There were various different reactions but the only one Corrine was truly concerned with was that of George. He didn't appear to be entirely phased by the situation, but she knew better. There were many moments that she had wanted to approach him and speak of the circumstances, but every time she tried, he would divert the topic or find an excuse to leave. Corrine progressively degraded herself for her choice, but when she was with Oliver, she felt nothing more than happiness.

"You alright, love?" Oliver asked as they walked from classes back to the Common room. They were to have another practice soon; practice for their final game of the year. His right arm was wrapped casually around her waist and she unknowingly placed her left hand over his. This had become a regular position for the two of them.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. As strange as it was, Corrine was still not used to the fact that Oliver could read her emotions.

"You've had a worried look on your face all day."

"Have I now?"

"You going to talk about it?"

"Perhaps."

"Are you going to talk about it to me?"

"Perhaps." He sighed, dropping the subject. He had tried to pry things out of Corrine often enough that he had learned when he had been beaten. They had, by now, arrived at the Common room and parted ways. Corrine wasn't entirely sure she did want to talk to her current boyfriend about her ex-boyfriend. It wasn't particularly a comfortable topic of discussion to have. But she knew that he would be the only person who would be able to make her feel better. However, there was always the chance of him either teasing her to no end or getting jealous. "Oliver," she said in a tone that he knew too well. She had broken down. "Do you think George is really alright?"

"Well, he better be. If he's anything like me, his playing will reflect on him. We'll see at practice won't we?" There was a tone of irritation in his voice but he attempted to include his thoughts and help her relax.

"I suppose we will…"

He wasn't awful really, but he wasn't at his usual state. He played just fine but he was silent. That was the unnerving bit.

"George," Corrine called out to him as they all landed and prepared themselves to change and leave. He pretended not to hear her. "George," she repeated with more force. She was catching up to him but he continued not to respond. Did he think her daft enough to drop the subject? "George!" she yelled, finally catching up to his sleeve and tugging on it hard. George nearly lost his balance and turned around with disbelief. "I know you can hear me so stop ignoring me," she insisted. George could hear the threat of tears in her voice and any likeliness of his anger had subsided. Instead, he tried to seem more nonchalant about the situation.

"Hi Corrine," he greeted. His voice seemed too flat to be casual and he cursed himself for that. It seemed that now that she had him in her grasp and had his attentions to her again, she wasn't sure what to say. She clenched her teeth and bit her lips hard, looking down at his arm instead of making eye contact. "I – I just wanted to talk to you." He remained silent, as if waiting for her to continue. "I wanted to say that, I'm sorry. For hurting you." He chuckled at the idea of her apology.

"I'm pretty sure we went through this already Corry. I'll be fine. You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then why do I feel as if I have?" He looked away from her quickly and she huffed. "Look, I knw there isn't much I can do now for you. But please don't shut me out. And please don't allow me to hurt you." George grinned genuinely, though his eyes still emanated the pain he felt.

"Thank you. Truly. But I think you should go back to Oliver." He nudged her shoulder playfully and she returned the action, smiling.

"Not a chance. We're dating now. He can have enough of me. You on the other hand, you are my friend and I hardly see you. And anybody who doesn't like that can mind their own business." She linked her arm with Georges and walked off. Corrina glanced over at her boyfriend (ah the relief of the term) and waved, gesturing that she was off on a walk with George. Oliver glanced at the Weasley and back at Corrine, giving her a quick nod of understanding. He had been much more pleasant as of late and often allowed her to do things, knowing that she had no suspicious connotations affiliated with them. In other words, he trusted her.

"You two seem to be happy," George commented.

"We are. Mind you, dating me hasn't given him any incentive to let up on any of my laps around the field," she joked, getting a laugh out of George.

"Wood'll never change. I swear he'll run us ragged!"

"Oh, he bloody will! I'd be surprised if he didn't. 'Don't stop now, only ten more laps to go!'" she mocked.

"Haha! 'Those aren't dementors! It's just cold! Keep going!'" George countered, making Oliver sound haughty and ancient. The laughed loudly, catching the attention of a few students passing by.

"See, this is what I miss," Corrine admitted between her bouts of laughter.

"What is it that you miss?"

"Laughing with you. It's fun, and since we dated and broke up, it hasn't been the same." His smiled slowly diminished at the sudden seriousness of the topic. He figured this is what she wanted to speak to him about; his behavior. "I know it's selfish of me to not want things to change, but I miss the way things were. And, I know that we can never be like that again, but could we at least try? Being despondent is, painful. And you promised that you would never leave me! I didn't forget." He sighed, knowing there was no way out of this conversation that wouldn't involve her getting her way. Placing his arm around her shoulders in the most platonic way he could muster, he squeezed her body close to his.

"I'll do my best."


She felt that a talk and a feeling of resolution was what George had really needed. Making his effort to be himself again had really improved and Fred secretly thanked her for it. Given that, she was able to focus more on her studies, and her boyfriend. But the former had to be attended to before all else. Regardless of the fact that she couldn't graduate, she was going to try her damned best.

"Corrine, you've been hitting the books for last week and a bit," Oliver noted, closing the textbook she was reading in front of her. "No more." She looked at him, annoyed.

"Oliver."

"Nope. No more. Today, you will no study. Today is Saturday. And you will not study."

"But Oliver, I want to."

"Have you seen yourself lately? When was the last time you left the castle? And not to go Herbology class of Quidditch practice. When's the last time you left the castle because you wanted to?" She couldn't respond without proving his point. "Exactly." He grabbed the underside of her arm and hoisted her up from her chair. "Come on, we're headed out to Hogsmeade. Just the two of us." She looked up at him with tired eyes that somehow shone with sudden interest.

"Like a date?" she inquired, a smile slowly coming to her cheeks. Oliver looked away stubbornly, not wanting to show his pleasure in hearing the term. He couldn't come to look at her when she was this excited, it only made him want to kiss her, and they hadn't quite gotten there yet. Often, he wouldn't have waited as long as he had to make an attempt, but Corrine had been busy and frankly, too innocent to simply plant a kiss upon. He wasn't sure how George had done it, but he was finding difficulty in the task. He nodded in answer to her question. She brightened and turned around to tidy her books, gathering to her chest. "A date," she said to herself eagerly, though it was loud enough for Oliver to hear. She walked ahead toward the common room and Oliver followed closely behind. She slowed down when she noticed he was dragging behind and placed her books so she only needed on hand to hold onto them all. Extending her left, she reached out to grab Oliver's hand and smiled at him. He glanced down at her and returned her happiness. "We've never been on a date!" she remarked, practically skipping.

"What do you mean? Yes we have," Oliver objected.

"Nope." She looked up at him attentively. "Just because we went out together doesn't mean we were on a date! I was with George at the time, remember?" Oliver recalled the Christmas she had spent with his family and they had gone shopping in Diagon Alley.

"Fine fine, this will be our first date then, okay?" he asked, squeezing her hand lightly.

"Okay!"


Oliver suggested they head to The Three Broomsticks for lunch, aiming to have Corrine enjoy a 'typical' date. They were seated a table next to the fireplace enjoying a chat before their butterbeer and food arrived. He began speaking of Quidditch, which seemed to be his default topic. Most girls didn't find the subject with the most interest, though Corrine picked up on it rather well. Instead of providing information, she asked that it be supplied to her. All the while he explained, his eyes drifted from her bright eyes, to her hair. It occurred to him that the only reason her eyes were so clear to him that day was because she had donned the clips he had bought her. Today's was only the broom, but it was definitely one of the set he had purchased. For that he grinned.

"I'm glad you like them," he said, pointing to broomstick. Started and confused, she quickly realized and placed her hand atop the clip.

"Oh! Yea I really like them. They're so useful and nice. And you got them for me. Of course I would like them." Her contagious smile lifted at the thought.

They paid for the own meals after great amount of struggle, ending only in compromise. She insisted on wandering the pub after having eaten, simply to see the area and to admire what Oliver thought was distasteful decorating. She seemed to enjoy looking at the wall of hunting trophies and admiring detail that wasn't necessarily purposeful. Whilst she did this, he admired her attention to such things. She seemed to glow at the fascination with things she was not familiar. Perhaps it was why she adored him so much. He was not a particularly common bloke. Then again, he wasn't sure how he felt about the reasoning he had created.

He reached out his hand and called her name and she ran over, making certain to grab hold of him. They walked about to a few of the other shops, including but not exclusive to, Dervish and Banges, Tomes and Srolls, and Zonko's. All the way Oliver seemed to be dragged about in an almost literal manner. He didn't mind as much as he would have if it were any other girl, mostly as he did little shopping and instead enjoyed the company of his girlfriend. Corrine marveled at many things, only to despair at what little she could own. He debated on buying her gifts, but decided that, with the amount of enthusiasm she showed, it would be more frugal of him to avoid pleasing her with material objects, even if she thoroughly enjoyed the hair clips.

"Ice cream?" she asked eventually. The sight of Honeydukes often caused this reaction from her and Oliver grinned knowingly.

"Only if you let me treat you," he replied, attempting to sound stern and stubborn. She pretended to ponder over his condition for a moment, putting a finger to her lips animatedly.

"Hmm… Okay!" Corrine ran ahead, pulling on Oliver's hand behind her. The area around Honeydukes was usually the most crowded of Hogsmeade. He didn't typically enjoy it, but Corrine seemed very set on getting a bit of ice cream. After a half hour of pushing and shoving, they were able to leave with cones for each of them and found a place to sit outside of Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. There was a simple table outside, and seeing as the air had become slightly frigid in the spring weather, many couples were inside. Corrine hadn't complained much, even though her jacket wasn't the thickest. She had been running around enough that her face had gone red. Oliver was simply used to the weather, as he had ridden his broom in much colder temperatures. His mind wandered as she spoke of Fred and George's latest endeavor. Something about an Exploding Snap card finding its way into his robes.

"Oliver," she inquisitively. He snapped back into reality, realizing he hadn't heard a word from her.

"Yes?" he stuttered.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing really. Sorry I just zoned out," he said, dismissing his silly train. He had gone back to thinking about why she adored him as she did. It wasn't a conversation he really wanted to have.

"You seemed to be in very deep thought. Penny for them?" He sighed, thinking about how to word his thoughts.

"I was just thinking…," he began. "Well, I can't imagine your dad thinks highly of you having a wizard boyfriend."

"I can't imagine he thinks highly of me associating with any of the Wizarding people," she joked. He tried to narrow the subject.

"Would he approve if I wasn't a wizard?" She looked at him skeptically, an eyebrow raised, though her tone was still somewhat playful.

"Why do you suddenly care for my father's approval?"

"I don't, I'm only curious." Even he could hear how he lied.

"You know I don't care for my father's opinion. I love him but I can't stand him. Why are you asking this?"

"I'm asking because it occurred to me, through all your curiosity and rebelliousness, that you're just…" Before he even finished his sentence, she groaned out loud, knowing where the conversation was leading.

"Really? I thought you would know better than this."

"Sorry. I…" he trailed off, unable to explain what he had thought. It was really just a thought he had let too far out of hand. It was a horrible excuse but it was his reason.

"I'm not with you because you're a wizard," she sighed, reaching over the table to but her hands on his, which were held together tightly in frustration with himself. "I'm with you because you helped me transition into Hogwarts. You taught me how to play Quidditch. You helped me get over my fear of heights." They laughed slightly at the memory. "You've been patient with me. You've been kind and caring. You've made me laugh and you're there to listen to me whine. You put up with me dating George, even though you liked me. Heaven knows why you did, but you did. You took care of me during Christmas and invited me to your home. There are a lot of reasons why I like you. And none of them are because you're a wizard." She smiled warmly at him and squeezed his freezing hands. "Oh and, if it hasn't crossed you mind Oliver, I can do magic too, remember?" He laughed at the reminder. "Dummy."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. That was dumb of me. Now, let's get back to the castle before I make an even bigger fool of myself." This time, he led the way through the crowd.


"You know, a lot of my friends back home ask about you," Corrine said as they walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room. Oliver's eyebrow raised.

"Really now? And what do they ask?"

"They ask me who you and what you're like. They want to know everything about you. And," she paused for dramatic effect. Well, for effect, and to give the Fat Lady the password of the hour. "And, she began again, "if we've kissed yet." She giggled and winked at her last statement and Oliver's face reddened. They took a seat on one of the empty couches by the fireplace and Oliver put his arm round the back of the seat. There were others occupying the other couches and chairs, but they paid them no mind.

"And what have you said about me?" he asked, curious of her thoughts.

"I've said that I'm enjoying myself with you and that they needed worry. I told them that you were sweet, if not sometimes daft." She laughed at him, putting a hand on his chest. "And I might have a lied a little bit."

"About what?"

"About you being a really good kisser. I didn't want them to bug me about it because I knew they would."

"Hey! I am not a bad kisser."

"Well I wouldn't know that," she teased. "Which is why I said I lied." Oliver huffed, starting to take a hint. He looked around the room and noticed that the others sitting by the fireplace didn't seem to look in their direction. Glancing down at Corrine, he placed his left hand on her waist and used his right to guide her face up to his, his heart pounding all the while. He closed his eyes and kissed her. Her lips were soft and she seemed to know what she was doing, which only led him to question how often she and George had kissed. Granted he had had his fair share of mates in his time, the thought of Corrine having any other bothered him. He flinched when her hand found its way to the back of his neck and she pulled him closer. He pulled back quickly, remembering their surroundings. Oliver quickly glanced around and then back at Corrine, who had gone completely red in the face. Cocky, he grinned.

"So, how was that?" She bit her lip and laughed silently at his comment. She looked just as he had felt; mind boggled and scattered. Which came to question how he must have appeared to her.

"Well, at least I can say for certain that I didn't lie."

Author's Note: This chapter is much longer than my usual but I thought that, because of the fact that I had been on such a long hiatus/writer's block, you all deserved something a little more than the usual. I was actually going to end the chapter before they got back to the common room, but decided against it. Hope you liked the bit of fan service.