Olly knew exactly where she was. The halls she was passing through were so familiar it was almost as if she were examining the lines on the palm of her hand. But right now, she was confused as to why she was going to the library. Most of the time it was to read a book, or occasionally to calm herself down, while reading a book at the same time. But as of today, she wasn't even going there by choice. Bridget Finnigan had bounced into her room, ripped the covers off of her, and told her to be ready in five minutes. Granted, she took much longer than that- Olly had laid in bed for another forty minutes before Bridget had returned and dragged Olly out of bed, literally. She had grabbed Olly by the foot and yanked her off of her bunk, sending her into a heap of sleep deprivation on the floor.
But then she got ready in four minutes.
She was following Bridget dutifully, and in the past eight minutes had received no answer as to why her friend would bring her down to the library. "Are you sure you can't tell me?" she asked, not wanting to give up.
"I'm sure," Bridget smiled at Olly, keeping pace next to her.
"But why?" Olly persisted in a whiny tone. She absolutely hated being kept in the dark for so long. "I mean, I know Rachel has something to do with this, it's all so her. But I just don't get what it's for!"
Bridget smirked lightly and gave Olly and almost pitiful glance. "You'll understand once you get there," she promised. The pair kept walking in silence after that, until a few minutes later the grand wooden doors that lead to the library appeared in front of them.
"Okay," Olly sighed, turning to face Bridget again. "Now can I know what I'm doing here?"
Bridget smiled in a good natured way and shook her head. "Just go inside," she chuckled softly, jerking her head towards the door. Knowing she wouldn't get an answer, Olly just groaned and turned towards the door, pushing them open and walking inside. She stalked through the shelves, weaving her way between the books. There was nobody in here besides her.
She lifted her arm up so her hand was at even height with her neck and ran her fingers across the spines of the old books she was walking past, reading the titles written on the binding with expert speed. She saw that she must be in the potions section, as there were many different potions ingredients listed in the names of the books. The Many Uses of a Bezoar, Tranformation Potions, Potions Most Evile, even the 6th years potions book, the one they used in class. She imagined that Severus would die from happiness if he saw all these potions books, but he was too involved in the Dark Arts to care. And it's not like Olly would show him this spot anyway. He was with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named now, and no matter how much she had disliked him before, she hated him even more now.
Olly heard the door open again just as she paused and selected a book, inching outwards and plucking it from the shelf. The only book she thought could become of use to her at that moment- Spells: From Love Potions to Disappearing Chants. She hugged the book close to her chest as began to walk out of the isle she was in, before reaching a hand up to push her glasses back up her nose as she made to sit down on the bench. But a voice stopped her.
"I, uh... I like that book," someone said. Olly tensed at the sound, turning to find the one person she didn't want to talk to. Sirius was standing behind her, hands in pockets, leaning to the side as he gave her a nervous, lopsided grin. His curly hair framed his face nicely, and it made Olly's heart thump a little louder in her chest, no matter how much she hated to admit it. Sirius gave a tiny cough and smiled awkwardly, awaiting a reaction. "Erm... s'a good read," he concluded.
"You read?" Olly croaked, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to pick at the boy. Sirius was surprised by her response, but he recovered himself quickly.
"Yes," he smirked, growing a bit more confident. "I know other letters besides the ones in my name, believe it or not."
Olly snorted, giving a slight roll of her eyes before sitting down on the bench and opening the book she had. She attempted at ignoring the footsteps coming closer as she tried to focus on the words on the pages. The bench creaked next to her as Sirius sat down, and Olly's heart thrust itself forward in a loud tharrump. She refused to acknowledge Sirius, though, and kept her gaze on the pages in front of her.
She heard Sirius sigh as he gently reached over, taking the book from Olly and closing it, setting it on the table behind them. The breath caught in Olly's throat for a moment, before she shook her head violently and cleared her fuzzy mind. "Is this why I had to come here?" she asked, in a slow and quiet voice.
"I suppose so," Sirius nodded, shifting in his seat beside her. Olly frowned and tried to turn and reach for her book, but in a sudden movement, the boy next to her stuck a hand out and prevented her from moving any further. "We need to talk."
Olly shook her head. "Rachel did this, didn't she?" Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but he realized it wouldn't be any use. He sighed in defeat, nodding. Olly groaned. "She knew I didn't want to talk to you so she made me come here."
"Like a blind date," Sirius added unhelpfully, earning a passionate glare from Olly.
"Only this isn't a date," she hissed at him, feeling an unwanted blush creeping up the back of her neck.
"Oh, right," Sirius laughed nervously, reaching up to scratch behind his neck. "Not a date," he repeated, staring at Olly, as she gazed down at the ground. Her ears were red. "Uh, are you cold?" he asked, earning a quizzical look from the girl next to him. "Your ears are red," he explained, causing Olly's hand to fly up and cover her ears lightly.
"No, I'm good," she assured him, this time the blush coming onto her cheeks. Sirius decided not to mention it this time. There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, where the two of them just sat next to each other. Neither of them said a word. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, Sirius sat up a bit straighter and spoke.
"We have to talk," he announced. Olly looked up at him and gave him a hard stare. "Okay," he corrected himself. "I have to talk. You can listen." Olly just gave a sharp nod and waited in silence. Taking a deep breath, Sirius started his rant. "Alright," he breathed out. "So, according to a lot of people it's pretty obvious that I really fancy you." At those first words, Olly's head flew p and her eyes snapped to look at Sirius.
"What?" she whispered hoarsely. Sirius nodded, pursing his lips.
"Yeah, apparently," he laughed dryly. "It wasn't that obvious to me, though, which is kinda the reason you're angry with me, I think. See, I didn't really know that I, uh, fancied you... and so I did a back flip when Remus and them said I did. I mean, I liked you as a friend- but now I think I fancy you, but I still see you as-" Sirius groaned, starting over. "I still see you as a friend -a really good one- but I have some added feelings as well. Er, I think I said that right."
Olly stared at Sirius with her mouth slightly open, her eyes searching his face as if she were trying to detect a lie. As she studied him, she noticed his nose, and the rest of his face, were slowly becoming larger. That meant he was moving closer. Olly cleared her throat awkwardly, looking back down at the floor. She heard Sirius sigh, and there was another silence. Then, after what seemed like forever, Olly finally decided to say something.
"You don't know anything about me," she told Sirius, not looking him in the face.
"Like hell I don't," Sirius snorted. "I know tons about you."
"Like what?"
The boy shrugged. "I dunno. Er, your favorite colour is green, despite you endless hatred for Slytherin. I know that."
Olly raised an eyebrow; she had to admit, she was surprised her even remembered her saying that. "Is that it?" she asked quietly, still not making eye contact.
Sirius shook his head. "Nope," he said, smirking. "Er, I'm aware of the fact that you're academically paranoid."
Olly snorted, shaking her head. "Every knows that," she reminded him.
"I still know it," Sirius grinned. When there was no answer, he sighed. "Okay, look, Olly. I don't know a whole bunch about you, but I'm willing to learn everything about your entire family tree if that's what it takes to get you. I really, really, really, fancy you, and I know you kinda hate me right now but I'm trying to fix that. And don't try to tell me you don't fancy me either-"
"Oh, I see you haven't changed," Olly snorted, though her heart was pounding more than ever now. "What makes you think I feel that way?"
"Well when I went to talk to Rachel about it she avoided the topic like it was the plague and ended up getting out of me what I was trying to get out of her. So.. I guessed," Sirius said, letting out a nervous chuckle.
Olly sighed uncomfortably as she got the feeling like someone was watching her. It was probably Sirius, but to be honest, that thought right now didn't make her any more comfortable. As if to answer her awkwardness, she felt something warm and soft brush up against her cheek. She froze up in her seat and tensed as she turned slightly to see Sirius reaching over to her, his long fingers tucking a stray piece of black hair behind her ear. She felt her breaths become slightly quicker and she was aware that her cheeks were very flushed by now. "You might be right," she whispered, almost inaudibly. But, of course, Sirius heard her.
A giant grin spread it's way across his face as he gazed at her, while she faced him, her eyes flitting to look at everything besides his eyes. The book, table, shelves, his nose, ears... his lips. Taking a bold move, Sirius scooted closer to Olly on the bench, so now they were about five or six inches apart. "I might?" he asked in a low tone, inching even closer. He leaned forward a bit, ducking his head down. His face was barely an inch away from Olly's.
She nodded, still avoiding his gaze. She wanted to pull away, to put some distance between her and the boy she was supposed to be mad at, but it was like some invisible was holding her hostage in the position she sat in. There was no possible way she could move away. And maybe it was because secretly she didn't want to. "Mhm," she managed to squeak out quietly. "Statistically, you have to be right one of these times," she teased him weakly, as if speaking such a lengthy sentence right now made her want to vomit.
All of the sudden, it was like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs, literally. One moment she was just sitting there, staring at Sirius' nose, and the next moment there was a hand behind her head that pulled her towards him. Olly's heart lept into her throat as their lips connected, sending tingles all across her body. The large hand that was behind her head moved down to sit on the back of her neck, while Sirius' other hand went to her waist. Olly leaned forward slightly and rested a hand on his knee to keep from falling forward, her other hand snaked behind him and pressed on the small of his back. Their lips moved together in sync, and it was as if every emotion in the past weeks, all the ones that had been bottles up were pouring out in that one kiss. If it were possible, Sirius pulled Olly ever closer, still connected to her.
It wasn't until his hand came off her neck and up to cup her cheek did Olly realize what was happening. She let out a slight gasp, causing Sirius to break away. The two stared at each other in silence, stunned. Did that really just happen? Neither of them said a word as Olly blushed again and looked away, scooting away from Sirius. "I'm sorry," she blurted, causing a frown to make it's way onto Sirius' face.
"Excuse me?" he asked, confused.
"That was, uh... it was probably really..."
"Amazing?"
Olly winced. "No, bad."
Sirius snorted, rubbing the back of his neck. "What do you mean? It was... pretty great. Er -I mean- I liked it. Why would it be bad?"
Olly pursed her lips and looked down again, avoiding Sirius' eyes again. She mumbled something, but Sirius couldn't hear this time.
"Sorry, repeat?"
She cleared her throat and grumbled something, a little louder. "It was, uh, it was my first."
Sirius tilted his head to the side. "You first what?" he asked, clueless.
"Kiss," she mumbled, embarrassed. Sirius was shocked.
"I'm- I was your first kiss?" he asked, amazed. Olly nodded.
A clever smirk made it's way onto Sirius' face, and he leaned forward again, his breath fanning down against Olly's mouth. "Can I be your second kiss too?" he asked slyly. Olly looked up at him, her mouth slightly parted. As if she could do nothing else, she nodded, and Sirius ducked down once more, kissing Olly like it was the one thing he wanted, and nothing else.
And it was.
* * * * *
Bridget reported back to Rachel with good news. "I got her to go," she said brightly, beaming at her own success. "Let's hope they worked, things out, yeah?" Rachel nodded, though Bridget sensed something was off. Her lips were pursed and she had a grim look on her face. "Something wrong?" Bridget asked.
"You tell me, Finnigan," Rachel grumbled, holding out a piece of paper. Bridget gingerly took it from Rachel's grasp and held it close to her face, examining the letter.
Remus-
You probably don't remember me, but we met once, in the library. I helped you find your good friend Olly when she ran off. Well, since then, I've noticed that I want to talk to you again. I really think I might fancy you, even though we've only talked to each other about twice since then.
I was wondering if you wanted to meet at the Astronomy tower tomorrow, around breakfast. I'm sorry I'm too much of a coward to tell you this myself, but I thought a letter might be easier so I don't have to follow you during classes. Not that I do that, ever. I'll be at the tower, waiting, if you want to come
~Tia
Bridget smiled as she read the note. She knew how hard it was fro a guy to catch Tia's attention; she had the highest standards. Nerdy, cute, not every guy is like that. For one, Bridget was glad that her friend had finally found someone she could [possibly] get together with. Though she was confused as to why Rachel was upset about the letter. Wouldn't she be happy about her friend as well?
"She's missing," Rachel announced in a worried tone. Bridget looked up from the letter, confused.
"Hm?"
"You said that out loud," Rachel explained. "And it's Tia, she's missing."
Bridget tilted her head to the side, curious. "How do you know?"
Rachel nodded towards the letter. "Remus found the letter, on his bed. Naturally, he went. Tia-"
"He fancies her back?" Bridget interrupted excitedly. Rachel gave a small grin and nodded.
"Yeah, it seems so. He's pretty worried. He's looking for her now, actually," Rachel paused to think for a moment, before resuming her talking. "Well, I actually sent him to tell Dumbledore, but, he probably didn't do that yet."
"Right," Bridget sighed, mentally slapping herself for getting off topic. This was serious. "How do you know that she's missing?"
Rachel frowned and turned to stare at the door. "She never showed up at the astronomy tower," she told Bridget, as if that explained everything. "In fact, no one's seen her since she came down from the boy's dormitories last night."
"When she was delivering the letter," Bridget inferred, earning a nod from Rachel.
"When she was delivering the letter," she confirmed.
Bridget sighed, worrying for her friend. "We should tell Dumbledore," she concluded, getting up to leave. Rachel followed in close pursuit. "Who do you think did it?" Bridget asked, knowing that, Rachel being Rachel, would most likely have at least one or two guesses.
"Well, I don't know for sure, but... I have a few guesses." And then she filled Bridget in on everything she had found out about Death Eaters in the school. Damn Sirius for not telling her, she had to get everything out of Olly.
A/N: AHHHH I LOVED THIS CHAPTER. IT WAS MY FAVOURITE TO WRITE BY FAR. It was so cute like olly was all like bruh and sirius was just like i love uuuuu and then bridget was like oh yaaaaah and then rachel just kinda went booooo our friend is missing uh oh AND I JUST LOVED IT. Isn't Sirius just the cutest? Sweet baby Jesus in a manger I love him. And also, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR 300 READS! GAH.
FYI: Sirius + Olly= Stolly
Remus + Tia= Ria
Oh, and if any of you were wondering about Rachel and Fabian... *whispers* don't worry!
~Signing off~ BYEEEEEEEEEE