Corrine felt abandoned. Again. First her father, then George. She knew he hadn't really left her. He had said that enough times. But the feeling was still there. Even as he repeated that he would never leave, she was only reminded of her mother and father's encouraging words and how they had lied to her. Even as George wasn't lying, but the pain was there all the same. She wasn't sure where to turn to. Her first instinct was to run to Oliver, but what George had said to her made her wonder. What had he meant about Oliver? She did not fancy him. Whatever that meant. From what she could tell, George thought she liked Oliver. How could she like Oliver? She did not like Oliver. He was her best mate. Of course she thought of him often and he worried her a lot, but that didn't mean that if she cared, she liked him. Did it?

Corrine could feel the tears begin to trickle over her eyes and onto her cheeks. She could feel the pain throbbing in her chest and she knew that she had truly cared for George, no matter what he said. She knew herself better than he knew her.

o

Against her better judgment, she was still here. "Oliver?" Corrine whispered, knocking on the boys' dormitory door. Admittedly, she was a bit frightened to walk up the stairs on this side of the common room. She had seen the boys attempt to go up to the girls' dormitory and the results were quite disastrous. It was midnight and she was almost certain that he had already fallen asleep. The poor boy had been up for nights trying to strategize for the game at the end of the week. The room was pitch black and Corrine found difficulty in maneuvering herself to his bed. The area was designed exactly like her room but the mess caused for quite a challenged. "Oliver," she repeated more harshly, once his bed came into view. It was clear he was occupying it. She could see his body rising and falling with every breath. Corrine tip-toed into the dorm and nudged at the sleeping body that was Oliver. He moaned and turned over, trying to move further away from her. "Oliver, wake up!" Her voice had almost reached its normal volume by now. Tears were beginning to form in her eyes and she knew she couldn't hold it in for much longer.

"Ah, I'm awake. I'm awake!" he muttered, only half awake. His eyes shot open and he was vaguely aware of her at his bedside. "Corrine? What are you doing here?"

"George broke up with me."

"Oh." Oliver forced himself out of bed and he sat on the side with Corrine. Slowly, he brought his arm around her shoulder and she made no protest. He understood everything.

"I didn't know where else to go. Sorry."

"It's okay, I'm glad you came to me." Corrine quietly cried for a while as Oliver held her. She had never felt safer and her brain began to wonder if George was right. Those thoughts only made her cry harder. She was so confused. Eventually, Oliver got worried that his dorm mates might wake and took her down to the common room. The space wasn't much better but the bit of light coming from the fireplace was welcoming. "You okay Corrine?" he asked quietly. She shook her head, not trusting her words. "It's okay, come here." He grabbed her head and held her to his chest. She pushed back. Corrine didn't know what to think anymore and Oliver's actions weren't helping her clear her mind.

"George thinks that I may like you. But I don't know," she blurted out, tears fogging her speech. "I don't know what to think. You're my best mate Oliver. But, I don't know." Oliver was torn between kissing her then and there, and running back to his dorm to hide. He didn't want to be hurt but if helping Corrine was any consolation…

"Don't think about it if you don't want to. I'm in no hurry."

"Huh? What do you mean you're "in no hurry"?" Her large teary eyes looked up at him and he swallowed nervously.

"Uh, that is."

"You like me?" she thought allowed. She wasn't speaking to him in particular and hers eyes were unfocused.

"I, uh, yea," Oliver replied, letting go of Corrine and rubbing the back of his neck. The two of them sat awkwardly together for quite some time. Neither made a move to speak or leave.

"Why would you like such a person? Why would you waste your breath?" she whispered. Oliver nearly missed it.

"Well, because you're funny."

"Clumsy," she corrected.

"Cute."

"Awkward."

"Determined."

"Stubborn."

"Nice."

"Stupid."

"Hey, let's not give the stupid people too much credit here." That almost got a smile out of her. "And let's not forget that you can make just about anyone smile with your happiness. Your innocence."

"Oliver, we've already talked about this. I'm not innocent!"

"Corrine," Oliver said, stopping her from getting up, "Don't think that you're alone alright? People deal with these things. Life is like this."

"Not your life Oliver. How could you understand? Your life is nothing like this! Your family is perfect and kind and sweet and friendly. How could you possibly understand that?" A sob escaped her. "I've never had anyone Oliver. Not that I can remember. What I have my dad? My dad did nothing for me. He barely raised me."

"Is this what this is about? Your past? You need to let things go Corrine!"

"You don't understand Oliver!"

"Then help me understand and stop pushing me away."

"It's not as simple as that. I can't. I just. It's hard to say." She wanted to end the conversation there but Oliver was clearly still waiting for her to continue. "I just have difficulties letting people in."

"But you've let me in."

"That's what confuses me! I don't know why I've done that! After my what happened with my Mum and Dad, and now George. I'm so broken Oliver. Why would you bother to fancy me?"

"Why would I need a reason Corrine? You make me happy. And as much as you would hate to admit it, I make you happy too."

"You could leave me. Things can change. You have Quidditch and I have nothing." Oliver hesitated with his retort. He was sure if his following words were really true and saying them without fidelity would only hurt her further.

"When you leave, I won't have anything either Corrine." Her head snapped up to look at him. "You mean more to me than Quidditch."

"You're funny Oliver."

"No, I'm serious Corrine." He reached out to grab hold her of shoulders to stop her from leaving. He needed to make his point now or lose her forever. He knew that if she didn't believe him now, he would never have another chance to tell her how he felt. She would never believe him. "I really do care about you Corrine. More than a friend should. I don't know what I would do without you. I, I like you." Corrine was speechless. She didn't know how to respond to having her best friend like her. It was a new concept for her. She had often had her suspicions but never had she thought that she was correct.

"I, Oliver, I don't know what to say," she replied.

"I guess I didn't expect you to say much of anything. I know this is probably a horrible time to have told you this. I mean, after, well after what happened. I'm supposed to be comforting you, not making you confused. I'm sorry. Forget I said anything." He felt almost ashamed of what he had done and wanted to leave at all costs but that would only make things worse. He needed to make things better now.

"I can't just forget what you said Oliver. I think, maybe, George was right about me."

"Really?" He wanted to burst into happiness. Did she really just say she liked him? He prayed it was true. There was a glimmer of hope that had formed in his chest.

"Yea, but, I don't think I can handle much right now Oliver. I mean, a lot has been happening lately and what with George and all. I just really need a friend right now. I'm sorry. I just can't." Oliver could feel his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

"It's okay. I'll be here for you Corrine. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." Corrine nearly laughed at the amount of déjà vu she was experiencing at that moment. Did all boys say that? He wrapped his arms around her again and she allowed the tears to continue to stream into his shirt.

"Thank you Oliver. Thank you so much."

o

The fireplace gave a dim bit of light that no longer seemed welcoming, but made the atmosphere moody and eerie. As much as they both wanted to ignore it, there was a wall that had been built between them now. There was nothing to change the fact. They had confessed their feelings towards each other but were stuck at that point. Corrine could feel it and it hurt her heart further. She knew it was the last thing that Oliver would ever do to her. She knew that Oliver would be good for her. He was kind and strange. Even if he constantly teased her, he knew her best. He understood her and more or less, who she was. And for the oddest reason, he was a person she opened up to. He was there to take care of her, and for that, she could never thank him enough.

But now, things have changed. Her status in his life had been lifted. Lifted to a point above his greatest love; Quidditch. It was crucial to her to know he wasn't speaking of lies. She couldn't take much more abandon. As much as she hated to admit it, she was fragile. She wanted to be strong and courageous as a Gryffindor was, but all she could do was cry now. Things had become so much more difficult than she had expected. She wanted to come to Hogwarts to escape her problems, but instead she encountered more than she could handle. Not to mention she would be repeating the year.

o

Her tears eventually subsided and Oliver could tell that it was well into the night by the time they had. He didn't dare speak. There was too much to think about. The poor girl must have been going mad in frustration and sadness. He knew he was. Every second after she had started crying, he was beating himself up over his words. He had broken his promise again. He had hurt her, again. And this time, the situation could have been entirely avoidable if he had just shut up. He just had to be selfish. If it were George in such a situation, he wouldn't have said a damn thing. Why was he such a numpty?

Gradually, he noticed that Corrine's body was relaxing entirely. She had brought her legs up onto the couch they were seated at and leaned on his chest while his arm was still wrapped around her shoulders. Her hands were in her lap now instead of holding onto his pajamas and her breathing had slowed. A light snore could be heard from her mouth and Oliver confirmed that she had fallen asleep. He was sure that by morning, someone would find them and think the worst, but he didn't care. He didn't have the heart to wake her now; not after all that had happened. He couldn't bear to be alone for the night. Oliver could just imagine the nightmares she would have without him. Or, at least that's what he had hoped for. Not in a sadistic sense of course. He just wanted to feel needed by her. It had been so long since he had been needed.

Let them think the worst, he thought, I'm have her in my arms and I haven't been happier.

Author's Note: I have returned! Sorry for the grand delay. Life's been busy and I've also been working on a few other projects. Feel blessed, I took the time to write this entire chapter instead of studying for my exam tomorrow. Not that I would have been studying anyways. A special thanks to Poetically Lyrical Cheyenne for leaving me a kind review.

Sorry the chapter a bit shorter than usual but I had a lot of drama to write. A bit of a brain buster for me. See you in the next chapter!

-Sydney