[Author's note: This chapter is kind of a transition chapter. It's mainly a few conversations for the purpose of showing relationships changing better than a paragraph about time passing could.]
Chapter 4: Fears of Fate
A week or so passed. Wood and I passed our Transfiguration project with an eighty percent. Percy and I spent some time hanging out. Penelope was there about half of the time. It was better than before, but I felt awkward and unwanted. Still, I was happier.
And, over the next few weeks, I gradually stopped visiting Penelope with Percy, and Percy was gone more. It still wasn't like before. Percy made more of an effort not to forget about me, but it hurt that he had to make an effort.
I was walking down the hallway one Friday, heading out to the lake, even though it was cold, when I heard my name being called. I turned to see Wood walking towards me.
"Something wrong?" I asked after he caught up. I kept walking towards the front doors and he followed.
"No. You made up with Percy."
"So you don't owe me anything for telling you that stuff about the Cup. If anything, I owe you, OK?"
"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."
"No kidding?"
He ignored my sarcasm. "You don't owe me anything for anything."
I looked at him, suspiciously. "Why not?"
"Because I don't owe you anything."
"OK. Why did you want to talk to me, again?"
"Look, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with us Seventh Years tomorrow, or not?"
I didn't answer. We had reached the oak doors and I turned to face Wood.
"The girls want you to come with us, and I was nominated to ask."
The suspicion on my face showed even more.
"Are you coming with us?" he asked impatiently.
"Sure. Thank you," I said slowly.
He nodded and walked off down another corridor. I went to the lake and sat down on a big rock beside it. I liked to look out over the ice in the winter. We were forbidden to walk on it because, in a magical lake, the ice is sometimes only an illusion, and it's impossible to tell if it is or not without sending someone out onto it.
"'ey, Laura."
I turned to see Hagrid carrying two large bags of something. I stood. "Hi, Hagrid. Need some help?"
"No, I've got this. Could ya come with me t' open a door, though?"
"Of course," I said, following him.
"I noticed you an' Percy 'ave been together more."
"Yes, a little. Hey, I've heard from some people that you took my advice on teaching the older students with some pretty cool creatures. The younger students aren't as happy."
"The younger students need a little trainin'."
"Perhaps you're right."
"Course I am. I'm a professor."
I smiled. "That you are, Professor Hagrid."
He chuckled. "Just call me 'agrid. I don' need a title t' impress anyone."
"You have a wonderful personality for that, eh?" I teased.
He laughed again. "I couldn't 'elp but notice yeh was spending more time with Oliver Wood."
I blew some air out of my nose. "Through matters out of my hands."
"Ne'ertheless, yer both still alive. More than most folks would've expected."
"Hagrid, do you hate anyone that you really don't know why you hate them, you just do because you always have?"
Hagrid thought for a few seconds. "I don't hate many people."
"No, but have you ever?"
"Sure. I've never been extremely fond of Filch."
"You have a reason for that, though," I said, smiling up at him.
"Why do yeh ask?"
"It's not like you can just stop hating someone, though, even if the reasons for hating them have gone away."
"Why not?"
"Because it's only fair if I hate him back!"
"Yeh wouldn' be talkin' 'bout Wood, now, would ya?"
"I'm speaking hypothetically."
"Oh. Right."
"And if this hypothetically-speaking person just so happens to answer to the name Wood, so be it," I added.
"'ere we are. Just open this 'ere door, please," Hagrid said, as we were standing in front of a shed near the greenhouses.
I did and stepped back so that Hagrid could get in easily. He placed the bags down and walked back outside, brushing his hands together.
"Thanks," Hagrid said.
"Welcome."
He looked down at me, hitting me with a more piercing look than I'd have thought his kind eyes could muster. He put a hand on my shoulder gently and pushed me slightly so I'd start walking with him.
"One o' the biggest debates in the wizardin' world is on whether er not people are subject to fate er destiny. Many a duel was started 'cause of it. Personally, I'm a little on both sides."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, people can't control things all that well. If yeh were t' just look at th' surface o' people, then yeh'd have no problems believin' that they were bein' guided by some sort o'… force. But then I see people do great, kind things, and I see people do terrible things."
"Couldn't that be fate?"
"No, Laura. People make decisions t' do great or terrible things. People make choices, an' nothin' but those people controls 'em. 'Control yer own destiny.' That's what me dad used t' say. Do ya understand?"
"I think so, but I'm not sure what point is supposed to be coming out of the lesson."
"Fate is just what people call it when there isn' an explanation for it. Why did I have to get kicked out o' 'ogwarts? Why did I have to find Aragog? Fate. See?"
"Yes, but, again… why are you telling me this?"
"All I'm sayin' is that yeh can't help what brought about yer hate fer this hypothetical Oliver Wood. That's fate. But yeh do have a decision t' make."
I didn't answer.
"Hate's a mighty strong emotion, Laura. Do yeh really hate 'im?"
"I disliked him pretty strongly."
"Yeh can get past that. Ya look cold. Go on back inside, now. Thanks, again," Hagrid said, walking away.
I watched his back for a minute before taking his advice and going inside. I knew Hagrid had been through a lot, especially during what should have been his Hogwarts years. Hagrid knew what hate was. Hagrid knew a lot, despite being kicked out of school. Maybe that's why new knew so much.
The next day, I woke up early, as I had no idea what time Wood and Company wanted to leave. It was the Hogsmeade visit before Christmas, so it was bound to be crowded in every store. I put on some warm clothes and went down to the common room. About an hour later, the rest of the Seventh Years, minus Percy, were ready to head out.
"We're glad you could go," Joan said, as we walked out of the common room.
"Thanks for having Wood ask me," I answered, smiling.
She cocked her head a little but didn't say anything.
The eight of us left Hogwarts ground, and again, away from the eyes and ears of Hogwarts, we could be ourselves. The boys walked faster, and, once they were out of hearing distance, the conversations I almost never got to be a part of began.
"What would you want for Christmas if you were a seventh year Slytherin?" Rose asked.
"Brains?" Cedar asked.
All of us except Rose laughed. She was stalking Flint, who, like a good Slytherin, wanted nothing to do with a Gryffindor, no matter what she looked like or how pure her blood was.
"Poor Cedric," Tara said. "Dumped for a Slytherin."
"He was never my type."
"No?" I asked.
"No. Quidditch players… too caught up in other things. I need more attention," Rose said, smiling broadly.
"Flint's Slytherin's Quidditch captain," Joan said.
"Yes, but the Slytherins are smart enough to just cheat. It cuts down on so much practice."
The rest of us shook our heads, remembering all too clearly the years we'd watched Gryffindor fall to Slytherin's pathetic cheating.
"We've got a good team this year. We're sure to win," Cedar said.
"We've lost a game," Joan said.
"We can still win. Wood will be sure of it."
Rose groaned. "He's obsessed, poor guy."
"It's important to him," Joan said.
"Important and everything are two different things," Rose countered.
"Not always," I said.
They all looked at me, waiting.
I shrugged. "They're not always different." When they kept staring, I asked, "What?"
"Did she stand up for Oliver?" Cedar asked.
"No," I said.
"It's debatable," Tara said. "She could have been standing up for someone else."
"Yes," I agreed.
"Who?" Rose and Cedar asked.
I laughed. "Anyone else in general. I don't know."
"We weren't sure you'd want to come with us, with Oliver coming. Perhaps there's still a reason for us believing that," Cedar said.
I shrugged. "He seemed sincere."
"Huh?" Joan asked.
"When he asked if I wanted to come along. He said you wanted him to ask. I don't need him to say it's OK, you know."
The four of them were looking at each other.
"What?"
Joan looked at me, then away. "We didn't think you'd want to go with him, so we… didn't want to ask because we didn't want to make you feel bad about saying no."
I didn't say anything for a few seconds before laughing quietly. "Oh, come off of it. Like Wood would ask me to come along, just… just nothing. He wouldn't."
"Which is why we're so confused," Tara said.
My smile started to vanish. "Well… you really didn't tell him to ask me?"
They shook their heads.
"Maybe I should head back. Something smells funny."
They nodded.
I laughed at their faces, which hadn't looked that confused since Snape hadn't given homework during our third year. "I was kidding… I think. Just… if he pulls his wand on me, we could easily take the guys."
"That's for sure," Cedar said, puffing out her chest slightly. "Bunch of girly-girls."
We all laughed and they forgot about it. I was too busy thinking about whether I should be watching my back or not to really get into any of the conversations on the rest of the way to Hogsmeade.
We five girls caught up with the boys in Zonko's. I was never really into pranks, but I enjoyed looking at the joke shop's selection. I was particularly amused by people around the store suddenly turning into canaries, although I couldn't find the product that caused it anywhere.
I needed to get a present for Percy, and I got him a book on the Ministry. I got a book about Muggle animals for Hagrid, as he's always turned up when I needed someone to talk to. And, while technically it was illegal for me to give magical gifts to my Muggle family, I did get my parents some magical candy that they could eat when I came home for the holidays.
The eight of us spent most of the day just walking from shop to shop. There were dozens. My favorite was a little shop that sold enchanted dust-collectors. Muggle dust-collectors are the stupid, ornamental things that sit on shelves and desks for years, untouched and rarely looked at. Their one function is to collect dust. Wizarding dust-collectors are ornamental things that sit on shelves and desks for years, untouched and rarely looked at, as well. Except these literally collect dust and save a lot of time that would be spent dusting surfaces. The other seventh years each got their mothers one.
We were all exhausted by the time we decided to go back to Hogwarts. The guys decided they'd walk us back. I was listening to the rest of them sing professional Quidditch teams' songs. I'd never been to any professional Quidditch matches to hear any of them, but they were all hilarious.
"The Whinging Weasels song—"
"Ginny!" I interrupted. I stopped in place. "I forgot to get Ginny Weasley a present."
"You get all of the Weasleys gifts?" Mark asked.
"No. I've gotten Ginny a gift every year for the past six years. She's the only girl and… well, her brothers have no idea what she would want, so I've always gotten her something. She used to be like my little sister over summer vacations. I have to go back," I said, turning around.
"We have to be back in an hour," Joan said.
I paused and shook my head. "It won't take me long. If I go back now, I'll have twenty minutes to get something for her. I'll see you back at the castle."
I turned and started walking quickly back to the wizarding town. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps right behind me. I turned my head, still walking, to see Wood catching up to me.
"I need to get Hagrid something," he said quickly.
I slowed down so he'd catch up more quickly. "I didn't know you were friends with Hagrid."
Oliver laughed under his breath, slightly, but there wasn't any humor in it. "Hagrid befriends people who need him. He took me under his wing my second year."
I looked at Wood, but my eyes weren't really focused. I'd never thought about it before. I knew Hagrid had befriended more students, but you never saw him with any of them. Hagrid had started talking to me the year before, when Percy had started seeing Penelope all of the time.
"The thing is that once he makes a friend, he never loses one, so… Hagrid makes a lot of Christmas presents."
I kept walking in silence for a few minutes. I didn't like the thought of people feeling sorry for me. Espeically not Hagrid. Still….
"I talked to Hagrid yesterday," I said.
"I did, too," Wood said. He was still walking quickly. It wasn't easy to keep up, but, for some reason, I didn't want him to leave me behind.
"Can you slow down a little?" I asked.
"Why?"
"Because I want to talk to you, but you're walking so fast, I have to use my breath to keep up," I said.
He didn't say anything, but he did slow down enough that I could ease the pain I was starting to feel in my stomach from getting more exercise than I was used to.
"We talked about you," I said, quickly, not looking at him.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"What about me?"
I thought for a minute, deciding how to put what I wanted to say in the least amount of words possible because I didn't really want to be the one to say them.
"I forgot why I hated you. Well… forgot is the wrong word. Finding out why you did what you did five years ago… it was a stupid misunderstanding."
"Hagrid's known the whole story longer than we have."
"Yeah, that was just starting to dawn on me. We didn't talk about what happened five years ago."
"No. You don't hate me anyone and want to be friends, right?"
The way he put it made me immediately go into my defensive state.
"I may not hate you, but that doesn't make me want to be your friend," I snapped.
"Why?" he asked.
"You think because you're the Quidditch captain and good-looking, everyone wants to be your friend?" I asked.
He blushed slightly. "That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"I meant, why shouldn't we be friends if we don't hate each other?"
"I-! What?"
"You weren't the only one to talk to Hagrid yesterday."
I blinked, shook my head, stopped, shook my head again because it didn't work the first time, and repeated that process once more.
"Are you OK?" Wood asked, looking at me strangely.
"Being friends with you is too close to admitting that I was wrong and stupid before."
"It's the same thing."
"See?"
"But I'm admitting the same thing. Come off it, Laura. Admit you were wrong and move on."
"I'm not even sure what I'm admitting that I was wrong about."
"For letting a misunderstanding come between a friendship. I'm guilty of the same thing."
I looked at him carefully. "You're serious about this whole thing?"
"Yes!"
"Then I was wrong."
He smiled. "I was wrong, too."
I didn't say anything the rest of the way to Hogsmeade. I wasn't only wrong five years ago. I'd been wrong about him longer than that.
We split up right away when we entered town. I headed towards some of the more popular stores with twelve year old girls. I mentally went through the gifts I'd already gotten her. When she was seven, I got her a toy wand. When she was eight, she got a package of Muggle makeup from me, and when she was nine, I got her a sweatshirt that had "My friend went to Hogwarts and all I got was this stupid jumper" printed on it. When she was ten, I got her some potions materials, which Mrs. Weasley practically banned me from the Burrow for. And the last year I had gotten her some clothes. A few were new, but most of them were hand-me-downs from me and my older cousins. I think that had been her favorite present from me.
But this year? I was drawing a blank. I'd thought about it before, but had always brushed it off when nothing came to me, thinking I'd have plenty of time to pick something out for her. How could I have forgotten Ginny?
I spent half of my twenty minutes in shops that I knew weren't right. I walked out of a large clothing store, and across the street was a beaten, worn-down looking building. I felt kind of sorry for it and walked over. Upon realizing it was a shop, I walked in.
I couldn't see anyone in there, but even had there been anyone, it would have been difficult to find them. It was a mirror shop. I wandered around, spellbound, looking at my reflection in them. In some I saw my reflection normally. In others I looked slightly older, slightly younger, slightly happier, slightly less happy… and in some, I didn't see my reflection at all, but places or things.
When I saw a person in one, I jumped back and almost knocked over a mirror. I spun around in time to catch it and sighed in relief. If you break a magical mirror, you really do get seven years of bad luck in return.
"Good save," I heard from behind me. I turned again, more carefully this time. The old man I had seen in the mirror was standing there, smiling kindly.
"I'm sorry," I said. "You scared me and—"
"It happens all of the time. Anyway, all of our mirrors are breakproof and are under a lifetime warranty, so if they do break, your seven years of bad luck will gladly be taken from you, and you will be given a refund," he said.
I was still too unnerved to respond to what he was saying. "I'm looking for a present for a friend, but I doubt that I could afford any magic mirror. I didn't know this shop existed. I just sort of… was drawn to it."
"Some people are drawn to mirrors," the old man said, smiling.
I turned to him, frowning. "I'm not shallow or—"
"Magical mirrors, darling," the man interrupted quickly. "I was in no way trying to imply that you are narcissistic."
"What did you mean, then?" I asked more kindly.
"I meant that mirrors… call certain people."
I looked around the store.
"Not all magic mirrors are expensive," the man said. "Would you like to see some inexpensive ones?"
I nodded, seeing my house in one mirror. "Sure."
The man started walking through the store, with me right behind him A few times I stalled, not sure which one was the man and which ones were merely his reflection.
And in a minute we reached a section with smaller mirrors.
"Have you found anything?" the man asked.
I opened my mouth to respond, but another voice came first.
"Yes, I believe I have," said Wood, as he walked around a shelf of mirrors. He stopped when he saw me.
"Good," the man said, smiling more genuinely now. "Which one have you selected?"
"This one," Wood said, holding up a round mirror that was about six inches in diameter.
"Ah… yes, that is a peculiar mirror, indeed. It shows creatures in it, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Wood said, looking into it. "Do you think Hagrid would like it, Laura?"
"I'm sure he'd love it," I said, feeling stupid about my book for him.
Oliver nodded. "I'll take it, then."
The old man said, "Thank you, sir. Laura, this area would be good for a gift for a young girl. I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't touch the surface of any mirrors, please."
"OK," I said as he walked away. I realized that my time was ticking away, and I was probably already going to be a little late, but the mirrors were… calling to me.
When he came back a few minutes later, I had my mind made up. I pointed and said, "That one is right."
"It reflects people honestly," the man said. "Are you sure that would be right for your friend?"
I looked closely at my own reflection. It was reflecting me honestly? I looked tired. A little sad. Mainly passive.
"Yes. She's a good person and seeing that would make her feel better about herself," I responded, eventually.
"It's five Galleons," the man said.
"That's fine," I said after a few seconds.
"Very well. Pick it up by the frame and follow me, please," he said, kindly.
I followed him to the back of the store, where he had a small cash register of some sort. He pressed a few keys, and, after taking my five Galleons, made the machine spit out a warranty certificate, which he sighed and had me sign as well.
"Thank you, miss," he said, handing me the mirror in a small box. The mirror was only about four inches across, but I knew Ginny would love it.
I walked out of the store to find Wood waiting for me. At first I went into defense mode, and then I remember he seemed to want to get along. The defense mode took a back burner to my try to be nice mode.
"We're going to be late," he said, simply, starting to walk.
"Yeah, well… what can they do to us?"
"Have you ever had a detention?" Wood asked, looking at me strangely.
"I don't get caught much."
"Well… then, don't think about what they can do to us. It only kills your nerves," he said calmly.
"We're good kids. We'll just have to explain that we lost track of time."
"Together?"
I frowned a little. "We can say we just didn't want to walk alone after dark."
"Together?" he repeated.
"Together isn't alone."
"You don't quite understand. Do you realize how… us getting along has never really occurred to people."
"But the professors—"
"Are people."
"Dumbledore—"
"Isn't going to be the one to give us detention. McGonagall will be."
I winced slightly. "Well, she thinks we hate each other, so it's not like she'll think we were getting into any trouble together."
"Unless we were trying to kill each other, or something like that," Wood said.
I laughed a little. "We never hated each other that much."
"How much time do we have left before curfew?"
"Ten minutes, and it will take us three times that long to get to Hogwarts," I said.
"By foot," Wood said, looking at me as we kept walking quickly.
"I don't see a train or car anywhere," I said.
"Accio Cleansweep Seven!" Oliver said after he'd taken out his wand.
"Oh, so I can get detention alone. Great, Wood," I said.
"A Cleansweep can easily carry two people."
"And the professors will love that! Us flying over land that isn't Hogwarts grounds? We're going to have so many detentions… if they don't expel us."
"Relax. We'll fly over the path, down low. No one will see us, so no one will know."
"Except for the people who see your broom coming. Speaking of which…" I said.
Oliver's broom had come flying between two trees, into his hand.
"You can walk, if you want," Wood said.
I stopped walking, tapped my foot a few times, sighed, shook my head, sighed again, and said, "You're sure that can carry two people safely?"
"I didn't say safely," Wood said, smiling.
"Are you kidding?" I asked quite seriously.
"Yes. I assure you that I am perfectly capable of steering this thing. Now, do you want to cheat a little and get out of a detention or not?"
"Yes," I said.
He climbed onto the broom and, his feet brushing the ground, flew over a few feet to where I was standing.
I swung my leg over the broom and sat down behind him.
"You're either going to have to hang onto the broom or to me," Wood said after a minute.
I held onto the few inches separating the two of us. Wood kicked off and started flying. He sped up slowly at first and then more quickly.
"OK?" he asked after a few minutes.
"This is a little awkward, but I'm fine," I answered.
He laughed. "Don't like flying?"
"No, but that's not what I was referring to," I said.
"I realized that, Laura."
"Nothing personal."
Wood nodded. He put on a sudden burst of speed. I felt like I was falling off, so I leaned forward to try to counter it. Automatically, I let go of the broom with one hand and wrapped my arm around him.
He stopped accelerating quickly. We were flying fairly fast but were only three feet off the ground. I took my arm away and held onto the broom a little tighter with both hands.
"You did that on purpose," I said bitterly.
"Just wanted to show you what awkward was."
"I told you not to take it personally."
"But you meant it personally," he said.
"You don't feel weird? We barely get along. There's a difference between being friends and not hating each other."
"You could try not being so obvious about that, though," Wood said.
I didn't answer and Wood started slowing down the broom. We were about a minute's run from the gates, and neither one of us had any doubts that the dementors would consider a broom zipping past them to be suspicious.
We both hopped off the broom and started running to the gates. If we were inside of those before curfew, we'd be fine. If we weren't, we'd have McGonagall to deal with. Once we got within a few feet, we saw Professor Flitwick standing there with a clipboard in his hands.
I felt a chill go up my back. How was he standing so close to those dementors, waiting for all of us?
I got my answer when he talked. He breath smelled heavily of chocolate. "Right on time," he said, looking up at us carefully.
"We though we were going to be late," Wood said, nicely.
I didn't say anything. I was starting to feel funny and realized I hadn't brought a piece of chocolate with me.
"Why were you going to be late?" Flitwick asked.
"We got caught up in a store at the last minute," I could hear Wood saying, although I was barely comprehending it.
"Laura?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"No chocolate," I whispered.
"Oh! Here, here, take this," he said, digging in his robe and pulling out a Chocolate Frog, which he unwrapped for me.
I took it and ate it quickly. I let a few chills run down my back before thanking him.
"You're welcome. That's why I'm here, of course," he said. "You'd better go back to the castle quickly."
Wood and I hurried past the dementors. Once we stopped feeling their effects, he looked over at me.
"Dementors affect you?"
I shrugged slightly. "Not terribly. I usually just walk quickly past them and eat a bit of chocolate."
"Do you see things?"
"No."
"Hear things?"
"No."
"Remember things."
It hadn't been a question, so I felt no obligation to confirm what he had said.
"I remember you and Percy," he said quietly.
I looked over at him, frowning. "I thought dementors made people relive bad memories."
Wood smiled a little. "That's right."
I started to reach out to him but quickly changed my mind. "I'm sorry, Oliver."
He just shrugged again. We kept walking without saying anything for about ten minutes.
"What's your favorite color?" Wood asked, suddenly.
"Why?"
"The silence is making me nervous," he said, about half kidding.
I rolled my eyes but answered anyway. "Blue."
"Mine's scarlet."
"Imagine that."
"No. It was even before Quidditch. I like it."
"It's a nice color," I said.
"Nice?"
"Pretty?"
"Better. Your favorite number?"
"I don't know. Three, I guess," I said.
"Why?"
"Third time's a charm. Three strikes, you're out. Three."
"What?"
"Must be Muggle sayings."
"Oh, mine's seven."
"Magical number seven?" I asked.
"Yes. And seven players on a Quidditch team."
I shook my head but smiled. "You're very predictable."
"And you aren't?"
"No."
"Right. OK, then, what's my favorite… food?"
"Anything peppermint," I said, smirking.
"How did you know that?"
"It's always been your favorite food."
"I'll bet your favorite food is… peanut butter."
"No. Pizza," I said.
"Pizza? It used to be peanut butter."
"My favorite food was never peanut butter. It was always pizza."
"Right. OK. So what's my favorite… season?"
"Quidditch season," I said, laughing.
"Damn it. Trick question, too."
"What's mine?" I asked.
"Spring."
"Good guess."
"So you've known one more thing about me than I have about you. What's my favorite song?"
"What is this? A competition?" I asked.
"Yes," Wood said right away.
"Well, that's easy. You said it was the song for that Chinese Quidditch team."
"I don't know yours."
"I don't have one. There are too many songs that I like to choose only one."
"So you're still one up on me."
"Two."
"One. Your answer for the song wasn't really an answer."
"Neither was Quidditch season. I'm two up. What's my favorite place?"
"Place?" Wood asked.
"Location."
"How in the hell am I supposed to know?"
"Guess, then."
He thought for a few minutes. "Here. Hogwarts."
"Right."
"Yours is… hold on, let me think." After a few minutes, I tried the obvious. "The Quidditch stadium."
"No. It's at home."
"Where do you live, again?"
"Guess," Wood mocked.
"I can't remember."
"You live in the suburbs of London, to the Northeast," he said, gloating. "Now we're tied."
The contest kept going. When we reached the school, we were still tied, although we'd missed more questions than we'd gotten right. Most of the rest of the correct answers were guesses.
"OK. Last question," Wood said, opening the oak door and letting me walk in first.
"I get to choose what it is," I said.
"No. I do. What's my worst fear?"
I thought for a few seconds. "That you're gay?"
"What?" he asked, closing the door rather strongly.
I laughed. "I'm kidding."
"Good."
"You aren't, are you?"
"No."
"Because you've never had a girlfriend here."
"Quidditch."
"Is your girlfriend?" I asked, laughing and starting up the marble staircase in front of him.
"And you've never had a boyfriend here," he said.
"I said I was only kidding."
"Good."
I thought for a few more seconds. "Is it dying?"
"Is what dying?"
"Is dying your worst fear?"
"Oh. No, it isn't."
"What is it, then?"
"Failing," he said seriously.
"Failing out of Hogwarts? I thought you were a decent student."
"No. Failing in general."
"Everyone fails at something. No one's perfect."
"I know that. I'm more afraid of… being a failure."
"You won't be. You're going to win that Quidditch Cup this year, remember?"
"There's more to life than the Cup."
I looked at him, surprised.
He rolled his eyes. "Place Oliver Wood is obsessed with Quidditch joke here," he said sarcastically.
I laughed. "I couldn't come up with one quickly enough." We started walking up another staircase. "Anyway, if you set reasonable goals for yourself, you won't fail. Neither will I."
"You sound so sure."
"And I am, most of the time."
"And the rest of the time?"
"The rest of the time… I'm happy enough with the present not to worry about the future."
He nodded and didn't say anything for a while. "Is your greatest fear death?" he asked, finally.
It took me several seconds to realize that we were still playing that game. "No, it isn't."
"Then what is it?" he asked after realizing I wasn't going to say unless he specifically asked.
"Being alone forever," I answered quickly, looking down.
"You're never alone. There's always someone there to be a friend. Or there's family."
"That's not what I meant," I said quietly.
"Oh. Oh… right," he said.
I looked over at him quickly to see that he was looking away.
"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything," I said, realizing that I was the one blushing.
"You didn't. I just… worry about that, too, sometimes."
"Only sometimes?"
"Yes. I think there's a person out there for everyone."
"Yeah… that's what I'm afraid of," I answered, partially to myself.
"Why? I like the idea."
"You do?"
"Yeah. Why not?" he asked.
"One person for everyone? Only one? What are the odds of finding them?"
"Well, the perfect person would be within reach."
"And if it didn't work out right?"
"Then it wasn't the right person," he said.
"You really like the idea of only one person for everyone."
"What? Did you think that all guys support polygamy or—"
"No. That's not what I meant."
"What did you mean?"
"I just mean… what if you were to find your soulmate when you were… seventy?" I asked.
"Then we'd have a good number or years left together."
"What if you were one hundred?"
"At least I found her. The amount of time isn't that important."
"Even if you only knew her for a few years, months, days even?"
"Yes."
"Even though you'd have the rest of your life to live alone?" I asked.
"I thought I've already spent one hundred years without her."
"Oh, I forgot," I said, smiling despite myself.
"I still don't understand why you're afraid."
I sighed. "I guess I'm just skeptical of things like this that… rely so much on chance and can be ruined so easily."
"I understand. Maybe."
We reached the common room and walked in together. The Seventh Years looked over at us, a little confused.
"We thought you were going to be late," Adam said once we'd walked over.
"We came close," Oliver said, laying his broom up against a chair, which he sat down in.
"Find a gift?" Joan asked, looking up at me.
I nodded. "Yes. I think she'll love it."
I stood there, looking back at them looking up at me.
"May I sit down?" I asked finally.
They all nodded saying yes's, sure's and whatever's. I stayed with them for a few hours, talking about whatever the conversation led to. And I had fun.
When Percy came in, I smiled at him but didn't walk over to greet him. He looked at me strangely but not for long. He went straight up to his dormitory.
"What's eating him?" Mark asked.
"He'll get over it," I said.
"Maybe," Wood added, only slightly under his breath.
I nodded once or twice and stood up slowly. "I'm getting tired. Too much shopping. I'll see you all in the morning," I said, heading towards the door leading upstairs.
Author's note: I made a sweatshirt that says "My friend went to Hogwarts and all I got was this stupid jumper" after reading this story again. (A lot of this is already written. I'm almost half way through what's finished.) It's a sweet jumper. Sweater, I mean.
Coming up in Chapter 5: Christmas Vacation and an introduction to New Year's traditions in the wizarding world! I like the next chapter. I can't help it.
Do Be My Enemy for Friendship's Sake by ByMerlinsBeard
Chapter Notes: Two conversations with Hagrid and one trip to Hogsmeade lead to an uncomfortable truce between Laura and Oliver.