Chapter 5
Roger Davies and Cho made their way up onto the stage, and Alison could tell from Cho's strained smile that she was nervous as hell on the inside. She noticed Harry standing less than a few feet away, and he wore a strange expression on his face. Alison recognized it to be a mixture of acute jealous and pride. She could understand exactly what Harry was going through…she could just imagine the torment she would be put through had she been forced to watch Oliver dance with some other girl.
She was distracted from her thoughts by the sounds of a very familiar tune…possibly one of her favourite tunes of all time: Dancing in the Moonlight by Toploader. This, unlike the previous choice by Ravenclaw, was a very good song to dance to, and Alison was most impressed with Cho's choice. And as Oliver and she swayed together, as did the rest of the crowd, Alison had to admit that Cho was a very good dancer, she just didn't have the benefit of a good male dancer, which really was a huge pity. Although Roger Davies moved relatively well, and in time to the music, he was nothing spectacular, and that in a nutshell, summed up the Ravenclaw performance. Although it wasn't bad, it was nothing better than average. Alison felt sorry for Cho, and she looked over at Harry to see how he thought Cho was doing. Even from where she was standing, she could see that he was clenching and unclenching his jaw every time Roger placed a hand on Cho.
She thought it was so sweet the way Harry was so protective of Cho. She was just wondering whether Cho felt the same way, when Oliver whispered in her ear. Distracted, she craned her neck to look around at him, and asked him to repeat himself. So he did. 'I think we made a good impression on the judges, Bill seemed impressed. I just hope that we do well in the this round too.' Alison spun around and glared at him indignantly. 'What do you mean, you hope?' she hissed. 'Is there something that you don't remember, cuz if there is, tell me now, and we can go practice somewhere.' Chuckling inwardly at her tempestuous reaction, Oliver replied, 'No, its just that…well, Flint and Diggory are pretty good.' Then seeing the dismayed look on Alison's face, he added hurriedly, 'Not as good as us, though…' Alison stared at him intently, as though trying to read his innermost thoughts and Oliver felt most vulnerable under her unflinching gaze. In a threatening voice, she muttered, 'Yeah, well, we are going to win, and you are going to go to Puddlemere United…if it's the last thing that you do!' In that instant, Oliver regretted telling Alison his dream for the future for he had seen how obsessed she got when she had a goal in view…kind of like him, really.
Ravenclaw's song ended and Alison clapped long and hard, along with everyone else. She cast a glance at Harry, and saw, to her amusement that he seemed more than a little relieved to have his girlfriend back by his side. Ravenclaw was followed by Hufflepuff. Alison could understand why girls were so attracted to Cedric. Not only was he very good looking, he certainly was no klutz on the dance floor. His steps were perfectly in tune to that of his partner's, a pretty Hufflepuff fifth year who seemed incredibly excited to be dancing with the famous Cedric Diggory.
As their dance drew to an end, Alison began to warm up, and began to move a bit quicker, trying to get the adrenalin pumping. She was glad that Slytherin had chosen the song that they had…it was an upbeat number called 'Original Prankster' by 'Offspring'. Alison paid little attention to Marcus Flint's and Drucilla's dancing skills, but what little she did notice, terrified her. There was no denying it. These two definitely had a chance of winning this round. They moved together, like they had never been doing anything else. Their timing was perfect and the song perfectly suited to their admirable capabilities. Trying to convince herself that Oliver and herself were far better than the two on the stage, she concentrated on running through the steps with Oliver, who seemed far more relaxed.
As she heard the last few chords, her heartbeat quickened, till it seemed like a monotonous buzz in her chest. The adrenalin rush was tremendous and her head began to feel light. As the crowd burst into applause in appreciation of Slytherin's fine performance, the back of Alison's throat went dry and Flint's smirking face as he looked at her didn't make her feel any better. But the moment Oliver placed his hand on her arm, and whispered in the most confident voice that she had ever heard him use, 'We are going to win this and wipe that ugly smirk off his face, aren't we Alison?'- ever since that moment, her nervousness took flight and it was replaced by determination the likes of which Alison had never known. Now she had a goal, and Oliver knew from the way her jaws were set that he had said just the right thing. Now ANY nervous energy would be channeled towards a purpose-the sole purpose of winning.
Together they stepped onto the stage, and Alison squinted under the bright glare of the spotlight. Almost as though it were reading her slightest emotions, the lights went off, plunging the hall into darkness. And then, she heard it…the first notes. And as she heard the notes, and the lights gradually dawned on them, like the light from a newly rising sun, Oliver and she began to move in tandem. They had got the steps down to a fine art, so they didn't so much as think about where they were stepping, where there arms were to be at a precise moment. Instead they let their emotions take over. They danced like they felt, and how they felt was like a pair of highly charged batteries, raring to go. Alison had chosen the song 'When you're looking like that' by 'Westlife' because the song captured how she felt about Oliver, and unknown to her, it captured how Oliver felt about her. Now, as the music flowed over them, and they launched into the breathtaking series of steps, of twirls that Hogwarts had ever seen, the crowd grew silent. They just stared. Normally, Alison would have been worried by the silence, but during the period of time when Oliver held her in his arms, during that time, she didn't hear the silence. She was in a separate world, one where the only other person that mattered was on that stage with her. They were so attuned to each other's movements, and as they both glided through their steps, all they saw was each other, all they heard was the music and all they felt was the beating of each other's hearts. When the song ended, and Oliver grasped Alison around the waist, pulling her towards him, the crowd remained silent for what seemed like an eternity. Almost as though awaking from a blissful dream, Alison was suddenly struck by the silence, one that would have sounded more in context in a tomb that had been untouched for centuries. And for that eternity, Alison's heart sunk as she wondered if maybe something had gone terribly wrong. However, before she was allowed to dwell on this though for more than a few seconds, the crowd exploded with the size and force of a nuclear bomb. The applause was deafening and Alison could see the amazed expressions on the faces of the audience. Whistles rang out and reverberated around the hall, and as the two of them walked off the stage, Oliver's arm still around Alison's waist, Alison saw the judges clapping as well. She grinned widely, and assumed this to be a very positive sign.
Oliver and Alison walked back to where they had originally been standing, and were clapped on the back, and hugged by people that they had never spoken to before. Harry was ecstatic, and as he hugged Alison and she saw the slightly annoyed look on Cho's face, she whispered, 'Harry, perhaps, you should seem less enthusiastic about our performance, and more enthusiastic about Cho's. Just a bit of friendly advice.' Puzzled, Harry glanced over his shoulder at Cho, and when he saw the expression on her face, he realized that Alison was right. Wearing an apologetic look, he walked back to Cho, who seemed to brighten up the moment Harry appeared by her side again. The clapping and hugging had just about died down, when Alison saw Marcus Flint standing not too far away from them, immersed in conversation with a very flustered looking Drucilla. Alison grinned at the stricken look on Flint's face and it was all she could do to keep from walking over to him, and rubbing their brilliant performance in his face.
Before Oliver knew it, Professor Agallant called Cho and Roger Davies back onto the stage, and the Hall buzzed with excitement. This was it…the hardest part of the competition. The unprepared couple's dance. Much to Oliver's surprise, Cho did not seem to be at all nervous, but then, as he looked closer, he saw that her expression was one of resignation. Oliver had to feel sorry for her. She was definitely a very good dancer, and had she had an average male dancer to accompany her, she would have had a very serious chance at the cup. As it was, Roger Davies was pulling down her whole performance.
As Cho walked past her, Alison gave her a wan smile, to encourage her. Her emotions were in a huge conflict. She wanted her friend Cho to do well, but at the same time, she wanted to win. Pushing all unpleasant thought from her head, she watched as Cho and Roger stood on stage, like lambs in a slaughter house, both wearing an identical look of terror on their faces. This time, when the lights dimmed, the crowd did not start whispering as they had for all the previous dances. Instead, they all strained their ears to hear the first notes of the mystery song. And they hadn't very long to wait. No sooner had the lights dimmed than the sounds of 'I'm A Believer' by Smashmouth began to flow from the speakers. Alison noticed the momentary panic on Cho's face when she realized that she had never heard the song before, and silently, she thanked her stars that she had grown up listening to Muggle music. The panic was but fleeting, as Cho began to move to the music, uncertainly at first, and then, as time went by, she grew in confidence. To Alison's surprise, and slight apprehension, Roger was doing very well. He seemed to be very confident, and even managed to complete some rather complex moves.
Oliver smiled as he heard the first words of the song…it had been one of the songs that he and Alison had practiced to when preparing for this particular round, practice that consisted primarily of turning on Professor Agallant's radio and dancing to whatever songs were playing. He turned to look at Harry and saw that he had a rather fixed smile on his face. Catching his eye, Oliver winked knowingly, and Harry coloured visibly, before turning his head away. Oliver saw him saying something to Ron, who happened to be standing next to him, his arms wrapped securely around Hermione's waist. Oliver glanced at Alison and saw that her face looked rather tense. *We can't have that, now can we???* he thought to himself, and wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close to him. He could feel her muscles tensing and relaxing, as she tried to loosen herself for their turn. Oliver wasn't too worried, though. Even Alison at her very worst, was better than any other dancer in the school. And although Oliver had to admit that Roger and Cho were doing very well, he was holding on to the belief that that night would belong to him and Alison alone, in more ways than one. As Roger and Cho neared the end of the dance, the Ravenclaws applauded loudly, glad that they finally had something to cheer. They had been rather subdued all evening…they realized that they had no chance of winning the other two rounds. The relief of living up to her housemates' expectations showed on the faces of the two dancers as they stepped off the stage. Harry hugged Cho tightly, ensuring her that she had been absolutely spectacular, and that, in itself, seemed to cheer Cho up a great deal.
The next team to be called up was Hufflepuff, and as Cedric walked past Alison and Oliver in order to reach the stage, he smiled at them, and muttered, 'this competition's still wide open, Wood!!' Alison had to smile at this remark, as it was accompanied by a confident toss of the head. She couldn't help but like Cedric…he was a very nice person, despite his belief that he could get anything that he wanted. And she admired the friendly banter between Oliver and Cedric…it was always there, but unlike Flint, Cedric never crossed the fine line between competitiveness and underhandedness.
The crowd roared as the highly popular Cedric stepped onto the stage and they roared even louder when they heard the song that Cedric and his pretty partner would be dancing to. *Bon Jovi might be Muggle, but he sure does have a fan following in the wizarding world! * mused Alison as she saw and heard the reaction around of the people around her. Personally, she had never been a huge Bon Jovi fan, but the song that was currently playing; 'It's My Life' had been her theme song for a particularly rebellious period in her life. Alison couldn't resist the temptation and she began to sing along with the rest of the crowd. She was most startled when she heard Oliver singing along as well, his deep voice echoing in her ear. She looked up at him, and her surprise must have shown in her face for he shrugged rather nonchalantly, before bending down and practically yelling, 'My father loves this song!' Alison grinned widely…she had a feeling that she would like Oliver's dad. She looked back at the couple on the stage and yet again, she felt the twinge of self-doubt deep within her chest. No sooner had it established its presence that Alison pushed it away with as much force as she could muster. Instead, she returned to swaying with the rest of the crowd, and more importantly, with Oliver. She caught sight of Flint standing but a few feet away, and felt a shiver crawl up her spine as he glanced over at her and gave her a twisted smile, one that spoke volumes. Alison tried to keep from shuddering as his eyes ran down her body and then up again, and an appreciative smirk formed on the corners of his mouth.
Alison turned away, and Oliver, feeling her tense, looked at her in surprise. Alison did her best to rearrange her face into what she hoped was a suitably innocent expression. Oliver wasn't totally convinced, but he knew that there was precious little that he could do to force Alison to tell him what the matter was. When the Hufflepuffs had finished their performance, they staggered off the stage, looking drained, not just physically, but also emotionally. Alison had to give it to them; they had been very, very good. The Hufflepuff section of the crowd cheered loudly, they obviously thought that Hufflepuff would walk away with that category. They hadn't counted on the next two performances, however.
Flint and Drucilla walked onto the stage amid a mixture of hissing, and catcalls, but the Slytherins for their part were very supportive of their representatives. Alison waited to see what song they would get, hoping in her heart that it would be the slowest song ever, one so slow that it would be impossible for them to dance to it. However, it seemed not to be, when the first notes of 'Keep On Moving' by Five began to drift into the halls. Alison sighed and did all she could to keep her spirits up as she watched Flint and Drucilla go through their dance almost as though they had practiced for it. Alison had to admit that while Flint was possibly the vilest person on the planet, he was definitely a very talented dancer. Drucilla, for her part, certainly lived up to her reputation, as one of the greatest beauties of the school. Her long, blonde hair caught the light and shimmered as though each strand were molded from molten gold. Oliver could see that Alison was losing her hope and continued to whisper encouragement in her ear. With each piece of encouragement, Alison's confidence began to build and by the time Slytherin finished their performance, she was as ready as she would ever be, and rearing to go. As Oliver and she made their way onto the stage, she felt as though someone had turned down the volume on a television set, and so all she could hear was her own breathing and that of Oliver. She could see the crowd screaming and cheering, but she couldn't hear them, and for that, she was thankful. As she heard the start of the song that she was going to dance to, her mind froze, and for a split second, she could not believe that this was happening to her. She had hoped for a song that would allow her to move to it, a fast song, but what she got was something entirely different. She couldn't believe that Professor Agallant had used this song at all, what with all the possibilities. 'Save Tonight' by Eagle Eye Cheery had always been one of Alison's favourite songs, but it most definitely had a lusty edge to it, that opened the floodgates of possibility. Before she knew it, Oliver had swept her up in his strong arms. The strong Latin beat was possibly one of the most sensual Alison had ever heard, and as they danced, they lost consciousness of the world around them. The music flowed over them, as they twirled and flipped, looking for all the world, as though they had done nothing else all their lives. Gradually, the crowd stopped singing along, and simply watched in awestruck wonder, swaying along to the tantalizing beat. Oliver's arms caressed Alison's perfect frame, and their dance was nothing short of sizzling. They danced as though they were making love, with the same tenderness, the same eagerness, the same passion. It was both sensual and classy at the same time, and when it was all over, and the last note had been played, the two dancers on the stage realized, as if awakening from a magical dream, that they were on the stage, in front of the whole school, and then some. Oliver felt his face going red when he realized that his arms were still wrapped tightly around Alison's waist, and quickly let go of her. This time, the crowd did not wait for even a fraction of a second before they burst into applause, the likes of which had not been heard in Hogwarts and would not be heard there for a long, long time to come. There were several cries of 'Encore', not to mention appreciative whistles and hoots as the two of them stepped off stage. Immediately, they were surrounded by fellow Gryffindors, who very nearly killed them by thumping them hard on the back, or, as the case may be, hugging them incredibly hard. Oliver looked over at the judges' table, and saw Jason Carlson with a look of awe on his face. This only added to Oliver's elation and in the spur of the moment, he grabbed Alison, pulling her away form all her 'fans' and whispered, 'I think we've made a favorable impression on Carlson…' Alison grinned back at him, and it was all Oliver could do to refrain from dropping down on one knee before her and proclaiming his unwavering love for her. As it was, he managed to hold himself back, and remained content with just giving her a gentle squeeze to show his appreciation.
When the cheering had finally died down after that scintillating performance, Professor Agallant took up the mike once again, and announced, 'Well, that was CERTAINLY very entertaining…we felt that rather than keep you waiting here for the judges to make their decision, it would be better for the results of the competition to be announced at the Ball. Besides, the judges did express their desire to stay on for the Ball, especially a Mr. Bill Weasley, so I felt obliged to give them some excuse to do so. So, I encourage all of you to get ready for the Ball tonight, and I hope that you enjoyed this dance competition!'
The crowd seemed slightly annoyed at not being told the results at that point, but they were appeased by Professor Agallant's explanation.
Alison was making her way out of the Great Hall, accompanied by Oliver, when she heard Bill Weasley's voice saying, 'Hey you two!' Startled, both of them turned around to see Bill and Jason Carlson standing behind them, with wide grins on their faces. Before Oliver could ask what they were doing there, Bill said, 'How about you show us around, hmmm? First, I'd like to see what the Gryffindor Common Room looks like…how about it, Wood?' Struck dumb by the fact that his Quidditch idol, Jason Carlson was standing so close to him, Oliver just nodded. Jason's grin widened at the expression on Oliver's face, and Alison was about to step in and relieve Oliver when Bill caught her arm, and whispered, 'Hey, Jason wants to ask Oliver something, so why don't you show me to the Gryffindor Common Room?' Slightly suspicious as to what was going on, Alison complied and led Bill to the portrait of the Fat Lady. To her enormous surprise, the Fat Lady blushed visibly and dissolved into a state of giggles at the sight of the former head boy of Hogwarts. Chuckling softly, Bill whispered, 'I think you might want to say the password, now…' startled out of her shock, Alison shook her head and muttered the password under her breath. Still giggling, the portrait swung open revealing a large hole and beyond the hole, lay the Gryffindor Common Room. The fire was burning warmly in the grate and as a special treat, there were candles hovering in the air, at strategic corners of the Common Room. The flames danced across the walls, as though playing a silent game of hide and seek with the evasive shadows. With a low whistle, Bill let out his breath and exclaimed, 'Whoa, it's great to be home!'
Back outside the Hall, Oliver watched in stunned bemusement as Alison walked off with Bill. He began to follow them, when Jason motioned for Oliver to accompany him out into the grounds. A little puzzled, Oliver did so, and when they got outside, Jason turned to him and asked, 'well, I'll be frank with you, Oliver…the only reason I agreed to be the judge of this competition was to try and recruit some new players. As you might know, Puddlemere United has a lot of experience, which in itself is a good thing. However, it does have a bad side to it, and that would be the fact that most of my players are well into their late thirties, and soon, they're going to have to retire. At such a time, I want to have some players with some amount of experience ready to step in and take their place.' When Oliver started with excitement, Jason held up his hand, and Oliver was forced to bite his tongue and wait until Jason had said what he wanted to say. Jason continued, 'I've heard an awful lot about you, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to meet you in person. I would like, very much, for you to come and try out for a place on Puddlemere United's Reserve Team.' Oliver's eyes nearly pooped out of his head as he started goggle eyed at his idol! He could not believe what he was hearing. In as calm a voice that he could manage, he said, 'I would like that…when're the try outs, Mr. Carlson?'
'Call me Jason, and the try outs are in the month of March. I know that seems like ages away, but I just wanted to know what you thought of the whole thing…'
'I'll be there!'
Jason smiled at the barely suppressed excitement in Oliver's voice and then said, 'we'd better get back to the castle, or else Alison might wonder if you've been kidnapped.' Grinning, in a bemused sort of way, Oliver let himself be led back to the castle. Once inside the castle, he began to make his way towards the Gryffindor Common Room, when he noticed that Jason was not following him. Instead, he was standing in the Entrance Hall, looking very unsure of what to do next. Oliver raised his eyebrows at him questioningly and asked, 'Why are you just standing there? Come on…'
'Well, do you suppose it would be ok for me to come to the Gryffindor Common Room…I mean, I never went to Hogwarts, and so it might be inappropriate for me to…' He trailed off, and Oliver couldn't help but laugh at the worried expression of Jason's face. At that moment, Professor Agallant came striding out of the Great Hall, and a beam spread across his face when he saw Jason and Oliver standing together, in the otherwise deserted Hall. He ushered them towards the Gryffindor Common Room before taking off in the direction of his office. Oliver whispered the password and then motioned for Jason to step through the portrait hole before him.
They found Alison and Bill standing in the middle of the Common Room, surrounded on all sides by a sea of Gryffindors, all intent on getting a closer look at the famous Bill Weasley. Alison had long before given up on trying to disengage herself from the huge crowd and make her way to her dorm to get ready. When Jason Carlson stepped in, the crowd seemed to be in two minds. Like a worm split right down the middle, the crowd parted to let Jason and Oliver join Bill and Alison. Eventually, after a good twenty minutes, the crowd dispersed and Alison was able to make her way up the stairs to her dormitory. Oliver watched her go, and he fingered something in his pocket, nervously wondering what her reaction would be when she saw it. But before he could give in to the fear, he strengthened his promise. *I will tell her tonight, one way or the other!*
Pushing his nerves to the back of his mind, he made his way to the showers, and to his chagrin, he was followed closely by both Jason and Bill, both of whom were eager to get the scoop on the situation with Alison. Oliver tried as firmly as he could to get them to leave him alone with his thoughts, but after a few futile attempts, he realized that short of lifting them up and placing them outside the door, there was precious little he could do. So he was forced to endure a long, and tedious line of questioning. For his part, Jason kept rather silent, restraining himself to the odd comment now and again, while Bill launched himself into a full-fledged attack on Oliver.
'How could you not tell me?? I know we drifted apart, Oliver, but how could you not tell me??' moaned Bill.
In as patient a voice as he could muster, Oliver mumbled, 'What the hell are you on about?'
'Don't you 'what the hell' me! You know exactly what I'm talking about! So stop acting like you don't.'
'Bill, I honestly don't know what you are on about…'
'The GIRL!! Alison! I have never ever known you to so much as talk to a girl about anything other than Quidditch. And now…now you're dancing with a girl, on a STAGE!!'
'Yeah…so?'
'So?? I'm gonna toss you in the lake if you don't come clean with me! Do you like her?'
This question was followed by an uncomfortable silence, interrupted only by the monotonous drone of the shower. The shower was turned off abruptly, and Oliver clambered out of the shower, with a fluffy towel wrapped tightly around his waist. Without meeting Bill's eyes, he marched out into his dorm and began to change. Undaunted, Bill and Jason followed him out to where he was toweling his hair off vigourously and in a muted whisper, Bill hissed, 'Don't make me make this common knowledge, Oliver. So, I'll ask you again…do you like her?'
Oliver avoided Bill's unrelenting gaze and then, as though coming to a decision, muttered, 'Yes…I like her.'
Bill let out his breath, and when Oliver looked at him in surprise, Bill shrugged his shoulders and said, 'I knew this would happen one day…despite your vehement belief that girls would never interest you.'
'Girls don't interest me…it's just one girl…just Alison.' As Oliver realized what he was saying, he blushed furiously, and his face felt as though it were on fire. Jason laughed out loud at this evident discomfort, and was joined by Bill, and eventually, by Oliver. Fifteen minutes later, Oliver was ready and when Bill and Jason had walked out of the dorm, he quickly went over to where his clothes were lying on the floor and pulled something out of the pocket of his pants. It glinted momentarily in the soft light before disappearing into the depths of his tuxedo pocket.
*****
When Alison walked into the girls' dormitory, she found it to be in as much a state of disrepair as before the dance competition. However, her roommates appeared to be in a much more stable condition, much to her relief. They were all in varying stages of getting dressed. Angelina was trying unsuccessfully to get her hair to twist itself into curls, Alicia was (unsurprisingly) looking for her lucky lingerie, though why she needed it remained a blessed mystery to Alison. Katie was trying to line her eyes with black kohl, but was only succeeding in smudging it around her eyes, making her seem, for all the world, like she was going to a fancy dress party dressed as a raccoon. They all looked up in relief when Alison strode into the room. Without giving her so much as a moment to herself, they launched themselves at her, pleading with her to fix their individual problems, moaning pathetically about losing their boyfriends and other such horrific scenarios. Sighing to herself and wondering out aloud what they would do without her, she proceeded to fix all of their problems. She looked at Angelina in disdain as she tried to curl her hair with her wand, and finally, when she could stand it no more, she wrenched open her trunk. After a good three minutes of rummaging, she triumphantly pulled out a tube of hair mousse. She then led Angie to the bathroom and held her head under the water. Then, she sprayed liberal amounts of mousse onto her hand, and ran her fingers expertly through Angelina's hair, scrimping it up and deftly twisting the bottom of each strand. When she was satisfied with her work, she stood back and admired Angelina's lovely set of curls. Angelina beamed widely, and then rushed off to 'do her face'.
Alison then turned to Alicia, who was still looking for a rather revealing piece of lingerie that George had given her for her birthday. Alison joined in the frantic hunt, and much to her amusement and Alicia's embarrassment, it was found in the most unlikely place…Alicia's trunk. Having solved that problem, she quickly supervised the cleaning up of Katie's face, before outlining Katie's eyes in a thick black line of kohl. Katie was absolutely delighted at the result and Alison had to admit that it did quite suit Katie.
Once this was done, Alison looked down at her watch to find that she sill had an hour to get ready. She knew that she would only need about half an hour to get dressed and so she decided to take a shower. Her muscles ached, and at that moment, nothing seemed more appealing than a long, hot bath to work the kinks out of her back. *Of course, I'll bet anything that a massage would undo the knots a whole lot quicker than a bath.* And then, as an afterthought, she wondered * Hmmm…maybe Oliver would be willing to oblige.* This time, she didn't bother to push the thought away…she could see no harm in a little fantasy.
When she emerged from her bath, a good forty minutes later, she felt so much more relaxed. Tiny beads of water slid down her back and formed a puddle at her feet, as she walked across the bathroom to get her towel. Vigorously, she toweled herself off and then, after tying her towel securely around her chest, she walked out of the bathroom. It came as a pleasant surprise for her to see that her roommates were adding the finishing touches to their attire. She smiled at the look of horror on their faces when they realized that she was nowhere near ready. In a panicked voice, Katie exclaimed, 'Alison!! Hurry up! You have ten minutes to get ready.'
Calmly, Alison replied, 'Actually, I have half an hour…Oliver can wait, if he wants to, that is…'
And wait he did. When he saw Angelina, Alicia and Katie walking down the stairs, he had imagined that Alison could not have been far behind. But as the minutes passed by, and Alison did not appear at the top of the stairs, the twins and Lee could wait no longer and agreed to meet Oliver at the Ball. Eventually, Bill and Jason left as well, Bill muttering something about taking Celesta Weird, for 'one helluva ride'. Oliver did not stop to consider the implications of that statement; he was too busy worrying why Alison had not arrived yet. Several times, he contemplated going into her dorm and checking to see that she was all right, but each time, he restrained himself. Nervously, he fingered the object in his pocket, going over what he was going to say, time and time again. However, when she appeared at the head of the stairs, Oliver stopped dead in his tracks, like a rabbit caught in the glare of a car's headlights.
His breath caught in his throat, as she walked down the stairs towards him. She had pinned a part of her hair up and let the rest hang loose. The result was awe-inspiring. Two stray strands framed her face. Her skin glowed as though lit from within by some divine illumination. Her eyes sparkled like two gems set into the beauty that was her face. And her gown…when Oliver saw it, he could not take his eyes off it. The silver sparkles caught the light and danced upon the fabric like inlaid diamonds. The dress emphasized Alison's breathtaking figure, from her toned arms and long, slender legs to her petite waist. In a word, she looked stunning. As she drew closer, Oliver could see that long strands of silver dangled from her ears, like lone rays of silver moonlight that, like him, had been ensnared by her exquisite beauty.
When she was less than two feet away from him, he was startled from his daze. He saw the expectant look on Alison's face and struggled to find the words that would do justice to how she looked that night, but he could find none. So instead, he muttered a few words under his breath and as he did, a rose formed in the upturned palm of his hand. As it formed, it changed its colour from pure snow white to a deep, blood red. Without a word, he placed it strategically in Alison's hair, further enhancing her magnificence. Then, he held out his arm, and Alison took it, a slow smile forming on her face. And with that smile, any hint of doubt as to whether or not his plan was a good one was driven firmly from his mind. Never had Oliver felt so much desire burning in his soul.
Alison looked at Oliver in wonder as he positioned the rose in her hair. The brush of his fingers against her cheek as he did so, sent a tremor through her person. Alison tried her best not to stare at this Oliver, one who looked (and smelt) better than anyone Alison had ever encountered. His handsome frame was covered in a dashing black tuxedo, and his hair had been spiked up ever so slightly, lending him a dashing edge. It was all Alison could do to keep from wrapping her arms around him and telling him exactly how she felt.
When the two of them walked into the Great Hall, they headed straight for their friends, who were standing in the corner. As they walked through the hall, people of all gender fell silent. The pair of them looked so perfect together, both so attractive, both oozing charm from every pore. Guys gawked at Alison, not bothering to hide their lust from their dates. The girls, for their part, were not standing idle. The Oliver they were seeing was the Oliver that they had all dreamt of going out with. And their jealousy of Alison was intermingled with a certain degree of respect. She was, after all, the girl who had changed an unchangeable man.
Cedric had his arm draped around the shoulders of the Hufflepuff he had been dancing with, and soon, Alison learnt that her name was Hannah Abott. She seemed like a nice enough girl, perhaps a little air headed, but nice all the same. Alicia, Angie and Katie were already on the dance floor with their dates and soon after Oliver and Alison arrived, Cedric dragged his date off towards the dance floor as well. What ensued was a very awkward silence. Oliver was used to being around Alison all the time, but somehow, the romantic atmosphere of the Great Hall seemed to change everything. Almost as though he sensed his discomfort, Bill made his way towards Oliver, and Alison was most amused to see that he had Celesta Weird hanging on his every word. Bill began to talk to Oliver about Quidditch strategies, and although Alison loved Quidditch, she could not bear the idea of talking about it all the time. So, instead, she began to talk to Celesta. To her surprise, she found the young singer to be very down to earth and friendly. In a voice that hardly masked her curiosity, Alison asked, 'So, not meaning to be inquisitive, but what is it like to be famous?'
Celesta smiled and said, 'Well, I would suppose that you would know all about that…'
'What do you mean?'
'Oh, come on…when you came in, practically every hot blooded male in the Hall turned to look at you…and for good reason too.' When she saw Alison's discomfort, she quickly continued, 'That's a good thing, I think. I suppose being famous can be quite interesting…I mean, you never know what you might find around the next corner!'
'What, you mean like a stalker or something?'
'Yeah, stalkers sometimes, prank callers, journalists…especially journalists. They're always waiting for you to slip up, and then make a huge scandal of it. It's like you have to live your whole life in the spotlight, and THAT can be the most annoying part.'
Oliver had soon realized that he had isolated both Celesta and Alison from his conversation and he felt rotten about it. So, in an attempt to make up for his atrocious behavior, he offered to get them something to eat from the buffet table. Alison graciously declined, but Celesta, when she saw the wide spread on offer, dug in with gusto. Oliver, during the time that he had known her, had realized that Alison had a great weakness for chocolate and so, he made sure to pour a large amount of chocolate onto his pudding. When Alison saw the pudding, her mouth began to water, against all her conscious efforts. The soft pudding was soaked in a thick, rich, deep brown chocolate sauce. From where she was standing, less than a metre away from Oliver, she could smell the chocolate as it wafted past her nose, and with every second the temptation grew in intensity. Oliver's and later, Bill's taunts didn't help matters in the least. In a mocking, falsetto voice, Oliver said, 'Gee, Bill…isn't this pudding just smashing?'
'Oh, not just smashing, it's amazing!'
'And the chocolate…so rich, so creamy…it's sinful…don't you agree?'
'Oh, of course, definitely the best chocolate I have EVER tasted…and that's saying something.'
'And do you know what the best thing is, Bill?'
'What…'
'The tiny pieces of chocolate mixed in with the sauce…'
'Mmmm…yeah…'
'And they just melt in your mouth, melt into a little pool of sin…'
During this entire conversation, Celesta had watched in amusement, as Alison had grown increasingly agitated. But what Alison finally did came as a shock to both her and Bill, but most of all, it came as a shock to Oliver. When she could take it no longer, Alison sighed in mock exasperation and said, 'Oh, well, since it's so good, I suppose I have no right to resist it in the first place.' Oliver smiled and held out his plate to Alison for her to sample the chocolate, but what she did stunned him. She completely ignored the plate in his outstretched arm, but instead raised her index finger to Oliver's lips and wiped some of the chocolate from the corner of his mouth. Then, with a demure look of innocence twinkling in her dark eyes, she deliberately licked the chocolate from the tip of her finger. Both Bill and Celesta's mouth were agape in astonishment as this obviously sensual gesture. Neither Oliver nor Alison noticed as their two companions made their way to the dance floor. Oliver's heart was thudding against his rib cage as he tried to make sense of what Alison had done. Finally after spinning in circles for what seemed like an eternity, Oliver's mind gave up, and he let his well tuned instincts take over. Just as she was turning away, he closed his fingers around her slender wrist. She looked back at him, with surprise and a hint of amusement shimmering in her eyes. She let herself be led out of the Hall. Oliver didn't say a word until he was outside the castle and standing by the lake. He opened his mouth to say something that he had wanted to say from the moment he saw Alison, but then he closed his mouth again. He wanted to get it just perfect. After all, how many times would he get to do this? As he was pondering over what to say, and over how to voice his long hidden emotions, Alison looked out over the lake. She wondered what Oliver was thinking about, but she had learnt from experience that it was best to let him tell her what was on his mind in his own time. The moonlight shone onto the glassy surface of the lake, creating a shimmering silver pathway. The stars were reflected in the water like tiny pinpricks against the deep black of the lake's depths.
Oliver watched Alison studying the surface of the lake; a look of complete serenity on her glowing face and suddenly the words came to him, like a gift from the heavens. He placed his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. She began to protest, but Oliver placed his finger on her lips, silencing her. She was so close that he could feel her warm breath on his neck.
He began to whisper in her ear, in a voice that was so soft that Alison could barely hear it. The words, however, made Alison's heart beat with excitement. Oliver murmured, 'I always wondered why people would give their hearts to someone else. I often wondered what love was and why people made such a big deal of it. But now I realize that one's mind has little control over one's heart. Today, when I looked within my soul, I found that I had lost something. I had lost my heart to you. I love you to the length and breadth and depth that my soul can reach. My love for you has become more consistent than my pulse. I love you every second, every minute, every hour, every day. I love you by day when the Sun's golden rays shine down upon us. I love you by night when the flickering candlelight makes you look all the more like the angel that I know you to be. I love you freely, with no restrictions. With every breath, this feeling gets stronger and more intense. I love you purely, and nothing makes me happier than to see the dawn of a smile on the horizon of your luscious lips. I love you with a fiery passion that refuses to be doused, not even with the coldest of water. I love you so much that it makes me weak at the knees. And I promise to love you, through all the smiles, and all the tears for the rest of our lives. I love you, Alison Black.'
With his every word, Alison's heart beat faster until she felt sure that he could hear it as clearly as if it were his own. But unknown to her, Oliver's heart was beating equally as hard, and as he finished, he felt as though he had run a marathon race. Alison opened her mouth to speak, but once again, Oliver pressed his finger to her lips. The feel of his fingertips made Alison's lips tingle with anticipation of something more. Slowly, she moved closer to him, until they were less than an inch apart. At that moment, Oliver drew something from his pocket, and as it caught the moonlight, she gasped. For there, in Oliver's hand, lay the most elegant silver chain that Alison had ever seen. It shone with an inner radiance and at that moment, the notion that Oliver had stolen a precious ray of elven moonlight to make this chain, did not seem in the least bit unlikely to Alison. Groping for words, Alison let Oliver fasten the chain around her neck. She looked up at him, his features clearly defined in the milky moonlight, and a small smile formed on her lips. She drew closer to him, as close as she possibly could, and then, pressing her head against his strong chest, and lifting her head slightly, she whispered, 'I love you too, Oliver Wood.' And in this position, she could hear his heart thumping in union with hers. But, before she could continue, Oliver leant towards her and brushed his lips against her forehead. Alison could feel herself melting in his warm embrace, and closed her eyes as he trailed feather soft kisses across her eyelids, and down the length of her nose. Her body glowed with desire and when his lips finally reached hers, the sensation set Alison's body alight. It was like a spark that ignited her very soul, like the wick of the candle bursting into flame. Like a kindling flame, the heat spread through her entire body, starting at her lips, and then making its way right down to the tips of her toes. Oliver wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer still. Oliver's lips still had the lingering taste of chocolate on them, and as the kiss deepened, Alison lost her awareness of everything around her. At that moment, the whole world seemed contained in the small area in which the two of them were standing, their bodies so close that each could feel the heat radiating from the other. At the back of Alison's mind, she was faintly aware of Oliver's fingers tracing lazy circles on her bare back, sending tremors of pleasure running through her body.
Oliver, with the little presence of mind that he had left, could not believe what was happening. Alison's lips were so tender against his, and warm…they were unbelievably warm. Her long slender fingers had found their way around his neck and were, at that moment running through his dark brown hair. Oliver marveled at the ease with which she fitted into the crook of his arms, almost as though they were meant to be. He marveled at the silky smoothness of her flawless skin against the tips of his fingers. But as the kiss deepened, and Alison's lips parted slightly, an invitation that not even Oliver could resist, he lost consciousness of everything else around him.
Oliver knew not how long he stayed wrapped in her embrace, their bodies pressed against each other, but he was interrupted from this dreamlike world that consisted only of him and Alison, by someone clearing their throat. Alison made to spring back, but Oliver had anticipated this reaction, and pulled her back to him. Much to Alison's embarrassment, Cedric was standing there with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and the hint of a smile playing across his lips. But Oliver didn't seem at all perturbed by Cedric's presence and instead, grinned widely at him. With his arm still wrapped tightly around Alison's narrow waist, he looked at Cedric, an enquiring look on his face. As though suddenly remembering that he had been sent for a purpose, Cedric said, 'Oh, yeah…you two might want to be inside, they're announcing the winners of the dance competition. Unless of course, you had something else in mind.' Oliver winked at Alison and replied smoothly, 'Well, I did actually have something else in mind…but that can wait till later, cant it, Alison?' Alison's face began to burn with embarrassment, and she thanked her stars that no one could tell that she was blushing. Quickly, she murmured, 'Ummm…yeah, we'd better get inside.'
A smile lit up Harry's face when he saw that Oliver had his arm wrapped protectively around Alison's waist and that his hair was slightly messy, a sure sign that something had happened. He whispered this in Cho's ear, and she giggled, and then, against Harry's protests began to drag him over to where Alison and Oliver standing next to Cedric and Hannah Abbott. In a knowing voice, Cho piped up, 'Hey, Alison…where were you? You were gone for an awfully long time…where DID you find them, Cedric.'
With the grin of Cheshire cat, Cedric replied, 'do you REALLY want to know where I found them, or do you want to know what they were doing?'
Deciding that this had gone far enough, Oliver glared long and hard at Cedric, but when Cedric didn't get the message, Oliver was forced to resort to more drastic means. As Oliver's foot connected with Cedric's shin, they both let out yowls of pain, and then began to hop around in a most comical way. Oliver, though stopped after a few seconds, and just glowered at Cedric, but poor Cedric continued to hop around for a good three minutes. By the time he had stopped, everyone in the vicinity who had witnessed the action had dissolved into laughter.
Professor Agallant watched in bemusement at this sequence of events, and wondered faintly how these students could possibly be considered mature enough to face the world. But then, he remembered being quite the carefree lad when he was young. When the laughter had died down, he held the mike to his mouth and proclaimed, in what he hoped was a very mysterious air, 'Well, now that we have all danced a fair deal, I think that it might be wise to put our competitors out of their misery and announce the results of the dance competition. That way, they can enjoy themselves as well…unless of course, they have already been doing precisely that.' At this, he winked at Alison and Oliver, and both of them had the sneaking suspicion that the Professor had heard Cedric's suggestive comments. After only the slightest pause, the professor continued, 'The awards for each of the three different categories will be given by a different judge, and as there are four judges, the last judge will give the overall award to the team that has performed the best in the competition. In order to reduce the time that this ceremony will take, I, or rather, the judges, will only announce the first place winners of each category.'
The crowd roared its approval, and Oliver felt his heart rate speed up. In hindsight, he wondered how his heart had managed the night, what with the number of times, it had sped up, and then slowed back down. He looked around as Professor Agallant handed the mike over to Celesta Weird and noticed that all his teammates for the group category were standing around him and Alison. And on their faces, Oliver could see the anxiety that he could feel welling up within him. He turned his attention back to the stage as Celesta Weird began to speak. In her enchanting voice, she said, 'Far be it for me to prolong this. I know only to well what it is like to be standing in the crowd, praying that the judge is not a condescending prat who likes the sound of his own voice. I have but one thing to say before I announce the winner. I have to voice my astonishment at the caliber of the dancers that Hogwarts seems to have tucked away, making our choice all the more difficult. But, all in all, I doubt that anyone could disagree with me when I say that the winner for this category is, without a shadow of a doubt, Gryffindor!'
Alison clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from shrieking out loud, but she needn't have bothered, for the rest of her team was more than making up for her silence. Finally, Alison gave in to the excitement of it all, and joined Oliver, and indeed, the rest of the team in jumping up and down in absolute ecstasy. Together, they all filed onto the stage, and received medals from the famous singer, medals that shone like miniature suns on a hot summer's day.
When the hoots and whistles from the Gryffindors in the crowd, not to mention, from the ones who had been on the stage, had finally died down, Professor Agallant handed the mike to Jason Carlson. Running his hand through his straw coloured hair, he said, 'Like my colleague, Celesta, I, too, am not particularly fond of waiting for results to be announced. So, without further delay, the winner, and a particularly difficult choice, I might add, would have to be Gryffindor…again!' The word 'again' though was lost in the thunderous applause that reverberated through the Great Hall, as Alison and Oliver walked onto the stage to accept their medals, dazed beams on their faces.
Finally, the winner for the third and final category was announced by Marianne Bridelwater. Her face broke into a wide beam as she took the mike from the Professor Agallant. Confidently, she said, 'I think our decision for the winner of this category was unanimous…yet again, a clean sweep, I might add…the winner of the Couples Unprepared Dance is Gryffindor!!!' The uproar that burst out at this announcement was tumultuous to say the very least. Oliver grinned widely as he dragged a stunned Alison up onto stage. He had known all along that they would win. Alison had been absolutely amazing, and although no one had told Oliver this, he knew that he and Alison shared a chemistry that was electric, both onstage and off.
After the crowd had calmed down, and Alison and Oliver had been thumped on the back so many times that Alison began to feel like a punching bag, after that, Bill Weasley took the mike, and almost at once, the crowd fell reverentially silent. He hadn't been the most popular head boy of Hogwarts for no reason. It was rumored that even the Slytherins had quite liked him, and that was saying something. Struggling to keep his happiness from shining through, Bill said, 'I think that it's pretty obvious who the overall winner is…need I say it?' At this the whole crowd yelled in the affirmative. So Bill continued. 'The winners, and it gives me great pleasure to say this…is Gryffindor!' Alison's heart leaped with excitement, but she was so drained that she barely had the energy to walk onto the stage. She needn't have worried, even if she didn't have the energy, the crowd would have been more than willing to help her on her way. This time, all the contestants for Gryffindor piled onto the stage, but Bill handed the beautifully sculpted crystal trophy to Oliver and Alison. The crystal caught the light, and the two silent figures carved eternally into it were the striking image of Oliver and Alison. Even several years later, when Alison looked at the trophy, she had to wonder if Prof Agallant had magically enchanted it to take on the features of the winning couple.
As Oliver and Alison held the trophy aloft together, their teammates crowded around them, the crowd roared its approval, and Alison was thrilled to see that even Cho and Cedric, who had been on the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams respectively, seemed genuinely happy for them. After a few seconds of holding the trophy aloft, the couple in the limelight handed the trophy to their other teammates to share the glory. And then, Oliver did something that he had not planned on doing, not even in his wildest dreams. While their teammates were screaming and jumping up and down, Oliver looked at Alison, and wondered how anyone could look so beautiful. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close to him, and then kissed her soundly on the lips. Though the kiss was nowhere near as deep as the previous one, it sent a wave of pleasure running through Alison. Her face burned when she heard the crowd's hoots growing louder, and feeling the unnatural heat radiating from Alison's face, Oliver moved his lips to her forehead, while still keeping his arms wrapped around her. *This isn't so bad* he thought, and unknown to him, Alison was thinking the same thing.
The rest of the night passed by in a whirlwind of color, music and dancing. Before she knew it, the ball had come to an end, and Oliver was bidding Bill and Jason Carlson goodbye. To his utter delight, Jason said that he would send an owl the next day, arranging for Oliver to try out for the Puddlemere United Reserve Team. For his part, Oliver remained calm and collected, until he saw them off, that is. Then he turned to Alison, his eyes shining with excitement, and he said, 'tonight has been the best night of my life. And you know what, its not even because my idol asked me to try out for his team. It's because I realized that I wasn't being stupid to even pursue the thought of holding you in my arms.'
Alison wondered what she had done to get a boyfriend as caring and sensitive as Oliver. His eyes ere shining with enthusiasm, and Alison felt her knees start to give way as she looked into the depths of his chocolate brown eyes. Moving close to him, she whispered, 'I don't know why, Oliver, but somehow, I just don't fancy going to sleep right now…' Oliver looked at her, and raised his eyebrow provocatively. Pressing his body close to hers, he murmured, 'Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?' Alison pulled away just enough so she could look him in the eye, while saying, 'all I said was that I wasn't feeling sleepy.' In a sensual voice that sent shivers of anticipation up Alison's spine, Oliver replied, 'Tell you what…why don't we go for a walk…'
Alison agreed, and wrapping his arm around her narrow waist, he led her towards the Quidditch pitch. All the way there, they talked of things of little consequence. Towards the end, Alison noticed that Oliver was limping slightly. When she enquired about this, he replied, with a faint grimace on his face, that Cedric's shin had been incredibly hard. Alison tried to keep from laughing as the image of Oliver and Cedric hopping about on one foot danced through her mind. By now, they had reached the Quidditch pitch, and Alison finally persuaded Oliver to let her have a look at his leg.
Oliver tried not to wince as Alison prodded at his foot to check the extent of the damage that he had caused himself. So instead, he concentrated on other things, like the sky above them, inlaid with a thousand stars, or indeed the soil, that was slightly damn beneath him. But somehow, his mind and eyes always returned to Alison, and as he watched her massage his slightly swollen foot, he felt a desire stirring deep within him. So far, he had been sitting on the ground with his leg stretched out, and Alison had been sitting at his feet. But now, he leaned forward, and ran the tip of his index finger along her cheekbone, and along the line of her lips. Gently, he pulled her towards him. Alison, for her part, offered little resistance. Her head was now resting against Oliver's strong chest. When their lips met, Alison lost all consciousness of everything around her. As the kiss deepened with the rising moon, Oliver pulled Alison to the ground beside him, their lips still locked in a tender embrace. Oliver's hands caressed Alison's back in slow sensual circles and Alison was all too aware of her relatively bare back. But as her hands slipped under Oliver's shirt and she felt his hot skin against her fingers, all thought of what was right and was wrong were pushed firmly from her mind. *After all* she thought, *there is no right, there is no wrong…there is only what you do, and what you do not do*
Five minutes later, Alison realized that *this* was definitely one of those things that you do not do. Abruptly, she pulled away, and Oliver, now lying shirtless in the grass, felt his heart stop for a bone chilling moment. And in that moment, he wondered if he had been wrong to even consider this ever happening. During the course of events, Alison's hair had come undone and it now hung around her head, hiding her face from Oliver's view. Immediately concerned, Oliver sat up, and placed his arms around Alison. In a soft voice, he murmured, 'What's the matter, Alison? Are you ok?'
In a barely audible voice, she replied, 'I…Oliver, this…this is wrong. I, I'm sorry if I led you on. I cant do this…I'm sorry.'
She couldn't look him in the eye, and not really wanting to know the answer, Oliver asked, 'What cant you do?'
'I can't have sex with you…not now, not tonight'
'Hey…Alison, I don't want you thinking that you've disappointed me, you haven't. Look, I promise that I will never pressure you to go further than you want to. You're free to stop whenever you want, and you don't have to explain yourself to me. I LOVE you, and that's all that matters. Now, why don't I get you back to your dorm? You look tired.'
Alison looked at Oliver with wonder in her eyes. And at that moment, love flooded through her and she hugged Oliver for all she was worth. A little surprised, Oliver hugged her back and murmured, 'Now what made you think we were going to have sex anyway?? I mean, I do have SOME taste!' Realising that he had just insulted her, Alison smacked him lightly over the head, and Oliver pretended to faint. Then, picking up his discarded shirt and jacket from the ground, he stood up. Without bothering to put his shirt back on, Oliver led Alison back to her dorm, where he kissed her goodnight. As Alison looked at Oliver, his bare chest glinting with tiny drops of sweat, the muscles in his stomach accentuated by the dim light cast by the lamps…as she looked at him, standing there at the door of her dorm, she almost regretted her decision not to do what her body had been willing her to do.
Oliver made his way back to the Common Room, and flopped into one of the armchairs there, absent-mindedly wiping the sweat off his chest using his shirt. When Alison had pulled away, he had been so very scared that she had decided that things just wouldn't work between them. Thank god, she had just not wanted to have sex. That was not to say that the thought did not appeal to Oliver, but he had meant every word that he had said to Oliver, especially that he would never pressure her to go any further than she wanted to. But as Oliver recalled the way her body had felt pressed up against his, and as he recalled the feel of her fingers running along his back, his heart began to pound again. Leaning his head against the backrest, he thought *God, I could really use an icy cold shower right now, that's for sure!*
*****
The next morning, Oliver awoke to find himself still wearing the pants of his tuxedo. Part of him was disappointed and the other part, relieved that nothing untoward had happened. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and then made his way to the bathroom to wash his face. On the way there, he noticed that he had flung his shirt and coat over the sink, and in a flash, all the events of the previous night came flooding back to him. With a thud, he sat down on the edge of the bathtub and wondered how he was going to act around Alison. He didn't have much time to think about it, because less than a few minutes later, he heard the door opening slowly. Cautiously, he peeked around the door to see who it was, and to his surprise, he saw Alison standing nervously in the doorway, unsure of whether or not to enter. Putting her out of her strife, Oliver walked out of the bathroom towards her. When she saw him, her face broke out into a huge smile, and she gave him a quick hug. At the same time, she was careful not to linger too long, lest his shirtlessness tempt her into doing something inappropriate.
As it was still early morning, Oliver knew that there would be no one around. Slightly puzzled at Alison's sudden appearance, he followed her into the Common Room. Alison gestured for him to sit, and the familiar worry building up inside him, he obliged. Alison, however did not take a seat, and instead, began to pace back and forth in front of him. As though she had come to a decision, she suddenly stopped and turning to Oliver, she said, 'Oliver, after what happened last night, I think…I think we need to lay some ground rules. Neither of us is 18 yet, and so, it's both illegal and unwise for us to…umm…for us to have sex. I…'
Before she could continue, Oliver pulled her down into his lap, in one liquid motion. Softly, he kissed her on the forehead and then, he murmured, 'Alison, you seem to be under the impression that ALL guys are testosterone driven animals. I assure you, we're not! at least, I'm not. Just being with you is enough for me, and we will take things at your pace. I told you this last night…now promise me that you wont worry.'
'But, Oliver, THAT'S the problem. You say that you wont pressure me to go further than I want to, but the problem is that when I'm with you, I'm not totally in control of myself. When I'm kissing you, my body wants me to go further. And…and it scares me.'
'Don't worry…right now, I don't want to go that far either. Slow and steady wins the race, don't you know?'
Then, he wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her towards him, until her head was resting against his bare chest. Absent mindedly, Alison sighed with comfort, and ran her finger along Oliver's six-pack. This action sent a tremor of desire through Oliver, but, with all his might, he pushed away any thoughts that this action conjured up. He forced himself to concentrate on massaging her shoulders gently and slowly. Before he knew it, Alison had fallen asleep, and resting his head on Alison's, Oliver closed his eyes as well.
*****
The ray of light shone through the window and under its glare, Alison's eyelids fluttered open. She could see the watery sunlight streaming through the window, and suddenly remembered what day this was. It was Christmas. Sighing contentedly, Alison turned on her side and placed her head on Oliver's outstretched arm. She watched his eyelids flutter slightly, most probably as he tried to defend the Quidditch hoops from the best Chasers in the world. Gently, she kissed him on the nose. A low moan escaped his lips, and Alison grinned sleepily. Deciding that it was much too early to wake Oliver up, she settled for the more appealing option and snuggled closer to him. Oliver placed his muscled arm over him, unconsciously, and pulled her closer to him. There, in his tight embrace, Alison felt as though together, Oliver and she could take on the world. She could not believe that it had already been a month and a half since their first proper kiss at the Halloween Ball. Somehow, when they were together, time flew so fast. Alison had been dreading the Christmas holidays, because she had been convinced that Oliver would decide to go back to spend some time with his parents. But, to her delight, he had decided to stay back. What made the whole thing even more perfect was the fact that close to everyone else had left Hogwarts for the holidays. So she and Oliver were free to do as they pleased. Alison had been most depressed the day that her roommates had left for the holidays. The thought of spending the night all alone in her dorm didn't appeal to her at all. So, instead, she decided to spend the night with Oliver. He had been most surprised and more than a little happy to allow her into his bed, and into his arms. Not that they had actually had sex. No, they just slept in the same room, and apart from a few close calls, like the previous morning when Professor Lupin had come in to tell Oliver something, things had gone all right. The previous morning, Alison had been hurled out of bed by a frenzied Oliver wearing nothing but his boxer shorts, and forced to hide under the bed. And none too soon, for no sooner had she ducked under the bed, than Professor Lupin had come striding in to discuss something with Oliver. It had seemed like an eternity before Lupin left, but that might have had something to do with the fact that Alison was freezing thanks to the thin shirt that she was wearing.
Alison must have drifted back to sleep, because when she woke up again, it was to find Oliver stroking her hair gently, his head propped up on his arm. When he saw that she was awake, he kissed her gently on her nose, murmuring 'Merry Christmas, babe…' before Alison could respond, he planted a kiss squarely on her lips, and needless to say that it took her breath away. Giggling, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him so close to her that she could feel the heat radiating from him. She could feel his fingers moving slowly along the length of her legs, caressing them ever so gently, as he pressed his lips more urgently against hers. Oliver lips moved from her lips down the nape of her neck, leaving a trail of feather soft kisses that set Alison afire. Just then, the door of the dorm burst open and Cedric came striding in. Alison yelped and pulled away from Oliver so abruptly that she toppled over backwards onto the floor. Oliver, too, was propelled to the floor on the other side of the bed. Without breaking his stride, Cedric helped Alison up from the floor, and then, turning to Oliver, he said, 'you might want to read this letter…its from Puddlemere United.' At this, Cedric tossed a letter at Oliver. Alison was suddenly very aware of her relative nudity and as surreptitiously as possible, she pulled on a pair of pants that were lying nearby. Unfortunately for her, Cedric noticed and his raised eyebrow made her face flush with embarrassment. When she looked down at the pants, she cursed under her breath. Just her luck that she had to pull on one of Oliver's pants. At that moment, Oliver finished reading the letter, and looked up at Alison, his eyes shining with excitement. When he noticed that Alison was wearing his pants, he sidled up to her, and muttered, 'Alison, why, exactly, are you wearing my pants??' unfortunately, Cedric heard him, and with a wink, he said, 'My, my, Alison, you have certainly gotten into Oliver's pants, haven't you?' Oliver took a swing at him, and from the muffled gasp, Alison could tell that Cedric had felt it.
Stifling a giggle, she left Oliver to help Cedric up off the floor, and instead, she grabbed the letter from Oliver's hand. As she read it, her eyes widened.
'Oliver,
I apologize for not getting in touch with you after the Halloween Ball, financial problems and the like. Anyway, I thought it would be good if you could come and try out for Puddlemere United on the 27th of March. I know that March is still more than three months away, but I wanted to give you plenty of notice. As you can tell, your presence on the team would be greatly valued. If there is any conflict of dates, please contact me as soon as you possibly can.
Hope to see you seen,
Jason Carlson.'
Alison squealed with excitement and threw her arms around Oliver's neck. Pleasure flooded through her when she saw the look of ecstasy on Oliver's face. When she finally let go of him, Cedric thumped him on the back, and yelled his congratulations.
*****
Alison couldn't seem to concentrate in Potions. She kept glancing at the empty seat next to her, and wishing that Oliver could get back earlier from his tryout for Puddlemere United. It was evidence of how much Oliver wanted the job that he had been willing to try out on the night before the big Quidditch match against Slytherin. The match against Ravenclaw had been nothing short of a breeze. Harry had captured the snitch before any of the Chasers had had the chance to score. Not that Alison was complaining. The Gryffindor team worked together seamlessly, as though reading each other's thoughts, and lately, even Oliver couldn't seem to find any criticisms of the way that they played. Just the thought of Oliver made Alison's heart ache. She had grown used to having him around all the time. Their love was a marvelous thing…they could still talk about anything and everything, and were best friends before they were anything else. Oliver had promised to be back by midnight at the very latest, and they had agreed to meet down at the Quidditch Pitch, along with Harry and Sirius. Alison smiled as she thought of the amicable friendship that had sprung up between her father and Oliver. Together, they meant everything to Alison. She was shaken from her reverie by a cold voice behind her…a cold voice that drawled, 'Aww, is ickle Alison missing lover boy?' Her nerves already strained by her lack of concentration, Alison snapped, 'Why don't you just shut the fck up, you son of a bitch?' Unfortunately for her, Snape heard this little altercation, but unfairly chose to ignore Flint's role in it. Scowling, he descended on Alison and said, in a greasy voice, 'Miss Adams, I wish I could say that I was shocked at your language, but after suffering close to a year with you in my class, I must say that it is exactly the sort of thing that I have come to expect of you.' His tone changed sharply, as he snapped, 'Detention today. I expect to see you here at 8:00 tonight. Tardiness will not be accepted.' Alison's hands balled into fists and she wanted to scream with frustration. Determined not to give the vindictive Professor a chance to extend her detention to the rest of the week, she controlled her anger, and had to be content with directing her anger at Snape's turned back. For the rest of the lesson, Flint tried to bate her with snide comments that got dirtier with time, but Alison steadfastly ignored him.
Alison slammed the door to the Potions classroom shut…after that horrible detention, she didn't think that Professor Snape could possibly make her life any more miserable. When she had entered the Potions classroom promptly at 8:00 earlier that night, he had presented her with a long list of all the tasks that she was expected to do. Alison's heart had sunk as she had read through the list, which included cleaning out the slime covered cauldrons and scrubbing the grimy floors without magic. The tasks had taken her all of three and a half hours, and now Alison's black robes were covered with dried gobs of slime, and coated with a thick layer of dust. Her hair was in tangles from Alison running her fingers through them repeatedly in frustration. Her robes were slightly ripped where they had caught on the sides of the tables as she had bustled around the classroom. All in all, she looked a mess. Looking around, she realized that the corridors were empty and she set off at a run towards the Gryffindor tower. She wanted to clean up a bit before going down to the Quidditch pitch to meet Oliver. She turned the corner and rammed hard against someone. As she registered who the someone one was, her mouth fell open in shock.
Oliver was standing in front of her, his hair slightly tousled. He enveloped her in a bear hug, and it was then that Alison noticed a small bottle in his hand. She pushed him away gently and taking the bottle from his hand, examined it. She could see the last few drops of a thick green liquid inside. She looked up at Oliver questioningly, but before she could enquire as to what the contents of the bottle were, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. The bottle crashed onto the floor unheeded. He maneuvered her so that she was resting with her back against the wall, and then lowered his lips to hers. But from the moment their lips touched, Alison knew that something was wrong. His kiss was not gentle, as it usually was. His lips were rough against hers and Alison longed to pull away from the stench of alcohol that was permeating from his mouth. His kiss grew more urgent and Alison could feel his insistent tongue snaking its way into her mouth. She tried to push him away, gently at first, then harder, but he refused to be dissuaded. When he finally broke away for a breath, he moved his lips to Alison's ear and muttered throatily, 'you're all dirty…I can smell the filth. How like you, Adams…I knew you were nothing but a dirty sl*t.' Alison gasped in horror, and tried to push him away, the rage coursing through her body, but almost mockingly, he pressed his body against hers, holding her arms above her head in an effortless gesture. Alison's heart began to beat faster. Oliver was beginning to scare her. Her eyes widened as he drew out a pair of handcuffs that glinted in the dim light that was cast by the few candles lighting the corridor. With his body still pinning hers against the wall, he clapped the handcuffs over her hands, securing them behind her back. Alison struggled against the pressure of his body and screamed, 'Oliver, I don't know where the hell you think you're going with this, but its not funny…please let me go, Ollie, please?' If she had thought that her pleading would get through to him, she was wrong. He smirked at her, and replied, 'Oh, but it is funny…funny to see you plead, to see you beg.' Alison was horrified at the mad glint in his eyes, and against her will, the tears began to pour down her face. To her disgust, Oliver drew his face close to hers, and when she closed her eyes, she could feel his tongue flicking over her face, sopping up the tears. Slowly, his tongue moved down her face to her neck and then down to the opening of her robes. Oliver pulled his wand from his own robes and whispered a few words under his breath. All at once, Alison felt the lower half of her body going numb, and try as she might, she could not move her legs. Then, satisfied that Alison could not move either her arms or her legs, Oliver stepped away. Alison's sobs grew louder until Oliver slapped her hard across the face. Her head thudded into the wall, and she could feel a trickle of blood dripping down the side of her face. She could feel her consciousness ebbing away slowly but surely, and closed her eyes to try and compose herself. When she opened her eyes, she saw Oliver looking at her, a mad gleam in his eyes. By now, Alison had sunk down to the floor, her legs stretched out rigidly in front of her. Oliver bent down and pulled her back up into a standing position, leaning her against the wall, like some sort of macabre doll. Alison began to scream as she felt his fingers moving around to the hook at the back of her robes. He ignored her, and her screams reached fever pitch as she felt her robes fall to the ground, and a gust of wind assailed her bare skin. Oliver smirked at her as he stepped away to admire his handiwork. He pulled off his own robe with ease revealing that he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers underneath. His erection was evident and his intentions, even more so. Alison sucked in her breath, as he moved closer to her, and closed her eyes, praying that this was all just a horrible dream that she would awake from. But no, when she opened her eyes, he was still there. Only now, he had a piece of masking tape in his hands, which he proceeded to fasten over Alison's mouth, muffling the sounds of her screams. He ran his fingers along the line of her black panties and then, with one liquid motion, pulled them off. After he had disposed of his own boxers in a similar way, he lowered his head to Alison's stomach, and proceeded to flick his tongue in and out of her navel. Alison struggled as hard as she could, but the charms and handcuffs held tight, and there was truly nothing Alison could do. In her attempt to escape, Alison crushed to the ground, but this time Oliver did not pull her back to a standing position. After all, this position was a lot more suitable for his purposes. The fall dazed Alison and her vision blurred, partly with choked tears and partly from a minor concussion. Through the daze, she could feel Oliver climbing on top of her and as he thrust into her, Alison's body arched in a final protest and then, it gave way. Oliver's thrusts became more and more intense and Alison's struggles became feebler, as her battered body finally accepted what was happening to her. Through the mire of shock, the torture seemed to last longer than eternity, but the entire ordeal, from start to finish, was no longer than one hour. Exactly one hour after Alison had literally run into Oliver, he rolled off her, his breath coming in gasps, his naked body covered in sweat and a twisted smirk on his face. Turning away so that Alison couldn't see his face, he pulled on his robes and then walked off down the corridor, leaving Alison lying naked in the corridor. As an afterthought, he tossed her robes onto her bruised body, and undid the Paralysis charm. He knew that Alison was too weak to come after him. The last thing that Alison remembered before slipping into a painful sleep was a flash of golden blonde hair, and a smooth voice saying, 'she's definitely not going to play in the match tomorrow.'
*****
Oliver clambered off his broom at the end of the try out and was making his way towards the locker room to shower and change when Jason Carlson caught up with him. Oliver was physically exhausted, a fact emphasized by the slight droop of his broad shoulders. He had been made to train with the Puddlemere United Team for two grueling hours. When Oliver had been about ready to drop, Jason had split the players up into groups for a full scrimmage. Now that the whole thing was over, Oliver didn't want to think about it any longer. After all, he had the next day's Quidditch Cup final to concentrate on. When Jason caught up to him, he seemed to be in a good mood. Oliver's hopes were raised at the sight of Jason's smiling face. Without letting Oliver say anything, Jason told him that he had been brilliant and that, barring the appearance of a giant, Oliver's appointment to the team was a mere matter of time. Oliver's spirits were lifted at this proclamation and try as he might, he couldn't keep from grinning for all he was worth.
A half hour later, Oliver had showered and changed into a pair of jeans. He was bidding the players on the team farewell, when Jason asked if he wanted to join the team for a drink. Regretfully, Oliver shook his head and explained that he had a very important match the next day. He was about to tell Jason that he had to meet Alison as well, when he restrained himself. Jason, however, noticed the hesitation, and with a wink, he said, 'Can't bare to be without her for even a couple of hours, can you?'
Oliver blushed at the realization that his feelings for Alison were so obvious. He glanced at his watch and saw, to his relief, that it had just gone eleven pm. Jason pulled out a scrap of paper from his coat pocket and handed it to Oliver. Curiously, Oliver read the note and could barely contain his laughter. The note read:
To Whom It May Concern,
Please excuse Mr. Oliver Wood for returning to school at this late hour of 11:15 pm, as he was trying out for the Puddlemere United Quidditch Team.
Yours truly,
Jason Carlson.
Oliver finally gave in to the laughter, and through his chuckles, he spluttered, 'Jesus, Jason, I don't need a late note.'
Jason, with a raised eyebrow, replied, 'well, I suppose you're good at getting into and out of school unnoticed…I would be too, with a girlfriend who looks like yours does. but just keep it, just in case.'
Oliver decided to ignore the 'girlfriend' comment. After all, it was true. Alison WAS his girlfriend, and he was proud of the fact. Instead, he just took the note and placed it in his pocket. Then, picking up the portkey, in the form of a worn boot, that Jason indicated to, he bid a final goodbye to Jason. As he touched the portkey, he felt a jerk around his navel and, before he knew it, he was lying sprawled on the ground just outside the gates to Hogwarts.
