One. Last. Time. {Oliver Wood}

Once in a while

February 21, 1991

The morning after Valerie's argument with Oliver and Flint left her feeling just as disgusted as she did the night before. With her head drowning in thoughts, she didn't know what to do. Valerie considered talking to Angelica but didn't want to see the look of disappointment flash onto her face when she heard was Oliver did.

And just like that, a better idea sprang into her head; she needed to confide in someone, anyone, and who better to talk to than the person she loved the most. Her father.

Valerie quickly and quietly jumped out of her four-poster bed and scrambled around the room for a quill and parchment.

As Valerie wrote this long and emotional letter, she didn't feel better, in fact she felt worse. So much worse. She read back the finished letter and thought about what the hell she was doing with Oliver.

All he was doing was protecting you, Valerie thought.

But he chose to protect you by hurting, why would you love someone like that? Valerie's thoughts countered.

Before she even realized it, she was crying, and tears were slowly dampening her letter. Why are you crying? He's just some boy who doesn't know how to handle his anger, Valerie thought again. At this Valerie cried harder. Why she was crying so much at some stupid crush, she didn't know. But she did know she was crying all over her freshly written letter. She was crying so hard she woke Angelica with a start.

"What the hell?" Angelica said groggily and turned her head round to see Valerie hunched over her desk with her face in her hands, crying. "Woah, hey, what's wrong love?" Angelica said soothingly as she ran over to Valerie.

Valerie hated showing her emotions in front of her friends, even worse, crying in front of them. Valerie quickly swiped at the tears from her cheeks and said hastily, "Nothing, nothing Ang, I'm fine. Go get ready for class."

"Cut the crap, Valerie." Angelica started sternly, then continued gently, "Why are you crying? Who are you writing to?" she looked down and noticed the dampened letter addressed to Remus Lupin.

"Oh... just my dad. It's nothing really, I just wanted to ta-"Valerie's voice cracked and she burst back into tears.

Faster than light, Angelica wrapped both arms around Valerie and squeezed her with her strangely strong grip. "I'm here, I'm here, shhh." She soothed. "What's going on?" Angelica continued after Valerie calmed down.

Valerie retold the entire story and the look of disappointment that Valerie thought she saw coming on Angelica's face never came, her expression didn't even flicker. She only sat there and listened as Valerie spilled every thought that was flying around her head.

After Valerie finished, Angelica sat there, saying nothing, only gazing at Valerie's face. Two minutes of this passed and Valerie couldn't take being inspected and started, in a broken voice, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I don't think you're a bad person for still loving Oliver." Angelica replied, without hesitation.

"You don't?"

"No Valerie," Angelica placed a hand on Valerie's shoulder, "I know your absolutely mental about Wood and him hitting a hex at Flint shouldn't make you stop."

"But it should-"

"Sh I'm talking." Angelica interrupted, "Did Wood think before he acted? No. Were Wood's intentions in the right place? Yes. I don't think I've met someone more mental about a person than Wood is about you, Val. Maybe the bloke should have talked to you beforehand, but he's not a bad person and neither are you. Okay? Don't go crying over something that doesn't need to be cried about." Angelica finished her advice with another rib-breaking hug.