Catching Her Heart Pt. 2

Chapter 55

Hiya Ollie,

Fred here, and George. How are you mate? How's life outside Hogwarts treating you? We wanted to know if Hermione ever responded to your last letter. She showed it to us before the party. Well, not sure if it was all of it, but the part where you were asking her about whether or not she liked Quidditch anyway. She came down and asked us about it when she found the letter waiting for her. She asked us if you were seriously asking her to the Quidditch World Cup. Well, not in those words exactly, we supplied that it sounded like you were asking her to us. She said no. Not because she didn't like you, Ollie. Or that she didn't like Quidditch. It seems to be because she's concerned about the cost of tickets. She knows how expensive they are. She said it was too much, she couldn't accept.

So, we made a deal with her. Yeah, a deal. If dad can't get tickets to go - Ron is asking for Harry, so one more for Hermione wouldn't be asking too much - as he can get them free from work if there are any left - If dad can't get the tickets to go - then she would accept the invitation from you and suck it up when it came to the cost.

Don't be too hard on her if she didn't tell you. Yeah, she's a good person, but she's got her pride. We just wanted to let you know in case she didn't so that you didn't wonder why she hadn't responded or what was going on. We'll let you know what we find out from dad as soon as we know. Have a good summer, Ollie. We'll miss you at Hogwarts, but hopefully we'll see you at the Quidditch World Cup!

Fred and George

Oliver shook his head as he read the co-authored letter from the twins, and fed their owl, Errol who had crashed landed against the side of their tent only moments earlier. He had often wondered how the bird had survived so many head on collisions with solid objects. He recalled one year offering to buy the twins their own owl, one that wasn't quite so addled, but they had refused, telling him that their mum wouldn't approve. They told him while they appreciated the offer, their family had always made do, and didn't like charity. He was glad for their letter since Hermione hadn't spoken to him about the letter at the party, nor had she addressed it since.

He wondered why he hadn't heard from her since they said goodbye on the platform. It hadn't been all that long since the end of the school year, and he figured that she was enjoying some time with her family, so it hadn't bothered him all that much, but it was nice to have some kind of any idea about what the holdup was. He'd never thought about her turning him down merely over the cost of the tickets. Then again, he hadn't told her how wealthy his family actually was either. He had wanted to pursue Quidditch not only because he loved the sport, but because then he could actually do something out of his father's shadow.

His mother stayed at home and was able to do as she pleased, pursuing whatever hobbies took her fancy while his dad worked in the Ministry. While it was a rare book he had given to Hermione over Christmas, it wasn't one that he'd actually gone out and bought, but one that had been sitting on their bookshelf, untouched, for as long as he could remember.

Because of this, it had never even crossed his mind that the cost of the tickets would be an issue.

Hello Fred, Hello George,

It was good to hear from you. I am doing well. Life outside Hogwarts is all right. I miss you and the rest of the team, too. Mum loves having me home. She gets lonely with dad away from home because of work at the Ministry. While she doesn't mind the house-elves, like me, she doesn't like them waiting on her all the time, but they aren't much for conversation otherwise, no matter how hard we try.