Chapter 1

"No, Pat and I went to a game and –" Katie Bell was cut off by someone putting their hands over her eyes. "Who is this?" she asked slyly, she knew exactly who it was but she would play his game anyway, like always.

"Guess!" Angelina and Alicia, whom she had been talking to, chorused.

Katie put her hands over the hands on her eyes, feeling them. "Well unmanicured nails, so it's a guy ... smells like strong leather so it's a Quidditch player" (all Quidditch players wear gloves made out of the same, distinctly strong leather) "... and calluses indicative of a keeper. Let me guess, Oliver!" Oliver laughed and uncovered her eyes. Suddenly, he spun her around and picked her up, twirling around several times. Katie yelped and started laughing. "Put me down! Oliver!" Reluctantly, he stopped and set her back on the ground.

"What? Not happy to see me?" Katie rolled her eyes and enveloped her friend in a tight hug. "Much better!" Oliver smiled as they pulled away.

"How was your summer?" It was strange, coming back this year and not having seen each other for three months. They had spent every summer together since first year when they met. (A/N: I took a creative license and made Katie, Oliver, Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia all in the same year ... they're sixth years.)

"And finally, after three months, the Spectacular Six are reunited!" Fred called out in a mock announcer voice. He and George were walking towards Katie, Oliver, Alicia, and Angelina on the platform.

"We should get on the train." They all smiled and nodded and started looking for an empty compartment. Finally, after what seemed like forever, they found one. Fred, George, and Oliver lugged the trunks inside. The girls were perfectly capable of carrying their own trunks, being fabulously in shape from Quidditch, but they decided to let the guys feel macho. The train started a few seconds after the guys had finally gotten all the trunks inside their compartment.

"Hey, we'll see you later." Oliver grabbed Katie's hand and they started down the hallway, but not before hearing George's kissing noises and Fred's catcall. Katie rolled her eyes and laughed, but Oliver just shook his head. "Here, this one's empty." Oliver pulled Katie inside an empty compartment and sat down with a sigh. "So how was your summer? Bloody hell, I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever." They had owled each other during the summer, but truth be told, they enjoyed each other's company more than the actual words they said.

"The summer was okay. Pat and I went to a Quidditch game, he's starting this season you know." Patrick was Katie's older brother who had recently been signed as the new seeker for Puddlemere United (A/N: Too lazy to look up another Quidditch team, so if you have one you'd like me to use, leave it in a review and I'll change that!).

"I think it's genetic ... the whole Quidditch thing." Katie raised an eyebrow at Oliver.

"Then how come I got jipped?!"

"What? You didn't get jipped, you're the finest chaser Hogwarts has ever seen!" Oliver smiled; he was never sure whether Katie didn't like to admit she was good or if she truly didn't believe she was. "How's your Mum about him playing?"

"Meh, okay I suppose. Flew off the handle at him when he first told her, but now she's better. I can't blame her though, after Dad nearly got killed in that match 10 years ago, she's been deathly afraid. She even refused to go see any of his games!" Katie's dad played Quidditch professionally as well, but was planning to retire once she graduated from Hogwarts.

"You're kidding! That's insane!" Katie laughed and smacked Oliver for his sarcasm. "Ow, that hurt Katie, it really did."

"Oh shove it!"

"Shove it where exactly?" Katie and Oliver burst out laughing. They played this little game where they tried insulting each other as long as they could without laughing. Last year, they had beaten the record with an astounding 12 hours. It had gone on all day ... but 3 months without one game had left them both a little rusty.

"That was horrible! Not even five minutes, Oliver!"

Oliver faked a sigh, "Yeah, just horrible!"

"So how was your summer?"

"My summer was a never ending babysitting job!" Oliver shook his head; he had two younger siblings, Amanda and Coby.

"Oh that's right! Your parents went to New York for your dad's conference! How's your Mum about sending her second son off to Hogwarts?" Katie laughed, 6 years ago when Mrs. Wood had come to drop Oliver off, she cried and carried on for an hour about sending her baby away for months.

Oliver grinned, remembering that day. Despite his mother's hysterics it had been one of the best days of his life; he had met Katie that day. "She's not crying her eyes out, but she looked like she might keel over any minute yesterday. I'm dreading next year ... Amanda starts!"

"Oh god! Amanda is your Mum's pride and joy ... I pity you."

"Well, if my evil scheme works ... I'll be spending next summer at your house so I won't have to deal with it!" Oliver grinned in a mock evil way.

"Oh you think so huh? We'll just see about that one, Mr. Wood!" Katie tried to glare, but the corners of her mouth were creeping up and, as Oliver started to laugh, she grinned.

"You've been practicing?" Katie rolled her eyes; sometimes Oliver was just a bit too obsessed with Quidditch.

"No, Ol' I didn't practice at all this summer and I'll be in bloody horrible shape when it comes time for our first game!" Oliver continued to stare at her, expressionless. "Yes, I practiced. Happy now, Ol'?" She smiled at the nickname she had used without realizing it.

"Yes, very, Kate." They had agreed long ago that no one but Katie could call Oliver "Ol'" and no one but Oliver could call Katie "Kate". Oliver said it was some sort of loyalties thing, but Katie just shrugged and went along with it.

"We will with the Cup this year." Katie glared out the window; the House Cup had been so cruelly denied them for 6 years straight. "Bloody Slytherins don't deserve it!"

Oliver was about to agree with her when Marcus Flint and a few of his thugs stepped into their compartment. "Speak of the devil."

"Flattered, Wood, I really am. But is resorting to flattery really ... becoming of you?" Flint and his buddies chuckled as Oliver turned a bright shade of red.

"Is acting like a fu—"Katie got up and pressed a finger to Oliver's lips, causing whatever barrage of colorful words was coming to cease.

"Get out Flint. Wouldn't want you getting expelled for fighting and missing the first match would we?"

"Look, now he's got the mudblood fighting his battles for him!" Flint laughed, as Katie turned red. She wasn't a mudblood, her mother was pureblood, but a Squib, and her father was most certainly pureblood. She felt the anger welling up inside of her. Without realizing what had happened, Katie was jolted back out of her fury as Flint's laughter stopped abruptly and he found himself lying on the floor. Katie looked from Flint and then to Oliver and his raised fist, and grinned. Flint licked the blood off his cut lip as he pushed himself off the ground.

"Don't you ever talk about her that way!" Katie was shocked to hear so much anger in Oliver's voice. Flint was about to say something, but seeing the look in Oliver's eyes decided against it. He and his thugs turned suddenly and walked out of the compartment.

"Ol?"

"What?" Oliver spat. Katie looked at him with a shocked and angry expression. "Sorry ... I can't believe he said that ... ruddy bastard."

"Hey, Oliver calm down. It's fine; he doesn't have any idea what he's talking about." Oliver continued to glare and sat down. "Oliver!" Katie wailed, she hated it when he got like this; he was bloody impossible to talk to. She considered her options for a moment and then sat down next to him, wrapping her arm around his. "Please, please, please don't let this get to you," she said in the sweetest voice she could muster. Oliver sighed heavily.

"I can't stand it when he talks like that ... especially to you."

"Why especially to me? I'm no different than anyone else, he just says random insults off the top of his head, even if they aren't true." Oliver finally turned and looked Katie in the eyes. His features were a tad softened now, better than they had been a few seconds ago, but by no means good.

"Especially you because ..." Oliver didn't finish his sentence, but just turned and looked out the window.

"If I didn't think I was going to get my head bitten off, I'd ask what the bloody hell is going on with you. But since I do, I won't." Katie sighed, why was he shutting her out like this? Normally he would have laughed at the snide remark, but he just continued to stare out the window. "Fine! Sulk in here forever for all I care! I don't understand why you and every other guy in this world have to go off on a testosterone kick every 5 hours! Bloody hell, Oliver!" Oliver cringed as Katie stood up and started for the door.

"Katie wait!" Oliver leaned out of the compartment.

"Why should I?" But she stopped, halfway to Fred, George, Alicia, and Angelina's compartment. She didn't turn around to look at him, though.

"I'm sorry ... please, let's not fight." Katie rolled her eyes and smiled, turning around. She hid her smile until both she and Oliver were back inside their compartment. "What are you smiling about? Oh ... you're in so much trouble now!" Katie raised an eyebrow, but not for long. She collapsed into a fit of giggles as Oliver lunged at her and started tickling her.

"Eek! Stop! Stop it!" she gasped out between laughs. "Oliver Wood! Stop!" Oliver stopped momentarily to reposition himself to get a better angle, and Katie took the opportunity to flip him onto the ground. "Oh, you'll pay!" She jumped down after him and started tickling him mercilessly. After a few minutes and a few more shifts in power, they were both sitting on the floor of their compartment, trying to catch their breath between laughs. "I really missed you this summer."

"Yeah? Me too." Oliver smiled at Katie and she smiled back. "After we graduate ... let's not end up like our parents who haven't talked to their Hogwarts friends since the reunion. Okay?"

"Aww, Ol' that's sweet." Katie laughed, "You're not my Hogwarts friend ... I dunno, you're something more." Katie giggled at her own words and Oliver soon joined her.

A/N: Well? What do you think?? The next chapter will be from Oliver's POV, so you might get to find out "what the bloody hell is going on with" him. But, only if I'm in a good mood, hehe. Please review! Thanks! BTW, this chapter was named after the play, "The Importance of Being Earnest" or at least that's what inspired me. My friends are doing a scene from it for theatre and I thought it would make a cute title, what'd you think?