"Olls."
Hands lightly shook her shoulder, jolting the Ravenclaw from the light sleep she was just in. Her eyes opened slowly, and blearily she looked around, taking in her surroundings.
Had I been dreaming this whole time?
But her eyes fell on George, who was sitting up next to her, smiling gently down at her as she slowly brought herself to a state of full awareness. The jacket of his dress robes was draped over her shoulders, keeping her bundled against the cold.
It wasn't a dream. Everything that had happened at the Yule Ball was real.
"Oh my god." She sat up, cheeks going redder than George's hair, "Did I fall asleep?"
She clapped her hands over her mouth, embarrassment heating up her chest.
"Just for a little bit." George checked his watch, "Twenty minutes or so."
Olive closed her eyes, letting out a long sigh as she processed the last thing she remembered before dozing off.
"I'm so sorry." She pushed the curls from her face, "That's so embarrassing."
George raised his brows, "What? No, Olls, don't apologize. It's okay." He shrugged, "I saw that you were dancing for half the night, you must be tired."
"You saw me dancing?"
"And you said you weren't good at it." He smirked, looking back out at the starry night. In his eyes, Olive could see the gears churning, as if there was something he wanted to say but couldn't get it out.
She watched him for a minute, her blue eyes now free from fatigue, taking in every quirk of his brow, every freckle on his cheek. Olive wanted to know what he was going to say, but she didn't have the guts to ask. In her mind, she was trying to piece it together herself.
But even she couldn't find the right words sometimes, even in writing.
So, Olive did the only thing she could think of in that moment. She scooted a hair closer to him, and slowly reached her arm over, looping it with his and snaking her fingers down until her hand was interlocked with his.
George relaxed more at her touch, though he had already been nearly completely at ease. His eyes moved from whatever he was looking at in the distance, and moved down to her.
At first, she thought he was going to kiss her. Maybe he was, or was at least thinking about it. Olive could have sworn his eyes danced down to look at her lips briefly before trailing back up her face and into her eyes. His other arm reached over, gently gripping her arm, his thumb tracing the back of it.
Olive wanted him to kiss her. Again.
But it didn't happen.
"What are you two doing up here?!"
As if George and Ollie were struck by lightning, they pulled away, and suddenly they were three feet from each other.
The Ravenclaw felt heat flash across her cheeks and her stomach jolt in alarm. Her hands, almost instinctively, ran up to her neck to pull at a shirt collar that wasn't there. Her thumb was met with raised flesh, causing the edges of her hair to match the pink tinge on her cheeks.
Professor Snape stood at the entrance to the Astronomy Tower, his wand brightly lit in the two teen's faces.
"Well?" The teacher demanded impatiently, "That question wasn't rhetorical."
Olive was stammering, her face starting to drain of color. The words were there, but she couldn't get them out, eventually biting her tongue and looking solemnly at her lap.
"We decided to come up here and look at the stars after the Yule Ball ended." George explained quickly, saving both his and Ollie's arses with a swift excuse. His eyes stared at Snape, almost challenging him to choose his next words very carefully.
"I'm not as daft as you make me to be, Weasley." Snape motioned with a swift jerk of his thumb for them to stand, "Twenty points from Gryffindor and twenty from Ravenclaw."
"We..." Olive cleared her throat as she rose to her feet, her bare souls suddenly numb on the floor, "We weren't doing anything like that, Professor, I-I swear."
It was quiet and barely audible, but she spoke. George shot her a look, his previously pursed lips stretched into a smile.
"Always galloping around the rules, are we, Miss Lark?" He rolled his eyes, "Irresponsible. Reckless. Immature. Just like your sister."
Olive took a step back, confusion and shock running through her body like ice. Just like her sister? Like Missy? What did she have anything to do with this?
"I... what?" She furrowed her brows.
"I think you heard me." Snape was obviously not trying very hard to not roll his eyes.
"Olive didn't do anything wrong." George argued, "You shouldn't compare her like that. It isn't fair."
"An additional twenty points from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for that unnecessary attitude, Weasley." Snape jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "And you know nothing of Miss Lark and her family. I suggest you two hurry along now before I decide to give you detention."
More ice. What was he talking about? Her family was just her and Missy. That was it. Her parents had died fighting in the war.
At least, that's how she thought they died.
"We'll go." Olive felt pale, a veil of confusion around her, "S-sorry, sir."
She wrapped George's jacket around her, walking out with her eyes widened and glassy, the gears churning in her head.
What did Snape mean by that? It made her furious for him to make any assumptions about her and her family if he didn't even know them.
Well, he must have known Missy when they were at Hogwarts together.
She took the stairs as quickly as possible, not caring if she stumbled or if her feet were cold. George, having longer legs, was able to keep up. He followed closely behind her, annoyed with Snape at having found them and worried about what Olive was thinking in that exact moment.
He was just as confused as she was, but obviously she might have known something he didn't.
Once they were far away from the Astronomy Tower, Olive stopped, her pace slowing. She was shivering, gritting her teeth with her hands tightly clenched into fists. She turned to George, embarrassed and upset from what Snape had said. From what he had assumed.
"Olls." George approached her slowly, not exactly sure what to do. He had never seen her this type of upset before. Almost as if she was angry, "Are... are you okay?"
The Ravenclaw shrugged. She didn't know.
"No one's said that about my family before." She admitted, "What Snape said... it was like he knew something that I didn't."
George nodded slowly, thinking of what to say. He noticed that her hands were white, her nails digging hard into the skin of her palms. Carefully he told hold of her hands, gently separating her fingers from her palms.
"A lot of people these days like to make assumptions about things that they don't understand. Things that are different from their lives." He spoke slowly, quietly, "I know what that's like, and it isn't fun."
Olive looked up suddenly, realization spreading across her face. The Weasleys had been spoken of in a worser light than hers had. This was the first time Snape had suggested something about her family, perhaps about the parents she had never come to know, that was made her feel like something was wrong with her.
George and his family had endured it for years. Perhaps decades.
"I'm sorry." She shook her head, "I'm over reacting-"
"No." The ginger didn't appear to be affected by what she said, "Don't say that, Olive. Snape is a prick and he enjoys making people suffer. What he said was uncalled for, especially since it had nothing to do with the situation."
He gave her hands a squeeze.
Olive wanted to melt into the warmth of his hands, her mind picturing the kiss from before. She shook her head slightly to bring her back to reality, turning away.
"It's late." She shivered, her feet practically numb, "I think it's time we call it a night."
George nodded, "It's getting cold, and I don't think it'll end well for us if we're caught out here again."
He walked close to her, their shoulders brushing. Almost instinctively he grabbed hold of Olive's hands again, hands that were cold and almost trembling. When he looked over, her eyes were lost in thought.
What did Snape mean when he said that?
Olive's brows were furrowed, churning the gears in her head. Was there something about her parents that she didn't know? That Missy didn't tell her?
Now that she thought about it, she didn't mention them much.
She shook her head again, remembering the person next to her. The end to their night, which was getting cut a little short, was coming quickly to an end. Ollie didn't want to ruin it by thinking about what a notoriously mean teacher said to her.
"Thank you." She gave his hand a squeeze, "For standing up for me."
George smiled, giving a little shrug of his shoulders, "For you? Any day."
There it was. That melted, warm feeling. The giddiness churning in her chest. She blushed.
When they got to the Ravenclaw Tower, Olive shed George's jacket and gave it back to him. Her bare shoulders were clad in goosebumps from the cold night, another shiver rolling down her spine.
"I had fun." She said, almost purposefully being awkward.
"Me too." George smiled cheekily.
They stared at each other for a while, not sure how to end the night, or even if they wanted to at all. Olive was perfectly content in staying in the little bubble that was her night at the Yule Ball forever, even if it ended a little sourly.
Then, before Olive could say goodnight and head into the tower, she found George's lips on hers for the second time. He lightly gripped her hands as he did so, and when he pulled away he looked almost lightheaded.
"You made the first move last time. I had to make it even."