Authors Note: I know everyone is psyched for this chappie...i warn you, there is a lot of cliche, fluffy, romantic crap. i love writing it, but if youare a critic of that type of thing and are looking for angst...go read a story thatsays angst in the desription because this is not it. Haha, anyway R&R.
Chapter 6
Together at Last?
Katie, fuming, approached the table and did something very out of character for her.
"Hi, friends." She said, slamming the mug on the table more firmly than she would have otherwise. She was not only mad at Oliver, why had her other friends, when Oliver arrived without her, not mentioned something? Had they not noticed her absence?
"Hey Katie!" Said Lee.
"Is everyone having a good time?" Her voice as odd, even to herself. It was loud and forced and angry, something very unusual for Katie who normally had a very reserved personality and rarely yelled. She often thought that she should have been a Hufflepuff.
"Yeah, why?" Asked Alicia curiously. Angelina looked nervous and slightly scared. Lee looked confused, Fred and George looked surprised, and Oliver was not looking.
"Why don't you ask Oliver why I ask?" Katie suggested mildly. Although it was not mildly, because she was still shouting.
Her voice had grown more shrill and she was fuming. She felt the blood rising to her face. She felt that her indignation was very justified, however. He had ditched her! And apparently not even told the others that he had done so.
"Oliver?" Asked Alicia, turning to him. She did not like being left out of the loop, and she was not her usual sunny self if she was confused for long. Someone had best to start explaining or she would become very irritable, and then everyone would suffer her wrath. "Well.…" He started, trailing off. He looked guilty, although no one knew what of.
"Start talking. And make it quick." Alicia ordered, her eyes narrowing dangerously. Oliver did not respond at once.
"Katie?" Demanded Alicia.
"He said he would meet me in the great hall, didn't you Oliver?" She accused. "And then he never showed up. I thought something had happened to him. I stood there waiting, like a fool, for fifteen minutes. Then I went to the common room to find him. He wasn't there either, though. Were you Oliver? Can you tell everyone where you were?" Katie said, her voice rising with every angry syllable.
"I was here." He said sadly, hanging his head slightly. "But it was your fault!" He said, looking up again after a moment, meeting her eyes defiantly.
"How is this my fault?!" Katie shrieked. She saw that the room had grown silent, and that people were staring. Everyone was listening to what she said. "You know what Oliver? Don't even talk to me. I don't care what you think I did." She informed him, emptying the contents of her mug onto his head.
She then marched out of the room and bursting through the door, after first throwing her mug on the floor. She heard the room grow loud again, and thought she heard people whispering things like 'spaz.' But Katie did not care. She was madder than she had ever been before.
Oliver had made her believe that he cared. He had made her feel special. He had made her think that he wanted to spend the afternoon with her, and that she meant something to him, even if it was only friendly. She could not believe Oliver had done that to her, after six years of friendship too!
"Katie, wait up!" She heard Oliver calling after her. She was waking quickly, ignoring the cold.
Her cheeks were flushed with anger and the cold, which, now that she thought about it, was biting at her. Her hair was whipping her face again and there were tears of fury on her face and in her eyes, blurring her vision.
She had reached the shrieking shack, which she felt was very appropriate at the moment, and Oliver had not yet caught up to her, although he was running. Katie, however, now had nowhere to go. She could start walking back down to Oliver, although that would entirely defeat the purpose of running away, or she could wait. The only other choice would be leaping the fence and taking refuge inside the shrieking shack, and she was not about to do that.
"Katie, wait. Let me talk to you." Oliver said breathlessly, reaching her.
"What? What could you possibly have to say?" She snapped, angrily. She looked up into his face. He did look genuinely remorseful, although she did not care anymore. he was not the person she had thought, and that was that.
'But maybe it's you who's different. Maybe you brought this upon yourself' a voice told her. She tried to shut it up but it persisted. 'You're not exactly the person you thought either, are you? Some innocent maiden you are. You toyed with his head, what did you expect? That he would sit back and take it? You've known Oliver longer than that, and better than that. When has he ever once taken anything lying down?' '
'SHUT UP!' She told the voice in her head. It did not say anything else, but what it had said kept ringing and repeating over and over again in her head. Had she really changed that much? Why? Just to get Oliver? Was it really worth it if she had to be back stabbing and manipulative to do it? Had she turned into the girls in her books that she always hated? She asked in horror, realizing that she was headed in that direction.
"I wanted to apologize. I did go to the entrance hall, I really did. And when I got there you weren't there yet. Then I saw Cedric standing around waiting for you. You lied to me Katie! You said you weren't going to Hogsmede together. You said you would come with us and then you were planning on meeting him anyway." Oliver said, outraged.
He was yelling, but Katie did not notice over the wind. His story did make sense, although it was funny how far off he was. She did appreciate the irony in this. He had stood her up because he thought she was going to stand him up, and he had thought that because of her stupid games, designed to get him to like her in the first place! It was rather amusing when she thought of it. In a rather morbid and disappointing way. How cruel fate was.
"Cedric wasn't waiting for me." She said, no longer yelling. Her anger had faded, she was now just sad and disappointed with herself. She was looking at her feet, but when she said it she looked up to see his expression. She searched his eyes eagerly, looking for any sign that he believed her, or did not believe her.
"So who was he waiting for then?" Oliver asked, looking back at her with the same hard expression in her eyes.
"Cho Chang." Katie said simply.
"Oh. I'm sorry Katie. Did you just find out today?" Oliver asked her, sounding genuinely sorry for her.
"Oliver, I found them making out behind the greenhouses almost two weeks ago. We broke up ages ago." Katie told him. He looked taken aback at this.
"You've been lying to me all this time." He said. It was not a question.
"No, Oliver. You never asked. I never mentioned Cedric to you. He asked me not to tell anyone." Katie said, falling back on the excuse he had given her.
"So...you weren't meeting Cedric?" Oliver asked, struggling to make the connection.
"Nope." Katie told him, much more calmly than she had in the three broomsticks. She looked at his hair and robes for the first time, seeing that they were soaked. There were Goosebumps on his neck and arms. He had not even taken the time to get his cloak, as he had run after her so quickly. That was sweet, but if he died of pneumonia because of it, it wouldn't do her much good.
"And…he cheated on you?" Cedric asked, apparently confused as to whether he should be happy or sad.
"Yes." Katie said.
"I'll kill him." Oliver swore.
"Don't." Katie said, looking away.
"I'm sorry Katie. I know you liked him. I won't kill him, just because you like him. I'm sparing him for your sake, not for his own." Oliver said. Katie snorted. "What?" Oliver asked, wondering whether he had sad the wrong thing again.
"I don't like him Oliver. I never liked him." She informed him, still looking at the ground.
"You- you didn't?" Oliver asked, confused once again.
"Nope. I didn't like him. I was trying to make someone else jealous." She said.
"Oh, so you like someone else then?" Oliver said. Katie noticed that the hope that had been in his voice was gone and replaced with sadness.
"Yes." Katie told him.
"And...and does he like you?" Oliver asked hesitantly.
"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?" Katie asked, looking up at last.
"Do I know him?" Oliver asked, still disappointed.
"Very well." Katie assured him. "But not quite as well as I know him."
"Is it Lee?" Oliver demanded, traces of disappointment lingering in his voice.
"No."
"It's not Fred or George?" Oliver asked sharply, looking at her inquisitively.
"Of course not!" Katie said, holding his gaze firmly and laughing a little, although nervously. "You must think me a very poor friend to think I would do that to Angelina or Alicia." She was about to confess six years of feelings and had no idea how he would react, although she did know how she hoped he would react.
"So, are you going to tell me who, or just wait until he asks you out and then let me find out?" Oliver asked morosely, obviously recalling the Cedric situation.
"I was hoping I would be able to tell him. But what makes you think he would ask me out?" Katie asked, smiling.
"Who wouldn't?" Oliver asked. "Cause if they didn't I would kill them." Oliver threatened menacingly. Katie almost believed him for a moment.
"Oliver you idiot! It's you! It's always been you! There's never been anyone else, always just you. Ever since the second year. I never liked Cedric. Why do you think I even joined the team to begin with? It sure as hell wasn't because I was passionate about the Quiddich." Katie said, her voice rising again with her mounting frustration.
"Really?" He asked. To Katie's surprise he did not sound like he felt awkward. He sounded more flattered.
"Of course it is! I wouldn't make all that up." Katie assured him.
"Oh." Oliver said.
"So, do you…" Katie started, trailing off. When Oliver remained silent she looked up, locking eyes with him again.
Instead of speaking he bent forward, kissing her tenderly on the lips. This was not like their first kiss. This was not just an in the heat of the moment 'my girlfriend just dumped me and I need comforting' kiss. This was an 'I love you, I have always loved you, and there is only you' kiss. And although Katie knew that Oliver had had other girlfriends who he had claimed to love, at least that's what he had always told her, he would never say that to them, she still felt that this time was different.
She knew Oliver had a history, that he was a ladies' man, that he had had lots of other girlfriends, but somehow she didn't care. All that mattered was him and her. She was walking on sunshine, floating in the clouds. The cold did not effect her. She could not longer feel anything except the heat of his lips on her own.
As they kissed Katie felt a snowflake fall on her head, then on her arms, and before she knew it she was caught in a snowstorm. The wind had caught up and they were standing in the snow, their arms around each other. It was as if they were in a snow globe, the wind had picked up more than ever and was causing the snow to swirl around them.
"Oliver?" She asked against his lips. He pressed harder on her mouth. She kissed back. This was everything she had wanted and more than she had hoped for. That first kiss had only been a taste compared to this.
She wrapped her arms around his soaking head and felt the Goosebumps on the back of his neck. She ran her fingers up and down his neck, causing them to grow even larger. She parted her lips to allow his tongue inside her mouth. He own tongue explored his mouth. He had wrapped his arms around her waste and was pulling her closer to him. She responded fervently and the kiss deepened, growing more passionate.
"Oliver?" She said again, moving her hands down to his arms and gripping them firmly.
"What?" He asked, drawing back only slightly and looking as if he did not want to stop kissing her, ever. She smiled at that. She was glad to finally be the one in his arms.
"Does this mean you like me too?" She asked.
"Of course I like you. You're perfect. Who wouldn't like you?" He demanded. "Show me someone who doesn't like you, and I'll kill them." He growled the last part into her ear, leaning close to her and causing the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. She shivered.
"So...you're not going to tell me that this was a mistake?" She persisted, needing to know before she got too caught up in his kiss to handle the disappointment if this turned out to be a one time thing.
"Never. It's never a mistake with you." He assured her.
"But, it was last time." She said, pushing him back as he made to kiss her again.
"That was my mistake for saying it was a mistake." When she refused to kiss him again he sighed, drawing back more. "Look, Katie, you're more important than that to me. You're my best friend, and the only one who gets me. I didn't want us to just be a one time thing. If we were going to do this then I wanted to do it right. That's what I was trying to tell you when you told me you were with Cedric." He told her, sadly.
More than satisfied with this answer she made to kiss him again. She wanted to taste more of him. This time it was him who drew back, although his arms were still roped around her waste inside her coat, in part to stay warm and in part to hold her close.
"What?" It was Katie's turn to be annoyed now.
"Why didn't you tell me that you two had broken up?" Oliver asked her.
"I don't know." Katie said, waving it off with her hand and then placing it around his neck again.
"That's not good enough, I'm afraid." He said, blocking her advances.
"Fine. It was because, I was playing stupid games. I'm such a fool. In wanted to make you jealous." Katie told him her embarrassment evident in her tone.
"You never had to play games to make me jealous, Katie. I was jealous just looking at you and knowing you were with him." Oliver told her, looking astonished that she would have thought of such a thing.
"Really?" She asked.
"Every minute of every day." He promised.
"That's sweet." She said, leaning forward again. This time he made no effort to stop her, but kissed her back firmly and roughly, his hands exploring her back, and hers his face.
"Oliver, you're freezing." She said.
"I'm not." He denied, kissing her swiftly on the mouth before she could pull away again.
"You are and we're going back to Hogwarts to continue this where it's warm." Katie decreed.
"As long as we can continue this, I don't care where we do it." Oliver said, somewhat under his breath. Katie laughed. They walked back to the carriages together in the snow. He had his arm around her. Katie was grinning from ear to ear. She was happier than she had ever been. This was too perfect for words. She was with Oliver. He had his arm around her. It was like a scene from a book. It was like a scene from her dreams.
They reached the carriages and found that not many people had left yet, as most of the carriages were still there. They slid into one and set of for Hogwarts. Katie leaned into Oliver's side. he put his arm around her. It felt so natural. so perfect.
Katie smiled and sighed happily, smelling the familiar Oliver scent. He smelled like, to Katie at least, desire. But maybe that was because she had spent so long desiring him that she began associating his smell with desire. Perhaps Fred smelled like desire to Angelina. Katie did not know, but either way, that was his smell to he and she inhaled it eagerly.
She looked up at Oliver's face and saw that he too was beaming, which only caused the warm feeling of contentment inside her to grow.
They reached the castle and walked inside quickly, eager to get out of the snow and to somewhere warmer and quieter. Already the snowstorm had covered the ground in at least and inch of snow. Katie thought briefly that those who were still in Hogsmede would get caught there overnight. Katie then remembered that they were in the magical world and that even if the snow got very deep, the carriages would find a way to get through to Hogwarts.
They arrived in the common room and found it as empty as when Katie had left. That is to say almost empty except a few first and second years who could not yet to Hogsmede. The other older Gryfindors appeared to be in Hogsmede, their dorms, or the library.
Katie and Oliver sat on a couch directly in front of the fire so that they could warm up from the harsh weather outside. Katie removed her cloak, Oliver did not have one as he had left to three broomsticks to find Katie so quickly that he had left it behind.
Katie sat down beside Oliver and leaned into him, sighing with satisfaction. Now everything was perfect. She was with Oliver, she was warm, and happy, and had no homework to do all weekend.
"Katie?" Asked Oliver.
"Yes?" Said Katie, giggling a little. When he spoke his chest vibrated and tickled her.
"Would you be my girlfriend?" Oliver asked.
"Oh, I assumed we had sort of passed that stage, what with the kissing and the cuddling and everything." Katie said, a little startled that he was asking her.
"Well, yes, but I figured I should make it official so to speak. I didn't want there to be any confusion that this is not a one night stand or anything....or a one afternoon stand either." Oliver explained.
"Of course I'll be your girlfriend, Oliver." Katie said solemnly, sitting up to look at him.
"Good." He said contentedly. Katie leaned into his chest again. She felt her eyes closing as the sounds of the common room, the heat of the fire, and Oliver's steady breathing lulled her to sleep. Life was truly perfect. This definitely was all it was cracked up to be.
She felt, in her semi-consciousness, Oliver shifting underneath her.
"Oh, sorry Ollie, am I making you uncomfortable?" Katie asked quickly, sitting up.
"No, not at all, go back to sleep." Oliver said softly. She leaned into him. His arm was around her shoulder. As she struggled to regain her drowsing state he stroked her upper arm and hair. He made little circles on her skin with the pad of his finger.
She smiled happily as she felt Oliver kiss the top of her head tenderly. He really was quite romantic, when all was said and done. Margaret didn't know what she was missing.
A few moments later, just as Katie was about to actually fall asleep, she heard a thumping and loud voices in the corridor outside. Katie did not want to move.
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Asked the loud voice of George, entering through the portrait hole.
"We wondered where you got off to." Fred said, smiling cheekily.
"Here's your cloak, Oliver. You left it in the Three Broomsticks when you rushed off after Katie." Angelina said, tossing the cloak at him. It landed on Katie, covering her from view.
"Where is Katie?" Asked Alicia, who had just entered through the portrait, followed by Lee.
"She's right here." Oliver said, removing the cloak from her. He had to take his arm from around her neck and shift his position in order to this. Katie sat up reluctantly.
"Hey guys, did you lot have fun in Hogsmede?" She asked.
"Yes…" Angelina said, obviously waiting for an explanation. "Did you?" She asked, prompting.
"Yes." Oliver said at once.
"A very good time." Katie added, looking at Oliver and exchanging a meaningful look.
"So, does this mean you two are finally together?" Lee asked bluntly.
"Yes." Oliver said again, smiling.
"So I suppose I'm the only one left alone." He said, sighing. "Way to desert me and all the ranks of single men, Oliver." Lee told him reproachfully.
"Sorry mate, but she's worth it." Oliver said, looking at Katie with an unmistakable look in his eyes.
"Whoa, get a room mate." George said, shielding his eyes.
"Whatever happened to bros over hos?" Asked Lee indignantly.
"Well, that would be the case, if Katie were a ho. But since she's not the rule does not apply." Oliver informed him. 'Hos over bros' was an American phrase that Lee had picked up last summer when his American cousins visited, bringing their sayings, music, and TV shows. Katie smiled at Oliver. That seemed to be all she was capable of doing in this drowsy, happy state she was in.