When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter twenty-nine | timing is everything

There was an odd feeling for Oliver when he saw the house empty for the first time since they moved in so many years ago.

For him, it was something that he knew would happen, no matter the circumstances. Did he think it would be this soon? No, but the timing couldn't be better.

He walked around each room, no longer filled with furniture or pictures. He tried to imagine like they were before, back to a time when, to him, things were normal for him and his parents. Now, he knew it was obvious that nothing would ever be normal again, not the way he would remember, anyway.

His parents had been gone for ten minutes. That was ten minutes where neither one of them knew that Oliver Campbell was their son and that their daughter was dead. They knew nothing of the Wizarding world, which made them safe. While Oliver was thankful for that, he was still upset that it had to come down to changing their memories.

Taking one last look at the final room in the house, he tightened the grip of his rucksack and went downstairs. He practically sprinted out the door, making sure it was shut tight before he headed across the street to Eliza's house. Before he could knock on the door, Eliza opened it for him.

She gave him a soft smile. "I was wondering if you were ever going to leave your house."

"I needed some time to get one last look at the house," he admitted. "You know, it takes me back to simpler times, even if those times weren't...well, the best."

The girl nodded. "I get it. Come in. I still have a few things to pack before we go." She moved out of the way for him to enter her former home.

While they appreciated the offer from the Hamilton family, Oliver and Eliza waited until their parents were sent away before they left. Violet never wrote to them all through July, which was something that worried Oliver, but it became the least of his problems as his parents were more of a concern. Nevertheless, he was certain that Violet and her family were still expecting him and Eliza.

"You think we should write to Vi, just to let her know we're still coming?" Oliver asked.

Eliza tucked a few more things in her rucksack. "I did, actually, this morning. I got no response."

Oliver shot her a surprised look. "Doesn't that worry you? I mean, she's usually so prompt with writing back."

She couldn't help but let out a slight laugh. "Ollie, I'm sure she's fine, along with Jake and Andy."

"We haven't heard from them, either," he pointed out. "Maybe if we write to one of them now..."

"Hey." Eliza went over to him and took his hands in hers. "Our friends are fine. Once we get to Violet's house, you'll see that you're overthinking all of this."

He sighed. "It's easy to do that during these times, Liza. We don't know what to expect anymore."

"Was life really that predictable before this war business came about?"

Oliver chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I guess it wasn't, now that I think about it." He paused, looking down at their hands. "I have a feeling that we'll be thinking about the better days where a war was the least of our problems."

For a moment, as he lifted his head up and looked into Eliza's eyes, remembering the memories from the past school year, back when he was happy and anticipating his second to last year at Hogwarts with his best friends. Being with Eliza in this moment, even with the terrible circumstances, he felt safe.

Eliza blinked, letting go of his hands and clearing her throat. "We should get going."

Oliver nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we should."