When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter forty-seven | the countdown begins

Over the next couple of weeks, Oliver found himself including Mary into his routine at Shell Cottage. She started to join him and his friends on his walks in the evening, then they'd stay out a little bit longer after the others went to sleep. Their moments started with talking, which usually led to a snogging session. While it didn't entirely get rid of the torment that Andrew was gone, just having it disappear for the night whenever Mary was around made sleeping a lot more bearable for the majority of the nights. At least he stopped feeling numb, like the way he did when he first arrived at the cottage. To him, that was a lot worse than anything else he had to endure, for he knew that he had to grieve in order to move on.

Then again, he knew that he would never be able to move on from Andrew's death.

Some nights, Oliver would still dream about him. He went back to the summers with him and Eliza, then he thought about their days at Hogwarts. With every memory, every moment of happiness from their golden years, Oliver let them spin around in his mind, trying to reassure himself that even though Andrew was no longer with them down here, he was reunited with the rest of his family somewhere else, somewhere beautiful.

It was the first of May when everyone gathered in the living room, with the exception of Ollivander. Harry had just left the wandmaker's bedroom when he arrived in the living room, standing in front of everyone. "Thank you, Bill and Fleur, for welcoming us into your home. It means a lot, truly."

"Is everything all right, Harry?" Bill asked.

"Sort of," he admitted. "Ron, Hermione, and I have been talking for the last few days. We've come to the agreement that staying here only makes You-Know-Who stronger."

"How close are you to defeating him?" Jacob asked.

"Not close enough," he answered. "Which is why I need help from all of you. We need you to gather up members of the Order. You-Know-Who will not go down without a fight, and neither will his followers."

"So what's your next move?" Mary spoke up.

"We need to find something, and the less you know the better." Harry paused for a brief moment before he continued to speak. "One of us will send a Patronus and let you know where to go next."

"How long will that take?" Eliza inquired.

"However long we need," he answered.

Although they were skeptical about Harry's plan, they didn't question him about it anymore. While the trio went to the kitchen to discuss more of their plan, the Fire Pack headed upstairs. They walked inside the boys' bedroom, closing the door once everyone was inside.

"Harry doesn't have much in terms of a plan, in my opinion," Eliza said. "It kind of worries me."

"Knowing him, he'll figure it out," Jacob replied.

"Well, he always does," Violet added. "He has to."

All of them knew that Harry's only option was to figure things out. Otherwise, the war would continue on, with Snatchers on every corner, along with fear following everyone around like a stray Kneazle. The more danger still lurked all over Europe, the more everyone all over the Wizarding world would have to keep running, and eventually, there would be nowhere left to hide.

As the others continued talking for a while, Oliver listened in. Eventually, he stood up and headed out of the bedroom. He was just about to go for the bathroom when he ran into Hermione in the hallway. The two, startled, merely looked at each other for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"Have you, Harry, and Ron figured out a plan yet?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I think so."