I was just waaaaay too excited to write this. Not to mention, it's probably the easiest time I've ever had writing a chapter. You've had to wait long enough for the events in this chapter, but now the wait is over! Which reminds me of a scene in Goblet of Fire:
"You've waited, you've wondered, and now the moment's here. A moment only four of you can full appreciate. Miss Granger, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, sorry. I'll just...go."
I'm glad I got to show off my mad quoting skills (though I might have messed that one up. My forte is the first movie). Anyways, Chapter fourteen!!!!
CHAPTER 14 - INTERVENTION
"GEORGE!" I yelled the moment I saw a patch of red hair amongst the lunch crowd in the Great Hall. He didn't hear me, but I ran full speed and launched myself at him in a bear hug. He gripped me just as tightly.
"Wrong twin, love," Fred's voice whispered in my ear. Blood flooded my cheeks.
"Oh, sorry," I mumbled as I sat down next to him at the Gryffindor table. Angelina kissed him on the cheek and sat on his other side while Alicia sat across from us.
"No worries," Fred replied, peering over my shoulder. "Besides, here comes the boy who stole my face now!" My face grew warmer as I turned around. And there he was in all his mischievous glory. I squished myself next to Fred and created as wide a space as possible next to me.
"Afternoon, ladies," George said with an incline of his head as he plopped down across from me next to Alicia. Oh... oh well.
"Hey, George," I greeted. Finally. My smile felt like it was too big for my face.
"Why hello, Katie," he replied with a returning smile. Then he faced Alicia and began asking her about her holiday. I tried my best to keep the jealousy from spreading to my face as I inconspicuously scooted away from Fred to fill the empty space next to me.
"And where am I supposed to sit?" a Scottish accent inquired from behind me. Of course.
I looked up and sure enough, the ever-pretentious Oliver Wood was there, smirking down at me.
"Glad to see me, Katie?" he said, smiling wider. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help grinning back. I moved aside again and Oliver sat down where I'd hoped George would've been. He was very close. Too close. Again. Why was he always so uncomfortably close to me? Was I some kind of Oliver Wood magnet?
"How was your break, Oliver?" I asked for the sake of making conversation. I would've asked George but he was still devouring Alicia's every word.
"It was pretty good. I got a new pair of keeper gloves for Christmas from my mum. My dad got me a Montrose Magpies poster signed by Hamish MacFarlan."
"But isn't he-"
"The Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports? Yep. And former captain." His face grew smug as he rattled off the Quidditch facts. Pompous idiot.
"But how did you-"
"No idea, but I already hung it up next to my bed. Most prized possession? I think so."
"You're obsessed." I said as I stuffed a turkey sandwich in my mouth, effectively ending the conversation.
"Tell us something we don't know," George mused from across the table. Oliver shot him a glare. George's returning puppy pout was so adorable that I nearly choked on my food.
"Wood," Fred said, directing all of our attention to him, "we have your Christmas present upstairs. We forgot to send it to you."
Oliver glanced at me before he spoke. "Should I be afraid?"
"Heavens, no! Who do you think we are?" Fred replied with a hurt look. "Are you free after this?" Oliver nodded. "Okay, then we'll give it to you after dinner tonight."
"But you just said-"
"I know. I was just being obnoxious," Fred answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. And it was.
We took our time eating since there were no classes to scurry off to and when we were done, we all headed up to Gryffindor tower together.
"Alright, Wood. No peeking," Fred said as he carefully walked down the boys' stairs with a flat box in his hands.
George pointed his wand at Oliver's face. "Or else," he said menacingly.
We were clumped around the fireplace in the toasty common room. Clusters of students were lounging about the room around us, exchanging stories from break.
Fred placed the box in Oliver's lap.
"Proceed," George said as he took his wand away from Oliver's face. Oliver opened his eyes and gingerly unwrapped the package. He removed the lid of the box and grimaced.
"Underwear?" he grumbled.
"Oh, Sir Captain, you must hold them up for everyone to see!" Fred instructed. Oliver's frown deepened before he obeyed; however, the moment he touched the bright red boxers, they went airborne and shot into the middle of the room in all their glory. Red and gold fireworks erupted around the garment and formed a dazzling "Merry Christmas, Oliver Wood!" in midair. The boxers slowly revolved around to model themselves to everyone, and emblazoned right on the butt was the phrase "Catch Me!" in shimmering gold with a Snitch underneath it. Oliver frantically got up from his place on the couch and ran to the incriminating underwear, where he helplessly began jumping up and down to try and retrieve them. On the fourth jump, his hand barely found purchase, and at the slightest touch, the boxers began zooming around the room. Panic-stricken, Oliver began chasing them.
Never, in all my life, had I laughed so hard; it was the greatest thing I'd ever seen.
Fred and George were downright hoarse with laughter.
"Best! Present! Ever!" Fred guffawed.
"You! Said! It!" George cheered as they high-fived.
Alicia had tears in her eyes and even the reserved Angelina Johnson was erupting in fits of giggles. Of course, so was every other Gryffindor.
After fifteen minutes of fruitless pursuit, Oliver finally managed to grab a hold of the underwear. He then promptly sped up the stairs to his dorm, where I was sure he would lock the gift in his trunk. Forever.
About a half an hour later, Oliver still hadn't come down. I could just picture him, sitting on his bed with his cheeks still rosy, curled up in the fetal position. Sure, I felt bad for him (I would murder the twins if they ever did that to me), but Oliver deserved some kind of punishment for all the brutal early morning practices. I couldn't blame the twins for wanting revenge.
"Fred, George, you are geniuses. Bloody brilliant," I claimed as I placed myself in the spot between them that Oliver had left vacant.
"Tell us something we don't know," George said for the second time that day. I hit him on the arm. He smiled a gleaming smile. It was now or never, I decided. I took a mental deep breath and scooted closer to him on the couch. His smile faltered the slightest bit and his eyes grew cautious. I quickly averted my gaze the other direction, but soon regretted it: Fred was snogging Angelina, still high from his victory. Then, I safely turned to Alicia directly in front of me. She inclined her head toward them and then made a retching noise. I giggled and though I heard George do the same (even felt the rumble through his side), I kept my eyes on Alicia, who was looking at George. Suddenly, her brow creased, then she nodded, and headed up the boys' stairs, probably to check on Oliver.
Alone time. Though this was what I wanted, I doubted my courage the moment she left. My throat ran dry as I turned to face George.
His expression was far from what I was expecting. He gazed at me in earnest.
"Katie, we need to talk," he said quietly as he took my hand and led me over to the only empty part of the room.
This is it! This was what I wanted! I can't believe it's happening, I thought to myself as we sat down on the bench by the window that I frequented. My stomach wasn't as nearly as excited; it gurgled and grumbled and threatened to charge up my throat and out my mouth. I swallowed harshly to force it down.
"Look, Katie," George began quietly. "I know you like me." He was still holding my hand.
My stomach grew more desperate to escape.
"I could tell by your letters and just the way you've been acting. I've never become this close of friends with anyone so quickly before. Well, except Fred I guess, but that would be incest."
My stomach was behind my teeth, rattling them like a prisoner rattled the bars of his cell.
"But-"
And my stomach plummeted back down to where it belonged. Maybe even farther down than before.
"-I don't feel that way. Don't get me wrong, you're a great friend. Spectacular. And I love you, really I do. But... I like... I like Alicia."
"I know!" I quickly defended. "And you're wrong, I don't like you. I just really like you but not like that, only like a friend because you're one of my best friends - my best friend - and I missed you over break because I didn't see you but otherwise I don't really care I was just bored and stupid, you know?"
Pain crawled across his features before he composed himself. "Right," he said. He dropped my hand.
"So yeah, I don't like you like that. Never have." I raised my head high and shrugged like my heart crumbling to pieces meant nothing.
I could tell George wasn't buying it; he peered at me for a few minutes like he was waiting for something to explode, but he said nothing. When he realized I had nothing else to say, he rose from the couch and said, "Okay."
I watched him head back over to the others where he sat as far as possible from Alicia (who had returned), but only talked to her, and though she was my friend, all I wanted to do was go and knock her out of the way.
Not that it would've done anything.
He didn't like me. I wasn't good enough for him. He wanted Alicia and he would never want me.
And I wanted him.
The room was still alive with tales from the holidays, but silence pressed down on me from my place by the window. I knew that George's eyes would be on me. If they weren't on Alicia. And that second option hurt more than the first. I stared out the window, like all the times before, stared at the treetops of the Forbidden Forest that swayed with the beating of my heart. I focused on the patterns they made against the sky: left, right, up, down, like a marching band pacing a field. I tried not to think of anything else.
I don't know when everyone went to bed, but when I finally found my mind drifting down unpleasant avenues, I looked around the room and found it empty. There was no light except for the flickering remains of a forgotten fire on the hearth. I realized I was cold, so close to the stone walls of the castle, but I stayed where I was at only looked longingly at the fire.
I jumped about a foot in the air when a voice at the foot of the stairs murmured, "Katie."
It was Oliver.
I figured at the late hour, he would be in his pajamas, but he was still wearing the same deep blue jumper from earlier. I didn't say anything as walked over to where I sat with his hands fumbling in the pockets of his khakis.
"Can we talk?" he said as his eyes combed the dark floor. I shuddered and whether it was because of the cold or the familiar phrase, I wasn't sure. "Come on," he said quietly. He slowly and carefully wrapped an arm around my shoulders and guided me toward the couch by the fireplace.
I didn't want him asking questions, so I came right out with it. "So you know what happened, then?"
His eyes connected with mine as he nodded, but then hastily turned to the fire. "Angelina and Alicia told me." Then it was my turn to nod.
"But they didn't need to tell me, Katie. I see the way you look at him. I know he's the reason you basically ignored all my letters." I began to protest, but he didn't let me. "I already could tell. Angelina and Alicia only convinced me to talk to you."
"You never fail to amaze me with your concern, Wood." I rolled my eyes and made to get up.
"No, Katie. The only reason I needed convincing was because I knew you wouldn't care about whatever I had to say." I sat back down and faced him.
"That's not true," I defended.
"Yes, it is," Oliver objected. "Katie, think of how many times we've been in this situation this year. How many times I've told you how I felt and how many times you've completely disregarded all I've said."
"Well I'm here now and I'm all ears."
He didn't answer right away, just kept shooting nervous glances between me and the fireplace. Finally, he spoke. "I like you, Katie. A lot. And even though I know you like George, that hasn't changed anything. I care about you and I shouldn't because you treat me like shit, but for some reason I like it. That's just how it is-"
"I don't treat you like shit -" I began to argue.
"GOD DAMNIT, KATIE! WOULD YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME!?" His anger streak flared as he clenched his hands into fists. The urge for me to retaliate was unbearable, but I knew this was the wrong time to push him further. I bit my tongue as hard as I could; the salt of blood trickled around in my mouth. I waited for him to calm down but he didn't. He was practically shaking with anger. Anger at me, anger that I caused. Guilt seized me in a chokehold and before I was able to register what was happening, I was crying.
His hands were on me then, awkwardly patting my shoulders and head.
"Oh, Katie. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I'm sorry." He repeated the apology over and over.
"It's not you," I blubbered. "I'm such an idiot. I always make everything worse. You wouldn't have yelled if it hadn't been for me being stupid and getting you mad. I'm such a hypocrite and - and-" Words failed me. I just started sobbing uncontrollably, which left a very mystified and uncomfortable Oliver. He didn't say anything, and instead just clumsily wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.
I cried and cried until I couldn't remember what I was crying about. Part of me worried Oliver had fallen asleep. I pulled away from him to check.
He was wide awake, though it must have been two in the morning, and he gazed back at me with caring eyes.
"I'm sorry, Oliver," I whispered. He leaned in towards me and rested his forehead against mine.
"You have nothing to be sorry for," he breathed. I closed my eyes in contentment. Then his lips were on mine.
The kiss was slow, careful, like he expected me to run screaming out the portrait hole. A very small part of me wondered why I wasn't doing just that. But the rest of me was absorbed by Oliver's lips gently moving against mine, because this was what I wanted.
What I wanted.
I enclosed my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, but he didn't deepen the kiss, and I didn't want him to. Everything was perfect as it was. Just him, just me, it was natural, like breathing. My head almost started spinning from everything that had happened that night, but just before I was overwhelmed, he pulled away. He rested his forehead against mine once more. All I could hear was his slightly ragged breathing.
I tried not to think of the ramifications and instead focused on the smell of his skin and how close he was yet again.
Maybe it was meant to be.
I'm not talking like cheesy soul mates or anything, but maybe this was fate's way of telling me that I should give Oliver Wood a chance. Merlin knows how stubborn I am. I needed a good intervention.
"It's a wonder no one's woken up yet," Oliver whispered. I breathed a laugh.
"Especially with your noisy self," I mocked.
"You were rather loud yourself, if I'm not mistaken."
"Touché." Content silence again.
"Can I ask you something?" Oliver questioned.
"Go ahead."
"You didn't get me anything for Christmas." I could hear the frown in his voice.
"That's not a question," I said.
"I know." Still slightly disheartened.
I deliberated for a moment. It was true. In all my haste to find the perfect present for George, I'd completely forgotten about Oliver. But I knew just what to give him now. I took a shaky breath and then lightly kissed him.
"Merry Christmas," I spoke softly against his lips.
"Merry Christmas, Katie," he said before doing the same.
FINALLY! Believe me, I'm just as excited as you are that Katie's finally being sensible. But how will things work out? Was this just another mistake of a kiss? Is Katie going to freak out again? Is Oliver going to have another fit? Or are they going to start dating and live happily ever after?
You'll just have to wait for Chapter 15 and find out.
But in the meantime, bask in the bliss that is Chapter 14. I told you you'd like it :)