Chapter 16
By the time December 24th arrived, Amelia was looking forward to seeing Oliver again. Their plan to be in the same room every other week was not working out as she found it difficult to sneak out regularly and he found it difficult to get away regularly. The distance was taking its toll on both of them.
So, at noon, Amelia went to the gates with Professor McGonagall to meet Oliver in person. She saw him apparate into the street and paced nervously until the matron opened the gate for him. She hugged him tightly and he lifted her off the ground a bit. Oliver set her down and Professor McGonagall led them back into the castle.
"Mr. Wood, you'll be in Gryffindor tower in the boys' dormitories for the evening," she said. "It is expected that you will leave tomorrow after breakfast."
"Thank you, Professor," he replied.
Professor McGonagall left them at the main entrance and they walked themselves back to Gryffindor Tower. "So, how is 7th year going?" he asked.
"It's going," she replied. "I miss you, but so far things are going well. I've been accepted into the Healer training program at St. Mungo's for the fall, if I get the right grades in my N.E.W.T.s."
"That's fantastic! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I just found out yesterday and you were coming today," she reasoned. "You're really happy? I'll have to live in London."
"Yes, but London isn't that far from Puddlemere and we can both apparate," he said. "I'm thrilled for you."
"Oliver, we can both apparate now and it's incredibly difficult to get away to see you," she argued.
"Yes, but Ames, you won't have teachers preventing you from leaving and you won't have to ask permission to have me come over for a night," he reasoned. She was not going to give up, so he added, "Look, I came to escort you to a ball, not to fight. We can fight about this later."
"That's the problem, Ol," she whispered. "We don't fight about it later."
"What do you want, Ames?" he asked. "What brought this on?"
"I don't know to both," she said. "Let's just get through tonight and we can fight tomorrow."
Oliver nodded, but didn't say anything further. They went to Gryffindor tower and got ready for the ball, Oliver joining the Weasley Twins in their dormitory for the evening. They noticed that Oliver seemed distant and asked him about it before they allowed him to meet Amelia in the common room. "What's going on, mate?" George asked.
"Nothing, George," Oliver lied.
"Oliver, you know we're not letting you out of here until you spill," Fred pressed. "So, just tell us."
"The distance is killing us," he admitted. "And there's nothing you lot can do to help." With that, Oliver pushed past Fred and George and strode into the common room to wait for Amelia.
While Oliver was in the boys' dormitories with Fred and George, Amelia was evading questions in the girls' dormitory from Kate and Charity. "Ames, you know that we're only going to pester you until you spill. What is going on?" Kate demanded.
"The distance is killing us," Amelia finally answered. "And I don't think there's anything anyone can do about it." She brushed the tear off her cheek and went to the toilet to fix her make-up. Then, she went to the common room where she found Oliver waiting.
He stood as she came down the last few steps. "You're beautiful," he gasped, and he was telling the truth. The dress that she had chosen during their shopping excursion was even more beautiful than Oliver remembered and with her hair and make-up done, she looked more amazing than she had in the shop.
"Thank you," she said, blushing. "Shall we go?" Oliver nodded, offered her his arm, and led her through the portrait.
During dinner, Amelia and Oliver were tense and awkward. Amelia was thankful that they were at a table with 4 other couples so they could join the conversation, but the others seemed to notice the awkwardness between Amelia and Oliver. Between dinner and dessert, Kate stood and said, "Ames, come with me to the toilet."
"Why do you girls go in packs?" Oliver asked.
"Because we can," Charity said. "We won't be long." The three girls went to the toilets, leaving their dates at their table. While they were gone, Kate and Charity set upon Amelia to try to get her and Oliver speaking again.
"I feel like I don't even know him anymore," Amelia said, sadly. "Let's get back." They returned just as dessert was served. After dessert, the dancing started. Oliver invited Amelia to the floor during the first song.
After an hour, he suggested a break. She nodded and followed him off the dance floor. He took them out into the courtyard and hid them inside one of the carriages that were there. "It's not working, is it?" he asked, his voice cracking.
"No," she answered, brushing a tear off her cheek.
"I don't want it to end, Ames," Oliver pled, and for the first time in ages, Amelia appreciated that Oliver was still very young and unsure.
"I don't either, but I don't know how to keep it going, Ol," she replied. He also noticed that she looked pale and thin. Her voice broke and she finally sobbed. Oliver stopped trying not to cry and finally let himself go, too. They sat together in that carriage, crying, until Professor Snape interrupted them and sent them back into the castle.
Oliver considered just leaving that night, but he still had to get back to Gryffindor tower to collect his things. Amelia pulled them into a secret passage on the way back. "I want brutal honesty," she said. "What haven't you told me?"
"I've been propositioned more than once," he admitted. "I said no, and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you. What haven't you told me?"
"I was asked to the ball by 4 other blokes," she replied. "Obviously I turned them down." Without noticing, Amelia had led them to the Astronomy Tower where they sat, dangling their feet over the edge.
"Why did we stop being honest?"
"Neither of us wanted to hurt the other," she answered. "And I worried that telling you everything would only hurt you. Do you know what the worst thing is?"
"You feel like you've lost your best friend?" he suggested. She nodded. "Me too. What do we do about that?"
"I wish I knew," she replied. She leaned her head on his shoulder and silently cried.
After several minutes, Oliver broke the silence. "This sucks, doesn't it?"
Amelia chuckled and replied, "A bit."
"I've missed that sound," he said; she gave him a quizzical look. "The sound of your laughter; it's really quite fetching, and I've missed it terribly."
"We should get back inside," she suggested. "It's getting quite cold." Oliver nodded and stood, offering Amelia a hand. She took it and let him pull her up. When he pulled, he tugged harder than she had expected and lifted her off the ground. He caught her about the waist and kissed her.
When she broke the kiss, he said, "I've missed that too."
Her eyes searched his for any hint of irony or sarcasm. Finding none, she kissed him again. He had set her down, but when she kissed him again, he lifted her up and moved them so that her back was against the wall. She pushed off from the wall and backed him against the opposite wall. He ran his hands through her hair and she started tugging on his shirt. He broke apart to ask, "Are the quidditch locker rooms still open?"
"Probably," she answered, breathlessly.
He said nothing further, but grasped her hand tightly and led them back through the castle, avoiding a roaming teacher by hiding them behind a statue. When they reached the locker rooms, they found the door was locked. "Bugger," he said in an exaggerated whisper. "This just isn't our night."
Amelia was looking at the ground and thinking that it was probably for the best that they couldn't get into the locker rooms. "We should get back to Gryffindor tower," she said, sadly.
"Ames," Oliver started, but she stopped him by striding off towards the tower. He followed and pled with her on the way. "What the fuck is wrong, Ames?"
"I don't know," she snapped.
"You don't have to tell me, but don't fucking lie to me," Oliver snarled.
"Fine," she yelled. "Do you want to know what's wrong? We were supposed to be fighting and then you kissed me and it was good and it shouldn't have happened."
"Why not? Am I suddenly not allowed to kiss my girlfriend?"
"Am I even your girlfriend? We have barely spoken in weeks, Ol," she argued. "I don't feel like your girlfriend anymore!" She took a deep breath and pulled him into an empty classroom. "Oliver, we just spent the last several hours in awkward silences punctuated by crying fits and right now, I don't even know what we are."
"Amelia, you kissed back," he said, pointedly.
"And I shouldn't have," she replied. Then, she left the classroom and walked back to Gryffindor Tower. Oliver followed her all the way to the common room. "I'm going to bed," she said and made for the stairs to her dormitory.
"Wait!" Oliver called. "Give me just a minute?" She nodded and he ran up the stairs to where his things were, pulling her Christmas present out of his bag. She was waiting when he got back to the common room, though she had taken a seat on the sofa.
"Happy Christmas," he said, sitting next to her and handing her the box.
"You shouldn't have," she said quietly.
"I wanted to," he answered.
"In that case," she replied, "here." She pulled the gift she had bought for him out and handed it to him.
They both sat staring at the presents, but neither opened their gifts, mostly because they both knew that opening them would probably mean the end and neither wanted that moment to come. Oliver finally said, "Are we going to open these?"
"I'm scared that opening it will mean it's really over," she whispered.
"It doesn't have to mean that, Ames," Oliver said, softly. "It could just mean that it's Christmas and I love you and you love me and we bought each other gifts."
"What happens in the morning?" she asked.
"Whatever you want," he promised. "If you really want me to bugger off, I will. Don't get me wrong, I won't be happy about it, but I'll respect what you want."
"Open together?" she asked; he nodded and they counted to 3 and began opening their presents. Oliver had bought Amelia a bracelet with a quaffle charm. "A quaffle?"
"Naturally," he teased.
"It's beautiful. Thank you," she said. He had also given her tickets to a home game over her Easter break.
"You'll come?" he begged.
"Of course," she promised. "No matter what happens, I'll be there."
Amelia gave Oliver a photo album of the 2 of them from the last year and over the summer. "I love it," he said, leafing through the pages.
"I didn't know what to get you," she stammered.
"Ames, it's perfect."
"Were the others back yet when you went upstairs?" she asked.
"Yeah," he sighed. "Fred was drooling and George was drunk and giggling with Lee. Why do you ask?"
"I don't want to sleep alone tonight," she admitted. "And since you're here, I thought I'd take advantage of you."
"Come on," he said. He stood and held his hand out to her, but she declined for the moment.
"I want to change first," she replied. "I'll be back in a mo."
She ran up the stairs to her dormitory and grabbed her pajamas from her bed. Then, she went into the toilet to change from her dress and wash her face. She managed to meet Oliver in the common room without waking anyone in her dormitory and he was back on the sofa when she got there. She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the sofa. Then, he snuck her into the dormitory and closed the curtain around them. She snuggled into the bed while he changed. When he climbed into the (rather tiny) bed, she scooted as close to him as possible.
"Are you knackered?" Oliver asked.
"A bit, but I was thinking about earlier," she replied. "I don't want you to bugger off, but I don't know what I want, either."
"So, I won't bugger off," he promised with a chuckle.
"I've missed that sound," she teased; he gave her a quizzical look. "I like it when you laugh, too. We haven't been laughing enough."
"Can I make a suggestion?" She nodded. "We stay together, even though it's ridiculously tough. You come and stay with me for the rest of your break, if possible, and then stay with me for your Easter holidays too. You can apparate back to my flat tomorrow with me, if McGonagall will let you leave for the rest of the holidays."
"Several days of just us?"
"We'd have to go to my parents' house for Christmas, but after that, yes."
"I'd really like that," she said. "I'd like that more than anything." Oliver kissed her tenderly and pulled her as close as possible. She pulled back and rolled over, pulling Oliver's arm over her before she went to sleep.