I spent the entire next day in the library looking through as many magical books as I could flip through while trying to stay hidden within the shelves. I was also allowed to take a few with me to read later that evening, as long as I brought them back the next morning. Not only that, but Madam Pince was nice enough to bring me back a plate of fried tomatoes, cream puffs, and tea for lunch, so I didn't have to go to the crowded Great Hall. I wasn't allowed to actually eat or drink any of it in the library, but I was okay with sneaking outside and getting some fresh air while everyone else was still inside. Madam Pince even smiled when I told her how much I appreciated the food. Then again, it may have simply been a lip-twitch. Either way, I smiled back as I headed outside to eat in solitude... thinking about Oliver.
I was lost in thought when someone grabbed my right arm. "Where do you think you're going?" Fred asked with a grin.
"She's blushing," George added as he grabbed my left arm, "so it must be good."
I felt my face get even hotter. "Not really. Just headed outside for some fresh air."
I was just about to ask them why they weren't in the Great Hall when Fred held up a piece of parchment and said, "Oh, we can think of somewhere you'd rather be." He opened the Marauder's Map and pointed at a set of footprints that had Oliver's name over them. "He's eating--"
"--all alone--"
"--in the common room," Fred continued.
Scanning the Map, I noticed another set of footprints in the Gryffindor Tower. "Who is that?" I asked, knowing exactly who it was.
They looked curiously at the name--Peter Pettigrew--and shrugged. "Probably a house-elf cleaning Ron's filthy room," Fred replied before tucking the map safely back inside his robe.
"They don't bother wizards, though--" George nudged my arm and winked "--or muggles."
Of course, he'd know about me. The twins always know everything.
"Maybe you should have him introduce you," Fred suggested...
"...to Peter," George chuckled...
"...the house-elf," Fred added as they both disappeared down the corridor, their laughter fading away with them.
Even though they were teasing me, they were right about one thing... girls were allowed in the boys' dorm.
I walked as fast as I could to Gryffindor Tower, saying the password and slipping through the door. Surprisingly, Oliver wasn't there. Even so, I was okay with that. He wasn't the one I wanted to see. Well, not right now, anyway.
Hustling up the stairs to the boys' dorm, I tried to remember where Peter had been scurrying around on the map. I had no idea where Ron's room was or if he kept his rat in a cage or just let him run loose all day, but I wanted to find out. If I'd already changed the story, why not blow it all out of the water? Why not see what would happen if Peter wasn't able to return to his master?
There were more doors than I thought there'd be, so I stood in the hallway and listened.
Silence.
I knew I didn't have much time, so I decided to just tiptoe to each door and peek inside. Thankfully, it didn't take too long before I opened a door and saw a Chudley Cannons poster over one of the beds and a monogrammed sweater draped on the footboard. The Quidditch players startled me, at first, as they straightened and smiled widely when they saw me. As much as I had wished our photos and posters back home did that, actually seeing them do it in person creeped me out a little. Maybe if I had actually grown up seeing pictures move, I might feel differently. Anyway, I needed to find Ron's rat, not worry about moving posters.
Looking around his bed, I didn't see any kind of cage. Did he even keep Scabbers in a cage? I couldn't remember him ever being in one, just inside Ron's pocket. However, he'd been in this room, so he had to be running loose.
I sat my lunch down on the dresser that flanked the bed and was just about to bend over to look under the bed....
"Willow?"
I almost screamed, definitely jumped. "Hey, I was just... looking for you."
"For me?" Oliver asked as he took a step inside the room. "In here?"
"Yeah, Fred and George said you were here and... and I didn't see you downstairs, so I... I came looking for you." I pointed at the poster and grinned. "I wasn't sure which room was yours and saw this and--"
He took another step closer and returned my grin. "I'm more partial to Puddlmere United."
I nodded. "Duly noted."
He moved closer, causing my heart to beat faster with each step he was taking. When he took another, closing the gap between us, I knew he had to hear it thumping loudly in my chest. I took a deep breath, hoping it'd slow it down, but when I looked up at him... thump, thump, thump, thump.
He grabbed my hand. "Follow me." He took me to another room that was way down on the other side of the hallway. "For future reference," he said, opening the door, "this is my room."
Once again, I nodded and said, "Duly noted."
He was still holding my hand as he walked in and pushed his door shut behind us.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
When he turned to face me, I knew this was it. We were totally alone, which never happened unless we snuck off somewhere and risked detention, and knew that it wouldn't last much longer, with lunch ending soon. This was the perfect moment.
I tilted my head back and looked up at him. He slowly moved his lips closer to mine, like he was making sure I was okay with what was about to happen. When I slid my hand out of his and up his arm, resting it on his shoulder, slightly pulling him in, he knew.
His lips had just met mine when....
"Oof!" The door smacked Oliver hard in the back.
"Oh, sorry," Percy said, "I forgot my--" That's when he saw me. "What is she doing in here?" He didn't just see me, he glared at me.
"I'm allowed to be in here," I reminded him as I glared back. Percy Weasley, even in the end--the very end--when he came to his senses, was not one of my favorite characters.
He puffed his chest out so his prefect badge could easily be seen. "Just because someone is allowed to do something doesn't mean they should." He turned his attention to Oliver, who was grinning slightly. "Do you know the trouble you could get in, having her in our room... alone?"
"Obviously, he does," I answered, "so, please, get whatever you forgot and--" I waved my hands toward the door.
Oliver laughed. "We were only talking. She came looking for me and--"
"She found you," Percy interrupted, turning on me. "I suggest you return to the girls' dormitory."
"And I suggest you not turn your back on your family for personal gain. Trust me, if you do, the only thing you'll gain is regret, especially when...." I started to say, '...when Fred dies,' but stopped myself, shaking my head in frustration. "Always respect your parents, Weatherby." I shook my head in disgust as I walked past him and out the door.
"Weatherby?" Percy repeated questioningly.
Once again, I'm sure I sounded crazy, since I hadn't formally met Percy, but I didn't care anymore. Percy was a twit and the way he treated his family... he deserved much worse.
"Hey," Oliver called after me. "I'm sorry about that."
I stopped and waited on him to walk with me. "It's not your fault he's a prick--I mean a prefect."
He laughed. "Do you two know each other?"
"Not exactly," I said, shaking my head. "I can explain later." I knew I had to explain... everything. He deserved to know. "Right now, I need to get my lunch and let you get to your next class."
I heard distant chatter, so I knew I should hurry and get my food and tea out of Ron's room. All I needed was another rumor about me and Oliver to start going around. Or for Ron to wonder why I went looking for his rat.
"Can I walk you back to the library at least?" Oliver asked as I walked into Ron's room.
"Sure." A small part of me hoped the library would be empty, too, so we could finish what Percy had interrupted. How romantic would that be, a kiss in the lib--
There the furball was, eating my food. "Scabbers!" He immediately scampered away.
"Oh, no! I hope you at least got a few bites," Oliver said.
"No, actually, I didn't." Now, I really wanted to kill that sneaky rat.
"We can make a stop by the kitchen. I happen to know someone," he said with a wink.
Was it a house-elf he was going to introduce me to? I couldn't help but think about the twins and laugh.
"Did you see where he went? The rat?"
"I think it ran under the bed. I'd just let it go. What good is it to catch it, now?"
He had no idea.
I dove onto my hands and knees, looking under the bed. Oliver came over to help... right as Harry, Ron, and Neville walked in.
"What the bloody hell?" Ron asked.
I jumped up, which didn't make the situation, or the position Oliver and I had just been in, look any better. "Your rat ate my lunch." That's all I knew to say.
"Why would you be eating lunch with my rat?" Ron asked, looking from me to Oliver. "You couldn't use your own room, mate?"
"I did. I mean... Percy." Oliver shook his head. "She was looking for me, saw the poster, thought this was my room... anyway, I took her to my room--" he ran his fingers through his hair "--she forgot her food. It's gone, now, so we're leaving." He motioned toward the door like he wanted me to get him out of the awkward situation I'd gotten him into, so I did.
"We need to talk later, and bring Hermione. Don't bring your food-stealer rat, though," I added with a smile, hoping my request didn't seem too out of place. I wanted to talk to them about Peter Pettigrew without him there to hear me. "I have a slight fear of rodents." I wasn't actually scared of them, however, I didn't like them, especially that one.
"Same place and time?" Harry asked.
"Sure." I glanced at Oliver. "We'll be there."
Descending the stairs hand in hand, I didn't pay attention to anyone coming or going or lingering in the common room. Instead, I smiled and talked to Oliver until we were close to the library, foregoing a trip by the kitchen, since it would make him late to his next class.
"You know I don't care," he assured me as we stopped outside the library.
"I know, but I've gotten you in enough trouble lately."
"I think it's been me who has gotten you into trouble," he corrected. "The owlery was my idea, remember?"
"True, but if I hadn't landed on your broom and you weren't forced to show me around, you wouldn't know me to have invited me anywhere, so...."
"You're right, it's all your fault for falling from the sky." His expression turned more serious. "Are you going to tell me about that? Because I know you didn't apparate."
"No, I couldn't apparate if I wanted to," I admitted. "And, yes, I had planned on telling you already but--" someone walked past us "--we need to talk in private."
"It won't be very private with Harry and his friends around."
"No, but the whole reason I'm here at all revolves around Harry in a really weird way, so it only seems fair to include him."
Oliver raised his eyebrow. "Now I'm curious. What does Harry have to do with you falling from the sky, or whatever happened that day?"
I smiled, understanding his confusion. "I promise I'll explain. When I do, you may never want to talk to me again, but I'm going to explain the best I can, anyway. You deserve that. You deserve the truth, however crazy it's going to sound."
"I want to know, no matter how crazy you think it's going to sound."
I laughed. "Oh, it's crazy. Trust me."
He reached up and held my face in his hand. "I do trust you. I trust whatever you have to tell me." He started to lean in.
"Wait." I slid his hand from my face and pulled him into the library, which was still deserted, no Madam Pince in sight, at least not yet. Passing the reference and restricted sections, I pulled him right to the dragon section, which was near the back corner. I turned toward him, putting his hand back on my face, and grinned. "Okay, go ahead."
He shook his head and smiled, making my heart melt before his lips ever made it to mine. "You sure?"
"Absolutely."
And I kissed Oliver Wood in the dragon section of the library at Hogwarts. It couldn't get more perfect than that.