That night, Erin slumped over to Hagrid's hut for detention. She had pulled on a top, a long-sleeved shirt, a jumper and a jacket, just in case Hagrid would send her out attending his garden or something along the sorts.
Although she was not looking forward to detention, Erin was in an incredibly good mood. Not only did the kiss with Oliver still catapult her to cloud nine every time she thought about it, her predictions had come true. Meredith had asked Beatrice to be her girlfriend and obviously she had said yes. Beatrice had told her about their date with all details and Erin had never seen her so excited and ... girly. This was good for her.
It did mean that Erin would have to find another person to take to Hogsmeade next week, but maybe she'd just tag along with Michael, Tamsin and Anthony. Hogwarts always planned a Hogsmeade trip on Saturday in the week Valentine's Day would be. Erin had a love-hate relationship with the holiday, which was on a Saturday this year. On one end, she thought it was a little commercial and blown out of proportion, but on the other end she loved the atmosphere that day. It gave students that extra push to ask out their crush and a little reminder for the ignorant boys to tell their girlfriends that they loved them.
Erin had been single for all sixteen times she had experienced the holiday, but the joy of others brought her joy. Beatrice on the other hand hated the holiday, but that sure would be different this year around.
"Oi, Erin!" she heard on her way to the hut. She turned around to see Oliver running up to her. He must have received the same detention as her, which she definitely didn't mind.
"Hey, detention too?" she asked.
"Yeah, Snape's a real arse."
Hagrid was already waiting outside.
"'Ello you two. Come on get in. Is a bit chilly out", he said, welcoming them in his humble, but definitely warm abode. It always smelled weird in the hut, a smell Erin couldn't quite place.
"There's nothin' much to do. Figured Snape'd been givin' out detentions for nothin' again. You can watch Fang for an hour. Have to get some stuff down the village", Hagrid said. There were far worse detentions. Erin glanced over at Fang, who was fast asleep.
"If he wakes up, ya might wanna give'm somet'n to eat. It's the top cabinet", Hagrid continued halfway out of the door already.
"Be back in an hour. Have fun!" Before Erin or Oliver could say anything, he was already out the door.
"Well, dogsitting isn't exactly the worst detention", Oliver chuckled, sitting down on the couch. It was really warm in the cabin and Erin wasn't exactly dressed for these temperatures, so she soon removed her jacket and jumper.
"Stripping, Erin? Don't think that's what Hagrid meant when he said "have fun"", Oliver joked. Erin poked out her tongue and put away the excess clothes. She gave Fang a little pet on his head and sat down next to Oliver.
"Sorry I got you here", Erin said, playing with a loose string on her trousers.
"It's not your fault. Stupid Flint should've minded his own business."
"Well, thanks for sticking up for me either way. You didn't have to."
"You sure didn't need the help", Oliver chuckled. "You seemed to have everything under control."
"No messing with a Hufflepuff", she joked. Oliver stared at her for a while. She looked really pretty in the dim, warm light of Hagrid's hut. Meanwhile, Erin was pondering over whether she should ask him about the kiss or not. She didn't want it to pass, just like that, but bringing it up would guarantee an awkward conversation.
"Oliver, can I ask you something?" she asked carefully.
"Yeah, of course."
Erin thought a while about how she was going to phrase this.
"The, uhm ... The kiss, was that just an in-the-moment adrenaline thing? Or did you like, actually want to?" Erin asked, hoping what she said made sense. She quickly looked at Oliver, but diverted her eyes again as soon as they met his. She got more and more nervous as Oliver took his time to respond.
"Well, it was definitely an in-the-moment adrenaline thing", Oliver said, causing Erin to curse internally. Great.
"But that doesn't mean I didn't want it." It was quiet for a while, but Erin needed a more elaborate explanation.
"I do really like you, but I didn't think I'd ever find the courage to do something like that. After the game I just felt such a rush, I felt as if I could do anything", Oliver chuckled. "And that seemed the right thing to do."
That was an answer Erin liked far more. He liked her.
"Well, I'm glad you did", she said, a blush tainting her cheeks. But where would they go from here? Erin remembered the Hogsmeade trip from next week. Would Oliver already have plans? Would he fancy going with her? She felt terrified asking him, but he had technically taken the first step, so now it was her turn.
"Are you going to Hogsmeade next weekend?" she asked.
"Yeah probably. No plans yet, but can't miss my last Hogsmeade trip, right?" Perfect. This was her time to shine.
"Do you maybe fancy going with me?" she asked quickly, trying to make it sound casual.
"Are you asking me out on a date, Evans?" Oliver smirked. He had become so much more confident around her and she loved it.
"I guess I am", she said, turning sideways so she could look at him. She needed to get over these nerves. It was just Oliver, the bloke she'd been hanging out with all year.
"Then I guess I'll say yes." Erin smiled, really pleased with that answer. She really badly wanted to kiss him, but she didn't know how to initiate the moment. Why was she so incapable around boys? So many girls her age were so confident. Take Tamsin, she'd probably snogged half Hufflepuff house and didn't seem the least nervous.
"So, how are classes?" Erin asked, trying to change to a more light-hearted subject.
"Good. I'm getting a couple of assignments back on Monday, so we'll see how I did", he shrugged. If these weren't good, he'd risk losing his captain spot, but Erin was confident that he'd succeed.
Fang started to act a little restless, so Erin stood up to fill his bowl of food. She stood on her tippy toes and just barely reached the cabinet.
"Need help?" Oliver asked.
"I'm good", she said, filling Fang's bowl. Putting the bag back was a little more difficult than pulling it off and Oliver saw she was struggling.
"You sure?" he chuckled and stood up. He put his hand on Erin's lower back and took the bag from her. He put it back whilst Erin was completely mesmerized by his touch. He closed the cabinet, and looked down. He was standing really close to Erin, but she didn't mind one bit. She'd never be close enough to Oliver Wood.
They just stared at each other for a while, neither saying a word. He was still holding onto the cabinet door, completely lost in her blue eyes. Again, all Erin wanted to do was kiss him, and this time she would. Erin slowly leaned it, but he didn't back away. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up slightly, his brown eyes flickering in the warm light of the fire. Erin could feel his warm breath tingle on her skin and all she wanted was to feel his lips on hers again.
"Oi, ya two, I'm back a little early." Oliver slammed the cabinet door shut and Erin quickly pulled away.
"Was a fast deal, great lad", Hagrid said, coming into the cabin. Erin cursed him in her mind. Why couldn't he wait just one more minute?
The open door brought coldness into the room, so Erin moved to the fire, unfortunately further away from Oliver.
"Well, there's still half an hour left, but ya can go. Is good fer me", Hagrid said, not aware of the awkward tension. Erin quickly pulled her jumper and jacket back on and left the cabin, giving Hagrid a short greeting.
"We should get in trouble more often", Oliver grinned on their walk back to the castle.
"Well, I did lose 30 House Points. Cedric's going to have my head", Erin complained. Cedric was one of the Hufflepuff prefects this year.
"Well, see you on Monday for Charms?" Erin said when they reached the castle again.
"See you Monday."