----- After Dinner.

I sighed and entered my room. I closed my door behind me and fell onto my bed. I laid there, my face buried in my pillow thinking about today. I had been so quick to forgive Oliver. Well, forgiveness wasn't needed; he didn't do anything. Then again, the issue of Cho was still there.

I was honestly happy that I didn't have to break up with Oliver. I really did love him and I didn't want it to end like that.

I remembered how bitter we both sounded as we yelled at each other, unforgiving and harsh. I wondered if Oliver really did think I slept with Fred when he saw that Fred wasn't there. If he did, we really didn't trust each other that much. If I thought that he cheated on me with Cho and he thought that I slept with Fred, we both have:

a) issues with trusting people,

b) creative imagination,

c) paranoia,

d) we thought the other person was a bad person,

Or

e) all of the above.

I shook my head, trying to forget about it. At least Oliver hadn't screwed up the way I thought he had. That would have sucked. Badly.

There was a knock at my door and I really wondered who it was.

"Come in," I called.

My door opened and Fred stepped in. He looked worried. He closed the door behind him and took a step in, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans; he wasn't wearing any robes over his clothes.

"You talked to Wood?" he asked. I nodded, sitting up. Fred nodded his head slowly, "Good."

He came over and sat on the edge of my bed. "So, you two are together again?"

I nodded slowly. Fred frowned. "Then what's wrong?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I do love him and all, but after everything that happened I'm not sure that things will go back to the way they were. Even if nothing happened with Cho, I keep thinking that something did and that I forgave him just like that."

Fred nodded, understanding. "I won't say to just forget about it, I know that's not really possible. Is there anything that would help?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure..."

"Is there something Oliver could do, possibly?"

I shrugged again and Fred smiled. His eyes lit up for a second, like he thought of something genius. He stood up, leaving me to stare at him questionably. He grinned. "Well," he said, "I hope things get better for you..."

With that he left. I was utterly confused. I shook my head, sighing. I got up off my bed, got some clothes out of my dressed and left my room, bound for the Girls' Bathroom. With Alicia and Angie gone, I at least didn't have to worry about my clothes being stolen.

----- After my shower.

I went back to my room, squeaky clean and my hair slowly drying. Walking through the Common Room, I was cold in my tank top and pajama pants. I shivered and rubbed my hands along my arms quickly, the friction causing heat. I was tired now. The hot shower drained my system and let me forget all about Oliver and the Cho incident.

I climbed the stairs to get to my room. The dim lighting had something to do with making me tired. As I got to my door, I wanted nothing more than to go into my room and go to bed. I tucked a few stands of blonde hair out of my eyes and saw something at my doorway. Something red.

I got closer and I saw green. My vision was getting blurred and I wondered if Christmas was really this close. Wait, it wasn't supposed to be Christmas colored. Whoops. I sure felt stupid. As I got closer I realized that it was a single rose lying in front of my doorway. Thorns and all.

Had I not seen it, I would have stepped on it. Ouch. I bent down and picked it up, opening my door nonchalantly. I didn't pay any more attention to the rose than I would have my dirty laundry. If this was Oliver trying to be romantic, I'd rather sit through extra Potions classes with Snape. I was tired, clean, and I just wanted to go to sleep. I didn't need no stinky romantic flowers.

I stepped inside my room, tossing the red flower onto my dresser. I didn't bother turning on the light, I could make it to my bed in the darkness. My knees bumped the side of my bed and I collapsed onto my bed, just like I had only days ago, tripping on my bad in front of Alicia and Angie.

I crawled underneath my quilt and closed my eyes, sighing. This was the second night that Oliver had not said goodnight to me. I didn't really care that much, I only made note of it.

I turned onto my side and got more comfortable, snuggling deeper into my quilt. I closed my eyes and sighed, feeling myself drifting away from consciousness. I heard something.

I sat up quickly, looking around. I heard it again. Was someone knocking on my door???!!!!! AARRRRGGGG!!!!!!I was trying to sleep! I had better be imagining it, or whoever at my door was GOING TO PAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAAHHHHRRRR!!

I got up out of my bed, creeping over to the door. I stood there, listening. I heard someone breathing outside my door. HELLOOO!! Outside my door is NOT a place to be standing and BREATHING! Especially, waking me up!

I opened my door and Oliver, in his pajamas, grinned at me. I stared at him through half closed eyes. He grinned larger and stood up straighter. I blinked and closed the door, stumbling back to my bed.

I fell onto my mattress and hid under the covers. I heard my door open and I groaned. I should've locked my door. Oliver entered my room and I heard the door close.

"You got the rose?" he asked. I whimpered and whined in reply. In my mind, I knew he was grinning.

"Go away," I mumbled sleepily. I heard him laugh. No matter how much I loved Oliver, I really just wanted him to go away so I could go back to sleep.

I felt something weighing down the edge of my bed. I kicked him and he protested in mock pain. I sat up, angry and tired.

"Oliver," I said grumbled, "I am really tired and I really want to go to sleep and I really think this can really wait until tomorrow."

I wasn't lying when I said that I was tired. I sighed when I felt him stand up. I fell back onto my pillows, my eyes falling shut instantly. I didn't hear him moving and it was almost near impossible to fall back asleep without thinking of him. I didn't want Oliver to go away mad.

I didn't see him or hear him, but I sensed him leaning over me. I just lay there, tempted to roll over onto my stomach and under the covers, my hideaway.

I felt his lips on mine almost instantly, gentle and caring. I was almost fully awake now. Damn Oliver for making me aware and conscious. An image flashed through my head that I never wanted there in the first place, and I definitely didn't want to see it again, especially for real. It was an image of Oliver kissing Cho.

I wrenched my eyes closed. I knew nothing had happened between Oliver and Cho, thank Merlin, but my mind almost wouldn't let me believe that. Since I was lying down, I couldn't pull away. I turned my head to the left, so that he couldn't reach my lips. He began to kiss my neck instead.

I sat up, suddenly frustrated. "Oliver," I sighed in mild irritation. I pushed him away from me and leaned against the wall on my left. Oliver sighed as well and sat down on my bed, almost where I was just lying.

"What, Katie?" he asked, sighing and just as annoyed. The way our tones sounded suggested that neither of us wanted to be with the other.

"Sorry," I said. I heard Oliver exhale softly and I felt his arm snake around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. I let him.

I scooted closer to him and I saw him smile. I let my arms slide around his waist and rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. I actually noticed that I missed it when he held me. I missed him. I hadn't really thought, when I was sad, that I perhaps this would have never happened again. He leaned back, resting his back on my headboard, taking me with him.

He was silent for a few seconds and I didn't know what to do.

"Katie, you know I would never hurt you," he said, "That's the last thing I'd ever want."

I nodded slowly against his shoulder. Was he going to spill some mushy-gushy-lovey-dovey-crap romantic stuff or something?

"Oliver, why did you come here?"

"Anyways," he said, "Fred and George, mostly Fred, would kill me if I ever hurt you. So, I don't plan on doing that anytime soon."

He smiled. I held back a laugh. I knew that that was probably true; Fred was pretty crazy at times.

"So," Oliver continued, "If you know that I would never intentionally hurt you, why do you act like I already have?"

That stopped me for a second. I looked up at him. He stared at me.

"I don't act any different than I normally do..." I made an attempt at sounding sincere. It wasn't believable. I was hesitant when I said it. I sighed and sat up, lifting my weight off of him.

"I don't know, Oliver," I said, sighing, not looking at him. He sat up to look at me better. He sat there in silence as I thought about everything under the sun. I glanced at him nervously. I shrugged now and stood up off my bed.

"You do act differently," he persisted. I stood with my back to him.

I spun around and stared at him. "Oliver, how do you expect me to act?"

He stood up now. He frowned, "I did nothing wrong, you shouldn't be acting differently at all."

I shook my head, "Yes, but how do I 'act' normally?"

Oliver sat there for a second. "You just...you don't act the same when you're around me now..."

"Oliver, are you saying that now I'm not as quick to..." I thought for a second, "make out with you now?"

He didn't say anything; he stared at the floor. I paced to my door, turning when I got there. I leaned my back against the wall area next to my door, crossing my arms loosely against my chest. I swallowed.

"Oliver, you shouldn't expect things like that to happen every time I see you."

I saw him smile through the darkness. I felt the mood lighten. He took a few steps closer to me. I grinned and slipped past him, going back to my bed. I sat down, crossing my legs in front of me. I sat with my back to the headboard of my bed.

"Sorry," he said laughing slightly, "I guess I just got used to it."

I nodded, understanding. After all, he was a guy, even if he was an incredibly sweet one. He followed me to my bed. It was easy to see where Oliver was coming from. I smiled and glanced at him again. He was beginning to look like he was really close now. There should be a sign that always flashed in the dark: "Objects in the dark may appear closer than they appear". No, wait, change that: "Hot guys in the dark stealthily move in closer in short amounts of time."

He was staring at me, not necessarily my eyes, but they were watched, too. He sat down next to me. He was thinking of something. There was a heat to his eyes that made me blush. I laughed nervously under my breath. When I looked at him again, I expected him to be recovering from his own laugh. He hadn't laughed.

I blinked and he was leaning forwards. I closed my eyes as he kissed me softly. I realized how much I had missed him kissing me. He kissed me so lightly I thought that maybe I was imaging his lips on mine. He exhaled and leaned towards me. He leant in and kissed my bottom lip. His hands trailed down my body, stopping at my waist. I put my hands around his neck and kissed him gently. He pushed me back against my pillows, his weight pressing against me.

He pulled away slightly and his lips reached my neck. His lips drifted over the expanse of my neck. I felt his chest rise and fall on mine. I sucked in a deep breath shakily.

His arm held me tightly underneath him, as if he were afraid I would move. The other hand however, was slowly making contact with the skin of my stomach. Just an inch at first, then his hand was slowly exploring upward, into unexplored territory. His hand stopped on my waist, giving me goose bumps. His skin was warm and his thumb moved over my waist.

I sighed into his mouth and kissed him again, pulling him closer. His hand slowly and hesitantly moved closer. Oliver was stealthy and if I hadn't been paying attention, I wouldn't have noticed, I don't think. My eyes shot open as I realized what he was trying to accomplish. My hand on his neck quickly found his and pressed it against my skin, stopping him.

Oliver wouldn't stop kissing me, but I had to make him stop. I broke away.

"Oliver, no," I protested in a weak voice. I saw him nod quickly and his hand was off my skin. He smoothed down my shirt over my side, but his hand touched my waist through the cloth. His lips whispered an apology into my ear, his breath tickling my skin.

His body slide off to the side of mine, lying on his back. He glanced at me and grinned wolfishly. I smirked and turned, leaning over him, kissing him. My stomach was pressed against his side and both his hands strayed to either side of my waist.

He pressed his lips against mine lightly and then suddenly passionately. I was surprised and was about to let my hand find his neck, when I felt myself suddenly being lifted up slightly and pulled on top of Oliver. My eyes widened and he didn't seem to notice. His hands were still on my waist and my first thought, lying on top of Oliver, was me hoping that I didn't eat too many donuts today.

I almost laughed at my own thoughts. Oliver felt me smile and smiled back, kissing me in spite of everything. I thought of something. I lifted my head from his just a little bit and placed my hand beside his head.

"You should be getting back," I whispered into his mouth between kisses, "Fred and George will worry."

"Let them worry," he whispered, "They should know by now where I am."

Somehow, hearing his voice made me think about how lucky I was. I had this wonderful, sweet, caring person loving me. He loved me. That was all that mattered. And I loved him, too. I truly did.

"Besides," he whispered, "I hadn't planned on leaving tonight."

I grinned. "Good."

I let my lower body slide off of him and beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. I closed my eyes and suddenly heard a large thud. I jumped off my bed, knowing that sound, being met by very, very cold air. My window had blown open and I ran to close it.

When I turned back around, I saw Oliver sitting up, smiling at me. I smirked and walked back to him, sitting down on my bed. I pulled my quilt up to me and laid down. I curled underneath the covers and I felt Oliver's warmth only a few inches away.

I was immediately drawn to him and he reached out, pulling me to him. I smiled and nuzzled my head into his chest, feeling his warm arms around me. Oliver leaned down and kissed my neck, making me tense and smile at the same time. My right arm was flung across his chest, holding me tight against him.

I felt asleep like that, curled next to him, snuggling against his strong body, and Oliver whispering softly into my ear. This was the time when I was the happiest. When nothing was going wrong. I felt so safe nothing could compare to it. I knew that Hogwarts was safe and being with Oliver, I was even safer. Even if he couldn't protect me, I still trusted him. He'd do anything for me. Something like that made me feel safe with him.

I don't think I could have ever loved anyone more than I loved Oliver Wood. He made me feel so special and, when I was with him, I felt like I was his world. He was my world even when I wasn't with him.

There was this picture I had in my head, and in my room at home, too, that flashed in my mind every time I thought of him. He didn't know I had it, but it was a still-Muggle picture that Fred had taken of us a long time ago, a year or two back. I thought nothing of it as I stuck it in my mirror next the picture of Alicia and I, but, now, it meant more.

In the picture, Oliver and I are sitting on a bench somewhere beside some lake, the water glittering behind us. My head rested on his shoulder as I stared at the camera, smiling somewhat. Oliver was looking at me, not at the camera, his hand on my knee. When I think of that picture, I think about the way he looked at me then, it was almost like the same look he gave me every single time he saw me.

So, there I lay, in my bed with Oliver, slowly falling asleep, thinking about that picture and how much I truly loved Oliver. I took a deep breath and he tensed, pulling me even closer. I closed my eyes and smiled. And then came that stupid three-word phrase that could only ever be whispered and I couldn't hold back any longer. I nuzzled into his chest.

"I love you"

Sorry it's taken so long for this chapter, with competitions and school and other stuff, I haven't really gotten around to writing these chapters quick enough. But, hold steadfast, the best chapters are yet to come....within the next two, more action will arise. And I dont mean Katie/Oliver action, if that's what you're thinking......plot action....lol. R&R as always :-D. you guys are AWESOME!!