CHAPTER 26: DILEMMAS

O'Bannon's roommates still slept as he got out of bed and changed into blue sweatpants and a New England Patriots sweatshirt. Minutes later he stepped outside into the frigid air and took a deep breath. Most of the students at Hogwarts would probably have retreated back into the castle and out of the bitter cold. Not him. Growing up in New England you could do one of two things. Hate the cold, or embrace it.

He chose to embrace it. Besides, he learned long ago the cold air energized him, got him ready to face the day.

O'Bannon set out across the grounds, his breaths coming out in small, steamy puffs. With an actual hockey game on the horizon, he'd have to start adding more time to his runs to build up his endurance. He'd suggest the same for the other hockey club members, and anyone else interested in joining. They may not be able to practice until after the New Year, but none of the teachers or heads said anything about not working out. And endurance was just as important as skill in hockey. He'd be damned if his team lost to Malfoy because they were sucking wind when the third period rolled around.

He ran along the shore of the lake, slowing his pace as he eyed the scene ahead.

Over a dozen students stood by a small thicket of trees. Even with their heavy coats, he could tell they were all girls. The majority grinned or chatted excitedly.

What the heck are they doing?

Another figure caught his attention. This one he recognized instantly. Now he knew what drew out these girls into the cold morning air.

Viktor Krum went through a calisthenics routine while the little knot of girls gawked or smiled. One of them even whistled.

O'Bannon grunted and kept jogging. He briefly nodded to Krum when he passed him. The Durmstrang champion gave him a slight nod in return. O'Bannon looked over to the girls, hoping to catch a couple eyes. He may not be an international Quidditch star or a Tri-Wizard Champion, but he considered himself fairly handsome. Plus he was a hockey player. You couldn't get any manlier than that.

None of that seemed to matter to the girls. They all stared past him and at Krum.

Lucky bastard. This guy could snap his fingers and take any girl at Hogwarts to the upcoming Yule Ball.

O'Bannon frowned. That brought him back to his own dilemma with the Yule Ball. How to go with Mireet without hurting Katie's feelings.

That's assuming Mireet will go with you.

He wondered if that was one reason he found excuses to put off asking her. Hearing her say no would suck. No, it wouldn't just suck. It would suck more than anything had ever sucked in the entire history of suckiness.

That's when he wondered if he shouldn't talk to Katie about her crush on him. If Mireet said no, he could always ask Katie to the Yule Ball.

And how will she feel about being your back-up plan?

Damn, damn, damn.

O'Bannon's pace quickened, fueled by frustration. This problem would not solve itself, and no one would solve it for him. He had to do it. And he'd do it today! He'd go up to Katie and let her down as gently as possible.

I hope she doesn't cry.

Then after he finished with Katie, he'd walk up to Mireet and –

"Good morning, Jimmy."

The silky French accent froze him in his tracks. He looked up. Both his mouth and eyes widened at the sight before him.

Mireet stood a few feet away in a silver one-piece bathing suit that looked like it had been painted on her. A swimming cap covered her head. She smiled as she grabbed a towel hanging from the branch of the tree next to her.

"Uhh . . . uhh . . ."

Say "good morning," numbnuts.

"Uh, mu-morning." His eyes swept over the curves of Mireet's body, then down her firm legs. Merlin's friggin' snowy white beard she had incredible legs!

"Uh, what . . . what are you doing?" He groaned at the stupid question. ITAL What, the bathing suit and swim cap aren't dead giveaways, moron?

"I swim every morning." She toweled herself down, still smiling at him. "I find it very invigorating."

"Isn't it a little cold for that?"

"I simply cast charms over the part of the lake I swim in to warm the water and make it tolerable."

"Uh-huh." O'Bannon's eyes flickered between Mireet's face and legs.

"So I assume you do not mind this cold." She ran the towel down her left leg.

"Uh, no. I'm cool with it. Typical New England weather for me. I mean, minus the snow."

"I see." Mireet reached for her robes hanging form the branch and wrapped them around herself.

O'Bannon watched in awestruck silence. How could anyone be this beautiful? More than beautiful. She was intoxicating.

And you're thinking of asking her to the Yule Ball?

They stared at each other for several seconds without a word.

"Well." Mireet bit her lower lip for a moment. "I will see you at breakfast."

"Yeah. See you there."

Mireet gave him a smile and started to turn. That's when it dawned on O'Bannon. They were alone. He had a perfect opportunity to ask her out.

What about Katie?

What if this is your only chance to ask Mireet to the ball?

"Uh, Mireet?"

"Oui?" She turned to face him.

He sucked down a long breath of cold air. "I was . . . would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"

Surprise flared across Mireet's face. She stared at him, unblinking.

O'Bannon tensed. He imagined all sorts of responses.

I'm sorry, Jimmy. Someone already asked me.

I'm sorry, Jimmy. I just consider you a friend.

I'm sorry, Jimmy. You're just not in my league.

"I would love to go to the ball with you."

O'Bannon's heart went into overdrive. He couldn't breathe. Oh my God. She said yes.

SHE SAID YES!

"That's . . . that's, um, great." A huge smile broke out on his face.

"Thank you for asking me." Mireet strode over to him. Elation swelled inside him as she hugged him and kissed him on both cheeks.

"Um, uh, sure. No prob. I . . . I think it's gonna be great."

"I believe so as well. Thank you again for asking me. " A pause. "Please excuse me. I should go freshen up before breakfast."

"So, um, can I walk you back to your carriage?" O'Bannon asked.

"Oui," Mireet responded excitedly.

They continued talking as they headed for the Beauxbatons carriage. O'Bannon mentioned how many of the younger students seemed terrified at the prospect of asking girls to the ball. Mireet said many of her classmates were looking forward to the Yule Ball, the first thing at Hogwarts – minus the first task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament – that most of the Beauxbatons students showed excitement over.

"Thank you for walking me back to the carriage," Mireet said as she put one foot on the steps. "And thank you again for asking me to the ball."

"You bet. And thank you for saying yes. I'm gonna be counting down the days until this thing. Maybe even the hours."

Mireet chuckled, then flashed him a warm smile that made his legs tremble. "Au revoir, Jimmy."

"Bye."

Mireet went inside the carriage. O'Bannon just stood there, grinning wide for nearly a minute before he turned and sauntered back to the castle. He still couldn't believe Mireet had said yes to him. Or Oui in her case. Images formed in his mind of them dancing at the Yule Ball, then a nice, long kiss goodnight. Maybe more than one kiss. Merlin's beard, he was so happy he could probably use this memory to cast the most awesome patronus the world had ever seen.

What about Katie?

He felt his happiness drain away. She was going to find out soon. How would she react? Maybe he'd better tell her before she heard it through the Hogwarts grapevine.

When he returned to Gryffindor Tower, he scanned the common room for Katie. She wasn't there. He showered and changed quickly, then joined Fred, George and Lee as they headed down to the Great Hall. While the three Brits talked about some new joke product, O'Bannon stayed quiet, thinking about what to say to Katie.

He saw her sitting with Angelina and Alicia, as usual. He obviously couldn't talk with Katie about this at the crowded Gryffindor table. Maybe on their way to class he could pull her aside and –

"Jimmy!" Ginny blurted out as he approached. "I just ran into Mireet on my way in. She told me you asked her to the Yule Ball."

"What!" Both Alicia and Angelina said at the same time.

"Bloody hell." Fred turned to him. "All that time we spent walking from Gryffindor Tower to here and you never once thought to tell us you asked one of those gorgeous French witches to the ball."

"Some friend you are," George added.

"She did say yes, right?" Lee asked with a wry grin.

"Well yeah she said yes," O'Bannon replied.

"That's so wonderful." Ginny smiled. "Mireet's so nice. I like her more than that snooty Fleur Delacour. I bet you'll have a great time together."

"Thanks. Um, that's what I'm hoping for." O'Bannon's jaw tensed as he glanced over at Katie. She frowned and looked down at her oatmeal.

Damn.

XXXXX

O'Bannon found it hard to concentrate in his classes for the rest of the day. He wanted to feel happy that Mireet agreed to go to the Yule Ball with him, yet he also felt bad for Katie. At lunch, she barely said a word, and didn't even glance in his direction. It probably didn't make things easier when Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan came by to congratulate him on asking out Mireet. Then Ron had to add, "How did you get her to go with you?"

"He used an Imperius Curse, of course," George quipped.

"How do you think he did it, you prat?" Fred said. "Jimmy Boy here asked her and she said yes."

"Maybe you should try that, too," George told him. "You never know. There might be one girl in this entire school mental enough to say 'yes' to you."

The twins laughed.

Ron glared at them.

Hermione's nose, for whatever reason, crinkled.

Katie ignored the whole thing.

Before leaving the Great Hall, O'Bannon stuffed some rolls and apples into his robes. He'd concentrated on hockey so much over the past couple of days he put off doing his Potions essay. That and the fact he hated the damn class and its jagoff teacher. Now he'd have to work through dinner in order to make sure he got it done so he could go to bed at a reasonable time.

After his last class, he retreated to the library and picked out six books for his research. Snape wanted the class to write about the effects of drinking improperly prepared Polyjuice Potion. A fourteen inch-long essay! Plus Snape spent the majority of their last class lecturing them about the ingredients of the potion and the difficulty in brewing it.

What, does he think one of us is brewing the stuff? Snape couldn't think it was him. He had enough problems with "simple" potions, never mind something as hard as Polyjuice Potion.

Then again, like Snape really needed an excuse to be an asshole.

He spread the books across the table, read for a while, then started writing. Every once in a while, he checked around before sneaking a roll or apple out of his robes and taking a bite. His friends had warned him that Madam Pince, the librarian, would freak if she found one crumb of food in here.

During one of his checks he spotted Hermione and Viktor Krum of all people sitting at a table, involved in some sort of deep conversation.

What would a famous Seeker want with a brainiac like Hermione Granger?

Maybe they're dating.

O'Bannon quietly laughed to himself. Granted, Hermione looked a lot better since her buck teeth had been shrunk after getting hit by a stray curse from dipstick Draco Malfoy. Still, he couldn't see Hermione as Viktor's type.

Then again, what do I know?

He ignored Krum and Hermione and continued to work on his Potions essay. It hadn't taken as long as O'Bannon feared. He wrote his final line just after eight o'clock. O'Bannon let out a sigh of relief and flexed his quill hand. He then glanced over the essay.

I think this is pretty good. Not that it would matter. Snape would tear it to shreds, like he did all his work. Like he did the work of all Gryffindors. It made O'Bannon wonder why he put so much effort it.

Because if you didn't, he'd get on your case even worse.

After putting away his books, O'Bannon left the library and made his way through the corridors. At one point he had to duck behind a suit of armor when Peeves floated by. No way would that stupid poltergeist get him again.

When he returned to Gryffindor Tower, he noticed several students spread throughout the common room. Some studied, some played games like Exploding Snap or Wizards Chess, some just chatted. He walked past a large comfy chair, then slowed when he glimpsed long brown hair and an athletic figure. He stopped and looked down.

Katie Bell stared up at him.

Silence hung between them. Katie's thumb and index finger rubbed the Wizarding romance novel she'd been reading.

"Uh, hey, Katie," O'Bannon finally spoke.

"Jimmy."

"Um, how're ya doin'?"

"Fine."

"Cool."

They didn't speak for several seconds. O'Bannon bit his lip, his eyes flickering from left to right, thinking of what to say.

"So." Katie shifted in the chair. "Um, you're taking Mireet to the Yule Ball."

He tensed. "Uh, yeah."

"That's nice." Katie again shifted in her chair.

O'Bannon let out a sigh. It was time to just deal with this head on.

"Um, Katie. Um, I heard . . . I mean, I know that . . . Well, that you, um, might have a, um . . . you know. When comes to me . . . You and me . . ."

Katie's face went completely red. O'Bannon couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment. Maybe a little of both.

"Oh my God," she stammered. "Oh my God. Did Angelina and Alicia tell you that I . . ." She seized up before she could complete the sentence.

O'Bannon didn't reply. He debated with himself whether to lie or rat out Angelina and Alicia.

His silence, apparently, gave Katie the answer she wanted. "They did. They bloody told you that I . . . like you." She mumbled the last two words.

"Uh . . ." O'Bannon rubbed the back of his head.

Katie shook her head and turned away. "Bloody hell.".

"Katie. Katie, look. I'm flattered. Really, I am. But with Mireet, I mean -"

"You don't have to explain yourself. Just a stupid schoolgirl crush on my part really. It's just, the more I was around you, saw how nice and strong-willed and, er, and fit you were, I just started . . . liking you."

Katie pushed herself deeper into the chair. "But you're going to the ball with Mireet. I understand. How can someone like me compare to someone like her?"

"This isn't about comparing you two," O'Bannon said. "And don't put yourself down like that, Katie. You're an awesome girl."

She sat up a bit straighter.

He continued. "You're cool, you're fun to be around, you're athletic, and you're, well, like you Brits say, you're fit."

Katie blushed again.

"Maybe another time, who knows? I'm sorry, Katie. I really don't want to hurt your feelings or anything. I consider you a really good friend." O'Bannon winced. Damn, he actually used the friend line, after he promised himself he wouldn't. "But, I can't help feeling the way I do about Mireet. I really like her and . . . I just hope you understand."

Katie's shoulders sagged. She drew a breath. A smile formed on her face. A rather forced smile, O'Bannon thought.

"Yeah. I understand."

She hadn't said it with as much conviction as O'Bannon would have liked. Still, her words spawned some relief in him.

Katie pushed herself off the chair and onto her feet. This time she squared her shoulders and stiffened her face. Typical British reserve.

"Thanks for being honest with me, Jimmy. I hope . . ." Her jaw tightened for a moment. "I hope you and Mireet have a good time at the Yule Ball."

"Thanks. I appreciate it. And whoever asks you to the ball is gonna be one lucky guy."

Katie smiled again, a more genuine one this time.

"Well," she said. "If it's worth anything, you made a good choice with Mireet. She really is nice, and she did help me out of the pond after Malfoy melted the ice. Hard to be mad at someone like that, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess."

O'Bannon smiled at her and gave her a friendly hug.

"Good night, Jimmy."

"Night."

Katie headed upstairs to the girls dormitory. O'Bannon then went up to his room, noticing the extra spring in his step. His talk with Katie had gone better than expected. They parted on good terms, she hadn't resented Mireet, and best of all, she didn't cry.

He plopped down on his bed, letting out a sigh of relief and smiling. Now that he had resolved everything with Katie, he could really look forward to going to the Yule Ball with Mireet.

TO BE CONTINUED