Disclaimer: I don't own any of that fun HPverse stuff. All clear?

Authoress' Note: I'm really sorry that this has taken so long. I truly hope that I haven't made anyone really really angry. I still am not completely sure where this is all going, so any and all feedback would be much appreciated.

Chapter 9

Ariel and Oliver danced together the rest of the night. Oliver even dedicated the song "Truly, Madly, Deeply" to her. They danced to it and she thought she would cry. The song was so sweet and Oliver was the epitome of the sweet guy. The night and everything about it was so perfect that she wished it would never end. However, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers were ushering everyone to the doors. Everyone else felt the same way Ariel did. They wanted the night to go on and on forever. It reminded Ariel of "Endless Night," a song from the muggle musical The Lion King. She doubted that anyone else here had ever heard of that, so she decided to keep that fact to herself. Oliver and Ariel walked to the Gryffindor common room together, talking and laughing. They stood at the bottom of the stairs and just looked at each other.

"Thank you for letting me try to correct my mistake," Oliver said.

"It wasn't your mistake Oliver," she replied. "It was mine. I jumped to conclusions that I shouldn't have and didn't give you the chance to correct me."

"No Ariel," he said. "I'm the one at fault. I was too caught up in my own world to realize that I hurt you. Plus I didn't even attempt to talk to you after. Bad result of having my head in the clouds. I was so busy being Captain that I didn't take a second to understand what you said to me that day. I just brushed it off and I shouldn't have. For that I apologize as profusely as I know how."

Ariel was so taken aback by his speech that all she could do was stare. She knew that he was smarter than everyone thought, but even she never expected anything like that from him.

"Didn't expect something like that from me, did you?" Oliver asked after a little while.

"Well, no actually," Ariel replied. "I know that sounds as though I don't have a high opinion of you, but you just don't strike me as the type that would make long speeches."

Oliver laughed, "You obviously haven't talked to Harry after practice. I can on for hours about Quidditch and the like."

"Well," she said, "since I'm not going to find Harry to find out whether or not it's true, I'll just have to take your word for it."

"Why don't you want to go find Harry, honey?" Oliver asked, looking puzzled.

"Other than the fact that it's 3:30 in the morning," she replied bemusedly, "I would hate to have to hurt Harry or get upset."

Oliver was obviously still lost. He was looking at her with a blank expression on his face.

"C'mon Ol," she said. "What I'm saying is that I don't want to risk seeing Harry and Ginny snogging!"

He looked like a cartoon character. All that was missing was the light bulb over his head. He looked so adorable.

"Oh," he said, blushing a little. "I get it."

She giggled at his adorable little blush. She was about to say something when Oliver leaned in and kissed her. As it had the last time they had kissed, the world melted away as their passions took over. The kiss was gentle but at the same time urgent, giving both the feeling that maybe there could be something more than kissing. Ariel definitely wasn't expecting that. This was a new experience all together. The kiss was as long, if not longer, than any other kiss they had ever shared. By the time it was finished Ariel was totally ready for more. Maybe not everything, she thought, but more for sure.

Oliver broke their kiss first, lightly gasping for air as he did. They were quiet for a minute or two, each trying to get their breath back from a kiss that would have taken the breath away from anyone else in the room, much less themselves. Oliver looked at Ariel, looking like he was stiffening his resolve.

"Goodnight Ariel," Oliver said, slowly easing away from her.

"Oh. Goodnight Oliver," she replied. "Sweet dreams."

"Can I tell you a secret?" he asked.

"Of course," Ariel said.

"I have been having these extraordinary dreams about pixies with long red hair."

She was astonished. He dreamed about her?

He smiled, kissed her again, and quietly walked to his dorm.