Quidditch Robes

For Melody. Merry Christmas, secret twin!

Oliver bursts through the door of the apartment they share, panting heavily from the four flights of stairs. "Katie?"

She pokes her head out of the kitchen. There's a giant bowl full of cake batter in her hands and a small dot of flour on the end of her nose. "What?"

He's already racing toward their bedroom. "Where are my Quidditch robes?" he calls.

Katie frowns and puts her bowl on the counter. "What?"

The closet door in their bedroom bangs open. "Where! Are! My! Quidditch robes!"

Narrowing her eyes, Katie wipes off her hands on her apron and steps out into the narrow hallway between the kitchen and the bedroom. "I, er, I put them away," she says. Her eyes flick to the drawer where she keeps her aprons, where Oliver's robes are tucked away where he'll never think to look. Behind her in the kitchen, the oven timer dings, but she ignores it.

"Where?" Oliver yells, and she can hear things clattering and assumes he's pulling every outfit he owns off the hangers.

The timer dings again, and Katie sighs and turns back to the kitchen. "Why do you need to know?" she calls as she wiggles her hands into a pair of oven mitts and pulls out the first layer of cake. They only have one pan - any more than that won't fit in the kitchen cabinets, which are filled with china and silverware and about ten Quidditch cups that won't fit on the designated trophy shelf but that Oliver can't bear to part with - so she has to bake one layer at a time.

Another bang as Oliver closes the closet and runs down the hallway to check the storage cupboard in the bathroom. "I need them!" he says as he passes the kitchen.

Katie takes off her oven mitts and rests her right hand on her pregnant belly. "Oliver, no."

A crash from the bathroom, and then a shouted expletive.

"Don't you even think," Katie yells as she pulls the cake out of her pan, "about running off to play Quidditch tonight."

"Katie - "

"We've been planning this dinner for two months, Ollie!" She pours the raw batter into the now-empty pan and nudges it into the oven. There's only one more layer after this; in the past, she's always made his birthday cakes with magic, but this year she's decided to try it by hand. It's a good distraction from the throbbing pains in her stomach. "It's the last Saturday night we get before the baby's due date, and it could be the only chance we get to celebrate your birthday."

"The team is in trouble!" Oliver cries as he runs past the kitchen on his way back to the bedroom.

"My evening is in trouble!"

"You tell me where my Quidditch robes are, woman!" His voice is high with panic. "We are talking about the greater good!"

She dumps flour into her bowl. "Greater good?" she repeats. "I am your wife, Oliver Wood. I am the greatest good you are ever going to get."

Oliver bursts into the kitchen. "Katie," he says, grabbing her by the arms. "I love you. You know I do, you know it - but I need my Quidditch robes."

She scowls. "I thought you got out of your Puddlemere match tonight."

He licks his lips. "I did."

"Then which team are you talking about?" She worms out of his arms and measures out some sugar. "Who's in trouble?"

"It's a reunion game."

Her jaw actually drops. "A reunion game?"

He nods. "With the old Gryffindor team, yeah."

"You are ditching your pregnant wife on your birthday," she says slowly, "to play a reunion Quidditch match. One that you will not be paid to play. One that will not affect your career in any way, shape, or form. Do I have that right?"

He nods again. "I told them I couldn't make it, but they're three players down, because Ron Weasley's on his honeymoon, and Fred's - well, you know - and you can't play, obviously, because of the situation." He waves his hands in the general direction of her belly, and Katie rolls her eyes.

"Pregnant, Oliver. You can say the word. I'm pregnant. I'm having a baby. Your baby. Which you are thinking of leaving tonight to play a reunion - "

"So Harry begged me," Oliver interrupts, "and I can't exactly show up without my Quidditch robes, so tell me where you put them so I can go play!" His face is flushed with excitement. "Please, Katie."

"No!"

"Please."

She slams her hand on the counter; her palm comes down on the open bag of flour, and the white powder flies everywhere. "No," she cries as it settles all over her kitchen. "Ollie!"

"Leave it," he says. "Leave it, I'll clean it up when I get home, just tell me where my robes are."

She blames the pregnancy hormones for the tears crawling up into her eyes. "You'll clean it up?"

"I'll clean it up," he promises.

She sniffles. "What else will you do for me?"

"Whatever you want." He can't stand still, he's bouncing in place. "Make a list. I'll read it when I get back."

"Will you clean the entire apartment?" she asks.

"Sure!"

"Without magic?"

He stops bouncing and crinkles his forehead. "Why without magic?"

"Because - I don't know, I'm just trying to think of things."

He opens his mouth to argue, but then he seems to think better of it, because he nods and says, "Apartment without magic. Fine. Where are my - "

"Will you get a haircut?" Katie interrupts.

He pushes his hand through his hair. "You don't like it long?"

She shakes her head. "I want it short. Like it was when we met."

"Short. Got it."

The tears are still running down her face. "Will you change all the diapers when the baby comes?"

"Er . . . can I use magic for that one?"

She nods and presses a hand against her belly.

"Then yes, I'll change the diapers."

Why does she ache? "Will you rub my feet?"

He puts his hands on her shoulders. "Tell you what, Kit-Kat. You sit down and make a list of all the things you want me to do, and in the meantime I'll go play the Quidditch match."

A sharp pain in her abdomen. "It's in the apron drawer," she says, waving her hand vaguely.

"Yes." Oliver kisses her cheek and dives for the drawer. "I love you," he cries over his shoulder as he collects his uniform and runs to the bathroom to change.

"I love you, too," Katie tries to say, but all that comes out is a strangled grunt as the pain in her belly triples.

Oliver pokes his head out from the bathroom. "Are you okay?"

"I - I don't know." Katie slides down to the kitchen floor and takes deep breaths.

He comes out of the bathroom with his shirt only half-over his head. "What's the matter?"

"My stomach," she whispers, clenching her hand into a fist as the pain starts up again. "There's something happening in there. With the baby."

Oliver drops his cleats. "Is it - is it coming?"

"No." Katie can't open her eyes. "It's too soon, it's not due until Wednesday." She waves her hand. "I'll be fine, I'll be fine. Go save the day at your bloody reunion match like the superhero you think you are."

He leans against the wall and finishes putting on his shirt. "I think the baby's coming," he says, and when she forces her eyes open there's a small smile on his face.

"It's not time yet," she says. The pain is passing; she stands up and picks up her wooden spoon. "I haven't even finished your cake."

His smile grows, and he takes the spoon out of her hand and guides her into the hallway. "I'm going to tell Harry I can't make it to the game," he says. "And you are going to wait for me in the entryway so we can go to the hospital." He conjures a patronus and tells it to find Harry and deliver the news.

She lets out a groan as another contraction washes over her. "Why are you smiling?" she asks when she can speak again.

"Because I'm going to become a father," he says, "while I'm wearing my Quidditch robes."

She rolls her eyes. "You and your damn Quidditch robes."

He grins as he swoops in to kiss her cheek. "I'm going to become a father," he repeats. "It's insane."

She smiles as she takes his hands and prepares to Apparate. "It's a little bit incredible."

[Disney Character Competition: Hercules - write about a (super)hero]

[Build-A-Bear Challenge: Bear - write about a Gryffindor]

[Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge: Muses - write a romance]