Chapter 7
Oliver misses Alice. Hanging out with Remus and Lily isn’t the same without her there. Now that she isn’t around to scare off bullies, people have been making snide comments to both Lily and Peter about their weight. Oliver really wants to punch someone. He doesn’t. He doesn’t.
Oliver runs down the hallway with Peter running after him. Peter had found Oliver in the courtyard to tell him that James was in the Hospital Wing and their parents were there. Oliver had sprinted off as soon as Peter had mentioned James being in the Hospital Wing. He pushes through the doors. Madam Pomfrey tells him to calm down as he looks around frantically for James. “Where is he?” Oliver demands.
“He’s alright,” Monty says. Oliver runs over and hugs him. Monty wraps his arms around his son and takes him over to James’ bed. He’s sitting on it with Sirius curled up beside him and Effie sitting at the end of the bed. Remus is sitting in the chair next to his bed while scribbling down what looks to be Care of Magical Creatures notes.
“What happened?” Oliver asks.
James tilts his head. “I thought Pete was going to tell you.”
“I was,” Peter says. He comes over to stand beside Oliver. He’s out of breath. “But he ran away before I could.”
“Someone tell me what happened!” Oliver yells.
“He punched Snape,” Remus says. He looks up and points somewhere with his quill. “He’s over there.”
Oliver turns and sees Severus Snape sitting in one of the beds. “Why did you punch him?” Oliver turns back to his brother.
James scoffs. “He was saying mean things about Pete.”
Oliver feels his hands twitch at his sides. “What?” He glances at his parents. He knows he needs to keep his cool in front of them. He doesn't think they'd snitch on him but he doesn't doubt that they'd be very disapointed if he killed Snape. “What did he say?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Peter waves him off. “It’s just the normal stuff.”
“Normal stuff?” Oliver blinks. “What do you mean “normal stuff”? Peter, how long has this been going on?”
Peter shrugs. “It’s not always him. People say I’m fat all the time. Even my mother does it. Snape just did it in front of James.”
“He called you a pig and started oinking at you,” Sirius says, completely confused on why Peter's acting so calm about this. Frankly, so is Oliver. “He totally had it coming.”
“Excuse me?” Oliver blanches. “He did what?”
“Ollie-” Monty tries but Oliver whirls around and pulls out his wand. He sees a potion bottle on a table next to one of the empty beds.
“Waddiwasi." The bottle flies up from the table and soars towards Snape. It hits his head and the bottle explodes, the glass cutting into Snape’s skin. He screams and Madam Pomfrey rushes over. Oliver puts his wand back into his pocket and turns back to the others. James is grinning from ear to ear, radiating proudness. Peter’s gaping at him while his parents just stare at Snape. “What?”
“You just did that in front of your parents, you are aware of that?” Monty asks.
Oliver shrugs. “Yeah? He was being mean to Peter. He deserved it.”
“What just happened?” Madam Pomfrey asks as she waves her wand over Severus’ face. Small pieces of glass float out of his skin. The clean scratches heal and close over, leaving small, faint lines. Oliver looks at his brother’s hand where his skin has just recently been healed. It's red and irritated but he doesn't think he's in any immediate danger. Oliver, however, will be if Madam Pomfrey finds out what he did.
“Well you seem fine and I’m sure your fan club will take care of you.”
“Mr. Potter-” Madam Pomfrey tries to get his attention.
“I best be off. Bye!” Oliver runs out of the Hospital Wing.
People keep getting pranked. Apparently this has been happening for a couple years now. Oliver doesn’t know why but whenever Slytherins are targeted he’s never affected. When everyone in Slytherin house got pink hair that burned when you tried to change it back, Oliver’s wasn’t like that. He did get pink hair but his hair turned back the first time he tried and it didn’t sting at all. Evan, Barty, Dorcas and Regulus’ didn’t hurt either but they weren’t able to change it back. Oliver had an inkling of who it could be. He didn’t change his hair back to normal until everyone else’s hair turned back so it didn’t look suspicious. His brother was sneaky but not that sneaky. He was too kind to be sneaky.
“Mr. Potter, can you stay after class please?” Flitwick asks as everyone’s packing up their stuff. It’s their last class on Friday so everyone’s happy it’s over. Oliver nods. He continues to pack up his things but tells his friends to go on without him and he’ll meet them back at the dorm.
“How can I help you, Professor Flitwick?” Oliver asks as he steps away from his desk.
Flitwick grabs something from his desk. “Mr. Potter, you are one of my top students. I know you’re capable of great things. The work you hand in is beyond the work I expect from second years.”
“Is that… bad?” Oliver asks. He fiddles with the strap of his bag. He knows he can get wrapped up in things and when he starts writing, most of the time he can’t stop. Besides, Charms is fun. He enjoys learning how to do different spells.
Flitwick laughs and shakes his head. “No, Mr. Potter, this is good. Very very good. You’re working beyond third year as a second year. This class may be holding you back.”
Oliver tilts his head. “What do you mean?”
“I’m offering to put up in the third year class,” Flitwick says. “And if that’s too easy then I suggest we decide to put you up in the fourth year classes.”
“Oh.” Oliver’s taken back. His brain short circuits. “That’s um nice?”
Flitwick hums. “It is a wonderful opportunity, Mr. Potter.”
“It’s very kind of you, Professor, but I’m fine where I am,” Oliver says. “I’ve got my friends with me.”
“You can always find more friends,” Flitwick tells him. He folds his hands in front of him. “This will pave the way for your future.”
Oliver smiles. “You may be right about my future, Professor Flitwick, but I’ll never find friends like them. They’re not something I’m going to give up.” Flitwick looks… mildly impressed. “Thank you for the offer, Professor, but I’m happy where I am.”
Flitwick bows his head slightly. “I admire your loyalty. You would’ve made a good Gryffindor.” Oliver can’t help the way he involuntarily flinches. Flitwick clears his throat. “Anyway, I did have something for you.”
“You did?”
Flitwick nods. He takes something from his pocket and holds out his hand. Oliver repeats it and Flitwick presses a piece of gold paper into his palm. Oliver looks down at the light blue writing on the paper. “It’s a pass to the Restricted Section and it’ll last for the whole year. There are books in there that I think will test you in all of your subjects. If you find work too easy, you can go there after class and perhaps learn something new.”
Oliver nods. “Thank you, Professor Flitwick. I should be going though.”
“Of course.”
Oliver turns and walks out of the classroom. That was weird. When he walks into the corridor he sees Regulus, Evan, Barty and Pandora waiting for him. “You guys didn’t have to wait,” he says as they start walking.
Regulus shrugs. “We wanted to know what he wanted to talk to you about.”
“Did you get into trouble?” Barty asks. “Without me?”
Oliver shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. He actually said I was… smart.”
“Huh?” Regulus looks at him as they turn the corner and find Dorcas. She starts walking with them. “What do you mean he said you were smart?”
“Who said Olive was smart?” Dorcas asks.
“Flitwick,” Pandora says.
“He held you back in class for that?” Evan asks. “There must be more to it.”
Oliver looks down at the pass still in his hand. “Oh there was more.”
“What is that?” Pandora asks. Barty tries to take it from Oliver’s hands but he moves it out of the way.
“No touching,” Oliver says. “I don’t want you to break it.”
“Is that a pass to the restricted section of the library?” Dorcas asks.
Oliver nods. “Flitwick gave it to me because apparently I’m working beyond my level and that if I found the work in class too easy I could go to the restricted section and find a book that would teach me something new.”
“How long does it last?” Pandora asks.
“I have to give it back at the end of the year,” Oliver says.
“Or…” Barty grins. “You could say you lost it and keep it forever.”
“I’m not doing that,” Oliver says. Pandora follows them into the Slytherin Common Room. No one really cares when Pandora is in there. They know that if they did, they’d face the wrath of a Black, a Rosier, a Crouch, a Meadowes and a Potter. Those are families you don’t want to fuck with. “You know I would never be able to do that.”
Pandora and Dorcas stop at the steps up to the boys' dorms. The guys stop so they can continue talking to the girls. Girls can’t enter the boys' dormitories and boys can’t enter the girls’ dormitories because the stairs turn to sludge and your feet get stuck in the steps until someone comes to pull you out. They haven’t found a spell that’s useful with it but Dorcas is able to come up to their dorm yet she refuses to tell them how she does it. “So who’s allowed in with you?” Dorcas asks. “Is it just you?”
Oliver shrugs. “He didn’t say but I’m sure I could bring you guys with me.”
Evan snorts. “Try leave us behind.”
The girls go up to Dorcas’ dorm while the boys go up to theirs. “Have you ever set foot in the library?” Regulus asks. “Or any library for that matter?”
“There’s one at home,” Evan says. They walk into the dorm and he plops down on his bed. “But no, I’ve never set foot in it.”
Regulus rolls his eyes. He puts his bag down next to his trunk. “I thought as much.”
Oliver falls face first into his bed. He grumbles something into his sheets.
“Huh?” Evan asks.
Oliver lifts his head. “I was complaining about quidditch tryouts tomorrow.”
“Why’d they wait till the end of the week?” Barty asks.
“Because the captain is a menace,” Oliver says. He sits up and kicks off his shoes. “Are any of you guys trying out?”
Barty scrunches up his nose. “Ew, fuck no. I can barely wake up at seven thirty, you think I’m waking up at the ass crack of dawn? Fuck that shit.”
Oliver shrugs. “Understandable. Evan?”
Evan shakes his head. “Nope. Olive, you don’t like getting up in the morning either so why are you trying out?”
Oliver’s heart swells when Evan uses his nickname. Evan and Pandora have started doing it a lot. No one wanted to call Oliver ‘Ollie’ because that’s what James calls him so Pandora decided Olive was their nickname for him now. Oliver guesses that Evan only calls him it because Pandora refuses to call him anything else so he’s just used to it by now. “My brother’s always loved quidditch and he’s pulled me out of bed at the crack of dawn for as long as I can remember. Once I get back into the routine of getting up early, I’ll stick to it. Regulus?”
Regulus nods. “Seeker. Best of the best.”
Oliver smiles big. “Oh thank Merlin. I was worried I had to deal with the assholes on the team on my own.”
“That’s if we get in,” Regulus says.
“We will,” Oliver says. He crosses his arms. “I know we will.”
“You say that about everything,” Regulus says.
Oliver drops his arms. “Because it’s always true.”
Regulus seems nervous. Oliver has never seen him nervous. It’s weird. It’s the day of the quidditch tryouts and James had insisted on taking Oliver out for practice at five in the morning. Let’s just say Barty wasn’t happy when Oliver accidentally tripped and fell in the dark. He had sworn and threatened Oliver’s entire family.
“Nervous?” Dorcas asks as she slings her arm around Oliver’s shoulders. She doesn’t plan to try out so she shouldn’t be on the pitch but Oliver’s glad she came. He leans against her and sighs.
“Absolutely,” Oliver says. Dorcas squeezes his shoulder. He frowns and rests his head on her shoulder. “Dorcas?” She hums. “What happens if I don’t get in?”
“You move on,” Dorcas says. “You go to all the matches and you cheer on your team. You congratulate Regulus who is definitely getting in.” She leans over to whisper to him. “If not then you help him commit a homicide.” Oliver laughs while Regulus turns to glare at his friends. “And then you try again next year,” Dorcas says. “The world isn’t going to end if you don’t make the team, Olive.”
Oliver nods. “I know.” He lets out a breath. “I guess my brother always made it seem like it would.”
“Well he’s an idiot,” Regulus says. “Just-” He pauses as he tries to figure out what to say. Oliver’s still trying to teach him how to be a functioning friend. He’s getting rather good at it. “Just do your best.”
“What if my best isn’t good enough?” Oliver asks.
Dorcas gasps. “Who are you and what have you done with our sunshine?” She takes her arm away so she can grab Oliver’s shoulders and shake him. “Oliver Whatever-your-middle-name-is Potter, you are a wonderful Chaser and excellent on a broom. Your worst is more than half the team’s best. You’ve got this!”
Oliver smiles and hugs her. “Thanks, Dorcas.”
“I’m only telling you the truth,” she says. “You’re the one with all the tallent.” Madam Hooch blows a whistle and the Slytherin players start to fly into their positions. Oliver gives Dorcas another squeeze before grabbing his broom from Regulus and joining everyone in the sky.
The entire tryout is a complete blur to Oliver. Sometimes he has the ball, sometimes he doesn’t. It’s a practice game amongst his own house. The team players last year have to try out again so everyone’s put into their positions on either team. Oliver scores five goals and accidentally hits the Keeper in the face twice. He feels bad each time he does it but the Keeper, Isla Weller, laughs every time he apologises and says that it’s fine. They have protective gear for a reason, as she continuously tells him. The game ends when Regulus (who was put on Oliver’s team — thank Merlin) catches the snitch. Their team won the tryouts.
“It’s not a competition,” Oliver says as he and Regulus are getting changed in the changing rooms after the others have left. He didn’t want to change in front of everyone so he and Regulus mucked around until it was just the two of them.
“Yes, it is,” Regulus says. “That’s the whole purpose of tryouts. To see who’s better.”
Oliver rolls his eyes. “Yeah but you can’t win tryouts.”
“Why not?”
“Because we were versing our own house.”
“Oh and of course you can’t have competitions within your own house,” Regulus says, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “That would be stupid.”
“You’re stupid,” Oliver mumbles under his breath. Regulus shoots him a glare to which he winks. Regulus rolls his eyes and continues to get changed. Oliver does so as well and before they know it, they’re walking back into their dorm and getting showered in compliments from Dorcas and Pandora. Evan and Barty are also saying that there is no way that they don’t make the team but Barty’s doing it via flirty comments and Evan’s translating what Barty’s saying into words that aren’t so crude.
He does make it onto the team. Both him and Regulus make the team for the positions they wanted. Oliver doesn’t really pay attention to the other people that made it on but he does notice Isla Weller high-fiving with someone. James scoops Oliver into his arms as soon as he walks into the Great Hall. Oliver laughs as James spins them around.
“I’m so proud of you!” James says as he puts Oliver back onto the ground.
Oliver smiles. “Thanks, Jamie. I wouldn’t’ve been able to do it without you.”
James smiles back. He gives Oliver another big hug. “I’ll let you be but, you know what this means, right?”
Oliver sighs. “Practice at an ungodly hour of the morning?”
“You know it!” James says enthusiastically. “Keep the mirror by your pillow and I’ll call you when you have to wake up.”
“I’ll remember to put it there tonight,” Oliver says. James smiles before jogging back over to his friends. Oliver sighs before turning to his friends. Regulus, Barty and Evan are giving him weird looks. Oliver rolls his eyes at them before following them to their spot.
“You can’t possibly be thinking about actually doing it,” Evan says. “Waking up at seven forty-five is hard for you and you think you can function after waking up at five?”
“Sometimes it’s four,” Oliver mumbles. Evan gives him a look and Oliver shrugs. “It’s not that bad.”
“You know that feeling you get when you can’t get your eyelids to stay open?” Regulus asks. Oliver thinks for a moment before nodding. “Yeah, Potter, that’s exhaustion. You know how to fix that?”
“Sleep more?” Oliver asks with a tilt of his head.
“Coffee,” is Regulus’ solution. He passes a mug to Oliver who takes it with a cautious look. “Put milk in it first.” So he does. Oliver puts milk and a teaspoon of sugar into the coffee. He decided to add the sugar at Evan's instruction. Oliver blows on it to make sure it isn’t too hot and takes a sip. He looks at his friends who are all staring at him. He pauses before shrugging.
“It tastes nice,” Oliver says.
Dorcas smiles. “Just wait until the caffeine kicks in.”
Oliver looks at Regulus with a worried look. “Regulus.”
Regulus looks at him over the rim of his own cup of coffee. “What?”
“This isn’t going to kill me, is it?” Oliver asks while frantically looking down into the cup.
“You’ll be fine,” Regulus says. Oliver wants to believe him but he doesn’t.
It was wonderful. Oh, how didn’t he find coffee before now? It’s so wonderful. Did he already say that? He honestly feels his brain is about to explode, but not aggressively so. Regulus was right, he was feeling exhausted before but now, he’s able to function. He wants another one but Regulus limits him to one a day. He pouts about it but he knows that Regulus knows coffee better than him.
Apart from Regulus being right, so was James. He calls Oliver on the mirrors at five in the morning to wake him up. It’s annoying and takes a few (twenty) minutes to actually get himself out of bed. It’s not every morning but to say that Barty is very much against it is an understatement. Oliver’s stopped tripping over things in the dark so Barty isn’t usually woken up but he’s very grumpy because — not that he’d ever say it to him — he misses Oliver and being the two that can’t wake up in the morning so the other two have to worry about them. Now it’s just Barty and he thinks it’s excessive how much the other two try to get him out of bed. Evan kicks him out more than once a week. He says it’s necessary but Barty swears Evan’s got it out for him.
“You have to come back,” Barty pleads as they find their seats in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Barty’s sitting with Oliver for a change instead of next to Evan. Oliver usually sits next to Regulus who is standing next to Barty, waiting for him to get up because he doesn’t do well with change. They all know that so they all know that Barty’ll get up eventually. Pandora's on the other side of Evan.
“What?” Oliver furrows his eyebrows. “I’m right here.”
“You have to come back to the dorm,” Barty corrects. “Please. These two are driving me crazy!”
Regulus rolls his eyes and hits the back of Barty’s head with his book. “We are not, now get out of my seat.” Barty groans and he lugs himself up and plonks him down in the seat next to Evan which isn’t even a foot away. “He’s so dramatic,” Regulus mumbles as he sits down.
Oliver shrugs. “That’s Barty for you.” He bumps their shoulders. “Now can you help me with this?”
Regulus looks at the parchment in front of Oliver. He furrows his eyebrows. “This isn’t Defence work.”
“No,” Oliver shakes his head. “It’s a letter my dad sent me. I don’t understand it.”
“And you expect me to?” Regulus looks at Oliver with an eyebrow raised. Oliver looks back with a pleading look. Regulus has never been one for social cues or knowing what love and comfort feels like. Oliver isn’t sure if Regulus thinks he’ll burst into flames if he reads the letter. Regulus sighs. “Give it.”
Oliver smiles excitedly as he moves the parchment over to Regulus. He takes it and reads it. Regulus’ eyebrows are drawn together as he reads it. When he gets to the part Oliver wanted him to read, his face drops. The crease between his eyebrows smooths out and his eyes widen ever-so-slightly. Regulus puts down the letter and looks at Oliver who has the biggest smile on his face. “So?” Oliver asks.
“You are a horrible human being,” Regulus says. He shakes his head. “This is a joke, right? You wrote this and-”
“Does it look like my handwriting?” Oliver cuts in. He had thought about what to say when Regulus tried to swerve around this.
Regulus looks back down at the letter and shakes his head. “No, but-”
“Nuh uh. Shhh.” Oliver holds up his hand. “Just enjoy it.”
Regulus opens his mouth but Oliver closes his hand and shushes him again. Regulus pouts— he pouts. “But this can’t be…” He looks down at the letter. “‘We’re so proud of you for making the team. We knew you could do it. Let Regulus know that we’re happy he’s on the team too. We know he’s been training for this. We look forward to seeing you both in action one of these days.’” Regulus looks up at Oliver after reading from the letter. “Why would they be congratulating me? I’m not their kid.”
Oliver shrugs. “You’re my friend and they’re happy for you.”
“But I’m not-”
“Black, Potter.” Oliver and Regulus look over to see Professor Clarke looking at them. “I am in the middle of teaching.”
“Sorry, Professor,” Oliver says. He smiles because Regulus has no other choice but to leave the topic. Regulus puts the letter down on the desk in front of him and stares at it throughout the whole class. Oliver makes sure to take extra thorough notes for Regulus because he knows he isn’t paying attention.
Regulus still has the same confused look on his face throughout the rest of the day and it makes Oliver feel a bit sad because it is so unfair that Regulus has never gotten a letter like this from his parents. Since they all get their mail at the same time, Oliver knows that Regulus hasn’t gotten any mail at all since he’d gotten on the team. It breaks his heart.
It’s ridiculous how much Regulus’ parents don’t care about him. No one sends him any letters unless Barty and Oliver have dragged him and Evan into some kind of bind. There’s a couple times when Oliver and Barty have been mucking around in class and Regulus and Evan have to take the brunt of it — and the time when Oliver had taken Pandora and Regulus into the Restricted Section and one of the grumpy teachers had found them and not believed Oliver’s pass. They wouldn’t even go see Professor Flitwick to prove that he had been given a pass until after the detention. Those are the only times he’d get mail.
The day after a detention, Regulus would get a letter from the same expensive looking owl with the same fancy writing on the same black parchment— like what is the point of black parchment? And where does one get white ink? Every single time Regulus gets any mail, he looks across the hall to his brother who gives him a sympathetic look. Regulus doesn’t make any look towards his brother but Oliver can see the way his hands shake every time he has to open a letter and how he’s quiet for the rest of the day. It’s happened so many times throughout their second year that Oliver knows now that Regulus has stopped trying to push them away and just needs space. He also knows that no one can get too close to Regulus when he’s like that because he gets very jumpy and has cursed Barty six times for accidentally getting too close and Pandora once for speaking too suddenly. He felt so bad that he apologised profusely and got out of his slump early. Pandora classes it as a win.
Christmas was… a doozy.
“He- what?” Oliver had almost dropped his bowl of cereal when James had said it. He’s still sure he’s in some kind or dream— or nightmare.
James laughs as he takes the bowl and puts it on the table. “I said that Sirius is coming the day after christmas. He’s staying for the rest of the holidays.”
“Is it just him?” Oliver asks.
James shrugs. “Well Peter and Remus are already here.” He realises what Oliver was asking. “Sirius said Regulus wasn’t coming but we did ask.”
Oliver doubted that. Sirius may tell James he thinks he’s a good brother and he may think he’s a good brother but Oliver has heard Regulus talk about Sirius(which is not a lot). He isn’t as good hearted as he thinks he is. “Oh,” is all Oliver can say. “Right.” He suddenly isn’t so hungry. He excuses himself and goes up to his room. He stays in there until Monty comes in and says that the boys have gone with Effie to pick up Sirius.
“Wanna help me with something?” Monty asks. Oliver looks at him before smiling and nodding. He goes with his father and spends a good amount of time with Monty in his study. They don’t leave until Effie calls them for dinner. Sirius isn’t nearly as himself as he is at Hogwarts. He’s quiet and extremely polite. James whispers something to him and his eyes widen. Sirius whispers back and James laughs.
“What’re you two whispering about?” Effie asks.
James grins while Sirius’ smile slips off his face. “Sirius is scared of you.” Sirius elbows him and Effie laughs.
“Scared? Now why on earth would he be scared of me.” Effie puts her hands on her hips. “What have you told him, Jamie?”
“All good things,” Sirius is quick to say. Oliver stabs his fork into his vegetables and shoves them into his mouth. It makes him angry. Seeing Sirius here and acting nothing like himself makes Oliver angry. Regulus not being here so he and Oliver can share looks when Sirius does something stupid makes him angry. Regulus being back in that house makes him angry.
“Hey,” Peter whispers. He reaches over and takes the fork from Oliver’s hand. “You’re going to break the plate.”
Oliver looks down and sees little indents where his fork had stabbed into the plate. “Oh.”
“Everything okay?” Peter asks.
Oliver nods. “Fine.” Peter gives him a look to let him know that he didn’t believe him. “Really, I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” Peter tells him. “Come on, tell me.”
Oliver frowns. “Well…” Peter waits for Oliver to be able to find his words. “It’s just weird seeing Sirius here.”
“Instead of at a different table?” Peter asks. Oliver nods while looking at his hands. He’s picking at the skin around his fingers. Peter takes one of his hands and runs his thumb along the irritated skin. Oliver looks up at Peter to see him smiling at him. He holds Oliver’s fork out to him with the hand that isn’t holding onto Oliver’s. “Wanna try eating again? Just this time not ruining your mother’s plates?”
Oliver laughs. “Yeah, okay.” He takes the fork. He expects Peter to let go, but he doesn’t. He resumes eating his own food and Oliver starts eating his. It helps that Oliver’s left handed and Peter’s right handed. Neither of them are using their wrong hand to eat so no one even notices they’re holding hands. It’s nice to have Peter holding his hand. Because he’s being nice. That’s it. Oliver does NOT still have a crush on him. He got over that in first year. He doesn’t. … Right?
Peter does things like that throughout the rest of the holidays. He’ll notice Oliver get a bit weird about things Sirius does and he makes sure Oliver isn’t picking at his skin and has something else to fiddle with. It’s fine when he’s at Hogwarts because he almost always has his book bag so he can fiddle with its strap. Sometimes Oliver doesn’t realise the things Peter does until after he’s done them. Sometimes he’ll just give Oliver a quill or something to hold so he fiddles with that instead or he points out the rings on Oliver’s fingers so he’s aware they’re there and starts to fiddle with those instead. It’s nice.
The holidays are coming to an end which means that everything goes back to normal as of tomorrow. That’s when they’re going to Kings Cross. They’re taking Sirius with them so Oliver goes to James’ room to ask him for the mirror back before they get on the train. “Hey, Sirius-” Oliver stops in his tracks as he stares at the scene in front of him. There’s a deer and a dog fighting– or playing tug-of-war with a scarf while Remus is trying to get them to let it go. Also, there’s a rat on Remus’ shoulder. They all look over at Oliver when the door opens. “I’ll come back later.” Oliver closes the door and just stares at it for a moment before walking off down to his room. He sits down on his bed and tries to figure out what he had just walked in on. There’s a knock at the door. “Come in.”
James walks into the room with Sirius, Peter and Remus behind him. “So you probably have a few questions.”
Oliver looks at him. “A few? Try a hundred. What the fuck was that?”
Sirius grins. “Hey, watch your language.”
Oliver glares at him and James sighs. “Play nice, you two. Look, Ollie, I can explain.”
“Can you?” Oliver asks. “Because I’d love to hear the excuse you can come up with.”
James looks from his brother to his friends and then to his brother again. “Remus is trying to become a Magizoologist and we’re helping him out?”
“By turning into animals?” Oliver asks. “How is that helping?”
“Wait wait, how did you know that was us?” Sirius asks.
Oliver gives him a lazy look. “Because I’d know James and Pete anywhere.” He realises what he had just said when Remus raises an eyebrow. “Y’know, because I’ve known them for so long.”
Remus hums. “And what about me?”
“Well you are the most responsible of them and could’ve opted out of becoming an animagus– which is very illegal, by the way— but I don’t think they’d go through with it without you doing it too. The only reason they’d do it is if someone they care about— that’s you— needed them to.” Oliver hums for a moment. “Also, I’ve heard the things you guys call each other. Wormtail,” Oliver points at Peter. “Rat. Prongs,” he points at James. “Deer-”
“Stag,” James corrects.
“Stag,” Oliver says with an apologetic look. “Padfoot,” he points at Sirius. “Dog.”
“Wolf,” Sirius grins
“Puppy,” Oliver says. Sirius pouts. “And Moony,” Oliver points at Remus. “Werewolf, I’m guessing.”
Remus blinks. “How… Just how?”
Oliver shrugs. “I’m not an idiot.”
“I didn’t say you were,” Remus says. “But I didn’t expect anyone to be able to figure it out.”
“Yeah well not everyone lives with you guys,” Oliver says. “And not everyone has spent their entire life with two of you.”
“He has a point,” Peter says. “It’s not like anyone else could figure it out.”
“Exactly.” Oliver leans against his pillows. He smiles.
“Does Regulus know?” Sirius asks.
Oliver shrugs. “I don’t know. Probably knows something’s different and will make the connection with the animals but I don’t think he can figure out your animagi or that Remus is a werewolf. I didn’t know until I saw it.”
James, Sirius, Peter and Remus all look at each other.
“Oh and I know you’re the Marauders,” Oliver says which makes them all snap their heads towards him. He shrugs. “You're not exactly careful about your obvious affection for me and my friends.”
James frowns. “I didn’t want you to hate me.”
“Oh Jamie, I could never hate you,” Oliver says with a smile.
“Never?” James asks and Oliver can see the relief in his eyes.
“Never.”