By the time Oliver and his friends made it to the Great Hall for dinner, they all parted ways and went to sit with their Houses. Oliver and Violet took their seats not too far from Luna Lovegood and Padma Patil. Both of them watched as Andrew and Eliza sat down near Harry, Ron, and Hermione, while Jacob plopped down next to Sarah and Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Muggle-born that was in their year and also a student Jacob didn't particularly care for. Justin only cared about Jacob because of his well-known family.

"Do you think your parents are going to let you stay with me for the holidays?" Violet asked Oliver, filling her plate with food.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders in response, getting some food as well. "You know how they feel about you lot, Vi."

"What, that we're the cause of your rebellious behavior?" she retorted, letting out a small scoff. "Honestly, they're ridiculous for even thinking that."

"Well, that's my parents for you," he stated.

"If they say no when you write to them, then I'll send my parents to talk to them," Violet suggested.

Oliver scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll work. They're not really into the Wizarding world stuff. I don't think your magical parents will make them change their minds."

Violet huffed a sigh in defeat. "I hate to say it, but you're right. It'll suck without you and Andy there."

"I know." Oliver hated that he and Andrew had to miss out on spending the holidays with the Hamilton family, but neither of them could help it with the way their parents were about the Wizarding world as well as magical families, much like Violet's family.

Once dinner was over for them, Oliver and Violet headed out of the Great Hall and met back up with Andrew, Jacob, and Eliza. While Jacob, Violet, and Eliza decided to take a stroll around the corridors, Oliver and Andrew made the choice to skip out on the walk.

Oliver and Andrew bid the other three goodbye and watched them run off, blending in with the crowd of students leaving the Great Hall. The two stood by the wall, leaning against it.

"Do you really think our parents will let us stay with Vi over the holidays?" Oliver asked Andrew, just to hear his opinion on it.

Andrew snorted, shaking his head. "Of course not. With their views on people like her and her family..."

"Yeah, it was a dumb question to ask," Oliver stated.

"But we can always expect gifts from her parents, just like the last few years," Andrew said.

"Also from Liza and Jake's parents as well," Oliver pointed out.

"Right," Andrew added. "They even give Sarah something as well. They know how hard we've got it, really." He paused, then went on some more. "Isn't it sad that our friends' parents look out for us more than our actual parents do?"

Oliver nodded his head. "Yeah, it is."

All of a sudden, Sarah came running towards the two boys just as excited as she could be. "Andrew!"

"Hey, you," Andrew exclaimed, bending down to give her a hug. "How's your second year?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay, I guess."

"You're staying out of trouble, right?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows. "Professor Sprout will not hesitate to chew you out."

"Oh, please. She doesn't scare me."

Oliver chuckled. "Well, you're a brave one. You should've been in Gryffindor with good ol' Andrew here."

Sarah smiled. "But I do like Hufflepuff House."

Andrew grinned at her. "Are you being nice to Jacob like I asked you to?" Sarah nodded her head. "Good girl. You go ahead and get back to your dormitory, okay?"

"Okay, bye, Andrew," she said, giving him one more hug. She looked up at Oliver and waved at him. "Bye, Oliver."

"Bye, Sarah," he replied, waving back and smiling as she ran off with the other Hufflepuffs leaving the Great Hall.

"I sure do love that kid," Andrew commented. He sighed, then turned towards his friend. "Well, I better go write that letter so I can send it tomorrow. Besides, I've got some other stuff to do."

"What other stuff?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Uh...research."

Oliver, who was still curious, didn't press on the subject anymore and just simply nodded his head. "Okay, then. See you tomorrow, mate."

"See you." With that, Andrew hurried off and tagged along with Neville Longbottom, a Gryffindor in their year.

Once Andrew was gone, Oliver headed for the fifth floor by himself. It was a long walk, but Oliver didn't mind. He did his best to stay ahead of the group of Ravenclaws that were not too far behind him. Fortunately, he managed to pick up his pace, leaving them far behind, unable to catch up with him.

Before he knew it, Oliver was at the Ravenclaw Tower. Instead of having to answer a riddle, a group of Ravenclaws in front of him just solved a riddle given by the knocker. Oliver quickly followed them inside, going up the spiral staircase that led to the Ravenclaw Common Room. He grabbed the first empty desk that he spotted and sat there, picking up a piece of parchment as well as some ink and a quill. Taking a deep breath, he began to write out his letter.

*******

Mary arrived later than her friends for dinner, which she didn't really want to attend. As soon as she sat down, she could tell that she was being watched, and that person eyeing her was Pansy Parkinson.

Mary knew that Pansy was a very clingy person, especially when it came to Draco. Of course, Mary was not too sure what she did in order for Pansy to shoot daggers her way. Nevertheless, it made her uneasy, but she was not going to confront her, as she already had enough to deal with.

While still eating her dinner, Draco made an appearance, sitting beside Mary. "I've got something for you," he told her.

Mary raised her eyebrows in curiosity. "You do?"

"Yeah. I went by Snape's office before I came here and he had letters from our families for us," he explained, handing an envelope to Mary. "Fortunately for us, they're not Howlers."

Mary cracked a small smile as she examined her name on the front. "It's from my brother. I can tell by the handwriting." She took one more glance at it and then stuffed it in her pocket. "I'll open it later."

So the rest of dinner went by slowly. Mary was picking at her food for the majority of the time. Once she was finished with eating, the Great Hall was almost empty, with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables being completely empty. So, she bid Draco goodbye and headed out of the Great Hall. The corridors were empty, only hearing the distant sounds of students walking away from Mary. She sighed and went for the stairs, making her way towards the Owlery, where she could read her letter in private. She had been told already by Dumbledore where it was located, so she knew there would be no trouble finding it.

After a good stroll, she finally reached the Owlery. But when she arrived there, another voice was already inside.

"Maverick, I don't have any treats for you," the male voice said. "So let me just tie this le-- OW!"

"You okay?" Mary popped in and asked the boy, instantly recognizing him. "Oh, hey, Oliver."

Oliver looked up at her and froze for a brief moment, but then nodded his head in response. "Hi. Um, yeah, I'm fine. Violet's owl likes to bite me."

Mary grinned, waking inside the Owlery, getting used to the smell. "You don't have an owl of your own?"

Oliver shook his head. "No. I hardly send letters. I'm only sending this to my parents to ask them something." He tried to tie the letter onto Maverick's leg, but he only got bit again. "Stupid owl."

"Here, let me try," she insisted, taking the letter from Oliver. She swiftly tied the letter to the owl's leg and sent him on his way. Mary smiled as she looked at Oliver. "See? That wasn't so hard."

He chuckled. "Thanks. I appreciate the help." He paused, then looked out the window. "Although, I don't think my parents will appreciate another letter."

"What do you mean?"

Oliver leaned against the wall, sighing. "My parents already got one letter from Hogwarts explaining what happened with the duel. I don't think they want another letter, especially since it's from me. I haven't talked to them ever since I left for school."

Mary shot him a sympathetic look. "I guess you're not really close with your parents."

"Nope. Everything changed when--" Oliver stopped himself. "Never mind."

Mary didn't press on with what he was about to say, so she pulled out her letter. "I'm not really close with my parents, either."

"At least they sent you a letter," he pointed out, eyeing the letter in her hand.

"Oh, this is from my brother, actually," she said. "I'm not that close to him as well. He just likes to tell me what to do and all that."

Oliver nodded his head. "Your name is Mary."

"Yeah, it is."

Oliver pushed himself off the wall and smirked a bit. "Well, Mary, you don't seem like the type to be bossed around by anyone."

Mary chuckled. "I like to handle myself. It's just easier that way."

Oliver nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, it is."

There was a moment of silence from the two, only the sound of the screeching owls filling the room. They locked eyes with each other for a brief few seconds, then Mary cleared her throat. "So, um, I saw you weren't at dinner very long..."

"Yeah, I wanted to get this letter over with," he explained. "I'm actually gonna head back to the Ravenclaw Tower and just leave you with your letter. Thank you for helping me with mine, by the way."

"Oh, no problem," she responded, waving at him. "Goodnight, Oliver."

"Goodnight, Mary," he stated, waving back and then exiting the Owlery.

As Oliver left, Mary took a deep breath and opened up her letter.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, more Oliver and Mary for ya!

So, updates are going to be a bit slow now, since school starts back tomorrow. I'm taking 7 classes and it's my FINAL semester, so I've really gotta focus if I want to finish in May.

What do y'all think so far of Oliver and Mary?

Song above is Half of You by Leland and Bram Inscore. Like before, I think this song has a cool vibe to the chapter as well as some lyrics remind me of Oliver and Mary. ;)

Comment, vote, maybe I'll get more out soon!

-A