Saturday afternoon came, technically it was this afternoon, and Sarah did her best not to let her nerves get to her. It all felt a bit surreal, and she kept replaying her interactions with Wood throughout the years. She thought he was all nervous and awkward around everyone, but it was just around her, and it was sweet.
Her girl friends gushed over it for the rest of the week, and gladly debated with her on what outfit she should wear. She had several thoughts of her mother, how sweet it could've been to write her a letter about her first date. Remus had joked that her father would have hunted Wood down, Lyana would have pressed a kiss on her forehead and sent her off with the instruction to be told everything afterwards. Remus made sure to assert his authority during his DADA class with the seventh years and told her to have cautious fun. She smiled, knowing he awkwardly condensed every restriction to that particular expression.
She tied her hair into a slicked back low ponytail and heard her name being called out in a screech and she recognized the screech from years spent with the Weasleys and Fred and George pulling pranks on Ginny.
She ran down and found Ginny being held up by a friend of hers and Hermione, "What happened!?" Sarah frowned in horror at Ginny's ears that sprung out some kind of plant. Fred and George also ran down, because they knew the high pitched sound as well, and were worried, because it wasn't caused by them.
"Leek jinx, it ricocheted from some fourth years and hit her when she passed them," said Ginny's friend. "We don't know the counter-jinx."
Sarah got out her wand, and performed a counter-jinx that she figured should do in the situation and slowly the leeks disappeared from Ginny's ears, leaving her shaking and red-faced. Sarah kneeled down in front of her, took her hand in hers, Fred and George joined her.
"You okay, there, sis?" asked Fred.
Ginny breathed in and out slowly and nodded. "You sure?" she glanced at her watch, she was late to meet Wood. "Dammit, that must have been horrifying," she gently set her hands over her ears. "Want me to stay with you? I have Honeyduke's upstairs."
"No, are you crazy? You have your date," said Ginny, shaking her head and got up. "I'm great."
"I've got her," said George, putting an arm around her and sitting back down. Sarah pressed a kiss on her forehead and turned to walk away when she locked eyes with Fred.
She stopped, then, for some reason and glanced down at her pair of jeans, "I figured he'd make me fly on a broom. It's too casual, isn't it?" She tightened a bit the hair tie, and adjusted the collar of her leather blazer.
Fred shook his head, taken aback because he realized this was the first time she spoke to him since last week, and he looked at her intently, "No, not at all, you're-Uh-"
"You look beautiful," said George. "Now leave!"
She glanced at her watch again. "Shit. Yes, okay. Bye!" She ran out of the common room, his gaze following her.
"You need to apologize," cautioned Ginny.
"You also need to stop staring," mumbled George, and Fred picked up a pillow, hit them over the head with it, "And you two need to shut up."
Sarah ran to the courtyard, saw Oliver leaning against a tree, making some leaves levitate.
"I'm so sorry, I had a situation with Ginny. Leek jinx," said Sarah, out of breath, hand clutching her side.
He flashed her a bright smile, "It's okay. Figured you'd tell me if you cancelled."
"Of course, but," she breathed in and out heavily. "Sorry, I'm not very physical, I just sprinted here." She took off her jacket, it wasn't warm outside so that helped a lot. "So, where are we going?"
"What I planned was Hogsmeade, there's a sale of old books there this weekend, figured you'd like it. And then a little surprise. We should be back here around eight, in time for dinner. What do you say?" said Oliver, grinning widely when he saw her pleased face.
It had lit up completely, "It's amazing."
He walked to her, took her hand in his and twirled her around, "Let's go, then. And you look absolutely stunning, might I add."
"Thank you, I'm quite aware," she joked. "Not too shabby yourself." She smiled up at him, he did look great, dark jeans and a sweater that wasn't a house sweater, a couple of buttons closing up at the collar, it looked new.
He flicked his wand and his broom flew into his hand. "Do you know how to fly?"
"I flew my first year, it didn't change since then, did it?" she asked nervously, her eyes trailing over the broom now awaiting to be mounted. "I also watched you guys fly for a few years from the benches. Does that count?"
Oliver smiled fondly, "Better keep your legs on the same side, then. Come on." He mounted the broom, gestured for her to sit behind him. She closed her eyes for a second and mentally prepared before she sat down.
"You'll be fine. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm kind of good at this," he grinned, glancing back at her.
"As long as you don't fly as fast as you do on the field, we should be fine," she said blankly, wrapping her arms around him.
"Hold on tight," he tapped her arm, and grabbed on the broom.
"That's what I'm d-Ah!" she screamed when he flew up, the air getting knocked out of her lungs for a few seconds, fighting the wind below that kept hitting at her legs to unbend them. Only she knew what happened if she did, she'd fly right off the broom.
"You all right?" he asked, turning back to look at her once they were in the air and he slowed down a bit.
"No! But I'm not dead, so that's pretty much what I expected," she shouted, holding him tightly.
"We've got a few minutes left," said Wood and leaned a bit forward, making the broom speed up. Sarah just closed her eyes, occasionally opening one to see the landscape flash right by. "Look!" she heard, and she raised her head, set her chin on his shoulder and opened an eye. It was Hogsmeade almost before them, and from afar it looked lovely.
He lowered the broom, reaching the ground and he straightened his back, turned back to Sarah, "It's over, now," he beamed. She let out a breath of relief when her feet touched the ground, and ran the palm of her hands over her head, thankful for the choice of hairstyle as well as for the outfit.
"That was fun," she said sarcastically. "I'm not sure I can stand up without falling, though," she looked down at her feet and held on to the broom.
He smiled and held out his hand, "I'll make it up to you."
"You better," she took it and her legs trembled, Oliver caught her waist, she ended up face to face with him. She tilted her head up, and raise a brow, "You did this on purpose, admit it."
"Maybe," he grinned, his eyes flickering down her face then back up. "Let's go." He turned to the broom and made it go back to the school with a wand gesture.
"Interesting," murmured Sarah, observing him, then turned to the little village, she couldn't help but let Fred's words pick at her thoughts.
"What's interesting?" asked Wood, stepping back next to her, locking eyes with her. He brushed a finger over her hand and she looked down, took his hand in hers and looked up to find him smiling down at their hands.
"The move," she teased and started walking.
"What move?" he inquired, actually sounding sincere. But that just didn't make sense.
"Your move," she glanced to her side at him. "The ride. It's smart, though."
He let out a chuckle, "Is that what you think of me? Some guy with moves?"
"You make it sound so bad!" she scolded, "Said like that. It's more just following a certain script, that works, because it's good."
He nodded, turned to her with a light smile, "Didn't picture you as a skeptic."
"I'm not, I prefer aware," said Sarah firmly, making him chuckle softly.
"I promise this is not some rehearsed show I'm putting on, it's actually the first time it's like this. I mean, I've gone out for Butter-beers, snogged during study sessions, but this is just-More. This is me being forward," said Oliver, kept look at her and away.
"All right, that might have earned you some points, not gonna lie," she bit down a wide grin, looking down at her feet.
"Progress," he smiled widely, putting his hand on the small of her back to lead her through the full crowd to the planned destination.
They spent the afternoon walking around and talking, stopping every five minutes while she wondered and pointed out the books she'd read that were sold here.
"This idea of yours is pretty much perfect," she wondered again, admiring an old book with a wonderful hardcover.
"As much as I'd love to take credit for all of it, I've got to head it out to Fred, a real champ," said Oliver.
"What?" her mouth fell open, completely stunned by that. She didn't think he'd even talked to Oliver, then again, she didn't talk to him since the party. This was completely out of the blue.
"He told me about it when I mentioned Hogsmeade at the last meetup for strategy. You, him and George are pretty close, you grew up together, right?"
She nodded, smiling at the thought of them, "We did, yeah. We've been best friends since forever." Her words pinched her heart, realizing she missed Fred, and she was hurt by the fact he didn't seek her out since last week
"They talk about you a lot, you know," said Wood, picking up the book she admired for a while, gesturing at the salesman.
She chuckled, "About the stupid pranks they pull, and me being a smug pain in the arse, I bet."
"Something like that, yeah," he grinned, walking towards her, hands behind his back. "I say we get going if you don't want to miss the surprise."
"So dramatic," she retorted, squinting at him. "Okay, let's go, I'm actually curious."
He brought his hands forward and handed her the book, "Here, to make up for the flying."
She stared at it, then at him, "You did not just buy that?! When did you even-"
"You're really passionate about books, in a whole other world, that's when," he grinned again, and she took the book, now feeling a little spark, and she might just believe he's honest, because he had numerous occasions of kissing her today, and took none, chose to look back into her eyes. She might.
"Thank you," she held the book close to her chest and he put his arm around her shoulders, walking back to where the broom had dropped them.
"You'll want a front row seat at what I have planned," said Oliver. Her face fell apart and he gave a reassuring smile, "Trust me, it'll be worth it. Come on." He held out his hand and she said down in front of him hesitantly. "Relax. I'll guide it."
She shook her head, "I didn't sign up for this, Oliver. If we fall, I'm not saving you."
He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist, set the other on the front of the broom, "I'm not gonna let you fall." He pushed off the ground and they flew up. Sarah closed her eyes and inhaled sharply, having trouble breathing again for a few seconds until they stopped moving up and set in a flat trajectory.
"You okay?" he asked, and when she didn't answer he squeezed her waist gently, "Sarah, you okay?"
She nodded, she hadn't heard him the first time, only managing to breathe in and out.
The broom slowed down, and she felt Oliver straighten up again. She managed to relax a bit, and he leaned in next to her ear and whispered, "Open your eyes."
She slowly opened one, then both and her jaw dropped. It was the most beautiful sunset ever, right over the lake. The sky broke into so many shades of yellow and orange, melting into the blue through a soft shade of purple, it was completely breathtaking.
"Wow, okay, it was worth it," she spoke, her voice mesmerized.
He stared at it, too, "I always wanted to see it up close, I usually see it from the Quidditch field when I set up the training in the afternoon."
"It's beautiful."
Oliver set his gaze over her, "Yes, it is."
They stayed silent for a few minutes, just taking in the sight, and he leaned in again, "Go out with me."
She turned to him, "I just did."
He smirked, "I mean for real, officially, boyfriend and girlfriend, and all that cheesy stuff, and get you to stop being so suspicious of it."
"I'm not suspicious of it, just-"
"Aware," he nodded. "I get it." He took a few seconds, looking over her face, his mouth curled upward.
"But you need to know that I've fancied you for years and I'm done with awkward and nervous, at least on the outside. I took a page out of your own book."
"What might that be?" she asked, feeling moved by everything he said, by what he did, how he looked at her, like she was the most beautiful thing around him at all times, which was crazy because there was a gorgeous sunset right before them.
"Being bold and honest, you know what you want, what you're worth. You say it, you go after it, it's inspiring, really," he told her, now with a slightly shy smile on his face.
She smiled down at her lap, at the book he got her, "How insightful of you."
"How sarcastic of you," he clapped back and took her by surprise. "What's it gonna be, Sarah? Are you going to break my heart or not?" He leaned in slowly, holding her gaze.
"I'm not intending to," her eyes fluttered closed and met him halfway, feeling his hand over her face again.
She slowly pulled away, giddy and dizzy, "I'll go out with you, for real, officially, minus the cheesy stuff."
Oliver slid her close and beamed, "How mad will you get if I do a loop in the air, right now?"
"Extremely," she frowned warningly.
"Okay, I'll do it when I'm alone, then," he cupped the side of her face and kissed her cheek. "We should get going, to make it in time for dinner."
She nodded, still a faint smile on her face and turned around, leaned against his chest and her heart fluttered the whole time back to the castle. He climbed off the broom and helped her up, too, "I need to set the broom back, I'll see you later."
"See you," she said softly, backing away and turned around to walk towards the Great Hall, just knowing he watched her walk away.
Some people were already sitting at the table, her friends were there, and they all sat up and looked at her with wide eyes.
Fred's chest tightened and swelled up at the same time, both from seeing her happy, and from guessing what made it happen. He wanted to catch her attention, do something, say something, but he couldn't think of anything.
"What happened?" asked Selena, leaning over the table excitedly.
"Yes, please share every detail and don't hold back," mocked George, leaning in, too, and mimicking her.
Selena leaned over the table to hit his arm and squinted irritably at him before looking back at Sarah.
Sarah bit down her smile, looked down at her plate, adjusting the setting of the cutlery. She wanted to tell them, George and Selena, she wanted to tell Fred, too, but she kept looking down, "I'll tell you guys later."
George and Selena looked between her and Fred, understanding the air hadn't been cleared between them.
George tapped Sarah's head as an attempt of comfort then rubbed his fingers together confused, "What did you put in your hair?"
"Oh, vaseline," she said. "To keep it slicked back. It's a thing."
He frowned at his hand and searched for Percy at the table, only a few seats away. He got up and walked up behind him to wipe his hand on his robe.
"What are you doing?!" thundered Percy, looking down at George.
"Nothing Perce, just adjusting your Bighead-Boy robes," said George cheekily, dropping the fabric and ran back to his seat before Percy turned to get up.
Harry, Hermione and Ron arrived, then, and Sarah was grateful for that, she could join their conversation during the rest of the feast.
_
At the end of it, Sarah and Alexander got up along with the other Prefects to guide the students to their towers, up to their dorms, and Sarah led up the last Gryffindor girl up the stairs when she heard Fred call her.
She stopped moving then, turned to find him alone, too.
"Um..." Fred walked closer to her, "I just..." Her stern face was too familiar to him, he missed it.
"I'm sorry, McCauley."
Sarah only stared, it was the first time, ever since she'd known him, that he apologized to someone.
"I'm sorry I ruined last week, I'm sorry that you felt like you couldn't tell us, me, about this afternoon, you're not-" Fred dug his hands into his pockets, looked down then around the room, really anywhere else but at her, "You're not dispensable, far from it, I'm sorry I made you feel that way. You're-"
Sarah was turning her ring anxiously again, she just came off the high of her date with Oliver, completely new to her, but this was also new, Fred standing in front of her to sincerely apologize.
"You're my best friend, McCauley, and I care," said Fred, fidgeting uncomfortably, this was new to him, too.
She blinked away some climbing tears, reached up and threw her arms around his neck, letting out a breath of relief against his hair. Fred hadn't realized how quick he responded to her embrace, he found himself with Sarah in his arms, and smiling.
"You're my best friend, too, Weasley," said Sarah, pulling away, then added, "Aside from George and Selena." Because this heartfelt moment was long overdue and she felt much better with their usual dynamic. She felt something altering it this moment, she hoped it wouldn't change much, though.
"How dare you?" said Fred, sounding astoundingly betrayed, "I'm adding George, Selena and Lee. You just dropped three places, McCauley."
She ruffled through his hair, "I don't believe you."
"Don't mess with my beautiful hair," threatened Fred, pushing her hand away and rearranging his hair.
She laughed.
"What are you still doing here?" asked Percy, walking in through the portrait hole, "Up, will you? Don't make me give you detention."
Fred rolled his eyes, walked up, and mumbled "Big-head" when he passed Percy, resulting in the both of them wrestling up the stairs.
Sarah walked up, too, leaving them to it, hoping Percy doesn't kill Fred, or Fred doesn't kill Percy, more like it. She smiled all the way up to her dorm, until she fell asleep. But it wasn't about Oliver.