Chapter 31
Oliver woke before Amelia did and found Percy pacing their old dormitory. "How are you, Perce?" Oliver asked.
"I've been better," Percy admitted. Amelia groaned and Oliver slipped out of bed and followed Percy to the common room.
"I'm sorry about Fred," Oliver said.
"Thanks," Percy mumbled. "How's Amelia?"
"Honestly, I think she still hasn't registered everything," Oliver replied. "We've been in hiding for months, thanks to your warning, and after we've checked in on her family I'm sure she'll realize the whole extent of everything."
"Where were you hiding?"
"We had a cottage in Scotland," Oliver replied. "George was our secret keeper since neither of us wanted to do it in case we got captured. No one would have expected George to be secret keeper for us."
"That was smart," Percy said. "What's the plan now the war's over?"
"We haven't talked about that yet," Oliver admitted. "I think the plan is to go back to Puddlemere, get her first album recorded and then consider kids."
"Isn't it a little soon for kids?" Percy was incredulous. "I mean I know you lot live together, but it's not like you're married."
"We are married, Perce," Oliver explained. "We eloped almost 2 years ago. It was just a muggle ceremony. Now that the war's over, we'll consider a wizard wedding, but I'm not sure we need or want it."
"We don't want a big wedding," Amelia said, startling them.
"Sorry if we woke you, love," Oliver said.
"You didn't and we should get going," she said. "I'll want to check in on my family and we should stop by to see your parents."
"Owl us for Fred's funeral, Perce," Oliver asked. "We'll want to be there." Percy nodded and Amelia and Oliver went to apparate back to Leeds to check in on her family.
When they arrived, they found that Amelia's parents were safe and that Mike and Jaime had gone to America to play football. "What about Jack and Brandon?" Amelia asked.
"We spoke to Jack yesterday, but we haven't heard from Brandon in a few days," Camilla explained.
"We'll go and check in on them," Oliver offered. He took Amelia's hand and they apparated to a spot near Brandon's house. They knocked on his door, but received no answer. Amelia began to worry, but Oliver performed a spell he knew that showed that no one was home.
"Do you have his mobile number?" Oliver asked.
"Yes," Amelia said.
"Let's go in the house and use their phone to call him," Oliver suggested. They used their wands to open the door and Amelia called her brother's mobile using their phone. She was able to reach him and learned that he and Maria were safe and out shopping.
"Alright," Amelia said. "We'll lock up. Sorry we broke into your house. And please, call Mum and let her know you're alright. I think we've got her a little worried. Oliver and I are going to see Jack now." She hung up the phone and let Oliver hug her for a moment before they locked the door and apparated out of the house.
They arrived at Jack's flat a few seconds later. Oliver knocked on the door, but Amelia was staring at the green symbol in the sky over the next building. When Jack answered the door, Amelia fell down in tears. "What's going on?" Jack asked, standing aside to allow Oliver to carry Amelia to the sofa.
"Our world has been at war since August," Oliver explained. "We were just checking in with everyone to make sure your family was safe. Amelia's just seen something in the sky that signals that your neighbors were killed."
"WHAT?!" Jack shouted.
"There is a green symbol in the sky that muggles can't see; only wizards can see it," Oliver stated as calmly as possible. "It's above the next building. That means that someone was killed there."
"Holy shit," Jack exclaimed. He looked at Amelia, who was shaking, and went to get her a whiskey. "For her nerves," he said, handing the glass to her.
"Thanks," she whispered; she took a sip of the drink and let the amber liquid burn her throat on the way down. "Call Mum and tell her you're o.k."
Before Amelia had finished the sentence, Jack was on the phone with his mother to tell her that he was fine. "How is Oliver's family?" he asked when he hung up.
"We're going to check in on them next," Oliver said. "We wanted to make sure you lot were safe before we did since my parents are wizards."
Oliver and Amelia spent several long minutes with her brother while she sipped her whiskey. Once it was gone, she promised Jack she would call and see him soon and they apparated away to East Kilbride to check in on his parents. "Mum! Da!" Oliver called. "Are you lot home?"
"We're here," Jane called from the kitchen. "It's good to know you survived."
"Sorry, Jane," Amelia said. "Oliver was kind enough to check in on my family first."
"Of course, dear," Edward said. "How are your family?"
"They're fine, Da," Oliver replied. "All alive and well, though Jack's neighbors weren't so lucky."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Jane said, noticing that Amelia had again sunk into the sofa and was shaking. "Oliver, why don't you lot stay here for the night?" She nodded at Amelia.
"Sure, Mum," he said. "We'd love to. Can I help with anything?"
Jane nodded towards the kitchen and Oliver followed her. "What's going on?" she asked.
"I think it's finally registering with her, everything that happened," Oliver explained. "She was nearly killed when a wall exploded, but Fred Weasley shoved her out of the way and took the brunt of it. He didn't make it." By the time he finished, Oliver had tears in his eyes. Jane handed him a cup of tea. "Cheers, Mum."
"You should take Amelia up to your room and let her lie down for a bit. Dinner won't be ready for a few hours and you lot need to rest," Jane suggested. Oliver nodded and went to get Amelia. She barely responded to anything he said, so he scooped her up and carried her upstairs.
"You're safe, love," he said, laying her gently on his bed.
"Ol?" she asked.
"I'm right here," he promised.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"We're at my parents' house. We're going to stay here until tomorrow and then we'll go collect our things from the safe house and get home," he said, quietly.
"You won't leave me?" she asked, sounding small.
"No," he promised. "Let's have a nap." He pulled her shoes off and tossed them across his room. Then, he sat on the bed, toed his own shoes off, and snuggled up next to her.
When Oliver woke, he saw Amelia sitting and staring out the window. "Are you alright?" Amelia jumped at the sudden noise and Oliver added, "Sorry."
"It's fine," she whispered. "And to answer your question, I don't know."
Oliver stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders, but kept quiet until his mother knocked and called them for tea. "Please eat," Oliver begged. Amelia nodded and let him lead her to the dining room. They ate quietly and once dinner was done, Amelia went out to the porch swing.
"It's right over there," Oliver said.
"What?" she asked.
"Where I fell completely in love with you," he answered. "It was the first time you came here and we snogged in the shed."
"Will you take me flying again?" she asked.
"Anytime, love," he promised. "Maybe not tonight, but anytime."
"Tomorrow," she said. "I want to go flying tomorrow."
"O.k. We'll go and get my broom from the stadium and see if Quidditch is back on," he suggested. "Do you want to go home tonight or stay here?"
"I want to go home," she said. "It's been so long since we've been there and I want to sleep in our bed again."
"I'll just let Mum and Da know and we can be on our way," he promised. Oliver went and told his parents that they would be staying at their flat that night and while Jane wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea, she didn't stop them from leaving.
When they landed outside their flat, they noticed the curtains billowing out of a broken window. "Do you think someone has been in there?" Amelia asked.
"It appears that they were," he mused. She shivered and he pulled her close. "We can go back to my parents' for the night if you want."
"No," she said, determined. "I want to sleep in our bed." She wanted to stay, until they got inside and found that the entire flat had been ransacked and that their bed was broken. Then, she crumbled to the floor in tears.
Oliver sat next to her and pulled her into his chest. "Love, it's going to be fine," he whispered. "I promise. We'll get everything fixed and it'll be just like it was. Look." He waved his wand and cast some repairing charms; nearly everything returned to its previous state and the furniture returned to its place.
Amelia pulled away and looked at the work Oliver had done. Even the window that had been broken was fixed. "See," he said. "Everything's better and it'll keep getting better from now on. Now, let's get to bed."
They both stripped to their underwear and climbed into bed. Amelia woke alone in the morning and threw on the closest article of clothing she could find. She joined Oliver in the kitchen where he was laboring over breakfast. "We should go back to the cottage and collect our things," she said.
"We should," he replied. "Especially since we didn't really leave clothes here and while I'm fine if we spend the rest of our lives completely starkers, I'm fairly certain you'll get cold."
"Thanks, Oliver," she said. "For everything you did yesterday. I really appreciate it."
"It's my job," he joked. "And I'm happy to do it. Now, let's eat and then we can shower before we go and fetch our things."
After breakfast, Oliver apparated them back to the cottage in Scotland where the retrieved all of their belongings and returned them home. After ensuring that their things were properly put away, Amelia let Oliver apparate them to the Puddlemere Stadium. "Do you remember the lessons from Hogwarts?" he asked.
"A bit," she answered. Oliver got them each a broom and led her onto the pitch.
"Alright, put your arm out over the broom and say 'Up,'" he ordered; she did as he suggested. "Good. Now, swing your leg over and mount your broom. Then, put your right hand in front for steering." She had done everything he told her. "You're doing fine," he promised. "Now, push off from the ground with your legs and take off."
She got about 5 feet off the ground and was hovering when Oliver joined her. "You did remember," he teased.
"Of course," she said. "I remember lots of things. Now, can we fly around the pitch?"
"Most definitely, love," he answered. "Just follow me and I promise not to go too fast." They flew around the pitch several times, increasing speed and height a little each time. When they had done several laps, Oliver rested them in front of the quidditch hoops. "Want to keep going?"
"Yes," she said. "I have a great teacher."
After a few hours, they landed and returned home. "Why did you suddenly ask to fly again?" Oliver asked while they were making dinner.
"I honestly don't know," she replied. "I guess that flying lessons is how we got to know each other to begin with and now, it seems like we should keep it up."