Katie's point of view

Christmas came and went, which meant I soon set my sights on my brother's New Year's Eve party.

It was the first year I was allowed to attend, and I couldn't wait to spend the weekend with my brother, Kevin. He was 10 years older than me, but we always had fun together and he never snitched on any of my shenanigans to Mom and Dad.

I was also excited to take Oliver to the party, though I knew there were some underlying implications. People were going to think we were a couple but deep down, I kind of liked that notion anyway.

Still, I hadn't decided what I wanted to do about Oliver. I knew I liked him and wanted to be with him, but I still didn't know if it was a good idea. On top of that, he was graduating at the end of the term and would be going off to bigger and better things. Part of me wanted to find out what it'd be like to date him before he did that; the other part of me wondered why I should even bother. What if I really ended up falling for him, only for him to graduate and move on?

As Oliver and I prepared to leave for London, my mother made me swear I'd behave and make good choices. Oliver snorted when I promised her I'd be responsible, causing me to threaten him with my wand.

"Children," Mom sighed as Oliver and I grabbed a handful of Floo powder. "Just have fun and don't do anything too foolish, OK?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Yes, Mrs. Bell."

I flashed Oliver a grin and stepped into the flames before landing in Kevin's living room.

Kevin lived in a penthouse atop a London high-rise, which made his place ideal for parties. The floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of London and Kevin always decked the place out in decorations. It was only 5 p.m. and the party wasn't due to start until 8 p.m., so I was excited to catch up with him for a bit.

"Kev?" I called out.

I was quickly interrupted as Oliver came stumbling from the fireplace, sending me backward onto the floor.

"I see you two are eager to get the party started."

Kevin stood over Oliver and me, grinning down at us.

"Get off me!" I groaned, smacking Oliver on the side.

"I'm trying!" he exclaimed as he rolled off me. "Bloody Floo network is bonkers. Too many people using it today. Damn holidays."

"Kev!" I squealed, leaping to my feet to hug my brother.

"Good to see you, Kate," Kevin said. "Sorry I missed Christmas dinner. Too much work to get done ahead of tonight. And who is this?"

"Kev, this is Oliver," I said, gesturing toward Oliver, who was still brushing off his pants.

Kevin let out a low whistle and elbowed me gently in the side. "Kate, you never told me you had such cute friends," he said.

Oliver turned red and I snickered as I realized I hadn't told him my brother is gay.

"It's nice to meet you," Oliver said politely as he shook Kevin's hand. "I like to think Katie doesn't tell people about me so she can keep me to herself."

"I don't blame her," Kevin laughed as I rolled my eyes.

"Well, come in, make yourselves at home," Kevin said, gesturing around the penthouse. "You two can crash in the guest room tonight. Sorry I don't have more room. I think my friend Allister is sleeping on the couch."

"It's fine," I said, determinedly avoiding eye contact with Oliver. I'd also neglected to tell him we'd be sharing a bed tonight, not that it felt like a big deal to me since we'd already done that before.

Kevin showed Oliver around the penthouse before we sat down at the table to catch up.

As Kevin told us about his work for the Department of Magical Games and Sports and I told him about our quidditch season, I could feel his curious gaze burning into me. His eyes kept meeting mine just before darting toward Oliver, and I knew Kevin wanted to know what was going on between us.

I knew Kevin would find a way to ask me by the end of the night, but I had no idea how I'd respond.

Oliver's point of view

Despite arriving at Kevin's hours before the party started, Katie somehow managed to fall behind getting ready. That left me alone with Kevin and a few of his friends who showed up on time.

"So, Oliver," Kevin said as he handed me a glass of firewhisky. "What's up with you and my sister?"

"Er, what do you mean?" I asked stupidly. I knew exactly what he meant, but I was desperately buying time to think of a good answer.

"Oh, come on," Kevin said, nudging me in the side. "She doesn't bring many lads around. Just you and that last boyfriend who was too thick-headed to string three words together."

"We're friends and teammates," I said carefully.

"I think she fancies you," Kevin pointed out.

"What makes you say that?" I hoped I wasn't sweating.

Kevin shrugged. "She likes to tease and joke around with you, but she also doesn't take any shit from you. It's almost like she's already your girlfriend. The two of you might as well go ahead and bang it out be-"

Before he could say anything more, Katie saved the day as she finally emerged from the guest bedroom.

If Kevin didn't know I fancied Katie before, he certainly knew now.

"Kevin, the light in that room is terrible," Katie complained as I picked my jaw up off the floor.

Katie's hair was straight and sleek, a change from her typical ponytail, and she was wearing a tight blue dress with a low back.

"Does Mum know you're wearing that?" Kevin asked with a raised eyebrow. "If that dress were any tighter, it'd cut you in half."

"What Mum doesn't know won't hurt her," Katie said coolly as she reached for a sip of my drink.

Kevin shrugged and wandered off to greet other party guests and Katie grinned at me.

"You clean up nicely," she said.

"You look all right as well."

She shot me a look, which I returned with a smirk.

"You're a real wanker, you know that?" she said.

"A wanker who cleans up nicely."

Katie rolled her eyes and stalked away to the food table. I glanced around the room to survey the other party guests, who all appeared to be in their 20s and 30s. Most seemed to work in the Department of Magical Games and Sports with Kevin, though a handful seemed to be his old mates.

Katie and I spent most of the evening hovering near the food and champagne, chatting with guests who probably wondered why a pair of teenagers were there in the first place. After a while, Katie had disappeared, so I made my way to the balcony to get a better view of the city.

Kevin's penthouse was on the eighteenth floor, meaning the view of London stretched endlessly in every direction. Lights seemed to dazzle from all angles and I squinted downward at the streets, where people were filing in and out of pubs to celebrate the incoming new year.

"Bloody hell!"

I spun around from the railing as the door shut behind Katie, who was looking annoyed.

"All right?" I asked.

"It's one of Kevin's friends," Katie sighed. "He keeps hitting on me. I don't think he realizes I'm only 16."

"Told you you're jailbait."

"I am not!" Katie leaned backward on the railing next to me and I did my best to avoid looking down her dress. "I didn't ask for any of this. He just kept talking my ear off. Oh, bugger. He's watching right now!"

I did my best to turn around casually to follow Katie's gaze. Through the glass windows, I could see a man who appeared to be in his mid-20s watching us.

"He looks pretty harmless," I said, turning to lean on the railing again.

"Is he still watching?"

"Yep."

"Bloody hell." Katie sighed and turned to face me. "Help me out here, Wood?" she said, gazing at me with pleading eyes.

"Help you how? Katie, there's nothing I can do about some git who likes to go after teen-"

Katie grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me into a kiss.

Even if I'd wanted to stop her, I wouldn't have. It was too good of a kiss to resist and Katie had a vice grip on my shirt anyway.

When she pulled away, she grinned at me.

"Well, now that's out of the way," she said.

I blinked at her. As much as I was enjoying this moment, I couldn't help but wonder if she was capitalizing on my feelings simply to fend off her other suitor.

"Katie," I said in my best serious tone. "What are we doing?"

"We're having a snog on the balcony."

I shot her a look that was reminiscent of the scathing glares she often gave people and she sighed.

"Look," she said, her eyes drifting toward the lights below us. "I'm not good at talking about this kind of stuff."

"Katie, we don't have to have some deep, insightful conversation about this," I replied. "If you don't want to be with me, it's OK. I understand and I'll survive, I promise."

"I do want to be with you, Wood."

I blinked again. "You do?"

"Yes."

"…Oh."

Katie snorted. "Well, we're off to a great start, aren't we?"

"Sorry, I'm just surprised is all."

"Surprised?" It was Katie's turn to blink at me. "Wood, you can't really be all that surprised. You've known I'm attracted to you, and we've spent nearly two weeks together and we've nearly snogged on multiple occasions."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't think much would really come of it."

"You're quite the optimist, aren't you?"

"Can you really blame me for being doubtful?" I asked. "I mean, I've fancied you for all this time. I didn't really expect you to suddenly feel the same."

"It's not sudden," Katie pointed out, her gaze finally catching mine. Her voice was quiet, almost apprehensive. "I've fancied you for a while, too, Wood. I've just been a bit fearful of it. You're important to me. Our team is like my second family. I don't want to mess any of that up. I don't want to mess up our friendship either."

"We won't," I promised. "Katie, I don't know where things will go between us, all I know is I want to find out."

Katie nodded, her eyes still scanning the city as she mulled over my words.

"OK," she finally breathed. "So, we're doing this then?"

"Dating?" I asked.

"Yeah. If you still want to, that is."

I rose an eyebrow at her. "It's not fair to make that kind of statement when you're wearing a dress like that," I noted.

She straightened up and offered me a smug smile. "I was hoping you'd like it. Alicia swears this dress has never failed her."

"Well, considering you've landed a boyfriend and a suitor who has to be 10 years older than you all in one night, I'd reckon Alicia's right."

"I wish I had this dress when I was in America over the summer."

I rose an eyebrow and Katie smirked. "Not jealous again, are you?"

"Should I be?"

Katie snorted. "Oh, please," she said. "I haven't snogged anyone since Adrian Pucey."

"The Slytherin Chaser?!"

"Relax Wood," Katie cackled. "I was only joking!"

"Merlin, Katie, Diggory was bad enough but a Slytherin rival-"

"There was never anything going on with Diggory," Katie cut in.

"I know," I said quickly. "I know. I'm sorry for being jealous about that."

"Diggory's a good bloke, you know," Katie said, her expression turning thoughtful. "Though he sometimes gets a bit quiet and awkward. It's almost like he's itching to tell me something."

As the bet I'd made with the other quidditch captains surged to the forefront of my mind, our conversation was interrupted by Kevin.

"Oi! You two!" he shouted from the balcony's doorway. "It's just about midnight. Grab some champagne and get in here!"

"Let's go!" Katie grabbed my hand and pulled me inside, where the party guests had all gathered in the living room with champagne flutes. Music was blaring loudly and people were staring at the clock above the fireplace, anxiously awaiting the arrival of 1994.

As 11:59 p.m. struck and the second hand spun around, the guests began counting down from ten. A chorus of cheers echoed throughout the penthouse when midnight hit and the couples in attendance began sharing their New Year's kisses.

I turned to Katie, who had set down her empty champagne glass and was grinning at me. She grabbed me by the shirt again and pulled me into a kiss.

"Happy New Year, Wood."