Hello world I'm back once again. Another chapter up and moving back to the actual story line – I've deviated somewhat with Sirius and Peter but let's get moving once again.
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Chapter Sixteen:
By Rosa241
Oliver POV:
So that's it now. That was the last training session over with before our first match tomorrow against Slytherin. At this point it should be near enough perfect, we should have everything together so effortlessly but right now we're going to get slaughtered. Harry, understandably so, has other things on his mind right now - of course I've got rather a lot on my plate too. The real problems though are the twins. Usually they are my most reliable team mates. If there's one thing I can guarantee it's that they'll do their jobs without fail. Unfortunately they seem to be holding a grudge against me right now. They didn't listen to me at all in training and when they did listen they then proceeded to do the complete opposite of whatever it was I'd told them. It's all down to Percy.
Okay well that's not fair. They're just being good brothers. Don't get me wrong Percy and the twins fight like cat and dog but at the end of the day they'd all go to hell and back for each other. It's part of who they are. Most people would be totally shocked to see how protective Fred and George are over their big brother. All they see is Percy and me falling out, they don't understand why.
In truth I'm beginning to question why myself. I keep telling myself that this is all Percy's fault, that if he wasn't lying to me then we wouldn't be having this problem. But then there's this voice in the back of my mind…
Percy and I have been friends for years now and in that entire time I've never known him tell a lie. He doesn't even tell white lies, you know the kind of lies you tell someone to make them feel better. No, for Percy honesty has always been the best policy. Of course it rubs people up the wrong way sometimes. Many people see him as being cold or heartless, truth is he's nothing like that but his brutal honesty gives people this image.
So why would he lie now? And why make up something so ridiculous and outrageous? I just don't get it. Percy doesn't lie about anything but now he chooses to make up some stupid story.
The way I see it I've got two choices. Number one I can refuse to accept what Percy's telling me and continue to avoid him like the plague. Of course if I choose this option I lose, not only my closest friend, but the most special person in my life. Even thinking about losing Percy sends fear racing down my spine. Could I really live a life without him?
Then again option number two is to accept that Percy was sent back from the future to stop you-know-who from rising once more. Can I really accept time travel? If I choose this option then I'm choosing something that I just don't know if I can believe. Sighing heavily I shake my head and push open the door to the changing room.
"We need to talk." Fred's voice should surprise me but in truth I've been expecting this for a while.
George's POV:
"We need to talk." My twins' words force my eyes up from the hole in my robes to the eyes of our captain.
It was obvious that something was going on between him and Percy. Since we started at the school we'd noticed how close they are. They're as close as me and Fred, albeit in a very different way, which is why what's going on now is so strange. Percy never misses a training session; he always comes down and sits in the stands (unless the weather's dreadful then I don't blame him for not being there). Whether it's to lend Oliver his moral support or to drag Percy out of the library I don't know but either way he's always there. We never really question it to be honest.
"What's going on with you and Perce?" I voice my question, hoping for an answer, only to be met with the same response I got from my brother.
"It's nothing." Beside me Fred releases a growl before speaking.
"It's not nothing!" He snaps. "Perce is miserable and you've been in a foul mood all week. So whatever's going on you better fix it and fast."
"Hang on, why do you assume it's something I did?" I can't help rolling my eyes at his question.
"Because we know Percy. If he'd messed up then he'd either apologise or you'd be shouting at him because he didn't know he'd done it." The problem with my brother is that half the time if he said something to upset someone it wasn't intentional and more than likely he had no idea that what he'd said had caused an issue. Oliver was usually quick to point out when there was a problem and Percy would fix it within a matter of minutes. Judging by the captain's guilty look I've hit the nail on the head.
"Okay fine we…sort of had a disagreement but Percy's the one in the wrong. He lied to me." Sharing a look with my twin I can see the same thoughts running through his mind. Yeah right! Percy Weasley is a lot of things but he's not a liar.
"Percy? Lying? Doubt that mate. Percy couldn't lie his way out of a paper bag and even if he did so what! People lie all the time. I'm sure you've lied to him before." At my words he shakes his head and moves away from us.
"You just don't get it." The same words we got from Percy last night when we tried to figure out what was going on.
"Maybe not but we do get that whatever you did, whatever you've said, has affected him. He's hurting Oliver. He's our brother and he's hurting because of you." We move to the door at the same time, turning round only to say one more thing. "Fix it, quickly."
Harry POV:
"I'm going to be a laughing stock." I groaned as I flopped down onto the bed.
"It won't be that bad." Seamus said as attempted to beat Ron at chess for the thousandth time this week.
"No. It'll be worse." The training session tonight had been a complete nightmare, everything that I did went completely wrong. All this stuff with Sirius has been running round my brain for ages now. I just can't concentrate.
"Oh don't be so dramatic. You're the youngest seeker of the century, there's a reason you're on the team mate." Ron encouraged as he captured Seamus' queen. "Just stop worrying."
"Easy for you to say. You'll be in the stands watching, it's me that has to go up there and attempt to catch the snitch." Every time I think about catching the snitch my mind goes blank and my stomach ties itself in knots. What if I fall off my broom? What if I drop the snitch? What if they decide I'm so awful that I couldn't possibly be a wizard and throw me out of the school? Judging on the way I played tonight I wouldn't rule that one out.
"I'm sure you'll be fine Harry." Hermione barely looked up from her homework as she spoke. "You wouldn't be on the team if you weren't any good. Besides you've got a nimbus 2001, that' a good broom right?"
"A good broom!?" Ron spins round in anger, his shock at Hermione's words clear on his face. "The nimbus 2001 is the best broom out there. It's the fastest, the most stable, the most reliable…it's bloody brilliant."
"That's what I said." Hermione protested as she finally looked up from her potions homework.
"No it wasn't. You called it 'a good broom'." Ron trails off, mumbling under his breath something about girls and quidditch. Hermione, to her credit, simply rolls her eyes and flicks her potions book back open.
"You'll be fine Harry." A voice from beside me says. Of course I want everything to be fine but I have a sneaking suspicion that something's going to go wrong.
Percy's POV:
Quidditch match, Norbet, mirror…there's so much to do.
I have to make sure that Harry and Hermione don't get caught going down to give Norbet to Charlie. I doubt that it'll make much of a difference but it'd be nice not to lose all those points. If Harry doesn't discover the mirror then he might not be able to get the stone when he goes to face Quirrell.
I've thought long and hard about it but I seriously think I might have to let them go and face Voldemort alone. They survived last time so I know that they'll be okay. I hate the thought of letting Ron, of letting any of them, get hurt. There must be something that I can do, but what?
Then of course there's poor Neville. I'd almost forgotten how much he'd changed over the years. Watching him now you wouldn't he'd be the one to kill Nagini, the one to fight so bravely for the lives of his friends. I have to do something about him. There must be a way to help him find his courage, although with Malfoy around I sincerely doubt that it'll be easy.
Of course on top of all of that I've got to worry about the Quidditch match tomorrow. I know everything will be fine but with everything I've done what if I've changed it? What if Oliver's so distracted by me that he gets seriously hurt when Flint hits the bludger at him? What if Harry can't focus on the match because of Sirius? How much have I actually changed?
Sighing heavily I slam the charms book shut and shove the essay to one side. I could write it in my sleep but right now there's so much going on in my mind that I doubt I could even remember how to write my name let alone an essay.
Is anything I'm doing actually going to make a difference if Oliver tells someone about it? If he tells someone and they think I'm mad, what'll happen then? What if they send me away? What if one of Voldemorts followers finds out? This is my own fault of course. I think to myself as I move to stand by the window.
If I hadn't been so carless and left that stupid list lying around then Oliver wouldn't have found it. If he hadn't have found it then he wouldn't hate me right now, I wouldn't be worrying about him and I might be able to focus on stopping Voldemort. How could I have been so stupid!?
My internal tirade is switched off as my roommate wanders through the door.
"Hey…um…can we talk?" He drops his Quidditch gear onto the floor in a heap as he speaks.
Moment of truth.
Okay so not much happening here but next chapter there will be some action. Woo! Keep your eyes peeled for the next update. Until then bye bye x