Chapter 2 A Familiar Face With An Identical Past
“Man, you’re certainly not little anymore!” he examined her up and down impressively. “If it wasn’t for your red fur, I wouldn’t recognize you’re a Weasley!
“You’re not a cat by the way…you don’t have multiple lives to spare!” he finally released his grip, after noticing that his hands were still clutching her arms.
“Thanks, Oliver,” Ginny breathed tiredly, brushing the water off her clothes and picking up her umbrella, still visibly shaken by what just happened.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he scratched his head and asked worriedly, noticing she wasn’t very responsive.
He gazed at her intently, still scratching his head continuously, as if he was trying to retrieve something elusive inside his brain.
“Listen, I was on my way to grab a bite… Haven’t eaten anything since last night,” he blurted out nervously. “Er… If you’re not busy, why don’t you… hmm… come with me and we’ll… catch up and… you can tell me everything about the latest news at Hogwarts and those crazy brothers of yours… I heard they had a very unique grand style of a departure…”
There was a long sheepish pause as Ginny stared at him, contemplating about his awkward and insincere invitation and wondering why he was babbling in the middle of the street, while his eyes were darting in all directions.
“You have no idea what my name is?” she smiled.
He quickly shrugged his shoulders and mumbled softly, his words getting fainter and fainter, “Of course I know… It’s just… at the tip of my tongue right now…”
“It’s Gin__”
“GINNY!” he blasted smartly. “THAT’S IT!
“It’s just that you never really come up in our topic of conversation with__”
“All right! That’s enough!” she rolled her eyes indignantly.
“Listen, Ginny, seriously, if you have time, come with me. I hate eating alone.”
Even though Ginny was being very rude, deep down she really appreciated Oliver’s offer. She was very glad she bumped into a familiar and friendly face, finally running into someone who was unaware of her complicated past. Hanging around Ron and Hermione were nice but they always reminded her of last year’s events; they were still walking on eggshells around her, studying her as if she was going to shatter anytime now. But all she wanted was to be treated normally, just like Oliver was doing with her now.
She wasn’t hungry; after all, her mother was Mrs. Weasley. But since she had nothing to do anyway, she quickly accepted his invitation and made her way to the suitcases.
“Ginny, let me carry those. Take my broomstick if you want.”
“No way! It’s the middle of London! I don’t want people staring at me holding a broomstick in broad daylight!” she fumed, sensing that was the reason why he offered.
She grabbed one of his suitcases, “There, not so heavy. So where’s breakfast?”
“Erm… Ginny…” he poked her shoulder, pointing at the umbrella she was holding. “I think you can close it now.”
“What?” she glanced around annoyingly and noticed that it had stopped raining. The sun was breaking out from the clouds and the fog had lifted, revealing an arch of vivid colors. The streetlights were finally turned off and the crowds had dissipated. What had been a miserable day appeared to have restarted itself along with her, with this one much more uplifting.
“There’s a coffee shop across the street,” Oliver pointed and sneered sarcastically. “But the proper way to cross the street, Miss Ginny Weasley, is to wait for the green light. Otherwise you’ll definitely be hit by a car.”
“You’ll find yourself definitely getting hit with THIS…” she brandished the umbrella at his face, “…ACROSS YOUR HEAD!”
Ginny couldn’t help but giggle before realizing it had been a long time since she acted so silly or felt so carefree. She couldn’t believe she had just bossed around a boy much older and bigger than her.
It had just occurred to her that she had never really spoken to him before this. She recalled Fred and George constantly comparing Oliver to a madman, how he was very competitive, obsessed with winning, and pushing them inhumanely beyond the limit in the practice routines. But she couldn’t match this unforgiving reputation with the person standing in front of her right now: a rather charming boy, cheerful, energetic, behind a handsome but physically imposing exterior.
She couldn’t blame him for not knowing her name. After all, she was so shy and withdrawn back when he was at Hogwarts. For her, this was all very strange and intriguing, running into a fellow schoolmate five years her senior amongst the crowds of people in a big city, the two of them having absolutely nothing in common except for having attended the same school, and yet here they were interacting with each other as if they were old-time friends. Somehow, she found herself relating to him despite their differences, and for some bizarre reason, she could sense the same from him too.
It was early and Angeline’s Café was filled with customers. The seats at the front were filled with patrons enjoying the gorgeous view through the misty window walls. Luckily, they were able to find seats in the back near the backdoor.
“So, what brings you to the city? Walking alone in the rain?”
“So, what brings you to the city? Walking alone in the rain…” she repeated obnoxiously, pretending to tease him. In fact, she just didn’t want to answer his question.
Oliver flicked a piece of scrambled egg at her, barely missing her hair. Fuming with anger, she grabbed his fork and threatened to stab his wrist when suddenly, she was distracted by something behind him.
“Oliver, your six o’clock,” she whispered nastily, covering her mouth.
“Uh?”
“Someone’s checking you out… behind you… standing by the back exit. Look!” she mumbled excitedly, her eyes darting to that direction.
Oliver turned and spotted two girls leering at him. He flashed them a shy faint smile and they giggled some more before exiting the coffee shop.
“I think they were laughing at these,” he pointed at the large water spots on the back of his shirt, “because some red furball didn’t know how to cross__”
“Oliver, have a girlfriend?” she teased boldly, silencing him.
His face suddenly stiffened when he heard her question.
“You don’t have a girlfriend?” she asked mockingly, studying him up and down and noticed he had a ring hung around his neck.
She pressed harder, smelling blood, “I don’t believe you! Is it because you don’t want to tell me? Come on. You can tell me…
“Is that an engagement ring you have there?” she reached for it but he immediately tucked it underneath his shirt.
“You’re not that bad looking if you care for my opinion,” she examined him again, leaning closer.
He blushed and glanced at her quickly, averting her stinging gaze, then quickly pulled his head noticeably down and cleared his throat annoyingly.
“Actually, you’re not bad at all…” she continued nastily, breathing closer to him, realizing she had discovered his weak spot. She must seize this opportunity to avenge all his jokes he launched at her earlier.
“Why would no girl like one Oliver Wood?” she asked philosophically.
“Perhaps there is someone out there, a secret admirer, a beautiful girl head over heels over one dashing Oliver Wood, and he is just too dense to know it!” she winked and whistled sarcastically.
He choked and began to cough continuously. Ginny glowed triumphantly at the sight of her success.
“Okay… okay… I’ll shut up,” she sat down and chuckled, seeing he wasn’t fighting back but looking rather helpless. She couldn’t remember the last time she acted so immaturely. But the amusement was short-lived. She refrained her giggles after noticing his face and expressions were somehow oddly familiar to her.
“Oliver… you… look cool… with the earring,” she peered at him and mumbled carefully, noticing his shoulders were drooping tiredly and his eyes were staring quietly at the table.
Ginny’s heart tumbled to the floor, because unfortunately, she finally recognized his troubled expressions and downcast eyes and understood why they were all too familiar to her. He looked just like her. He was her. Looking at him was like staring at her own reflection. She was stunned, and ruthlessly, memories of her own troubles came rushing back.
With their table eerily soundless, she could hear the music that had been drumming in the air the entire time, the lyrics of a screeching woman’s voice piercing at her ears:
”Lead me by your side… Hold me one last time… Before we say goodbye…”
“Another wretched. Fluffy. Ballad… of a love song,” she growled revoltingly, gripping the tablecloth tightly. “How many more of these nauseating songs do we need to hear?”
She glared darkly at a couple that were hugging each other by the front door, “I wonder how long they’re gonna last, before they say their goodbyes…”
She wanted to run. She wanted to escape. She found herself unable to breathe, her heartbeat skipping uncontrollably, helplessly longing to find a place with no love songs, no couples, no pictures, and no movies, so she wouldn’t be constantly reminded of this.
Who had planned for this to always happen, she groaned to herself angrily, wondering how many more people besides her and Oliver had been burnt. Who could be so cruel, purposely arranging two people to cross paths, meet, fall in love, only to have them part ways at the end.
“Ginny… Ginny… What’s wrong?”
“Eh?” she murmured distractingly, pulling herself out of her thoughts. She proceeded to stir her coffee rapidly until it was swirling continuously, just like the state of her mind right now.
“You can tell me. If you want, you can talk to me like I’m one of your brothers___”
“Why do all the guys around me want to be my brother?” she stabbed the spoon into the cup as droplets of coffee splashed out from it. “I have enough brothers already to last me ten lifetimes!”
“Okay, calm down. But if you promise to stop asking me about my love life, I’ll stop asking you about__”
“Who said anything about a love life? You’re so corny!” she snapped fiercely.
“All right… all right… no one said.”
She took a deep breath and composed herself, “I accompanied my father to work today. I thought I would spend the day here in London…”
“By yourself?”
“I guess not anymore. What about you? I thought you were playing for Puddlemere United?”
“I was, but… I injured… my back,” he replied evasively. “So I have to take it easy for the next little while before I play again. Yeah… that’s right… Hmm… I’m impressed… you know the teams?”
“I follow it here and there. And I am Seeker back in school__”
“YOU??” he stared at her in disbelief, but he immediately changed his tone because he realized he had just insulted her again, judging by her indignant glare.
“It’s just… that not many… people can play the role… of Seeker… you see…What about Harry Potter?”
“Oh... him… It’s... a long story. You’ll know pretty soon…
“So why are you in London?” she quickly asked, wanting to change the subject away from Harry.
“Oh, I got an owl from Madam Hooch, saying something about Dumbledore expanding the broom training program at Hogwarts. Apparently, he wants all students to be super fliers, to be strong with their brooms, not just Quidditch players.
“She needs more people… to help teach students not only how to fly…but to show them some Quidditch flying techniques as well... to defend themselves in tight situations they may have to face someday. I guess with you know who and his Deatheaters around, a few quick turns in the air can mean life and death.
I think I might enjoy officiating Quidditch matches and stuff like that too. I thought… this is all light physical work, I… offered to help and Dumbledore accepted.
“I figure I will spend some time in the city before the school term starts. I was just looking for a flat to stay for the next__”
“I have a great idea!” Ginny yelled out excitedly. “Why don’t you stay with us? Mum wouldn’t mind and Fred and George will love to see you again to catch up.”
To her, it was a perfect idea. As she was beginning to regret her suggestion to invite Harry over, having a houseguest like Oliver would provide all the distraction she needed. She also sympathized with him, and he unknowingly managed to make her feel better about herself today, by making her realize that even a tough strapping person like him was unable to withstand the pain she was suffering from. She was also grateful to him for treating her normally, and for reminding her that she wasn’t the only one in this world after all.
The Boy Next Door by gossipweaver
Chapter Notes: What can be so cruel… purposely arranging two people from different backgrounds, to cross paths, meet, fall in love, only to part ways…