Title: True Love Never Wins
Author: Alicia_Spin
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: All books are fair game.
Summary: "Oliver, it's raining!" "I love you Alicia Spinnet." Looking over her shoulder, she stepped outside and shut the door behind her softly. Nobody in the Burrow needed to hear this conversation.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Beta: Kate7, Best Beta and Sister Ever! I don't know what I would ever do without her :)

One thing that Quidditch Weekly forgot to mention in their article "10 Things You Never Knew About Oliver Wood" was that he liked to quote poetic. Of the ten things listed there, Alicia Spinnet was sure that should have been number one.

"Of everything I know and love and treasure,
it's you, my love, who gives me perfect pleasure.
I love your way with me, your touch, your kiss;
To be with you is happiness and bliss."

Oliver's hot breath tickled her ear as he said the words softly, able to melt her heart without the slightest touch. Alicia felt a warmth that had nothing to do with the sun or her heavy quidditch robes and knew she was blushing all over like a love-sick school girl.

"Kiss me Alicia."

His voice was low and his accent thick and she knew instinctively that if she looked at him, his eyes would be dark and she would give in. She couldn't give in. The voice of reason inside her head was screaming at the top of its lungs.

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"They're expecting me in the locker room..." she stammered, trying to convince herself.

"Tell them I wouldn't shut up about different techniques for you to try..." he chuckled, nuzzling his nose in her hair, "I'm sure they'd believe it."

Alicia couldn't help but smile, Oliver's lighthearted nature over what others thought of him was one of the reasons she loved him. Though she didn't want to, she pushed him away.

"No. We decided not to be together. No amount of poetry will ever change the fact that you're graduating this year."

With that said, Alicia made it to the locker room, took the quickest cold shower of her life and cried the entire night, much to the confusion and concern of her best mates.

Ripping the article out of the magazine, Alicia apparated home and went to the closet, levitating a small box down from the top shelf. Going into her spacious living room, she set it down on the coffee table and looked at it for a long moment before actually opening it.

Alicia gazed down at the assorted letters and pictures from days long past, her eyes lingering on the small black velvet box. Folding the article, she stuck it in the box neatly and went to get a glass of fire whiskey, brooding over the time she first heard Oliver Wood talk about anything but Quidditch.

Alicia had just got done talking to Angelina about what she was going to wear to the Yule Ball when she ran into Oliver on her way to the library. Though the collision didn't compare to being hit by a bludger, it was still enough to knock her off her feet with a resounding "oomphf!"

Oliver quickly offered a hand and pulled her to her feet with a worried look on his face.
"Alicia! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." she replied with a small smile, thinking that it was weird to go months without hearing her zealous captains voice. Even if his tirades about formation and diligence were boring, even Katie admitted hearing his voice was worth it.

He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it, blushing. Something Alicia had never seen him do.

"What is it Oliver?"

"Nothing..."

"Oh come on captain, you can tell me!" Alicia smiled wider, trying to be friendly.

"Your radiant smile is as bright as the sun;
You're smart and caring and have many great charms,
And my heart really sings when you're in my arms."

It was now Alicia's turn to open and close her mouth, not quite sure how to respond. It was the only poem anyone had ever recited to her, not counting the one George said during fourth year because it was about her alleged snoring. Alicia also realized that Oliver was still holding her hand, which was suddenly tingling.

"Sorry." Oliver muttered and let go of her hand.

"No!" Alicia practically screamed, earning her a look from a group of passing first years.

"What?"

"It was…I..." Alicia blushed, trying to find words to explain her gratitude. In all the years of being at Hogwarts, no boy had made her stomach do somersaults the way a few simple lines from Oliver had just done.

"I should go." He said after a few moments of silence.

"Don't."

And he didn't go. Alicia remembered their following conversation with a small smile on her face. Together, they stayed up all night in an abandoned classroom talking about everything. Their lives, their hopes, their darkest secrets laid out for each other to see. It was as if those few lines had formed an instant connection, one that still existed to this day in some ways.

Now thirty, Alicia kept all of her memories of Oliver and their time together in one box and tried very hard not to open it often. She had a new life and a new name now and didn't want to get stuck in the past.

Going back into the living room after drinking most of the bottle, she allowed herself to do something she hadn't done in almost three years. Taking off her wedding ring, she set it on the table carefully and picked up the velvet box, opening it and slipping the shining diamond onto her finger.

"I love you."

It took Alicia a minute after opening the door to realize who it was.

"Oliver, it's raining!"

"I love you Alicia Spinnet."

Looking over her shoulder, she stepped outside and shut the door behind her softly. Nobody in the Burrow needed to hear this conversation.

"Oliver..."

"Don't marry him." He said, his hair plastered to his head and his eyes sad, "Don't."

Alicia was glad it was raining, hoping the little droplets would disguise the tears running down her face. They stood looking at each other for a long time, shivering, as they were drenched. After a few moments, her pulled a small box from his jacket pocket and Alicia swore her heart stopped at the sight of it.

"Marry me."

"Oliver..."

"You still love me."

"I..."

"We would be happy."

Alicia knew they would be happy together. She knew no matter what she said to George every night, her heart belonged to its true keeper. But she also knew that they had missed their chance together. Too many things had been done and too many things were left unsaid.

It had only taken Alicia Spinnet one heartbreak to know true love never won.

So she kissed Oliver in the rain, gave him a sad smile and went back inside to what her life now was. The next day she received the ring in the mail with a note that said it was hers, no matter what. A year later she read the announcement in the Quibbler of the upcoming marriage of Oliver Wood and some French girl she had never heard of.

Looking down at the ring on her finger, Alicia thought of what her life would be like if she had said yes. It was a dangerous thought to entertain, but on days when her husband worked late and their three children were at their respective friend's houses, she let herself have these fantasies of the life of Mrs. Alicia Wood.

She made sure to put the right ring on before her husband got home, which was amazing to her since by then she was drunk. That night the only thing she could clearly think about was the box, and the only thing she could wish was that it was Oliver who held her.

AN: I hope everybody who read this enjoyed some part of it! :) The two poems are by Joanna Fuchs and Carl Fuchs, respectively.