It was the last day of term and Gwen was absolutely dreading the evening because it was Michael's last; he would be leaving for America in the morning. She felt sad to see him go, but a small voice at the back of her head kept whispering about Oliver. The usual four- Katie, Oliver, Michael, and Gwen- sat together at dinner, having finished a particularly nasty Potions lesson with Snape. A somber air hung over the group, and Gwen was not at all enjoying the feast. Michael, who sat on her right, rubbed her thigh under the table. Each stroke got a little higher, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it.
The agonizingly painful meal finally ended, and Gwen trudged back up to the Gryffindor common room. She had wrapped his photo album and gave it to him, but told him he couldn't open it until Christmas morning.
"Hang on a minute," he said, and rushed up to his dorm. He returned with a smallish box wrapped in silver paper. "Not until Christmas morning," he said, winking.
By the light of the fire, the four discussed their past years together at Hogwarts as the common room slowly emptied. At 11 o' clock, they were the only four in the room. Katie and Oliver headed to bed to leave Michael and Gwen alone.
With their backs to the stairs, they sat in silence for a moment, staring at the fire. He held her hand and she couldn't think of anything to say.
"I'm going to miss you a lot," Michael admitted quietly.
"I'm going to miss you, too." Gwen turned sideways on the couch to face him and kiss his cheek.
He also turned, and kissed her lips. One last make-out session couldn't hurt, right? She gave in to his kisses and put her arms around his neck. There was something different, but she couldn't put her finger on what. He started to gently push her back onto the couch. Gwen was not sure about this, but went with it. He was practically on top of her then, but still only kissing, his hands on her sides.
Gwen felt him lift up a little, and one of his hands slid down to her leg, then back up-- under her skirt. She didn't like this, and his kisses were getting more forceful. His hand moved to her inner thigh, nearly at her crotch. She suddenly remembered what he said Halloween, something about going out with a bang. The full meaning of this hit her like a sack of bricks, and she tried to push him off.
"I don't want to do this," Gwen gasped, pulling her lips from his.
"Shut up, Gwen. I promise you'll enjoy it; I know I will." He kissed her hard, and she couldn't help but moan as his groping hand rubbed her crotch. She felt him smile against her lips, but she tried to push him off again to no avail. He pressed his groin against her and she could feel his erection. His fingers slowly crept up and started pulling back her underwear, but finally she managed to push him off.
"Impedimenta!" Gwen screamed. Luckily, she still had her wand with her, and the sense to use it.
Unsure of what else to do, she ran up the boys' stairs to Oliver's dorm. She rushed to the bed surrounded by the most Quidditch posters and was just about to pull back the curtains when she heard a female voice.
"I'll make you forget her." Katie. What was she doing in Oliver's bed? Gwen didn't stick around to find out. Horrified, she fled the room, just barely catching a Scottish, "I don't want to forget her."
To her dismay, Gwen found Michael halfway up the stairs; the jinx only slowed him down.
"Immobulus!" she shouted before continuing her way up. Not entirely confident -- and somewhat out of breath -- she stopped outside a door marked THIRD YEARS. Going by the names on the trunks, she found Fred and George. They heard her shouting and were already half awake. They jumped out of bed to see what was wrong.
"Michael -- common room -- nearly—rape --" she panted out. Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and they led her down the stairs. They found a bewildered Oliver staring at a frozen Michael, and a disgruntled Katie.
"Gwen! Michael-- what happened?" He grabbed her arms firmly but gently, concern furrowing his brow as she began to sob and got the main points of the story across. He stared at Michael, shocked, and walked Gwen down to the common room. Fred and George undid the curse and dragged a startled Michael behind them. The twins start throwing various hexes and curses at Michael for what he did. Not a pretty sight.
Meanwhile, Oliver sat on one of the other couches, pulling Gwen into his lap and draping a blanket over the two of them.
"It was horrible," Gwen cried.
"I know, I know," he said soothingly. He stroked her hair and made shushing noises until she fell asleep.
Not knowing what to do, Katie retreated to her own dorm.
Gwen woke up early the next morning unsure of where she was. She definitely felt warm. She opened her eyes to find herself facing darkness. Slowly, carefully, she lifted her head. That was Oliver's chest her face was buried in! Somehow, they ended up lying on the couch and his arms were wrapped protectively around her waist. Gwen looked into his face; he looked even cuter in his sleep, if possible. His chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm, and a small smile curved his lips. She didn't want to wake him, so she lay her head back down and burrowed into his chest.
"Good morning." Gwen could feel the low rumble as he spoke. Without moving, she answered him.
"I thought you were asleep."
"I was, until you started moving." Gwen began to apologize and he laughed softly, hugging her more tightly. "Don't worry about it."
"What happened to...?" Gwen didn't even want to say his name.
"Percy took him down to the hospital wing after you fell asleep. But not until after Fred and George were done with him. Too bad you couldn't see the poor bastard. Tentacles and boils..." he laughed again. Gwen loved that sound.
"Well... I think I'm quite safe now. Thank you." She realized she was still in that very comfy position and it suddenly felt awkward.
"What? Oh... right." He slowly released Gwen and she sat up, putting her feet on the floor. She stared at the couch she and Michael were on the night before, not even noticing Oliver sitting up behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Gwen? Are you sure you're all right?"
She looked down at the floor and closed her eyes, nodding slowly. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Gwen got up and walked to her dorm, making sure everything was packed. Katie was sitting on her bed when she walked in. If looks could kill, Gwen would be six feet under.
"What do you think you're doing, Pennington?" Yup, she was pissed. She even called Gwen by her last name.
"What are you talking about, Katie?" Gwen's voice was calm and even, but her cheeks felt hot.
"I know what you're doing! You're trying to steal Oliver from me!" Katie stood, her face flushed with anger.
"I am not! Michael attacked me and I went to my best friend for help. What would you do?" This seemed to shut her up. Her expression softened, as well as her voice.
"I'm sorry... It must have been terrifying for you..."
"It was... but I'd rather not talk about it." Katie left the room and Gwen finished packing. She showered quickly and changed into flared jeans and a Happy Bunny tee. When she returned to the common room, Oliver was waiting but Katie was nowhere to be seen. She gave him a puzzled look, but he only smiled in return.
After breakfast, they caught a carriage to Hogsmeade Station. Gwen and Oliver got a compartment to themselves because Fred and George were staying at Hogwarts and Katie was still nowhere to be found. Gwen and Oliver sat across from each other by the window.
"Where's Katie?" Gwen asked, looking at him curiously.
"Oh... I don't think she wants to see me right now," he said awkwardly.
"What? I talked to her this morning-"
"We broke up," he interrupted, "while you were upstairs. I think she was a bit jealous of you."
"Why? I told her I was scared so I just went to my best friend to make me feel better."
"Is that all?" he asked sadly. Gwen looked at him, a little confused. He continued, "I'm just your best friend? That's all you want?" Then she understood. He liked her just as much as she liked him. She got up and sat next to him.
"Oliver, you have always been my best friend, and you always will be." Oliver hung hopefully onto her every word. "But... I think I like you, Oliver."
His face brightened and he hugged her. "Well, I know I like you. I realized it a few months ago. I want to be more than just your best friend."
Gwen smiled. "I want that too. But I think we should stay just friends for a little while. Katie needs time to cool off. And I don't know if I can handle another relationship right now after last night..." Not that Oliver was anything like Michael.
He nodded understandingly. "You're right. I totally get it. You just let me know." He kissed the top of her head and released you. Gwen rested her head on his shoulder and he put his arm around her again. For a while, Gwen just stared out the window in a pleasant silence.
Around 11, she heard the compartment door slide open. She turned, expecting to see the witch with the trolley, but find herself staring open-mouthed at none other than Katie Bell. Oliver's arm was still around her waist.
Katie's eyes narrowed to thin slits. "So. I was right."
Oliver shook his head. "Katie, I already explained this to you this morning. Gwen was not trying to steal me from you. I just realized I like her as more than a friend. I think you're too young for me, too. And you were moving too fast for me. I didn't ask you to come to bed with me last night." How interesting... "You're a great Chaser, and I hope this won't affect Quidditch." She looked daggers at Gwen, and, having nothing to say, slammed the door shut and stormed off.
Gwen suddenly started laughing and Oliver looked at her, puzzled. "I just remembered... haha... I freaked out when I heard her in your room last night."
He blushed, but also started laughing. "Yeah, she followed me up there. Trapped me on the bed... I guess you weren't the only one..." He coughed. "I managed to throw her off when I heard you shout."
"So you didn't... do anything?"
"Dear Lord, no. She's only 13." He shuddered and Gwen laughed again.
Gwen and Oliver returned home to Scotland. They didn't see Katie for the rest of the train ride, which was fine with them. Too bad Gwen already sent her sweaters...
A nice blanket of snow covered the yard; Gwen loved snow. They just got home yesterday, and haven't really talked to each other. Gwen was up in her room, trying to decide on a book to read. She had just decided on Book 1 of the Wheel of Time series, when she heard a bang on the window. She nearly jumped out of her skin and ran to the window to see it covered in white powder. Despite the cold, she threw the window open and stuck her head out, looking down. Oliver stood under her window, packing snow into a ball in his hands.
"Oliver, what...?" Gwen began, but without warning he threw the snowball at her. Gwen ducked just in time to avoid taking it in the face. Oliver nearly fell over from laughing so hard. "Oh, you just wait, Mr. Wood!"
Gwen closed the window and changed out of her sweatpants and into some jeans- flared, of course- and threw on a hoodie. She thundered down the stairs and pulled open the coat closet, snatching her winter coat off the hanger. Then she dug around for her boots and slipped into them, not taking much time to tie them tightly, but well enough.
She swung the door open and bam! A snowball hit her chest. Oliver was waiting for her. He started laughing, but she immediately formed a snowball and threw it at him, hitting his stomach. They both reached down to scoop up more snow, but they both missed this time. He turned to run away, laughing, but she grabbed more snow and chased after him; Gwen's snowball hit him in the back of the head with an "Ow!" but she laughed harder. "It's only funny until someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious," she always said. He fell down, but she wasn't fooled. This had always been his favorite trick when they were kids because he knew how she hated to see people hurt. Gwen quietly formed another snowball and walked up beside him.
"Nice try, Oliver." She wasn't expecting his next move. He quickly flipped over, knocking her down with his legs, causing her to land on top of him. Gwen's knees fell to either side of his body, her hips right against his. "Uh..."
They were both breathing a little more heavily than normal, small clouds forming near their mouths in the cold. Gwen felt Oliver's arms move to her back, and her face moved slowly closer to Oliver's, but suddenly she was unsure of herself. She sat up abruptly, which made her hips press against his and he gasped.
"Oliver, I... I don't think I..."
"Shh..." He sat up, one hand on her back, and the other brushed a piece of golden brown hair out of her face. This time she remained still as his face came closer, and he pressed his lips softly against hers. Gwen's hands wrapped around his neck. This was the first time she had actually kissed Oliver, and she couldn't deny that she liked it, no matter what happened the other night.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Oliver asked quietly. She hadn't even realized he had pulled his lips away. She rested her head on his shoulder.
"No," Gwen said into his neck. "It wasn't you; it was just... the other night..."
"I know," he practically whispered, rubbing her back. "Why don't we go in; it's cold out here."
Gwen pulled away from him to look into his face, those chocolate brown eyes gazing back at her. "Oliver, I... I just need you to be my friend right now. I can't stop thinking about the other night..."
He nodded. "Let's go in."
"Okay." She still didn't move.
"Gwen? Not that I would mind staying like this, but you need to get up so we can go in. My arse is freezing." He had been sitting in the snow for the past five minutes.
Gwen laughed and stood up, then held her hand out to him. He took it and also stood.
"I'll be over in a minute," he said. "I need some dry clothes."
Gwen went back up to her room and removed her wet clothes, changing back into her sweatpants, a tank top, and a fresh hoodie. She also put on her ducky slippers. When she got downstairs, Oliver was standing in the living room, also in comfy clothes.
"So what do you want to do?" Gwen asked.
"I dunno. How about a movie?"
"OK. Let's watch... Willow. And I want hot chocolate..."
Gwen asked her mother to make them some hot chocolate with marshmallows while she got the movie started. She sat next to Oliver on the couch, as always, her legs folded under her, and covered their laps with a blanket. Just before the movie began, Gwen's mom brought out the hot cocoa and cookies. It was almost like they were six again.