Chapter 8
She was surprised when she woke up to find Oliver gone. They had woken up together everyday for the last two weeks. She yawned as she saw a note placed on the bedside table. She felt a relief flood through her. Maybe she has been waiting for him to walk away since he had been there but he hadn’t so far. He had gone for a run. He hadn’t been for a run since he got there.
“Do I have to make tea as well?” Seamus grumbled as Lavender exited her bedroom into the main living space. Seamus was still in his pajamas in the kitchen area but nearly finished making a pot of coffee.
“Oliver has gone on a run this morning,” Lavender informed him
“Good because we need to talk. Another howler has arrived from that crazy quidditch lady and I’m so close to betraying your location to her, I swear I’ll do it!”
“Okay, I know we’ve been avoiding reality,”
Reality sucked anyway. They did think about it sometimes. They sat in her room late into the evening talking about it. They talked about everything really. They had talked a hundred times over but the subject got left for another day in the end. They would spend more time outside. She thought the idea about being out and about meant they would have to decide to be open with everyone. Isolde and the media. It was a lot. Being Lavender and Oliver together was more important.
“Yes, you’ve been ‘avoiding reality several times a day’ and the walls are surprisingly thin,” He said dramatically then adding “and before you say, I’m deeply jealous but please stop avoiding life,”
“I know but coffee first,”
Technically she hadn’t realised that the walls were that thin. Oops, she must remember to keep it down a couple of notches in future for Seamus’ sanity.
Seamus poured her a cup from the fresh pot he’d made. It was a simple gesture but it reminded her that Seamus was important to her as well. He had been putting up with quite a bit himself to help her. Oliver was a perfect house guest but it was still a lot for three people to be living there.
“I didn’t picture having another roommate. I’m a bit worried about you. I know you’re getting yourself in a little funk again. I know he makes you happy but maybe you should leave the house a little more.”
Rule 1: never admit to Seamus that he’s right even when he’s definitely right, he’ll never shut up about it otherwise.
“I’ve been a terrible friend. I like being in a little bubble. It is so easy and natural. I don’t want to break what we have,”
“You won’t know what you have is real unless you face the world. Why don’t we go for a double date with me and Michael, low key, muggle district,”
“Are you getting serious with Michael then?”
“It’s not serious, it’s confusing and new so it’ll be the next step in our situationship too. I wouldn’t let you face the real world without me also having something on the line too,”
“You’re my best friend,” Lavender praised, “okay, I’ll speak to Oliver but I’m in,”
“Let's get this over with..”
The howler bursted into life. The envelope curled itself into a face which looked uncannily like Isolde.
“OLIVER WOOD, YOU NEED TO CALL ME STRAIGHT AWAY. I’M FINISHED BEING MR NICE GUY. YOU’RE TAKING THE PISS. I DON’T GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS SHIT. GET IT TOGETHER BEFORE YOUR CAREER GOES DOWN COMPLETELY DOWN THE TOILET, YOU MIGHT NOT CARE BUT I DO,”
Oh Merlin.
“When was she ever nice?” Seamus asked with a snort of laughter. “Anyway, I hope the neighbours don’t complain. Lea from downstairs was very unimpressed when we let that last one explode,”
“Yikes, I don’t want to be responsible for Isolde’ stress induced heart attack.”
“Bring her man back to her,”
“I like him though!”
“Clearly he doesn’t belong to you!”
“I’ll talk to him, promise,”
“You better, I need to get ready for work now,”
*
She felt a little nervous. She didn’t know why. She had met Hanna before but asking her to be part of the biggest professional step of her career was intimidating. She knew that Hanna would be a great artist to team up with for the opening of the gallery. The way her painting had captured lavender was something special. Lavender’s trip to Hanna’s studio had definitely been eye opening.
Lavender wanted to keep it informal to begin with. She had picked a cafe to meet Hanna again. Lavender felt like she spent half of life hanging around in cafes these days. Maybe it was her need for coffee that made a cafe seem appropriate for any occasion in her life.
She asked for a portfolio from Hanna so she wasn’t totally blindsiding her with a proposing of a business. Hanna probably thought she had been brought there on the offer of work for Matilda’s gallery. Lavender felt a little guilty when she may be stealing Hanna from Matilda. Was it stealing when Lavender did most of the legwork to find artists like Hanna. Hanna wasn’t currently in a formal agreement with Matilda’s gallery. Lavender wouldn’t really be taking any official artists from the gallery with her. She respected Matilda greatly and felt guilty that she had yet to tell her about her move to go it alone. Lavender thought that she would be happy for her but Lavender wasn’t going to strike out alone without having someone else on board with her.
It’ll be mad enough that she had brought the space without any further plans. She wasn’t going to quit her job to follow it just yet. It was one thing to have the belief and faith of Oliver and Seamus behind her. It would be quite another to have backing of some part of the art world on her side too. Lavender had always talked the talk but could she go another step further?
Hanna had arrived.
“Hanna, it’s so good to see you,” she said warmly, not attempting a handshake as Hanna’s hands were busy holding a large portfolio folder. “Coffee? Or perhaps tea?”
Lavender knew all too well now that people did drink tea.
“A coffee, black, please,”
She knew she liked Hanna for a reason. She thought that they would get on so well. She quickly pictured late night coffee while they rushed to get the exhibition ready for opening night.
Focus, she thought to herself.
It wasn’t the time for dreaming yet. She needed to sign several artists up to her project and have them willing to meet with her. Hanna was the first of many that she would need to prove herself too to get the dream off the ground. People needed to believe in her like she would them to get anything to work properly. She couldn’t promise stuff established. She would need to sell them her dream and package it as their dream too.
She knew she looked cute today. That always helped Lavender feel her strongest self.
“You’ve been very mysterious about this meeting,”
“All in good time,”
They sipped coffee together and Lavender went over the portfolio with Hanna. She talked passionately about her muses and Lavender drooled over the sketches and photos of Hanna’s work. She really wanted her to be part of her gallery. They talked freely about art before Lavender saw fit to break the news.
“I guess I’ve asked you to hear today because I wanted to inform you officially that galerie MP are interested in displaying a small selection of your work as part of a wider exhibition,”
“Wow! That’s brilliant,”
“However, I’ve taken your advice and I plan to start my own gallery. I want you to sign with me instead,”
“What?”
“I believe in your work. It’s everything I love in art and I really think that other people are going to love it. I can’t offer some of the benefits and exposur-”
“I’ll do it,”
“What?”
It was Lavender’s turn to be surprised.
“I mean it, I’ll sign with you because I believed in you from the moment I met you and I really want to be on the ground floor on your new project. I haven’t met anyone yet who believes in my art like you do so why wouldn’t I want that?”
“Honestly. I thought it was going to have to try harder to convince you,”
“I don’t think you meant to tell me that to be honest,” Hanna laughed, “tell me about the gallery, what it’s called?”
Crap
Why didn't she name the bloody gallery before she came?
Oliver came up with a bunch of names but they descended into ridiculous puns amongst the half bottle of champagne in bed late one evening a week or so ago.
“I don’t know,” Lavender admitted. “It’s still a work in progress,”
She wasn’t very prepared.
Hanna managed to laugh though as did Lavender. It seemed like a lot of things were still a work in progress but at least Lavender had some to share it with now. Someone who had worked hard for this life too. Others won’t be as easy as Hanna to win over but Lavender was really ready for anything at the moment. She was flying high at gaining the second piece in the puzzle. All the other pieces left to go. She really needed to tell Matilda that she was going to be leaving.
*
Lavender was seriously questioning her plan right now. It was early May but it was still cold and early. Parents must really love their kids to take them to places like this on a weekly basis. Oliver seemed to be taking the cold in his stride next to her. He seemed puzzled about why they were standing in a muddy field on the other side of the city. She doesn’t blame him, she would have probably demanded to know where they were going.
“We could be in bed right now..”
“Oliver, you always get up early!” she exclaimed considering how many morning Oliver had woken up and gone for a run recently and before that shifting around in bed awkwardly. He needed to be active. It was in his blood.
“Just watch, will you?”
At the moment. A group of kids came out of a little wooden hut. They wore robes and tightly gripped hold of little broomsticks. The idea came to Lavender while she was in the bath, the natural place of brilliant ideas. Oliver needed quidditch but not as serious as the pressure he had been under. She thought a junior club could inspire something in Oliver. She wasn’t pushing, just gently poking. She spent the whole week looking through newspapers to find something suitable. She hadn’t expected the kids to be quite so little.
“Why are we here? These kids can barely get off the ground,”
They were kinda cute. A coach on the side was speaking quickly. He was arranging them into two five a side matches. Lavender watched Oliver carefully as a look of concentration clouded his face and started muttering under his breath, something strongly sounded like ‘now why did he pick them as beaters ’. Lavender knew that Oliver wouldn’t have any desire to leave now. He’s in too deep and they haven’t even left the ground. Lavender shifted her focus to the kids as they began to rise into the air. Some with more ease than others.
They began a game of Quidditch, it was slow enough for her to keep up with it so she knew it must be slow but they built up pace. Lavender remembered that she didn’t really care for Quidditch and let her eyes wander over the beautiful man next to her again. She may never get over how hot he really was. The most sexy thing about him was the look in his eye, passion. His eyes hadn’t left the mini quidditch game in front of him however.
“Hit it properly, swing the bat upwards for better connection!” Oliver bellowed suddenly at a small girl with high pony hair.
Lavender cringed but Oliver didn’t seem embarrassed at all at his sudden outburst. The girl had turned to look at him and her eyes off the game. Oliver was in his element and seemed he didn’t want to stop as he was now wildly gesturing the correct way to hit with his arms. Maybe Oliver should try speaking french. They were French after all.
“You’re yelling at those kids?”
“I’m not yelling! I’m speaking firmly,”
“They’re seven years old,”
“They’re wasting potential,” He protested fiercely before admitting “okay, maybe I sound a little crazy,”
Oliver had found himself almost running the session for the kids in the end.
“Let’s call it passionate!” Lavender laughed as Oliver placed a little kiss on her lips and threw his arm comfortably over her shoulder to pull her closer.
“Why did you bring me here really?”
“I thought you might miss Quidditch. I just don’t think you’re done yet but maybe you still love Quidditch but maybe just not playing,”
“You might be right," he asked fondly, "Maybe you're the one to set my soul alight again,"
“Je t'ai dit que c'était lui ! c'est Oliver Wood!” screamed a flash of blue. The little girl with the ponytail came running up to them with impressive speed. Maybe she was true quidditch material with speed like that.
“OLIVER WOOD!” yelled another kid from the class.
Oliver looked alarmed.
“Go say hello for a few minutes, you owe them for yelling so much,”
“Wait for me,”
Lavender swelled with emotion as she watched Oliver interact with the children. It seemed like he liked talking to them as he signed autographs. She decided to watch from a slight distance as a camera came out. Oliver seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world though. It was truly special.