The first match of the season didn't exactly go well.
Well, okay, it went awful. I mean, we won, but our Seeker was attacked by an enchanted bludger and landed himself in the hospital wing.
Plus, er, afterward I went out of the locker rooms to a particularly unpleasant sight.
"Harry in the hospital already," I mumbled angrily, leaving the locker rooms, and who did I run into? Katie and Roger Davies. Snogging.
I stood there shocked for a moment before coughing slightly, hoping they'd take the hint. The did. They pulled apart and Katie's face went from normal color to deep maroon in less than half a second.
"Er…" was all I could manage to say. Roger was a fourth year, and a chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, and was known for being something of a player. "Guess I'll go put my broom away then," I finished lamely, as Katie muttered something to Roger and ran off to the castle. When I turned back around, I saw Roger giving me death glares.
I walked to the hospital wing to check on Harry. His friends Ron and Hermione were already there, as was the rest of the Quidditch team, including Katie.
"Why so red, Katie-Kat?" Fred asked suggestively. "Meet Davie behind the broom shed did ya?"
Her face went, if possible, even redder, and was in danger of turning purple. Madame Pomphrey walked by. "Katie, dear, are you feeling alright?" she asked. "You're very red."
Katie nodded slowly, then I watched as a tear slipped out of her eye and she ran out of the hospital wing.
*****
I walked slowly back to the Gryffindor common room. I wondered briefly what had made Katie so upset? Was it Roger? Or Fred? A small annoying voice kept telling me it was because I caught her snogging Roger.
When I got there, everyone was celebrating the victory. All except for the person I was looking for. Had I really upset her?
I saw Leanne, a Gryffindor Katie had befriended in her own year, once she got over her initial shyness.
"Is Katie alright?" I asked her. She looked uncomfortable.
"I'm really not supposed to say anything…" she said, trailing off.
"Come on, I just need to know, did I upset her?"
Leanne nodded.
"How!?" I asked, exasperated.
"Well, she kind of has a…crush on you, and she was snogging Roger Davies in the hope that having a boyfriend would help her get over that, because she's kind of…afraid that it's not just a school girl crush. But she said when you saw them you looked like you wanted to strangle Roger, and that just reminded her that you only like her like she's your little sister."
Leanne looked guilty, as if she'd just spilled a huge secret. Which, I suppose, she had.
"I didn't tell you that, okay?" she asked pleadingly. I nodded vaguely.
Katie was afraid it wasn't just a little school girl crush? What the hell did that mean!? she thought she was falling in love with me? Ridiculous!
Right?
So why was it that I could think about her having a crush on me, and not be weirded out because I thought of her like a sister.
Bed thought, Oliver. Very bad thoughts.
*****
Katie didn't snog anyone else for a while after that incident, for which I was grateful. I mean, it's not like I had feelings for her or anything, but I did feel overprotective of her.
Roger Davies seemed to have gotten over his anger at me, and was now snogging Cho Chang, a third year Ravenclaw. Katie, for the record, didn't seem to care in the slightest.
It had been about two months since the incident, and Katie and I had (very, very slowly) gotten through the awkwardness. Now things were almost completely back to normal.
Of course, things can't stay normal at Hogwarts very long. Soon strange messages were being written on the walls, and people were being petrified. Being a muggle born, I could tell Katie was scared. She had trouble sleeping at night.
And who was there for her, sitting with her in the common room at ungodly hours, comforting her? Well, I would love to say me, but to just say that would be a lie. It was me and the Weasely twins. And occasionally Angelina or Alicia.
On one such night, Katie had drifted off to sleep, and George was in the boy's dormitory. Fred and I sat there, both of us watching Katie. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.
"I like her," Fred announced, out of the blue.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Katie," he clarified. "I kind of want to ask her out. But she fancies you. You don't like her, right?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Katie's like my little sister," I said. He looked relieved.
"So you wouldn't mind it I asked her out?" he asked cautiously.
"Just remember that I'm very protective of Katie. Come to think of it, so is your twin. If you hurt her, we may have to take turns beating the crap out of you."
He grinned. "Not gonna happen mate," he assured me. Then he excused himself to go off to bed.
"Is he gone?" Katie's voice whispered quietly a moment later.
Surprised, all I could manage was, "Y-yeah."
She sat up, looking at me, her eyes revealing nothing. "Well then, I guess I'll be off to bed," she said coldly.
"Katie, wait," I said, grabbing her by the wrist.
She turned to face me. "Would you like something, Oliver?" she asked, her voice still icy.
"I just…" I trailed off. "Why are you mad at me?"
She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'm not mad at you," she sighed. "I'm just…I'm mad at myself."
"Why?" I asked, confused.
She looked me in the eye.
"I think you know why."