Chapter 26 - Your Secret Admirer

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"Erin! Erin!" Benjamin ran through the hallway, catching Erin on her way to the library.

"Hey, little brother, what's up?" she asked.

"Merlin, I've been trying to speak with you for a full day. Where do you go constantly?" he sighed. Erin immediately thought about the night in Hagrid's hut two days ago.

"We need to talk."

"Okay, what's going on?" Erin, asked a little confused.

"Are you dating my team captain?" Benjamin asked, looking completely weirded out. Heat rose to Erin's cheeks.

"No, I'm not", she said awkwardly.

"I saw you two at the match! You kissed, that's gross!" he said. Erin hadn't thought about her brother witnessing such events.

"Aren't you a little old to think kissing someone is gross?" Erin laughed.

"Yes, but it's Wood! He's my team captain!" Erin didn't quite understand what the problem was.

"So?" she questioned.

"Well, it's weird. He's acting weird. He's not coming to visit during holidays, is he?"

"No, Benji, we're not dating", Erin sighed, laughing at Benjamin's disgusted face.

"I thought you liked Oliver."

"Wood", he corrected her. "And yes, I do, as my team captain. Not as my ... brother in law." He looked more and more disturbed by the second.

"It was just a kiss", Erin said. Nothing more. "I need to go now, but let's play some Gobstones soon, it's been a while."

"Where are you going?"

"To Wood."

Erin left her little brother behind, shaking his head. What were they exactly, Oliver and her? Definitely not just friends.

Oliver wasn't in the library yet, as Erin was a little early, so she claimed a table for them and went over his Charms classes of this week. They didn't have much to go over.

"Erin! Erin!" Erin heard again, but it wasn't her brother this time. Oliver Wood was pretty much running into the library, causing Madame Pinch to get out her nastiest look.

"What's got you so excited?" Erin smiled, happy to see him happy.

"Check this out", he said, handing Erin three papers. Erin recognised them as the assignments he had done for some of his classes the past few weeks. The only difference from the last time Erin saw them were the two E's and one O that were written on it. Oliver had gotten good grades, really good grades.

"Oh Merlin, Oliver, that's so terrific!" she said, pulling him into a tight hug. Their work had paid off.

"All thanks to you", he grinned.

"Me? No, no, no, Captain. You did this. Congratulations!"

"Well couldn't have done it without you", he said and their eyes locked again. Erin blushed slightly. She had never been so happy about another person's happiness before.

"How about we celebrate with cake instead of Charms?" she said, wiggling her eyebrows. They didn't have that much to do anyway, so it could wait.

"Where are you getting cake from?" Oliver asked.

"The kitchens." Erin took Oliver's hand and dragged him out of the library. This was the first time she had taken his hand and it felt so completely right.

When they reached the kitchen portrait, Erin tickled the pear so the handle appeared.

"Never been here before. Fred and George are always the ones who get us food", Oliver mumbled, looking around the huge kitchen where dozens of house elves were preparing supper.

"Well, I guess it's a bit of a Hufflepuff privilege. Our common room is just around the corner."

Erin looked for Winky, her favourite house elf. She was sober today.

"Hello Miss Evans!" Winky said excitedly as she noticed the visitors. "You brought a friend", she stated.

"Oh, yeah, this is Oliver Wood. Friend of the Weasley twins, you know them, right?"

"Winky definitely knows mister and mister Weasley. They like chocolate cake", she said proudly. "Nice to meet you mister Wood."

"Oliver is just fine", Oliver chuckled.

"Don't bother", Erin explained. "I've been trying for years, but house elves are just always extremely polite."

"What can I get for you?" Winky asked, hopping from one little foot to another in excitement.

"Have you got some cake left?"

Winky was gone in an instant, popping up on the other side of the room. She quickly returned with heaps and heaps of cake.

"Merlin, I should come here more often", Oliver chuckled, taking a plate from the house elf.

"Well, cheers to your good marks", Erin said, toasting with her cake.

"Finally got Snape off your back, that's definitely a plus" she added.

"I'm sure he'll just come up with another idea to get me or the team in trouble. He always does."

"When's the match?" she asked.

"In May, so still three months away. You're playing Slytherin in April, right?" Erin nodded. In about three weeks, it was time to up their practices to five times a week.

"One of us has to win. Slytherin is going down", Oliver grinned. He had gotten a lot more confident since the Ravenclaw match and it was good for him.

They sat there for another while, until it was time for supper. Neither of them were really hungry after eating multiple slices of cake, but they did part ways and went looking for their friends. They'd see each other soon enough.

Time seemed to fly by faster than it had ever done before, and that was because Erin was nervous. She was going to Hogsmeade with Oliver on Saturday and it freaked her out. It'd be her first real date and on Valentine's day for Merlin's sake.

Beatrice was really supportive though, and she helped Erin pick out an outfit beforehand, because Erin simply wasn't able to anymore. It was still really cold out, so Erin wore a maroon skirt with some thick black leggings underneath. Oliver would sure like the colour. She paired it with a black sweater, her brown boots and her regular coat. She brushed her teeth about five times, combed her hair just as much and checked the mirror every other minute.

"Merlin, Erin, don't worry like that. It's going to be fine", Beatrice sighed.

"D'you reckon he'll like it?" Erin asked, looking into the mirror again.

"Of course he will. It's Oliver Wood, you really think he's going to judge you based on your outfit?" Erin chuckled. She was right. Oliver was the most oblivious person alive.

"Well, let's get breakfast."

The Great Hall was beautifully decorated for the holiday. Sure, it had become a hugely commercial holiday, but there was something about the atmosphere that was just different that day. Erin sat down at the Hufflepuff table and forced some toast down her throat.

Mail arrived and the owl's had a very busy morning. A little small envelope fell on Erin's plate and she couldn't help but hope that it might be from Oliver. Beatrice got one too, clearly from Meredith.

"Oliver?" she asked, but Erin hadn't opened it yet. She carefully opened the envelope, getting out a little Valentine's card.

Dear Erin

Happy Valentine's day. Just wanted to say that I care about you a lot.
You're a beautiful girl and you deserve the world.

X Your secret admirer ;)

Erin's heart swelled when she read the card.

"Anthony, is this yours?" Erin asked, but he shook his head.

"I'm completely over you, Erin", he smirked. Then it must be from Oliver, as no other guy had ever shown interest in her. But why end with "secret admirer"? Was this Oliver's attempt at trying to act mysterious? He was failing miserably.

"Oliver's then?" Beatrice asked.

"I think so." Erin smiled brightly. The day had started off great.

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