Our Entangled Lives // Oliver Wood

Chapter Twenty Five : Holiday Cheer

Y/n's POV:

I huffed as I finally managed to clasp my suitcase closed. And after some prolonged shoving, I had eventually managed to fit everything I needed in the tiny square suitcase. At the beginning of the year, I was naive enough to think that it would motivate me to to buy less books.

How stupid. Because what I had also forgotten to take into account, was just the sheer amount of Christmas gifts I needed to pack with me this year. After some time however, I was finally finished with it all.

"You ready?" Lynn asked, smiling. They must have noticed that my huffing and puffing was over, and therefore that I had also coincidentally finished packing. I could tell they where already as exited for the Holidays as I was.

I nodded, beaming back at them, "finally."

Casting the levitation spell to lift my suitcase into the air and have it follow behind me, I walked down the many steps and stairwells of Hogwarts, the rest of my things in hand.

My mum had found it ridiculous that I needed an extra bag to supply all my books for the term. But my Dad, whom of which I inherited the book addiction from, had my back - saying it was to protect them from getting damaged. That mum would understand. And thankfully, she did.

And yet, still, all the rest of my stuff was hanging together by a thread. I was afraid my suitcase was going to fall apart at any given moment with the amount of stuff I had forced into it.

Smiling, we finally arrived out by the gates where we awaited the rest of our friends. Fred and George still hadn't finished packing, even after we had gone to check up on them half an hour ago. They where probably still messing about. Lee was already done by then, but had wanted to go to the Quidditch pitch one last time before he left.

Angelina had already gone, but not before saying goodbye. She had left us our Christmas presents for the year, too afraid to mail them over in worry of them possibly getting damaged.

Cedric had also left with the rest of his friends an hour ago. He said how he didn't want to be late for the train. Lynn and I had already said our goodbyes in the form of some awkward hugs and Christmas gift exchanges. He had gotten me another Quidditch book to pack. And although I was eternally grateful, it took another half an hour to figure out where to place in without breaking it.

Things where still a little awkward between us, which was to be expected, so I was hoping some distance would give us some time to move on properly. It wasn't all that easy when we ran into eachother in classes and the hallways all the time. But I was glad to say we where still pretty close, even after everything.

"Finally, you guys are here!"

Now it was my grin as I welcomed my three friends, Lynn huffing. "We where always here, dipshits," the spoke, "we have been for the past fifteen minutes. We where just waiting on you."

"Really?" Fred asked with melodramatic swoon, a hand placed on the right side of his chest, "always knew you loved me."

Lynn couldn't have rolled their eyes harder at that comment, moving Fred's hand over to the left side of his chest again before grabbing their bags and walking away. I smirked at the two, watching as Fred chased after them and pretended to act offended by their actions. It seemed as if things where finally getting back to normal.

I spotted the trolly lady at the other end of the train and grew a smile. Everyone knew to catch her early, otherwise you'd stuck with the licorice wands and coconut bites.

"Meet you on there?" Lee chuckled, George smiling as he helped carry one of my suitcases.

I nodded, thanking George, and half-beamed at the two, "definitely."

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"Crap," I mumbled, prying the wheel of my suitcase from another hole in the ground.

It was growing increasingly difficult to lug the thing around with me, especially now with the sweets I'd packed in. I was so used to being able to use magic to simply lift it up. Maybe I had grown to reliant on it all. But the minute I turned seventeen, it wouldn't matter anymore. I couldn't wait for that day. 

"Oh you're kidding me!" I threw my hands up into the air and huffed, grabbing all the things that had flown out of my luggage as the sheer force of my tugging at it undid the lock.

I tried prying the thing back open, which it eventually did, then looking up to see three looming shadows looking over me.

"Need any help, Álainn?" One chucked, and the other swiftly hit him in the shoulder.

"Oh, hey Pen, Hey Perce," I nodded at the two of them and I decided to completely ignore Oliver, continuing to load more of my stuff into my suitcase, "sorry about this."

"Oh no, don't worry about it," Penelope waved me off, "I couldn't count the amount of times this has happened to Oliver. He's such a hoarder."

In response, Oliver scowled at his friend. Then Penelope, Percy and even he himself all bent down to help me collect my things.

I laughed a little, "so am I. I brought way too many books with me."

Percy chuckled, Oliver finally shutting my suitcase closed with his brute strength, and Penelope shook her head, "I can see that."

I couldn't help but beam brightly at the three, quickly thanking them for their help as I got up and dusted the dirt off my black jeans.

I hadn't had the time, nor the want, to put on a fashionable outfit for that day. I was going to be stuck traveling for the most of it anyway, so I always made sure to wear whatever I found comfortable and was something that was some-what socially acceptable. Besides, it was hard to style well in winter when you only packed one jacket.

I locked eyes with Oliver, and pressed my lips together, managing to muster up the courage to speak to him, "hey, Oliver," I spoke.

If we where both going to go through with this whole truce thing together, calling eachother by our last names was officially off the table.

Oliver either didn't hear, or decided to ignore this fact. The only thing I did notice however, was the right side of his lip curl upwards just the tiniest amount. It was so subtle that if I hadn't looked at him right then, it would have vanished.

"Oliver Wood, did you just... smile?" I grinned, voice edged into a teasing tone.

He shook his head, clearing his throat and looking the other way. "What? No." Oliver scoffed, acting as if my accusation was just that - an accusation.

"Yes you did, I saw it," I insisted, "you smiled!"

"No, I didn't." He huffed, crossing his arms across his chest angrily.

"Fine, if you're going to so stubborn about it," I rolled my eyes, facing his two friends again, "i'll see you next year?"

The question was reared more towards Oliver himself, eyes still on him and his vanished smile, but Percy and Penelope nodded.

"See you then, Y/n," they happily replied.

"Bye guys!" I smiled, waving as I lugged my suitcase behind me. Now that we where no longer at Hogwarts, I was going to have to do things the Muggle way.

And just as the train was about to get moving, I ran and hopped on at the last second. And after eventually having found the carriage where all my friends where, I sat, staring out the window with an ever growing grin.

I shook off the small feeling of butterflies in my stomach, and prepared myself for the new year.