Keep them safe

“Congratulations, you’re not blind.” She replied rolling her eyes. Vanessa huffed out a laugh. “Yes, of course we do - unless, of course, you’re planning on staying here as their prisoner?” She raised her brow at the male.

Vision finally clearing, the young wizard scrambled out of bed quickly knowing that she wouldn’t care for him keeping her waiting. “Sorry.” He mumbled with a frown. “I-- uh? No, no of course not.” Though he couldn’t say that his words held any truth, after all if he stayed it meant that he could be with his sisters. With Cara. He now had a reason to stay.

Hearing a familiar voice, Illyria lifted her head as she felt a hand fall gently onto her shoulder. Shock laced her features first. It had been so long since she had seen her brother, she wasn’t quite sure her eyes were working properly at first. “Ollie?” She questioned, moving up from her seated position to stand and meet his gaze. She could feel her eyes start to sting even more. “What are you doing here?”  How was he here out of the blue, without any mention of his presence?

As he watched his sister stand up he finally moved forward to close the distance between them as he wrapped his arms around her gently in a hug. “It doesn’t matter about that now. It’s a long story for another day.” He replied in an attempt at avoiding the subject, glad to finally be able to see his older sister. “I heard what happened, Ri. I’m so sorry.”

closed starter || @olivermacmillan

“Oh it’s not much further, I promise.” Cara said, turning to smile at her friend. Truthfully, it was probably not right that she was doing this for him. Technically she wasn’t a guard, and really she was just lucky that some of the guards were out of commission and so she had been allowed to step in despite her terrible combat skills. However, the thought of him being stuck in that stuffy room without even a hint of fun upset her. And frankly, she hadn’t been in the best of spirits either, so she wanted a bit of a pick me up as well. Pushing through the bushes they finally got to a small clearing. The perimeter was lined with daisies and snowdrops, with a few of the flowers creeping into the centre. The clearing itself wasn’t that large but the blanket she had laid out sat perfectly in the centre and still left space on the surrounding grass. A basket sat in the middle of the blanket, unopened with a few bottles of cider sat on top to keep it firmly shut. She turned and walked backwards a few steps into the clearing, a smile gracing her lips. “Surprise.” She met her friend’s gaze trying to gauge some of his thoughts from his expression.

“Cara, what are we doing? I don’t want you to get into trouble.” That was the last thing he wanted to happen, it was the whole reason he was currently a Death Eater and a prisoner with the Order. Even with his words, he still found himself following her with a smile curious to see what she was up to. He was grateful to be out in the fresh air and a change of scenery. When they finally arrived to their destination and he saw what she had done for him, his jaw dropped in surprise as he was left speechless at her thoughtfulness. Unable to actually say anything for the moment, he simply reached over and took her hand in his. He finally tore his eyes away from all the food and glanced over to her with a large grin on his face. “Real food?”

“Men.. you’re all as lazy as each other.” Nessa scoffed shaking her head at the male, though a hint of amusement was clear on her face. “Come on sleepy head, we have things to do.” 

“Vanessa?” His voice came out groggy as he tried to focus on her silhouette through his sleepy haze. “We do? What, what things?” Knowing who it was that called his name, he tried to wake himself up quicker and sat up as to avoid annoying her more.

Illyria couldn’t believe it – it was surely some sick joke. In the short time she had been back, the brunette hadn’t had the time to speak to her friend and now, she would never be able to again. She felt her heart sick to her stomach and her eyes glassed over.  “Please tell me it’s not true.” She said in a whisper, her lip quivering before tears began to spill from her eyes.

Oliver hadn’t really made the effort to venture outside the realms of what he began to call his room or as the others called it, their prison. Whatever it was called, he knew that he deserved it all so he didn’t really complain. Yet for some unknown reason he felt the need to leave the safety and confines of the familiar four walls. Whatever the reason he was grateful for the feeling as he noticed his older sister, though if it were any other day he would have hid away not bearing the thought of his sisters finding out about his alliance.  It was the tears he noticed on her face that had him moving closer to her instead of away.”Ria?” He called her name quietly as he placed his hand gently on her shoulder, not wanting to scare her. 

Cara took a deep breath, breathing him in – she wasn’t sure how many chances she would get to be this close to him. A smile formed on her lips as he returned the embrace, and it grew when he placed the kiss upon her head. She should have been mad at him, surely, but that just didn’t seem realistic. His question caused her to lift her head slightly, but her arms didn’t dare move from their position around him. Not yet, anyway. She wasn’t quite sure how she had been – or how she was, but she offered a small smile anyway. Cara had been trying to be fine, but especially now, she could feel all the emotions hitting her at once, and it was hard to keep them down. In their time apart, her sister had been accused of being a Death Eater and imprisoned just like he was now. And she’d now left her with them during the raid, and Cara didn’t know what to think. But then, here she was in the embrace of someone who was definitely with them. And that still didn’t sound right. On top of that, thinking bad to her near-miss with one of the Death Eaters was something that scared her to the core and she knew that it shouldn’t. They were at war, and she should have been stronger than that. So, how had she been? Not good. Pulling away from the wizard, she stayed silent a while before she spoke again. “Sophia’s gone.” It wasn’t really an answer, but the frown that found its way to her lips shortly after the comment was enough of an answer. “I don’t know what to do." 

The blonde has offered him a smile to begin with but he noted how it fell from her face the more she thought about his question. He found himself frowning, hating the thought of her being anything other than okay. Oliver chewed his lip, as his brow furrowed. "Gone? What do you mean gone?" Did she mean she had died? He didn’t know what to think or have any idea what she was talking about, she wasn’t exactly making much sense right now. Pulling away he placed his hands on her face gently, to get her to look at him as his thumb stroked her cheek softly. “Tell me what happened Cara? We’ll figure this out I promise.”

Cara felt her heartbeat increase slightly as Ollie stepped towards her, but a frown immediately found its way to her lips when he stopped. Her friend was not wrong about his comment, but still, she didn’t think this was the right place for him. He didn’t belong in a room surrounded by guards all day. It wasn’t him – or maybe she didn’t know him anymore. But, he seemed like the Ollie she knew – she still didn’t understand. Though, she supposed that if it were another Death Eater, she would have felt more comfort in the fact they were confined to a room and accompanied by guards. So, perhaps it was hypocritical. Her brows were drawn together and she waited a moment before she moved toward him and wrapped her arms around him – she couldn’t hold the impulse in any longer. She could feel her eyes burning with the threat to cry. It had been so long, and she hadn’t known whether she would ever see him again. “You still don’t deserve it.” Her voice was soft, barely audible but she was so close to him that he must have heard it. She should have been mad at him, maybe she was, but her emotions were all over the place and all she knew was that she needed to touch him, to really feel his presence.

He could see the female getting lost in her thoughts, he found himself wishing he knew what she was thinking. The male found himself slightly speechless as she stepped forward and embraced him, the action catching him off guard. It took him a minute before he relaxed and reciprocate the hug. His arms snaking around her as he pulled her closer, before placing a kiss to her head. Ollie had missed her more than he realised. The male stayed silent at her statement not quite agreeing with it. "How have you been?" He asked softly changing the subject.

A smile appeared on the witch’s lips as he asked her to stay. She couldn’t help the feeling that he wouldn’t want her there, so to have him almost confirm otherwise was nice. And to hear he missed her was refreshing, too. It filled her chest with a familiar warmth. “I’m sorry you’re stuck in here.” She said, her voice soft as she moved further into the room.

At her apology, he went to take a step towards her to offer some form of comfort but thought better of it as he paused in his step. “Don’t be, it’s my own fault. I made the choice after all, it’s only right that I suffer the consequences of it.”

Cara could see that Oliver was about as comfortable as she was given the situation. She was thankful for this. It had taken a lot of courage for her to come to his room, but in the end a need to see her best friend had won out above all else. “I heard you were here…” Truthfully, she had overheard talk about the young wizard being in town, having been captured by the Order and had to see him herself. Now, though, she felt like this may have been a bad decision. It had been so long since they had spoken, Cara felt as if she’d forgotten just how to communicate with him. It wasn’t right. “I can –” She frowned, swallowing the lump that had appeared in her throat. “I can leave if you want to be alone?” She offered, though the offer wasn’t actually genuine. She didn’t want to leave, as hard as it was to stay. “I just – I missed you.”

Oliver scratched the back of his neck feeling awkward. Somehow he felt that he no longer deserved to be in her presence - though that didn't stop him wanting to be in her company. He shook his head, giving a small smile. "No, stay ... please... It's, erm, it's nice to see you." The male chewed on his lip wringing his hands together. "I've missed you too, truly I have."

@olivermacmillan

Cara hovered cautiously outside the room, hand on the doorknob but not opening the door quite yet. She wasn’t certain what she would say when the door opened and she was confronted with her best friend. What she did know, though, was that she needed to see him. Her chest ached just at the thought of it. It seemed like forever since they’d last spoken and she was still uncertain why that was. The young witch could remember reading through their letters, looking for reasons – crying over them. The guard behind her piped up, interrupting her thoughts and suggesting that she either goes in or leaves – he had better things to do, it seemed. She took a deep breath and nodded, and the guard simply opened the door before she even had a chance to worry about it any longer. Peering into the room, she was confronted immediately with the form of her best friend and her chest felt tight. As much as she wanted to enter, she wanted to run away. She wasn’t a Gryffindor – she wasn’t brave – and yet, she took those few steps into the room anyway. “Hi, Ollie.” 

Oliver had been curled up on his side having not ventured far from his room and apparent jail cell, since he’d been placed in their after his capture. He knew that being here was the best place for him considering it meant that he was away from You Know Who and the majority of his supporters, meaning that he didn’t have to carry out any of their dirty work. What he didn’t like was that, he’d traded one prison for another. Oliver was beginning to wonder if anyone he knew or went to school with, knew of his capture and would visit him. Just as the thought crossed his mind, a new voice entered the room. One he recognised. Her voice caused his eyes to widen in shock. “C-Cara?” He stuttered out. “You... What are you doing here?” He hadn’t really seen her since he signed away his life. They’d spoke obviously but even that had been a while.