Into the Stars

The next morning, I showered and dressed quickly, eager to get to breakfast. Or rather, eager to see Oliver. When I made it to the common room, Allie stood at the bottom of the stairs looking rather tired. She smiled a bit when she saw me coming down the stairs.

“Good morning!” I exclaimed before missing a step and almost toppling over. I caught myself on the railing and laughed. I was surprised when I didn’t hear Allie’s laughter echo mine.

“Morning.” She answered lazily. We started to walk to the Great Hall.

“Are you alright?” I asked, noticing that she hadn’t even bothered to brush her hair.

“Mmhm. I just couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Bad dream?”

“No. I was just really awake, I guess.”

“Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to beat it out of you?” I asked with a smile.

“Yes, it was a bad dream. Can we drop it?” She snapped.

“Well what was it about?” I asked thoughtfully.

“I don’t want to talk about it, alright? I just want breakfast. Is that ok with you?” I said nothing. It must have been one bad dream. We walked the rest of the way in silence.

Our normal spot at the table was empty. Allie didn’t seem to notice or care, but my mood was immediately worsened. I sat down with a dreadful sigh before grabbing a cinnamon roll. Allie watched as I pulled it apart and threw the pieces down on the plate. I hadn’t even noticed what I was doing until she spoke up.

“Christ, Nikki, it’s not like you’re never going to see him again.”

“What?”

“You don’t need to destroy the poor cinnamon roll just because Oliver’s not here.” I opened my mouth to defend myself, but I was interrupted.

“Oliver Wood is at Quidditch practice, along with Fred and George.” Said Hermione Granger, a good friend of Harry Potters. We stared at her blankly. “I just thought you might be wondering. They should be done soon.” She told us before getting up and skipping to the door. I looked back at my shredded roll and sighed.

“What’s the matter?” Allie asked carelessly.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me...” I said smiling as I leaned closer to her. She merely rolled her eyes. I sat up straight again and started reaching for the hash browns before hearing someone shift behind me. The warm breath I felt on my neck was what caused me to spin half way around quickly. Flint was crouched down beside me too close for comfort. If his teeth hadn’t deflected my attention enough, his breath definitely would have.

“Good morning, girls.” He said in a coy little voice which must have sounded appealing to him, because he used it a lot.

“Ugh... I am so not in the mood for you this morning.” Allie groaned before laying her head down on the table.

“Not a problem. I was hoping to talk to Nikki anyway.” He smirked as he turned his head back to me.

“So talk.” I said coldly trying my best to keep my face directed toward the table and not him. Unfortunately, his breath was inescapable.

“Maybe we could do it alone... There are some things I want to tell you.” He said still smiling.

“Yeah, well, no one else is around, and I don’t keep any secrets from Allie, so go ahead.” Allie grinned at this, her head still resting on the table as she watched us.

“I think it’s in your best interest if we were alone.” He whispered to me in my ear. I pulled away to look at him.

“Unless you have an apology for me, I don’t want to hear anything else come out of your mouth.” I said, letting my disgust get the better of me. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” I flitted the air in between us with my hand. “You’re invading my bubble.” Allie let out a hard laugh. Flint’s smug little grin turned into a snarl.

“And what might I have to apologize for?” I looked at him pathetically.

“Uh, knocking me out! What did you do that for, anyway?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you really did get knocked out as you say, perhaps you hit your head a little too hard.” My jaw dropped open. Not a moment too soon, Oliver, Fred, and George entered the hall. As soon as Oliver saw Flint, his face turned bright red and he began power walking.

“Flint!” He shouted from down the room. Flint turned and stood up slowly, his smile returning. “Get away from them.” Oliver snarled as he reached him. He stood only inches from him, causing him to take a step back.

“Relax, Wood. I was just making friends.” He said smirking.

“That’s not all he was trying to make...” Allie mumbled with a grin. Her head was still on the table and her eyes were still closed. Oliver glanced at her for a moment before looking back at Flint... and bringing his fist forward with him. He hit him square in the eye. Flint stumbled back and held his face.

“Blimey, Wood! That’s three times in two days!” One of the twins shouted triumphantly. Flint finally stood up straight and looked at Oliver. His eye was already swelling, and he was having trouble opening it.

“You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that, Wood.” He said angrily before stalking away.

“Thank you!” I exclaimed. Oliver stood frozen staring after Flint with a fuming expression on his face. Fred and George took their places across from us without bothering with Oliver. “Hey...” I said, tugging on his sleeve. He didn’t move. He was like a statue. I marveled at his gorgeous face for a moment. I loved the way his eyebrows furrowed when he was angry. “Oliver...” I murmured. He shook his head quickly and looked at me.

“Did he hurt you?” He asked immediately.

“Er, no...”

“Everything’s fine, Wood. Just eat your damned breakfast.” Fred said. Oliver sighed before taking a seat next to me.