An hour or two later, Oliver sat in a chair in the hospital wing. He felt
very alone even though most of the staff was still there. He couldn't bear
the thought that Adrianna might not live through the night. Today's events
had helped him realized what he had known for a long time, but had been
unable to voice. He loved her. He thought about how it might change their
relationship if he told her how he felt and she didn't feel the same way.
But if she were truly his friend, she would understand. He knew that he
would regret it if he didn't tell her how he felt. Provided that she was
still alive come tomorrow, that is.
It was pure torture for Oliver not knowing if she was going to pull through. He wished that there were something that he could do for her. He thought about the time that he had thrown the party for her to cheer her up when she was upset, but no party would save her now. He remembered taking the address book from her nightstand... and then he remembered what had been next to it, something that he had just passed over then. There had been a Bible in the nightstand. He now remembered that Adrianna was a Christian. Surely her God would save her... but how did a person go about talking to God if they weren't a Christian? And what if her God wouldn't hear him since he wasn't a Christian? Oliver decided it was worth a shot to try anyhow. He would do anything to save her. And for the first time in his life, he prayed.
"Dear God, I want to ask you to make Adrianna well again. You see, she's nearly dead... Madam Pomfrey says it's a miracle that she isn't already dead. God, I just want her to get better. I've never wanted anything so badly in my life. If you could just make her better... I know that I would never be able to thank you enough."
Not ten minutes later, Madam Pomfrey emerged from behind the curtain and grabbed the bottle of warming potion. She emerged again a few minutes later. "She's conscious but not coherent. I gave her the potion. It's still too soon to know anything for sure, but her odds are greatly improved. That potion should raise her core temperature significantly."
"Thank you, God," Oliver said quietly.
He must have dozed off sometime during the night, because the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Fleur and the sun was streaming in the windows of the hospital wing.
"Oliver, Adrianna is awake and she wants to talk to you. I just finished talking with 'er."
He got up out of his chair and strode across the room to area that was partitioned off with the long white curtains. He slipped through the opening. Adrianna looked a lot better than she had last night. She was still pale compared to normal, but she had some color in her cheeks and lips. She had changed into the fleece pajamas that he'd brought from her rooms. She was no longer cocooned in blankets, but was lying back against the white pillow with the blankets piled on top of her. Her hands were folded on top of the blankets. Chip was curled up at her feet, fast asleep. Oliver sat on a high metal stool next to her bed so that he was facing her.
"How do you feel, Adrianna?"
"All things considered, I guess I'm alright. I'm so cold though."
"You had us all so worried last night. We thought that you might not make it."
"I guess it was a pretty stupid idea to walk across the lake, huh?"
"Yeah." Oliver reached across the bed and took her hands in his. They felt like ice. He looked right into her deep blue eyes. "But in a way, I'm almost glad that it happened because it made me realize something that I have felt for a long time. There is something that I have to tell you, and if you don't feel the same way I'll understand... Adrianna, I love you."
For a moment she didn't say anything. "For real?" she finally managed.
"For real."
"Oliver, you don't know how long I've wanted to hear you say that," she said, smiling.
Now it was Oliver's turn to grin. "Then you feel the same way about me?"
"Absolutely."
Oliver could barely believe it. This seemed too good to be true. He removed one of his hands from Adrianna's and pinched himself hard on the forearm. It definitely hurt.
Adrianna looked alarmed. "What are you doing?"
"I had to make sure that this is real... that I'm not just dreaming it and going to wake up to find that I'm still single."
She chuckled. "It's real," she assured him.
He slid off of the stool, leaned over her and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away a little sooner than he wanted to, but figured that he shouldn't rush things, especially considering Adrianna's condition.
"So, now that you're my girlfriend... would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
"I would be honored," she said, still smiling. Just then Madam Pomfrey slipped behind the curtain with a small tray of food for Adrianna.
"Still in here Oliver?"
"I was just leaving, Poppy," he said, standing up straight.
"Will you visit me later?" asked Adrianna
"If I'm allowed," he replied with a glance at Madam Pomfrey.
Oliver left the hospital wing and went downstairs for a quick lunch. Only after he took a seat at the staff table and started eating did he realize just how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before. As soon as he was done eating, he returned to the hospital wing. Poppy was nowhere to be seen. The lights were out in her office and the door was shut. Oliver stuck his head through the opening in the curtain and saw Dumbledore standing over Adrianna, reading a thermometer.
"Your temperature is still a little low, but you're well on the road to recovery. I think Poppy will let you leave the hospital wing by Wednesday," he said to her.
"Come in Oliver, I know you're anxious to see her again," Dumbledore said as he turned around and spied Oliver's head.
"Where's Poppy?" asked Oliver.
"After being up all night, Poppy needed a break. She's sleeping in her office. I'll be outside if you need anything," said Dumbledore with a wink and disappeared through the curtain.
Adrianna was now propped up in a sitting position against a stack of pillows. Oliver sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Glad you could make it back," said Adrianna with a smile.
"Lucky Poppy's sleeping or I might not have. You know, it was strange last night. I felt so helpless. Like I wanted to do something for you but I couldn't. And then I remembered the Bible in your nightstand..."
"Excuse me? When were you in my nightstand?"
Oliver's face went red. "Well...you see...remember that party I threw for you?"
Adrianna's eyes narrowed.
"I kind of found your address book in the nightstand. That's how I sent out the invitations. I couldn't tell you or you would have found out about the party. Anyhow, when I got the address book I saw your Bible next to it. And I remembered it last night. And then I thought that maybe if I talked to your God, He might help you. So I did, and right after that you woke up and Poppy gave you the potion that saved you."
"What did you think of that?"
"I really don't know what to think. On one hand, I think that maybe the prayer worked. But on the other hand, I think that maybe it was just a coincidence. You might have woken up then even if I hadn't prayed."
"I think there are two kinds of people in the world. The first kind sees everything as luck. Coincidences. You might have a string of good luck, or a string of bad luck. But they don't think that anything's connected. What happens, happens. And they have no hope. But the second kind, they see things differently. They see miracles. They think that there is some force out there that's in control of everything, and that everything happens for a reason. For them, there are no coincidences. And no matter how bad things get, these people still have hope. So now you have to ask yourself, which type are you?"
"Until last night, I thought I was a luck kind of person. But now I'm not so sure. After seeing what happened with you... I'd have to say I'm a miracles person. I don't really think it was a coincidence. What about you?"
Adrianna smiled. "I'm a miracle person. I believe that God is in control of everything. There are no coincidences."
Both of them were quiet for a few minutes. Then Adrianna broke the comfortable silence.
"They say that honesty is the most important thing in a relationship. Do you agree or disagree?"
"I agree."
Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Good. So Oliver, how many other girlfriends have you had? I mean, you're so sweet and strong and handsome, you probably had girls waiting in line for you."
"None, actually. You're the first girl I've ever been interested in. All I ever cared about was quidditch before, but there was just something about you that...captured me. I knew from the first time saw you, when you scored against me in the quidditch game we played against each other. And thanks for the compliments," he finished with a wink. "Now it's only fair that I ask you the same question. You're so beautiful, I bet you've had loads of boyfriends. You probably had boys beating down the doors."
Adrianna laughed sarcastically. "Hardly. I've never had a boyfriend before. I was thoroughly convinced that all guys were jerks until I met you."
"Oh really? Why is that?"
"When I went to Salem, we had a spring ball every year for sixth and seventh years. When I was a seventh year, I asked this guy Michael to go with me. And he said yes! I was so excited. I had dress robes, shoes, the whole nine yards. But then, a couple weeks before the ball, he started avoiding me. Finally I just asked him what the deal was, and he told me that he'd decided to go with another girl. Oh, but that's not the best part. Fast forward, two years later. I asked a guy from college to go to the fall formal with me. First he said yes. Then he changed his mind and said no. Then I found out that he had decided to go after all, just not with me. He did some other really mean things too. After that, I was fed up with guys. I decided that from then on, I was going to keep my emotions in check. If a guy was interested in me, he could make the first move. I liked you from the day I met you in Hogsmeade, but I wouldn't let myself show you anything but friendship until now."
Oliver continued to talk with Adrianna for a couple more of hours in the hospital wing, but after a while Madam Pomfrey bustled through the curtains with a thermometer. She looked rather annoyed to see Oliver.
"Out, Mr. Wood! Adrianna is very ill. She needs her rest."
She chased Oliver away from the hospital bed and out of the curtained area. He walked past the great hall on the way back to his rooms and saw that it was full of students. Only then did he realize that it was already time for dinner. He didn't feel very hungry but wandered into the Great Hall and took a seat at the staff table. He picked at his food for a little while, and then went back to his rooms. He sat down with Quidditch Through the Ages and wrote up a lesson plan for the next day, but it took him much longer than it should have because he couldn't focus. His mind kept wandering back to Adrianna. After he was finally finished with the lesson plan he thought about going for a ride on his broomstick to clear his mind... and then he remembered that he was supposed to be at quidditch practice that morning.
Oliver groaned out loud. Leslie was probably furious with him, but between what had happened yesterday and his long conversation with Adrianna today, he had totally forgotten about the practice. He quickly scribbled down a note of apology to Leslie, then called for Lightning to deliver it. The realization that he had missed quidditch practice had taken the fun out the idea of a broomstick ride, so Oliver decided instead to go back to the hospital wing and see Adrianna. On his way there, he stopped in front of a huge painting of a bowl of fruit and tickled the pear. It squirmed for a few minutes before turning into a green door handle. He seized the handle and pulled the door open. He was now in the kitchens, surrounded by house- elves.
"Would Mr. Wood like a cup of tea?" asked one of the house-elves in a squeaky voice.
"Errr... no thanks. I was just wondering if you might have a vase for flowers with a little water in it."
Almost instantly, another group of house-elves appeared, one of them carrying a vase half full of water.
"Wow, thanks."
As Oliver turned to leave, the house-elves that were surrounding him offered him all sorts of sweets. He politely refused them and backed out of the kitchens. As soon as he'd made his way out of the kitchens he took out his wand.
"Orchideous!" he said, and a bouquet of brightly colored flowers burst from the end of his wand. He scooped them up from the floor and arranged them in the vase, then took them to the hospital wing for Adrianna. He found her fast asleep. She looked so peaceful lying there that he didn't want to disturb her so he just put the flowers on the bedside table, kissed her on the forehead, and left.
Oliver visited Adrianna faithfully until she was released from the hospital wing on Tuesday night. She was still weak, but she was sick of being stuck in bed and fussed over and insisted that she was feeling good enough to leave. Oliver walked her back to her rooms, with Chip following right behind them.
"Do you think you'll be ready to go back to teaching tomorrow?" Oliver asked.
"I think so. I feel alright. I'm not ready to go out and run a marathon or anything, but I think I've nearly recovered. Besides, I feel bad that the other teachers have been filling in for my classes during their free periods." They were back at Adrianna's rooms in no time. Adrianna said her password and the bookshelf swung open. Oliver stood with her in the doorway to her rooms.
"Good night, Adrianna," he said softly. He pulled her close and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away after a few moments. Adrianna threw her arms around his neck, leaned in and kissed him passionately. They made out in the doorway for what seemed like a very short time, but was really quite a while. Finally, Adrianna pulled away from him.
"Sweet dreams, Oliver," she said with a smile as she slipped through the doorway and pulled the bookshelf closed behind her.
It was pure torture for Oliver not knowing if she was going to pull through. He wished that there were something that he could do for her. He thought about the time that he had thrown the party for her to cheer her up when she was upset, but no party would save her now. He remembered taking the address book from her nightstand... and then he remembered what had been next to it, something that he had just passed over then. There had been a Bible in the nightstand. He now remembered that Adrianna was a Christian. Surely her God would save her... but how did a person go about talking to God if they weren't a Christian? And what if her God wouldn't hear him since he wasn't a Christian? Oliver decided it was worth a shot to try anyhow. He would do anything to save her. And for the first time in his life, he prayed.
"Dear God, I want to ask you to make Adrianna well again. You see, she's nearly dead... Madam Pomfrey says it's a miracle that she isn't already dead. God, I just want her to get better. I've never wanted anything so badly in my life. If you could just make her better... I know that I would never be able to thank you enough."
Not ten minutes later, Madam Pomfrey emerged from behind the curtain and grabbed the bottle of warming potion. She emerged again a few minutes later. "She's conscious but not coherent. I gave her the potion. It's still too soon to know anything for sure, but her odds are greatly improved. That potion should raise her core temperature significantly."
"Thank you, God," Oliver said quietly.
He must have dozed off sometime during the night, because the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake by Fleur and the sun was streaming in the windows of the hospital wing.
"Oliver, Adrianna is awake and she wants to talk to you. I just finished talking with 'er."
He got up out of his chair and strode across the room to area that was partitioned off with the long white curtains. He slipped through the opening. Adrianna looked a lot better than she had last night. She was still pale compared to normal, but she had some color in her cheeks and lips. She had changed into the fleece pajamas that he'd brought from her rooms. She was no longer cocooned in blankets, but was lying back against the white pillow with the blankets piled on top of her. Her hands were folded on top of the blankets. Chip was curled up at her feet, fast asleep. Oliver sat on a high metal stool next to her bed so that he was facing her.
"How do you feel, Adrianna?"
"All things considered, I guess I'm alright. I'm so cold though."
"You had us all so worried last night. We thought that you might not make it."
"I guess it was a pretty stupid idea to walk across the lake, huh?"
"Yeah." Oliver reached across the bed and took her hands in his. They felt like ice. He looked right into her deep blue eyes. "But in a way, I'm almost glad that it happened because it made me realize something that I have felt for a long time. There is something that I have to tell you, and if you don't feel the same way I'll understand... Adrianna, I love you."
For a moment she didn't say anything. "For real?" she finally managed.
"For real."
"Oliver, you don't know how long I've wanted to hear you say that," she said, smiling.
Now it was Oliver's turn to grin. "Then you feel the same way about me?"
"Absolutely."
Oliver could barely believe it. This seemed too good to be true. He removed one of his hands from Adrianna's and pinched himself hard on the forearm. It definitely hurt.
Adrianna looked alarmed. "What are you doing?"
"I had to make sure that this is real... that I'm not just dreaming it and going to wake up to find that I'm still single."
She chuckled. "It's real," she assured him.
He slid off of the stool, leaned over her and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away a little sooner than he wanted to, but figured that he shouldn't rush things, especially considering Adrianna's condition.
"So, now that you're my girlfriend... would you like to go to the Yule Ball with me?"
"I would be honored," she said, still smiling. Just then Madam Pomfrey slipped behind the curtain with a small tray of food for Adrianna.
"Still in here Oliver?"
"I was just leaving, Poppy," he said, standing up straight.
"Will you visit me later?" asked Adrianna
"If I'm allowed," he replied with a glance at Madam Pomfrey.
Oliver left the hospital wing and went downstairs for a quick lunch. Only after he took a seat at the staff table and started eating did he realize just how hungry he was. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch the day before. As soon as he was done eating, he returned to the hospital wing. Poppy was nowhere to be seen. The lights were out in her office and the door was shut. Oliver stuck his head through the opening in the curtain and saw Dumbledore standing over Adrianna, reading a thermometer.
"Your temperature is still a little low, but you're well on the road to recovery. I think Poppy will let you leave the hospital wing by Wednesday," he said to her.
"Come in Oliver, I know you're anxious to see her again," Dumbledore said as he turned around and spied Oliver's head.
"Where's Poppy?" asked Oliver.
"After being up all night, Poppy needed a break. She's sleeping in her office. I'll be outside if you need anything," said Dumbledore with a wink and disappeared through the curtain.
Adrianna was now propped up in a sitting position against a stack of pillows. Oliver sat down on the edge of her bed.
"Glad you could make it back," said Adrianna with a smile.
"Lucky Poppy's sleeping or I might not have. You know, it was strange last night. I felt so helpless. Like I wanted to do something for you but I couldn't. And then I remembered the Bible in your nightstand..."
"Excuse me? When were you in my nightstand?"
Oliver's face went red. "Well...you see...remember that party I threw for you?"
Adrianna's eyes narrowed.
"I kind of found your address book in the nightstand. That's how I sent out the invitations. I couldn't tell you or you would have found out about the party. Anyhow, when I got the address book I saw your Bible next to it. And I remembered it last night. And then I thought that maybe if I talked to your God, He might help you. So I did, and right after that you woke up and Poppy gave you the potion that saved you."
"What did you think of that?"
"I really don't know what to think. On one hand, I think that maybe the prayer worked. But on the other hand, I think that maybe it was just a coincidence. You might have woken up then even if I hadn't prayed."
"I think there are two kinds of people in the world. The first kind sees everything as luck. Coincidences. You might have a string of good luck, or a string of bad luck. But they don't think that anything's connected. What happens, happens. And they have no hope. But the second kind, they see things differently. They see miracles. They think that there is some force out there that's in control of everything, and that everything happens for a reason. For them, there are no coincidences. And no matter how bad things get, these people still have hope. So now you have to ask yourself, which type are you?"
"Until last night, I thought I was a luck kind of person. But now I'm not so sure. After seeing what happened with you... I'd have to say I'm a miracles person. I don't really think it was a coincidence. What about you?"
Adrianna smiled. "I'm a miracle person. I believe that God is in control of everything. There are no coincidences."
Both of them were quiet for a few minutes. Then Adrianna broke the comfortable silence.
"They say that honesty is the most important thing in a relationship. Do you agree or disagree?"
"I agree."
Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Good. So Oliver, how many other girlfriends have you had? I mean, you're so sweet and strong and handsome, you probably had girls waiting in line for you."
"None, actually. You're the first girl I've ever been interested in. All I ever cared about was quidditch before, but there was just something about you that...captured me. I knew from the first time saw you, when you scored against me in the quidditch game we played against each other. And thanks for the compliments," he finished with a wink. "Now it's only fair that I ask you the same question. You're so beautiful, I bet you've had loads of boyfriends. You probably had boys beating down the doors."
Adrianna laughed sarcastically. "Hardly. I've never had a boyfriend before. I was thoroughly convinced that all guys were jerks until I met you."
"Oh really? Why is that?"
"When I went to Salem, we had a spring ball every year for sixth and seventh years. When I was a seventh year, I asked this guy Michael to go with me. And he said yes! I was so excited. I had dress robes, shoes, the whole nine yards. But then, a couple weeks before the ball, he started avoiding me. Finally I just asked him what the deal was, and he told me that he'd decided to go with another girl. Oh, but that's not the best part. Fast forward, two years later. I asked a guy from college to go to the fall formal with me. First he said yes. Then he changed his mind and said no. Then I found out that he had decided to go after all, just not with me. He did some other really mean things too. After that, I was fed up with guys. I decided that from then on, I was going to keep my emotions in check. If a guy was interested in me, he could make the first move. I liked you from the day I met you in Hogsmeade, but I wouldn't let myself show you anything but friendship until now."
Oliver continued to talk with Adrianna for a couple more of hours in the hospital wing, but after a while Madam Pomfrey bustled through the curtains with a thermometer. She looked rather annoyed to see Oliver.
"Out, Mr. Wood! Adrianna is very ill. She needs her rest."
She chased Oliver away from the hospital bed and out of the curtained area. He walked past the great hall on the way back to his rooms and saw that it was full of students. Only then did he realize that it was already time for dinner. He didn't feel very hungry but wandered into the Great Hall and took a seat at the staff table. He picked at his food for a little while, and then went back to his rooms. He sat down with Quidditch Through the Ages and wrote up a lesson plan for the next day, but it took him much longer than it should have because he couldn't focus. His mind kept wandering back to Adrianna. After he was finally finished with the lesson plan he thought about going for a ride on his broomstick to clear his mind... and then he remembered that he was supposed to be at quidditch practice that morning.
Oliver groaned out loud. Leslie was probably furious with him, but between what had happened yesterday and his long conversation with Adrianna today, he had totally forgotten about the practice. He quickly scribbled down a note of apology to Leslie, then called for Lightning to deliver it. The realization that he had missed quidditch practice had taken the fun out the idea of a broomstick ride, so Oliver decided instead to go back to the hospital wing and see Adrianna. On his way there, he stopped in front of a huge painting of a bowl of fruit and tickled the pear. It squirmed for a few minutes before turning into a green door handle. He seized the handle and pulled the door open. He was now in the kitchens, surrounded by house- elves.
"Would Mr. Wood like a cup of tea?" asked one of the house-elves in a squeaky voice.
"Errr... no thanks. I was just wondering if you might have a vase for flowers with a little water in it."
Almost instantly, another group of house-elves appeared, one of them carrying a vase half full of water.
"Wow, thanks."
As Oliver turned to leave, the house-elves that were surrounding him offered him all sorts of sweets. He politely refused them and backed out of the kitchens. As soon as he'd made his way out of the kitchens he took out his wand.
"Orchideous!" he said, and a bouquet of brightly colored flowers burst from the end of his wand. He scooped them up from the floor and arranged them in the vase, then took them to the hospital wing for Adrianna. He found her fast asleep. She looked so peaceful lying there that he didn't want to disturb her so he just put the flowers on the bedside table, kissed her on the forehead, and left.
Oliver visited Adrianna faithfully until she was released from the hospital wing on Tuesday night. She was still weak, but she was sick of being stuck in bed and fussed over and insisted that she was feeling good enough to leave. Oliver walked her back to her rooms, with Chip following right behind them.
"Do you think you'll be ready to go back to teaching tomorrow?" Oliver asked.
"I think so. I feel alright. I'm not ready to go out and run a marathon or anything, but I think I've nearly recovered. Besides, I feel bad that the other teachers have been filling in for my classes during their free periods." They were back at Adrianna's rooms in no time. Adrianna said her password and the bookshelf swung open. Oliver stood with her in the doorway to her rooms.
"Good night, Adrianna," he said softly. He pulled her close and kissed her gently on the lips. He pulled away after a few moments. Adrianna threw her arms around his neck, leaned in and kissed him passionately. They made out in the doorway for what seemed like a very short time, but was really quite a while. Finally, Adrianna pulled away from him.
"Sweet dreams, Oliver," she said with a smile as she slipped through the doorway and pulled the bookshelf closed behind her.