A/N: Not my usual style of writing but I figured I'd give it a shot anyway. I actually think it came out pretty decent.
"I saw a raven this morning." Katie says and, for such a simple statement, her voice comes off as sounding ridiculously nervous.
Of course, that's probably because she is. Her family has always been a superstitious one, her mother especially. She's grown up hearing tales of what a raven means. What every movement of the bird foretells. And she's only slightly embarrassed to admit that it scares her.
Despite the fact that, the moment she had taken a step away from it, it flew away.
Despite the fact that the day is almost over and nothing even remotely bad has happened.
Despite the fact that, sprawled out on the side of the hill, with Oliver stretched out next to her, the raven should be the last thing on her mind.
But it isn't. It's all that she's been able to think about. Over and over again, the image runs itself through her mind. Its sleek black feathers and its large, unblinking yellow eyes. Those eyes are what haunts her the most. When she stepped out of her house that morning, fully prepared to have a great Last Day Of Summer with Oliver, those eyes had snapped to her. And they had stared and stared and stared, leaving her feeling like her very soul was being searched.
Beside her, Oliver rolls from his back to his stomach. He crosses his arms on the grass in front of him and lays his head on them so that he can look at her. "A raven?"
There is no confusion in his voice. No questions as to why that would bother her. No, Oliver has known her long enough to understand what she meant. He's been to enough family dinners, had enough conversations with her crazy Aunt Maybell, to know why it would bother her. That's one of the reasons that Katie doesn't feel embarrassed to tell him.
"I was wondering why you weren't being your usual demanding self." He says and a loud laugh follows his words.
A smile threatens to break out on her face as she rolls onto her side so she's facing him, not the sky. A quick punch to the arm leaves him frowning and complaining; claiming she hits too hard and is going to leave him bruised for flying practice tomorrow. The comment, like it was no doubt supposed to, brings a small chuckle from her.
That's all that Oliver gets though before Katie's frowning again. He can tell that she's really worried about this, worried and thinking up situation after situation about what would happen later in the year, so he lets the grin slide off his face. "What do you think it meant?"
And that's another thing that Katie loves about him. It isn't just flying that makes him serious. It's whatever his friends are worried about. Whatever she's worried about. And he manages to do it without making her feel like she's coming to him for help; something that she loathes to do, even if it's obvious she needs it.
"I think..." Katie starts to talk but cuts herself off before she can get anywhere. Nothing is said until she collects her thoughts and starts to speak again, voice soft but steady. "I think that it means something's going to happen at Hogwarts this year."
Oliver blinks. He looks confused but doesn't say anything, waiting to see if she'll add on to her statement.
Katie doesn't. Mostly because she doesn't know what else to say. That thought hadn't been there a moment ago, hadn't been what she was planning on saying, but the words had formed and been spoken anyways. There aren't any other thoughts to go with it.
It must really show that she's worried then, because Oliver lets out a little sigh. He rolls backwards, onto his side, and lifts up the arm not still pillowing his head. "Come 'ere."
And Katie does. His arm wraps around her, tugging her close to his chest. He leaves it there, arm on her side and hand on the small of her back, and presses his lips to her forehead just once. "I'm sure that you'll have a great Sixth Year, Katie. Everything will go fine."
For a moment, warm and so very far from Hogwarts, she believes him. Oliver always knows how to calm her down; be it on the pitch or off it. She feels safe. She feels happy.
Then, in the distance, a raven cries and a toad croaks and her perfect little bubble doesn't seem so strong anymore.