Catch Me, I'm Falling | Fred Weasley

Chapter 14

Before long, the winter holiday was over and Olivia's room was once again filled with the cheery presence of her dormmates. She sat on her bed, reading her diary and munching on the very dangerous Every Flavor beans she'd gotten for Christmas. She'd been lucky thus far with cherry, butterscotch, and the slightly less pleasant toothpaste. It was exciting. Every jelly bean was a risk. Would it be caramel? Or would it be earwax? There was no way to tell.

Her mother's diary, on the other hand, was a completely different adventure. Every page was a window into the past. It was as if Olivia was being given back the very thing that was taken from her, one word at a time.

Dear Diary,

Today Olivia learned to say please. She's been following everyone around saying "pleeeeaaasssse". We went for a walk through Ottery St. Catchpole in the afternoon and she just kept saying the word. The muggles were staring at us as if we'd been starving her! A lady even came up to ask Olivia if she was alright, to which she replied, "Yes, pleeaaase". It was hilarious.

Matthew has been such a sweetheart with her. When the two play, it melts my heart. It's like he's a little boy again. I am so grateful that we have Olivia. She brightens up our lives like a rainbow lights up a dreary day. I hope that one day we can tell her the truth.

I've been painting the house for the past week. We wanted to fix it up a bit to sell it at a higher price, but there isn't much we can do. I hope we find someone who will like it. I never envisioned us living with Matilda and her son, but I think it will be good for Olivia to grow up with another child. For now, we have no other choice. We can barely afford any extra expenses as it is. The money from the house will help us a lot. The life of a struggling artist may be alright for a young married couple, but it is certainly no life for a child. I want to give Olivia everything she can dream of. I want her to have a happy life.

Olivia took in the information like a sponge. She laughed when she read about her silly childhood antics. Almost cried when she read about how her mother cared for her. Her eyes had snagged on the bit about "tell her the truth". Was there some secret she didn't know? What secret? Olivia shook her head and moved on. I'm sure it's nothing.

She'd known that her family had lived with Matilda and Jasper for a while, but not that they'd owned a house before that. And near Ottery St. Catchpole, too. The name sounded familiar. She could have sworn Fred had mentioned it on their nightly talks at the Astronomy tower.

Their midnight chats had become a regular occurrence. Some nights, they'd just sit in silence for a bit before going their separate ways. Other times, they talked their way into the early hours of the morning before scurrying to their dorms to savor the last inkling of sleep they could claim before the day started. The irregular routine had taken quite a toll on Olivia. Her sleep schedule was a mess and there were now permanent bags under her eyes.

Now that Olivia was officially attending classes, she had a much less forgiving schedule. More often than not, she found herself dozing off in class, much to the dismay of her professors. Despite that, Olivia was content. Her classes were going well and she had a new... friend. More than that, she no longer felt empty. Those first few months had been torturous and Olivia was glad that they were over.

The hole in her chest had been filled. She now found herself absorbed in her studies, doing better than the majority of her classmates. Her favorite subject had become Defense Against the Dark Arts. The subject matter itself, however, wasn't the reason for the choice. It was the professor. Professor Lupin was a mysterious man. But being a holder of many secrets, Olivia found that she didn't mind. Instead, it was the man's easy humor that made the class so enjoyable.

In one particular lesson, Lupin had brought in a boggart. He'd used it for third through sevenths years, which Olivia thought was quite a risky move, considering that many students had severe fears. Olivia didn't know if she had any fears. She wasn't daft enough to think that she didn't have any, but she didn't know herself well enough to have learned what she was afraid of. This was the perfect opportunity.

It turned out that her fears were quite complicated. And specific. Because when that boggart was released, it became the very thing that made her knees wobble. She saw Harry, dying before her, sobbing as he told her, "This is all your fault. You caused this. You messed with the timeline. Why did you do this to me? How could you?"

"R-riddikulus," she'd yelled. Her voice had trembled, but the figure of Harry turned into a clown. Olivia blinked back tears. After class, Lupin had called her over.

"Are you alright, dear?" Olivia had only given a weak smile.

"Yeah."

"You know, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here." Olivia had nodded, truly grateful for the kind man before her.

"Thank you."

The vision of the boggart had plagued her for the rest of the day. Now she knew what she was afraid of. Olivia was afraid of hurting people. She was afraid of making a mistake. She was afraid of changing the course of the future. She was afraid of ruining everything. Turns out, Olivia was afraid of a lot.

-

"We're having a party," Fred told Olivia, matter-of-factly. They were yet again sitting on the Astronomy tower.

"Really? Why?" she asked.

"For fun. Come?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think I'm any fun at parties," Olivia responded, trying not to hurt his feelings.

"Nonsense. You're a blast."

"Really?" Fred was silent for a moment, then shrugged.

"I think so."

"As much as I appreciate the compliment, parties really aren't my thing. Sorry."

"Please come," he begged.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea. It's a Gryffindor party, isn't it?"

"Yes, but other houses are invited."

"I don't know..."

"It's Friday. Just promise me you'll think about it," Fred pressed. Olivia sighed.

"I-"

"Please."

"Okay, I'll think about it."

"Okay?"

"Okay." And that was that. Olivia still felt that she wouldn't go, but she didn't want to crush him.

"Thanks for being a good friend, Fred," Olivia said honestly.

"Friend. Oh, yeah. You too," Fred said, scratching his head.

"Something wrong?" Olivia noted the sad note in his voice.

"Nothing." She stared at him for a moment, then nodded and let it be.

"Isn't your birthday coming up?"

"Hmm?" he remembered himself, "Yeah, April first."

"April fool's day. You must enjoy that," Olivia said. This seemed to cheer him up.

"It's fantastic," Fred grinned.

Olivia chuckled. "I'm sure." She thought for a minute, then turned to him. "Please don't prank me."

"You know I can't promise that."

Olivia made an indignant sound and slapped him playfully.

"What?" Fred laughed

"You're impossible."

"I know."