When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter forty-nine | in the corridors

The chaos around them seemed to only grow more as Oliver followed his friends up the stairs, along with holding onto Mary's hand as tight as he could. He hadn't seen this much madness since the night Dumbledore died, when Death Eaters invaded the castle. Now, it seemed as if it déjà over again, having to endure more battles. Only this time, everyone was certain that good would conquer evil.

Oliver felt himself getting close to running out of breath, but the last thing he wanted to do was stop in the midst of students scurrying all over the corridors, despite already being exhausted. Nevertheless, he pushed through, knowing that all of this would be worth it in the end. He glanced at Mary, and with the reassurance that she would be by his side at the end was what he needed to keep going.

As the five treaded up the stairs, dodging students from left to right, Oliver slowed down whenever they reached the next floor. By the time they hit the seventh floor, he finally stopped, letting go of Mary's hand and leaning against the wall. He didn't collapse on the ground, for he didn't want to get trampled by the students running all over the place.

"Are you okay?" Mary asked, standing beside him.

Oliver nodded. "I'm fine."

"I think Jacob, Violet, and Eliza are way ahead of us by now," she replied.

He looked to see his other three friends blended with the crowd of students, unable to find them anywhere in the corridor. Knowing that they'd be okay and the five of them would regroup eventually, he didn't worry about trying to catch up with them. Instead, once his breathing was back to normal, he grabbed Mary's hand again and took off down the corridor with her.

As the sea of students began to decrease, there was no sight of Jacob, Violet, and Eliza anywhere. Oliver did his best to look in every direction, but it became difficult to focus on what was ahead of him. The two came to a stop when there were no longer any students around, and a blue light coming from outside caught their attention. They watched as a dome formed around the castle, recognizing it as a protective enchantment, one that was powerful enough to cover the grounds.

"Wow," Oliver whispered.

"They're really doing everything they can to protect the school," Mary commented. "He'll do everything he can to break that protective enchantment."

"It might not take him long to do so, either," he added, turning to face her.

Mary faced him as well, taking a deep breath. "It's all becoming so real now. Everything we were so afraid of is now happening right before our eyes." She sighed, then went back to talking. "Look, if something happens to one of us--"

"Don't talk like that," Oliver interrupted her. "We'll both be okay after this is all over."

"But in case something does happen..." Mary paused, her expression turning confused as she looked behind Oliver. "What the--"

"Mary," a voice behind them echoed.

When Oliver turned around to see who it was, he felt anger rising inside of him, to the point where he was instantly ready to throw a hex.

"Blaise," Mary said. She really had to stop meeting him like this.

Zabini took a few more steps towards them, which caused Oliver to grip his wand tighter. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Don't come any closer, Zabini," Oliver warned him.

"Right, like you will actually hex me, Campbell," he spat. "Spare me the noble hero act you're putting on right now."

"Don't underestimate him, Blaise," Mary intervened.

The Slytherin boy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, coming to his defense now, aren't you, Mary?"