See you soon, Pretty Bird


His descent into the alley where he was supposed to meet Diggle ended rather painfully as Oliver landed on top of a dumpster, rolling onto the concrete. Oliver was having trouble even keeping his eyes open at the moment as he saw the headlights of Diggle's car point at him. The car came to a halt, and Diggle came jumping out of the vehicle with worry plastered on his face. "Oliver! Jesus man, are you alright?!" he asked as Oliver peeled his hood off, revealing the gash on his face that had nearly hit his eye.

"Hey, Dig… yeah, I'm alright. Like I told Hermione, nothing a couple years of therapy won't fix. Although, I think I might have a fear of dogs now." Oliver chuckled as Diggle helped him to his feet. The adrenaline in Oliver's system was mostly gone now and the pain from his injuries were finally settling in. He didn't even realize the severity of his injuries until he had jumped off the roof after talking to Laurel.

Putting Oliver's arm around his shoulder, Diggle carefully guided Oliver to the car as the vigilante breathed slowly, trying to not put pressure on his injured leg. He still hadn't told them about the bite, and he decided to remedy that once he got back to the Lair to get patched up. Thank god they had Hermione there to help with his recoveries. Otherwise this would have to be the most complicated trip to the hospital he'd ever take.

"You're being real quiet, Oliver. What's on your mind?" Diggle asked as he got Oliver laid down in the backseat. Oliver groaned as he unzipped his jacket and felt the cool air touch his skin.

"Just thinking about the fact I just fought a werewolf, and won." Oliver smiled weakly as Diggle chuckled, shutting the door and moving to the driver's seat.

"Yeah, you're crazy, I'll give you that." Diggle smirked as he looked back to the vigilante, seeing him close his eyes.

"Take that… Harry," Oliver whispered as he drifted into slumber. Diggle lowered his head slightly at the mention of the missing archer. He didn't have to have Hermione call him about Oliver's request, he had his earpiece in the entire time. The only thing he was worried about was how Oliver seemed to be so desperate to prove he was capable of protecting Starling City without Harry.

"I don't need the Red Arrow to protect this city!" was the line that made Diggle worry about what Oliver currently thought of Harry. There was so much anger laced behind it, almost like the mere mention of him was irritating. "I don't need him to fight my battles!"

"Nobody said you did," Diggle sighed lightly, as he focused on the road and drove to the Lair's entrance.


It seemed like the news of the Arrow's battle with the "Wolfman" spread like wildfire. The secretly recorded video on the smartphone was the proverbial fuel to this fire as they heard the werewolf's question about the Red Arrow being dead, and how the Arrow never confirmed nor denied it. Now, a question was spreading through Starling City even quicker than the fight, and that question was: "Is the Red Arrow Dead?"

Nobody would dare comment on it, perhaps out of fear of finding out the hard way the infamous archer was alive or perhaps even more fear that he actually was, and the criminals that had been so afraid to commit a crime because of him would become emboldened.

For Malcolm Merlyn, as he sat quietly at his desk, looking at the articles popping up online about the video, he couldn't help but shake his head. They were fools if they really thought the Red Arrow was dead. The events with Drakon and Electrocutioner were mediocre to some of the injuries Red had received and came back from. If it weren't for the fact that Electrocutioner was killed mysteriously by that fire, perhaps the rumors would be more abundant. It became almost common knowledge that the Red Arrow was targeted by Electrocutioner after the attack on the Queens earlier that month.

For three weeks now Harry Potter and the Red Arrow had been nowhere to be found, and yet… somehow nobody was making that connection. Regardless, he understood why that was. Harry managed to pull his way out of that sticky situation by somehow managing to be in two places at once. Sure, the Arrow… that could be an explanation, if it weren't for the fact he was with Red at the same time. Which meant that there just had to be a third person on that team.

He was still trying to figure out where Harry was, but alas he had made no appearances for him to track. Wherever Harry Potter was, he didn't want to be found, that's for sure.

Malcolm would find him, because as long as Potter was alive, he'd be a threat to his plans. He was almost proud of Harry's skill, seeing as he was using the League's training well. It was just rather unfortunate that they were on opposite sides.

Moira claimed to know nothing of Harry's whereabouts, and for the most part Malcolm was inclined to believe her. However, there was always a little bit of hesitation in her voice during parts of their conversation that made him doubt her honesty. If she was protecting Harry, knowing very well that he was the Red Arrow, he'd have to do something about her treasonous actions.

Grabbing a photo from his drawer, he smiled at it warmly. It was the photo of Harry strung up in that Gotham warehouse, bloody and beaten in his Red Arrow suit. If Moira knew what he knew, then she'd be on his side completely, but Malcolm decided that he would drop that bomb on her when the time was right.


"He got lucky," Hermione blurted out suddenly, breaking the silence in the room as she cleaned Oliver's wounds. The gashes on his chest made her heart ache as he winced in his sleep at her touch, wiping the wet rag over it.

"Oliver seems to have a lot of that."

"He almost didn't make it, Dig. I was able to hear it in his voice. He thought he was going to die there."

"Yeah, but it seemed the idea of being helped get him to fight back." Diggle said, nodding as he rolled Oliver's pant leg up to reveal the bite on his calf. "Jesus Christ… Hermione, look."

Hermione glanced over and saw the bite, making her eyes widen. "When did that happen?"

"I don't know, but… does this mean he could, you know?" he almost didn't want to ask the question, and Hermione nodded. "Is it a bad thing though?"

"It depends on how you view it, some see that, as a curse while others think of it as a gift. When Oliver wakes up, I need to ask him something, because it'll give me the answer to whether he needs to worry about turning or not."

Diggle nodded, unsure of what the question was, but proceeded to clean the bite, knowing it needed stitches. The thought of Oliver surviving this fight was now replaced with the elephant in the room. Would Oliver become a werewolf?


Oliver woke up with a pained groan, his eyes adjusting to the lights of their hideout. He could hear voices in the background, although he couldn't make out what they were saying exactly.

"He's gon- -ke up s- -injuries shouldn't be as bad now." a voice said as Oliver's eyes flickered open, watering from the light. It sounded like a female, although he couldn't tell who it was. He felt like it was Hermione, but his mind was in such a fog right now he couldn't make heads or tails of where he was.

Struggling to sit up, Oliver was finally able to make out a patch of brown hair falling in front of his face as hands moved to his side, helping him the rest of the way.

"Mione?" Oliver asked, weakly as his sight finished adjusting. Hermione was kneeling in front of him, clearly worried, with Diggle in the background wiping his hands off with a towel. "How long was I out?"

"A couple hours. We just got done cleaning you up." Diggle explained, as Oliver glanced down to see the scabbed wounds on his torso and the stitched bite on his calf. "Never thought I'd ever say this, but having Hermione here as a mediwitch saved your life, Oliver."

"I wouldn't say that… I used some essence of dittany on your wounds to speed the healing process. From the looks of it, it wasn't very effective, but I suppose that it was inflicted by a werewolf so it might be resisting the treatment."

"Good," Oliver grunted. "Don't want it healing too quickly otherwise I won't be able to explain to Curtis why the arms are all busted."

"What?" Hermione asked, as Oliver pointed to his suit which was laying on the table next to them. She didn't even notice that the exo-arms were in pieces, sticking through the material of the shredded suit. "How did you?"

"I guess when Greyback and I were going at it, I put too much strain on them and caused it to break." Oliver explained as he glanced down at the bite. "So, you saw the bite then?"

"Yes, we did." Hermione nodded. "I'm sure you're worried about what's going to happen to you, but I need to ask you a question first."

Oliver raised an eyebrow, as Hermione took in a breath. "When Greyback was transformed, what color were his eyes?"

"Uh… I think they were blue, it was hard to focus on them at the time." Oliver shrugged, as Hermione gave a sigh of relief. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yes, it is. It means you won't turn."

"Excuse me, how does the eye color of a werewolf determine whether Oliver is gonna turn into one or not?" Diggle asked, crossing his arms.

"Right, so… I recently just learned this but werewolves can't just inherently turn people into one. Otherwise you'd have so many turn, it'd be an epidemic. Instead of every single werewolf being capable of that, only the Alpha of a pack can do that."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with the eye color?"

"His eyes were blue, which means he's not an Alpha. In fact, it just proves the stories about him are right. He's killed an innocent person before. From what I've read, werewolves have three eye colors that can determine what they are. Yellow or gold is a beta, your run of the mill werewolf. They're innocent in the sense they haven't taken an innocent life. Blue eyes are for the betas that have taken an innocent life. For an Alpha, their eyes are generally red."

"Red? You mean like Harry's?" Oliver laughed. "That'd explain a lot about him if he were a werewolf."

"No, he's not a werewolf, but yes."

Oliver nodded, but then a piece of information went through his head that Hermione had told him when they first started talking about Greyback. "Wait, I thought Greyback was the one that turned your Defense against the Dark Arts teacher way back when."

Hermione smiled. "You remembered. Yes, he did. It simply means that Greyback lost his Alpha status."

Diggle seemed to be understanding the supernatural/magic talk a bit better now after having to be around it for a couple weeks as he was stepping into the conversation more. "How could he lose his Alpha status?"

"Generally, he would have to be killed by a Beta and have the Alpha spark stolen. But some of the writing I found spoke about how an Alpha could give up their spark to either save a member of their pack from poison, or for other reasons that could be used with spells. It's hard telling."

"Greyback seemed pissed when the hostages got out of there. It was like whatever he had been wanting with the Dark Lord was too important for him to fail. He lost all control and transformed. Any ideas on what he might have wanted?"

"No, he was always a shadow. You only knew the name because of the ones he left behind to tell the tale. For the longest time he had a pack, and was looking to grow it, but now I'm not too sure. Oliver, is he dead?"

Oliver wasn't sure, to be completely honest. He knew it looked like Greyback hadn't been breathing when he hung over the edge of the building, but with all of his injuries that might not have been the case. "I'm not sure. Wasn't able to stick around and find out."

"I went by the alley where you and Greyback landed, but I didn't see a body." Diggle informed them, making Oliver start sweating. He's alive… oh shit… "Wait, are you shaking right now?"

"H-huh? N-no!" Oliver stuttered, eyes bulging as he clamped his hands on the sides of the table. "Look, if you saw what he turned into, Dig… you'd have nightmares for weeks on end.'

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, just an eight foot tall behemoth that looks like the lovechild of a grizzly bear and a wolf."

Diggle gulped, and started shaking himself. "Uh, I'll… I'll be b-back."

He walked out of the room, although Hermione and Oliver could hear him muttering something about needing a new job, which made both of them laugh lightly.

"You did good, Ollie." she put her hand on his shoulder. "Just, don't scare me like that again, okay?"

"Sure thing." Oliver shook his head in agreement, as Hermione helped him to his feet. He was able to walk, although with a heavy limp. "How long is this going to take to heal?"

"A couple days for the most part. That bite is going to take a bit longer I'd assume." This made Oliver sigh, but figured it was a good chance for him to take a small break from being the vigilante and focus on getting healed up. After all, finding out the Arrow just fought a shapeshifting monster and won would probably deter some criminals from acting out. "You heading home?"

"Yeah, I need to make sure Mom doesn't worry. If she thinks I was at the fundraiser then I'll be on lockdown until my next birthday." Oliver chuckled.

"Alright. I'll see you later then."

"Hermione, one more thing. I'd like you to get a hold of those contractors that Harry mentioned before. I need them to make some renovations to the training room."

"What kind of renovations?"

"I need to increase my training. Greyback had the advantage and I was unprepared for it. So, I need to be able to react faster, and being attacked in a training course with magic might help."

"M-magic? You're joking."

"No, I'm serious. I'll be better accustomed to dealing with it then and be able to react to it faster. Can you do that for me?" Hermione nodded, although she wasn't keen on the idea of Oliver being bombarded with spells. "Thank you."


Limping through his room to his closet, Oliver peeled his shirt off and got into a tank top. He was smiling the entire time he had been home, although the pain from his injuries should have caused it to waver a bit. Oliver kept thinking back to that moment on the rooftop when he was speaking to Laurel, seeing her eyes light up when he said those two words that only she knew the meaning behind.

If she didn't know, Oliver didn't know what he was going to do. It was something he had been considering for a while now. He couldn't remember the exact amount of time he'd been considering the decision to tell her who he really was, but the past couple days were when it really had been on his mind.

"I'll see you soon, Pretty Bird." the words still echoed in his head even now as he sat down at his windowsill and glanced out towards the morning sky. The news had been talking about the attack on the CNRI fundraiser all morning. The men who were behind the attack were all captured, except for two. One of them was the man who Oliver had knocked out last, and Greyback himself. Where they had gone, Oliver wasn't sure, but those Death Eaters wouldn't be back anytime soon. Hermione had made contact with MACUSA and the Death Eaters were captured. The aurors responsible for taking them in were wanting to speak to the Arrow, but Hermione managed to convince them that she wasn't around the Arrow enough to be able to contact him. Oh she was getting good at lying, Oliver couldn't deny it.

His face itched from the cut as he lightly touched it. Moira had freaked out when she saw the injuries, but Oliver insisted he was okay and that it was an accident at the lab with the prosthetic testing. Oliver admitted he was reckless and paid the price for it and he swore he would be careful next time. She didn't seem content with his explanation but had let it go, only after making sure Oliver was alright enough to stay on his feet.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he barely heard the knock on his door, as he turned to see Laurel walking in. "Laurel, hey!" he greeted, grunting as he got to his feet. She raised an eyebrow at his figure, before smiling herself.

"So, it looks like you had an eventful night." she mused as Oliver limped his way over to her. His eyes fell upon a necklace she was wearing… it was the canary necklace he had given her the night of Tommy's Halloween party.

"Y-yeah. You're wearing the necklace?"

"Yes, I am." she nodded, before hugging him. "You know, Ollie… you never stop surprising me."

"Oh really?" Oliver asked, trying to play coy. "What's that mean?"

Laurel pulled away and crossed her arms. "See you soon, Pretty Bird." she repeated his words from last night with a mischievous smirk.

"You know how long I've been wanting to tell you?" Oliver asked, as he scratched the back of his head.

"I imagine the same amount of time I've been communicating with the vigilante?" she guessed. Oliver nodded. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wanted to protect you, or… you know, try to keep you from worrying about me. I wanted you to think that I wasn't capable of being that guy."

"Why, though? Ollie, I'm proud of you. You saved our lives last night. Why wouldn't you want me knowing that you're a hero?"

Oliver smiled, sitting down as he motioned towards the door. Laurel shut it behind her and took a seat beside him on the bed. "Would you believe that I just wanted to keep you safe? When I came back from the island, I was so focused on fixing things in the city, but I knew that if you got close to me again, you could get hurt. So I kept you at a distance, even pushing you away when you tried to get close."

"Oliver, you sound like my father. I'm an adult."

"You might be, Laurel, but the things I have to face on a daily basis, it's… beyond what you can face on your own."

She was quiet for a moment, thinking back to that man, Fenrir. "I suppose you're right. What made you finally tell me?"

"Believe it or not, it was Thea. We had a chat, and it gave me time to clear my head. When I did, I realized that I was failing to keep you distant, but what you were seeing, wasn't me. I've been wearing a mask for so long, it's hard for me to be myself. When I'm out there, wearing that hood… saving people, that's who I really am. It makes me happy to know that I'm making sure families are destroyed and at the end of the day, victims get the justice they desperately need. I wanted you to see that."

Laurel brought him into another hug, and this time it was longer, as she pressed her face into his shoulder. "I think, I think in a way I knew. Every time I saw the vigilante, I felt like I knew him somehow, but I couldn't figure it out. When you said that last night, everything just started to make sense. Oliver, thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

They stayed there for who knows how long, just staying in each other's embrace. It was the first time Laurel had gotten to see the real Oliver that had come back from the island, and it made her so happy. The image in her head of the playboy that had been on the yacht with her sister, that wasn't the man in front of her.

Oliver was elated to have somebody know the truth. Hiding the truth from his loved ones hurt more than anyone could ever know. It was probably the hardest thing for him to do, to know that when he went home he couldn't talk about what he faced out there, that the only people he could talk to about it were Hermione and Diggle. It seemed like Laurel was reading his thoughts and pulled back.

"So… tell me everything," she crossed her legs and Oliver almost laughed at how enthusiastic she looked about this. "What happened to you that made you decide to become the Arrow?"

"Well, you probably can guess that it started when the yacht went down. My dad, Harry, and I made it to the raft when it went down. Dad told me he wasn't the man we all thought he was. He asked me to right his wrongs and save our city. He told me to survive, not just for him, but for Harry as well as I'd be the only one he'd have, before he put a gun to his head and shot himself since there wasn't enough food and water for more than two people. He sacrificed himself to save us. Part of the reason I'm doing this is because I'm trying to honor him." Oliver explained, as Laurel covered her mouth.

"Ollie, I'm so sorry."

"We were adrift for days. After we arrived on the island, I found a list of names in Dad's pocket. I've been using that list to help me determine who I go after. Adam Hunt, Martin Somers, Jason Brodeur, Reginald Paxton, James Horner, Martin Patel… just to name a few, all of them were on the list."

"All of them were people who've been hurting this city."

"Yeah. I had the Red Arrow to help me, but as you can see, I'm on my own right now. Actually, scratch that… I got two people helping from behind the scenes, but in the field, I'm the only one out there."

"Speaking of Red… if you're the Arrow, then who's the Red Arrow?" she asked, making Oliver lower his head.

"Not my place to tell. But, if he comes back I can always see if he wants to tell you." he explained, making Laurel nod, satisfied about the answer.

"Where is he? Haven't seen him around lately."

"He's looking into something, he wouldn't tell me. He's been doing this a lot longer than I have, and we aren't always working together. Ask your dad, he knows this better than anyone. I've seen that wall of Red Arrow articles from around the world. Red's been around for about three years; I've only been the Arrow for a few months."

Oliver was happy to be telling her the truth for once, and felt the weight on his shoulders just dissipate. "So, you go missing for five years and come back as a vigilante. Is Harry capable of doing anything you do?"

"He can hold his own in a fight at least. Remember the night we were at Fuller's club? He took out those bodyguards without even breaking a sweat."

Before Oliver could continue on with his story, the television cut to static catching the two's attention. Footage of Electrocutioner being strung up on the side of the SCPD building started playing as a distorted voice started speaking.

"You know… this man was the first example of what happens when you try to kill me. You can't kill the Red Arrow. I'm not a person, I'm the fear you feel at night. I'm what makes you breathe easier when the sun comes up. I am fear itself… and you can't put a face on that. I can be anyone and everyone, I can be everywhere and nowhere. You think you're afraid of the Arrow coming after you? You don't know what it's like to be truly hunted, to have no escape, but you will… to the men and women who hide in the shadows, understand… that's my territory. You think it'll keep you safe, but it won't. Unless you want to be like the man formerly known as Lester Buchinsky, the Electrocutioner, then you need to step into the light. Otherwise being shot with an arrow is the last thing you'll need to worry about…"

Oliver growled, he knew that voice anywhere, even distorted. That voice belonged to Harry. What the hell was he doing? Laurel looked at him with concern as he clenched his fists tightly. "If your name is on our list… you'll see us soon enough."

"Oliver, what was that about?" she asked as the video cut back to the normal programming.

"I… I have no idea," he hissed. How could Harry do that? After everything he had just gone through, Harry just told the criminals of Starling City to not worry about the Arrow. What was he thinking?!

"What do you mean? I thought the two of you made these decisions together?"

"We did… I guess not anymore."

She saw his knuckles were turning white, and Laurel just took a hold of his hands. "Hey, it's alright… don't worry about that right now."

Oliver nodded, and let his hands loosen up as he took a deep breath. Whatever Harry was doing, that was his own business, but he needed to leave Starling City out of it. Harry had made his choice to leave, and when he did, the Red Arrow stopped being the dark protector of Starling City. Oliver was the one protecting it now, not Harry.

You know what, Harry? Just stay wherever you are. I don't need you here…


The broadcast was untraceable. From that day forward, everything changed. The criminals of Starling City were unsure whether to be afraid of the Arrow or the Red Arrow. While the Red Arrow was still out of sight, the rumor that he had been killed spread throughout the city. The police were quick to believe this rumor, all except for Detective Lance. He believed the Red Arrow was alive, and Electrocutioner's death was evidence of that.

For many, the broadcast was seen as an attempt by the Arrow to make sure the criminals didn't lose that fear, to continue the charade that the Red Arrow was still around. No matter, the reputation the Arrow had developed in one night from his battle with Greyback spread throughout not only Starling City, but even the Wizarding World. Greyback and Scabior had disappeared without a trace. No sign of their whereabouts could be found. Oliver took a couple days off from being the Arrow, although he still trained. The majority of his time was spent with his family, Laurel and Tommy, and working at the R and D department, where he had to explain to Curtis what had happened to his poor invention.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" Curtis cried as he held the arms in his hands.

"What, you said we needed to test em, so I did."

"With what?! A bulldozer?!"

"Eh, more like a really, really big dog."

"You know that's funny, oh dear god… THERE'S ACTUAL TEETH MARKS! WHAT KIND OF TESTING WERE YOU DOING?!"

"Thorough testing."

Curtis almost fainted right then and there. "Hey, don't worry… the tester's mostly fine." Oliver waved his hand dismissively.

"Wait… this was on somebody when this happened?!"


Fenrir Greyback opened his eyes to find himself in a dark room, with a fireplace illuminating the environment. "What the?"

"Hello, old friend." came a voice, one that Fenrir recognized instantly. The loss of the hostages didn't ruin his plans… his master had found him.

"Master," Fenrir acknowledged, getting on his knees to bow to the Dark Lord. "It's been far too long."

"Yes, it has. Now, tell me, how was this Arrow able to defeat you?"


Oliver couldn't help but think about Harry as the days went on. While his stunt with the television broadcast bothered him, he did wonder where he was, and if he was okay. What was he thinking, it was Harry, of course he was okay.

Across the world, a sword flashed its way through the torso of a towering master vampire. As the beast fell, Harry Potter wiped the blood off of his sword as his red eyes glowed through the dark forest. He was covered in scratches and blood, but he didn't seem too bothered by it to be perfectly honest.

"Well, that's a coven gone."

"And I missed the fun? That's a shame." Nyssa sighed as she appeared with the head of the other vampire they were hunting in her hand.

"Eh, from the looks of it, you had your own fun."

"I wish, they were asleep." Nyssa grinned, making the archer frown in response.

"Really? That's just damn rude! You killed them in their sleep? That's dishonorable."

"We're assassins, not samurai."

"Still, if you're gonna kill something you should at least give it a chance to look you in the eyes and fight back."

Nyssa shook her head, walking up to him and put a hand on his chest. "And that is precisely why I will live longer than you, love."

Harry pursed his lips out of annoyance and watched as Nyssa walked past him and towards the nearby village. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To collect the bounty and let our clients know that they won't have to worry about being attacked in the middle of the night. Who knew the Red Arrow could be so helpful?"

"Hey! You take that back right now!" Harry ordered, grabbing the master vampire's head and ran after her, much to Nyssa's amusement. "Nyssa! Take that back!"

"Take what back?" she gave him a coy smile, as they walked into the darkness of the forest, disappearing from sight.

Ollie, I know you're probably mad at me, but I'm proud of you. Regardless, I can't say that to your face right now… so I just hope you know that. I can't come back… so I hope my message didn't cause you any problems.


END OF EPISODE SEVEN


with that, episode seven is officially over! And with it, we got a huge surprise for you all. We've been thinking, how do we connect with you and make things a little bit simpler to not just talk, but to be able to see what we see when we're writing it?

We made a discord server for the series. You guys can join and chat with us about the story, ask questions, get to see the faces behind the characters we've chosen, and more. It's still in the early stages, but if you guys would like to join, you can join at discord .gg /nfSwQHtTAh
(You'll have to put it together in the bar, it won't let me put it in there otherwise)

Let me know what you guys thought of the chapter, and if you join the server, we'll see you in there!