Getting Away From It All
Summer passed and halfway through October bulletins were posted announcing the first visit to Hogsmead. Life at Hogwart's was growing on Olivia. Her classes were challenging in the right sort of way and she had made quite a few friends. Thoughts about her father were put on the back burner as she, Leticia, and Sylvia, discussed their plans for Hogsmead.
"We'll definitely have to visit Honeydukes and stock up on candy, my stash is running low." They were sitting in the common room comparing notes on their transfiguration homework. Only Olivia had managed to transform her snail into a slug, so Professor Frigler had assigned them extra readings. The girls were getting restless so they decided to take a break and talk about their upcoming trip. Sylvia would only be spending half of the day with them since she had made plans to meet her boyfriend Lewis Vladmir at the Three Broomsticks,
"You know Syl," Olivia said jokingly, "I really think that you are trying to brush us off. Why would you want to do that?"
"Could it be," Leticia added, "that you and Lew will be engaging in some lip aerobics?"
"Oh shut up you two," she said trying to sound severe, "you know you two really should try to get a move on, or else you'll be the only girls in our year without boyfriends."
"Don't you worry Sylvia my dear I've got my eye on somebody," Leticia said sneakily. Sylvia and Olivia stared at each other completely surprised.
"Who?" they asked together.
"My web has been cast and soon my prey will fall. And as for Olivia here, we all know it is she whom James wants. Its only a matter of time before he comes-a-knockin."
"Shh!" hurried Sylvia.
At that moment James and Rodrick were passing by. Olivia who was already aware of thier presence had chosen this precise moment to undo her hair from the knot on top of her head and shake it out in a delicate sort of way. Apperantely James had noticed because at that very instant he had forgotten there was a footstool in his way and stumbled not so casually over it.
"Oh, hello James, hey Rod, how's it going?" She said this in a surprised sort of way, as if she had not just seen him stumble.
James, looking a bit taken back, and Rodrick who was starring curiously at Leticia, came over to where they sat.
"You three going to Hogsmead?" It was Rodrick who spoke, James was still a little flushed he was sitting on the arm of the chair and concentrating hard on his shoe laces.
Suprsisingly it was Leticia who spoke first. "We sure are. And you two?"
Rodrick was still staring at her and now he wore a goofy smile as well. "Yeah, a bunch of us guys are going to go for the fresh air. Maybe we will see you there?" he asked.
It was Olivia's turn to speak next, turning to James, "That sounds pretty good. What do you think?"
"I'm up for it," he was smiling.
"Well then its settled we'll meet up at The Three Broomsticks around three," Rodrick said eagerly, "see you there."
"What was that all about?" Olivia asked.
"I think we have just been asked out on a date." Leticia said matter of factly.
"You know what Tish? I believe you're right." She picked up her transfiguration book and began turning the pages. Her homework didn't seem half as bad anymore
The next few days before the Hogsmead visit, Olivia could do nothing more than imagine what it was going to be like. She expected the village itself would be pretty basic, like the ones she had seen before. It was James that she could no longer block from her mind. She wondered whether our not they would be able to have a moment by themselves since he always traveled with so many of his friends. It would be nice to see what he was like without his group. More importantly, she wondered whether or not he would enjoy her company.
When the morning of the visit finally came the girls were in an uproar, Sylvia was all a twitter trying her best to look good for her beloved Lewis. Olivia and Leticia had a rough time figuring out what exactly they were going to wear. The whether had started turning so there was a slight chill in the air. Olivia decided on a pair of jeans, a long sleeved fitted white shirt, with a light blue cropped hoodie on top. She knew the color would make her gray eyes even more pale than they already were. She used a straightening charm on her long hair and dusted her cheeks with her favorite blush. She glanced at herself in the mirror, she was casual but she knew she looked pretty, she really wanted James to think so to.
The girls joined the other students who were headed out, downstairs. She saw Poppy and her group a little ahead and waved hello, she wanted to remain on Poppy's good side so she would answer her questions.
At Hogsmead they headed straight into Honeydukes were they spent a good amount of time stocking up on all their supplies. Olivia was partial to chocolate and ended up spending a fair amount of money on chocolate frogs and cherry stems, which were real cherries with chocolate in thier center.
"Hey Olivia, you've had Hershey's Kisses before haven't you?" Leticia was rummaging through her bag looking for her money.
"Yes I have, my dad and I used to keep a jar of them in a cupboard back in Ireland, he would use them as a reward. I kind of miss them." She remembered how her father would always tease her by saying 'a kiss for a kiss.'
"Yeah I know. I think I'll owl my mom to send me a bag, I've got major cravings."
They left Honeydukes and headed to the Hogsmead branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Just as it had been in Diagon Alley the store was packed. Olivia wondered how they made any money with all the bans the school had on most of their items. and figured that students had probably developed highly efficient ways of sneaking them in. They took their time going through the many aisles and Olivia contemplated buying a new Hands Free Quill "Voice your opinions and the quill will do the rest," the label explained.
"Those are top of the line quills." It was the same red-headed man she had seen back in Diagon Alley. "Just make sure that you aren't around to many people when you use it or it will pick up a bunch of random words. Its actually quite funny to read now that I think about it."
Olivia looked up at him with a curious expression, "How do you manage to work between two stores?"
"Huh," he looked confused but then cracked into a smile, "Oh, at Diagon Alley? No that's my brother George, we're twins."
"Well that's useful isn't it? I can't say that I'm not impressed." She laughed at her obvious mistake, looking back down at the quill, "I'll take it.".
When she found Sylvia and Leticia it was about time for them to meet up with the boys. Sylvia had run into Lewis ahead of schedule and they walked away together hand in hand. Once again Olivia's mind wandered to James, she wondered if he had soft or rough hands. She wondered if he liked public displays of affection or if he preffered keeping some things private. Then she thought about the private things they could do together.
"You have a devilish smile, what are you thinking?" Leticia said looking at her hard trying to read her expression.
She was caught. Flustered Olivia tried changing the subject."What's up with you and Rod? Is he your prey than?"
"Olivia Malfoy you clever girl how ever did you guess?" She said in her most sarcastic voice, as though the chemistry between her and Rodrick was anything less than obvious.
"Well the way you two look at each other its so, raw."
Leticia smiled just as Olivia had smiled a moment ago. "He does have a certain animal magnetism doesn't he? And the way we look at each other isn't half as bad as you and James. You two are so good together. It's fate."
Olivia thought about it for a moment. If she had stayed in Ireland she'd probably go her whole life without ever knowing this place existed. Her knowledge of the magical world had been so limited. She definately would had never met James. She gave thanks for the opportunity that had presented itself to her and she vowed to make the most of it.
The Three Broomsticks was filled with so many students they had a hard time navigating through the crowd to find a table. Luckily they spotted a group of third years getting ready to leave so they sat down quickly. Olivia looked up at the menu.
"Do you think we should order or should we wait till they get here?"
But Leticia didn't have to answer at that moment they noticed the door open, James and Rodrick walked in. To Olivia's surprise they were alone, that was definately a good sign. As they made thier way through the crowd she couldn't help but notice how many heads turned. More than a couple of people called for them to sit down but they just waved politely. They were obviously really popular, she figured it had alot to do with Quidditch since James was the captain/seeker, and Rodrick was Keeper.
"You made it! Awesome should we order then?" Leticia asked while the boys took there seats. Rodrick imediately sat across from Leticia which left James across from Olivia. It was an akward arrangement since they now had a good look at each other.
"How about some Butterbeers," Rodrick suggested. "Leticia will you be a dear and help me order them?"
"Certainly." Leticia stood up before Olivia could give her a look of protest.
There was a brief moment of silence. Olivia had been so excited at the idea of spending time alone with James that she never really thought about what they would talk about. She was nervous and didn't know where to begin but it was James who finally broke the ice.
"How are you liking Hogwart's so far?"
Relieved, she silently thanked him for starting the conversation. "I'm enjoying it. At first I was a little scared because it's so different than what I'm used to but now it feels like home." He was staring at her attentively and when he spoke it was sincere.
"I'm sure it's alot different than a private academy, but you seem to be fitting in well."
"Yeah, it got better with time..." She wanted to tell him how the people here were making it easier, especially him but the words were stuck in her throat.
At that moment Leticia and Rodrick returned with four butterbeers. The group spent a fair amount of time chatting idly about random topics mostly revolving around Quidditch. She enjoyed the way James went out of his way to make sure that she was included in the conversation. even giving her a brief rundown on how the matches were layed out leading to the Cup Finals. Olivia finally got a full sense of James' charm. He was witty and funny and it seemed as though he and Rodrick had a great friendship. He was for lack of a better word, perfect, and Olivia could not help but wish that perhaps they too could become close friends if not more.
After some time the topic turned to music and Leticia became very immersed in trying to explain the concept of a music video to Rodrick. Leticia kept giggling at Rodricks clear ignorance of muggle telivision and she kept playfully hitting him on the shoulder. James laughed and looked at Olivia across the table.
"Have you had a chance to go to the Shrieking Shack yet?"
"No I haven't, I don't think i've heard a thing about it?" it was true she had not heard mention of such a place and now was very curious as to what it could be.
"Do you want to skip out and go," James asked pointing to Leticia who was now so overcome with the giggles the she kept complaining that she couldn't breathe. "I doubt these two will miss us."
Driven by the chance to get some more alone time with him she nodded. They rose from the table quickly and were about to turn away when Rodrick cried out."Oi, where do you two think you're going?"
"Outside for some air," James replied, "give you two a chance to get comfortable."
Olivia laughed, those two were already nice and comfortable with each other. Rodrick had already turned back to ask Leticia to tell him more about the moving picture box.
Outside the weather was growing colder which made Olivia regret her choice of wardrobe. She crossed her arms tightly around her chest and then felt something being draped over her shoulders. She looked down to see James' jacket around her it was extremely warm and smelled of his cologne.
"Thanks." she said shyly.
They walked around the edge of Village towards a wooden fence. Beyond it she could see an old broken down house. It swayed deliberately and Olivia could distinctly hear the creak of a board here and there.
"You know for a long time they used to think this place was haunted." James was looking at the building intently.
"Oh it isn't then?" Olivia asked. It certainly looked like it could be. She wondered how he knew.
"No, my grandfather and his friends used to go into that house alot, back when they were at school. My dad's told me loads of stories about it."
Olivia couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. It was obvious that James and his father were close, at least he shared stories about his past with him. "You know, my dad came to this school as well. But up until this summer I didn't know it," She didn't know why she was telling James so much, she felt very comfortable talking to him but she was telling him things that she had not even shared with Leticia.
"Maybe they went to school together," suggested James.
Olivia had just been having the same thought. She wondered what it was like for her father to be in the same school with the famous Harry Potter. She thought about asking James if he knew anything about her father but decided against it. She was rather enjoying her time with James and wanted to keep the mood light. She was thinking of how to change the subject when James beat her to it.
"How did those quills work out?" he was reffering to the day in Diagon Alley.
Olivia couldn't help but blush. "You remember?"
"You aren't easy to forget."
Olivia was sure that her face had become bright red and she was feeling extremely warm. She laughed nervously and turned back to the house. She felt her heart pounding in her ears again and this time she was sure James could hear it to. This trip was really turning out to be better than she expected.
"Are you coming to watch the first Quidditch match? Its against Slytherin. It should make for an entertaining game." He was looking her in the eyes and Olivia could not help but look back.
"I wouldn't miss it for anything."
At that moment they heard the unmistakble chatter of Leticia and Rodrick. "Hey you two it's getting cold how about heading back."
They made their way back to the castle with lot's of lively talk and Olivia could not imagine the day turning out any better. In the Great Hall they said goodbye to the boys and they went to find Sylvia. While they were eating dinner Olivia caught James staring at her a few times, a little less shy she returned his stare with a soft smile. In the dormitories the girls shared all the details of the day with each other and by the time they went to bed Sylvia was sure that they would end up going steady before the month was out. The thought of her and James sitting together in the Great Hall and taking extended walks around the lake made Olivia happy. She was about to change into her pajamas when she realized she still had James' jacket. She had taken it off during dinner but made no effort to return it. Making a mental note of giving it to him in the morning she laid it on top of her trunk and got dressed. She climbed into bed and felt totally at ease with the world, it really was relaxing to get away from it all.