Late Summer, 1998: Part One

Breathe. Just breathe, She kept telling herself.

Katie couldn't remember ever being this nervous before a Quidditch match. But, after all, this was no Quidditch match she had just finished getting ready for. No, this was her wedding day.

In just a few short hours, Katie Bell was going to become Katie Wood.

She had never been more anxious in her entire life. And it was anxiety. Not nerves. Not really. Nerves were what she usually felt before a Quidditch match and sometimes before a big exam. And sweet Merlin she was comparing her feelings before her wedding to what she felt before a test. She wasn't old enough to get married! Why was she getting married?!

"Katie?" A voice broke through her thoughts suddenly. "Katie, are you listening to me? Can you even hear me?"

"Huh?"

"That's what I thought." And finally Katie's gaze—which had been focused unseeingly on nothing in particular just moments previously—came to rest on the other person in the room with her. When had someone else entered the room?

"Katie," The person spoke again and it finally registered with Katie that it was, in fact, her mother in the room with her. Had her mum been here the whole time?

"Yes, mum?" Katie said, surprising even herself with her newfound ability to formulate words.

"You were starting to turn a bit blue, just a moment ago," Mrs. Bell said, the barest hint of a smile on her face. "Have you been remembering to breathe?"

Katie just stared at her mother blankly, causing a look of concern to cross her mother's features.

"Are you alright, Katie?" Mrs. Bell asked, reaching out to hold one of her daughter's clammy hands.

"When did I get so old, mum?" Katie asked suddenly.

Mrs. Bell couldn't help the smile that came to her face at those words. "Dear, you're hardly old. And if you remain insistent about it, then that makes me positively ancient, which I hardly find agreeable."

"But if I'm not old," Katie began, "Then I'm too young to get married."

"Oh, Katie…" Mrs. Bell said with a sudden sigh. "It's alright to be nervous. But…" She appeared worried now, "You aren't going to back out, are you?"

"Of course not," Katie replied indignantly, and Mrs. Bell easily believed her because she finally appeared to be fully out of the daze she'd been in earlier. "I love Oliver. And I do want to marry him. And I will. Today. I just…I've never felt quite so young and unprepared in my entire life."

"That's just what growing up feels like, darling," Mrs. Bell said with a small smile.

"You don't think Oliver and I are rushing into things, then?" Katie asked now. "And don't you dare tell dad I asked, because I know what his answer is."

"Well…" Mrs. Bell hesitated. "I can't exactly say it was my lifelong dream for my only child to get married while she was a teenager, and we both know how your dad feels, of course. But we've both seen you and Oliver together—not nearly as much as we would have liked, of course, after that stunt you pulled last summer—and I've always known this day was going to happen sooner or later. And I really am so very happy for both of you," She suddenly narrowed her eyes at her daughter, "Just as long as I don't have any grandchildren any time soon. I'm not nearly old enough for that."

And finally a smile appeared on Katie's face. "No grandchildren," she agreed.

"But there will be grandchildren one day," Mrs. Bell informed her daughter sternly. "Eventually."

"Well…" Katie wheedled, teasing her mother, "Does it have to be plural?"

Mrs. Bell narrowed her eyes infinitesimally at her only child. "Yes," And suddenly she was grinning, "But there will be plenty of time for us to chat about how many grandchildren I'm expecting later. Right now," She paused in order to glance at the clock that Katie had been steadfastly refusing to acknowledge since entering the room, "I do believe it's time for us to be off."

And at these words, almost surprisingly, Katie's expression relaxed, a peaceful smile crossing her features.

Her anxiety was gone; all she'd needed was a chat with her dear, not-old mum to really take her mind off of things. Yes, she was young, but this was where she wanted to be. Here, about to be married to the love of her life.

"I'm getting married…"

Three Hours Later…

"They look gorgeous together, don't you think?" Alicia asked no one in particular.

"What I think is that you've already had too much to drink," Angelina informed her friend, from her seat beside the other girl.

"Nonsense," Charlie cut in from where he was seated across from Angelina. "We've barely started yet."

Angelina shook her head in a hopeless gesture, though there was a smile on her face.

Angelina, Alicia, and Charlie were currently seated at a table they had been assigned at Katie and Oliver's wedding reception, along with Percy, Harry, Lee, George, and Leanne. While Alicia and Leanne both stared dreamily at Katie and Oliver together on the nearby dance floor, Angelina, Charlie, Percy, and Harry were all in favor of what appeared to be the world's longest song ending so that they could finally eat. Lee, meanwhile, was busy staring at Alicia. George merely sat there with a blank look on his face.

"You know," Harry began thoughtfully, "I'm kind of surprised Oliver agreed to get married today, of all days."

"A Monday?" Percy questioned. "It is rather strange…and I had to take off work in order to be here."

Charlie rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "No, you dolt. Although I'm sure we're all so thrilled you deigned to grace us with your presence here, it's actually the Final of the World Cup today. And, personally, I think it's good that Oliver finally found a new priority above Quidditch."

"Are you aware," Angelina began, "That Oliver refers to you as 'The Great Charlie Weasley' because you were his first Quidditch captain?"

"What?"

"Huh," Percy said with a smile, pleasantly distracted from his brother's sarcastic comment, "I'd forgotten about that."

"He always was a bit mental," Harry grimaced slightly, clearly remembering his own experiences with Oliver Wood, Quidditch fanatic extraordinaire.

"Brilliant, more like," Charlie was grinning now. "I always knew that kid had the right idea. Quidditch: always a top priority."

Angelina rolled her eyes and turned to Harry now.

"They chose today because it's the only date they're both free for a while."

"Holyhead and Puddlemere play each other soon, don't they?" Harry questioned, recalling a recent conversation with Ginny about her favorite Quidditch team.

"In just a few days," Angelina replied with a grin. "It'll actually be the first game for both of them after today. And it's against each other."

"I think it'll be brilliant," Leanne finally tore her eyes away from the dance floor.

"Why?" Harry questioned.

"Katie and Oliver have a wager on the outcome of the match," Leanne responded.

"What kind of wager?" Percy asked.

"You owe us ten galleons."

Everyone at the table seemed to freeze at the sound of the voice, especially prominent not only because of who had spoken but also because the music had finally ended.

"What?" Angelina was the first to find her voice, her attention—much like the other six at the table—focused on George, who was now staring intently at her.

"You owe use ten galleons," George repeated. "We bet you that Ol and Katie would be married within five years and you said he would never even work up the courage to finally ask her out. That was four years ago. W-I win.

"I forgot about that," Angelina said as a smile slowly spread across her face at the sound of George speaking. "I suppose I do."

"And I believe I told you that you'd lose," Alicia informed Angelina, smiling as well. But, again, her smile was due to the fact that George was actually contributing to the conversation—even if the topic clearly had painful associations for him—and was not merely giving one-word responses, at the continued prodding of his brothers, to questions he hadn't been listening to.

"What is Katie and Oliver's wager about?" Percy asked again, far less interested in the answer than he'd been before, but hopeful his younger brother would remain in the conversation.

"She wants eternal servitude, I believe," Alicia answered now. "But Oliver wants them to buy a house with its own personal Quidditch pitch."

"He would," Charlie said with a shake of his head.

"Or, at least," Leanne spoke up, a sly grin on her face, "Those are the wagers they're admitting to."

No one said anything more, though, as waiters had just appeared with tray of food, and all eight people at the table eagerly dug in.

"We should go," George said suddenly, several minutes later.

"Go where?" Percy asked immediately. "We can't leave in the middle of dinner…"

"To Ol and Kate's game," George replied.

"So we can watch her crush him," Alicia said, an evil glint appearing in her eyes.

"Sounds like fun," Lee said immediately.

"I'm in," Angelina agreed.

"Me, too," Leanne said eagerly.

"So am I," Charlie said, "But only because I know Oliver's going to win."

"As long as you don't start referring to him as your prodigy," Percy began, "Then I'll go, too."

As one, they all turned to Harry, who had yet to say anything on the matter.

"Well…" He hesitated.

"We can bring Ginny," George said suddenly, frowning slightly. "It's before she goes back to school…and I don't think I got her a birthday present…"

"Quidditch it is then," Harry declared. "But…do I have to pick a side?"

"You, Potter," Charlie said with a laugh as he turned back to his meal, "Are the wimpiest savior of the wizarding world I've ever met."