When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter twenty | the truth about healing

To say that Andrew was a mess after the holidays was an understatement.

Oliver offered his friend the Campbell household until the holidays were over, but Andrew couldn't deal with his house, now filled with pain and trauma, just being down the street. So he wrote to the Hamiltons and headed over there immediately.

For the rest of the break, Oliver thought about what he saw inside Andrew's house that Christmas night. The images of the house in shambles, Sarah's body covered up, Andrew's crying and screams circled in Oliver's mind, making it difficult to sleep at night.

When he got back to Hogwarts, he was surprised that Andrew even decided to come back. However, he insisted on finishing the year, which the rest of his friends were not sure if that was a good idea, especially with the state he was in. Nevertheless, the others decided to support his choice and help him out in any way that they could.

As the days went by, Andrew dragged on with his classes. By the end of January, Andrew was still grieving, engulfing himself with books from the library, purposefully isolating himself from his best friends. Eliza suspected the "research" he started with ever since Quidditch tryouts was the only thing that kept his mind filled with anything but his family on that fateful Christmas night.

Oliver hated to see him this way, but he knew it would take some time to move on and get things back to normal. Then again, nothing for Andrew will ever be normal again.

It was on a cold afternoon in February when Eliza called for a meeting without Andrew. He was too busy having a chat with McGonagall (she had been keeping a closer eye on the Gryffindor boy ever since he got back), which was the perfect time to talk about what to do next to help their friend.

"I'm really starting to worry about him," Eliza admitted. "I mean, I know it's been a rough time for him and all, but we've tried talking to him."

"He just needs more time," Jacob said. "He lost his family. They were murdered."

"Yes, I am aware of that, Jacob, thank you," Eliza retorted. "I just miss the Andrew we all know and love before this happened to him."

"We all do," Violet said.

Oliver nodded in agreement. He wished this never happened. Death was something Oliver was familiar with. When his sister died, it really took a toll on Oliver and his parents. He understood Andrew and his pain.

"You look like you've got something to say, Ollie," Jacob spoke up.

Oliver sighed. "What if I talked to him?" he questioned.

"But we've all tried, like Liza said," Jacob pointed out.

"I know, but I mean, I know what it's like, losing a family member. Well, at least I know what it's like losing a sister." He paused. "Look, we can't just let him be alone any longer. Besides, I was there that night. He was broken. I should've done it sooner."

The other three looked at each other, giving expressions of approval. "That's not a bad idea, really," Eliza said.

"Yeah, and he trusts you, too," Violet added.

Oliver nodded once again. He wanted to help his best friend, and maybe reaching out was the way to go. After all, Oliver was there at the crime scene. He witnessed Andrew at his worst, which meant Oliver needed to be the one to do this.

"Let's hope you can get through to him, mate," Jacob stated.

The Ravenclaw boy rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I hope so, too."

*******

Oliver waited a few days before he said anything to Andrew. It became obvious that his friends were wondering when the Ravenclaw boy would finally talk to their best friend. What they didn't understand was that he needed to figure out how to approach the conversation with him. But the more Oliver thought about it, the more he realized that there was not any easy way to go about this.