Chapter Text
“Dad, look at the red owl! Can I have it?”
“Three feathers bought, one offered! The feather for only 10 Sickles!”
“Don't go too far away kids, we need to get your wands as soon as possible!”
“Miss, wouldn't you like a makeover with a "Perfection" potion for only 3 Galleons?”
“No thanks, I'll pass on the offer.”
“Are you sure? You look very tired to me. This potion can revive your beautiful skin in a flash!”
“I am certain, goodbye...”
Olivia pushed through the crowd, her suitcase bumping against the cobblestones of Diagon Alley. The air was thick with the hustle and bustle of last-minute shoppers, each family scrambling to finish their back-to-school errands. The vibrant colors of shop windows glowed beneath the gray London sky, offering everything from enchanted quills and cauldrons to robes that shimmered in every shade of the rainbow. Above her head, a dragon-shaped clock on the corner of the Leaky Cauldron ticked down the minutes, signaling how little time she had before the group would leave for the Burrow.
The smell of fresh parchment and magical sweets blended in the air, punctuated by the occasional crackle of fireworks coming from the Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes display. The street was alive—carts selling pumpkin juice and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans lined the way, and the chatter of witches and wizards echoed off the cobblestones, filling the alley with a kind of chaotic, festive energy. Olivia glanced up at the stone buildings that towered on either side, each one teeming with magical wonders behind glass windows. She had always loved coming here, despite how overwhelming it could be. She craned her neck, scanning the crowd of familiar faces—families huddled together, children tugging their parents’ sleeves, and friends greeting each other with excited shouts and hugs.
He shouldn’t have been so hard to find, she thought. After all, he always went shopping with an unmistakable sea of red hair.
“Olivia!” a teenage boy shouted, his voice carrying above the noise, and the girl instantly caught sight of his green eyes, bright and welcoming.
The knot in her chest loosened just a bit when she spotted him. There they were, her second family. Olivia’s steps quickened, her suitcase bouncing behind her as she weaved through the throngs of people.
She finally found herself in her Albus Potter—her very best friend—‘s arms. He had grown a little taller since she’d last seen him, now standing a few inches above her. If he kept up the momentum, he would soon be a full head taller than her. She couldn’t help but smile.
“How are you Liv’?” Albus asked, stepping back to look at her with concern.
“Immediately better!” she answered, her exhaustion from the morning fading as she met his grin.
Ginny Potter hugged Olivia next, without any warning. "Olivia! My dear, how happy I am to see you!" she exclaimed, planting a quick kiss on Olivia’s cheek.
The others soon followed—Lily and Hugo, their bright red hair unmistakable even in the crowded street, pulled Olivia into their circle. She greeted them with a smile, her thoughts drifting away from the hustle of Diagon Alley as she caught up with her friends. When she looked up, her eyes met another red head.
“Didn’t miss you, babe,” Rose teased, holding her arms open in mock offense.
“Tell me about it,” Olivia responded, raising her eyebrows playfully. “It’s almost as if I would have preferred staying at home.”
Albus rolled his eyes. “Too much love in here.”
“Shut up Albus,” the girls said simultaneously.
Albus Potter was a spitting image of his father, minus the scar and glasses. No one missed his jet-black hair, green eyes and square jaw. He looked exactly like his father, and yet the two had nothing in common. Since being sent to Slytherin in his first year, Albus had become very distant from his father, although he had assured him a million times that it didn't change his love for him. Lily also looked a lot like her mother, and had not a single physical trait in common with her father.
Rose Granger-Weasley, on the other hand, was a perfect blend of her two parents. She had Ron's face and his eyes, her mother's nose. As far as hair was concerned, she had wonderful red curls. She and her brother Hugo were very similar. They were both almost identical, except that Hugo had much finer features, like his mother.
“Aren't you missing a member?” asked Olivia bringing her suitcase to her feet.
“James has gone to see the brooms,” Albus moved closer to his best friend, “not too disappointed that he won't be welcoming you?"
“Certainly not, it's very relaxing not to see his face right away, believe me.”
“I don't doubt it. If I could, I would have come to your house just to escape him.”
“It makes you wonder if my father wouldn't be better than him, basically...”
The two friends laughed. Ginny hadn't heard them, but they weren't necessarily hiding. Olivia didn't really like to badmouth her son in front of her though, but it was too tempting.
“When he comes back from the Quidditch equipment shop, he might think about buying a soul,” she added.
Albus frowned, “For that, he'd have to have a brain...”
Ginny heard this last remark and slapped the back of her second son's head in rebuke. She didn't tolerate the fights between the two brothers and the insults that flew between them.
“Liv!”
Roxanne Weasley threw herself in the arms of her friend.
“Oh, Rox, careful! You almost made me fall!”
“Who cares! You're back!” she exclaimed.
The friends talked about everything as they walked through the Diagon Alley looking for their school supplies. Roxanne, Rose and Albus had already bought most of it, but as they passed the Quidditch dedicated shop, Rose pulled Lily towards the front.
“Trust me, you'll need a proper broom to pass the team entrance tests!”
Lily was very talented. Not only did she have really good grades in classes, but she was also naturally talented for Quidditch. And yet, she was not very confident with her capacities. Fortunately, she had a wonderful entourage to remind her how amazing she was.
When James and his best friend and cousin Fred, Roxanne's brother, came out of the shop, the dark-haired boy's eyes immediately fell on Olivia.
“This one already? Can't you leave us alone for five minutes?”
“Just so you know, we haven't seen her in a month,” Albus said in defence of his friend.
“I don't need your permission James, as far as I know you're nobody to me.”
“A month really isn't long enough,” the young man replied, ignoring Olivia completely.
“Lily! Rose!” interrupted Fred. “Come and see, we've found some gems for this new year of Quidditch!”
Fred pulled James along, followed by his two cousins. Before turning around, he gave Olivia a slight wave to greet her. Not that he didn't dare to do it in front of James, but he understood that the situation could quickly degenerate if the two of them were to throw spikes at each other. Fred didn't appreciate his best friend's attitude towards Olivia, but he rarely did anything to contradict him, he simply changed the subject when he could.
Ginny and Hugo followed them into the shop, leaving Olivia, Albus and Roxanne on their own.
“As soon as Quidditch is involved, Mum disappears. I think she misses her days as a pro player.”
“You bet, even today she's a world star. I wouldn't be shocked if she got recognized despite her fake hair colour.”
The three of them weaved in and out of the wizards, buying a treat on the way and chatting about their summer sitting on the edge of the shop front.
“My father has been on edge a lot lately. We're not sure why, it seems to be bothering Rose and Hugo's parents too. Uncle and Auntie have been going in and out of the house more than ever and the three of them have been locking themselves in the study. That's why they are not here today – that and the fact that my Dad's never here. He and Mum have been arguing for a few days now. I think she's upset not to know what this is about. I guess it's something to do with work.
“But your Dad and Hermione work together for the Ministry, what does Ron have to do with their work?” pointed out Olivia.
“That's right, if his job has something to with it, why wouldn't my Dad know about it, him?”
“I told you guys I don't know. I don't have any other info on it. Neither does Rose, but apparently her parents are in a cold mood at the moment. But please, let's stop talking about my father. Liv', how was your last week? We haven't heard your owl once, has anything happened?”
“No, no... The week has gone no more differently than the rest of the month. But Jarvis got sick, so I thought I'd let him rest for the ride.”
“What about your Dad, did he say anything when you left?” asked Roxanne cautiously as she quickly shoved her liquorice wand into her mouth.
“For once, I didn't get the silence of death. As soon as I made the slightest noise when opening my suitcase or rummaging through the cupboards, he growled from the back of his chair. That's something.”
“I mean, I guess it could have been worse.”
“Yeah, but I'd rather not talk about it too much if you don't mind. How about you, Rox?”
“Well, we had a visit from Uncle Charlie, and a baby thunderbird he saved from his trip to North America. It's not as impressive as the baby dragons he brought back for Christmas two years ago, but it's certainly less dangerous. I was still disappointed not to see Fred's pyjamas on fire.”
“Ah the laugh we had, I'll always remember that!” recalled Albus accompanied by a smirk.
“And when Trent tried to put the baby out by throwing a bucket of water on it!”
“Here, by the way, do you know where we're meeting Tana and Trent, and the others?
Albus glanced at his watch which was a gift from his Uncle Bill and looked up at his friend.
“They're supposed to meet us here, but knowing how slow their father is, they shouldn't be too far ahead.”
“Are you guys panhandling or something?” a third-party voice spoke up from the crowd.
The three friends turned at the same time towards this voice.
“Scorpius!”
The blond boy hugged his best friend and embraced Roxanne and Olivia one by one.
“We haven't heard from you in ages!”
“Yeah well, as if my father would let me send you letters. That's not knowing him very well you guys.”
The young man joined them but didn't sit on the bench. He was perfectly dressed, all in black. His blonde hair and pale skin contrasted sharply with his clothes. He may not have been very close to his father's ideas, but he still looked very much like him physically.
“Is he letting you hang out with us like that? Although Rose isn't here, so he shouldn't notice any red hair to criticise,” Albus spat.
“I'm with my Mum. Besides, even if I was with him, he couldn't stop me from coming to say hello.”
Albus, who had his head down, gave a slight smile that Olivia noticed. He and Scorpius were extremely close, but their parents didn't like each other in the least. Since the start of the first year, they had had difficulty admitting that their sons were friends.
“In fact, she's waving at me. I'd love to stay, but I've got some shopping to do. I'll see you in a while anyway!”
The three young people reluctantly said goodbye but were soon taken by surprise by new faces.
Tana jumped into the arms of Olivia telling her how much she had missed her best friend. The two girls hugged for a long time.
“Make way for Suzie Gillis, ladies!” shouted a small blonde girl as she slipped between the arms of her friends.
“And I don't get a hello hug?” complained Trent.
“Shave that old prepubescent moustache and we'll see,” Suzie replied coldly.
The two were very good friends. Having been sent to Hufflepuff in first year, Trent Jordan had felt left out of all his friends he had known since childhood, and Tana, his twin sister. His father Lee Jordan was best friends with George Weasley, so he and Tana were basically part of the family. But they'd all practically been split up into Gryffindor, and with his sister in Ravenclaw, he'd found himself alone, not knowing anyone. He had then met Suzie Gillis, and the two of them had become extremely close. He had even introduced her to his childhood friends who had immediately integrated her into the big group.
Together they often provoked intrigued looks. Rose and Roxanne, being the good Weasleys that they were, had been sent to Gryffindor, and Rose was even on the Quidditch team. As for Albus, he had been assigned to Slytherin to everyone's surprise. This announcement had been very hard for him to accept, but he had met Scorpius Malfoy, and against all odds, the two had become best friends. Olivia, on the other hand, had found herself in Ravenclaw, and that was no shock at all. She had met Tana, her roommate, who had introduced her to the Weasley family.
She had finally encountered Albus Potter during their very first class at Hogwarts. Because she talked too much with Tana, Potions Professor Slughorn had asked them to form a pair. The two never left each other's side after Albus blew a potion at Polly Chapman's face.
The eight of them made a strange group of people from all four houses, and even though in their first few weeks at Hogwarts they hadn't really embraced their friendship for fear that people would look at them strangely, they had ended up hanging out together as a group wherever they went. They cared far too much about each other to be without each other's company.
They had decided to walk together between the shops in search of their school supplies. They spent the afternoon shopping, enjoying their independence without their parents. Suzie eventually had to leave them, quickly followed by Tana and Trent, leaving Olivia, Albus and Roxanne alone again, who were soon caught up by Ginny Weasley and her clique. It was time for them to return to the Burrow, and Olivia couldn't be happier about it.
“Does she really have to show up, this one?” James spat on their way out of the Diagon Alley.
Olivia ignored his comment and followed the family towards a building whose entrance was filled with chimneys. One by one, the Grangers-Weasleys-Potters and Olivia used Floo powder to get to the Burrow.