Late Spring, 1998

Excitement. Sadness. Anger.

Katie was currently feeling all of those emotions. And it was all thanks to the rather lengthy piece of parchment she'd received just after lunch that day. It was now more than two hours later, and Katie was still seated at the kitchen table, simply staring at the piece of parchment, the emotions raging in her head.

She suddenly let out a sigh of frustration, her lips creasing into a frown. She had been waiting for this letter for several days now, anxious to see what it would say. Now that she had it, she almost wished it had never come. Almost. Because it wasn't that she objected to what it said. No, the contents of the letter had overjoyed her immensely.

Until she took the briefest of moments to think about why the letter said what it did. And then she was overcome with grief. Grief that turned into angry quickly enough. It was never really going to be over. She would always have to live with constant reminders of the war, which had been declared officially over in recent weeks. But it was never really going to be over, was it?

"Katie?" At the sudden sound of her name, Katie looked up in surprise to see Oliver standing next to her, dressed in his Quidditch gear.

"Oliver?" Katie replied, confused. "What are you doing home so soon?"

"I've been gone for five hours…" Oliver said slowly, a look of concern crossing his features as he slid into the seat next to hers.

"Oh…" Katie said now, glancing at the clock and realizing for the first time just how long she'd been sitting there staring at her letter. "I guess I just lost track of time." Then the smallest of smiles crossed her features as her gaze returned to Oliver, "Did Puddlemere's locker rooms deteriorate in the long off-season?"

"Huh?" Now it was Oliver's turn to look confused.

Katie merely looked at her fiancé pointedly, her eyes scanning his entire form, causing Oliver to look down at himself. A look of understanding finally crossed his features once he had done so.

"Nah," Oliver said, "Like I said, I was gone for five whole hours. I can't even remember when the last time was we spent that much time apart. I couldn't wait to get out of that place."

"So what you're telling me," Katie began slowly, "Is that you basically missed me so much you decided to come home from training without changing or showering?"

"Yes," Oliver said with a succinct nod.

"You're disgusting," Katie informed him with a grin. "But also incredibly sweet."

"Plus," Oliver continued, a grin of his own crossing his features now, "I thought I might be able to find better company to shower with here than back in the locker room."

"You might," Katie allowed.

"But before I go search out the cat," Oliver said, causing Katie to smack him over the head with a laugh, "Is everything alright with you?"

The laughter slowly faded from Katie's face. "Why would you ask that?"

"Because I called out that I was home when I walked in the door," Oliver replied, a look of concern appearing on his face now. "And then I kept calling your name, but you didn't notice I was back until I was literally standing right next to you." He nodded his head at the parchment sitting on the table before her, "What's been distracting you?"

Katie sighed heavily, her gaze turning to her letter once more. "I've finally heard from the Harpies."

Oliver waited patiently for her to continue. He'd gotten a letter from the management of Puddlemere United just two days previously informing him of the recommencement of Quidditch, now that the war had ended. Today had been the first day of training, with his first match scheduled to be held in another two weeks. He knew that Katie had anxiously been awaiting her own letter from the Holyhead Harpies, tired of having nothing to occupy her time with.

"They've offered me a position as a starting Chaser," Katie said, an unreadable expression upon her face as she continued to stare at her letter.

"And this upset you…?" Oliver asked hesitantly.

"No," Katie said immediately, her gaze jerking back to Oliver. "I'm thrilled. Playing Quidditch professionally is what I've always wanted, you know that. It's just…I was barely a reserve last year before the season got cancelled. And…Ol, we both know there's only one reason they'd offer to make me a starter now. No one was going to be retiring at the end of the last season."

Now Oliver finally understood what had upset Katie. Just this morning, he'd experience some trepidation upon arriving at Puddelmere's stadium. He had known there would be at least one new face there; not everyone had been fortunate enough to survive the war.

"Do you know…" Oliver began softly, scooting his chair closer to Katie so that he could wrap an arm around her shoulder comfortingly, "Do you know who you're…replacing?"

Katie shook her head. "I expect I'll find out tomorrow."

"Well, I can tell you that I know that, even under the circumstances, being able to play again will be a good distraction," Oliver told her firmly. "From everything that's going on right now," He continued, thinking now of the friends they'd lost in the war, "And it'll all get better as time passes, you'll see."

Katie gave him a small smile. "I love you, Oliver."

"And I love you," Oliver replied, "Even more than the cat."

Katie couldn't help but giggle at this, but she quickly schooled her features into a serious expression once more. "There was actually something else that I want to talk to you about, too…"

"You still want to marry me, right?" Oliver asked her suspiciously.

"Of course I do," Katie answered with a roll of her eyes.

"Alright then," Oliver said with a happy shrug. "What d'you want to talk about?"

"Us," Katie said simply. At the re-emergence of Oliver's suspicious expression she continued, "Us in terms of our careers."

A knowing look appeared on Oliver's face now.

"I have a feeling I know where you're going with this," He said.

"You remember what we talked about last June, then?" Katie asked. "You agree that we're still not going to tell anyone at work about our relationship?"

"I still feel the same way about it now that I did then," Oliver said with another shrug. "We know it's not going to affect how we play; it'll only annoy us when everyone else starts speculating. Besides," He grinned now, "I do believe you made me agree back then that we still wouldn't tell anyone even when we did get engaged."

Katie giggled again. "I'd forgotten about that. Of course, I do seem to recall that you were the one who didn't think we'd be engaged within a few months of that conversation."

"I beg to differ," Oliver retorted, overly serious now, "You, Miss Bell, were the one who said she was joking back then. Obviously I only reacted the way I did because I thought you'd figured out my top secret plan to propose to you on the eve of the final battle of a war that wasn't yet full-blown."

"Obviously," Katie agreed sarcastically. "Because Oliver Wood has a strategy for everything, doesn't he?"

"That sounds about right," Oliver said with a nod. "And speaking of strategies…have I mentioned yet about how I strategically came straight home to you after practice?"

And with a smile, Katie grabbed Oliver's hand as she stood from her seat and practically dragged him out of the kitchen.