It was the first of September, and I was still half asleep when my mother came bounding into my bedroom.
"Rue, darling," she said, gently shaking me.
I grumbled in response.
"Time to wake up, dear. Unless you don't want to go to Hogwarts this year?"
"What time is it?" I slurred groggily, burying my face into my pillows.
"Almost half nine," she said as she pulled my sheets off of me with a flourish.
"Mum!" I cried as I shot upright.
"Get up, your breakfast is almost ready."
I watched as she left before collapsing back into my pillows. I had only been home for three days, and I had been enjoying sleeping in for once. Uncle Friedrich had had me up at the most ridiculous hours this summer while I was working for him. Honestly, I was certain I received more beauty rest in school than I did when I traveled with my uncle. And being a teenager, I rather enjoyed my sleep.
In fact, I enjoyed it even more when I was having pleasant dreams of a certain bloke who I hadn't seen and had barely heard from over the last few months. It was then that I realised, though, that the sooner I got ready and was waiting at Platform 9 3/4, the sooner I would be able to see him.
At that thought, I jumped out of bed, pulling Meister Eule with me and ran to my wardrobe, grabbing clothes and shoving last minute things into my trunk. I tenderly placed Eule on top of my textbooks before shutting the lid of the trunk and latching it shut. I shrunk my trunk down and stuck it in the pocket of my jacket. I took one last look in the mirror to make sure I looked as inconspicuous as possible, even though I was wearing my uniform skirt, before I bounced down the stairs and to the kitchen to join my parents for breakfast.
About an hour later, we walked through King's Cross, making sure that no one was looking when we slipped through the wall and onto the platform. The red Hogwarts Express sat still on the rails, students clambering on board.
The platform was abuzz with parents discussing the escape of Sirius Black from Azkaban. My own parents had talked to me about it while we were at the coffee shop. They were under the impression that Black would be trying to get to Hogwarts, since that was where he would find Harry Potter. I assured my parents that Hogwarts was still as impenetrable as ever, and I doubted that Black would be lucky enough to escape Azkaban and break into Hogwarts in the same year. No one had that kind of luck, and certainly there was no one that skilled, except, perhaps, Dumbledore.
I was about to set off towards the train to look for Oliver when my father clapped his hand down on my shoulder. I turned to look up at him curiously, because he had already given me the beginning-of-term lecture over the coffee we had stopped for at some muggle chain before coming to the station.
"Rüdiger, good luck. Make me proud, yeah?"
I nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Try not to get into too much trouble," he continued.
"'Course."
"Make wise choices," his voice had grown softer and somewhat strangled.
I furrowed my eyebrows. While I often questioned my parents' sanity, I was beginning to think that perhaps he really was losing it.
I was completely caught off guard when my father reached out for me, pulling me into a bone-crushing embrace. Well, if I was worried about his sanity before, it was certain that he had gone completely mental at that moment.
My mother let out a squeal from somewhere behind me and, shortly thereafter, I felt her arms wrap around me and my father.
It was possibly one of the worst moments of my life.
I struggled and squirmed before I finally ducked down and dodged out from between them. They remained holding each other, my mother crying softly and my father gently patting her head reassuringly. I rolled my eyes.
"Well, I'm off," I said hesitantly, gesturing to the train where I saw Fiona, Rose, and Carrie waving at me from one of the windows.
"Ooh," my mom cried, waving after me with a kerchief that had magically appeared. "Have an amazing seventh year, love!"
"Right, bye then!" I turned quickly, eager to escape. I would rather not be associated with the barmy pair who remained attached to one another behind me. They hadn't put on such a show last year with Klaus. I would have to let my brother know that it seemed our parents cared more for their precious baby girl than their firstborn son. I grinned triumphantly to myself.
I was standing at the end of the queue, waiting to climb onto the train, and was making faces at my mates who continued to watch me from their compartment three windows down. I stopped, though, when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and warm breath against my neck.
A smile broke out on my face before I turned around in his arms and looked up at him. He smiled down at me, "Hello, Rue."
And without another word, he bent down and pressed his lips against mine. I sighed, my hands reaching up and wrapping around his neck as he pulled me closer. Oh Merlin, how I had missed this.
We broke apart, and Oliver continued to smile at me. "We should get on board."
I nodded, taking his hand in mine and pulling him up the stairs after me. We looked for an empty compartment, as I knew the girls would be understanding if I didn't immediately join them. I ended up kicking out a little Hufflepuff second year who scurried out of the compartment with a squeak.
Oliver laughed beside me as we sat down, his arm wrapped around my shoulders.
"How was your summer, then?" he asked finally.
I nearly jumped out of my seat, "Bloody amazing! America isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, you know, and I learned a lot at the sites we visited."
He nodded, a crooked smile on his face.
"And," I paused, regarding him. "I won't regale you with details because you're giving me that look."
"What look?"
"The one that says you're quite bored with what I'm saying, and I've barely even started!" I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and scooting away from him.
He laughed, reaching out for me. I pressed myself against the opposite wall and glared at him. Oliver sighed before he stood, took a short step and sat down next to me. I was about to say something particularly smart, but his hands cupped my face and pulled me in for another snog.
"Are you quite finished?" I asked breathily some time later. The tip of his nose brushed against my cheek as he hummed a response.
"Is that a yes?"
"I'm still deciding. We have a few months to make up for," he murmured before he pressed his lips to mine again.
I pulled away, "What about your summer? You barely wrote me!"
"I was busy working on revising my Quidditch plans," he said softly, leaning in for another kiss.
I pressed my hand against his chest, holding him at bay. "The entire summer?"
He gave me a cocky smile, "We're going to win this year, you know."
"Oh, are you?"
"Aye," he said softly before brushing his lips against mine again.
"What makes you so sure of that?" I asked quietly.
"Because I know how to thoroughly distract a rival captain now," he smirked. I reached up to smack him, but he grabbed my wrist and went in for another kiss.
The compartment door slid open, however, and we were overwhelmed by cooing and whistles. I pushed Oliver away from me and turned my attention to Rose, Fiona, Carrie and the Weasley twins.
They all flooded into the compartment. Rose sat between Oliver and I. He flashed me a smile over Rose as she leaned forward, pulling out a deck of cards and declaring that we were going to have the Exploding Snap tournament of the century.
It was going to be an interesting year.
Thank you for reading this little Rue/Oliver fluff. I figured I would give it to you, because it kind of helps me get through seventh year without actually having to go through it. But you get a little taste for it, yeah? Anyway, J.K. Rowling owns the Harry Potter Universe, and I own that which you do not recognize from it. Please be a dear and kindly leave a review. Yours.