Managing The Mischief ~ Sequel to A Master of Mischief

~ Chapter 20

**Olivia’s POV**

“How’d it go?”

“Not well. I don’t know what’s happened. It’s like there’s a wall there and I can’t reach her through it.”

“What did McGonagall say?”

“What we thought she’d say. That she’s been missing classes, hasn’t got many friends, that sort of thing.”

“She’ll be okay, Madz.”

“I know, George, but… I can’t stand the thought of her being hurt.”

“Come here.”

I lie in bed listening to my parents. My bed is bare and it’s a chilly night. Mum always puts our bed clothes away while we’re at school so that they’re fresh when we come home, but I don’t know where she put them.

I shiver and snuggle up tighter. Maybe I’ll just go and ask her.

I slip out of bed and tiptoe to their door. I listen, hoping they’re just going to sleep and not doing anything else. There’s no noise, so I tap quietly on the door and push it open. I slip in and pull it closed behind me.

“Ari?” Mum asks, sounding sleepy.

“No, it’s me,” I reply, crossing the dark room to stand at the bottom of the bed. I hesitate and then crawl under the covers and up through the bed between them like I did when I was little.

“Hey, sweetie,” Dad yawns, kissing me on the cheek. His whiskers bristle against my skin.

“Hi Daddy,” I say. I roll over to face Mum.

“Sorry about earlier,” I tell her, “I don’t feel too good.”

“It’s alright,” Mum says, “do you want to talk about it?”

Immediately hot tears are splashing down my face and I’m sobbing uncontrollably into Mum’s pillow. I feel both my parents wrap their arms around me, sheltering me.

“He forced me to,” I cry, clutching onto Mum, “I didn’t want to, but he made me! He gave me pills that he said would make me feel better, but they didn’t, they just made it easier for him!”

Mum is holding me tight and Dad pulls us both closer to his chest. I feel squashed, but I want to be held tighter. I feel like I’m five again, as if I’ve just had a bad dream. It takes me a minute to realise Mum is crying too.

“Let it out, Liv,” Dad tells me, “just let it out.”

And so I do. I tell them every little thing that I was too scared to tell them because I thought they wouldn’t care about me as much if I told them, because right now I know they do care and that they will care, no matter what. And after I’ve told them everything we all cry. Even Daddy, although Mum and I pretend he doesn’t and he pretends he doesn’t. And after we’ve all finished crying we lie in silence.

“Alithea’s mad at me, isn’t she?” I sigh, “because I always stole her stuff.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Mum says, stroking my hair.

“It does,” I reply, sitting up, “see you in the morning.”

I leave their room and walk to Alithea’s door. I take a deep breath and knock.

“Something had better be on fire,” she grumbles. I step inside and she squints at me.

“What?” she asks.

Tears start falling down my cheeks again and I throw myself onto her, hugging her.

“Alright, squirt, come here,” she says, shifting over and holding the blankets up. I slide in beside her and wipe my eyes.

“I’m sorry about taking your stuff and being such a cow,” I tell her. She pulls me into an awkward hug.

“What’re sisters for?” she asks, “besides, one of us had to take over the bitchiness once I got better.”

I giggle and snuggle down in Alithea’s blankets.

“Guess what?” she whispers.

“What?” I ask, remembering how we used to do this when we were really little and had to share a room.

“There’s this guy,” she tells me, “you remember Luke Wood?”

“The hot Quidditch Captain?” I exclaim.

“Yeah,” she nods, “well, we sort of, kissed. And are dating. Officially.”

“Seriously?” I squeal, “oh my gosh, Alithea! Next thing you know you’ll actually be female!”

“Excuse me, who did you nick all the make-up and nail polish off?” she laughs, “anyway, I have to go to sleep because he’s picking me up tomorrow.”

“Ooo-”

“Shh!”

I fall silent, grinning. I missed being a sister.

_________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys, sooo, check out Two of a Kind, I'm co-writing it with emmalovesdraco and so far I think it's pretty good :)