A/N: Obviously I did not invent this magical world of awesomeness. All credit goes to Rowling!

Hi guys,

I absolutely hate this chapter. I think it's one of the worst chapters I've ever written, so beware that I might rewrite it sometime soon. (It's also undoubtedly full with grammatical errors and typos. Sigh. Even though I quickly reread it.)

The reason why I'm uploading it now, even though I'm seriously unhappy with it, is because I just couldn't let you guys wait any longer for it. I felt seriously guilty because I received several messages begging me to update; so here I am. Updating. Yeah.

I hope you guys at least enjoy it better than I did :P Thank you so much for your kind reviews and opinions!

(I know I said I was going to make a cover for this story but my antivirus killed my photoshop. I have no idea why, but I do know someone who'll be sent up to bed without supper tonight. Damn it.)

As always with love,

Kelly

10: The moment I signed away my soul

Does this really work? my magical parchment asked me, in the middle of professor Gerwick's lecture on televisions.

I grinned at that and immediately replied that of course it worked.

Awesome. I've finally got my best friend back! So what's the gorgeous James doing?

I felt slightly guilty about her comment. It was true that I have been a bad friend as of late and the excuses I've been making up in my head (like how it wasn't my fault that Potter ruined my life with his petty Slytherin fights) just didn't cut it anymore.

I'm sorry I've been such a bad friend to you. You deserve better...

As to her question... I looked to my right and saw that Potter was drawing some classy boobs on the top of his parchment. I rolled my eyes at that and poked his side. "Pay some attention," I scolded him.

Potter gave me the evil eye. "This stuff is boring. We've got a television at home, I know what it does. Aren't your parents Muggles? Why are you following this class anyway?"

I ignored him as I usually did. He probably wasn't interested in the fact that I enjoyed learning things through the eyes of wizards. I mean... Everything just seemed so fascinating when you looked at it through their point of view. As if we were the magical creatures with weird habits instead of them.

I wrote back to Cassandra.

He's drawing some really classy parts of the female body. I glanced at his parchment. He's enhancing them and just tattooed his name on the left breast. Help?

Hahaha! Tell him I said hi!

Yeah. No. Not gonna happen.

You didn't tell him, did you?

Drat it. "Cass says hi," I whispered to Potter as Gerwick started on how to use the remote of the television. He messed up some of the buttons and I just shook my head. I once tried to correct the good professor and the only thing that came out of it was a long and boring lecture on respect for your superiors and a detention. Needlessly to say, I never tried to correct him again.

Potter looked away from his inhumanly large boobs to face me for about a whole second, before he stole my parchment and started drawing boobs on it.

I gave him an ugly look. "What do you think you're doing?" I hissed, while trying to get it back from him.

Potter just chuckled and quickly finished his drawing, before throwing the parchment back on my paper.

Why are you sending me boobs, Rose?

That's Potter saying hello to you, I wrote back, furious with the bastard. I smacked him on the head.

"Ow!" he yelled, quietening the whole class. "What the bloody hell was that for?"

"That was for drawing boobs on my parchment, you swine."

"Miss Woodstock and Mr Potter, what is going on with you two?" Professor Garwick demanded to know, putting his hands on his hips while trying to look stern.

Potter put his arm around me and pulled me closer to his body. "Ah, professor, you see, our Rose here has quite the case of the unrequited love going on here. She's madly in love with me, but she can't come to terms with it."

I narrowed my eyes. "That's not it at all, professor. He's just out to irritate me today."

"Then why are you trying so hard to deny it, puppet?"

"Mr Potter, how about you only speak for the remainder of this hour if you've got something to say that we don't already know." Excuse me, what?! "Miss Woodstock, do try to pay attention to what I'm teaching you. You may one day need it."

I felt my face flush with embarrassment and shook my head. "But professor," I sputtered, while Potter tried to hide his laughter.

Professor Garwick gave me a weird look, before interrupting me smoothly. "No buts, Miss Woodstock. Maybe if you concentrated on your studies more instead of Mr Potter you would actually get an E in this class instead of an A."

Potter guffawed and I couldn't do more than give him the evil eye while I blushed. Damn him.

Potter and I were walking towards our next class, when I was forcefully dragged into a broom closet before either James or I could react. Well, so much for the quick Quidditch reflexes that he was always bragging about. Prat.

I turned to my attacker and raised an eyebrow when I saw who it was. "What the - What do you want?" I asked him, ready to smack him upside the head with my Transfiguration book.

Luckily for him, his reflexes were a lot better than James's as he dodged my hit and took the book away from me. "Hush," he said, before locking us up in the broom closet.

I grabbed my wand and pointed it at the door, ready to blast myself to my freedom, but Wood shook his head.

"Just hear me out, Rose," he muttered, before pointing his wand to the door again and muttered a spell that would surround us as a sound barrier. Nobody would be able to hear me scream now.

"Damn it," I breathed and pointed my wand at his face. "You're going to let me go right now, Oscar Wood, or I will hex you into the next century."

Wood just shoved my wand away and gave me a look. "I have a proposition for you, Rosemary."

"You either call me Rose or Woodstock. Not Rosemary," I said, frowning. I hated my full name. It always reminded me of my father shouting at me and throwing stuff at my head for not cleaning up after me. Sheesh. I stared at him when I realized what he just said. "A proposition?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Wood looked at the floor and shrugged, putting his wand away again. "Well... Yes... Don't you want your boyfriend back?"

The question took me aback a little and I leaned back against the door while I thought about it. Did I want Taran back? I thought about all the cat calls I had to endure today, all the nasty glares and leers. Did I want the person who caused all that back in my life? Who made me cry for twelve hours straight?

No, my brain screamed, while my heart just cracked a little more. I didn't want to let go of the dream. The plan I had for my life was smashed into a thousand pieces and I had no way of gluing it back together. I remembered the day I met Taran as if it was yesterday.

"Come on, come on," I muttered as I tried again to attach my letter to one of the school owls. I was twelve years old, in my first year at Hogwarts and I hadn't heard a thing from home. I hoped with whole my heart that my previous letters just hadn't reached them yet. After all it was only November and I had only sent three or maybe four letters, which didn't mean anything really. My parents would write to me, I told the black school owl with my eyes. My mother will. She loves me, I know she does.

The owl snapped at my fingers as if to mock my naivety.

I scowled at it and was ready to throw my letter at its stupid head, when a voice from behind me spoke up.

"The trick is to let them think they are in charge," a boy told me with a kind smile. I turned around and almost fell, but managed to keep my feet under me.

I blushed and coughed to hide my embarrassment. "What do you mean?" I asked.

I knew the boy to be in Hufflepuff, just as I was. I thought his name was Taran or Taryn or something, I wasn't certain. He gestured to my letter, which I hesitantly gave to him.

He walked up to the owl with the upmost confidence and I instantly admired him. I was studying him as he explained to me how to handle strange owls and how to gain their trust. Naturally I didn't hear a word he said, but his freckles and sparkling eyes had my complete attention.

I smiled as the owl flew away and as it soared in the sky, I could feel how my hopes and dreams took flight with it.

It had started as a stupid crush, really, I now mused. It had quickly grown into something more and in third year we started dating. We had been inseparable since. I smiled at the many memories we made together and looked up to see Wood studying me carefully.

I sighed and shrugged. "I want him back, yes, but that will be impossible for as long as I am tied to that git," I answered truthfully. "And I doubt Taran would take me back even then."

Wood's eyes were kind and made me feel way more vulnerable than I was used to feeling. How had my life turned out like this? I used to be the one in charge of every situation. Ready to face whatever the day may bring me, but I wasn't that girl anymore and it ate at me.

"I would like some control back in my life," I whispered sadly, hitting my head against the wood in utter frustration. I felt like crying. I had no idea what was going on in my life and I hated how dependent I was on James Freaking Potter.

Wood smiled at that. "We all know how much you like to control things, Rose."

I frowned again. If I kept on doing that, I would have wrinkles before I turned twenty. "What?"

Wood hesitated, before giving me a slight nudge in the side which I didn't appreciate at all. He ignored my glare and his smile broadened. "Well, you are kind of a control freak, Woodstock. You aren't happy until things are going your way."

A control freak? Me? Just because I liked to have my things in order did not make me a control freak, damn him. "Things never go my way, as is proven by the annoying person just outside this door," I pointed out, giving him my best glare.

"Yes and you aren't happy now, are you?" he replied sweetly.

I got his point and I was angry that I had just proven it too. I narrowed my eyes even further until I only had two small slits to glare at him through.

"You look ridiculous," he laughed and I just couldn't help it. I shoved him against the wall. Several brooms fell on the floor, which we both were too lazy to really care about.

"You had a proposition?" I reminded him, tapping my foot on the floor impatiently. Just get on with it already, Woody.

"Yes. Well, even if you don't want Taran back you could use this to prove to him that you're totally over him," he mused to himself, rubbing his shoulder where I had pushed him.

I scowled. "I do want Taran back and I am not over him yet."

"Moving on," Wood just said, ignoring my comment with a flick of his hand as if to rid himself of my words. "I want you to help me win Freddie back."

I stared at him, my mouth almost hitting the floor while my eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "You want me to do what?" I asked as soon as I somewhat regained my composure.

"I want you to be my fake girlfriend to make Fred Weasley jealous," he clarified, looking me in the eyes. He was deadly serious and I couldn't help but burst into loud and disbelieving laughter.

"You want me to... and then you said... and, hahaha," I laughed, putting my hand against the door to keep myself upright as I laughed.

Wood crossed his arms in front of his chest. "It isn't funny," he muttered, a hard look in his eyes.

I laughed a little more, before I came back to my senses and slowly breathed out to calm myself. "Oof. Well, good talking you to Wood," I chuckled a little and shook my head. "Insane."

"I am serious, Woodstock. I want you to be my girlfriend."

"Wood," I replied softly, realizing that I wasn't getting away with only a good laugh to look back to, "you are gay."

He rolled his eyes. "I am well aware of that, Rose, and will you call me Oscar already? For Merlin's sake?!"

I swallowed and mirrored his stance, crossing my arms myself as I thought about the situation. Was I really going to think about this? "Well, let's say I'll do it... Why would he believe we are a couple?" Wood started to open his mouth, but I quickly went on. "No, listen, I mean... You just got out of a relationship with him. So he knows you don't play Quidditch on my kind of broom. Why would he believe us?"

"Didn't you see his face this morning? Before we entered the Great Hall? He was nearly killing you with his eyes, Rose! Honestly, I think he thinks I sought comfort last night."

"We both sought comfort last night," I said softly, putting my hand on his arm. I gave him a gentle smile and squeezed.

He smiled back, while tears filled his eyes. He didn't let them fall though and I couldn't help but feel the same kind of admiration I had felt for Taran so many years ago. He was so brave and strong, this Gryffindor. "I could never have acted around Taran like you did around Fred today. I admire you for that," I whispered, pulling him closer for a hug, because well, he needed it.

Just as he wrapped his arms around my body, the door burst open and our bubble of silence disappeared with it.

"Woodstock?" Potter asked, breathing heavily as if he had run a marathon in the hallway.

I rolled my eyes. "Will it keep Potter away from me?" I whispered into Wood's ear, who hadn't let go of me yet.

He pulled me closer, obviously trying to draw strength from my small frame. I wished him luck with that, I barely had any strength or sanity left anymore. "James would never do anything to hurt a friend. So yes, if you were my girlfriend he'd leave you alone," he whispered back, almost inaudible.

"Woodstock? Oscar? What are you two doing?" James Potter Junior asked rather stupidly if you asked me.

"What does it look like, Potter?" I snapped, pulling back from Wood a little. "I'm hugging my boyfriend, you prat. Now would you be so kind as to wait outside until I finish?" I felt Wood stiffen in my arms and couldn't stop the little smile that appeared on my face.

Potter pretty much resembled a dying fish on the shore while he stared at us in the doorway.

"Also was it necessary to blow up the damn door, Potter? Honestly, can't you just knock? Didn't we already have this conversation about your knocking anyway?"

Potter stared at us, mouth agape, while he shook his head slowly. "You two are... What?" Potter gave Wood an incredulous look. "You two are what exactly?"

"She's my girlfriend, James," Wood - I mean Oscar - said with a smile, his finger squeezing their thanks into my back.

If I had expected a loud, surprised reaction from James Potter, I was sadly disappointed.

"When?" He spoke softly, his mouth firmly closed and his face devoid of any emotion except polite interest.

I frowned at his calm reaction. Potter seemed completely composed as if it was the most normal thing in the world for one of his best friends to date his arch nemesis. What in Morgana's name was up with that?

"Since yesterday," Oscar replied smoothly. "I comforted her last night and we-"

I coughed and imagined Potter seeing me naked. A blush instantly appeared on my face and I shook my head. "Oscar, he doesn't need to know about that," I whispered loud enough for Potter to hear.

Oscar looked down at me and held his head to the side. "I don't really keep anything from my friends, Rosie," he said gently, wiping a stray hair out of my face.

I pinched his ass for the Rosie thing. Asshat. "Well, then that's going to change. They don't need to know anything about our sex life, Ozzie."

Oscar snorted. "Ozzie?"

"Rosie?" I replied.

Potter rolled his eyes. "If you two are quite done, we have a Transfiguration lesson to go to, remember?"

I was disgruntled at Potter's reaction to all this craziness. I have absolutely no idea what I did expect him to do or how I expected him to react, but this wasn't it. I eyed him suspiciously. Would he go psycho on me later on? When it was just the two of us?

"So we're cool?" Oscar asked, as he fixed the door before pulling me to his side while we walked to our class.

Potter laughed at that. "Yeah man, we're cool. Just expect a sincere 'I told you so' when she finally bites off your head."

"Hey, nobody asked you Potter," I snarled.

"He just did, Rosie."

I gave Oscar a mean look behind Potter's back. He was so going to pay for that one.