Katie made a full recovery from her bout with Doxy flu just in time for the week of Christmas. The plan was for her to join Oliver at his parents' house in Glasgow from Christmas Eve until the day after Christmas.
"Are you nervous about meeting Wood's parents?" Alicia asked Katie as they hung out in Alicia's room picking out outfits. It was the morning of December 24 and both women were getting ready for their evening plans, Alicia in particular. Katie was already dressed and ready for Oliver, who was going to meet her to apparate to his parents' house at any time.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking if you're nervous?" Katie laughed. "You're the one who may be getting engaged tonight."
"We don't know for sure," Alicia noted, though she had gotten a manicure the previous day just in case.
"Oh, come on. He had dinner with your dad. What else could that be about?"
"I just don't want to get my hopes up."
"Alicia, Lee adores you. You've been together since our sixth year. It'll happen."
"I hope you're right," Alicia said, eyeing herself in the mirror as she held a red dress up. "Now can you please distract me by telling me about Wood?"
"What about him?" Katie laughed. "Alicia, there's nothing to discuss."
"I saw that photo of you two snogging outside the shop the other day." Alicia was referring to a recent photo that The Daily Prophet had printed of Katie and Oliver sharing a kiss outside of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"Alicia, need I remind you that was all by design?" Katie replied with a dramatic eye roll. "That's the entire point of this staged relationship."
"I'm just saying, it looked like one hell of a kiss."
"Maybe Wood and I are just good at acting."
"Or maybe you and Wood enjoy snogging each other."
Katie sighed and lay back on Alicia's bed. "You're mental."
"And you are in denial. Angelina's right, maybe you'd be nicer if you and Wood just banged it out."
"Alicia!"
"Hello?" Both women stopped their banter as a man's voice could be heard from the kitchen.
"In here!" Katie called before she turned to glare at Alicia. "You really ought to remember to lock the door."
Alicia shrugged. "Like anyone would want to kidnap you."
"Kidnap?" Oliver poked his head into the room. "Who's being kidnapped?"
"Alicia and I if she doesn't start locking the door," Katie said.
"I've known the two of you since you were 11," Oliver said. "Why would I wait until now to kidnap you?"
"You only just started snogging one of us," Alicia replied smugly, eliciting a glare from Katie. Oliver chose to ignore her and turned to Katie.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked. Katie nodded and hopped to her feet. She had decided to wear a dark green jumper tucked neatly into a mini skirt over black tights, with some guidance from Alicia. Oliver appeared to have noticed. "You look nice," he said, as casually as possible.
"Thanks," Katie said happily, though she caught a glimpse of the smirk that Alicia was currently wearing. She turned to Alicia and gazed at her friend with serious eyes. "Are you good?" she asked. "Are you ready?"
Alicia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yes," she answered confidently. "I think so."
Oliver looked between the two women, confused by their sudden shift in conversation. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but decided against it as Katie pulled Alicia into a hug.
"Let me know if anything happens," Katie said, flashing Alicia an excited grin as she headed for the hallway.
"You too!" Alicia called out in a singsong voice, evoking a middle finger from Katie.
Once Katie had gathered her things, she clutched Oliver's arm and noticed he still looked confused. "Don't ask," she said, shaking her head. "Unless you plan on proposing to me or shagging me, it's not worth an explanation."
Oliver merely blinked and, with a loud pop, apparated to Glasgow.
The pair landed at the back door to the Wood residence, which was a stone house on the outskirts of the city. Katie was anxious to get out of the cold December air, but found herself nervous about going inside.
"Remember, they think you're really my girlfriend," Oliver said. "Be convincing." Katie nodded, still clutching Oliver's arm as he led her inside.
"Ollie! Finally, you're here!"
"Hi, Mum."
Eleanor Wood was a pretty woman, tall and slender with sandy brown hair and brown eyes like Oliver's. Katie smiled shyly as Oliver led her into the kitchen to greet her.
"And Katie!" Mrs. Wood gushed. "Finally! We were beginning to think you were an illusion." The irony of Mrs. Wood's statement wasn't lost on Katie, who grinned and allowed Mrs. Wood to pull her into a warm hug. Her nerves shifted to excitement as she realized how welcome she was in the Wood home.
"Where's Dad?" Oliver asked.
"Oh, he's a bit under the weather so he's sleeping upstairs. We'll fetch him before dinner."
Mrs. Wood took a step back to survey Katie and Oliver and beamed at them. "Ollie, what's taken you so long to bring Katie around?" Before Oliver could provide an excuse, Mrs. Wood was steering Katie toward the kitchen table, where she pulled a chair for Katie.
"Sit, dear," she said, waving her wand to summon a tea kettle. The kettle poured steaming water into a mug for Katie. "You look so wonderful," Mrs. Wood continued. "I must say, I was delighted to see the two of you together. I remember watching you two play quidditch together at Hogwarts. I suppose it was only a matter of time before you ended up together."
Oliver looked uncomfortable and Katie couldn't help but flash him an amused smirk. "I always had the biggest crush on Ollie back at school," Katie said, still eyeing Oliver in amusement. She cuddled up next to him and pretended to gaze at him in adoration. "But lots of girls fancied him, so I never thought I had a chance."
"Oh honey, he fancied you too," Mrs. Wood said. Oliver's eyes nearly tripled in size at his mother's revelation. "He used to talk about you all the time, about how you were such a good Chaser."
Katie rose an eyebrow at Oliver, who looked like he was ready to crawl inside a cupboard. "Well then, I guess things have really worked out well for us then," she said. "I couldn't believe my luck when he asked me on a date."
"Oh, well I'm glad he summoned the courage to ask you," Mrs. Wood said. "Now tell me, what are you up to these days, other than making my son look good?"
Katie told Mrs. Wood about her work at the Ministry and her hopes of taking over her department someday. Mrs. Wood seemed impressed by Katie's ambitions, but their conversation was interrupted by a pair of feet clunking noisily down the stairs.
"Oi! Ollie!"
A pretty woman with light brown hair appeared and made a beeline toward Oliver to pull him into a hug. She was undoubtedly his sister, as she looked like a younger version of their mother. Once she released Oliver, she turned to smile at Katie.
"And you!" she said. "You're real! And you're even prettier in person! I'm Gretchen." She extended a polite hand to Katie. "It's about time we met you. Ollie here has no manners."
"I do too!"
"It's nice to meet you too," Katie laughed as she shook Gretchen's hand. "Oliver's told me quite a bit about you."
"And none of it's true," Gretchen replied, motioning for Katie to sit back down. "And I wish I could say Ollie's told us all about you, but he seems to have forgotten how to write."
"I've been busy!" Oliver protested.
"Yes, yes, we know," Gretchen groaned. "Busy off being Mr. Quidditch Star and, what was it — Most Eligible Bachelor?"
"I didn't ask them to do that!"
"Poor Ollie," Gretchen teased. "Can't handle all the mean, scary women."
Katie couldn't help but snicker, much to Gretchen's delight. "Those women are crazy!" Oliver insisted. "They stake out my favorite breakfast spot and proposition me everywhere I go."
"How awful that must be, women throwing themselves at you," Gretchen said sarcastically.
"I've got a girlfriend!"
"And one who won't put up with their madness, I see," Gretchen said, grinning at Katie. "I saw that story in The Prophet about how you turned some slag into a pumpkin. Nice work."
"She deserved it," Katie said with a shrug. "But I swear I'm not the jealous type."
"No one's judging you, dear," Gretchen said reassuringly. "Even if you are mad enough to date this wanker."
Gretchen spent the afternoon grilling Katie about her job, life and relationship with Oliver. Katie had expected the situation to be uncomfortable, but quickly found herself enjoying her time with the Woods. They reminisced about Katie and Oliver's days at Hogwarts, which led to plenty of laughter, such as when Katie recalled the time the twins stole Oliver's robes after practice and left him with nothing but some heart-print boxer shorts.
As evening approached, Mrs. Wood excused herself from the conversation to start on Christmas Eve dinner.
"Ollie, dear," she said. "Why don't you take Katie's things up to your room?"
"My room?"
"Yes, dear. I converted the spare guest room into my knitting room. There's no space in there anymore."
"Your what?"
"My knitting room, dear," Mrs. Wood repeated as if the answer were obvious. "Now go along and show Katie your room."
Oliver blinked and motioned Katie toward the stairs, where he led her to the second level of the house and into a small bedroom. Katie smiled as she looked around and realized the room had remained untouched since Oliver moved out. Quidditch jerseys and scarves lined the walls, and a photo of the old Gryffindor team sat on a dresser. A full-size bed rested against a wall beneath a small window, which overlooked the street.
"Sorry," Oliver said as Katie peered out the window. "I didn't know you were going to be forced to sleep in here with me."
"Oh, please," Katie said with an eye roll. "It's not like it hasn't happened before."
Oliver was relieved that Katie didn't seem to mind sharing a room and bed and grinned as she examined the old team photo.
"Funny how much things have changed since then," he said. They watched as the George in the photo let off a firework, causing Angelina to jump and smack him in surprise.
"Funny how things have stayed the same too," Katie laughed. Her mood shifted to sadness as she watched herself jump on Fred's back. She tore her eyes away from the photo and sat on the edge of the bed, remembering that Oliver was still in the room.
"So how does your family celebrate Christmas?" she asked. "Smells like your mum's cooking up a storm down there."
Oliver nodded and sat next to her. "She always makes a big roast and Yule bread for dinner. When we were kids, Gretchen and I used to play in the snow. Now we just tend to get pissed on whisky. Tomorrow, my cousins and aunt and uncle will come over for supper."
"That sounds nice," Katie said, and she meant it. Christmas as a child was always fine for her, but as she got older, her parents became less engaged. Once they found out she was a witch, holidays became increasingly isolating for Katie as her parents preferred not to include her in family functions out of fear the rest of their extended family would find out.
Eventually, Katie started spending Christmas with the Weasleys, who had welcomed her into their home with love and warmth. She'd enjoyed pranking the other Weasley siblings with the twins, and once George and Angelina were married, she enjoyed spending the holiday among her closest friends. But this was nice too — she understood how Oliver had managed to remain humble amid his success. His family made sure of it. Like the Weasleys, they were another loving family Katie longed to be a part of.
Oliver seemed to notice the sense of sadness that had overcome Katie, so he rested a gentle hand on her knee, his gaze full of concern. "You okay?" he asked.
Katie nodded and offered a sad, yet sincere smile. "I'm fine, really," she answered. "Sometimes I just get sad around the holidays. No matter how poorly my parents have treated me, they're still my family and I still miss them at times."
Katie had never admitted that to anyone, even when her friends checked on her when they spent Christmas together. She wasn't sure why she was telling Oliver, but he nodded in understanding and gave her leg a gentle squeeze. "Well, you're always welcome here," he said assuringly. "Even when you aren't pretending to be my girlfriend."
Katie laughed and slipped her arms around his torso in an endearing hug. "By the way," she began slowly, "What was all that stuff your mum said about you fancying me at school?"
"I didn't fancy you, I admired you," Oliver explained matter-of-factly.
"There's a difference?"
"Yes. I admired you because I thought highly of you and respected you," Oliver explained. "You were very likable and a damn good quidditch player, but I never pictured myself dating you."
"That's fair. I guess I admired you too then. Though I also hated you during those 5 a.m. practices. And I definitely never pictured myself spending Christmas in your bedroom at your parents' house pretending to be your girlfriend."
They both laughed. "It is kind of ridiculous when you say it out loud like that," Oliver admitted. "But you really have been a massive help. I only deal with a fan girl or two a week these days. The rest are all afraid of you."
"I'm going to choose to interpret that as a compliment. And I'm happy to help. It's actually been quite fun."
"We'll see how much fun it is when my cousins visit tomorrow. They're quite the raucous crowd," Oliver warned.
"I've spent half my life hanging out with the Weasleys," Katie noted. "I think I can handle the Woods."
Oliver grinned and motioned Katie back downstairs, where they settled in the living room by a cozy fire to wait for dinner. Soon, the sound of new footsteps could be heard descending the stairs and a burly man appeared.
"Well it's about time," Mrs. Wood said as the man cut through the kitchen and toward the living room.
"Hi Dad," Oliver said, rising to his feet to give the man a hug. Mr. Wood was also tall, but had a stockier build than Oliver. His hair was starting to grey and his face was showing faint smile lines.
"Oliver, my boy, you're looking well," Mrs. Wood said, clapping Oliver on the back. "Staying in shape? The Harpies won't be easy to beat."
Oliver nodded in acknowledgment and motioned toward Katie, who was standing shyly behind him. "Dad, this is Katie."
"It's good to meet you, dear," Mr. Wood said, extending a hand toward Katie. She shook it and smiled at him. "Of course, I remember watching you fly circles around the other Chasers when you played for Gryffindor. Tell me, why aren't you still playing?"
"Oh, er-"
"Katie works in the Department of Magical Games and Sports," Oliver cut in, draping a reassuring arm around Katie's waist. "She works directly with Mr. Bagman and is going to run the department someday."
"Well, I don't know-"
"That's wonderful!" Mr. Wood said, taking a seat in an old armchair in front of the fireplace. Katie noticed he looked tired, despite having slept most of the afternoon. "If you head the department, you'll technically be Oliver's boss since the department runs the league."
"Well, when you put it that way," Katie laughed, flashing Oliver a grin.
"I'd rather she be my boss than scoring against me," Oliver said. "She always knew how to fake me out and score on me during practice."
"Yes, well, you always did have a weakness for pretty girls," Mr. Wood joked.
They spent the remainder of the evening talking and laughing, enjoying Mrs. Wood's dinner before Mr. and Mrs. Wood called it a night. Katie, Oliver and Gretchen stayed up to watch the snowfall in front of the fire, passing a bottle of Firewhisky around.
They laughed some more, mostly at Oliver's expense, until Gretchen started to hiccup. "Oi, that must be my cue to take my arse to bed," she said, rising to her feet. "G'night, lovebirds."
Katie and Oliver watched her trudge up the stairs, the sound of her footsteps echoing throughout the house until they trailed behind her bedroom door. Oliver turned to look at Katie, who had rested her head on his shoulder as she gazed out the window.
"All right?" Oliver asked.
"More than all right," Katie answered. "Your family is lovely. This is shaping up to be a perfect Christmas."
"Aye, I'm very lucky. And they seem to really like you too, you know. They didn't care for my last girlfriend, said she was rude, but they seem to adore you."
Katie yawned and shut her sleepy eyes. "Guess you'll have to be my fake boyfriend forever then."