If You Only Knew

Chapter 3

"We've already started packing the stuff you left at home-"

"Wait what? Packing? Who says I'm going anywhere?"

"Going? Going where? Kat's, what's going on?"

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"Ollie, for years my father has been-"

"Trying to get promoted. I remember. You only told me about 50 million times! Now what's this about going somewhere?" Oliver stared at Katie, masking the hurt and panic he felt. If she leaves before I get a chance to tell her. . .

Katie knew Oliver too well. She knew he was hiding something, but was too caught up in her won emotions to ponder his. "What I never told you was that this promotion would mean that the family would have to move to America." Katie watched Oliver, anxiously waiting for his reaction.

"Bu . . . Bu . . . Th . . . Ka . . . Yo . . ." Oliver stammered, shock preventing him from completing a sentence.

"Oliver, I swear-"

Katie's mother took this as her cue to slip out of the room undetected. Mission accomplished. Those two are so obvious to everyone but each other. When are they going to get a clue?

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Back in the hospital wing, Katie was getting ready to leave. She was a little worried, Oliver was still in shock. Suddenly, he jumped up, grabbed Katie, and held her to him tightly. "Kats, you can't leave!" he cried out. "You can't leave me!"

"Oh Ollie, I'm not going anywhere, and I intend to tell my parents that as well." I would never leave you. Not without telling you . . .

They stood there in comfortable silence for what could have been hours or just a few seconds until a voice rang out, "Oliver Wood and Katheryn Bell, you are needed in the headmaster's office."

Katie stayed in Oliver's arm a moment longer before reluctantly saying, " We'd better go see what that's about."

Oliver slowly released her, his pulse going out of control. Katie's hear was beating just as fast, if not faster that Oliver's. Their eyes connected; you could practically feel the magic flowing between them. Phoenix songs filled the air, which shimmered with brilliant colors. The world fell away; all that existed was Katie and Oliver. Oliver took a step towards Katie; Katie took a step towards Oliver. As the space between them diminished, the magic intensified. Oliver's head moved toward Katie's. She tilted her head in anticipation. Oliver slowly got closer . . . closer . . . closer . . .

His lips had just barely brushed hers, opening the door to heaven, when suddenly -

"Katheryn Bell and Oliver Wood, report to the headmaster's office please."

Oliver's head snapped up at the interruption. The colors in the air along with the phoenix songs faded into nothing. Noticing their closeness, Katie jumped back with panic filled eyes. "We'd better go."

They headed off to the statue that would take them to Dumbledore's office. Oliver was in the lead; he had been there before because of Quidditch. Katie followed at what she believed was a safe distance. They walked in silence; both tried to think of something to say but could come up with nothing. When the finally reached the statue (it seemed like it took eons) they realized they didn't know the password. They had just started to panic when Professor McGonagall showed up. "It's about time," she said crisply. "Professor Dumbledore has been waiting."

"We're sorry professor," Oliver replied. "we got tied up in the hospital wing."

"Just try to be more punctual," was the last thing she said to them. "Fizzing Whizbees."

As she walked off, the statue moved, revealing the hidden staircase. Before Katie climbed the stairs, she resolved to tell Oliver exactly how she felt. Little did she know Oliver was thinking the same thing.

Oh Merlin we . . . we . . . we kissed! I have to tell him/her how I feel . . .

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Katie waited until Oliver caught up to her before she knocked on the door to Dumbledore's office. "Come in," a jovial, familiar voice called.

"You called us Professor?" Oliver said inquiringly as he and Katie stood in front of the jolly headmaster's desk.

"Sit down, sit down," was Dumbledore's reply. "I'm going to tell you a story that might answer some questions as well as undoubtedly raising new ones. Ah, just as I thought," Dumbledore said, observing Katie and Oliver with a shrewd eye. They were shooting confused/longing glances at the other, quickly turning away when the one they were gazing at turned. "It has already begun."

Katie looked at the headmaster with a what-are-you-talking-about look. "with all due respect, Professor, could you please tell us what has begun? There's nothing that's not strictly platonic between Oliver and I. We're just very good friends."

Dumbledore silently took in Katie's pinched expression as well as Oliver's crestfallen yet determined face. "it seems I've gotten ahead of myself. Let me start again. The relationship between you, Ms. Bell, and you, Mr. Wood, goes back farther than you can imagine. And, contrary to your beliefs, it is not nor has it ever been strictly platonic." Oliver and Katie listened intently, never making direct eye contact with each other. Dumbledore continued. "before either of you were born, the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest read a prophecy in the stars. The prophecy was cryptic; the came to me for help in a rare hour of need. Written, the prophecy stated simply 'Arewena nign ir lli wdoo whti weda mlle ba.'"

Dumbledore wrote out the words in the air with his wand. Katie and Oliver stared at the cryptic message as Dumbledore continued. "For years I tried my hardest to decipher a meaning. I learned obscure languages, sifted through ancient texts, but it wasn't until I used a muggle decoding system that I realized the prophecy was quite simple." With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore rearranged the letters, spelling out something that made Katie and Oliver's eyes widen with shock.