Hope In Hiding (Book 2 of the Lost Potter Series)

Christmas Day

Olivia just watched Ginny leave the room without saying a word, her mind aflame with what the girl was  saying before she was interrupted. It could have been anything. Denial, rejection, acceptance, questioning, referral, anything. But apparently the universe didn't want her to know just yet.

A knock sounded from her door and was quickly opened, "Hey G- is Ginny downstairs already?" Ron asked, Harry beside him in the hall. They only properly opened the door whenever Olivia didn't verbalise a response.

Olivia, sensing that her nodding didn't work, picked her head up to actually respond, "Yes, she and Hermione presumably are downstairs."

"Oh. Alright." Ron said awkwardly, moving to close the door before Harry interrupted.

"Bill and Charlie are downstairs if you want to meet them, they're the oldest ones." Harry piped up, carrying on originally Ginny's message to Olivia and apparently not noticing her distress.

"I-" Olivia started her instinctual rejection but then stopped to reconsider, "I'll meet you down there in a little bit."

The boys nodded and left Olivia to herself. She wasn't entirely sure why she didn't go with them that second, but she felt as if she needed another second to compose herself. Taking that moment to carefully put her gifts their respective places and adjusting her appearance in the mirror, Olivia took a deep breath and stepped out into the house on her own.

Her stomach growled as she made her way down the staircase, the odd decor Sirius had strewn everywhere giving the house an unusual cheeriness. Olivia couldn't quite decide if she was a fan or not.

In the eating area, Olivia found quite a few redheads and even more Weasley jumpers waiting for her. Swallowing her social anxiety as best she could, she took a seat beside Harry and watched with mild amusement as Sirius helped Mrs. Weasley with the Christmas lunch preparations.

Suddenly, one of the Weasley twins (she assumed Fred, due to the giant F on his chest, but for all Olivia knew they switched) gasped, "She did the twin thing to you two!"  His finger pointed accusingly at Harry and Olivia, who looked at each other confused.

Ginny stepped in to explain, "When I was little, Mum accidentally switched George's and I's jumpers, so now she makes the twins inverse colours."

Looking first at the Weasley twins, Olivia understood what Ginny was talking about: one jumper was dark blue with a bright blue F on it, and the other was a bright blue jumper with a dark blue G on it. Looking back towards Harry, he noticed his was emerald green with a grey H on it, which mirrored hers. Olivia couldn't help but smile.

"I still think I rocked that pink jumper." George said, flipping imaginary hair over his shoulder.

One of the older redheads with a giant W on his jumper chimed in, "Ginny was four at the time, so George could barely fit it over his head."

"That means I was only- what, eight years old?" George looked to Fred for conformation, " Yeah eight, so I could definitely get it over my head."

"Not with the size of your head," Chimed in the otherwise silent also older Weasley with a C on his jumper.

"Oi!" Both the twins protested, earning laughs from the table.

"I assume those two are the oldest," Olivia whispered to Harry, aware she could telepathically say it but also trying to prompt the two strangers into introducing themselves.

"Bill, Charlie, be sure to introduce yourselves to Olivia," Mrs. Weasley chimed in, her hearing as acute as ever.

"I'm William Weasley, otherwise known as Bill, the oldest of this whole bunch," Bill introduced smoothly with a naturally handsome look about him, gesturing to his siblings.