A Brush With Love

Harry Potter Fanfiction

Title - A Brush With Love

By Amanda Skellington, as told to her by Scarlet Evans

Chapter 1 ~ The Meeting

Scarlet Evans scanned the dimly - lit dining room. Her search was completed as she heard a loud "Scarlet! Over here!" She spotted her best friends and hurried over to the table where they were sitting, in the back of The Leaky Cauldron. She sat down in the vacant seat they had reserved for her. She and her two best friends, June Rose Delacour, whose elder cousin, Fleur, was attending another school, Beauxbatons, in Southern France, and Seanna Finnigan, whose younger brother, Seamus, would begin school next year, were boarding at The Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the week, until September first, when they, like so many others, would be boarding the Hogwarts Express to begin their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Scarlet sighed with contentment. She loved these rare, quiet moments alone with her friends, when she could just be herself.

A loud voice shattered her inward thoughts. "Hello! Are you with us today?"

"Sorry," she murmured, then tried to pay attention to the conversation.

"As I was saying, maybe it would be a good idea if we browsed the stores first, then get enough money from Gringotts to pay for the items, just so we wouldn't run out, like June did last year . . . ." Seanna was babbling on and on, not paying attention to the other two girls, just like she always did. Suddenly June gasped.

"Oh my gosh! Scarlet, look! The captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team is staring right at you! What's his name again?"

"Oliver Wood," Seanna dreamily remarked, her hazel eyes reflecting Scarlet's feelings as well as her own. The boy's head jerked upright. He had obviously heard Seanna's loud comment, as did everyone else in the room. He looked around the swiftly emptying room, sighed, then continued pouring over the papers in his hand.

"I wonder what he's looking at?" June said, to no one in particular.

"He's probably planning the first Quidditch match of the season, even perhaps all of the matches! He is overly obsessed with the game, even if the team has never won the Quidditch Cup. He is such a poor sport; every time they lose, he tries to drown himself in the showers afterward."

Scarlet and June collapsed in laughter, Seanna soon following. After a while, the three proceeded to get up and walk up the stairs, with some difficulty, seeing they were still so submersed in their conversation they barely paid attention to where they were going, and find their rooms. Scarlet noted that Oliver Wood did the same, but always stayed at least a minimum of 20 paces behind the girls, and was always looking at the floor, or the papers he still carried, or the doors, yet never directly at the girls, who were walking rather noisily down the hallway. June left the group at her room, Room 5, and Seanna and Scarlet continued, still absorbed in the conversation. Soon after they came to Seanna's room, Room 19, and Scarlet continued on, noticing Oliver Wood was still behind her.

She reached her room, Room 37, and stopped, fishing in her pocket for her room key. She observed that Oliver stopped too, as if he were trying to avoid her for some reason. She found the key to her room and opened the door. She began to close it, but quickly changed her mind, and left it slightly ajar so that she could see and hear everything in the hall outside. She saw Oliver Wood walk past, then heard a key in a lock, and a door opening. She heard the door close, and some noises in the room next to hers. Oliver Wood had the room next to hers! She had to tell June and Seanna! She grabbed her room key and raced out the door. She stopped at Seanna's room, and knocked on the door. June opened it.

"Hey! Come on in!" She saw the confused look on Scarlet's face and explained, "I got bored, so I came to talk to Seanna."

Scarlet entered the room, her ecstasy showing on her face. "Guess what? Oliver Wood has the room next to mine!" she exclaimed, breathless with excitement. She and June were both caught off guard by the excited screech that Seanna let out.

"No way! I have got to sleep over in you room tonight!" she exclaimed.

"No! I want my own room, thanks!" Scarlet cried with obvious annoyance in her voice. The other two girls giggled and exchanged looks. "I know what you two are thinking and I DO NOT have a crush on Oliver Wood!" She then slyly admitted, "Well, maybe just a little one." The two other girls were absolved in laughter, which eventually faded to suppressed giggles, then at last an occasional chuckle. Finally the discussion ceased, and Scarlet and June went back to their rooms.

Chapter 2 ~

Scarlet entered her room and put her key down on the dresser. She was surprised to see a single scarlet rose lying on the dresser top. She picked it up, astonished, yet pleased, and wondered whom it could possibly be from. No one else had the key to her room, unless she had left the door open, which, considering her haste, she probably had. A stray thought popped into her head, and she pushed it away. Oliver Wood couldn't possibly have put it there. She placed the rose back down, lost in her thoughts, and almost missed the note positioned underneath where the rose had lain. She raised the note and opened the envelope. She unfolded the letter written in scarlet ink (of course) and began reading:

"My Dearest Scarlet -

I am madly in love with you and have been ever since I first saw you. I was stunned by your immense beauty the first time my eyes looked upon your figure crossing the room. I am breathlessly writing this as I imagine your shining face and graceful laughter. Meet me tonight, midnight, in the dining room downstairs. I will be waiting for you there - "

At that point, the paper was torn off. She wondered if she should awaken June and Seanna, who were probably asleep by now. She turned toward the door, began walking towards it, but decided otherwise. First she would find out who had written the note, then she would tell. Besides, the bottom of the note was torn off. The writer may want to keep it a secret from other people. She was so curious to find out who the mystery person was; she stole peeks at the clock constantly.

She was awakened by a shuffling outside her door. She glanced at the clock. 12:02! Time couldn't have passed so quickly! She had to get downstairs, fast!

She raced down to the stairs at the end of the hallway. Stopping at the top, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror hanging across the hallway. She made an effort to smooth her wind - blown hair, then continued down the stairs, all the while thinking to herself 'I should have changed, or put on makeup, or something! What if it's Oliver Wood? What'll he think of me? What if . . no, don't think about "what if"s right now. Just relax. Calm down. Breathe, Scarlet. Remember to breathe.'

By then she had reached the bottom of the stairwell. She walked into the dining room. A young man was standing in the middle of the room, his back to her. As she started to cross the room, he turned. She couldn't quite tell who it was; his face was in the shadows. She stopped in mid - stride.

"I'm sorry, I, um, am supposed to be meeting someone here." Her voice shook with excitement. As soon as he spoke, she knew who he was. "As a matter of fact, I believe you are here to meet me," Oliver Wood said as he crossed the room, quickly closing the distance between the two with three long strides.

"You were the one who wrote the note - oh, and thank you for the rose, it was lovely," she rushed on, remembering her manners a bit too late, as she always, regrettably, did. "I was wondering - why was the bottom of the note gone?" she asked, hoping she wasn't being too nosy.

"I, uh, signed my name at the bottom, then, um, realized it a little too late to, uh, rewrite the note," he stumbled on. She giggled as she heard his voice crack, relieved that she wasn't the only one nervous. He smiled, releasing all the tension in the room (and leaving her lightheaded - well, what did you think?), then joined in on her laughter.

Chapter 3 ~

The two conversed late into the night. At last Scarlet looked at the clock; a gasp escaped her lips. Morning had come, much too soon. "I'll walk you to your room; we are right next to each other, aren't we?" Oliver offered, which Scarlet accepted eagerly. The two walked across the room (at least Oliver walked and Scarlet jogged to keep up with him) and up the long staircase in the back of the room. They turned down the hallway and continued, Scarlet still jogging to keep up with Oliver's long strides. He walked as he talked, briskly.

They stopped between the doors to their rooms. "Um, well, good night," she said, turning to her door, fumbling with the key in the lock. She finally opened the door and was about to step inside when Oliver stopped her, a gleam in his fierce green eyes. (Editor's note: Does Oliver Wood even have green eyes? I think it might be brown, but I'm not sure. For the time being, his eyes are green. I mean, brown eyes can't really be fierce. They're more, well, soft.) He grabbed her arm and pulled Scarlet towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned in to gently, yet passionately, touch his lips to hers. She gasped, struggled for a moment in his firm grasp, then gave in. Her heart raced; she trembled all over. He pulled away, red - faced. "Good night," he said, and raced into his room.

Scarlet stood there for a moment, frozen with shock, then turned and ambled into her room. She got herself readied for bed, then collapsed into the large four - poster. As she fell asleep, she relived the kiss over and over. She finally fell into a dreamless slumber.

Chapter 4 ~

Scarlet awoke late the following morning (or should I say afternoon?). She glanced at the clock, then leaped out of bed and hurriedly threw her clothes on. She dashed downstairs and found her friends in the nearly - empty dining room, Seanna looking very impatient.

"Where have you been? It's already past noon!" she cried as Scarlet crossed the room to meet them. Scarlet showed them the flower and note; after she recollected the previous night to them quite excited looks were exhibited on their faces.

"So you mean, you kissed him?" June exclaimed after Scarlet had finished. "Well, not exactly," Scarlet admitted. "More like he kissed me." Neither of the girls could believe it; they had Scarlet retell her account of the night over and over.

"All right," Scarlet hollered after the fifteenth time. "I think we had better get to Diagon Alley before we run out of time."

"Maybe we'll see your new boyfriend," Seanna teased as they walked out the back of The Leaky Cauldron. "Oh, shut it," Scarlet retorted as June tapped her wand on the bricks and Diagon Alley appeared before them. They spent the rest of the day in Diagon Alley, returning with quite a few more items than they had planned. They bustled up to their rooms to deposit the goods, returning for a quiet dinner, which was interrupted many times by friends; including Lee Jordan, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Fred and George Weasley; who were "just passing through".

After dinner had ended, the three girls retreated to their rooms, not unlike the previous night.

Scarlet reached her room to find Oliver standing in the cooridor, waiting for her. His face lit up at the sight of her walking quickly towards him.

He pulled Scarlet towards him, giving her a short, but sweet kiss. When he pulled away, he said, "I missed you." "How can you have possibly missed me? It hasn't even been 24 hours since you last saw me," she retorted, a smirk showing on her face. His response was to lean in and kiss her again. Scarlet matched his warmth with hers; she quite liked the taste of him. "Good night, sunrise," he whispered, and let her go, dashing into his room and closing the door firmly behind him. Scarlet shook her head. "What is up with that?" she asked herself, referring to the way Oliver always disappeared right after he kissed her. "I'll just have to catch him somewhere he can't run away," Scarlet thought, a plan already forming in her mind.

Chapter 5 ~

The next morning when Scarlet woke up, the sky was dark and cloudy. "Oh, I hope it doesn't rain. My robes are hard enough to clean as it is!" Scarlet's mood was just as dark and stormy as the day outside. She looked at her watch, blinked in disbelief, then hurriedly got out of bed and raced about the room trying to gather her thinks and get them packed in time to catch the Hogwarts Express. She rushed out the door and straight into her friends waiting outside the door for her.

"Finally," Seanna shouted. "At last Sleeping Beauty decided to grace us with her presence!" "Would you just shut up?" June and Seanna were obviously in as bad of a mood as Scarlet. "We'd better get going before we miss the train," Scarlet heard behind her. Oliver was leaning against the wall, looking as handsome as ever, while Seanna and June giggled helplessly. Scarlet rolled her eyes, picked up her bags, and walked down the long corridor.

The four rushed out of the Leaky Cauldron to find the Weasley twins waiting for them, along with three stunning beauties - Alexandra Collins, Fred's girlfriend, her nose stuck in a book, Beatrice (last name unknown as of this time), George's long time girlfriend, and a girl who turned out to be named Kathy Stone, who was deep in conversation with Beatrice.

The group arrived at the station just in time - as soon as Seanna (the last one, as usual) walked through the enterance, the clouds opened. The sky was filled with lightning, and the thunder echoed throughout the building. The ninesome hurried onto the train and found refuge in the last empty compartment.

As soon as the train began to move, the door opened and in walked a young girl who looked to be a first year. She was tall, with blonde hair just barely reaching past her chest, and midnight blue eyes. "Hi! I'm Summer! Do you mind if I sit in here?" Considering that Fred, George, Oliver, and June were lost for words, Alex was still stuck in a book, and Bee and Kathy were still deep in conversation, Scarlet answered, "Sure! Come in, there's plenty of room."

Alex, peeking over the edge of her book, noticed the direction of Fred's open stare. She closed her book, of course putting a bookmark in it, and swatted Fred with it. "Remember me? Your GIRLFRIEND!" Fred blushed slightly and joked, "Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" Alex glared at him until he said, "Oh yeah! Now I remember! That girl who follows me around for no reason. . ." Alex just swatted him again and reopened her book.

The little reunion was soon interrupted by the lady with the cart of food. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" When she left, Bee's attention was drawn to George and his equally open stare. She groaned, then leaned over to kiss him. He seemed to come out of his trance; at least his attention was now on her.