Chapter Three:
Okay, the past couple of days have fuckin' sucked. Sunday wasn't too bad because everyone in the Gryffindor common room felt bad and would get me whatever I needed if I asked. Actually, Sunday was quite nice and I was dreaming that the rest of my time on crutches would be met with such exceptional servants. Not quite…
On Monday I woke up at my normal time, not realizing that it would take longer to get dressed and hobble down twenty flights of stairs. I was late for breakfast. I was late for Potions. I was late for Divination. I was late for lunch. In short, I was late for everything.
Feeling quite depressed, I decided to show my support for the team and go to practice, even though I couldn't participate. I was shuffling to the pitch when I lost my footing and fell, almost breaking my other leg. Oliver forbade me from coming to practice or doing anything else that could hurt my leg even more and forced Fred and George to escort me back to the common room. I spent the rest of the night alone, reading depressing poetry and feeling sorry for myself.
Tuesday hadn't started out much better. "How can anyone gain weight in this fuckin' place?" I cried. "It's nothing but steps!"
Angelina and Alicia exchanged glances. "It is pretty bad luck that our common room is on one of the top floors." Alicia said, sympathetically.
"Look at the bright side: classes are done for the day and Ty Davis offered to carry your books for you." Angelina added.
I smiled slightly. Ty had offered to carry my books for me, since my arms were tied up with the damn crutches. There was a silver lining on this cloud. We were headed back to the common room so the girls could grab their gear for Quidditch and I could… well, do nothing.
"Hey guys," I said, suddenly. "I think I'm going to head to the library. It doesn't pay for me to sit in the common room all night alone and I can do some research for my Advanced Transfiguration paper."
The other two waved good-bye as I turned around to head back downstairs. Alicia and I weren't talking about the whole Cedric situation and things were surprisingly unawkward between us. We still talked about everything else, and Alicia loved teasing me about Ty. Hey, it's not my fault I've had a totally unrealistic crush on him since the first time I had seen him, two months ago.
"Hey Kate." I heard a voice behind me and spun around, forgetting about my crutches and bum leg.
"Shit!" I cried, as I felt myself beginning to fall. I fell on my butt, feeling like a total idiot when I looked up and saw Cedric standing above me. He gave me warm smile and offered his hand, "Hey Cedric." I said, as coolly as I could, under the circumstances. Man, he has strong hands.
"Where you headed?" He asked, once I was on my feet again.
"I was going to the library, to work on some homework." I pulled a face. How crappy of a night was this going to be?
"Sound like fun." Cedric replied, sarcastically.
"Especially considering I have no idea what McGonagall was talking about last class?" I groaned.
"How can you not get that stuff?" Cedric asked, dumbfounded. "It's pretty easy, once you break it down."
"Well, then, would you like to help me with it?" I asked, feeling a bit snappy.
"Sure." Cedric replied, easily. "All my stuff's in my dorm, you want to come to the Hufflepuff common room?"
"Does it involve stairs?" I asked.
"Less than going all the way to the library."
"I'm in." I said, waiting for him to lead the way. And that's how I ended up sitting on Cedric Diggory's bed studying Transfiguration.
"So where are all of your friends?" Cedric asked, finally looking up from his work.
I had finished fifteen minutes earlier and had been pretending to work so I wouldn't seem like a total slacker. Relieved, I answered, "Quidditch practice, every Tuesday and Thursday night. Meaning, I'm going to be alone every Tuesday and Thursday night until my leg gets better." Would he pick up the hint? I wondered
"Really? Well, I don't have anything going on those nights. We could work on homework together." Cedric replied.
"Sounds like a plan." I said, smiling. I glanced up at the clock. "Wow, it's nine already. I better head back up to my common room, since it'll take me a half hour to get there."
"You want me to walk you?" Cedric asked, standing up.
"No thanks. I'll be fine." Truthfully I would love to spend more time with him but I needed to think for awhile.
"Okay." He said, looking disappointed. "'Night Kate."
"Night Cedric." I replied smiling as he closed the door behind me.
"Where have you been?" Alicia cried, when I entered our dorm a half an hour later.
"Studying." I replied. This was true. I had been studying; she just didn't need to know who with. Alicia cast me a confused look, knowing that I had never been one to study diligently. "What?" I asked, defensively.
"Nothing." She finally replied. "Your mum will be glad to know that you're finally taking school seriously."
I crawled into bed to avoid any further questioning and pulled the curtains tight around my bed. I heard Alicia say something about going to talk to Oliver and Angelina replied that she was going to turn in early too. Soon, I was fast asleep.
"I think I finally have a system down." I said to Angelina as we headed to breakfast the next morning.
"Today was definitely better than Monday." She agreed. Alicia had left for breakfast early, so Angelina, Oliver and I were walking down together.
"So Oliver," I began, "Where's Cindy? Or Mindy? Or whatever her name is?"
"Sasha." Oliver corrected. "We broke up yesterday. She said something about my refusal to commit, which is complete bull shit in my opinion."
Angelina and I looked at each other, doubtfully. In all the time we had known Oliver he had only been able to commit to one girl, Alicia. And even those two had dated on and off for over two years.
"Sure, Oliver…" Angelina said, trying not to smile.
"Shut up." He scowled, hitting her arm.
I stifled laughter as we arrived at the Great Hall. I tired not to look at the Hufflepuff table but couldn't help myself. I noticed Cedric watching me and he gave me a nonchalant nod. I was still smiling when we sat down.
"What's up with you?" Alicia asked, suspiciously. My friends were always suspicious when I was in a good mood early in the morning.
"Oliver's back on the market." I said, putting my arm around his muscular shoulders. "I've been waiting for this moment for two months."
Alicia and Angelina laughed but Oliver refused to smile. Okay, he can't be this grumpy all day, or practice will be hell tomorrow, which means that Alicia and Angelina will be uber grumpy.
"Come on, Oliver." I whispered in his ear. "Now we can stop hiding our affair and just bring everything out in the open." I let my hand fall off of his should and trailed it down his back, finally slipping it around his waist. Merlin, he has nice abs! "You know you've liked me for awhile now."
Oliver looked at me; his hazel eyes a dark brown. "Katie?" He asked his voice catching.
"Oliver." I replied, seductively. I let my fingers reach across his torso so they were in the middle of his stomach. Perfect. Oliver was looking at me quite intensely and I could tell that Alicia and Angelina were about to burst with laughter. Shit, they knew exactly what I was planning and wouldn't be able to hold their laughter much longer. Time to unleash my secret weapon…
I started tickling Oliver mercilessly. His stomach had always been his most ticklish spot and he was laughing harder than I had ever seen him before. "Promise to be in a better mood?" I asked.
"Promise!" he cried, and I stopped my juvenile torture. I watched as Oliver regained his breath, Alicia and Angelina howling with laughter. "Damn, Kate. Don't tease me like that." He said, finally. "I was getting excited."
I slapped his shoulder and caught Cedric's eye.
He didn't smile back.