The four were surrounded by trees in a matter of seconds.

Among the birds chirping and the crunching of leaves under their feet, everything was quiet. No one said a word as they took the time to regain their breaths from Apparating. Not only that, but the last words Jacob said before he let anyone respond replayed in Oliver's head.

We kind of blew up the Ministry.

It was worrying, to say the least.

Once everyone was more calm, their heartbeats going back at a normal pace, Jacob was the first to speak up. "Well, that was a pleasant visit."

"Yeah, you mind telling us what exactly happened?" Oliver asked. "You tell us you 'kind of blew up the Ministry' and then you take us in the middle of some forest--"

"Okay, so it's actually not as bad as it sounds," Jacob assured him, trying to look and sound convincing before he turned towards Mary. "Right?"

She raised her eyebrows his way. "I mean, we did put a bunch of employees in danger..."

Jacob's face fell, exhaling loudly in annoyance. "Well, thanks for backing me up," he muttered sarcastically.

"Just tell us what happened," Eliza interjected.

"I came to get Mary when I found her talking to Zabini. Things got heated between the three of us. Next thing we know, he shoots a spell our way, so I retaliated."

"Needless to say, our duel got out of hand and spells went all over the place," Mary finished up for him. "No one got seriously hurt, which is a relief, but a lot of things were damaged by the fire we caused."

"By what?" Oliver questioned, widening his eyes in shock.

Jacob stepped back in. "It was an accident, okay? We got out before anyone could catch us, so that's all that matters."

He huffed a sigh. "Did you at least get some useful information from your dad?"

"Just some things, but not a whole lot. He was worried about others overhearing our conversation," Jacob explained. "You-Know-Who's name is taboo now. Snatchers use that as a way to track down wizards and witches."

"But nothing about Andy or Vi," Eliza stated.

Jacob shook his head. "Nothing at all, but my dad said there's a radio program called Potterwatch that reports events not covered by other Wizarding networks or the Prophet. Apparently, you need a password to get access to the show, which I got the one for the next show from my dad, so we'll be able to tune in."

Oliver merely nodded his head in response. While it wasn't terrible news, he hoped for something more, especially after the huge risk Jacob and Mary took inside the Ministry. He wished there was more reassurance that everything was okay for now and that things would get better, despite how bad things escalated between Jacob, Mary, and Blaise. However, he got more anxious the more he kept thinking about it.

"Well, let's go ahead and set up a tent and maybe just relax for now," Eliza suggested. "Who knows how long we'll have to do just that before Aurors or Snatchers from the Ministry come hunting us down."

So the four got to work on the tent that came from Eliza's rucksack. They worked together with their wands to set up the tent nice and firm, making sure it was pinned in the ground tight enough so that it wouldn't blow away. They established who got what bed, taking over their spaces for the time being.

Oliver looked over at Mary, who seemed to have a frustrated expression on her face as she rubbed her forehead. While he understood why she was acting the way she was, he couldn't help but still find it concerning. He wondered if something else happened specifically with her at the Ministry, something Jacob wasn't present for.

That was when Blaise Zabini popped into his mind, and he was starting to put some of the pieces together, pieces that were more like assumptions.

His stomach began to growl, which caused a groan to escape his lips as he stood up. "I'm going to get some food," he announced to the others.

"I'll come with you," Mary added, standing up alongside him.

Oliver nodded, shifting his eyes towards Eliza. "You want to join us?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm good, thanks."

"Don't forget to bring me back something," Jacob said.

"Why don't you just go and blow up a rabbit hole?" Oliver retorted.

The boy rolled his eyes, throwing his pillow at him. "Piss off."

Oliver let out a snort in response as he exited the tent and back into the fall air, letting the breeze swiftly hit him.

Mary followed suit and let out a sigh, shooting him a weak smile. "So, which way?"

"Right," he answered. He wasn't sure why he picked that direction, but she didn't seem to mind as she began strolling that way.

For a few minutes, the only noise they made was their feet as they ventured deeper into the forest. Their eyes were focused on any animal that came across their path, but neither of them had much luck as the walking continued. He hoped they found some food soon, not wanting to have to deal with the wave of nausea that would eventually creep up on him.

"Looks like all of the animals want to be shy today," Oliver attempted to lighten the mood, adding a chuckle.

Mary nodded her head, laughing a little bit. "Yeah, I guess so."

He observed her face, seeing that she was going back to a state of deep thought. There was a hint of distress along her eyes and then moving towards her lips as she kept them shut tight. The feeling of concern never left him, and he hated to remain quiet any longer about it.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She snapped out of her mood and turned her head to face him. "Yeah, why?"

"It's just..." He was prepared to give her a response, but then he realized that wasn't what she needed. "You're not okay, Mary."

She parted her lips, looking a bit puzzled. "What?"

"You're not okay," he repeated, stopping in his tracks, followed by her. "Something else happened while you were in the Ministry. It has something to do with Blaise, doesn't it?"

A scoff escaped her lips, shaking her head. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"But I do, actually," he said. "You and Blaise...your friendship--"

"We were more than friends at one point," Mary cut him off quickly, almost sounding relieved. "We dated for a few months, but I ended things back in July, the night I ran away from Malfoy Manor." She paused, folding her arms over her chest, looking anywhere but at Oliver. "He didn't take it too well. He was hurt. Of course, I expected that from him, but he just doesn't understand that I had to do it, for his sake and for mine." She exhaled, finally looking up at him. "He really cared about me, as a friend and as my boyfriend."

"He made you happy," Oliver stated.

Mary nodded. "Yeah, he did. He actually cared about me. I mean, sure, I had Draco as a good friend, but Blaise...the way he was there for me...I felt safe."

A hint of sadness was present in her eyes, to which Oliver felt sorry for her. He wasn't sure what else to say, especially any comments about her relationship with Blaise Zabini. While him and his friends did not think highly of him, he could still tell that Mary was beginning to bring back the pain just from seeing him in person after being apart for so long.

"I'm sorry," was all he could think of.

"It's fine. What's done is done. I can't change what I did."

"Do you think you'll get back together with him in the future?" he couldn't help but ask.

She shook her head and decided to start walking again. "Probably not. I think I hurt him enough that he doesn't want to get back together."

"Well, what do you want?" Oliver began to follow her.

She turned her head. "To move on. Just move on and be happy, with or without Blaise."

He nodded in response. "You will, Mary. Just do it at your own pace."

The only thing he got back from her was a stare, to which he returned the favor. It was a short glance, a moment of eye contact before she faced forward once again.

They remained silent after that, only focusing on their hunt for the rest of their journey.

It took them nearly an hour to find anything. By the end of their findings, the two managed to get a couple of rabbits and squirrels between them. Oliver had to give most of the credit to Mary with the quick use of her wand and her good aim.

A fire was already started by Jacob and Eliza when they arrived back at their tent. Eliza was trying to keep the fire going, while Jacob was messing with the radio in front of him, the static noise fading in and out. Oliver helped Mary skin the dead animals and place them over the fire to cook.

"Come on," Jacob muttered in annoyance.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked.

"Trying to get to Potterwatch," Eliza spoke up for him. "He's been at it for quite some time now."

They watched as Jacob mumbled some words under his breath, growing more frustrated. The meat slowly began to cook, the smell becoming more overpowering to their noses, causing their impatience to fill their stomachs only to increase. Relief came over them once their meals were finally done all the way through, tearing bits and pieces with their teeth and  into their mouths. Jacob was still concentrating on the radio, not even reacting to the smell of the food.

Finally, he muttered one more word that the three couldn't fully make out, which caused the static to finally stop and voices were heard. "I got it!" he exclaimed, grabbing the radio and dashing over towards the trio.

"Welcome back to Potterwatch, where we keep you informed of events going on within the Wizarding world during these dark times. I'm River, and joining me for today's show is none other than Royal."

"That's Lee Jordan," Eliza stated. "He was in Gryffindor House with me."

"Now, Royal here has some information involving events that occurred in the Ministry of Magic earlier today. Would you care to enlighten us, Royal?"

"Yes, thank you, River," a new voice emerged.

"That's Kingsley," Jacob commented.

"It is no secret that there had been a security breach, where several wizards and witches at different times infiltrated the Ministry of Magic, putting many employees at risk. While we suspect that Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were involved in one of the events.

"The next incident was when the additional wizard and witch, who have not been identified as of right now. There had been some sort of altercation taking place in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with the Ministry employer, Blaise Zabini, resulting in a fire outbreak. While no one was seriously hurt during this fire, there had been some damage on the second floor."

Oliver and Eliza looked over at Jacob and Mary, who sheepishly stared back at them briefly.

"Well, at least we haven't been identified," Jacob pointed out.

Yeah, not yet, Oliver thought.

"So, Royal, what shall we call these two, and do you think there's more involved?" Lee Jordan asked.

"Well, River, I think an appropriate name would be the Fire Pack," Kingsley answered. "And I have no doubt that there are others in this group."

"Do you think they are causing more harm than good?"

"Well, as of now, we can't be sure as to what their motives are, but the Prophet will most likely paint them in a bad light. We can only hope this group of wizards and witches will help aid Harry Potter without any more lives being put in danger."

As the broadcast continued on, they listened tentatively, making mental notes with everything going on miles away. When the list of the deceased was being read out, everyone got tense, hoping that no one they knew, especially Andrew or Violet, were among the dead. Fortunately, they were in the clear, to which the tension was gone for now.

When Potterwatch ended, Jacob made sure he got the password for the next show before it went off the radio, a static frequency ringing in their ears like before.

"Wow," Eliza spoke up, reaching over to turn off the radio.

"So..." Jacob said, chuckling a little bit. "We're now the Fire Pack, huh?"

"Yeah, I suppose we are," Mary replied, looking at Jacob. "Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing, honestly."

"It makes it seem like we're criminals," Oliver added. Despite him and Eliza not being involved in what happened at the Ministry, knowing that he was still a part of the group by association was enough to make him feel like a fugitive. He thought being a Muggle-born was already terrible given the way things were at the moment, and now he had this to deal with.

"I mean, we kind of are," Jacob pointed out, grinning. "You have to admit, the Fire Pack does have a nice ring to it."

It didn't take long for Mary to be the first to bring a smile to her face as she began to laugh a little. Then, Eliza began to do the same, and Oliver was the last to join. Although the matter itself was not one to joke about, Jacob had a point: the Fire Pack did have a nice ring to it.

Now, they just had to make sure to avoid those that would try to put the flame out.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, this chapter was a lot longer than expected lol, but I hope it was good, anyway. Now you know where the name the "Fire Pack" came from.

Song above is Play with Fire by Sam Tinnesz ft. Yacht Money.

Comment, vote, more soon!

-A