Catch Me, I'm Falling | Fred Weasley

Feeling exhausted but no longer nauseous, Olivia lounged in the Ravenclaw common room. The twins had insisted she stay to keep them company, but Olivia had to study for her O.W.L.'s.

"Don't you have to study too?" she'd asked them earlier.

"Where's the fun in that?" George had replied.

Fred had nodded along and added, "I think we'll keep working on the toffees."

"Your mum will kill you," Olivia had noted, having been told many stories about Molly Weasley.

"Oh, don't fret. I'm sure we'll pass at least one," Fred had said, to which Olivia only huffed. It was a lost cause.

Instead, Olivia had gone back to her dorm to grab her books and begin studying. She'd reviewed nearly all the information about the Polyjuice potion for the written portion of the exam when she was pulled from her reverie with a soft, "Hello." Olivia looked up and smiled tentatively.

"Hello, Luna." The girl twiddled with her fingers as if she didn't quite know what to say. Her eyes snapped up.

"I'm so sorry for bumping into you at the party-" she started, but Olivia brushed it off with a hand.

"It's alright. I had a good night anyway. You're forgiven." Luna smiled a bit at that.

"I was so worried you'd be angry at me. I truly didn't want to ruin your night... I wasn't watching where I was going. I'm sorry," Luna explained softly, twiddling with the book in her hands. Olivia looked down at the girl's feet. She immediately frowned.

"I told you, it's alright- but if I may ask, where are your shoes?" she asked. Indeed, Luna was barefoot. Olivia didn't want to pry, but it didn't really seem intentional.

Luna looked down herself, saying "Oh, that. It's nothing, really. It's just... I'm afraid they've been stolen. I thought it was nargles at first, but it seems that there were a few boys messing around."

"Oh Luna, that's terrible. I'm so sorry. Tell me if they ever bother you again, I'll teach them a lesson," Olivia assured the girl, suddenly defensive.

"Ah, yes. Thank you," Luna said. A beat of silence followed as Olivia observed the girl, making sure she was alright.

"I like your earrings," she commented, noticing the odd jewelry hanging from her ears.

"Thank you. They're dirigible plums. I made them myself," Luna said, clearly proud. Olivia smiled. Despite herself, she rather liked the earrings... and Luna.

As the two exchanged a few words and Luna walked off, Olivia let herself smile. If there was one Ravenclaw she admired, it was this little girl before her. Brave. Kind. Intelligent. She didn't care if people liked her, but rather that she was true to herself. Part of Olivia wondered what her sister, Hannah, would have been like if she'd survived. She liked to think that she'd be like Luna.

-

With the O.W.L.s looming just around the corner, Olivia found herself waist-deep in her studies and had no time for frolicking with the twins. Fred and George, unfortunately, didn't have studying at the top of their to-do list. In fact, they'd been doing anything but. They'd nearly finished developing their ton-tongue toffees and were busy selling joke products to over-stressed students. Olivia had caught George studying once. But to be fair, he'd been hiding in a closet, likely from Fred.

Fred tended to be the one that dragged George into dangerous situations. He was always hyper, always bored, always wanting to do something. It made him very difficult to be around when studying. That was the exact reason why Olivia had been hiding in the Ravenclaw tower for the past week. Did she feel bad about it? Certainly. But it was a necessary evil.