James watched Olly from where he sat between Sage and Fred ignoring the Venomous Tentacula's vines that were slowly creeping to where his wrist was resting on the table. Since him, Fred and Sage were normally all paired together for Herebology Olly always sat with Alexander Flint and Eric Nott with whom she seemed to get on quite well with. James smiled as Olly threw back her head and roared with laughter at something Flint said clutching Nott on the shoulder as she tried not to fall off her chair. James didn't get how Olly got on with Slytherins. He supposed Flint and Nott were all right unless they were playing Quidditch against them. Flint was a beater and Nott was a chaser. James didn't have a lot of interaction with either of them off the Quidditch pitch but they were quite friendly with Olly and often accosted her in the corridors to talk to her. James had often over heard Flint's hilarious stories about what was going on in the Slytherin common room or about what his older brother Marcus was getting up to now he had left school. Nott was somewhat quieter but he too often made Olly laugh and James knew that Olly enjoyed spending time with them. James remembered how surprised his Aunt Kerr had been when Olly had told her she was friends with Flint and Nott. Kerr had been even more surprised to find out that Alexander Flint was the son of Marcus Flint and Pansy Parkinson. She obviously didn't think that was such a great combination. Olly didn't mind though. She wasn't particularly prejudiced. She liked those she liked and disliked those she didn't like. She didn't care about the boundaries of different houses. James had to admit that Nott and Flint were a lot nicer than Zimmion Smith and Brett Wells.
James didn't like to admit to the slightly jealous feelings he had watching Olly laugh with Flint and Nott. After all, it wasn't like either of the boys was ugly. Flint was tall, well-built with black wayward hair and brown eyes. Nott was shorter than Flint with a slim figure, spiky brown hair and deep blue eyes. Olly could do a lot worse. James always found it strange that Olly had never bothered with having a boyfriend. He thought it was because she spent so much time with them that she never really took the time to speak to other boys. James' little sister Lily always seemed to have a new boyfriend and even Rose, who never seemed to take her nose out of a book, had had a few boyfriends throughout her years at Hogwarts. Sure Olly had dated Sebastian Pearson last year, James had thought he was a jerk, but other than that Olly had never really been in a relationship. It wasn't like she didn't have a lot of offers. He was glad that she didn't bother about boyfriends because it would mean she wouldn't spend as much time with them. James didn't want to lose her to some idiot who couldn't treat her properly.
'James, pay attention,' said Sage suddenly as he snatched James' wrist out of the way of the roaming Tentacula vines. 'That would have bloody hurt if it had got you. Why are you staring at Olly like that anyway?'
James felt a blush rise and quickly ducked his head so Sage would not notice. He didn't know why he had been paying Olly so much attention recently. It wasn't as though anything had changed between them. At least, nothing that James was aware of. It was probably due to the fact that several members of his family seemed to think that he was in love with Olly which of course was ridiculous. How could he be in love with Olly? James liked blondes after all. Every single one of his ex-girlfriends had blonde hair. He didn't go for girls with dark hair like Olly. She was also one of his best friends. They had been since they were babies. They had shared baths together and ran around their parents back gardens with no clothes on. James was acutely glad that he had found and burnt all the photos that his parents had from those days and sincerely hoped that Olly had done the same.
'I'm not staring at her,' James mumbled to Sage hoping that Fred wouldn't hear. Fred wasn't best known for his ability to be quiet and James didn't really want Olly to hear that they were having a conversation about his suspect feelings for her.
'You are too,' said Sage in a low voice. 'You've been doing it since the beginning of summer as well. It's like you can't take your eyes off her or something. Remember when she asked you if she had something in her teeth because you were staring at her over the dinner table?'
James nodded his embarrassment level rising rapidly. He didn't realise that anyone had even noticed that he had spent a lot of time looking at Olly recently. He hadn't even really noticed that he had been doing. He glanced up at her as she playfully whacked Flint on the arm and then turned to bestow her beaming smile on Nott who ruffled her hair affectionately. She hadn't changed. She was still the same old Olly but James couldn't understand what was drawing him to her so much recently. Had he changed? Was something inside of him different now?
'If you really like her,' said Sage, 'and I mean like her as more than your best friend then you should tell her.'
'Don't be daft,' said James rolling his eyes. 'This is me and Olly we are talking about. I couldn't tell her I have feelings for her even if I did, which I don't.'
Sage sighed and shook his head.
'James, it's very obvious,' he told him. 'Stop fighting it and you'll feel a lot better but if you don't want anyone to know then you have to be more inconspicuous and stop staring at her. I should know after all, nobody has ever guessed my ...'
Sage stopped abruptly looking at James in horror as he realised his mistake of letting his mouth run away with him. James looked delighted as a mischievous smile spread across his face. Sage huffed a little knowing that there was no way that James was going to let it go now.
'Who?' James asked him.
Sage cast a furtive look around the classroom.
'I'll tell you later,' he said in an almost whisper.
'Tell him what later?' asked Fred who suddenly seemed to realise that he hadn't been paying attention to their conversation and had been staring dreamily into space.
'About what a Venomous Tentacula will do to your hand if you let it bite you,' invented Sage quickly which made James a little suspicious. Why would Sage want to tell him about some girl he liked and not Fred? That was a little odd to say the least. Still maybe Sage didn't want to say something to them both right now because of Fred's inability to keep quiet when surprised. Fred seemed satisfied with Sage's answer though. It was something that Sage would say. James would just have to ask Sage about it later.
'Do you think the White boys would kill me if I asked out Ava?' asked Fred suddenly not looking at James or Sage but seemed to stare into space with the dreamy expression now back on his face. James and Sage stared at him. The White boys were well known throughout Hogwarts although not all of them carried the surname White, just like James and Albus were considered part of the Weasley boys even though their last name was Potter. They were Olly's cousins from her gran's side. Olly's gran, Serena White, had been one of seven and Olly's mum had eleven cousins. Olly had twenty-three third cousins or something like that, thirteen male and ten female. They were all in Ravenclaw. There was Dylan Love who was in their year, Joshua and Joseph White in sixth year, Benjamin White in fourth year, Ryan Rutledge in third year and finally Richard White in first year. Along with the boys they had sixth year Ava Love, fifth year Ruby Dunnington, second year Sophie Love and first year Abigail Bainbridge. There were still another thirteen of them to go to Hogwarts. Olly was the oldest and her youngest cousin, Russell Molloy, had been born six months ago. All of them were members of the extensive White family and therefore collectively known as the Whites even with all the different surnames.
'Ava Love?' asked James incredulous as he stared at Fred. 'Are you completely crazy?'
'Yeah Fred,' added Sage. 'That's a lot of male members of the family to contend with. Not only have you got her brother you've also got her father, her grandfather, three male cousins and all the rest of the male population of the White family and that family is close-knit. It's even worse than yours. Can you imagine what Christmas dinner is like at White Hall?'
White Hall was the White family mansion, a huge country house that James, Sage and Fred had only ever been to once and that had been to get Olly on Boxing Day. Kerr always took Olly to White Hall for Christmas. Olly had often said that she would love to spend Christmas at the Burrow because it would be more peaceful. James and Fred had laughed at that until Olly had told them that every other year there were around forty people there for dinner. That seriously diminished the twenty-six people that were usually at the Burrow for a usual family Christmas dinner.
'Have you even ever talked to Ava Love?' asked James as Fred looked a little intimidated at the thought of Christmas at White Hall.
'Of course I have,' said Fred looking at James as though he was stupid. 'I'm not that much of an idiot to start liking a girl I have never even spoken too.'
James and Sage exchanged glances. James shrugged.
'Well why don't you speak to Olly about it then?' suggested Sage. 'She'll be able to tell you how her cousins would react.'
'Good idea, mate,' Fred responded enthusiastically. 'Olly will point me in the right direction hopefully.'
'How do you know Ava, Fred?' asked James curiously.
'Oh, she helped me out last year with my Potions homework last year,' said Fred with a grin. 'I couldn't find any of you and had decided that I would go to the library. Luckily, I bumped into Ava in the corridor, literally and she helped me out.'
'You never told us that,' said Sage.
Fred shrugged.
'Right, that is the end of the lesson,' said Neville saving Fred from answering. 'Remember that your essays on the Venomous Tentacula are due at the end of the week.'
The greenhouse became a hub of noise as the students packed up and began to file out of the door. James glanced over to where Olly was saying goodbye to Flint and Nott before she slipped her book back in her bag. Olly then moved over to where James was standing with Sage and Fred a wide grin on her face.
'Have fun?' asked James lightly.
'Yeah,' she told him her eyes sparkling. 'I love Alex. He's hilarious.'
James ignored the tightening in his chest as the four of them approached Neville who smiled at them all rather proudly as he tidied up his desk. Olly remembered her Uncle Harry telling her what Neville had been like in his first few years at Hogwarts. You could never guess that now from the way he taught his lessons.
'Hello you four,' said Neville brightly looking up at them. 'What can I do for you? You aren't in trouble again are you?'
Olly glanced nervously at James who gave her an encouraging nod.
'No we're not in trouble Uncle Neville,' she told him with her sweetest smile. 'I was just wondering if you could possibly tell me about my father.'
The four of them all seemed to hold their breath as Neville paled slightly and stared at Olly as though he didn't understand the question.
'I don't know anything about it,' he said suddenly and began tidying up his desk all the quicker.
'Oh come on Uncle Neville,' pleaded Olly. 'I know that you must know something. Surely you noticed something different about my mother. Surely she let something slip to you, you're her best friend. You must know something about my father. I just really need to find him and find my brother.'
Neville sat down suddenly.
'Oh she told you about that, did she?'
'You knew!' exclaimed the four of them staring at Neville in shock.
Neville nodded thoughtfully.
'Kerr's greatest secret,' he said softly with fondness in his eyes. 'I was the only one who knew for a very long time. She wasn't going to tell me but I knew something was wrong. After you were born Olly your mother just seemed so different. She was so miserable. She had never been liked that before. I knew something was wrong and I asked her about it. I asked her again and again just like Harry did, just like Ron and Hermione and Ginny all did. Charlie even flew over from Romania to try and cheer her up. Nothing seemed to work but none of them witnessed her meltdown.'
'Meltdown?' whispered Olly white to the lips.
'You must have been just six months old,' he continued sadly. 'I went round to your mother's with Sage. We were supposed to be going to your house James. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. The door was open and I went in just like I usually did. I found your mother crying hysterically at the bottom of the stairs. She was curled up into a ball and I immediately went to put Sage in the play pen with you. She was still crying when I came back and she hadn't moved from her position on the floor. It took a while to calm her down and I asked her what was wrong. I think that she just needed to tell someone. So she told me about your brother and how she had to give him up. She didn't reveal his name though. I don't even know if she knows what it is.'
Olly, James, Sage and Fred were practically leaning forward in anticipation of what Neville was saying.
So you know who my dad is then?' asked Olly breathlessly.
'Actually I don't,' Neville told her with a sigh shaking his head. 'That was one bit of information that your mother never told me. She told me that we had been to Hogwarts with him. He was in our year. She never mentioned his name however. She had the same look on her face every time we asked her about him longing mixed with fear. That's why after the first time she has never taken you to Platform 9 and ¾'s. I don't think she can bear to see him. I never asked her again about it. If Kerr wanted to tell me something then she could but I never pressured her into telling me anything more.'
'Do you know anything else about Olly's dad then?' asked Sage.
'I don't know much more,' Neville said truthfully. 'When your mother keeps a secret, Olly, she keeps a secret. I should have been expecting this to be honest. I knew that your mother planned to give you clues to find your brother. She hadn't said that she was going to do it this year. Still, I don't know much about your father. They used to meet as much as possible. I remember that she always seemed busy on the weekends. She always had been though. She used to work non-stop. I remember how concerned we were about her when she actually started taking time off work. She told us that she had realised that she worked too hard. I know now that it was your father, Olly. I would occasionally go round to her house and she wouldn't let me in. She would seem really jumpy. Then there were the times that she just disappeared. She left for two weeks once and nobody knew where she was. We were all starting to get really worried when she eventually turned back up. Apparently she had been on holiday. Now I think that she was probably on holiday with him, at the time though we never even noticed. It took her until she was five months pregnant for her to tell us of her situation and we were all so shocked.'
He smiled at the four of them.
'After all, we didn't even know that there was a man in her life. She told Harry and Ron that it had been a one night affair and that she wasn't going to tell them who it was. She told me later however how long it had been going on. I think that he must have worked in a similar occupation to your mother's. I remember seeing her one week with scratches, bruises and burns and when I asked she said she'd run into to Death Eaters. It makes me wonder whether they were after him or her, possibly both but she was never scared your mother. No matter what was coming at her, she always stood her ground.'
Olly exchanged glances with James, Sage and Fred and then looked back at Neville. Olly felt a little light headed if she was completely honest with herself. This was a little bit too much. Her brain couldn't even process all of the information she was receiving. How was she supposed to find her father when her mother's closest friends didn't even have an inkling who he was?
'Thanks Uncle Neville,' said Olly with a sigh as she threw her bag up onto her shoulder. 'We'll see you later.'
'Yeah bye Neville,' said James with a grin.
'Bye dad.'
'Bye Nev,' said Fred with a cheeky grin as he strolled after the other three.
'Oh Fred,' Neville called after him, 'it's Professor Longbottom not Nev.'
Fred grinned and then skipped after James, Olly and Sage who were already making their way up the grassy slope back to the castle. They were all quiet for several minutes, each of them lost in their own thoughts about what Neville had just told them about Kerr. It was strange how different things seemed to be when you got older. Things that you thought happened a certain way never really happened that way. Olly felt as though she was getting to know her mother all over again.
'Well I suppose now we need to find out who was all in our parent's year at Hogwarts?' said James thoughtfully his forehead creased with thought, 'excluding my dad, all my uncles and your dad, Sage. In Gryffindor I think that leaves Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan …'
'I don't think it's a Gryffindor,' said Sage firmly.
'I agree,' said Olly as they passed up the archway into the castle. 'I definitely think it was someone from another house.'
'Well who does that leave then?' asked Fred.
Sage shrugged.
'Looks like it's back to the library,' said James with a sigh.
Fred groaned and Sage looked at him with a smile. James caught sight of the smile and the mischief that was sparkling in his eyes and frowned wondering what Sage was thinking all of a sudden.
'Fred don't you have something to ask Olly about?' Sage asked innocently.
'I do?' questioned Fred looking round at Sage as Olly seemed to be pulled from her thoughts momentarily.
'What is it?' Olly asked.
'I don't remember,' said Fred looking puzzled.
'Well,' began James suddenly remembering himself what Fred was supposed to ask Olly about. 'Fred was wondering what your cousins would do to him if he asked out Ava?'
Olly laughed as they ascended the steps to the castle door.
'Ava Love?' she asked Fred.
Fred flushed a Weasley red. He had been fine discussing Ava with James and Sage but Olly actually knew Ava. She could go and speak to her about it.
'Well,' he said shyly, 'I like her.'
Olly smiled at Fred as they went into the entrance hall.
'I'm sure the boys would be fine with it,' she told him. 'They might give you a few well meant threats and Dylan is fiercely protective of Ava but you should be okay. You're best friends with me and I can vouch for you if need be. I can't believe you like Ava although it's not hard to see why. She's gorgeous.'
'Yeah she is,' said Fred with a stupid smile on his face. 'She's smart too and funny.'
Olly laughed. Sage glanced at James who rolled his eyes. Fred's last relationship, if you could call it that, had been a disaster. He had been dating a Gryffindor girl called Samara Levictis last year and she had been no end of clingy. Fred hadn't handled it very well though. He had kept telling them that he wanted to split up with her but never seemed to do it. Eventually she dumped him because he went to Quidditch practice rather than meet her but not before she had caused all sorts of problems for the other three.
'At least, Ava is nicer than Samara,' said Sage with a laugh.
Olly shuddered.
'Anyone would be better than that girl.'
'What?' asked James. 'Even Kaiya Zabini?'
'Okay,' said Olly with a laugh. 'Maybe she isn't that bad.'
'She was bad enough,' said Fred a little sadly. 'She made all our lives miserable, mine the worst and put me off relationships. I really like Ava though.'
'Well that's good,' said Olly kindly. 'What about you James? Have you got your eye on anyone at the moment?'
For some reason that puzzled Olly, James flushed bright red and Sage burst out laughing.
