Chapter 18
The next day, Amelia rose earlier than Oliver. She grabbed one of Oliver's shirts, since they hadn't bothered with pajamas, and pulled it on. She then went to the kitchen and was making breakfast when Oliver rose. He pulled on some pajama pants and snuck into the kitchen while she was oblivious and was standing right behind her. "Morning, love," he said, startling her.
"You really need to work on not scaring the life out of me," she scolded. "But, good morning. Breakfast?"
"Mmm-hmmm," he hummed against her neck.
"Keep that up and I'll burn the eggs," she teased. He backed off while she finished cooking and then helped with the dishes when they finished eating.
"Is that my shirt?" he asked when he finally noticed what she was wearing.
"Yeah," she answered. "What are you going to do to get it back?" She gave him a challenge and he accepted it…reaching to grab her about the waist. She scampered away, but he caught her in the sitting room. He tackled her to the sofa, both laughing loudly, and started pulling the shirt over her head.
Once Oliver removed the shirt Amelia was wearing, she looked at him and said, "You have a distinct clothing advantage. I'm going to have to remedy that." She was pinned beneath him on the sofa while he was holding her hands above his head, so she used her feet to push his pajama bottoms down.
"You're quite creative," he teased.
"I've been told, but at least now we're even on the clothing front." Oliver laughed with Amelia and agreed that they were even. Then, he leaned down and kissed her deeply. She kissed back, and soon enough, the lack of clothing was a time saver.
When they were finished shagging, Oliver suggested a shower together; Amelia agreed. After their shower, Amelia got dressed and went to packing her belongings in her bag to return to Hogwarts. "Do you have everything?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah," she promised. "If I've forgotten anything, you can send it along. We'll floo chat tonight?"
"Of course," he replied. "I'll want to make sure you've made it back safely. Now, kiss me goodbye for a long time." She chuckled, but complied and kissed him goodbye for as long as she dared.
"I'll see you in 13 days," she said. "And we're talking again tonight."
"We'll floo chat every night," he promised. "And I want you to tell me everything, even if you think it doesn't matter to me, because it does matter to me."
"Love you," she said.
"Love you, too," he replied. Then, with a crack, she apparated back to Hogsmeade.
When Amelia returned to the castle, she was greeted by Professor McGonagall. "I trust you had a good break," the matron said.
"I did, thank you," Amelia replied. "And thank you, again, for letting Oliver come for the Yule Ball."
"Will he be here for the next Hogsmeade weekend?"
"Of course, Professor," Amelia replied. "He'll be here for every Hogsmeade weekend and I'll be with him for the Easter holidays." Professor McGonagall smiled and sent Amelia on her way.
She returned to Gryffindor Tower and was greeted, loudly, by the Weasley twins. "AMES!" shouted George. "How was your holiday?"
"Good, George," she replied. "How was it here?"
"Smashing," Fred replied. "Positively cracking."
Amelia laughed and went to return her bags to her dormitory, where Kate and Charity were waiting for her. "So, how was it?" Charity demanded as soon as she walked in.
"Hello to you, too, Charity," Amelia teased. "It was good; it was what we needed."
"What was that?" Kate asked.
"I needed to remind myself why I liked him to begin with and, then, I needed to remind myself that I really love him," Amelia answered. "It's hard being away, but he's worth it." The group went into the Gryffindor common room, acquired the twins and their friend, Lee Jordan, and went to dinner.
"So, Ames," Fred started.
"Has Ollie professed his undying love yet?" George finished.
"None of your business," Amelia answered, face blazing.
"We'll take that as a yes," Fred teased; he nudged her with his elbow. She simply glared while finishing her dinner. While they ate, the lads kept trying to get more details out of Amelia, but she refused to tell them anything, especially since she didn't want Oliver to think she would willingly tell the Weasley twins anything about their relationship without his permission.
After dinner, she had rounds with Cedric. They met in the Great Hall. "Did you have a good holiday?" Cedric asked.
"Yeah," Amelia answered. "It was better after I went to Oliver's on Christmas Day, though. How was yours? Did you have fun at the ball?"
"It was a good holiday and the Yule ball was lots of fun," he said, smiling. "But I didn't see you there."
"Oliver and I were fighting," she explained. "We left early and were in a carriage when Professor Snape tossed us. Then, we went to the Astronomy Tower and I thought we had broken up for a bit."
"What was wrong?" Cedric looked worried.
"The distance has been difficult," Amelia said. "We both knew it would be, but I guess we didn't anticipate it being that difficult. We decided that we should spend some time alone and see if we could work it out."
"I'm guessing you could," he interjected.
"Yes, but not without a lot of gnashing of teeth," she said. They found a couple of Slytherins lurking outside the Ravenclaw common room and sent them on their way. Once rounds were finished, Amelia returned to the Gryffindor common room. She waited on the sofa while the room cleared out and was nearly dozing when Oliver's head popped into the fireplace.
"Wakey wakey!" he teased.
"Shut it," she replied. "You kept me up late last night and then we were up early this morning."
"Do you miss me yet?"
"Of course," she promised. "I told you that I'll miss you every day until I see you again. How many days is it?"
"13, but it will be 12 tomorrow," he answered. "But who's counting?"
"Who's counting?" she repeated. "Can I be serious for a minute?"
"Of course," he said.
"I'm really glad we made up," she stated, quietly.
"Me too," he replied. "And I'm glad to see you smiling again. I missed that."
"Me too," she answered. "So, how much crap will you get from your team tomorrow?"
"Not as much as you think," he said. "Particularly since I don't have training tomorrow."
They spoke for a long while before Amelia declared that it was time for her to stop monopolizing the fire in the common room. "I'll speak to you tomorrow," Oliver promised. "Love you, babe."
"Love you, too," she answered. She blew a kiss at his face in the fire and bade him goodnight.
Over the next 2 weeks, they floo chatted every day until the next visit to Hogsmeade. On a few occasions, she was lucky to avoid detention for falling asleep in class after speaking with Oliver long into the night.
Soon enough, however, the day of the next Hogsmeade weekend arrived. It was cold, but Amelia didn't seem to notice on the walk to the gates. Oliver was waiting, bundled against the cold, but holding a bunch of flowers for her. "Daisies," she said.
"Your favorite," he replied. She nodded and leapt into his arms. He kissed her soundly before setting her down. Kate and Charity, who were passing, feigned being sickened by the sight, and Amelia shot them a rude gesture.
"So, did you catch a lot of crap from your teammates yet?" Amelia asked as she and Oliver walked down the street, holding hands.
"We haven't had practice in a while," he answered. "I'm sure I'll catch crap when we start back up in a few weeks. Now, where to?"
"It doesn't matter to me as long as we're together and alone," she teased.
"In that case," Oliver smirked. He tugged on her hand and led her down several streets to the edge of town. Then, noticing a few people where he was heading, he made an abrupt turn. Amelia, not prepared for the turn, slipped on the ice and twisted her ankle.
"Oi!" she shouted. "Watch it, Wood!" Oliver paled when he noticed that she had fallen and scooped her up into his arms. He carried her to the Three Broomsticks and insisted on getting her a butterbeer to warm her up.
"You know you didn't have to carry me here," she teased when he returned from the bar.
"It was nice to hold you again," he admitted.
"Romantic sod," she teased.
"Have you heard from your brothers again?" he joked; she nodded. "And?"
"They hate you, naturally," she said. "They're fairly certain I could do better."
"You probably could," he mused.
"Probably," she joked. "It's a good thing you're cute; otherwise, I might find someone better."
"Thanks," he laughed.
Once the butterbeers were finished, Amelia and Oliver wandered around Hogsmeade until it was time for her to get back. He walked her to the gates to the castle and kissed her for as long as he dared. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he promised.
"I'll look forward to it," Amelia replied. Oliver smiled and waved goodbye; then, he apparated back to Puddlemere.
Amelia and Oliver were able to keep up their nightly floo chats for a few more weeks, but, once again, life got in the way and calls were missed. Oliver kept his promised and showed up for the Valentine's Day visit to Hogsmeade. Again, Oliver had taken a room at the Three Broomsticks, and again, they spent the entire day in his room.
The owls were exchanged more frequently than the floo chats, which made up for some of the missed calls, but that didn't stop Amelia from being annoyed. On Fred's and George's birthday, a massive party was thrown in Gryffindor tower. Harry Potter and Cedric were still leading the Triwizard Tournament, after both performed well in the second task, and the twins were coming of age.
A few hours into the party, Amelia found herself in a corner, very drunk, and alone. She was lamenting the fact that she hadn't heard from Oliver in a few days when Henry Adams, a 7th year Ravenclaw, plunked down beside her. "How did you get in here?" she demanded.
"I got the password from a friend of mine. Why are you alone in a corner?" he replied.
"I choose to be," she answered, trying to ignore the fact that he was flirting heavily with her.
She tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed her face and kissed her. For a few seconds, she didn't know what to do. Then, the alcohol took over, and she kissed back. It took her nearly half a minute to push back. When she did break free, she ran up to her dormitory.