-1I'm sooooo sorry about the wait! Life's just been . . . busy. Well, anyway, here's what you've been waiting for! I hope . . .
The next morning, Oliver walked into the Great Hall with a new spring in his step. What a wonderful feeling it was to be in love. He ignored some of the hateful stares he was receiving and headed for the Gryffindor table.
As he was walking across the Hall, his eyes scanned the Hufflepuff table. Cedric hadn't come up for breakfast yet, so Oliver continued to the Gryffindor table. There was an open seat next to the Weasley twins, thus he took it.
"Good morning, Oliver," George said, taking a bite of toast.
"Sleep well?" Fred asked nonchalantly, but with a devilish gleam in his eyes.
Oliver glanced at him before answering, "Yes, actually. Best sleep I've had in awhile."
Fred looked as though he was holding his breath, anxious to make a joke at Oliver's expense, and he finally caved. "I really thought you'd be up all night fu-"
George elbowed him painfully in the ribs.
Oliver sighed. "I was kind of hoping you guys wouldn't treat me differently . . ."
"Oh, it was only a joke!" Fred exclaimed. "I would've said it no matter who you were with."
"It's true," George added, continuing to eat his toast.
"We're really glad you found some one."
"Yes, your Quidditch obsession was reaching unhealthy levels."
Oliver grinned and laughed. "I'm not sure how to respond to that," he joked.
"You know its true," the twins replied simultaneously.
Oliver nodded, the smile still on his lips. It was true, and he knew it.
Oliver scanned the table for his other team members. Harry smiled at him, and Angelina waved happily when their eyes met; he smiled back. Katie and Alicia whimpered a bit when they saw him, but smiled as best they could. The support of his team made Oliver feel quite optimistic.
And it seemed he had the support of most of the rest of his house. There were no nasty looks from any Gryffindor, just a few averted eyes. Oliver smiled. He could deal with this. The situation wasn't even close to how he imagined it would be.
Suddenly, some one jabbed him painfully in his side. He whipped around to catch the culprit. It was Fred.
Fred said nothing, but nodded toward the doorway.
Oliver turned to see what Fred was nodding at; it was Cedric.
Cedric looked just as happy and content as he had the night before. Oliver was overcome by the happiness he felt in seeing Cedric. He immediately stood up and almost ran to Cedric.
Cedric smiled broadly when he saw Oliver coming toward him.
"Good morning," Oliver breathed, stopping in front of Cedric.
"Morning," Cedric replied.
They silently smiled at each other for several moments. "I wish we could sit together," Oliver finally said.
"Yeah," Cedric replied. "I'd suggest we go outside, but . . . we'd probably freeze to death." They looked out the window at the snow-covered grounds and smiled forlornly.
"You should freeze to death!" called out a Slytherin.
Oliver and Cedric turned sharply, the happy expressions replaced by hurt and angry ones. They hadn't realized how close to the Slytherin table they were.
"Come on," Oliver said, grabbing Cedric's hand and leading him away from the Slytherins. The Slytherins hissed at them as they went.
Cedric gave Oliver a worried glance. It had taken so much to get Oliver to be open about who he was; Cedric could only hope that the Slytherins wouldn't scare Oliver back into his shell. As they reached their tables, though, Oliver alleviated Cedric's worries by giving him a swift kiss on the lips, followed by a loving smile, before they separated.
Later in the day, Oliver and Cedric were heading to the courtyard to enjoy their break together. Oliver grasped Cedric's hand tightly. They received a few odd stares, but nothing too harsh.
But then they heard a derisive snort. The two turned at the odd noise. Behind them stood Draco Malfoy, looking rather bored, and surrounded by his usual gang of malicious flunkies. "Can we help you?" Cedric asked sarcastically.
"I was just wondering what it felt like to be such a poof," Draco drawled, grinning as though he had said something incredibly witty.
"Shouldn't you know?" Oliver retorted.
Draco became extremely flustered. "You . . . You . . . buggers!" he stammered.
Oliver advanced forward, his fists clenched, but Cedric placed a hand on his chest to stop him.
"The git won't respond to violence," Cedric said, answering the bewildered look Oliver was giving him. "He'll just send his oafs after us."
"Then what do you propose we do?" Oliver muttered, glaring at the Slytherins.
"Something that'll make them so mad they won't be able to stand it."
"Won't he still send his cronies after us?"
"Maybe, but at least we won't get detention." Cedric tilted Oliver's face towards his.
"You don't know that-" But Oliver was interrupted by Cedric's lips meeting his own.
The kiss was soft and gentle. Cedric ran his tongue across Oliver's bottom lip, and thus deepened the kiss. Oliver wrapped his arms around Cedric's waist, pulling their bodies together. They could hear retching and other various noises of disgust, but ignored them. Cedric's hands ran over Oliver's chest, and he could feel Oliver's arousal; it matched his own.
"You're sick!" Draco spat. He then turned and stormed off in the opposite direction, followed closely by Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy. All looked disgusted, and Pansy even began to shriek in revulsion.
Oliver and Cedric smiled into the kiss, then broke apart, keeping their faces only centimeters apart. "That was a fantastic idea," Oliver breathed.
"Boys!" rang out a shrill voice.
Their happiness flew out the window for the third time that day. They separated and looked around to find McGonagall stamping toward them. "Such displays of affection in the hallways will not be tolerated!" she said angrily.
"Professor . . ." Oliver moaned.
"No, Wood. You were lucky not to be punished for last night's display. If it weren't for Dumbledore, I would have given you a detention then."
"Detention!?"
"Yes. And do not think its because of . . ." She tried to think of the right words, but could not. "Everyone, and I mean everyone, receives detention for such displays. Meet me in my office this afternoon to receive your duties."
Once she was gone, Oliver stared intently at Cedric. "Well, we got detention."
"But it was fun," Cedric replied. He glanced around quickly before giving Oliver a quick peck on the cheek. Judging by the look on Oliver's face, Cedric knew he was forgiven.