Year/ position: 6th Year Hufflepuff
Category: Themed
Prompt(s): Hugging
Title: Oliver's Adventures in Wonderland
Wordcount: 3042
Beta(s): Rose
A/N: Warnings: Homosexuality, Slash pairings, Oliver/Percy, Death, Fred's Death, Canon-Divergent. Time tags are a bit vague when mentioned present, but they will be given a proper time later. Alice in Wonderland is mentioned, and excerpts from that are included in the story. Prompt brought in later rather than sooner. Kissing is involved. Polyglot!Oliver. Oliver is a halfblood.
(Present)
Oliver Wood had not meant to be here. He'd never meant to confess all of his feelings in one big jumble and then end up straddling his best friend/enemy. He honestly hadn't. It had just sort of, happened.
~First Year (Oliver Wood Era)~
Oliver Wood sat in a train compartment, all on his own. He'd never taken a train before. Not once in his entire life. He sat down with his head in a muggle book that his mother loved dearly. He wouldn't tell anyone that he loved to read, but it was true. Oliver would sit for hours on end with his nose in a book, when given the chance. He held in his hands the muggle book "Alice in Wonderland", however his father had disguised it as "Hogwarts: A History" to disguise the fact that Oliver was a Half-blood. Sure, no one would care, but his father simply didn't want Oliver to get bullied. He began on chapter one. He'd read the book before, but he ever so loved to read it over and over again, it was his favorite.
"Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'"
Oliver knew the answer to that. Without pictures, one could delve completely into the heart and soul of the book without the distraction of pictures. On road trips Oliver would check out of conversations his parents were having about work, or the stock markets, and become fully immersed in a world other than his own, one of myths and magic. This time was not so different, he merely was taking a longer trip, and he'd be alone the whole time. He continued reading.
"So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her."
Oliver wished he'd be able to see a white rabbit of sorts, he wanted to be taken away from the reality he lived in, and indulge in a remarkable adventure like Alice. Nevertheless, even though he knew what would happen next in the story, he kept reading.
"There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge."
Oliver smiled at the day Alice had begun, at the adventures that would await her. How unsuspecting she was, and that she'd delve into a world of amazement. He knew she'd become a hero, and he knew she'd make friends, but he was still fascinated by the story. So, he kept reading, getting immersed more and more into the story, beginning to feel what Alice felt, see what Alice saw. Chapter after chapter flew by.
He noticed, this time 'round, that Alice was a very deceitful little girl. She always acted a certain way. So proper, when she truly wasn't. He noticed that she lied to get her way, and would take whatever she pleased without worrying about others. She wasn't truly nice, that's only what the author of the book had been trying to convey. To deceive the reader into falling in love with a little girl and her adventures. And in the end, Alice herself had been deceived. She had been deceived by her own mind. But now was not the time for these thoughts, he wasn't even halfway through the book yet.
Suddenly, a loud knock came from the side of him, and he saw a red haired boy with glasses and a faceful of freckles standing in the doorway, checking a muggle pocket-watch. The boy was tall, taller than Oliver at least, and he looked so very out of place.
"White Rabbit," Oliver couldn't help but murmur, looking up at the boy with awe. There was something else there too...something, different. But Oliver knew this must be his mind deceiving him, just like Alice's mind had deceived her. The boy looked shocked, his glasses sliding down his face a bit as he ran his hands through his hair in a form of attempting to understand.
"What?" the boy began.
Oliver blushed furiously and looked down at his lap.
"N-nothing. What do you want?" Oliver said, his words coming out at different pitches.
"I was going to ask if I could sit in this compartment, no need to be rude about it," came the boy's reply. Oliver looked up at him, almost like a scientist would study a subject.
"Oh! I'm sorry, this seat's fine, I mean, it's free, er, you can sit if you'd like. I didn't mean to come off as rude. I..I ah, apologize for that, you just caught me off guard." Oliver said, his words coming out in a jumble. He wanted to be friends with this boy a lot. No, he had to be friends with this boy. He'd make friends with him even if it killed him. Something about the boy's strikingly good looks and wit drew him in and he couldn't understand why. Talking through the rest of the train ride, the boys became friends. Their friendship progressed through their first year at Hogwarts as they both were sorted into Gryffindor.
As the year progressed, so did Oliver's feelings for the other boy, who he now knew as Percy Weasley, though he didn't call the boy that. He'd often call Percy "Perc" or, "White Rabbit" since the train ride. It had stuck to Percy like glue.
(Present - Percy P.O.V)
Percy looked up at Oliver with concerned eyes. They'd gotten up off the ground and Percy had taken the chance to corner Oliver, who was still shorter than him, despite all the growing they'd done. Sure they were scarred and wounded, but they would be dead if Oliver hadn't saved them.
~Fifth Year (Oliver Wood Era)~
Oliver was Alice. He was deceiving everyone he knew into thinking of him in a special way. In so many ways, too many ways. His first lie was towards his parents. It'd been over the summer when he'd returned from Hogwarts to tell them of his year at Hogwarts, but he'd left some bits out. He had to. For, he'd found over the past few years, something different about himself. Oliver realized, that he'd formed a crush on someone. Now it wasn't just someone that he'd seen walking around. No, it was someone he knew. Who he was friends with. It was...Percy. Oliver hadn't thought much of it before that moment when his parents asked if he'd met any girls he liked yet, but he realized he didn't know that much about himself. He'd pondered it, the night before he had to go back to Hogwarts. So he'd told his parents that it was an amazing girl. But he hadn't really met a girl, not at all. He thought about how this related a bit to Alice and Wonderland, which was still his favorite book.
"Who are YOU?' said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "
I–I hardly know, sir, just at present– at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."
"What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar sternly. "Explain yourself!"
Oliver could sympathize with Alice. He hardly knew who he was anymore. He'd let himself get carried away with sports, and create a false image of himself to please others. He didn't know who he was and his mind had deceived him and his friends into his false persona.
"I can't explain MYSELF, I'm afraid, sir" said Alice, "because I'm not myself, you see."
"I don't see," said the Caterpillar.
"I'm afraid I can't put it more clearly," Alice replied very politely, "for I can't understand it myself to begin with; and being so many different sizes in a day is very confusing."
"It isn't," said the Caterpillar.
"Well, perhaps you haven't found it so yet," said Alice; "but when you have to turn into a chrysalis–you will someday, you know–and then after that into a butterfly, I should think you'll feel it a little queer, won't you?"
"Not a bit," said the Caterpillar.
"Well, perhaps your feelings may be different," said Alice; "all I know is, it would feel very queer to ME."
Oliver certainly felt a little queer. And he'd been lying about it to everyone, boasting about some french girl he'd been dating to all people that he knew.
"You!" said the Caterpillar contemptuously. "Who are YOU?" "
Oliver, like Alice, hardly knew the answer to that question. Well, more like others didn't know the answer. To everyone but Percy, Oliver was a perfect jock who was the most competitive in his year. He didn't care much about academics and despised books of any sort, unless they were books about Quidditch. He projected this image to them because he was afraid of how they would all react to the truth. To the fact that he'd been deceiving them all for the longest time. To Percy, Oliver was a kind, mellow person, who didn't mind friendly competition. He loved books of all kinds, and tried his best to ace every test he received. He was Alice, and he couldn't help it.
(Present)
Oliver had been cornered by Percy, and he didn't fully mind it. Percy was breathing heavily, his face downturned, he was still taller than Oliver. Percy's eyes were closed, and his cheeks had a tint of pink on them, although Oliver couldn't tell if Percy was worked up about losing his brother or embarrassed because of Oliver's confession. He pegged it as the former of the two.
~Earlier That day-Current Time (The Second Wizarding War)~
Oliver was done with deception. Pushing his way through the crowded sea of wizards fighting he had one thought on his mind. He had to find Percy. Oliver needed to tell Percy the truth. Oliver thought that if he didn't do anything about his feelings for Percy, and didn't act on them, that they'd disappear. And, in theory, it was a good method. However, the theory was wrong, his feelings seemed to grow. He'd come under a bout of depression because of this in his last year, but he'd kept up deceiving and told everyone, including Percy, that his french girlfriend had left him for a Bulgarian wizard who's name he couldn't pronounce because he didn't speak Bulgarian.
However, that must've made Percy a tiny bit suspicious, seeing how Percy knew that Oliver was a polyglot, meaning he could speak every language with ease, while others struggled. Apparently not, because Percy had believed it. Oliver thought Percy knew him better than anyone else. Percy did know him better than anyone else, Percy must've seen that Oliver was lying then, he had to have seen. But Percy had just sat there, hugged Oliver, and spoken words of empathy.
Finally, after what seemed like hours of searching, Oliver found Percy. But not the Percy he was used to seeing. The Percy he saw in front of him has beaten, bruised, and crying, his glasses in one of his hands. Oliver immediately rushed over to his friend. He ran wildly, his breathing heavy, and a sense of dread filling in his chest.
"Percy," Oliver said when he'd finally reached arms distance away from Percy. Percy turned around, tears in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. He was sobbing and looked like he'd taken a severe beating. Oliver quickly scooped Percy up in his arms. Percy may have been taller, but Oliver was undoubtedly stronger. Oliver knelt down, still hugging a sobbing Percy.
"Perc', what happened?" Oliver asked quietly. Percy, choking on his sobs spoke in barely a whisper.
"Fred. He got…..he got crushed." At the last word Percy broke down again. Hugging him even tighter, Oliver held Percy. And it was just the two of them, sitting in a dark corner, away from all of the fighting, hugging. It felt like nothing else mattered, like nothing else would happen.
"Olive'….why are you helping me?" Percy asked, still sniffling. Oliver knew why.
"What do you mean? You're my friend Perc'. I love you more than anything else." Oliver hadn't meant to let the last part slip out, and his face flushed a deep shade of magenta.
"W-what? Y-you do?" Percy asked, shock evident in his tone. Oliver breathed in. Here goes.
"Well, I mean….yeah. Wh-what's not to love? You're smart, stubborn, kind when you wanna be, and you've got a great personality. There's so much to you. More than meets the eye." Oliver was blushing and he could feel his body temperature rise. Oddly enough, Percy seemed to be a bit warmer too, but Oliver didn't chalk that up to anything more than some of his own being transferred to Percy's cold body. Percy took a deep breath and Oliver braced for the worst.
"How long…." Percy trailed off, at a loss for words. Oliver let Percy go and looked the man in the eyes. Those deep brown eyes that made Oliver feel safe and secure. Tears were in them still.
"I...think I realised it in third year." Oliver said, his face flushed, as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Percy's eyes widened in surprise, but quickly softened back to their normal state. This confused Oliver. Percy quickly tackled Oliver, pushing him down with force.
"Per-" Oliver began before he was quieted by Percy. Percy held his hand over Oliver's mouth, and laid down. Oliver was about to protest and get the red-head off of him when he heard footsteps, and the voice of a few Death Eaters passing by. Upon the sight of the bodies one spoke.
"Oi, look. Do you think we should investigate?" one of them asked, it sounded like a man's voice. A slapping sound and then an "ow" could be heard following the question.
"No, you idiot. Someone obviously laid them there sloppily attempting to freak us out. And you fell for it. Hurry and find the tunnel, we can't get caught," a second voice said, this one sounded deeper. Their footsteps faded and Percy sat up and offered a hand to Oliver as he got up. Oliver, still disoriented, took the hand and was quickly pulled up and slammed to a wall.
"Now, before you were interrupted, what were you saying?" Percy asked, having cornered Oliver and looking down upon him with concern and worry in his eyes. Oliver gulped, was he really going to do this? He had to, he couldn't lie to Percy anymore. Percy seemed to have a pink tint to his face. Most likely from crying, or maybe it was from Oliver's confession? Most likely the former, Oliver thought as he began to speak to Percy and tell him everything.
"I love you…..I've known for a while. But I kept it to myself, I lied, told everyone I was dating some French witch. I tried to ignore my feelings, but it didn't work. I thought if I ignored them they'd go away, but they've somehow grown," Oliver said, his face still flushed, and Percy's seemed to turn a deeper shade of pink too. Percy took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, the same way he'd done in their first year as he entered Oliver's compartment.
"I...haven't been completely honest with you Olive'," Percy began, Oliver gave him a questioning look, and Percy noticed. He took a breath in before he spoke again. What happened? Oliver thought. Was Percy dying? Did Percy secretly work for the Death Eaters?
"I have liked you for a...for a while. And I never told you because, well, you must know," Percy began, stumbling over his words. Oliver was confused more now, what did Percy mean?
"You have a girlfriend though," Oliver stated, Percy chuckled at that, slightly bitterly.
"No, I don't. I hate the idea of being with her, but I need her, and she needs me. See, we made a pact. She liked a girl in our year and she's been dating her since fifth year. So she asked me to date her. I told her that I liked you, and she told me that she didn't really like me. So we've been each other's beards for a while. You aren't the only one with secrets." Percy said the last bit while looking down at Oliver.
Oliver could only stare back. Both he and Percy had been lying to the other, while desperately in love with the other.Percy leaned down and pressed his lips against Oliver's. Oliver hesitantly moved his lips on Percy's slightly chapped ones, not quite believing that he was actuallykissing Percy. It was chaste and didn't last very long, but it was sweet and everything Oliver had imagined it would be.That was the ending. Alice leaving wonderland and returning to reality. Oliver was so stuck in his mind that he hadn't seen the reality of the situation. And there they were, Oliver and his White Rabbit, Percy.