Hi there! I apologize for the delay! Just so you know I've enjoyed the few reviews I've received. I hope you enjoy this chapter and feel compelled to tell me what you think!

Chapter Three

"What is this?" Oliver asked, brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet in his sister's face when she entered the team's meeting room a day after she had been to the hospital to see baby James.

"Looks like a newspaper," she replied, sitting next to him.

The team had been summoned for an early morning meeting as their first match approached. Oliver and Adair were the first ones there.

Oliver frantically flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He slammed it down on the table in front of her. "You made the morning news."

Adair sighed when she saw the moving photograph of her and Charlie slipping into the Leaky Cauldron.

They were holding hands.

"We just got a drink after we saw the baby. I told him this exact thing would happen. It's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing," Oliver replied. "You keep saying that, but you keep seeing him."

He had figured out that they had gone on a date after the wedding from George and Angelina.

"The last time wasn't planned and he's back in Romania now. So you and all the damn Weasley's can stop speculating that anything is going on. After getting drinks together twice I'd still say we're strangers and it should stay that way."

"Whatever you say," Oliver mumbled as the rest of the team filtered in and took their seats.

"Adair, glad to see you could tear yourself away from your new boyfriend and join us this morning," Coach Wilson said with a smirk.

Adair inwardly groaned but said nothing. The rest of the team chuckled around her, all having seen the paper.

They went over film from the previous year's game against Portugal. By all accounts, it would be an easy first game for Adair and she only hoped that was the case as she was nervous already.

After the meeting, they went through the process of their weight lifting and cardio routines.

"With Apparition and all that, it really wouldn't be that hard to see each other," Oliver said absentmindedly as they stood next to each other doing bicep curls.

"This is getting out of bloody hand," Adair replied. "You're completely absurd."

"I think you guys should give it a try," he went on.

"Give what a try?" Adar demanded, re-racking her dumbbells and looking at her brother. "We don't even know each other. Are you an expert because you've been seeing Katie for all of two months now?"

Oliver shrugged.

Adair was glaring at her brother, wanting to put her hands around his neck more than anything.

"Knock it off, you two," Coach Wilson called from across the weight room, sensing the tension between the siblings. He had never worked with siblings before and they were all trying to figure that out.

"Leave me alone, Oliver," Adair hissed, knocking her shoulder into his as she passed him to go to the squat rack.

"Everything alright?" Leo, the Beater, asked.

"If you wanted to hit Oliver with a Bludger later, that'd be grand," she replied.

ooooOoooo

A couple of days later, Adair, Oliver, and Coach Wilson met up at The Seeker offices for an interview and photoshoot featuring the Wood siblings.

"This is just what we needed," Coach Wilson said excitedly as they entered.

Adair had often been featured in magazines and newspapers, but she had never been on the cover or written about in the main article.

The interviewer was very nice. Oliver and Adair talked in length about playing together at Hogwarts, their separate paths after that, and what it felt like to be playing together again on an international scale.

The siblings joked with one another and made it seem like they had not been bickering constantly for the past few days. The English team had a person dedicated to making sure players, coaches, managers, and owners were all appropriate when being interviewed by the press.

For the photoshoot, they were dressed in their uniforms, red robes over t-shirts featuring the three dragons over a red and white checkered square. They both wore tight black pants and brown leather knee high boots.

They took serious photos and laughing photos while Coach Wilson was doing his portion of the interview. That edition of The Seeker would come out the day before their first match against Portugal.

ooooOoooo

They practiced for two more days and then were given the day before the match to relax and gather themselves.

Adair could do no such thing. She paced around her flat all that morning, having woken very early. When the pacing began to annoy her, she went for a long run to try and exhaust herself.

She came back and her legs were shaky, her body weary, but her mind was racing, thinking of all of the ways she could mess up at the match the following day and all of the people she would let down if she did.

After the run, she went back to pacing even though her legs were quivering. She took a few bites of an apple, but could stomach no more. She felt as though she might be sick all day.

She poured over her playbooks for hours to make sure she knew every single play that might be called during the match. She didn't want to make a blunder that could be avoided if she had studied harder. She did that until the sun was setting, but the thought of getting into her bed was unappealing.

Instead, she put on sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt and left her flat.

"What are you doing here?" Seamus said, when he answered the knocking at his door to find Adair there, in her Muggle disguise, hiding her face. "Shouldn't you be sleeping? You've got a big day tomorrow."

"I can't," she said tersely.

Seamus knew that tone. It had been a part of Adair's demeanor since their time at Hogwarts.

Never would Adair say out loud that she was nervous or anxious, but he knew the signs. Her voice was strained, her body tense with her shoulders nearly pulled up to her ears, and she would pace like a caged animal if he couldn't get his hands on her.

Seamus slipped into his and Dean's kitchen and poured her a very full tumbler of Firewhiskey.

When he returned to find her in his bedroom, he put the glass in her hand and pulled her hood down to reveal her long, fair hair. He pressed his lips to her neck from where he stood behind her. Her throat moved up and down as she eagerly drank the entire glass of liquor he had given her.

Seamus' hands slipped under the elastic waistband of her sweatpants, bumping over her protruding hip bones as they moved lower.

Adair's head fell back on his shoulder and he felt her body begin to relax. He moved his hands back up and under her sweatshirt. She had nothing on underneath and he knew that was because she came to him with a purpose. They had been doing the same thing for over six years.

While they were at school, Adair used to sneak into the boys' dormitory and climb into bed with him. Like clockwork she would show up before a match and expect him to loosen her body and take her mind from her stress. Even then she had gotten such nerves before competing and he wondered if they would ever go away.

He hoped not.

ooooOoooo

Upon returning to her flat, Adair took a glass of Firewhiskey with her into her bathroom and ran a scalding hot bath. She sank into it and sucked in her breath at the heat, sipping on the drink as she sweated and her skin turned pink. She tried not to think of the match the next day. It was easier to do after visiting Seamus.

It was late and so she didn't stay in the tub for too long. She finished the liquor, drained the tub and ran a cold shower. When she stepped out and towelled herself off, she fetched herself one more tumbler and downed it before crawling into bed, if not exhausted, then half drunk at least, which would keep her asleep for a few hours.

ooooOoooo

"You're going to be fine," Oliver said to his sister as she paced back and forth before him in the locker room. "Seriously, you've earned this. You're meant to be here. It's going to be great."

"Shut up, Oliver," Adair replied, even though she knew he was trying to be nice and supportive.

"Alright," he stood with a sigh and headed into the room where Coach Wilson was going over a few last minute tips and ideas before the match.

Adair took a deep breath and followed her brother. Over the buzzing in her ears, she couldn't really hear Coach Williams as he tried to get them excited.

The team began to file out and Adair was left standing by the doorway. Coach Wilson clapped her on the shoulder rather hard. "You're going to be fine," he repeated her brother. "I pushed for you to be on this team and I know you won't let us down."

Adair thought she might be sick all over his shoes at the prospect of not letting anyone down, but she just nodded and let him push her out ahead of him.

"Oliver and Adair! You two go out last!" Coach Wilson yelled at them.

They heard the Portuguese make their entrance and then Oliver and Adair were following their teammates out of the locker room. They paused, for dramatic effect as they had been instructed, waiting for the rest of the team to get on the pitch before they walked out together.

The crowd was chanting "Wood! Wood! Wood!" over and over again.

The siblings held hands and waved at the crowd before joining their teammates and mounting their brooms. They kicked off and red and white smoke flowed from each broomstick as they flew over the pitch.

It was only the second time Adair had seen their actual pitch as it was not the same one they practiced in. She had been taken there just after signing to grasp the magnitude of the of the team she had signed with.

The pitch they played on was kept pristine in between matches played at home and so they practiced elsewhere. The English pitch was set in an old ivy covered stone castle, complete with battlements and turrets, a drawbridge and a moat around the grass. The stands were made of brick and there were red and white flags everywhere.

The teams assumed their positions. Jasmine was the one who went up to try and get English possession of the Quaffle when the referee launched the ball into play.

Jasmine caught it and immediately sped off toward the Portuguese hoops, Sienna and Adair using the Hawkshead Attacking Formation to keep other Chasers from closing in.

Jasmine threw the ball to Sienna who feigned for the middle hoop, but put it through the lower left one at the last minute.

The stands went wild.

It was Portuguese possession and Adair stayed close to the opposing Chaser who had the Quaffle. She backed off when she realized he was going to pass and she shot out to catch the Quaffle in midair, stealing it from the Portuguese.

"Adair Wood checks the Quaffle from the Portuguese and she is off!"

She went speeding away before most of the players on the pitch had realized what happened. With none of the opposing Chasers playing defense, it was all too easy to shoot the Quaffle through the lower right hoop.

"Adair Wood is making her presence known early, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer boomed.

As it had been predicted, the first match was fairly easy, though it went on for a long time. As the game went into the evening and the signature British fog rolled in, it became harder and harder for the Seekers to spot the Snitch. Both teams were getting tired.

Sienna had the Quaffle and she was flying down the pitch back toward the Portuguese goals, Adair just on her tail, but she didn't pull up fast enough as Sienna entered the scoring area.

A whistle blew.
"Fuck!" Adair exclaimed.

"And that's Stooging called on Adair Wood!" the announcer yelled.

"You're alright! You're alright!" Leo called as he zoomed past her.

Adair shook her head and went to the middle of the pitch to watch the Portuguese Chaser take their penalty shot. She watched her brother intently, hoping he could make up for her mistake.

"The Wood siblings have got each other's backs! Oliver Wood blocks the penalty shot and the score remains the same!"

They played for another hour. The English were up by 60 points and their Seeker Logan caught the Snitch.

The whole team flew to the ground and tackled each other in their excitement. Even though they had known it would be fairly easy, they had done well and it was never a bad thing to win.

Many fans had purchased meet and greet tickets and so the players stayed on the field to take photographs and sign autographs. Adair and Oliver sat at a table next to each other and greeted the most fans, signing England gear, ticket stubs, and anything else that was presented to them.

When the fans were gone, the press could ask questions of the players and coaches.

"How did it feel to play together again after roughly a decade?" a reporter asked Oliver and Adair.

"I'd say we've still got some practicing to do, but it felt great!" Oliver exclaimed.

Adair nodded. "It's nice to have someone out there who's known you your whole life and who you have a history playing with for a very long time. It makes things easier."

The other players answered questions and then they were free.

"Let's go to the pub!" Leo shouted as they headed back to the locker rooms.

Adair went to follow, but she heard a voice that sent ice down her spine.

"Adair."

She turned to see her mother and father standing on the pitch that had just been evacuated. They both wore deep red robes and frowns. Each player had a private suite that they could fill with family and friends and she had known they were there. She had been expecting an encounter with them after her foul and there they were.

Oliver stopped as well, but his parents just smiled at him. "You did wonderful, Oliver," Mrs. Wood said. "We need to speak with your sister privately."

Adair steeled herself.

"Is that what we spent all of that money on lessons for? For you to embarrass us like that?" her mother demanded. Her father stood about a step behind her, arms folded across his stocky chest. Oliver was built just like him.

"What a stupid mistake to make. You have the whole world watching you now and that is how you show up? You cannot always rely on your brother to fix your mistakes, Adair. That is not fair to him or your team."

Adair just nodded.

"I do not want to see anything like that again, do you understand me?"

She nodded again.

"I said, do you understand me?"

"Yes Mother," she said quietly.

"You may go."

Adair turned on her heel without another word and walked dejectedly into the locker room.

"Adair-" Oliver began.

"Just leave it," she said.

She took her things into the women's shower and tried to smile as Jasmine and Sienna congratulated her on a great game, assuring her that they had both messed up in similar manners in their first few games.

"And some too recent games," Sienna laughed.

"It happens. Don't be too hard on yourself," Jasmine agreed.

ooooOoooo

The radio was on in his tiny flat, the reception staticky. He was flipping through The Seeker. He had always subscribed to the Quidditch magazine, but it was of particular interest to him when he saw Adair's laughing face on the cover. It seemed almost an unnatural look on her, not that he knew her well enough to decide what looked natural and what didn't, but thus far Charlie had only seen her give half-hearted smiles. He did have to admit that she looked good in the English red.

Someone pounded on his door. "Come on, Charlie! Let's grab a drink!"

"I can't tonight!" he called back.

There was a multitude of groaning on the other side of the door and then footsteps heading to the local pub.

Charlie adjusted the knob on the radio again and smiled to himself when he heard the announcer welcoming Adair onto the pitch for the first time.

In Romania, it was ten o'clock at night when the match started and he usually went out with his mates on a Saturday night after a long week of wrangling, wrestling, and taming dragons, but that night he just wanted to sit next to his radio.

He leapt to his feet when he heard that she had checked the Quaffle from the Portuguese and he cursed just as she did when she went into the scoring area with the other Chaser, earning her first foul.

Charlie was still sitting next to the radio when he heard his mates come back stumbling to their own rooms.

He was grinning from ear to ear, even though it was nearly two in the morning in Romania, when the English won and he immediately went to his desk and got a quill and parchment, but then he just stared at it. What was he supposed to write to her? She had seemingly made it clear that it would be best to remain as strangers. Then he was embarrassed for listening to her game and told himself it was because he'd always been an English fan, but he had never missed a night out to sit by the radio before. He shook those thoughts away and crumpled the parchment up.

An hour later though, he got out of bed and went back to his desk, picking up the same quill and a new piece of parchment.

"I listened to England's match tonight! Sounded like you played excellently! Congratulations on your first win! Charlie."

He tied it to his owl and sent it off before he could talk himself out of it again.

ooooOoooo

Many of Oliver and Adair's friends had bought tickets for the game, though they had fit some in the family and friends suite as they each had one. Dean, Seamus, Neville, Alicia, Angelina, George, Ron, Hermione, and Katie met up with the team at the pub the English usually went to after a win.

It was an absolute hole in the wall, but fairly protected from the media. Rarely was there a photo of an intoxicated player in the newspapers or magazines as they tried to hide themselves away.

Adair was congratulated by all of her friends and she tried to smile at them just as she had Jasmine and Sienna after the game, but she wasn't feeling as excited as she had when she landed when the game was won.

She made her way straight to the bar without too many pleasantries to friends or teammates.

She ordered two Firewhiskies and sat at the bar, back to all of the celebrating until she downed them both and let the feeling sink in.

"Come on, Adair! We won! You can't sit here and get drunk alone!" Leo exclaimed, coming up to her and pulling her to her feet.

He ordered two more Firewhiskies and clinked his tumbler against hers, both downing the drink before he pulled her onto the small dance floor and twirled her around. As the liquor and fatigue set in, she lightened up a little bit, but it quickly crossed a line as she continued to drink heavily. Her teammates all bought rounds and so did her friends and it was exactly a Firewhiskey oblivion that she craved after the conversation on the pitch.

The merrymaking went on and Adair slipped off to a back table unsteadily, knocking into other tables and chairs as she went.

It was a while before anyone noticed she was gone as everyone else was quite drunk too.

"Oliver," Seamus said to her brother, coming up to him where he was sitting at the bar with Katie.

The two men were friendly with one another despite whatever relationship Adair carried on with Seamus. He had never done anything untoward with Adair and even since she had signed with England he had not capitalized on his relationship, however casual, with her.

Seamus pointed at the back table, where Adair was slumped over, head on the table, three empty tumblers before her.

"Bloody hell," Oliver said, standing. He sighed and swiped a hand over his face. "I've got to handle that," he said, turning to Katie and kissing her cheek. "Come round tomorrow?"

She nodded and he hurried across the bar.

Oliver lifted his sister into his arms as though she weighed nothing and he crept out the back door that all of the players knew very well.

With a POP! they were in her flat.

He gently laid her in her bed and pulled her shoes off of her. She groaned and rolled over to her side.

"Adair," he murmured, hating to see her in such a state, but knowing that it had not been pleasantries that had been exchanged between her and their mother.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a long while, before finally determining that it would be safe to go back to his own flat.

ooooOoooo

A couple of weeks after England's first match of the season, Charlie received another letter from his brother Bill. It read:

"George, Ron, and I want to take you to a Quidditch match when you're home for your birthday/Christmas. England vs. Italy. See you soon!"

Charlie had to laugh at their obviousness.

Hope you loved it! I'm hoping to find my stride with this fic soon. I'd love to hear any ideas for things you'd like to see. Don't hesitate to send me thoughts, questions, or anything else. I love anything but hate comments and flames!

Happy reading,

Avonmora