Soon it was the end of term. Hestia was excited, as her parents had agreed for her to go to Tiannah's house over the summer. Her parents had a business trip to France, as they were the owners of a magical clothing shop well known across Europe. Tiannah was still missing Oliver terribly, but the prospect of seeing him in a mere twenty-four hours lightened her mood.
"What's gotten you so happy?" Hestia asked as they boarded the plane.
"I'm gonna see Ollie!" Tiannah said happily. Hestia rolled her eyes and giggled. The rest of the plane trip was uneventful, apart from Hestia complaining about the dry food. They landed at the airport to be greeted by Tiannah's parents and Oliver.
"Ollie!" Tiannah squealed, hugging him. "What are you doing here?"
"Your parents offered for me to tag along, so I did," he grinned.
"What a lovely surprise."
When they arrived home, Hestia once again thanked Mr and Mrs Summers for letting her stay, and Tiannah rolled her eyes. "Hest, let's go!" Tiannah said impatiently. She wanted to go outside show her friend where she and Oliver practiced Quidditch. Oliver grabbed Tiannah arm, which caused Hestia to smirk wickedly.
"Tiannah..." he began.
"What?" she asked impatiently.
"Come closer," he asked. Hestia made a kissy noise.
"Grow up, Hestia," Tiannah said hastily. She walked towards Oliver, confused.
"Oh crap..." he trailed off worriedly. Tiannah realised what had dismayed her friend.
"Yes! YES! I am finally taller than you!" she laughed, jumping up and down.
"My life is over," Oliver groaned, putting his face in his hands.
"You'll never hear the end of this," Tiannah said happily. The two had been in competition with their height for as long as she could remember.
"Enjoy it while it lasts," he grumbled. "I'll catch up."
Tiannah and Oliver spent a lot of time playing Quidditch. Hestia was meant to be cheering them on, but mostly she just yelled out stuff to Tiannah like, don't chip your nails! Or do not mess up your hair! Both Oliver and Tiannah were becoming fed up with this, but the last thing Tiannah wanted to do was tell her friend she was being a distraction.
One day, on the fourth week of the holidays, Hestia decided to give Tiannah some heels, to accentuate the height difference between her and Oliver.
"Gosh, Hest, they are three inches high! I will be five foot nine in them!" Tiannah complained.
"Congratulations, Tia, you did math," the blonde said sarcastically. "I'll hold your arm as you walk, because you will trip. So let's go find Oliver and make him even more insecure!" Hestia said excitedly. The heels were creating an uncomfortable amount of friction on Tiannah's feet. To her surprise, Oliver wasn't alone. He was standing next to an unknown boy with black hair.
"Okay Tiannah, keep walking and-" Hestia's hand flew to her hair and her cheeks reddened. The black-haired boy was staring at Hestia. Tiannah continued walking to Oliver.
"Who's this?" she asked, referring to the stranger.
"This is my friend from Hogwarts, Ken," Oliver replied.
"Nice to meet you, Ken," she said politely. Ken turned his head to Hestia and introduced himself, while Hestia giggled.
"So I see you found a way to give Hestia something to do while we play Quidditch," Tiannah said quietly as she stepped closer to Oliver, who had to look up at her.
"Bloody hell! Wow!" he exclaimed.
"Lovely to see you down there, Oliver," she said happily, stepping closer. She tripped on her ridiculous heels and fell into Oliver's arms. Damn Hestia for being so boy-crazy she forgot to assist her with walking.
"Whoops! Sorry," she muttered awkwardly, noting his hands were on her waist.
"It's fine, but you may want to take the heels off. If you damage your ankles, that could affect your Quidditch training," he pointed out. Tiannah, horrified that she had not realised this sooner, quickly took them off.
"Still taller."
"Shut up."
That afternoon, Hestia and Ken were flirting with each other, and Oliver and Tiannah were sitting on a couch awkwardly, recovering from an intense Quidditch game.
"Let's go to the lake," Tiannah suggested to Oliver.
"What about them?"
"We can show them!" she replied. Oliver sighed but agreed.
"Um, Ken, Hestia? We are gonna go down to this lake, so um, get ready," Oliver said awkwardly, clearly not wanting to interrupt them. Hestia ran upstairs, undoubtedly to get a bikini, while Ken just took his shirt off. Tiannah went upstairs with Hestia.
"I like him," Hestia gushed.
"Yeah, I could tell," Tiannah replied with a smile.
The lake that Oliver and Tiannah found when they were eight was hidden away deep in a forest. Hestia, who had lived in a populated area of a city, was in awe.
"It's beautiful here! The view is amazing!"
"Maybe you should come here more often," Ken suggested. "To England, I mean."
"I might just have to," Hestia replied flirtatiously. Tiannah and Oliver exchanged exasperated looks.
"Enough flirting. Let's go for a swim," Tiannah said firmly, grabbing Hestia's hand and pulling her towards the water.
That was the day a lifelong friendship was forged between the four of them.