Extended Family

Chapter 41: Reunited

Takes place a few years after chapter 37

"Hey baby bird."

Harry noticed Alicia's expression and hugged her tightly.  "Hey Alicia.  What's wrong?"

"I need your help with Oliver.  He's been in a funk and I haven't been able to break him out of it."  She rubbed her eyes.  "I've been especially annoying and disruptive and that hasn't worked."

"Must be serious then," Harry joked feebly.  "Do you know what's going on?"

"It has to do with his team, I know it.  Our home life is wonderful and whenever he's at home for some time, he's perfectly fine.  But he won't confide in me over this for some reason so I'm hoping he'll confide in you.  Take him out and do man things."

"Man things?" Harry repeated with a smirk.  "I might be the wrong man for man things."

"Well I don't trust anyone at Puddlemere and I'd have to go bail him out of the Aurors cells if George and Fred take him out and his brothers are thicker than porridge boiled dry.  And I trust you."

"I love you too Alicia."

She kissed his cheek.  "Now off you go and if you fail, no more Hadley and Melanie visits."

Harry snorted.  "That's an empty threat.  You know that they'd ignore you and barricade themselves at our home."

"I know but it was fun to give silly ultimatums like that."  Her smile faded slightly.  "Please help him."

"I'll get to the bottom of it, don't worry."

Harry left her potions lair, not laboratory according to her, and found Oliver polishing his broom in the garden.  "Hey Captain."

"Hey Sir Harry."  Oliver smiled but it did not quite reach his eyes.  "What's up?"

"Alicia wants us to go do man things."

Oliver laughed.  "What does that mean?"

"No idea.  But how about we go fishing?  And if we don't catch anything we go to Skye Market and buy a big fish and pretend we caught it."

Oliver laughed more.  "You know, that sounds great.  Yeah, let's do that."

They gathered their things and walked off to the nearby creek.  Settling down at the widest and deepest part, they baited their hooks and threw the lines out.  Time passed slowly and comfortably, the silence between them was companionable and familiar.

"She's worried, isn't she?" Oliver asked at last.

"A little bit.  Said she's been especially annoying and that hasn't worked."

Oliver grinned.  "She's mellowed a lot but she has ramped it up some lately.  Huh, I guess I really have been funked if I barely noticed."

"What's going on then?"

Oliver looked out over the water.  "I'm not happy playing for Puddlemere anymore."  The words just fell from his lips and he looked shocked that he said it.  Yet he also looked relieved, as if a great weight was lifted from his shoulders.