Over the next couple of weeks, Oliver found himself including Mary into his routine at Shell Cottage. She started to join him and his friends on his walks in the evening, then they'd stay out a little bit longer after the others went to sleep. Their moments started with talking, which usually led to a snogging session. While it didn't entirely get rid of the torment that Andrew was gone, just having it disappear for the night whenever Mary was around made sleeping a lot more bearable for the majority of the nights. At least he stopped feeling numb, like the way he did when he first arrived at the cottage. To him, that was a lot worse than anything else he had to endure, for he knew that he had to grieve in order to move on.

Then again, he knew that he would never be able to move on from Andrew's death.

Some nights, Oliver would still dream about him. He went back to the summers with him and Eliza, then he thought about their days at Hogwarts. With every memory, every moment of happiness from their golden years, Oliver let them spin around in his mind, trying to reassure himself that even though Andrew was no longer with them down here, he was reunited with the rest of his family somewhere else, somewhere beautiful.

It was the first of May when everyone gathered in the living room, with the exception of Ollivander. Harry had just left the wandmaker's bedroom when he arrived in the living room, standing in front of everyone. "Thank you, Bill and Fleur, for welcoming us into your home. It means a lot, truly."

"Is everything all right, Harry?" Bill asked.

"Sort of," he admitted. "Ron, Hermione, and I have been talking for the last few days. We've come to the agreement that staying here only makes You-Know-Who stronger."

"How close are you to defeating him?" Jacob asked.

"Not close enough," he answered. "Which is why I need help from all of you. We need you to gather up members of the Order. You-Know-Who will not go down without a fight, and neither will his followers."

"So what's your next move?" Mary spoke up.

"We need to find something, and the less you know the better." Harry paused for a brief moment before he continued to speak. "One of us will send a Patronus and let you know where to go next."

"How long will that take?" Eliza inquired.

"However long we need," he answered.

Although they were skeptical about Harry's plan, they didn't question him about it anymore. While the trio went to the kitchen to discuss more of their plan, the Fire Pack headed upstairs. They walked inside the boys' bedroom, closing the door once everyone was inside.

"Harry doesn't have much in terms of a plan, in my opinion," Eliza said. "It kind of worries me."

"Knowing him, he'll figure it out," Jacob replied.

"Well, he always does," Violet added. "He has to."

All of them knew that Harry's only option was to figure things out. Otherwise, the war would continue on, with Snatchers on every corner, along with fear following everyone around like a stray Kneazle. The more danger still lurked all over Europe, the more everyone all over the Wizarding world would have to keep running, and eventually, there would be nowhere left to hide.

As the others continued talking for a while, Oliver listened in. Eventually, he stood up and headed out of the bedroom. He was just about to go for the bathroom when he ran into Hermione in the hallway. The two, startled, merely looked at each other for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"Have you, Harry, and Ron figured out a plan yet?" he asked.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I think so."

"How mad is it?"

"Very mad, like always."

Oliver let out a chuckle. "Not a surprise there." There was a pause, then he kept going. "You three will be careful, right?"

Hermione's smile faded as she took a deep breath. "We'll try."

"Are you scared?"

Hermione giggled. "I'm always scared, but that's what motivates us the most, isn't it?"

Oliver pondered for a moment before nodding his head in agreement. "In a way, yeah, it does."

The two exchanged one last goodbye before Hermione descended the stairs. Oliver headed for the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, wondering if fear was noticeable on his face. He tried to not let it show, but he was at the point where everyone understood his worrying, because they were all feeling it, too.

Once the trio and Griphook departed from the cottage that afternoon, everyone else waited around for a message from one of them. As the hours went by, with the sun almost gone for the night, there was still no news, and there was only so much everyone did to keep themselves occupied. Bill and Fleur spend a lot of time trying to recruit members of the Order for whatever was about to happen, and Jacob and Violet did the same with their parents, who were more than happy to help with the cause.

While Eliza and Mary were helping Jacob and Violet downstairs, Oliver remained in his shared bedroom with Jacob, looking out the window. Seeing the waves form and crash was his distraction from what chaos was coming next. He needed something to keep him calm for now, something to keep in the back of his mind for now.

There was a soft knock at the door that snapped Oliver out of his daydream. He turned his head to see Mary standing in the doorway. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied, slowly walking in the bedroom. "Want a graham cracker?"

He chuckled, taking it from her. "Thanks. I don't have a little lamb to give you in return."

She smiled, sitting down next to him. "That's okay. Maybe we can just stick to the code names if we need them."

"I doubt that'll happen."

"You're probably right." Mary paused, sighing before speaking again. "How much longer do you think we'll have to wait until someone sends us a Patronus?"

"I have no idea," he confessed. "The sun just finished setting." Oliver looked at the sky as it was beginning to grow dark. "It's just getting impatient, having to do all this waiting."

"Do you think something happened to them?" she asked.

"I don't think so. If Hermione Granger is with them, then I'm sure she has a backup plan." He looked down at his hands, feeling the sweat forming inside his palms.

"You okay?" Mary questioned, scooting closer to him.

He shrugged, lifting his head to face her. "I don't know. I guess I'm just...well..."

"Nervous about what's to come next?" Mary finished for him. "I am, too. We all are."

Oliver felt her hands on his as he continued to keep his eyes on her, to which she did the same to him. As long as he gazed at Mary, the fear that stuck with him was peeling away from his mind. He went back to his conversation with Jacob in Malfoy Manor, and had a gut feeling that now was the time to tell Mary. Otherwise, he might never get to tell her again once they were out fighting.

"Oliver..." she spoke up once more. "We'll get through this. I know we will. It'll be a tough fight, but--"

"I love you," he blurted.

Mary froze in her spot. "What?"

His heart was beginning to beat fast, almost startled at what he just confessed. "I-I've been thinking about it for a while, and I know the timing of it seems wrong, but I had to tell you in case something happened to one of us. I really do love you, Mary Fowler."

She opened her mouth to speak, but she was struggling to get a proper sentence out. "Oliver...I...I..."

"Oh, Merlin, I really threw it on you, didn't I?" His face began to grow worried.

"No!" she assured him. "No, that's not it. I was just surprised, that's all, and I...well..." She let out a sigh. "Sorry, this is new to me and--"

"It's okay," he cut her off. "You don't have to tell me if you're not ready. I completely understand."

Mary gave him a small smile, giving him a peck on the lips. Before she could pull away, Oliver let his lips touch hers again, and she didn't protest, both of them letting the kiss get deeper.

"That's a nice view to walk in on."

Jumping back, the two looked over to see Eliza standing in the doorway.

"What is it, Eliza?" Oliver asked, his face getting red from embarrassment.

"Harry's Patronus just came in," she replied. "We need to get to Hogwarts right now."

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, the action is about to happen!

I didn't think I'd be able to finish this chapter by today, but I was excited for it, so here we are!

Song above is Don't Dream It's Over (Glee's Version) originally sung by Crowded House.

Comment, vote, next update will be on 8/30.

-A