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?"
She kept a firm grip on his hand, shooting him daggers. "Just walk away, Blaise."
"Why, because you figured the last thing you want to do is hurt me again?" he retorted.
Mary rolled her eyes. "Oliver, let's go."
"Running off with him, are you?" Zabini held a glare at them, then the realization came to him. "Wait. Are you two...?"
"That's none of your business, Zabini," Oliver snapped.
"So you dumped me only to go after the Mudblood, Mary?!"
"Don't call him that!" she shouted.
"But that's what he is! How can you fall for someone who's beneath us?!"
"He's not beneath us!"
Oliver's heart was beating fast at this point as he continued to watch the two argue, with Zabini getting closer towards them.
Zabini let out a scoff, shaking his head. "Seriously, what did he do to brainwash you?"
"He did nothing," Mary retorted. "My views on Muggle-borns were never the same as yours. Sure, I was never upfront about it, but that was my mistake. I realize now that I'm truly nothing like my family or the rest of Slytherin House, and I never will be. I've learned to be myself around Oliver, to be who I was meant to be all along, which is a good person. That's all I ever wanted, and I can be that person around him."
"So what are you saying?"
Mary kept her eyes on him still. "I'm saying that I love Oliver."
Her words sank into Oliver's brain, causing him to resist a grin on his face. He thought his chest would explode from watching Mary, wondering if that was what she was trying to tell him before Zabini showed up. It became clear to him that he was ready to protect her at any cost. No, he had to protect her at any cost.
Zabini shook his head in disbelief. "No. No, you don't, Mary. You're lying..."
"No, I'm not," she replied.
"So our time together now means nothing to you?"
"Of course it does, but--"
"But nothing! He's a Mudblood! You deserve better!"
"What, she deserves you?" Oliver cut in. "She made her choice, and that choice is me. Move on, Zabini."
"Oh, like hell I will." He raised his wand, getting ready to shout a spell Oliver's way.
"Stupefy!" Mary jumped in front of Oliver and watched the blue light from her wand flying towards the Slytherin boy.
Before he could block it, Zabini flew backwards, hitting the wall, then landing on the ground with a thud. He groaned, taking a moment to compose himself before trying to stand back up again.
"Come on!" Mary yelled, dragging Oliver with her down the corridor.
Adrenaline was pumping through their bodies with every step. Neither of them wanted to deal with Blaise Zabini once he was on his feet again. They took turns looking back to see if he was behind them. Once they found an empty classroom to hide for a moment to regain their breaths. The two stared at each other, the sound of rumbling from outside being the only noise.
"Thanks for saving me," was all Oliver could say.
Mary let out a small laugh. "Of course. I love you, Oliver Campbell."
There it was again, and this time, Oliver let his grin show as he pulled her closer to him and pressed a kiss on her lips, drowning out the rest of the chaos around them. Mary kissed him back, letting the moment last for as long as it could. After all, she loved him and he loved her.
"Well, that's a sight I didn't expect to see at a time like this."
Breaking the kiss instantly, the two looked to see Jacob standing in the doorway, along with Eliza and Violet behind him.
Flushed with embarrassment, recalling the last time the two of them were caught snogging, Oliver cleared his throat. "Oh, good, you found us," he blurted out.
Jacob smirked, raising his eyebrows. "Yeah, we certainly did. We can leave, if you want to finish up."
"No, we're good," Mary assured him, her face turning a shade of red. "We better get going."
The two rushed towards the others, leaving the classroom and heading down the corridor.
"I think we need to come up with a plan first," Violet spoke up.
"The time for plans is over at this point," Eliza said. "The best thing we can do is--"
"Run? Hide?" the voice of Blaise Zabini echoed from the other side of the corridor, causing the others to stop in place when they saw him. "Looks like those options won't work anymore. I'm sure you've done enough of that already."
"Yeah, and it's a good thing we're not doing any of those things anymore," Jacob retorted, his wand at the ready. "Let's hope your dueling skills have improved since our last encounter." He paused, raising his wand, then he shouted, "Stupefy!"
This time, Zabini was able to block Jacob's spell, retaliating with a quick wave of his wand. Eliza and Violer joined in against the Slytherin boy, with flashes of blue and red flying all around the corridor. Oliver and Mary were about to step into the fight when Jacob turned around to face them.
"Go, you two! We'll hold him off!" he yelled.
"Are you mad? We can't just--"
"Ollie, we'll be fine! Just go!" Violet added.
Oliver shifted his eyes towards Mary, going back and forth between her and Zabini. "You go."
Mary shook her head. "No. I'm not leaving you."
"I'll be right behind you. Just get out of here and we'll find you as soon as we can."
Reluctantly, she nodded her head. "Okay. Be careful."
"You, too."
The two looked at each other one more time before Mary took off down the corridor, where neither of them looked back for another glance.
A/N: A week late, but I got the chapter done! Hopefully, I won't take too long with the next chapter (or just the story in general, seeing that we're close to the end).
Song above is Skyfall by Adele.
Comment, vote, next update will be on 9/20.
-A