Finder's Keeper || Oliver Wood [1]

Chapter 29: Bad News

A/N: It was very entertaining to read your comments from the previous chapter bc y'all are soooo mad at Oliver HAHA I'm surprised no one's annoyed that Jessica didn't spill the truth either tho? But tbh I'd do the same 🥴

On the 31st of October, the castle had been decorated with enchanted bats and pumpkins, orange streamers, gloomier-looking skies, and the ghosts were more active than usual. For the past few weeks, everyone had been anticipating the scrumptious Halloween feast and they were all ecstatic that the day had finally arrived. Countless confectionery-filled pumpkins, cauldrons with giant lollipops, and goblets full of colored sweets were scattered all around the Great Hall that evening. The tables were also lined with roast chicken and beef, boiled and roasted potatoes, peas, carrots, and gravy to name a few of the dishes in sight.

Jessica stuffed herself with food until she could barely breathe, but she didn't care because there was no way she was missing out on any of the food within her reach. Besides, after weeks of trying to act normal around Oliver, this was one of the few ways she could release some of that added stress.

As the feast drew to a close, the students trickled out of the Great Hall one by one, all of them feeling full and sleepy from such a heavy meal. Jessica walked alongside Bethany behind a trail of other Gryffindors, both of them complaining that they were going to fall into a food coma the moment they reached their dorm. However, the sleepiness quickly left their bodies when they saw a crowd gathering in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"What's going on?" Harry was asking some of the boys from his year.

"Probably Neville forgot the password again," said Ron.

"Hey!"

"Oh, you're there," Ron said sheepishly when he realized Neville was right behind him.

Jessica frowned at the commotion and was about to step up when Percy Weasley pushed himself to the front.

"Let me through, please," he said firmly. "Excuse me! I'm Head Boy!"

The whispers only grew louder despite the Head Boy's arrival, though. When the crowd parted just a bit, Jessica's eyes widened — the Fat Lady was gone, and her canvas had been left all ripped and scratched up.

"Get back, all of you! No one is to enter this dormitory until it's been searched."

The portraits lining the walls around the Gryffindor common room entrance were also creating a ruckus. They were shouting at one another and traveling between paintings, only adding to the chaos. And then, Dumbledore and Mr. Filch entered the scene.

"Be quiet!" Percy raised his voice at the Gryffindors. "Make way! The headmaster's here."

"Come on, move," Mr. Filch hissed. He and Dumbledore came running up the steps in a hurry, the students pressing themselves against the railings to give them space.

"You heard — move!"

Dumbledore stared curiously at the torn painting with a small frown etched on his face. Meanwhile, Mr. Filch's eyes scanned all of the portraits within his sight, hoping to spot the Fat Lady in one of them.

"Mr. Filch? Round up the ghosts. Tell them to search every painting in the castle to find the Fat Lady," Dumbledore ordered.

"There's no need for ghosts, professor," Filch said, raising a hand to point at something in the distance. "The Fat Lady's there."

Almost at once, all the Gryffindors dashed towards the portrait that the Fat Lady had moved to because they just couldn't contain their curiosity. Of course, this agitated Percy, who was trying so hard to keep everyone calm and ordered, only more.