After staring up at the sky for nearly two hours scared with the fact that Sirius Black was able to get into the Ravenclaw common room, up into her dorms and stare at her face, Olive tried her best to sleep.
How could she be so stupid not to notice the coincidence? He obviously put the fire out with her wand, picked her up and laid her on the couch, and went back upstairs in her room to retrieve her blanket to drape it over her.
Why the hell would a mass murderer tuck her in? Or even not kill her for the matter? The way the shaggy dog looked at her was very odd, even for a dog- Olive mentally kicked herself for not realizing it sooner. She could have told Dumbledore, and he would have been caught.
But what kind of mass murderer wouldn't... well.... Murder her?
There had to be some sort of reason why Sirius Black didn't kill her.
And it was keeping her up.
Carefully, she rolled over, facing the twins who fell asleep as soon as the lights when out. Fred was facing away from them, curled up, while George was facing her, on his stomach with his arms tucked under his pillow.
Managing a small smile, she sighed. The twins, as alike as they are, can be quite different some times. Ollie hated them, yes, but she happened to notice everything when she's trying to fall asleep.
She looked over, eyeing the watch on George's wrist, internally groaning. It was already four in the morning, and she hasn't slept a wink yet since Cho and Nat woke her up.
As she forced her eyes shut, trying to trick her brain into thinking she's tired, her heart beat drummed loudly in her ears- too nervous and anxious to want to slow down and sleep. Ollie was still worked up about everything, which made her nervous and extremely anxious to no end. She needed to write something right now, but couldn't risk leaving the Great Hall. The doors were locked, how would she even get out?
Olive's eyes opened again, but this time she was met with a pair of eyes staring back at her.
Her cobalt blue state widened in fright for a second, but she signed when she realized it was only George staring back at her.
He smiled a bit, resting his chin on the top of his pillow as he stared at her.
A sense of irritation ran through her, wanting to glare at George for scaring her like that. Instead she just stared back, wondering why he was awake when just a moment a go he was sound asleep. It was nearly four in the morning after all, and they were still locked in the Great Hall. Nearly everyone was asleep at that point, even Percy.
"Are you okay?" He mouthed/whispered to her, wondering why she was still up. To him, Ollie looked wide awake, yet clearly exhausted. He only woke up because of Fred's light snoring, but saw Olive open her eyes with a frustrated sigh.
"Fine." She mouthed back, wanting now more than ever to get some sleep. Ollie didn't like the twins. She didn't like them bothering her, she didn't like their pranks, and she just didn't like them. But somehow, tired yet wide awake, this was a bit different.
"How long have to been up?"
"Long enough."
"Why."
"Doesn't matter why."
"Yes it does. You look tired."
"Gee thanks."
"Just saying you should sleep."
"Why do you care all of a sudden?"
"Cause you look tired."
"Why are you even up?"
"Because Fred snores."
"He's your bloody twin and you haven't gotten over it?"
"We usually sleep a bit further away."
"And I'm supposed to know that why?"
"Because you asked."
"Doesn't mean I wanted an answer."
Olive narrowed her eyes at George, who only gave her the shrug of his shoulders and a cheeky grin in reply.
"Sure it does."
"No."
"Stop being-"
"Can I just sleep please?"
"Well, you've been awake for hours."
"I want to sleep now."
"Just because you want to sleep doesn't mean you can."
"Oh my god, Yoda, is that you?"
"Who's Yoda?"
"A muggle fictional character. Look him up."
"Why?"
"Because he's awesome."
"Why?"
"Because- shut up that's why."
With a frustrated huff, Olive turned over in hopes of getting some sleep, but was met with a tap on her shoulder from the younger Weasley twin.
"Why?"
She grabbed her wand and turned over, pointing it at George with an annoyed glance.
"I will hex you. Shut up please."
"Well, finally, you say please."
"Weasley-"
"Fine, fine, I'll shut up. Geez, you're scary when you're angry."
George laid down his head, but kept staring at Ollie with a grin. Rolling her eyes, she rolled back over and crammed her eyes shut, hoping to get some sleep.
Finally, she drifted off.
As light entered the Great Hall and the starry sky faded into a morning sunrise, the doors to the Great Hall slowly started to unlock. It was nearly seven, which gave Olive nearly three hours of sleep.
Students, one by one, began to wake up, getting to their feet to stretch their legs and whatnot.
The light chatter that started to fill the hall woke the rest of the students up, including Ollie, who was still a bit tired.
She opened her eyes, tucking the loose strands of hair behind her ears to get it out of her face. Olive sat up, yawned, and went to stretch but was met with the cheeky grins of Fred and George.
"Morning Ollie!"
"Did you hear?! Classes are canceled today."
"And I thought Christmas didn't come early."
Ollie groaned, laying back down to bury herself in her sleeping bag.
"If I ignore their presence, they will leave me alone." She mumbled to herself, "Or if I suffocate-"
"Olive, don't be like that."
She sat back up, staring at the two of them.
"Why are you two bothering me? Of all people-"
"Well, we've never bothered you before." Fred shrugged.
"And actually, it's quite fun." George finished with a smirk.
Olive got to her feet, rolling up he sleeping bag and pillow together to toss it into the pile with the rest of them. Her blanket was folded neatly, tucked under her arm, her wand clutched tightly in her hand. She was more than ready to leave for the common room.
"Why do I even bother to ask." She muttered to herself, shaking her head.
"You should really stop asking, then."
As the doors to the Great Hall opened, all the teachers flooded inside, dressed in their usual robes and attire. Olive sighed, making a run for the door.
"But Ollie- you promised to help us!" George called after her, moving his socked feet to catch up to her.
"Well... Tonight. I'll help you two. Now I want to sleep. Don't bother me till then." Olive sighed, rubbing the sleep from her tired eyes as she walked away from George.
"No promises!"
"There you are!" Natalie called as Ollie entered the dormitory, an annoyed expression on her face.
"I am going to jump out of the Astronomy Tower." Olive muttered as she jumped face down on her bed.
"Would you care to explain why? Big decision, that one is." Her spunky blonde friend questioned, brushing through her hair with her fingers to get out the tangles.
"Those Weasley twins are driving me insane!" Olive began, "They keep pestering and pestering me, and when I ask them to leave me alone, they don't go away. Today they asked if I would help them, so I said yes if they'd leave me alone afterwards, but then shit-"
"Oi! Language!" Marietta grumbled as she exited the bathroom, her curly brunette hair damp from a shower.
"What do they want you to help them with?" Cho questioned, "Because you gotta calm down there, Ollie- your hair's changing colors again."
Picking up a strand of hair, Ollie watched as it mixed with red, orange, and a deep black (blacker than her normal raven hair) to show her angry and stressed emotions. With a sigh, she tried to calm herself down before continuing.
"They asked me to help them figure out who the black cat is."
"That's a problem, yet and advantage." Nat smiled as she began to braid her long locks.
"Advantage?" Ollie wondered.
"You can lead them in the opposite direction, and always be one step ahead. Think of knowing their every move, and being there to mess things up in feline form."
"Oh."
Olive hadn't thought about the situation that way, which makes everything entirely different. As much as she dislikes Fred and George, she could get back at them even further as the black cat by knowing their plan and directing them away.
"Good point... But there's one thing."
"What?" Cho asked as she exited the bathroom in her clothing for the day.
"I really don't like them."
"Deal with it, Ollie. You did promise them your help."
With a sigh, Olive quickly grabbed some warm clothing and headed to the bathroom to change. She threw on some jeans, a sweater, a jacket, and her warm boots, her wand tucked inside. As she exited, fixing her ponytail, Ollie grabbed her bag and headed out.
"I'll be back."
"Where are you going?"
"A walk. Need to stretch my paws."
"So pun-"
"If the twins find you and ask where I went- don't tell them."
"Why?"
"Because they'll follow me."
"Okay."
The Lark girl exited the dormitory and headed down to the common room, where most of the Ravenclaws were still lounging around after getting back from the Great Hall. Ollie eyed Jasper with his two friends, no doubt talking about Natalie. The girl smiled to herself, she was happy that her friend liked someone who most likely liked her back. As well as Cho- even if it was her cousin Cedric, who she was close to.
As Ollie exited the common room, she kept her head down and headed to the kitchens. She didn't know why she was attempting to do this, because it certainly was illegal... But something in the back of her mind told her to do so.
Why did she have to listen to her conscience, she had no bloody idea, and it terrified her.
Olive approached the painting that led to the kitchens, and quickly tickled the pear. It laughed, which was peculiar, but turned into a doorknob quickly. She entered, hoping no one was following her.
Immediately, she was approached by one of the House Elves, specifically Dobby- donned in two mismatched socks, a tea-cozy, and a pair of overalls made for a toddler, which fit him nonetheless.
"How May Dobby assist Miss Lark?" He asked, his big tennis-ball eyes peering up at her with a hopeful glance. Olive smiled, and kneeled down to his level.
"Well, sir Dobby, I was wondering if I could have a few sandwiches and a few flasks of pumpkin juice, please. I'm going on a picnic." She said, not even lying to the elf. Dobby beamed at her, loving the fact that Olive called him sir.
"Dobby will whip that right up for Miss Lark." He exclaimed, running away to a spot in the kitchens to prepare Ollie's order. She smiled at the elf, who she met later last year when he was first employed at Hogwarts. To most, House Elves that were paid were unheard of and unnatural, but Olive loved the idea. She liked the idea of House Elves being paid for their work, because they were so good at it and worked so hard. They liked doing the work, so being rewarded for it was something foreign to them. Whenever Ollie came across a House Elf, she made sure to be extra kind and give them something in return.
A few moments later, Dobby came back with two doggy bags filled with some sandwiches, and three large bottles of pumpkin juice. Ollie smiled, and put them in her bag.
"Here you are Miss Lark!"
"Thank you, Dobby. This is for you." She pulled out a pair of socks, not matching, of course, and handed them to him. The elf smiled wildly, taking the socks as if they were a million galleons.
"Dobby doesn't know how to thank Miss Lark for being so nice!" He squeaked.
"How about a high-five?" Ollie giggled, holding up her hand for the house elf to slap with his little hand. Dobby looked up at her, and hugged her instead.
"Dobby will see Miss Lark some time again, yes?" He asked as Olive stood up and headed towards the door.
"Of course, Dobby." She waved, "See you around."
With that, she exited the portrait, tightening her bag on her shoulders as she shifted into a cat- taking off out of the castle and towards the forbidden forest.
Natalie was walking down the corridor to lunch, where she was supposed to meet Cho after heading to the library. She couldn't find Ollie anywhere after she disappeared to go on her "walk". Nat supposed that the girl was in cat form, so it would be much harder for her to find her best friend.
As she rounded the corner, the Great Hall just down the corridor and then some, she noticed two boys approaching her- identical smirks on their faces. She groaned, knowing that they were going to pester her about the whereabouts of Ollie. Nat could see why the twins can be annoying.
"Natalie is it?" They asked, stopping her in the hall.
"Yes." She answered flatly, tapping her foot impatiently. Nat had the tendency to be a bit straight forward, even if she didn't mean it. So it was obvious to the twins she'd rather be elsewhere.
That didn't stop them.
"D'you know where Ollie is?" George pestered her.
"No. She went for a walk somewhere. Bye." She said, making a move to leave. Fred grabbed Nat's robes gently to stop her as the two cut in front of her again.
"Do you happen to know where she usually takes her walks?" Fred questioned her with a raised eyebrow. They were desperate to find Olive, since they wanted to stop this black cat business sooner rather than later.
Rolling her eyes, Natalie sighed, folding her arms with an annoyed expression at the two.
"I now get why Ollie doesn't like you two." She said simply.
"That doesn't answer our question." George stated with a smirk as they continued to not let Natalie past them. The blonde let out a frustrated sigh before answering them.
"No, I do not know where she takes her walks. Listen, guys, as much as you think Ollie likes hanging with you guys, she actually gets quite annoyed with you two. Take it easy with the pestering around her or I will personally hex you with the help of Cedric." Natalie explained with a huff as she pushed through Fred and George, heading towards the Great Hall for lunch.
"George?"
"Yeah, Fred."
"You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That we should definitely not listen to Nat and continue to hang with Ollie?"
"Exactly."
"We should go find her."
"I suppose we should."
Fred and George gave each other a high five, heading the opposite way of the Great Hall in the hopes of finding Olive.
They didn't notice, that from the window, a tiny black cat could be seen running into the Forbidden Forest.