Just after dinner the night before the start of April, a certain Ravenclaw walked quietly and purposefully through the corridors. Her hair was hastily twisted up, held in place with her wand. A small, knowing smile was spread on her lips, a wrapped parcel tucked behind her back.
Olive was not someone to call herself experienced in gift giving. She and Missy exchanged small things for birthdays and holidays. Not much, but just something to show the other how much they appreciated them.
For the twins' birthday, she was at a loss for a while.
She wasn't sure if she should even give them gifts, seeing as they already had quite the day of pranking and fun planned. However, she recalled the letters they sent her for her birthday, the small box of her favorite sweets, some of their pranks sprinkled in to surprise her. It was, for lack of a better word, sweet. She still had the notes tucked in a tiny shoebox under her bed.
So, it was the least she could do to return the favor. Besides, she had something planned for George that had taken her all night to perfect. She wanted to see his face when he opened it.
Peeking her head around the corridor, Olive spotted George. It was rare that he was without Fred, especially so close to their birthday, so she figured she should take advantage of the moment while it lasted.
"Happy Birthday, you."
Olive snuck up behind George in the corridor, poking him in the sides as she surprised him. The ginger jumped slightly in fright, whipping his head around to greet her.
"Olls!" He loosened up a bit when he realized it was her. Looking down at the small parcel tucked under her arm, he smiled, "You know my birthday isn't until tomorrow, right?"
The Ravenclaw chuckled, "How could I forget? All week you and Fred were like 'this is gonna be the best bloody birthday ever.' Didn't even need to mark my calendar."
George wrapped an arm around her as they strolled back down the corridor, "I don't sound like that."
He paused, "Maybe Fred does... but not me."
Olive held out the wrapped parcel to him, a small smile on her face. While she was excited to see what he thought of the gift, she was also nervous. It had taken her a while to get it just right, nearly all night. She was tired, but she refused to let it show.
"Happy early birthday." She said, "I figured I'd give this to you now in case you're busy flying around setting off fireworks tomorrow."
He took the small wrapped box from her, looking both very curious and a teeny bit flushed, "You didn't have to do this."
She shrugged, "Of course I did. Last year you sent me something for my birthday."
There was a moment of silence. Both George and Olive stared at the package for a moment, as if waiting for it to magically unwrap, "Besides, I already found Fred and gave him his gift, so it'd be weird if you didn't open it."
A chuckle rose out of the ginger, "What did you get him?"
"Exploding business cards. I think he went through half the stack and won't stop bothering me about teaching him the charm."
"Classic. Wish we thought of that." He spotted a bench that was somewhat secluded from the other students walking through the hallway, guiding Olive over to it by interlocking their fingers, "You didn't put any explosives in here, did you?"
He held the box to his ear and shook gently, brows furrowed as the movement inside the wrapped present did not sound at all like anything that would explode in his face. Setting it down on his lap, he looked to the Ravenclaw for an answer.
"No." She shrugged, "Though I can't make you any promises."
"Olls."
"I'm kidding. No explosive charms. I think I learned the first time."
Carefully, George started to unwrap the parcel. Olive pressed her lips together, that floating anxiousness in her chest that always came when someone was opening a gift she gave them. What if it was too cheesy? Too thoughtful? What if he didn't like it?
What if it didn't work?
The Gryffindor next to her pulled out a small stack of paper, tied together with a bit of twine and filled with Olive's neat cursive. It wasn't taken from any of her notebooks, so he figured she must have written him something new.
However, the nervous look on her face told him that this wasn't just some ordinary story she's written.
"I guess I should explain it a bit." She picked at a loose string at the sleeve of her robes, "Last year... I sort of discovered something that I can do when I write. Specifically when I write down memories."
Her eyes sheepishly met his, almost surprised to see him hanging onto every word she said, curious to find out more.
"I... I'm not sure if it works for other people, or if I'm just mad..." She let out a short sigh, shoulders slumping only slightly, "I knew that if it worked for other people I wanted the first person I shared it with to be you."
George looked down at the pages held delicately in his hands, almost tempted to read it right then and there to see what Olive was talking about. However, he just stared at her, feeling his insides practically melt as she looked so apprehensive yet so sure of herself.
Olive only shared her stories with those she really cared about. Everyone knew that about the socially anxious Ravenclaw. She let her sister read them, maybe her friends, (he was not entirely sure about that part) but as far as he or anyone else knew, no one else.
And here she was, giving him something she hasn't shared with anyone yet: A memory.
"Olls." He set the pages on his lap, carefully tucking it back into the box for safe keeping, and turned towards her, "This is..."
He couldn't articulate the right words, the sentence trailing off his tongue as he just nodded his head slowly. George would never admit to anyone that deep down inside he was somewhat of a hopeless romantic. It was something that really set him apart from Fred. However, every moment he spent with Olive allowed that side of him to creep out- that sensitive, kind, romantic side.
They slowly drifted together until their lips met.
"George, are you sure this is a good idea?"
Olive felt awkward standing under Harry's invisibility cloak. George had his hands on her shoulders, helping her not trip over the hem sweeping at her feet.
He was sneaking her into the Gryffindor Common room. Why? He hadn't given her many specifics of his sudden plan. One moment she and George were hanging out in the corridor (where they may or may not have been kissing for about twenty minutes) and the next he sprung to his feet and was dragging her excitedly in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower.
"Well... it's a great idea!" He reassured her, "Have I done this before? No. Will it be awesome? No doubt."
Olive tripped a bit on the hem, doing her best to keep her balance. She was primarily surprised that Harry even had an invisibility cloak, not to mention that he would let George, of all people, borrow it.
"How does he walk in this thing? I feel like a netted Christmas tree." She pulled a bit at the hem, giving her feet some room to walk without tripping.
"Very carefully, I imagine." George reached over and pulled the fabric down so that her feet were covered, "The entrance is just up these stairs. Stay close to me, and hurry in after me after I say the password."
Olive nodded, though she suddenly remembered George couldn't see her at all, "Okay."
She followed the Gryffindor closely, making sure the invisibility cloak was covering her body fully. Ollie realized it would be much easier for her to sneak in if she just morphed into her cat form, and was about to tell George that, when she suddenly realized that he didn't know she was the cat.
Suddenly, she felt both guilty and stupid at the same time. Hadn't she told George a week or two ago that she never wanted to lie to him?
Yet here she was, sneaking into the Gryffindor Common Room with him the night before his birthday, harboring a huge secret from him for nearly two years now.
Ollie's heart sank. She needed to tell him, both him and Fred, sooner than later. Would they probably hate her if she did tell them the truth? Most likely. They hated the black cat. Would they still hate her if she didn't tell them and they eventually found out? Yes.
However, when she opened her mouth to call his name, they were already at the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. Olive was too focused on her own thoughts to hear George say the password. Quickly she shuffled in behind him, making sure the hem of the cloak didn't get caught in the door as it swung closed.
The Gryffindor Common Room looked surprisingly cozy. There were couches and chairs in nearly every corner of the room, all facing each other so people could have conversations in larger groups. The place was adorned with red and gold, which gave the room a brighter look even when the sun was setting low in the horizon through the windows.
Olive pulled off the invisibility cloak as she studied the foreign common room around her. People were setting up sweets and balloons, a bottle or two of firewhiskey sitting on a table in ice. Harry and Ron were hanging a banner that said 'Happy Seventeenth Gred and Forge' while Hermione was reminding them how stupid it was the throw a party after what happened last time.
The Ravenclaw remembered last time a little too well.
"Welcome, Olive!" Fred greeted her at the door, mischief present in his eyes, "To our birthday extravaganza!"