Liar. Harry Potter's sister ~ Book 2

chapter four

I woke up early the next morning drowning in a pool of dread. The muted dawning sun shines its way through a gap in the moth-eaten curtains and lands on my face. Finally it's the morning. I had a long night. Insomnia was following me like a crowd of flies buzzing in my ear, with each twist and turn I made eager to get even remotely comfortable. I was too nervous. Today was Harry's hearing at the Ministry and I felt sickened every time it so much as drifted into my thoughts. I prop myself up on my elbows and glance at Hermione and Ginny, fast asleep in their own beds. I push the heavy blankets off my legs and get out of bed, careful not to wake the girls. At the end of my bed lay a smart, freshly laundered, black dress. I strip out of my pyjamas and slip into the dress, smoothening it out in front of the mirror. I brush out my hair and spray myself with a bit of perfume, silently, before creeping out onto the landing and shutting the door softly.

I didn't expect anyone to be up at this time, but as the muffled whispers from the kitchen grew louder as I descended the staircase, I was proved wrong. Molly was standing at the stove, bacon sizzling away in the pan and Harry and Arthur were sat at the table, whispering quietly among themselves. The table was ladened with a large pile of toast and some sausages and eggs, along with all kinds of marmalade's and jams. I tentatively step into the kitchen further and pull out a chair next to Harry. Mrs Weasley looks up from the pan and scurries over to me, running her fingers through the loose ends of my hair.

"Ah, Olivia, good morning! You look lovely, dear," she says, admiring my dress and urging me to sit down. She places a plate in front of me. "What would you like to eat?" I glance at the delicious looking food on the table, but feel no sense of hunger whatsoever. I feel as though I might be sick at any moment. My nerves were through the roof.

"Er- just some toast thanks," I say, with a weak smile. She grabs three slices and stacks them on my plate, pushing the butter and jams towards me slightly, smoothing my hair as she hurries back over to the pan of frying bacon. I swallow the lump in my throat and glance at Harry next to me.

"Couldn't sleep either?" He says, giving me a small smile. I can tell it's forced. It doesn't have the same energy it usually does. He looks tired and run down. His hands were placed in his lap and I could see them trembling slightly. I slip my own into his and give it a reassuring squeeze, giving my head a small nod.

"I was just telling Harry, Olivia, that his hearing starts at ten o'clock, precisely, but we are to get there early, as your DNA tests are scheduled for half past nine." Mr Weasley says, taking a long sip of tea. He is wearing a smart pair of tweed trousers and a bomber jacket, his thin rimmed glasses perched on the end of his long nose. I nod, knowing that if I tried to speak it would all come out a tumbling mess. Words couldn't describe how nervous I was at this point. We were soon to find out whether Harry was going to be expelled from Hogwarts or not. This could be the last time I sit with him, as his classmate. I'm not too worried about the DNA test, because I know what the results are going to be, but I tried not to think about it too much.

Time was ticking away as slow as ever. Glancing down at my watch every minute didn't help to make it go any faster either. Sirius, Remus and Tonks had joined us after about ten minutes of little to no conversation and they sure helped ease the words out of me a little bit. My hand was still grasping on to Harry's, tightly when Mr Weasley slapped his knees and rose from his chair, announcing that we should get going.

We bid goodbye to the sleepy faces positioned at the table and step out into the warm morning air. The streets of London were run down and almost deserted, but as we approached the London Underground, it was full of people rushing around and catching trains for work. I could see Mr Weasley was trying incredibly hard to contain his enthusiasm, with being in such close proximity with Muggles in their daily lives. Soon enough, we were boarding one of the trains, on our way to the Ministry, Harry and I handled the money transactions as he was not great with Muggle money.