…………………

Cedric's Logic

…………………

Over the next few days, life for the boys got really…funny. Well, funny for me anyhow. Neither Cedric, Oliver, nor Percy could go anywhere in the castle without being bombarded by wisecracks and comments about their behavior.

Objectively, I think Cedric was handling it the best of the three. No matter how many crude comments were hurled at him, he merely walked by without a word. I guess with his looks he's used to being fodder for the gossips of the school.

So is Oliver, only he wasn't handling it as well. Whenever anyone said something he didn't like he shot them filthy looks. But not many were scared. Now if it were his Quidditch face, You-Know-Who himself would probably head for the hills. I've seen that look myself plenty of times, and let me tell you, it's terrifying. He's been shooting it at me a lot lately. It seems his tormentors have begun showing up at the Quidditch pitch.

Really, the loss of his refuge is all his doing.

Well, his and Percy's. Poor guy. He seemed to be getting the brunt of the whole thing. But that probably had to do with the fact that anyone who made any sort of comment or gesture towards him about the whole thing wound up getting points deducted. He even tried to convince McGonagall to allow him to give detention.

Not that I was one bit sorry for any of it.

I was starting to feel sorry for myself. Because I couldn't go anywhere without every girl I saw commiserating with me and offering words of comfort. Even the Slytherins.

It finally got so bad, that I refused to leave my room. Then Angelina and Alicia joined in on the pity party. So I moved into the boys' room. And beleive me, it's no picnic. Lee snores. George talks in his sleep. And Fred is a bit of an insomniac at times. But that could be my doing. I did kick him out of his bed after all. But you'd think he'd be a gentleman about it and not threaten to make me sleep on the floor.

The peace from all the girls was actually a huge help. I was still so messed up about everything that had happened I needed to be around people that wouldn't make it worse. Lee and the twins were great. They never asked me if I wanted to talk about it or if I were okay. The only thing I can actually recall them asking is where I had put George's pillow after he threw it at me.

It's actually quite soothing to my battered brain knowing that he'll never find it.

The downside to living with a dorm full of boys? Running into Percy and Oliver on the stairs. But the look on Oliver's face when he saw me coming out of the guys' room at eight a.m. was absolutely priceless.

"Wha-what do you think you're doing?" Percy sputtered at the sight of me.

"Going to breakfast." I replied and left him with his mouth hanging open.

Angelina and Alicia were no longer speaking to me. My moving out when they 'were only trying to help' was perceived by them as an insult of the highest degree. They were also no longer speaking to Fred, George, or Lee.

It makes practice a bit difficult when half the team refuses to communicate any other way than by hurling bludgers at each other. Poor Harry. He didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Like he doesn't already have enough to deal with without ducking Alicia's stray bludgers. Why she kept hurling them at George in particular, I'll never know.

After two weeks of the Great Freeze-Out, as Lee had termed it, Cedric approached me in the Great Hall.

It was the middle of dinner, and I was listening to another round of why Snape's evil when I heard someone clear their throat behind me. Lee and George both threw their arms over their heads and Fred, who was beside me, dove under the table.

"Cedric, if you have any desire to ever have children, I suggest you leave know." I told him, never turning around.

"I just want to tell you something. Then you can go on hating me if you want. Just please hear me out first." he pleaded.

"No."

"Katie…" Fred said from beneath the table.

I bent down to face him and hissed, "If you think it's such a good idea, you talk to him."

"Fine." Fred spat and climbed out. He and Cedric walked over to the doorway and began talking rapidly.

"What do you think they're saying?" I asked Lee and George. They both shrugged.

Fred came back a few minutes later.

"Well?"

"I told him you'd meet him in the courtyard in ten minutes." he replied evenly.

"You did WHAT!" I screeched. Forks clattered all over the hall and the conversation died at once.

Lee and George both shook their head.

"Katie, I really think you should hear Cedric out."

"I don't want to."

"Katie…" he said warningly.

"You can't make me." I crossed my arms over my chest and stuck my lip out at him like a little girl. But this whole thing was so ridiculous I felt about six years old.

Fred turned to Lee and George and they all nodded at each other. Uh-oh.

Before I knew what was going on they had grabbed me, right there in the middle of the Great Hall, and began carrying me outside. I screamed curses at them the whole way, but it did no good seeing as how Lee had my wand tucked behind his ear.

After depositing me on the ground, quite hard at that, in the courtyard they all left. With my wand.

'Okay. They have just been demoted from friends to guys.'

"Katie, are you okay?" Cedric rushed over to help me, but I swatted him away.

"What was so all fired important that it couldn't wait?" I demanded.

"I have to tell you why I really did what I did."

"I know why." I said. "You're a creep."

"No, I'm not. I was just trying to help you." he insisted.

"By lying to me? You said you liked Cho Chang. Why would you do that and then tell Percy that were after me? How does that help?"

"I do like Cho." he said simply.

"Then why…"

"Katie," Cedric took my hands, "please let me finish."

I shut up and he took a deep breath.

"When you and I began hanging out," he began, "Percy approached me and told me that Oliver liked you. I knew as much. It was so obvious."

It was?

"I doubt you've noticed, but Oliver can't keep his eyes off you. You should see him whenever he thinks you're not looking. It like he's looking at the Quidditch World Cup. I'm amazed he hasn't started drooling yet. But he's scared."

Of what?

"Believe it or not, Oliver and I used to be pretty good friends. Then we started playing Quidditch and Oliver decided I was the enemy. That was in second year. The year you started. Remember the first time we met?" His eyes softened and I could see him picture the same thing that was running through my head. "You couldn't find the greenhouses and were late for Herbology, so I walked you there."

"And you were late for Potions. Snape gave you detention." I said softly.

"Oliver saw us walking by from Care of Magical Creatures and thought I liked you. He hasn't been exactly civil with me since."

"So when Percy approached me, I figured I wasn't the only guy he had had that particular conversation with."

"What?"

"Haven't you ever wondered why every guy whose ever flirted with you never actually asked you out?" he grinned at me.

"I just figured it was because I hung out with the twins. We do seem to get into our fair bit of trouble."

He shook his head. "I did some asking around after Percy and I talked and discovered I was right. He, and Oliver, have threatened or bribed every guy that has ever shown even the slightest interest in you. You're pretty much off limits."

I shot off the bench I was sitting on. "I'm gonna kill them."

Cedric grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. "Katie, don't you get it? Oliver likes you. A lot. But he doesn't know how to tell you."

"So that gives him the right to force me in a permanent state of singledom? It's not right." I said.

"No, it's not." he agreed. "But you know Oliver. If it's not sports, he's clueless."

"I guess." I said sulkily. "Hang on. So were just letting them think you liked me to get Oliver to make move finally?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Guilty."

I jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. "Cedric, you are such a doll."

I ran back toward the school. "I owe you one." I called back. His laughter was the only response I got.

I dashed back into the Hall to find everybody dispersing. The only Gryffindors I saw were Harry and Hermione Granger.

"Have you seen Oliver?" I asked breathlessly. They both shook their heads.

I searched for him all over the school, but had no luck. Around eleven I trudged back into the common room to find Fred, George, and Lee all waiting for me.

"What's going on?"

Fred tossed a stack of photos at me. It was Cedric and me in the courtyard, showing him holding my hands. Another was of him grinning at me. And there was one of me smiling at him in turn. The last was of my kissing him on the cheek.

"We came into the common room about an hour ago and found Oliver prying those out of Collin Creevy's hand. It seems his brother took his camera and followed you guys out there. Oliver's pretty much his idol."

"That little…" I stopped talking. Tears were welling up in my eyes and a huge lump had formed in my throat. Oliver would hate me know for sure.

"What on Earth am I going to do now?" I asked the guys. They looked at me sadly. Then Fred spoke up.

"I think you should tell Oliver the truth. All of it."

Ah man. I knew that was coming.