𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 \\ 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗷. 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿

𝐶𝐼𝐼𝐼.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙-𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —

FLEUR OPENED THE door to Mr. Ollivander's room, stepping out into the hall. "He's weak." she said gently, patting Caroline's shoulder as they entered the bedroom.

Mr. Ollivander was seated in the corner of the room, resting. "Yes?" he asked when they walked in, looking rather unwell.

Harry was the first to enter. "Mr. Ollivander, I need to ask you a few questions." he said delicately.

"Anything, my boy, anything." Mr. Ollivander said, and Harry stepped over to him.

"Would you mind identifying this wand? We need to know if it's safe to use." he extended Bellatrix's wand that Dobby had wound up with towards the man.

As Mr. Ollivander began to examine the wand, Harry took a seat on the edge of the bed, his friends and girlfriend behind him. "Walnut. Dragon heartstring. 12 and ¾ inches. Unyie... Unyielding. This belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange. Treat it carefully." the elderly man handed Harry the wand back.

Harry nodded and handed Mr. Ollivander a different wand. "And this?" he asked gently.

"Hawthorn. And Unicorn hair. 10 inches. Reasonably pliant. This was the wand of Draco Malfoy." Mr. Ollivander said, his word choice confusing the four friends.

"Was? Is it not still?" Harry questioned.

"Well, perhaps not. If you won it from him. I sense its allegiance has changed." Mr. Ollivander gave Draco's wand back to Harry.

Harry took the wand carefully. "You talk about wands, as if they have feelings... can think." Harry spoke cautiously.

Mr. Ollivander nodded. "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. That much has always been clear to those of us who've studied wandlore." Caroline rememerbed those words. When her father took her to Diagon Alley the summer before her first year at Hogwarts, their first stop was Mr. Ollivander's. Caroline found her wand instantly, and Mr. Ollivander knew she was special.

"And, what do you know about the Deathly Hallows?" by the look on Mr. Ollivander's face, he clearly wasn't expecting the question.

"It is rumoured there are three," the man said after a thoughtful pause. "The Elder Wand, the Cloak of Invisibility, to hide you from your enemies, and the Resurrection Stone, to bring back loved ones from the dead. Together, they make one the Master of Death. But, few truly believe that such objects exist."

"Do you?" Harry pressed. "Do you believe they exist, sir?"

Harry was testing Mr. Ollivander, and the man seemed to know this. "Well... I see no reasons to put stock into an old wives' tale." he tried to cover, unaware that Harry knew the truth.

"You're lying," Harry's gaze never broke away from the wandmaker. "You know one exists. You told him about it. You told him about the Elder Wand and where he could go looking for it."

Mr. Ollivander looked ashamed, and Caroline wished Harry went about his questioning a different way. "He tortured me," Mr. Ollivander looked down. "Besides, I only conveyed rumours. There's...There's no telling whether he will find it." the elderly man said, a twinge of hopefulness in his voice.

Harry sighed quietly. "He has found it, sir," after a moment, Harry stood, holding the wands. "We'll let you rest."

Ron opened the door as Harry moved over to Caroline. "He's after you, Mr. Potter, Miss Taylor-Jones." Mr. Ollivander warned.

Caroline turned around. "Why? Is it the Prophecy? That's why he wants me?" she questioned the wandmaker.

Mr. Ollivander nodded. "If it's true what you say, that he has the Elder Wand, I'm afraid you two really don't stand a chance." the man said.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to kill him, before he finds us, then." Harry said, ducking out of the room.

Caroline followed him quickly, joining him in the sitting room. "Your dreams. Have you heard more of the Prophecy?" she asked, her nerves over the damned orb from fifth year growing after Mr. Ollivander's words.

Harry shook his head. "You know I would've told you," he looked out the window at the ocean. "In the end, one of us has to kill the other. After the horcruxes are gone, I have to kill him, because I can't live while he survives." Harry reiterated what Caroline already knew.

"I know that. I just don't know where I fit in. Because I don't want to die, Harry. I really don't want to die." Caroline said slowly, quietly. Her eyes welled with tears that she knew Harry saw. Bill, listening in the kitchen, felt his heart break at her words. It seemed that all of the Order had a deep soft spot for Caroline, many of her teachers as well. She was just something no one could describe better than simply wondrous. Like the stars in the night sky.

"You won't. Neither of us will. We'll figure this out, keep you safe," Harry looked back at her, grabbing her hand gently. She wasn't looking at him. "Look at me," Harry said softly, turning her chin towards him. "You won't die, not anytime soon. We're supposed to have our maximum four kids, grow old together. You're not going anywhere,  I promise."

Caroline nodded, wiping her tears before they fell. "Okay. I'll need that in writing." she joked, her dark sense of humour only emerging after Jacob's death.

Harry rolled his eyes, kissing her hand. "I'll do my best." they stood up, because there was no time to waste. If they wanted to win the battle, they needed to prepare the army. Caroline was already cooking up a plan when she found the Polyjuice Potion in her bag moments later.

— ✩ ☽ ✩ —