September, 1972
Sirius did not appreciate any sort of vicious reminders that Olivia was female. All such reminders included, but were not limited to, her putting on makeup, her flirting with Remus in front of him, and knowledge that she had both incredibly hot lacy bras and a monthly. It all was incredibly disturbing. He knew she was a girl; he was simply convinced it was better for all of their sanity if they didn't discuss the fact. Otherwise, one minute, you're discussing that you're best mate's a girl, and the next you're getting to hear all about her girl issues, and that's enough to drive a bloke mad.
And so for the first few weeks of class, Sirius was rather successfully able to steer the conversation at all times away from the fact that Olivia was a girl, which would occasionally cause her to give him an annoyed glare, but she dropped it after that. Perhaps she sensed his necessity for avoidance of the topic. He should have realized, however, that there would come a time in which he would have to confront her being female head-on, without attempting to run away or balk in fear. That moment came far too soon.
The time had come for Olivia and James to try out for Quidditch. Sirius had already done a quick interview with Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn, and they had decided he would be the new Quidditch commentator. As a way of practicing, Sirius was informed them that Peter and Remus would be forced to rate the commentary he gave of tryouts, with utmost honesty.
The tryouts were going well. Matthew Bakester, the Gryffindor Captain and Seeker, was filling a lot of spots. He had himself and two Chasers, and he needed every other position filled in one tryout. Sophie Lehman, returning Chaser and a gorgeous sixth year, zoomed around the pitch like she owned it, trying out the people trying out for Keeper. To Sirius's great surprise, Mary MacDonald, Olivia's friend, was trying, and she was more than trying, she was knocking away every Quaffle they threw her way. The beautiful Sophie Lehman was getting frustrated.
Similarly, James was the only person who was able to get past Mary, including the returning Chasers who had put her through her paces; Bakester had decided fairly quickly that the other people trying for Keeper could go home, that Mary was the best he was going to get. Olivia was beating Bludgers around as though it was going out of style, but after her, the next most skilled was a fourth year named Isla Brown. Sirius had to admit, the girl was no only incredibly pretty, but she had incredible game. He made the mistake, after Bakester had closed tryouts, declared the pair his Beaters and James his new Chaser, of saying rather loudly to Isla that he was impressed at how a pretty girl such as her could swing that bat with such force.
"Oh, so I'm an ugly cow, Sirius?" said Olivia furiously.
"Wha – no, Livia, you're incredibly good looking," said Sirius, confused at what she was getting at, why she was so angry.
"So I'm just nowhere near as good at swinging around a bat as her?" growled Olivia, clearly viciously upset about something, but Sirius had no idea what.
"Actually," said Peter, "if my notes are correct, he said you could play for England, you were so good."
"Well then you must have forgotten I'm a girl, Sirius," said Olivia. "Do you need reminding?"
"What?" Sirius said, still incredibly confused. But he said it too late and too softly, obviously, because at that exact moment, Olivia pulled her t-shirt off and started jumping up and down in nothing but her jeans and a lacy black bra. If he wasn't mistaken, he had seen that one when they had been going through her trunk.
"Is this enough of a reminder?" she shrieked, pointing at her chest. "I'm a girl too, idiot!"
Remus's eyes were wide as saucers as he rushed over to her, picking up her t-shirt and ushering her off to the side, trying to pull the shirt back on her and calm her down enough so that she stopped bouncing angrily around the pitch. Sirius just stared after them. He really needed her to stop reminding him that she was a girl. Nothing good ever came of it.
"What was that all about?" muttered James as he landed by Sirius and Peter, eyes on Olivia, who was finally allowing Remus to pull her shirt back over her torso.
"Merlin only knows," muttered Sirius, shaking his head in horrified disbelief.
"If I was to wager a guess, mate, I'd say she's angry with you," said Peter softly.
"Brilliant deduction, Peter," drawled Sirius. "I'd figured that one out for myself, thanks."
"C'mon," growled Remus. "We're going back up to the common room. Behave, Sirius!"
Sirius threw his hands up in the air.
"I don't even know what I did!" he cried, but he followed them back up to the castle, trying not to look at Olivia. He needed to erase that whole afternoon from his memory. He couldn't do so if Olivia was constantly around him, glaring at him every other second. What had he even done?
/-/
Remus couldn't believe how Olivia had behaved at tryouts, but then, Sirius was an idiot. He hadn't really heard what had been said, but knowing Sirius, it had been stupid, selfish, and hurtful. And it was likely that he didn't have a clue he had even said something of the sort. Sometimes, just trying to keep all of the Marauders happy, healthy and speaking to each other felt like a bit of a full-time job, especially where Sirius and Olivia were concerned. When those two weren't snuggling as though they were sewn together, they were positively nasty to each other.
But Sirius never raised his voice at her. He would yell at James, Remus, Peter, Slytherins they were picking on or random Hufflepuff first years who were looking at him funny in the entrance hall, but never Olivia. She was apparently the one person he never let himself yell at, even when he was really, really mad at her. Remus just tried not to raise his voice unless it was required of him. James, on the other hand, was just loud. Remus wasn't sure there was a sound level above his raised voice, which was reserved for Slytherins and people who had incurred the wrath of the Marauders. So far, those things were the same.
Remus wasn't happy that he now had less time with Olivia, since she was practicing Quidditch what felt like every waking moment. She and James and Mary seemed to think they were a part of some new secret club, and gave each other these knowing glances that they refused to explain to anyone else. He didn't want to admit it, but Remus was starting to feel incredibly jealous of the Quidditch team.
Time was flying by entirely too fast. Before Remus knew it, Olivia's birthday was well on its way and the Marauders were already planning both a party for her birthday, and one in honor of Halloween. They hadn't decided yet if they should do the Halloween party a couple of days early and make it work for both, or if they wanted to be extra diligent and just do two parties. The others were gunning for one. They didn't want to get suckered into cleanup.
"Oh, fine," growled Olivia one day. "Let's just do one, then. Have you finally thought up a theme, James?"
"Of course!" said James happily. "I was thinking ancient civilizations. You'd be an awesome Cleopatra."
Olivia tilted her head, considering him for a moment, before nodding and saying, "So, basically, you're hoping all the older girls show up in togas and belly dancing outfits?"
James grinned guiltily. He didn't need to say a word.
"Well," said Olivia thoughtfully, "I'm fine with it, but I'm so not being Cleopatra."
"Who do you want to be, then?" said Sirius.
Olivia grinned.
"How would you boys like a little slave girl all of your own?"
All four jaws dropped. Remus couldn't help himself. His brain instantly wondered how much fabric that would involve, or rather, how little. His pulse was racing incredibly fast. This just wasn't fair. And he wouldn't even have her to himself: he was sharing her with the other Marauders. He was beginning to wonder if that was what his entire relationship with her would be like, if he was just going to share her with their other three best friends, or if he was even remotely special to her.
Later that night, Olivia approached Remus, who was sitting alone in a corner of the common room, reading a library book, trying to find the information for his Potions essay. She pulled a chair up next to him and let out a sigh.
"Have you been avoiding me, Remus?" she whispered, looking up at him.
"N-no," he said, shaking his head, but not looking away from the Potions book. "You've been avoiding me."
"Remus," she said, pushing the book down on the table and moving her chair closer to him, "look at me."
Swallowing hard, he looked up at her. Her face was inches from his. If he only leaned forward ever so slightly… His heart rate started to speed up again. He swallowed hard again.
"Remus, I'm tired," she whispered, running her fingers along his arm lightly. "Can we go to bed now?"
He didn't look at the clock. He didn't care what time it was, he stood so fast his chair fell over and he didn't bother to pick it up. Remus took Olivia by the hand and practically dragged her up to his dormitory. She hadn't slept in his arms in days. There was no way he was giving her a chance to change her mind.
As soon as they slipped into his bed, Remus wrapped his arms protectively around her. She was his, and nothing in the world was going to take her away from him. He breathed in her intoxicating scent, allowing her to place warm, sweet kisses along his jawline before pressing her lips chastely to his. He didn't want her to pull away. He wanted to use a Permanent Sticking Charm and keep her lips on his for the rest of eternity. If one of them died, the other one would have to go soon, and they'd be buried together.
What an incredibly sappy sentiment, he realized, and mentally chastised himself as she pulled away. But even the mental chastisement hadn't fully restored his senses, and he slid his hand behind her head and pressed their lips together again, more rough this time, sure that her sweet little lips would be bruised from the impact, but she didn't seem to mind. She molded her lips against his for a moment until his hold on her head softened and she slid down a little, nuzzling her face sweetly into his neck.
"Good night, Remus," she whispered.
"Good night, Livia," he whispered back, holding her tightly to him and praying that the morning wouldn't come.
/-/
Olivia woke up in Remus's arms for the first time in far too long, feeling incredibly safe and comfortable. There was one thing that bothered her about the relationship she had with Remus. It was the way he looked at her. He gave her this look of absolute adoration that she knew she didn't live up to. If he couldn't see her as she was, how could they be together? But then, he couldn't see himself as he was, either. He thought he was a monster, a terrible creature that she should be afraid of and detest. For some reason, no matter how many times she told him otherwise, Remus couldn't see that there was more to him than the monster he turned into once a month, and that his condition didn't define him.
"Remus," she whispered in his ear, making sure her lips brushed his skin as they moved, "we have to get up. Breakfast."
"No," moaned Remus, tightening his arms around her and nuzzling his face into her neck.
Olivia sighed. Now she had to get creative.
"I'm going to breakfast, Remus, so you can lay her without me if you like, but I suppose I'll just have to have Sirius help me change, then, because I'm feeling a bit weak today."
Remus's eyes flew open sharply and she suppressed a smirk.
"You wouldn't dare."
"Try me," muttered Olivia. "Oh, Sirius!" she called, but just as Sirius sat up groggily, and looked in their direction, Remus captured her lips in a kiss and she heard Sirius groan, gag, and flop back onto his bed.
"I can't believe you would have done that," moaned Remus against her neck before pressing his lips to it. "He would have, you know."
"I know," said Olivia. "Which is why I wouldn't have done it. I knew you'd react."
Remus groaned, clearly feeling a bit like a fool, but now that he was awake, he seemed to be all right with getting ready for breakfast. Sirius would be cross with her for using him later, but she could handle that. For now, she just wanted breakfast. She changed into the robes she kept in the boys' room quickly, eager to get to the food. At first she didn't even notice the look Remus was giving her.
"What?" she said, noticing that he was looking at her strangely.
"I thought you were going to let me…"
The way his voice trailed off into nothing and the wondrous shade of pink his cheeks and ears turned told her exactly what he had been thinking, and she smirked.
"Maybe another time, dear," she said in a lofty voice, hoping off the bed and leading the way down to breakfast. She hoped there were plenty of eggs, because she was starving.
As she was piling her twelfth helping of eggs and fifth sausage onto her plate, she froze, and the boys all looked at the Slytherin table instinctively.
"No," she muttered, "it's not that it's just… well, we've neglected our research."
"Our…? Oh," muttered Sirius. "We'll get on that during the break then, good call, Livia."
They looked around to make sure no one else had heard, and then turned back to their plates.
"And we haven't gone back to the forest since…" began James, but he caught Olivia's cringe and let his words hang in the air, trailing off into nothing. They weren't going to talk about what happened to her, it was an unwritten agreement that he had almost broken.
"I – I think I left my ink upstairs," mumbled Olivia. She made out of the Great Hall and toward the marble staircase. Was she actually going to go all the way up to Gryffindor Tower? No, she would probably just go up to Transfiguration a little early. After all, she hadn't actually forgotten anything.
"Hello, pet."
Olivia froze. She knew that voice, those words. They haunted every nightmare she had had for months, and they made her insides freeze with dread. She winced, hoping she had just imagined it.
"I see you've got a bit of a fling with the little puppy," said the voice, and she felt the hand of Yaxley, a fifth year Slytherin, trace its way up her arm, following a line up to her neck as he walked around to the front of her. She hadn't imagined it. Yaxley was following her again.
"What's it to you?" she snapped, which only caused his customary smirk to deepen.
"Quite simply, he has no right going after what's mine, my sweet," he drawled, running his fingers slowly through her hair. "Now, I'm going to let you have your little fun, as long as you behave yourself, but I'm not letting my prize be spoiled by that Gryffindor filth. Don't forget who you belong to, pet."
"I don't belong to anyone," she said boldly. "I'm not a possession."
Yaxley hissed angrily, but Professor McGonagall had just opened her door and was moving to prop it open for the second years when she spotted them in the corridor and her eyes narrowed.
"Remember your place, pet," he said softly before nodding to Professor McGonagall, turning on his heel and stalking off toward the marble staircase. Olivia exhaled deeply, blinked deliberately, and held back a shiver, knowing that Professor McGonagall was still watching her as she adjusted her bag on her shoulder and stalked into the Transfiguration classroom, muttering a polite, but half-hearted greeting to her head of House.
Olivia settled in to her usual seat in the back and ignored the half-curious, half-knowing glances from Professor McGonagall as she pulled out her book, her quill, her ink and some parchment, and made quite a show of arranging them on her desk. Several minutes later, she was joined by her fellow Marauders and attention was drawn from her, which was welcome. At that moment, any distraction from her would have been welcome, even if it was Albus Dumbledore performing a naked tap dance with the Giant Squid on Professor McGonagall's desk.
Actually, if fully clothed, Olivia would really quite like to see that.
"Are you okay, love?" muttered Remus as he pulled out his own book. "You look a bit pale."
Olivia nodded, avoiding Sirius's eyes, knowing that somehow, like always, he just knew that something was wrong, that she was lying. He always knew when she was faking her smiles. It was far too early in the year for being questioned or having some sort of an intervention.
She wasn't even sure what they were doing in Transfiguration, as the lecture droned on for what seemed like forever before Olivia stared at her desk blankly. By the time she heard the bell and realized that she had just spent the entire period staring blankly at her desk, Sirius and Remus were already pulling her out into the hall for questioning. Perfect.
"What happened?" demanded Sirius, but Olivia just shook her head.
"No," she said firmly. "No, we're not doing this again! I think I've proven that I'm not a child and I don't need your constant protection to be okay! We're not playing this game."
"And tell me, Livia," said Sirius with a snort, "when was this proven? When we're not with you in the halls, you get accosted, attacked, kidnapped. If we leave you alone for five minutes at a party you get yourself mauled by Slytherin hormones. When have you ever proven yourself capable of handling their psycho behaviors yourself?"
"Love, we care about you, and I don't want a repeat of last year," muttered Remus. "I thought we'd lost you so many times…"
Olivia shivered.
"It was nothing," she mumbled. "Really. Professor McGonagall opened the door to class before anything happened."
"But it shook you up a bit," said Sirius, a sad sort of pity in his eyes.
Olivia just shrugged. She could tell that Sirius wanted to hug her, but he hesitated, shifting awkwardly and before he had a chance, Remus wrapped his arms around her and smoothed her hair.
"It's going to be alright, Livia," whispered Remus. "I'm going to be here for you all the time and I'm not letting anything happen to you."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," she muttered, and Remus froze, giving her a surprised, sad look.
Over Remus's shoulder, she saw Sirius's eyes darken. She met his gaze firmly, even if she felt a little self-conscious. She let go of Remus and walked down the hall toward Defense Against the Dark Arts, leading her two favorite boys to class, standing as tall as she could and not looking at either of them as they followed her, exchanging worried and sad looks behind her back.
Olivia slid into a seat next to James in Defense Against the Dark Arts, not particularly looking forward to another hour of Sirius drooling over Professor Mackenzie, and Remus shooting her worried glances. Still, it wasn't the type of class one could just skip. She wasn't sure if Professor Mackenzie would mind, but she did know that it was something she would need to be especially good at, considering she was beginning to get the feeling that she wouldn't stop being hunted, as long as she was alive.
