The Keeper

Chapter 42

I listened to Smile Like You Mean It by The Killers, The Way You Used To Do by Queens Of The Stone Age and Have A Nice Day by Stereophonics.

Well it's nearly midnight but I managed to get this done!

Please vote and comment <3

*

OWLs we creeping up on us fifth years and our teachers made sure we knew it. I liked to think that I was always on top of my workload and never really let the pressure get the better of me. But the exams were really pushing me to the limit.

So I found myself studying in the library very, very often. As did many other students, to be fair. One would assume that the copious amount of time I spent revising would actually amount to something. This wasn't the case with me, however.

Despite the hours I spent reading and rereading and rereading, I was still feeling uncertain about the actual content.

Until Oliver happened to waltz into the secluded corner of the library where I was burying my face in a textbook.

"Working hard, I assume?" he asked.

I didn't bother looking up. "Yes. No distractions, please. Thanks. Love you."

He chuckled as I waved him away, my eyes never leaving the page. I was acutely aware of Oliver moving a few feet behind me, but other than that, he was kind enough to leave me in peace. the silence lasted just under five minutes.

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. Sighing, I set my textbook on the table and turned around, resting my chin against the back of the chair. Oliver was sitting opposite me, a warm smile on his face.

"Oliver," I said slowly, "I know that look. You've got something up your sleeve, haven't you?"

His only response was his previously cheerful grin melting into a sly smirk.

"I already told you. I need to revise." I poked his shoulder.

"So I guess you're not up for the fun I had planned," he said dramatically. "I'll just be over-"

"I didn't say that," I interrupted. His brown eyes lit up. "Just make it fast. And quiet. We don't want Madam Pince chasing you down."

After I said her name, I instinctively turned to check that she was still sitting at her desk instead of marching over to us. I was convinced she had a permanent spell on her ears that made her hearing incredibly sharp.

"Perhaps my idea would be done better out of the library," Oliver said.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why? Do you want more space? Or do we need to make noise?"

He smirked again, stirring up some butterflies in my stomach. "Let's just say I'd rather we do this where we might not be interrupted by Madam Pince. Or anybody else, for that matter." When I met his eyes, I noticed his pupils had expanded rather considerably.

"If you're planning what I think you are," I said, but I didn't finish my sentence.

"Your common room or mine?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Mine. Come on."

I quickly slotted the textbooks back onto their respective shelves and let Oliver take my hand, leading me to the Ravenclaw common room. I answered the riddle and he immediately pulled me to the loveseat in front of the fire.

"Okay then," he said, an excited glint in his eye. "We ask each other questions. If we get them wrong, we remove one item of clothing. If we get them right, the other person removes one item of clothing."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. I was suddenly very happy that I actually bothered to put on a bit of jewellery today. "I'll go first?" When he nodded, I asked the first question. "What is the only difference between a knarl and a hedgehog?"

Oliver didn't waste a second before answering. "If you leave out a treat, hedgehogs will gladly take it but knarls will assume it's meant to be a trap and start ruining your garden." He leaned back against the plush blue cushion and folded his arms.

I bit my lip as I took off my left earring and put it carefully on the coffee table.

"Unfair!" he protested.

"Don't blame me!" I said. "Now ask your question."

"Name three ingredients of the draught of peace," he said.

I cracked my knuckles. The textbook I had been reading before Oliver came into the library happened to be about Potions. "I can name all four. Powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills and powdered unicorn horn."

"Impressive," he replied. I watched as Oliver bent down to untie one of his shoes.

We continued bouncing questions off each other. Oliver had answered a small number incorrectly but I had managed to keep a streak of answering all of them right. After only a few minutes, I was left with no jewellery, socks or shoes, but wearing my t-shirt and jeans. However, Oliver was shirtless, though he still had his trousers. I had to consciously remind myself to keep my eyes away from his torso. He noticed my attempts.

"Like what you see?" Oliver said, gesturing at himself.

"Shut up."

He shifted a little closer and I didn't need a mirror to know that my cheeks went scarlet.

"Oliver," I whispered.

Looking down at me with darkened eyes, he ran his hand along my cheek. He leaned in and I shut my eyes.

"Having fun?"

Scared, we jerked away from each other. My first instinct was oh no it's a professor but thankfully, it was Sasha.

"In the nicest way possible," Oliver said gingerly, "we were kind of in the middle of something?"

She nodded. "Oh yeah. Anyone could see that. Including the three professors that are currently less than a minute away from coming in here."

I gasped and rushed to put on everything I had taken off. Oliver pulled his shirt on and barely managed to do all the buttons when Professor Flitwick came into the common room, followed by Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout. They nodded at us as they walked past.

When they were well out of sight, the three of us looked at each other. Both Oliver and I were blushing angrily and Sasha was trying not to laugh.

"Thank you so much," I said, but she dismissed it.

"I thought I should save you the utter humiliation of being caught half naked by professors. I'm gonna head upstairs. Be careful." She waved goodbye.

Oliver and I made eye contact for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"That was terrifying!" I exclaimed.

When we calmed down, he faced me with an expression that matched the one he had before Sasha had warned us about the oncoming professors.

"Would you be up for a round two another day?" he said, taking my hand and stroking the back of my palm with his thumb.

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Absolutely."