Oliver Wood and the Heritage Curse

That evening Emma staked out a well-hidden table in a corner of the library. On two sides shelves of Muggle Studies books walled in the large table. Emma thought most of the books were funny and often pointed out particularly ridiculous parts to Oliver. That night, however, she hardly noticed the books.

Emma stacked ten of the fifteen diaries on one side of the table and spread her homework out on the other. End of term exams were coming and Emma was suddenly panicked. So much had happened that term that she had hardly studied or paid attention in her classes. To calm herself, she took a bottle of potion. Now, sitting across from Oliver with four books open and parchment spread on every available space, she was strangely calm.

"I think I could do this all year long," she told Oliver, pushing stray hair behind her ears. Her short hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail but most of it fell seductively across her face.

Oliver shook his head. "I don't know if I like the way that potion affects you," he replied.

Emma scowled. "It's better than being attacked by me. With the amount of stress I'm going through not even you would be safe."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive. You know I want the potion to help you."

Emma kissed the tip of her index finger and touched the end of his nose. "I know. I just want to act like everything is normal and I don't have this unexplainable condition. Now let me study until Katie gets here."

Oliver nodded and looked down at the miniature quidditch set and still unfinished baseball field in front of him. He had been trying to coax the quidditch players to play baseball but they showed no interest at all. Under the leadership of Sammy Sosa the Ravenclaw team was not doing well. Miniature Davies watched them practice from the stands, smirking.

"You wipe that smile off your face," Oliver said to the tiny Davies, who only winked.

"I could squash you . . ." Oliver muttered, but he was distracted by the miniature Katie. She walked calmly over to Davies, took his arm, and sat with him.

"Emma, I have to ask you about something," Oliver said quietly, leaning over the table.

"What is it?" Emma asked distractedly, turning a page in one of her books.

Oliver picked up a scrap of parchment and crumpled it between his fingers. "I talked to Katie today and, well, she said you knew. I wasn't sure how to react so I just wasn't going to say anything but I think I should."

Emma dropped her quill and ink spattered across the table. "What are you trying to tell me?" she asked then smiled sympathetically at the pained expression on his face. "Let me just put you out of your misery. Yes I knew that Katie liked you. I've known since I was in hospital after my accident. I'm just surprised she said something to you." Emma's forehead constricted slightly. "Now what exactly did she say?"

Oliver dropped the crushed piece of parchment and ran his hand over his hair. "She said she wanted to put this behind her," he replied.

Emma released a knot of jealousy she hadn't realized was nagging her. "I'm impressed. Good for her."

Oliver rested his head on his arms and gazed at Emma through narrowed eyelids. "But should I do something? It just seems like I owe her something."

Emma shrugged. "No, I think we should just act like she never said anything. That's probably what she wants."

Oliver sighed. Emma rested her head on the table as well. "I wish you would stop looking at me like that," she whispered. "You are absolutely adorable."

Oliver smiled. "Just playing to my strengths."

Emma stuck her tongue out at him. "Keep that up and your fan club will be back."

"Oh they're not gone. I just use my amazing espionage abilities to avoid them."

Emma snorted and sat up again. "You don't even know what 'espionage' means. You've only heard me use that word and are pretending that you're muggle."

"Oi! You've told me all about it, Miss Emma Baxter. James Bond, Alfred Hitchcock, Sherlock Holmes . . ."

"I am trying to study! If you do not be quiet I am going to drag you into a corner and . . ." she trailed off because Oliver's eyebrows were raised in amusement.

"You'll what?" Oliver asked innocently.

Emma leaned all the way across the table and whispered, "I'll kiss you until you can't see straight."

Oliver grinned. "I've changed my mind. I like the affects of this potion."

"What is going on here?"

Oliver and Emma jolted in surprise but it was only Katie, hovering over them with a jokingly stern look in her eyes. Emma sank back into her chair and Oliver sat up.

"Hey Katie," Emma said, stacking up her books and parchment and pushing them to the side. Katie flopped into the chair behind the diaries and added her four to the stack.

"The first order of business," Emma said, smoothing out a piece of parchment and picking up her quill, "Is the missing diary." Katie and Oliver stared at her blankly.

"Exactly," Emma told them. "There's nothing we can do because we have no idea where it is. I have my suspicions but I can't prove anything and I don't think we should go looking for it. We should instead try to solve the mystery before whoever took it."

"But what if it has something really important in it?" Oliver asked.

"How could anyone possibly have known what diary to steal? My guess is they just grabbed one without knowing what they were taking," Emma replied.

"I don't know," Oliver said. "We really have no idea what we're up against. Remember you told me that the most important thing in solving a mystery is motive? We need to know what the motive of the thief is and maybe it will give us a clue about the cursed broom."

"Wait, wait, wait," Katie intoned. "What we need to do before anything else is write out everything that we know in some kind of structured way.

"Yes! That's exactly what a detective would do!" Emma took a larger piece of parchment and the three began to organize the facts. After only twenty minutes, however, it was clear that the facts were few:

"That's all?" Oliver asked, incredulous. "We don't know anything!"

Emma set down her quill. "Well, we do know a few more things than this. That's actually why I asked you both to come here."

"Where am I?" Katie exclaimed suddenly, interrupting Emma.

"What?" both Oliver and Emma asked at the same time. They looked at Katie who was leaning over the quidditch field model.

"Little me. Where am I?" Katie explained. Oliver examined the players while Katie ducked under the table.

"That's weird," she heard Oliver say. "You were here a minute ago."

"It's okay!" Katie called, just as Oliver's head appeared under the table. "I've got it," Katie told him, and he disappeared again. Katie let out a deep breath. She had found her model self underneath her chair, cradled in the arms of the model Davies.

"What are you trying to do?" she whispered harshly to the two figures, prying them apart.

"It might look a little suspicious if Oliver found you like this."

Miniature Davies seized the model Katie and clambered up the real Katie's arm like a renegade Tarzan. She emerged from underneath the table with both figures clinging to her hair. "I don't know what has gotten into him," Katie said to a laughing Oliver and Emma. Oliver carefully untangled Davies from Katie's hair while Katie held the figure of herself. She couldn't ignore the longing look in Davies' eyes just before Oliver transformed him into Marcus Flint.

"That should keep him under control." Oliver dropped an irritated Flint into the baseball field and Katie set herself down in the stands of the quidditch field.

Oliver turned to Emma. "Now, what were you going to tell us?"

"Can't you control those figures any better?" Emma replied, watching herself, now flying perfectly, smack a bludger into the metal wall of the quidditch field model.

"Emma! Just tell us your news!"

"Sorry. First of all, Professor Lupin said that my new broom checks out fine. No curses, no spells, just a regular broom."

"Really!" Oliver exclaimed so loudly that all the students in the library turned to look at him. He winced and whispered excitedly, "Have you flown on it yet? What's it like? Can I try it?"

"I'm going to try it out before practice tomorrow. You can come if you want. But let me tell you what else I found out." Emma opened the diary with the picture of her mother on the cover and showed it to Katie and Oliver.

"But how?" Katie sputtered at the pages of neat handwriting.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Oliver demanded, taking the diary and flipping through the pages.

"I don't know, other stuff came up. I only found out yesterday. It's the family symbol. You just have to draw it on the pages."

"Oh great," Oliver muttered. "We're not going to be able to draw that mess of lines." Katie looked equally doubtful.

"Oh it's not that hard. Let me show you." It took Oliver and Katie an hour to learn to draw the symbol and neither was sure they would remember it in the morning.

"Well I don't want to write it down," Emma explained. "Who knows who could pick it up." Katie and Oliver agreed and promised they would practice the symbol until they couldn't possibly forget it. Then they split up the diaries again and went back to their dormitories for the night.

Emma kicked off the ground, soared several feet above Oliver's head, and spiraled back down to the earth, hovering at should-length with the stunned quidditch captain.

"I want it," was all Oliver could say, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Coveting things is bad," Emma replied innocently and shot into the air again. Oliver jumped onto his broom and sped after her. For several minutes Emma stayed ahead of him but when she weaved through the three goalposts she lost her pace. Oliver grabbed the back of her broom and panting said, "That is a trick we need to work on at your next lesson. But otherwise, wow. This broom has turned you from a qualified flyer into a spectacular flyer."

"Thanks," Emma replied. She spun a quick circle and twisted free of Oliver's grip. Indignant, Oliver raced after her a second time. For an exhausting hour they played tag, each one always caught because they tried a stunt that was too difficult. When they both landed and stumbled off their brooms Emma fell backwards into the snow, laughing almost violently.

Oliver watched her with a curious smile on his face as she flung snow in the air and let if fall back on her face. Laughing even harder, Emma sat up abruptly, her hair soaked and hood full of snow. She flipped the snow out of her hood into her lap and attempted to form a snowball, but the snow was light and crumbled in her hands.

"Well," Emma commented, still laughing, "It doesn't have to be a ball to throw at you."

"Oh no you don't!" Oliver grabbed her wrists as she struggled to shower the snow over his head. With one twist and pull of each wrist Emma was free and shoveling snow in Oliver's lap.

"Hey!" Oliver protested. He grabbed her waist and she toppled into the pile of snow in his lap. Emma was still laughing and Oliver shook his head. "What has gotten into you?"

"Sorry," Emma sputtered, burrowing her face against his shoulder. "Haven't taken any potion today. Professor Lupin doesn't have any right now," she explained between giggles.

"Oh, well is there anything we can do to calm you down?" Oliver asked.

"I just need to relax." Emma brushed snow off his shoulder and resettled her head on the cleared spot. She laughed again and said, "Do you remember that day when I was doing cartwheels on the lawn?"

Oliver grinned and rested his chin on her head. "It's a hard thing to forget."

"I know, I know. But I have an excuse. It had nothing to do with candy, it was my emotions all messed up again."

Oliver nodded and stroked her wet hair. They sat quietly until Emma's laughter came only sporadically, like almost-ready popcorn.

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed suddenly. "Ravenclaw practice is going to start soon. We shouldn't be sitting here when the team shows up." She jumped up but Oliver grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Wait, I have to ask you something."

Emma knelt in the snow in front of him. "What is it?"

"What are we?" Oliver replied. "You told me you wanted to keep our relationship secret but we haven't even defined what our relationship is. I'm not good at all of this relationship stuff. I need your help."

"I'm no good at this either." Emma leaned forward and kissed him, her chilled fingers brushing his stubbly cheek. Oliver guided her back into his lap, and entangled his fingers in hers'.

"That is your answer, the best I can give it," Emma whispered. "And I don't care if the whole world knows. But I would prefer to not have to deal with Davies right now and he will be here soon. That and I'm worried about not having any potion."

Oliver kissed her once more and released her. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

Emma smiled as she watched him walk back to Hogwarts. At least some good things are coming out of this crazy year, she thought. Later during practice, she still smiled to herself about Oliver as she smashed bludgers away from the Ravenclaw team members.

Jaeson Riley, the other team beater, soared next to Emma just as she saved Cho Chang from a crushed leg. "Now that you have that new broom I'm completely useless!" Jaeson shouted.

Laughing, Emma shot after a bludger. "C'mon Riley! There are still enough to go around!"

Emma and Jaeson chased and assaulted the feisty bludgers until Davies called the team down. That morning at breakfast the Gryffindor chasers had mentioned to Emma that they thought Davies looked like a pirate and now Emma saw it so distinctly that she shoved her gloved knuckles into her mouth to stop from laughing. He was wearing a black sweater, black pants, and even black boots, standing rigidly with his arms folded over his chest and his cloak blowing back in the wind. His damp curls held their perfect form despite the rough practice and the gold hoops glinted as he looked at each of the team members.

Emma's mind wandered while Davies talked about strategy. He had been oddly nice to her the past few days and it was more disconcerting than when he was horrible. Now as he caught her gaze Emma felt a mix of anger and sympathy. What is going on in that mind of yours'? she wondered. With a barely noticeable wink Davies seemed to answer her.

Emma gripped her broom handle, hoping to suppress the surge of emotions mounting in her chest. She was relieved when Davies dismissed the team a few minutes later.

"Nice work today Emma," he said, touching her shoulder as he walked past with Jaeson. Emma's hands strained against her broom handle, the wood bending and cracking slightly.

"You ready?" Cho asked Emma. She released the broom with a sigh and nodded. "Is everything okay?" Cho questioned as they walked back to Hogwarts.

"Everything is fine." But her uneasiness about Davies sank into her mind and nagged at her like her worries about the upcoming final exams.

The next week passed rapidly as all the students crammed for their final exams. In their few moments of freetime, Oliver, Emma, and Katie read Emma's parents diaries. Although the letters enraptured all three, they couldn't find anything to help them solve their mystery. Emma frequently went back to the first diary she had read, convinced that she was missing something obvious. But as many times as she read it, she couldn't figure out what it was.

Davies continued to act strangely, even stopping Emma in the hallway to ask her how she was doing. Emma avoided him as much as possible, unsettled by the traces of genuine kindness in his eyes and the smile that accented his handsome facial features.

"What is his problem?" Emma asked Katie one day while they sat at the same hidden table in the library. Davies sat across the library with Jaeson Riley and other sixth year Ravenclaws.

Katie glanced at Davies and felt a rush of warmth in her stomach. Her crush on Davies worsened as the days passed, completely controlling her mind. Davies caught her gaze and quickly looked away. Katie knew something was wrong, but she didn't know what and she was too afraid to talk to him. "It's what I've been telling you all along," Katie told Emma. "He's really a nice guy."

"Well he has an odd way of showing it," Emma grumbled.

Katie grinned to herself and glanced once more at Davies. His fingers were entangled in his hair as he leaned over the table, tapping his quill absently against his lips. He nudged Jaeson and pointed to something in the book in front of him, obviously confused. Katie sighed and stared at the History of Magic textbook that taunted her from the table. The history of sea monsters and their relation to dragons was not exciting enough to distract her from Davies.

"I'm going back to the dormitory," Katie said, slamming her book shut.

"I'll walk with you," Emma replied, gathering her books together. "We have Ravenclaw team practice in half an hour."

Emma took an inconveniently long route to the door, swerving through bookshelves to avoid passing by Davies' table. Katie stared over her shoulder at Davies and ran into a bookshelf. Davies looked at her and for a moment Katie froze. As he shook his head slowly and looked down again Katie felt like he pulled out her heart and summoned it from across the room.

Maybe I should try to combat this crush, Katie thought while she and Emma trudged through the maze of Hogwarts hallways. But fighting it seemed completely hopeless and Katie didn't have the energy to battle another crush after her struggle against Oliver. Katie wished that she would run into Davies into a dark corridor that night like she had so many times when she didn't want to. He's avoiding me, Katie determined and knew he had a good reason. That night with the intoxicating charm was the key, but she still couldn't remember it.

"Katie," Emma said suddenly as they approached the Gryffindor tower. "I wasn't going to say anything to you about this, but I think I should. Things are changing between Oliver and me and I'm letting them because I know you talked to him."

Katie stopped walking and looked at Emma. "I want to put this behind me and start over," she explained. "I've spent enough time locked into this obsession."

Emma simply nodded. "I'll just pretend you never liked him."

Katie smiled wryly. "Oh I never did." She entered Gryffindor, leaving any remaining traces of her crush on Oliver outside with his new girlfriend.

What an odd friendship, Katie thought as she climbed the stairs to her dormitory. It has changed so much. I wonder what would happen if I told Emma that I like Davies.

Katie winced at the image of an enraged and completely baffled Emma. The yelling and cursing it would cause . . . no, it was best kept quiet for now.

Later that evening at Ravenclaw practice Emma couldn't stop watching Davies. Professor Lupin still didn't have any potion and Emma had passed a frightening week with several almost-dangerous emotional moments. Oliver had kept her calm through the stress of studying but she was worried since he wasn't there to help during practice. Emma felt like she was on the edge of an emotional eruption and dreaded what she was capable of. Therefore she kept half an eye on the volatile quidditch captain, half an eye on Jaeson Riley and the other eye completely on the bludgers. Davies encouraged her all through practice, complimenting her techniques and pointing her out as an example for the team. By the end of practice Emma could barely contain her distress - she was sweating and shaking more from Davies' attention than physical exertion. Breathing heavily, she squeezed her eyes shut as Davies gathered the team around him.

"Are you alright?" Cho asked her, touching her arm. Emma nodded, knowing she couldn't speak without falling apart.

"This is our last practice before Christmas holidays," Davies was saying. "I know you all have too much to do to practice more this week, or at least I have too much to do. But please keep in shape over holiday. We have only a week to prepare for our game after we get back. Good luck with exams and have a good break."

The team began to leave and Emma opened her eyes. Cedric Diggory was waiting nearby and Cho hurried over to him. Jaeson Riley also disappeared and he was the only other person on the team Emma felt she might be able to confide in. Emma froze, her turbulent heartbeat pulsing in her head, the world blurring and turning. She wanted to scream, to steady herself, but she only felt more weight in her head as the earth titled towards her.

Then suddenly someone was carrying her and the world began to right itself. Emma opened her eyes to a clear image of Davies' concerned face. She was sitting inside the quidditch equipment shed with Davies kneeling in front of her, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"What am I doing here?" Emma demanded.

"You freaked out," Davies replied. "It was scary - I had no idea what was going on. I took you here so you could sit down."

"Why didn't you take me back to Hogwarts?" Emma strained against his grip but she was backed against a wall and couldn't escape.

"It was too far," Davies explained. One of his hands moved to the wall above her head, blocking her even more. Emma could feel his breath against her face. He raised his eyebrows innocently and added, "I was concerned about you."

Emma watched his lips as he spoke, furiously aware that they were only inches from her lips. She felt a flood of anger coursing through her body, mounting uncontrollably. She began to shake violently as Davies' fingers drifted to her face.

"Relax," he whispered. "Come here." Davies wrapped his arms around Emma's waist and drew her towards his chest. Emma's anger exploded. She shoved Davies and he flew backwards, crashing into a pile of brooms that caved in over him.

"What are you doing!" Emma screamed. "Why can't you just leave me alone!"

She jumped to her feet and stalked towards him, kicking him repeatedly. Davies shoved the brooms off of him and rolled sideways, cracking several more brooms. He was on his feet before Emma could kick him again.

"I hate you!" Emma screamed. She lunged at Davies but he grabbed her wrists and wrestled her against his chest.

"Please calm down. I'm sorry," Davies pleaded in an oddly calm voice.

Emma easily pulled out of his grip and showed him again. "You are not sorry! You're a monster!"

"I am sorry!" Davies shouted, this time grabbing her arms from behind.

Emma pulled her arms together and jerked forward, flipping Davies over her head. He crashed again into the pile of brooms and they shattered underneath him like a pile of twigs. Davies lay stunned for a moment and Emma loomed over him. Her chest heaved and tears streamed down her face.

"Look what you made me do," she whispered. Quivering, she stared down at Davies. His appearance was far from perfect now. His cloak had fallen off and his sweater was torn and bloody. Bits of wood were entangled in his wild hair. But most frightening was his face. Blood was smeared across his sweaty forehead and tears of pain ran through the blood from several cuts. His eyes drilled into Emma as she slowly backed away from him. Then the door to the shed burst open.

Emma hugged her arms to her chest trembling slightly, her eyes darting wildly around Dumbledore's office. How long have I been here? she wondered, panic pouring into her mind. She pressed her hands to her head, breathing frantically until the spasm passed. As soon as her mind steadied she was assaulted by images of the scene in the shed.

She saw Madam Hooch standing in the doorway, bright eyes wide, clutching her robe over her heart. Then Oliver appeared, halting abruptly just inside the door. He stumbled backwards involuntarily, staring at Emma. She could see that he knew what she had done, what she was capable of. Then several things happened at once. Oliver stumbled towards Emma, Davies struggled to his feet exclaiming, "It's my fault, it's my fault!" and Madam Hooch sputtered, "What happened here?"

Oliver stopped between Emma and Davies, his chest heaving and eyes darting between the two.

"It was my fault," Davies said again, holding up his hands defensively and trying to move away from Oliver. Davies looked pitifully disheveled and unable to fight. His legs shook and he braced his hands on his knees to keep from falling over.

"I don't care whose fault it is. Both of you should go to Hospital now. Wood, go find Professor Dumbledore and tell him to meet me outside the Hospital Wing." Madam Hooch said forcefully.

Oliver hesitated, peering intently into Emma's mournful eyes, but turned away when Madam Hooch exclaimed, "Now, Wood!" Emma watched him run through the door and wondered if he would ever look into her eyes again.

"Really," Davies was explaining in his strangely calm manner. "I was being stupid and provoked her. It was in no way her fault . . ."

"We'll talk about it later." Madam Hooch took Davies by the shoulder, ignoring his protests that he was not hurt. She coldly asked Emma to follow them, keeping several steps ahead of her like she expected Emma to spring on her.

She knows about me, Emma realized, and wondered how many other professors knew. She watched Davies drag his trampled body across the field, following her victim with weighted steps. Davies glanced at Emma over his shoulder, his eyes desperate and shameful.

Now, alone in Dumbledore's office what seemed like hours later, his eyes still seared her mind. "What were you trying to do?" she demanded out loud. "Why did you have to do it? One moment of stability in my life completely shattered for what!"

Fawkes settled on her lap and Emma unknowingly stroked the phoenix. She sensed that his presence kept her calm. "Do you realize what I did today?" she asked Fawkes who ruffled his brilliantly-colored feathers in response. "Nothing is going to be the same from now on . . ." She broke off, startled by an explosion of sound in the hallway.

"If I had known you had a Baxter attending this crazy institution I never would have let my son come here! He'd have been better off at Durmstrang with all the crooks and creatures you let come here! I demand that you let me see the girl so she can explain herself. If she's anything like her father she won't be able to look me in the eyes!"

Emma squeezed Fawkes in her terror and he escaped back to his perch. She gripped the arms of her chair as the voice raved and thundered. Finally it stopped and an unsettling calm replaced the storm.

"Neil, please. You need to control yourself. I will not let you see her if you act like this," Dumbledore said steadily. The voices were right outside the door to the office.

"That girl attacked my son! I have every right to act like this! It doesn't matter if I see her now or later, she will be out of Hogwarts by tomorrow morning!"

"We'll see about that. Neil, why don't you go lie down in the room Madam Pomfrey prepared for you and Elizabeth. You can talk to Emma tomorrow after you've had a chance to see Roger." Professor Dumbledore muttered a few words that Emma recognized as a tranquilizing spell.

"Yes, maybe I will lie down. But this isn't over. I still expect to see that girl expelled."

"Of course, of course," Dumbledore replied and Roger's father left, stomping only somewhat more quietly.

Emma tensed even more as the door opened. "Not to worry," Dumbledore said with a smile, "We've delayed the storm for at least a little while."

Emma tried to smile but couldn't make her tightened facial muscles move. Dumbledore sat across from her and sighed. "Some people hold onto grudges for all their life," he commented. "But I haven't given up hope yet. Anyway, I'm sorry to have left you here for so long. Neil caused even more trouble than I expected and it was a task to calm him down. Roger is doing fine now that his mother convinced him to lie down and let Madam Pomfrey take care of his wounds. So everything is alright."

Emma stared at Dumbledore, trying to register everything he had said. She cycled through 'Davies' father angry, he's calm for now, Davies is okay,' and replied, "Where's Oliver?"

"Waiting outside the hospital wing with Katie. They don't know that you are here. As soon as the situation is under control you can see them."

Emma nodded slowly. "What's going to happen to me?" she asked quietly.

Dumbledore smiled as Fawkes settled on Emma's lap again. "My hope is that you'll get a good rest over Christmas holidays and be back for the quidditch match in January."

"I don't think that's what Mr. Davies wants," Emma replied. It seemed impossible that this could be as easy to fix as Dumbledore made it sound.

"Well I may have skimmed over a few details, but I expect that what I've suggested with more or less be the outcome." Dumbledore rose to his feet. "Now, would you like to rest a little until your parents get here? There may be a bit of a battle to fight and you'll need your strength."

"Um, okay." Emma didn't feel like things were any clearer or more positive than they had been at the moment she first hit Davies. But she had no choice but to wait and see what would happen.

"Oliver, please sit down. I'm already worried enough." Katie, curled up in a chair outside the hospital wing, had watched Oliver pacing for an hour. She knew almost nothing about what was going on and Oliver preferred to sigh heavily and kick things rather than explain. Now he finally settled into a chair across from Katie.

"Thank you. Now will you explain what happened? I've been more than a little nervous since Jason Riley collided with me and said that something was wrong with Emma. I'm not even sure how I ended up here and I would really like to know who the enraged man was that stormed past here a few minutes ago."

Katie's broken version of the story tumbled out in a fit of frustration. Oliver jumped to his feet abruptly and then knelt on the floor in front of Katie. Even from close up Katie couldn't interpret his strained face; his emotional expressions morphed rapidly, careening into each other and forming a sort of emotional soup.

"You have to stay calm," Oliver began, and although Katie's stomach jolted it seemed very funny that he was telling her to be calm instead of the reverse.

"Just tell me," Katie pleaded.

Oliver sighed again and Katie wanted to smack him. Finally he began to slowly explain. "I can't tell you why this has happened - mostly because I don't really know, but I will tell you what I saw." Oliver paused and squeezed his eyes shut. He ran a hand over his hair and briefly clutched Katie's hand.

"Davies provoked Emma in some way - I don't know how. She could have been upset or angry or . . . I don't know what else. What I am trying to say is that Davies provoked her and she, well, she attacked him." At this confession Oliver flinched, his fists clenching.

Katie stared at him for a moment and then laughed. "What? How is that even possible? How could Emma attack Roger? Tell me what really happened."

Oliver shook his head slowly. "Katie, listen. I'm serious. That's what happened."

"But how? If Roger just grabbed her wrists she wouldn't be able to move. I don't understand at all."

Oliver pushed himself to his feet and began to pace again. Katie watched him, her heart pounding wildly.

"Emma is . . . very strong sometimes," Oliver explained hoarsely.

"You think you're going to get away with that explanation? I want to know what happened and why." Katie spoke evenly but felt on the brink of panic.

"That is what happened and I can't tell you more," Oliver said forcefully.

"Fine!" Katie slammed her fist against the wall and with the pain came sudden realization. "How is Roger?" she asked, her voice strained.

"Well, I don't know if I should tell you that he got what he deserved or . . ." Oliver hesitated. He knelt in front of Katie again and touched her shoulder. "It's not good. I'm sure he'll be fine after Madam Pomfrey takes care of him but right now he looks, well, like he lost a fight with the Whomping Willow."

Katie gasped. "Did she use a spell? I just don't understand."

Oliver sank back onto the floor. "No, it wasn't a spell."

Katie burrowed her head into her arms. "Emma, Emma - what have you done?" Katie was desperately trying to conceal how concerned she was about Davies. She fought against the tears, afraid that Oliver would discover her affection for the boy he considered an enemy. Then suddenly the door to the hospital wing swung open and a voice exclaimed, "Well, this won't do at all. It's not the end of the world. I won't see you so unhappy."

Startled, Katie and Oliver turned to see a stunning women standing in front of them. She was short but graceful, with thick dark hair that tumbled in wild curls down her back. Her deep brown eyes accented her cheerful face. In place of robes she wore a pair of worn jeans and a black sweater, but it didn't shadow her elegance.

She smiled at the stunned Katie and Oliver and said, "Roger is fine. I haven't been able to get a word out of him about what happened, but he's fine. As for Emma, I believe she is also fine - no daughter of Emily and Naim Baxter could be defeated that easily. This stubborn son of mine though, he's not helping the situation. He just keeps saying that it was his fault. That may be but I have my doubts that either of them were at fault and if he won't tell me what happened than I can't get to the bottom of this."

Katie and Oliver continued to stare at the woman, shell-shocked by her strange speech.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, still smiling brightly. "I'm Elizabeth Davies, Roger's mother. I'm sure you at least saw my husband Neil although you probably didn't meet him. He was the tyrant that passed by a little while ago. He's not always like that." She walked to Katie and extended her hand. Katie took it, still at a loss for words.

"You must be Katie," Elizabeth said and Katie was shocked even further into silence.

"Roger was right about your hair. It's beautiful. But he didn't tell me you had such pretty eyes. Typical - men never notice eyes. Maybe you could get him to talk since he's so fond of you." Elizabeth indicated the door to the hospital wing and Katie stood awkwardly.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Davies," she stammered. "I guess I'll talk to Roger." Katie smiled weakly and Elizabeth, who stood at level with Katie's nose, squeezed her hands affectionately.

"Thank you. I'm sure you've been anxious to see him anyway." Katie nodded shyly and hesitantly pushed open the large wooden door to the hospital wing. As the door swung shut behind her she heard Elizabeth say to Oliver, "Now, who are you? You look like a Wood if I'm guessing correctly . . ."

Katie stood for a moment just inside the door, afraid to turn the corner and face Davies. What can I say to him? she wondered. It's not as if we're on normal speaking terms. I must be crazy.

But curiosity and concern, along with her desire to please Elizabeth, pushed her forward. Madam Pomfrey was not in the room and, Katie noted confused, neither was Emma. Where did they take her? she wondered, peering at every empty bed. But when she saw Davies she completely forgot about Emma. He was sleeping - at least Katie thought so. She hurried towards him, wanting to see that he was breathing. She halted at the foot of his bed, eased by the sound of his breath, but horrified by his appearance. Katie clutched her hands together and stumbled backwards.

"How could Emma . . ." she whispered. Deep purple bruises circled his right eye and a gash, crimson with hardened blood, marred his cheek. Several tiny cuts zig-zagged across his face and neck and chips of wood were still tangled in his hair. He was tucked under a blanket up to his shoulders, hiding the rest of his wounded body, but Katie could imagine the damage. She knelt next to his bed and traced the gash on his cheek.

"You may have that one for life," she murmured. Katie softly and cautiously brushed her lips over the wound and then rose to her feet. Better, I suppose, that I can't talk to you, she thought.

A few minutes later she explained to Elizabeth, "He's sleeping. I thought I should leave him."

Elizabeth nodded. "Oh well. We'll try later. Your friend Oliver ran off rather frantically when I told him Emma wasn't in Hospital. I'm worried about him."

Katie sighed. "Yeah, I am too."

Two figures moved rapidly through the dark halls of Hogwarts, shrouded by shadows and gray cloaks.

"Emily, I am sure that Neil is already here. We need to get Emma out of here before he gets to her."

"It's alright, Naim. Elizabeth will keep him under control and I'm sure Dumbldore won't let him see Emma alone."

"I doubt that even Elizabeth can really control him when he's enraged. You must remember that night . . ."

"Of course I remember it. But that was twenty years ago. Maybe he's changed."

"I don't think so. Neil Davies will keep this grudge for life."

"Before you make any judgements let's talk to Remus."

Professor Lupin dropped the Baxter family broom at the sudden sound of voices outside his door. He quickly covered the artifact with an invisibility spell as he called, "Come in."

He smiled sadly, rising slowly to his feet as Emily and Naim Baxter appeared, quickly shutting the door behind them.

"I was hoping you'd come see me first," he greeted them. "I wish it could be under better circumstances."

"How is the year going?" Emily asked kindly, sitting on a chair in front of Professor Lupin's desk.

"You don't have to bother with formalities, Emily." Professor Lupin sighed. "Naim looks ready to explode and I see the exhaustion in your eyes."

Naim paced behind his wife. "Is Neil here? Has he seen Emma?"

"He is here, but I don't think he has seen Emma. She is in Professor Dumbledore's office. Roger is in hospital. He will be fine although he has been refusing treatment."

"What happened?" Emily asked, unknowingly entangling her hand in her cloak.

Professor Lupin sat down in his chair again and gestured to Naim to sit as well. "It is not very clear what happened. Roger won't tell anyone and Emma is scared. The best I can tell, Roger did something to provoke her and since Emma had not had any potion she reacted violently. I am sorry this happened. She had been doing so well that I thought she would be fine while I waited for the new potion to brew."

"Remus, we don't blame you," Naim assured him and Emily nodded. "I just wish she didn't have to go through this."

Professor Lupin stood up abruptly. "Well, I will take you to her. I know where Neil is staying so we can avoid him."

The next morning Oliver woke up outside The Great Hall, wondering what had happened. He uncoiled his tense body and rolled over to see Katie sitting a few feet away.

"Emma is gone," Katie told him. "Her parents came to get her in the middle of the night. I'm surprised you slept through the tirade that occured when Mr. Davies found out."

"What!" Oliver exclaimed as all the events of the past few days poured back into his mind. "I never even got to talk to her! How can she be gone?"

Katie pushed her long hair back from face, staring at Oliver through tired eyes and said slowly, "They'll probably take Roger too. I don't know if either one of them will be back."

Oliver jumped to his feet, pulling on his disheveled robes over his rumpled sweater and pants. "This can't be happening. When did my life become so complicated?"

"I think it happened the day you discovered your fan club. For me it was the first time I ran into Roger Davies in a dark corridor. Interestingly enough, that was also the day I met you. What do you say we give up on relationships and go live a lustful existence in the streets?"

Oliver stared at her a moment, still too tired to be sure how to react to this proposal. "Um, I think that I'm going to talk to Professor Lupin first. And maybe you should try to get some sleep."

"Okay," Katie complied and fell sideways onto the floor. "I'm going to ask you again tomorrow, though," she mumbled as Oliver walked away quickly.

Professor Lupin was nowhere to be found and Oliver wandered dejectedly around Hogwarts most of the day until Professor McGonnagal found him and forced him to go to class. Late in the afternoon Davies also disappeared from Hogwarts, along with the raging voice that correlated with Neil Davies. All the students that encountered Ne Davies in person were shocked to discover that a carbon image of Roger Davies could be the bearer of that voice. But he would stop and talk to them pleasantly, asking about their families and recounting tales of his days at Hogwarts. Oliver, however, had avoided him completely.

Although Professor McGonnagal told him there was nothing he could do about Emma, Oliver went up to the owlrey to send her a note after hearing about Davies' disappearance. He and Katie spent final exams week sitting sullenly at the hidden table in the library trying to study. They were a pitiful sight - even Angelina refused to sit with them because their melancholy made her nervous.

"Mrs. Davies is really nice," Katie commented to Oliver the afternoon before her first final.

Katie shrugged, but her heart beat faster. "I don't know. Maybe Davies told her about the other quidditch teams."

Oliver looked at her doubtfully. "Quidditch captains don't normally describe their players by their beautiful hair. I think you should watch out for him. He messes with people."

Katie looked down at her books. "I know."

Finals finished and somehow Katie and Oliver survived. They left on the train for vacation wondering what had happened to Emma and Davies.