Diclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
The Quidditch Master
Chapter 8
Confrontation
"Oliver..." she looked fleetingly into his eyes. "I can't do this."
He gave her a puzzled look. "Why not?"
"Because," she paused and took a deep breath, "well, because of Cedric."
"Bloody hell, Katie," Oliver growled. "It's not like he asked you to marry him, or even be his girl friend!"
"Good point," Katie muttered with newfound realization, "but what if he was planning on it?"
"Are you saying that you care more for that bloody prick than me?" he asked in a pained voice.
"No, but..."
"But what Katie?" Oliver glared at her from behind furious eyes. "Are you saying that our friendship is going to hit rock bottom because of him?"
"I never said I wanted to lose you as a friend!" Katie cried out.
"Then why would you choose him over me?" Oliver asked very slowly and quietly, as if he was trying to stomach the very thought.
Katie opened her mouth and fumbled for words. "Because...well...I can't...he...you..."
Oliver stared at her in amazement. "Do I mean that little to you?" he whispered coldly.
"No, it's just," she paused and took a deep breath to calm herself, "you're my best friend, and he's, well, not."
"Friends can become lovers, Kate," Oliver said while his eyes pleaded her to listen.
"I know, but," she began to pace back and forth. She stopped pacing and took his hands in hers, "But I don't want to lose what we have."
"But we won't! It will grow into...into...something more!" he cried out.
"I know that," Katie whispered, "but what if we break up sometime down the road?"
"Then we can go back to being friends!" Oliver insisted.
"But what if we can't and even if we able to, it won't be the same."
"That's a risk I'm willing to take!" Oliver looked into Katie's eyes and his eyes were daring her to take the risk and have a chance at something that had the potential to be great.
"But I'm just not willing to take that chance," Katie released his hands from hers. "No hard feelings?"
Oliver smiled weakly at her. "I suppose not," he lied.
"Good," she replied with a weak smile, also, even though she knew from the tone of his voice that he was lying. "I suggest we both get to bed. It's been a long night."
"That it has," he muttered and turned towards the boys' stairs.
"Good night, Ollie," she whispered to his back and he waved good night to her over his shoulder. Once he had completely disappeared up the stairs, Katie sank down on the closest couch and rested her elbows on her thighs and placed her head in her hands.
"What have I done?" she asked herself aloud.
Oliver awoke the next morning before light even spilled into the room with a queasy stomach and in a bad mood. He remembered last night's events like they had happened only moments ago, instead of hours. He sat up sullenly in his bed and stretched out his arms.
After thoroughly stretching, he pulled back the covers and placed his feet on the cold, hold floor and moaned at the icy shock that jolted through his body right away. He stood up and walked over to his trunk and pulled out his school uniform and a towel.
Oliver then made his way over to the bathroom and stepped in, quietly closing the door behind him so he didn't wake up his roommates. He turned the shower on and brushed his teeth while he waited for it to get to the correct temperature for him to take his shower.
Katie woke up to loud whispering near her. She groaned lightly and opened her eyes. She was in the common room lying on one of the red couches. She sat up and looked groggily towards where the voices were. A moan escaped her lips when she saw the twins looking at her expectantly.
Fred looked over at her and grinned. "Up already sleepyhead?"
She grumbled something incoherent back.
"Well," George took a quick peek at his watch, "if you don't hurry up and get ready, you're not going to get any breakfast."
"I'm not very hungry," Katie mumbled.
Fred and George both gave her wide grins and said in unison, "More for us!"
Katie grinned in spite of herself. "Now if you'll please excuse me," she stood up, "I need to get ready for classes."
"Toodle-oo!" George cried after her in a high-pitched feminine voice.
Katie shook her head and walked up the girls' stairs and disappeared into her dorm.
"Katie!" Andrea cried out warmly and ran to engulf her in a hug when the girl entered the dorm.
"Where were you last night?" Angelina asked in a matronly tone.
"I talked with Oliver and then fell asleep on one of the couches in the common room," Katie's friends grinned so she added, "alone."
"Well what happened between you and Oliver?" Alicia asked and grabbed Katie's hands and pulled her over to one of the beds. Andrea and Angelina followed and sat down on the bed across from them.
"I don't know if I should tell you," Katie mumbled.
"Of course you should. We're you're girls!" Andrea cried out.
"I suppose when you put it that way," Katie looked each of the girls in the eyes before starting her story. "Last night, after I left the twins' dorm, I went to the kitchens. When I was walking back, I met Oliver in one of the halls, the one with Wyndyl the Wise, I think. We walked back to the common room together, and on the way we talked. When we said goodbye, we kinda, er, kissed." She took in a sharp breath. "And then we argued about stuff."
"Do you care to share what this 'stuff' was?" Andrea asked in a soft tone.
"No," Katie muttered and looked down in her lap at her hands.
"I think we're going to have to finish this discussion later," Angelina said after stealing a quick peek at her watch. "We have double potions first and I don't want to be late."
"Just what I needed to make my life so much better," Katie muttered and stood up and walked over to her trunk where her school uniform was kept.
Katie took a quick look in the mirror to make sure she looked good before running out of her dorm. She tore down the stairs and skidded to a stop in front of her favorite couch, which a certain Oliver Wood was currently occupying. She looked at him before plopping down beside him.
"What time is it Woody?" she asked with a cheeky grin.
"Don't call me that," he muttered back before looking at his watch. "Ten minutes before breakfast starts."
"How'd you know that I wanted to know when feeding time was?"
"Because I know you that well," Oliver replied and looked deeply into Katie's eyes. "I know everything about you," he mumbled.
Katie heard his last comment and pretended not to. She just wanted things to go back to how they were before, before Oliver had kissed her and she had liked it. "What's on the agenda for Quidditch today?" she asked with fake zeal that she knew Oliver could see through.
"I think we should have a team meeting and discuss practices and anything else that anyone feels we need to. Do you mind telling Angelina, Alicia, and the Weasleys? I'll tell Potter."
"Sure," she shrugged. "I expect they'll be overjoyed."
A rush of people stood up and began exiting the common room through the portrait hole to go to breakfast. Instead of standing up with the rest of the Gryffindor student body, Katie and Oliver stayed seated. They knew from experience not to get mixed up with that hungry crowd.
They sat in an uncomfortable silence until the common room emptied. Once the common room was completely empty of people, other than the two of them, Oliver stood up.
"May I escort you to breakfast, Miss Bell?" he asked very gentlemanlike.
"Certainly, Mister Wood," she stood up and looped her arm through his. "Lead on."
Oliver grinned to himself as he thought about the face Cedric Diggory would make when they entered the Great Hall together. True, he didn't ask for a long term commitment from Katie, but he would still be pretty irked.
"Oliver, why aren't you walking?" Katie asked in an annoyed tone.
"Sorry," he muttered and started walking. He stopped at the portrait hole, though, because only one person could fit through at a time. "Ladies first."
Katie grinned and went through the portrait hole and waited for Oliver on the other side.
Once he was through, he held his arm up for Katie to loop hers through and she did so.
"When are you going to start Quidditch practices, anyhow?" Katie asked with interest.
"I figure sometime next week."
"Good, I'm getting out of shape!" Katie exclaimed.
"Do you want to go practice one on one later? I could use the extra practice, and you just said that you needed some, too."
"Most likely, yes."
"Okay. How about a half an hour after classes end?"
"Sounds like a plan to me!"
Oliver nodded and a comfortable silence settled over them for the remainder of the walk to the Great Hall. Once he caught sight of the Great Hall straight down the hall, he stole a quick glance at Katie and grinned wildly as the thought of Cedric once again went through his mind.
They entered the Great Hall and Oliver instantly looked over at the Hufflepuff table and grinned at Cedric's shocked look. His joy was short lived, though, because Katie undid her arm from his to sit down next to Andrea. Oliver sighed and plopped down next to Katie and pulled a slice of toast off the plate it was on.
Author's Note: I've updated pretty quickly recently. Don't expect it to stay this way for too long. Right now I have soccer practice three times a week, not to mention the extra training to get ready for tryouts for highschool soccer. And then my crazy mum is going to go and have conferences with all my teachers because I'm a 'failure'. And I have all A's and B's right now!!! She's just plain crazy.
Thanks Doodleflip, Blind-Sight, IHopeForAnarchy, Lia06, Seishi Sairensuno, Kathy, and bearkat-chick
Blind-Sight- Watch your language, young lady!! There may be some virgin eyes around!!
IHopeForAnarchy- Actually, I will be the one to do naughty things to Oliver.
Lia06- What are the other 2??
bearkat-chick- Next time I have people over, we are SOO gonna play that.
-ilovecaptainjacks