Long time no see, everyone! How many weeks has it been? Ugh I don't even want to count for fear of hitting myself. Anyway, this unfortunately may be the last update you'll be seeing in a very long while. These next few months coming up are going to be hell for me; I have last-minute cramming to do this month and next, and uber-important exams in early May. If I can manage, I'll try to write a part of a chapter here and there and try to update again eventually, but I can't guarantee anything.

Thanks to you all for being so patient! -blows kisses- I think you will all find this chapter interesting; it takes a more serious tone at the end and Oliver isn't quite as insane as he was in the last chapter. ;)

Chapter 11

Dear Diary,

What an awful dream! I woke up with a jolt because of it, and since falling asleep again is now impossible, I am up writing in this diary at precisely 2:32 am.

In my dream, I was at the maple again, except I was in the tree, and Oliver and Zach were on the ground leaning against the base. They didn't see me, and I squeaked but they didn't hear me because they couldn't understand squirrel. Professor McGonagall suddenly Apparated (yes, yes, I know you can't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds but this was a dream for heaven's sake!) and looked straight at me and said, "You can't be faithful to two, you know!" and then she dove into the lake to have tea with the giant squid. Then Oliver looked up at me and said, "Why hello, little fellow, and he took me down and stroked my tail when Zach jumped up, and shouted "Don't touch her, she'll bite!" Then my boyfriend swung me around by my tail and he threw me towards the Forbidden Forest and my last thought as I was flying through the air was that Oliver had very lovely eyes.

Needless to say, I think I am in desperate need of therapy.

But in any case, the dream had somewhat of a resemblance to what happened earlier today, an event that puzzled me. Oliver said he was waiting up in the tree so he could jump out and scare me, but realized it would be so rude to interrupt "the tender moment," as he called it, between Zach and me. Thus he had just decided to wait until we left when he lost his balance and fell out of the tree. He looked so embarrassed as he told us this, but there was that amused little smile in his eyes - a sign that he was laughing at himself, and suddenly I found myself feeling so guilty. Because for a moment, a tiny moment, I felt attracted to him, even as Zach was standing by my side. And I wanted to beat myself for it.

Do you think there was any truth behind McGonagall's words in my dream? I shudder to think of it and what it might mean.

xxx

One week later...

Ahh, Halloween. The time of sugar-coated sweets, pranks and jinxes in the halls, a whole lot of appearances made by the mischievous Peeves...

And also a time of whining and complaining from the team.

"First we have to practice the afternoon before Halloween night," grumbled Angelina. "Second, we're forbidden to eat any sweets because you say they will make us have 'fat and bloated physiques, utterly unfit for Quidditch players.' Third, we have practice tomorrow morning! I'm not a happy camper right now, Wood." She was using that I'm-going-to-kill-you-if-you-don't-get-out-of-my-sight-soon voice.

"My most sincere apologies, miss," I said calmly as I put the brooms away.

"No, you're not sorry at all," she seethed.

"Don't fret, dearest!" Fred said jovially, putting an arm as casually as possible around Angelina. "I've got something to fix this young whippersnapper up in a jiffy."

"You mean like a heavy sleeping draught that will keep him sleeping til the cows come home?" Angelina said brightly. "And nice try, by the way," she added, shrugging Fred's arm off her shoulder.

"There are cows here in Hogwarts? I must have been sleeping during that lesson," Alicia mumbled to herself. No one dared to answer her for fear of laughing in her face.

"I'll be watching everything I drink, Fred," I said. "Can't be too careful around you."

"Lucky we've got our little agent to help us out, eh, Twinkletoes?" George said, smiling at Katie.

"Huh?" She snapped out of her trance-like reverie. "Oh. Sorry. I was busy planning my costume for tonight."

"You finally chose one, then," Angelina spoke up. "It's about time! It's been torture watching you think of the perfect costume."

"Oh it's perfect, believe me," Katie said with a secretive smile. "You'll never know it's me."

"Should we be scared?" I asked in a mock serious voice.

"Oh, very," she replied mysteriously, and left before I could question her further.

xxx

I'm known for being the ultimate Quidditch fanatic, and I'm not really known for being too creative. Put two and two together, and you can easily figure out what I dressed up as for the Gryffindor Halloween party.

"Puddlemere United player, eh?" Percy said as he watched me adding final touches to my costume. "Typical, typical."

"I could say the same for you," I retorted, looking at his Minister of Magic dress-up with disgust. What an obnoxious, pretentious git! Feeling like I couldn't even breathe the air around him anymore, I exited the room and was soon heading downstairs to the common room.

It looked fantastic. It was apparent that the Weasley twins had had a hand in decorating; there were very realistic bats flapping about (and occasionally getting caught in the hair of some screaming girl), huge paper Jack-o-lanterns floating around of their accord, and butterbeer and all sorts of sweets and snacks (courtesy of the twins' mysterious ways of sneaking into Hogsmeade) in bowls placed around the room.

"Hello, Wood." Alicia sidled up to me. "Care for a butterbeer?"

"Thanks," I said, twisting the cap of the bottle and taking a swig. I then looked at Alicia and winked at her. "I'm loving the costume. Having any trouble with hairballs lately?"

She smiled, exposing the fake pointy teeth she'd put in her mouth to enhance her cat costume. "No, not yet, fortunately." She turned her head suddenly, as if seeing something pleasantly surprising. "Cedric is here! Mee-yow he looks gorgeous!"

I frowned. "I thought this was exclusively for Gryffindors."

"Anyone with an invitation can enter tonight, silly," Alicia said, her eyes still fixed on Diggory. "The password's been temporarily removed."

"Oh, I see...Don't they want to be at their own House parties?"

"I'm sure they'll be going back; a lot of them are just dropping by...partly to check out other House's living quarters when they have the chance, you know? And besides,Gryffindor is known for having such great parties..."

"Mmhmm," I said with pursed lips, thinking that if anyone who was invited could come in, that liberty would most certainly be extended as well to...

Speak of the devil. There was Zacharias Smith, decked out in full pirate gear, just as I was thinking about him. He looked uncomfortably out of place, and kept looking around for, presumably, Katie. Who was nowhere in sight, by the way. When Angelina finally joined us in her fantastic vampire queen costume, she informed us that Katie "still wasn't ready."

I mingled through the crowd, chatting with various people and drinking butterbeer after butterbeer when suddenly there was a loud BANG at the door. Screams and chaos soon followed, and through the smoke pouring in through the door I could barely make out the shapes of a bunch of Slytherins laughing at the mass hysteria.

"The bloody gits are crashing our party!" Angelina shouted angrily. Fred threw a handful of peanuts at the intruders but obvoiusly it did nothing.

The Slytherins were pushing their way into the room, knocking over a chair here, a table there, and laughing maniacally. They hadn't even bothered to cover their faces; I could clearly make out the faces of Flint, Malfoy, Goyle, Crabbe, and several Quidditch team members.

"Stop that!" Hermione screamed, yanking Malfoy's arm as he knocked over a lamp purposely.

Malfoy sneered at her. "Ohhh the ickle Mudblood wants bad, bad Malfoy to stop!" he said in a fake, high voice. "What will she do now?"

"That is enough," came a deep, quiet voice from behind us. We all whirled around and saw none other than Dumbledore himself. How the bloody hell had he gotten inside without being noticed?

"Professor...Professor, we didn't mean..." Malfoy whimpered.

"I'm thinking your House members will be happy to see you at your own House party?" Dumbledore said.

"Yes, of course, Professor!" they squeaked, and fled. Dumbledore pulled something out of his pocket and looked at it thoughtfully; it looked curiously like a dungbomb...was it? Suddenly, he hurled it with all his might at the fleeing Slytherins, pulling out one after another and throwing them with remarkable accuracy. He shut the door quickly before we could smell the disastrous result. We soon heard the agonized shouts of the Slytherins outside.

The room was silent. We were all staring at the headmaster, stunned after seeing him throwing dungbombs at students. He looked at us over his half-moon glasses and smiled.

"What a way to start the party, eh?" he chuckled.

"KATIE!" Suddenly there was a little cry, choked back with hysterical laughter, and we all stared in complete shocked silence as Leanne flung herself into Dumbledore's arms. "You're so brilliant, you're so bloody brilliant. So this is the costume you finally chose, you clever, clever girl, how did you ever manage...?"

'Dumbledore' turned to me and winked. "Told you you'd never know it was me, didn't I?" 'he' laughed. I merely stared, my jaw hanging open stupidly.

Suddenly there was a huge uproar, as everyone in the room began laughing uproarously and congratulating my lovely Chaser: laughing about what she did to the Slytherins, clapping her on the back, shaking her hand, admiring her fake beard, and wondering how she pulled it off so well. Fred and George climbed onto a nearby table and raised their butterbeer bottles.

"A toast to the marvelously clever Katie Bell!" George shouted.

"To Katie!" the crowd cheered, raising their bottles. Dumbledore -- er, Katie -- grinned, and I saw her beginining to blush. Suddenly, she brightened, and I watched in dismay as she caught sight of her boyfriend.

"Zach, what do you think of my costume?" She took his hands in hers and laughed.

"It's a bit...disturbing...I hope you don't expect me to kiss you tonight; I couldn't possibly kiss a Dumbledore look-alike, it would be so weird..." Everyone laughed at his joke, and Katie laughed as well...Yet was I the only one who noticed that her laugh wasn't as bright as usual?

xxx

Later that night...

Hours later, the noise of the room had dwindled down, and so had the light in the room -- only candles and the fireplace were keeping the room lit. A lot of people had gone upstairs by now, leaving a quiet lull in the common room.

"Hello, Wood."

"Hello Professor," I joked as Katie joined me by the windowsill.

"That line is getting old already," she said wryly.

"Old? Like you, Professor?"

"Oh piss off, you!" she laughed, punching me in the arm.

"It really is great, though," I said admiringly, fingering the silver beard attached to her chin. "How'd you do it?"

"I had a bit of help from the twins; they were the only ones who knew about it...They helped me with a charm to make my mask fit perfectly; it's like Dumbledore's face is molded perfectly into mine, isn't it?"

"Yeah... The only thing that could've given it away was your height. I should've known from the beginning that Dumbledore couldn't have shrunk a few inches."

"He's a very tall man," she laughed. "I stuffed paper towels under my heels for extra height and I'm still not tall enough."

"Where is dear Zacharias?" I asked suddenly.

She stiffened. "He left. Very early, too."

"Pity."

"He didn't seem to like the costume," she said quietly. "He was the only one who didn't... He was the one I had in mind most as I was planning it out...thought it would get a laugh out of him...silly me."

"You're not silly at all. It was very clever; if anyone didn't get a laugh out of it, he has no sense of humor."

There was a pause. Then Katie suddenly said, "I'd almost forgotten about my mask because it fit so well I didn't even feel it anymore... I tried to kiss him, he pulled away...he seemed almost...embarrassed to be with me..." She laughed, but it sounded forced. "Stupid of me to be hurt by that, I know; I don't blame him for not wanting to kissing me when I look like Dumbledore! But..."

I took her hand. It was soft and smooth -- it was her hand, not Dumbledore's; only her face had the wrinkles associated with the headmaster. "Perhaps he doesn't deserve you," I said softly. Not out of jealousy, not out of desire to break them up, not out of wanting her for myself. But because I genuinely thought so.

I expected her to blow up at me. Instead, she squeezed my hand. "Perhaps neither of us deserves the other," she said quietly, looking out at the night sky. "But I still hold on anyhow. And he does, too." She finally looked up at me, and her eyes were moist. "I'm not one of those silly girls blinded by love that you read about in those cheesy novels," she said fiercely. "I'm not. It's not a love/hate relationship, either. He doesn't mistreat me, or I him. I know we don't fit together perfectly, but there's that level of understanding between us and as long as that lasts, I'm going to stay with him."

It almost struck me as sadly funny that here I was, sitting in the windowsill at one o'clock in the morning with an exact replica (though a somewhat shorter version) of Albus Dumbledore, talking about...this.

Suddenly, she laughed. "What am I saying?" she said with an amused smile. "It's the overdose of butterbeer that's talking, not me. Don't mind me, Oliver, forget everything I said. I'm happy, cheerful, satisfied-with-everything-in-life Katie Bell, okay?"

"Okay," I said, even as I was wiping away the tear that had managed to slip out of her eye. She drew back, startled, but made an attempt to smile again.

"You're a sweet guy, Oliver," Katie said. "Really." She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "Good night," she said, squeezing my hand before letting go.

I tried to find something -- anything -- to say as she walked away but the only thing that came to me was, "Thanks for the kiss, Professor, I'll cherish it forever." Her laughter drifted down from the stairs, and it warmed my heart to hear it.

"What did you say that was so funny?" Alicia smiled as she walked over to me. "She seemed a little down a while ago but I think you've cured her."

"It all has to do with my natural charms, I suppose," I said solemnly.

"You prat!" she laughed. "For your obnoxiousness, I'm going to have to punish you."

"In what way?"

"I'm going to do something that'll drive you mad!"

"Mad with what?" I said, going along with her teasing. "Mad with insanity? Mad with happiness? Mad with lust?"

"Mad with madness!" Alicia said triumphantly, popping a sweet into her mouth. "It's my twenty-first one tonight. Go on, strangle me."

"Even when I told you not to have sweets?" I pretended to be furious. "Has my entire team betrayed me?"

"Just about," she grinned. "Mmmm..." She rolled the candy around in her mouth. "Yummy."

"You little..." I grabbed her and tried to pry her mouth open. She squealed and the candy fell out of her mouth.

"You git!" she shrieked, laughing. "You lost me my candy!"

"You'll lose more than just your candy!" I growled, tickling her mercilessly. "Like your life, for example; how would you like to lose that?"

She laughed, pushing me away. "Or my virginity? Get off, you bloody rapist."

"What a ladylike thing to say."

"Isn't it?"

Suddenly, her hands were holding my face and her lips were on mine. I was too stunned to respond -- to push her away, to kiss her back, anything -- but it was over soon enough; she pulled away quickly from a rather short kiss. Her eyes were wide, as if she too were shocked by what she'd done.

"I didn't mean it about my virginity," she whispered. "It was a joke."

"I know."

"I don't want you thinking I'm coming on to you, or... I'm not a slut, Oliver."

"I know."

"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing; I don't know what possessed me..."

"The butterbeer demon, perhaps?"

We laughed, albeit awkwardly, although it helped to break the awful tension. "Most likely. I had at least one too many."

"Mmhmm. I feel like I'm going to conk out soon."

"We should call it a night, since you've got your heart so set on having practice tomorrow morning."

"Today morning, dearest Alicia; it's past midnight."

"Oh Merlin..."

"Perhaps I'll cancel practice."

"And perhaps I'll kiss your feet if you do," she laughed. "Well, good night."

"'Night." I was on the first step of the stairs to the boys' dormitory when she spoke again.

"You were thinking of someone else, weren't you?" she said softly. "That's why you didn't kiss me back; you were thinking of someone else."