This is dedicated to I'mJustMe-PlainOl'V as she didn't receive any stories for the Birthday Fic Exchange, back in September. I hope you had a fantastic birthday!

Disclaimer: Recognize it? Not mine.

His Pride

"Hi. I'm looking for a guy's company."

As Quidditch had been cancelled, he was actually working hard on his homework assignments to avoid dying of boredom, as opposed to copying them from an oblivious Percy Weasley. And so, Katie's frank words were met by his broken concentration, his startled jump, and at last his incredulous stare.

What did she want from him, exactly?

"You're a very pretty girl," he answered sincerely. "You can get any guy you want. No need to be desperate."

She rolled her eyes, but he thought he saw her blush at the compliment.

"Not like that, Oliver! I'm desperate though. I need to try this plan, so I just need to be around a guy."

"What plan?"

"I need Cormac McLaggen to back off."

"Who?"

"Cormac McLaggen. He just won't stop following me and trying to get my attention."

"That's good."

"Good? Why would you think such a thing? He's stalking me like a madman! I've told him a thousand times to leave me alone..."

"Not to be obvious here, but you're a muggleborn. With all these attacks..."

"What do you care? Quidditch is over for the season!"

Quidditch. Of course. He thought of his team as his family away from home, but now Quidditch was cancelled, his teammates rarely ever talked to him.

Maybe Quidditch was the only interesting thing about him. He wanted to think it wasn't. He thought of himself as a good guy, the kind girls' parents would love for their daughter. Why did they only see Quidditch? Hell, even now that Katie was finally talking to him, it was because she needed a favor.

"I don't want anything to happen to you," he said truthfully. His niceness didn't seem to placate her annoyance.

"Nothing will happen to me! My friend Leanne goes with me everywhere I go. We sleep in the same dorm and take the same classes. I doubt the Heir of Slytherin will attack me with her around as he's only gone for... oh my God, there he is."

"Who, the Heir of Slytherin?" he asked, but his admittedly dumb question was answered when he saw a relatively big third-year walking toward them. The McLaggen boy she talked about, he suspected.

"It looks like the 'stay close to a guy' tactic failed," Oliver muttered.

"Shut up and don't go away," she crossly answered.

"Eh, Ding-Dong!"

She blushed furiously at the nickname, visibly enraged. Even before he actually said something incriminating, Oliver could see why Katie disliked the guy. He stood in front of them, a cocky smile plastered on his face and both hands on his hips.

"What do you want?" she asked defiantly.

"Now that I don't need license from Mr. Wood right here to date you, how about we go to Hogsmeade together this weekend, Ding-Dong?"

"Date her?" Oliver was disgusted all of a sudden, feeling the urge to chime in. He also thought the boy was foolish to challenge him like that. "You cannot date Katie."

"Fuck off, Wood. She can speak for herself."

"She's asked you to leave her alone."

"She's just playing hard to get..." McLaggen's attitude sickened Oliver. He knew he needed to stand up for the values he believed in, and more importantly, for Katie.

"Stop harassing my Chaser." He stood up, meaning to tower over the younger boy. Oliver wasn't above using his strong physique to be intimidating. He remembered his many fistfights with some of the Slytherin team before the responsibility of captaincy fell on his shoulders. If it came down to a fight... well, Quidditch season was over anyway - detention wouldn't mean rescheduling the practices.

"Whoa, back off, dude." McLaggen was taken aback, though he was strong enough himself. "She's not yours."

"She's my friend, my teammate..."

"And his date for the next Hogsmeade weekend." Katie's singsong voice startled them. "You know, now Quidditch is over we thought, well, why not?"

Oliver's stumped expression didn't seem to go lost on McLaggen. "You're lying, Ding-Dong."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." She stood up. "By all means, I'd much rather go with my him. You're such a disgusting pig." She breathed deep and took out her wand, pointing at him menacingly. "Leave me alone for good."

McLaggen turned around, not without dedicating her a sneer. When he'd finally gone up the boys' staircase, Katie sighed in relief and pocketed her wand. She let herself fall back into the sofa with an exasperated look.

"Do you want to hear the worst part? This isn't the end of it."

"If it's any consolation, at least you'll get to spend this weekend McLaggen-free and with Leanne..."

"What are you saying? We're definitely going to Hogsmeade together!" she exclaimed, then added: "If you'd like, that is. We haven't talked in ages and I really miss you."

He smiled. Now that was the Katie he knew - gentle in her forcefulness, playful, sweet, open. Katie was the one person he could read well. For one, she always wore her heart on her sleeve. People often thought she was quirky, but he could often place and understand her quirks.

"I'd like that, Katie. If that keeps him away... and even if it doesn't," he reflected awkwardly, "I'd still... I still like the idea."

She smiled tenderly. "Thanks for your help, Oliver. I mean it. You were amazing."

"No problem. I hope you don't need to deal with that asshole anymore."

"God, he is such an asshole!" she exploded, proceeding to rant at full speed. "Just yesterday I had to hide at Moaning Myrtle's to get him to stop pestering me! It really is that bad. Then Leanne wouldn't stop talking about how I shouldn't be alone..."

"Why so anxious?" he interrupted, and she regarded him with suspicion.

"Why so perceptive all of a sudden?"

"You always get chatty and talk faster than a Nimbus 2001 when anxious," he pointed out then started to speak quickly as well. "Hey, speaking about fast brooms, have you heard the rumors...?"

He didn't get to explain to her the wonders and virtues of the rumored Firebolt because she started to laugh.

"Oliver, your ability to link absolutely everything to Quidditch astounds me."

He scratched his nape, caught on the spot. Quidditch was his favorite thing in the entire world, but everyone thought he cared about it just a bit too much. Again, maybe they were right...

"What were we even talking about?" he asked, ashamed. This only made her laugh louder.

"Your awesomeness at fending off stalkers?" This earned a shy smile from him.

"No, after that..." he trailed off as he remembered. "Right. Why are you so anxious?"

She rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh, not hesitating on pouring her heart's contents on his listening ears.

"I'm being hunted down, if you hadn't noticed. You guys are only making it worse by worrying every second of every day. I want to go on as normal, without McLaggen calling me Ding-Dong or Alicia insisting I learn how to cast NEWT-level defensive spells, just in case. NEWT-level spells! For a threat I don't even know! I'm only a third-year, for God's sake! Why don't you all just calm down and try to make this easy on me?"

"We all care about you," he said weakly.

"Then help me stay sane!"

"You've always been insane," he jokingly observed.

"Then help me stay this kind of insane!"

He laughed, and just like that, she was laughing with him. It was as if they never stopped talking.

He had to admit to himself that he felt strongly about Katie. There was some sense of complicity that he couldn't quite explain. He missed going to practices with her. He missed teaching her a fantastic play and watching her do it, apparently effortlessly.

He couldn't stop himself from thinking of her as his, no matter what McLaggen said. Katie once told him her theory on those matters. "Once you can call someone 'yours' even in the most meaningless of ways," she'd said, "both people own a tiny piece of each other. You're my Captain and I'm your Chaser. I wouldn't have it any other way."

He smiled at the memory and let out a sigh. Katie really was something.

"I wish Quidditch wasn't over," he said.

"I'm sure you are." She raised an eyebrow. "You seem even more stressed than I am."

That wasn't what he meant, and he struggled to find the right words to express himself.

"I... I barely talk to anyone these days," he finally admitted. "I want my team back."

"Then come over and talk to us! After the season was cancelled you just sort of... stopped talking to us."

"You didn't talk to me either."

"I can only speak for myself, and I thought you didn't want me around. You shut me out."

He furrowed his brow, confused. So all this time he'd made himself unapproachable? He wanted them all around. Especially Katie, with her smiles and her antics.

"I'm sorry, Katie. I didn't mean to."

"It's alright, but don't disappear like that again!"

He thought of Katie's imminent breakdown, and how she definitely needed some stability. He wasn't the only one having a tough year. He wasn't observant, so he forced himself to watch her closely. She had bags under her eyes and her hair wasn't as neatly arranged as it often appeared. And she looked so much thinner, so much paler!

How had he failed her so? His friend, his teammate, his... his pride. Katie was something of a little project to him ever since she became his Chaser. He felt somehow responsible for her well-being. As a friend.

"I... I won't. Whatever you need, alright?" he asked, then explained himself. "I mean... I'm here for you. I'm sorry I wasn't until now, I just..."

"Tough year on all of us, I'm sure. Well, that's sweet of you." He wanted to respond, but Katie kept talking. "Ah, that's Leanne walking in. Listen, I've got to go. Looking forward to this Sunday!"

He wanted to say 'likewise' and he thought he did, but she was obliviously getting up and waving to her friend. Only when she was walking away he felt that something needed to be said. Gryffindors faced his fears and difficulties and well, expressing his feelings wasn't easy, but it had to be done.

"Katie!" She turned around, seemingly curious. "I want you to know that... that I care about you. More than just Quidditch, okay? Please... please stay safe."

"I know, Oliver. I will. Please stay around." She winked and just like that, she was taken away from him by her friend. They were both giggling and looking back at him, which made him fluster and return to his homework. He couldn't focus though - he was thinking of Katie.

She was his favorite girl ever, that was sure. But even as he admitted this, he doubted he was in love or even attracted to her. He didn't even know.

All he knew is that he'd felt this since the day he met her. His first memory of her was of her soaring the skies on an outdated broom and in muggle clothing, carelessly but skillfully. The fact that she was a muggleborn only made her raw talent more impressing against the dexterity of those who had more experience.

Oliver had chosen Katie because of that potential. Some were better at the game itself, but no one seemed to have the right kind of personality. No one seemed to work well with Angelina and Alicia, excel naturally at teamwork, and control the broom with such ease. He was glad he'd taken the time to train her to meet the team's needs.

"You are the one person I chose myself," he muttered, looking at the girls' staircase from which she'd disappeared. "You're my pride."

Notes: This was written for Fire the Canon's Third Year Fanfiction Tournament. I had to write about someone's third year at Hogwarts. While this is from Oliver's point of view, it's Katie's chaotic third year that I tried to portray in this piece. Hopefully my OTP will carry me to the next round, just as I thought I had run out of ideas for them.

I hope you all enjoy and I'd be glad to receive your feedback! Thanks for reading!

-Karyn.