The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

XCVIII: Did You Mean It?

Wally Grant had never held onto someone as tight as he was doing with Oliver Kent.

All around them, the field that the campsite had stood in was burning and there were people exclaiming over the Dark Mark that hung in the sky high above. There were aurors shouting instructions and the cracks and pops of disapparations and a flurry of energy, horror, shock, fear, and panic.

But all of it was a colorful blur around the pair of them. It may as well not even have been happening for all he comprehended of it.

"Thank you," Wally was saying again and again and again. The words were thank you, but it felt like more the way it shuddered out of his chest and into the world, as though his lips were forming the wrong words - a poor translation of what was really being said.

Oliver didn't think his knees had any bones in them anymore. Possibly not in his entire body. He stood, helpless in Wally's arms... too stunned to do anything but to stand like a great mass of pudding.

Until something shocked him into screaming reality.

Wally's mouth was on Oliver's, his hand wrapped around the back of Oliver's head, fingers long spread over the nape of his neck and into the hairline, his index behind his ear, kissing him hard and full and intensely and Oliver's breath was gone.

There was a flash of a camera.

Wally broke away in surprise of the flash, half expecting it to have been a spell, and he turned to look at the camera before he could see the expression on Oliver's face. He was way, way too terrified what he'd find there if he looked. 

Especially since what he found when he turned to the camera was a young witch with blonde hair and hot pink glasses, studded with diamonds and a poison-green blazer.

She smiled when Wally looked at her. "Care to make a comment to go with the photograph, Mr. Grant?" she asked in a sickly sweet voice. "Ex-Lover turned hero, the star-crossed lovers are at last reunited under the most unfortunate turn of events at the Quidditch World Cup. Perhaps not the most unexpected thing to have come to pass, given the appearance of several Death Eaters despite Ministry's supposedly best efforts to ensure the safety of all attendees, but shocking none the less!" Her eyes sparkled, "And Declan Alectric is nowhere near by to scoop it out from beneath me!"

"Rita Skeeter," Oliver stammered. "I - Haven't you better things to be covering about now?"

"Not that every other writer in the world won't already have put to bed long before I could do it, honey," she answered smoothly, reaching up and patting his cheek. "Don't you worry, darling, Rita's got you covered. I mean, I doubt we'll make the cover of course, given there were Death Eaters - at the World Cup! - but still, I'm sure there will be talk about your reunion!"

Wally blinked, flabbergasted.

"People will be simply shocked to see you kissing like the old days," Rita said in a tone like they were conspiring together. Then, she paused, tilted her head to one side, and murmured, "Oh, but it looks like we have our first reaction already. My dear - what's your name again? Ginger, isn't it? No - wait, that's the Spice Girl." She laughed. "GERI! That's why I was confused. Same name, just not the nicky, 'ey? Would you like to weigh in on your surprise at the reunion no one in the wizarding world expected?"

Rita was looking at Geri.

Wally whipped about. "Geri -"

Geri was holding Olivia on her hip, staring at Wally, eyes bright with shock.

"Geri, I -"

Geri shook her head and took two steps back, even as Wally started to step toward her. She held up her palm to say stop, and then turned and disapparated away - taking Olivia with her. Wally stood, staring at the spot where she'd been.

Oliver was staring in disbelief, too, his heart in his throat.

"You can't print that," Wally choked, turning about on the ball of his foot. "Please. You can't print it. You can't."

But Rita Skeeter was already gone.

He looked at Oliver. "You can't let her print that."

"I - I don't have any control --"

"Of course you do!" Wally begged, "Of course you do, you're Oliver fucking Kent - you're --"

"Utterly at the mercy of anything anyone wants to write about me," Oliver answered, "And have been for years. You must remember... Surely time hasn't erased that from your memory?" His voice shook.

Couldn't they just - just go back just a few minutes and just - just stay there?

Wally's face was pale.

"She was going to see it whether Rita showed up or not," Oliver pointed out, "Geri was right there, and she isn't blind, she -- she saw us before Rita took a photograph, Wally. She saw --" Oliver couldn't quite get the words you kiss me out of his mouth. 

Wally stared at Oliver.

Oliver said, "I'll talk to Declan. I'll see if there's anything he can do. Maybe - maybe he can do something, I don't know, I - I mean there are loads of other things to print, maybe it'll just - like I mean - I - who cares what I was doing in all this, right? I - I'm just -" 

Wally nodded, "Yeah. Right. Right, who cares." He paused. Then, "Shit. I can't believe I - I'm an idiot. I gotta go." 

Oliver's palms were sweating. "Wally?"

Wally looked up at him and their eyes met.

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"The - the - what you did?"

Oliver could barely breathe as he waited for the response.

It seemed to take forever.

"With every ounce of my soul," Wally replied - and then he disapparated.