Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 4: A Voice
"He got you a broom?" Emma asked in shock as the two of them headed outside. Smiling, Ollie nodded. It was as much as a surprise to her as it was for Emma.
"I never thought he'd get me one," Ollie said, holding the Nimbus with reverence. Glancing over at the large field across the street, she gestured for Emma to follow her. "C'mon, let's go try it out."
"What?" Emma asked, her eyes going wide again. "I don't know how to ride a broom!"
"Don't worry," Ollie said, grabbing Emma's hand and dragging her towards the grassy hills. "Madam Hooch taught me last year."
"Madam who?" Emma asked, keeping pace with her friend.
"Madam Hooch. She's a professor at Hogwarts," Ollie said, glancing back at the house. She didn't see anyone around. But just to be safe, she'd take Emma behind this last hill before she showed her.
"You've been to Hogwarts?" Emma asked in surprise. Ollie nodded.
"Yeah. Dad had some business to do, and since you and your mum were on vacation, he took me with him."
"Lucky!" Emma exclaimed as they entered the valley between hills. Ollie gave a shrug.
"I guess," She said, Placing her broom on the ground. She couldn't wait to ride it. "I've been there other times too. Honestly it's not that big a deal."
"Not that big a deal?!" Emma exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. "It's Hogwarts for Merlins sake!"
Ollie glanced up at her friend with a little smirk. Hogwarts really that big a deal to Ollie, she'd been there so many times before. She'd roamed every hall, crept through every hidden passage, and spent time with every teacher.
It was like a second home for her. A place that she loved, and sometimes took for granted.
"Emma, you've got to remember my dad's a Proffesor at Hogwarts. It's really not a big deal to me going there - it's like a part of life," Ollie said, reaching a hand over her broom. It flew up into her hand without her even saying "Up".
"You are so lucky Olivia Snape." Emma said.
"Thanks," Ollie said, mounting her broom. "Now, watch as I show you how to properly ride a broom. It's just like riding a horse bear back, with a pair of stirrups."
"Does a broomstick buck like a horse too?" Emma asked. Ollie shook her head as she pushed off of the ground. She was several feet off the ground, high enough that her feet weren't touching the ground, and low enough so she wouldn't be seem by muggles. Or her father.
"Only if you don't know how to control, or if it's been cursed." Ollie said, unable to hold back a smile.
"That's comforting," Emma said sarcastically. She eyed Ollie's broom worriedly as Ollie coaxed the broom in slow circles around her friend.
"Really, it's nothing to be worried about," Ollie said, letting go of her broom stick and sitting up on it. "See?"
"All I see is disaster waiting to happen," Emma said, uneasily watching the broomstick fly around her. "I don't think you should be doing this - if you dad sees -"
"How is he going to see me when he's back at the house?" Ollie asked. Nonetheless, she glanced back the way they'd come. She didn't' see any sign of her father, but that didn't mean he wasn't on his way.
"You know how much my mum drives him crazy," Emma said, and Ollie reluctantly brought the broomstick down.
"Maybe you're right." Ollie agreed, unmounting her broom and tucking it under her arm. "Maybe we should be playing some globstones or something."
"Or, we could go back to my house and you can open my present," Emma said with a large smile. Ollie thought about it a moment...maybe that would be better….I mean if her dad saw her he'd probably make her wait a year before she went to Hogwarts.
"Maybe you're right," Ollie said, guiding the broom back down to the Earth. No sooner did her feet touch the ground than she heard what sounded like the sliver of a voice saying "Ollie…"
"Who said that?" Ollie asked, getting off her broom and looking around. Emma gave her friend a skeptical look and then looked around the area.
"I don't hear anything," She said.
"But, there was a voice," Ollie said, turning to Emma. "I was sure I heard someone say my name…"
"Maybe it was your dad," Emma said, heading over the hill. "You know how my mum can be...she drives him nutty."
"True," Ollie agreed, following after her friend. Despite what Emma said, Ollie was sure that what she'd heard wasn't the voice of her dad. It had sounded...weaker than him, and different. "But I still don't think it was him."
"It could have been the wind," Emma said. Ollie gave her a look. Today there was absolutely no wind. None. At all.
"Yeah. Sure. The absent wind called my name."
"Well, it sounds saner than you hearing voices," Emma replied, glancing back at her. "I mean, really, Ollie - hearing voices is never good…"
Ollie didn't respond. She was too busy mulling over all the strange things that had happened today. First, there was that weird thing with the black haired boy this morning. Then, her dad got her a broomstick. And now...she'd heard someone calling her name…
"Today just keeps getting weirder…" Ollie muttered, to herself as she and Emma arrived at the top of the hill.
"What's that?" Emma asked, turning to her friend. Ollie shook her head, wishing, yet again, that her dad would let her cut her hair. It was so not doing anything to improve her mood.
"Nothing." Ollie said, starting back for the house. Emma regarded Ollie for a moment...debating what to do.
"You know, I don't think you opened my present," Emma said, hoping to lighten the mood. Ollie glanced up at her.
"No, I don't suppose I have," She said. Emma broke into a smile and grabbed Ollie's hand, dragging her back to the house. With a smile, Ollie let her friend take her back towards home.
But even as she approached home, she couldn't' shake the feeling that the voice she'd heard was an omen…
As Emma pulled her off the grass and onto the concrete of the parking lot - she shivered a moment. It felt as if...something cold had just let go of her. Turning around, she looked back at the rolling hills.
"Ollie - come one," Emma said, pulling Ollie back to her house. "If we stay out here any longer it'll be tomorrow by the time you open my present!"
"Coming," Ollie said, turning back and trying to forget the feeling. But it would not disappear...it felt like someone was watching her.
I'm so sorry it took so long to upload this chapter! I thought I had several months back but...it appears I haven't. I'm going to try and keep updating this story as much as I can, but I have a lot of stuff on my plate this week...and the rest of these month, actually...but I'll work on updating. I promise I haven't forgotten about this story. Also, next chapter I plan on doing a time-skip to move the story along - so Ollie will be getting to Hogwarts pretty quickly. And I can't wait for that, because writing about Ollie at Hogwarts will be a lot easier than writing about her at home.