Loverboy

"You can still drop out"

Remus's alarm clock woke all four boys and Ollie up. Ollie whisked off to her own dorm to get ready for the day.

All five of them met up again in the common room to make their way to breakfast together. As they walked to the Great Hall, there was a comfortable quiet amongst them. Of course, the Marauders held a reputation for being loud, boisterous, showy kids who were constantly laughing and joking, but that was only half true.

For one thing, James and Sirius were much more extravagant than the rest of the group. Remus and Peter tended to keep to themselves more and stay out of the spotlight. As the only girl in the group, though, Ollie was often thrust into the center of attention. In fact, Ollie often played a key role in pulling off their practical jokes; one of the boys flirting with a guy to distract him seemed to be more conspicuous than the girl doing the same.

Not only was only part of the group as flamboyant as their reputation would suggest, but like anyone, the sides of their personalities they show to everyone wasn't a full reflection of who they were. So when they were alone, the group would sometimes laugh and crack jokes, but often if you were to find them together and not surrounded by people, they would be having a quiet moment, just spending time together.

Because they all showed that they loved each other in different ways. Remus would often casually rest his arm on one of the heads of a shorter friend, or he would share his belongings or thoughts with them. He wasn't as good at telling people outright. James would give big hugs, tease them, and show them off. He also took care of them. Mostly, though, it was the caring and the physical affection. Sirius would say it. He would tell them over and over how much he loved them and he was glad they were there. He'd also constantly be touching at least one of his friends, as almost a silent reassurance that they were there and they weren't leaving. Peter would do things for them. Whether it be brewing them their favorite tea, or taking them out on the town to cheer them up, Peter showed his love for his friends in the things he'd do. He also remembered details about them a lot of people would dismiss as trivial, like Ollie's favorite tea, or Remus's favorite place to take walks. Ollie showed her love through the constant contact she had with her boys, but also by telling them directly. She rarely shied away from expressing outright how she felt about something or someone.

And that was one of the many things her friends loved about her; how passionate she was. When Ollie cared about something, everyone knew. Everyone knew that she loved her boys because she wasn't afraid to shout it from the rooftops. Anyone who knew about Ollie and Victoria knew how much Ollie loved her. She just felt so much, and so deeply. It never consumed her, but her friends loved how she was so in touch with her emotions.

At breakfast, as the teens scarfed down their eggs and toast, McGonagall came over to their group and handed them their schedules for the short week.

"Ugh, Potions first?" James groaned. "I don't want to start our first day down in the dungeons."

Ollie shrugged. "Well after Slughorn, we all have McGonagall, so it won't be that bad," she pointed out. 

"Alice says N.E.W.T. Transfiguration is, like, the hardest class she's ever had, though," Sirius said, looking at his schedule. "I have a big gap for two periods here, I wonder what that's about."

"You're only taking four classes, dumbass," Remus replied. "I have Sprout after McGonagall."

"I have a gap there," Ollie piped up. "None of you guys do, though, do you?"

"Nope," the other three boys chorused.

"Well after Herbology, I have a gap," James said. "Anyone else?"

"I have Arithmancy then," Ollie replied. "Then a free period."

"Well the rest of us don't have Arithmancy, so I suppose we should have a gap there," Peter said, looking at his own classes. "Right?"

Remus huffed. "History of Magic while Ollie's in Arithmancy- Isn't Evans taking both though?"

"Oi, Evans!" James called a little ways down the table. Lily looked at him with the most disinterested expression she could muster. "Can we see your schedule?"

Lily blinked in disbelief- James had called out "Oi, Evans!" and didn't immediately follow up by asking her out. "Um, sure," she said, getting up and walking down to them. She slid onto the bench beside Remus, holding out her schedule for the group to see.

In the block where Ollie had Arithmancy, Lily also had that class. However, nowhere on her schedule did it say she had History of Magic. "I thought you signed up for both?" James said, looking across the table at Lily.

"I did, but they both take the same slot for N.E.W.T. level classes," Lily explained. "So McGonagall asked me which was more important to me, and I said Arithmancy."

"So, what you're saying is, I'm taking History of Magic all by myself this year?" Remus groaned. "Great."

"Hey, you can still drop out," Lily said, putting a hand on Remus's shoulder. "The only people who stick with History of Magic are the ones planning to be textbook writers or something. I've heard it empties out pretty fast."

"I can imagine," Sirius said from the other side of Remus. "Sounds dreadful."

Ollie grabbed James's wrist, looking at his watch. "Guys, we only have ten minutes to get to the dungeons, come on," she said, standing up quickly.

And with that, the teens rushed to the cold, dim Potions room, ready to get that day's short classes over with as fast as possible.

---

I'm really proud of myself guys. It happens pretty often that when I have a break from school I sometimes get incredibly inspired and just churn out chapters of Loverboy, and my other drafts. I've been pretty unproductive over the last few weeks and I'm honestly really liking the vibe 1976 is giving me right now- I don't know, something about having a girlfriend, writing about these characters that I really do love and care immensely about growing up, and having this escape from all the shitty things going on in my personal life, its just so comforting. Being able to retreat into the lives of Ollie, and James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, all of these characters that I have helped grow and evolve- This story feels like home to me. It feels like the warm, loving embrace of a loved one telling you that you'll be okay.

This story has always been about me writing for myself- It's always been me creating a safe space to express and deal with what I need to. This story has helped me so, so much over past year and a half (!!), and I hope that it can help some of you out there, reading. I hope that you can read this story, and find the comfort you need, just like I write this story to find the comfort that I need. So thank you guys for making it so far, thank you for sticking with me fifty-one chapters in, and thank you so, so, so much for helping to give me this space where I can be me. Because while Loverboy has always been primarily me using these characters to express myself, it's become so much more as well. And if it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have made it this far. So thank you for supporting me. All my love, Atlas <3

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