Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who reviewed, and thanks to those who corrected me on Katie's year. FYI, I will have the people in their respective year, which means the Weasleys, Angelina, Alicia, Katie, and Lee Jordan all get bumped down to fifth year. Writing about the O.W.L.'s is going to be a blast! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Cheers!
Disclaimer: blah blah blah....it's all JKR's
You're So Tactless
Chapter 2: Hogwarts and Friends Equal Inner Peace
After we had successfully thrown Malfoy out of our compartment, with many obscenities and bruises (Malfoy was on both the giving and receiving end.), all of us just stared at the floor.
"Why were dementors on the train?" Angelina said.
"Well it's obvious isn't it?" Fred said ominously.
" They're looking for him." George added darkly, letting his legs away from his chest.
"You mean, that man in the paper?" Alicia inquired, her eyes getting bigger.
"Sirius Black, You-Know-Who's right hand man." Oliver confirmed.
"Why would they think Black was onboard the Express?" I said incredulously, giving an involuntary shiver.
Oliver rubbed my back and gently shoved me off his lap to his right, and got up abruptly. He opened and closed his mouth as if he had something to say, but thought better of it.
"Weasleys, let's give the girls some privacy, we'll be at Hogwarts soon enough and we need to get changed." Oliver said, picking up his book from the floor.
"Oh, but it could be great fun watching them change." Fred smirked.
"I personally want to see how they've developed over the summer-"
Angelina was about to hit George when he amended his statement.
"- Character-wise."
Oliver looked completely unfazed, but when the last time you thought about how a girl looked was when you thought your mom was really ugly that night she went back to her reunion, it was completely normal.
Fred frowned, and George's smile dripped off his face.
"Why do we bother?" Fred said exasperatedly.
"Bother with what?" Oliver said dubiously.
"Bother with wasting potty humor on someone like you." George snapped, pushing past Oliver with his set of frayed robes. Fred disappeared in much the same fashion, but before he could, a comment came from Alicia.
"Maybe because he's more mature than you two!" she shouted after them.
Fred turned and threw her a nasty look, and left. Oliver resisted the potent urge to roll his eyes as he too left. We looked at each other and giggled.
"Really, it's as if he's in denial." Alicia said, reaching up and getting her black Hogwarts robes and a change of classy casual clothes out of her trunk.
"Oliver has never really been interested in girls at all." Angelina shrugged, not really caring.
"You don't think that, he's some kind of.." Alicia said trailing off.
"What?" I said, slipping on my robe.
"I dunno, nancy boy..." Alicia said, more to herself than to me.
"That's absurd." I said flatly, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
"Besides, you'd think that if he were really some fairy, he's have a more difficult time ordering around the Weasley twins." Angelina said matter-of-factly.
"Well, I suppose it would be awkward wouldn't it?" Alicia said, tugging on her robe.
"You'd think after knowing each other for five years, we'd have more interesting things to talk about." I said irritably, pulling my wand out of my trunk.
"I dunno, I think as fifteen year old girls we're practically obligated to talk incessantly about boys, clothes, and other inane topics, of which to convince people that we are complete airheads." Angelina speculated, scratching the back of her neck.
"You know, I've never looked at it that way before." Alicia said, pulling her blonde hair up into a knot.
"I'm not condemning what is practically law among most girls, I'm just saying that it's a little immature to do it all the time and not see the flip side of it." Angelina said simply.
"I guess you're right Angelina, we are a bit juvenile at times." I admitted.
"So that means we're all in agreement to discuss Oliver's sexual preference as little as possible?"
"Gossip never hurt anyone." Alicia said, giggling a little.
"Yeah, watch that statement come back and bite you in the ass." Angelina said, nodding with conviction.
Alicia rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
"Anyway, back to Sirius Black." I said, hoping to divert an argument between my two best friends.
"What about him?" Alicia sniffed.
"D'you remember when I asked why the Dementors were on the train?" I said.
"Yeah." Angelina replied slowly.
"Oliver completely ignored me. He just opened and closed his mouth like he thought better of it or something."
"So? Ask him about it later, I'm sure it's nothing drastic. I mean, it's not as if he's after on of the student's here is it?" Angelina said dismissively.
We all sat down heavily, still shaking sometimes, and huddled in separate corners, blowing on our hands and rubbing them together. When Oliver came back in, I opened my mouth to ask him, but instead- I got a huge piece of chocolate shoved in my mouth. Despite how eternally grateful I was for the overflow of warmth, I still had a bone to pick with my Captain.
"It helps. That's what the conductor said." he said simply.
I must have been gaping at him or something, because Fred was looking at me weird. Oh yes, I know what you're thinking. How cheesy. But when his eyes are chock full of care and concern and they are practically riveted ( or that's what you keep telling yourself anyway ) on you, you can't help but start staring.
He handed chocolate out to everyone, and even had a bit himself. I chose to ignore the fact that, when he turned back to me, he was still gazing at me with unswerving worry and compassion
Really, he'd never looked at me before....like that anyway. We didn't start a closer friendship until recently. The age gap, while only two years, interfered a lot. We weren't interested in the same things, and I guess the only thing that I improved on was maturity. Angelina has always been very mature for her age, sans her relationships with boys ( then she sometimes tends to get reckless ), and she has a habit of wearing off on me.
Bloody do-gooder.
Anyway, I guess he felt that since I was more mature than most girls my age, that he could gradually open up to me more and more. Last year marked the peak of our close friendship. The scare with the Chamber of Secrets really shook him up, and I stood by his side the whole time. He is a pure-blood, but not all of his friends are. I spent so many nights in the Common Room with him, trying to calm him down, trying to tell him that his friends were okay by themselves in their own Common Rooms.
He lost it when Penelope Clearwater ended up in the hospital wing. He, Percy, and Penelope had always been really close, but Percy had gotten to her before Oliver did. He was crushed then too.
But alas, with the virtue of kindness influenced upon me by dear Angelina, Oliver was able to get through all of this with me by his side. So, he spends a lot more time with the team members than with Percy and Penelope ( who are infatuated with each other...ugh ) , though it's probably because he still has mild feelings for her.
It was really touching- his gaze I mean. It seems I'm the one sharing more emotions with him. He always seems so cool and calm and collected ( when Quidditch isn't on his mind ), that I consider it a privilege when he actually show emotions towards me. I feel, uh, lucky I guess.
"Katie Bell!" Alicia shouted.
The jerked me out of my pensive reverie, as well as my seat.
"Bugger!" I hissed as I fell for the second time that day on my bum.
Oliver chuckled and said in his Scottish brogue : "You want to be more careful Katie, you need your rear end for sitting on a broom."
He proffered a hand and I took it semi-gratefully. With a grumble, I sat back in my seat and glared at him. He sat down next to me, and all was tranquil until-
"Fred, George, Katie, Angelina, Alicia, Oliver-" Lee Jordan paused, completely winded. "I feel like I'm sounding you off for Quidditch, I need a smaller group of friends!"
"Yes?" Fred prompted.
"Anyway, what I came here to tell you was : Potter fainted! He's only now just recovering thanks to a man who was sitting in his compartment." Lee said breathlessly, gesticulating wildly.
"Who's the man?" Angelina inquired.
"Probably our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor." George said calmly.
"Name's R.J. Lupin," Lee confirmed, "I read it on his suit case when I stopped by."
Oliver fell to his knees and raised his hands to the ceiling.
"My seeker is going to be alright! Thank Merlin!" he cried happily.
All of us, whether it was out of amusement or annoyance, rolled our eyes at our crazed Quidditch captain.
He seriously needed a life. Or a better crowd to hang out with. Merlin knows we're not healthy for him. Still, you had to love him, despite his maniacal habits.
"Really Wood, you'd think you'd be more concerned about Harry himself than whether or not he'd be able to play for the season." George chided teasingly.
Oliver looked scandalized, but when he received nothing but hesitant glances ( all questioning his sanity ) he just laughed and made room for Lee to sit down.
The rest of the train ride was pleasant, as it should be. We all soon recovered from the effects of the Dementors, and played several rounds of Exploding Snap, and even a few heated matches of Wizard's chess.
"It's time to go. Let's get ready." Angelina said, getting up and reaching for her trunk.
As the rest of us all turned to do the same, I couldn't help but think that I'd never been luckier in all my life.
When I was at Hogwarts with my friends, I was truly at peace.
End Chapter