black and white ✰ g.w.

CHAPTER NINE

Olivia was silent the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower, despite her friends and peers talking animatedly about what had just happened. She even stayed silent when the youngest Weasley twins, Ron and Arabella, began to argue very loudly. Usually, she or Ben would step in and stop this kind of disturbance, but Ben had disappeared into his dormitory immediately, no doubt upset that he wasn't chosen as Triwizard champion, and Olivia was too busy thinking about what had just happened to care about anything else. Instead, Hermione had tried to get the twins to stop fighting but had failed, and their younger sister Ginny had had to threaten to hex them. In the end, they both went to their dormitories and didn't come out for the rest of the night.

Once quiet was restored in the common room, Olivia, Angelina, and Alicia turned around to see that Fred, George, and Lee were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Angelina asked. "They were just here!"

"Probably wreaking havoc somewhere else in the castle," Alicia said, shrugging. "But come on. Let's claim a couch before there are none left."

"Don't you think it's just a little bit weird?" Olivia asked once they had sat down. "The Dark Mark, Voldemort's sign-"

"I really wish you wouldn't say the name," Angelina said, grimacing.

"Sorry. You-Know-Who's sign. It hadn't been seen in 13 years before it was conjured at the World Cup. And there were Death Eaters there, too. And now Harry Potter, who You-Know-Who tried to kill, has been illegally entered into a dangerous tournament. I mean, whoever put his name in the goblet must've been very determined to see him in the tournament. They got past Dumbledore, for goodness sake. Only someone Dumbledore feels he can trust, who is smart enough to fool both him and the goblet, which has been used for hundreds of years, could've done that and gotten away with it undetected. Doesn't that seem scary to you?"

Both of her friends were looking at her with expressions of concern. "Liv, what are you saying?"

Olivia didn't get the chance to elaborate because Fred, George, and Lee came through the portrait hole just then with lots of food, clearly stolen from the kitchens. The Gryffindor common room became very loud very fast after that. People were ecstatic that Hogwarts had an advantage over the other schools to win the Triwizard Tournament, and that the Triwizard Cup could belong to a Gryffindor by the end of the year. Instead of joining in on the celebration, Olivia chose to get some homework done in a corner. Though, it was turning out to be a lot harder than she thought it would be, with her brain trying to work out a theory as to how Harry had become a champion and all of her peers talking and laughing very loudly.

Of course, when Harry finally showed up in the common room, he was immediately swarmed by people, all congratulating him and asking him how he had done it. After insisting that he hadn't done it and being ignored multiple times, he pushed through the crowd of excited people and ascended the stairs to his dormitory. After this, the common room calmed a bit and some people went to bed.

"Getting much done?" Angelina asked, finally walking over to her with Fred, Alicia, George, and Lee after leaving her to her own devices.

"No," Olivia sighed, setting down her quill with a shaky hand.

"Hey, what's up with you today?" She sat down next to her and the rest did the same, except for George, who seemed to be heading back over to where all of the food was. "You've hardly said a word all day."

"Is it about that letter you got this morning?" Alicia asked. "I saw you throw it away."

"It was from my grandfather," Olivia told them. "I told him that there was something off here at school and he basically told me that I'm being paranoid. And maybe I am, but... I don't know. I've thought about writing to him about this, but of course, it'll be all over the papers first thing in the morning, he'll see that before he gets my owl. But something tells me even then he won't take me seriously."

"Have some tea, Liv," George said, returning and setting a cup of tea on the table in front of her. "Mum makes tea whenever someone's upset at home, and it seems to work."

Olivia gave him a weak smile, though she was very appreciative of the gesture. "Thanks, George."

Angelina and Alicia exchanged a look.

[word count: 785]
[written: 5/9/20]
[published: 6/9/20]