Sav
Random sets of words rung through my mind, and I knew instantly that I had done something wrong. I had just promised Christian that I would stay away from Marcus Flint, the pompous Slytherin, and Oliver Wood, the one person I knew I could always rely on, and who I felt safe with. Did I really need all of this on my conscious?
I looked out to the starry night sky, and to be honest, I had never felt more confused in my life. I loved my brother, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes he could get way too overprotective for his own good.
I was interrupted from my thoughts when the boy this was all about walked into the abandoned and dimly lit hallways. He sat down quietly beside me, and took to gazing out into the night sky with me.
“Are you ok Vannah?” Oliver asked, as he looked at me with those chocolate brown eyes, that I couldn’t ignore. I could feel a fresh onslaught of tears coming my way and looked away from him.
“No Oliver, I’m not.” I took a deep breathe, and looked down to the Hogwarts grounds. The Whomping Willow, the flying grounds, Hagrid’s hut, the Quidditch Pitch and the Forbidden Forest. Everything about Hogwarts seemed so surreal, that I really couldn’t believe the truth or the lies that surrounded me.
“What is it? Maybe I can help?” He asked, as he shifted closer to me. Tears started to find their way into the corner of my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Oliver.” I whispered, as my voice broke. The tears were flowing down my face, and sobs racked my body. I almost wasn’t expecting the hug that Oliver pulled me into.
“What are you sorry for Vannah?” He asked, his Scottish accent slowly making me feel better, but I knew that I had to do it.
“Please don’t call me that.” I ordered, but regretted it instantly, as he recoiled back in shock, hurt and confusion.
“Savannah, what did I do?” He whispered, as he pulled away from the one thing that was keeping me on the ground. I looked to him to see his usually happy chocolate brown eyes, now swimming with sadness.
“Oliver, I’m so sorry. But us, being friends, it’s not going to work anymore…” I trailed off, as Oliver’s eyes bore into mine.
“That’s not you Savannah. This is Christian’s doing, isn’t it? He told you to stay away from me, didn’t he?” Oliver practically growled at the mere mention of Christian’s name.
“Oliver, this has nothing to do…” I trailed off when Oliver shot me a look.
“Clearly, it is! You wouldn’t even harm a bluebird Sav, and now here you are, cutting off a friendship?!” Oliver was mad, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I looked down and saw my tears drip down onto the windowsill I was sitting on.
“Savannah,” Oliver started, as he sat down in front of me. He grabbed my chin with his thumb and forefinger, and made me look up at him. “I’m not going to leave because your brother orders me to. I’m only going to leave if you really want me to, and I’m smart enough to realise that you don’t want me to leave. Do you?” Oliver finished, as he looked deep into my eyes. I felt his thumb trace over my cheek, and wipe away the tears that insisted on running down my face.
“No Oliver, I don’t. But I made a promise to Christian, and I intended on keeping it. I don’t know what to do Ollie. I don’t want to defy Christian, but I don’t want to lose what I have with you.” I replied. I launched myself at him and wrapped my arms around his waist, as I buried my face into the crook of his neck. He just sat and held me there. One hand was on the small of my back, the other behind my neck. I felt his breath tickle my hair, and his hand as he rubbed small circles on my back. I felt his chest hum, as he spoke soothing words to me.
“Vannah, I promise you. I will never leave you unless you want me to. I will always be here for you, and I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to tell you this Vannah, but I might as well ink it on my forehead, considering you won’t believe me,” he laughed. I let out a small giggle, and smiled up at him.
“Please don’t leave me here alone Oliver. You’re my best friend, I don’t want to go through Hogwarts without you. Let’s not worry about Christian. He doesn’t understand what it’s like not to have any other friends that don’t want to put make-up on you every two seconds. I have to be brave, but I’m weary. What if he hurts you? What if something really bad happens to you?” I asked, as I looked into those brown eyes that I will never forget.
“Oh come on now lassie,” he began, his Scottish accent only making me feel worse about this whole idea. “I’m me! I’ll never let myself get put down by people, and especially not Christian!” He cried, as he put both hands on the side of my face, and continued to wipe away a few tears.
“Vannah, I promise, I won’t leave you alone. I will never leave you alone.” He whispered, as he lent his forehead against mine. But the moment just had to be ruined by the bell that told us to go to dinner.
“Come on Oliver, let’s go.” I whispered, as I stood up off the windowsill, and held out my hand to him to take. He took my hand in his and stood up away from the windowsill. We started to walk down the abandoned hallway, hand in hand, until Oliver dropped my hand, and slung his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me into his side.
“Don’t worry Sav, your brother won’t do anything unless he wants to risk getting himself detention, and points taken away from Ravenclaw. You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” He pressed a light, chaste kiss on my forehead, but pulled away when we walked into a larger hallway, that wasn’t as abandoned. The one person I really didn’t want to run into, was a little way down at the end of the hallway.
I had never been one for architecture, but even I had to admit, that some of Hogwarts was very articulately done. The columns looked to be twisted into vines and magical creatures, the stone was a beautiful cream, and the floor was a stony marble. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was all enchanted.
“Ignore him Vannah.” Oliver whispered in my ear. We had reached the end of the hallway, where Christian was sitting with his friends, and his new ‘toy’ of the week, Alana. Christian glared at Oliver, and I shot one straight back.
“Just because I promised Christian, doesn’t mean I’m going to cut off a friendship with someone that has been nothing but friendly since the day I got here. By the way, your bitch is drooling.” I smiled a sickly sweet smile, and turned away with Oliver, but not before I heard a shrill, feminine, ‘nails on a chalkboard’ voice.
“Excuse me!? You’re the one that’s the bitch, you slut!” She yelled. I turned around to see Christian’s girlfriend, stalking toward me. She kept walking until she got right in front of me and Oliver. Christian just looked shocked at what this chick had just called me.
I laughed slightly, and then looked at her with the famous Chambers stare. Practically a really well executed death glare. I was the only one in the family that could do it better than my great-grandfather, who invented the stare itself.
“Bitch please, if you were a cookie, you’d be a Whoreo.” I smiled again, at the look of sheer disbelief written all over her face, as the students around us, cracked up laughing.
“Gee Christian. I think your standards are getting a little low, don’t you think?” I then turned away from Christian, his friends, and his annoying twat of a girlfriend, and walked into the Great Hall.
Oliver and I walked in, me with a small smile on my face, and Oliver laughing uncontrollably.
“I can’t believe you just called her a whore! That was hilarious!” He laughed, as he doubled over, clutched his stomach, and tried to regain some of his oxygen. I simply just laughed at Oliver’s poor timing, and went and sat down at the Gryffindor table with Angelina, Alicia, Eila, Fred and George.
“Hey guys.” I greeted chirpily. Angelina shared a look with Alicia who looked incredibly smug.
“Ha! I called it! Pay up!” Alicia smiled gleefully, as she held out her hand. Angelina groaned, and reluctantly handed over 2 galleons.
“What’s going on?” Oliver asked beside me. He was relatively close, but then again, no one needed to know how close we were before.
“We made a bet that Sav would walk in with you! But then again, it was a total shoe-in, considering you guys are never apart.” Alicia smiled, as she pocketed the galleons.
“Why? Why couldn’t you break routine for at least one night!?” Angelina groaned as she rested her forehead on the table.
“Sorry Ange.” Oliver and I apologised in unison. We all turned our attention toward the front of the Hall, as Dumbledore walked up to the podium.
“Let the feast, begin!” With that, food filled the middle of the table. On said table were a million and one things, like pork, chicken, steak, pumpkins and potatoes, but then again this was my kind of feast. I grabbed a few slices of pork, some potato and carrots, and poured gravy over the top. I filled my goblet with pumpkin juice and took a hesitant sip. It was tasty, so I took a bigger gulp.
“So, Sav, did we find out what happened to Christian?” Alicia asked, as she shovelled food into her mouth.
“He hexed Flint, one of Flint’s friends hexed him back. They he made me promise something stupid, to stay away from Oliver, I agreed, but now thanks to Oliver, I’m not talking to Christian. If Christian has a problem with Ollie, then he has a problem with me.” I growled, as I stabbed my knife into the pork.
Oliver laid a gentle hand on the top of my knee, and rubbed it gently. Sure, this could be seen as an intimate gesture, but with Oliver and me, it was purely friendly and comforting.
“It’s gonna be ok Vannah, just you wait and see.” Oliver then pressed a chaste kiss on my left temple. I could faintly hear Ange, Alicia and Eila cooing in the background. I sent them a glare, and they all went back to their dinner.
“Savannah Naida!” A very angry voice called from down the hall. I looked up to see Christian stomping his way toward us. I rolled my eyes, and went back to eating my pork. That was until Oliver stood up from the table, and faced Christian with a ferocity I didn’t even know existed.
“Sod off Chambers. She doesn’t want to talk to you.” He growled, venom laced his voice, it was incredible that there was any left for myself to yell at Christian with.
“What gives you the right to speak for her?” Christian spat back, as he pushed Oliver by the shoulders.
“What makes you think I can’t?” Oliver glared as he straightened his posture.
“I don’t need my slutty ex’s little brother, telling me that I can’t talk to my fucking sister!” Christian then launched forward, and struck Oliver on the jaw with his right hand.
“Christian!” I cried, as I jumped up and stood between the both of them to intervene.
“Sav,” he began, but I cut him off.
“No Christian! I’m sick and tired of you bullying my friends, and making them feel like they’re not worthy enough to be my friends!” I cried, but was cut off by an outraged Christian.
“They don’t!” I was fuming by now, I’m sure.
“No! You don’t get to speak! Oliver isn’t going anywhere Christian! You need to realise that, because if you don’t, you’re no longer my brother!” I started to feel the lump in my throat, and the tears in the corners of my eyes, and I knew it wouldn’t be long until I was a sob story in the middle of the Great Hall rocking back and forth and wishing for a teddy bear.
I pushed past him and rushed out of the double oak doors. I could faintly hear my friends calling out after me, but I didn’t even bother waiting.
I kept running and running, not knowing where I was heading, apart from the calls of the birds, the rustle of the leaves, and the wind as it howled through the hollow trunks. I opened my eyes to see tall wooden bleachers, which surrounded a green field. There were three hoops all suspended at different heights at both ends of the field, along with sand surrounding them. The Quidditch pitch.
“Vannah?” His Scottish accent was enough to make anyone feel as if they were swimming in honey.
“Why did you follow me Oliver?” I sobbed, as my knees gave out from underneath me. I fell onto the soft grass with a light thud, and buried my face in my hands, desperately trying to hide the fact that what Christian was doing was hurting me a lot more than I was letting on.
“Because you’re my friend, and I care about you,” he stated simply, as he sat behind me. I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders and my waist, as he pulled me back into his chest. I buried my head into the crook of his neck, and let the tears go freely. His hand rubbed soothing circles on the small of my back, and his free hand was placed gently in my hair, I felt him rock back and forth in a comforting gesture.
“Why is he doing this, Ollie? What has he got against you? Why does he have to hurt me?” I hiccupped. To be honest, I felt betrayed, used, as if I wasn’t good enough.
“Christian is just trying to get even.” I heard a feminine Scottish accent say. I took my head out of Oliver’s neck, and pulled away to see his sister, Eleanor.
She was more beautiful up close, than she was standing far away. I had never really noticed before. Freckles dotted her cheekbones, and flickered across her nose. Her emerald green eyes, really could rival the Scottish mountains, and her eyelashes were a natural charcoal colour. She had rosy red lips, and her red ringlets were pulled back into an untameable ponytail, but it would be hard to decipher if it was a ponytail, because all I could see was a mass of curls.
“What do you mean, ‘trying to get even’?” I asked, as I turned to Oliver. Oliver looked away from me, as guilt crossed his face. “Oliver?” I pressed, as he refused to meet my eyes. The hand that was in my hair, pulled away and rubbed the back of his neck, in shame, embarrassment, or even nervousness, I wasn’t sure.
“So, I, umm, didn’t tell you the whole story about what happened with Eleanor and Christian,” he whispered, as he flinched away, when I fixed him with a stare that could practically kill.
“What do you mean, you didn’t tell me the whole story?” I asked, as I let a little bit of venom into my voice.
“Oliver didn’t tell you the real reason why we broke up. Yes, some of it was contribution of my dedication to my O.W.L.s, but also because I found him cheating on me with a fourth year Hufflepuff,” she explained, as she walked over to where Oliver and I were sitting.
“No, it’s not possible. Christian’s not like that.” I defended my brother, with confusion inching into my voice.
“When Eleanor came into the Common Room, she was crying. I left and found Christian. I told him to stay away from Ellie, and not to mess with my family, or it will be the last thing he ever does. Now, because I’m friends with you, he probably thinks that’s my way of getting back at him for what he did to her,” Oliver explained, as he pulled me back into his chest. He was holding me so tight, that I could feel the faint traces of his abs through his shirt.
“But why does he think that you’re just using me?” I asked, as I pulled away and looked into the brown eyes that I loved about Oliver.
“He doesn’t want to lose you, like he lost your sister. He just wants to protect you Sav.” Eleanor stated, as she laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Don’t take it out on him too much. He may think that he knows what he’s doing, but he doesn’t realise that he’s pushing you away. I’ll talk to him, explain, I hardly doubt that he will keep doing what he’s doing after I finish talking to him. Now come on, it’s nearly curfew for you Sav,” she finished, as she pulled me up gently by the elbow, and away from Oliver’s warm embrace.
“Thank you for your help, Eleanor.” I whispered, as I looked up into her eyes and smiled.
“You put up with Ol, it’s the least I could do. By the way, you can call me Ellie, everyone else does,” she laughed, as she pulled Oliver up by his hand. I subconsciously looked to the ground, but looked up when I felt Oliver stand in front of me. I knew it was him, because he had a scent. A mixture of the forest and the sea, and I think a little bit of chocolate as well. It suited him.
“We’ll follow you up El,” he whispered, as he slung an arm around my shoulder.
“Ok Ol,” she replied. “See you later Sav,” She threw a wave over her shoulder, and walked off the pitch, and left Oliver and I standing in the middle.
I felt him rest his forehead against mine, and for once I saw the emotions that he hid behind his eyes. Hurt, confusion, tiredness, comfort. Was all that because of me? Did I hurt him without meaning to? Did I say something, or act a way that it would confuse him? Why was he tired? Did he sleep at all this morning? Why was he comforted? I was pulling him apart. Maybe my dreams were right; I really am more trouble than I’m worth.
“Come on Vannah, let’s get back to the castle,” he whispered, as his eyes closed. I placed my right hand on his cheek, which caused his eyes to snap open.
“Why are you like this Oliver?” I asked quietly. “Why do you continue to help me after everything I put you through?” I could feel the onslaught of tears again, but to be honest, I really didn’t care.
“You’re my friend Vannah, and you always will be. I will stand by you when you need it the most, and I will stand by you even if you’re not there, because that is what friends do. That is what friends should do. Just because Christian hates my guts, only makes me want to fight for you more. I know I’ve only really known you for a few days, but I already feel as if you’re my best friend, and that is something that I never want to change,” he finished. I felt the tears streaking down my face, practically in waves.
“Thank you Ollie. For being there for me, when I needed it the most, and always understanding me for me. I promise, if I have any more nightmares, or troubles, I’ll come to you first.” I wrapped my arms around his waist, and nuzzled my face into his shoulder. The smell of the forest, the sea and chocolate filled my nose, and for the first time in forever, I felt safe. I felt wanted. I felt like Sav.
He pulled away and took my hand, leading me off the pitch, and to the start of my new life. Little did I know, how new it would be.