Hope In Hiding (Book 2 of the Lost Potter Series)

A Normal Dinner

A/N: This chapter might be a little weird for some audiences, but I wanted to write Olivia as realistically as I can. She is a new teenager and shall be written as such—you have been warned. Read the final author's note for more info.

"So, James, What do you do for a living?" Joe asked from the head of the table. They were waiting for the last of dinner to finish cooking and carried on with their pleasantries.

"I'm uh, actually between jobs right now. I've got an inheritance from my uncle that's keeping us afloat." Sirius tried to explain. He'd never had a job, nor did he plan to get one, but they didn't need to know that.

"What kinda job are you looking for, then?" Joe asked again, not seeming satisfied with his answer.

Sirius faltered— he knew very little about muggle jobs, much less which one he'd want. He tried looking to Olivia for help, but she just shrugged at him, seeing as she came from the same pureblood upbringing. He sighed and shrugged, "In a perfect world I'd love to be a police officer, but I don't think I could handle the training. What about you, Joe?"

Joe didn't seem much more pleased but continued with the conversation anyway, "I work at the lumber mill for my day job. Also sell the game I hunt, but it's the off-season for deer." Neither Sirius nor Olivia knew anything about hunting and so stayed silent.

Peggy, who had sat down across from Sirius briefly, took the torch, "What about you, Olivia? What grade are you in?"

Olivia gulped and tried to remember how to math, "I would be in my third year."

Peggy raised an eyebrow, keeping her smile on place, "Would be? What happened?"

Thankfully, Sirius jumped to her rescue, "Do you get much British news over here?" The couple shook their heads, "Ah, so you haven't heard. There's a mass murderer on the loose in Scotland right now, and was spotted near her boarding school. I pulled her out of there as soon as I could and decided to take our vacation early."

The couple looked taken aback, Peggy gasping, "Oh you poor thing! That must be a terrifying time."

Olivia shrugged, "It never seemed that close to me. Besides, now I don't have to take exams."

Joe chuckled at this, leaving the mass murderer subject behind them, "And what grade did you say you were?"

"Third year, though I'm not sure how that translates here." Olivia furrowed her brows and tried to remember how American grades worked to no avail.

"I think that'd be eighth grade here, which means you're thirteen or so?" Peggy filled in, her fingers tapping as se counted on them.

Olivia paused a moment as that sunk in. Part of her still felt eleven, with how much she'd missed, but part of her felt much older than thirteen, with what she'd gone through. Sirius nudged her and she snapped out of it, "Yes I'm thirteen. Fourteen at the end of July."

"I remember when Laura was your age. Always getting into trouble. We're past that stage, Thank goodness," Peggy and Joe chuckled, Sirius forcing one to try and fit in.

"Speaking of Laura," Joe said, staring at the hallway his daughter approached from. The whole table turned to look at her enter, although she didn't seem phased by this and put on a smile similar to her mother's.

Olivia had turned to look last and froze momentarily. She had expected Laura to look more like her parents— the crooked nose of her mother, maybe, with the small dark eyes of her father. What she hadn't expected was for a goddess to be living in a Maine log cabin.

Olivia's eyes trailed over her long, toned legs, topped off by high-waisted jean shorts. The black belt cinched in tight and coordinated with the baggy black tank top she wore. Olivia's eyes lingered on the crinkled shirt before moving on to the long, straight, dirty blonde hair that ended around her waist. They met eyes, Olivia being shocked at their bright blue and looking away as fast as she could, feeling slightly embarrassed for a reason she couldn't put a name to. She twirled her matted curls in her fingers, suddenly feeling like disappearing entirely.