Early Spring, 1997

The healers really couldn't explain it. Any of it.

The initial diagnosis when Katie was admitted back in October had been simple enough: she had touched a cursed necklace. And they had the necklace in their possession, making the process of creating an antidote that much simpler. Actually administering it was where they began to run into problems. Although unconscious, Katie worked herself into a frenzy whenever anyone attempted to touch her. It was practically impossible to get her any kind of nutrition, let alone the potions that would hopefully help heal her.

Until one day, in mid-November, she had calmed down for no apparent reason that the healers could discover. Katie had steadily improved since then, but the healers still couldn't understand what was going on with her medically. She was getting better, there was no doubt about that, so why hadn't she woken up yet?

Oliver was just as—if not more—stumped as the healers working on Katie's case. But he wasn't going to give up on her recovering just yet. He had made the mistake of drifting out of her life once already and he did not want that to happen again.

Which was why he found himself walking the halls of St. Mungo's on this particular afternoon in early April. It was a familiar route by now; Oliver was sure he could walk it blindfolded. The woman seated in one of the chairs beside the bed looked up when Oliver entered Katie's hospital room.

"Hello, Oliver," Mrs. Bell said with a smile. "How was training today?"

Oliver shrugged, going over and kissing the older woman on the cheek lightly by way of greeting and then taking a seat in the chair opposite her. "Pretty much the same as usual."

"What? No big celebration with the rumor that you're practically guaranteed Rookie of the Year?" Mrs. Bell asked with a knowing grin.

"We at Puddlemere United don't hold much stock in rumors," Oliver informed Mrs. Bell, though there was a smile upon his face as well. It faded a bit, though, as he continued, "And how is she today?"

"The same," Mrs. Bell replied, a frown spreading across her features as her gaze drifted to her daughter. "The latest report from the healers says that she's good as new. Or…at least, she would be if she woke up."

"She will," Oliver said immediately.

"I know," Mrs. Bell said with a heavy sigh, her gaze never leaving her daughter.

Oliver did not immediately reply, entirely unsure how he should. He knew Mrs. Bell would never give up on her daughter, just as Oliver, himself, would never give up on Katie. The long road to her recovery was just wearing on all of them. They were all tired. They just wanted her to finally be good as new again, no matter how hopeless it continued to seem as the months wore one.

In his musing, Oliver's gaze finally landed on the half-eaten tray of food sitting on the table beside Mrs. Bell that was obviously the remains of her lunch.

"You should take a break," Oliver finally suggested. "Why don't you go upstairs for a cup of tea? I'll be down here with Katie."

"It has been a long day," Mrs. Bell admitted. "I've been here since the hospital opened and…well, I suppose stretching my legs would do me some good. A cup of tea sounds nice, too…"

"I'll be here," Oliver repeated as Mrs. Bell slowly got to her feet and left the room with one last, lingering glance at her daughter, lying still on the hospital bed.

"Oh, Katie…" Oliver said, picking up one of her limp hands and holding it gently in his own. "The things we do for the people we love…"

Oliver Wood had become a regular at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in the past several months. After discovering that Katie was a patient there, he had made a point of visiting her every day that he was in town and not away at a Quidditch match. That had been back in November. It was April now.

In that time, Oliver had caught up with the Weasley twins, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet, all of whom he had lost touch with after leaving school but who were frequent visitors at Katie's bedside—nearly as frequent as Oliver, in fact. He had also gotten to know Mr. and Mrs. Bell quite well, as neither was ever very far from their daughter's side.

And then there was Katie…

Katie was doing much better, of that there was no doubt. She was still incredibly pale from all of the time she had been indoors, but there was a bit more color in her cheeks due to the fact that the healers had been able to consistently administer both her potions and regular meals for the past few months. It had also been several months since Katie's last screaming fit. Altogether, her health was vastly improving.

She still remained unconscious, however.

Oliver was on the brink. It had taken nearly losing Katie to realize how much he always had and still did care for her. He knew that she might not feel the same way, but he had always loved her and he just wanted the chance to be able to tell her.

"I love you, Katie Bell," Oliver whispered, breaking the silence of the small hospital room. "Come back to me."

If asked, Oliver would probably say that he had loved Katie from just about the first moment he ever met her. She had been twelve to his fifteen, and she had been, by far, the most superb Chaser he had ever seen. It had been exhilarating just to watch her fly in that first try-out, so many years ago. That initial spark had developed so much more over the years that followed. But, above all else, he would give just about anything to see her fly one more time. That was, in his mind, Katie at her best.

Oliver's grip on Katie's hand tightened almost imperceptibly at that thought. He would see Katie fly again, because she was going to get better. Maybe she would be flying away from him because she thought her former captain was a crazy stalker but, at this point, Oliver was pretty sure he'd be able to take the rejection if it just meant that Katie was going to be okay again.

Now focused more on holding her hand, Oliver couldn't help but smile slightly as he felt the callousness of her small hand. From the calluses to the firm grip—both necessary for successful holding and passing of the Quaffle—she still had a Chaser's hand, even after all of the months of disuse.

Oliver paused suddenly in the midst of his thoughts. Firm grip? In all of the months that he had sat here holding her hand, it had always remained limp in his own grip. Slowly, and with a feeling of intense trepidation, Oliver's gaze travelled from his and Katie's intertwined hands up to her face.

Katie's eyes were open and staring at the plain, white ceiling above her bed.

"Katie?" Oliver barely dared to breathe out, hoping against hope that this wasn't some cruel dream or figment of his imagination. "Katie, can you hear me?"

Slowly, Katie turned her head to the right so that Oliver was now in her line of sight.

"Ol," Katie managed to croak out, her voice rusty from disuse. "D-did we w-win?"

"What?" Was all Oliver could reply, sidetracked slightly by his confusion. What was she talking about? Win what?

"The match," She said with some difficulty, "Did we win? I…I can't remember. Is that why I'm in the…h-hospital wing?"

"The hospital wing?" Oliver repeated with a sudden, breathless laugh, a radiant smile lighting up his face as things clicked into place. It wasn't quite right, but she was definitely awake. "We're at St. Mungo's. You were…Oh Katie, you've finally woken up!" He let out another gleeful laugh and stood up, leaning forward swiftly and pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead, also releasing her hand as he went. "I need to go find a healer!"

He registered her confused expression, but couldn't waste more time talking to her, no matter how desperately he wanted to. What if she fell unconscious again? He needed to find a healer now.

Oliver stumbled over his feet in his haste to get to the door. Wrenching it open, he practically fell into Mrs. Bell's arms.

"Oliver? What's wrong?" Mrs. Bell demanded, concern written across her features.

"It's Katie!" Oliver said triumphantly. "She's awake!"