Innocent Words Act II
Author: Captain Cornflake
Chapter Eight: Coming To Terms
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The entire school spent the next few days in massive shock, particularly the Slytherins, seeing as they were now without a head of house. For this, as always, they blamed the Gryffindors. Even after Professor McGonagall had explained the events of that night in their entirety.
Malfoy in particular was pissed off, he launched a full-scale grudge match against any Gryffindor that crossed his path, and this of course, earned him a few detentions.
What was left of professor Snape was buried near professor Dumbledore.
Ron, Hermione and Elizabeth left the hospital wing a few hours after Oliver arrived, but Harry stayed for another day, mainly to keep his old friend company.
"I Still can't believe it" he broke the silence.
"What?" asked Harry
"That she was going to have my baby, and she never even told me"
"Yeah I know, if I'd known, I would never have let her play."
"What? She played? When?"
"The Slytherin game a few days ago, that's how she ended up in here in the first place. She got hit by a bludger, and then later on that night that's when this happened..."
"Oh man, I should have been here for her"
"Your mum needed you, it was just a case of bad timing"
"I know, but I can't help but blame myself"
"Look Oliver, listen to me" Harry grabbed his shoulders, "it's not your fault, stop blaming yourself, it was Snape and that little Flint bastard who put Em in here"
"Flint?" Wood had a dangerous gleam in his eye, "he has a brother?"
"Don't go doing anything stupid now"
"Oh I won't, I just want a quiet word with him, what's he look like?"
"Just like his brother."
Wood jumped up and stormed out, filled with an appetite for revenge.
"Oliver wait no!"
Harry couldn't stop him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Meanwhile, McGonagall was in Snape's office, searching for any clues as to why he had lost it and tried to kill a student.
She came across a wooden box on one of the shelves, packed tightly with letters, and of a secretive nature thought the head.
She picked one out and began to read it:
Dearest Severus,
All plans are ready to be put into action tomorrow, after the match with Gryffindor. We'll get him. The boy-who-lived, ha, not for long he won't be.
I've waited fourteen years for this, don't let me down Severus.
There will be severe penalties if you do.
L.V
The letter fluttered to the floor as the head put a hand to her mouth in shock.
"He went back," she whispered to herself
Wood wandered the corridors of the castle, looking for the pint-sized version of his arch-nemesis.
He was boiling over with rage, but it didn't show in his face, and then he saw, the mini super-git. Ooh was he going to get it now.
"You" he hissed, approaching the boy at some speed. He picked Flint up by his shoulders and pinned him to the wall.
"Who the hell are you?" asked Damian as he squirmed about.
"Oliver Wood, your beloved older brother might remember me"
"Oh, you"
"Yes me, I've got a bone to pick with you."
"Oh yeah, what?" said the twelve year old, rather cockily, considering the situation he was in.
"You" hissed Oliver, through clenched teeth
"You caused my fiancée, you caused her to have a miscarriage you son-of-a..."
"Right, and I care why?"
"Why you little, I'll kill you"
Wood pushed the boy against the wall.
"Yeah right"
At that moment, two sixth year Slytherins appeared, dragged him off Flint and held him back.
"I'll get you back, I swear to god I will, you murdered my kid"
He threw off the grip of the two others who had appeared and stormed off, back towards the hospital wing
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
McGonagall was still horrified that the man she had once trusted as her deputy head had been in contact with the dark lord. Voldemort had been using him, she realised suddenly. He had been trying to kill Harry once again, and he didn't care who got hurt or killed in the process. As long as Potter was dead
She left the office and walked back to the hospital wing, to warn Harry to be on his guard.
Harry waited patiently for Wood to come back, hoping he hadn't done anything stupid
He glanced sadly at Em again, wishing it were him lying there; he blamed himself just as much as wood did. If only he'd gotten there earlier, he might have been able to stop this from happening.
He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek, so pale, so cold, almost like she was dead.
McGonagall swept in, looking slightly worried
"Mr potter, I need a word, now..."
She led him away, into Madam pomfrey's empty little office.
"Snape was trying to kill you, but not for himself, he was doing it for you-know-who."
Harry's face dropped, he ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily.
"It's just unfortunate that Miss Stewart got caught up in the plot"
He sighed again and looked back at the arched entrance as wood came back.
Harry excused himself from the teacher and caught up with him
"Are you alright?"
"No im not" he growled, "that little shit just couldn't care less that he killed someone"
Harry shook his head. Flint really had proven his place in Slytherin was correct.
"Just forget about him, he'll get his comeuppance one of these days, he really will"
"You think so?" said wood.
"Yeah" smiled Harry sympathetically.
He looked into woods eyes and saw that he was frightened like a child.
Wood went back to Em's side and layed his head on her slightly rounded stomach. There he cried, he cried tears of anguish, anger and grief.
Harry left the hospital wing and made his way back to the Gryffindor tower, thankfully avoiding any Slytherins.
He went into the common room, which was packed out with seventh years, studying for the upcoming NEWTS.
Harry sat down, in a very bad mood with the world, until Hermione appeared, with a book under her arm.
"Hey Harry, how's Oliver?"
"It's eating him up inside, I've never seen him this upset."
"Yeah" she sighed, sitting down, "I'm not going to say I know how he feels, because I don't."
"Mione, that should have been me, not Em"
"Harry, now you're blaming yourself, stop it."
"No, Im serious" he snapped, "Snape was trying to kill me for Vol-, You-know-who!"
Hermione's expression changed rapidly, her jaw almost ht the floor
"Oh god, but, he can't, can he still get to you..."
"Not himself, he'd have to use another poor person to try and kill me..."
"Just like Snape and professor Quirrell," sighed the Prefect...
"Yeah, you'd think he'd have given up by now wouldn't you?"
"Mm hmm" she said, and then went silent, allowing the volume in the room to take over
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Two days later, Oliver went back home for his dad's funeral. It was a small affair, with only ten people in total attending.
Afterwards, there was a little gathering at the wood estate, where the guests milled about, making small talk with one another.
One of Ian's workmates approached Oliver, noting that the depressed teen had been nursing the same whisky on ice for the last half an hour.
"Hey, he was really proud of you, you know"
"I know he was..."
"You seem to have a lot on your mind, you want to talk about it?"
"Nah, I'm just a bit..." he sighed, "...pissed off with the world."
"Yeah, I understand, you just lost your dad, you're bound to be upset.
"Steve" started Oliver, " It's not just that, my girlfriend was pregnant, but the daft sod played a game at school and then she had a miscarriage, which wasn't her fault. Then she got dragged into an accident, and now's she's petrified."
"Jeez, now I understand why you're so pissed off, I'm sorry."
"I supposed to be marrying her in July"
"Hey" said Steve, laying a hand on his shoulder, "it'll be ok, you'll still get to marry this girl in July I can tell"
"You think so?"
"Yeah, you deserve each other..."
"Thanks Steve" said Oliver, standing up and shaking Steve's hand...
