DISCLAIMER: Places, people and things you recognise were invented by JK Rowling.

Katie's POV!

Enjoy!!

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Common Room

I am sitting in the most comfortable armchair, soaking my hand in essence of Murtlap. Alicia got the idea from Lee Jordan and the twins, who had, as a threesome, been subjected to a similar, painful punishment.

Cullen caught up with me when I reached the sixth floor landing, showing me the state of his hand. He is sitting opposite me, his hand in a bowl of the same solution, a third bowl on the table, waiting for Oliver to stick his hand in it.

"Do you think he read what I wrote?" I murmur, trying to break the horrid, heavy silence. Cullen shrugs and brushes his hair from his face one-handed.

"Maybe. I gave it to him; he probably torched it with his wand the second I couldn't see." I nod and pick up that piece of parchment professor Flitwick handed us earlier.

"So, how many spells did he hit you with?" I say, knowing if I don't broach the subject, it will never be said.

"Thirty one." He goes pink and sinks lower in the armchair. "I suppose… I kind of deserved it." He sighs and lifts his hand from the Murtlap. I gesture for him to put it back in, but he towels it off and looks at the scar on his right hand. "Chivalry is dead," he mutters, and then half-laughs. "Yeah."

"What? Cullen… I don't get you." My mind is either not functioning, or deciding to deliberately confuse me.

"Kat… don't you see?" And he proceeds to tell me exactly what I have been blind to. "These past few weeks, I've noticed something different about you, and whatever it is… it's beautiful." I blink at him and he stops to let the words register. "Oliver's been… so weird these past few days that I've known you've needed to cry on someone's shoulder…" he sighs, "and in a really weird way… I'm glad you've come to me."

There is total silence in the common room.

"What… Cullen… what are you saying?" I stutter. I sincerely hope he's not telling me he's in love with me.

"That… I think I've… I think you're lovely, Katie." A tiny pause, I stare at him, not knowing what to say. "And seriously, Katie… you belong with him."

"Why does everyone keep telling me the same thing? 'You belong together, Katie', or 'He's really worried about you! He must like you', or 'Just go and snog him'…" I stand up and towel my hand off, then look at Cullen, whose face is a picture of both panic and frustration. "Well, maybe I don't want to right now. Has nobody thought of that yet? Maybe, just maybe, in that impossible plane we call reality, I don't fancy him!" I shout, throwing my arms out wide and laughing hysterically. I think I've snapped, lost my mind completely. I'm lying through my teeth and fighting back tears, but it feels so good. "Does nobody understand me? Or am I speaking another language? Maybe I don't want to snog his face off… maybe, just maybe, there's someone else I want to be with… maybe none of you can see that Oliver and I simply aren't supposed to-"

"Be together." The other voice and mine combine across the common room and I spin around to see him standing there, staring at me, hopeless.

"Oliver-mate… I-" I start to stumble over my words but he shakes his head and steps towards me, the whole common room staring at us.

"Don't." He says, the soft, Scottish brogue making my heart melt as soon as I hear it in my ear. "Just… don't say anything. I think you've said enough."

He turns away but I grip his wrist and pull him back to me. The blood on his hand makes my grip slip and slide around his wrist, but I hold on even when he tries to pull away.

"Ollie, wait!" He stops and turns to me, the common room is still staring, still watching us. It might be midnight, but there are enough people for our discussion to be classed as "making a scene".

"Oliver…" I murmur, pulling him so close our noses are almost touching, "I think we need to talk."

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A/N… Oh! What's going to happen next?!

Maybe Oliver won't need to fix this. Maybe Katie has done something about it already!

Hope you enjoyed!

Please R&R!!

xxx