Early spring settled over London as Katie and Oliver continued without any major hiccups and resumed their relationship as usual. Puddlemere United pulled within three points of first place in the league standings, meaning the looming playoffs would be a can't-miss event if the standings held.
Oliver returned to Glasgow one weekend to visit his parents while Katie and Alicia joined Angelina in Muggle London for her final wedding dress fitting.
Angelina had decided on a dress from a muggle bridal shop. It was a strapless, ivory lace gown that Katie and Alicia had insisted was made with Angelina in mind. The trio met at the shop, with Angelina's two cousins who were also bridesmaids due to join them.
"Is Wood driving you mad with the playoffs coming up in less than two months?" Alicia asked Katie as they waited on the other two.
Katie shrugged. "He's doing all right, I suppose. He doesn't say much about it, except to ask me for my thoughts on certain quidditch tactics."
"It's nice that he values your opinion," Alicia noted.
"I think he just knows that I'm one of the few people who will listen to him talk quidditch."
"We're here!" a new voice sang out.
The trio looked up as the shop's front door shut behind Angelina's cousins, Caroline and Mallory. The two sisters were both witches who lived in Sheffield. Caroline was two years older than Angelina, while Mallory was five years younger.
"You're here!" Angelina clapped, forcing a raised eyebrow from Katie. Though she'd hardly consider Angelina to be overly serious, Angelina was rarely the excitable one; Alicia usually did most of the clapping.
Katie smiled as she realized how important and exciting the occasion was for Angelina. She knew Angelina had tried her hardest to keep a cool head about her wedding, but she also knew she couldn't wait to marry George.
Katie hugged the sisters as Angelina disappeared with a sales associate to fetch her dress.
"Katie, it's so good to see you," Caroline said. "I couldn't wait to ask you all about Oliver Wood."
"Oh," Katie laughed. "Yes, I guess a few things have changed since I last saw you."
"How did it happen?" Caroline asked. "I mean, I've read damn near every story the papers have published on you two, but I was just so thrilled when I saw." She paused to grin. "Personally, I was hoping Angie would set me up with Oliver Wood someday, but if it can't be me, I'm glad it's you. You two are just the cutest."
"Oh, thank you. It's been a bit surreal, but I'm the happiest I've ever been." Katie couldn't help but smile. Caroline had always been outgoing and outspoken, while Mallory, who had been silently hanging on every word, was the quieter of the two.
"So did he just like, ask you out?" Caroline asked.
"Pretty much," Katie answered. "I mean, he and I had always been decent friends and I'd always fancied him. I was stunned when he asked me."
"Oh, please," Alicia chimed in. Katie met her gaze and noticed Alicia was smirking. "Wood has always had a thing for you, ever since Hogwarts."
Katie rolled her eyes and smiled at Caroline and Mallory. "Well, regardless, I'm glad he asked me out."
"Okay, enough of the formalities," Caroline continued. "How is he?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Is he a good boyfriend? Does he buy you lots of stuff? Is he a romantic? Is he good in bed?"
"Oh, er-"
"Ta-da!" Angelina emerged from the shop's fitting rooms and made her way before a trio of mirrors where the group was seated. Katie exhaled in relief, grateful for Angelina's timeliness.
Alicia clapped and Katie let out a cheer. "You look perfect, Ang," Katie said, beaming at her friend.
"George is going to faint!" Alicia added.
Angelina spun as she examined herself in the mirror. "You're sure it's not too tight?" she wondered. "I don't want to look like a slag."
"You look stunning," Katie said. "No one is going to look like a slag, not even Alicia."
Alicia hit Katie with her purse as Angelina narrowed her eyes at her friends. "Speaking of slags, Katie, are you going to be all right if Trent Healy comes to the wedding? We've invited the entire team."
"First of all, I am not a slag," Katie glared. "Second, of course I won't mind. Why would I mind?"
"Just checking," Angelina said in a sing-song voice, the skirt of her dress swaying a bit. "I don't want Wood and Healy fighting over you."
Caroline gasped. "You have two Puddlemere players after you? That is just so unfair!"
"No one is after me!" Katie insisted. "The only person I'm concerning myself with is Oliver."
"That is so sweet," Caroline sighed dreamily.
"Isn't she just the luckiest?" Alicia added.
"You have no idea how many girls want to be you," Mallory agreed.
"Erm, hello?" Angelina cut in, waving her arms at the group. "I'm still here! Are we forgetting I'm literally standing here in my wedding dress?"
Inside the Wood home, Oliver sat at the dinner table with his parents and Gretchen.
"How's Katie?" Gretchen asked.
"She's well. Angelina Johnson had a wedding dress fitting today, so she couldn't come along."
"A wedding dress fitting, eh?" Gretchen mused. Oliver sighed as he predicted where the conversation was heading. "And have you and Katie thought about any weddings?"
"No."
"And why not?"
"We've only started going out in the fall."
"So?"
"So, what's the rush?"
"What if Katie doesn't want to wait?"
"Katie is a level-headed, intelligent woman," Oliver said. "She's in no rush to do anything."
"Have the two of you actually talked about that, or are you just assuming?"
"We haven't been together long enough to concern ourselves with marriage. Katie cares about her career, just like me."
"Is she the one?"
"Huh?"
"Is she the one? The one you want to marry?"
"Gretch, I just told you we haven't talked about marriage."
"But have you thought about it?"
Oliver looked to his parents for help, but they seemed to be curiously awaiting his response.
"I don't know," Oliver sighed in defeat.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Gretchen demanded. "Katie's great! You can only be so lucky to have a lass like her! Don't be daft!"
"I didn't say no!" Oliver exclaimed. "Oi, lay off! Katie's brilliant and I think the world of her, but there's no need to rush into anything."
"Do you love her?"
"What?"
"You heard me."
Oliver rapidly mulled through the options in his mind. If he said no, his family would tear the mickey out of him. If he said yes, they'd leap to more conclusions.
He glanced at his father, whose expression remained neutral. Mr. Wood had always allowed his children to make their own decisions and mistakes. He tended to keep his opinions to himself instead of swaying their choices based on his own agenda, something that had seemed to serve the Wood children well in life. Oliver had always valued his father's opinions, though, and hoped he approved of Katie, even if their relationship wasn't real.
"Yes, of course I love her," Oliver finally said. Gretchen and Mrs. Wood beamed and Mr. Wood couldn't help but smile.
"Maybe once you win the league championship, you'll start seeing the bigger picture," Mr. Wood said.
The following weekend was George's birthday, a mandatory gathering for the group of friends as they'd made it a tradition to throw a party to celebrate George and remember Fred.
Katie met Oliver at his flat before the party, walking briskly to get there. A strange giddiness had settled within her, though she was doing her best to suppress it.
Oliver took a final glance at himself in the bathroom mirror before answering Katie's knock. It'd been a little more than a week since the two had seen each other, due to Oliver's trip to Glasgow the previous weekend and both of their schedules. Training had become more intense than ever for Oliver, who was actually relieved to spend an evening free of quaffles.
"Oi, you're alive," Katie teased as Oliver greeted her at the door. He embraced her in their usual hug and waved her inside.
"Aye, just barely," he replied.
"Training's been that brutal, huh?"
Oliver shrugged. "It's been rough but we've got to do it. How about you? How was your week?"
"Busy as well. The league is securing sponsorships for the playoffs, so I've been working late hours, too."
"Any good sponsors?"
Katie grinned. "Yes, actually. Nimbus just signed on, meaning your face is going to be everywhere."
Oliver had a sponsorship deal with Nimbus Racing Broom Company, and had recently become the face of the brand's latest advertising campaign. His recent trip to Japan included a photoshoot for Nimbus, just in time for the playoffs.
"Why me?" Oliver sighed.
Katie shot him a pointed look. "Do you really need me to answer that?" she laughed. Oliver shook his head and motioned her toward the door to walk to Angelina and George's townhouse.
The home was crammed with the entire Weasley clan, as well as the usual group of friends. Katie wrestled George into a birthday hug and greeted all of the familiar faces while Oliver ended up in conversation with his old friend, Charlie Weasley.
"So you and Katie, huh?" Charlie said with a grin as he and Oliver stood and surveyed the partygoers. George was demonstrating a test product that appeared to be a fake wand that shot spiders from the tip. Ron Weasley was cowering in a corner while Angelina shrieked at George to clean up the mess.
"Yeah, Katie and me," Oliver answered as he watched Katie chat with Ginny Weasley.
"Good for you, lucky bastard," Charlie said, nudging Oliver in the side.
Oliver nodded. "Yeah, she's brilliant."
The topic shifted to quidditch and Charlie's work in Romania while Katie and Alicia helped Angelina set up the toast in Fred's honor.
"So what are you and Wood going to do after the league championship?" Angelina asked as she flicked her wand to summon a bottle of champagne. "Wasn't your agreement to keep up your charade until then?"
Katie paused. It was a valid question. She and Oliver hadn't really discussed what they'd do when the quidditch season ended. The initial agreement was they'd stage a quiet break-up, citing simple differences while maintaining they were still amicable. But neither of them had resurrected the topic since they started dating, and Katie decided it was best not to mention it. Oliver had enough going on at the moment.
"You two could just continue seeing each other," Alicia offered innocently as she levitated several bubbling champagne glasses onto a tray. "I mean, things seem to be going well for you two. Ever since that Witch Weekly article, everyone adores you."
"But it's not fair to Katie to keep pretending to be in a relationship," Angelina pointed out. "She has to start dating for real eventually."
"I don't need to date anyone!" Katie said firmly. "I am perfectly fine on my own."
Alicia and Angelina shared a glance. "So do you think you and Wood will just keep things going indefinitely?" Angelina asked.
"I don't know," Katie sighed as another champagne bottle opened with a pop. "There's no use bringing it up now. Wood's got enough on his plate. We'll figure it out when the time comes."
Katie didn't notice the look Angelina and Alicia shared as the conversation ended, nor did she notice them watching as Oliver approached her and rested a hand on the small of her back.
When the time came to toast Fred's memory, Katie also didn't see Angelina watching as Oliver squeezed her hand to comfort her. Though it had been years since Fred's death, Katie still struggled at the mention of his name, her eyes tearing up as everyone lifted their champagne flutes to drink to his memory.
Katie and Oliver didn't notice Angelina's smirk as she watched Oliver mutter something in Katie's ear before they both laughed, nor when she saw them settle into a quiet corner of the room, Katie resting her head against Oliver's shoulder.
When it was time to cut the cake and blow out the candles, the pair didn't notice Angelina watching as they stole a mutual glance at each other to smile. And when it became time to say goodbye, Angelina eyed them as Oliver kissed Katie on the forehead before helping her pull her jacket on.
Katie finally caught her eye as she turned to leave and Angelina smirked. "Goodnight, you two!" she sang cheerily. Katie shot her a look, which Angelina shrugged off with a cheeky grin.
The pair exited into the spring air, which was unusually warm for April.
"I'm so glad it stopped raining," Katie commented as the pair walked. "Last week was miserable."
"Aye, this is much better quidditch weather," Oliver agreed.
They passed a row of lively pubs and Katie smiled as she eyed the bustling nightlife. Oliver, who had been watching her, paused to linger outside one of the pubs.
"Did you want to stop in for a drink?" he asked. Katie thought for a moment, which seemed to confuse Oliver.
"I'm trying to decide if it's worth our photo likely ending up in The Prophet tomorrow," Katie explained. Oliver nodded in understanding.
"Let's just go back to my place," he suggested. "We can have a drink there without any cameras or fans."
Katie obliged and the pair continued back to Oliver's. Once there, Katie kicked her shoes off and curled up on the sofa as Oliver poured her a glass of wine.
Once he handed her the glass, Katie noticed he winced as he sat down. "What's wrong?" Katie asked with a frown.
"It's nothing," Oliver answered. "Just a cracked rib."
"What?!" Katie demanded, setting her wine glass down on a side table with an audible clink.
Oliver sighed. "Just a bludger during practice," he explained. "The mediwitch patched me up, but it's still bruised and sore."
"Let me see," Katie ordered. She wasn't sure why, considering she had no medical training or expertise, but her concern had gotten the best of her.
"I'm fine, really-" Oliver started, but Katie reached over and lifted up the hem of his t-shirt and gasped.
"That looks brutal."
"Like I said, it's just sore." Oliver inhaled sharply as Katie gently reached toward his torso, which was a gradient of purple and blue on one side. Katie pulled her hand away and smiled apologetically.
"Well, take it easy. You need to be 100% for the playoffs," she said. Oliver nodded and a stillness seemed to surround them. Katie began chewing her bottom lip while Oliver gazed at her silently. When he caught Katie's gaze, she smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
Oliver's eyes darted downward to Katie's lips for a millisecond and Katie held her breath. Just as Oliver moved to lean forward, a sharp tapping echoed from the window. They both jumped and spun to see Oliver's owl peering at them.
"Mail at this hour?" Katie wondered. Oliver unlatched the window to fetch an envelope from the owl, which hovered hungrily in the windowsill. Katie noticed this and retreated to the kitchen to fetch something for it to eat. When she returned to the living room, she noticed Oliver looking pale and panicked, clutching the letter in one hand.
"Oliver? What is it? What's happened?"
Oliver seemed to struggle to find words and Katie wondered if he was going to pass out.
"It's my dad," he finally managed. "My dad… he's dead."