The Keeper

Chapter 44

I listened to Wolf In Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off, The House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals and The Winner Takes It All by ABBA.

Ops on Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again?

It's been over a year since I published the first chapter! Thank you to everyone who has continued reading from the start - I appreciate you all so much.

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First period had just started by the time Oliver and I left the headmaster's office, so the corridors were almost empty. One or two stragglers dashed past us but were too worried about getting to class on time to notice us. While we were walking, I absent-mindedly reached for his hand. His skin was familiar and he took my hand warmly.

Unconsciously, we made our way to our little corner in the courtyard and sat down. Oliver was still holding my hand. His thumb moved to stroke my skin.

"It's over now," he said, his voice barely audible. "Merlin's beard, it's finally over."

I collapsed onto his chest, letting Oliver wrap his arms around me.

"It's over," he repeated. Soothingly, he rubbed my back and I leant into him even more.

"What did you think of her punishment?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled by Oliver's robes.

"Justified. She hurt us both and I want her out of my life."

Although there was still a part of me that felt a little pity, the majority of both my head and heart wanted her gone. "Yeah. Me too."

There was a pause.

"What do you reckon she was doing in our spare dorm?" Oliver said. He chewed his lip. We both had very strong suspicions.

"I think she was watching you," I admitted. "Or maybe wanted to feel close to you. I'm not sure. Whatever it was, Dumbledore said it wasn't good."

After a brief length of silence, our conversation meandered on until second period ended. I sighed, disliking the idea of the courtyard suddenly being swarmed with people. Anywhere we tried to go would be crowded. But, I thought, it would be much better with my friends.

I took Oliver's hand. "Our friends will be in the Great Hall. I want to see them."

We stood up and he grinned. "That," he said, already leading me away, "sounds like a good idea."

Avoiding the worst of the crowd, Oliver and I rushed through the hallways towards the Great Hall. Sasha, Aleeza, Louise and, to my surprise, Felix, were sitting in a group in the middle of the Ravenclaw table. I was rather pleased with Felix's presence. Much like Sasha trying to set me up with Oliver, I was now desperate for the Ravenclaw quidditch stars to become a couple.

"Y/N! Oliver!" Sasha exclaimed when she noticed us sitting next to them. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Keep it clean for the children," Aleeza said, clasping her hands over Louise's ears. Louise removed them, throwing a glare at Aleeza, but I noticed she didn't let go of her hands. I smiled to myself.

"Dumbledore wanted to see us," Oliver explained slowly. Unsure of how much to reveal, he glanced at me. I shrugged. People would notice that Gillian had left and the entire situation would be common knowledge anyway. "Gillian's being expelled."

The short statement elicited a variety of reactions from the group.

Sasha had thrown her hands in the air. "Thank God, thank Merlin, thank Jesus..." She went on for a few more seconds.

On the opposite end, Louise, who had known Gillian the longest, bit her lip. "I hope her new school is drama-free," she said sincerely.

Felix reacted in the way only a quidditch captain would. He clapped my back and told me that he was happy for me. "Maybe your quidditch will become even better!"

Aleeza had muttered something about tracking Gillian down to beat her up in numerous illegal ways.

"We would both be grateful if you didn't go spreading this," I interjected, reaching for and taking Oliver's hand. "People are bound to find out on their own so we don't want to speed the process up. I'd hate the attention."

"Of course!" Felix promised.

More and more people were starting to fill up the tables to have a snack and talk, so I promptly told everyone that we should change the subject.

Eventually, Oliver, Sasha and Felix had to leave for their next lesson. I kissed Oliver on the cheek and said goodbye to the three. What I really wanted to do was catch Aleeza and Louise alone. I glanced at their once-again interlocked fingers and grinned. I caught Aleeza's eye.

"When were you going to tell us about this?" I asked quietly, struggling to contain the elation in my voice.

Immediately, they both blushed furiously and separated their hands.

"No, no!" I said. "Go back to holding hands, please." When they did so, I let myself continue. "I think you guys are very sweet together and I have always thought you'd be a good couple. It started when you started falling asleep while studying on the same bed."

"Yeah," Louise mumbled, "I suppose that did happen quite a lot."

"Then one evening I came back to find you two sleeping without any textbooks with you," I admitted. "That was very cute, I must admit."

They blushed a little harder, and Louise leant down to lean on Aleeza's shoulder. My chest swelled as Aleeza pressed a kiss to her blonde hair.

"When are you planning on telling people?" I said, repeating my earlier question.

Uncertain, the pair looked at each other. Louise nudged Aleeza, who sighed. "We're not sure, really," she confessed. "We wanted to keep it quiet for a while, but I guess we weren't as discreet as we though." Sticking her tongue out, she pretended to glare at me.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"Thank you," Louise said. "We'll tell you when we're ready."

"Of course," I said, collecting my things and preparing to leave. "Although just so you know, I'm certain all of our friends will support you no matter what."

As I was leaving the Great Hall, I threw one last look over my shoulder to see Aleeza and Louise locked in a tight embrace, Louise peppering kisses on her girlfriend's cheeks.