The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

CXXXII: It's Later

"Talk later."

The words had been signed, not spoken out loud.

It was the last thing Oliver had said to Jasper.

He'd been standing at the back of the church where Jasper and Meg had been married, dizzied by betrayal, in the frame of the doors that Sirius Black and Frank Longbottom - both gone mad now - had held opened for Meg to walk through. Now he, Oliver, had to pull the door open himself and he paused, halfway out the door, to look back and met Jasper's eyes, standing at the podium, paused mid-speech.

"Honestly, I think it's better you've decided not to go all done up." Wally patted Oliver's shoulder. Oliver's blue-striped polo under a light, blue-grey jacket was clean cut and casual, better than the Cannons number jumper he might've worn if left to his own devices but not as strict as the tie and suit coat they'd attempted to do him up in the day before.

"I feel more comfortable," Oliver admitted.

Wally said, "You look more like yourself." He ran his fingers through Oliver's floppy blonde hair, giving it the windblown look that Oliver wore best. "I know you're nervous. I can sense it."

"Yeah. Well."

Wally put his hands on Oliver's biceps and looked into his eyes, which looked even bluer than usual because of all the shades he was wearing.

"Are you going to be here when I get back?" Oliver asked.

Wally said, "I really have to go and see Geri. Have a little talk. Hopefully calmer this go-round since we've had a few days apart. We're meeting at that little sandwich shop on the Embankment. If I have a chance to see Olivia..."

"Obviously, see Olivia if you can," Oliver nodded.

Wally nodded, too.

Oliver wanted to ask if he'd get to properly meet her - he hadn't, really, other than those few minutes he'd held her away from that Death Eater at the World Cup, and he desperately wanted to know more about the little girl who looked so much like her father. Wally had been carefully mentioning her only sparingly, as though he didn't dare to speak openly about her to Oliver, whether that was because he thought the existence of her pained Oliver or whether he didn't want him to know a lot about her, Oliver wasn't entirely sure. He had so many questions, but he knew Wally had to mix the waters of his two lives slowly.

Or maybe this week with Wally at his house had been an exception. Maybe Wally didn't intend to mix the waters. Maybe he meant for them to stay separated. Maybe Oliver was simply being tried on for size and would be thrown away once Wally had done the charitable thing and put him back together. Maybe that's why it was so important to Wally that he go and talk to Jasper.

"I'll try to be back before you are, though," Wally said, meeting Oliver's eyes.

It was like he'd heard all the panic in Oliver's thoughts, and Oliver breathed a tiny bit easier.

"Alright, now go on and remember to keep an open mind alright?" Wally instructed him.

Oliver nodded.

It was nice for an autumn day, and Oliver was pleased there was no rain though there was a bit of an overcast glint to the sky and a breeze that made Oliver glad he'd worn the jacket. He used the Floo Network to the Leaky Cauldron and wore a skipper's cap pulled low over his brow, keeping his eyes down, to avoid being recognized much, though he heard his name at least two conversations at the tables he passed - people were gossiping about the news of his dismissal by Oskar Krum.