Oliver Campbell just wants to have two more peaceful years at Hogwarts with his best friends before they all part ways. But that's hard to have when the Golden Trio are at Hogwarts, too, and everyone is worrying about the return of Lord Voldemort.
I...
For the rest of the morning, Oliver and Mary went to go look for breakfast, sneaking into the town with their hoodies over their heads and wands in their pockets, ready to grab if they needed them. With their money, the two were able to get some doughnuts from a shop Oliver recognized from previous trips to Dorset.
As they were leaving the shop, Mary spotted a pile of Daily Prophets outside. It was when she looked at the date that she realized that today was an important day, one that she let slip her mind: July 22nd.
"Today's my birthday," she told Oliver.
"It is?" he asked.
She nodded. "I don't know how I've forgotten it. Maybe with being on the move a lot I haven't kept track of the date." She paused, chuckling a little. "I'm seventeen."
"Well, Happy Birthday," he responded, giving her a small grin. "The Trace on you is gone as well."
"Yeah, thank goodness for that." One less thing to worry about, she thought.
Jacob and Eliza were awake by the time they got back. The two were sitting on the steps, their eyes widened in excitement.
"Merlin, these look good," Jacob exclaimed, taking a couple from Oliver's box.
"Yeah, thanks for getting these," Eliza added, grabbing one from the box Mary was holding.
"You're welcome," she replied, giving her a small smile.
Eliza hesitated, but she eventually responded with a smile of her own.
The four sat around with their doughnuts, filling their stomachs until they were all gone. It took them a while to get back on their feet, wanting the food to digest properly first. Then, with all of their things packed up, they left the house and headed to their next destination, to which none of them had any clue where that was going to be.
"Any ideas on where to head next?" Eliza asked. "I doubt Andy and Vi are going to come back to Dorset."
"Which is why I've been thinking about going back to London," Jacob said. "I mean, that's where all of the action is happening, right? For all we know, they got caught in the crossfire there and are in danger."
"And run into more Snatchers?" Oliver pointed out.
"Look, maybe they went back to London to look for us. Vi knows that I would've come to look for you two after finding her house raided. It makes sense."
"He's got a point," Mary spoke up. "Also, there are many places in that area they can seek refuge at, I'm sure."
"Right, the Order is probably scattered all over the place," Eliza added. "You know, at least with members that aren't focused on keeping Harry Potter safe from You-Know-Who. I think we should head back to London and check all of the safe houses around there."
Oliver sighed and finally nodded his head in agreement. "Okay. Even if we don't find our friends, we have the protection from the Order at a safe house for the time being. Running around all over the place will get too risky, anyway."
"So that settles it, then," Jacob said, clapping his hands together. "Let's get back to London."
*******
The next four hours back to London was all about strategizing their next moves when they arrived in the city. A plan was needed in order to stay unnoticed until a safe house was found. After many minutes of going back and forth on where to start, the four reached an agreement that finding someone from the Order through a Patronus was the best choice. Still, sending one discreetly would be a challenge.
The ride went by quickly, the train coming to a stop when they reached the station. The four gathered their things and made their way off the train, ready to find a way off of the streets again.
It was at the point where being in the crowd made all of them even more anxious than ever. This all happened in Dorset, always sneaking around on the streets, camping out away from the public eye. Now, being in a more busy city, in the center of it all, there was a bigger risk.
Once they got into the crowded areas of London, the four kept their heads down, weaving through the crowds of people on the sidewalk. They were looking for a quiet and reserved spot to cast the Patronus, wanting to avoid any attention.
"Diagon Alley might be the only place we can go," Eliza spoke up.
"Yes, and maybe we'll see our Snatcher friends again," Jacob retorted.
"It's the one place we'll be able to openly use magic," Oliver pointed out. "We just got to be careful."
Jacob was hesitant, but he went with it, anyway, leading the others all the way to the Leaky Cauldron.
When they entered inside, stares came from a few older people. It was hard to put their heads down and keep walking, so they just quickly made their way past the tables, their hearts pounding. They were almost to the back of the pub when an older man stopped in front of them.
Jacob cleared his throat. "Excuse us," he said politely.
"Why the rush?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and smirking. "Sit down and have a drink."
"We're actually in a hurry to meet someone," Eliza spoke up, lying through her teeth. "Now, again, excuse us..."
"I think you should sit down and have a drink," the man stated more firmly this time. "You all look a bit parched."
The four froze in place, unsure about sitting down like the man ordered. Then again, if they didn't and made another attempt to pass him...
"Ah, there you are!" a woman called out from behind the teenagers. "I've been looking all over for you children. Come now. We must get going." With that, the woman led the four out of the Leaky Cauldron and back on the streets of London, where she spun around and faced them. "Honestly, I thought my daughter would've taught you a thing or two about being discreet."
"Mrs. Hamilton!" all but Mary exclaimed.
She let out a small smile. "It's nice to see you all again. Now, let's get off the streets before we run into any more of the wrong sorts."
"Where are we going?" Jacob asked.
"We're going to a safe house."
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A/N: FINALLY, I finished this chapter.
Sorry it took me so long. Had other things to do.
I know it seems like they weren't in Dorset for long, but I knew they'd go back to London eventually.
