Angelina's Smile (Katie Bell/Roxanne Weasley, PG-13)
Author: bendleshnitz1
Title: Angelina's Smile
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1791
Pairing(s): Katie Bell/Roxanne Weasley, past Katie Bell/Angelina Johnson
Warnings: Pre-femmeslash. Crossgen. Age disparity (51/19).
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: During the Quidditch World Cup, Roxanne has the chance to meet her biggest hero, who knows exactly who Roxy is.
Author's Notes: This fic didn't turned out as I hoped it would when I picked the prompt. Hope you still like it and I owe you the smut for now ;) If you want to see what Roxanne's dress looks like, here is a picture of it. Thank you to my lovely betas and the mod for the patience. :) Enjoy!
"Hey, Bell! There’s someone outside who wants to see you!"
Few things pissed Katie off more than someone interrupting her post-game shower. She might not actually be in the field any more, but the tension of being responsible for the outcome of England’s team in this Quidditch World Cup weighed on her shoulders greatly, leaving her back with more knots than usual. Only the scalding hot water running down her back after her players had left the changing rooms was able to make her relax.
Katie huffed. "Tell them to bugger off!"
"Tell them yourself! I’m not being rude to a celebrity. You never know when you’ll need a favour or two from the offspring of a war hero."
Leave it to Curtis, England’s Quidditch Captain, to be more interested in connections and rubbing elbows with the talented and famous than being respectful to his coach.
"But you’re being rude to me!"
"You’re not famous."
He knew all too well what a damn good Keeper he was. Nothing he could say would make Katie take him off the team.
"I fought in that bloody War so ungrateful people like you--"
"Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard the lecture before... I’m taking off now."
"Get some sleep! No parties, alcohol, or crazy sex with strangers! I want you in practice field number six by sunrise."
"Sir, yes, sir!" He mocked her in his favourite way: using Muggle references. He might be the Muggle-born one, but Katie had read enough Muggle novels to know what he referred to... most of the time.
Before she had time to answer, his retreating footsteps started echoing in the changing room. "Wait, what about my visitor!" Nothing but the sound of her shower was heard. "Curtis?" Silence again. "Shit..."
After debating for a second, Katie decided to continue her ritual as if Curtis’s interruption had never happened. He must have confused some crazy fan with someone famous. After all, Harry had told her he wouldn’t be able to attend the Quidditch World Cup this time. Harry and Ron had organized a holiday to Australia to "reunite the family". Honestly, Katie knew few families as united as those two. Needless to say, their kids weren’t very happy about it and, even though they were all in their twenties, they knew better than to ruin any plans Hermione and Ginny were really excited about. So the usual visitors she had after games were out of the question.
After finishing her relaxing shower, Katie wrapped her big, fluffy towel with the Gryffindor colours - her lucky towel - around her and walked out of the shower area. She loved an empty locker room, especially after winning a game. The scent of victory was a perfect mix to the swirl of sweat and shampoo in the air. Her team still had a long way to go, though. After all, they were just in the preliminary stage but winning against Sweden was a big step towards the cup.
Her post-game routine was once again ruined. She did have a visitor, one who almost gave her a heart attack. How could a person be so quiet and look so graceful in the middle of a changing room, among piles of wet towels and dirty socks on the floor?
"Hello, Miss Bell, it is so nice to meet you. I’m-"
Katie didn’t have to look at the young girl twice. Not only did she know her because of her rising stardom in the Quidditch world, but that face would always be recognizable to Katie Bell.
"Angie’s daughter," Katie whispered, not taking her eyes off the young girl.
"Yes. Did she tell you I was comi--"
She quickly shook her head, looking away from those dark brown eyes she knew all too well despite not having seen them in years. "No. You-- you look just like her. But I can see George in there too. You’re the perfect mix of both of them." Roxanne - that was the girl’s name - smiled nervously. That smile Katie had never seen before. Neither George nor Angelina had ever been the nervous type. If they were, their confidence hid it very well. Suddenly, a thought struck Katie's mind. "Wait, how did you know I’m single?"
"Pardon?" asked Roxanne in confusion.
"You called me Miss. Normally people address me as Mrs because of my age..." Now she was about to blush in front of a nineteen-year-old. How ridiculous! Katie hadn’t acted like this since she was a teenager, since... since Angelina.
But this wasn’t Angelina; this was her daughter.
"That’s stupid. People are people."
Who said just what Angie would have.
"Age, gender, blood-status... Society burns them into our heads, creating this invisible barrier between us, locking us up in these imaginary status quo boxes with expectations and... rules. As if there weren’t enough rules in this world!" Roxanne continued, pacing in small circles and throwing her hands up in indignation.
Katie could only stare in awe. Her brain took notes of the similarities between the old friend that had changed her life completely, and the tall, fit girl who was ranting about morals and values in the middle of a smelly Quidditch locker room in an apricot-coloured maxi dress.
Suddenly, Roxanne stopped. The flowing fabric of her dress and her dangling, matching earrings brushing past her sudden halt. "Sorry. I tend to get carried away and forget about everything. My mum has been struggling with my sudden outbursts all my life. It became quite embarrassing for her to see me rant to a stranger in the middle of Diagon Alley..."
"Really?" Katie asked in surprise.
"Yes." Roxanne glanced at Katie’s baffled expression and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"N-no. But... The Angie I knew wouldn’t have minded. In fact, she would have done the same."
"Well, she’s a mum now, I guess," Roxanne reasoned, shrugging her broad, bony shoulders - inherited from her father - and looked like a real teenager for the first time since Katie saw her.
"Yes, people change," Katie mumbled, lost in thought once more. Her mind traced back to her Hogwarts years and those fumbling kisses behind the dark red curtains around their beds.
"No, they don’t," Roxanne said promptly. "Their essence is the same. Always. And it leads on in future generations apparently." She gave Katie that confident half-smirk that was so characteristic of Angelina.
Katie laughed. "Yes. I can see a lot of your parents’ essence in you, Roxanne."
"Roxy," she corrected.
"Roxy," Katie allowed. "But you’re also... so different. Unique, I might say," she explained, eyeing the beautiful cocktail dress that fitted Roxanne perfectly. The apricot colour complemented her tanned skin and the heart-shaped cleavage hugged her small breasts, accentuating her fit figure.
"Thank you!" Roxanne smiled brightly, as if Katie’s words were the best compliment she could ever receive. Soon, her broad smile turned into a knowing one, catching Katie’s staring. "If you’re wondering about my fashion sense--"
"I didn’t--"
"It’s okay. People always stare. How can a novice reserve Quidditch player dress up like that?!" Roxanne said, imitating a high, squeaky voice. "It’s like a sin to like high fashion if you live in this world," she finished, waving her hands at the room.
Katie could only attempt to smile, suddenly worried about her wardrobe, which consisted of comfy joggings and oversized t-shirts. How was a Quidditch coach supposed to dress?
"This is Aunt Audrey’s making, though. She’s starting her own clothing line next summer, in fact," Roxanne said proudly.
Katie knew Angelina was an only child, so that aunt must be from George’s side of the family. "And your Aunt Audrey married...?"
"Uncle Percy."
A laugh escaped Katie’s lips, imagining the uptight Percy Weasley she knew married to a fashionista who most probably forced him to go with her to fashion shows and such. "Of all the Weasleys..."
Roxanne started laughing too. "You should ask my dad about it. He gives Uncle Percy hell. We could laugh for hours listening to Dad make fun of him. If you didn’t know them, you would have never imagined he insisted on Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey to be my godparents."
"Well, they had bonded a lot over the years." Katie mused, remembering how badly George had taken Fred’s death and how much Percy helped with his grieving.
The silence that had settled between them was interrupted by Roxanne’s breathy laugh. She was shaking her head in disbelief, looking at Katie’s confused expression.
"I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. Only... this is such a surreal experience for me. Of all the times I had imagined this moment, I would have never in a billion years pictured myself talking about my Godparents and ranting about society’s issues with the status quo, here of all places, with Miss Bell wearing just a towel," Roxanne explained, gasping for breath as her ringing laughed continued to echo in the empty room.
Katie blushed furiously, looking down at her outfit - or lack thereof. "Oh, Godric. How embarrassing..." she muttered under her breath, rushing to her locker and rummaging for her clothes.
Her actions were stopped by a warm hand on her bare shoulder. "Don’t worry, Miss Bell--"
"Call me, Katie. I think we are past formalities given my current state of dress," Katie mumbled, looking at the floor but being extremely aware of Roxanne’s closeness and her fixing stare.
In a blink of an eye, Roxanne’s arms were wrapped around her, pressing their bodies tightly together. However, Katie couldn’t react. Her fingers gripped at her towel harshly, ignoring her body’s reaction to Roxanne’s warm hands on her lower back and the shallow breaths against her neck. It had been so long since Katie was this close to someone. After her heartbreaking experience with Angelina, who years after the war chose George over Katie, saying she was never a lesbian but was only experimenting like any other young girl would, it was hard for Katie to trust in someone else. It had been almost twenty two years...
"Thank you, Katie. I’ve admired you my whole life, as a Quidditch player and a person. Mum would tell me stories about you when I was a little girl and… to have the possibility of finally meeting you. And like this!" Roxanne sniffed. "I have never been happier, Katie," Roxanne whispered against Katie’s ear before planting a soft, lingering kiss on her cheek, making the older woman shudder.
However, all too soon, the coldness of the room surrounded her once more as Roxanne broke their embrace and started leaving the place.
"Roxy," Katie called, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We shall meet again, Katie. Soon, I hope," Roxanne said before leaving, smiling Angelina’s smile.
Title: Angelina's Smile
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1791
Pairing(s): Katie Bell/Roxanne Weasley, past Katie Bell/Angelina Johnson
Warnings: Pre-femmeslash. Crossgen. Age disparity (51/19).
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters herein are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No copyright infringement is intended.
Summary: During the Quidditch World Cup, Roxanne has the chance to meet her biggest hero, who knows exactly who Roxy is.
Author's Notes: This fic didn't turned out as I hoped it would when I picked the prompt. Hope you still like it and I owe you the smut for now ;) If you want to see what Roxanne's dress looks like, here is a picture of it. Thank you to my lovely betas and the mod for the patience. :) Enjoy!
"Hey, Bell! There’s someone outside who wants to see you!"
Few things pissed Katie off more than someone interrupting her post-game shower. She might not actually be in the field any more, but the tension of being responsible for the outcome of England’s team in this Quidditch World Cup weighed on her shoulders greatly, leaving her back with more knots than usual. Only the scalding hot water running down her back after her players had left the changing rooms was able to make her relax.
Katie huffed. "Tell them to bugger off!"
"Tell them yourself! I’m not being rude to a celebrity. You never know when you’ll need a favour or two from the offspring of a war hero."
Leave it to Curtis, England’s Quidditch Captain, to be more interested in connections and rubbing elbows with the talented and famous than being respectful to his coach.
"But you’re being rude to me!"
"You’re not famous."
He knew all too well what a damn good Keeper he was. Nothing he could say would make Katie take him off the team.
"I fought in that bloody War so ungrateful people like you--"
"Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard the lecture before... I’m taking off now."
"Get some sleep! No parties, alcohol, or crazy sex with strangers! I want you in practice field number six by sunrise."
"Sir, yes, sir!" He mocked her in his favourite way: using Muggle references. He might be the Muggle-born one, but Katie had read enough Muggle novels to know what he referred to... most of the time.
Before she had time to answer, his retreating footsteps started echoing in the changing room. "Wait, what about my visitor!" Nothing but the sound of her shower was heard. "Curtis?" Silence again. "Shit..."
After debating for a second, Katie decided to continue her ritual as if Curtis’s interruption had never happened. He must have confused some crazy fan with someone famous. After all, Harry had told her he wouldn’t be able to attend the Quidditch World Cup this time. Harry and Ron had organized a holiday to Australia to "reunite the family". Honestly, Katie knew few families as united as those two. Needless to say, their kids weren’t very happy about it and, even though they were all in their twenties, they knew better than to ruin any plans Hermione and Ginny were really excited about. So the usual visitors she had after games were out of the question.
After finishing her relaxing shower, Katie wrapped her big, fluffy towel with the Gryffindor colours - her lucky towel - around her and walked out of the shower area. She loved an empty locker room, especially after winning a game. The scent of victory was a perfect mix to the swirl of sweat and shampoo in the air. Her team still had a long way to go, though. After all, they were just in the preliminary stage but winning against Sweden was a big step towards the cup.
Her post-game routine was once again ruined. She did have a visitor, one who almost gave her a heart attack. How could a person be so quiet and look so graceful in the middle of a changing room, among piles of wet towels and dirty socks on the floor?
"Hello, Miss Bell, it is so nice to meet you. I’m-"
Katie didn’t have to look at the young girl twice. Not only did she know her because of her rising stardom in the Quidditch world, but that face would always be recognizable to Katie Bell.
"Angie’s daughter," Katie whispered, not taking her eyes off the young girl.
"Yes. Did she tell you I was comi--"
She quickly shook her head, looking away from those dark brown eyes she knew all too well despite not having seen them in years. "No. You-- you look just like her. But I can see George in there too. You’re the perfect mix of both of them." Roxanne - that was the girl’s name - smiled nervously. That smile Katie had never seen before. Neither George nor Angelina had ever been the nervous type. If they were, their confidence hid it very well. Suddenly, a thought struck Katie's mind. "Wait, how did you know I’m single?"
"Pardon?" asked Roxanne in confusion.
"You called me Miss. Normally people address me as Mrs because of my age..." Now she was about to blush in front of a nineteen-year-old. How ridiculous! Katie hadn’t acted like this since she was a teenager, since... since Angelina.
But this wasn’t Angelina; this was her daughter.
"That’s stupid. People are people."
Who said just what Angie would have.
"Age, gender, blood-status... Society burns them into our heads, creating this invisible barrier between us, locking us up in these imaginary status quo boxes with expectations and... rules. As if there weren’t enough rules in this world!" Roxanne continued, pacing in small circles and throwing her hands up in indignation.
Katie could only stare in awe. Her brain took notes of the similarities between the old friend that had changed her life completely, and the tall, fit girl who was ranting about morals and values in the middle of a smelly Quidditch locker room in an apricot-coloured maxi dress.
Suddenly, Roxanne stopped. The flowing fabric of her dress and her dangling, matching earrings brushing past her sudden halt. "Sorry. I tend to get carried away and forget about everything. My mum has been struggling with my sudden outbursts all my life. It became quite embarrassing for her to see me rant to a stranger in the middle of Diagon Alley..."
"Really?" Katie asked in surprise.
"Yes." Roxanne glanced at Katie’s baffled expression and asked, "Is something wrong?"
"N-no. But... The Angie I knew wouldn’t have minded. In fact, she would have done the same."
"Well, she’s a mum now, I guess," Roxanne reasoned, shrugging her broad, bony shoulders - inherited from her father - and looked like a real teenager for the first time since Katie saw her.
"Yes, people change," Katie mumbled, lost in thought once more. Her mind traced back to her Hogwarts years and those fumbling kisses behind the dark red curtains around their beds.
"No, they don’t," Roxanne said promptly. "Their essence is the same. Always. And it leads on in future generations apparently." She gave Katie that confident half-smirk that was so characteristic of Angelina.
Katie laughed. "Yes. I can see a lot of your parents’ essence in you, Roxanne."
"Roxy," she corrected.
"Roxy," Katie allowed. "But you’re also... so different. Unique, I might say," she explained, eyeing the beautiful cocktail dress that fitted Roxanne perfectly. The apricot colour complemented her tanned skin and the heart-shaped cleavage hugged her small breasts, accentuating her fit figure.
"Thank you!" Roxanne smiled brightly, as if Katie’s words were the best compliment she could ever receive. Soon, her broad smile turned into a knowing one, catching Katie’s staring. "If you’re wondering about my fashion sense--"
"I didn’t--"
"It’s okay. People always stare. How can a novice reserve Quidditch player dress up like that?!" Roxanne said, imitating a high, squeaky voice. "It’s like a sin to like high fashion if you live in this world," she finished, waving her hands at the room.
Katie could only attempt to smile, suddenly worried about her wardrobe, which consisted of comfy joggings and oversized t-shirts. How was a Quidditch coach supposed to dress?
"This is Aunt Audrey’s making, though. She’s starting her own clothing line next summer, in fact," Roxanne said proudly.
Katie knew Angelina was an only child, so that aunt must be from George’s side of the family. "And your Aunt Audrey married...?"
"Uncle Percy."
A laugh escaped Katie’s lips, imagining the uptight Percy Weasley she knew married to a fashionista who most probably forced him to go with her to fashion shows and such. "Of all the Weasleys..."
Roxanne started laughing too. "You should ask my dad about it. He gives Uncle Percy hell. We could laugh for hours listening to Dad make fun of him. If you didn’t know them, you would have never imagined he insisted on Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey to be my godparents."
"Well, they had bonded a lot over the years." Katie mused, remembering how badly George had taken Fred’s death and how much Percy helped with his grieving.
The silence that had settled between them was interrupted by Roxanne’s breathy laugh. She was shaking her head in disbelief, looking at Katie’s confused expression.
"I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. Only... this is such a surreal experience for me. Of all the times I had imagined this moment, I would have never in a billion years pictured myself talking about my Godparents and ranting about society’s issues with the status quo, here of all places, with Miss Bell wearing just a towel," Roxanne explained, gasping for breath as her ringing laughed continued to echo in the empty room.
Katie blushed furiously, looking down at her outfit - or lack thereof. "Oh, Godric. How embarrassing..." she muttered under her breath, rushing to her locker and rummaging for her clothes.
Her actions were stopped by a warm hand on her bare shoulder. "Don’t worry, Miss Bell--"
"Call me, Katie. I think we are past formalities given my current state of dress," Katie mumbled, looking at the floor but being extremely aware of Roxanne’s closeness and her fixing stare.
In a blink of an eye, Roxanne’s arms were wrapped around her, pressing their bodies tightly together. However, Katie couldn’t react. Her fingers gripped at her towel harshly, ignoring her body’s reaction to Roxanne’s warm hands on her lower back and the shallow breaths against her neck. It had been so long since Katie was this close to someone. After her heartbreaking experience with Angelina, who years after the war chose George over Katie, saying she was never a lesbian but was only experimenting like any other young girl would, it was hard for Katie to trust in someone else. It had been almost twenty two years...
"Thank you, Katie. I’ve admired you my whole life, as a Quidditch player and a person. Mum would tell me stories about you when I was a little girl and… to have the possibility of finally meeting you. And like this!" Roxanne sniffed. "I have never been happier, Katie," Roxanne whispered against Katie’s ear before planting a soft, lingering kiss on her cheek, making the older woman shudder.
However, all too soon, the coldness of the room surrounded her once more as Roxanne broke their embrace and started leaving the place.
"Roxy," Katie called, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We shall meet again, Katie. Soon, I hope," Roxanne said before leaving, smiling Angelina’s smile.