Loverboy

But maybe it could have lasted longer.

It was August twenty-first. Ollie had already bought her books, already received her OWL scores and her friends', and she sat in her room, staring at the cassette player. It blared with a song from that band, Queen.

Some love song. Ollie actually really liked it, and wanted to play it for her friends once they were together again. Eleven days, she thought. She let her eyes wander to her mirror.

She could really use a haircut. Her hair was getting so long, it took hours to dry naturally. And looking at some of the girls in her school, she was in a minority with her hairstyle.

And that's how Ollie found herself holding the kitchen scissors and bending over the sink in her Muggle home. Her music playing the same love song as she slowly cut off layers of her hair, silently hoping she didn't mess it up.

As she trimmed her bangs, Ollie thought about her OWL results.

Defense Against the Dark Arts: O

Potions: E

Transfiguration: E

Herbology: A

History of Magic: A

Arithmancy: E

Muggle Studies: A

Ollie was impressed by her scores. She'd passed all her subjects, even History of Magic. Which had basically become a nap break for her, James, and Sirius. She made a note to thank Remus for helping them, because she would have failed otherwise.

Sirius passed Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, and Herbology. He failed History of Magic and Divination.

Peter barely scraped an E in Defense and Transfiguration, but easily had an O in Herbology. His other classes were either A's or P's.

Remus passed with flying colors, as expected. Somewhat surprisingly, James did exceptional in all his classes. His only low grade was an A in History of Magic. Come to think of it, Ollie had seen James stay awake a lot more in that class... Odd.

Ollie brushed the thought away and looked in the mirror from a slightly different distance. She checked the back of her hair, and was surprised to find that it looked pretty good. She took out her wand and cleaned it up slightly.

Then, the realization of what she'd just done hit her. She just got rid of the look she'd worn since she was twelve, was she even Ollie anymore- But then again, she was overdue for a change in appearance. A lot had changed since twelve.

She grew up in that time. She'd learned about trust, caring, love, friends. She'd figured out that maybe Marlene and Ava were on to something. The first real relationship Ollie had that she could definitively place was with Victoria.

It had struck her out of the blue. This girl asks her if she'd tutor her, and Ollie agreed, and then they ended up falling in love and Ollie hadn't even realized it until they were standing there, drenched from the rain, under that arch, and Victoria moved Ollie's bangs out of her face.

And Ollie had wanted that moment to last forever until- Well, until Victoria leaned in, and Ollie leaned in, and the two shared that passionate kiss. That feeling, like fireworks in her chest, would stick with Ollie until she was old and gray and she knew it.

And she also knew that Victoria was too late. They were too late. Victoria would never be Ollie's first love. That would, and as much Ollie hated herself for admitting it, have to be Sirius. But Ollie also knew, and this she was only slightly less afraid of, that Victoria would always be her favorite.

Because something about kissing in the rain, and just being two kids in love... It was magical. Ollie could never conjure such magic with a spell. Only with a person.

And that person was Victoria. The love song continued to play, and Ollie began to feel tears well up in her eyes.

The amount of times Ollie had found herself crying over Victoria that summer was horrible. She knew she shouldn't, she knew Victoria would never be part of her life again, but something about her was just so... enticing.

Now when it rained, Ollie thought of the late afternoons she'd spend with Victoria. And when it was sunny outside, Ollie thought of the lunchtime dates they'd share. When it was cloudy, it reminded Ollie of the day Victoria left.

The picture in her locket of Victoria stayed. Sirius had thought that as soon as they broke up, Ollie would take that picture out. But Ollie wasn't mad at Victoria.

Just crushed that it had to end like that.

"Just... don't make me out to be the villain, okay?"

I couldn't hate you for that. You were doing what was best for you. For us. And you were right. We were never forever, were we? We were only supposed to know each other for a short time. To learn. To love. It could never have lasted forever.

Ollie smiled sadly, looking at the photo of Victoria kissing Ollie's cheek in her locket.

But maybe it could have lasted longer.

She walked back to her room, pressing the button on her cassette player so it would stop playing that one song over and over again, and play the next song.

"Oh, you make me live-"

"Love of my life, you've hurt me..."

Ollie cursed herself for picking this tape to play.

Ollie stared for a long time at the girl in the mirror. She only had a few days left before she saw her boys again, or her roommates. or any of the other friends she had. 

And that girl in the mirror wasn't the same girl that had looked the year before. 

She had grown up.

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913 words

No, of course Victoria isn't based on a person that I knew why would you say that-

anyway finals week... woohoo... i hope you enjoyed the chapter... i love trailing off ominously... have a good day... drink water... goodbye...