#hprarepair & slytherdornet pride challenge

[starcrossedrose]

Quidditch Gave Me Life and Love

This ficlet is for @hprarepairnet & @slytherdornet - pride challenge and it focuses on our favorite Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

Tagging: @solembum22

Oliver Wood was an accident.

His parents didn’t plan to have him.

His parents were Quidditch Players, like Oliver was....except.....they were really good Quidditch players.

His father, Anthony Wood, was the Keeper for the England National Quidditch Team.

While his mother....Sofia Ramirez, was a Chaser for the Mexican National Quidditch Team.

They met during the Quidditch World Cup.

In between all the playing and team rivalries, they met and felt an attraction towards each other.

So, they decided to have one night to have fun and relieve a little stress from the competition.

Dinner, dancing, and every else in between...One night.

Then, when morning came, they would both go back to respective teams and the events of the previous night would never happen again.

That was their plan and they stuck to it.

When the Cup was over, they went their separate ways without a word of goodbye.

It wasn’t like they were ever going to see each other again.

And on the off chance, they ran into each other again at the next World Cup...they probably wouldn’t even remember each other.

Months later, during morning practice, Sofia felt...nauseous all of a sudden.

The team’s doctor told her to sit practice out, but Sophia dismissed the advice.

Sophia once played Quidditch when she had a cold. She could easily get through a nausea wave.

But as she continued to practice, her nausea worsened and then....the stomach cramps started.

The pain was so intense that it felt like Sofia’s stomach was getting hit by a Bludger over and over again.

After immediately noticing that Sofia was in physical distress, the coach benched Sophia and forces her to go see the doctor again.

Except this time...the doctor handed her a pregnancy test.

Sophia did not want to take it.

She was scared of it.

But she took it because despite the fear, there might be a strong chance the test turns out negative, right?

WRONG.

It was positive.

Sophia was devasted.

She didn’t want to have a baby. She didn’t want to be a mother.

All she wanted to do was play Quidditch.

The doctor eventually told the coach who effectively benched Sofia until the baby arrives and her body healed from the stress of giving birth.

News reached Sofia’s mother and she was excited beyond belief.

It was the most miserable nine months of Sophia’s life.

Finally, it was time for the baby to arrive and little Oliver Ramirez was born.

And Sophia felt nothing but dread. And her dread kept increasing with each passing day after that.

She knew Oliver was only a baby and babies required a lot of attention and energy....but it was becoming way too much for her.

Sure, her mother helped her raise the baby, but Sofia had reached her breaking point.

Then, she had an idea.

Oliver should be raised by his father.

He helped bring Oliver into the world. He should have the responsibility of raising him.

So, Sofia convinced her mother that she should travel on a mini-vacation for a few days.

Her mother didn’t want to, of course, but Sophia was able to sway her mind.

The day after her mother left, Sophia traveled straight to England and tracked down Anthony Wood.

He was shocked to see her and even more shocked to see the little boy in her arms.

Sofia told him that Oliver was his son.

Anthony was delighted to hear the news and was eager to become a co-parent, but that delight soured when Sofia told him of her plans to place Oliver solely in his care.

An argument broke out between the two.

Anthony has no problem helping raise Oliver but to just....spring his son on him with no warning..and expect to be okay with raising him alone?

That was asking for far too much, but Sophia refused to listen.

And seconds later, Sophia was out the door and on her way back to Mexico.

When Sofia’s mother returned, Sophia had told her what she’d done.

She figured that...sure, her mother would be upset, but her mother would understand because Sofia was her daughter and her wants/needs were important.

That did not happen.

Sofia’s mother was furious.

She called Sophia selfish, inconsiderate, and many other things until her English blended into Spanish.

Sophia tried to defend her mindset, but Sofia’s mother would not hear it.

The elder Ramirez explained that Sofia might not have wanted a child, but that child was here now and Sophia was responsible for him.

Sophia had nine months to prepare herself for this responsibility.

And for her to shift that responsibility on the man who just learned that he has a son...in a matter of seconds?

It was unforgivable.

So, Sofia’s mother packed up her stuff and prepared to move to England.

Sofia tried to stop her, but the old woman had made up her mind.

Since Quidditch was the only thing that seemed important to Sophia, then Quidditch would be the only thing she has left.

Her mother was done with her and would never see or speak to her again.

Meanwhile, Anthony Wood was bending over backwards trying to get everything that was possibly needed for raising a child when he heard a knock on the door.

The visitor introduced herself as Maria Ramirez, the mother of Sophia. She stated that she was going to help raise Oliver, much to Anthony’s delight.

Maria planned on purchasing an apartment near Anthony’s house, but Anthony insisted she just move into one of the many guest rooms inside the household.

They were family after all.

Anthony retired early from the Quidditch Team and dedicated himself to being a father.

His former teammates often stopped by to see Oliver and help take care of him/make it easier on Anthony so he wouldn’t do it alone.

Then, one day, Anthony was stunned to see Sofia’s teammates at his doorstep.

They had discovered what Sofia did and were so appalled that each and every one of them quit the team.

They could play for other teams, but they refused to play with Sofia. And, if Anthony was okay with it, they were more than happy to help care for Oliver too.

And Anthony was more than okay with that.

So, Oliver grew up surrounded by love, care, and support his father, grandmother, and many, many friends of the family.

Anthony found love in Jose, the former Seeker of the Mexican National Quidditch Team, who moved to England very soon after they started getting serious in their relationship.

Five years later, Anthony tearfully said yes to Jose’s proposal.

The two were married half a year later, while Oliver was the cutest ring bearer, Maria Ramirez was Best Woman, Jose’s mother was Matron of Honor, and both mothers planned the wedding together.

Every Quidditch player that ever been in Oliver’s life all had a part to play in the wedding.

It was absolutely perfect.

As Oliver grew up, he grew to love Quidditch just like his dads.

Sure, he found out what his mother did when he got older, but that didn’t stop him from loving Quidditch any less.

In his mind, Quidditch brought his dads together and gave Oliver the best aunts and uncles ever.

Years down the line, Quidditch brought a boy into Oliver’s life that Oliver spent many years trying to best him in the sport that he loved so much.

And this boy eventually became the man that Oliver would marry in his adulthood.

And when Oliver Flint was blessed with two twin daughters, he taught them everything he knew about Quidditch.

He hoped Quidditch would give them the same things that it gave him: life and love.