it happened. She would explain what Tanya told her about Theo, and she would tell him not to get angry with Theo.

However, Oliver didn't talk to Tiannah, and she couldn't tell him these vital points. Tiannah's physical health was improving, so much so that she started to go for gentle jogs in the morning. She was far from playing Quidditch again (the doctor said that it would be three weeks, which would feel like an eternity to Tiannah) but an improvement was an improvement. Despite this, her mood didn't advance much. This was fuelled from her anger at magical medicine ("Honestly!" she had complained to Hestia one night. "You can drink a bit of liquid and all of your bones can grow back, but the cure for Glandular is time and rest!") And the fact that Oliver wasn't speaking to her.

She had had more experiences with Oliver being angry with her than she cared to admit. There were the petty arguments that they had as kids about which Quidditch team was better, the two-year silent treatment when Tiannah was in America, the few fights they had in the summer before their sixth year, when they broke up in seventh year, and now. Tiannah used to envy how dispute-free Ken and Hestia's relationship was, but she knew better than that now. Tiannah and Oliver had grown up as best friends; dispute was bound to happen. And of course, dating your best friend was never an easy experience.

Tiannah knew that Oliver loved her, even when they were fighting. One advantage about being best friend turn lovers was the fact that Tiannah could read Oliver like a book, and vice-versa. It was the lack of love from her best friend that hurt the most.

One gloomy day (Tiannah had the mood to match it) she lay on her bed, humming a tune to a muggle song, when Hestia bounded in, looking furious.

"Rita Skeeter, that cow!" she snarled, furiously brushing a blonde curl from her eyes as she began to speak to Tiannah.

"So you know how the Triwizard Tournament is coming up? Yeah, well, I put my name down to be a reporter for it – as you know -, and I know that I'm new on the Prophet and everything, but Rita I'm-a slutty-slag Skeeter got it!"

Hestia said this in one big rush, so it took a few seconds for Tiannah to comprehend what her friend said. When she did, Tiannah sat up and Hestia took this as a cue to continue conversation.

"She'll twist everything that the contestants say!" Hestia said exasperatedly. "And the leader of the Prophet said that he was about to choose me, but there were certain persuading factors. No denying that Rita fucked him," Hestia said, her cheeks pink with anger. Tiannah was fuming as well. Hestia had come over to Tiannah a few nights before, completely ecstatic that the leader of the Prophet almost guaranteed her as reporter. After all, Hestia was a talented writer who got along and related to people of all ages, thus she was a perfect candidate for the job.

"Slag," Tiannah muttered angrily. "She'll get her worth, Rita will. Don't worry, Hest. Maybe one day, you'll get to interview me, the woman who brutally murdered Rita Skeeter."

Hestia chuckled, before her green eyes lit up. "Maybe one day I will be interviewing you! Tiannah Wood, star Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies!"

"Hest," Tiannah pointed out, blushing. "My last name is Summers."

"Details," Hestia said, waving a hand impatiently. "And if I can be a fashion designer and a reporter, I'll be making your dresses for formals too! And in interview mode, I can ask which talented person created your dress... and you, being a famous Quidditch star, can say that I, Hestia soon-to-be Alcott made them!"

Tiannah rolled her eyes; her friend had completely gotten over her anger.

The next day, however, the same couldn't be said for her other friend.

Tiannah thought that after Hestia spoke to him, he might see sense. She was sadly mistaken.

Tiannah was initially furious at Oliver, but that emotion had dispersed. Instead, she just felt hurt and lonely. But Tiannah, who was feeling of better health, came up with strategies that Oliver would find extremely hard to ignore. With the help of Hestia, they initiated phase one of their plan: Attraction and Distraction.

At breakfast one morning, Tiannah decided to wear her laciest and skimpiest underwear. Breakfast was usually a sombre affair, where Tiannah grabbed a muffin and walked upstairs, whereas Oliver stayed downstairs, not making eye contact with his girlfriend. Things were very different that morning.

Tiannah calmly walked over to the stove, and with a wave of her wand, eggs started boiling in a saucepan. Accidentally on purpose, she dropped a spoon on the ground, and with an uncharacteristic giggle, leaned over and picked it up. When she snapped back up, she snuck a glance at Oliver, whose mouth was in an 'o' shape and his breakfast completely forgotten. Smirking, she sat across from Oliver and pretended that he didn't exist, until she placed her foot in his lap.

Hestia had taught Tiannah this action a few years back, as the blonde was 'experimenting' with Ken. Tiannah thanked herself for paying attention to Hestia's rants for once.

Her foot slowly moved up his leg, as she continued to eat her eggs as though she wasn't trying to arose Oliver.

When her foot reached his groin, she applied pressure to the area that she knew Oliver to be particularly responsive to.

She heard his poorly stifled moan and smirked herself, as she continued with Hestia's plan. Occasionally, Tiannah looked up at Oliver, satisfied as she found him looking dazed, distracted, aroused, annoyed and completely in love with the woman in front of him. When Tiannah finished eating her breakfast, she took a sip of her berry juice and licked her lips, winking at Oliver, who was finding it inescapably harder to avoid eye contact. She stood up and stretched, before walking over to where Oliver was seated and sitting on his lap. Tiannah blushed when she realised that Oliver's lap was, erm, a little uncomfortable for one to sit on.

Although Tiannah was new to this sort of temptation/teasing, being friends with Hestia, whom had a fair share of racy novels stashed in her cupboard, aided her in this situation.

"Ollie," she whispered into his ear, smiling as she saw him shiver. "I must say, this bra is rather tight. Would you like to help me take it off?"

Tiannah knew that Oliver must have been applying self-restraint, because he stared resolutely at the wall. Tiannah sighed. Although the situation was rather awkward, she knew that it was necessary.

"Oliver," she purred into his ear, gently biting down on his earlobe. "Those are some damn sexy trousers. And you have no training today... care to have some fun? I want you."

Tiannah almost screamed angrily as Oliver continued to ignore her. For just over a week he had been doing so, but when she was so obviously trying to get his attention... it just seemed petty and hurtful.

So she decided to take a new approach.

"I love you. I love you more than I love anything, Ollie. You're goofy and sweet and kind and humble and goddamn sexy. I don't care if you are an obsessive fanatic, because I'm those things too. Please stop hurting me like this. You know that I'm not melodramatic like Hestia, so I'm being completely sincere when I say this: not talking to you, not being with you, being angry with you... it feels like hell. I hate it when you aren't talking to me. I miss you," she added, tears forming in her eyes, as Oliver didn't look as though he was budging. She realised that being sincere was what was going to make Oliver crack, but maybe it wasn't true...

Just as Tiannah tried to get off Oliver, he stopped her and kissed her, fingers trailing across her bare stomach and settling on either side of her waist, where his fingers left stripes of warmth. Tiannah smiled and pulled away, her happiness restored.

"You had me at I love you."

Tiannah smiled in response, knowing that her suspicions were true. She hastened to explain what happened with Monica and Theo.

"Look, I didn't mean for them to shag, much less for Monica to get pregnant. I only meant for her to see that not all men are jerks. If I was Hestia, I would have had other intentions, but I am being completely honest. Yeah, maybe in the long run I could see them together, but I didn't expect anything serious to happen in the first hour. Anyway, Monica was so angry with Mark, so I can say that fifty percent of the reason she shagged Theo was to get back at him. And I think we both know that Woods can do stupid things when they are angry," she finished, squeezing his hand as they shared a reminiscent look.

"You've just made me fall even more in love with you, if that's possible," Oliver murmured, kissing her temple lovingly.

"How?" Tiannah asked, blushing. Oliver ran a finger from her waist up to her cheek.

"By just being you."

"How?"

Oliver chuckled. "Never mind. I can't explain you in words. Tia, I'm sorry for being such a dick."

Tiannah shrugged. In all honesty, she knew that she would have been just as angry as Oliver was if the places were switched.

"I can be a cow at times, so we're even."

Oliver hugged Tiannah for a few moments, until he spoke into her ear, in a husky voice that they usually saved for the bedroom.

"Now, about that tight bra..."

"I was just teasing, Ollie. I don't feel up to shagging."

"You should be locked up for falsely leading innocent men."

Tiannah snorted, winking at her boyfriend. "If the jury heard your moans, you would be proven to be far from innocent."

Tiannah found that being at peace with Oliver worked wonders on her health. In a matter of three days, she was feeling almost up to going further than kissing, which she was extremely happy about. She still threw up and had bad headaches, but they were less frequent. As for her fatigue... well, sleeping with Oliver worked wonders.

One sunny Sunday, Tiannah was feeling almost back to normal, even though she had a week and a bit left of her leave left. Tiannah and Oliver woke up in the latter's bed, legs tangled together and the former's head buried in Oliver's shoulder. When they were awake enough to speak proper sentences, Tiannah said the very words Oliver had been dreaming that she would say.

"Wanna shag?"

Tiannah and Oliver were lightly dozing in each other's arms. Oliver's right hand was pressed on the middle of her back, pressing her bare body closer to his as they enjoyed each other's company. However, they were interrupted by a knock on the front door. They woke up simultaneously, Tiannah grumbling.

"This better be bloody important," she said, pulling a pair of boy shorts and Oliver's Puddlemere shirt on. When she answered the door, she was shocked to find that Gwenog Jones was standing at the threshold.

"Nice shirt," she said sarcastically, eying the shirt that Tiannah wore, as she hastened to explain that it was her boyfriend's.

"Good. Now, I was telling you that Holly, the Chaser, hasn't been putting in a hundred percent during the interviews, yes? Now, as the Captain, I have decided that she is no longer a member of the Holyhead Harpies."

Tiannah's heart leapt to her throat as she nodded, allowing Gwenog to continue.

"Now, I know that you won't be back playing just yet, but when you are... well, you have officially left the reserve team."

Tiannah stood in shock for a few moments, blue eyes widening.

"Do you mean-?"

"Yes, Tiannah. You are an official Chaser on the Holyhead Harpies."

Disclaimer: AM I JK ROWLING? NOOOOOO!