Well...I know it's been over a year, but if anyone is still reading this...Hi. I got inspired all of a sudden after a long time to write this chapter. I plan on continuing with the story, but don't be surprised if updates are pretty thin on the ground. If you're watching your alerts though, you'll see this pop up now and again hopefully. It feels good to be writing again. Enjoy:
When they arrived at the great manor Katie glanced around briefly to take in the familiar, yet still breath-taking surroundings.
Thinking of this she said, "You know what? We should have the wedding here!"
"Here?" he asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow, "Isn't it sort of tradition that the wedding is hosted by the bride's parents? I'm not complaining or anything, but why would you want it here?"
"It's so beautiful," she said, her voice full of wonder as she glanced around the extensive grounds and towards the beautiful house that was really a small castle. "It'd be the perfect place. We could have it outdoors. No matter what the season the grounds here are spectacular."
"Alright," he said as they walked, not to the great wooden front doors, but instead to the kitchen door that had been used for servants when the castle was first built. Now the family used it all the time because it was less of a hassle to open and close.
As they walked into the kitchen they saw the two house elves bustling around the room, fixing dinner.
"Hi Nelly, Dory," Oliver said with a nod and smile as they passed.
"Hello Master Oliver, Miss Katie," said the older of the two elves, nodding at them. She was middle aged or maybe on the slightly older side, but not at all decrepit.
"How was your trip?" asked Oliver. Katie raised her eyebrows, but before she could ask, the younger of the two, who looked in her teenage elf-years, answered.
"Thank you, master," she said in her squeaky little voice, "Dory enjoyed the trip very much, oh yes, very much! But after such a long trip Dory does not think Dory will need another trip for a long time. Oh no, Dory does not!"
The older elf, Nelly, then squeaked, "Nelly quite agrees with Dory. Nelly likes vacation, but she likes working even more, Sir."
Oliver smiled, leading Katie out and into the small servants hall the joined the kitchen and dining room, the only way out of the kitchen. As they walked through the dinning room and into the grand hall Katie asked, "Trip?"
"Mum finally convinced them to take a vacation," Oliver explained as they walked past the great front door and headed up the main staircase. "It took her months and months to talk them into it. Dory cracked first, as she's never been away from here. Nelly was already working for us when she had Dory, so Dory's never been out of this part of the country. They went for four days to the coast, but swore they couldn't stay away any longer."
They both chuckled at the peculiar mannerisms of house elves as they ascended the stairs. When they reached the first landing, they walked down the hall and into the family's informal sitting room. They stopped at the door and took a deep breath. All they'd told Oliver's family was that they were coming over that day for lunch because they hadn't seen them in a few weeks, and they hoped that Lauren would be there with Michael and Nick as well. Of course, they knew that Oliver's family probably had some idea of what they were going to tell them, but they were still a little nervous.
"Well, come on," Oliver said when he saw that Katie looked hesitant. "I promise they won't bite. If I could survive your entire family, including your brothers, surly you can survive the five people in there. Especially considering that one of them wants to marry you himself." He smirked, thinking of his nephew, Nick, who had taken quite a fancy to Katie over the last year.
"Alright then," Katie said, strengthened by the thought of the adoring three-year-old awaiting her inside. She pushed the door open.
Lauren and Micheal were sitting on one couch while Gerald and Rachel sat on another. Nice, who had been sitting on the floor, rushed for the door upon seeing them, shouting "T!"
"Hello there!" Katie beamed, sweeping Nick up into a hug. Oliver smiled before greeting the rest of the family with a cheery "Hello!"
"Hi there," Katie said over Nick's head before turning to the little boy. "How have you been?"
"Good," Nick answered, before turning his head to Oliver. "Uncle Ollie!"
Katie passed Nick to Oliver as Oliver said, "Oh, now you want to see me, do you? Is Katie your favorite?"
Nick blushed and shook his head, while all of the adults in the room smiled at him. Oliver set Nick down and he ran over to his mother, still red in the face, and hid in her lap. Katie and Oliver sat down on the couch with Oliver's parents.
"Well then," Rachel said, looking at Oliver and then at Katie. "What was it you wanted to visit about? In your note you said you had some news..." She trailed off significantly.
"We do," Oliver said. "As it happens, Katie and I-"
"We're getting married!" Katie interrupted, unable to contain her excitement. Though she had been a bit nervous that Oliver's family would think they were moving too fast, seeing Nick had given her some confidence. All of them liked her and she was incredibly fond of them, so she couldn't see any reason not to share the news, news that was some of the happiest she'd ever shared in her entire life.
She held out her hand to show the family the ring, only to find Oliver's mother and sister smirking. "What is it?" she asked.
"Didn't he tell you?" Lauren asked. "When our grandmother died in July she left behind this ring. It was her engagement ring. We gave it to Oliver rather hoping he'd use it..."
Katie turned to Oliver and said, "You never told me your grandmother left you a ring!"
"No need to be accusatory," he smiled. "I happened to have a plan for it, in case you hadn't noticed. Also, she didn't leave it to me, my meddling mother and sister gave it to me."
"Guilty as charged," Rachel smiled.
"Well, I'm not complaining," Katie laughed, glancing down at the ring. Though she'd only been wearing it a few days, the weight already felt natural on her hand. She had a feeling that if she took it off now, her finger would feel almost naked.
They spent the rest of the afternoon in a flurry of wedding discussions that were too preliminary to be called plans. When Katie and Oliver mentioned that they hoped to have the wedding at the manor, the entire family immediately praised the idea.
"We'd be happy to host it!" Rachel said.
"We could set up a big white tent in the back," Lauren added, excitedly. "What time of year were you thinking?"
"We're not sure," Oliver said.
"Well," said Lauren. "You'll have to pick a time when the gardens look their best. And, of course, we'll have to think of the guest list, and the dress, and the catering, oh, and we'll have to meet Katie's family!"
"Oh yes!" Gerald said. "We've already heard about them, of course, but we'd love to meet them!"
Katie and Oliver looked at each other before Katie said, "That would be lovely. My family is, of course, much...bigger than yours. Louder too, I'm afraid. I suppose that's where my interrupting comes from. I'll owl them and see when they want to meet."
"Of course," Rachel said. "It doesn't have to be immediate, but definitely soon."
When Katie and Oliver arrived back at the flat that evening, they both sat on the couch and Oliver immediately picked up Katie's left hand and began playing with her fingers, as he always did.
"That went quite well," Katie said.
"See," Oliver replied, nudging her playfully. "I told you it'd be fine. They love you."
"Well, I would've felt better if I'd known they'd given you the ring..."
"Can't a many have any secrets?"
"Not from his fiancee he can't."
They both smiled at her used of the word 'fiancee.' It was still all so new. They both felt it was still a bit unreal; too good to be true.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Katie said, "Your family won't have to meet my entire family, surely. Just my parents, my brothers, and my sister. Oh, and Karen, obviously. It's strange, Ian gets married first, which is only right since he's the oldest, but then me next, and I'm the youngest. I'm surprised no one has said we're too young, in fact. Of course, I don't think we are, but at 19 and 22 we are a little ahead when it comes to the marriage thing. I mean, obviously we won't have kids right at first but, still..."
Oliver smiled, remembering how well Katie was with Nick. "No," he said. "Definitely no kids immediately. But someday..."
"Yes," Katie smiled too, kissing him gently. "Someday."
After a few more minutes of silence Katie said, "Ugh. Now, we have to tell Gwenog and Anthony, I suppose."
"Why?" Oliver asked. "I don't see why it's any of our team captains' business that we're getting married."
"It is though. Because eventually it will get out to the press and they deserve to have time to prepare, should it be a big deal. Ideally, we should get married before we have to play each other next season, that way it'll all have blown over by our next match against each other."
"That works. We normally play each other at the end of the season, so at least we don't have to get married in winter."
"Speaking of timing, what do you think about May? The gardens at the manor are in full bloom and absolutely stunning."
Oliver smiled, "Won't matter. No one will be looking at the "stunning" gardens. They'll all be too busy looking at the radiant bride."
"Oh stop it!" Katie elbowed him, but was smiling nonetheless. "You're being ridiculous."
"I'm serious," Oliver protested. "That's exactly what you always are: radiant."
The next few weeks passed in a blur as Katie and Oliver told everyone their news. They had decided on a May wedding, and after finding out when the master of ceremonies, who presided over weddings and funerals, was available, decided on May 23 as the date. That only gave them 7 months to plan, which wasn't as much time as Katie would have liked, so they launched themselves into preparations, picking the caterer, ordering the tent, and drawing up a guest list.
One Thursday evening in November, Katie arrived home from practice a little after Oliver and was surprised to find that he was not alone in the flat. When she apparated in, four or five reporters, including Rita Skeeter, were surrounding him, firing questions at him as he attempted to get them outside.
"What's going on?" Katie asked once she had grasped what was happening.
"They rang the bell and swarmed in when I answered the door before I could get it shut!" Oliver said, helplessly.
"Why are you here?" Katie asked the reporters. They hadn't been giving Oliver and Katie as much trouble as usual. Since they were essentially a boring celebrity couple, with no major fights or drama, the reporters had lost interest after the first few months, so she was surprised that they were here now but knew there could really only be one reason: they'd found out about the wedding.
"You two were seen at a caterer's last week tasting wedding cakes. Is it true we're to hear wedding bells in May? Why the rush?" one reporter asked while another said, "Aren't you a bit young? Any particular reason for the rushed engagement? Perhaps a little Quiddich star in the making?" "Is it true, Katie, that you're due in August and that's why the wedding is so rushed?" another demanded.
Katie gaped at Oliver, who gaped right back. "Out," he said sternly to the reporters. "Out! Out!"
Katie opened the door as Oliver started herding them back. They resisted quite a bit, and eventually Oliver had to resort to threats. "You are on private property! Either leave, or I will be forced to contact the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. Is that clear?"
The reporters seemed to realize that Oliver was not making idle threats, and left grudgingly. Once Oliver got the door shut he turned to Katie and said, "They arrived about 10 seconds before you did. That was a mess."
"No kidding," Katie said with a weak chuckle, sinking down onto the couch. Oliver sat down beside her and took her left hand.
They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Katie said, "I suppose we should've known that's what people would think...I'm surprised no one has asked us already."
Oliver glared. "Is it impossible that two people could just love each other and want to get married at the ages of 19 and 22 without there being a pregnancy scandal involved?"
"Apparently not," Katie answered. "I'm sure they'll find a way to spin it into a headline though. It's good we told Williams and Gwenog though. That way if the reporters approach them, and you know they will, they can deny it."
"Yeah," Oliver said. He paused for a moment before continuing, "Are you sure you want this now? I mean, you're the one who everyone will be talking about and judging. Are you sure you want to face all that? We can always wait another year or two and get married then. I hate the idea of you being talked about like that. If we just-"
"Stop there," Katie interrupted. "We're getting married in May and that's final. We've already booked the caterer and got the master of ceremonies, and we've almost got the invitations designed-"
"Katie," Oliver interrupted, a rare thing for him. "Those things aren't important. We can do them all again in two or three years. What is important is us being ready and you not being the subject of every sports and gossip column headline."
"So what if I am?" Katie asked. "I love you. And you love me. And I want to get married now. Not in two years, now. I know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I want the rest of my life to start as soon as possible. I don't care if people think it's because I'm pregnant. So what? I'm not, and eventually they will figure that out when I don't blow up to the size of a balloon. And even if I was, would that really be so bad?"
"No," he said. "No it wouldn't. But, we agreed, not yet-"
"I know that, silly," she smiled. "But, all I'm saying is that either way, our life is good. And we're going to be happy together. And we're going to have the most beautiful wedding anyone has ever seen. And that's that."
"That's good enough for me," Oliver smiled too, and kissed her.
So, as I mentioned above, I know it's been a while, but I'm suddenly really inspired. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon. Please review though. Reviews make a huge difference to me and help me stay inspired. Thanks!