I slid into my place at the table next to Rose, who gave me a short nod as Carrie continued on with some story about two house elves committing some pornographic act, or so I imagined, she had stumbled upon earlier that day. I helped myself to some food and was about to tuck in when Fiona cleared her throat.

"How is he, then?"

I shrugged, "Alright, I suppose. He was out when I left."

"So, we didn't accidentally kill him then?"

"No," I said hesitantly.

"Good. I ordered Jamison and Hewes to polish all our broomsticks tomorrow as punishment."

"That's fair."

Carrie finally finished her story, to which only she laughed. Rose rolled her eyes before turning to me. "I hear you almost got Oliver killed this afternoon!"

I let out a groan and buried my head in my hands.

Rose mussed my hair.

The next morning, I skipped breakfast because I'd had the sudden inspiration for a few new Quidditch plays whilst bathing. I dedicated the time I would have spent eating to writing and carefully drawing out the plays in my notebook.

I was bounding happily to Charms when I was intercepted by none other than Fred and George.

"Rue, darling," Fred started, taking my right arm and tucking it in the crook of his elbow.

George did the same with my left.

"It has come to our attention that a certain Quidditch captian we are all very, very fond of has been injured."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked nonchalantly.

They exchanged a look.

"Why yes," George said. "And we all are aware of what happened because he decided to make an announcement this morning in the common room before breakfast, you see."

"Oh, right then," I said, attempting to wriggle free from the twins.

"Ah, ah, ah, little Rue-Rue," Fred said, pulling me closer to him. "Don't you try to escape now."

"Especially after causing harm to our Keeper," George said, nodding in agreement. We had stopped before a staircase.

"So, what do you say now?"

"To what?" I asked, looking up between the pair, completely bewildered.

"Wood."

"I have no bloody idea what you two are on about," I said stiffly.

"Rue, you can't fool us," Fred started.

George continued. "You took out Oliver with a bludger-"

Fred finally let go of me so that he could dramatically throw his arms in the air. "Surely, it must be love!"

"You love him, you love him, you love him," George sang.

"Rüdiger fancies another snog," Fred sang back.

"'Another snog'?" I mumbled to myself. I pulled my left arm free from George.

The two continued to sing.

"Oh, piss off," I grumbled before marching up the stairs.

As luck would have it, I found myself sitting next to a rather smug looking Wood in all the classes we had together that day. I had mentioned this to Fiona during Runes, but she just shrugged it off as coincidence. The stars, or so she believed, were in proper alignment for love.

Complete rubbish, if you ask me.

I had been trying to take a few notes in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but I could feel his gaze on me. It irked me to no end, so I quickly scribbled a note and slid it over to him.

Would you stop watching me please?

I would consider it.

Please?

I've been trying to get your attention all day.

Oh, hadn't noticed. Sorry...?

It's alright. I just wanted to say thanks for last night.

Er, right. Well then... You're welcome, I suppose. Sorry about the bludger in the first place... They are being properly punished, I assure you.

Good...

Something else I can help you with then? Or am I really that interesting to look at? ... Don't answer that.

No, thanks.

I turned to look at him, an eyebrow raised before I went back to taking notes, attempting to shrug off the feeling I got when he watched me. Slight annoyance mixed with something else... Something I hadn't felt before but wasn't going to acknowledge.

Class was dismissed and, with a huff, I stuffed my things into my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and made my way to the door. I was about to take off after Rose and Carrie who were already halfway down the corridor when a warm hand wrapped around my forearm and pulled me into a small alcove against a strong and likewise warm person.

Blasted alcoves.

I looked up into the face of my captor, my hands pressing against a very male chest. I had half expected it to be one of the twins, cornering me again as they had been doing all day.

Instead, I found myself looking up at Oliver, that smug look finally wiped from his face. I was about to pull away when his other hand gently cupped my cheek and he leaned down.

"Thanks," he whispered softly as the space between us shrunk.

His lips barely brushed against mine when someone bellowed for him, presumably one of his housemates. He pulled back, regarding me for a moment, before he let go of me completely.

"Sorry," he muttered, turning to go to whoever had called.

I remained in the alcove, my mind reeling and completely stunned.

"Where've you been?" Rose asked as I sat down next to her in the library.

I muttered an incoherent response.

She studied me. "Right then, so have you got that Runes essay on you?"

I handed over my completed essay while I rifled through my Potions notes. Snape had set us to researching before we made some draught or another in class.

Applicable notes in hand, I got up and began searching up and down the shelves, grabbing books that seemed relevant. It was likely that most of them weren't, but I'd rather show up to class with a parchment or two of new notes that I could dazzle Snape with than have a few random scribbles thrown together five minutes before class started.

I dumped the books on the table. Rose looked up for a moment before shaking her head and going back to work.

I turned page after page, glancing over the blocks of text, hoping for large, colourful arrows to point me in the right direction. I was distracted by thoughts of that bloody Scot who seemed to think it appropriate to frequently go for a snog when we were alone.

I sighed, attempting to clear my mind, and stared at a particularly grotesque illustration of a Medusa-like creature. Well, I could see why someone would want a potion for that. And, oddly enough, it was right across the page from a strong love potion.

... Love.

An odd concept, really. One I had read so much about, had heard so many people gush over, and yet I knew for a fact that I knew absolutely nothing of it. Or at least I thought I didn't. How could I?

Now, hate and loathing on the other hand... Those were two emotions I had known quite a bit about since my first ride on the Express, especially directed towards one Oliver Wood. But now, even those feelings were becoming muddled in my mind, starting to blur.

Like when someone is painting with watercolours, and the blue of a river or something seeps into the lovely green of the meadow below it, trickling into the yellow and red flowers. And, as desperately as a painter may try, there is nothing to stop the intermingling taking place on the canvas.

And I, like the artist hopelessly scrambling to keep the colours in place, began to panic as I sat there in the library, awkwardly shifting in my seat and hoping that Rose wouldn't notice my odd behaviour.

My heart, it seemed, had settled on its own conclusion. A conclusion I was not ready to admit. Not to myself, and especially not to anyone else.

My mind and all the will power I possessed fought back with one very simple thought:

I do not fancy Oliver Wood.

Which transformed into:

I cannot fancy Oliver Wood.

Which eventually became:

Gott im Himmel, I will not fancy Oliver Wood.

Alright, I have several excuses for the lateness of this update. One: I've been busy seeing Inception repeatedly. I very, very strongly recommend it. Two: I'm starting rehearsals for a play, which cuts into my writing time. Three: Our power went out due to a particularly nasty storm, making writing a bit impossible. However, I've finally got chapter 19 out for you, and I hope you enjoyed it. We're seeing a bit of a change in Rue, no? Anyway, J.K. Rowling owns the HP Universe and all that you recognize from it; the rest belongs to me. As always, I beg of you to leave me a loverly review because they make me quite happy. Yours.

Now, I've promised some plugs, so here it goes. If you have time, why don't you scoot on over to my profile and check some of these stories out. First, I urge you to read Just The Way It Was, a little one-shot I wrote that explains Oliver's change in heart towards Rue. Second, I beta this lovely SiriusOC by BlackMoonNight called Black Frost; it's really one of the better SiriusOCs I've read in quite some time. Third, my best friend WHASHMACKITY has started a SnapeOC, Poison Rain, that's a lovely little read. And fourth, thesmilingpirate has an entertaining Next Generation fic, Mae Be, Mae Be Not, that needs attention.