𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒊𝒓𝒍 | 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒐 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒚 | 𝟏

𝟏𝟔*

It was late when Remus accompanied Olivia back to the castle that same day and all she could think about was how hungry she was. There was no food in Grimmauld Place and so Olivia hadn't eaten all day, much to Molly's dismay. She and Sirius had spoke much more after she had found out she wasn't related to Draco and she felt as if it wouldn't take them long to form a strong bond.

She and Sirius got along brilliantly and those who had joined the force to protect Olivia could see that from a mile away. For the longest time Olivia had always wondered which one of her parents she had taken after. She was nothing like her mum and her calm yet sometimes stern nature and she was nothing like her dad with his soft and whimsical personality. Olivia was witty, she was quick on her toes, she was sarcastic and she was exceptionally devious — although that personality trait hadn't come from Sirius.

She felt an unexplainable amount of guilt though as she talked to Sirius. That little nagging voice in the back of her mind was telling her she was betraying her parents, that she was replacing them with him only to fill the void in her life but she knew deep down that wasn't true. Unlike some, Olivia wanted a relationship with her biological dad.

Sirius hadn't abandoned her — though the same couldn't be said for her real mother — he was arrested and that was something neither of them could've helped. Her biological mother though, Cecilia, had gone into hiding the night Lily and James had died and hadn't come out since. That hurt her somewhat because if her mother was alive why didn't she try to reconnect with Olivia after the war had ended? Sirius had told her that it might've seemed suspicious but she felt as if he was creating excuses for his wife.

It was passed night hours now and the castle was dark, leaving an anxious pit to form in her stomach. She wasn't comfortable walking across the castle back to her common room alone after what had happened to her two nights prior and so she ended up with Professor Snape's escort. She wished it was someone else but at least she had someone to keep her anxiety at bay while she walked.

Professor Snape didn't utter a word the entire walk to the Slytherin common room and Olivia was grateful for that. She was feeling uncomfortable as it was and the last thing she wanted was her head of house attempting to make small talk with her. He stood and watched as she spoke the password and the stone wall opened to the side, allowing Olivia to pass through the small entrance hall and into the common room.

Only seconds before she disappeared did Professor Snape say dully, "We'll discuss the matter regarding your tutoring next week."

She didn't even have a chance to reply as the stone wall closed, blocking other students and faculty members out. She was thrust into slight darkness as she faced the wall but as she turned the soft glow of the lamps lit up the stone entrance way. Olivia sighed tiredly, running her hand through her ponytail as she walked into the common room.

She knew everyone would be in bed by now. Most Slytherin students were night owls but the majority of them liked to sneak into each other's dorms as opposed to sitting out in the common room all night. It was quite late too and Olivia recalled it being just before eleven-thirty when Remus suggested heading back to the castle.

All she wanted to do was to get into bed. She had a feeling Serena and Alexis would be asleep but she wasn't entirely sure. If they knew there was a possibility she was being released from the hospital wing they'd of stayed up but as far as she knew they were still under the impression that she had been transferred to St. Mungo's for further assessment.

She could've done with another night in the hospital wing but being released tonight meant she could hide in her room all day tomorrow and not be seen by anyone. She wasn't sure if she was up to the staring faces yet. News always travelled fast in Hogwarts and even if Professor Dumbledore had ordered for everyone to return to the castle when both Cedric and Harry had pulled her from the lake they'd all still seen it. She was willing to put money on it being the only thing the students had talked about that day and the day prior and as soon as they saw her they'd bring it up again.