*No such thing as a match made in heaven*
Unfortunately, I do not own any characters. "drat"
*opens curtains* "Now back to the show!" a deep voice rumbled. Was that me?
Merlin. Does he really have to do that? I watched with repulsion as Nearly Headless Nick showed some first years the true significance of his name. They giggled with glee, and I was overcome by a spell of dizziness. I hope they choke on a chicken bone...uh-oh. Bad thoughts again.
I turned my attention back to my plate, and my appetite miraculously recovered. Strange. I had my mouth stuffed with potatoes when Angelina turned towards me.
"Did you hear?" She said excitedly. Well, gee, that gave me an idea of what I was supposed to be hearing. Oh well, I'll just play dumb and make her happy.
"No! Hear what?!" I said with as much enthusiasm as I could possible muster. Unfortunately my mouth had been full at the time, and I sprayed a few students with the remains of the potatoes. Whoops. Note to self: remember to keep mouth closed while eating if you want to keep your friends. Angelina stared at me momentarily, her face glaring at me as if I had just betrayed her. Damn, don't tell me she's into the whole etiquette thing again this year. I thought for sure she would have gotten over it by now.
"Sorry," I said sullenly, after swallowing the potatoes. Oops, I forgot the chewing stage while lost in logical thought (if that's what you want to call it Katie, just continue lying to yourself!).
"Helloooo! Hogsmede to Katie!" Angelina sung.
"Well, get on with the news thing!" I impatiently huffed. No one was going to call me an air head, without knowing the truth of course.
"Ok," Angelina said, her facial expression becoming more concentrated, it took great concentration to go into the evil gossipy Angelina Johnson. I hate gossip. For one thing, I try to tell someone else the story, but they've already heard! The nerve of them not hearing it from me!
"Cedric Diggory asked Alicia out!" Angelina squealed. Hold on here. Exactly how long have we been in school? Not long enough to base a relationship on. This was insane, and did Alicia know that if she said "yes", that she would be dating a younger man? These are the things that keep me awake in sheer thought at night. Year right, sheer thought. More like undeniable panic.
Angelina spotted my frown instantly. "What's bothering you Katie, jealous?" she threw the words at me. Then a broad smirk crossed her face, gloating that she actually knew how to irritate me. Well, it's not like it's that big of a secret anyways.
"No!" I declared, rolling my eyes. I apparently said it too loud, hence the questioning stares from Fred and George. I tried to give them a "buzz-off pea brain" look, but it got screwed up somewhere, and once again I looked stupid. Fred laughed, followed by the repetitive George, and then they both went back to frightening first years. Strange people. Ok, get back on track Katie.
"Does she know that she'll be dating someone younger than her?" I said turning back to Angelina.
"Umm, Katie? Have you seen Cedric?" Angelina's pitched raised up a notch along with her eyebrows. What the hell was that question for? Did she think we were playing a game? Hide-and-go-seek perhaps? Once again I am forced to not state my inquiry of questions, or otherwise I'll make a complete idiot of, guess who? That's right, me.
"Yeah, of course I've seen Diggory. We play Quidditch against him. As in, he's on the other team." I said slowly so I wouldn't confuse her even more. Go figure. She still stared at me blankly. Merlin Angelina!...ok, fine. I'll do it your way and spell it out for you.
"He's a boy, brown hair, any of this ringing a bell?" I said slightly annoyed. Ok, maybe I was extremely annoyed.
"That's not what I mean, Katie. I was asking you if you had noticed he was hot." Angelina said, barely containing her laughter. Oh boy, now I feel real dumb. What the heck did she mean by hot?
"Hot as in the most gorgeous, handsome, hunk of man alive. Not hot as in temperature." Angelina said laughing now. Damn...she knew me too well...I must change that.
"Oh," I said softly, I smiled to hide the red that was rising in my cheeks. Why should I be embarrassed? I just made a complete idiot out of myself is all. Good enough reason for me.
"Katie...." I heard George's desperate plea, and I knew that there was some trouble for me. All I had to do was not look up, not to hard....Ok, so if curiosity killed the cat, I wonder what curiosity will do to Katie Bell? Let's find out.
I looked up to find a very disturbing image of Fred. He had spaghetti plastered all over his face, and I began to wonder if those spaghetti marks would stain his shirt, but Fred interrupted thought with speech.
"Forgot you potions book I see, Ms. Bell? Fifty points from Gryffndor. And while your at it the desk needs some scrubbing and..." I couldn't take it anymore, I put my head down on the table, and laughed like there was no tomorrow. I heard similar sounds around me, and I began to wonder what the hell I thought was so funny.
I caught my breath after several minutes, and I finally got the nerve to lift my head off the table. I found my friends around me talking like nothing had happened. Gossip, as usual was the subject of conversation.
"Did you hear about Oliver Wood?" Alicia whispered to Fred, George, Angelina and now my uninvited self.
"Yeah, I head that Melanie broke up with him because he didn't talk about anything but Quidditch." Angelina told with the experience of a true gossiper. Go figure.
"If that ain't the truth." it just slipped out, honestly. I didn't mean to become entangled in this deep of a conversation. They all stared at me, the almost looked at me like they were waiting for my teeth to pop out. Ok, enough of this silence bull.
"Don't worry, I wont tell anyone. I mean, I don't have any other friends besides you guys." Ok, so I may have embellished the truth a bit, but it was most likely that what they thought of as their "privileged information" was probably spread all over the school by now. But why spoil their fun? That's not me, is it? Nah.
They must have deemed my excuse as substantial because they huddled back up, putting me in the middle of it all. Oh boy. Front row tickets.
"That's not good for the lot of us." George said frowning. What in bloody heck did he....oh. I guess we're all talking about the same Oliver Wood, the Quidditch maniac.
We all nodded in agreement, and then became silent. Why did I take that all-important oath if this was all the detail I was going to receive? I mean the least I could get are some dirty details. Once again, Katie is deprived of the ability to speak the language of love. Oh well, the thought doesn't tear me to pieces.
"SO, everyone enjoy dinner?" I must be getting desperately tired of sitting in the silence, hence the simple minded question.
"Fine." Alicia slumped over.
"Great." George sighed.
"Spaghetti-licious!" All of us jumped at the sound of Oliver Wood, but none more than me. Our earlier encounter had left me puzzled, but yet....I felt my fear growing. Damn him! How will I explain the high blood-pressure to Dr. Rowe this time?
Oliver sat in a chair opposite of me and I could almost see that same flicker of amusement in his face. I guess he must already be over Melanie. I didn't know about this relationship bull, but weren't you supposed to be...sorrowful??
"And Quidditch practice starts tomorrow." I tuned in just in time to hear my favorite information. Oh boy. I can hardly contain the excitement that burns deep within my soul. Everybody groaned, and Oliver seemed to take pleasure in our dread. All I can say is that I stand by my idea of someone putting a little something in the pumpkin juice. I mean it wouldn't be too hard, just put it in when he turns away....wait a sec, I'm making myself look like the convict! Although, that can be my excuse for the weird behavior I have been possessed by. Blame it on a non-prove able theory! Oh yeah!
"Well, we'll win this year for sure, don't you worry Oliver! Katie, Angelina and myself have been working on a few moves over the summer so don't worry! It'll be a breeze!" Alicia said slapping him on the arm. I saw jealously flicker in Angelina's eyes and knew that it was going to be the year of choices. Potential boyfriend of friend? Hmmmm, I know who I would choose, but that wasn't too hard to figure out. Wait a sec...Did Alicia just say that we had been working on Quidditch moves. Wow, she lies with much more conviction than I, here only flaw, however, was to include me.
"Right Angelina?" Alicia said acknowledging Angelina, whom was currently contented to saying "yes, of course!". Merlin, she has the lying thing down too, which leaves me to wonder...how often do I actually get the honest truth?
"Right Katie?" Dammit Alicia! You should know I cant lie! Why did you have to include me? I saw Oliver watching me, and as if on impulse, I swallowed hard and nodded my head. Oh boy, I can hear the lightning now, or maybe it's my guilty conscience, enraged beyond the point of return. Hmmmm.
"Well, I better be off to bed." I said quickly, then I forced myself to yawn. Everyone stared at me, but hey they didn't get all guilty over lying, it really wears a person out. I mouthed to Alicia and Angelina "see you later", then I pushed my chair in.
I was just about to reach the portrait, when I remembered that I needed a password. Dang. I huffily turned to head back down, but instead I found my path being blocked by Oliver Wood.
"Looking for a password?" he said slowly, drawing the syllables forth with care. Let's just make the conclusion that he wanted to make me sweat a little, and sweat I shall.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."I wasn't going down to without a fight. Whatever I was fighting was pretty questionable however. His hearty laughter echoed off the walls, as he motioned me to com closer. I shook my head with the whole fighting idea logged in my brain. Stupid.
"Stubborn," he said gently walking towards me instead. Merlin, I could feel the fear returning with a sharp pang.
"Here you go," he handed me a piece of paper. I opened it up and found the phrase 'siamese bats' written upon it. How bazar.
I felt a hand on my neck and I almost screamed out, which would have been stupid considering I knew who it was. I could feel his warm hand against my cold neck. Oh great. I could see the headlines now: 'Quidditch captain discovers Katie Bell's true identity as Ice Woman!'
He turned the collar of my robe upward, and whispered,
"Goodnight." before I could respond, he was gone, leaving me all alone in the deserted hallway.
Upon entering my bed, my brain began to sort things out. Ok, let's get this straight. Angelina is a gossipy clean-freak, Alicia is considering dating someone younger than her, which really disturbs me, Fred and George are trying to give me a medical condition from laughing, and Oliver Wood is drinking something loopy and has discovered my dandruff and big neck problem. It was the beginning of a great year....what the heck is 'siamese bats' supposed to mean?