First year [Percy Weasley × Oliver Wood]

Christmas [Percy's POV]

I've got an eye infection. What the freak.                                                                                                                                                                                                              ***

The skies were darkening and graying, thick snow coated the school like paint and everyone was feeling festive. I had been tutoring Oliver for a little over a month now. To say that it was overwhelming was an understatement. That boy wouldn't- or quite literally couldn't- stay still for the life of me. He was always moving around, whether it was sitting down or standing up, some part of his body was always in motion. To say that it irritated me slightly was kind.

Christmas was quickly approaching and I was excited to see what my mother would send me this year. However, i definitely wasn't excited to get another ugly Christmas sweater. I had sent my mother several letters- admittedly some were about Oliver, but they were very brief. To be fair, me and Oliver only ever really talked when I had to tutor him- even then our conversations were quite short and dry. I truly did wonder what his mind was thinking about whenever he was zoned out or flat out just ignoring what i was trying to teach him.

Many students had already left for the winter break, but I didn't want to deal with the bustling noise of the family so I continued to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas. Surprisingly, I also saw Oliver's name on the list of students that were going to resume at Hogwarts.Honestly, I would've thought he want to go to Scotland - it must be so pretty during Christmas. I might ask him about it during our next tutoring session.
                                   ***
I was surprised to find Oliver on my bed, begging for another tutoring session - afterall it was 3 days until Christmas. Surely, he would be outside? Nonetheless, I agreed.

We sat on the floor, my head against my bed while I looked over at Oliver- knelt over a piece of parchment, scribbling away. I caught myself smiling at the sight of him concentrated. I quickly stopped myself. What am I doing?
"Right.. so , do you have any more questions?"
Oliver stopped and looked up- he shook his head. I found that he'd started to become quieter over this term.
"Anything wrong? You've been quiet."
He paused, looked uncertain if he should say anything. He shook his head again, his brunette hair flying into his eyes. He sorted it out before speaking up.
"It's nothing.. just trying to focus more on my studies yk? It's hard to do that if you're always talking."
He had an air of hesitance, like he wasn't really telling the truth, like he was holding something back. I wanted to lean in and tell him everything would be okay, that I would be there for him and he can tell me anything. But I didn't, because that's not what our 'friendship' was like- if you could even call it friendship.
                               ***
2 days passed, Christmas Eve. That morning, Oliver woke me up shaking me by my shoulders , screaming that it was snowing. We all got instantly changed to go rushing outside. I pulled on my boots- I had thought everyone had left me behind - but I saw Oliver , out of the corner of my eye, waiting for me.
"You stayed?"
He laughed.
"That's what friends are for , right? C'mon!"
Friends.. I've got a friend. He grabbed me by my head and dragged me down the stairs. We ran out of the doors , outside.

The snow had layed on the cobbled floor like a thick blanket, enveloping it in. We spent that entire morning throwing snowballs at eachother and making snowballs.

Early in the afternoon, after we had all decided that we had stayed outdoors enough we went back in. We all rushed into the common room to get warmed up. I sat on the floor, near the fireplace and then felt someone sitting next to me.
It was Oliver and he was carrying two mugs of hot chocolate.
"There you go, it's good for warming yourself up."
We drank in silence for a bit, but then I spoke up.
"You know I'm always here for you, right?"
"Of course, dude."
"Cool.."
                                  ***
The day had passed in a blur, everyone getting ready for Christmas tomorrow. I was sitting on one of the armchairs, reading - again, I had thought everyone left but surprisingly, Oliver sat down in an armchair opposite me.
"What you reading?"
He smiled at me.
"Something for transfiguration, nothing much to be fair."
He bit his lip.
"Cool.. I actually was thinking, I'm gonna need some help on transfiguring my match into a needle. You could help me with that, right?"
I nodded.
"Of course, but not tomorrow. It's Christmas, aren't you excited?"
His smile faded, and his eyes became glossy. He started sputtering out some words.
"I.. of course..."
"Oliver? What's up? You can tell me what's wrong, yk that right?"
"It's my mom... She's dying.. liver failure.. it's too late for a transfer, it's so bad. I just.. couldn't face her- not like that.. and now I feel awful for deciding to stay here"
His glossed eyes, broke down into full on sobs. Her buried his head into his knees. I did the one thing I could do. I went over to cradle him. I sat down beside him and hugged him tightly, my hand through his hair and his face in my chest- splattering my shirt with his tears.

I ended that night with Oliver Wood, in my arms. Crying.