hey kids,

this chapter should explain a few things, as well as (as always) creating some new issues. seriously... i really should reconcilliate some things, or this story will just never end! hope you feel a bit more in the loop after reading this, and i would much much much appreciate reviews. (especially on how much Toby you want to see)

OLIVER'S POV

I want to pull back the carpet of my office, rip up the floor, cover myself up with it and let the ground swallow me.

Instead, I have to find Katie Bell. I don't know what I will say to her. God knows what she must think of me, letting a strange man hit her then leaving her to run the grounds practically naked. I'm not even going to let myself think about how far I've probably set back Toby's recovery with tonight's episode, not to mention that I've almost certainly lost his trust now. Or how incredibly guilty I feel about allowing Katie to get hurt.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I grab some clothes out of her locker and swing past my own to get my broom. It will be faster to find her flying, I can cover more ground. I sweep over the pitch, detouring under the stands before determining that Katie really left the Quidditch grounds.

I try to think of possible places she would have gone. Considering she left only wearing a towel, I'm not sure she would have headed straight back to Gryffindor tower.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I have no idea where she could possibly be. This school is filled with an incredible amount of stuff, a lot of it lying around in corridors, but not I can't think of anywhere in the school that might have anything to wear. Think outside the box, Wood!

It's just not working. I'll just have to fly around the grounds and try and find her, and failing that, try the castle. It's freezing out here, Katie won't be feeling too comfortable so I hope I find her soon.

I just hope she didn't run into the forest. I can't even let myself think about what things in there could be doing to her right now. Jesus Christ, now that I think about, there are a few students not adverse to breaking curfew who could be roaming the castle right now. Forget the forest, Lila Parkinson lives in that castle. If I have to choose, I hope desperately that Katie chose the forest. Actually I hope she chose somewhere else entirely, but I'm running about of options of where she could be.

Thank fuck. Something out there must have responded to how hard I was hoping, because as I round greenhouse three, I see the whiteness of Katie's towel scrunched around her crouching thin frame which has taken on a terrible blue-purple tinge. I jump off my broom and run over to her, pulling her into me and trying to wrap the jacket I brought around her. Sobbing, she pushes tries to push me off.

'Get off me!' She screams hoarsely, her voice catching on a sob. 'What the fuck?! What the fuck, Oliver!'

She pulls her towel tighter around her as a violent shiver wracks her body. I can't let her freeze like this and pull her firmly into my lap, ignoring her protests and weak struggles and slip the jacket around her. As soon as I've done that she just goes limp, collapsing into me, still shivering and sobbing softly.

'Shh' I murmur, putting my face in her hair. I rub my hands up and down her back and arms trying to use the friction to get her warm. I support her weight and stand slowly, hugging her to me.

'Come on, Kates' I say softly. 'Put these on, I won't look'

She keeps her head down.

'Come on, please Kates'

Still nothing, but she shivers intensely and I know I can't let her stay only half dressed, she could already be close to hypothermia.

'Okay' I sigh. I drop to my knees, making sure she can stand while leaning against me. I place my hand gently behind her left knee and apply a little pressure, getting her foot high enough off the ground so I can slip it into the left leg of the sweatpants I brought and then repeat with her right leg. I take care with where I place my hands and to look away as I pull the pants up her legs until they are on properly. I take the towel away from her and gently lift her onto my broom across my lap.

It's not until we are flying that I get any sort of reaction out of Katie. Her arms tighten around my neck and she presses her side into my chest.

'Thank you' She whispers into my ear.

'I'm sorry' I reply.

'Who was he?'

'I'll explain soon' And I mean it. An explanation is the very least she deserves. As soon as we are back at the pitch, I make Katie take a shower to warm her up. The pyjamas she was wearing before are totally unsuitable for the freezing night (I have no idea what she was thinking coming out in them) so she wears the singlet with the tracksuit I lent her. It is big and hangs off her, the jacket coming to her knees. She has had to roll up with sleeves at least three times so she can use her hands. But now we are both sitting on the couch in my office with the fire going, hot mugs of tea in hand.

I have explained to Katie about Toby. How he was a lifelong friend, my brother, my blood without blood, how he was put into hospital, how he miraculously woke up. Also how his brain had been affected by the combination of the coma and the curse.

Katie was curious about why he was, well abnormal.

'He wasn't always like this, was he?' She asks gently.

'No' I shake my head. 'Tobias was the most confident, self-assured young man I've ever met. Also the kindest and most patient. A rare combination, but one that makes the greatest teacher'

'So, what happened?' She put her hand out, then hesitated. 'You don't have to answer. Sorry, how awful of me'

'No, it's okay. I'd rather you know, after all, you did get hurt' Katie put her hand on mine, as I picked up my other to lightly stroke the bruise on her cheek.

'I'm so sorry I let him hit you, I would never have dreamed he would do anything like that' I feel incredibly guilty. I should have been there, protecting her. And Toby. He needed looking after and I got distracted. I feel even more guilty as I remember my distraction. The framed picture on my desk. I steal a glance at it. My team. Katie on my team. But Katie is looking at me now, expecting answers.

'I'm sorry, I do owe you an explaination. The healer at St Mungo's told me that the curse induced trauma to the human body worked differently to than any physical sort of injury. Toby had essentially stopped any mental development, residual sparks of the Avada Kedavra curse had been eating away at him for years, trying to kill him little by little. This much the healers are fairly certain of, as well as the fact that the curse attacked his personality and mental wellbeing in an attempt to destroy him as a person, perhaps as the curse had failed initially it was trying not to kill the body but kill the identity of Tobias Parksinson. It makes some sort of sense, as it did fall into his reflection, which I suppose is the shallowest component of identity. The healers are a bit more speculative after that. Muggle anatomy isn't really too compatible with magical healing, but they think the reason Tobias woke up may have been the curse attacking his memory centre, causing him to relive his memories and giving him a reason to fight and regain consciousness'

'Wow' Katie is shocked. 'Wow. I mean, shit. Sorry. That's completely the wrong thing to say'

I smile. 'It's okay, I said the same thing. But replace 'wow' with 'fuck'. Or 'bloody fucking fuck fuck shit fuck'.'

'You're so brave, Oliver' She moves over on the couch and hugs me. 'Looking after him, teaching him things he forgot or didn't get to learn. It's so unselfish' She pulls back. 'You are the most unselfish person I know Oliver, but it's killing you'

'Yeah I'm a zombie… ooooh.' I brush it off with sarcasm. I don't need anyone feeling sorry for me.

'No, I'm serious' She insists. 'You already pour so much of yourself into the team, and I know your grades have to be maintained for you to stay captain so I know how much effort you put into study and now this looking after Tobias… we've all noticed the change in you. You're tired and unhappy. You can't keep it up.'

'I don't know what else I can do. I can't not help Toby. He's part of my family. He needs me and I'll do whatever it takes to be here for him' My mind is made up. 'I know I'm always exhausted and have no time for my own life, but it's only temporary. I'm working towards the future, Kates. It's only a matter of time until school is over, and Toby will get better eventually. And Quidditch has been my career goal my entire life. There's no way I can give up on it now.'

Katie puts both her hands around mine. 'No one's asking you to give up anything. But you don't have to take responsibility for everything. One person can only do so much'

I sigh, thinking of the way the Parksinsons are coping with the changes in their son. Or rather aren't coping. There is no way he'll recover left to his own with them. And with the Weasleys on the team, without me pulling the nazi routine, no Quidditch training would ever occur. And as keen as the Creevy boy is, I doubt he could do my homework. Not that I'd ever allow him to.

'It's complicated, Kates.'

'That's exactly the problem, Oliver! You're only 18! Life shouldn't be this hard! You are in your final year at school, you are the uncontested hottest guy in Hogwarts as well as Quidditch Captain of the best team! You are Hogwarts royalty, you should be reaping the benefits!'

'Royalty, huh?' I smile slyly. 'Tell me about these benefits'

'You know, partying like a rockstar, all the booze and women you want' The way she says it makes it obvious that anyone with my apparent 'royal' status should take these things for granted.

'I'm not interested in booze.' I squeeze her hand in mine. 'And the only woman I want is taken.'

Katie has to know I mean her. I wonder if I've said too much. I hold my breath as I wait for her response. It doesn't come. Instead we just sit there for a long time, hand in hand. I try to catch her eye, but she is looking down on our hands, obviously deep in thought. I'm not sure how long we sit together for, but looking at our hands makes me catch sight of my watch.

'Katie' I say softly. At the sound of my voice she looks up at my face. 'It's past four. We have practice at six, so if you want any sleep at all…'

She just smiles, gives my hand a squeeze. Leaning towards me, I inhale the vanilla-cinnamon scent of her hair as I feel the gentle pressure of her lips on my cheek. Katie picks up her broom and walks to the door. She looks back at me for a few final words before mounting her broom and speeding off.

'She might not be as taken as you think.'

*cracks review whip*

duh.

oh by the way, a few peoplw weren't sure if Danny and Katie actually had sex on the quidditch pitch. they did.

just to clear that up :P