A couple of weeks after the students returned and classes resumed, Oliver
still hadn't spoken to Adrianna. But it seemed as though her anger might be
subsiding just a little bit. The day before Oliver had finally managed to
make eye contact with her in the corridor, and unless he was quite mistaken
she had given him a sort of half-smile.
Today was a Wednesday, which meant an outdoor flying lesson with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. The students had enough lessons that they'd mastered the basic skills of flying, and now Oliver was teaching them skills specific to quidditch. He ran the students through a series of drills, taking notes to decide whether he would put each student in a group as a chaser, a keeper, a beater or a seeker. His plan was to work with each group to help them develop in the position where they had the most natural skill. Hogwarts had a very high number of students that went on to be professional quidditch players, and Oliver wanted to make sure that that number remained just as high now that he was the flying instructor at Hogwarts.
After working with the students for what seemed to Oliver like a very short time, he glanced at his watch and realized that he had already kept the students 15 minutes past the end of class. He apologized for keeping them late and then dismissed them so that they could make it to the Great Hall before dinner was over. He put the school brooms back in the broom shed, returned the quaffle and the beaters bats to the closet in his office, and then ran to the Great Hall for dinner. When he arrived there was only one seat left at the staff table, right next to Adrianna. Feeling somewhat nervous, Oliver sat down next to her and began to eat dinner. They didn't speak to each other throughout the entire meal. Oliver still didn't know how she was feeling toward him and didn't want to risk making her mad again. He figured that she would talk to him when she was ready.
When Adrianna was done eating she got up and left the table, but lying next to her plate was a tiny roll of parchment with a bit of ribbon tied around it. Oliver figured that she had just forgotten it and picked it up, intending to give it to her later. But when he examined it a little closer, he was surprised to see that his name was written across it. He carefully untied the ribbon and opened the roll of parchment. Inside, written in Adrianna's handwriting, were the words "I believe you."
Oliver sat in his office a few hours later. He had Quidditch Through the Ages open in front of him, but his mind was on the little roll of parchment that he held in his hand. He was really glad to see that Adrianna finally believed him, but he also wondered what had changed her mind. He didn't know how things were going to be between them, which made him a little nervous. Would she want to just be friends for a while before pursuing a romantic relationship, or would she want to jump back into the relationship where they had left off? She had said that she believed him, but would she really ever trust him completely again like she had before? He really wanted to talk to her and get an idea of what was going through her head, but he didn't know if he should approach her or wait for her to come to him when she was ready. He debated about it for a while before finally deciding to go and talk to her, but just as he was getting up out of his chair there was a knock at his office door.
"Come in," Oliver called. The door opened and Adrianna walked in slowly.
"Hey, do you have a few minutes?" she asked quietly.
"Of course. Why don't we talk in the living room?" he suggested, opening the door behind the tapestry that led to his rooms.
He held the door for Adrianna and entered after her. They sat at opposite ends of the couch facing each other, and Adrianna spoke first.
"Oliver, I'm really sorry. I should have listened to you from the beginning, but I was so angry when I saw Alicia kissing you. I just assumed the worst and I didn't want to hear anything about it. Even when Alicia told me what really happened, part of me wanted to believe it but part of me was saying that you were a jerk just like every other guy I've met. But I've been thinking a lot over the last couple of weeks, and I realized that you never acted like a jerk toward me. You saved me from my own drunken stupidity on New Year's Eve and you took care of me. You didn't have to do that for me but you did. You've been very patient with me throughout everything, and I appreciate that. And if you'll take me back, I'd still like to be your girlfriend."
Oliver was very relieved to hear Adrianna say that she still wanted to be his girlfriend.
"Of course I'll take you back. I never wanted to lose you in the first place."
Adrianna slid across the couch so that she was right next to Oliver and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back and thought to himself how nice it was to hold her in his arms again. He kissed her gently on the forehead, then on her cheek and then on the lips. She kissed him back but pulled away after a moment or two.
"Oliver, I think that we should take it slow for a while. I don't think I can just pick up where we left off before."
He realized that she didn't trust him like she had before. Though it was certainly not intentional, he'd hurt her and now he was going to have to prove himself to her. As much as he longed for things to be the way they'd been before, he was grateful that he had her back and was willing to take things at whatever pace was comfortable for her. They cuddled on the couch and talked for what seemed to Oliver like a short amount of time but was really a few hours. Adrianna looked at the clock on the mantelpiece and sighed.
"I really ought to get going. I still have lessons to prepare and I need to get some sleep."
They both got up from the couch and Oliver walked with Adrianna to the door.
"Goodnight," she said, giving him another hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Adrianna. I love you," he replied as she opened the door.
She looked up at him but didn't respond as she closed the door behind her.
A week later, Dumbledore called an emergency staff meeting. Oliver was a bit curious as to what was so important that it couldn't wait until their regular staff meeting, which was scheduled for the following week. He filed into the staff room with the other teachers and sat in one of the chairs that had been arranged in a half-circle. At the front of the room were Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter.
"The reason for this meeting," began Dumbledore, "is because we may be facing a very grave situation in the near future. As most of you know, Harry Potter faced Lord Voldemort last year while he was still a student here at Hogwarts, and while Voldemort lost some of his powers went into hiding, he is still out there somewhere rebuilding his strength and his powers. I have reason to believe that Voldemort may come back to power a bit sooner than anyone expected. Our young Mr. Potter has been having some disturbing dreams lately, and his scar has been causing him a great deal of pain. Just today, a student came to me saying that Professor Trelawney made a real prediction today, her third one to date I believe. The student quoted her as saying 'Beware, for even now the dark lord is being restored to power. He will seek vengeance not only on his most hated enemy, but also on the children of those who work tirelessly against him.'"
"I wouldn't trust anything Trelawney says," Oliver heard professor McGonagall say under her breath.
"And now Severus," continued Dumbledore, "could I ask you to please roll up your sleeve?"
Professor Snape rolled up the sleeve of his robe and showed Dumbledore his forearm. Oliver caught a glimpse of it and couldn't stop himself from gasping at what he saw. He realized that he wasn't the only one who had gasped. For there, on Snape's forearm, was a grayish-black Dark Mark.
"It's been growing darker every day for the last week," said Snape.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Please know that I have full confidence in Severus Snape's loyalty to our side," he said in response to the looks of shock and gasps from around the half-circle.
"Based on everything that's been happening, I think that some of our students are in great danger. For Mr. Potter's own protection, he will be staying here at Hogwarts. He has expressed an interest in assisting with the flying lessons if it's alright with you, Mr. Wood."
Oliver nodded, and Dumbledore continued.
"Heads of house, I want you to relay the following rules to your students effective immediately. Students will be escorted by a teacher from class to class. They are not to be wandering the halls alone, and anyone found doing such will be punished. Students will go directly to their common rooms immediately after dinner each night and are not to leave, with the exception of students needing to use the library, which will be escorted and supervised by a teacher. Students are not to leave the castle without being accompanied by a teacher for any reason whatsoever. I realized that these rules are a bit strict, but I believe that they are necessary if we hope to prevent something disastrous from occurring at this school."
Today was a Wednesday, which meant an outdoor flying lesson with the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. The students had enough lessons that they'd mastered the basic skills of flying, and now Oliver was teaching them skills specific to quidditch. He ran the students through a series of drills, taking notes to decide whether he would put each student in a group as a chaser, a keeper, a beater or a seeker. His plan was to work with each group to help them develop in the position where they had the most natural skill. Hogwarts had a very high number of students that went on to be professional quidditch players, and Oliver wanted to make sure that that number remained just as high now that he was the flying instructor at Hogwarts.
After working with the students for what seemed to Oliver like a very short time, he glanced at his watch and realized that he had already kept the students 15 minutes past the end of class. He apologized for keeping them late and then dismissed them so that they could make it to the Great Hall before dinner was over. He put the school brooms back in the broom shed, returned the quaffle and the beaters bats to the closet in his office, and then ran to the Great Hall for dinner. When he arrived there was only one seat left at the staff table, right next to Adrianna. Feeling somewhat nervous, Oliver sat down next to her and began to eat dinner. They didn't speak to each other throughout the entire meal. Oliver still didn't know how she was feeling toward him and didn't want to risk making her mad again. He figured that she would talk to him when she was ready.
When Adrianna was done eating she got up and left the table, but lying next to her plate was a tiny roll of parchment with a bit of ribbon tied around it. Oliver figured that she had just forgotten it and picked it up, intending to give it to her later. But when he examined it a little closer, he was surprised to see that his name was written across it. He carefully untied the ribbon and opened the roll of parchment. Inside, written in Adrianna's handwriting, were the words "I believe you."
Oliver sat in his office a few hours later. He had Quidditch Through the Ages open in front of him, but his mind was on the little roll of parchment that he held in his hand. He was really glad to see that Adrianna finally believed him, but he also wondered what had changed her mind. He didn't know how things were going to be between them, which made him a little nervous. Would she want to just be friends for a while before pursuing a romantic relationship, or would she want to jump back into the relationship where they had left off? She had said that she believed him, but would she really ever trust him completely again like she had before? He really wanted to talk to her and get an idea of what was going through her head, but he didn't know if he should approach her or wait for her to come to him when she was ready. He debated about it for a while before finally deciding to go and talk to her, but just as he was getting up out of his chair there was a knock at his office door.
"Come in," Oliver called. The door opened and Adrianna walked in slowly.
"Hey, do you have a few minutes?" she asked quietly.
"Of course. Why don't we talk in the living room?" he suggested, opening the door behind the tapestry that led to his rooms.
He held the door for Adrianna and entered after her. They sat at opposite ends of the couch facing each other, and Adrianna spoke first.
"Oliver, I'm really sorry. I should have listened to you from the beginning, but I was so angry when I saw Alicia kissing you. I just assumed the worst and I didn't want to hear anything about it. Even when Alicia told me what really happened, part of me wanted to believe it but part of me was saying that you were a jerk just like every other guy I've met. But I've been thinking a lot over the last couple of weeks, and I realized that you never acted like a jerk toward me. You saved me from my own drunken stupidity on New Year's Eve and you took care of me. You didn't have to do that for me but you did. You've been very patient with me throughout everything, and I appreciate that. And if you'll take me back, I'd still like to be your girlfriend."
Oliver was very relieved to hear Adrianna say that she still wanted to be his girlfriend.
"Of course I'll take you back. I never wanted to lose you in the first place."
Adrianna slid across the couch so that she was right next to Oliver and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He hugged her back and thought to himself how nice it was to hold her in his arms again. He kissed her gently on the forehead, then on her cheek and then on the lips. She kissed him back but pulled away after a moment or two.
"Oliver, I think that we should take it slow for a while. I don't think I can just pick up where we left off before."
He realized that she didn't trust him like she had before. Though it was certainly not intentional, he'd hurt her and now he was going to have to prove himself to her. As much as he longed for things to be the way they'd been before, he was grateful that he had her back and was willing to take things at whatever pace was comfortable for her. They cuddled on the couch and talked for what seemed to Oliver like a short amount of time but was really a few hours. Adrianna looked at the clock on the mantelpiece and sighed.
"I really ought to get going. I still have lessons to prepare and I need to get some sleep."
They both got up from the couch and Oliver walked with Adrianna to the door.
"Goodnight," she said, giving him another hug and a peck on the cheek.
"Goodnight, Adrianna. I love you," he replied as she opened the door.
She looked up at him but didn't respond as she closed the door behind her.
A week later, Dumbledore called an emergency staff meeting. Oliver was a bit curious as to what was so important that it couldn't wait until their regular staff meeting, which was scheduled for the following week. He filed into the staff room with the other teachers and sat in one of the chairs that had been arranged in a half-circle. At the front of the room were Professor Dumbledore and Harry Potter.
"The reason for this meeting," began Dumbledore, "is because we may be facing a very grave situation in the near future. As most of you know, Harry Potter faced Lord Voldemort last year while he was still a student here at Hogwarts, and while Voldemort lost some of his powers went into hiding, he is still out there somewhere rebuilding his strength and his powers. I have reason to believe that Voldemort may come back to power a bit sooner than anyone expected. Our young Mr. Potter has been having some disturbing dreams lately, and his scar has been causing him a great deal of pain. Just today, a student came to me saying that Professor Trelawney made a real prediction today, her third one to date I believe. The student quoted her as saying 'Beware, for even now the dark lord is being restored to power. He will seek vengeance not only on his most hated enemy, but also on the children of those who work tirelessly against him.'"
"I wouldn't trust anything Trelawney says," Oliver heard professor McGonagall say under her breath.
"And now Severus," continued Dumbledore, "could I ask you to please roll up your sleeve?"
Professor Snape rolled up the sleeve of his robe and showed Dumbledore his forearm. Oliver caught a glimpse of it and couldn't stop himself from gasping at what he saw. He realized that he wasn't the only one who had gasped. For there, on Snape's forearm, was a grayish-black Dark Mark.
"It's been growing darker every day for the last week," said Snape.
Dumbledore nodded solemnly. "Please know that I have full confidence in Severus Snape's loyalty to our side," he said in response to the looks of shock and gasps from around the half-circle.
"Based on everything that's been happening, I think that some of our students are in great danger. For Mr. Potter's own protection, he will be staying here at Hogwarts. He has expressed an interest in assisting with the flying lessons if it's alright with you, Mr. Wood."
Oliver nodded, and Dumbledore continued.
"Heads of house, I want you to relay the following rules to your students effective immediately. Students will be escorted by a teacher from class to class. They are not to be wandering the halls alone, and anyone found doing such will be punished. Students will go directly to their common rooms immediately after dinner each night and are not to leave, with the exception of students needing to use the library, which will be escorted and supervised by a teacher. Students are not to leave the castle without being accompanied by a teacher for any reason whatsoever. I realized that these rules are a bit strict, but I believe that they are necessary if we hope to prevent something disastrous from occurring at this school."