Ignorance Is Bliss

When Oliver had anxiously said that the Bludgers had been locked away, Harry had noticed that he kept looking towards the Slytherins. Then he'd seen a small flash in Oliver's eyes when Flint had been mentioned by George before the Gryffindor team had been ushered out of the hospital wing. As Harry lay in the hospital bed while his bones re-grew, he thought back to the day when they'd found out who the Slytherin Seeker was. Though it had been very subtle, the two Quidditch Captains had been eyeing each other suggestively, Harry was sure of it. Luckily, no one else had seen this.

When the third week of December came around, the Duelling Club was started... sort of. While Harry had been paired with Malfoy, Wood had been paired with Flint. When ever Harry would glance towards the pair, he noticed that they seemed remotely reluctant to do any harm to each other, though he hardly got any time to notice what they did. And when everybody began to engage in a fight, Harry noticed afterwards, they had both disappeared.

When Harry walked down to breakfast on February the fourteenth, he was shocked by what Lockhart had thought to be a "morale-booster". When he overcame this, he noticed that Oliver was already sitting at the Gryffindor table, facing the Slytherins. A glance at the other table showed Harry the reason. Flint sat with some of his friends, facing Wood.

Harry found no time, during the rest of the year, to talk to Oliver about all of this. He wasn't even sure Wood was aware of the fact that Harry knew about him and Flint.

During the feast after Harry had killed the basilisk, Harry vaguely remembered seeing Oliver and Marcus walk into the Great Hall together before they sat at their respective tables. (Oliver wearing green plaid pyjama pants and a T-shirt that was a little too big for him, Flint wearing deep scarlet shorts and a tank top that was slightly tight across the chest.) Both boys looked rather rumpled, and Harry couldn't meet Wood's eyes.

Harry eventually forgot about the subject, especially when he went home for the summer.

When Third year started again, however, he found (through no fault of his own) that the two Quidditch Captains had grown more passionate with each other. He'd heard the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" (or something to the effect) but with Wood and Flint, that seemed to be a big understatement. In fact, Harry was completely amazed that no one else had found out about them, considering how many more times he'd come across them together.

After the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, Harry was actually glad that he was confined to the hospital wing. When Fred had said they figured Wood was trying to drown himself in the shower, he had a feeling that it wasn't the water that was drowning their Keeper.

And when all the hype had worn off after Gryffindor's victory during the Quidditch Final, Harry noticed that Oliver was rather down. The Gryffindor Captain was very thrilled about winning, but there was something in his eyes that said otherwise.

It wasn't until Harry was walking through the corridors, on his way to find Ron and Hermione after Professor Lupin left, that he spoke to Oliver again. It struck Harry as odd that Wood was still at the school, rather than at Hogsmead. Again, Harry noticed how depressed the older Gryffindor seemed.

"Hey, Harry," Wood said as he feigned happiness.

"Hey, Oliver. What's wrong?" Oliver looked at the floor, then the wall, everywhere but Harry.

"It's nothing."

"Does it have anything to do with a certain Slytherin Quidditch Captain?" Wood blushed.

"So, you did know," Wood said matter-of-factly. He sighed.

"Really, Wood. What's wrong? You can tell me. I promise to keep it a secret." Wood sighed again.

"I'm pregnant." Harry had been in the process of turning a corner when Wood said this. He whipped back around so fast that he smacked right into the wall. Oliver chuckled. Harry was so baffled, he couldn't speak.

"H-How?" was all he finally managed to stutter.

"I-uh," Oliver wouldn't meet Harry's gaze as he searched for the words to say. He sighed again. "There's this charm," he began. "It's a relatively new charm that's been developed. It enables same sex couples to bear children. I sort of volunteered to test it out."

"When?"

"It was a little before the Quidditch Final." He said quietly.

"And does Flint know?" Oliver looked down and blushed. "Wood?" Harry demanded softly.

"No."

"Why not? Don't you thing he has some sort of right to know? Assuming, of course, it's his."

"It is his, but it no longer concerns him."

"How could it 'no longer concern him'?" Wood sighed again. "Oliver, what happened?" Harry asked in a softer voice.

"Put it this way, he congratulated me in the shower, then broke it off." Oliver slumped against the wall then slid down into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, Oliver," Harry said, sitting beside him.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. I should have seen it coming."

"How?"

"Ever since this year began, he's been distant with me, emotionally. Physically, he's been getting more, well, aggressive I guess." They both blushed slightly.

"So, what are you going to do?" Harry asked after a long pause. "I mean, are you going to be alright alone?"

"Oh, I'll manage. Even if we stayed together, I don't reckon Flint would be much of a parent at this point of his life. He's not ready for this sort of responsibility." Oliver's tone sounded as though he was trying to convince himself. They stayed silent again. Wood fiddled with something he'd taken out of his pocket.

"What you got there?" Oliver opened his had to reveal a very small stone, about a centimetre in size. It was shaped oddly like a heart.

"Marcus gave it to me last year, when Lockhart decided to celebrate Valentine's Day." Oliver gazed fondly at it. "He said it was to represent his giving me his heart. He found it kind of funny since everyone seemed to think his heart was made of stone." He placed the small stone back in his pocket. After another silence, Harry remembered something.

"Hey, did you know Lupin left?"

"Yeah, I saw him getting into a carriage. I wish he didn't though. He's probably the first real Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this school has had in a long time." The two sat against the wall for a while until they heard voices coming towards them. They stood up and Harry took out the Marauder's map.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The map revealed that Ron and Hermione were approaching, by the sound of it, they were arguing about something. Oliver said goodbye to Harry and took off in the opposite direction, disappearing around the far corner as Ron and Hermione came into view. Harry put the map away.

"Hey, Harry. Where you been mate?" Ron asked.

"Looking for you two." He didn't tell them about what he'd learned form Oliver. He saw Oliver one more time on platform nine and three quarters, when he said goodbye.

During the Quidditch World Cup in August, when Oliver told them he'd been accepted onto the Puddlemere United reserve team, he'd added "We'll be fine" to Harry in an undertone. That was the last time Harry would see him... for a while at least.

[THE END]

[Continued in "Aiden's Song"]