Yay! A new story! Wooohoooo!
This one's is a bit different from Always Remember in that it's more light-hearted and amusing. No stalkers like Montague or long, annoying bouts of denial this time. Also, less fluff, unfortunately. I don't know, we'll see. Anyway, I made a change in Oliver's age. He's only one year older than Alicia, Angelina, and the twins. Therefore he's in 7th year; Alicia, Angelina, and the twins are in 6th; Katie is in 5th. Also, this story doesn't correlate with any of the books, and I rated this a T for mild cursing and some teen drinking.
Now, without further ado... oh wait. I forgot something. Disclaimer: None of the characters, setting, etc etc etc belong to me. Obviously. (rolls eyes)
Enjoy!
Chapter 1
First practice of the season. We were melting slowly in the heat of one of those rare scorching days in September. Our bones and skin were going to turn into useless jelly any moment now, yet still I had no mercy. I mean, I'm Oliver Wood. I have a reputation to maintain.
"You can fly better than that, Harry!" I shouted from the ground. "George, we need to work on that aim…FRED! THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BE MAKING SEXUAL GESTURES TOWARD ANGELINA—oh Merlin, Angie, don't tell me you're actually encouraging him…Alicia stop laughing, it's not even that funny…Katie, what the hell are you doing!"
For she had swerved away from the field and two seconds later, stopped in front of me, her broom hovering just inches away from my face.
"Oliver, this is ridiculous," she complained. "It's only the first practice of the year and you're already driving us insane…" She went on but I'd stopped listening long ago. I was…preoccupied, shall we say. My eyes were riveted on her chest, which was at my eye level.
In the name of all things holy, when did Katie Bell have a rack like—
"Ollie, if you'd stop staring at my chest and let us have a break soon that would be great, thanks."
She got my attention with that. First off, I hate, hate, being called Ollie. I hate it. Did I mention that I hate it? With the utmost passion, since the moment the twins sprang it up on me only seconds after meeting me for the first time. Secondly, she'd caught me in the act and was being upfront about it.
"Bloody hell," I groaned, "I—"
"Hate that name," she finished. "Sorry, but it was the only way I could get your attention, you looking all lost and all." She grinned at me cheekily and I wanted to yank her ponytail the way I used to when she was still a squeaky-clean pre-teen.
"Lost. Huh," I scoffed. "All right… EVERYONE DOWN TO THE BLEACHERS!"
"Thank God for miracles," Fred grumbled, grabbing his water bottle and chugging down its contents in all of three seconds.
"All right, team," I said, all about business. "This year, the Quidditch Cup's got our name written on it, understand? All we have to do is make sure we don't lose focus.
"We're a good team. The best ruddy team in the school, hear me? Nothing can stand in our way, not the Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws, and especially not those damn Slytherins. I have faith in each and every single one of you and I know you'll make me proud. So don't prove me wrong."
The twins yelled, "Hear, hear!", Harry gave me one those quiet smiles of his, and the girls beamed at me. I paused, then…
"WELL DON'T JUST STAND THERE!" I barked, so loud, so unexpectedly, that Angelina and Alicia jumped and Katie fell off the bench. "Back on your broomsticks NOW!"
The team trudged back onto the field, with the twins grumbling about what an obnoxious, two-faced git I was.
I smiled with content. It was good to be back.
xxx
"Wood, mate, how's it going?" A hand smacked down on my shoulder. It was Roger Davies, one of my closest friends since childhood. Even being captains of rival teams hadn't broken up our friendship.
"Hey. How was your first practice?"
"Not as bad as yours, I hear," he grinned. "Katie told me what a dictator you were being."
"Captain. I was being a good captain. Merlin, I'm not half as bad as my team says."
"Not according to my sister… hey here she comes."
I looked in the direction he was facing and saw Katie coming towards us. "Hey Roger," she greeted him with a hug and he smiled at her fondly.
You know, their story is really funny. Not as in 'ha ha funny' but as in 'weird funny.' Catch my drift? I mean, they used to hate each other. Hate. When Roger was nine, his parents divorced and his dad married Katie's mum, to say that Roger and Katie didn't get along would be putting it mildly. Then when Mr. Davies got fed up with their attitudes and tied them together for a whole day, they both worked off the binding spell and got to spend the day doing what they usually did. Ever since, they've gotten used to the other and lately their relationship has gotten unusually close for a brother-sister relationship…
"Oliver? Oliver? Oliver!"
"Whoa." I snapped out of my trance as Katie's hand waved wildly in front of my face.
"I called your name three times. I guess you were too busy thinking about Quidditch. Or… Quidditch involving something dirty?" She gave me that cheeky grin of hers.
"Hey, hey. Roger, you better make your baby sister here watch her mouth," I said.
She scowled. "I'm not a baby. Shut up, Oliver." She flounced away.
"Well, she is!" I said defensively when Roger gave me that overprotective You better watch it around my sister look that he's taken up lately.
"I don't know," he sighed. "Yeah I know we used to poke fun of her and everything but… she's not such a baby anymore. The Muggle boys can't keep away from her when she comes home for the holidays."
For some reason, that disturbed me. I mean, instead of flirting with Muggle guys at home, she should be practicing for Quidditch. Sheesh.
"Katie doesn't flirt with them though," he said, answering my question. He rolled his eyes. "She's dating the most obnoxious prick in the castle and I would murder him if only Katie wouldn't get mad at me." Oh, well this was news. Gossip hot off the press.
"Who?"
"Zacharias Smith. He's on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team." My jaw dropped. Obnoxious, stuck-up, holier-than-thou Zacharias Smith?
"I know, that's exactly what I think about him. Except worse," Roger said. Oops. I guess I'd said my thoughts aloud.
"But… but… Zacharias Smith?"
"I'm still pissed off 'cause I don't think the git is good enough for Katie. Come to think of it, no one is good enough for her." Whoa. The brotherly overprotectiveness is starting to get out of hand.
"Hey, not even me?" I joked. He seemed to think that was very funny. I guess he doesn't think his best friend is good enough for his stepsister. But then again, I wasn't offended. I mean, it was Katie Bell. I've known the kid for eight years, since she was a little tomboyish girl in overalls who, after getting over her inital hatred for Roger, had followed him and me around all the time.
But still… Zacharias Smith!
xxx
Dear Diary,
It's so great to be back at Hogwarts again. I've missed all the excitement. Wood gave us such a killer first practice today that it'll go down into the history books. Like Hermione's beloved Hogwarts, A History.
You would think that considering I'm the sister of one of Wood's closest friends, he'd treat me better. Huh. Not quite. He called me Roger's "baby sister" today. I know I shouldn't let it, but it really gets to me. After all these years, Oliver Wood still thinks I'm a little kid in pigtails.
Really, I shouldn't let it get to me. I mean, my four-year-long crush on him has long since been over, and besides it was only a childhood fantasy to be with my stepbrother's gorgeous best friend. But it still upsets me that he looks at me not as who I've become, but who I used to be…
Whatever. Screw Oliver Wood. No one gives a damn about him anyway, except his fan club. I have the best, sweetest boyfriend in the world and I'm so lucky. Today Zach wrote me another poem. I think that's what made me first fall for him—his sentimentality. Today Angelina and Alicia made fun of him for being a Hufflepuff, even though I also pointed out that Cedric Diggory is also in Hufflepuff but they ignored that. They just can't seem to understand that Zach is perfect for me. Of course we have our little arguments, and he always turns out to be right, but I love him anyway.
Oh, got to go. I'm sleeping in Angelina and Alicia's room tonight and Angie's threatening to knock me into a coma if I don't turn out the light soon.
A/N: To clear things up this is written in Oliver's point of view with Katie's diary entries stuck in here and there. Sorry if you were confused. Also, Zacharias Smith is that really annoying Hufflepuff who's unbelievably obnoxious at the first DA gathering in the Hog's Head, if you remember from the fifth book.
First chapters are always so boring...