A/N : Well, everyone knows what my first words are gonna be. EXAMS ARE OVER! EXAMS ARE OVER! EXAMS ARE OVER!!! ::does LetUsRejoiceForExamsAreOver dance:: -_-' Gee. I've been hanging out at FictionAlley Park too much. Anyway, rejoice, for KATIE'S BACK! Hehe, I know loads of you preferred Katie's point of view so as I promised in Chapter Fifteen, this chapter will have both Katie and Oliver's POVs. I find it a bit harder to write Oliver's POV as well, but sometimes it's just gotta be done for the sake of the storyline, otherwise things wouldn't work out. I certainly hope Oliver's POV isn't too bad, though. ANYWAY. Forward march!

Oliver's POV

Chapter Sixteen : There Is A Wizard Awaiting You

You know, Katie's been acting really weird lately. She's constantly flushed whenever I see her, her eyes can't maintain eye contact with me like they used to, and she seems to have developed the nervous habit of biting her fingernails.

I wonder why.

Maybe she really is sick like Grandma said she was. What did Grandma say she was suffering from?

Jeez, I can't even remember.

I think it was one of those exotic diseases that you can only get in tropical rainforests, though. Sort of like malaria, or Japanese Encephalitis, or the yellow-bellied-jabberwocky-lymph-node-coagulating-very-scarlet-fever.

Mental note: Politely enquire Katie whether she has been to any tropical rainforests lately.

I tried to keep this mental note in mind during our last tutoring session before the Christmas holidays began. "Hey, uh, Katie?" I asked, looking up from the short test she had set me on the Centaurian Revolt of 1400.

A hot blush crept over her cheeks as she jumped slightly. "Uh, yeah?" she responded, obviously shaken.

"Well…not to be rude or anything, but…have you visited any tropical rainforests in your recent memory?"

Katie paused for a second to register this.

"Excuse me?" she finally said, dumbfounded.

"You know, tropical rainforests. Like the Amazon, or that Orinoco place…" I explained slowly, hoping she wouldn't notice that I was inching myself away slightly just in case she was contagious.

"What the – look, stop asking me these ridiculous questions and get back to your test!" she exclaimed, crossed her arms and looked away.

And that was the end of that.

I managed to get a chance to talk to her two best friends, Angelina and Adelene, the day before school let out.

"She's avoiding us nowadays, too," Angelina told me. "We're letting her have some time to herself, because, you know, we're all with the unselfishness and things…"

"Actually, we just don't want to wake up the next morning covered in strawberry jam…she's getting pretty good at that…" Adelene interrupted.

"But the point IS," Angelina continued, pointedly ignoring her friend, "that we all agree that something's going on with her. I don't know any more about it than you do, Orli – actually, I was hoping you might know more than I do – so all we can do is wait and hope she'll be back to normal soon." She sighed. "You never realize how insane she really is until she's just not there being insane any more."

"You know, I never thought I'd ever hear myself saying this, but – well – maybe you should just give up on her, Oliver. Honestly, we all thought she'd come around sooner or later, but – but – she's being so stupid! Maybe she's just not cut out for this love thing. Merlin only knows what's going on inside that head of hers…" Adelene shook her head.

I was still thinking about this in the Hogwarts Express the next day. I was sharing a compartment with Xander, Joshua, Daniel and David, all of whom were singing The Wizard Song at the top of their lungs.

"Down the fairytale pa-ath…there is a wizard awaiting you…" Xander crowed, spinning round in a style reminiscent of Peeves on drugs, while the rest of the guys laughed their heads off.

I tried to drown out their laughter and singing, focusing my thoughts on Katie. Was Adelene right? Should I give up on Katie? She quite clearly doesn't feel the same way about me like I do about her – but it's not like this is anything new. I didn't give up a few months ago, so why should I do so now?

Maybe because you're wasting your time…wasting your emotions…wasting your –

"-wizard hats, too…"

I looked up, momentarily distracted by the sight of Daniel dancing with his pointed hat that he had temporarily enchanted.

I jumped as a deep, booming voice resonated, "Send me your power…with the lightning in your eyes…" in my ear, to see Joshua grinning widely.

After a few more minutes of hearing them sing about waving wands "up and down, round and round", I began to doubt their sexuality.

When they began singing about making magic in "illuminate fashion", I felt like committing suicide then and there.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" they all finally crooned throatily, not unlike one of those Muggle boy bands, and proceeded to dissolve into fits of laughter.

"Come on, lighten up, Liverboy," David cajoled once he had laughed himself silly. "It's the holidays! It's Christmas! It's time away from Snape! What's not to be happy about? Ow!" he yelled as he received a whack on the head from Daniel.

"You idiot, he's obviously upset about Katie Bell!" Daniel said, rolling his eyes and plopping down next to me. "Isn't that right, Liverboy?"

I shrugged, not willing to sacrifice my ultimate manliness just yet.

"Well, whatever it is, David's right. Cheer up, for Merlin's sake! Look, it's the holidays, and you're going to end up depressing everyone if you go on like this. If she's that important to you, why don't you just go visit her before we get back to school? You have, what, two weeks?"

That's it!

I have seen the light!

Dublin, Ireland, here I come!

Katie's POV

I sighed as the Hogwarts Express finally pulled up to Platform 9 ¾.

Merlin, what was wrong with me? Hey, God? I want my insanity back!!!

Right about then, I spotted my family already waiting for me on the platform, and a grin immediately appeared on my face.

Ooooh, that's more like it…

"Katie!" my younger sister, Aderyn, screamed when she saw me as I got off the train. "Hi, sweetie," I grinned right back, and gave her a huge hug. I straightened up again to be greeted with another hug from my elder brother Karé, who had apparently shot up while I was gone, and now stood at least a head taller than me.

"Evil," I glared at him, and he replied with a grin and affectionate hair tousle.

I turned to my parents next and hugged each of them in turn, feeling a rush of happiness at being back together with them again – and then the rush disappeared just as quickly as it had come when I spotted Oliver at the far end of the platform, greeting his parents and younger sister. I still couldn't figure out whether two weeks without Oliver was a good or bad thing.

"Hey, look, Kates – isn't that the guy who came over a couple years ago?" Karé suddenly asked, pointing at the very person I was staring at.

"What? Um…"

"I think it is…I tell you what, why don't you kids go talk to him while your mother and I go book a fireplace?" Dad suggested, placing a hand on my mother's shoulder.

"No, wait! Er, he isn't who you think he is! He's…Oliver's twin brother! Yes! Er, he's usually not allowed to get out of the house much, but this term he managed to – to – tie up Oliver and take his place at school! So, uh, he's going to go back home today and let Oliver out of the broom closet because he's not playing Quidditch very well and can't get along with the professors, and he's extremely unhappy because…because…" My voice trailed off when I realized they weren't buying it.

"Gee, he wouldn't happen to be really evil and bent on taking over the world, too, would he?" Karé asked sarcastically. "Mom, dad, I'm going to talk to him while Katie takes her daily medication."

With that, he stalked off to talk to his new best friend.

Shit!

I ran to catch up with Karé, hindered by parents greeting their beloved children and little children playing games all over the platform. I heard a snatch of The Wizard Song being sung somewhere by someone and sincerely prayed for them to be inflicted by a plague of locusts.

"Oliver!" I heard Karé say jovially, and immediately slowed down. I had lost the battle. Fricking Revolutionary War that was…

I watched as Oliver turned around, surprised, then as his lips turned up in a warm smile. I barely noticed my heart flutter, Aderyn arriving at my side, breathless from running…

In fact, everything around me seemed to drown out as I watched Oliver converse cheerfully with Karé. This seemed to be happening a lot lately, once I had come to terms with the fact that I was very much crushing on Oliver Fransisco Wood…

Yep – I admit it.

I like Oliver Wood.

I actually like Oliver Wood.

Who would have guessed it?

Please don't answer that.

It seems like everyone except me saw the signs. Those dreaded signs that I actually liked Oliver Wood. Oliver Wood! The idiot who goes around wearing kilts in his free time. The idiot who goes around knocking people off Quidditch stands. The idiot who used to be known as an Ice Monkey. The only guy in Hogwarts that had ever understood me and my wackiness in all of our seven years schooling there.

Lene and Angie will be impossible to live with after this.

Which reminded me…

I turned around, absent-mindedly taking hold of Aderyn's hand, eyes scanning the platform for my two friends – and it looked like God was on my side today, after all, because there they were, making their way over to me. Before they could say anything, I began to let the words fall out, not knowing what I was going to say but just going with the flow.

"Look, you guys, I know you're going to yell at me, and I know you've come here to tell me how horrible my hair looks today – more horrible than usual, that is – but I just want to tell you how sorry I am. I know I've been sort of avoiding you, but I've just been feeling really confused ever since you guys pulled off that stunt in the Great Hall, and I'm over that now. I'm sorry…I really am. And I swear that after this I'll try to be the bestest friend you guys will ever, ever have – just please please please please please give me a chance to make it up to you?"

And I turned and walked away, dragging an extremely perplexed Aderyn along with me.

I think it's common knowledge that I've never been very good at apologizing.

I had walked almost the entire length of the platform, Aderyn whining her head off, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, expecting to see the grim reaper himself standing before me – but it was none other than Angelina and Lene.

I bit my lip and closed my eyes, cringing.

"Hey."

I opened them again.

"Don't worry. Your hair looks fine," Lene said seriously.

This registered.

And the three of us collapsed into each other's arms, laughing and crying at the same time.

This continued for a while until Aderyn finally started singing The Wizard Song which she had picked up from whoever was singing it earlier, upon which I had to promise to buy her a lollipop later on in order to shut her up.

"Hi, Lene," Aderyn said shyly, waving.

"Hi, Renie," Lene replied, grinning at her.

"Hey! How about me?" Angelina said, miffed. "Just because you're named after someone, everyone else just, like, dies…"

I couldn't stop myself from grinning as I watched everything go back to normal. Maybe this holiday wouldn't be so bad after all…I noticed Karé walking over to us and spun around, ready to tell him how much I loved him and how particularly lovely he looked that day.

"Hey, girls, let's go! Oh, Kates, guess what? Your friend Oliver's going to visit during the holidays! Isn't that great?" he said cheerfully.

"What the f…?"

A/N : Yay! Oh, I'm so proud of myself… Hehe. I think I may have forgotten how to write Katie, so please tell me how I'm doing. Yes, that means you, that means review, that means please please please review this chapter! I've had two plot bunnies during all this time, one's a primarily humor fic which should turn out even sillier than this one, and the other is an adventure fic which I think will be a challenge for me to write. I don't know whether I actually will undertake those two projects, but since this will have to finish sometime…well, we'll see. Ah, yes, nearly forgot – credit for The Wizard Song goes to the lovely Linkin Park (Chaz, you sing this song like no other. Amen.)! Oh, before I go, I just have to squee about the fact that I ACTUALLY MET LINKIN PARK!!! ::scream:: I'm sorry, but they performed here and my friend and I were at their hotel…one thing led to another…and now I'M HAVING MIKE SHINODA'S BABY! Mike's Wife : In your dreams! Me : Yes, there too. … Okay. I'll stop. So maybe I was exaggerating about that last tiny little bit. But, hey, details, details, right? Who pays attention to details anyway? ::closes eyes and covers ears:: Ho hum…