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Forbidden Fruit: Chapter 3 - Long Lost and Newly Found

Story Title - Forbidden Fruit (ffn link)

Story Description - Oliver stared back at Sabina as she uncrossed her arms and extended a hand to him. He felt Gabriel give him a nudge, but Oliver’s eyes were fixed on Sabina’s expectant gaze. It seemed, in that moment, that he had two choices: one, he could stay with the boys and get nagged to death for being a killjoy, or two, he could go dance with the girl that kept putting a smile on his face.

Story Rating - mature (M)

Story Characters - Oliver Wood, Sabina Kopitar (OFC), Percy Weasley, Audrey Shacklebolt, Borislav Kopitar (OMC), Danica Horvat (OFC), Dimitrij Kopitar (OMC), Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, George Weasley, Molly Weasley I

Story Pairings - Oliver/Sabina, Percy/Audrey

Chapter - 3) Long Lost and Newly Found

31 December 1999

"Your Ocka will have an aneurysm when he sees you in that dress," Danica stated as she reached forward to try to pull up the neckline of Sabina's dress.

However, before she could do so, Sabina smacked her mother's hand away and gave her a glare. "Yes, that is every twenty-one year-old woman's concern - her father's opinion on her clothing choices," Sabina replied sarcastically.

In her mother's defence, Sabina had really outdone herself as far as dressing up went. She wore an off-the-shoulder gown that revealed the most prominent trait she had received from her mother's side of the family: bloody amazing cleavage. The gown was a deep royal blue that made her stand out against the silvery theme of the ballroom and had a slit along the left side that run almost all the way up to her hip. Her mother had put her hair up in an elegant braided updo, but Sabina had done her own make-up.

Danica's lips pressed in a taut line as she shook her head and muttered, "Too much makeup. You are practically a raccoon."

"Yeah, love you too," Sabina grumbled as she raised her champagne flute to her lips.

"Yeah, chillax with the makeup, Sab," Dimitrij, who was standing between the two women, said pointedly.

Sabina glared down at him. "Give it three years and you'll understand these things," she told him simply.

Tonight was the New Year's Eve party at the Shacklebolt Estate. Ever since Sabina and Audrey had formed their unbreakable friendship back in their first year, their families had grown rather close - so that meant that every grand, over-the-top party that Zhara Shacklebolt, Audrey's mum, planned would include Sabina's family. This year's party was bound to be more exciting than previous years, anyways, and that was mostly because it was the first Shacklebolt New Year's Eve party since the war had ended.

"Ah, there he is," Danica said with a smile as she spotted Boris approaching them.

Sabina's father was dressed in some of his finest dress robes and had a wide grin on his face as he gave his wife a kiss. Dimitrij was at his legs soon after that, standing proudly by his father as if willing people to see the resemblance - unfortunately for Sabina's little brother, he was the spitting image of their mother. Turning to Sabina, Boris' grin faltered slightly.

"Sabina, pull up your dress," he chided.

"Oi, what is wrong with the both of you?" Sabina exclaimed as she looked between her parents, her mother giving her the trademark 'I told you' look that all mothers seem to master. "Leave my bloody dress alone!"

"You'll regret it when the team gets here," Boris warned.

Sabina blinked rapidly, her heart stopping at her father's words. "Team?" she squeaked out.

"Ja, the team I work for, Sabina," Boris elaborated with an exasperated shake of his head.

This was turning into an absolute nightmare. "Oh - the team is invited, are they?" she asked.

"Ja, Sabina, like they have been every year - how much champagne have you already had?" Boris asked with a frown. Looking around the room, a grin appeared on his face all of a sudden. "Ah, here they are now!"

"Oh, look - I think I see Audrey!" Sabina quickly exclaimed, wasting no time to leave her parents' sides as soon as she caught a glimpse of Oliver's familiar cheeky grin.

Thankfully, Sabina had actually seen her childhood friend milling around the ballroom and quickly pushed her way through the crowd to get to her. Tonight was supposed to be fun - drink a little champagne, poke a little fun at Audrey and her boyfriend, Percy, flirt with some Ministry men. Easy as pie. No complications, no drama. Until, of course, it turned out that she would have to spend the whole night avoiding Oliver. She hadn't seen him in over a month and now that they were in the same room, Sabina was quickly realizing that she was hardly ready for a reunion.

"Sab! I'm so glad you're here," Audrey said with a smile as Sabina approached her. The two women hugged, but that did nothing to ease Sabina's very evident skittish behaviour.

"Aye, glad to be here. Nice to see you again, too, Percy," she greeted, looking around rather frantically.

"Likewise," Percy replied slowly. "You all right?" he asked with a concerned frown.

Sabina sighed heavily and met Audrey's eyes. Damn Percy for being observant. It wasn't bloody fair that her best friend was dating a former Order spy. "I've got a situation," she declared, a bit breathless. "Your dad told my dad to bring the team."

A confused frown appeared on Audrey's face. "Like he always does," she said slowly.

"Merlin's crotchless thong, I need to be more hammered," Sabina muttered with clear exasperation, quickly downing her champagne and summoning another glass.

"Oh, look - I didn't know Oliver would be here," Percy said as he spotted his friend just entering the hall. He moved to wave him over but Sabina quickly smacked his arm down and sent him a searing glare as he frowned at her.

"Are you mad?" she hissed. Shaking her head, she added, "Jebemti, I need to get out of here."

Before Audrey and Percy could say anything else, Sabina dove into the crowd once again, quickly downing the champagne flute in her hand and summoning yet another drink. She milled around the crowds for a while, making small talk and trying her best to blend in. The champagne started to creep up on her a lot faster than expected, however, so after a while Sabina found herself heading for the open balcony doors for a breath of fresh air.

The sounds of the party faded behind her as Sabina approached the balcony. As she got closer, it became clear that there were two figures already out on the balcony. It didn't take much longer for her to recognize Percy and Audrey. Sabina was almost at the edge of the balcony entrance when she noticed Percy drop to one knee.

Eyes wide, Sabina quickly turned and pressed her back against the wall just next to the balcony entrance. Bloody hell, she had almost ruined her best friend's engagement.

A small smile appeared on Sabina's face in that moment. Her best friend was getting engaged.

It only took another second for the smile to disappear as she saw none other than Oliver Wood mindlessly approaching the balcony, his head hanging down as he stared down at his champagne. Deciding to play the hero, much to her own chagrin, Sabina quickly strode over to Oliver and grabbed his arm, pulling him after her to hide behind the wall on the other side of the balcony entrance. As soon as he opened his mouth, Sabina reflexively placed her hand over his mouth and shushed him.

Once Sabina removed her hand, Oliver quietly whispered, "You know, you used to do that in a much more private setting."

Rolling her eyes, Sabina pointed at the balcony door and slowly peaked her head around the corner. With a frown on his face, Oliver followed suit and looked out onto the balcony to see what Sabina had wanted him to avoid. He easily recognized Percy and Audrey, and as he watched Percy stand up and place a ring on Audrey's finger, he quickly realized what was happening. Oliver felt a grin spread across his face as he watched his friend celebrate.

Oliver and Sabina stepped back from the balcony door and pressed their backs against the wall. "Well, I can't say I'm that surprised," Oliver said, a small smile still on his face.

"Yeah, that would explain his skittishness over the last week," Sabina agreed.

Suddenly frowning, Oliver turned his head and looked down at Sabina. "How do you know them?" he asked curiously.

"Uh, Audrey and I have been best friends since first year," Sabina answered with a shrug. Then, returning Oliver's frown, she asked, "How do you know them?"

"Percy and I shared a dorm for seven years, he's my best mate," Oliver answered matter-of-factly.

Sabina's face quickly transformed into a glare. "Oh no, I know exactly where this is going," she stated with a sigh.

"You two could not meet at a better time!" Audrey's familiar voice exclaimed.

Sabina quickly turned around to see that Percy and Audrey were now standing before her and Oliver, wide grins plastered to both of their faces as they looked at their friends.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Sabina muttered as she forced a smile.

Clearly choosing to ignore Sabina's muttering, Audrey raised her left hand up to her face as she grinned at Sabina. "Look at it," she said in a singsong voice.

"I - I know," Sabina replied. "We were right here."

Audrey rolled her eyes and lowered her hand. "You suck the joy out of everything," she stated plainly. "Also, you're my maid of honour - say yes before Mum forces a cousin on me."

"Better the devil you know," Sabina joked with a wink.

Percy turned to Oliver with an expectant gaze. "Yeah and, uh, if I choose between my brothers, it's going to come up at every family dinner until the day I die," he said with a shrug, "so you're my best man. Please."

Before either Sabina or Oliver could get a word in, Percy and Audrey were out of sight and rushing over to Zhara. Sabina let out a sigh and nodded lightly. "Called it," she said plainly.

Oliver looked over at Sabina, a small smile making its way onto his face as she met his eyes. He had almost forgotten how beautiful she was. Almost being the key word - despite not seeing her for a month, she had always been popping up in his thoughts. Even after how things had ended between them and how unfair she had been, Oliver couldn't get her out of his head. Still, nothing beat seeing her in person.

"I'm guessing you passed your licensing exam," Oliver stated, breaking the silence.

Sabina felt herself returning his smile and shrugging. "Yeah, I start work in the Emergency Wing on Monday," she answered. "You, um - you look good, Oliver."

"You do too," he replied. "I like the dress," he added with a wink.

Sabina laughed lightly, looking away from Oliver's gaze. It was in that moment, however, that she unfortunately made eye contact with her parents heading directly toward them. A frown appeared on Boris' face as he looked between Sabina and Oliver.

"Ocka, I was just catching up with Oliver," Sabina said as her parents stopped in front of them, the half-lie coming to her almost too easily. "It's been a while since I've worked a Puddlemere game."

"Right," Oliver confirmed with a slightly nervous smile. "I, um, recognized her."

What a horrible liar, Sabina thought to herself - and yet she felt herself fighting back a smile.

"Ah, of course," Boris said with a nod. "Well, she won't be working many games now that my brilliant daughter is a fully certified Healer."

"Is that so?" Oliver asked, feigning surprise as he looked over at Sabina. She fought back a laugh as she met his eyes. "Impressive."

"Well, it certainly took a lot of work on her part," Danica stated as she looked over at her daughter. Sabina met her mother's gaze just as the woman continued with a smirk on her face, "Rome wasn't built in a day, after all."

Sabina felt her face heating up as she remembered the other time Danica had said those words. Damn her mother for being so smart. At least she could count on her not to go telling her father anything - for now. Finally recovering, Sabina laughed lightly and smiled at her mother. At this point in their conversation, she would rather have Merlin smite her than keep talking.

"You know, I think I see Gabriel waving me down - I'll see you around, Coach," Oliver said, excusing himself from the group. As he left, he looked over his shoulder briefly and gave Sabina a smile.

Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world that they would be spending more time together now.

3 March 2000

Sabina pursed her lips in concentration as she carefully applied Audrey's makeup. Her friend was clearly fighting to stay still, but after Sabina had already scolded her four times for ruining her work, Audrey was now doing a much better job of not moving. Audrey was really quite beautiful, but she never bothered to get out of her usual jeans and a tank top for long enough for anyone to notice - except Percy, apparently.

"Are you done yet?" Audrey muttered.

"No, stop talking," Sabina ordered.

"Relax, this is better than Fleur playing with your hair and asking you what spell you use every morning," Angelina pointed out as she noticed the look of annoyance on Audrey's face.

"She acts as if she's never seen a black woman before," Audrey joked, trying not to laugh for fear of what wrath Sabina might unleash should she mess up her makeup again.

Finally taking a step back, Sabina admired her handiwork with a small smile. "Perfect," she declared proudly.

Audrey glanced into the mirror and simply shrugged. "Do we really have to do all of this bachelorette party shite?" she asked, looking over at Sabina. "I mean, Merlin knows Molly expects us at the Burrow practically before sun-up."

"Audrey, this isn't about you," Sabina stated, placing her hands on her hips. Then, gesturing around the room filled with the bridesmaids, she said, "This is about us. You're going to get married, and the next thing you know, the only time you're getting drunk is with your husband in an attempt to liven up your sex life."

"I'm still only twenty-two years old, Sabina," Audrey replied.

"We deserve one last hurrah with drunk Audrey," Sabina argued, clearly ignoring her friend. "Right girls?" she asked, turning to face the rest of the room.

"To be honest, I've really been looking forward to meeting drunk Audrey," Ginny admitted. "I refuse to believe she exists."

"Oh, she exists," Sabina claimed with a smirk.

"According to Keegan, drunk Audrey is 'a site to behold,'" Daphne teased with a smirk.

"Yeah, well he's a lightweight," Audrey bit back bitterly. "What kind of Shacklebolt doesn't even like bourbon?" she added with a roll of her eye.

"You know, I have a feeling you might regret not having fun tonight more than having too much fun," Hermione weighed in, a thoughtful look on her face.

Audrey scanned the room, a small smile breaking through. Sabina could tell she was warming up to the idea. Although the bridal party was an unlikely collection of women, they had grown to get along quite well throughout the torture of wedding planning, so a night out was guaranteed to be endless fun.

"I knew you would resist, so," Sabina trailed off, reaching below the vanity to pull out a bottle of vodka and a shot glass, "I came prepared. One of these, and you'll be good."

"If I'm doing one, you're all doing one," Audrey declared. Her statement was quickly followed by cheers as Sabina pulled out more shot glasses and poured some vodka for everyone.

Raising her shot glass, Sabina glanced at Audrey with a mischievous look on her face. "May you have a very sexual marriage," Sabina toasted.

"Oi, she's still marrying my brother," Ginny exclaimed with a look of disgust.

"I can't believe you got us kicked out," Sabina grumbled as the women walked along a busy street in Wizarding London.

"I'm sorry, am I the only one that saw that bloke literally try to yank Ginny away?" Audrey argued.

"Yes but, while I appreciate it, you really didn't have to break his nose," Ginny countered, laughing a bit.

Audrey simply shrugged, refusing to add anymore fuel to the growing fire in Sabina's eyes. After the months of being around Oliver all of the time and not knowing at all how to approach him and say 'sorry for being a twat, will you take me back?' without any hint of desperation, all Sabina wanted was one fun night of going out with her friends and forgetting that whole ordeal. With each passing day over the last few months, it felt more and more likely that things between her and Oliver were done for good.

"All right, I can fix this," Audrey finally spoke up. "We'll go to the house."

"You mean your brand new house that you and Percy are moving into?" Sabina clarified, the skepticism evident in her voice. She knew Audrey and Percy well enough to know that they were the opposite of messy people, and Sabina could not imagine a world where Audrey would be perfectly fine with people getting piss drunk in her own home.

"We haven't unpacked anything but the patio furniture and there's definitely alcohol there so..." Audrey trailed off with a shrug, "backyard drinking games?"

"That sounds like the stupidest, drunkest thing I have ever heard," Angelina started, "so I am all for it."

Huddling all of the girls into a group, Audrey quickly apparated everyone to the quaint house in Bridlington that her and Percy had bought together. Stepping inside, Sabina noticed that the house was still filled with unpacked boxes and cleaning supplies, clearly not yet lived in. The only things that gave away the fact that it was Percy and Audrey's house was a photograph of the two of them above the fireplace in the living room and the large collection of housewarming gifts on the kitchen island.

Rushing to the kitchen, Sabina easily picked out her gift. She held up the unlabelled bottle with a mischievous smirk on her face. "I would say that this is the perfect time to open up my housewarming gift," she decided. "Homemade pálinka - pretty sure my grandfather made this batch."

"Do you want to kill me?" Audrey asked jokingly.

"Absolutely," Sabina replied as she nodded enthusiastically.

"Which box has glasses?" Daphne asked as she looked around the kitchen.

"Oh, sweet Daphne," Sabina started with a sly smile on her face, "tonight, we drink like sailors."

With that, Sabina opened up the bottle and took a swig without even the slightest hesitation, then passed the bottle to Audrey, "Let's get this party started, bride-to-be!"

"This is a great bar," Oliver declared as the group of groomsmen made their way through Diagon Alley. "I've been here tons of times."

As the best man, Oliver had been tasked with organizing Percy's bachelor party. Unfortunately for Oliver, his friend was more than resistant to plenty of his ideas, and even stated at one point that he didn't need a bachelor party (the madman). Eventually, Oliver's persistence won out and the party was happening, whether Percy liked it or not. Plus, despite all of Percy's complaints, the man was wearing jeans - actual denim - for the first time in history, so Oliver already considered the night a huge success.

Falling in step with Oliver, Percy looked over at his friend and quietly asked, "So you're still coming alone to the wedding, huh?"

Oliver shrugged. "Yeah, not really seeing anyone right now so what would be the point in bringing just some random bird?" he replied.

"Audrey thinks it's because you like Sabina," Percy stated matter-of-factly.

"What?" Oliver exclaimed with a dismissive, somewhat nervous laugh. "That is bonkers."

"Very convincing," Percy shot back sarcastically with a small smirk on his face.

"Oi," Charlie started, coming up behind the two of them and placing his arms around their shoulders, "can you two stop gossiping like a bunch of birds and just lead the way?"

"We're here, actually," Oliver said, coming to a stop in front of a lively-looking pub.

With Oliver leading the way, the five Weasley brothers followed him into the bar with curiosity apparent on their faces. At this point, Oliver was simply excited to spend a night out with his friends and just relax. Over the last few months, constantly being around Sabina had been... difficult. It was a constant reminder that she was just barely out of reach. All he needed was one, easy night away from anything to do with Sabina so he could handle the wedding.

"Oliver Wood! Over here, Oliver Wood!"

The flash of a camera bulb blinded Oliver and he squinted ahead to get a glimpse of what on earth was causing such a ruckus. It didn't take long for him to recognize the Witch Weekly badge pinned to the photographer's jacket.

"Looks like we're not the only ones that know you come here all the time," Percy joked.

"Wood, why the theatrics? We get it, you're a big shot," George said sarcastically as he swung an arm over Oliver's shoulders.

"Oh, hell," Oliver muttered under his breath. Moving George's arm aside and approaching the photographer, Oliver plastered a pleading look on his face as he said, "Is there any chance I could catch a break for my mate's bachelor party?"

"Ah yes, Percy Weasley - cold feet?" the photographer said, quickly turning to Percy.

Glaring at Oliver, Percy flatly said, "The fact that you thought that would work is, frankly, embarrassing."

Bill placed a hand on Percy's shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile. "Let's get out of here before either George or Oliver cause some irreparable damage," he said quietly.

Oliver begrudgingly followed the Weasley brothers out of the bar, letting out an exasperated sigh once they were outside.

"Sorry mate," Oliver said as he gave Percy an apologetic look. "I s'pose we can try to find another place?"

"Actually..." Percy trailed off, a smile appearing on his face, "I think I have a solution. Grab hold and I'll apparate there."

As soon as everyone huddled around Percy and was holding on to him, he apparated them out of Diagon Alley and to a small seaside neighbourhood. Everyone looked around in confusion, but Oliver was the first to recognize the house that Percy was approaching.

"Isn't this the house you and Audrey bought?" he asked as everyone followed Percy.

"Percy, did you hit your head? You're letting us drink in your house?" George asked in disbelief.

"No, I'm letting you drink in the backyard," Percy clarified with a roll of his eyes. "If I find one empty bottle inside the actual house, I'll hunt down its owner."

"There's the Percy we all know and love," Oliver joked. "Do the honours, groom."

Percy opened the door to the house with an amused shake of his head and everyone filed in after him. However, as soon as they entered, it was very apparent that something was not quite right. Distant shouts could be heard and an Irish tune was streaming into the house from the backyard.

"I know that song," George said slowly. Then, quietly singing along, he continued, "Look what he's done for us, he's filled us up with cheer, Lord bless Charlie Mopps, the man who invented beer."

Percy gave his brother a somewhat concerned look before slowly making his way through the house, everyone else eagerly following behind him. As they approached the door leading to the backyard, the music and shouting only grew louder. Finally, once the men made their way outside, their jaws dropped as they took in the sight before them.

It was the bridal party. The lot of them, drunk as sailors, dancing around the backyard as they sang to the Irish song playing from the magical radio. All of them had a beer bottle in hand - if not two - and as Oliver looked around, he saw an empty bottle that once held hard liquor.

As the song reached its end, Oliver saw Sabina point at Audrey, a wide grin on her reddened face. "I'm an arsehole, I'm an arsehole, I'm an arsehole I admit!" she shouted, the rest of the women joining in, "but I'd rather be an arsehole than a Slytherin piece of shit!"

"Aye, now that's a toast I can get behind!" George shouted.

At the sound of his voice, all of the women were visibly startled, jumping a bit before freezing in place as they realized who had just entered the backyard. Audrey and Ginny, however, were arm-in-arm in that moment, which resulted in a lot more stumbling around and sputtered laughter than freezing in place. There was a long moment of silence filling the backyard as the two groups stared back at each other, until finally, Hermione emerged from the house with yet another bottle of pálinka in hand.

"I found the other bottle!" she shouted excitedly, bottle raised high up in the air. However, as soon as she noticed the silence and met Ron's gaze, she dropped her arm to her side and pressed her lips together.

"What are you all doing here?" Percy finally asked slowly.

"Audrey got us kicked out of the bar we were at so we came here to get pissed," Sabina replied with a shrug.

"Audrey - what?" Percy asked in confusion as he looked over at his fiancée.

"Please, if that's so bad, then what are you doing here?" Audrey countered with a smirk.

Percy stayed silent for a moment. Finally, a grin broke through as he said, "Well-played. So what now?"

"Now," Hermione started, shoving the bottle towards Ron, "it looks like you boys have some catching up to do."

Daphne waved her wand to get the radio playing music again and the tension almost immediately melted away. Percy didn't hesitate to approach Audrey with a wide grin on his face, taking her hand and twirling her around to the music. Oliver stayed by the entrance to the backyard, watching them with a small smile on his face. If he was being perfectly honest, he couldn't remember the last time Percy had looked as happy as he looked dancing with a drunk Audrey in the backyard of their new home.

Oliver was snapped out of his thoughts as the strong smell of hard liquor hit his nose. He blinked a couple times before looking down to see the bottle of pálinka Hermione had brought out, then to his right to see who was holding it - Sabina.

"Your turn, Wood," she said with a small smirk.

He grabbed the bottle from her, returning her smirk, and took a swig, wincing as the alcohol hit the back of his throat. "Merlin's beard, Sabina - this stuff is deadly," he said with a laugh, setting the bottle down on the patio table that was to his left.

Sabina moved around him and sat down in one of the patio chairs, her sights now set on Percy and Audrey. "I think this was the bachelorette party she wanted all along," she said as she watched the couple with a small smile on her face.

Oliver sat down in the patio chair next to Sabina. "I think it's what Percy wanted, too," he said in agreement.

"How'd you get him to wear jeans?" Sabina asked suddenly, turning her head to meet Oliver's eyes. Her tone was a mix of humour and genuine curiosity.

Oliver felt his heart skip a beat as he looked into her eyes, but quickly recovered and jokingly replied, "You don't wanna know, lass."

Sabina laughed lightly, but she kept her gaze fixed on his face. Smiling, she quietly said, "I missed you."

His heart was beating like crazy, but somehow Oliver composed himself enough to return Sabina's smile and quietly reply, "I missed you, too."

Sabina looked around briefly, mostly to make sure that everyone else was, in fact, more preoccupied with alcohol and Irish songs than her and Oliver, then fixed her gaze on his hazel eyes once again. Those heartwarming eyes that always calmed her. "You're worth it," she continued quietly. It seemed that with intoxication came the courage that she hadn't been able to muster up over the last three months. "I hate all of that Quidditch drama and your tolerance to alcohol is embarrassingly low, but you're worth it."

"Embarrassingly low?" Oliver repeated with a chuckle. He paused for a moment before saying, "Took you a while to get there, Sab."

"I'm only going to say this once," Sabina started. "You were right. I was scared of something - I was scared of being wrong about something I thought I knew everything about. Ironic how that worked out, huh?"

Oliver looked into Sabina's eyes, processing the words that had just come out of her mouth. "You know what the crazy thing is?" he finally said. "I could never get you out of my head. I mean, you were downright horrible to me - I think we can both agree on that - but you were just stuck in my head. Despite it all, I always still wanted you."

"I know, I'm sorry," Sabina said with an apologetic look. "I still don't want to be with a Quidditch player, though - I want to be with Oliver Wood."

Oliver laughed, grinning widely as Sabina joined in. She grabbed the bottle of pálinka on the patio table and stood up, heading back towards the house.

Frowning, Oliver stood up and followed after her. "Where're you going?" he asked curiously.

Sabina turned and looked at him with a smirk. "Irish goodbye," she said with a shrug. Then, lifting the bottle in her hand, she added, "You're welcome to join, love."

4 March 2000

Sabina jolted awake as sunlight streamed into her bedroom, her head immediately pounding. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight, she turned to reach for her bedside table, but froze when her eyes landed on the person lying beside her. Smiling lightly as she took in Oliver's sleeping face, Sabina gently moved on top of him, her legs straddling him as she leaned forward and softly kissed him.

Oliver opened his eyes as Sabina pulled away, smiling up at her. "Well, good morning to you too, lass," he said.

"It will be," Sabina replied with a smirk.

"How much time do we have?" Oliver asked as he returned her smirk and moved his hands to her hips.

Looking at the clock on her bedside table, Sabina's smirk quickly fell and she jumped out of her bed as she exclaimed, "Oh, hell, we're so late!"

"Why did I ask?" Oliver grumbled to himself as he got out bed and started searching for his clothes.

In a matter of minutes, both of them were dressed. Sabina rushed over to the bathroom and quickly started removing whatever remained of last night's makeup as Oliver leaned against the doorframe and watched her with a small smile on his face.

"Thank Merlin our outfits are at the Burrow," she muttered. Then, turning to Oliver with a serious look, she said, "We need to keep this under wraps until the wedding is over, all right? Today is about Percy and Audrey, and nothing else."

Oliver nodded. "Agreed, but you're mad if you think that gets you off the hook for dancing with me," he said slyly.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Sabina replied. She grabbed his hand and added, "Hold on tight."

With a pop, Oliver and Sabina apparated just outside the Burrow's Apparition Wards. They rushed over to the old house, smiles still on their faces. Even from afar, it was obvious that the house was packed and filled with noise. It almost made Sabina turn right around and go back to bed - but, alas, she owed Audrey her obedience for the next fourteen hours.

As soon as Sabina stepped foot inside the Burrow, Molly was in front of her with a furious glare. "And where have you been?" she demanded. "Audrey's already here!"

"Oi, I'm here now, let's take it down a notch," Sabina replied as she moved past Molly and headed up the stairs.

She heard Molly turn on Oliver right after, ordering him to go check if Percy was putting his tie on right, and chuckled to herself as she made her way up the stairs of the Burrow. Almost the entire Weasley family was inside the small house at that point, as well as some of Audrey's family, so even just navigating up the stairs to the bedroom that had been designated as the bride's dressing room was a nightmare. Soon enough, though, she made it to the room and almost laughed when she saw Audrey still in sweatpants and a tank top.

"Molly will have an aneurysm if she comes in and sees you haven't put your wedding dress on," Sabina said as she sat down in a chair across from Audrey.

"The ceremony's not for another three hours," Audrey said with a roll of her eyes, "so hush and give me that hangover potion of yours."

Sabina shook her head in amusement and tossed Audrey a small vial holding Sabina's famous hangover cure potion. Audrey quickly downed it, her face contorting into a grimace as she set down the vial. She turned to Sabina, then paused with a frown on her face as her eyes scanned over her friend.

"Aren't those the clothes you wore last night?" Audrey asked slowly.

"No," Sabina replied quickly, mentally scolding herself for being too lazy to grab another outfit. "So how are you feeling in your last hours as Audrey Shacklebolt?" she asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Honestly, kind of nervous," Audrey answered, choosing to go along with the topic change. "Not about getting married, more so about what bloody else could go wrong - this week has been a living nightmare."

"Aye, you've had a hell of a week," Sabina admitted with a laugh, recalling all of the hiccups Percy and Audrey had had to deal with over the last few days. "You're in the home stretch now, though, and after this it's honeymoon time."

"Yeah, I know, I just need to get out of my own head," Audrey concluded. Standing up, she continued, "I'm going to go find Percy."

"All right, just don't let Molly see you," Sabina said with a laugh.

After Audrey left the room, Sabina looked around the room with a sigh and decided to at least go and make herself useful if Audrey wasn't going to bother sticking to Molly's schedule. She left the room, scanning the halls for Molly as she made her way down the stairs. Sabina milled around the house for a while, surprised how well she was blending in with the chaos. Suddenly, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist and gently tug at her arm. Sabina turned around with a frown to find Oliver reaching out from a broom closet with a sly smile on his face.

Sabina looked around quickly before rushing into the broom closet, holding back a laugh. "What on earth are you doing?" she asked in amusement.

Choosing not to reply right away, Oliver picked Sabina up at the waist and placed her on a low wooden shelf with a grin. "Picking up from where we left off this morning," he whispered.

"Oliver, come on - here?" Sabina said with a stifled laugh.

"This is quite literally the only private spot left in this house," Oliver replied quietly. "Trust me, I looked."

"I don't know..." Sabina trailed off as Oliver started kissing along her neck. She pressed her lips again, trying and failing to compose herself.

"Sounds like you do know," Oliver countered with a sly look on his face.

Ah, what the hell, Sabina thought to herself. She grabbed his shirt and forcefully pulled him closer to her, not hesitating to heatedly join their lips. She felt his hand moving up her leg to her underwear as she reached forward and quickly undid his jeans and pushed them off his hips. It was beyond Sabina how he could always make her melt so quickly, but as she felt his strong arms wrap around her and his hands on her hips, she was most certainly not complaining. If Sabina was being honest, she missed the sex - the amazing, heated, deviant sex - just as much as everything else about him. Feeling Oliver's body against hers was exactly what she needed in that moment.

That is, until the broom closet door swung open.

The extremely brief moment of silence before the door slammed shut and the shouting ensued felt like ages.

"HOLY CIRCE WHAT DID I JUST SEE?" Audrey's voice shouted from the other side of the door.

Sabina looked up at Oliver, both of them completely frozen in place. Had Percy and Audrey really just walked in on them shagging in a broom closet? On their wedding day?

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Percy's voice seethed. "I grew up in this house, for Merlin's sake!"

Sabina jumped down from the wooden shelf she was sitting on and approached the door, replying, "What the bloody hell did you need from a broom closet, anyways?"

"A bloody broom!" Audrey shouted back.

Sabina opened the door slightly and stuck her head out, meeting Audrey's eyes with a glare. "Audrey Shacklebolt, I may as well have invented the broom closet shag," Sabina started, her voice a loud whisper. "I know an aspirant broom closet shag when I see one."

"First off, it's my bloody wedding day," Audrey hissed back, "second - "

Instead of finishing her sentence, Audrey stepped forward and Sabina instinctively stepped back just as the door slammed shut. Mouth agape, Sabina was about to start her onslaught of insults when she heard voices on the other side of the door.

"Gran, so glad you're here!" Audrey's voice said cheerfully.

"Oh, hell, we've really fucked it this time," Sabina whispered to Oliver.

"In more ways than one," Oliver whispered back jokingly.

They both jumped at the sound of a fist pounding on the door, followed by Percy's voice saying, "You two better be whispering about how quickly you're getting dressed or, I swear to Godric, I'll kill you myself."

Stifling laughter, Oliver and Sabina glanced at each other with wide grins. They would have a hell of a time explaining this one.

"Have you seen Percy and Audrey?" Oliver asked as he approached Sabina, who was standing by the edge of the dance floor.

Sabina scanned the room with a light frown, a smile appearing on her face as she realized what had happened. "They did the Irish goodbye," Sabina replied with a shake of her head.

"Scoundrels," Oliver said jokingly.

Sabina laughed lightly as she looked around the reception. The bridesmaids easily stood out in their deep purple dresses, as did the groomsmen with their similarly coloured ties. The bouquets on each of the table were a beautiful gradient of shades of purple and silk-like lavender streamers held up the lanterns that lit up everything under the tent. It was a good thing the Weasleys didn't really have neighbours close by, because the party only seemed to be getting louder.

Probably had something to do with the alcohol Sabina's parents had brought.

Suddenly feeling a hand on the small of her back, Sabina looked over at Oliver to see him smiling down at her. "I think you still owe me a dance," he stated. "And, with Percy and Audrey gone, I'd say that we successfully made this day all about them."

"Successfully?" Sabina repeated with a skeptical look. "Are you forgetting - ?"

" - as far as anyone else knows," Oliver interrupted.

"All right then," Sabina agreed, taking Oliver's hand as he led her onto the dance floor. "I might just work my magic on you," she added jokingly, referring to the night of Oliver's first game.

"I have a feeling I'll just get my feet stepped on by a beautiful blonde," Oliver replied with a shrug and a smirk on his face as he started to lead.

Sabina looked up at Oliver with a wide grin on her face as they danced, his hazel eyes bright and happy as they met her blue ones. He leaned forward to give her a quick kiss as they danced, Sabina's face heating up. She truly didn't realize until that moment how much she liked him. Of course, Sabina had always had a feeling that she cared for him more than she claimed she did, but now that they were dancing together, she couldn't help but notice how the rest of the world simply melted away.

Oliver briefly looked up, his grin falling in an instant. "Your dad is searing a hole into my soul," he whispered to Sabina.

As the couple spun around, Sabina got a glimpse of her father. Sure enough, he was sitting at his table with Danica, a murderous glare aimed right at them. Even Dimitrij throwing spoons with some other boy wasn't enough to break his focus. "Oh yeah, he does not look happy," Sabina noted, laughing a bit.

"Guess we're gonna keep dancing 'til he dies then," Oliver said decisively.

"Hm, possibly," Sabina started. Then, she abruptly stepped away and pulled him by the hand, "or you could grow a pair."

With a defeated sigh, Oliver followed Sabina off of the dance floor. "How can I say no to you?" he muttered, bracing himself for what was sure to be a terrifying conversation.

It was all worth it, though.

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