Mara's Magic

ii - hearts full

Oliver and I had officially put a label on our relationship, much to the delight of pretty much the entirety of the school. But, while I got excited giggles and whispers from all around Hogwarts, Oliver got several claps on the back and a few threats to not hurt me. I appreciated my brothers and guy friends, but they had to know that Oliver would be the last person to hurt me. He was the one who knew me better than I even knew me, he was my best friend. And he still was. We just pushed the boundaries a bit and renamed the relationship. It was great honestly. 

What was funny was how he asked me to be his girlfriend. He was so nervous.

"So," Oliver said, trailing off as he played with my fingers. He couldn't bring himself to meet my eyes, so he settled them on my hands. 

"So?" I repeated, smiling at him in amusement. I removed my hands from his, using them to lean back on the floor. I rested my head on the couch behind me, staring into the fireplace billowing in front of us. My eyes flicked to Oliver and he was staring at me.

The light of the flames reflected off of his light brown hair, giving it highlights and dimension. It caressed his smooth, tanned skin and I saw a few spots where his excessive amount of time spent in the sun had given him freckles. His dark eyes shimmered gold and his lips were pulled slightly up. I smiled softly. 

It seemed as though his thoughts were filled with the same that mine were, except flipped the other way around. Suddenly becoming insecure about if my position was unflattering, I sat up straight again. Ugh. That's the one thing that I hated about being in a sorta relationship with him, was that I got insecure when I was around him. Not as much as I assumed I would have been if it was someone other than Oliver, but still, being nervous around my best friend is not a feeling I invited. 

He ran a hand through his disheveled hair with a sigh. I met his eyes with mine and began picking at the loose thread on the sleeve of his jumper that I was wearing, looking down once more. He began rubbing the back of his neck.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked in one breath, watching me carefully for my reaction. I looked up quickly, my eyes widening. He winced at my shocked expression, but kept his eyes on me, waiting for more.

A million thoughts ran through my head over the next two seconds; what if we weren't good for each other? Would I still be friends with Elijah and Benji if we broke up? Was Percy okay with us starting to date? What if Oliver found out more about me and decided that he didn't actually want this, and that he didn't even want to be friends anymore? What more doesn't he know about me, though? Would quidditch be different? Would the team feel uncomfortable? Was I even ready for a relationship? I was only fourteen, was this what I actually wanted? What would happen once he graduated? Would this be worth it in the end? Would we last?

"Of course."

The words slipped from my mouth only seconds after his request and his face lit up. He nervously stumbled on his words, but I cut him off quickly kissing him. When I pulled away from the small peck, his eyes were wide and his cheeks flushed. But, then he grinned and I smiled back at him. 

It had been a couple weeks since then and we were slowly getting past our boundaries of discomfort. It was strange because before we put a label on it, everything was fine. When he was just my best friend, I didn't care what I looked like or how close I got to him. But, once I became his girlfriend, I quickly got nervous about everything. Luckily, we began to fall back into our normal routine of quidditch practice, class, and then hanging out in the common room - we just added a few modifications. 

He pulled me into his arms, grinning and kissing my forehead gently. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his torso, hugging him tightly. I rested my head against his new quidditch jumper from this year. The fabric was soft and thick and made a good pillow. He leaned against the back of the couch, settling on the cushion more. I smiled into his jumper, hugging him tighter. I felt him squeeze me once in return. We sat there in silence, content. 

After a few minutes, I adjusted our position and began reading a book off to the side. It was a muggle fantasy novel, but it wasn't all that entertaining. Oliver seemed to read my mind and he took it from me, tossing it down onto the side table on the other side of the couch. He settled me back in his arms and I rested comfortably against him, burrowing my face into his jumper.

People came in and out of the common room, not so much as giving us a second glance, but I did catch sight of a few knowing smiles or nudges to friends. Hermione smiled as she walked by and I was tempted to feel uncomfortable knowing that the entirety of the Gryffindor house could see us, but in that moment I didn't really care. I closed my eyes.

"Aw, look!" I heard a hushed whisper from across the room by the portrait hole that had just opened. Alicia. I rolled my eyes and pulled myself ever closer to Oli.

"Wait, that's so cute," said Angelina. 

"I have an idea," Katie Bell commented and I heard a sudden pop as she muttered something. And then a click. I didn't move, but I felt Oliver lift his head in confusion. 

"What're you lot doing?" He called in his thick Scottish brogue. It stood out a little more when he was tired, and given that it was nearly 11 o'clock, he was.

"Oh, nothing," Katie said with a giggle. Lexi snickered over her shoulder and I heard something whipping around in the air. 

"Oh, come on now, give it here," Angelina demanded, grabbing whatever it was from Katie. There was silence for a few seconds.

"That is really cute," Alicia admitted, adding a sweet giggle at the end. 

"What's that you got?" Elijah entered the conversation and I sighed, Oliver resting his head back down on mine. I shut my eyes, unwrapping my arms from around his torso and instead holding them against myself. Oliver quickly reached behind him and grabbed a thick gold blanket that was so incredibly soft and placed it over me. I eased under the weight of it and smiled again as his arms pulled back around me. I held one of his hands in both of mine, massaging it gently. He had thick callouses lining the top of his palm and his skin was textured but soft. I gripped it tightly in my right hand, my left resting on my leg.

Click, I heard again. 

"That one's even better," Alicia said excitedly. I groaned and sat up reluctantly, putting my arms next to Oliver's torso to lift my weight off of his chest. 

"What are you doing?" I asked tiredly, blinking a couple times to see them clearly. Alicia quickly waved her wand and whatever had been in their hands disappeared in a flash. Sometimes I really hated magic. 

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"What was it?"

"Like I said, nothing."

Oliver sighed and I sat up completely, leaning back onto the cushion behind me to let him sit up. He looked at the group of girls and Elijah with a quirked eyebrow, completely unimpressed. 

"Why've you got to be in here causing trouble?" He asked, glancing between me and the girls. 

"Trouble? We're not causing trouble," Angelina said, smirking at the obvious lie. 

I patted Oliver's leg, catching his attention. 

"I think I'm gonna head to bed, love," I told him. "It's late and we have early morning double potions with Snape."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well, gorgeous."

He pecked my lips as I stood, Elijah fake gagging in the background. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off behind my back as I followed the girls up the stairs.