Sav
It was Christmas Eve and to say I was excited for the next day, was most definitely an understatement. Oliver literally had to hold me still while we watched his mother prep the food for tomorrow's breakfast.
"Christmas is my favourite holiday!" I cried out as I stole a miniature quiche from Oliver's plate.
"Oi! Eat your own!" He cried out with a smile as he tried and failed to swat my hand away. I pointed to my own plate and then popped the delicious pastry into my mouth.
"It's not my fault your Mum's cooking is so delicious!" I laughed while I savoured the taste of the quiche.
"No more you two, otherwise there will be none to eat for breakfast tomorrow!" Olivia cried as she swatted Oliver's hand away when he reached for yet another quiche.
"Fine," Oliver sighed in defeat before he turned his attention to me. "I want to show you something," he smiled before he jumped up from the stool and held his hand out to me. I looked at him warily as I remembered the look that was in his eyes the other day at Kings Cross.
"Come on Vannah," he whispered as he reached forward and grazed his fingers on the back of my hand. I stood up with absolutely no help from Oliver and watched his smile fall off of his face. "What's wrong?" He asked as I made my way toward the foyer, which was a stunning colour of beige and cream.
"Why does Fred think you're going to hurt me?" I asked as I turned around and looked at him as he entered the foyer.
"There's a lot of contributing factors to that Vannah. He's just jealous that you're spending your time with me instead of him. If you ask me, I'd say he wanted to be the only one that you spent your time with," he finished as he walked toward one of the couches in the foyer and sat down on it. He leant forward slightly and clasped his hands together.
"But I don't understand why you hate him so much," I spoke my mind as I looked out the window at the magnificent front yard.
"I don't hate him Vannah, I just don't like the way he treats me. I treat him the way he treats me," Oliver replied as he got up from the couch and came over to stand beside me.
"Well why can't you at least try to get along with him?! Why can't you at least try to rise above it?" I cried out as my head whipped around to face him. Oliver had a shocked look on his face as he looked deep into my eyes. He had never really heard me raise my voice and when he had it wasn't directed at him.
There was silence for a few seconds before Oliver sighed gently.
"I promise you Vannah, I will try to get along with Fred. For you," he whispered as he laid a gentle hand on the small of my back.
I threw a look over my shoulder, looked into his deep brown eyes and saw that what he said was genuine. He was really going to try to get along with Fred, even if it was just for my sake.
"Thank you Oliver, you might not realise, but it truly does mean a lot to me," I whispered as I turned into his chest.
His arms wrapped around my waist and he pulled me even closer to him. The warmth from his body quickly made me forget about how cold it was outside and I knew that Oliver would never hurt me and even if he did, he wouldn't mean it.
"I'm sorry Vannah, I promise I will try harder," he whispered as he pressed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. Those words were enough to melt my heart. They both knew I hated fighting, so for Oliver to agree to try, was the only thing I could hope for.
"You kids better go to bed! You have to be up early in the morning!" Olivia's voice carried through from the kitchen into the foyer and my holiday spirit was slowly starting to return.
I looked out the window to the front garden once again and was surprised to see that it was indeed dark. How long were Oliver and I just standing and sitting in this room?
"Good night Vannah, sleep well. I hope you like what I got you for Christmas," he whispered as he let me go. I looked up at him and smiled when I thought about the gift I had gotten him. I was sure he was going to love it, there was absolutely no doubt about that. I just hoped it was the right one. There were a lot of options to choose from.
"Good night Ollie," I whispered as I gave him one final hug before I finally pulled away. I turned away from my fellow Gryffindor and made my way toward the most magnificent staircase I had ever seen and started to make my way up. When I reached the top I turned to the first door on the left, which was the room that I was staying in for the duration of my visit with the Wood's.
I opened the door to see the most wonderfully decorated room that I had ever laid eyes on. Like seriously, I wish this was my room. It had a beautiful queen sized bed with a silvery-red canopy. The quilt was a rich scarlet and the sheets were a plain cream. The floor was polished hard-wood in a dark shade of brown. The walls were all cream except for one which was a deep, maroon red with a beautiful photo that moved whenever someone was in the room. I loved it, I really wish I had one for my own bedroom back home. On one side of the room there was a bay window, then a study desk, a dresser and a full length mirror. On the other side of the room there were two doors. One led to the bathroom and the other led into the walk-in closet, which I had already decided, I was practically going to live in.
I walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers. I climbed in and snuggled down into the mattress that literally felt like clouds and closed my eyes. I must have been tired because I don't remember anything else.
--
The next morning I woke up feeling refreshed, alive and overexcited. It was Christmas, why wouldn't I be excited? I threw back the covers on the bed and threw my legs over the side and into my fluffy ugg-boots. I grabbed the dressing gown that was hanging on the back of the door and pulled it on. I wrapped it around my torso and tied it together.
I threw the door open and crossed the hall and knocked on the door that was in front of me.
"Ollie?" I called through the door as I knocked gently. I heard a slight noise and opened the door just a sliver so I could see what was going on. I walked in slowly so as not to stumble on anything I didn't want to, if you don't catch my drift, I didn't particularly feel like seeing Oliver shirtless.
What I saw next stunned me. Oliver was still asleep, arms wrapped around his pillow, his covers thrown over his legs and drool dripped from his mouth. I covered my mouth with my hand to hide the snicker that threatened to come out at the sight of the older Gyrffindor boy.
"Oliver?" I giggled slightly as I walked toward the bed. He grumbled slightly as he nestled deeper into the mattress and pulled the pillow closer to him.
I tip-toed over to his bed and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Ollie, wake up! It's Christmas!!" I raised my voice slightly as I shook him gently. He mumbled sleepily and opened his eyes slightly.
"Ten more minutes, Vannah," he yawned as he moved around on his bed.
"Come on Oliver! I want to see your face when you open your present!" I snickered as that seemed to perk him up slightly. He opened one eye and looked at me through his lashes.
"You got me a present?" He asked groggily as he squinted his eye at the sunlight that streamed through a crack in his bedroom curtains.
"Of course I did! It's Christmas silly!" I laughed as I shook him even more to try and get him up and out of his comfortable haven.
"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Oliver laughed as he threw his covers to the other side of the bed and sat up in his bed.
"I'll meet you downstairs?" I asked as I desperately tried to avoid looking at Oliver's tanned and muscled body.
"Of course, just don't open any presents without me!" He joked as he poked a finger into my shoulder. I faked hurt as I put my hand on the spot where he poked me.
"Ouch Ollie, that hurt!" I said jokingly, as I stood up from the bed. I walked over to the door and turned around to look at Oliver before I left his room so he could have some privacy.
I walked down the stairs that lead into the foyer and walked into the kitchen. The smells that wafted in front of me were absolutely divine.
"Why good morning Sav, how did you sleep?" Olivia asked as she looked up from the raspberry and white chocolate triple that she was making.
"Very well thank you, it smells lovely in here!" I commented as I turned my nose up in the air slightly and took a long whiff of the glorious smells.
"Why thank you darling! Where is Oliver?" She asked as she put the trifle in the fridge to set.
"He's still getting ready, but he'll be down in a minute," I answered as I grabbed some pancakes that had been made for breakfast.
"Well eat up and then present time!" Olivia smiled as she made her way out of the kitchen.
It wasn't long until Oliver made his way into the kitchen and piled the leftover pancakes onto his plate and drizzled maple syrup all over them
"Oliver, you don't need eight pancakes," I scolded around mouthfuls of the delicious, fluffy breakfast food.
"Hey, I'm a growing boy! I need these pancakes! Besides, Eleanor isn't here to eat them!" He argued as he stuffed a whole pancake into his mouth and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing.
"You're such a pig!" I laughed as I rolled my eyes. I ate the rest of my pancakes and was surprised to see I didn't even need to wait for Oliver to finish.
"Did you seriously just finish all of those pancakes?" I asked as my jaw dropped.
"Course, I was hungry," he smiled as he shot a wink in my direction. I have no idea what he wink was even for, but let me tell you now, it actually made me feel slightly uncomfortable.
"Come on you two, present time!" Craig's voice carried through to the kitchen and instantly I felt like a little kid again. I immediately jumped off the stool and grabbed Oliver's wrist. I waited impatiently for Oliver to get down from the stool before I dragged him through to the living room where the Christmas tree stood.
The tree was absolutely beautiful. It was a brilliant eight foot Douglas fir, decorated with gold tinsel, red baubles and green hanging ornaments. Presents of all shapes, sizes, colours and wrapping paper were scatted underneath the tree and I was surprised to see that there were some for me.
Oliver walked over to the tree, knelt down and grabbed a small present that was underneath the tree. He then walked back over to me and held it out with a smile.
"Merry Christmas Vannah," he whispered as I took the present from his open hand. I looked at it curiously. It wasn't heavy and it didn't rattle. What did Oliver get me? I smiled in thanks and sat down on one of the couches that were strategically placed around the room.
I worked on the ribbon first, gently untying it from the beautiful bow it was tied in. I then gently tugged the wrapping paper away from the box and I have to admit I was slightly confused when I saw a plain, black box that had no sight of an opening anywhere.
"Oliver?" I asked as I looked at him, a puzzled look on my face. He simply smiled as he sat down on the armchair of the couch. He took the box from me and waved his hand over the top. The box slowly opened to reveal the most beautiful bracelet I had ever seen. It consisted of silver hoops all linked together and on one hoop there was a charm that dangled beautifully. The charm in question was a quill, which Oliver knew I liked, because it made my already elegant handwriting, look even loopier and incredibly beautiful.
"Oh Oliver, it's beautiful!" I cried as I jumped up from my position on the couch and wrapped my arms around his waist in a hug while I held onto the bracelet. Oliver pulled away from me slightly and took the bracelet from my hand before he grabbed my wrist and pulled it out in front of me. He put the bracelet around my wrist and fastened the clasp tightly. I held my wrist up in front of my face to get a better look at the wondrous present Oliver had gotten for me and instantly I felt like I was the only person who mattered to Oliver, excluding his parents of course.
Now it was my turn to walk over to the ginormous tree. I bent down to look for Oliver's present amongst all the other gifts scattered at the base of the Douglas fir. I finally spotted the gift, grabbed it and brought it back over to Oliver.
"Merry Christmas Ollie," I whispered as his face lit up like a firework on the fourth of July. He gently pried the wrapping paper open and I'm pretty sure his face lit up even more when he saw what was on the inside of the red and green paper.
He put the present aside, jumped up and wrapped his arms around my waist. He lifted me up off of the ground easily and spun me around in the air.
"Oh Vannah, I love it! Thank you so much!" He cried out as my laugh pierced the air.
"Is it the right one?" I asked as he placed me back down on the ground. He looked at me with disbelief before he turned to the gift, picked it up and held it up in front of him.
"Is 'Quidditch of the Ages' the right one!?" He cried drastically as held up a brand new copy of the book that he already owned. I thought it would be a good present for Oliver, considering the one that trudged along with him at Hogwarts was tattered, frayed at the edges and a broken binding.
"This is truly the greatest gift you could have gotten me Vannah, thank you," he whispered as he pulled me in for another hug. Craig and Olivia watched on knowingly, a look on their face that I just couldn't place.
The rest of the morning was spent opening the rest of Oliver's presents from his parents and he practically screeched with excitement when he got a new broom. He was practically running around the living room and bouncing off the walls, he was so excited. Oliver's parents had even got me a present with I found completely amazing and I didn't know how I would ever repay them.
The gift in question was a box set of quills, different coloured inks, coloured ribbon for rolls of parchment and different coloured envelopes. It was probably the most amazing gift I had ever received.
"Thank you," I smiled politely as Olivia and Craig smiled back. Oliver had told me a couple of days ago that they had instantly taken a like to me, but what made me laugh was the fact that it took longer for them to warm up to Christian.
Soon enough my time with the Woods had come to an end and it took everything in me not to beg to stay for a few more days. But, alas, Fred, George and the whole Weasley family were awaiting my visit.
I stood in front of their fireplace, with my trunk and my Gryffindor scarf wrapped rightly around my neck. Oliver looked sad to see me go, but he knew what the twins meant to me and he was willing to try to get along with them, even if it was just for my sake.
"Goodbye Savannah, it was lovely to meet you and to have you stay over the holidays," Olivia smiled as she gave me a quick hug which I returned. Craig smiled and nodded his head as Oliver came over to stand next to his mother.
"Thank you for having me Olivia, I had a wonderful time," I smiled as she beamed proudly at the compliment. It was then I turned my attention to Oliver.
He took one step toward me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face into the crook of his neck.
"I'll see you at the start of the year Vannah," he whispered in my ear as I relished in the warmth that Oliver provided.
"Of course you will, I hope you won't change your mind," I whispered as I pulled away from the hug. He smiled and sent a sly wink in my direction.
"Why would I change my mind?" He whispered. I laughed as I stepped back into the fireplace. Craig pushed my trunk in beside me as Oliver held out the pot that was filled with floo powder. I grabbed a handful and watched as everyone stepped a safe distance away from the fireplace.
"The Burrow!" I cried the name that Fred had given me and threw the powder down at my feet. The yet to feel familiar green flames jumped up from the coals of the fireplace and licked my hands and the bottom of my face. The feeling of being lifted up and then set back down made me want to hurl, but surprisingly, the feeling of excitement was enough to squelch the feeling of nausea.
I opened my eyes to see the home that Fred, George and their family affectionately named, 'The Burrow' and to say that was a good name for it, was an understatement. It was small, yet extremely cozy and was very tight knit, but something told me that the Weasley's wouldn't have it any other way. The house was furnished with disparate items and mismatched decorations. The stairs amazingly, had different carpet every three steps and none of the doors or windows matched. The walls were decorated with drawings that the Weasley children must have drawn at all ages and the colour palette seemed to reflect on the Weasley's signature colour. Red and Orange. There were so many knitted accessories lying around the house, whether it was pillow tops, tea cosies or a jumper knitting itself. It was perfect.
"Sav!" Fred was the first one to pounce on me when I exited the fireplace. But he was quickly followed by George and then the rest of the family seemed to just fall in.
"We've been waiting for you all day!" George cried out as the rest of his family stood just behind them.
"Savannah dear, lovely to see you," Molly beamed as she came up and gave me a gentle hug.
"Thank you for having me, Mrs Weasley," I smiled politely as I saw Fred and George as they bounced on the balls of their feet.
"Please dear, just Molly will do, don't even bother calling Arthur 'Mr Weasley'," she winked as she walked back to the kitchen. I smiled in greeting to the youngest of the bunch, Ginny and she smiled shyly back. I waved at Ron who waved sheepishly back at me. A man who I hadn't yet met stood just behind the twins but in front of Percy and Charlie who were having a very seep conversation.
"Hello, you must be Savannah, I'm Bill Weasley, the oldest of the brood," Bill introduced himself to me and I vaguely remember the twins telling me about him. The only thing I really remember was that Bill is a curse-breaker based in Egypt. Granted, I didn't really know much of what a curse-breaker had to do, but it sounded like a very interesting job.
"Pleasure to meet you Bill," I smiled as I shook his outstretched hand. He was then pulled away from my attention by his younger sister. Percy and Charlie chucked a wave my way and I waved at them both with a smile. I then pulled Fred and George's presents out of my pack that I had over my shoulder and watched as pure joy crossed their faces.
Fred was the one to open his first. Pure delight crossed his face as he looked at his present. It didn't take George long to mirror the look on his twins face as they both pounced on me at the same time.
"Thank you!" They cried out in perfect unison as they picked up the prankster kits that I had gotten for them from Zonko's. Inside them were Dungbombs, Hiccough Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, Sugar Quills and Nose-Biting Teacups. There were also a few bags of sweets like Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Liquorice Wands, Droobles, Sugared Butterfly Wings, Cockroach Clusters and Acid Pops. Fred went over to the makeshift tree in the corner of the room and picked up a present. He came back to me and handed it over while I smiled in thanks.
I opened the present and gasped as I saw the beautiful glass sculpture that lie in its protective layers. The sculpture in question was of a winged unicorn gracefully flying. How could I tell? As soon as I touched the glass, the wings started moving in a magnificent fashion.
"Oh, you guys, I love it! Thank you," I smiled as I put the sculpture gently to the side and stood up to hug the twins. They both smiled and hugged me back at the same time and I could tell that they were ecstatic to see me again.
Molly came up behind me and handed me a present.
"This is from Arthur and myself," she whispered in my ear. I took it with a gracious thank you and started to unwrap the paper. I smiled to myself when I saw the blue sweater with a purple S on the front and it took everything in me not to start crying. I felt welcomed by this family instantly and the Weasley's were quickly becoming a second family to me.
I turned around and gave Molly a hug and whispered in her ear.
"Thank you, I love it!" I pulled away just in time to hear an owl peck at the window. Nearly everyone's attention was drawn to the mismatched fixture in the wall and all the owl was met by were confused looks. I walked over to the window and looked at the fluffy creature as it "whoo'ed" quietly.
I instantly recognised the owl as my father's and I knew that he wouldn't write if it wasn't serious. I opened the window and Carson jumped onto my forearm with a letter in his beak. I took the letter and then let him hop onto the windowsill while I fed him a treat. He whoo'ed happily, almost like he was smiling and then took off into the blue sky. I heard someone come up behind me and jumped when I felt their hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see Fred looking at me worryingly.
I opened the letter and almost dropped it in shock.
Savannah,
I regret to inform you that Christian has been admitted to St Mungo's. He was attacked by someone who got in the house while everyone was sleeping. I'm sorry that we had to ruin your Christmas, but we thought you should know. Eleanor has been sent home to her parents and we wish you would come to St Mungo's as quickly as you can.
Your father,
Daniel
This time I did drop the letter. I turned to look at Fred and instantly he could tell that something was wrong and I had to get out of there.
"I need to get to St Mungo's. Now."