Hunting For Snitches
(A Charlie/Oliver story)
By Rye the Random
A large cheer went up from the crowd of Hogwarts alumni and their families.
Minerva McGonagall almost smiled over her square spectacles, her wand held to her throat.
"Now, Hogwarts alumni!" proclaimed her magically magnified voice, "You have two hours to find and collect as many Easter eggs as you can. They are hidden around the grounds. None are in the lake nor the forest. They are all protected with anti-Summoning Charms. At the end of the time limit, each egg will open. Prizes will be what you find inside your Easter eggs. The objects inside the eggs are sponsored by Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. If you try and open an egg before the time limit is over, you will be disqualified. You are allowed to work with partners, and no more than four people to a group. You may start."
The last of the professor's speech was lost in a roar from the crowd as students sprinted in every direction, baskets swinging madly.
Charlie chuckled as he watched Ron drag Hermione off into a clump of bushes and Harry pick up a small blue egg.
This is what we need, he thought from his perch in an elm tree. To get our mind off those lost in the war. Hey… is that Finnegan snogging Lavender Brown? Godric, it just wasn't her sister who was the local Hogwarts slu-
"Weasley!" interrupted a thick Scottish accent from a limb next to him. "Trying to spot Easter eggs from above, are we now?"
Charlie turned, nearly falling out of the tree. When he recovered himself, he found himself looking into the gray-green eyes of Oliver Wood.
Charlie let out a roar and Wood began to chortle, a deep throaty laugh. They embraced like brothers, but Charlie found his arms lingering a while longer than what seemed appropriate.
"Godric, Oliver, it's been years! How've you been? How's Puddlemere? Got a girlfriend? How's yer mum? What's been going on?"
"Whoa, Charlie! Slooow down… I've only just Apparated in from Cambodia this morning- we had a game against the Billywigs last night, beat them 345 to 27. It was amazing! I've been fine. Puddlemere's great! No, I haven't got a bird. Haven't you heard? I'm ga- well, never mind, tell you later. Mum's fine. She had another kid, my little sister Aimee, she's a right little bugger, seven now and stubborn as hell. How 'bout you?" Oliver finally took a breath to see Charlie grinning.
He lowered his voice. "Listen, mate. I heard about Fred. I'm really sorry." He watched Charlie's face cloud over and shifted on the knobbly tree branch. It was really getting quite uncomfortable. Charlie's knuckles had become white gripping the branch. Oliver, to avoid looking at the errant Weasley counted each individual finger.One… two… three… four… five. Well, that was exciting. What were you expecting, Wood? Get a grip…
"It's alright, Wood." Charlie sighed. He had been trying to avoid the subject of his brother's death today…
"So, you were saying," continued Charlie, trying to cover the awkward moment, "that you don't have a girlfriend? What the hell is that about? You were quite the charmer back in our Hogwarts days, Oliver, what happened? Losing your edge?" The two boys chuckled as they watched people darting everywhere, crouching to pick up eggs.
"Well… er-" -Merlin please don't let him freak- "I'mgaypleasedon'tbemad.IbetyouhatemenowDoyouhateme?" Charlie's red eyebrows raised.
"Heh. Want to repeat that? I about heard: blehblahblah." He waited patiently as Oliver breathed, his face colouring.
"I said… I'm gay. Please don't be mad at me. Do you hate me?" Charlie laughed.
"For cripe's sake, Wood! Finally! I thought you'd never tell me… I think I've known longer than you have. You used to stare at me in the changing rooms…"
Charlie trailed off and Oliver blushed even harder at this embarrassing memory.
"Soo…" drawled Charlie. "Want to go egg hunting? I suppose if we show up at counting with nothing McG is gonna be suspicious…"
They chuckled and chatted as they picked up eggs, filling a basket Oliver had picked up along the way.
Finding themselves on the edge of the Forbidden Forest they both dropped to their hands and knees, feeling around in the semi-darkness for more eggs they might have missed.
Suddenly Charlie found himself bonking into something very hard. "Ow! Bloody hell! Wood, wotcher, there's a tree there…"
"Fuck! Weasley! That was my head, not a tree you bloody git! Ow! Merlin's saggy Y-fronts! Bollocks! Ow, I think I'm bleeding-"
"Oh- for the love of Merlin, Oliver! Sit still! It can't have hurt that bad. Here, lemme have a look-"
But suddenly they found themselves forehead to forehead- kneeling amongst many plastic eggs and gazing, rather in a cliché manner, into each other's eyes, lips locked.
"Um," said Charlie, rather intelligently, heart pounding after they had broken apart.
"Yeah." breathed Wood. He could have sworn Charlie could hear his heart beating.
"Er… would you mind- if I did that again?" Charlie forced his voice to keep a low octave. The last thing he needed right now was his voice to crack. He was well past puberty, but with Weasley's you could never tell…
Wood didn't say anything but instead answered Charlie with a kiss.
There was a loud clanging sound somewhere on the ground- the time limit was up.
Suddenly, everyone knew what was inside the eggs- especially Charlie and Oliver, kneeling amidst probably about a hundred open eggs. Snitches.
Gold, silver bronze. Purple, green and blue. Snitches of all colours rose through the air and fluttered lazily around the heads of two well-muscled, very manly, Quidditch players.