Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition,

Finals Round 1: OTP Chaining

Player 3: A section written in epistolary form AND an epigraph

OTP to write for: Katie Bell/Oliver Wood (Mel's)

Chaser Prompts: 2. (word) hazelnut, 4. (song) 'Not Today' by Imagine Dragons, 12. (colour) mulberry

Word Count: 1498 (Google Docs)

A/N: the letters in the middle are just a snippet of some of their letters, they do not take a month to reply to each other. I think it disrupts the flow, but o well.

Thanks to Lizzie for the plot bunny and to Nasim for beta-ing!

Sorrow and Joy

"It's gotta get easier and easier somehow, but not today."

Katie rushed down Diagon Alley, trying to get a few supplies before the shops closed. The street was silent, as almost nobody (apart from a few strange people that Katie never wanted to make the acquaintance of) dared to be out when the day got dark – the war had made them all paranoid. But Katie had no other choice: she was working all day, so she hadn't had a chance to get anything beforehand.

She kept her head low, not looking anyone in the eye. Eye contact was not ideal, not in a world where being recognised as a Muggle-born could mean death.

Trying to get into Flourish and Blotts for a book on Warding, she bumped into someone. She glanced upwards, hoping it wasn't someone who was out to kill her. She had already had a brush with death, and it had hardly been enjoyable. However, when she recognised the face of the person she had bumped into, she almost wished that it was a Death Eater, because she hadn't forgotten her previous feelings for him (or his constant teasing).

Her cheeks darkened, taking the shade that she was so 'affectionately' named after by the man in front of her.

"Hey, Mulberry," Oliver Wood said, grinning down at her. "Long time, no see."

"Hi, Hazelnut," Katie replied, using the nickname she had come up with for the chocolate-mad man during her second year. The smug grin fell off of his face. "Are you still playing Quidditch?

A dismayed look crossed his face, but when she blinked it was replaced with a grin (although it was clearly fake, as it didn't reach his brown eyes). "Not really, no. The war means that Quidditch has been cancelled for now."

Katie smiled apologetically, checking the time on the watch. She winced as she noticed how late it was, discreetly edging her way further into the shop. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Lots of important books to find, after all. Maybe we'll talk again sometime?"

"Sure. Will you mail me, Mulberry?"

"If I find the time, Hazelnut."

With those parting words, they crossed the shop's threshold, one leaving while the other entered.

Katie wasn't expecting an unknown owl to give her a letter at breakfast the very next day. She held envelope in her hands, inspecting it as if it were a bomb. What if it held bad news?

She finally opened it. When nothing exploded in her face, she concluded it wasn't from one of the Weasley twins. With that in mind, she shook out the contents of the envelope, a single sheet of parchment falling onto her lap. She recognised the messy handwriting as soon as she saw it.

Tuesday 18th November 1997

Mulberry,

I wasn't entirely sure if you would actually mail me or not, so I decided that I'd make the first move instead. It would be nice to keep in contact with someone from the Quidditch team, so why not you?

Please reply, even if it's to declare your hatred of me. It would let me know that my letter made it to you safely. Otherwise, maybe you have ideas for things we can talk about? (I would talk about Quidditch, but I guess you endured enough of that during Hogwarts, and I wouldn't want to bore you)

Yours sincerely,

Hazelnut.

Katie grinned as she read the letter, a blush creeping across her cheeks. She grabbed a quill and a spare piece of parchment as the owl stole some of the breakfast she had abandoned. She wrote a hasty reply and attached it to the owl's feet, before sending it back into the outside world to find its owner.

She pulled on a hat and a scarf in her rebellious attempt to block out the wind before leaving the house to continue with her day.

Monday 15th December 1997

Hazelnut,

It's nice to hear that you can still use a broomstick, even though it wasn't in particularly good circumstances. I'm glad you're still okay, despite the raid on your friend's home.

I understand why you're so insistent on the nicknames. If they found out you were the one who tried to send You-Know-Who a giant stuffed unicorn (something worthy of our favourite twins, by the way!), well, you would be in big trouble. It wouldn't do for a Quidditch player as good as you to be killed!

I've begun warding a few homes for Muggle-borns, and I've also learned more about how to defend myself from the Dark Arts. I still think you should learn more about Shielding yourself (I could suggest a few Runes that can help, but I don't know how good you are at Runes).

It's nice to hear about you (as always). Stay safe, and try not to anger any more Death Eaters!

Yours sincerely,

Mulberry

…

Thursday 8th January 1998

Mulberry,

Yes, it's funny to mock the guy who misses playing Quidditch. Remind me not to open up to you the next time you ask me what the war has made me miss the most.

Still, it's good to hear that you're safe, and, due to your abilities, at least several other people are too. I'd ask you to ward my place, but I'm constantly on the move, so it would be pointless. Maybe you should just ward me instead?

Last week, some friends and I had a near brush with a Manor full of Death Eaters (spying, if you really have to know). We failed to remember that they had a ward that prevents Apparition. Next time we should take you along with us, as you're good with that stuff, right?

Then again, it's dangerous out here. Maybe we should do something else.

I'm going out of the country for a few days; we're going to try and find this French wizard who creates devices like Extendable Ears, only stronger. It would make our job much easier to do (as we're less likely to be caught).

Yours sincerely,

Hazelnut

Katie learned more about Oliver within the letters that they exchanged than she ever imagined was possible. Each time she got a new letter, her trademark blush made it to her cheeks, darkening with each letter as her affection for him grew stronger.

She grinned as the familiar owl made its way into her home, another letter in its beak. Katie took the letter and the owl made itself comfortable on her table, stealing some toast from her plate. Tearing open the letter, she hardly noticed what the owl was doing. She felt her cheeks warm up as she started reading.

Saturday 14th February 1998

Mulberry,

It's undeniable that my affection for you has grown in these past months. I can't stop myself from waiting anxiously for your replies. I think… I think I love you. I had feelings for you before I left Hogwarts, but you were just in Fourth Year. Now we're both adults, though, so I can ask this without feeling weird:

Will you be mine?

I know it'll be hard since we're in the middle of a war... but it's gotta get easier one day (even if it's not today). It'll be worth it if I can have you with me.

Sincerely,
Your Hazelnut

Katie started to grin harder than she had ever grinned before. She hastily wrote her reply on the back of the parchment: a simple Yes.

It had been weeks since that letter and Oliver still hadn't replied. Every day, Katie checked for the owl, but it never came. She started to worry that Oliver had sent that letter to the wrong Mulberry; maybe he called some other woman (or man) Mulberry – after all, loads of people blushed. But she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind; maybe Oliver was just busy with work and hadn't had the time to reply. Maybe he was ambushed and was horribly injured, so he was in no state to reply. Maybe—

She stopped herself before the thoughts got out of hand.

She sipped on her coffee, dark circles under her eyes. She hadn't slept easily as of late, and it was starting to catch up with her appearance. Her head whipped around when she heard an owl tapping on the closed window, but she sighed as she realised that it was only the weekly update she got from the Weasley twins — she was no longer afraid of it being a prank letter, but of the news that came in it. She let the owl in, allowing it to nibble on some bacon. She tore the letter open with shaking fingers.

OLIVER WOOD IS DEAD

She took a step backwards, her mind whirling. She hadn't expected that scenario. She had never wanted that scenario. She hadn't prepared for him being dead.

The world was crashing down on her. This couldn't be right. Oliver couldn't be dead.

He just couldn't be.

Not today.

And scene!

~Buttercat