Chapter Six:

As sun crept through the window on Olivia's last day of summer, things were very different then how she would have expected them to be. If she followed the pattern that had been established the last two years, she should have been awakened not happy, but stressed and suffering from an overwhelming sense of guilt. She should not have woken to sunshine, but to a headache and her stomach twisted into knots. In the past, today she would have left her mother for a school year alone with her step-father, her safety uncertain, her fate tangled with despair and pain.

But not this year, not today.

"Livy dear, breakfast," her mother called from the bottom of the stairs. Olivia smiled and stretched her muscles well rested from sleep. Her eyes blinked blurrily at the sunlit room as she reached for her thin framed glasses on the table beside her and sat up, the covers falling away. Her stomach gave a pleasant rumble and she bounced from the bed and down the stairs to the happily humming kitchen. Was this how normal children lived?

"Are you excited for the school year?" Her mother asked as she waltzed into the room and sat at the table, her nose filling with the lovely breakfast smells. Pancakes and sausage, bacon and eggs, the sweet scent of syrup, all swam around her as she smiled at her lovely mother.

She had improved so much over the summer.

And the mystery as to why was not that hard to crack. Her stepfather had been away for nearly the entire summer. After two weeks of her normal private hell, he had boarded his ship and had been away for the rest of the summer.

Olivia and her mother had been able to spend every day together, walking through their little town to the beachfront, pick nicking in the park, even just sitting out in their front yard, soaking up the sun. Olivia had developed a little bit of a tan and her mother had taken on color.

And the lack of stress had allowed her mother to fill out her figure to what she had once been. A healthy weight. Her mother's stress was directly related to her eating habits and appetite. With her stepfather out to sea for so long, her mother's stress had diminished almost completely, so she had filled back out.

The biggest change, however, was in her mother's eyes. At the beginning of the summer they had been haunted, filled with shadows and doubt, sunken in anxiety. There had been deep shadows under her eyes from lack of restful sleep and their sparkle had been non-existent. Today, on Olivia's last day of the summer, they twinkled with a happiness that lit from within. All the shadows had been scared away by the summer of healing.

Looking at her now, she was the woman she had been before her stepfather, before her real father, before life had gotten in the way. She was young and beautiful, innocent and carefree.

As Olivia sat at the table eating breakfast and chatting idly with her mother about the coming school year, she was sad to see the summer ending. Olivia wasn't naive enough to believe that this would last. As soon as her stepfather returned things would go back to the way they had been. The added weight would melt off, the paler to her skin would slowly come back, and the shadows in her eyes would creep back in bit by bit.

But maybe this school year by herself, with the summer still fresh in her mind, her mother would be stronger, maybe this time she would be able to say no. Maybe this time she would be able to get away from this life. Maybe next summer, Olivia could be a normal kid again.

Shaking her head at her foolish thoughts, Olivia blinked down at her half eaten pancakes. At least this year she wouldn't be plagued by the constant thought of her mother's safety, wouldn't have to push it away with her studies. She would be able to focus like a normal kid. Maybe she would even be able to have friends this year, like the popular kids from her elementary school.

"Ready to go to the station?"

The ride to King's Cross was quick for Olivia. The scenery seemed to fly by as she thought of the year to come. She had read over her third year course books and it seemed to be very interesting. But she wanted to master her Lumos spell this year. After all, the master defensive spell plan could take a backseat right? Her mother wasn't in dire need this year as she had been last year. So she could afford to focus elsewhere.

Olivia, who knew her mother better then she knew herself, felt her attention snap into focus. "What is it?"

"It's your stepfather…"

And just like that all her peaceful feelings were gone. Her muscles began to tense, one by one, until she was sitting impossibly straight in the front seat of their beat up old car, her hands clenched into tight fists. Her jaw was working mechanically, a sawing motion back and forth, trying to hold in all the words that wanted to come spewing forth.

Was he already on his way back? How soon would he be arriving? It can't be that soon, certainly not today. Her mother would never risk her own safety in order to see her daughter onto the train. Or would she? Was Olivia destroying her mother's safety at this very second?

Spell after defensive spell, the ones she had been moments from dismissing entirely from her mind for the time being, came flooding back in and she found herself silently chanting them, picturing the wand movements in her mind over and over.

"He'll be away until just before you are returning from school this year. If you don't have any objections, I would like for you to come home for Christmas."

Relieve was an incredible flood. She felt her muscles go weak with the sudden release of tension and a smile spread across her mouth as the spells wandered away. Then came the happiness that was a slow fire growing through her limbs. And finally she was embracing her mother and shouting for glee.

"Of course I'll come home for Christmas!" Olivia belted out as she threw open her door and began to lug out her beat up trunk that she had shoved beneath her feet. Even if she had gained color over the summer, she hadn't gained much height. Her body had slimmed and filled slightly more into a woman's figure, but she remained just a little over five feet tall.

"I was certain you would say that, but I thought it best if I just ask," Olivia grabbed her mother's hand, swinging it as she walked into the station, and began to chatter feverishly about all the things she would do at school and how she would count down the very days until she would be able to come home for Christmas.

"And this year, I won't have to sit with the kids and the teachers at the table anymore! It is so awkward sometimes, so quiet. I never know what to say! Can we have mashed potatoes and cheesecake? Can we please?"

"Hello Olivia," came a voice that Olivia recognized. In fact, she had almost been waiting for it. What she hadn't been expecting was the way her mother squeezed her hand almost painfully, before quickly releasing and trying to step back. Olivia kept her mother's hand in her own and forced her to stay even with her.

"Hello Teddy. This is my mother," Olivia murmured in a steady voice as she looked to the side and saw Teddy Lupin standing just a few feet from her. He had grown several inches over the summer and now she had to tilt her head back quite a bit to see his face.

"Mom this is…" Olivia, who was about to introduce Teddy, turned to her mother and stopped her words in their tracks. She was staring at the Hogwarts train with an expression on her face that Olivia had never seen before. The blue eyes that they shared were huge, and nearly opaque, emotions that she couldn't begin to understand shining through. Tears were beginning to pool within the depths and she felt her heart squeeze painfully.

"Mom? What is it?" Olivia demanded, grabbing her mother's other hand and squeezing, until her mother dropped her eyes from the train to their mirror image. "Why are you looking that way?"

"No reason dear. Just… memories is all," she attempted a smile, but it faltered just the slightest. "Who is your friend here?"

"Teddy Lupin!" The high-pitched screech caused Olivia to wince and whip around to face the direction of the noise. Barreling through the crowd on the station came a force to be reckoned with. Five feet of solid emotion covered in a slim body and fiery red hair stormed up to Teddy Lupin and wrapped herself around him.

"Mom, this is Teddy, as you may have heard," Olivia said frowning slightly at the sight of the girl who continued to drape herself around the tall boy.

"Hello Teddy, and who's your friend?" Olivia continued to frown as the girl grabbed Teddy's hand and pulled it around her shoulders.

"I'm Victoire Weasley! And I'm gonna marry Teddy Lupin, just you wait and see!" the young girl shouted in an equally as loud voice. Really, Olivia thought as she stared at the girl, there was no reason to shout. She was standing right there, wasn't she? She was perfectly capable of hearing things said in a normal voice.

"Geeze Victoire, you're always so loud," Teddy grumbled as he shook off the girl's clinging grasp and offered his hand to Olivia's mother. "It's nice to meet you ma'am. Olivia and I are in the same year. She's very smart. Always willing to help others when they have questions."

"I'm smart too!" Victoire shouted and started to tug on Teddy's hand again. Olivia looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face. She had never encountered a creature quite like her before. She was loud and obnoxious. And from the glare she was currently giving Olivia, she was either extremely jealous of Teddy paying attention to others, or disliked her for some reason that wasn't obvious to her.

"Is this true Olivia? Are you living up to my dreams for you?" Her mother asked, drawing her attention away from the furious redheaded child. The hand that swept across her face was gentle, as was the smile that lit her mother's face.

"Of course mother," Olivia murmured and nestled her cheek into her mom's hand. "Always."

"I'm smarter then you I bet!" Victoire shouted again, breaking into the family moment. Olivia, disgruntled, turned back to the redhead and gave her an irritated frown. What was the girl's motivation? Didn't she realize that Olivia was two years ahead of her in school? That fact alone was cause to believe that she was smarter then Victoire. Even if she knew only that, it would be enough to discourage this kind of challenge.

"I'm sorry, but I don't believe you are," Olivia said sincerely. She heard her mother snort out a laugh and tug the slightest on her hand. She wanted to look to watch her mother laugh, but at that moment she was mesmerized by the change that over took the girl who had wrapped her arms completely around Teddy's waist.

Before Olivia's very eyes, the girl pushed away from Teddy and stepped forward, her hands fisting on her hips, her chin thrusting up and out. The effect was to make her seem a lot bigger then she actually was, but it was the fire that burst in her eyes that was the most fascinating. Olivia could literally see the anger smoldering there.

"I'll show you—"

"Come on Victoire. You best say goodbye to your parents," Teddy sighed with a pretty smile on his face. He pushed Victoire with a gentleness that got her headed away from Olivia. But as they wandered away, she saw the redhead look over her shoulder at her and glare.

"Oh dear, Livy. That was not very good," her mother said with more laughter, squeezing her hand some. "Do you always cause this much trouble at school?"

Before Olivia had a chance to ask what her mother meant by this, the whistle for the train blew. It was time to say goodbye.

Instantly tears sprang to into Olivia's eyes. Even knowing she was safe, even knowing that her mother would drive right home and be perfectly fine until Olivia would be able to return for Christmas, it was still hard to just leave. To just get on the train and not look back. Wouldn't her mother be lonely?

"Oh Livy hun, no. Don't do that," her mother said sadly as she crouched down to be level with Olivia. Wiping away her tears she pulled her close and Olivia pressed herself against the sudden softness in her once sharp-boned mother, smelt in deep that scent that was unique to her mother alone.

"I can't help it," Olivia said as she clutched at her mother, tight. She could hear the noise of other kids boarding the train, could feel them moving around her, possibly staring at her. But she couldn't help herself. Would this be the last time she ever had a moment like this with her mother?

"I'll see you in a few months, Liv. For Christmas remember?" but she didn't let go. She continued to rub her hand down Olivia's soft curls, continued to rock her gently back and forth.

"But what if it's never like this again?" Olivia whispered and closed her eyes tight against the tears. She felt her mother shudder and knew she had stepped too far. Though she thought about it constantly, they never spoke about it. Her mother knew where she stood on the issue, and Olivia knew that her mother would never change. Bringing it out into the open only made things worse.

"I'm sorry," Olivia said as she pulled away, pulled in her emotions. Contained herself. She forced a smile onto her face before she kissed both her mother's cheeks and grabbed her hands once more. "You're right, I will see you for Christmas."

"That's my girl. Study hard Olivia, for me. It's more important then you know," her mother whispered into her ear as she gave her one more hug. Then the final blow of the whistle and Olivia was on the train, dragging her one trunk behind her. And her mother was gone.

A quick check of the train compartments showed that they were all occupied, mostly with people she didn't know. She saw Victoire in one near the front of the train filled with other small children that looked to be first years like her.

As she moved further to the back, she was hoping she could find Teddy and slip into his compartment. After sharing hers for the past two years, it was the least he could do, right?

He was located in the second to last compartment, engrossed in conversation with his friends Dylan and Roger. Olivia's heart quickened as she went to knock on the door. What if he said no? What if she had to go find another seat? What if his friends laughed at her? Well…

It couldn't be any worse then seeing her mother with a blackened eye.

Instead of knocking, Olivia simply slid open the door to the compartment and stepped through. As she was opening her mouth to explain that she needed a place to sit, Teddy smiled at her and motioned to the seat beside him, which was closest to the window. With a slight pause in the conversation that continued once she was seated, Olivia sank into the seat and looked out the window at the passing landscape.

Had her mother left the station already? Was she driving home all alone? Was she beginning to stress again, about Olivia, about her stepfather, about life in general? The worry began to wiggle its way into her thoughts and Olivia caught herself chewing on her lip. There was no reason to worry. Logically, her mother was in the best possible situation at this point. Her stepfather was out to sea, and her daughter, her second biggest worry was off to school. She was set up to have the time of her life, relaxing and doing whatever she pleased. So Olivia had no reason to worry, right?

"So what did you think of my cousin?" Teddy asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"Your cousin?" Olivia asked, with another frown. She cocked her head to the side as she turned away from the window and back towards the occupants of the compartment. Roger was looking as chubby as ever, a bored expression on his face. He had never really liked her.

Dylan, who was more open to a girl's intrusion in the guy group, had also grown over the summer, which was hard to imagine, as he had been so tall already. Now he seemed to almost tower over her in her shorter height. He was watching her with a small smile on his face.

"Victoire," Dylan said with that same smile. He chuckled a little and shook his head. "I find her annoying. She's always talking about marriage and girl things. You are much more entertaining. Almost one of the boys."

Olivia frowned slightly at that statement, then shrugged it away. What sort of person had her mother been, when she was a girl? Had she been a girly girl? Or just one of the boys. What path had led her to where she was today? That thought was scary so Olivia focused in on the conversation again.

"Oh! You're cousin, Victoire. That you told me stories about. I hadn't put that together," Olivia contemplated out loud. Why hadn't she? She had heard several stories about the cousin, even more through the letters he had sent her over the summer. So why hadn't she been able to put two and two together. "I guess in the stories she just seemed so much more…"

"Likeable?" Dylan provided and Olivia found herself giving a small laugh. That was exactly it. The fact that he understood made her smile at him.

"Yes, that's it. She seemed so much nicer in the stories. A bit of a brat, but still nice enough to like. At the station, she was quite… challenging," Olivia admonished. Dylan was nodding as she spoke.

"Yeah. Did she say she was better then you about something? Every time I visit with Teddy she's always better then me. Better at Quidditch, better at telling jokes, better at spelling—"

"And she was that time to Dylan, remember? She got you on croquet!" Roger quipped with a laugh.

"I'd never heard that word before in my life! It's some Muggle thing. Besides, it's not the losing that's irritating. It's the fact that she feels the need to challenge everyone at every step. She's more annoying then my little sister." Dylan shook his head sadly.

Roger laughed. "That's true. I like your little sister. But Victoire—"

"She just wants people to like her!" Teddy broke in, rather angrily. For the first time that Olivia could remember, Teddy seemed to be agitated with her. She frowned at him, uncertain of where the emotions were coming from.

"I didn't say I didn't like her, Teddy," Dylan responded with a calmness in his voice, Olivia guessed it was to defuse the situation. The damage was done, however, and Olivia felt herself pulling away from the group. Anger was something she had learned to be wary of.

"Yeah, but you were making fun of her. There's nothing wrong with wanting to prove that you are worthy of being a person's friend, is there?" Teddy demanded, leaning forward in his seat intently. Dylan didn't say anything, and Olivia felt her fists clenching in her lap. She flinched as Teddy swung around to stare at her. "Is there?"

Unable to trust her voice just yet, Olivia shook her head slowly back and forth.

"Alright then. Can we drop it?"

"Yeah, sure. So…"

Dylan was looking at her, trying to signal her with his eyes that she should initiate a new conversation, but her jaw was glued shut. He looked away from her to Roger, who seemed just as unable to bring up a new topic.

Teddy let out a frustrated breath and sat back in the seat, his head hitting the back with a thud. Olivia jumped and flinched again before sliding as casually as she could away from him, backing herself into a corner. She knew it was foolish, knew that Teddy wasn't in the position to abuse her the way her stepfather did her mother. But everyone started somewhere right?

Though she didn't believe that Teddy was going to lash out at her in the next minute, or even at any point during the trip, she knew that letting her guard down for even a moment was the worst mistake she could make. How many times had her mother let down her guard before it had been too late?

"So what classes are you taking Olivia?" Dylan threw out, obviously desperate to eliminate the awkward silence. It took a bit of work, but she managed to unstick her jaw.

"The usual, as well as Arithmancy. You?"

"Same! Roger wanted me to take Divination, but I don't think I can stomach that. How are your grades in potions?" He smiled at her, relief apparent in his eyes. Obviously he found Teddy's outburst as strange as she did.

"Well enough. I can follow the course material—"

"Don't be modest!" Roger interrupted, a snide smirk on his face. "Professor Windell was blabbing at the end of the year that you were possibly the next potions prodigy. It was sickening. All the teachers feel that way."

"Roger, that's mean. She can't help it if she's smart. She's Ravenclaw after all," Teddy said and smiled at her once again. Olivia felt herself softening back up, but she hadn't forgotten his anger and nor would she.

"The reason I ask," Dylan broke in, trying to gain back control of the conversation, "is that my mother was not happy with my end of term grades. She wants me to improve and I just don't see how I can. Would you be willing to tutor me?"

Olivia was taken aback by the question. Sure, she had helped her fellow students in the past when they had had questions. But she had never actually tutored someone. She wasn't sure if she would be good at it. And what about her private spells that she wanted to practice? What about Lumos and all the defensive spells?

"I mean, you don't have to, if you're worried about your own studies," Dylan stammered, worried that he had over stepped his bounds. Olivia gave him a slight smile as she thought about it. She had already decided that she was going to put the defensive spells on the back burner for this year. But she really wanted to finish Lumos. It had been nearly perfected by the end of last year. How much tutoring could he need?

"I suppose I can. The first few weeks are all about catching up, refreshing on last year. But when things start to get rough, you can find me and ask for my help, I suppose. I've never tutored before, but I'll help you any way I can."

"What if I need help?" Teddy demanded, a petulant look on his face. Olivia decided something was wrong with Teddy today. They had been passing letters back and forth for the entire summer, and last year he had acted so different towards her! Why was he being like this now? First with the unexpected anger, now with the looks and the demanding of attention. It was slightly irritating.

"Do you need help in any subjects?" Olivia asked diplomatically. Teddy was, in a way, her friend. The least she could do was offer him the same opportunities as she had Dylan.

"Well, not at the moment no. But what if I do later?" He gave a loud sigh and leaned back against the seat. Yes, something was definitely bothering him today.

"You can come find me too, Teddy," Olivia said, touching his hand for the briefest of moments before pulling her own back into her lap and clenching them tight. "I'm usually in the library."

Teddy smiled at her and the crisis was over. Conversation took a more normal turn and the entire atmosphere of the compartment relaxed. As the train zoomed towards the school and the talk became a background noise, Olivia kept thinking one thing.

Third year was definitely going to be different.

A/n Sorry it took so long! Review me.