Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.

Chapter Twelve: The Only Girl I Love

With the help of Lavender and Parvati, Oliver reached Hermione's dorm (A/N: Remember, the girls' dormitories have the slide, so the boys can't get in). A few days had passed since the incident. Each time Oliver tried to confront Hermione in the corridors or between classes, she would turn and run the other way. Oliver was distraught over Hermione's reaction, but there was nothing else he could do except try again, and maybe ask for Hermione's forgiveness. Oliver had even prepared a farewell poem to give to her in case Hermione chose to hate him forever. It pained him to even consider this last possibility, but he had to prepare his heart for the worst. He knocked on Hermione's door and held in his breath. "Hermione?"

There was no answer. Noticing that Hermione's roommates were still standing there, ogling him, he asked," Could you two ladies excuse us for a moment?"

The two girls giggled and left. Oliver shook his head ("girls!") and knocked on the door again. "Hermione... Lavender and Parvati are gone now. Can we talk?"

"Oliver, just please go away!" Hermione said through choked sobs.

Oliver sighed. "Hermione, you can't just keep pushing everyone away. Your grief will only get worse. Now please, open the door so we can talk. Tell me what's bothering you. I'm here as your friend. Just as your friend."

Soon the door swung open, and there stood Hermione. She stepped aside and motioned for him to enter. "Thank you," Oliver said. She shut the door behind him and sat down on a chair. "You're here now, so talk," Hermione said briskly. She immediately regretted her harsh tone with Oliver, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Hermione, I don't know what's bothering you, and I wish you would just tell me why you can't love me. I wish I knew what's holding you back, but I'll wait until you're ready to tell me. For now, I'll just say that I'm sorry for startling you. I won't apologize for the feelings I have for you, but I do apologize for upsetting you. Honestly, if I knew that my surprise would upset you so much, I wouldn't have said anything."

Hermione folded her arms. "I accept your apology, but I don't understand how we can go back to the way we were."

"What do you mean?"

"Well. We were good friends before you said...you know. You see, I was so thrilled when you asked to be my friend. The Oliver Wood wanted to be friends with me. The same Oliver Wood who was known for dating every breathing female alive was my friend. You were even closer to me than you were to Alicia. I-I felt special because it was rare when you were just friends with a girl, especially good friends with a girl. Then, you announced your true feelings for me, and I felt like I was just another notch on your belt. I felt as if you only liked me about as much as any other girl you dated."

Truthfully, this was not the main reason of why Hermione could not love Oliver. The real reason was she wanted to protect herself, and most of all, Oliver from a disastrous fate involving Voldemort, but she couldn't bring herself to say so; saying this out loud would make the dream seem so real. For now, she figured that this reason would suffice.

Oliver paused for a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "First, I want to thank you for telling me Hermione. I have a feeling there is more that you're not telling me, but you can tell me when you're ready." He resisted the urge to chuckle when he saw the surprised expression on Hermione's face. She was wondering how he knew she was hiding something. It frightened her to think that someone could know her that well.

Oliver took both of Hermione's hands in his own and stared deep into her eyes, never once letting his gaze falter. "Secondly, you are right that I dated just about every girl in Hogwarts and it is true that I liked every single one." Hermione broke the gaze and turned away, clearly pained by what he said. Why do I care so much that he liked all those other girls? Oh, no, I'm falling in love with him! Stop it, Hermione! You can't do this for Oliver's sake and your own!

Oliver lifted Hermione's chin and stared deep into her eyes once more. "You didn't let me finish. Yes, it is true that I liked those other girls, but you are the only girl I love. You are the only girl I have ever loved."

A/N: OMG! I can't believe I got 8 reviews in one day! You guys have totally cheered me up.

Unfortunately, we must move onto less pleasant news... I won't be able to update after Monday night because I have to move into my new apartment for college. So you have to wait about a week for an update until I get settled. As an incentive to review, I will post the long-awaited chapter fourteen during Monday night provided that I get at least a total of 8 reviews for chapters 12 and 13 (that's 8 total, not 8 for each chapter, though 8 for each chapter is definitely welcome).

Hermione Jane Granger girl: Thanks so much for reviewing TWICE! You and all of the other reviewers really made my day.

I only post new chapters when I get like 4 reviews. Since I got 8, expect Chapter Thirteen to come in half an hour.

Troublegirls: I am VERY sorry you had to witness that bimbo making out with your guy. But look at it this way. If he was dumb enough to cheat on you, than he doesn't deserve you. You deserve much better! I know it hurts, but now you can move onto another guy that's worth your time. (Is it just me, or do I sound like one of those teen magazine advice columnists?)

As for Hermione's reluctance on telling Oliver how she feels...well, there's only one explanation- she's a wimp. She'll get over her cowardly ways eventually.

Lost angel92: Thanks for reviewing!

Tom-and-Rupert-Lover: Aww...I can't say no to someone who is on their knees. There will be another update shortly since I received more reviews than I expected.

Lia06: I'll always try to update as often as possible. I already have the entire story written, so when I see 4 or more reviews, I tend to post the next one rather quickly. Since I received like 8 reviews today, it makes sense that I should post twice as many chapters. Thanks so much for reviewing and keep up the good work in your stories!

Valentines-hater: Thanks so much for your review! Yes, there will be excessive fluffiness and scenes that will make you go "Aww" in chapter fourteen.

Black-rose23: I hated leaving Oliver out of the first few chapters, but I needed to establish a strong friendship among the trio so it would make sense later of why Hermione was so devastated at their leaving. And don't worry about Oliver and Hermione; Hermione will come to her senses...eventually. Thanks so much for your review!