When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter forty-eight | going back to hogwarts

Heading back to Hogwarts after almost a year felt strange and concerning to everyone, especially under the unfortunate circumstances. Everyone was preparing to leave Shell Cottage, standing under the night sky painted with stars and their wands in hand. It didn't seem real to any of them that the time to fight was upon them, the time to battle against You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters was finally here. It was now or never.

Mary's hands were beginning to shake the more they kept waiting for Bill to lead them to Hogwarts. Not only did the battle itself gnaw at her brain, but her previous moment with Oliver was doing the same.

He loved her. He really loved her.

Love was something new to Mary, never confessing such a thing to a boy. She never even felt anything like that towards Blaise. Then again, while being with Blaise, they were just about confined to the walls of Hogwarts, only meeting in the corridors or sitting next to each other in class or in the Great Hall. With Oliver, they were constantly moving, always finding themselves under the endless sky. Things didn't feel so confined. She didn't feel so confined.

Blaise lived a life already built for him, and Mary just wasn't meant to stay in the same bubble like he was. With Oliver, there are no boundaries, no expectations. The two were meant to be free.

Mary felt something towards Oliver, and maybe she was leaning towards love.

"You okay?" Oliver asked, taking her hand.

She looked over at him and nodded. "Sort of, you?"

"I'm getting there," he admitted.

She squeezed his hand. "We'll be okay."

He gave her a soft smile in return. "Yeah, we will."

It gave Mary a hint of hope, something she needed right about now.

Bill finally met up with the others outside, exhaling. "Right, are we ready to go?" When the others nodded their heads, he did the same. "Good. Now, we all have to be prepared for any Death Eaters once we get there. I'm certain Hogwarts' security has tightened up since Snape became the new headmaster."

"Snape's the new headmaster?" Jacob asked. "That sounds depressing."

"It's torture, according to Ginny's letters," he replied. "But soon her and the other students there will not have to deal with him or any more of those horrible Death Eaters any longer."

With that, everyone gathered in a circle, connecting hands before Apparating off the beach and into the center of Hogsmeade. Before they knew it, an alarm echoed all over the village, resulting in Death Eaters closing them in from every direction. With a flick of their wands, spells began to fly, in which Bill and the others retaliated. After many attempts, the Death Eaters were defeated, so they kept going. According to the Patronus that Harry sent them, Aberforth Dumbledore, the brother of the former headmaster at Hogwarts, would help them get inside the castle through a secret passageway. They walked down the dark pathway, their footsteps echoing throughout the walls. As they got closer to the end, adrenaline increased.

They met Hermione and Ron at the door, in which they led them with the rest of the Order to the Great Hall. Mary didn't recognize many of the members, only Violet's parents and Ruth, her older sister, but she wasn't too worried about introductions at the moment. She took a look around at the school, noticing how gloomy it looked, remembering how bright and lively the school used to be and how she missed that, despite being on the wrong side of things at the time.

Once they approached the doors, one of the older members opened them up and led the rest inside, standing beside each other. All eyes from the other students and professors went to them as they stood their ground, while Harry remained in the center of the hall.