Catch Me, I'm Falling | Fred Weasley

Prologue

This is my first fanfic so please be nice! Constructive criticism is always welcome, though :) 

The story starts at the beginning of The Prisoner of Azkaban and continues from there. It roughly follows the timeline of the Harry Potter series, but I changed a couple of small things up, so don't expect it to be perfectly accurate.

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series, world, and characters belong to JK Rowling. Original characters and Olivia's story, however, are all mine.

Happy reading!

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There was nothing, nothing, nothing... and then there was light. The brightness seared Olivia's eyes like a thousand hot pokers. She hissed through her teeth and immediately shut her eyes again.

From somewhere beside her, a voice said, "Look, she's waking up!"

Olivia would have said something sarcastic, but her throat was a desert. Clearly, she was in a hospital bed. She knew from the smell. The smell of alcohol and sickness. It was the sort of smell you could never erase from your memory.

That's when the realization hit. Her memory. A pit formed in her stomach. She didn't recognize the voice coming from beside her. In fact, she didn't remember anything about herself or her life. Merlin's beard, she didn't even remember her own name.

Naturally, the girl panicked. It took three nurses to restrain her and a good thirty minutes to calm her down. No one knew why she had suddenly awakened... or why she regained full consciousness almost immediately. After many tests, the specialists at St. Mungo's decided that her memory was gone for good. How she had fallen into a coma remained a mystery. Olivia was held there for a month, while her body recovered. Then came the more difficult process: relearning who she was.

Olivia Sparks was a fifteen-year-old girl from the UK. She was average in stature. Not exactly petite but not extremely tall either. Her hair was a deep caramel that looked brown in the dark and golden in the sunlight. It had grown quite long, so she cut it into a bob.

Her eyes were hazel, appearing rather brown from afar but almost green when viewed up close. Despite being in a coma for four years, her skin still appeared to show a slight tan that was clearly genetic.

Olivia was an only child, having lost her younger sister due to a heart malfunction when she was an infant. She did, however, have a very protective cousin who currently attended Hogwarts.

Olivia's parents, Matthew and Angela Sparks, were very odd people. Angela was an artist. She created sculptures, both muggle and magical. Olivia had nearly had a heart attack when a statue made by her mother moved while she was observing it. According to Angela, just a touch of magic made art even more beautiful. Due to her recent success, Angela was travelling often, setting up art installments around the world.

Her father, a freelance journalist, often joined Angela on her trips. His work had even been featured in the Daily Prophet, a feat he was quite proud of.

Both loved Olivia very much but left her to live with her Aunt Matilda and her son, Jasper. Jasper either messed with Olivia and teased her mercilessly or played the role of overprotective brother.

Just before she had fallen into a coma, things had been very different for Olivia. At the time, Angela was a struggling artist and Matthew had little success in selling his writing. Their careers had taken off while Olivia was asleep. It made little difference to Olivia, who couldn't remember anything.

When Angela recounted the time to Olivia, there was sadness in her voice. Olivia had been eleven and had just received her letter from Hogwarts. Angela recalled that she had just bought her supplies for school when Matthew had come home to find her lying on the floor, unconscious. When he'd shaken her, she didn't wake. Not for four years. Not until now.

After a very confusing couple of months where Olivia was given the time for her mind and body to recover, it was decided that Olivia would go to Hogwarts.

"Come now, education is the most valuable thing a witch can get. What use is there for magic if you don't use it?" Matthew reasoned.

"But I've missed four years. How will I ever catch up? Can't I just learn at home?" Olivia protested.

Angela only shook her head. "You know we can't do that," she said in her squeaky voice. "Your father and I will be traveling again soon. An art show in Paris can't just be turned down, darling. Besides, if we leave you with Mathilda for another moment, I'll never hear the end of it."

"I heard that," Mathilda yelled from down the hallway.

Angela turned to Matthew. "See, I told you she hears everything."

Matthew, however, was laughing too hard to reply.

Appearing from nowhere, Jasper skipped down the stairs, settled himself against the railing, and gave Olivia a lopsided grin.

"Then it's settled. Little Livvy is coming to Hogwarts."