Chapter twenty one; When three became four.

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As her back hit the floor forcefully and her head smacked off the ground she couldn't help but to groan in pain. While the quick apparition from Bathilda Bagshot's home in Godric's Hollow on Hermione's part had more than likely saved their lives, it hadn't been done in the proper way. There was absolutely no deliberation about it, and the thought that Wilkie Twycross would be severely disappointed dared to cross Olivia's mind.

The three of them were lucky that they weren't hurt, or even more hurt than what they already where. Olivia didn't feel like she'd been splinched, but she couldn't register anything except the cruel throbbing in her right arm just below her elbow. She clutched ever so tightly to it as she sat up on her bum, the pain making her quite dizzy all of a sudden.

She closed her eyes to stop the world around her from spinning and bit hard into the side of her gum.

"Olivia!" Hermione called to her and a few seconds later she heard her feet pounding through the snow, drawing nearer with each step. She skidded to halt in front of her and dropped to her knees quickly while reaching into her bag, "W—what happened?"

Through the thick liquid running down her fingertips and staining the pure white snow she seethed, "That fuckin' snake." She cursed, still gripping around her right arm underneath her elbow.

Harry's footsteps thudded over next and she felt her coat being pulled off her shoulders, "It was the snake," he told Hermione calmly, holding Olivia's bloodied right hand while carefully manoeuvring her arm out of the sleeve of her coat, "As soon as it got its grip it wouldn't let go."

Hermione gasped, partly with horror and partly with seeing the lines of dark red running down Olivia's pale arm as Harry rolled her t-shirt and jumper sleeve up,
"It—it bit you?"

"Must've been hungry I reckon." Olivia spat out, screwing her eyes shut tightly, "little bastard."

"O—oh, wow, okay." Hermione spluttered out as Harry eased the clothing over the bite gently. Pierced into Olivia's pale skin sat several bite marks, some deeper than others, all emitting their own desired amount of blood.

"You know Hermione that response is exceptionally reassuring." Olivia told her sarcastically, opening her eyes to see Hermione looking quite frantic.

The brown haired girl rummaged around in her bag for a minute or so before she pulled a small bottle out and looked to Harry, "Hold her."

"What?" Olivia asked as Harry moved her to be flush against his back. He fitted his free arm around Olivia's arm and waist, holding her there as tightly as he could, "Why? Hermione—"

Hermione didn't reply, instead she tipped a few droplets of the substance onto the broken skin and cringed when Olivia yelled in agony.

She knew what it was as soon as she felt the first droplet. She remembered how Hermione had coated Ron's shoulder in it after he had been splinched. Olivia really sympathised with Ron know as the stinging sensation that burned her arm wasn't pleasant.

On impulse, she restricted against Harry and fought away from him in a desperate bid to stop the pain. Harry only tightened his hold around her and on her arm so he held a vice grip on her, not only that but Olivia didn't realise Hermione had stopped putting the antiseptic on to the wound. She was just experiencing the stinging before the area eventually numbed.

Her struggling drew to a close when she felt little pain and she relaxed into Harry's chest, his heart thumping loudly into her back while she exhaled heavily. Hermione cleaned the blood away from Olivia's arm and hand before cleaning the wound itself. She then proceeded to fetch a bandage wrap from out of the wonders that was her 'bloody beaded bag' and wrapped it over the wound. All the while Olivia relaxed into Harry's chest with her eyes closed, her heart beating too fast from their ordeal.

What was supposed to be a peaceful and hopefully successful night in searching for the sword turned into a very unexpected and highly dangerous night.

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"Harry's wand broke last night." Hermione voiced, her tone laced with guilt.

From looking out past the protective enchantments and on to the large lake they had settled at, Olivia turned and looked to Hermione, "How?"

The two sat out in the snow, leaning against separate tree trunks with blankets covering them. Hermione had a book open in her lap while Olivia grasped to a flask full of tea, desperate for some warmth.

"Snapped in half after the apparition."

Olivia sighed heavily, "Last night was a total mess."

"I know. We should never of gone back."

"We had to rule out the possibility Hermione, at least now we know the Sword isn't there and Harry finally got some closure."

Hermione nodded in understanding as the said boy walked out of the tent with loud breaths. He looked how Olivia felt, stiff and sore. He walked up the small hill to them and stopped by them to look out at the scene in front of him, the snow covering everywhere except the lake like a blanket.

"Are you feeling better?" Hermione asked.

Harry avoided her question, "You've outdone yourself this time Hermione." He told her, staggering over to sit opposite them.

"Forest of Dean," she replied as Olivia took a sip of her tea, "came here once with mum and dad years ago. It's just how I remember it, the trees, the river, everything — like nothing's changed." She looked away, "not true of course, everything's changed. If I brought my parents back here now they probably wouldn't recognise any of it. Not the trees, or the river, not even me."

Olivia recalled what Hermione had done. She'd told her about a month or so ago that before she left for the Burrow back in July she'd Obliviated her parents memory of her. Their only daughter. It shocked Olivia at first to hear it, she didn't expect Hermione to do that, but when it finally registered in her mind it pulled on her heart strings.

"Maybe we should just stay here." Hermione went on to wonder out loud.

"As much as that sounds like a brilliant idea I'm fairly positive I'd die of an overwhelming cold." Olivia spoke for the first time since Harry arrived, watching the lake as it flowed while holding her flask to her lips.

Hermione barely laughed, but a small smile did break out on to her face. She went on to turn to Harry again, "You wanted to know who that boy was in the photographs, I know him."

"Yeah, I recognised him too." Olivia said, "Wasn't it Gellert Grindelwald?"

Hermione nodded her head, "Yeah." She said, passing a book to Olivia. She looked to the open page to see a photograph of him stood there, a wand in his hand. She recognised him from numerous photographs she had seen last night and proceeded to pass the book over to Harry.

"He's the thief I've seen in Gregorovitch's wand shop." He said, "Speaking of which, where is my wand?" Cautiously and holding their breaths both girls turned to look at each other. Olivia cringed slightly while Harry sighed, "Where is my wand Hermione?"

"Go on," Olivia sighed, "You'll have to show him eventually."

Hermione pushed herself into a couching position using the root of the tree and pulled back the blanket she had been sitting on. It revealed Harry's wand, snapped into two parts, "As we were leaving Godric's Hollow I cast a curse and it rebounded. I'm sorry, I tired to mend it but wands are different—"

"It's done," Harry interrupted quickly, "leave me yours, go inside and get warm," He told her, standing up before turning to Olivia and holding his hand out, "Leave me the locket as well."

Olivia met Harry's eyes through his glasses and felt the cold shell of the locket against her warm skin, it pounded against her. Absentmindedly she reached for it where it hid underneath her layers, "How do you know—?"

"Because you look like your contemplating strangling me with it." Harry interrupted her.

Olivia frowned, "Keep doing that and I just might." She mumbled, pushing herself up with aid of the tree. She gritted her teeth together, seething ever so slightly through the pain in both her arms.

"Keep doing what?" Harry asked.

"Speaking to me, us, in such a snappy tone," She answered once on her feet, pulling the locket from around her neck and dropping it into Harry's open palm, "Hermione may be polite enough not to tell you to knock it off, but to be quite frank you're starting to annoy me." She told him calmly, "It's not our fault your wand broke. A curse rebounded, let's just be thankful it didn't rebound on us." She told him before walking away.

Harry blew out a long puff of air before regretfully reminding himself, "The old Olivia's gone again."

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Olivia sat crossed-legged on her bed, both hands woven tightly into the roots of her hair while she forced her eyes across the foreign language on the tatty brown page open in front of her.

It was colder now that night had fell and she snuggled further into the layers that were wrapped around her tightly. Her ears were extremely sensitive, she could hear Harry shuffling around outside and the locket screeching. It made concentrating much more difficult.

These spells she was learning made no sense to her, and a rough translation of 'blasts a hole in rocks' or 'kills what it's aimed at' didn't count for much either.

Aside from the difficultly to concentrate, Olivia was sick and in a great deal of pain. Her nose was bright red and ran constantly with her cold. She was coughing constantly and her ears rang continuously. Both her arms hurt, both different pains. Her left, where the heart of her curse was, had formed a dull ache and her right, where Nagini had bitten her, stung like a bitch.

A top of that, she was fucking knackered.

When the screech of the Horcrux momentarily stopped ringing, her strained ears picked up on a splashing sound from outside the tent. She brushed it to the side instantly. No one would be splashing about in that weather, it was ludicrous. Olivia shook her head to herself while hitting her forehead lightly, "Don't be so fucking stupid," she told herself under her breath, "what business would Harry have in a bloody lake?"

With her own words telling her how stupid she was for even entertaining the thought she pushed herself to read the page again. The way she read the foreign words in her mind, attempting to recite it right, was hilarious to her in an absurd way. In reality she couldn't get over her shitty luck coupled with her even shittier choices.

She had the book in her possession while at the Weasley family home, where upstairs — along with the Ghoul in the attic — sat countless books pertaining to all things Magic. There was a ninety-five percent chance that in that attic there would be something regarding Gaelic magic. But all because of her stubbornness towards the book itself and those who knew of it, she refused to open it. If she hadn't been so goddamn stubborn, like her father, she'd most likely of found some help from somewhere.

The next words that she uttered to herself were not worth repeating, as she scolded herself for being so utterly stupid.

In her state of reflection and self-loathing she chose to ignore everything around her — including a second splash in the distance.

Everything pertaining to the warnings designed within her abilities were screaming at her to shove the book to one side, lift her head up and get her arse outside. She paid no mind to the tingles lapping around at the base of her spine, and continued to ignore them as they travelled up until it reached the top of her neck. She shuddered, her head jolting to the left but refocused her attention to her book again.

She sat like that for another possible five minutes or so until she heard something again.

"Outside."

She lifted her head up and looked around after the voice had registered in her ears, it wasn't a familiar voice.

"What the fuck?" She said to herself as she became engulfed in silence.

It wasn't a normal silence, it was a chilling silence. It unnerved Olivia to hear nothing and it persuaded her to close her book and pick up her wand. She walked in the direction of the exit to the tent and stepped out into the overwhelming cold when at full force, the shrill piercing ring of the Horcrux stormed her ears.

Olivia released a small cry and shielded her ears with her hands, squinting her eyes shut as if to rid the pain. The noise it emitted was unbearable. It was like the Cruciatus Curse for the ears and could very easily drive someone to the edge of insanity.

Pushing through her struggles and the pain the Horcrux brought to her ears, she continued to shield them while opening her eyes again. Over where Harry was supposed to of been keeping guard was a shadow of some sort illuminating the dark space, poking out of the shadow was Harry and Hermione as their voices echoed around.

She heard a muffled yell emitting from Harry as the sound peaked ever so slightly through her hands that were pressed tightly to her ears. He was shouting to someone, she was certain, but whether it was her he was shouting to she wasn't sure.

No matter, she carried on walking towards where this new light was coming from as the two figures of Harry and Hermione turned to each other and began snogging. She squinted and strained her eyes to ensure she was seeing this all correctly, until with another yell and a sudden pain overcoming her, it was gone.

The silence, the darkness and the pain overpowered Olivia and her knees crumbled under her body weight before clashing off the hard mud on the ground. Her hands left her ears as she fell to the ground with a yell of her own. Whatever had happened, it felt as if someone had lit her on fire. Her left forearm especially as she rolled down a small hill.

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Olivia wasn't sure how long her eyes had been deceiving her as one minute she was seeing Harry and Hermione snogging, and the next Ron's head was just above her own. She still met the Weasley boys eyes, and held his stare as she groaned, "Harry Potter, what the fuck have you done?"

Even her own words sounded fuzzy in her mind as they reached her ears.

"I haven't done anything, it was Ron. He destroyed the Horcrux."

Her eyelids dropped again and she felt small pats on her cheeks, "Now you've convinced me I'm definitely delusional."

"Open your eyes Olivia." Ron's voice coaxed from above.

Too curious, she forced one eye open and peered up to see the boy still sat there. Slowly, she opened her other and sat up to face him while continuing to hold his stare. Olivia narrowed her eyes, "Ron?"

"I told you." Harry spoke from behind her, "You're not delusional .. not yet anyways."

"I heard that you manky tosspot." She insulted before reaching out and brushing her fingers over Ron's cheek. She pulled her hand back when she met his skin and looked to him uncertainly, "Is that actually you?"

Ron laughed sarcastically, "No, I'm his long lost twin. Our mum couldn't handle another set and gave me to my Great Aunt Tessie."

Olivia smacked his shoulder hard before recoiling back as he winced, "Oh my—shit Ron! I—I'm sorry I forgot, shit—"

Ron chucked, "Its fine, it's healed anyways."

As Harry moved to stand behind Ron she examined them under scrutinising stares. She realised both boys were drenched from head to toe, "What the fuck have you two done?"

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So for the next few chapters, I'm straying away from the time line the plot follows. I want to dive into Olivia's character without any distractions before I get to the end of DH part 1. I've got around forty minutes left of the film to write now which I'll get round to.

Because I'm not following the script for a few chapters and I've already hit a small wall in the form of writers block, I can't promise chapters will be regularly updates but I will try my absolute hardest!