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

A Change of Scenery

Weeks of doing more or less nothing wore on Olivia quicker than normal. Perhaps it was Sirius's occasional trips elsewhere, lack of letters from Harry, or even the angry mood swings that seemed to get more and more frequent. Either way, her frustration built up quickly.

Sirius just snapped back at all her remarks, feeling quite trapped himself. Sure, he was instructed to leave in order to recruit Order members, but that usually resulted in a very long journey followed by unsatisfactory conversations. A fair few of the old members had since passed (either in the war aftermath or from unrelated causes), and their family members were not all too happy to see a giant black dog surveying their home. Sending those reports back weren't all too happy either, and Remus could only do so much to try and cheer him up.

Remus himself wasn't even holding up too well. He enjoyed having Sirius's company, sure, but having permanent and very irritable guests in his home wasn't ideal for the introvert. He got along with Olivia fairly well, but he could sense how out of place she felt, which prompted him to give her space. He did his best to break up their fights as well, which also resulted in bitterness towards him from either side. Cheering Sirius up was easy, but he just hoped that Olivia could find her own solace.

After almost two months in the cottage, a letter arrived on a grand Hogwarts owl in the middle of the day. Olivia intercepted the letter before either of the men could, snatching it up and unrolling it eagerly.

Scanning the writing, it became evident that Dumbledore had meant for this one to be read by Olivia. He didn't get into any details, mentioned nothing by name, and used plural pronouns throughout, with kinda pissed Olivia off. Of course Dumbledore would somehow know she would read it. After all, the old man knew everything, didn't he?

Wow I'm angry again Olivia thought to herself as her thoughts ran through her mind. The letter basically felt like an eviction notice— the three of them are moving to Grimmauld place for safety, the whole group is meeting there, etc. Just another place to stay in Olivia's mind. Just another pitstop in the grand scheme of it.

"Sirius! Remus! Owl!" Olivia called out, waiting for either of them to relieve her of the letter. Sirius looked extremely panicked for a second, ripping the paper out of her hands as of it would poison her. She waved him off, moving into the kitchen for a snack.

She watched Sirius's nerves slowly relax as he read through the letter, obviously pleased that it wasn't anything Olivia shouldn't read. Olivia just snacked on the remains of a crisp bag, regarding Sirius with a subdued anger bubbling to the surface.

"Liv!" Sirius snapped her out of her thoughts, "Did you hear me? Go pack your things,"

Olivia, feeling in every way a pissed off teenager, looked him dead in the eye, ate one last crisp, and then retreated to her room in a huff, grumbling about being ordered around. Mentally she understood that she had no reason to be mad, but the rest of her didn't want to hear any of that logic.

Packing up her limited belongings, she patted the bed forlornly, feeling all too aware that her relocation would bring no more freedom than her current circumstances.

The move to Grimmauld Place was done under the cover of night, with Olivia stuffed in a briefcase and carried along by Remus. Sirius got to walk alongside Remus, of course, which royally pissed Olivia off.

How come I'm stuck in here, again? You're walking about for all the world to see!

I'll be hidden too in a moment, and besides— it's weirder for a man to be traveling with a bird than a dog.

Remus isn't exactly your average man walking his dog, Sirius. What kind of casual stroll involves a briefcase, no leash, and one in the morning?

Sirius pauses a moment, perhaps I'm just an annoying sort of dog who demands I be walked at one in the morning.

Oh you're an annoying sort of dog, alright. Olivia snapped back at him, though his bark sounded more like laughter than anger.

By the time they'd managed their way to Grimmauld Place, Olivia had formed a makeshift nest and and dozed off. Deciding to let her sleep through the inevitable security clearances, the men waited until they were properly in the home before opening the briefcase and leaving in on top of Olivia's assigned bed.

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Waking up in a strange place is a scare you never quite get over, Olivia discovered. The nest was comfortable, sure, but the cold room with its peeling wallpaper and musty smell were far from it.

She woke up slowly and recognised that she was still in Remus's briefcase, meaning those two must be around somewhere. Which probably meant she was free to walk around, supported by the fact that there was no notes or anything to say otherwise. Careful to stay as quiet as possible, Olivia transformed back into herself and crept around the room, surveying the other bed that resided there that looked as if it wasn't meant to be there, as evidenced by the tracks of no dust and the crampness it gave the space.

Before Olivia could deduce anything else, however, she heard the doorknob begin to turn, prompting a surprised transformation and a flutter to hide under the moved bed. Holding her breath and sticking to the shadows, Olivia could feel her heart pumping furiously as the stranger entered the room.

"Liv? You up?" Came Sirius's voice, but Olivia was still weary to come out. She moved closer to get a better look, creaking the floorboards slightly but not enough to make the man aware.

"Liv, it's me, Sirius. We're back in Grimmauld's Place, where we got our clothes from our firsts night out of..." his voice trailed off, "Are you in here?"

Olivia, feeling confident it was Sirius, hopped out from underneath the bed and transformed back, giving Sirius quite the shock.

"You could've warned me," Sirius said with a hand over his chest.

"Warned you of what?" Olivia smirked at him, feigning ignorance of her very purposeful tactics.

Sirius looked at her strangely for a second, "Did you grow or did I shrink?"

Feeling unsure of what he meant, Olivia stepped closer and found that his  shoulders were closer to her eye level than she remembered. Gasping slightly, "Did I grow? Is this how growing works?"

Sirius kept his odd look, "What do you mean is this how growing works? And aren't you a little old for growth spurts?"

Olivia just shrugged, "I have no idea. But hey, if I'm finally growing, I'm not going to question it." And with that confidence boost to start the morning, Olivia slipped by the pondering Sirius, trying her best to remember where exactly the kitchen was.

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QUICK QUESTION FROM IN-TIME AUTHOR: Who do you guys ship Olivia with? I'm struggling HARDCORE on what ship to write. PLEASE let me know!

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Slightly shorter filler but hey, what can ya do.

Anyway, please leave feedback and I hope you enjoyed!