When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter thirty-seven | the long-awaited closure and peace

But she finally pulled her hand off, blinking furiously and shaking her head to get out of the trance. "So, um...what do you have so far in your research?"

Oliver cleared his throat and handed her some more books from his rucksack, along with a few pieces of parchment. "This is what we've collected so far. You'd think it would all be straight forward, but that's not the case, unfortunately."

She pressed her lips together, staring down at the parchment and books she was given. She even turned at the one he still had in his lap, trying to figure out where to even start with all of this information. Still, she was ready to try for him.

"Is it okay if I look at all of this?" she asked, facing him.

He shrugged. "Sure, I guess." He grabbed the book he had and gave that to her as well. "Maybe you'll have better luck than Jake and I."

Mary sighed, gathering and organizing everything into one pile. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Mary," he replied, his eyes filled with gratitude and his voice almost sounding relieved and hopeful all at once.

She nodded in response, giving him a small smile. "You're welcome, Oliver." With that, she stood up and carried herself back towards the tent with an eager attitude and curiosity that she was itching to deal with.

*******

It was nightfall when Mary found herself still engrossed in the research that was provided to her. It was all she could think about, letting the words from every resource she had dig into her mind and stay there for as long as she needed. She wondered how long it would take until she finally got the answer she and Oliver wanted.

From what she knew about Oliver, he was a Muggle-born, which meant there was a chance his sister was a witch. However, he never mentioned her having any magic, so maybe she wasn't one after all. Still, even at such a young age, maybe she would've shown some signs of magic in her.

That was when Mary had a breakthrough, the answer to her death, and she felt stupid for not figuring it out sooner.

She was finishing the rabbit Jacob caught earlier that evening when she read over her findings. Then, walked past Jacob and Eliza in the tent and headed outside, finding Oliver sitting by the fire by himself. She sat beside him, doing her best to get warm and comfortable as she placed the one book with the information she found in her lap. He was in deep thought as his eyes were fixated on the fire in front of him.

"Was your sister a Muggle like your parents?" she spoke up, to which Oliver lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"She had to be," he answered. "From what I remember, she never showed any indication that she was a witch." He paused, clasping his hands together.

"What exactly happened? I mean, how did she die?" Mary questioned, hoping she didn't cross a boundary.

But Oliver let out a shaky breath, his legs bouncing up and down. "We were walking home from school one day. Fiona already seemed off, and when I questioned her, she acted like everything was okay, but I knew deep down that was a lie. Still, I didn't press on about it. Then, some little kids, boys and girls, came by and began to tease and taunt her, and she started crying and rushed home before I could even ask her what that was all about. When I finally got home, she was in her room, and she didn't just look upset. She also looked...well, angry."

"Like she was about to burst," Mary stated.

"Yeah, exactly like that," he agreed, eyeing her. "Anyway, I kept questioning her, trying to figure out why those kids were being mean. She wouldn't tell me, though the answer was obvious that the bullying had been happening for quite some time, right under me and my parents' noses. I know I was only a child like her, but I should've been there for her, protected her."