1995: Gale
A very strong wind
how Ollie shows her swirling emotions
Ollie woke to the soft sounds of Pomfrey moving around the room, clearly tidying what Ollie had destroyed. Ollie let out a whimper, and at once Pomfrey was hovering over her and casting spell after spell.
"That was quite the night, miss." Pomfrey whispered, sealing up small cuts down Ollie's arm.
"I was..angry when I showed up." Ollie managed to say, her throat parched and scratchy from her long night.
"I heard." Pomfrey whispered, turning Ollie over to start on her other side.
Ollie long ago stopped being embarrassed when Pomfrey cleaned her up, even when her clothes were ripped to near shreds. It did no good hiding herself, as it only meant she received more scars. Pomfrey worked quickly and quietly, before pushing some new clothes her way. Ollie stood on shaky legs, pulling on the provided sweats and sweatshirt before Pomfrey looped an arm under her, and helped her out of the room.
"Oh, dear is this yours?" Pomfrey knelt down and scooped up a wrapped package, surprisingly in one piece. Ollie flushed at once, reaching for it but Pomfrey held it out as she studied the wrapping.
"One of the Weasley boys gave it to me, said it would help." Ollie mumbled, her brain still fuzzy enough she found her tongue moving faster than she would normally allow.
"I'll carry it then, so it stays safe." Pomfrey whispered, a smile stretching on her lips as she busied herself with helping Ollie down the stairs.
A short walk later, and Pomfrey was easing her back on some pillows in the infirmary. Before she whisked away to fetch the required potions, she plopped the package on Ollie's lap, and winked.
Ollie cursed the gods, and ripped it open despite the pain it caused shooting up her arms.
"Chocolate helps numb pain." Pomfrey murmured, approaching Ollie with the potions as she gazed down at the chocolate bar that Ollie was studying.
"Chocolate isn't magic." Ollie huffed, setting it aside to down her required potions. She soon found herself slipping off to sleep. Pomfrey moved the chocolate bar, setting it aside with a soft pat and hurried away to grab a few more hours of sleep before the rest of Hogwart's awoke for the day.
George woke with the sunrise beating on his eyelids, and he sat up startled. Fang huffed in annoyance, before using George as a backboard and hurrying out of the hut. His nose stuck in the air.
George lumbered after him, shocked with himself that he had spent the night on Ollie's couch, but too tired to necessarily care.
George paused, coming to a stop as he watched Madam Pomfrey guided Ollie across the grounds. Ollie could barely walk, she was dragging her feet and George could see fading cuts on her arms. Her hair was a mess, and she hung her head low as they moved.
Fang was seated a few feet away from them, watching as if he had been trained to do so.
George slipped back into his room back in the Gryffindor tower, his body stiff with last nights sleeping arrangements. He kicked his slippers off as he moved towards his bed, he was pulling his covers over his body when Fred's voice broke the silence.
"I think you are an idiot, George." Fred whispered, and George found himself freezing.
"Don't be a git." George huffed, tugging his blanket over his shoulder but he didn't turn to face Fred.
"Just be careful-"
"She's not going to hurt me, Fred, bollocks she isn't deranged." George huffed, shooting him a glare. Fred's eyes were full of sleep, but he didn't look startled by George's shagged appearance.
"S'not what I meant." Fred whispered, before flipping over to turn away.
Ollie woke hours later to the sounds of Hogwart's humming with students milling between classes. When Ollie had told Hagrid that Hogwart's was laced with magic in the walls, he had only looked at her in disbelief before turning away. He didn't even want to entertain the idea, so Ollie kept it to herself.
But to Ollie, Hogwart's was constantly making noises. The walls hummed and grunted in disapproval from time to time. The infirmary was always a gentle static of energy. The dark arts classroom always had a strong presence of distrust. The Great Hall was the nosiest of them all, constantly thumping to the beat of the chatter that filled the tables.
The dark corridors were always full of whispers, and the stairs were like being inside of a drum. A constant thumping of excitement as they moved this way and that. The library was always a gentle trickle of solitude. But Ollie's favorite room had always been the kitchen.
It was always full of instrumental noises. It would sing melodies before every feast, and during meals it was a gentle crescendo of an orchestra as students shared their enlightenment over the dishes. At night though, it was a constant vibration of pent up excitement as they prepared for the next day. The kitchens always had Ollie's heart racing as she felt the walls flex and accept the motions of the hardworking elves, proud to be apart of such a great service.
Ollie cracked her eyes open, and took in the sight of Hermione sitting beside her bed in a hard plastic chair. Her knees were pulled to her chest, and she was flicking through a book with a frown on her face.
Ollie grunted, and Hermione turned to her surprised before trailing her finger along a paragraph in the book.
"Says here you need to eat as soon as you wake up, preferably something sweet to combat the dark magic coursing through your veins. Have you, oh seems you came prepared." Hermione reached over, tearing open the chocolate bar and held out a chunk of it impatiently towards Ollie.
When Ollie only stared at it, Hermione grew more impatient and began waving it around until finally Ollie shakily reached up to grasp it. Hermione turned away to continue reading, while Ollie popped it in her mouth.
It shocked her system as a sense of warmth over took her body, stretching down to her toes as the chocolate melted on her tongue. Almost instantly the warmth faded, leaving her with the sharp coldness again.
"More." Ollie croaked, and Hermione without breaking her gaze from her book, broke off another chunk and held it out.
They sat in silence, Hermione breaking off chunks of chocolate until Ollie finished the entire bar. Ollie's body was warm, it felt like a fire had started in her stomach and overtaken her entire body. She flung the blanket off her body, and was rather surprised when her body didn't ache in protest.
"You are feeling better earlier than usual." Ollie looked up to see Pomfrey approaching her with a few vials of potions, intended for her to drink. The labels had been tore off, as per Ollie's request, she didn't want to know what she was taking.
"Is that a replenishing potion? As well as a pepper up? Have you ever used a mood stabilizer, Madam? Says here it's been known to help." Hermione held out her book for Pomfrey to read, but Pomfrey only stared at Hermione with a look of curiosity on her face.
She then turned to Ollie, eyebrow raised but Ollie only shrugged and held out her hands for the vials. Ollie hadn't the faintest idea what Hermione was doing, nor was going to tell Hermione that her efforts were in vain. Pomfrey promptly passed them over, before turning to Hermione.
"A mood stabilizer?" She asked, and Hermione nodded excitedly before tracing her finger along the paragraph as she reread it.
"States here, that it helps defog the recently turned werewolves mind for a quicker recovery, and an easier transition as they return human." Hermione read, before looking back up at Pomfrey. But Pomfrey was watching Ollie, who grimaced at the taste of the replenishing potion.
"I've never attempted that, no." Pomfrey mumbled, before scurrying away. A flush overtaking her cheeks, as it was always difficult for her to lie.
"Great, another bloody potion." Ollie grumbled, holding out the empty vials for Hermione to set aside. She wasn't about to admit that her idea did sound rather helpful, nor that George's chocolate was still humming through her veins.
"Do you take wolfsbane?" Hermione asked, and Ollie had to hand it to her bluntness. It was rather refreshing, though it only meant Ollie would have to try harder at hiding the truth.
"No." Ollie answered, swinging her legs over her cot she winced as her bones popped back in place. It wasn't a lie.
"Why not? It's the most helpful before a-" Hermione began, flipping back a few chapters in her book.
"I know it is, Hermione, but Snape doesn't make it after Lupin's incident last year." Ollie sighed, hanging her head before her spine stiffened. "Wasn't suppose to say that." She whispered, but Hermione only snorted.
"I was the first to discover Lupin was a werewolf, Ollie." Hermione stood, slamming the book shut. "It's rather dangerous to not take it." Hermione said kindly, reaching out to help Ollie stand but Ollie brushed her off.
"I know it is." Ollie whispered, as she stood her spine locked in place and it took a few breaths before she could properly move. She still wasn't lying.
"Reckon I could probably make it, just need the supplies, but I've heard it's rather expensive and-" Hermione was rambling, but Ollie felt her mind whirring at the prospect.
"You could?" Ollie grunted, her muscles screaming as she bent down to slip her feet in her shoes.
"Course, s'not that hard." Hermione scoffed as if she had been insulted, before scuffing her foot on the floor. "Heard you last night you know, never heard you before." Hermione whispered, and Ollie went rigid.
"You did." It was more of a statement, but it also resided along the lines of realization.
"Yes, was also rather stormy." She said, and Ollie felt her shoulders sag in relief.
"I don't like the smell of wolfsbane." Ollie rubbed her eyes tiredly, and glanced back towards Hermione. "George gave me the chocolate before my..night." Ollie mumbled, and then turned to grab her sweater off the foot of the cot. "I don't have friends either." Ollie nodded at Hermione, and turned on her heel to leave but Hermione's hand darted out, snagging Ollie's arm.
"I'd like to help, like I would have helped Professor Lupin if-"
"I don't need your help, Hermione. I've survived this long without you prodding in my life." Ollie rushed out to say, jerked her now stinging arm from Hermione's grip and fled the Infirmary.
Hermione stared after her with a frown, a strain in her heart and a determination to help the girl.
It took Hermione well over an hour to find George, but once she did she felt an unfamiliar wave of anger pass over her. It was irrational, she knew that, but it felt good to have someone other than Ron to be mad at.
"Are you an idiot?" Hermione hissed, approaching George with her finger stuck in the air pointing at him. He was seated against a wall in a hidden corridor, toying with a bomb looking device with Fred and Lee hovering nearby.
"I've been asking that same question everyday for years." Lee chuckled, but ducked his head as Hermione's glare swung his way. He, as well as anyone, knew not to anger the young witch.
"Oi, don't give us bloody away." Fred hissed, pulling the bomb from George's now distracted grasp.
"What the hell did I do?" George huffed, he was running on very few proper hours of sleep and had begged off for a nap after lunch, but Fred had refused and instead hauled him away to prank the Slytherin's. Blaming George for his insufferable need to put his nose in others people business for his poor mood.
"Riled Ollie up before her transformation." Hermione slammed the book down on the corridor floor, and Fred about flew out of his skin. He opened his mouth to shout about giving away their position, but Hermione shut him up with a flick of her wand. "Says right here that werewolves can't be angered before a full moon as it causes their transformations to be worst and inflict more bodily harm."
George's mind flashed with the image of Ollie being guided across the grounds, her hair a mess and body sagging.
"Wasn't George's fault-" Lee began, but Fred cut him off by slapping his hand over his mouth. His eyes screaming for everyone to shut up, since he couldn't very well speak aloud his frustrations.
"Is she alright?" George asked softly, and Hermione found her hands shaking as she turned to look at George.
"Yes, but.." Hermione began, but she heard the distinct sound of Umbridge's heels clicking on the stone floor. She bounced up, grabbed two of their collars and hurried them into a closet. Lee was close behind, slipping the door behind them.
"Umm guys.." Lee began, but George shut him up by shooting him a glare as the heels grew closer.
All of the sudden a loud explosion went off at their feet, and the closet door flew off the hinges startling Umbridge who let out a high pitched scream as four Gryffindor's spilled to her feet, covered in ash and coughing miserably. Hermione stared down in horror as her book disintegrated before her eyes. Madam Pince was never going to let her in the restricted section again.
"Detention." Umbridge barked, waving her wand the ash cleared from the hallway, and the door returned leaving just the four students covered in soot.
"Tonight, my office." Umbridge barked, then strolled away leaving them sprawled out on the corridor floor.
"Bollocks Granger, never thought you'd get us in trouble." Fred snorted, the explosion having wiped off Hermione's silencing charm.
"Was the plan all along." With that Hermione bounced to her feet, and hurried off down the corridor leaving the three boys in the hallway. "Git." She hollered back, before disappearing around the corner.
"Granger's kind of-" Lee began, but both the Weasley twins cut her off with a wave of their hands.
"Lee, don't." George sighed, wiping ash from his eyes.
"I was going to say bossy, what were you two thinking?" Lee turned to them mouth wide, before he developed a smirk. "Oh boys really, isn't she more like a sister or-"
"Lee Jordan I will hex your eyebrows off."
Lee skipped into Umbridge's with a grin on his face, ever the optimistic one, however it was quickly wiped off his face as Umbridge flicked her wand and he was slammed down into a chair at a desk.
Fred and George followed suit, and not a moment later Hermione came strolling in with Ollie behind her. Ollie ducked her head, headed towards the furthest seat away but Umbridge clicked her tongue, and beckoned her forward.
"I'd like you to sit up here please." Umbridge pulled out a chair, and Ollie had no choice but to walk towards it. The moment she sat down, the chair slammed her in causing Ollie's knees to painfully slam against the underside of the desk.
Ollie realized the desk was to small, and moved to pull her legs out but suddenly a strap flung over her lap locking her in. It tightened, and she let out a grunt of protest and lifted her hands to tug on it. But the desk seemed to reach out, slamming her arms on the desk and two wide leather straps slammed her hand down on either side.
"Professor surely-" Hermione began, but Umbridge waved her wand effectively silencing her as she took a seat aside Fred.
"You four will write lines, Ollie will sit and watch." Umbridge waved her wand again, and a parchment appeared on each of their desks aside from Ollie. Followed shortly by a quill.
"Ink, perhaps?" Fred drawled, annoyed with how his evening was going.
"You won't need it." Umbridge smiled, then took a seat at her desk.
"What are we writing professor?" Lee braved to ask, and Umbridge who had begun busying herself with paperwork waved her wand again and a sentence appeared on each of their parchments.
A gasp tumbled from George's lips, but soon Umbridge silenced all four of them leaving Ollie and Umbridge in silence.
Ollie let out a grunt of pain as Hermione began scratching along the parchment furiously, her quill flying as she wrote her words down. Ollie looked down at her arm alarmed, and saw words appeared in an elegant script.
"I will not befriend the beast."
Ollie kept her gaze down as she realized what was happening, and her eyes flickered over to her other arm to see another phrase appear.
"I will not befriend the monster."
She glanced up to see Lee writing, his eyebrows furrowed as he wrote. She then glanced over at Fred who was still staring at his parchment before he to took his quill to parchment, and began. Pain erupted on the backside of Ollie's hand, and she turned it just slightly to see Fred's messy scrawl appear.
"Ollie is a monster."
Tears sprung to her eyes, but she willed them away as she watched the words get traced over and over. She realized shortly after that she only had three phrases, and flicked her gaze up to George. George was watching her, a pained expression on his face. He slowly brought his quill to parchment, and began.
"Ollie does not deserve love."
"Ollie, wait!" Hermione shouted, running after the girl but Ollie's long legs moved her faster, and soon she was flying down the stairs.
"That was...the weirdest detention I have ever been to." Lee mused, rubbing the ache out of his hands. A hundred lines had caused a kink to develop between his thumb and forefinger, and he was rather annoyed that it would bother him for the next few hours. "Surely she doesn't believe writing down a stupid phrase would cause us to believe it?" Lee questioned, turning to Fred but Fred was staring at George confused.
"They were blood quills." George whispered, solidifying what Hermione had been fearing. She gasped into her hand, and Fred glanced at her before back at George.
"I didn't feel.." Fred began before trailing off, the realization dawning on him.
"I never imagined.." Hermione whispered, before her eyes filled with tears. "I was pushing so hard, I was mad." Hermione whimpered at her own words. Ollie was never going to accept her kindness.
"Are you saying what we wrote down appeared on Ollie's skin?" Lee suddenly asked, and all George could do was nod.
"Bloody hell.." Lee's voice drifted, the Hogwart's walls swallowed up his fear as they all stood stone still in the corridor.
The walls of Hogwart's hummed as Ollie flew through them, guiding her out towards the courtyard. As she stumbled out onto the grounds, she burst through the safety bubble with a small pop and her body turned cold. The walls yearned for her, but she didn't turn around.
The pent up sob broke her lips as she burst into the hut, the coldness took over her body as she crashed to the floor. Her arms and hands were sticky with dried blood, Fang circled her, sniffing her out as she cried.
When she came to a staggering upright position, she was shocked to find the hut in decent condition. Which was most definitely not how she left it last night, and a small wrapped parcel in the center of the table.
The first bite of chocolate lit a small flame in her chest, but it didn't last more than hour as Ollie cocooned herself on the couch and cried herself into the night. Solidifying her ever pressing belief that she did not need, deserve or want friends. All they would do is cause her more pain than she was already in.