Olive hadn't realized how long she had been sitting in the kitchen until she was shaken awake early the next morning with a stiff neck and not feeling any less tired.
"Have you been down here all night?" Remus whispered to her, finding it rather funny that she was sitting hunched over against the table, looking extremely uncomfortable as her eyes slowly fluttered open.
She sat up, wincing as she tried to stretch out her stiff muscles. Olive's eyes darted around the kitchen in surprise, not expecting the early morning light to shine through the windows or the time on the clock to read six-thirty.
"Huh?" Olive wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth. She felt as if time had slipped through her fingers. One moment she was sitting at the kitchen table thinking about what Missy had told her, the next Remus was standing over her shaking her awake.
Where did that time go? When did she fall asleep?
Remus, his hair a mess and still in his robe, meandered around the kitchen with a short chuckle, getting some tea on the kettle for breakfast, "You've been down here all night?"
Olive sighed. Her body felt sore and exhausted, even if she managed a few hours of sleep.
"I guess so." She yawned, "Didn't realize I fell asleep until, well, now."
"I can relate to that." The former professor said with an all-knowing smile, "Why did you stay down here anyways? I heard Missy come upstairs a few minutes after we left. Figured you must have as well."
"I was thinking." The Ravenclaw admitted, "About what she said during our conversation last night."
Olive rested her head back down on the table, her bleary eyes unable to see anything properly. She held back a wince as Remus turned on one or two of the kitchen lights.
"Sorry." Remus flicked them off before sitting down across the table from her, "Habit."
"It's fine." Olive closed her eyes again, "It's my fault for falling asleep down here. Not exactly the most comfortable place to sleep."
"Would you like some tea?" He asked nodding to the kettle, "Might wake you up a bit."
Slowly, Olive got to her feet with her eyes closed, shaking her head, "No. I think I'm going to try and get some actual sleep for a few hours."
She rolled her shoulders, which were stiff and aching from sleeping in a hunched position all night. It was a worse feeling than actually pulling an all-nighter, which the Ravenclaw had lots of experience in doing.
"Remus, why are you awake this early anyway?" She asked tiredly, leaning against the doorframe with a frown, "Not even Mrs. Weasley is up yet."
"Like I said, habit." He shrugged, "During a New Moon, I get a bit more pep in my step."
Olive offered him a weary smile, which only caused Remus to let out another quiet laugh.
"Go get some sleep, Ollie." He said, "I'll try to see that no one disturbs you for a few hours."
Nodding her head, which only made it feel heavier on her shoulders, Ollie slowly trudged out of the kitchen. Her socked feet dragged only slightly as she found the staircase, taking the steps slowly and one at a time.
While Olive wanted to climb into bed and get a few hours of real sleep more than anything, now that she was awake, the conversation she had last night with Missy played back in her head over and over.
Azkaban. Where they belong.
She said it with such certainty, such dislike. Ollie had never seen her sister act that way, or even heard her talk about other people with such hatred. She knew Missy had dealt with a lot of Death Eaters during the Wizarding War, being a member of the Order. However, her feelings towards the Benedicts seemed... different. More personal.
Well, duh. They betrayed your parents. That's why they're dead.
Olive rolled her eyes at herself. That was probably the reason Missy had been so upset, and even why she spoke so little about their family. Perhaps they were close with the Benedicts, and talking about their parents brought up bad memories.
When she reached the top of the stairs, Olive walked zombie-like into the bathroom. Her face felt sticky and oily from laying face-down on the kitchen table all night. If she was going to spend a few more hours in bed, she wanted to feel refreshed (and not have to worry about finding any pimples on her face when she woke).
As she bent down to wash her face, not bothering to use anything but hand-soap and cold tap water, the stiff muscles in her neck and shoulders groaned in protest. Ollie paused briefly, eyes closed to prevent the soap from dripping into them.
"George was right..."
Turns out, Ollies did need to sleep, and not on a kitchen table. She should have gone to bed when he came to check on her, and waited until morning to talk with Missy. However, like most things she did, Olive liked to make things difficult for herself.
"What was I right about?"
Olive froze. Quickly she rinsed the soap from her face, opening her eyes to reveal her boyfriend leaning against the doorframe. He was giving her a drowsy, knowing smile, looking nearly exactly how he had last night... which was sleepy, shirtless, and in his pajamas.
The look she gave him, which told George everything he needed to know, caused the ginger to bite his lip to keep from laughing. She looked so tired, so annoyed, and so adorable that it was hard to take the glare he was receiving seriously.
"What are you doing up so early?" She asked plainly, squinting through the cold water that was dripping into her eyes.
"Oh, Olls." He ignored her question as he handed her a towel to dry her face, "Were you down there all night?"
"I fell asleep." Olive nodded, not feeling any more awake after splashing freezing water on her face, "At the table."
George shook his head at her, "Now how did that happen?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders, folding her arms as she stared pointedly at him, "Does it matter?"
"Perhaps not." He positioned himself in the doorway so she couldn't walk out, "You look grumpy."
Olive narrowed her eyes, "I am grumpy. I slept on a kitchen table all night, George. Everything's sore-"
Stretching his arms upwards, George let out a rather over-dramatic yawn. He was trying to annoy Olive, only mildly, and it was working. However, she was also standing in front of her very toned, very shirtless boyfriend. Before Olive could even stop herself or comprehend what was happening, she found herself staring.
And Olive liked to think she was allowed to stare every once in a while. George was her boyfriend, after all. Besides, Olive liked to think that there were more than just athletic benefits to playing Quidditch, and she was looking at one of those benefits right now.
George, having caught Olive staring, couldn't help the red tinge that colored his ears. The smug smirk that was previously on his face turned into a wider, slightly more bashful smile. He folded his arms over his chest, arching his brow at Olive questionably.
She didn't look too grumpy anymore.
"Can I help you?" He asked, his tone light despite the slight slur of his sleepy voice.
Immediately her face flushed, her eyes slowly moving back up his exposed chest and torso until she met George's gaze. Her lips were trying to hide a smile by pursing themselves together, but obviously she was slightly embarrassed by being caught.
"Yes, you can." She mimicked his stance, trying to play off the fact that she had just obviously checked him out, "You're blocking the door."
George nodded slowly, looking at the doorframe like he should probably move out of the way, but just seemed too content staying there.
"I am blocking the door, aren't I?"
"George-"
"Olls." He was going to tease her some more, but realized that probably wouldn't be a good idea. She looked tired, her eyes bloodshot from the terrible night's sleep she must have gotten. From the way she positioned her neck, George could tell it was stiff.
He was right, after all. Even Olive herself admitted it. Ollies did need sleep, so he probably shouldn't keep her from getting some. He took a step back, allowing her to pass. She smiled gratefully at him, cheeks still flushed from staring at his bare chest.
"Thank you." She said, "Goodnight, George."
They both let out a small, quiet chuckle, realizing how similar their current situation was to last night's, except Olive was the sleepy one and George was more awake.
"Goodnight, Olls." He walked her to her bedroom door, "See you in a few hours."
Olive turned back to him, her eyes scanning him once again. Something flashed quickly in her eyes, some brief moment of awake-ness that caused her to do something very bold. She quickly closed the gap between them, rolling on the balls of her feet until she was standing on tip-toes. Draping her arms over his shoulders, she pressed her lips to his.
When she leaned back to meet his eyes, his brows were raised in slight surprise. She was sleepy, her eyes half shut, but was giving him a look that he hadn't seen from her before.
Her blue eyes flicked back down to his lips quickly, and she kissed him again, feeling the heat radiating off his chest. It was very affectionate, a passion starting to grow as arms snaked around her waist and the kissing grew deeper. George smirked against her lips. Her face was still cold from washing her face, which sent a tickly feeling across his cheeks.
This version of sleepy Olive was not what he expected. In fact, this was very unlike either of them at all, though both of them didn't seem to mind.
Before Olive could pull him closer to her, or vice versa, someone cleared their throat behind them.
"Looks like someone's having a good morning."
The couple pulled apart to see Sirius standing in the hall, arms folded and foot tapping impatiently. He had a particularly murderous glare in her eyes, which was fixed on George. The ginger paled, suddenly feeling overly aware of the fact that he was only wearing pajama bottoms.
Olive, who looked either too tired or too stunned to form any sort of reaction, just stared at Sirius with her rumpled, sleepy look. If she was surprised or embarrassed, neither Sirius nor George could tell.
"Good morning, Sirius." George's voice had risen an octave or two as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head, his gaze suddenly engrossed in the muted color the carpet.
"Is it?" Sirius asked suspiciously. He took a step forward, and George immediately stepped to the side to let the man pass.
"Hi, um, I'll just... go." Olive opened the door behind her, slipping inside before anyone else could say something. Just as the door was shutting, she sent George a quick look that was a mix between run and sorry.
She immediately collapsed on her bed, not even bothering to climb under the blankets. Her cheeks felt warm, her heart feeling warm as it pounded in her chest. While she was still completely exhausted, there was something inside her that was undoubtedly awake.
Olive hoped that Remus would keep his word, because she knew for a fact that as soon as she came downstairs Sirius would chew (pun intended) her and George out about what had happened in the hallway. Ever since Olive met Sirius, he was always protective of her, and did not like the idea of her and George having the opportunity to spend so much time together over the summer.
As she slowly felt her body relax and her mind drift off into sleep, she smiled at the thought of kissing George in the hallway, the warmth of his bare chest so close to her.
Even if it meant getting caught by Sirius, or even someone else, she would definitely go out there and do it again.