A/N: Fun times. This is the chappie about Ollie's reaction and the next morning. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: First Name Basis

I was the first person out of Gryffindor's Common Room the next morning. It was nice to be in the Great Hall with hardly any students. It was very quiet, giving me the time I needed to focus on the problem at hand.

I had seen her. I knew it was her. She was standing at the top of the stairs outside. Her long chestnut hair blew around her face. Ginger.

She had waved at me and smiled. I was so shocked to see her. How could one girl get to me like that? I had to go to her. She tried to walk away, but I shook my head to make her stay.

I was so close! I thought angrily, kicking the table's leg. If only that stupid Slytherin git hadn't pushed her inside!

"Uh-hmm." A female cleared her throat above my head.

"What?" I looked up, angry that I had been interrupted. There she was.

"I'm sorry." She took a step backward from the table. "I'll just go sit at my own House's table then." She started to walk away.

"No, Bensington! Wait!" I jumped up and held my hands up in haste. "I was just deep in thought. Please." I gestured for her to sit down across from me.

She looked at me in hesitation. "All right." Then she placed her books down on the table and sat.

I swallowed a little orange juice. "So," I said, clearing my throat. "How have you been, mate?"

"I've been well. And yourself, mate?" She leaned her face into her propped-up hand and smiled.

I almost choked. She had never smiled at me like that before. "Well…uh…I've…uh been all right." I nervously rubbed the back of my neck.

"That's great, Wood." She glanced up and down the Great Hall, then leaned forward. "Do you want to hear why I'm not in Gryffindor?"

I nodded my head sullenly.

"Well," she lowered her voice. "Apparently, Dumbledore and the other Professors thought we'd end up snogging if we were in the same House!" She smiled in pure amusement.

I could feel my face getting red. "Really?" I laughed uneasily. "Is that so?"

Ginger studied my face for a long moment. I avoided her gaze, looking into my plate or at the walls. When I finally looked up, her eyes were large in disbelief and dismay.

"What?" I asked shakily.

"I don't believe it." She stared at me, mouth gaping. "You are acting like a complete git! What's crawled up your knickers and died, then?"

"What are you talking about, Bensington?" I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You're acting like…well," she said, waving her arms around in bewilderment. "Like a person in love." She looked at me. "You don't have a girlfriend, do you mate?"

"No, of course not." I laughed out loud. "I don't have enough time for one, what with Quidditch and classes."

"All right, then." Ginger grabbed a piece of toast off of my plate. Her eyes lit up and she began to talk with her mouth full. "Why don't we go into Hogsmeade this weekend? It's the first weekend trip. We could catch up there."

"Oh, I don't know," I looked around, hoping Angelina or the twins would come rescue me from this somewhat humiliating conversation. "I might have practice."

"Oh, come off it, Wood! It's just me, Bensington, ex-Seeker. We'll just hang out for a couple of hours." She looked at me apprehensively. "Come on! I don't bite…hard." She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

I laughed at her. Then I thought it over. "All right, then. You and me in Hogsmeade for the day."

"Great!" She smiled at me warmly.

"Yeah, all hell will break lose. Maybe we should warn everyone to stay inside on Saturday," a slimy voice said behind me.

"Well, well, look at what the owl dragged in," Ginger said dryly. "Flint, I thought you would have learned your lesson by now."

Flint sat down beside me and stared across the table at Ginger. "What lesson is that then?"

"That you should leave me alone. After all," she leaned across the table in his direction, her arms across her chest. "I know all of your dirty little secrets."

"And I know yours. Don't threaten me, Ginger, I have ammunition, too." He leaned across the table at her in return.

"Flint, why don't you go sit at your own table and bother someone else? All the ugly Slytherin girls might get jealous of all the attention you're giving me." Bensington recoiled in disgust.

Flint shot her a dirty look and began to eat. I looked back and forth between them, anger boiling inside my very soul. He shouldn't be allowed to call her Ginger. I didn't even call her Ginger.

"What's going on?!" I screamed. They both looked up at me in surprise as I continued. "You shouldn't be calling her by her God given name, Flint. You aren't even fit enough to clean her cauldron. And you," I pointed at Ginger. "You shouldn't be flirting with an evil git who did nothing but tease, torment and try to kill you on the Quidditch pitch when we were younger." I stood up in abhorrence.

Ginger looked up at me in shock. "Me? Flirt with Flint?" She laughed in cynicism. "Very funny, Wood!"

"Yeah, Wood. You know very well Ginger can't stand me." Flint was talking with his mouth full. "And she told me to call her by her 'God given name.' Honest."

"What?" I looked at Ginger. "You told him to call you that?"

Ginger jumped up in rage. "Of course, you ninny! I'd let you too if you'd quit acting like a prat and let me talk! But, no! It's Quidditch this and Quidditch that! Do I even matter to you, you nit-wit?"

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I shook my head in disbelief, then closed my eyes in frustration. When I opened them again, Ginger was staring at me, her hands on her hips, waiting.

"Well, Oliver?" she said expectantly.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you matter to me, Bensington. You were my best friend. It's just…you know what the professors think. I don't want to, you know, make them think anything." I shoved my hands inside my robe pockets. Then I realized what she had called me and I grinned in spite of myself.

Ginger's angry slowly faded. "What's so funny, then?"

"You called me 'Oliver.' You've never called me that before, mate." I knew I was grinning like a fool.

"Well, of course," she said, getting all flustered. "I mean, that's your name, right?"

I nodded.

"So, then, it's not silly for me to call you that," she said, her face turning red. "I guess I should go." She grabbed her books and took out her schedule. "Let's see," she said, mainly to herself. "Double Transfiguration with…" she looked at me in horror.

"Gryffindor," Flint finished; he, too, standing up. "Surprise, surprise. Later, then."

I looked across the table at Ginger. She still had that alarmed look on her face.

"What's wrong there, Ginger?" I asked grinning. "Afraid of a little class with your Keeper mate?"

Ginger straightened and put on an expressionless face. "Of course not. I'm perfectly capable of going to class and behaving in a mature manner about this whole thing."

Ginger and I left McGonagall's classroom laughing.

"Did you see the look on her face?" Ginger said. "That was priceless." She leaned onto my arm and wiped a tear off of her face.

"I know." I quieted down slightly, looking at where her hand was touching my forearm.

"So, ready for lunch then, mate?" Ginger was pulling me toward the Great Hall, her hand never leaving that spot.

I nodded slowly. Ginger was talking about how much fun mixing up the words of the spell was. She couldn't stop laughing. Her smile was so…intoxicating. I grinned when I saw it.

"Are you even listening to me, mate?" Ginger snapped her fingers in front of my face.

I popped back to reality. "Sorry, I wasn't. What were you saying?"

She sighed in exasperation. "I said that it would be fun to do that in every class." She paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Except for possibly Snape's class. I don't think he'd appreciate it much." She readjusted her hand so our arms were linked. "Wouldn't that be hilarious?"

"Yeah, but shouldn't we be concentrating on the right spells, what with the N.E.W.Ts coming up?"

Ginger rolled her eyes. "You're right, as usual."

We walked into the Great Hall. When we did, everyone looked up at us. Dumbledore smiled and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team stared in shock. Katie recovered the fastest and ran up to Ginger.

"Ginger? Ohmigod, I don't believe it! It's so good to see you!" Katie grabbed her in a hug then lead her to the rest of the team. "You remember Alicia and Angelina don't you?"

"Of course I do. How are you girls?" Ginger hugged each girl in turn as they answered with a "Fine" and a smile.

"These two troublemakers are Fred and George Weasley. They're the Beaters." Katie introduced the twins, who shook Ginger's hand with great pleasure. "And, finally, the boy who took your place, Harry Potter."

"I've heard great things about you, Harry," Ginger said, smiling warmly at the third year.

"Thank you. I've heard so much about you from the team." Harry smiled back in admiration. "You're my role model."

Ginger blushed modestly. "Thank you." She looked at Harry's friends. "Who are these two, then?"

"Oh, forgive my manners! This is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."

"Pleasure." She shook each Gryffindor's hand, her smile growing wider.

"Would you like to sit with us?" Hermione asked, scooting over to make more room.

"Oh, I don't know." Ginger looked apprehensive.

"We insist, Bensington," Alicia said, smiling at her ex-teammate. "It'll give us time to catch up."

Ginger sat down between Hermione and Harry. We all ate, smiling and laughing at Ginger's story of how life was in the United States. She told us about her Muggle school and friends and explained all the sports they had there.

Ginger was talking animatedly to Katie, Angelina and Alicia about some teen magazines she had read. I watched her laugh and shake her head, her hair flying everywhere. The world went silent and all I saw was Ginger's smiling face. She looked in my direction and winked. I smirked slightly and went back to explaining my Quidditch plans to Ron and Harry.

After lunch, on my way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I realized Dumbledore had been right in placing Ginger in another House. As much as I didn't like to admit it, there was something between us. We weren't just friends anymore; there was something bigger there.

Just as I was about to walk into the classroom, Ginger ran up to me.

"Hey, Oliver. You left this on the table!" She handed me a quill.

"Oh, thanks." I smiled slightly. I looked up at her. "Where are you off to?"

"Ancient Runes." She rolled her eyes. "Got to go, Oliver. See you later, mate."

She started down the hall; I started into the room. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and Ginger kissed me on the cheek.

"What was that for?" I looked at her in confusion (and embarrassment).

"For being a great best friend." She beamed at me, gently slapped my cheek, and turned to go.

"Oh." I don't know what made me do it, but then I whirled her around. "Ditto, Ginger." Then I kissed her…on the mouth.

When we pulled apart, she looked slightly dizzy. I felt ecstatic. Our eyes met and hers were full of…sheer happiness?

"Bye, Oliver." She barely whispered it as she started down the hall.

"Bye, Ginger," I whispered back, waving slightly.

"She's still quite unique, isn't she, Mr. Wood?"

I jumped and turned to the voice. "Professor Dumbledore, sir! You scared me!" I took a minute to catch my breath.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wood." Dumbledore smiled his all-knowing smile. "She's been back a day and already she has gotten into a fight, disrupted a class, and…" he looked at my face. "Stolen your heart, I believe."

"No, sir, I," I looked down the hallway Ginger had just been going down. "You're right, sir." I glanced at the elderly wizard. He began to walk away when I asked a question. "Sir, how could you tell?"

"Well, Mr. Wood, I could tell when, at breakfast, you two began to call each other by your first names." Dumbledore winked. "You've never called her anything other then 'Bensington' before. The first name basis was a big give away." Then he left.

I shook my head and entered the room to get started on my first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year.

A/N: Well, that's Chapter 6. Fun. But the honeymoon ends in the next chappie. R/R, puh-leeze!!!!! Nellie