Over the next few weeks, the friendship between Oliver and Mary began to blossom. There was always a spark inside one of them that ignited a heartfelt and cheerful conversation, filled with jokes when they hung around the campsite or adventure when they had to go out and look for food. Needless to say, the two gave each other relief and put each other at ease, which was something they needed during these dark times.

One breezy afternoon, as Eliza watched Jacob fiddle with the radio, Oliver and Mary were sitting under the same tree from when she found him with his books and parchment. It had become their favorite spot, the place they made for them to relax and talk about nonsense, little things that counted as distractions from everything else, even if it was for a short moment.

"Okay, who was your first kiss?" Mary asked out of nowhere, raising her eyebrows.

Oliver chuckled nervously. "Where did that question come from?"

"From being curious," she replied, grinning. "So, who was it?"

"Oh, no," he responded, shaking his head. "Me and her swore that we'd never mention it again, and I told myself I'd never think about it again, too."

"But I'm sure you're thinking of it right now," she pointed out.

"Fair point," he said, huffing a sigh in defeat. "Okay, if I tell you, swear to me that you won't say anything to anyone."

"I promise," she assured him.

Oliver felt the embarrassment come over him as he motioned towards the tent. "It was Eliza."

With wide eyes, Mary quickly turned her head to glance at the girl before facing Oliver once again. "What?"

"Yes," he confirmed, nodding his head. "We were thirteen."

"Did you have a crush on her at that age?" she questioned, getting excited.

"I did," he replied. "I think she had one on me as well. We just never did anything about it since the feelings didn't last very long."

Mary couldn't help but smile at the memory. "How adorable."

"Okay, so who was your first kiss, then?" he retorted playfully.

The smile slowly dropped as she looked down at the ground and began to pick at the leaves, tearing them apart with her hands. "Blaise was my first kiss, actually."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really?"

She nodded in response, almost as if she was ashamed of it. "Really. I mean, I was never interested in dating when I attended Ilvermorny. Hell, I didn't have many friends there, so dating was out of the question." She let out an awkward chuckle, still keeping her head down.

"So Zabini was your first ever boyfriend," he stated.

"Yeah, he was." Mary paused, finally lifting her head up. "Was Hermione Granger your first ever girlfriend?"

Oliver snorted at her assumption. "Hermione and I never dated."

She shot him a confused look. "But you two at Slughorn's Christmas party--"

"--was nothing," he finished for her. "She only asked me to be her date for the party, and because I fancied her at the time, I agreed to go with her." He wasn't sure how to feel about admitting this to Mary, but because it pertained to the conversation of dating, not to mention she had her own confession to make about her love life, it seemed only fair to explain what happened between him and Hermione. "We even kissed that night."

"Under the mistletoe, I'm assuming?" she inquired.

"Yes, as a Christmas tradition," he replied. "Honestly, I wanted to feel something with that kiss, especially since I had a crush on her for quite some time. Unfortunately, all that anticipation was for nothing."

"I wouldn't say that," she told him. "Maybe that was a blessing in disguise, like something was telling you that you two weren't right for each other. For all you know, someone better will come along."

"You think so?"

"Definitely. You just have to wait. Patience is a virtue, Oliver."

He chuckled and smiled at her comment, to which she laughed along with him. They held their gazes at one another, causing a warm feeling to form at the bottom of their stomachs. It only got worse the longer they stared at each other. But even when Mary turned away from him, looking unphased, Oliver couldn't ignore it, even if he decided to look away from her. While the smile still plastered on her face was still a little bit visible from a side angle, he watched as she let it linger for another short moment before the loud static of the radio and Jacob's joyous shouting caused their attention to go towards him.

"There's another Potterwatch show!" he exclaimed.

Oliver and Mary quickly stood up and circled around the radio with Jacob and Eliza. Gathering around with anticipation, Lee Jordan, along with one of the Weasley twins, were hosting the broadcast.

"Now, Rapier, it has come to my attention that you have some updates about the Fire Pack, especially since they've been quiet for the last few weeks."

"That's exactly what we've been doing," Jacob pointed out, his expression turning puzzled.

"Yes, River, they've really added more fuel to the fire they started not too long ago." He cleared his throat before continuing on with the news. "It seems the Fire Pack has caused some more trouble recently. By recently, I mean three days ago."

"So what happened three days ago?"

"Well, there seemed to be another incident in Manchester, where a fire broke out near the Thunderbolt Headquarters. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, and there's no word on whether or not there were any altercations that started the incident. So far, it's hard to say what message the Fire Pack is trying to tell us, but you'd think some fireworks would be a lot easier to mess with."

"No, Rapier. Fireworks are your thing."

When the topic moved away from the event at Thunderbolt Headquarters, an event that none of them were aware happened until now, the four began to grow worried. Obviously, the Fire Pack hadn't been anywhere near Manchester. All they tried to do since the incident at the Ministry of Magic was stay away from where all the action was happening.

After Potterwatch was over, Jacob was scribbling down the password for the next show when Eliza spoke up. "Well, that was interesting, to say the least."

"And confusing," Oliver added. "We haven't been to Manchester in a while."

"Which makes me wonder..." Jacob began to say, getting into deep thought for a moment before continuing. "It makes me wonder if someone is trying to send a message to us."

"By someone, you mean Andrew and Violet," Mary pointed out.

Jacob nodded. "That's exactly who I mean."

Oliver was still skeptical about the whole thing. "I don't know, mate. Given the fact that Violet's house is no longer safe, it just seems odd that she would go back to Manchester."

"Maybe she didn't go back to her house," Jacob said.

"If she didn't go back for that, then why is she there?" Mary spoke up.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Jacob raised his eyebrows, his eyes shifting among the three.

"Jake..." Oliver started to say.

"Ollie, it's been months since we've seen either one of them and now we finally have a lead. We can't risk not taking it, especially if they're in danger."

"But what if it's a trap?" Eliza questioned. "What if someone from You-Know-Who's side is setting us up so they can capture the Fire Pack?"

"Liza, if that's the case, then we'll be ready for them," Jacob replied, almost getting annoyed by the sound of his tone. "I say that we take this opportunity and go to Manchester, especially if it means my best mate and my girlfriend, whom I love very much, are waiting for us to go there and reunite with them." With that, he stood up and walked off.

The three exchanged odd looks at each other.

Eliza spoke up, breaking the silence. "Did he just say he loved Violet?"

*******

In just a few hours, their campsite was packed up and ready to move to Manchester. While the three were still suspicious about heading towards that way, Jacob was determined to go, even if it meant he went without them, and the others were not going to let him do such a thing by himself. So, it was decided that all four would go together and endure whatever would be waiting for them in Manchester.

They Apparated on the edge of the city, slowly making their way down to the streets, blending in with the other people. Like before, the group had to be discreet and to check their surroundings every so often. After being away from the public for so long, the instinct was still there.

Mary and Eliza walked ahead as Oliver and Jacob remained closely behind them. Oliver eyed Mary whenever her head was turned sideways as she glanced from left to right, noticing the way her hair swung and bounced in all directions. His stomach was flipping.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Jacob asked.

Oliver jumped a little and looked at his friend in confusion. "What?"

"You and Mary. Is there something going on between you two?"

Furrowing his brows, he scoffed. "Do you really love Violet?" he retorted.

"Yes, I do. I think I have for a while, actually."

"Define 'a while' for me."

Jacob rolled his eyes in a light-hearted way. "Years in the making, mate. Anyway, answer my question now."

Oliver had to take some time to think about his question. Was there something actually going on between him and Mary? Was it something the two of them hadn't established yet? These last few weeks with her were very nice, he had to admit. Spending a lot of time together was beneficial to both of them, seeing it as a way of being distracted from everything bad that loomed around the Wizarding world.

But the way he felt whenever he looked her way was something he had a hard time forgetting.

"There's potential for us," Oliver admitted, not wanting to go any further than that.

"Will it be a repeat of what happened with Hermione?" Jacob inquired with raised eyebrows.

He shook his head. "No, I don't think that's the case this time." One can only hope.

All of a sudden, the girls stopped and waited for the boys to catch up. The four continued to walk in silence, becoming more attentive with each step. When they reached the magical part of Manchester, they got more tense. Then, as they arrived in front of the Thunderbolt Headquarters, it was obvious that the building was vacant. To them, that seemed like a bad sign. Of course, maybe the headquarters closed for a while after the incident nearby, but it still seemed strange, as if there was an ambush waiting to happen.

"You know, just being able to come here has been too easy, not to mention this place practically looks abandoned," Eliza spoke up. "This has to be a trap."

"Well, it's a pretty terrible trap," Jacob commented. "You'd think there would be more of an element of surprise."

"I think we've already caused enough attention," the familiar voice of a girl said behind them.

The four spun around to see the girl, along with a boy standing beside her, smirking at them. With their mouths open, they stood there in complete shock and relief.

"It's been a long few months without you lot around!" Andrew exclaimed.

Jacob was the first to run towards the two, throwing himself on Violet for a big embrace, followed by a kiss on the lips. Eliza was next, heading for Andrew, then Oliver was the last to join in. Mary stood there and watched the reunion, and along with the others, she was feeling content with the fact that all five of them were together once again, taking in their joyous moment, for they knew that happiness was bound to be short-lived.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Yay, the five have finally been reunited!

Song above is Fire by Gavin DeGraw

Comment, vote, more soon!

-A