Chapter 40
As the summer came to an end, Oliver found himself relaxing more and more. It was easy to forget his problems, and actually enjoy practicing for Quidditch when it was with the Weasleys. It actually felt like fun more than work. It also helped that his mother wasn’t yelling at him or throwing curses at him either.
The letter of resignation slipped deeper and deeper into his trunk, soon forgotten about. In the end, Oliver had decided to keep being the coming year’s Quidditch captain. It had taken a lot of convincing from Fred, George, Charlie, and even Marcus to get him to be the captain. Although, they knew him frustratingly well.
‘You can’t keep using the new classes as an excuse, Wood. We both know I’ll be able to help you with Ancient Runes, and the monster obsessed Weasley wouldn’t dare miss an opportunity to help you with Care of Magical Creatures. You know you want this, and it'll give you another chance to TRY and beat Slytherin. With me back on the team it’ll be hard to do that.’
It was hard to tell through the journal if Marcus was actually jealous of Charlie or just teasing him…he hoped teasing. But, either way, he had a point. He would have help with his classes and he wasn’t the worst student in the world on his own.
“Ollie, if anyone can do it, you can. If you think it’s too hard then you can always resign at any point. Maybe in a couple of years when it’s your O.W.L year like me. See how things go, okay?” Charlie was always so reassuring, and sure of himself. It was nice…but infuriating too.
The twins had offered him sheer panic instead of advice. “Just think Oliver, if you’re not the captain that means one of us probably wood be!” George said cheerfully.
“Exactly! Can you imagine how relaxed and infrequent the practices would be?!” Fred added.
Oliver had hoped he grinned and not grimaced, but his stomach felt like it was filled with bricks at the idea.
Oliver had gotten the chance to observe the chaos of the Weasley household up close and it was certainly interesting. Mr and Mrs Weasley did their best but it was a lot. Bill helped out a lot with his younger siblings especially Ginny and Ron, mostly so that Mrs Weasley could reprimand Fred and George, while Percy complained about the noise level, the space he needed to work, or anything else he felt to complain about on a given day.
Charlie, however, went mostly unnoticed. But Oliver saw the little things he did around the house. He kept things clean, his room neat, helping his mother unseen, de-gnoming the garden without being asked. He was almost invisible to his family, but Oliver thought of him more as the anchor keeping them afloat. Oliver could also see the strain it put on him. A lot of his summer work was done in the late hours of the night, Oliver often falling asleep to the sound of quill of parchment, and glancing over at Charlie’s mostly unpacked school trunk. Maybe giving up Quidditch had been the easiest option for Charlie…
~~~//~~~
“Let’s go find a compartment,” Bill said, leading the way onto the Hogwarts Express. Oliver and Charlie followed, while Fred and George continued to pester Percy behind them. Ron hadn’t made it through the barrier yet. Oliver tried not to feel too guilty about that, but he figured Mr and Mrs Weasley would help him through. He knew how nerve wracking going to Hogwarts for the first time could be, and he smiled to himself, remembering his first year as if it was ten years ago instead of two.
“Come on, let’s move farther down the train, I don’t want to be near these idiots,” a young blonde boy sneered at Oliver and the Weasleys as he and several other boys squeezed past them on the train.
Oliver’s heart sank as he saw that Marcus was in tow. The silver lining was that he did not join in the others' laughter, as the Weasley brothers glared at the group Slytherins. Strange that they let a first year lead them…but Oliver guessed that he would end up in Slytherin House if this was the company he kept. Oliver tried not to jump, as Marcus’ hand brushed against his, sliding a piece of parchment into it.
Charlie gave him a knowing look. “You guys find a compartment, I’ll have to go to the prefects carriage with Bill anyway.”
“Please let me come with you,” Percy begged his older brothers.
Oliver rolled his eyes, smiling at Percy’s pleading. “I won’t let them bother you too much Percy.”
“What us?” Fred asked.
“Bother Percy? That’s unheard of,” George added, before he and Fred lead the way down the train corridor, practically running.
“Don’t run!” Bill and Charlie both scolded them.
Oliver blinked at them, “Oh wow, bow there’s two of you,” he teased.
“Shut up,” Charlie grumbled, but his eyes were twinkling happily. “See you in the Great Hall.”
“See you,” Oliver said, before unwrapping the piece of parchment and walking down to where Fred, George, and Percy had found a compartment. Lee had joined them as well, making it a tight fit for Oliver.
‘Meet me at the snack compartment as soon as the train leaves the station.’
Oliver smiled, his face starting to feel flushed. He was nervous, he hadn’t actually seen Marcus all summer, this was how he was used to hearing from him, in little notes. What would he say when he saw him? What would he do?
The train started to move, the whistle blowing, and Oliver had to steady himself. “Uh…I’ll be right back,” Oliver told the small group in the compartment, but no one seemed to hear him, which was fine.
A few minutes later, Oliver stood outside the snack compartment, trying not to look suspicious. Where was Marcus? The door opened, and a hand reached out to grab his arm, and Oliver was pulled inside.
“What are you doing?!” Oliver asked, exasperated, as he came face to face with Marcus.
“I just…needed to see you. It was a really long summer,” Marcus said shyly.
Oliver smiled, “I’m glad to see you too but…who was that little blonde demon and why are you following him around?”
Marcus’ smile faded slightly. “Sorry about that…that’s Malfoy. His father is close with my father and yeah, it’s sort of expected we’d be friends.”
“Friends?” Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Obviously I would rather spend time with you I just…”
“Can’t,” Oliver finished for him, sighing after. “I guess I forgot how complicated things are beyond the journal.” Oliver looked away, and his eyes landed on Marcus’ barely exposed wrist. “What is that?” He asked, already knowing what it was.
Marcus hastily covered his wrist, “It’s nothing,” He mumbled. “I’d better get back before they notice I’m gone.”
Oliver blocked the doorway, his arms crossed. “I know a stinging hex when I see one Marcus. I know you said your father was being more unreasonable than usual but you should have told me.”
“I didn’t want you to worry about it Oliver, your mother had just kicked you out and-”
“And it was the best thing that’s happened to me Marcus! You don’t have to listen to your father. You can be friends with whoever you want, do whatever you want! It’s freeing!”
“I wish I could do that Oliver,” Marcus replied, looking desperate. “But I can’t. I really have to get back.”
Oliver frowned, trying not to think about the path Marcus was heading down. “So this is how this year is going to go?”
“I wish it could be different. We can still find as much time as we can together, I promise.” Marcus pleaded with him.
Oliver’s gaze softened, and he could feel the knot of disappointment change into one of guilt. He wasn’t here to make things more difficult for Marcus. “Just promise me we can stay at Hogwarts together for the holidays? That way we can have some time where we aren’t hiding?”
Marcus smiled hopefully, “I can do that.”
Oliver grinned, and they hugged, holding each other tightly for a moment, before Marcus headed back out into the hallway.
Oliver sighed, it was going to be a long year.