The Keeper

Chapter 35

I listened to You Found Me by The Fray, Secrets by One Republic and Build God, Then We'll Talk by Panic! at the Disco.

Please vote and comment <3

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"We need to talk."

I couldn't pinpoint exactly how I felt when the sentence left his lips. Confused? Excited? Scared out of my damn mind? A combination was most likely. Nevertheless, I followed Oliver as he hurriedly left the Great Hall.

He led me through a maze of corridors and I was convinced we'd gone in a circle at least twice before he finally stopped.

"I had to lose her," he said as if that explained anything. "Sorry about the detours."

"Uh... care to explain everything?" I said. "Starting with why you pulled me away from lunch."

Oliver looked me in the eye. I did my best not to pull him into a hug.

"The amortentia has worn off."

It was a simple statement. A mere five words. But it was more than enough to make my jaw drop. I didn't try to speak - my throat was too dry to bother. Instead, I gave into the temptation and wrapped my arms around him. He did the same.

"Maybe we should take this conversation somewhere we can sit down," I suggested. We both knew the exact place.

The corner of the courtyard was a familiar sight, even though I had avoided it completely after I discovered Oliver and Gillian together - too many memories. Now, I welcomed it. We sat down where we used to.

"Tell me," I said quietly.

He took a deep breath and I mentally told myself to not interrupt him by kissing him.

"Before I start, I want to say that I meant nothing I said or did under the influence of that damn potion," Oliver spat. I took his hand and told him it was okay. "I had a quick sip of my butterbeer before I went to the bathroom. It tasted different but I brushed it off and went to the bathroom. Then I started to change.

"Gillian was waiting for me just around the corner and she told me to kiss her. I guess it was a test to check the potion was working. It was. Then you found us and... I didn't feel any guilt. 

"I followed her around wherever she went. The amortentia description is right. I never loved her, not once. But I was obsessed. My quidditch, my grades, my relationships-" he squeezed my hand, "all suffered because of it."

He paused, so I asked him about the wearing-off process.

"I didn't know it at the time, but she always topped it up at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Sometimes she'd pour a bit in my drink, over my food. Sometimes she'd actually make something for me doused in it, hence the chocolate.

"I think she couldn't find us last night in the library. It had already started to wear off by then, though, so she must've given me my last dose at lunch. It normally takes about twelve hours for me to feel different. I can usually tell when it's wearing off: my mood improves, I can focus on something other than Gillian, and so on.

"And today she didn't manage to get the amortentia into my system. So I went straight to you because I had to tell you everything and apologise and do this."

He kissed me without hesitation. It was short, sweet and it encapsulated all of the emotions that both of us had been holding in since that awful day at the Three Broomsticks.

"I missed you," he mumbled, my forehead pressed against his. "I missed this."

I was about to reply but something that I noticed in my peripheral vision distracted me. To put it simply, it was an oncoming storm. And I was furious.

"Oliver! What are you doing?"

My stomach fell and I dug my nails into my palm. Why did she have to turn up now, for God's sake!

"Gillian, go away before I lose my temper," I said, my voice low.

"Y/N's right," Oliver said, cutting Gillian off before she could spit some snide remark at me. "Amortentia?" He laughed condescendingly and stood up so he was taller than her. "Really? You were so desperate to steal me from Y/N that you brewed amortentia to get me."

A strange noise escaped Gillian's throat. She was at a loss for words.

"That's right," Oliver continued, taking a step closer to her. She shrunk back instinctively. "And amortentia is difficult to make, isn't it? Takes a long time. So how long were you planning to use it on me? The jealousy took a hold of you early on. You couldn't stand the idea that I was with someone else. Your friend, to make it worse."

I smirked. I wouldn't exactly call Gillian a friend, per se, especially after she used the most powerful love potion in existence to take my boyfriend away from me.

"Oliver, no, that's not what, I didn't mean-"

"Oh, give it a break!" Oliver exclaimed. He ran a hand through his hair and scoffed. "You took me away from my girlfriend by, well, drugging me! So get out of my sight." I'd never imagined that Oliver could speak with such pure malice in his voice. It terrified me.

And Gillian too, because she shot me one last glare before leaving. She was walking a little faster than usual.

I looked at Oliver, but his eyes were focused on Gillian. He didn't pull them away until she was completely out of sight. Suddenly, he took both of my hands in his and pressed kisses against them.

"Thank you for standing up to her," I said. "It means a lot to me after watching you with her."

He met my eyes and I remembered just how much I'd loved their deep brown colour.

"Y/N, for months Gillian had me drugged to be her overly obsessive boyfriend," he said, sitting next to me. I put my head on his shoulder. "And all the while, the real me, who wanted you,  was pushed into a tiny corner of my mind and had to watch as I did all these horrible things to you and I hated every second of it, because..." He trailed off.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I softly asked him to keep going.

"Because I love you, Y/N."