Short Notes before the story:
Disclaimer: The characters, places, etc. are all mostly created by JK Rowling.
Sometimes, after or in the middle of a chapter, you'll see some song verses. I feel that the said verses capture whatever feeling there is in that chapter so I put them in. Ü
And, just in case you wonder, here's some information (name, nickname, age at the beginning of the story) about the characters that you might question as you read the story.
Oliver Clayton Wood - Oliver - 18 Parents: Derek Wood (Oliver's dad) Charlotte Nadine Atherton Wood (Oliver's mum) Siblings: Annette Georgia Wood - Annette - 21 Kathryn Margaret Wood - Kat - 12 Ian Christopher Wood - Topher - 10
Jennifer Therese McNeill - Jen - 17 Parents: Michael Dominic McNeill (Jen's dad) Eliza Cathleen Quinn McNeill (Jen's mum) Siblings: Cassandra Marie McNeill - Andy - 15 Adrian Nicholas McNeill - Nick - 13 Aileen Natalie McNeill - Lee - 13 (twins with Nick) Dawn Isabelle McNeill - Dawn - 5
Chapter One - Travel Time
Oliver Wood. He was the guy that everyone loved. Gryffindor Team's Quidditch Captain - the tall, not-so-dark, and handsome dude caught the eye of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs alike. Everyone thought that aside from not winning the Quidditch Cup, he had a perfect life. That of course, wasn't true at all. Oliver excelled in sports (duh...), academics, and the like, but he had a horrid lovelife. He, unfortunately, had seemed to have fallen for his best friend, Jennifer McNeill, whom he'd known since they were diapers. But, he didn't know how to tell her how he felt, in fear that he may ruin their friendship. During his seventh and graduating year though, he was determined to tell her the truth. He was willing to swallow his pride to tell her his true feelings...little did he know that she felt the same way too.
"Come on! We're going to be late." Oliver said. Fred and George were falling back because Lee Jordan was showing them his pet tarantula again. He hated being late. Sure he was as a troublemaker as the two (okay, maybe at least half as much), but being late was one of his pet peeves.
"Yes captain." They said, running towards him.
"Where's Jen?" He asked. Jen was Head Girl. She just also happened to be Oliver's best friend - whom he had fallen for.
"Last I saw her she was talking to that guy from Hufflepuff." George replied, eating a candy. It immediately began fizzing and he started jumping as he walked to the train. Oliver turned a shade of red when he saw her talking to Gabriel Christensen.
"Come on Jen! We haven't got all day!" Fred screeched. She rolled her eyes and waved her goodbye to the Hufflepuff lad.
"We still have to load our things in." Oliver mumbled, obviously displeased. He began grabbing their luggage and trunks and shoved them into the baggage compartment - the very last one on the train. The one after that was for all the pets, and an old frail-looking witch stayed with all the caged animals, which were mostly owls.
"The train's leaving in 15 minutes, dears." She said as she took Oliver and Jen's owls. There are only a few seats left - good luck." She cackled.
"Oh thanks alot." George said, rolling his eyes.
"Old bat." Fred muttered.
"I heard that, Weasley!" The witch barked.
"Faster now..." George said, picking up his pace. "Before she thinks I'm you and hexes me instead."
"Some brotherly love you've got, George." Jen laughed. As they walked over to the nearest entrance onto the train, which was still a bit far, thunder struck hard and immediately, rain began pouring on them. Oliver quickly took his jacket and put it on her as they ran and got on the train. They all got into a compartment, with the four of them all soaking, Jen around two percent less than the boys.
"How much do you wanna bet that the rain was the hex?" Fred frowned, wringing his dripping sweater.
"I don't think so." Oliver said. "It's just a coincidence."
"I beg to differ, captain. My brother's right! This is all a conspiracy - she knew us since we were babies...she's been planning our deaths since...since..."
"You're getting quite carried away, George." Jen laughed, letting her wet hair down from its ponytail. "But you'd do great in Divination."
"Oh, with Trelawney, right? How is she anyway? Lee Jordan says that Fred and I are lucky we took Astronomy. What's it like?"
"Our assignment over the summer was "Write an Essay about why you think you deserve to live instead of dying a horrible death two days from now." And we had to write 2 feet of parchment of that codswallop." Oliver said, rolling his eyes. "I guess we'd better change into our robes."
"Like we have a choice." George said. "Lee was right, too...about the Trelawney thing."
"You can say that again. Predict your own death and she'll give you perfect marks." Jen said, laughing, as she fixed the tie on her uniform. "I think that's one of the reasons why Oliver took it anyway...such a breeze making all that stuff up."
"That isn't true!" Oliver said, defending himself. "Though divination is an imprecise branch of magic and is very...well...sketchy...it is still very interesting...not as interesting as quidditch, of course...but interesting nonetheless."
"Why am I not bloody surprised?" Fred asked, rolling his eyes. "Everything we talk about, as long as it's with you, will end up in Quidditch." He added.
"I can talk about other things!" Oliver frowned, glowering at the Weasley. "I can talk about anything. Besides...my quidditch skills and academic standing don't cause Gryffindor to lose house points....on the other hand...these red-haired twins... knock off 200 points a year..." He retorted, and the twins smirked.
"Talk about anything, eh?" George smiled with an evil look on his face. "Well then, Captain Wood...who, may I ask, is the love of your life?" He asked. Of their group of friends, only the twins and Percy knew about Oliver's...well...feelings.
"Marcus Flint, you prat." Oliver replied, giving George a 'shut-your-mouth look'.
"Come on, Oliver. Who is it? I'd like to meet her." Jen said, totally clueless.
"Oh..." Fred smiled with an evil look equal to his brother's. "...you know her....you know her very very well."
"I do? Is it someone from school? Come on, tell me!" She asked Oliver, whose face was blood red.
"They're just joking around, Jen. There's nobody. Really." He replied, his voice cracking a tiny bit. The train blew its horn and began moving very fast. "Whoa." She said as she lunged forward.
She grabbed Oliver's leg by accident to grip on. She turned to him and suddenly let go. He looked at her and she turned a nice shade of crimson to match his. "Sorry Ollie." She said, embarrassed.
The four were laughing about Marcus Flint and the other Slytherin Quidditch players - they fought over how much one payed to get onto the team - things like that. Fred and George began doing imitations of the players, giving Marcus Flint a dumb blank stare. "My name is Mar...wait...huh? What's my name again?" George said, again with the blank stare.
Jen wore his jacket over her uniform again, and sat down, trying to dry her hair. "Thanks Oliver." She smiled.
"You're welcome. Anytime." He smiled back. He fidgeted with the hem of his school vest shirt - he could've sworn he could feel the heat from his cheeks emanating. The four began talking again, this time about Professor Snape and memories of Gilderoy Lockhart in their previous year. Suddenly, the lights grew dimmer and dimmer until they were pretty much out.
"What...What's going on?" Jen asked.
"It's the hex...I'm telling you..." George said as a sudden feeling of gloom swept over him and the others.
"I don't...oh god..." Fred said as he began to tremble.
"What is it?" Oliver asked. He saw Fred look out the window and he did as well. Large cloaked figures gliding onto the train. "DEMENTORS."
"Azkaban guards...what're they doing here......Oliver..." She paused.
"Don't be scared." He said. "Dementors are known to feed on fear...the more scared you are the weaker you get and the stronger they get. Not a good combination if you ask me." He added as he took out his wand. "Lumos."
"Okay..." She said, taking out hers as well and lighting it. Her hand was held tightly by Oliver's. The twins took out their wands and lit them as well.
"They're probably looking for Black....just in case he endangers Harry or something..." Fred trembled. They weren't usually scared like this, but the aura that the Dementors brought to them was horrible. Even if you wouldn't have been scared, you couldn't help but have this feeling when Dementors were around.
"I don't think Professor Dumbledore would allow Dementors on the train. He abhores them." Oliver said, wondering how they got onto the Hogwarts Express. "I can't just sit here....I'll check up front with Percy. Three of you, stay here." He said in a gentle yet commanding voice. "Fred, George - take care of Jen for me." He said as he opened the compartment door. "If they come, just don't mind it." He instructed. The twins nodded and he gave a final glance at Jen.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She said.
"Then take care of yourself." He smiled.
"Be careful, Oliver." She said, taking a seat beside the twins. He nodded and began moving towards the front of the train where the prefects and Head Boy was. It was quite far, since they were near the back in the last passenger coach. Oliver looked ahead of him, and in the next coach were the dementors. He couldn't risk bumping into them. If he was moving around the train, he'd be suspected to be running from them. He grabbed the latch of the nearest compartment and slid in as the Dementors entered the coach he was in. When he turned around, he was in the compartment of Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom, and Dean Thomas. He squeezed in beside the boys and looked at all of them. The three girls would've swooned at the sight of him if they weren't so overcome with fear.
"Captain Wood!" Dean said. "What are you doing in here?"
"There are dementors outside...don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." He assured them, as the three third year girls gasped.
"Dementors?" Seamus said in his thick brogue. "Aren't they guards of Azkaban? What are they doing here?"
"Probably thinking Black might be on the train." Oliver said. A thwap was heard, and when they looked in the corner, Neville had passed out. "Poor bloke, everything scares him." Oliver sighed. The dementors opened their door and looked around. Also there was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "Mr. Fudge, sir." Oliver said. "Wood here. Derek Wood's son." Oliver said.
"Oh yes! Right." He said without the slightest enthusiasm in his voice.
"What is this thing doing here?" Oliver asked. Sure he was gloomy, but he wasn't scared much. His father had told him so much about dementors that aside from the side-effect of gloom, the only other emotion he felt against them was hatred. Lavender made a wheezing noise as the Dementor sniffed at her. Dean was actually talking to Seamus about the cloaked dementor.
"Checking for Black, Oliver. He could be anywhere." The Minister replied.
"I see." Oliver said. After the Dementor took a sniff around, he left the compartment. A rush of relief overcame the Gryffindors.
"Good thing that's over." Dean sighed.
"Neville!" Seamus slapped Neville's face, and the round faced boy came around.
"Wh...what happened?" Neville asked, turning to Oliver.
"They'll explain. I've got to go." Oliver said. "Lavender, get that wheezing checked by Madame Pomfrey, okay?" He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You might have asthma....it's a muggle sickness, I know, but I know Madame Pomfrey can cure it. Promise you'll get that checked?" Oliver asked.
"Y...yeah...I will." She said. If the lights were on, Oliver would've seen her crimson face, and she was relieved he couldn't.
"Okay...see you all later." He smiled before exiting the compartment.
"I'm never going to wash this blouse again..." Lavender whispered to the Patils.
"Why didn't he talk to us..." Parvati hissed to Padma.
Oliver knew what was going on. His suspicions were right, so he need not to go to Percy. He began walking back to his compartment, passing by the one the Dementors and Fudge were in. It was the one with Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle, and Malfoy was paler than usual. He passed them, and after a few moments, he slid back into his compartment, two coaches away from where the Dementors were.
"Oliver!" Jen said, wrapping her arms around his neck. This time, Oliver was relieved that Jen couldn't see his face.
"We've been trying to convince her that Dementors don't eat people." Fred said, gloomily. "Yeah, she thought either you were eather or they might've mistook you for Black and arrested you by accident." George added.
"Well," She said with a tone of slight irritation, "they're blind. And all their other senses are heightened. If he was walking through the coaches they could've thought Black was running away from them." She said.
"She has a point, you know." Oliver said, sitting her down. "They'll be here in a while, and I saw Malfoy being checked. He looked like he was going to cry." Oliver said with a weak smile.
"That's great." Jen laughed, and the Dementors opened their door. Oliver saw the look of sheer terror on Jen's face, and kept on talking to her as the Dementor looked around.
"Oh, Jen," He said, heightening the volume of his voice so she could focus on it more. "...we'll be needing you at practice all the time. We'll need to practice twice as hard this year."
"Y...yes. Of course." She said, forcing a smile as her eyes lingered on the Dementor. They left and moved to the last compartment.
"Thank goodness this is almost done." Fudge said as he closed the compartment door behind him. Jen was breathing deeply, and Oliver's right arm was numb from her grip.
"Um...Jen...you can let go now." Oliver smiled.
"Oh, right." She said, embarassed again, and let go of him. They heard a resounding thump coming from the last compartment, and looked at each other.
"What in the world was that?" Fred said, his forehead scrunched up. Seconds later, the lights brightened again and everything went back to normal. The train began moving again and everyone was relieved.
"I'm just going to check what happened back there." Oliver said, pointing to the last compartment. He stood and walked over. There he saw Harry Potter half-awake sprawled on the floor.
"He passed out. It was horrible." Ron explained.
Oliver sighed, helping an adult get Harry up off the ground. "Good afternoon, sir." Oliver said.
"Good afternoon - Wood right? You're Oliver Wood?" The adult asked.
"Yes sir. How'd you..."
"I'm a friend of you father and mother." He said. "Remus Lupin." The man said, and held out his hand. Oliver took it and shook it. He'd heard his parents talking about a Lupin person over the summer.
"Pleasure sir." Oliver said, straightening himself up again. "Okay there, Harry?" He said, patting Harry's shoulder. Harry was about to respond when Lupin stuffed Honeyduke's best chocolate into his mouth.
"Sorry." Lupin said. "He needs it. All of you do. It'll make you feel better. I think that the trolley lady will be giving out some chocolate for free." Lupin said. Oliver, Hermione, and Ron nodded.
"Well, good thing you're up. We don't want our Seeker to do that in the middle of a match." Oliver smiled. The three young wizards and the adult nodded and he began to turn away, when he snapped back. "Oh, sir....what are you doing on the train, anyways?"
"I'll be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." He replied. Oliver nodded and returned to his compartment. He explained everything to the others, and then the trolley lady passed by and stopped at their compartment.
"Any of you want some food dears? I'm giving out free chocolate." She said.
"Free chocolate!" The twins said, taking as much as they could.
"I still sell the usual items." She smiled as the twins were hoarding more and more onto their laps.
"I'll have a bottle of butterbeer and some Licorice Wands, along with some chocolate." Oliver smiled, giving the lady his payment. "Don't you want anything?" Oliver turned to Jen. She then realized that her money was in her trunk, and there was none on her person at the time.
"Oh, no thanks." She smiled, accepting the free chocolate. Knowing better, Oliver took some extra Licorice Wands and another bottle of butterbeer. He gave the lady the payment for the extras and nodded his thanks. The lady trollied away and he faced Jen.
"Here Jen."
"You shouldn't have." She shyly said.
"But I did. So here." He smiled encouragingly. It was one of those begging smiles that made you want to melt. She accepted his offer and took a licorice wand, eating it and pretending to curse the Weasley twins. They all had a bunch of laughs again, trying to bring their moods back to normal.
The sun had set and the rain had stopped, so Oliver opened the window for fresh air. Freedom from the stuffiness in the compartment.
"Sorry about this." She said, pointing to herself, more specifically the jacket.
"It's okay." He said. "You could've gotten sick." He added and she warmly smiled back at him.
"Thank you, Oliver." She smiled. "Is it okay if I get a bit of shut eye?" She asked, not wanting to be offensive.
"Go ahead." The twins said. Talking to each other, holding piles of parchment in their hands.
"Sure! Of course." Oliver smiled. She smiled back, leaned into a corner, and gently closed her eyes.
"Sweet dreams." He whispered. Staring out the window, he could see her reflection. She slept so peacefully, almost angelic in appearance. He wanted her to be more than her friend, but how he'd break it to her...
"Oliver?" She stirred, coughing. He rubbed her back a bit, and she smiled, half-worried that he was uncomfortable without his jacket, but to him, it was better that he was uncomfortable than she. She leaned back again, but this time, on his shoulder. He took a deep breath and before he knew it, he was asleep himself.
Oliver stirred as he saw a vague Weasley shake him.
"We're ten minutes away...wake up." Fred said.
"Oh thanks George." Oliver said. He was evidently still half asleep. He gently shook Jen, and she opened her eyes. "We're almost there." Oliver smiled, almost wishing that that moment hadn't ended.
"Oh, thanks." She smiled. "Oliver?" She asked, turning around.
"Yeah?" He asked. She smiled at him - he looked so prim and proper in his uniform.
"Thanks so much for letting me borrow this." She said. Knowing no other way of thanking him at that moment, she gently kissed his cheek in gratitude. Oliver's smile couldn't have been wider. "Oh, wait." She said. "Your tie is crooked. Here..." She said, fixing it. Just as she did, he tried to fix it, and his hands enveloped hers. She quickly fixed it then slipped her hands out from under his. "There...all fixed..." She smiled weakly before turning around and pretending to organize her things. His eyes followed her and made him think alot about his feelings that were still unknown to her.
"You know what, you can have it." He smiled.
"Really? But it's your favorite jacket, Oliver." She said.
It's okay. I'm giving it to my best friend anyway." He replied.
"Thanks Oliver! You're the greatest." She kissed him again on the cheek.
*And I wish she meant that in a different way.* He thought to himself, shaking his head.
Disclaimer: The characters, places, etc. are all mostly created by JK Rowling.
Sometimes, after or in the middle of a chapter, you'll see some song verses. I feel that the said verses capture whatever feeling there is in that chapter so I put them in. Ü
And, just in case you wonder, here's some information (name, nickname, age at the beginning of the story) about the characters that you might question as you read the story.
Oliver Clayton Wood - Oliver - 18 Parents: Derek Wood (Oliver's dad) Charlotte Nadine Atherton Wood (Oliver's mum) Siblings: Annette Georgia Wood - Annette - 21 Kathryn Margaret Wood - Kat - 12 Ian Christopher Wood - Topher - 10
Jennifer Therese McNeill - Jen - 17 Parents: Michael Dominic McNeill (Jen's dad) Eliza Cathleen Quinn McNeill (Jen's mum) Siblings: Cassandra Marie McNeill - Andy - 15 Adrian Nicholas McNeill - Nick - 13 Aileen Natalie McNeill - Lee - 13 (twins with Nick) Dawn Isabelle McNeill - Dawn - 5
Chapter One - Travel Time
Oliver Wood. He was the guy that everyone loved. Gryffindor Team's Quidditch Captain - the tall, not-so-dark, and handsome dude caught the eye of Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs alike. Everyone thought that aside from not winning the Quidditch Cup, he had a perfect life. That of course, wasn't true at all. Oliver excelled in sports (duh...), academics, and the like, but he had a horrid lovelife. He, unfortunately, had seemed to have fallen for his best friend, Jennifer McNeill, whom he'd known since they were diapers. But, he didn't know how to tell her how he felt, in fear that he may ruin their friendship. During his seventh and graduating year though, he was determined to tell her the truth. He was willing to swallow his pride to tell her his true feelings...little did he know that she felt the same way too.
"Come on! We're going to be late." Oliver said. Fred and George were falling back because Lee Jordan was showing them his pet tarantula again. He hated being late. Sure he was as a troublemaker as the two (okay, maybe at least half as much), but being late was one of his pet peeves.
"Yes captain." They said, running towards him.
"Where's Jen?" He asked. Jen was Head Girl. She just also happened to be Oliver's best friend - whom he had fallen for.
"Last I saw her she was talking to that guy from Hufflepuff." George replied, eating a candy. It immediately began fizzing and he started jumping as he walked to the train. Oliver turned a shade of red when he saw her talking to Gabriel Christensen.
"Come on Jen! We haven't got all day!" Fred screeched. She rolled her eyes and waved her goodbye to the Hufflepuff lad.
"We still have to load our things in." Oliver mumbled, obviously displeased. He began grabbing their luggage and trunks and shoved them into the baggage compartment - the very last one on the train. The one after that was for all the pets, and an old frail-looking witch stayed with all the caged animals, which were mostly owls.
"The train's leaving in 15 minutes, dears." She said as she took Oliver and Jen's owls. There are only a few seats left - good luck." She cackled.
"Oh thanks alot." George said, rolling his eyes.
"Old bat." Fred muttered.
"I heard that, Weasley!" The witch barked.
"Faster now..." George said, picking up his pace. "Before she thinks I'm you and hexes me instead."
"Some brotherly love you've got, George." Jen laughed. As they walked over to the nearest entrance onto the train, which was still a bit far, thunder struck hard and immediately, rain began pouring on them. Oliver quickly took his jacket and put it on her as they ran and got on the train. They all got into a compartment, with the four of them all soaking, Jen around two percent less than the boys.
"How much do you wanna bet that the rain was the hex?" Fred frowned, wringing his dripping sweater.
"I don't think so." Oliver said. "It's just a coincidence."
"I beg to differ, captain. My brother's right! This is all a conspiracy - she knew us since we were babies...she's been planning our deaths since...since..."
"You're getting quite carried away, George." Jen laughed, letting her wet hair down from its ponytail. "But you'd do great in Divination."
"Oh, with Trelawney, right? How is she anyway? Lee Jordan says that Fred and I are lucky we took Astronomy. What's it like?"
"Our assignment over the summer was "Write an Essay about why you think you deserve to live instead of dying a horrible death two days from now." And we had to write 2 feet of parchment of that codswallop." Oliver said, rolling his eyes. "I guess we'd better change into our robes."
"Like we have a choice." George said. "Lee was right, too...about the Trelawney thing."
"You can say that again. Predict your own death and she'll give you perfect marks." Jen said, laughing, as she fixed the tie on her uniform. "I think that's one of the reasons why Oliver took it anyway...such a breeze making all that stuff up."
"That isn't true!" Oliver said, defending himself. "Though divination is an imprecise branch of magic and is very...well...sketchy...it is still very interesting...not as interesting as quidditch, of course...but interesting nonetheless."
"Why am I not bloody surprised?" Fred asked, rolling his eyes. "Everything we talk about, as long as it's with you, will end up in Quidditch." He added.
"I can talk about other things!" Oliver frowned, glowering at the Weasley. "I can talk about anything. Besides...my quidditch skills and academic standing don't cause Gryffindor to lose house points....on the other hand...these red-haired twins... knock off 200 points a year..." He retorted, and the twins smirked.
"Talk about anything, eh?" George smiled with an evil look on his face. "Well then, Captain Wood...who, may I ask, is the love of your life?" He asked. Of their group of friends, only the twins and Percy knew about Oliver's...well...feelings.
"Marcus Flint, you prat." Oliver replied, giving George a 'shut-your-mouth look'.
"Come on, Oliver. Who is it? I'd like to meet her." Jen said, totally clueless.
"Oh..." Fred smiled with an evil look equal to his brother's. "...you know her....you know her very very well."
"I do? Is it someone from school? Come on, tell me!" She asked Oliver, whose face was blood red.
"They're just joking around, Jen. There's nobody. Really." He replied, his voice cracking a tiny bit. The train blew its horn and began moving very fast. "Whoa." She said as she lunged forward.
She grabbed Oliver's leg by accident to grip on. She turned to him and suddenly let go. He looked at her and she turned a nice shade of crimson to match his. "Sorry Ollie." She said, embarrassed.
The four were laughing about Marcus Flint and the other Slytherin Quidditch players - they fought over how much one payed to get onto the team - things like that. Fred and George began doing imitations of the players, giving Marcus Flint a dumb blank stare. "My name is Mar...wait...huh? What's my name again?" George said, again with the blank stare.
Jen wore his jacket over her uniform again, and sat down, trying to dry her hair. "Thanks Oliver." She smiled.
"You're welcome. Anytime." He smiled back. He fidgeted with the hem of his school vest shirt - he could've sworn he could feel the heat from his cheeks emanating. The four began talking again, this time about Professor Snape and memories of Gilderoy Lockhart in their previous year. Suddenly, the lights grew dimmer and dimmer until they were pretty much out.
"What...What's going on?" Jen asked.
"It's the hex...I'm telling you..." George said as a sudden feeling of gloom swept over him and the others.
"I don't...oh god..." Fred said as he began to tremble.
"What is it?" Oliver asked. He saw Fred look out the window and he did as well. Large cloaked figures gliding onto the train. "DEMENTORS."
"Azkaban guards...what're they doing here......Oliver..." She paused.
"Don't be scared." He said. "Dementors are known to feed on fear...the more scared you are the weaker you get and the stronger they get. Not a good combination if you ask me." He added as he took out his wand. "Lumos."
"Okay..." She said, taking out hers as well and lighting it. Her hand was held tightly by Oliver's. The twins took out their wands and lit them as well.
"They're probably looking for Black....just in case he endangers Harry or something..." Fred trembled. They weren't usually scared like this, but the aura that the Dementors brought to them was horrible. Even if you wouldn't have been scared, you couldn't help but have this feeling when Dementors were around.
"I don't think Professor Dumbledore would allow Dementors on the train. He abhores them." Oliver said, wondering how they got onto the Hogwarts Express. "I can't just sit here....I'll check up front with Percy. Three of you, stay here." He said in a gentle yet commanding voice. "Fred, George - take care of Jen for me." He said as he opened the compartment door. "If they come, just don't mind it." He instructed. The twins nodded and he gave a final glance at Jen.
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much." She said.
"Then take care of yourself." He smiled.
"Be careful, Oliver." She said, taking a seat beside the twins. He nodded and began moving towards the front of the train where the prefects and Head Boy was. It was quite far, since they were near the back in the last passenger coach. Oliver looked ahead of him, and in the next coach were the dementors. He couldn't risk bumping into them. If he was moving around the train, he'd be suspected to be running from them. He grabbed the latch of the nearest compartment and slid in as the Dementors entered the coach he was in. When he turned around, he was in the compartment of Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom, and Dean Thomas. He squeezed in beside the boys and looked at all of them. The three girls would've swooned at the sight of him if they weren't so overcome with fear.
"Captain Wood!" Dean said. "What are you doing in here?"
"There are dementors outside...don't worry. Everything's going to be okay." He assured them, as the three third year girls gasped.
"Dementors?" Seamus said in his thick brogue. "Aren't they guards of Azkaban? What are they doing here?"
"Probably thinking Black might be on the train." Oliver said. A thwap was heard, and when they looked in the corner, Neville had passed out. "Poor bloke, everything scares him." Oliver sighed. The dementors opened their door and looked around. Also there was the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. "Mr. Fudge, sir." Oliver said. "Wood here. Derek Wood's son." Oliver said.
"Oh yes! Right." He said without the slightest enthusiasm in his voice.
"What is this thing doing here?" Oliver asked. Sure he was gloomy, but he wasn't scared much. His father had told him so much about dementors that aside from the side-effect of gloom, the only other emotion he felt against them was hatred. Lavender made a wheezing noise as the Dementor sniffed at her. Dean was actually talking to Seamus about the cloaked dementor.
"Checking for Black, Oliver. He could be anywhere." The Minister replied.
"I see." Oliver said. After the Dementor took a sniff around, he left the compartment. A rush of relief overcame the Gryffindors.
"Good thing that's over." Dean sighed.
"Neville!" Seamus slapped Neville's face, and the round faced boy came around.
"Wh...what happened?" Neville asked, turning to Oliver.
"They'll explain. I've got to go." Oliver said. "Lavender, get that wheezing checked by Madame Pomfrey, okay?" He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You might have asthma....it's a muggle sickness, I know, but I know Madame Pomfrey can cure it. Promise you'll get that checked?" Oliver asked.
"Y...yeah...I will." She said. If the lights were on, Oliver would've seen her crimson face, and she was relieved he couldn't.
"Okay...see you all later." He smiled before exiting the compartment.
"I'm never going to wash this blouse again..." Lavender whispered to the Patils.
"Why didn't he talk to us..." Parvati hissed to Padma.
Oliver knew what was going on. His suspicions were right, so he need not to go to Percy. He began walking back to his compartment, passing by the one the Dementors and Fudge were in. It was the one with Malfoy and Crabbe and Goyle, and Malfoy was paler than usual. He passed them, and after a few moments, he slid back into his compartment, two coaches away from where the Dementors were.
"Oliver!" Jen said, wrapping her arms around his neck. This time, Oliver was relieved that Jen couldn't see his face.
"We've been trying to convince her that Dementors don't eat people." Fred said, gloomily. "Yeah, she thought either you were eather or they might've mistook you for Black and arrested you by accident." George added.
"Well," She said with a tone of slight irritation, "they're blind. And all their other senses are heightened. If he was walking through the coaches they could've thought Black was running away from them." She said.
"She has a point, you know." Oliver said, sitting her down. "They'll be here in a while, and I saw Malfoy being checked. He looked like he was going to cry." Oliver said with a weak smile.
"That's great." Jen laughed, and the Dementors opened their door. Oliver saw the look of sheer terror on Jen's face, and kept on talking to her as the Dementor looked around.
"Oh, Jen," He said, heightening the volume of his voice so she could focus on it more. "...we'll be needing you at practice all the time. We'll need to practice twice as hard this year."
"Y...yes. Of course." She said, forcing a smile as her eyes lingered on the Dementor. They left and moved to the last compartment.
"Thank goodness this is almost done." Fudge said as he closed the compartment door behind him. Jen was breathing deeply, and Oliver's right arm was numb from her grip.
"Um...Jen...you can let go now." Oliver smiled.
"Oh, right." She said, embarassed again, and let go of him. They heard a resounding thump coming from the last compartment, and looked at each other.
"What in the world was that?" Fred said, his forehead scrunched up. Seconds later, the lights brightened again and everything went back to normal. The train began moving again and everyone was relieved.
"I'm just going to check what happened back there." Oliver said, pointing to the last compartment. He stood and walked over. There he saw Harry Potter half-awake sprawled on the floor.
"He passed out. It was horrible." Ron explained.
Oliver sighed, helping an adult get Harry up off the ground. "Good afternoon, sir." Oliver said.
"Good afternoon - Wood right? You're Oliver Wood?" The adult asked.
"Yes sir. How'd you..."
"I'm a friend of you father and mother." He said. "Remus Lupin." The man said, and held out his hand. Oliver took it and shook it. He'd heard his parents talking about a Lupin person over the summer.
"Pleasure sir." Oliver said, straightening himself up again. "Okay there, Harry?" He said, patting Harry's shoulder. Harry was about to respond when Lupin stuffed Honeyduke's best chocolate into his mouth.
"Sorry." Lupin said. "He needs it. All of you do. It'll make you feel better. I think that the trolley lady will be giving out some chocolate for free." Lupin said. Oliver, Hermione, and Ron nodded.
"Well, good thing you're up. We don't want our Seeker to do that in the middle of a match." Oliver smiled. The three young wizards and the adult nodded and he began to turn away, when he snapped back. "Oh, sir....what are you doing on the train, anyways?"
"I'll be your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." He replied. Oliver nodded and returned to his compartment. He explained everything to the others, and then the trolley lady passed by and stopped at their compartment.
"Any of you want some food dears? I'm giving out free chocolate." She said.
"Free chocolate!" The twins said, taking as much as they could.
"I still sell the usual items." She smiled as the twins were hoarding more and more onto their laps.
"I'll have a bottle of butterbeer and some Licorice Wands, along with some chocolate." Oliver smiled, giving the lady his payment. "Don't you want anything?" Oliver turned to Jen. She then realized that her money was in her trunk, and there was none on her person at the time.
"Oh, no thanks." She smiled, accepting the free chocolate. Knowing better, Oliver took some extra Licorice Wands and another bottle of butterbeer. He gave the lady the payment for the extras and nodded his thanks. The lady trollied away and he faced Jen.
"Here Jen."
"You shouldn't have." She shyly said.
"But I did. So here." He smiled encouragingly. It was one of those begging smiles that made you want to melt. She accepted his offer and took a licorice wand, eating it and pretending to curse the Weasley twins. They all had a bunch of laughs again, trying to bring their moods back to normal.
The sun had set and the rain had stopped, so Oliver opened the window for fresh air. Freedom from the stuffiness in the compartment.
"Sorry about this." She said, pointing to herself, more specifically the jacket.
"It's okay." He said. "You could've gotten sick." He added and she warmly smiled back at him.
"Thank you, Oliver." She smiled. "Is it okay if I get a bit of shut eye?" She asked, not wanting to be offensive.
"Go ahead." The twins said. Talking to each other, holding piles of parchment in their hands.
"Sure! Of course." Oliver smiled. She smiled back, leaned into a corner, and gently closed her eyes.
"Sweet dreams." He whispered. Staring out the window, he could see her reflection. She slept so peacefully, almost angelic in appearance. He wanted her to be more than her friend, but how he'd break it to her...
"Oliver?" She stirred, coughing. He rubbed her back a bit, and she smiled, half-worried that he was uncomfortable without his jacket, but to him, it was better that he was uncomfortable than she. She leaned back again, but this time, on his shoulder. He took a deep breath and before he knew it, he was asleep himself.
Oliver stirred as he saw a vague Weasley shake him.
"We're ten minutes away...wake up." Fred said.
"Oh thanks George." Oliver said. He was evidently still half asleep. He gently shook Jen, and she opened her eyes. "We're almost there." Oliver smiled, almost wishing that that moment hadn't ended.
"Oh, thanks." She smiled. "Oliver?" She asked, turning around.
"Yeah?" He asked. She smiled at him - he looked so prim and proper in his uniform.
"Thanks so much for letting me borrow this." She said. Knowing no other way of thanking him at that moment, she gently kissed his cheek in gratitude. Oliver's smile couldn't have been wider. "Oh, wait." She said. "Your tie is crooked. Here..." She said, fixing it. Just as she did, he tried to fix it, and his hands enveloped hers. She quickly fixed it then slipped her hands out from under his. "There...all fixed..." She smiled weakly before turning around and pretending to organize her things. His eyes followed her and made him think alot about his feelings that were still unknown to her.
"You know what, you can have it." He smiled.
"Really? But it's your favorite jacket, Oliver." She said.
It's okay. I'm giving it to my best friend anyway." He replied.
"Thanks Oliver! You're the greatest." She kissed him again on the cheek.
*And I wish she meant that in a different way.* He thought to himself, shaking his head.