Disclaimer: All recognizable characters, places, ideas, events, etc. belong to the brilliant mind of JK Rowling.
A/N: I've decided to continue updating the sequel before finishing the Dragon Club because I want to catch up Zander and Olivia's story to where The Dragon Club is right now before that story comes to an end.
I have a lot planned for Zander and Olivia; two characters who I've really grown to be proud of and who I think will make a lovely story of their own. They are very different from Scorpius and Rose, and I really enjoy writing them. I hope you enjoy reading about them. There will be a lot of Scorpius/Rose in this story (obviously) and also a lot of Albus/Grace.
Here it is, Chapter Two of the sequel of The Dragon Club:
….
"It's nice to meet you," said Olivia politely. As she gave Zander's mother a timid smile she couldn't help but wonder just how many girls Zander had brought home before her.
Lavender just blinked at her for a moment before smiling in return and saying, "Same to you. I didn't realize Zander was dating anyone."
"Our relationship just started recently," said Zander with a wave of his hand. He was still in his boxers and Olivia wished he would cover up. "How's Gran?" he asked quickly, "is she back home?"
Lavender kept her eyes on Olivia as she replied, "Yes, she's doing just fine. I was thinking we could go to Italy and spend Christmas with her if you wanted but it looks like you will probably want to stay in the country."
"Yeah, I want to stay here with Olivia, but you can tell Gran that I love her and I will see her soon. Now how about breakfast?"
"What? You want me to make it? You're perfectly capable," Lavender gave him a strange knowing look as she spoke. "You should impress your new girlfriend."
Olivia was shocked to see that there was a subtle blush creeping into Zander's cheeks. She had never seen him blush before and would never have thought such a thing possible until that moment. "Yeah, alright," he mumbled, "I'll make breakfast."
"Would it be alright if I take a shower while you cook?" Olivia asked as she tugged self consciously on the ends of her messy hair.
"Sure, the bathroom is right across the hall," Zander motioned out the door. Quickly, Olivia scooped up a few of her things and skipped across the hall, leaving Zander and his mother alone in his room.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Lavender asked as she sat down beside her son on his bed.
"What do you mean?"
"You've never brought a girl home before, Zander. To be honest I didn't think you ever would. You're not….she's not…I mean, you have been safe, haven't you? She's not….pregnant?"
"Merlin, Mum! No! We haven't even….not that it's any of your business anyway!"
"I was just making sure! I've never found a girl here before, you know, in your bed and…I just jumped to conclusions. I apologize. Also, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about some girl staying in here with you. Perhaps you should sleep on the couch while she is here."
Zander glared at her so seriously that she leaned back, "Being a bit hypocritical, aren't you? How many times have I woken up to find a random bloke wandering around our flat? At least Olivia and I are in a relationship!"
Mouth hanging open, Lavender jumped to her feet and looked like she was about to argue, but thought better of it and closed her mouth. After a moment, she said with forced calmness, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize it bothered you so much."
"Yes, well, now you know." He stepped around her and strode out of his bedroom without looking back.
…
Olivia took her time in the shower while silently freaking out. How had she managed to land herself in this situation? Was Lavender mad that she was there? Maybe she should go back to Hogwarts for the remainder of her Christmas break.
Unbidden, memories came sharply to the forefront of her thoughts. Albus. With Grace. What did Olivia honestly think of that whole mess?
The very first time she laid eyes on Albus Potter, she knew that he was destined to be her husband. For years she had been having the same vision creep up in her dreams and even sometimes while she was awake she would get flashes of it.
Then, on the Hogwarts Express, she met him. She'd met Rose first and they had hit it off pretty well. Rose led Olivia to the compartment she was sharing with her family, and Olivia felt like she'd been hit by a train. It was the boy from her visions.
For years she struggled with the question; did she like Albus for who he was, or did she like him because he was going to be her husband? Maybe there was a self-fulfilling prophecy thing going on. Even while they were dating, she would become annoyed with him at times and end up asking herself, "do you like him because he's him or do you like him because you're supposed to?"
Sometimes she couldn't answer herself because she didn't know. Eventually she fell in love with him, but almost just as quickly she'd fallen out of love as well, though she hadn't let herself even think that until it was almost the end.
Olivia knew Albus had cheated on her; she'd had a vision of it. She'd Seen Grace and Albus together before it happened. But what scared her the most was that these visions didn't bother her the way they should have.
When she knew it was inevitable, she let Albus go, and it didn't even hurt the way it should have. She cried and threw a little fit, but more than anything she was mourning something she had never had. The tears weren't for Albus, they were for their wedding that she had Seen so many times for so long. Olivia could feel her own joy when she experienced those visions, and to know that that future was no longer her future hurt more than anything else in the whole world.
Olivia didn't blame Grace, not at all, instead she blamed herself. Truthfully she probably wouldn't have even dated Albus if she hadn't thought she was supposed to end up marrying him. Olivia blamed herself for trying to force feelings that weren't there.
With her face screwed up in pain, Olivia grabbed her head and stumbled out of the shower, nearly tripping over the edge. A large towel was hanging up for her and she gratefully wrapped it tightly around herself before turning to face the mirror. Her steamy reflection confirmed her fears; she looked like hell.
The lack of sleep didn't do much for her looks, and when wet she thought that she looked like a drowned rat. Her long blonde hair was dripping water onto the tile floor, her makeup was gone, there were dark circles under her eyes and she was shaking slightly.
It took a while for her to collect herself enough to exit the bathroom. When she emerged, however, she looked perfectly together. Her hair was in a perfect ponytail, her clothes (muggle trousers and a purple sweater) complimented her, and the light bit of makeup she had applied did wonders for her appearance.
The flat in which Zander lived with his mother wasn't very large, so Olivia found the kitchen without any trouble. Not to mention the aroma was hard to resist as she followed her nose into the kitchen.
"That smells divine," she said with a real smile; it was the first real smile she had worn that day.
"Thanks," Zander Goyle was standing at the kitchen stove, wearing only his boxers and an apron as he tipped eggs and sausages from the frying pan onto a plate. "Be careful," he warned with a slightly annoyed expression, "they're hot."
"Not as hot as you in that apron," she couldn't restrain a small giggle. It wasn't pink or flowery, just a plain white apron, but it still looked out of place on Zander Goyle.
He chuckled, "I'm glad you're amused. Have a seat while I make something for myself," He took two eggs in one hand, cracked them both and dropped them into the frying pan.
"I'm guessing this is what your mother meant when she suggested that you show off for me? You can cook?"
A mischievous grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he said, "Yes, I can, and if you ever tell anyone, I'll…" he trailed off.
"What?" she teased, "What will you do if I tell people?"
"Well, I was going to threaten that I won't have sex with you, but then I realized that you can't exactly miss something you've never had so it would be a bit of an empty threat, wouldn't it?"
"You never know, even if we did have sex it might still be an empty threat. Maybe you're terrible and I won't enjoy myself at all," trying to act casual, she reached around him to grab the salt.
"Trust me, darling," as he spoke he turned to grab her and pulled her flush against him, he breathed the next words into her ear, "after one time you'll be begging for it."
He released her and turned back to the stove as if nothing had happened. Olivia blinked, for a moment her mind had gone completely blank. Once she recovered, she said, "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is, Goyle, and we'll both find out?"
He snorted with amusement, "You want me to shag you? Right now?"
At his bold words, Olivia blushed and glanced around but Lavender wasn't anywhere to be seen. Feeling brave, she wrapped her arms around him, pressed a kiss into his neck and said, "Yes, right now."
His body shivered at her words and the feeling of her lips on his neck, but his eyes narrowed and he barely managed to say between clenched teeth, "Damn, Liv, if you don't stop tempting me I just might give in."
"Why are you trying so hard to resist? I don't understand."
A genuine smile stretched across his face. He took her face in his hands and said, "Anything worth having is worth waiting for. I want to wait for this, I want to make it really mean something. I want to…blimey, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want to be celibate for a while before I'm with you in that way." He dropped a light kiss on her lips and then turned his attention back to cooking.
Taken entirely off guard by his response, Olivia picked up the plate, dashed some salt on her eggs, and sat down at the kitchen table without another word.
A few minutes passed before Zander was sitting across from her, digging into his own food. "Where's your mum?"
"We, well, we erm…got into a row. She said she was going for a walk, but I know she just wanted to cool off."
"Oh no! Oh Zander, the argument was about me, wasn't it? I'm so sorry if my presence here has upset your mum. Please don't be mad at her because of me! That will only make her hate me more!"
"Hate you…more? Why would you think she hates you at all?"
"She probably thinks I'm some common slag. I can just imagine the conversation that went on while I was in the shower! Does she want me to leave? Because I can leave," to emphasize this, she stood up and pushed her chair back, but Zander reached across the table and caught hold of her wrist.
"Sit back down," a small smile was pulling at the corners of his mouth, "She does not think you're a slag. Even if she did, it would make her one hell of a hypocrite! We actually argued about her being the one who is a slag. Also, you're not going anywhere. Except maybe Malfoy Manor."
"What?"
"I got an owl from Scorpius. Apparently he just brought Rose home to meet his parents, and he wants us to come over and play Quidditch. Personally, I think he wants to show off a bit to his family that he's actually making friends now."
"If that's what you want to do, then I'm all for it!"
"Scorpius did warn me, of course, that he also invited Albus….and Grace." Zander watched Olivia's face carefully for her reaction. Much to his dismay, her expression gave nothing away, her smile was still in place, her eyes still sparked happily with the idea of playing Quidditch, and she didn't flinch when those names were mentioned.
"Zan, I know that you're trying to be sensitive about my recent breakup, but-"
"Very recent breakup," Zander muttered, but Olivia kept on talking as if she hadn't heard him.
"-I was over Albus Potter long before I left him."
"Wait," Zander's head snapped up as he had previously been staring at his empty plate, "You left him? I thought, I mean I just figured that because of Grace, that you and he….you left him?"
"We got into a row, and he probably would have done it if I hadn't, but yes, I was the one who said the words and then turned and fled up the stairs to my dormitory. I'm not afraid to talk about it, Zan. You're not some rebound to me. Al and I fell out of love a long time ago. Towards the end, our relationship wasn't even a real relationship. I feel like…like I've been single for months now. Ever since he first cheated on me with Grace back in October."
"Wait! You know about that?"
"Of course! I mean, I….hold on, did you know about that?" Olivia had almost given herself away. How could she explain to Zander that she had known Albus had cheated on her before it even happened? She'd Seen it in September. The vision had sprung up suddenly in her mind on a random night while she was asleep, and she'd immediately written it down in her journal. As the month of September went by, the vision became more and more solid and eventually Olivia was able to pinpoint the exact date. But she hadn't interfered.
"Well, yeah, I mean, Al might have mentioned it…" said Zander evasively as he scratched the dark stubble on his chin.
To his astonishment, Olivia laughed and said, "I can just imagine Albus talking to you and Scorpius about that. Must have been exceptionally awkward for the bloke."
"Okay," said Zander cautiously, "So you don't sound very mad at Albus, but what about Grace? Are you and her still friends?"
"Honestly? I'm not sure how she feels, but I think so. I mean, she's been one of my best friends since first year, and I'd confided in her how unhappy I was in my relationship. She knew I didn't love him anymore, and she did. Albus deserves someone who loves him."
Zander smiled, "Well, if you're sure, then we can head on over to Malfoy Manor whenever you're ready."
….
Olivia's first impression was that she had stepped into the home of her dreams. If it could even be called a home. The mansion was much bigger than she had anticipated, and to her dismay nobody was there to greet them upon arrival except a house elf.
Then Draco Malfoy came into the room. "Ah, Zander, it's nice to see you. You must be Olivia," he reached forward and offered his hand, but Olivia cringed back and half hid herself behind Zander. There was something there, something very subtle, a certain air that hung about the man and it was dark.
Olivia Knew, the way she Knew many things, that he had done bad things in his past. She was sensitive to the auras around people, and his was contradictory. After a few moments in his presence, she felt other aspects of him as well. He had grown from a dark past into a kind and gentle sort of man. A man Olivia could respect.
After an awkward pause, she finally placed her hand in his with a polite, "How do you do."
"For being best friends, you're not much like Rose, are you? No, Rose's first time here, she climbed right into Scorpius' bed and then begged me not to tell her father about it," Draco and Zander both laughed appreciatively, but Olivia just frowned.
"She's a bit shy," Zander explained with a wink.
"Ah, well, nothing wrong with that. It's lovely to meet you, Olivia, your friends are right through there, in the garden," Draco pointed vaguely in the direction from which he had come, and then disappeared down a different hall whistling to himself.
"Shall we?" Zander asked in a joking way as he held out his arm formally.
Slowly letting her guard down, Olivia said in a playfully snobby voice, "Yes, we shall," and slid her hand around the crook of his elbow.
They reached the garden giggling but stopped abruptly when they discovered Scorpius, Rose, Albus, and Grace gathered around a small fountain. Albus' face turned about three shades of red when he saw Olivia with Zander. He hadn't believed Rose at first, when she had warned him, but here was the proof. The worst part was that Olivia looked truly happy with Goyle. Happier than he had seen her in quite a long time.
"Ollie," he said with a nod, "You look like you're doing well."
"So do you," said Olivia cautiously.
The awkward moment stretched on, with everyone looking back and forth between Albus and Olivia until Zander finally broke it with a loud, "Let's play some Quidditch!" which he promptly followed with a hard smack on Olivia's arse.
Olivia's jaw dropped open at Zander's obvious display of affection, but part of her was secretly pleased by it as well. In a none-too-subtle way he had let Albus know that she was his now, and that was the way he intended for it to stay. Although Olivia certainly didn't need reminding of that; in her mind, there was no competition. She truly preferred Zander Goyle.
Everyone reacted when Zander's hand made contact with Olivia's backside; Scorpius snorted, Rose gasped, Grace raised her eyebrows, and Albus narrowed his eyes just a hair. Acting as if he hadn't done anything amiss, Zander set a brisk pace toward the broom shed, whistling all the while.
Giggling with giddiness, Olivia skipped after him and slipped her hand into his. "Well, this ought to be an interesting afternoon," Scorpius whispered to Rose.
"I'll be right back," Al mumbled hastily to Grace before taking off after his ex girlfriend and her new boyfriend. When he finally caught up to them, he asked, "Ollie? Could I have a word?" and without waiting for a reply, took a gentle hold on her arm and pulled her off to the side while Zander wandered into the shed to pick out a broom.
"What are you doing?" Albus hissed, "Goyle is my friend, are you trying to make me jealous or something? Is he playing along with your little game just for kicks?"
"This isn't a game, Albus!" Olivia's voice had risen as a result of her anger, "I happen to really like him. A lot, actually," as she said this she couldn't help but look toward the shed and smile to herself, "It isn't a game for either of us, and I'm not trying to do anything to you. I understand that you like Grace and you want to be with her, and honestly, Al, I'm okay with it."
"But-"
"Don't think I don't know about what's been going on between the two of you. Yes, I was extremely disapproving at first, but let's be honest here, Albus. We didn't love each other anymore. So there you go. You have my blessing or whatever. Let's just be the way we were meant to be, okay?" Even as she said the words, she wasn't sure what she meant by them. What were they meant to be? If she was falling for Zander Goyle, and Albus was falling for Grace Vaisley, then why was she still having visions about marrying Albus?
She decided to save that worry for another time and focus on Quidditch. Albus was looking at her skeptically, as if he wasn't sure they could be just friends after what they had been through together, but at the same time he looked hopeful about it. Before he could voice his thoughts, Zander came out of the broom shed brandishing an ancient Nimbus 2001, saying happily, "What is this even doing in here, Scorp? Is your dad planning to open a Quidditch museum? I bet this will be fun to ride! Watch the five of you fly circles around me while I try to catch the Snitch on this old thing!"
"Who wants to be the team captains?" Scorpius asked.
Albus said, "I think you and I should be captains, Scorp. Should we just do the traditional Slytherins vs. Gryffindors?"
"No," Rose whined, "I want to be on Scorpius' team!"
"Alright fine," said Albus with a sigh, "Rose, Scorpius, and Zander against-"
"Not a chance, mate," Zander argued, "It wouldn't be fair to your team to have the three best Quidditch players against you."
"Aw, Zan, did you just say I was one of the best?" asked Rose.
"Out of the people here, yes, you qualify in the top three," he told her with a wink.
Olivia piped up, "Oi! The only ones here who don't play Quidditch on a team are Grace and Rose, so we should separate them. I vote for Grace, Zander, and me-"
"I don't want to be on a team with Potter!" grunted Scorpius.
"I don't give a flying fuck whose team I'm on," Grace offered unhelpfully.
"ALRIGHT! If Malfoy doesn't want to be with Potter, but Rose wants to be with Malfoy, and Zander doesn't want to be with Scorpius and Rose, then let's just have the teams be Rose, Malfoy, and Grace against Zander, Albus, and myself," Olivia surprised Rose with her ability to figure out this solution, but it made everyone happy so they all agreed and took off into the sky.