Thanks to AnotherHPF for her special addition to this chapter—she knows what I'm talking about. And thanks for all of the reviews. They made my holidays extra enjoyable.

Detention:::

So far Oliver and I have pretty much just acted like nothing has changed between us, which I guess is a good thing. If I can't have him romantically, then at least I can still have him as a friend.

But you know what sucks? After Oliver told me that he wasn't sure we'd be able to be together, my stupid head got itself into the right place and realized that Oliver really is the guy I want to be with. Forget Quidditch, forget his graduation. I'm in love with Oliver Wood and I know it. God, what luck!

That's why when the sign went up a few days later announcing a Hogsmeade trip on the last weekend of term, I was ecstatic. This is the perfect excuse for Oliver to ask me out! We wouldn't even have to go as a date—just friends. Surely he has to see what a great opportunity this is.

I was thinking about all of this in Professor McGonagall's class since Transfiguration doesn't make any logical sense anyway. Sadly, McGonagall's an expert on figuring out whether a student is paying attention or not.

"Miss Bell!" her stern voice rang out through the room. I quickly pushed away the paper that I'd been scribbling on and turned to her. "Perhaps you'd like to demonstrate to the class how to turn your pumpkin juice into water?" Damn. Why is she asking me to do this? She knows I suck at this class—she grades the papers!

"Sure, Professor," I said through clenched teeth. What had Oliver said about this last night? God, why is my tutor so damn distracting?

I tapped the goblet three times and muttered what I thought was the incantation. There was a loud bang and I ducked just in time to avoid being hit with what looked like a jet of boiling water. Some of my classmates weren't so lucky. Professor McGonagall immediately went around correcting the situation and there was no lasting damage, unlike my switching spell incident of '93. But God, I really do suck.

"Detention, Miss Bell. And see me after class." I just nodded.

When the bell finally rang to end the lesson, I slowly gathered my stuff and walked up to the teacher's desk.

"I'm really sorry, Professor," I started, but McGonagall interrupted me.

"I know that you're sorry, Miss Bell; that is not what I called you here for. I am becoming very worried about your grades. The other professors tell me that you're one of the top students in all of your other classes. Have you considered a tutor? Because if your grades don't start improving, I'm going to have to remove you from the Quidditch team."

"But I do have a tutor, Professor," I admittedly sheepishly.

"You do have a tutor, Miss Bell?" she asked shocked. Yeah, that's right. Those T's are earned even with help.

"Yeah, um, Oliver Wood." McGonagall's face transformed into a knowing smirk.

"May I perhaps suggest a less distracting tutor?" I could feel my cheeks heating up. Bloody hell! Does everyone know? "Detention tomorrow after dinner, Miss Bell."

"Yes, Professor," I said quickly and then rushed out of the room before she could give me anymore relationship advice. I walked into the Great Hall and sat down across from Fred, who was sitting alone at the end of the table.

"How are you today, Miss Bell?"

"Bloody horrible," I answered, burying my head in my hands.

"Language," he warned.

"Sod off, Weasley." We ate in silence for a few minutes until I felt I could talk about the situation without sticking my head into the pumpkin juice pitcher.

"McGonagall gave me detention," I explained.

"So you're the one who dosed the class in boiling water?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"No one was hurt!"

"If you say so," he laughed. "So, what do you have planned for Hogsmeade next weekend?"

"Nothing special," I said, glancing over at Oliver who was laughing with Cullen Burke at the end of the table.

"So you two don't have anything planned?" he asked, following my gaze.

"Nope."

"Well, have you asked him?"

"He obviously doesn't want to go with me."

"Maybe he's just shy," Fred joked. "You should ask him."

"Ha ha, not funny. Anyway, he's basically told me that his main focus is Quidditch right now. I'm just not important enough."

"Damn, that dude really needs to sort out his priorities."

OoO

The following night I headed for McGonagall's classroom right after dinner to serve my detention. To my surprise, the first person I saw when I opened the door was not McGonagall, but Cullen Burke.

"Um, hi," I said cautiously.

"Hello, Miss Bell," Professor McGonagall said, appearing out of her supply closet.

"Oh, hello, Professor."

"Mr. Burke has received a detention also, and I think that it would benefit both of you to serve them together.

"Um okay," we said together, both deeply confused.

"Mr. Burke, I would like you to tutor Miss Bell."

"That's all?" he asked rather happily.

"While I normally discourage turning other students into wildlife, it really was an extraordinary bit of magic and Miss Bell needs all of the help she can get." Thanks. "And Flint deserved it," she added as an afterthought.

Cullen hexed Flint? Sweet! He's my new hero.

"Miss Bell, pay attention to him," she warned as she prepared to leave the room. "Because you two are going to keep coming back to this room every night until you can at least perform a simple switching spell without sending the whole class to the hospital wing." She left the room with a warning glare and I sat down next to Cullen.

"You sent your whole class to the hospital wing?" he asked politely.

"No," I defended myself. "There was only two people McGonagall couldn't fix herself." Ok, we're going to be here for weeks.

"Oh, come on. You can't be that bad. Oliver tutors you like twice a week, right?" Ah, joy. I'd forgotten they were so close.

"If I said no, could you excuse my lack of talent?"

"Are you really that bad?"

"Only in Transfiguration!"

"Okay, well do you understand the theory?"

"You mean the theory that the spell is supposed to change one object into something completely different?" I asked in mock surprise. "Oh course I understand the damn theory! I just can't put it into practice!"

"You don't have to yell. Just show me the wand movement."

Two hours later, I'd made more progress than I had all year. I actually managed to turn a teacup from pink to blue! Granted, I was supposed to be turning it into a goblet, but it's a start. I was now sitting directly across from Cullen with a button between us.

"Now, turn it into a needle," Cullen demanded.

"You're sure you want me to turn it into something that sharp?" I asked, only half joking. He just rolled his eyes; I think he's starting to get annoyed with my sarcasm.

"Transfigure the damn button, Bell."

"It's your funeral," I mutter and then focused all of my attention on the 'damn' button. I said the incantation and then promptly dropped my wand at the sight of a shiny needle sitting in front of me. Cullen was leaning his seat back on two legs and laughing at me.

"Oh my God! I've never done that before!" I exclaimed.

"You have absolutely no self-confidence. If you would just believe that you could do it, then…" He was cut off by Professor McGonagall entering the room.

"So?" she asked Cullen.

"She transfigured that," he said, gesturing to that beautiful needle.

"Well, well. Do it again." And then she turned it back into a button. Bitch. Doesn't she know I can't do these things on demand? "Miss Bell?" she inquired when I made no attempt to pick up my dropped wand.

"Do I have to?"

"Not if you want to come back here tomorrow night."

"Ugh!" I groaned and bent down to retrieve my wand. I tapped the button harshly three times, knowing that anger only makes for poor magic, and then muttered the spell. A loud bang and a cloud of smoke filled the room. We all began coughing, but when the smoke cleared I was surprised to find a needle sitting in front of me.

"Holy fuck!" I said happily while Cullen started laughing at me. And then I remembered that Professor McGonagall was in the room. "Oh, sorry Professor."

"Save the language for the Quidditch pitch, Miss Bell. And try to eliminate the special effects before our next class."

"Yes, Professor."

"Okay, you two are free to go." Relieved, I exited the room with Cullen by my side.

"Thank you so much," I said as we headed back towards Gryffindor Tower.

"For what?" he asked.

"For helping me. I've never done a switching spell before. Well, one that worked anyway."

"What have you and Oliver been doing for the past three months?"

"Um, he talks. I just don't listen." He gave me a confused look. You know, Cullen's pretty cute… "I get kind of distracted."

"Oh," he said realization dawning on his face.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"Does he know you like him?" Cullen asked.

"Um, yeah."

"Well, did he do anything about it?" Cullen asked, shocked.

"About what?"

"About you two? He's crazy about you—almost skinned me alive after I kissed you at your birthday party."

"Yeah, we've talked about it. He told me we couldn't be together right now."

"What! Why?"

"One word: Quidditch." It's hard losing the love of your life to a sport.

"Katie, can I tell you something?" he asked after a while.

"Sure."

"That spin-the-bottle game. It wasn't a coincidence it landed on me. I put a spell on the bottle."

"What?" I asked, shocked. Why would someone actually want to kiss me?

"I don't really know why. I'd just seen you around—heard Oliver talk about you. I haven't been able to get you off of my mind since that kiss."

"Uh, Cullen I…."

"No, listen. Even if you don't want to admit it, you have to know that no matter how much he cares about you, Quidditch will always come first." Yeah, I'm starting to get that feeling. "Katie, go to Hogsmeade with me—it's just one day—and I know I can convince you I'm worth it. Even if you go for no other reason than to make him jealous. Please."

I think it was the way he said it—so calm, so sure—that made me want to say yes on the spot.

"I need to think about it. Can I get back to you?" Ok, so that was lame.

"Sure," he said with a smirk and turned towards the kitchens, leaving me alone in the corridor and at a loss for what to do. Going back to the common room is out of the question. That would involve eventually running into either Oliver or Cullen. So what is there to do?

I sat down right where I was.

So what the hell am I supposed to do? Cullen Burke, a seventh year, just asked me out. Can you believe it? I went from feeling completely helpless in the romance department to having two guys to choose from.

Cullen.

Oliver.

God, it's so unfair! As much as I hate to admit it, Cullen's right. Oliver is so impossible to deal with sometimes. With Hogsmeade only a few days away, it's obvious he's not planning on asking me. But on the other hand, he definitely likes me even if he's not making a move to define the relationship. Am I willing to wait for him?

I sat there until way past curfew and even then, I had no clue what to do.

I got up and slowly headed for the common room. It's almost midnight—no one's going to be in there. I walked cautiously to Gyffindor Tower, shutting the portrait hole on my way in. I looked around and was relieved to find that I was alone. Exhausted and distraught, I collapsed into the nearest armchair and gazed into the diminishing fire. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my chin on them. It didn't take long before I was drifting into sleep.

"Katie, wake up," a soft voice whispered, shaking my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The fire was completely gone by now and I was curled up in the chair.

"Oh my God! What time is it?" I asked, sitting up straight.

"It's like three in the morning," Fred said, sitting down next to me. In jeans and a T-shirt. He obviously hasn't been to bed yet tonight.

"Where've you been?" I asked groggily, resting my head on his shoulder.

"With Brittney Pierce," he answered smugly.

"The Ravenclaw?"

"Yup."

"Any good?"

"Decent. Not as good as you though." Sheer exhaustion kept me from hitting him for that comment. "Go on to your dorm, Katie. We have class in a few hours." Groan. Does he really expect me to move?

"Where have you been?" he asked. I looked down at myself and realized that I too am still in my school robes.

"With McGonagall," I answered without thinking.

"Goodness, Katie. I didn't know you rolled like that." This time I really did hit him. Hard.

"I had detention, you idiot."

"Until three in the morning?"

"No, only until eleven."

"Which brings me back to the question: where have you been?"

"With Cullen." Once again, not thinking.

"Burke?" he asked shocked. I knew what he was thinking and I'm not about to correct him. If he really wants to know, he can say it out loud.

It's fun bugging Fred. And energizing. I'm wide awake now.

"What the hell were you doing with Burke?"

"Let's just say he's way more than just decent."

"KATIE!" Fred cried angrily.

"I'm kidding, you idiot. We just talked."

"Yeah right. What happened?"

"Nothing," I lied.

"You may not know this babe, but your nostrils flare when you lie, so what's up?" My hand immediately went to my nose. Weird…How did he know that when I didn't?

"He…well, he kind of asked me to Hogsmeade."

"And?"

"And I said I'd think about it."

"Think about it? Katie, aren't you supposed to be in love with Wood?"

"Well, he's not about to ask me so…"

"So you're just going to settle? Don't do this to yourself," he said with a sigh.

"Hey, that's not fair! If I went with Cullen I wouldn't be settling. He's way above the above average mark."

"But you don't like him!" Fred yelled.

"But Oliver's not going to ask me!" I scream, jumping up. The whole tower is probably lying in bed listening to us right now.

"Well then, what if I asked you?" I stood there stunned for several seconds. No way is Fred seriously asking me out. He's like my brother. Granted, a brother that can kiss very well, but still…

"What?' I said, barely louder than a whisper.

"Will you go to Hogsmeade with me?" Oh-my-God! He's serious.

"What the fuck?" I asked and at a complete loss for what to do, I headed for my dorm.

"Is that a no?" he called after me.

"Yes," I yelled.

"Yes, you'll go?"

"No! No I will not go with you!" I yelled, and then stormed off, straight into the arms of Angelina and Alicia who were standing on the steps. "I'm not in the mood to talk right now," I said a little too harshly and slammed my dormitory door in their faces.

OoO

"Hey, Cullen?" I said early the next morning in the Great Hall. "I'll meet you Saturday at nine, okay?" He just nodded. Good boy.

OoO

Next time on Love and Quidditch

There, only two booths away sit Oliver and Leanne. She's wrapped in his arms and he's kissing her without a care in the world. I watch as his hand travels up her shirt and I quickly turn around, not wanting to see them anymore.

I turn the conversation back to Quidditch, acting as if nothing's happened, but my heart really isn't into it. In fact, I think my heart just shattered into a million pieces. I just don't understand! If he won't go out with me because of Quidditch, then why the hell is he willing to go out with Leanne?