When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter fifty-one | fight to the finish

"Oliver? Oliver, can you hear me?"

The muffled voice was what made Oliver flutter his eyes open, followed by a groan. He was met with Mary looking down at him, her face relieved once she saw he was awake.

"Thank Merlin you're finally awake," she said. "Are you okay?"

"Er...I think so," he replied, sitting up and feeling the pain that came from his head. "What happened?"

"There was an explosion," she answered. "All of us were knocked off our feet, blacked out after that." She paused, rubbing the back of her neck. "We all took a hard fall."

Oliver took a look around at the rubble surrounding them, where the entire courtyard and corridor was filled with nothing but crumbled walls and small fires. "Where's Jake and Liza?"

Mary's face went sad, taking a deep breath. "I don't--"

"Oliver! Mary!" The familiar voice of Hermione called out as she ran towards them. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Oliver said as he and Mary stood up.

"Where is everybody?" she asked in confusion.

"We don't know," Mary responded. "We just woke up after getting caught in a blast."

Harry and Ron came towards them, taking in the aftermath of the battle. For a moment, there was silence from the five of them, only the images of what happened replaying in their minds. The last thing Oliver and Mary remembered seeing was Eliza's horrified face before the explosion, then things got foggy after that.

The thought of the rest of the Fire Pack being missing made Oliver finally want to start searching for his friends. Before he could take the first step, Harry led them towards the Great Hall. The sound of talking and shuffling came from the other side of the doors, to which an uneasy feeling loomed over the five of them as Harry opened the doors and was the first to enter inside.

Oliver scanned his eyes from left to right, already getting overwhelmed at the sight of it all. He watched as teachers and students tended to injuries, along with friends and families saying their goodbyes to their loved ones before they were carried off. As he walked down what was the aftermath of the battle, he heard crying from every direction.

"Oliver," Mary said beside him, pointing towards the front of the hall. "There's Jacob."

He turned his head to see Jacob standing with the Hamiltons, where his eyes were red and swollen. It was obvious that something was terribly wrong as Oliver made a dash for his friend, pulling him for a hug. Jacob's cries went muffled once his face was buried inside Oliver's shoulder.

"Mate, it's okay," he assured him.

"No, it's not," his friend responded.

"Jacob, what happened?" Oliver asked him.

The Hufflepuff boy lifted his head and broke the embrace, staring at his friend. "It was after I woke up from the last. I came to look for you guys and I found..." He paused, more tears falling down his face. "Violet's gone. She was attacked by a werewolf."

Oliver's eyes went wide as he looked down at the body behind Jacob. He remembered seeing Violet in this state before the explosion, but it was only for a short moment. Now, as he stood above her for longer than a minute, studying her pale face and her wounds that she succumbed to, he felt his heart aching for her.

"Violet," he whispered, getting on his knees as a lump formed in his throat.

"She must've gotten ambushed while we were running and none of us noticed," Jacob stated, his voice cracking. "Merlin, we weren't there for her. She was all alone with the werewolf that did this to her..."