When Fire Meets Gasoline | Wizarding World

chapter twenty-four | when it all spills out

By early May, a couple of months after the poison scare, Jacob and Ron were back to good health. It took them a while to get back to a normal routine, the first few weeks after being released from the hospital wing were a bit foggy and slow for them, the recovery process being slow and frustrating for them.

During breakfast, Jacob still found himself getting nervous to drink the cup of juice that was in front of him.

Violet picked up his cup and handed it to him. "It's alright, Jake," she assured him.

He gave her a small smile and took a sip, feeling relieved that he wasn't in danger of being poisoned anymore. "Thanks," he muttered, taking her hand.

"Did they ever figure out who did it?" Oliver asked.

Eliza shook her head. "As far as we know, not yet."

Andrew let out a scoff. "I mean, we already have our guesses as to who it was."

Oliver knew this would come up again. It was something that Andrew went on about for the last couple of months, while Oliver tended to keep quiet about the subject. Whenever it was brought up, all he could think about was Mary, and while the urge to ask her about it was strong, he couldn't bring himself to do it, not wanting to cross another line with her.

The last thing he wanted to do was add fuel to the fire.

"Until we have proof, there's not much we can say or do about it," Violet stated. "But honestly, it's been two months already. Surely, Dumbledore would've found out who it was by now."

"Maybe he's still working on it," Eliza said.

"Really, Liza? It takes two months to find out who tried to kill him?" Andrew said in an annoying tone. "The mead was for him, after all, so you'd think he'd be on the case."

"Guys, let's just not talk about it anymore, okay?" Jacob snapped, then groaned while rubbing his forehead. "I'm sorry. I still think about that night and it gives me nightmares at times."

The others shot him with apologetic looks. "Sorry, mate," Andrew said first.

"We know it's been a tough couple of months," Oliver spoke up. "Maybe it's time we just drop it and let the teachers handle it. Talking about the many theories of who did it is not helping anyone or anything regarding the incident."

"Ollie, it's obvious that Malfoy and the American are behind this again," Andrew replied harshly. "Why are you deflecting the subject entirely?"

"I've hardly said anything about the whole thing," he protested.

"Which is just as bad as not saying anything at all," Andrew retorted. "Please don't tell me you actually like the American."

"We're friends, Andy," Oliver stated. "Kind of."

Andrew rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, you've had how many conversations with her, exactly?"

"Okay, that's enough, you two," Eliza said firmly. "Arguing with each other isn't going to solve anything."

Andrew huffed a sigh, eyeing Oliver. "I still wouldn't trust her if my life depended on it."

So the five went back to eating, their chatting coming down to silence again. While things were a little tense, no one said another word, not wanting to risk any more bickering amongst each other.

To Oliver, maybe it was good that everyone was quiet now.

Just as he was about to fill his plate with some more food, he spotted the familiar face of Katie Bell walking down the aisle of tables almost in a sluggish way. He didn't blame her for it, though, given her circumstances. What made him become confused was Harry making his way towards her. With their short conversation, it didn't take much for Draco Malfoy behind them to get worried, rushing out of the Great Hall, with Harry going after him.