This chapter mentions Oliver's Puddlemere Teammates. It's been a while since they've been in the story, so if you want a refresher on who they are, I suggest you skim through the last part of the chapter titled 'Puddlemere's Charity Ball'. Just if you want to, it's really not necessary to understand the chapter.

--

Secrets:

"I slept with Lee." The absurdity of that statement takes a while to set in. Alicia and Lee?

"What? How?!"

"How?" she asks, humor evident in her voice even as her eyes glisten with tears.

"No, I mean—no, I know how. Alicia, what…?"

A goofy grin spreads across her face. "It just kind of happened."

"No offense, but stuff like that doesn't just happen. Especially not since Lee's been on the run from the Ministry for months."

"Well, he's actually…not. Not anymore." Although I can tell that Alicia's still upset, I can also tell that she just needs someone to listen to her. Her tears have stopped at least, which is good. I don't handle tears too well. That's Angelina's territory.

"What happened?" I ask again, trying not to be judgmental before I hear the whole story. But, honestly, how could she do this to George? They broke up less than two months ago and Lee's his best friend.

"I don't know really. I mean, after I left for France, Lee and I started owling each other and he just…he made me feel better, Katie. I knew that he was looking for a place to stay and, well, France seemed like a safer place than anywhere else."

"He's living with you?!" I cry. Alicia just nods. "Since when?"

"He's been there almost two weeks now. Him and my brother have always been really close and he told Lee that he could stay as long as the Death Eaters don't get word of where he is."

"That's putting both you and your brother at a risk, Alicia!"

"Lee's being extremely careful, though. We have all kinds of protective charms on the house. I'm not worried." I close my eyes in frustration, but don't say a word.

"You-Know-Who isn't doing much in France," Alicia explains softly. "We're safe. For the first time in years, I feel safe." We sit in silence for a few minutes as I let all of this information sink in.

Sure, the fact that Alicia and Lee have slept together bothers me, but it's nothing to the fact that they're living together too. It's not that I think they're a strange couple—well, okay, it is a little bit—but I can't even begin to picture them together in my mind. It's always been Alicia and George. Anything different just seems weird.

"Are you mad at me?" Alicia asks.

"No, no, of course I'm not, honey," I answer honestly. "I'm just trying to understand. How did this happen? Are you dating him?"

"No, not really. My brother was working late or something like that…Lee and I were just talking and the next thing I know he's kissing me."

"And you didn't stop him?"

"No one's ever kissed me except George…I didn't want to stop him. It was so different."

"Better?" I can't help but ask.

"Don't you think I would have stopped him if it wasn't better?" she smirks. I laugh lightly because I know it must be true. I still remember what it was like to snog Lee. The boy definitely knows what he's doing.

Wait a minute…

"Oh God!" I cry, throwing my hands over my face as an unpleasant thought hits me.

"What?" Alicia cries, suddenly worried.

"That's all three of us," I say, removing my hands from my temples with a wary smile. Alicia just looks at me curiously. "Me, you, and Angelina. We've all snogged Lee."

Alicia starts laughing then and I can't help but join in.

"Feeling better?" Oliver asks, leaning against the door frame and watching us with a smirk on his face.

"Slightly," Alicia mutters.

"What's so funny?" Oliver asks warily, as if he's not sure he wants to hear the answer. I look to Alicia for permission to tell him and she just nods, still laughing.

"Angelina, Alicia, and I have all made out with Lee," I laugh. "It's just funny."

"And a bit pathetic too," Oliver says, but I can see the laughter behind his words.

"What? Do you not like the thought of your girlfriend with another guy?" Alicia asks and I turn to glare at her.

"Actually, I don't," Oliver says. "But Ben's old bed is fixed up for you if you still want to stay over."

"Thank you," Alicia mutters. "And if you could keep that little bit of information to yourself, it would be greatly appreciated."

"Do you really think I would willingly become involved in this? I have a feeling a certain Weasley twin you used to date would kill me."

"Probably so," I laugh. The smile on Alicia's face disappears at the mention of George.

"Listen," Oliver says, obviously noticing Alicia's discomfort. "I can call Ben and disappear tonight if you two want the house to yourselves."

"No you can't," I mutter. "It's Valentine's Day." And Ben just asked his girlfriend to marry him.

"Oh, right. Well then, I think I'm going to go lock myself in my room."

"Oliver, you don't have to do that," Alicia argues. "I didn't mean to intrude on anything. I forgot all about it being Valentine's Day. I'm sorry—I'm probably interrupting something."

"You're really not," I argue. "Let's just go talk in Ben's room and then you can decide whether to go home or stay here."

"If you say so…" she says warily. I lead her towards Ben's room, Oliver following close behind. I point the room out to her and turn back to Oliver.

"I'm sorry about this," I whisper to him. "But I think she really needs someone to talk to."

"No, it's fine. But everything is okay, right? She's just upset about snogging Lee."

"Yeah, it's nothing serious."

"Okay. Well, I'll be in our room if you need me…I'll probably be asleep, but wake me up before you go to bed." He kisses me on the forehead gently and disappears into 'our room'. Why does his casual use of those words make my heart flutter?

Alicia's lying down on Ben's bed when I enter. One look at her face shows me that her tears are back again. I don't think I've ever met someone with such erratic emotions.

"Alicia, honey, please tell me exactly what happened. If you wanted this—which it seems like you did—then why are you so upset?"

"Because I wanted this, Katie. And I can't have it because it's going to kill George. Not to mention the fact that sleeping with Lee is against all of my moral values. I was raised better than to jump into bed with a guy I'm not even dating! I never even slept with George and we dated for three years."

"Well, do you regret it? Is that what this is about?" That goofy smile covers her face once more.

"You couldn't pay me to take it back," she says. I chuckle at that.

"I think I'm missing something, then."

"How could I do this to George?" I open my mouth to reassure her, but I can't come up with an answer to her question. Instead, I ask one of my own.

"When did this happen?"

"Last night." Oh, wow. I figured this was something she'd had time to dwell on. No wonder her emotions are a bit raw.

"And have you talked to him since?" I ask worriedly. Although I can't really see Lee as the type of person to avoid confrontation, Alicia's only too experienced in dancing around the subject. She laughs humorlessly.

"No. When I woke up this morning, he was gone. He left a note, though," she says and pulls a sheet of paper out of her jacket pocket. It's only then that I notice she is still in her pajamas except for the jacket. I look at the note in surprise, but take it from her hands and gently unfold it.

Alicia, it reads,

I can't apologize enough for not being there when you wake up. Don't think anything of it—please! It would kill me if you thought this was your fault. I loved last night and, if you don't regret it, I have no desire for it to just be a one time thing. I know this is complicated and I know that we need to talk. I can't tell you where I've gone, but I'll be back soon. Until then, I'll be thinking of you.

Lee.

"Does he seriously just leave without telling you where he's going?" I ask, frustrated.

"Almost everyday," Alicia muses. "He does a lot of work for the Order, so I've stopped asking. I think he did a Potterwatch episode tonight, though."

"Oh yeah, he did," I say, recalling the date. "I missed it. The password was 'The Chosen One' tonight." I climb into bed next to her and we sit in silence for a few minutes.

"The thing is, I swore I wouldn't have sex until I got married. This would just kill George. Even if he could accept Lee and me dating, he'd never forgive me for that."

"Well, when you broke up with George, was it just because you were leaving the country or was it more than that?"

"It was more than that. I just wasn't happy. I made sure that George knew that before I left; I didn't want him hanging on to some lost hope. He's been my best friend for so long, but I just couldn't connect with him romantically anymore. It wasn't like with you and Oliver. He wasn't someone I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. I don't know what went wrong between us."

"Sometimes these things just happen," I mutter. "So, just to be clear, you don't still love him?"

"Of course I still love him," she says in surprise. "But I'm not in love with him. There's a—"

"—difference, I know," I say.

"Do you think I'm a horrible person?" she asks quietly.

"You didn't do anything wrong," I say.

"That's not what I asked." Realizing she really wants me to think about my answer, I do.

"You want me to be honest?" I ask.

"Yes, please."

"You did nothing wrong, Alicia. It's unorthodox, yes, but if you really have feelings for Lee then this was bound to happen sooner or later. George is going to be angry, but maybe for once you should put yourself first."

"The thing is," Alicia muses, "if George is mad at me, then Fred is mad at me. And if Fred's mad at me, then Angelina's mad at me."

"I won't be mad at you," I say, surprising even myself. "So, it'll be three against three. If this is really what you want, and you won't have any regrets, then go for it."

A smile spreads across her face.

"But you should go home," I continue. "Lee's probably waiting on you. He's going to want to talk."

"I know," she says, getting off of the bed. I get up too and hug her tightly. "Thank you, Katie."

"Anytime." She Disapparates with a smile and I find myself hoping that she will be able to work everything out.

--

Nearly a week passes before I hear anything from Alicia.

Angelina, in desperate need of help dealing with her wedding plans, owled us both and demanded that we meet her at a dress boutique in Hogsmeade. Alicia in turn owled me and said that we needed to meet up beforehand.

We met in the Three Broomsticks and discussed her liaison with Lee in detail over Butterbeers. Since Alicia was adamant about not wanting a casual relationship, she agreed to try a real one. And according to her, Lee's happy about their decision although he isn't too fond of the idea of George finding out.

"So, what's the plan then?" I ask. Alicia just shrugs.

"Lee said I could tell anyone I wanted as long as it didn't get back to Fred or George. Actually, he said it might be best if Fred and George found out from someone other than us, but I don't really agree with that."

"Yeah…" I muse. "Well, what about Ange?"

"That's why I wanted to talk to you," she admits. "I want to tell her—I hate keeping things from her, especially with all of this shit going on in our world—but I don't know if it's a good idea. I'd hate to put her in a position where she has to pick between me and Fred."

"Well, did you ask Lee about it?"

"Yeah; he said whatever I wanted to do was fine with him."

"Well then, whatever you do is fine with me too."

"Thanks, Katie," she says sarcastically. "You're a whole lot of help."

We leave the Three Broomsticks a few minutes later and by the time we arrive at the dress store, Angelina's already inducing chaos as everyone is eager to help the Harpies's star Chaser. She brushes them all off politely.

"Ange!" Alicia cries excitedly, rushing towards her friend who she hasn't seen in weeks. Angelina is just as excited to see her, but quickly returns to business.

"There are just so many dresses here," she whines.

"Do you mind me asking why you're looking for a dress when you haven't picked a date or a location yet?" I inquire, being ever the practical one.

They look at me as if I've grown horns. "The dress is the most important part of a wedding," Angelina supplies knowledgeably. Of course it is. I watch patiently as Angelina tries on dress after dress, Alicia offering advice on each one. Every time I open my mouth, they end up laughing at my lack of fashion sense so I decide to just keep it closed.

Several hours later, the three of us step back into the streets without a dress. Well, that was a pointless waste of my life.

"You want to go get a drink at the Three Broomsticks?" Angelina asks. I look at Alicia guiltily.

"Well, actually, I have something I want to talk to you about," Alicia says and without asking either of us, she simply takes a seat on a nearby bench.

"Are you mental?" Angelina asks. "It's freezing out here, Alicia. Can't we talk in the Three Broomsticks?"

"I actually think it would be better to talk without people around," Alicia says. Feeling that I should support her in this, I take a seat on the bench also. Grudgingly, Angelina sits between us.

"You're crazy, girl. We're going to catch our deaths out here."

"Angelina, if I had something important to tell you but I asked you to keep it a secret from Fred, would you?" Angelina looks at her in shock. "I just don't want to go ahead and tell you and then put you in an uncomfortable situation later."

"No, I appreciate you asking," she says and then thinks about the question. "I wouldn't tell. You've been my friend far longer than Fred has." A smile breaks out over Alicia's face.

"I'm dating Lee!" she announces. Angelina stares at her with wide eyes. She turns around and looks at me.

"Did you know about this?" she asks, turning to me. I can't read the expression on her face, but I'm pretty sure she's not mad.

"Yeah," I laugh. "But only because you're attached to Fred who's attached to George who's—"

"—my ex-boyfriend," Alicia finishes. "Ange, say something, please."

"I-I don't know what to say. Are you happy?"

"I am. I'm so happy," the smile on her face makes it impossible not to believe her. Angelina face softens.

"Then I'm happy for you," Angelina says. "But, dear God. Alicia, do you know what this is going to do to George?"

"I can guess," she says sadly. "But I can't help the way I feel."

"Of course you can't," she says. "I'm not blaming you."

"So, you're not mad?" Alicia asks.

"Mad? Of course not! But I do think that it would be better if you went ahead and told George rather than waiting on him to find out later on." Alicia nods in understanding.

"Lee doesn't want him to know," she says.

"Well, okay then. I won't say anything to Fred."

"Thank you so much, Angelina."

"No, thank you!" she says. "I would have died if I found this out from someone else."

I just watch the whole exchange with a smirk on my face. This is definitely going to cause some complications down the road, but for right now it's nice to feel like we're back in school with our petty little problems. For the first time in months, the drama in my life doesn't center around You-Know-Who, but instead simple, teenage problems. And it feels pretty damn good.

--

Alicia and I Apparate to our old flat alongside Angelina. Alicia wants to catch up with Angelina, and I want to see Fred. When I don't find him in the kitchen, I immediately head to the back where I find him in Angelina's old bedroom, flipping through a magazine.

"Whatcha reading?" I ask, throwing myself onto the bed next to him.

"Katie!" he cries, wrapping me into a hug and throwing his magazine across the room. Maybe I don't want to know what he was reading… "You know, I don't see you nearly enough anymore."

"I couldn't agree more," I answer, snuggling closer to him and resting my head on his shoulder. Although Oliver probably wouldn't approve of me being this close to another guy, I have no problem with it. I have no romantic feelings for Fred and being this close to him just comes naturally to me. Oliver's worries would be unfounded. Plus, he never has to know.

As if reading my mind, Fred laughs lightly to himself. "Do you think Angelina would mind if she walked in and saw us like this?" he asks.

"I don't know," I answer, never having really thought about it. "I think she knows us well enough to know that we don't mean anything by it."

"Yeah, well she's been awfully irritable lately."

"What do you mean?" I ask, turning to face him.

"I don't know. I don't think she likes living with me very much. She keeps badgering me about making wedding plans…I just can't think about that right now, you know. Death Eaters have been in the area all week and all she wants to talk about are color schemes."

"Fred, that's what happens when you ask a girl to marry you."

"Yeah, well I thought this was supposed to be fun."

"Fred…"

"No, Katie, I'm sorry. I'm fine. I'm just tired. I haven't slept in a while." Now that I take a better look at him, I find that his eyes do in fact have dark circles under them.

"Fred, are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine, dear. Just stressed." I just nod because I know that if anything's stressing him out this much, it probably has to do with something he can't tell me about. I disentangle myself from him.

"Well, I'll let you sleep then," I say, getting out of the bed. "But if you ever need to just get away, Oliver and I have an extra bed." To my surprise, Fred starts laughing. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just that you trust me so foolishly. I tell you that Angelina's annoying me and you offer me a bed. What if I'm the one causing the problem?" I shrug.

"Knowing you, you probably are the problem." Fred laughs.

"And knowing you, you're probably right," he says. I walk out of the room with a small wave and after saying goodbye to Angelina and Alicia, I Apparate home.

It's only after I'm standing in my crowded living room that I remember Oliver had said he was inviting his teammates over tonight.

"Hi," I mutter self-consciously when I notice that Oliver isn't in the room.

"Oh, thank God," Amanda says from her spot on our loveseat. "I thought I was going to be the only girl all night."

"Katie!" Ben cries, walking in from the kitchen with Oliver by his side. He drops the food he's holding onto the table and runs over to hug me tightly.

"I love you too, Ben," I say, patting him on the back.

"I heard that you miss me," he says, pulling away.

"And who told you that?" I laugh.

"It doesn't matter…you do miss me, right?"

"Of course I miss you," I laugh.

"Well, good."

"Hey," Oliver says, walking over to me and pulling me out of Ben's grip. "We're almost done here."

"No, it's fine," I say.

"You're home later than I expected you; I was starting to get worried," he says, pulling me onto the couch between him and Ben.

"Yeah, sorry. I got held up at Angelina's after we went dress shopping."

"Dress shopping?" Amanda asks, sitting strait up in her chair. "Like wedding dress shopping?" The six guys assembled groan audibly. "Oh, shut up."

"Amanda, you haven't talked about anything but dresses for months," Nolan says irritably. "And we're trying to finish this up so that we can all go home!"

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Working on some new plays," Kevin supplies, looking over his notes. I almost start laughing because even though Oliver was a maniacal coach, he never once made us waste a whole night looking over plays on paper.

"Stop smirking," Oliver whispers. I just roll my eyes.

"Are we almost done here? I've got a date," Jarrod says, getting up from his seat and walking into the kitchen to grab another Firewhiskey.

"You really should think about settling down," Amanda calls after him. "It's not as horrible as you seem to think it is."

"I highly doubt that," Jarrod mutters. Amanda rolls her eyes.

"So, Katie," she says, "where were you looking for dresses? I've looked everywhere and I haven't been able to find anything!"

"Oh, well—"

"Katie, don't answer her, please," Oliver says distractedly, looking over Kevin's notes. Amanda just glares at him.

"Seriously, though," she says, turning back to Jarrod and now addressing Nolan too. "What you two do isn't natural—it's unhealthy. You should pick one girl and stick with her. Switching girls every week isn't ethical. And it gives our team a bad name." All of the guys laugh lightly at that, without making eye contact with her.

"Oliver," she says fiercely, "tell them that relationships aren't a bad thing." Oliver looks at her as if she's crazy.

"What?" he asks.

"Relationships," she prompts. "You like being engaged to Katie, yes." Oh, I'd almost forgotten about that.

"Yes," Oliver laughs, draping his arm around my shoulders. I roll my eyes as he removes it a second later to point out a mistake on Kevin's play. Some things never change.

"Ben," Amanda tries again.

"What, dear?" Ben asks, turning to her.

"You used to be one of them," she accuses, pointing to Nolan and Jarrod. "What changed your mind?"

"Mallory," he says simply.

"Aw," Nolan mocks, making kissing noises.

"What?" Ben laughs. "The sex is better when they aren't thinking about whether you'll be there when they wake up in the morning." Nolan throws a pizza crust at him.

"The sex is better," Kevin agrees, only looking up from his playbook briefly.

"Are you allowed to say that?" Jarrod asks. "You're married."

"You have kids," Ben agrees. Kevin doesn't comment.

"You guys are sick," Amanda says, leaning back in her seat as she realizes she's lost control of the conversation.

"What about you, Oliver?" Jarrod asks with a laugh. "Is the sex better?"

"Jarrod," Clark warns from the corner and it strikes me that I think this is the only time I've ever heard him talk.

Oliver looks up to glare at Jarrod briefly before looking back down at the book and pointing something out to Kevin. I think I'm the only one who notices the slight blush on his cheeks. Clark comes over and joins them over the book.

"Is there anymore Firewhiskey in the kitchen?" I ask softly. Oliver simply nods. I get up from my seat and head into the next room. When I open the refrigerator, I feel someone's gaze behind me. I turn around to find Clark there.

"I need one too," he says. I just nod and grab two drinks, handing one to him.

"So, do you guys meet every week to do this?" I ask.

"Most weeks," he answers. I just nod in understanding.

"No offense or anything," I say, "but you just seem so different than them. It's not a bad thing! You just don't really fit my persona of a Quidditch player." He laughs a bit at that.

"Well, thank you."

"You're very down-to-earth."

"Yeah, well, it's the guys like Nolan and Jarrod that all of the girl's are after," he mutters. From the first time I saw Clark, I felt a bit sorry for him and now I know why. He's dwarfed in comparison to his fellow Chasers and he doesn't even realize that he's just as good as they are. He's just humble enough not to boast about it.

"That's not true, you know," I say. "In fact, I think if you took a poll of all of the witches in England, most of them would rather date you than Nolan or Jarrod."

"And why's that?' he laughs.

"Because you care," I answer simply. He just looks at me curiously, but figuring we've been alone in the kitchen for a bit too long, I go join Oliver on the couch once more. One look around the room shows me that Amanda's fallen asleep in the chair and suddenly I find that I'm quite tired too.

Oliver pulls me close to him as he continues working and I rest my head on his shoulder. I don't know how long it took me to fall asleep, but it must not have been long. The last thing I remember is Nolan suggesting that they draw a mustache on Amanda and me wondering if Oliver would stop them if they tried to do the same to me.

--

Wow, that was a long chapter. I'm officially on Christmas break, so I'm going to try to get updates out sooner. Also, I posted the Oliver POV fic, but I forgot to tell all of my readers here. So if you haven't read it yet, you should check it out.

Also, we're getting closer to the Final Battle. Probably about 3 chapters away. It makes me sad to even think about it because I've had that chapter brewing in my head for so long. I don't even know how I'm going to write a certain person's death because it just might break my heart all over again.

Anyway…review, please :) And Merry Christmas.