Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Now…
“So did you often get into trouble with Fred and George?” His therapist asked slyly.
Oliver grinned. “Well, I did help them with a fair share of mischief. But, they usually took the fall for me. They knew how my mother could be.”
“You did as well, what made you continue to get into trouble?”
Oliver shrugged. “Without Quidditch that first year…I needed something to help distract me from my emotions, my mother’s searing disappointment, and whatever else I had going on.”
Then…
“Oi! What do you three think you’re doing?!”
Oliver froze, along with Fred and George, the One Eyed Witch’s hump was wide open. The voice sounded familiar.
“What in the world?” Charlie poked his head around the stone doorway, staring at the dark tunnel in awe.
“Oh thank Merlin it’s just you Charlie.” Fred said.
“Yeah if it were Percy or Bill we would’ve been in so much trouble.” George added.
Charlie regained his composure before glaring at the twins, his blue eyes looked like ice chips. “If it had been literally anyone else you would’ve been in trouble.”
Oliver tried to retreat away from the scene, hoping Charlie wouldn’t notice him as a part of the twins’ adventure.
“Oliver.” Charlie said sternly.
Oliver flinched at the stern tone in the older boy's voice. “Er…Hey Charlie. Didn’t see you there.” He laughed weakly.
“What, pray tell, are you doing with these two?” Charlie asked with a sigh.
“Hey! We’re right here you know.” George protested.
Not knowing how much to reveal about the map Fred and George found, well, stolen from Filtch’s office; Oliver decided to play it safe. “They told me about a secret passageway and we wanted to explore it.” Oliver said firmly.
Oliver just noticed that Charlie’s hair looked a little windswept, and he was wearing his Quidditch practice clothing. A familiar twinge of jealousy knotted in Oliver’s stomach. “You know, since I don’t have much else to do.” He added bitterly.
Charlie’s gaze softened slightly. “Still Ollie, I don’t want your mother to find out about any of this. Maybe you should go find something else to do. All three of you for that matter.”
“Don’t Ollie me. I can do whatever I want here. My mother isn’t here, Charlie. What are you going to do? Send her an owl?” Oliver knew, rationally, that he wasn’t mad at Charlie, but it felt good to be angry. It felt good to have someone else to take things out on. Maybe now he understood why his mother seemed to take everything out on him so much.
Charlie flinched like Oliver had struck him, and Oliver immediately felt his anger be replaced with guilt. “I’m sorry I…I didn’t mean that. I’m just…”
Charlie took a step toward him. “I know.” He said softly.
Those two words, two simple words, shouldn’t have made Oliver feel so safe, and relieved. Charlie knew what his mother could be like, he understood, and just having that was a weight off Oliver’s shoulders. Not much, but a little one.
“Just don’t say anything to anyone Charlie.” Fred told his brother.
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Have I ever once snitched on either of you?”
“Hah! Good one Charlie, snitched like the Golden Snitch and you’re the Seeker.” George laughed, but stopped abruptly when he saw the exasperated expressions shared between Charlie and Oliver.
“Er…no, you have not.” George scratched his head sheepishly.
“But, if you’re doing this I’m definitely coming with you.” Charlie added.
Fred and George protested loudly, and Oliver grinned as the three brothers argued. Sometimes, being an only child was lonely.
“I am going because you three are first years and if there’s anything dangerous down that dark foreboding tunnel you idiots insist on going down you’re going to want some help.”
Fred opened his mouth again, probably to argue, so Oliver stepped in. “Good idea Charlie. Since you insist on protecting us, you can head on in first.”
Charlie’s face paled slightly, but he quickly pulled a brave face, and strode confidently into the tunnel a few feet. “Alright then, let’s go!”
Oliver followed Fred into the tunnel, George closing the statue’s back behind them, plunging the four of them into darkness.
Oliver tried to calm his breathing, but he began to hyperventilate quickly. The darkness, the damp cold, reminded him of the shed in the garden at home. Often, as a punishment, Oliver’s mother would lock him in the garden shed all night long. The cold, the dark, it was setting him back into panic mode.
He couldn’t breathe.
“Hey Oliver you alright?” Fred asked.
Oliver couldn’t see anything ahead of them. “Need….light. Need to get out.” He choked out.
“Lumos!” Charlie said loudly, ahead of them.
A pale white light illuminated the three Weasley brothers ahead of him, all of whom looked panic stricken for his sake.
“You two, cast the spell I just did.” Charlie told his brothers briskly, before kneeling in front of Oliver.
Oliver hadn’t remembered sliding to the floor, but with the additional lights from Fred and George’s wands he could see now. It was not the floor of the shed, it was the tunnel. He was in a secret passage at Hogwarts. His mother wasn’t here. He was not in trouble. He was with friends.
“Hey, Ollie, are you with us?” Charlie asked him softly, tilting his face up to meet his eyes.
Oliver was able to take a few deep breaths, focusing on counting the freckles he could see on Charlie’s face. It was oddly calming, he had so many.
“Yeah, yes, I’m okay. Sorry about that, let's get going.” Oliver brushed off the concerned looks of Fred and George, cast Lumos as well, and began leading the way, ignoring the flush he could feel in his cheeks. He was embarrassed, sure, but being so close to Charlie’s face had definitely not helped either.
He shook those thoughts away. He had been having a panic attack. Any port in a storm right?
“Come on, let's see where this leads.” He called behind him.
“You have no idea where this goes?!” Charlie said, exasperated.
“Nope!” Fred said cheerily.
“Onward!” George said with a laugh.
Oliver grinned, despite himself. They were having an adventure, and he had calmed down enough that his heart wasn’t racing any longer. He could breathe again. The light helped.
They walked for what felt like forever, at least, that’s what Fred kept complaining about. Finally, they stopped in front of a wooden ladder that seemed to end beneath solid ground.
“Alright, up we go.” Fred said, before climbing his way up the short ladder.
Oliver’s eyes had to adjust as a bright light glowed down from above them. He followed George, Charlie brought up the rear, and before long they were standing in some sort of…basement?
“Chocolate!” George exclaimed, before running toward a box filled with Chocolate Frog cards.
“Wait…there’s a lot of candy here. I think we’re in Honeydukes!” Charlie said, looking around in awe. “Well, Honeydukes’ basement, but still!”
“What’s Honeydukes?” Oliver asked him.
Charlie stared at him in shock. “Only one of the best candy stores in Great Britain! It’s in Hogsmeade! I get to go for the first time this year since I’m in my third year.”
“Oh, well, I guess now you’ve already been before the rest of the third years.” Oliver said with a laugh.
His laughter was cut short, and Fred and George ceased rifling through boxes of sweets, as the four of them heard a door open above them.
“Back in the tunnel.” Charlie hissed, holding the floor panel open for the three of them.
Oliver rushed as fast as he could, making sure Charlie would follow behind them. They could hear footsteps coming down the stairs now.
Charlie carefully closed the floor over the tunnel, and landed next to Oliver in the pitch darkness.
Oliver nearly jumped away as he felt a warm hand wrap around his own. “Okay?” Charlie asked him in a whisper.
Oliver nodded, then remembered he couldn’t see him. “Yeah, fine thanks.” Oliver whispered back.
“I could’ve sworn I heard something.” A gruff voice above them said.
The four of them held their breath, as they listened to the footsteps above them shuffle away. They hadn’t been caught.
“Lumos.” Oliver whispered. His wand light illuminated the chocolate covered grins of Fred and George.
Charlie sighed. “Well, you two made out like bandits didn’t you?” He said with a smile.
“You would be correct Charlie.” Fred said, before adding his own wand light to the tunnel. “We’ll definitely be making some return trips yeah?”
“Oh most definitely Fred, right Oliver?”
Oliver rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help a grin from appearing on his face. “Next time, I want the candy.”
Fred and George laughed, before leading the way back to Hogwarts. Once they were back at the entrance, Fred and George strode confidently through it, before hastily closing it in Charlie and Oliver’s faces.
“Hey!” Oliver said indignantly, but Charlie shushed him, and pressed his ear against the stone door.
“What…pray tell, are you two Weasley’s doing inside on such a nice fall day like this?” A cold voice asked, sounding dryer than old parchment paper.
“Oh Professor Snape! What a good question.” Fred said loudly.
“We were just heading for the courtyard sir!” George added.
“Quiet! Five points from Gryffindor for the two of you being entirely too loud in the corridor.” Snape said waspishly.
Oliver held his breath, and listened as hard as he could. He heard three footsteps depart, and he counted to fifty silently, before pushing the door open slowly.
“Coast is clear.” He whispered to Charlie before stepping out into the corridor.
Charlie joined him, wiping cobwebs off of his practice uniform. “Well, that was certainly fun. How did those two even know about this?”
Oliver didn’t think it was his secret to tell. “I guess we’ll never know.” He said with a grin.
Charlie smiled back at him, and his stomach did another backflip. Not with fear or anxiety, but something else entirely.
“I’ve got an essay to go work on.” Oliver said, not quite meeting Charlie’s eyes.
“Oh! Right, sure. I’ll uh…see you later on at dinner then?” He asked awkwardly.
“Yeah definitely. Thanks for…well, for what you did back there.” Oliver said, shuffling his feet.
“Don’t mention it. But, if you ever need to talk about anything I’m always around Ollie.” Charlie gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze before heading down the corridor.
Oliver was walking back to the common room to work on his essay when he remembered his mother’s letter. He had better get used to these halls and corridors, since it seemed like he wasn’t going home for Christmas. He pushed that thought away and tried to recount the good moments of today's adventure. Certainly not his panic attack, but definitely the laughter he had shared with Fred, George, and especially Charlie.
Oliver remembered staring into Charlie’s face. He had looked so calm, the freckles dancing on his face in the pale wand light, his eyes looking bluer than the sea, how badly Oliver had wanted to reach out and touch his-
Oliver nearly dropped his schoolbag. He had been lost in thought so much that he barely registered being back in the dormitory.
No, there was no way that he could, he wasn’t supposed to, what would his mother do if she knew?
Maybe not going home for the holiday would be good.
Now…
“So, you seemed to know what you liked pretty early on then.” His therapist said with a kind smile.
Oliver leaned back on the couch, and picked at a loose string on his shirt. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“Why is that unfortunate? You discovered a big part of yourself at such a young age. Not many people can do that.”
Oliver sighed. “Yeah, well, too bad I had to hide that part of myself for as long as I could.”
“Your mother? She was not supportive?”
Oliver chuckled darkly. “My mother…wanted me to be perfect. To not have any distractions from Quidditch.”
“And Charlie…?” His therapist trailed off.
Oliver nodded before finishing the sentence for him. “He was a distraction.”