I went down to breakfast the next day, not knowing what to expect. I guess I just sort of ignored it. I had seen Oliver earlier that morning, he had kissed me and hugged me, making sure I knew we had practice today.

When I arrived, everyone else was already there. Fred, Alicia, and Angelina sat facing me and Oliver, George, and Harry had their backs to me. Alicia and Lina caught my eye but they turned away quickly. Too quickly. Fred caught sight of me. I saw his breath hitch in his throat. He tried not to bring any attention towards me, but George turned his head slightly, seeing me out of the corner of his eye. He looked back at the table.

I stopped where I was. Fred blinked at me furiously. He was trying to tell me something. I took a step back and he nodded. I started to retreat. Fred was trying to help me. But what for? Oliver caught what Fred was staring at and turned. He saw me. The look on his face stopped me cold. Confusion, then nothing, then something unreadable. I had never seen that expression on his face before. No, that was a lie. I had seen that expression before. But not in a long time. It was the same expression that I got when I told him about Lupin.

He started to get up from the table but Fred grabbed his arm, holding him back. He said something to Oliver but Oliver didn't seem to hear it. I began to walk towards them. I glanced at my hand. A band of white around my finger. Safe. Well, I didn't really know that, now, did I?

Oliver pulled away from Fred but Fred jumped up, running around the table in front of him, coming towards me. Then Cho got into the mix. She touched Oliver's arm as he came towards me. He stopped and talked to her. Fred came to me. He was trying to stay calm.

"Kate, get out of here!"

He called me Kate… this was serious. I frowned, opening my mouth.

"Katie! You have to get out of here! I'll meet you in a few minutes! Just leave."

I nodded. I trusted Fred. I turned and left. I looked down at my hand. Pale green and white. Dammit Flint. I made it to the stairs and rushed up, using all my strength. I didn't know what was going on.

I reached the top and I heard someone shout after me. I turned, it was Fred. He hurried up the stairs, faster than I had. He came to me, gasping.

"Please tell me it isn't true. Please…just please tell me!" he begged.

I shook my head quickly. I didn't know what he was talking about. "Fred, I-"

He pushed me slowly backward, towards the Common Room. "If you won't tell me, just don't go near Wood."

I stared at him. "Fred, what are you-"

"Katie, just go to the Common Room, and stay there."

I sighed. This sucked. I wish someone would tell me what was going on. Fred began to walk away, seeming defeated. I went to the Common Room. This was too much. I went into the Common Room. I heard talking outside as soon as I got inside. I heard the door open. I turned around. It was Oliver.

He walked over to me and I wasn't sure how to react. He looked angry. Sad. It hurt to see him like that, it really did.

"Were you going to tell me?"

I frowned. "Tell you what?"

"Merlin, Katie! You think I didn't know? How could you?"

"Oliver, what are you-"

"Don't you even SAY that! I can't believe you, Katie!"

I have never seen him look so angry. The door opened to the Common Room and people rushed in, Fred leading them. They stopped suddenly, watching.

Oliver screamed in my face. "Do you have any idea how much I loved you! Was any of it worth it? Was it?"

I sucked my breath in. He grabbed my shoulders and slammed me into the wall. I flinched. "WOOD!" Fred yelled, warning him. He seemed afraid, more than I was, maybe. I didn't think that Oliver would really hurt me.

"Tell me one thing, Katie," Oliver said angrily, leaning towards me, his hand gripping me too tightly, "Did you ever love me?"

I nodded. "Yes." Oliver shook his head. "I didn't expect you to lie, Katie."

I pushed him off me. This was getting ME angry. I was shouting now. "What the HELL are you talking about, Oliver?"

I don't think I've ever been this angry and confused.

"I KNOW about it, Katie! I KNOW about you and Flint! How COULD you! Behind my back! He's a Slytherin! He's the other team's CAPTAIN! What, did you think that if you slept with him, he'd back off and let us win the House Cup!"

Angie gasped, it was that harsh. Bloody hell, I never expected things to turn out like this.

"Even if I WAS sleeping with him, WOOD, it would be for YOUR benefit, that's all you've ever wanted, was to win that bloody cup!"

"That's NOT true!"

I laughed ironically. "Yes, it is, Oliver."

"No. It isn't. I wanted you more than I ever wanted that cup."

I blinked. He was so angry. He shook his head.

"Even if I did want it so BADLY, I still wouldn't want you to sleep with him! I would never do that! But you are, aren't you? You ARE sleeping with him!"

"NO!" I screamed.

"But you love him, don't you?"

"NO!"

"Then why do this! Why to me?"

"Oliver, you don't under-"

His face flushed red with rage. He grabbed me again and slammed me into the wall harder than before.

"Katie, what do-"

I hated this. "DON'T TOUCH ME!"

I shoved him off of me again. I saw my hand, it was a rainbow of colors…in two places. One was a forming bruise on my hand, the other was the ring. It was every color and white.

Oliver stumbled backwards. He laughed loudly. "I would rather DIE than ever touch you again!"

He looked over at Fred, who stood motionless. Oliver looked back at me. "This OVER, Katie. I hate you and I never want to see you again!"

My eyes started forming tears. Even though he was wrong, he was breaking up with me. This was it. I could never explain to him. This hurt more than anything else. A tear slipped away and I let it, hating it. He stepped away from me even more, looking at me like I was covered in something filthy. My hand began to hurt. He started to walk away but I wasn't finished.

"I'm off the team, Wood."

He turned. Quidditch. He had forgotten. No offense to them, but I was a better Chaser than Angie and Alicia. His face went blank for a second.

"Good…we don't need you anyways. You'd be too busy sleeping with Flint out on the pitch!"

Bastard. I stepped forward and slapped him as hard as I could. I didn't even know what I was doing until I had done it. It didn't take a second for him to react. He backhanded me and sent me flying. I landed on the ground. No one moved. My ring started to vibrate.

Oliver looked down at me. Horror at what he had done filled his eyes, then anger. "I should have expected this! When your dad got himself killed and you went to Fred, I should have known then that you'd be like this! You slept with Fred, didn't you! You lied to me about that! Then you went and slept with Flint! I hate you so much, Katie, I don't know how I could ever have loved you!"

I pulled myself to my feet, my cheek starting to burn. "I NEVER slept with Fred and I NEVER slept with Flint! I knew Diggory told you that he saw Flint and I but I thought that maybe you'd be a decent guy and ask me what happened but-"

This outraged him. "DECENT! ME! What about YOU! Well, Katie? You weren't so decent when you slept with them! This was going on the whole time, wasn't it?"

"No, Oliver, just let me-"

"No. Katie, it's over."

"Oliver. You really don't know what you're-"

"Katie, I just can't believe that you'd do something like this. And to me. You said that you loved me. And I am so sorry that I believed you."

"Oliver, please."

"Don't even bother, Kate."

He turned and went upstairs to his dormitory. George followed him. Fred whispered something to Alicia and Angelina and they went out through the door. I leaned back against the wall and slid down the wall, closing my eyes, two tears falling.

My hearing was weird. All that yelling and screaming, and now I couldn't hear anything. But I knew that Fred was coming. I felt him kneeling in front of me. He took my hands in his and it was strange. A tender gesture coming after Oliver's harsh ones. Fred touched my cheek. I winced.

"He shouldn't have said that."

I shrugged. "He may be right, or so he thinks. He doesn't know the truth."

"Why don't you tell him?"

"I can't…"

If I told Oliver, he'd be on the list. Fred was amazing, really. After what he just saw and Oliver's convincing argument, Fred still stuck by me. I didn't understand.

I pulled away from Fred. "You should hate me, Fred…"

He shook his head. "No. I know that you would never cheat on Wood. And I know that you would never, ever sleep with someone you didn't love, especially Flint."

I nodded and sighed. I felt so numb. He touched my cheek again.

"He hates me…"

Fred shrugged. "He's just confused…"

"No, Fred, he hates me. Just admit it."

"Okay, he hates you."

This didn't make me feel better. Not at all.

"Are you going to tell me what happened? All I know is that Diggory found you and Flint in the Astronomy Tower and then told Wood."

"I can't tell you, Fred. I can't tell anyone."

Fred looked at me. "Then it's true? Did you really…?"

I shook my head. "There was nothing between Flint and I. Well, almost nothing…"

Fred started at me. The Common Room door flew open. Bursting in came Lupin, followed by Flint. Oh great. I looked down at my ring. I hadn't noticed it. It was deep red, bright green, pale yellow, and whitish-blue.

Flint stared at me, taking in my bruises. "I couldn't get in. I didn't know the password, I had to find Lupin…" Flint explained, breathless. Lupin came over to me. "Katherine, was has happened?"

Fred sighed. "Oliver Wood happened."

Flint's fists tightened. "I'll kill him."

I shook my head, surprised at myself. "No, he doesn't know… Flint, Diggory saw us in the tower last night and told Oliver…he thinks I cheated on him."

"So he beat you?"

I shook my head so quickly it hurt. "No… we just had… a disagreement…things got a little rough…"

Lupin sighed and looked to Fred. "Perhaps you should go Mr. Weasley, Ms. Bell, Mr. Flint and I must talk in private," he said, he turned towards me, "Dumbledore shall be along soon."

I got up, suddenly worried now. I didn't want the Headmaster here, I didn't want him to know about everything, although he probably knew everything in the world. "No, don't let him come. It's nothing, he doesn't need to be here."

Lupin gave me a look that was close to fatherly, a father disagreeing but too tired to argue. He nodded. "I'll inform him."

"Someone care to inform me?" Fred asked. I looked at Flint and Lupin. They both shook their heads.

"We cannot," Lupin said, "but, know this, Katherine did not go behind Wood's back. Mr. Flint was truly intending for her safety and nothing more."

Fred still stared. I sighed. "Fred, remember when my dad died and I was talking about 'the List'?"

Lupin sighed. He didn't think I had told anyone. I ignored him. "Flint's safe and in case of emergency, he's always around. Lupin and Dumbledore are in on this, too. Last night, Flint had me meet him so we could talk about it."

Fred's eyes widened. He understood. Good. "Fred, you can't tell Oliver or anyone else," I stressed.

He frowned. "So you're just going to let him think that you cheated on him! Let him continue to hate you? Let him say things about you that aren't true?"

I sighed again. "If you have to, just let Alicia and Lina, and maybe George know that something is happening, but you cant tell them specifics, just make sure that they know I didn't cheat on Oliver. I would never do something like that."

"Then you still love him?"

I shrugged. "I suppose I do."

"Then how can you just lay back and let him hate you?"

"I'd rather him hate me and have him safe, than let him still love me, knowing that he may be the next to die..."

Fred cringed. "Okay, I'll tell them. I'll try to make sure nothing gets around to Wood."

I nodded and everyone soon left. I was relieved to be alone. I sat on the couch. Oliver and I were no longer dating. He didn't love me anymore. That hurt more than the bruise that splayed across my face. I touched it. It was puffy and it stung.

I lay down on the couch and my good cheek was against the pillow. I stared at the fire and began to cry. I wanted badly to be held, to be told that everything was okay. That wasn't going to happen anytime soon. So, all in all, my father was dead, I might be next, and now I no longer had Oliver.

It had been so easy for him to break up with me. So easy for him to forget that he loved me. He didn't ask any questions, didn't give me the benefit of the doubt, that possibly Diggory had been wrong. I didn't hate Cedric, he was doing what he thought was right. I didn't hate myself either. I didn't hate anyone. Unfortunately, Oliver hated me. And, at the way things were going, he always would be. And he would never know the truth. Because if he did, he might die. I would rather him be alive, hating me, but happy than have him end up dead. I think that would hurt more than anything else.

dreamy-crazygirl: Thanks, I try. I'm starting to feel like this whole story will be drawing to a close soon.

BrownEyedAthena: Yeah, I did screw up on that. I realized that. I'm sorta too lazy to go change it. You got the idea!

Laceisoverrated: it's seems like you're predicting the plot! Awesome job! .

TooSweet4Words: Indeed, what WILL happen next!

pokethepenguin01/ my dear Alex: yes, perhaps Cedric should stay out of it….

Chapter 8 is coming soon! Yay! I'm more than half done! This whole story is slowly winding down...and it shall be ending soon. So love it while ya got it! Requests for new stories are more than welcome!