Notes: And we continue on in the lovely adventures of the Puddlemere United team captained by our favorite, Oliver Wood.

Disclaimer: I only own what you don't recognize. That and I really need a life.

Chapter Two: Terms of Endearment and Punching People in the Face

Oliver Wood was not in a good state when he woke up. He groaned as he felt his head throb and his body ache. He shifted a little in the oddly hard bed he wasn't accustomed to. The pillows were hardly as soft as the ones he was used to lying on. Why was there a change in his bed? Why was he suddenly in something so unusually small? Maybe he should open his eyes.

And he did. Taking in the blinding white of what looked like a hospital room Oliver groaned again as the light hurt his eyes.

"What the…?" he started. He looked around as best he could. His neck wasn't in a mood to be nice to him when he tried moving it.

"Ah, you're awake," he heard an American female voice say. "You've been out quite a while." Oliver recognized the voice of that of his female Beater's, Skyler Reynolds. He turned his head, painfully, to his left and saw her flopped in a chair next to his bed. Oliver took in his appearance, dressed in a hospital gown and covered in a white sheet and a white blanket. Skyler was in blue jeans and a Puddlemere United shirt with her name and number stitched on the left breast.

"What happened?" Oliver managed. He swore he could see a shy and nervous smile cross over Skyler's face as she began to start telling her captain why he was in a hospital bed instead of out in the world.

"Well… see… it's partially my fault… all my fault, actually… we were practicing, as usual… and… um…," Skyler started, chancing a glance at Oliver. He smiled a little at her to implore her to continue. "IaccidentallyhityouwithaBludger."

"I'm sorry… what was that?" Oliver asked.

"I accidentally hit you with a Bludger," Skyler told him. "I didn't mean to. Alex was saying that my accuracy was off and that I should work on it. He told me to try and hit you when you were behind the goal posts and that I had to hit it through one of the goals to get it to you. Well, I did and it… um… hit you."

"At least we know your accuracy is good," Oliver told her with a small laugh. "How long have I been out?"

"Six hours," Skyler said after glancing at the clock in the room, it read 12:30am. Oliver glanced carefully at the clock and then back at Skyler.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked her. Skyler bit her lip before responding.

"They wanted someone to be here when you woke up to tell you what had happened. Since I did it, the team thought that I would be the perfect person to stay. I'm really sorry, Cap'n."

"Don't worry about it. Happens all the time," Oliver said, surprised at the words that were coming out of his mouth. If he had been back in school he would have berated the person who had done this to him. But as he looked at the young woman sitting cross-legged in the chair next to his bed, he couldn't bring himself to be mad at her. He looked into her eyes that showed nervousness, guilt and regret all at once.

"I'm serious. Don't worry about it," Oliver told her again. She smiled a little and relaxed.

"Mr. Wood. You're awake," a gruffer male voice said as he entered the room. Oliver recognized the man as Healer William Jones. Oliver had lots of run-ins with Jones, either when he was in St. Mungo's or when a teammate was.

"I am, Jones," Oliver said as he smiled at the Healer. "When can I get out of here and back to practice?" Jones looked to Skyler.

"He always asks this," Jones said as Skyler smiled. "You can be let out later this afternoon after we've done some tests to make sure there isn't any permanent damage."

Skyler smirked at Oliver when Jones mentioned permanent damage. Oliver looked at her and smiled.

"Shut up!" he said. Jones caught the meaning behind the smirk and chuckled.

"Looks like you've met your match, Wood," Jones said. "In more ways than one."

Jones left the two to contemplate his last cryptic remark. When Jones looked back into the room he saw the two laughing and Oliver was playfully hitting Skyler with a pillow. She wasn't making any useful effort to move away from the onslaught.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Oliver was finishing getting the last of his tests done when Skyler walked back into the room. She had gone down to the hospital's cafeteria and gotten something to eat, Oliver's orders. She still wore what she had been wearing when Oliver had first woken up. When she came back into the room, she plopped back down into the chair beside his bed.

"Hospital food sucks," she told him. "Remind me to not get stuck in here." Oliver grinned at her as the Intern Healer gave her a reproachful look. "You almost done?"

"Mr. Wood will be done in a minute and then he will be changing into his street clothes if you want to wait outside," the intern said to her. He was obviously not in a good mood.

"I think I can wait here. I won't see anything new," Skyler said as Oliver fought to keep his laughter in check.

"I thought you weren't a relative or significant other," the intern said, his brow furrowed as he looked at Skyler.

"Oh, no. We're co-workers," Skyler said simply.

"What do you do?" the intern said, appalled at Skyler's nonchalant attitude. Skyler shared a look with Oliver who was filled to the brim with pent up laughter.

"Seriously?" Skyler asked. The intern nodded. "We're strippers." That was all it took for Oliver to lose it. He laughed as Skyler kept a straight face, sweet smile included. The intern looked between Oliver and Skyler, waiting for someone to explain. Once Oliver calmed down, he decided to relieve the intern of his misery.

"What my esteemed colleague is trying to say is that we play Quidditch together," Oliver said. "We're on the Puddlemere United starting roster. This means that we share a locker room and have seen each other change clothes, come out of the shower, et cetera. It's no big deal if she's in here while I'm changing."

The intern shot a glare at Skyler, who, in return, just smiled. Oliver and Skyler watched as the intern left the room, telling Oliver he could change now and muttering about crazy Quidditch players. Oliver sat up and got out of bed as Skyler posed a question.

"Do you think he even knows what Quidditch is?" Oliver couldn't help laughing at the absurdity of the question.

"I hope he does."

"I don't know. He could be one of those bookworm kids. You know, a Ravenclaw… I think," Skyler said. Oliver grinned. He, Chris and Harry had taken it upon themselves to riddle Skyler and her twin, Alex, with all sorts of stories from their days at Hogwarts. They told of Quidditch games, classes, teachers and other houses. Skyler was always up for a story, while Alex would pay attention once in a while.

"Yeah, Ravenclaw would be it," Oliver said. He saw a proud smile adorn Skyler's face and grinned in spite of himself. "You should ask him on the way out."

"Nah, I think I've scarred him enough today," Skyler said as Oliver slipped on and buttoned a pair of jeans. "You, however, have yet to be scarred."

"I have plenty of scars," Oliver said.

"Not from me," Skyler protested.

"Who was the one who got me in here in the first place?" Oliver asked, gesturing around the room as he grabbed his t-shirt.

"Mental scars, love," Skyler told him, with a dismissive wave. Oliver chuckled as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"You've been in England too long. You're already using our terms of endearment," he told her, grabbing his jacket and moving toward the door. Skyler stood up to follow him.

"Good movie," Skyler said. "I cried." Oliver looked at her as he opened the door and let her pass through before he followed.

"What movie?" Oliver asked.

"You know what a movie is, right?" Skyler asked. Oliver nodded. "There's a movie called Terms of Endearment. It's pretty sad and I cried."

"I can't believe that."

"That there's a movie called that?"

"No, that you cried." Skyler stopped as they were leaving the ward.

"Hey there, Mr. Captain, I have feelings, too, you know," she told him, half-heartedly. Oliver put his hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.

"No you don't," he said before grinning and continuing on his way out of the hospital. Skyler stood in indignation for a moment before jogging to catch up with him. Oliver slung an arm around her shoulders as she wrapped one around his waist as they exited the ward and the hospital.

"I do to have feelings."

Two weeks later the Puddlemere United Quidditch team was in the middle of the toughest match of the season. The Falmouth Falcons were in town and were prepared to do anything to win. They had already shown their drive in their first matches of the season and weren't letting up when it came to Puddlemere.

The Puddlemere team was already tired, banged up and bruised when Oliver called a time out only two hours into the game. Oliver had nearly had a heart attack when he saw the largest player on the Falmouth team, the Beater Steven Cromwell, slam into Skyler. She had nearly been thrown from her broom but managed to stay on, although she was quite unsteady. Oliver hurried over to her when she landed on the ground next to her teammates. Alex was propping her up a little as she leaned against his shoulder.

"Do you need me to send in a reserve?" Oliver asked her when he took her by the shoulders and looked into her slightly dazed eyes. She shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Just get me some water," she told him. Soon she was armed with a large bottle of water and was chugging it down. She finished, opened her eyes and seemed regenerated. "Let's go kick some Falcon ass," she said, but could not keep a weary quality out of her voice.

"Anytime you need to stop, you let me know," Oliver said. "Just holler, or hit me with a Bludger." Skyler smiled and received one from her captain in return.

"I'll be fine," she told him. Oliver allowed his players a few more minutes on the ground. He watched as Alex hugged his sister and whispered words of encouragement to her. Chris, in a moment of genuine niceness for a Slytherin, hugged Skyler and told her she was doing wonderfully well for her first time against the Falcons. After getting a general consensus from the team, Oliver signaled to the referee that their team was ready to go back in the air.

"And they're back! Puddlemere still leads the Falcons 160:110. How long can Wood's team hold out against the bigger and physical Falcon team? We already saw Skyler Reynolds get nearly knocked off her broom mid-air, can she and the rest of the team last? The Quaffle is back out! Warrington comes up with it! Warrington, McCarthy, Schmor, McCarthy, Schmor, Warrington scores! 170:110, Puddlemere!" the commentator announced to the stadium.

Oliver watched from his place at the goals as Skyler and Alex fought to keep control of the Bludgers. Cromwell and his partner, James Hart, were trying to intimidate the smaller pair. And Alex isn't that small of a guy, Oliver thought. Hart and Cromwell were flying at death-defying speeds inches away from the Puddlemere Beaters. How much more could they handle?

A loud crunch brought Oliver's attention back to his Beaters after he made a spectacular save, rebounding to Chris. Oliver watched as Steven Cromwell fell through the air, his broom forgotten.

"Skyler Reynolds has just unseated Cromwell from his broom! I have never seen anything like it before! That man must be three times her size and she just sent him flying off his broom! And Warrington scores on the distracted Falcon Keeper, Phelps!" Oliver could hear the commentator saying. "This is one of the most eventful games I have ever witnessed!"

Oliver chanced a look to his female Beater. Sure enough, Skyler was looking at Cromwell on the ground with a look of utmost disgust and superiority. Oliver grinned largely at his Beater. Skyler caught his eye, smiled and winked before she flew off to the opposite side of the pitch, chasing a Bludger.

"The Seekers are diving! Potter's ahead of Simpson, but only by just!" Oliver watched as the Seekers dove in the center of the pitch. He heard two more crunches and watched as his two Beaters and two Falcon Chasers were sent flying from their brooms ten feet from the ground, as Harry caught the Snitch. Oliver watched as Skyler and Alex hit the ground hard. The Falcon players hit the ground harder. Once they were all down on the ground, each player jumped up and began accosting one another. Oliver hurried to the crowd of fallen Quidditch players on the ground. He landed in between the two teams and tried to separate the fighting. Finally the sides were separating as each team's players gathered around each other, each side yelling at the other.

"You keep your little whore out of the sky!" Hart yelled at the team, pointing to Skyler. "She has no right to be up there."

"You're mad because she played a better game than you?" Warrington asked of his old housemate. "C'mon James, you know fair's fair."

"Since when did you play fair, Warrington?" Hart countered. "You were the first to agree with Flint on any cheating play."

"I valued my position on the team, Hart," Warrington said in a tone that would send anyone without a backbone running. Apparently it didn't work on the Falcon Beater.

"Fine, you won, fair and square. You and your little Mudblood whore," Hart spat.

Suddenly he was on the ground, spitting up blood from his mouth and nose. Oliver stood over him, sporting bloody knuckles.

"Get off the field and go to your locker room. We're done here," he said in a deadly quiet voice that would make any Slytherin proud.

In the Puddlemere locker room an hour after the fight on the field, Oliver stepped out of the showers, having soaked in the heat of the water for half an hour. He dried his hair with one towel as another was wrapped around his waist.

"That was a stupid thing you did back there," he heard a voice say as the towel covered his head. He dropped his hair-drying towel on the bench in front of his locker and faced the voice. Skyler was sitting on the bench opposite his, back in her street clothes with a few additions. She had some medical tape on her face, holding a cut that didn't require stitches, in place as it healed. He could see the white of the gauze covering a large bruise that was being mended with a special bruise potion. The gauze, he knew, was covering a very large bruise that extended from her ribs, across her back, up over her shoulder and stopped halfway up the right side of her neck. A small section of the gauze peeked out of the collar of her t-shirt. The same shirt she had worn to the hospital two weeks ago.

"You heard what he said," Oliver told her quietly, still a little peeved at the jerk from Falmouth.

"That doesn't mean you have to go around breaking your hand on his face," she told him, eyeing the hand that he refused to get mended.

"He deserved it," Oliver argued as he opened his locker, turning away from Skyler, unable to look at her.

"But did you?" she asked. Oliver stopped. He wasn't expecting that. He turned from his locker to look at her.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Do you deserve to have your hand broken? And I know it's broken, don't deny it," she said when he opened his mouth to protest. "Hart will get what's coming to him, whether you hand it to him or not. You, however, don't need to have another injury or scar."

"I was defending you," he said softly, turning back to pull clothes out of his locker.

"I know that," Skyler said, matching the softness of his voice. "But, hey, look at me. I took care of Cromwell just fine." Oliver smiled as he pulled on a pair of jeans.

"Yeah, you did," he said. "I have no idea how you did that." Oliver was shaking his head as he pulled on a t-shirt.

"Neither do I," Skyler admitted. She watched as Oliver adjusted his t-shirt and sat down on the bench, facing her. "Do you want me to fix your hand?"

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all." Skyler took Oliver's broken hand gently in hers and took out her wand. "Since Mom and Dad are Muggles, Alex and I learned how to do first-aid charms on ourselves for when we practiced over the summer. Could you imagine us telling Muggle doctors that we got hit by a makeshift Bludger when we were flying on broomsticks, practicing Quidditch?" Oliver smiled at the story. When he looked up Skyler was smiling. "Done."

Oliver flexed his hand and found that the hand moved freely as it did before it was broken. He noticed a few new scars though. When he pointed them out to Skyler she shrugged.

"I figured you'd need a couple more battle wounds. They're always a good conversation starter. I wanted to be in the story. You can tell them you were defending my honor," she told him.

"I was," he said.

"I know," Skyler paused. "Look, I need to go. Alex is probably wondering where I am and what I'm doing. He might even be thinking that you're taking advantage of me in the empty locker room." Oliver laughed.

"I would never - "

"I know," Skyler stopped him. "But Alex likes to play the older brother, even though I'm older by two minutes. Don't worry about him, I'll handle it." Skyler stood up and started to go to the door of the locker room. She stopped and rethought her path. She walked back to Oliver and placed a hand on his cheek. Oliver's eyes widened as she placed a kiss on the opposite cheek. She pulled away and straightened up.

"Thanks, Cap'n," she said before heading to the exit again.

"What are you going to say if Alex asks you if I took advantage of you in the locker room?" Oliver asked, stopping Skyler in her path. She turned and smiled at him.

"I'll tell him it was me who was the one taking advantage of you." Oliver smiled a little before he watched as Skyler left the locker room. It was going to be an interesting second half of the season.

The Puddlemere team was gathered in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for the Evening Prophet to come out. The team had just finished up a practice two days after the exciting Falcons game. The Evening Prophet would be announcing the selections for the team to represent England in the quest for the World Cup.

Oliver had told his team not to worry about getting selected. This didn't mean that they were bad players; it just was who the Department of Magical Games and Sports thought were the best players in the League.

Tom, the bartender, came over to the table the team was sitting at and handed Oliver the evening paper. Oliver took it with thanks and opened the paper to the sports section.

"The England National team is as follows. Chasers Christopher Warrington (Puddlemere United, 21), Andrew Brown (Appleby Arrows, 23) and Sean Beymer (Montrose Magpies, 20) will be joined by Beaters Skyler Reynolds (Puddlemere United, 18) and James Hart (Falmouth Falcons, 23). The team and Seeker Harry Potter (Puddlemere United, 19) will be captained by Keeper Oliver Wood (Puddlemere United, 22). Wood must be proud to have himself and three other Puddlemere players represent the English team," Oliver read before putting down the paper. "I am proud guys, of all of you." The team nodded, knowing he truly meant those words.

"Are you alright?" Skyler asked Oliver, putting a hand on his shoulder. He faced her as the rest of the team went to collect congratulatory drinks from Tom.

"I'm fine," he responded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, Hart's going to be on the team," Skyler reminded him. "He is the guy whose face you threw your fist into."

"I know," Oliver said with a sigh. "We'll be fine. We'll be fine."

And…

We're done with another chapter. That's some crazy stuff going down. It'll be fun to see how Oliver handles Hart on his national team. I think he's more worried about how Hart and Skyler will get along and how they'll work together. But Hart's a professional. They'll be fine… we hope.

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