Shining Star in the Dark

by MissingMommy

Oliver can't sit by idly when the galaxy is suffering at the hands of the Death Eaters. So he doesn't turn down the chance to join the Order, a group dedicated to trying to overthrow their government. He never expected the ways it would change his life. :: PercyOliverAudrey, Star Wars!AU

Notes: Please note that this is a Star Wars-esque!AU, only with HP names and locations. All spaceships are broom models and all locations are wizarding school locations.

Starsweeper = Millennium Falcon

Shooting Star = X-wing

Swiftstick = TIE Fighter

So many thanks to Lizzy and Bex for betaing this monster.

---

In a galaxy far, far away, anger and bile rise in Oliver's throat as he clenches his hands into tight fists. The nightly news show reports of the damage the Death Eaters have done to Koldovstoretz. The once frozen land has been set ablaze, the snow melting causing many of the cities to flood. The aerial camera catches everything, from the rising seawater to the men, women, and children still burning at the stakes in the cities not yet affected.

Their only crime had been wanting to live. The harsh, frozen landscape left little opportunity to provide for their families and pay the increasingly unachievable taxes. Their Supreme Chancellor had authorized the police—nicknamed 'Death Eaters' by the people—to gather taxes, and if they couldn't be obtained, to make sure that the rest of the galaxy knew it would be unacceptable.

"I don't know how you stand this. He needs to be stopped," he says, when he can no longer contain his righteous fury. But even in anger, Oliver knows not to use the Supreme Chancellor's name; he's grown up with stories of one person saying their ruler's name and the planet being left in ashes.

His mother's face twists in horror at his words. Oliver has to swallow hard to stop himself from pointing out that his mother is more horrified by words than she is seeing children burning. "There is nothing we can do to save them."

His father sits stoically as he watches the news. He offers no counter to his wife's statement.

"You are cowards," he snarls. His mother gasps, holding a hand to her mouth as tears well in her eyes, and yet he doesn't feel guilty for saying it.

"Oliver!" his father says. He's using a tone that Oliver has rarely heard. His words carry weight when he says, "We are protecting our people by not fighting."

"I fail to see how hiding away is protecting people," he replies, his face twisting in disgust.

"Because you are still a child. You know nothing of politics or war. We are alive because we haven't made a reason for them to target us. Sometimes, the best strategy is not to fight," his father's voice is low and even. It reminds Oliver that his father has seen war first hand, many years ago.

He knows he's not going to win this argument. He drags his hand roughly through his short hair. "I'm going to get fresh air."

Without waiting for permission, he storms out of the house. He walks around aimlessly for ages, his anger keeping him warm, until one of the suns starts to rise.

His mother is making breakfast when he finally returns to the house. There's dark circles under her eyes that lets him know that she slept very little the night before.

"I'm sorry," he tells her.

"I know you want to save everyone. But Ol, sometimes, you can't," she says softly as she hugs him. "The thing you have to remember is that we are still saving people here, by not fighting."

Oliver swallows back his anger. There's the beginning of a ship that will survive take off and hyperspeed in their shed that he's working on as he finds the parts. It's harder to find parts for a Firebolt than for the Cleansweep he has, but he will finish it one day and fly off to join the Order.

For now, he nods. "I get it."

All tension drains out of his mother when he lies. One day can't come fast enough.

---

The night is chilly, making him shiver and rub his hands against his skin to try to create some heat. The suns have sunk below the horizon while the moon slowly rises in their place. He lets the moonlight lead his way towards town.

He makes it to the local bar. It's the only place in the entire town that stays open all night, so even if he's too young to buy alcohol, he can still get something to drink. The familiar atmosphere calms his nerves about racing tomorrow; there's no way he's going to lose, and yet, despite that knowledge, he still can't help but feel nervous.

Professor Binns, an elderly man with thin, balding silver hair, pours him pumpkin juice when he approaches the bar. Oliver's not sure why everyone refers to him as 'Professor' since he never taught anyone he knows. He offers the drink to Oliver. "Here, Odysseus."

The corners of Oliver's mouth tug into a small smile at the man who could never get his name right. He takes his drink, leaving a knut in its place, before letting his eyes scan the crowd. Most of the people here are the regulars, drinking away the money they make sorting scrap metal or illegally betting on even more illegal races.

In the back corner, a redhead and a brunette sit together. Oliver frowns. He's never seen the two of them in here. His curiosity is piqued. Without hesitation, he makes his way towards the pair. "Mind if I join you?"

Both of them looked at him startled. Oliver has just enough time to think of how beautiful both of them are before the woman grins at him and gestures to the empty seat. "Go ahead."

"What brings the two of you to Castelobruxo?" he asks conversationally. His previous nervousness melts away in favor of curiosity. There's hardly ever any visitors to the barren, desert planet he calls home.

The redhead pushes his glasses up his nose. "We had some minor issues with our ship. This was the closest habitable planet we could land on and make the repairs."

"I think you mean so that I can make the repairs," she corrects him.

The other man grins and takes her hand in his own. "If you want to get technical about it, sure."

There's something off about the pair that Oliver can't put his finger on. He doesn't think they're telling the whole truth. "How are you liking your visit so far?"

The redhead throws his head back laughing and Oliver can't help but swallow at the sight of his pale throat. "Castelobruxo is surprisingly beautiful at sunset. However, it seems like you're not particularly fond of strangers. You're the fourth person to inquire about our presence."

"With what happened near Koldovstoretz two months ago, do you really blame us?" he counters, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. Koldovstoretz is pretty close to Castelobruxo, only a handful of hyper jumps away.

"It's a damn shame what happened," the brunette says softly, her voice passionate. The man finishes the rest of the firewhisky in his glass with a grimace.

Oliver's eyes flicker between the two of them for a long moment. The two of them don't squirm under his scrutiny like most would. Glancing around the bar again, he makes sure everyone is caught up in their own conversations before he lowers his voice to a whisper, "You're part of the Order, aren't you?"

They exchange looks and it's all Oliver needs to confirm his suspicions, considering there weren't any lightsabers or guns drawn. He can't believe his luck. He knows he needs to tread carefully here. A plan forms quickly in his head.

"How about two or three more rounds before you take me back to your ship?" he suggests, his eyes flickering around the place.

The brunette is quick to pick up his implications. She leans across the table and drags a finger down the exposed skin of his forearm. She turns to look at the redhead as she does. "Percy, dear, would you go get us another drink? It looks like he was drinking pumpkin juice too."

The man's eyes flicker between her and Oliver. A couple of moments later, he nods and heads towards the bar, leaving Oliver alone with her.

"The name's Audrey. It'll probably be the only thing you remember tonight," she says with a wink.

Despite knowing that Audrey is only flirting with him because he inadvertently asked, he blushes. "Oliver."

Percy places a glass of pumpkin juice in front of him before handing a second to Audrey. He has another firewhisky in his hand as he sits down. Audrey leans over and kisses his cheek.

---

Oliver looks around their ship. It's nothing like the ship he pieced together himself out of scrap metal. This ship is a thing of beauty, something he only dreamed he could set foot on. His own partially built Firebolt doesn't hold a light to a Starsweeper.

The Starsweeper is a cargo ship built for long term flying from what Oliver can remember of stories other travellers bring; it has a bay deck, with two door leading to several rooms to bunk in, a Mess Hall, a Bridge, and a Med Bay. The door closes and he's left alone with Percy and Audrey.

"Mind explaining what that was about?" Percy asks, leaning against the control panel for the doors.

"You're part of the Order and I want to join, but I'm still underage. My parents would never let me join. They think it's better not to act than to do something," he says ruefully. He's nearly seventeen, an adult, but his birthday isn't for another few months and there's no telling if the two of them will come back for him.

He watches as they whisper to each other. Percy keeps his eyes trained on him as they speak. Finally, Audrey turns around.

"We're on a recruitment mission. Kidnapping would attract the wrong kind of attention," Percy says.

"As long as my parents don't think I'm leaving to join the Order, they will let me leave voluntarily," Oliver says. "If you can spare a week or two here, I can pretend to fall madly in love with one of you, or both preferably since it would be more believable because I told them I never saw myself with just one partner, and then I can convince my parents to let me leave when you fix your transport to get home."

"Clever," Audrey replies, looking mildly impressed. "But why would we spend a week or two here with you? What skill do you have that could help further our cause?"

Oliver grins at both of them. "I'm one hell of a pilot. There's a race in the morning that you can watch. If you agree, we can pretend to have a whirlwind romance and take off."

The two of them speak quietly again before Percy nods. He turns and taps along the control panel and Oliver hears a groaning sound of the door to the rest of the ship opening. Percy turns back. "We'll watch the race in the morning and decide. Until then, we have a spare room you can sleep in. Just in case we decide to go that route, you staying the night with us will only help."

"You won't regret this," he promises as he follows Percy.

"Let's hope not," Percy replies. He opens the door to a room that is more lavish than Oliver's ever seen. He points to the wall next to the bed. "You'll be able to set an alarm for that race of yours with the panel there."

Before he gets a chance to ask how, the man disappears. Oliver sits cross-legged on the bed, in front of the area Percy pointed out. He touches the wall and a small control panel pops out. It takes him several minutes to program an alarm since he has to set it for Castelobruxo's time. Once the alarm is set, he pushes the panel back into the wall and sets down for sleep.

---

Oliver feels the familiar rush of adrenaline in his veins as he turns on his ship. It whirls to life and he climbs out to look at the two of them proudly. The ship is a makeshift Cleansweep made out scraps from other ships but it's flies smoothly. It's a mix of silver, blue, and gold panels that are wrapped around three turbine engines, two on either side of him and one directly behind him, with an open cockpit since he hasn't found the material to close the cockpit.

Audrey looks at the ship sceptically. "Are you sure this is going to fly?"

He pats his ship affectionately. "Of course. Built her myself."

Percy gives a chuckle as Audrey inspects the Cleansweep with a critical eye. "Sweetheart, not everyone can build a spaceship like you can. You've been trained."

She grins at Percy and pecks him on the cheek. She meets Oliver's eyes, her green eyes sparkling, as she says, "Not a bad job for someone who is using scrap pieces."

He flushes at the compliment. "I'm better at flying than building."

"That's to be seen," she says, smirking.

Before Oliver gets a chance to reply to that, the warning signal sounds. Oliver gives him a bright smile as he climbs into his single seater cockpit. "I'll see you when I cross that finish line first."

"You are awfully confident," Percy points out. Audrey pulls him away, laughing brightly.

Oliver grabs his goggles from the yoke and slips them on his face to avoid sand in his eyes. A few moments later, a loud shot fires and Oliver eases the yoke gently backward, gathering more and more speed by the second. A holographic screen of the map pops up, showing where he is in relation to the other racers.

He never tires of this, feeling his Cleansweep hum with life, the wind blowing the pristine white sand in his face. He steers past each competitor with ease; the Cleansweep wasn't built for aggressive tactics, so he makes good use of the speed that comes from being lightweight.

His hologram notifies him of approaching danger, both in front of him and behind him. He hugs the cliff tightly, balancing with practiced ease. Before the grapple hook has time to hook onto his ship, Oliver stops. The grapple hook misses as the other pilot manages to pass him and he pulls the yoke towards himself quickly. His Cleansweep doesn't disappoint; it take almost no time to reach the speed he was at.

Overtaking the Bluebottle, a ship so old, it's almost a relic now, is all too easy. It's designed for attacking which makes it slower than a Cleansweep to begin with, and Oliver's Cleansweep is made with much lighter metal than what it should be.

Just before the finish line, his hologram registers an attack before his ship shuts down. There's only a few precious moments before the race will be lost. Oliver leans over his control panel, reaching for his power circuit. Starting it after an electrical attack is always a little tricky.

Sweat trickles down his neck as the two suns beat down on the desert. He manages to jump the ship into starting with a little maneuver of the wires. The ship whirls to life as the other pilot starts to overtake him. Oliver inhales deeply and then yanks the yoke back for the second time.

"Come on, come on," he whispers to himself as he starts to gain the lead again. His hologram hasn't restarted, so he has to keep an eye out for any attacks. When he looks at the other pilot, he sees Marcus Flint's twisted smile.

Oliver swings to the right, slowing down to make Flint think his Cleansweep is still malfunctioning. He swings to the left and accelerates with all three of his engines. It's all too easy to pass Flint and cross the finish line first.

He eases his ship into stopping by pushing the yoke forward gently. He's removing the EMP disk from the back of his ship with Percy and Audrey approach. Turning to greet them, Audrey pulls him into a kiss, and for a moment the whole world fades away.

When she pulls away, she rests her forehead against his. He doesn't need confirmation—the agreed upon kiss was enough of one—but she still murmurs, "You were right."

Percy kisses Oliver gently. His kiss is unsure, a stark comparison to how Audrey kisses with self-assurance. "How about you and I celebrate your win back on the ship while we watch Audrey do repairs?"

"Let me go gather my winnings, take my ship home, and I'm yours for the rest of the day," he says, winking at them.

"Don't take too long," Percy says. There's something about his tone that makes Oliver blush.

Oliver hurries to do everything he needs to. Flint has a colorful description of how pathetic he truly is and how Oliver didn't deserve the win because he cheated which would usually rile him into an argument, but he dismisses it as he takes his earnings. The Cleansweep barely makes it to the shed before it turns off and refuses to turn back on. He'll worry about it tomorrow.

He drops most of the money on the counter for his parents before he heads towards the outskirts of town. He slips into Percy and Audrey's ship. Percy laughs due to the gillywater he's taking shots of. Audrey gives him a fond smile as she turns to greet Oliver.

"Is your ship going to be okay?" she asks. There's a bit of dirt smeared on her cheek and hands from where she's working on their ship. She's beautiful and he likes the way that she's not afraid to get her hands dirty.

Oliver shrugs, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Flint likes to play dirty. It's nothing that can't be fixed. Eventually, at least."

Silence falls as Audrey turns back to what she's doing. Percy holds a shot of gillywater in his hand for a moment before offering it to Oliver.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Deceive your parents?" Percy asks, picking up the second shot. "There's really no changing your mind when you come with us."

Taking the shot, uncontrollable laughter rips from Oliver's throat. Then a brief moment of peace falls over him. He sets down the shot glass. "Pacifism isn't going to change the fact that people are dying. I can't watch silently like my parents. I need to help."

"Well, in that case, let's discuss how this is going to work," Percy says, putting down his own shot glass. He puts his hands together in thought, his glasses sliding down his nose.

Audrey puts down her wrench and comes to sit next to Percy. They lay out their mission and how three women have also expressed wishes to join the Order. While they talk through their plans, all Oliver can think is that it definitely isn't going to be a hardship pretending to date the both of them.

Sometime later, it's decided that Oliver is going to help Audrey fix the ship, which she estimates is going to take a week, but can be dragged out into two, and that he'll take every opportunity to sleep on the ship. He still needs to go home and talk about falling in love with two strangers and how he wants to explore the galaxy with them.

Pretending to be starstruck is going to be easy.

---

Oliver and Audrey work to fix the EMP damage to his Cleansweep while Percy oversees the process with a glass of pumpkin juice in one hand and one of Oliver's books in his other. The shed is kind of cramped with both his Cleansweep and the Firebolt he's building along with the three of them. Oliver and Audrey have descended into a game of keep away with the pliers he owns.

"I'm like 75% sure it won't explode on us," he argues, holding the pliers away from Audrey.

She's two and a half centimeters shorter than him, and no matter how much she reaches, she can't take the pliers. She stops trying and puts her hands on her hips, giving him an unimpressed look. "Well, I can be 100% sure."

"She's got you there, babe," Percy comments, briefly looking up from the book. It had been agreed on when they started this that they would use pet names, and yet Oliver can't help but like the way that Percy calls him 'babe'. It still gives him butterflies nearly two weeks later.

The sound of someone clearing their voice behind them captures their attention. Oliver's mother stands in the doorway, her expression unreadable.

Percy is the first one to react. He stands up and offers Oliver's mother a hand to shake. "You must be Mrs Wood. Your son has told us a lot about you."

Audrey uses Oliver's moment of pause to pull the pliers to herseld with a soft, "Ha," as she presses a kiss to his cheek.

"Hey, Mum," he says, grinning at her.

"What's going on? Who are these people?" she asks, her forehead crinkles like it does when she's annoyed. His mother's hazel eyes flickers between the three of them, still not taking Percy's proffered hand.

Oliver knows by her expression that he's pressing a button. He kisses both Audrey and Percy on the cheek and says, "You two should probably go. I'll see you tomorrow."

He watches as Percy and Audrey leave. When they're out of his sight, he turns to his mother. Her expression is stormy and Oliver swallows thickly.

"They aren't from around here," she states.

In a town as small as theirs, he knows that word has spread about how much time he's been spending with the two strangers. He shakes his head mutely. He knows a confrontation needs to happen so his parents will let him go without a fuss, but he realizes now he isn't ready for it.

Tension drains out of her body when she meets his eyes. There's pity in her eyes as she says, "They're going to leave, Ol."

"I was wanting to go with them," he tells her, giving her a sheepish look.

"With the war, it would be better for you to stay here."

Oliver frowns at her. "And waste the one chance I have at seeing the galaxy? This chance isn't going to come again, Mum." He bites his lip for a moment, worrying it between his teeth. "I think I love them."

His heart rate picks up as he says it. He thinks of the way that Percy buries his nose in any book he can get his hands on, and the way that Audrey gives him a dazzling smile as they work on the Starsweeper, and his heart aches when he thinks of never seeing them again. This is not what was supposed to happen; it was only a ruse to get off Castelobruxo. It wasn't meant to be real feelings.

"It's dangerous out there," his mother whispers. She gives him a pleading look when she adds, "You'd be safer here."

An urgency he didn't have before hits him. "I thought love was supposed to be dangerous and beautiful and life changing. I don't want to wonder 'what if' about them, Mum."

Her body sags at his words. "There's no stopping you is there?"

"Was there anything stopping you when you met Dad?" he counters. It was his ace in the sleeve argument, the reason why he chose fake dating; he grew up with stories of his mother leaving Uagadou without hesitation to follow his father halfway across the galaxy when his father's diplomatic assignment ended seventeen years ago. They had only known each other a week. He thinks that outrageous acts done for romance must run in the family.

She huffs out a laugh. "You got me there."

He wraps her in a hug, guilt at half-lying to her and relief that she isn't arguing more filling his veins. Her head rests on his chest. "Thanks, Mum."

She pulls away, tears in her eyes. "Just stay safe out there." He nods as she wipes away the tears spilling down her cheeks. "When are you leaving?"

"Me and Audrey should be done with the repairs tomorrow or the next day."

"Well, come on then. I'll make your favorite tonight, if you help," she says, giving him a watery smile.

Oliver's lips quirk up in a half smile and the pair of them head inside.

His father sits on the couch, still in his work uniform, watching the projector to unwind from work. He glances up as they come inside, frowning as he takes in his wife's appearance. She shakes away his concern.

They cook Oliver's favorite meal together. His mother looks on the verge of tears the entire time. He cherishes this small moment with his mother before he goes off to fight a war she doesn't want him to fight. He doesn't know when he'll be cooking with her again, or if he will.

When he goes to the Starsweeper that night, his heart is heavier than he was expecting. Percy wordlessly pours him firewhisky and they bring out a deck of cards to distract him. Only, it just reminds him of the fact that their ruse is up and he stands no chance with either of them, considering they're dating each other. Happily.

---

He kisses his mother's cheek, hoisting a bag that contains what clothes he owns, the money he's saved from his races, his normal toiletries, and a few of his favorite books—he tells himself that he's not packing them because Percy had mentioned he hasn't read them.

She gives him a small smile as she pulls him in for one final hug. Her face is buried in his chest and he feels more tears when she says, "Be safe, Oliver."

"I'll be fine, Mum," he assures her. The lie feels heavy on his tongue, but it's the only way to do what's right.

"The system just finished rebooting!" Audrey calls. "We are a go for take off."

The engines of the Starsweeper purr to life and Oliver smiles. He walks up to the bay door before looking back. His mother's waving at him.

Percy shuts the door from the control panel and then motions for Oliver to go further. "Everyone's on the Bridge."

He trails behind the other man. On the Bridge, Audrey grins bright and happy at him from the pilot's seat. Introductions are made with a wave of hands—Katie's the shortest one out of the three but she's just as tall as Audrey, with light brown hair that falls around her shoulders; Alicia isn't much taller than Katie, her dark hair braided away from her face which makes her dark eyes seem more intense; Angelina is the tallest one, and she eyes Oliver critically as he introduces himself.

Audrey eases the ship up and out of Castelobruxo's atmosphere. Angelina and Alicia watch, fascinated, but Katie doesn't seem surprised. Out of curiosity, Oliver stands beside her. "Not easily impressed?"

She snaps her head towards him, her expression unreadable. "I've been all over the galaxy because my parents preferred to outrun their problems instead of fixing them. Alicia's parents were kind enough to allow me to stay here when I got tired of living like that."

"So which planet is your home?" he asks.

The flicker of sadness is unmistakable in her blue-grey eyes. "Koldovstoretz."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"It's alright," Katie assure him softly, turning to watch their planet fade away into darkness of space. "You didn't know and I chose to answer. I may not have been there since I was a little girl, but they're still my people. I just can't not fight, y'know? That's why I wanted to join the Order; they're the guardians of the galaxy."

Oliver nods. "I get it."

Before either of them can say anything, Audrey taps on the panel of her seat before turning around and clapping her hands together. She looks downright excited when she announces, "It'll take a total of eight hyper jumps to make it to Hogwarts. So we're in for quite a trip. Autopilot will do most of the work for me, so I'll have time to access the power and level that the three of you have."

Katie gives Audrey a sceptical look. "How can you tell that?"

"Well, Katie—it was Katie, right?" When she nods, Audrey pulls her lightsaber from her belt and presses the button. The lightsaber extends, a beautiful silver. "I may not be able to wield the Force in the way that the Order does, but I'm still sensitive enough it that I can wield it when I need to. It also means that I can tell when others can wield the Force."

"We also have a few different types of lightsabers to see which one fits you best," Percy interjects.

Audrey starts towards the doorway of the Bridge. "If you'd like to follow me, we can get started."

"I'll see if you have any of the manuals for the Shooting Stars in our room for Oliver," Percy announces loud enough that the retreating group could hear. He gestures to Oliver to follow him down the corridors until they get to the room Percy and Audrey share.

He takes the manuals from Percy, faking a smile, before he heads towards his room. His heart aches at how much he wants to kiss Percy again, and Audrey too, or hear them call him 'babe' again. Maybe fake dating was a bad idea. Because now, he knows exactly what he can't have.

---

"We're lowering for landing!" Audrey calls through the comms. The others join him and Audrey in the Bridge.

Audrey navigates through the atmosphere of Hogwarts with practiced ease. Oliver gasps at the first sight of the new planet.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Percy asks from Oliver's right, pushing up his glasses.

He nods as he takes in Hogwarts. There's a giant lake to their right that is shimmering a shade of blue he's never seen in person, and there's a forest to their left that is so dense and green that he wonders if it's real. "I've never seen this much color before."

Percy grins and pats him on the shoulder as he turns to stand near Audrey. She's slowed the ship considerably and rides the ridge between the lake and forest. The Order's base comes into view, tucked in between the two. It doesn't look like much; it's just a large landing pad.

Once they're close enough, Audrey puts the ship down gently. The landing pad starts to sink further into the ground. Oliver is in awe as they descend into a large underground city. To the right, there are dozens and dozens of ships, a few Starsweepers mixed in with Shooting Stars, where there's an easy exit, most likely over the lake.

The Shooting Stars have elongated bodies, that are held up by four wings that make an 'x' while flying. The cockpit is closed because of the four engines that surround it. Despite this, flying is relatively quiet since the engines aren't loud. The wings compact into each other when grounded so the weight of the ship doesn't break the wings.

Audrey lifts the Starsweeper from the landing pad and lands alongside the other ones, allowing the landing pad to ascend. Percy and Audrey are the first ones off the ship, Oliver and the others following close behind with their luggage.

They are lead down a corridor and then another one, before ending in a large meeting chamber. It reminds him of War Council chambers that his father once told him about. The entire chamber falls quiet as they enter. A woman with hair as red as Percy crosses the room quickly and pulls him into a hug. She pulls back after a few moments and puts her hands on her hips. "You're two weeks late. Do you know how worried I've been?"

"Sorry, Mum. Would've sent a transmission, but with the talks of a spy, we thought it would be best not to," Percy says sheepishly.

An older woman, with a stern look and grey hair pulled back in a tight bun, calmly says, "I'm sure they had good reason to be late, Molly."

"Oliver Wood, Minerva McGonagall, the leader of the Order," Audrey introduces. "He's a hell of a pilot in a homemade ship. Probably will be as good as Charlie, if not better, when he's trained a bit."

He feels his cheeks heat up. "Pleasure to meet you."

Minerva studies him for a long moment. "Charlie's still out on a mission. So I'll leave his training up to you, Audrey."

Audrey nods, pleased, as if she was expecting that answer. Oliver barely manages not to grimace. He was hoping that being at the Order's base would give him some room, where he wasn't being smothered by Audrey's presence.

Percy introduces the women from right to left. "They're all Force-sensitive. Angelina and Alicia seem to favor blue, and Katie's favoring yellow."

"Then Flitwick would be a good trainer for Angelina and Alicia, and Sprout would be good for Katie," Minerva says after a few moments of careful deliberation. "Training can commence in the morning. For now, you can locate them some unused rooms."

"Where'd Charlie get off to?" Percy asks as they start to pick up their luggage.

Molly laughs. "There was another rumor about a dragon being used during attacks. Of course, you know your brother; he wouldn't leave it alone until Minerva authorized a rescue mission."

"That does sound like him," Percy agrees. "When is he due back?"

Audrey motions for the four of them to follow her as Percy continues to talk to his mum. She spends the walk to the dormitories pointing out things to them as other people go through their day to day activities. Oliver follows behind them, letting them talk and gets lost in his own thoughts. All he wants is space to sort out his own thoughts and feelings.

"The suites have two bedrooms and a small common room. Since Minerva doesn't particularly like when two underaged members of opposite sex stay in the same suite, two of you—" she looks at the other woman as she opens a door, "—can room in here and the other one can have the extra room in my suite next door."

Oliver swallows hard, dreading Audrey's next decision, as the others quietly decide on their living arrangements.

"The other room in Percy's suite is empty. Everyone thinks he's difficult to live with for some reason," she says, rolling her eyes. "So it's all yours. Come on, and I'll show you."

It's simultaneously everything he wants and what he doesn't want. Yet, he still follows Audrey as she leads him to Percy's suite.

---

Oliver is cleaning the glass of his Shooting Star's cockpit when the alarm sounds. He drops the cloth and starts towards the War Council chamber when he spots Charlie giving out orders to other pilots.

He stops in front of the other man. Charlie jerks his head towards the equipment as he informs Oliver, "Gear up. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Oliver doesn't ask any further questions. He grabs an orange jumpsuit from the wall Charlie had gestured to. He pulls it on as quickly as he can and grabs a white helmet. When he returns to the Shooting Star that he's been training in, Audrey is leaning against the front of it. Her chestnut hair is pulled back, but she's not wearing the standard jumpsuit for missions.

"I heard Charlie cleared you for missions," she states as he makes sure his jumpsuit is correct.

"He just told me," he confirms. "Why aren't you coming?"

"I'm a mechanic, not a fighter pilot like you. After the threat is handled, we'll go in and give emergency assistance to the people of Ilvermorny," she explains, but the sounds of the other Shooting Stars starting up makes him struggle to hear her.

He gestures to his ship. "I should—"

Audrey smiles and nods. Lightning fast, she crosses the distance between them and presses her lips to his cheek. "Be safe."

Oliver watches her leave, shocked, for a long moment. Since Charlie got back from his rescue mission two and a half months ago, Oliver has been able to put some space in between himself and Percy and Audrey. His desire to date them simmers in the back of his mind most of the time, ignorable and constant, until one of them brushes shoulders with him or smiles at him.

He shakes himself out of his thoughts, slips the helmet on, and climbs into the cockpit of his ship. He has a mission to do.

He's been waiting for this day for the past three months. The Shooting Stars fly differently from the Cleansweep he's used to; Cleansweep's were never designed to fly more than a few centimeters off the ground and the Shooting Stars' reaction time is much slower. He's spent every waking moment learning the difference first under Audrey's guidance and then Charlie's until he's as comfortable in his ship as he was in his homemade one.

He flips a switch and the Shooting Star whirls to life, its four fusial thrust engines starting up. His targeting system comes online, which triggers the shield to activate.

There are people near the aircraft exit, signalling pilots to fly out in an orderly fashion. Oliver pulls the yoke towards himself and down just slightly to pull his ship off the ground. He gradually gains speed as the exit gets closer. His heart races when he pushes down the yoke further to head out of the atmosphere.

His helmet has a comm link to the other pilots in his squadron, from which his instructions are relayed. The Order intercepted a distress call from Ilvermorny. The objective is to help the planet in whatever way they can.

It takes three hyper jumps to arrive within range of Ilvermorny. Oliver hasn't been able to shake the ill-effects of hyper jumping in a small ship yet; his stomach twists and he's hit with a wave of nausea. He swallows against the feeling, wishing he would've remembered to grab the medicine to help.

All thoughts of nausea disappear when Ilvermorny comes into view and his propulsion slows. Ilvermorny is the largest planet in the system, but it's almost completely obscured by a giant carrier ship. In addition to the large ship, there are hundreds of other smaller spaceships swarming around it.

It quickly descends into madness. The enemy are using Swiftsticks, a ship that's designed purely for offense. The round cockpit barely fits a singular pilot. The wings look like they are made up of solar panels. Their design reminds Oliver of the letter 'h'. He's surprised that the tiny ships actually have any weapons on board, given its size in comparison to Shooting Stars, but it is equipped with laser cannons.

However, the Order have the advantage in the fight since their Shooting Stars have shielding whereas the Swiftsticks have none. But it doesn't mean that the fight is easy. The Swiftsticks live up to their name; they are surprisingly quick.

Oliver's vision narrows to his targeting system. When he locks on to a target, he presses the buttons on the top of the yoke. He hears the distress transmissions from his fellow pilots. There's so many of them and he can't save them all. He focuses on shooting and evading the enemy.

It ends with the remaining Swiftsticks boarding the mothership and the mothership hyper jumping away. Several of their pilots are ordered to check for stragglers on Ilvermorny, and there's a small part of Oliver that is thankful he wasn't one of them. He makes the three hyper jumps back to Hogwarts without trouble.

He's out of the cockpit as soon as he lands. Now that he doesn't have the adrenaline rushing through his body, he feels drained and like he's about to puke.

He doesn't know how long he's bent over next to his ship, dry heaving, when Percy approaches him. Wordlessly, Percy leads him away towards their suite and Oliver doesn't protest. He sits listlessly on the couch in their common room as his brain replays every moment of the battle. Percy offers him medicine to settle his stomach and wraps a blanket around his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Oliver starts to shake his head, but he finds himself confessing instead, "It just isn't fair. There were so many deaths. I heard them, Perce. All of them. They were calling out for help and I just wasn't quick enough. I couldn't save them."

"Fairness does not govern life and death," he reminds Oliver gently. "And you weren't the only pilot out there today, Ollie. There were others who were doing everything they could to help, just like you. You can't save everyone. I know this doesn't feel like a win but it was. You and the others protected Ilvermorny from destruction."

He studies his hands quietly, mulling over the other man's words. He looks up to meet Percy's blue eyes. "I killed people today. I didn't even think; I just pressed the button every time my targeting system locked onto an enemy. And now that I'm sitting here, all I can think is that I became judge, jury, and executioner and ended people's lives, and I'm disgusted with myself. Will I feel this bad every time?"

"I know it's not the answer you're looking for, but I hope you do," Percy replies softly, putting his hand over Oliver's clasped hands. "Feeling guilty about this makes you human. If it stops eating at you, you're no better than the Death Eaters."

A strangled laugh bubbles from his chest. "You're right, Perce; that wasn't the answer I was looking for."

---

"I'm taking heavy fire," Oliver announces calmly. "My shield is going to fail soon and I can't shake 'em. I can't even see 'em."

"Coming up behind you."

He swears, his blood rushing in his ears. This was only supposed to be a routine recon mission, not a fight. Despite his shield taking damage, his targeting system shows no enemies. There's no way he can't locate the ship without endangering himself; every time he swings either direction or does a flip, the enemy stops shooting and dipping down into the rainforest below is probably suicidal. It's a clever tactic, he'll give them that.

His shield completely fails and he takes the risk of ejecting. As his parachute opens, he sees his ship explode and, within a few seconds, his backup firing at an invisible ship. The invisibility fails at the first contact, and he sees it's another Swiftstick.

He's losing altitude quickly, his feet almost touching the top of the trees. "I'll find the closest city to head to. Go back to base and send a crew to pick me up."

He grunts as he hits a thick tree branch hard. His parachute gets tangled and he has to dig in his belt for a knife to cut himself down with. He'll take the desert over Uagadou's rainforest anyday.

"I can drop down and pick you up."

"That's suicide, Cedric, and you know it," he argues. "Besides there's only room for one on your ship. I'll be fine. I've got a map and a gun. I'll go to the closest city."

Oliver can almost feel the internal debate Cedric is having as he climbs down; the other man has yet to leave a crewmate behind on any mission. "Fine. They'll be here as quickly as possible."

Once his feet hit the ground, he turns his hand over and presses the button on his wrist. A detailed holographic map comes to life, showing him which way he needs to go. "It looks like it's a bit of a hike."

"Stay safe," Cedric orders.

He hears the unmistakable sound of Cedric activating hyperspeed. Then silence descends upon him. He pushes his helmet's face guard up to look around. This isn't the way he expected to see his mother's home planet.

He sighs and starts towards the closest city. The air is hot and muggy, making his jumpsuit stick to him in odd ways. He's used to heat, but not this kind. He doesn't have anything to eat or drink with him which makes the walk to the city long and miserable.

As promised, when he enters the city, there's a Starsweeper waiting for him. He almost drops to his knees with pure happiness, but he urges his body to continue forward; he can rest on the ship.

As he steps onto the ship, a body slams into him and he barely keeps himself upright.

"Sweetheart, we're meant to be rescuing him, not smothering him to death."

Oliver knows that voice anywhere. Of course they sent Percy and Audrey to take him back, because his luck is shit when it comes to the two of them. In the past six months, he has yet to find time to himself to sort out his feelings for them. Turns out, throwing himself into learning about his ship only helps so much.

Audrey pulls herself away from Oliver. "To the Med Bay," she orders.

He doesn't need to be told twice. His mouth is dry and his stomach aches with hunger. He's sure he's sporting bruises from the climb down from the treetop. He's under no illusions that he's fine.

Madam Pomfrey gives him a smile when the three of them enter. Wordlessly, he climbs onto the table and groans as exhaustion finally catches up to him. The last thing he sees before passing out is Cedric coming through the door.

When he wakes up, Cedric and Madam Pomfrey are both gone. Percy and Audrey are talking quietly near the door. "So this wasn't a hallucination," he says amused. "That's good to know."

"Oliver!" Audrey cries out. She crosses the room quickly and throws her arms around him, her shoulders shake as she sobs into his chest.

He puts his arms around Audrey, and looks up at Percy who's standing on the other side of the bed. His eyes are red rimmed.

"I'm alive," Oliver offers weakly.

"We were scared," Percy replies thickly. He swallows hard as he continues, "Cedric came back alone and he never comes back alone. And we thought you had died."

Audrey pulls away to look at him, sitting on the edge of the bed. Oliver can't help but think that even with tears running down her cheeks that she's beautiful. She takes a breath to calm herself, but her voice is thick when she says, "I don't know what we'd do if we lost you."

"There are other pilots who are just as good as me," he argues softly.

"What a—" Percy cuts himself off, and looks at Audrey then back at Oliver. "Do you really mean to tell us you don't actually know?"

He frowns as he racks his brain for any answer.

Audrey hiccups as she laughs. "I can't believe it. You honestly don't know."

He's about to ask what is going on when Percy announces, "We've been trying to figure out a way to ask you to date us for months now; well, since the beginning, to be totally honest. But every time we try to talk to you, something comes up."

Oliver blinks. That wasn't the answer he was expecting. "I—uh—"

"You can say no," Audrey says softly, looking dejected. "And we can all pretend this never happened."

That spurs him into talking. "No, no, no. On a list of things I was expecting, this was not on it. I didn't think you were interested in dating other people too. But yes, I'd like to see how dating the both of you for real works out."

The smile Audrey gives him is blinding. But it's Percy who comes closer. "Can I kiss you?"

Oliver draws him into a glorious kiss instead of an answer. His heart fills with happiness. He never thought he'd get this. When he pulls away, Percy pushes his glasses back up, grinning at him.

Then Oliver remembers why he's in the Med Bay. He starts to get up. "Right. Are we back at base?" His partners—he likes the sound of that—look confused. "I need to talk to Minerva and Cedric. The Swiftsticks can become invisible. Do you realize how dangerous that is?"

"Fuck," Audrey swears. "That is bad, very bad. We should only be a jump from the base."

"You're not flying the ship," he points out.

Audrey shrugs. "Cedric's flying."

"You never let anyone fly your ship. Well, except for me," he says thoughtfully. Then it hits him. "Oh, wow, I really am slow on the uptake."

She laughs and then leans forwards to kiss him quickly. "Just a bit. How about we go see how far we are from base?"

Oliver joins the two of them as they make their way to the Bridge. Cedric turns at the sound of their footsteps. He doesn't hesitate in approaching him as Audrey slips into her seat.

He clasps Oliver's shoulder, and tension seems to drain out of Cedric's body at the contact. "I'm glad to see you're safe. As I'm sure they are. Didn't even get through asking what happened before they were herding me and Madam Pomfrey on board for take off."

Oliver laughs, watching the tips of Percy's ears turn red with embarrassment. Audrey's back is towards him, but he bets she looks just as embarrassed. His heart swells with the love he holds for both of them. "That sounds about right."

---

Oliver is barely back a few hours from a long assignment before he's summoned to the War Council Chamber by a loud knock on the door. He's exhausted, but he rubs sleep out of his eyes and dresses to follow Kingsley, telling his partners to go back to sleep when they stir.

Minerva gives him an apologetic look when he enters. She's stands around the large table, among Mad-Eye Moody, an older man whose mechanic eye scans the room for threats constantly, and Flitwick and Sprout. Kingsley, one of the most well known Order members, joins the four of them at the table.

Oliver has a sinking feeling that they're going to send him on another assignment. His suspicions are confirmed when Minerva taps the table. A hologram of the planet Mahoutokoro pops up. He's been to the volcanic planet a few times on other missions throughout the years; he's not the biggest fan.

"I know you just got back from Ilvermorny, but this mission is of the utmost importance," Minerva says.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"When all seemed lost seventeen years ago, Dumbledore found what he believed to be the key to victory," she says, carefully avoiding trigger words like second nature. She touches the table again and the hologram morphs into two infants. "He found that the Force was the most powerful he ever seen inside two babies."

Sprout takes over the narration. "Their parents were all part of the Order, some of the best fighters we've ever seen. Unfortunately, they were killed during a surprise attack on their homes, back before we sought refuge on Hogwarts."

"Fearing for the children's lives," Flitwick redirects, "Dumbledore hid them away, each under the careful eye of a protector, where they would be taught the ways of the Force."

Minerva touches the table once more and Mahoutokoro reappears. "Before Dumbledore died, he entrusted us with an encrypted file on how to find the boys. It's taken years to decrypt it." A red dot blinks in one of Mahoutokoro's cities. "The file leads here."

"You want me to go get the information?" Oliver asks, realization slowly dawning on him.

Kingsley frowns. "We know this is a lot to ask, but the ones that we would like to send on this mission are too well known. You're the next best suited for this task, giving your uncanny ability of getting out of sticky situations."

Oliver snorts. "I'll go check my ship and head out as soon as I'm done."

Minerva holds out a drive for him to slip into his jumpsuit when he changes. "May the Force be with you."

He grabs the drive and heads back to his suite. Percy and Audrey are still sleeping soundly when he enters, and as much as he hates to ruin it, he wakes them up. Too many years of living during the resistance have caused both of them to become alert quickly.

Percy drops his head back to his pillow with a groan when he realizes there's no danger.

"Sorry, just wanted to let you know that I have a mission," he tells them. The last time he left for a mission without telling them, they were both very cross with him.

"How long?" Audrey asks, blinking slowly.

He shrugs. "I dunno. Hopefully not too long. I'll be back as quick as I can, you know that."

She brushes a kiss against his lips, then nods. She sinks back down into the bed with a soft, "Be safe."

"Always," he replies, grinning. He walks around the bed to kiss Percy goodbye.

Percy sounds half-awake when he mumbles out, "Love you."

Oliver smiles fondly. "I love you too," he whispers. It's clear that the both of them have fallen back asleep once they realized there was no threat. He shakes his head and uses the light pouring in from their common room to gather his things.

He pulls on his orange jumpsuit, and slips the drive into the area on the wrist of his uniform. He double taps the center to make sure the information transferred. Giving his partners one last look, he shuts the door and heads for his ship, bag in hand.

In the years since his first Shooting Star exploded, Oliver has managed to keep his replacement in top condition. Charlie appears when Oliver has just finished his final check. He gives Oliver a nod and heads towards the switch for the aircraft exit.

His Shooting Star purrs when he turns her on. He situates his bag and eases the yoke backward. It's all too easy to gain speed and disappear through the exit and out of Hogwarts' atmosphere.

Mahoutokoro lies four hyper jumps away, and Oliver's extremely nauseous by the time he arrives in the system. He digs in his bag for the tablets and something to wash it down with. He flips on the invisibility cloak that the mechanics had installed; it makes recon missions much easier.

Once he enters Mahoutokoro's atmosphere, he lets his hologram guide him to the city. He lands his ship a bit away since he needs clearance to land within the city. Changing in his cockpit is a bit difficult but not entirely impossible. He tugs on his boots, and slips his gun into his belt holster.

He slips the cuff of his jumpsuit onto his wrist. He climbs out of his ship, and double checks the invisibility is still active before heading into the city.

The heat makes him groan and wonder how he ever spent seventeen years in it. Mahoutokoro is the worst of any of the planets' he's ever been to; at least the heat on other planets isn't likely to kill him. He had the misfortune of flying near a volcano that spontaneously erupted two years ago. He hasn't been back since.

He squares his shoulders and follows the map to an indiscript store. The inside is just as ordinary as the outside. There's really nothing about it that screams to him "secret information" to him. While he's browsing the collect of herbs and flowers, he feels a presence behind him. On instinct, he draws his gun as he pivots.

"Who are you?" the other man demands, his greasy black hair falling into his face. He looks familiar but Oliver can't put his finger on why.

"A shopper?" Oliver tries, lowering his gun slowly. It's diaphanous, sure, but always worth a shot. He curses himself. He really should've thought of a plan before.

The man snorts. "With a laser gun? Unlikely."

Oliver surveys him, giving himself time to figure out another lie, when he realizes. He raises his gun instinctively. Before he had much chance to do anything, the man has Oliver's gun out of his hand and is herding him into the back room.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he hisses, closing the door behind them.

"You're Severus Snape, the spy that the Order's been looking for. You killed Dumbledore!" he accuses, trying to figure out how to get his gun back with minimal resistance.

"You're correct in saying that I'm a spy, but wrong in who I was a spy for," he says, rolling his eyes. He hands Oliver back his weapon—he wastes no time in aiming at Snape's chest—and sets his own gun on a shelf in exchange for the lightsaber sitting there. He presses the release button, allowing it to extend.

Oliver stares at the purple color the blade produces. The color of a lightsaber blade instantly describes the wielder; blue and green wielders, which are the most common, are the protectors and the peacekeepers, while red is a sign of dark intentions. Once a person who has used a lightsaber for evil uses it with good intentions, the color becomes purple.

Oliver debates for a moment before lowering his gun. It's clear that his lightsaber believes him to be acting for good. And well, he'll trust the color of a lightsaber's blade before he trusts someone's words. "Why'd the information lead here?"

"Are you really that thick?" Snape questions. He deactivates his blade and places it back on the shelf.

After a long moment, Oliver says slowly, "You have the information."

The other man grimaces. "They really do let just anyone join the Order these days. Yes, I have the information. But you need to prove you're following Dumbledore's orders first."

Oliver wants to protest the rude comment, but he presses the button on his wrist instead. He reminds himself that he's not here for an argument. It shows the hologram of Mahoutokoro. He doesn't get much further than that when Snape pulls his hand closer.

He feels awkward just standing there, arm out, as Snape quietly fiddles with his hologram. Then the hologram shifts to an old man, with a long beard and kind eyes. He supposes the man is Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's voice is soft and reassuring when he says, "The stars are aligned. The time to act is upon us, Severus. I trust you know what to do."

The hologram ends and Snape swears. Oliver drops his arm as he waits for Snape's decision.

"How did you get here?"

"A Shooting Star," he immediately answers.

Snape starts mumbling under his breath indistinguishably. The man moves around the back room, moving items as he looks for something. Finally, Snape picks up an inconspicuous object and hands it to Oliver.

"A tracker for me to find you at, since I don't suppose the Order's base is where it used to be," he explains. "I'll follow you as soon as I secure transportation. I'm sure Minerva would prefer to hear the locations herself."

Despite the fact he doesn't want to divulge their base, he isn't seen much of a choice. He makes sure that Snape watches as he attaches the tracker to his cuff. Before Snape can protest, Oliver pulls out a transmitter from his cuff and hands it to the other man.

"It transmits audio. I'll stick around until I know you have transportation."

Snape looks mildly impressed by Oliver's action. He takes the bug without a comment and attaches it to his shirt. "Try to make sure they don't kill me on sight. And buy something before you leave. I'd like to keep my cover."

Oliver picks up a bunch of moonlilies from the display for Audrey on his way out. He hears Snape swear as he walks out without paying, setting off to find a hotel for the night with a grin.

---

By the time he lands his ship, he's impressed it only took four and a half days to secure the information and get back to Hogwarts. Audrey is tinkering on her ship when he lands. She has oil and dirt streaked across her cheek and in her hair when she climbs completely out of the panel she was working on.

Oliver hugs her tightly and presses his lips to her temple. "Where's Perce?" he asks.

"War Council," she answers, wiping her hands on a spare cloth. "They're trying to figure out how it would be best to strike Pluto."

He grabs the bunch of moonlilies out of his cockpit, not bothering with anything else. Audrey smiles at him when he offers the flowers to her. "You know how to impress a girl."

"Come on. The sooner I relay my information, the sooner I can shower," he tells her. He gives her a suggestive smile, "Maybe I can wash the oil out of your hair."

She laughs brightly and Oliver falls a little more in love with her. "I think that can be arranged."

When the two of them enter the War Council chamber, everyone falls quiet. It never fails to make Oliver's skin crawl.

"How did your mission go?" McGonagall asks, breaking the silence.

He shrugs as he approaches the table. "I got what we need but nobody's going to like it." He gestures to the table, "May I?"

McGonagall nods. "Well, where are the boys?"

He detaches the drive from his cuff. "Dear, there's a message on the drive beyond the map. Could you manage to pull it back up?"

"What's the message?" Mad-Eye asks, his voice low and rough.

"The location lead to a person," he tries to explain. "To Severus Snape, to be exact."

Voices fill the entire chamber, and Oliver can barely hear himself think. Everyone looks like they are ready to start a mob. Then Mcgonagall raises her hand, and the protests die off. "I suspect that there's more to this story."

He's about to confirm when Audrey makes a noise of surprise. Dumbledore's face flickers on his hologram and with a twist of her wrist, his voice can be heard. It replays the message it did when he was facing Snape.

A whispered wave of discontent floods the chambers. Oliver hasn't taken his eyes off McGonagall. She meets his eyes. "You faced him. Do you think he can be trusted?"

"You're leaving it up to a child!"

Oliver can't pinpoint who says it, but his shoulders sag a little at the statement. He's spent the past four years dedicating his life to the Order; he thought he had more than proved himself over those years. He feels a hand slip into his own. When he turns, he's looking into Percy's crystal eyes.

"I'm asking the person who stood in front of Snape his opinion," she says sharply. "Well?"

He squeezes Percy's hand. "I think we don't have all of the information where he's concerned. His lightsaber is purple. I think he can be trusted to have the information."

McGonagall nods, and looks at the hologram. "I suppose he has a location in mind to exchange the information."

He bites the inside of his cheek. This was the part of the conversation he's been dreading. "Here. He gave me a tracker and said he needed to secure transport. In exchange, I put a bug on him and waited to hear that he got what he needed."

Shouts of outrage fills the the chamber. If he thought they were angry about the information leading to Snape, it's nothing comparatively. However, McGonagall's expression doesn't change.

He barely hears when Snape's voice comes from his cuff. He tries to yell it out but his voice can't be heard among the others. Finally, McGonagall raises her hand once more.

"This meeting is adjourned," she announces. Any protest is met with a sharp look.

Oliver, Percy, Audrey, and Charlie all stay put as the others file out of the room. Mad-Eye and Kingsley remain as well. Snape says, "Anytime today would be ideal."

"Charlie, go lower the platform for our guest. Audrey and Percy, go with him to make sure there's no issues with his arrival," she orders.

Percy gives his hand one last squeeze before the three of them do as ordered. Oliver stands there awkwardly as McGonagall, Mad-Eye, and Kingsley all gather around the table when she pulls the map of the galaxy up.

Snape looks absolutely amused when he's lead into the chamber, surrounded by Charlie, Percy, and Audrey. "This is more amicable than I was expecting."

"We saw Dumbledore's message for ourselves. He trusted you with the information that could tip the scales in our favor," she tells him. "But make no mistake, if you intend on betraying us, I won't hesitate in killing you."

"That's more what I was expecting," Snape says, his lips curling in a half-smile. "Unfortunately for you, I'm not betraying you. I only come to offer the intel Dumbledore entrusted me with."

When he offers nothing else, she raises her eyebrow at him. "Well?"

Snape approaches the table and hooks up a drive. Within a few presses of buttons, the galaxy map pops up. There's two red dots on opposite sides of the galaxy, where Hogwarts is directly in the middle. "What's the best place to hide a person?"

Kingsley reaches up and pulls one of the two planets from the map, examining it. "The clever old man. He hid them in plain sight."

"That's Beauxbatons, right?" Oliver inquires, nodding towards the holographic planet Kingsley's holding. He nods towards the planet at the other end of the map. "And that's Durmstrang, yeah?"

Kingsley is right about plain sight; Oliver's been to both of those planets several times on recon missions. He would've never guessed that two children were being raised in secret there.

"You can at least tell your planets apart," Snape sneers. "The Longbottom child is on Durmstrang under the watchful eye of Emmeline Vance. The Potter brat is under Sirius Black's care on Beauxbatons."

Mad-Eye's eye never stops examining Snape, but his lips curl up into a smile. "Dumbledore planned this well. We should retrieve the boys before we attack Pluto."

McGonagall drums her fingers against the table thoughtfully. "We'll send two teams to the locations simultaneously, while we ready for battle. We'll strike when they least expect it. I assume you already have the way of alerting Sirius and Emmeline?"

"Once the team lands, they'll need to push Force into the galleons to alert them," he answers, putting the galleons on the table. "The map lead to the meeting points. Sirius and Emmeline have been instructed that they are to approach first, naturally. There's a holographic message for each of them on the drive, which I'm sure you can transfer to a secondary drive."

McGonagall opens her mouth to speak when the alarm ring. The doors to the chamber open, an out of breathe Katie pants out, "We're under attack."

Kingsley and Mad-Eye both pull out their lightsabers, pointing them at Snape. "You disgusting spy."

"I don't believe he's behind this treachery. He wouldn't be this helpful if he was planning on betraying us. I don't believe your master believes you are faithful," McGonagall says. She looks at Oliver, Audrey, Percy, and Charlie. "You are the only ones who know the mission, therefore you have to be the ones to complete it. Take those you can find on the way to the ships."

Without hesitation, Oliver nods his head. He scoops the galleons off the table, unhooks the drive, and starts heading for the door. As he passes through the door, he announces, "Come on, Katie, you're with us."

They're barely out of the chamber when Oliver hands the galleons and drive to Audrey. He starts "You'll take Percy and Katie on your ship and head to Ilvermorny first before making the trip to Durmstrang. Charlie and I will use our ships to make sure no one follows you."

"We're not leaving you," Audrey replies firmly.

"This is how we save the rest of the galaxy," Oliver says. "I'm not the biggest fan of this plan, but it's the best one."

By the time they make it to the ship bay, Oliver still hasn't convinced Audrey to leave without him, but Angelina and Alicia have joined them. They can hear the sound of ships attacking the landing platform and the aircraft exits, and yet Audrey still doesn't want to leave without him. Oliver kisses Audrey and rests his forehead against her.

"Please just do this, sweetheart," he whispers. When he looks at her, she's trying not to cry. He looks at his boyfriend. "Please, Percy."

Percy wraps his arm around Audrey's waist and pulls her against his body. There's anger in his voice when he growls, "You better stay fucking safe, Oliver."

He kisses Percy quickly. "Will do my best," he promises.

Audrey struggles against Percy as Oliver goes to his ship. He puts on his helmet and climbs in quickly. His ship purrs to life quickly.

The next few minutes are utter chaos. Once Charlie orders the gate open, almost all of the Shooting Stars are in the air and exiting. Oliver keeps an eye on Audrey's Starsweeper while he shoots at enemies, his invisibility activated.

"Get out of here, Audrey!" Charlie commands through the comms. "You too, Oliver! We can handle this."

Cedric is the next to speak. "Go Oliver. Like Charlie said; we've got this covered."

Oliver is torn for a moment. He knows he should stay and cover Audrey's escape, but he wants to be with them and he doesn't doubt that they can cover his exit too. "Go, dear. I'm right behind you."

He sees Audrey maneuver up and out of Hogwarts' atmosphere. Her ship just disappears from view when Oliver spots a tail. Without hesitation, he engages. The Swiftstick hadn't registered his presence; the ship explodes without too much difficulty. Before more can follow, Oliver makes the first of three hyper jumps.

"Where'd you land?" he asks when he makes it to Ilvermorny's system.

Audrey sounds relieved when she answers. "I'm sending the coordinates."

"Are you fuelling up? We won't make it to Durmstrang with what you have."

Starsweepers hold more fuel than Shooting Stars, making it capable of making fifteen hyper jumps before requiring a refuel, whereas Oliver would only be able to make seven. But they've make three hyper jumps and Durmstrang lies another thirteen jumps from Ilvermorny. The only downside is that they're not really equipped for a fight, so they have to hope trouble doesn't follow them.

He lands next to the ship as Audrey finishes refuelling. "I'm surprised you got clearance to land so quickly," he says as he boards.

"I'm persuasive," she replies. "Just so you know, if you try something like that again, I will murder you."

He huffs out a laugh. "I love you too."

---

Audrey stays to refuel and check her ship when they land on Durmstrang. Angelina and Alicia both decide they will stay with her, which leaves Percy and Katie with him. He had Katie push Force into both galleons as instructed when they first landed.

The map leads to a nondescript house on the edge of town. It's a small little house, much like the suite he shares with Audrey and Percy. Katie's the first one to notice the other person's presence. It's only when she pulls out her lightsaber that Oliver registers a threat. He itches to pull out his gun, but he refrains. When he looks toward Percy, he's pleased when the other man hasn't drawn his weapon either.

"Identify yourself," the woman calls. She's short in stature, but holds herself proudly. Her blonde locks are neatly pinned back, and there's a green shawl covering her torso.

"We're from the Order," Oliver answers. He flips his wrist and activates his hologram.

Dumbledore's face appears. The woman approaches him, her yellow lightsaber lowered, to watch the message. There's a finality in Dumbledore's voice when he says, "Emmeline, it is time. The stars are aligned."

"I'll be damned," she says, amazed. She deactivates her lightsaber. "I was wondering if this day would ever come. Let me fetch Neville."

He's surprised by how easy it was to convince her. He's hoping Sirius is just as easy to convince. Three of them wait where they are. Katie still has her lightsaber hilt in her hand, her eyes flicker around the room, constantly scanning for potential attacks.

Emmeline returns with a blond man. The similarities between the two are striking. Only he's lean and tall, towering over all of them. There's a fierceness on his face that helps soothe Oliver's worries. Maybe this old man was right about the two boys he hid.

Percy gives him a smile when they turn to head back to the others. "Being in command suits you."

"You'd rather be giving the orders, though," Oliver points out, grinning.

"You know me too well," he replies humorously.

He bumps his shoulder against Percy's. "We should definitely take a vacation after this. Somewhere exotic, maybe, where there are definitely not volcanoes."

Percy laughs at that, making Oliver grin wider. "Babe, you've been to all the hospitable planets in the galaxy."

"Eh, I've never been to Pluto," he counters.

"When this is all over, we'll go to Pluto then," Percy says decisively.

The bay door of the ship closes behind them. He laughs as he follows the others to the Bridge. "I'll hold you to that."

---

They make the thirteen jumps back to Ilvermorny for a refuel before making the twelve jumps to Beauxbatons. Oliver hands the galleons to Emmeline and the two of them follow the map. The rest are recuperating from the amount of hyper jumps they've been making and refueling. He doesn't get that luxury as the drive is hooked to his cuff.

The house is eerily similar to the house on Durmstrang; it's plain, a house that is easily overlooked. Emmeline doesn't hesitate to go into the house. She pulls out the galleons and pushes the Force through them. "Sirius, I swear to everything holy, if you are trying to do the dramatic entrance, I will end you."

Laughter fills the air. A dark haired man enters the room. "I thought I recognized that voice, Emmeline." He looks at Oliver, his expression becomes guarded. "Call to arms?"

"The stars have aligned," she repeats Dumbledore's words.

"What are we walking into?" Sirius asks, folding his arms across his chest. He leans against the wall, looking effortlessly casual.

Emmeline opens her mouth to speak but Oliver beats her to it, his patience running thin. "Can we do the whole interrogation back on the ship, on our way to Hogwarts? We haven't had a chance to fill her in either."

Sirius snorts. But he pushes off from the wall and disappears. Oliver waits anxiously for him to return with the other child Dumbledore hid. If it weren't for his striking green eyes, Oliver could almost mistake the man for a younger Sirius.

He muses the entire way back to the ship about it. Each of the men could be passed off as their guardian's child. Much easier to blend in if you had someone to help you blend.

Oliver sags against the console on their jumps back to Ilvermorny, fighting back exhaustion and nausea. So many jumps in a row without resting tends to take a toll, and he's always been particularly susceptible to nausea. Percy shoots him worried glances the entire time him and Audrey lay out the facts.

There will be time to rest after.

---

When Oliver enters the Hogwarts' system, his heart sinks. Hogwarts is completely obscured by two large ships; the Death Eaters tend to favor large dropships for easy and fuel efficient travel, which Oliver would be all about if they weren't evil.

Their plan is relatively simple—navigate their way through the ships to Hogwarts' surface, where Harry and Neville summon the Dark Lord so they can work together to defeat, and the others work to protect them. The most difficult part is Audrey maneuvering between the ships without getting attacked.

Once they're close enough, Oliver activates his comm. He assumes that the Death Eaters have already broke through their encryption; he wants to use it to his advantage. "Northwest of aircraft bay door."

A few moments later, Charlie's voice comes loud and clear. "We've got your entrance covered."

It looks like a group if Shooting Stars are starting to attack ships where he directed them. A good bit of other Death Eaters head to help their companions destroy the Order's men. He aches, knowing that if they die, it'll be on him. He barely keeps himself from attacking the Death Eaters from their position but that will ruin their plans.

He touches down in a spacious clearing that drops down suddenly to the Giant Lake. He breathes a sigh of relief when Audrey touches down and their group of misfits exit the Starsweeper.

He tugs off his helmet, ripping the comm out of it, and climbs out of his ship. Out of the group, only him and Percy don't wield the Force. Percy is an absolute useless shot with any weapon, but especially laser gun, so Oliver takes the spare gun his partner offers him before he gets back onto the ship like planned.

"Ask Charlie to unleash the dragons on them," he says, grimacing. He doesn't like the idea of using creatures the way the Death Eaters have, but it could tip the battle in the favor and they needed all the help they could get.

Percy nods as he goes back onto the Starsweeper as agreed. Being more of an intellect than a fighter, he's going to lead as many of the Death Eaters astray as possible.

The group all activate their lightsabers. Emmeline and Sirius' are both yellow like Katie's, a sign that the three of them would be willing to sacrifice their lives to protect others. Harry and Neville only keep their hands on their hilts. It's hard to believe they are barely adults when they look like the fate of the entire galaxy sits on their shoulders.

Harry and Neville nod to each other. Oliver and the others spread out in the clearing. Harry looks up at the ships and says firmly and clearly, "Tom Riddle."

Oliver's breath catches in his chest. He's never heard anyone refer to their Supreme Chancellor by that name; he's most commonly referred to the Dark Lord, or if people were feeling particularly vindictive, Voldemort.

The result is almost instantaneous. A teleport beam brings a man covered from head to toe in black armour to stand in between Harry and Neville, almost exactly where they anticipated him to arrive.

The voice is deep and throaty when he says, "What is this? Some misguided attempt to slay me? You little pests need to do better than a handful of measly wannabe heroes."

The lightsaber that Voldemort activates would best be described as a darksaber because it was as black as the man's armour. Oliver's heard rumors of the ruler's weapon, but it's nothing compared to seeing it in person. There is something terrifying about it's darkness; the color of lightsabers always reflected the wielder's heart.

Neville's face twists into a steely resolve. Harry actually snorts in the face of their ruler. They activate their lightsabers simultaneously. Oliver finds himself even more shocked. Harry and Neville's blades glow bronze. The last person Oliver ever heard of having a bronze lightsaber was Dumbledore. Bronze is reserved for the most powerful Force-wielders.

Voldemort raises his darksaber to sky. Several teleport beams bring reinforcements. Oliver barely bites back a groan. They are surrounded by an equal amount of Death Eaters wielding bright red blades. A few of them are recognizable as his personal circle members.

At least it seems that Voldemort views them as more than just measly wannabe heroes now. Oliver, however, would've preferred if he didn't. It would be an easier victory. Well nothing ever worthwhile came easy.

He has his guns pointed at two different Death Eaters. The sound of clashing lightsabers fill the air and the tentative peace crumbles. Oliver pays attention to nothing beyond the Death Eaters in front of him.

He clenches his teeth together, hard. Moving from one enemy to the next, he doesn't let himself slow. Somehow, despite enemies falling in front of him, there is always more. More and more.

He hears a scream of agony. He chances a glance over his shoulder. A raven haired woman has a golden blade through Sirius' chest; Harry doesn't stop screaming until his guardian's body crumbles to the ground. Voldemort tries to take advantage of Harry's misery, but Emmeline blocks his attempt with her body, not even trying to block with her lightsaber.

The woman who Oliver finally recognizes as Voldemort's second in command, Bellatrix Lestrange, attempts to take Neville by surprise when he attacks Voldemort. Oliver doesn't hesitate to take aim at her. Instinctively, he knows that he can't match her level. Golden blades are a sign of highly skilled wielders, like McGonagall.

He readies himself to dodge at the last minute, when a bronze blade rips through her body. Her eyes are wild as she attempts to take Neville with her to the afterlife, but Neville pulls his lightsaber from her body to block her attack. When he looks down upon her, he says, "That's for my parents."

There's a fury written on Harry's face that is terrifying. From the other end of his lightsaber extends another bronze blade. Harry seems more comfortable fighting with the double sided weapon than he did when there was only one blade. Neville follows his lead, revealing his own lightsaber as double sided.

Harry and Neville attack in complete sync that awes Oliver. He's all but forgotten the other Death Eaters because he's too caught up watching as these two men systematically attack and block. It's clear that their guardians wielded very similar attack tactics.

It ends with Voldemort on his knees, stabbed by both of their lightsabers. Oliver doesn't stop staring at the man who he's spent most of his life terrified of. It's an odd feeling to realize that he wasn't an all powerful God as they were lead to believe. He was just like everyone else—human.

With their leader dead, the remaining Death Eaters disappear with their teleportation beams. Oliver looks up just in time to see the two dropships falling into the Giant Lake, causing a wave that manages to still get them high on the cliff. The sky clears of Swiftsticks that are still remaining; the pilots seem to activate hyperspeed as soon as they can. The roars of the dragons echo.

Both Harry and Neville are crouched over their guardians, their shoulders trembling. Oliver feels the touch of skin against his hand. His body starts to ache when the adrenaline starts disappearing. He looks at Audrey; she looks worse for wear, but she's alive. Percy comes off the ship, medical supplies in hand.

Wordlessly, he starts to patch up the wounds he can while they wait for other Order members to arrive. Oliver thought victory would feel more….satisfying than it does.

---

The weeks after what the people have started referring to as the Battle of Hogwarts are long. Harry and Neville both reject offers of becoming Supreme Chancellor in Voldemort's place. It leaves the Order scrabbling to find the best fit.

Kingsley, who is one of the most well known Order members beyond Oliver and the rest who were there when Voldemort's reign was ended, takes up the position. He slowly starts making changes to the system that Voldemort had in place for nearly twenty years. Everything may have been destroyed in a day, but rebuilding the government is going to take much longer than that.

One of the first things Kingsley creates is a court system to try any and all former Death Eaters for war crimes. There's a planet on the edge of the galaxy that barely sees sunlight that he constructs a prison on—Azkaban. It's survivable, but only just.

He creates a budget to repair all damages that Voldemort's reign caused. Koldovstoretz, Uagadou, and Ilvermorny, which took the brunt of the Death Eater's attacks over the years, all receive money for reconstruction. He wants the galaxy to flourish instead of being destroyed.

Instead of dissolving the Order, Kingsley ordains them as the policing force of the galaxy. Most protect the people with their green or blue or yellow lightsabers. The others attempt to track down all of Death Eaters that escaped with their freedom after the battle.

---

"You don't have to do this," Audrey says, activating the hold cell. She converted one of the bedrooms of her ship into a holding cell. Bounty hunting works better for the three of them than merging into the police force.

Oliver swallows thickly. "No, I need to do this." Anticipating the next question, he adds, "Alone."

Percy presses a kiss to his cheek. "Just remember, we're here when you get back. Regardless of how it goes, we will always be here for you."

He's filled with so much love for Percy that he can't just not kiss him. He kisses him hard.

"I know, love." Even years later, he is still surprised by how much he loves the two of them. He can't remember how he lived without either of them.

Audrey gives him a supportive smile when he takes a deep breath in. He heads to the bay door, and takes the first step on his home planet in nearly six years. So much has changed for him and nothing has changed for Castelobruxo. He walks through his hometown slowly, the two suns beating down on his neck.

The bar is still open all hours. There are people in line with their scraps that they gathered for the day, waiting for their money. There are still whispers about races, and Oliver's lips tug up into a smile as he remembers the first ship he built; he wonders if his parents kept it.

The house he grew up in hasn't changed a bit since he left. He hesitates at the front door, debating whether or not to knock. He knocks in the end.

His mother opens the door. She looks at him shocked. When the shock fades, tears well in her eyes quickly. "Ollie!"

He finds that there's a lot of memories he's blocked over the years to curb the homesickness he felt in the beginning. His mother's hugs are warm; it reminds him of Percy's mother's hugs. She smells like his childhood.

He looks up to see his father standing not too far behind them. He can't read his father's expression.

His mother finally pulls back, cupping his face in her hands. "We've been so worried."

Guilt climbs up his throat. He chokes out, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" his father asks, his voice low. "Lying to your mother or letting us worry about you for years?"

This is why he didn't come back sooner; he didn't want to face their anger and disappointment. "Both. I just...I couldn't sit by and just watch the galaxy suffer needlessly. I had to do something, anything. I knew you'd be angry when you realized that I had lied. Staying away was easier that owning up."

"You were always too brave for your own good," his mother whispers sadly. "We should have never tried to change that. I was terrified to lose you and, in the process of trying to protect you, I lost you anyways."

He closes his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Mum. I didn't mean to hurt you this way."

He doesn't hear his father approach. He startles when his father clasp his shoulder. "We forgive you. We forgave you years ago, son."

"We kept everything the same, even those ships of yours in the shed, for when—if—you came back," his mother says, hopefulness lacing every word, when silence descends upon them.

He looks between his parents trying to figure out the words to articulate that he's not staying when his father puts an arm around her shoulders, and pulls his wife close.

"You're not staying, are you?"

Oliver shakes his head. "I love you both and this is something that I needed to get off my chest, but I've seen the galaxy. I'd never be happy stuck in one place anymore. I'll definitely be stopping by when we're in the area, of—"

"We?" his mother asks, interrupting him. "So you're with someone?"

He gives his mother a sheepish smile. "Turns out that I was more than a little in love with Percy and Audrey when we were pretending to date. It took us a little while to sort things out, but we got there. It's great; amazing, really. As long as I have them, I feel like I'm home."

"You being safe and happy is all we asked for over the years," she says thickly. Despite the tears shining in her eyes, she looks proud. "Miracles do still exist."

He can't deny that.

---

Hogwarts, Career Advice, task #3: Quidditch Player vs Footballer/Rugby Player - Write about Oliver Wood.

Insane: 378. Diaphanous - (Filmy)

365: 35. Space!AU

Chocolate frog cards: Demiguise - Write about invisibility WITHOUT the use of an invisibility cloak

Moresome: Fake dating!au

Brand: Star Lord - Word Set: space, pilot, guardian, AU: Space, (5 Bonus Points and make sure to mention) "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

Scavenger: 7. (dialogue) 'I love you', (tone) whisper, (object) flowers

Cooking: Puff Pastry - Dialogue: "I'm like 75% sure this won't explode on us."

Pokemon: pokeball - Shining Star in the Dark; 92. Gastly - Word: Snarl, Object: Bed, Action: A character rolls their eyes.

Debate: fake dating!trope

Photography: 3. Space!au

Character Appreciation: 29. (dialogue) "I don't know how you stand it."

Shannon's Showcase: 3. Word: Light, Lyric: "At my worst I find my army strong. All the demons are gone.", Sexuality: LGBT representation

Book club: The Blue Man: (word) exotic (color) blue, (dialogue) "Fairness does not govern life and death."

Showtime: 28. (object) Flowers

Days: 8. Write a Space!AU

Buttons: A1: Voldemort wins!au, D4. "You know me too well.", W3. Glorious

Lyrics: 10. And so surreal

Ami's Audio: 11. Someone is burned at the stake [Bonus]

Emy's Emporium: 17. (object) firewhisky