Loverboy

What are doing awake at this hour?

September had come and gone, and now the icy winds and torrential rainfall had set in at Hogwarts. Ollie watched the sheets of rain falling outside the foggy windows of the Gryffindor common room.

She swirled the dregs of the lemon tea that Peter had fixed for her as she sat in the deserted room. Everyone else was asleep. Even her boys had retired for the evening. She looked at the clock on the wall, watching the minute hand tick forward. 4:38 AM. It was the wee hours of Saturday morning, and despite her exhaustion from the long week, Ollie couldn't bring herself to go to bed.

Something about being alone in the vast room normally filled with chatting teenagers and listening to the sounds of the pounding rain and the crackling fire. She wasn't being productive, just enjoying the ambiance. 

Some of the nights she'd spent down here all alone were pleasant memories of her just idly enjoying herself. Others were of her wallowing in despair and not wanting her dorm mates to see it. A few of those nights, she'd been joined by Sirius. When they were third years, they'd often fall asleep while sitting together, after discussing their troubles.

Of course, there was that one night the year before, right before Sirius and Ava's relationship started. She still didn't know what she was thinking, letting that happen, but Ollie had moved past that. Never again would she jeopardize the fate of her friendships.

The soft pattering of footsteps broke Ollie out of her trance-like state. She turned away from the window and saw, in the dim light, Sirius at the foot of the boys' stairs.

"What are doing awake at this hour?" he whispered, making his way over to where his friend was sitting.

"I could ask you the same thing," Ollie replied in the same hushed tone.

"The rain woke me up," Sirius explained. That tracks, Ollie thought. He's always been a light sleeper. "What about you, though? You clearly didn't even go to bed."

"Can't I just appreciate the rainfall and silence?" Ollie replied, setting down the cup she'd been swirling about.

"At four-something in the morning? Come on, what's on your mind?"

"Nothing," Ollie said, maybe a little too quickly. "I just like the rain."

The two sat in silence, listening to the rain against the gloomy sky. Sirius spoke once more, "Something's wrong. I know it. You never do this unless something's bothering you."

"That's not true," Ollie said defensively. "I'm just watching the rain. Is that a problem?"

"You've been tired all week, and then when you get a chance to sleep non-stop, you're wide awake?" Sirius pointed out. "It doesn't make sense."

"Maybe I overestimated how tired I am."

"Ollie, you can talk to me. We've been best friends for five years."

"If you must know," Ollie snapped, "I've been thinking about Pierre."

Sirius looked slightly surprised, and for some reason slightly saddened by that. "What about him?"

"He's really sweet, you know. The other day, we were in the courtyard, and it started raining, and he gave me his jacket while we walked back so I wouldn't be cold-"

"Oh, is that what you were smiling like an idiot for? He let you wear his jacket for fifteen minutes?'

"It was a sweet gesture! And he invited me to go into Hogsmeade this weekend with him."

"I thought we were going to hang out in Hogsmeade," Sirius pointed out. "You know, as a friend group."

"Well, I was never involved in that planning," Ollie shot back. "You guys don't get to make plans without my input then expect me to follow them."

"That's just what we always do! Us marauders go into Hogsmeade together, unless you and the other girls have other plans."

"Well, that should be fine then, no?" Ollie snapped. "I have other plans."

"But you didn't tell us?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ollie said, irritable sarcasm dripping from every word. "I didn't realize I had to run every little thing by you boys. Am I allowed to take a breath, Sirius? Or is that just too much?"

Sirius looked at Ollie with wide eyes. "That's not what I meant," he said, his voice dropping so low it wasn't even a whisper. "You know that wasn't what I meant."

"Well, we only made the plans last night, at dinner," Ollie snapped. "James wouldn't be so pissy about this."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "I'm going back to bed."

"Goodnight, then."

"It's five AM."

"Good morning, then, since you're going to be like that," Ollie amended herself.

"Oh, can it," Sirius said, getting up. "See you in a couple hours."

"See you then," Ollie echoed.

Sirius left the little table by the window, walking over to the boys' stairs. One foot on the first step, he paused, turning around.

"Try and get some sleep, Ollie," he said into the quiet.

"Don't worry about me," she replied, turning her head around to face him in full.

In the dim light from the flickering fire, Sirius's angular cheekbones and slender nose were highlighted, as well as his sharp jawline. Those silvery-grey eyes reflected the orange light, flickering like the flames. His sleek black hair reached just down to his shoulders, falling perfectly despite him having just woken up and come down to the common room.

The thoughts that began to creep into her mind were quickly shoved aside. Just friends.

Because that's all they could ever be. Best friends with unspoken thoughts crossing their minds just a bit too often. Thoughts they couldn't act on, lest their other friends be torn apart because of them.

All they could ever be, and all they would ever be. No less, no more.

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just a nice little chit chat between Ollie and Sirius and whats this? She's starting to acknowledge her growing feeling for pierre sdjfkjsdfhl i love these little idiots <33

920 words