Hello everyone! I'm back with a tangent story for my Percy/Audrey fic, By Moonlight and Sunrises. This one will take a more comedic route and focus on Audrey's best friend, Sabina, and her relationship with our favourite Keeper! It will be a 3-part fic so sit back and enjoy :)

Sabina's parents are originally from Slovenia, so here's some terminology to keep ya in the loop

Ocka - Dad

Idioti - idiots

Kaj za vraga - what the hell

Sranje - shit

Pálinka - a type of alcohol popular in Central Europe

Part I - Medic to the Rescue

26 August 1999

Being a Healer-in-training was an exciting phase of Sabina's life. There was always something new to learn and when she was in the hospital, the hours would fly by. Sabina truly loved it.

Less exciting: the poor excuse of an income those administrative bastards at the hospital called a livable salary.

See, as an administrator, if you could pay a Healer-in-training to do the same thing as a Healer or a Nurse, but for half the price on account of that lovely little "in-training" tacked on the end, then you could save your hospital a lot of money. Genius business strategy, but downright preposterous as far as Sabina was concerned. As a result, she would often find herself working Medi-Witch shifts for her father's Quidditch team, just to make a little extra money until she finished her Healer training.

Sabina had almost turned down her father's request this time. The forecast was looking downright horrible - thunderstorms and rain the entire time, with a chance of hail - and working Quidditch games was not her idea of fun. While Sabina loved Quidditch - she had been an amazing Keeper at Hogwarts - being a Medi-Witch was a whole other nightmare. Loud, nosy spectators telling you to get out of the way, overzealous players outright flying into danger, and, worst of all, all Sabina would want to do was sit there and enjoy the game. Instead, she was stuck running after stupid boys that would rather break their necks and win than come out unscathed and lose.

Perhaps it was the last three years of Healer training talking, but Sabina was fed up with reckless Quidditch players.

Still, her father had begged. He had a new Keeper going in and, as Coach Boris had put it, "this one is a real bonehead." That, combined with the fact that Sabina knew very well that her father was immensely protective of Keepers (on account of that being his former position), was just enough motivation Sabina needed to agree to the shift. If anything, she would have some lovely stories to tell Audrey.

In any case, now that Sabina was standing in the changerooms of the Quidditch pitch, she was quickly regretting her obligations as a caring daughter.

"Number twenty-one has a tendency to fly straight into bludgers," Boris, Sabina's father, stated as he stood by her side with an angry look on his face and his arms crossed. His 'Intimidation Stance,' as he called it. His sandy blonde hair had flecks of grey in it now and the wrinkles on his face were starting to reflect his age, but despite all of that, his pale blue eyes still had a youthful, excited shine to them every time he talked about Quidditch. "Number three's the new Keeper, he's a real - "

" - bonehead, yes, you've said so," Sabina interrupted. "Ocka, I've got this."

Boris sighed heavily and placed his hands on Sabina's shoulders, turning her around enough to face him. "It should be you out there," he said with a shake of his head.

"Ah, but I will be out there," Sabina replied smartly.

"You know what I mean," Boris shot back. "You are a brilliant Keeper, Sabina."

"I was a brilliant Keeper," Sabina corrected. "I've told you before - I'm not going to make a career out of Quidditch. I love the game, but that's just... not for me. I always liked brains better than brawn."

"I know, and I'm proud of you but..." Boris trailed off and leaned in slightly, continuing in a whisper, "I'd trade you for any of these idioti."

Sabina chuckled at her father's clear exasperation. "They're twenty-something boys, you're telling me you had any sense of responsibility at that age when you joined up with Puddlemere?" she challenged.

"Aye, well, that's why I would much rather have my lovely daughter as a player," Boris reasoned. "I need women and men, not boys."

"Give 'em some credit, Ocka. You've trained them well and I'm sure they look up to you," Sabina advised.

Boris smiled down at his daughter. "You and your mother - my voices of reason," he said, a soft smile breaking his stern expression. "Go suit up, Medi-Witch," he added with a wink.

"You got it, Coach," Sabina replied with a joking salute.

Oliver had never before felt this nervous before a game. His heart was racing and the world around him was drowned out as if he was underwater. His eyes were wide and focused straight down, gaze searing into his bludger bays. When Oliver had received the news that he was getting moved up from reserve to first-string Keeper, he had been ecstatic - but now that he was just mere minutes away from his first official game, the pressure was killing him.

A loud laugh broke him out of his trance and suddenly the loud sounds of the changeroom were at full volume. He looked around and hoped that the excitement his teammates were feeling would rub off on him somehow. In a far corner, he saw the medics getting ready for the game: three Medi-Wzards and a Medi-Witch, all dressed in the typical lime green robes of Healers, with the addition of some basic Quidditch gear and the Puddlemere United crest emrboidered with gold thread on the back. Suddenly, the Medi-Witch glanced his way, her blue eyes locking with his. Oliver thought she looked vaguely familiar, but before he could figure it out, one of his teammates blocked his view of the woman.

Oliver looked up at Gabriel Truman, one of the first-string Chasers, with a small sigh. He was a tall, slender man, built for speedy escapes. His brown eyes always had a friendly glint to them, and he was probably Oliver's closest friend on the team. "Ready for your first real win, mate?" Gabriel asked with a smirk.

"You sound far too optimistic," Oliver declared as he stood up.

"Aye, well, y'know what they say: knock on Wood," Gabriel countered, giving Oliver a couple light taps to the head.

"And here I thought that tradition wouldn't've left Hogwarts," Oliver grumbled. Gabriel, however, had already turned and left to take his place in the players' lineup.

With a light shake of his head, Oliver followed behind his teammate and lined up as well. He nervously gripped his broom as silence filled the changeroom and the Head Coach approached them. Borislav Kopitar was something of a legend as far as Quidditch went. He played Keeper for Team Slovenia straight out of Durmstrang for two years, after which he got picked up by Puddlemere and made captain within three years. Even after retiring as a player, Puddlemere couldn't afford to lose him and offered to keep him around as the Head Coach for as long as he wanted. And, of course, he just so happened to be married to one of the best Broom-makers in the business and the creator of the Firebolt, Danica Horvat.

If Oliver was being honest, there was no one he looked up to more than Coach Boris - except for his own father, of course.

"The next time I see you in here, you will all be cheering and smiling," Boris started, his voice echoing throughout the changeroom. He had his hands behind his back as he walked along the line of players. Glancing past him, Oliver noticed the Medi-Wizards and the Medi-Witch strapping on their kits and checking their brooms. As the Medi-Witch slipped her medical kit on her back and looked up, her eyes once again met Oliver's. She smirked lightly and raised an eyebrow before slipping on her goggles. Oliver's gaze, however, was still fixated. Her blonde hair was braided in a rather peculiar way - it was neat and flush against her head, then collected in a bun at the base of her neck - and he was sure he had seen it before somewhere.

"Wood!" Boris bellowed. Oliver was instantly pulled out of his thoughts and his head snapped towards Coach. He met the older man's glaring eyes as he lowly said, "Eyes. Here."

"Yes sir!" Oliver replied quickly.

"You're the youngest Keeper Puddlemere's had in a while - don't disappoint me," Boris said sternly.

"Of course not, sir," Oliver replied with a nod.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the pride and joy of River Piddle - PUDDLEMERE UNITED!"

"That's your cue, boys," Boris said as he grabbed his own broom.

Once on their brooms, the Puddlemere United team flew out into the stadium one by one. The screams were almost deafening as soon as Oliver entered the Quidditch pitch, but he felt his nervousness quickly melt into excitement as his eyes took in the large stadium. This was why he played Quidditch.

"You've gotta stop scaring them so much, Ocka," Sabina joked as she elbowed her father.

"If there's one thing I hate about you working my games, it's the unwanted attention," Boris grumbled as he mounted his broom.

"Unwanted? You're the only one that doesn't want it," Sabina replied as she mounted her broom as well.

Boris shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh before flying into the stadium and taking his place in the Coach's Tower.

"You ready, Quidditch princess?" one of the Medi-Wizards, Robert, asked as he gently shoved past Sabina.

"Shut it, Robby," Sabina muttered.

Before he had a chance to reply, Sabina had already zoomed past him and into the stadium. The rain drenched her almost instantly and the thick fog reduced her visibility, but the screaming of the fans was just as overwhelming as always. While a career in Quidditch may not have been in the cards for Sabina, she would be lying if she said she didn't miss the adrenaline rush of circling the stadium with her team and taking in the cheers of the crowd.

"Looks like the medics and the referees are out," the announcer's voice boomed, "and here comes the chest. We are just mere seconds away from the start now!"

Sabina took her place just left of the goalhoops on Puddlemere's side. She quickly placed a Defogging Spell on her goggles, which gave her a slightly better view of the field. Looking down, she saw the four referees push off to take their places around the stadium and the Groundskeeper standing in front of the chest. He placed the wand to his neck and knelt down, placing a hand on the buckle of the Quidditch Chest.

"Welcome to the Dorset Bowl, Puddlemere United's home stadium," the Groundskeeper's voice boomed throughout the stadium. The crowds instantly grew silent. "Tonight's game is against the Wimbourne Wasps. Players, take your places. Beaters, bats down. Three, two, one - BEGIN!"

With that final word, the Groundskeeper lifted the buckle off of the chest and the Snitch, Quaffle, and Bludgers instantly flew out. In less than a second, players were zooming around the pitch and making plays without even a bit of hesitation. Sabina felt a bit of nostalgia as she slowly flew around and scanned the pitch, and she had to fight the urge to look away from her quadrant to take in the excitement of the game. Even with the horrible weather and in her Healer robes, Sabina felt herself actually enjoying being out on the Quidditch pitch.

The game was going quite smoothly, as far as professional games went. There had been some Blatching on the Wasps side of the pitch, although those had been minor injuries that Sabina's co-workers had handled easily. And, of course, as her father had warned, player twenty-one, Andre, had flown straight into a Bludger. Still, he seemed to be concussion-free and, aside from the torrential downpour, this was turning out to be one of Sabina's easiest games.

Plus, Puddlemere had a forty-point lead, and she was nothing if not a Puddlemere fan through and through.

"Oh, Bigby from the Wasps looks like he's having an amazing breakaway, leaving Puddlemere's Keeper on his own, and - what's that? Oliver Wood, Puddlemere's brand new Keeper, is doing the legendary Starfish and Stick! Let's see if he's got what it takes!"

"Kaj za vraga?" Sabina muttered as she looked at Oliver dangling from his broom. Then, looking on the other side of the pitch, Sabina's eyes widened as she saw a Wasps Beater winding up. She raised her medic's radio to her mouth and quickly said, "There's a Bludger heading straight for him, Coach."

"Sranje," her father's voice said. "You can't intervene unless he falls or gets injured, Sabina."

"Fine, I got this," she replied.

As soon as Sabina put away her radio, she zoomed towards the goalhoops just as she heard the crack of the Beater's bat. Pushing her broom to its limits, Sabina saw Oliver save the Quaffle and toss it to a Chaser. She came to a stop at about half the height of the goalhoops just as the Bludger forcefully flew into Oliver's abdomen and caused him to lose his grip on his broom. Oliver started free-falling in the air, but Sabina stuck her arm out and grabbed his hand just as he passed her.

Looking up at Sabina with wide eyes, Oliver grinned widely. "Thanks," he breathed out.

"You bleeding?" Sabina asked plainly.

With his free hand, Oliver felt around his robes as he looked down. "Nope, all good," he answered.

"Then call your broom and go win," Sabina replied.

Still grinning, Oliver whistled for his broom. Sabina let go of his hand as soon as the broom was underneath him, then flew back to her assigned spot. Oliver was back by the goalhoops just as the Puddlemere Chasers scored another goal.

"You are a life-saver, Sabina," Boris' staticky voice said through the radio in Sabina's medical kit.

"Can ye hear the Wasps sing?"

"No, no!"

"Can ye hear the Wasps sing?"

"Ye cannae hear a ruddy thing!"

"Whoo, whoo, whoo!"

"After me, boys - your Quidditch, your Quidditch, your Quidditch - "

" - is fuckin' shite!"

"SETTLE DOWN!"

Boris' voice boomed throughout the changeroom and the whole team quieted down in an instant. All of the players, some already standing around with only towels around their hips, fixed their gazes on their coach.

After a moment of silence, Boris' glare turned into a grin. "Meeting tomorrow at noon," he said, "tonight - you celebrate!"

"Whoo - three cheers for Coach Boris!"

"Hip hip hooray, Hip hip hooray, Hip hip hooray!"

"One for us!"

"Hooray!"

"And one for the fox that saved Wood's life!"

"Hooray!"

Sabina smirked as the room filled with cheers and shouting once again. She noticed her father's grin turn into a glare once more, and Oliver's face turn a bright shade of red. Sabina did remember him from Hogwarts - that being said, everyone at Hogwarts had known Oliver Wood. Not only had he been the most Quidditch-obsessed person in the castle, but Sabina also very vividly remembered every bloody girl in that school having the hots for him. Frankly, he had been just a little too boyish and scrawny for her - although now that she was in the Puddlemere changeroom, she could tell that at least that much had changed.

"You - Sabina," Andre said as he pointed at Sabina.

"Yes?" she replied as she raised an eyebrow.

Andre had already ditched his uniform for a towel and he approached Sabina with a smirk on his face. This would be good. Sabina remembered him from other games she had worked. He liked to think he was the embodiment of tall, dark, and handsome, and it proved to always be amusing. "You're coming out for drinks with us to celebrate."

"Is that so?" Sabina questioned as she crossed her arms.

"Aye, and Wood's buyin' you a drink because he owes you at least that much," Andre continued as he nodded towards Oliver, who was just about to head for the showers. He looked their way with a meek smile and headed over at the sound of his name.

"Doesn't sound like you have much of a choice," Sabina said to Oliver as Andre left with a proud smirk on his face.

Oliver laughed nervously, raising his hand to the back of his neck. Definitely not scrawny anymore, Sabina thought to herself as she fought to keep her gaze fixed on his face. "Andre likes to mess around," he said with a shrug. "Sabina... you were the Ravenclaw Keeper, aye?" he said, finally having a name to fit to her face.

Her really beautiful face. Now that he was closer to her, he could see that her eyes were a mesmerizing icy blue. Her dirty blonde hair was starting to come out of its braid after the three hours of being out in the rain and curl around her face, which was incredibly pale and had just the lightest smattering of freckles across her nose. Oliver supposed there had been no way for him to see all of that on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch, because if he had, they probably would have lost a lot more games against Ravenclaw.

"That would be me," she agreed with a small smile.

"Sabina... Kopitar - oh, no," Oliver trailed off as he made the connection between Coach Boris and the woman before him.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," Sabina said with a smirk, gently pushing past Oliver. "I'll be waiting on that drink, Wood."

Onyx was possibly one of the fanciest, most exclusive nightclubs in wizarding England. The only people that ever got in without waiting or giving up a kidney as a cover fee were Quidditch players, actors, musicians, and the likes. And, apparently, one over-worked Healer-in-training. As soon as Sabina entered the posh night club, she was surrounded by booming music and overpriced alcohol. Witches dressed as fairies levitated around the room with trays of shot glasses and jars of fireflies floated up to the ceiling. It only took Andre a matter of seconds to spot her and enthusiastically wave her over.

Sabina not-so-subtly tugged on the hem of her red dress once more before heading over. She had mistakenly thought that if she borrowed a dress from Audrey, it would very much resemble her childhood friend - simple, comfortable, and convenient. Instead, she was stuck in this skin-tight bright red dress with a halter neckline, her back bare. When in the name of Morgana did Audrey even wear dresses like this? Probably handed it to me because she never bloody wore it, Sabina thought bitterly.

"Sabina - looking positively lovely!" Andre exclaimed as Sabina approached their table. "You clean up much nicer than expected."

"Right, thanks... I think," Sabina replied tentatively. She turned to Oliver, who was seated right beside Andre and looking much more uncomfortable than she would have expected. "So, where's my drink, Wood?"

"Oh, my favourite party trick," Gabriel said with a hoot. "Come one, come all, to witness Oliver Wood's psychic powers!"

"Psychic powers?" Sabina asked. "Consider me intrigued."

"It's not that big of a deal," Oliver said with a dismissive shrug. Still, Sabina could see a small smile on his face.

"Ollie here can guess anyone's favourite drink," Jason, one of the Beaters, explained. "Works like a charm for getting ladies - we joke that it's his only move."

"It's not my only move," Oliver grumbled.

"Oi, shut up and do your thing," Andre said as he nodded towards Sabina.

With a sigh and a sly grin on his face, Oliver met Sabina's eyes and reached forward to grab her hands. The other three Quidditch players gathered around them as their eyes intently watched the two of them. Sabina had an amused smirk on her face as she kept her gaze fixed on Oliver's face and watched him concentrate.

"From here, you'll have a vodka straight," Oliver finally said.

"Impressive," Sabina said with a hint of admiration.

"I'm not done," Oliver interrupted before the other boys could cheer. "Your actual favourite drink isn't available here - pálinka."

"All right, now I'm really impressed," Sabina said with a laugh, but she was mostly cut off by Andre, Gabriel, and Jason loudly whooping.

"The man is an animal!" Gabriel shouted as Oliver ordered a round of vodka for the table.

As soon as the shots arrived, Andre raised his glass high and exclaimed, "For Puddlemere!"

"For Puddlemere!" everyone else chorused.

Once she had downed the shot, Sabina leaned in closer to Oliver and quietly asked, "Seriously, how did you figure it out? That wasn't just a stroke of luck."

Oliver smiled and lightly shook his head, his hazel eyes meeting Sabina's icy blue ones. "Coach always keeps a bottle in his office," he replied, "but I swear, this is the first time I've used outsider info."

"Oh, I believe that," Sabina said. "Girls are easy - wine or fruity drinks. If they're drunk enough, any one of them will be their favourite."

"Don't oust me," Oliver hissed jokingly.

Sabina laughed once more, this time taking note of how often Oliver seemed to be having that effect on her. Deciding they had spent enough time standing around, she slammed down her shot glass and simply shouted, "Let's dance!"

"Mate, you are really off your game tonight," Gabriel noted as he slid into the seat next to Oliver.

Oliver let out a sigh and downed the rest of his beer. "Just not feeling it, I guess," he replied with a shrug.

"Not feeling it?" he exclaimed. "I've seen you out there after a good practice - you're unstoppable. You just won your first full game."

"Yeah, I know, I'm just exhausted I guess," Oliver reasoned.

Gabriel gave him a pointed look, clearly not accepting that explanation. "What's on your mind?" he asked.

Oliver paused for a moment before deciding that if he was going to ask anyone about this, it might as well be his best friend on the team. "You guys all know that Sabina is Coach's daughter, right?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, obviously," Gabriel replied with a shrug. "She's worked a bunch of games for us."

"Okay, then why do you all flirt with her all the time - do you lot have a death wish?" Oliver continued. "I mean, we are talking about Coach Borislav Kopitar, right?"

Gabriel laughed at his friend's apparent confusion. "Mate, a death wish would be sleeping with her," he explained. "Flirting with her, it just gets a funny reaction out of Coach and Sabina's one of the few girls that's not a bloody lunatic. I mean, she knows we're not all trying to get into her kickers and that it's all good fun."

"Right," Oliver said as he slowly nodded. Then, after another pause, he asked, "But how do you know that Coach would kill you if you went after Sabina?"

"You wanna be patient zero?" Gabriel countered.

"Fair point," Oliver agreed.

"All right, you need to get all of this out of your head and get laid," Gabriel decided. He surveyed the room shortly, then started waving his arms and shouting, "Sabina! Over here!"

"That was a poorly chosen sequence of words, mate," Oliver grumbled as Sabina joined them.

"What's goin' on, boys?" she asked as she slid into the seat next to Gabriel.

"You're gonna work your magic and get Wood a bird," Gabriel said.

"What magic?" Oliver asked tentatively.

"Sabina has the innate ability to attract perfect one-night stand material every time we dance with her," Gabriel explained. "There's three things a bird needs to have to be one-night stand material."

"She's gotta be hot," Oliver guessed.

"Aye, that's one," Sabina said. "She's gotta be crazy. The crazier, the kinkier, and - well, you're never seeing her again anyways."

"And she's gotta be jealous," Gabriel finished. "Just trust me on that one. Anyways, it seems that Sabina is the perfect combination of intimidating and beautiful to attract that particular breed of girl. Works like a charm."

"And if it doesn't, what's the worst that can happen?" Sabina asked as she stood up from her seat and stared down at Oliver. "You dance with a beautiful blonde, you get your feet stepped on - sounds like a good deal to me."

Oliver stared back at Sabina as she uncrossed her arms and extended a hand to him. He felt Gabriel give him a nudge, but Oliver's eyes were fixed on Sabina's expectant gaze. It seemed, in that moment, that he had two choices: one, he could stay with the boys and get nagged to death for being a killjoy, or two, he could go dance with the girl that kept putting a smile on his face.

Standing up, Oliver took Sabina's hand and let her lead the way as Gabriel cheered, "Atta boy!"

As soon as they reached the dancefloor, an upbeat song started playing and Sabina didn't hesitate to start dancing. Soon enough, Oliver felt a grin spread on his face as he joined in. He wasn't so sure about the magic that Gabriel was talking about, but Sabina did have a magical ability of getting him to relax, he realized. She was fun and exciting, and Oliver would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit attracted to her. However, every time that thought crossed his mind, the next thing to pop up would be the face of a very furious Coach Boris.

The ambience of the room changed rather abruptly as a slower song started to play. Sabina took a step closer and Oliver didn't hesitate to place his hands on her waist and pull her closer.

"Oh, look at that," Sabina spoke into his ear, "it's already working. Your seven o'clock - other way, Wood."

Oliver turned his head to see a girl at the bar intently staring at him with a look of determination. Instantly, that same feeling of disinterest from earlier resurfaced.

"I... don't know," he said slowly, looking down at Sabina. That got rid of the shitty feeling. "I'm just not feeling it tonight."

"Not feeling it? As in...?" Sabina coaxed.

"You know, most nights, a girl like that will get me... excited, I guess. I would want to talk to her," Oliver explained. "Tonight, I look at that bird and... nothing."

"All right, well we might as well leave then," Sabina said with a shrug. "There's only two reasons blokes need to be in a bar: getting girls and drinking."

Oliver smirked slyly. "Who says I'm done drinking?" he asked.

"Oh, you wanna drink?" Sabina asked. "Now that is something I can get behind. I'll drink you under the table, Wood."

"We'll see about that," he countered. Just as a waitress was floating past with a tray of shots, he quickly grabbed two and handed one to Sabina. Raising his own shot glass, he said, "To drinking!"

"To getting shitfaced!" Sabina replied, then swiftly downed the alcohol.

"These are the best chips I have ever had!"

Sabina laughed as she watched Oliver spin around the empty side street with a few chips sticking out of his mouth. Once Oliver had decided that he would much rather celebrate with alcohol than a random bird, it had been all too easy for Sabina to help him evade the poking and prodding of his teammates and simply help him with his mission of getting hammered. After a while, however, both Sabina and Oliver were at a level of intoxication that came with confused stares and hunger pains - so they left Onyx behind for something more practical.

"Hush, someone'll call the cops on us," Sabina scolded between laughs.

"Cops?" Oliver asked.

"We're in the muggle parts of London, smartass," she bit back jokingly.

"Ah, that would explain a lot," Oliver said breathlessly, ceasing his spinning and approaching Sabina, who was sitting on a bench.

"You are such a lightweight. Are you even Scottish?" she teased.

"Excuse me? I am so Scottish!" Oliver exclaimed as he rested his hands on the back of the bench, one on either side of Sabina. He paused and stared down at her with a lazy grin. "You're really beautiful, you know that?"

"I know," Sabina said with a shrug and a smirk on her face.

"Why do you have to be Coach's daughter?" Oliver asked with a groan. "It's really frustrating."

"I think we need to get you home," Sabina said with a hint of amusement.

"Uh-uh," Oliver replied with a shake of his head, dropping down on the bench to sit next to Sabina. "I live with Andre and Gabriel - they'll either be on my case for not havin' a bird or they'll see you and tell Coach about it. I'd like to live to see my retirement money."

Sabina sighed heavily as she looked over at Oliver, sporting the same lazy grin. "Well, you're in luck then - my place is close by."

Oliver laughed lightly and rested his head on Sabina's shoulder. "You're the best, Sab."

27 August 1999

Oliver slowly squinted his eyes open and instantly regretted it. The small beam of light that shined through his squinted eyelids set off a pounding headache. He rolled over and buried his face in a pillow as he let out a pained groan. Drinking was all fun and games until the next day. Oliver, unfortunately, was cursed with some of the most unrelenting, brutal hangovers known to man and wizardkind. Besides, with a bed this comfy, pleasantly smelling of lavender, why would he leave?

Wait - lavender?

Oliver shot up with a start, his headache only getting worse as he looked around the unfamiliar room. What the - oh no.

The memories of last night were suddenly coming back to him. At least up until he had reached Sabina's apartment - from there on out, he was drawing a blank. Looking down, Oliver noticed he was still wearing his clothes from last night, so he could at least assume that if he had done something stupid, it couldn't have been that bad. As he continued looking around the room, he noticed a note stuck to the lamp on the bedside table.

Got called in to work early. Key's under the doormat - lock up after you leave. Pink potion on the bedside table is my personal cure for hangovers, as well as the egg sandwich in the fridge.

- Sabina

P.S. - Don't forget your meeting at noon if you want to live.

"Oh, hell," Oliver grumbled, suddenly remembering about the team meeting.

He grabbed his wallet off of the side table, then removed the stopper from the potion that was right next to it and downed it with a grimace. He left the bedroom, slowly looking around the small apartment as he made his way to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Sure enough, there was something wrapped in tin foil with his name scrawled on it. Oliver grabbed the sandwich then scanned the apartment once again. He noticed the couch in the small living room had a pillow and a few blankets pushed aside on it, as if someone had been sleeping there, and instantly felt a pang of guilt. However, as soon as he saw the time, that feeling was quickly replaced with panic.

Oliver stumbled into the Puddlemere United meeting room just as the hour arm on the large grandfather clock moved to the twelve. He breathlessly took his seat and dropped his wallet and sandwich on the table, trying his best to ignore Coach Boris' searing gaze.

"Just in time," Boris noted. He nodded towards the table and added, "What is that?"

"Uh, breakfast sandwich," Oliver quickly answered. "Had a long night."

"Hell yeah, he did!" Andre exclaimed with a whoop. "Our rookie didn't come home last night."

"This may come as a surprise, but I don't care," Boris replied plainly. "Meetings are for Quidditch, not breakfast. Don't make this a habit, Wood. I still like you."

"Yes sir," Oliver replied with a nod.

"Our game against the Wasps yesterday was some of the best playing I had seen in a while from you lot," Boris said, immediately jumping into his debrief. "Chasers, you did a great job of buying our Seeker some time, and our new Keeper proved to be able to keep up well - even if he did need a little saving."

As Boris continued his debrief, Gabriel leaned in towards Oliver and whispered, "You didn't do anything stupid last night, right?"

"No, why?" Oliver whispered back.

"Because the others may not have seen it, but I did," Gabriel replied, giving Oliver a pointed look. "Sabina conveniently disappeared at the same time as you did."

"Weird," Oliver whispered back with a shrug, trying his best to hide his discomfort.

"How'd you get your whole abdomen bruised up again?" Percy asked Oliver, his eyes briefly flitting over to his friend before looking back in the mirror to make sure the spell tying his necktie was working properly.

"Saved the Quaffle and got destroyed by a Bludger right after," Oliver explained, "but hey - we won!"

"Right, yeah," Percy replied hurriedly before giving up on the current tie and going to search for another.

Outside of Quidditch, Percy was Oliver's best friend. In their first few years at Hogwarts, they had gotten off to what some might call... a rocky start. Needless to say, they had been like night and day, and constantly on each others' nerves. It had not been the least bit helpful that they had had to share a dorm. However, over the years, they had begun to grow on one another and became two peas in a pod. Percy had been there for Oliver's wins and losses, and Oliver had been there for Percy's successes and those beautiful, rare moments where he would make incredibly stupid mistakes.

Besides, after what Percy had done for Oliver's mum, a muggle-born, during the war, there was no chance in hell that Oliver was ever going to stop being friends with Percy.

"Also the Medi-witch was smoking," Oliver added, hoping to snap Percy out of whatever obsessive trance he seemed to be in.

Percy re-surfaced from his increasingly messy closet and held up a tie until Oliver nodded in approval. "In that case, I'm assuming you celebrated in a typical Oliver Wood fashion," he replied.

"I was about to but, uh, she's Coach's daughter," Oliver replied meekly.

Percy let out a single laugh and said, "Well, there's your good luck with women running out," he joked, finally satisfied with his outfit.

"Hey, let's keep that negativity out of here," Oliver warned. "I'll find a way to date Coach's daughter, you'll have an amazing dinner - good vibes all around!"

"Wow, she's really holding your attention, huh?" Percy teased. "Already making you a better man."

Oliver chuckled nervously, surprised at his own words. Just being around Percy apparently brought out his true feelings. The bloke was like a walking dose of Veritaserum. "Yeah, all right... what would you do if I wasn't around for you to make fun of me?" Oliver questioned jokingly.

"I'm glad you've finally come to terms with your purpose in life," Percy bit back with a smirk.

"Guess I'll just shut up now," Oliver grumbled. He stood up with a sigh and added, "Well, I'll let you get on your way to whatever exciting date you have planned. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"That is a very short list," Percy joked.

Well, he's not wrong there, Oliver thought to himself. However, curiously enough, that voice inside his head sounded a lot like Sabina's.

Sabina could feel here eyes drooping as she stared down at the open newspaper before her. Her head just barely slipped off of her hand, jolting her awake. With a sigh, she readjusted her elbow on the table, took a sip of her coffee, and flipped to the next article. Quidditch. For the first time in a while, reading the sports section of the Prophet was not working to calm her down after a long shift at St. Mungo's. Instead, now all she thought about was Oliver. How dare he ruin after-work Quidditch news for me? Sabina thought to herself a bit bitterly.

Well, he hadn't ruined it, per se. His shy grin would just pop up in her mind every time Sabina glanced at the editorial on the Puddlemere versus Wasps game. He was just a distraction from the usual joy that Quidditch would bring Sabina.

Sabina was once again jolted awake by the sound of her doorbell ringing. Realizing in that moment that she hadn't even changed out of her Healer robes yet, Sabina stood up and headed for the door with a tired sigh. Not that it really mattered - she had to be back at St. Mungo's in two hours, anyways. As Sabina opened the door, her exhausted glare quickly melted into a look of surprise.

"Oliver...?" Sabina said with a hint of confusion in her tone. "Did you leave something behind, or...?"

"No, I just realized something," Oliver started, that same wide grin on his face that he seemed to always have. "I gave my friend some dating advice just now - I told him to not do anything I wouldn't do. But I do tons of stupid things!"

"I'm lost," Sabina stated with a slight shake of her head.

"I need to do something stupid that I really should've done last night," Oliver said.

Before Sabina could bite back with a sarcastic reply, however, Oliver had stepped forward and pressed his lips to hers. She felt one of his hands press against the small of her back and the other at the base of her neck pulling her closer - and, curiously enough, Sabina felt herself kiss him back. Her arms quickly wrapped around him and grabbed at his shirt to pull him closer as he pushed her back against a wall.

Sabina broke the kiss, a bit breathless and a wide grin on her face. "Close the door," she said. "I have two hours."

"Perfect," Oliver replied before joining their lips once again.

Hope you guys enjoyed that! Buckle up for Part II :) - C xx