Eagles Belong Where They Can Fly

Oliver ignored the fact that Millie said she was alright, poking about to find her something she might like. He wasn't exactly out of the conversation, mind, so he didn't feel too bad about eavesdropping as Millie replied to Keiran. He didn't catch the affectionate gestures that Keiran offered his wife in return, but Oliver did hear the older man's agreement when she said she'd missed him. Of course, everyone looked up at the new voice - make that voices - when they entered the Hayes' quarters.

Keiran's fingers wrapped a bit more closely around Millie's sides and legs. He wasn't genuinely comfortable with Peter being there, but what could he do? They needed him, almost definitely, and Millie didn't seem, at the time, very thrilled about Keiran sending Peter and his boy away. He was trying. It had taken him a good week or so, but he was trying. After spending time with his family, getting back into work had been strange. But this was far and beyond what he really felt he could handle. At least, what he could handle without the feel of someone who had faith in him under his fingertips.

"Connolly suggested writing a letter to ask for help," Keiran began vaguely, his face so very neutral that it was likely obviously false.

"Only the one," Oliver corrected quickly, not even bothering to turn around while he reached for a plate, upon which he put a series of snacks. Yeti probably would have helped, but Keiran's opinion of the elf was obvious, and Oliver didn't want to make anything worse than it already seemed to be. "And that was to Krum."

Keiran turned his head and frowned darkly at Oliver as the author came over to put the dish down next to their papers. "Well, I couldn't very well leave out the other person who knows them, could I?" Keiran replied rather sarcastically. "He was there, besides," he added to Millie. Oliver hadn't heard about Keiran's decision or what he did to protect Millie and Fin.

"Smooth," Oliver muttered, wandering off to find a chair for himself so Peter could take the spare one if he chose to sit down.

An eyebrow lifted before Keiran spoke again, doing his best to ignore Oliver. "Surely, we all want this handled. Some for more personal reasons than others. But the sooner we get it done the better. So how about we focus on that instead of the logic behind who all is here? Because I would have thought it was pretty obvious."

“You’re missing one,” Peter informed him glibly as he slipped down into the seat that had been left available for him. “Where’s Baldric, Millie?”

Her fingers curled into her palms and she stole her hands from the table, back into her lap. The movement didn’t go unnoticed by the Krum man lounging in his chair and he cast a vaguely interested glance in Peter’s direction. He turned his head again, as though he was watching a game of tennis that inquired the intense scrutiny of both sides, but there was nothing coming from the blonde witch. Instead, the sandy-haired wizard seemed to have the upper-hand. Match point, or something. It had been a long time since Eli had watched tennis. He’d rather lost the heart for it.

“He’s not involving himself,” Millie managed finally, her voice sliding over her words in an overly corrected way. The sounds were enunciated firmly, not liberally given emphasis or drawl which came from the dastardly mix of Irish and Cockney that filled her voice. It was almost estuary, something that the Queen could come to envy, in her desire to be firm with what she was saying. Peter inclined his head in acknowledgement and it was then unanimously decided between them that the subject would be dropped. Baldric was staying out of it. Fine. Match over. No winner.

“We’re a rag-tag bunch of heroes,” Elijah teased, drawing his chair closer to the table. He sat up straight and leaned forward to bring some of the pages to him, his dark eyes flicking brightly across the names and faces, flashes of recognition, usually followed by either disdain or amusement, popping up now and then. “I always knew you kept eclectic company, Mills,” Elijah commented, smiling a little bit as he glanced up at her, “but this sort use pianos to kill people and put horses heads on their pillows in warning.”

“They’re not quite the mafia,” Peter interjected hotly, crossing his arms over his chest. Elijah lifted his head and tugged another sheet out from underneath the pile and pushed it in Peter’s direction. The Hufflepuff blanched at the sight of it and he turned it over immediately, hiding it from view. The tops of his ears lit and coloured with embarrassment as a self-satisfied look soaked into the features of the Bulgarian man. “You’re not clever,” Peter hissed lamely.

“I know I’m not,” Elijah returned with a smirk. “I’m funny, instead. I suggest you get on the program with that one. I’d hate to have the tax office start looking into where you got the money to buy and renovate the Hog’s Head. It’d be a lot of rigmarole and I’m not entirely sure they’d like what they’d find. What do you think?”

“You threatening me, Krum?” Peter bit out, his hand straying to his side. Millie followed the action with her eyes, knowing that it was where he kept his wand. She opened her mouth but she wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to choose to do with her words. Did she warn Elijah that Peter had his wand ready or did she snap at her friend in defence of her brother-in-law? Instead, she decided to go straight down the middle and deal with them both.

“If you wake up our children because you’re being an asshole and you won’t own your mistakes, I will suspend you both, upside down, by your toes, from the Astronomy Tower. Are we clear?”

“I’m here for you two,” Peter returned. “But I don’t need to sit here and listen to him in order to help you.”

Elijah chuckled, shaking his head.

“Eli,” Millie complained at him testily. “Please, come on.”

The Deputy Minister held up his hands in mock surrender.

“Come on then, Hayes,” he suggested with a smile, “fill us all in.”

Keiran frowned at the question about Baldric, suddenly realizing how very long it had been since he had heard from the young Gryffindor. The ex-professor rather missed the blond, considering the fact that Keiran's role in Baldric's life had been increasing for a good year or so now. It hadn't registered, given everything that had happened between himself and Millie, but he did wish things weren't so tense. He might have gone to find Baldric. Not that he knew, of course, that Ben and Baldric had taken off for holiday.

All he could do while they bickered was look back and forth between them, and it seemed Oliver was content enough to check his mobile - like to tell Alice he was going to have a hell of a time getting home in time for their typical dinner plans. For one who didn't used to know what day it even was, he had adapted surprisingly well to life with Alice and having a routine.

Oliver wanted to groan aloud, wondering why people always had to do this. Even in the Order, where everyone had always been on the same side, no one could assist with any sort of plans without being irritating or contradictory on purpose. Why that was, Connolly could not have told you. This, he reminded himself, was why he and Alice stayed home and he stuck to his book characters. At least in writing, the action was intentional and used as a plot device, rather than merely because the characters couldn't help it. But this wasn't a story. This was real life; he couldn't choose how those around him acted. Beyond that, he didn't know the history between the people around him, so he had no right to judge. That didn't mean that his patience was not being tested, however. Of course it was. He had not planned to spend his day like this, and didn't know what to do with himself now that Elijah was in the same room as him.

Had Eli heard about Alice yet? Surely not. Otherwise he had a very strong feeling something would have happened already. It definitely explained his mood, which really couldn't be helped. Keiran seemed to notice it, given Oliver's eyes lifted to the ceiling when Elijah and Peter had their odd standoff. But he couldn't have known that Oliver innately hated Eli, and had hoped the man would refuse to help. Or, at the least, would have taken his time and allowed Oliver to return home first. How was he supposed to tell Alice he was working with her potential enemy of sorts? He hadn't thought about that when he suggested the letter, but the moment it was sent, he'd regretted it. And the bristly nature had taken over.

Keiran pulled his attention from Oliver when Millie chided Elijah and Peter, realizing he probably should have said something. He found it interesting that Peter claimed he was there for both Hayes, given how thoroughly the older man had removed himself from their family. Granted, Millie hadn't been included in that at the time. But he wasn't entirely sure how to take that comment, so he was quiet until Elijah requested an explanation.

At first, he thought it was directed at Millie, but she wasn't often addressed in that way. So he took a breath and leaned back a bit in his chair - which was a bit odd, perhaps, given Millie was still sitting in his lap - as he tried to figure out what to say. He didn't know every piece of it, of course, so he recalled the events of that night. When he got to the most frightening part, though, he faltered.

"And, um," Keiran cleared his throat, reaching for Millie's hand almost absentmindedly for the comfort of it, "he threatened Millie and Fin. I didn't know at the time, of course, that Fin is my nephew. But there was really no other option that I could find. So... I stopped him."

He couldn't bring himself to look at Oliver, but something told him it wouldn't really make Elijah as uncomfortable. "So I suppose we're one down," he tacked on after a moment, simply blinking as he turned his gaze on Peter. His tone was so flat that Oliver actually let out a short laugh. Keiran's eyebrows lifted but no one else could see how tightly he was clinging to his wife's hand beneath the table.

The Hayes' seemed to scrunch together as Keiran spoke, drawing closer and closer to the proverbial punchline of the story. Elijah watched out of the corner of his eye as Peter took increasing interest in his hands, as though he could have lived without the rerun. Elijah would later concede to himself that he, too, could have possibly lived, and helped, without knowing. He had already been calculating the risks of getting involved, sincerely doubting that he could commit himself. That was based on the names spread out over the table. Their adventures merely added to his concern.

The lack of qualms that their foes seemed to have unsettled the Bulgarian wizard, somewhat. Perversely, his mind summoned an image of a terrified Millie. Only, it didn’t stretch to imagining what Finley looked like. Instead, it placed Thierry behind her, grasping on tightly to the back of her shirt, white with horror. The wizard shifted in his chair and cleared his throat, trying to think of something – anything else. He knew he would have to stretch to embarrassing his son with a visit before he went back to work. Thierry was getting to the stage where he was a little bit too cool for his father. Fauve, Elijah imagined, wouldn’t mind seeing him as much.

So caught up in reflecting on what Keiran had said, Elijah didn’t really pick up on the connection between Finley, Peter and the other Hayes’. He absorbed it, acknowledged it, but didn’t comment as the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor were expecting him to. The silence was deafening, cliché though it is to say so. When Elijah lifted his eyes properly, not realising he’d been staring at the table top, he looked at Keiran and Millie. The witch was turned into him, her hands in her lap as far as Elijah could see. In truth, her fingers were wound around the hand that Keiran had offered her, holding him as tightly as she could without thinking she might hurt him. Pained looks flickered on both of their faces and Elijah saw two people, in that moment, who badly needed help. To hell with the risks, too. It appeared that they needed him.

“The plan is sort of half together,” Peter’s voice lumbered into the air. He sat back and reached into one of the inner pockets of his jacket. He removed a folded bit of thick parchment from inside and slid it across the table towards Millie. He gestured for her to take it and with one hand, unwilling to relinquish her hold entirely from her husband, she opened it out and squinted at the calligraphy that coloured the page in bright purple ink. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise and Elijah glanced at Peter curiously as the man offered her a smug smirk.

“I took it to The Chandelier, in Knockturn Alley. They’re old friends from,” Peter shook his head and waved his hand through the air dismissively, showing no inclination to explain that bit. “Anyway, it’s an auction house, The Chandelier. Specialises in loads of dodgy deals—”

“I thought The Chandelier was a lounge bar,” Elijah interjected quickly. Millie snorted despite herself and the wizard looked up, raising a curious eyebrow at her. “What? That’s what it’s listed as.”  

Peter shook his head. “You might want to have the tax office look into that one, Deputy Minister. It’s not a lounge bar. The bar is a front, like everything else in Knockturn Alley. The auctioneer and the appraiser liked the jewels, to cut a long story short. They wanted to know where I got them from, mind, but I told them that they were family heirlooms.”

“They didn’t believe you, did they?” Millie deduced as Peter reached up to scratch behind his ear awkwardly.

“They weren’t entirely convinced, no,” he admitted with a roguish smile. “Which is ironic, I think. Who questions where a load of shiny rocks come from when they make their living flogging stolen or outlawed goods?” He shook his head. “Anyway, back on point. They’re going to float them next Saturday. They’re having this big party thing and if we want to see the auction, and Urien, then we need to go. What you want to do with Urien once we’re all in the same room as him is up to you, though.” He shrugged.

“Oh!” Peter looked up as another thought came to him. “Urien doesn’t know about us going into the museum. I ran into one of them coming out of The Chandelier. Mallard, they call him. Merlin only knows why. Anyway, he was there that night—”

“Two down?” Elijah asked airily quirking an eyebrow upwards at Peter.

“Three,” the elder wizard acknowledged stiffly. “Nasir didn’t want the box for Urien’s benefit.  We still have the element of surprise. Apparently he went off the grid and took those who were there that night with him. They’ve melted back into Urien’s ranks and apparently, he doesn’t know anything about it. We still have the element of surprise on our side.”

Keiran would have given a lot to have been alone with Millie just then, but he knew why that didn't make any sense. He had called everyone there for a reason, after all, so he couldn't just go back on that now. No matter how much he wanted to. When Millie reached for the paper offered, he turned her hand over, brushing over her palm as Peter spoke. It felt like being grounded, that motion and connection. He peered over her shoulder for a moment, but was more caught up in Peter's story.

It felt like they were in some sort of movie, not in Keiran's actual, real life. But then, nothing fely normal anymore. Never had he imagined doing what he had, and now five people knew, not just three. Oliver was probably silently judging him, but Keiran couldn't bring himself to care or make any further defense for himself.

They needed to focus, though. So he pushed all of that away and took in Peter's suggestion. "Okay," he replied slowly, nodding along. "So we go to the event. Can't really go as ourselves, though, can we? They'll know you two, and Elijah and Oliver, you're not exactly inconspicuous are you?" He turned to the author, then, adding, "are you going to ask-?"

"Don't bring her into this." Oliver looked like he wanted to burn holes into Keiran just for suggesting it, which surprised the older man a great deal. Alice's involvement in Oliver's adventures had never really been a question, but now something was different. "Don't even mention it," Oliver added, shaking his head subtly. It was as though he was trying to tell Millie and Keiran something, but the ex-professor had no idea what that thing might have been. 

"Alright, never mind," Keiran replied, his tone making it clear just how confused and wary he felt now. "So we'll make it the five of us, then. What would work best for a cover? Polyjuice can be done, I suppose, but that only lasts so long. Peter brought in the items, so arguably he'll be fine. I'd like to say we should just go in as ourselves and have folks on call to come in at some signal or other. Then we don't have to worry about the cover. But we would need Aurors on hand, I think."

"I like to think I'm a born blender," Elijah retorted, a grin sidling languidly over his features.

The Deputy Minister leaned back in his chair, slinging one arm over the top of it, giving him the air of someone who had not a single care in the world. It made Millie frown a little bit, if only because she knew it was the exact opposite. But like all Krums, Elijah thrived on appearance. It was everything. It was a distinct and important show that had to be put on, to save face. She was certain that it was a pureblood thing. Theodore was exactly the same, Baldric too, to a certain extent.

"And this pretty low on the list of dodgy things you've done in the last couple of years," Millie pointed out with a tart tone of disapproval.

"Sweetheart," Elijah drawled, leaning forward. "If we want to talk about all the terrible things I've done, I'm happy to, but you're on no moral high ground because I'm sure if we tritty-trott off to the ministry and have a look, we'll often find your name right next to mine. Secretarial composition, and all that."

Millie's cheeks burned and she gave a stiff nod, conceding that Elijah was right. He poked his tongue out at her, a gesture so incongruous in comparison to what he'd just said to her that she almost felt dizzy for a moment.

The bickering was easy enough to listen to. It was all in slightly dubious taste but no one meant any harm and it ended in grins. Further down the table, though, there was a much sterner reception to Keiran than imagined. It made Peter look up and frown at the Order leader, the natural desire to defend his brother welling up within him. He didn't know who they were eluding to. Millie did, however, and, catching the end of their conversation after flipping off Elijah, sent a puzzled look in Ollie's direction, her eyes betraying her intentions to corner him at some point and ask if everything was alright.

Peter shifted a little bit at the mention of Aurors. It was Millie's turn now to fire a wry smirk, as though this was now some sort of game the three of them were playing. Peter shot her a dark glare and visibly swallowed his fear, a nodule dipping down his throat. He licked his lips and furrowed his brows a little.

"The Aurors and I have a tricky relationship," he ventured, unconsciously bringing up a hand to rub over the Azkaban number etched, albeit now slightly faded, into his skin. "They're not meant to know, either, about The Chandelier Room. It's meant to be a lounge bar. If anyone in there sniffs a rat, we're done for."

"So you'd rather forego the best men the Ministry has because they might arrest everyone in there?" Elijah asked, incredulity lacing his tone.

"Including you," Peter shot back with a tempestuous look. "But, with all due respect Deputy Minister ... if they're the best that the Ministry has, then I don't want them anywhere near us. If they're 'the best', why isn't Urien already in Azkaban?"

Elijah visibly bristled. His long fingers curled into his palm and he straightened himself up. Millie watched as the veil of irritation washed over her friend and her eyes widened a little bit as, for all the world in that moment, he looked the spitting image of his father.

"Some of the Aurors are on Urien's payroll," Millie murmured before Peter pressed on and before Elijah had chance to spit out something he'd regret.

"Which ones?" Elijah snapped, his eyes sparking with suppressed fury at the suggestion. Millie shrunk a little bit, immediately regretting saying so, and shrugged her shoulders, averting her gaze.

"Don't speak to her like that!"

"Peter--"

"What?" Elijah hissed, rounding on the elder man. "You expect me to just sit here and absorb that and nod like a fool or something?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Peter snarled. "Are you going to storm into the Auror Office, sack all of them, and replace them with people who you don't know? People who may be even further embroiled in the Death Eaters or organised crime? Don't be foolish and don't meddle in things you can't ever hope to control."

Elijah bit the inside of his cheek and sat back in his chair, thoroughly wounded by the elder man. Peter swallowed and stole his hands off of the table top before offering an apologetic look in his brother and sister-in-law's direction.

"We could use glamour charms," Millie suggested quietly, her gaze settling on Keiran. Peter averted his eyes again, that prickling feeling that he was intruding sidling across his shoulders once more. "Or ... or, one like it but mean that we can see each other as ourselves still? Who would we be if we were polyjuiced?"

"Someone famous," Peter suggested with a chuckle. "Might be quite funny. It'd be interesting to try and get those hairs, too."

As if Keiran had actually forgotten, he suddenly found himself realizing how infuriating Elijah Krum actually was. Merlin, no wonder he had heard things about the Deputy Minister before ever having met the guy. To be fair, he might have laughed if the comments had not been directed at people he cared about. Or, if not laughed, might have smirked co-conspiratorially behind the rim of his glass. But Keiran had no cup to smirk behind, and he did not appreciate the tone that Elijah's voice had taken on while directed at his wife.

Keiran didn't know the truth of what was bothering Oliver, but he had no way of guessing that he and the author had remarkably similar takes in the situation. Oliver's glare seemed to flow into Keiran and then be passed on from the older man to Elijah without either of them registering the change in their own countenances. When Millie turned to address his earlier question, Keiran was still watching Elijah almost dangerously.

"Famous, or infamous?" Keiran asked acrimoniously, glancing to Peter and back at Eli. "Maybe we should send in five of you, Krum, and see how fast we each get decked."

Oliver cleared his throat before leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table. "Can we all grow up for a bit here and get something done?" Somehow, the Hufflepuff found that he and Millie, youngest though they were, had the most maturity in what seemed to have turned into a pissing contest between the other three. More than ever, Oliver was glad that he had refused to bring Alice into it. She would understand, he felt, given the circumstances. If not, well. He was somewhat known for his apologies by now, wasn't he? Another couldn't hurt.

"Peter, they know you, yeah? If they're aiming to sell the bits you brought in, they won't be surprised to see you. As Keiran said, you can just go with that if we can't get something sorted for you, eh? Mills, you and Keiran sure as hell can't go together if you look like you. Hayes won't say it, but he forgets - or is pretending he doesn't know," Oliver chided gently, "that he's known well enough around here, himself."

Keiran huffed a bit, but Oliver ignored him. "There is... an option. But I don't know the place enough to say if it would go smoothly."

"Well, it's got to be better than trying to steal hairs of famous folks," Keiran pointed out, passing a surprisingly amused look at Peter.

Oliver shrugged, but continued nonetheless. "If they agree, mind, it's possible that you could take on the roles of people you already know. On the assumption that he doesn't frequent it... Theo would give you a hand. You probably don't want to ask, given everything, but you know he would. And then there's Mai. They won't know she's expecting, so Millie won't be shockingly not pregnant when they see her. I could be wrong, if he's been seen there. But it could be an option, perhaps."

It was a very funny position to be in – literally, not just metaphorically. Sat in Keiran’s lap, one hand still wound protectively around his, Millie cut a comfortable figure. She was an odd one, too. It was hardly befitting of the situation at hand. Then again, it had all boiled down to a sort of crass comedy that the Bulgarian seemed to thrive on. They were all divided. It was how Elijah liked it, really. It was the quickest way to work out the different ways he could manipulate them.

Millie knew the elder man well enough to realise that and, importantly, she knew him, too. Just as he had worked out that Peter could be cowed with threats, she knew from living with him for a few years in the ministerial halls of power that he had his own price, as it were. There were ways to get him back on the right track. They were often carnal, and though he had no taste for her, Millie was quick to find a rather diverting secretary, dippy enough to enjoy the Deputy Minister’s attentions and appear – mostly because they usually were – unaware that she was being used to play him.

Keiran, however, had an even more efficient way of doing it.

Millie couldn’t quite stifle the smirk that lit up her face as Elijah sat back, a dissatisfied scowl darkening his features. She licked her lips and studiously dropped her gaze, her fingers coming to play with Keiran’s wedding ring. She twirled the band around his finger and smiled a little to herself, wishing she could pop a kiss to the back of his hand. Later, she told herself. Then she could kiss that … amongst other things. She shifted a little bit in his lap, wriggling at the thought. Later, she thought again. This was the polar opposite of the right time to be thinking down that line.

While Elijah bristled and Millie daydreamed in lustful idleness, Peter listened. He was glad that Ollie had picked up the gauntlet. The Hufflepuff sounded decisive and Peter appreciated that greatly. He was torn between hexing Krum until he was dust and taking the Azkaban sentence and just walking out entirely. He knew that Keiran and Millie would probably take charge of Finley, even if offing the Deputy Minister was a really dumb way to abandon one’s son. He didn’t think Sarah would be too pleased with him either.

His stomach gave its customary turn at the thought of her and he swallowed back the feeling.

“They’ll expect me there,” Peter nodded before sitting back, an almost – we’ll say almost, because the sentiment he did feel was utter pride and he couldn’t quite let it show – proud look warming his features as he passed a glance in his brother’s direction. He quietly quite liked the fact that his baby brother had done as well as he had. It had been all Peter had wanted, really, for him. “It would’ve been fun,” Peter protested with a chuckle.

Millie lifted her head in surprise at Ollie’s suggestion, a smirk widening her face as she considered the idea of them turning up in The Chandelier Room as Theo and Mai. She did want to comment that even as herself, it was a shock for her not to be pregnant. Lately, at least. It was quite nice to have the option to have a glass of wine again, even if she did tend to go without and have some tea or hot chocolate instead. But now we’re digressing.

“Is Theo still here?” She asked, mostly herself, as she lifted her gaze to the clock on the wall. He hadn’t been through the rooms yet to dump a load of papers on her desk and run off home to his girls so there was a chance he was still there. “Maybe,” she murmured before turning to Keiran. “We could ask him before he goes home, maybe?”

When Millie fidgeted, Keiran took it as nerves or disapproval of where the conversation had ended up, so he dropped his free hand on her thigh, intending to be comforting but likely only managing to be unhelpful. Indeed, while Oliver had spoken, he'd only added to that by sending his fingers up and down her leg.

He stopped when Theodore was mentioned, though. In truth, Keiran wasn't angry with his cousin. Mainly, his ego had been bruised - unintentionally, he was sure. But he had been disappointed nonetheless. Whether Millie had discerned the reason or not? Well, that was beyond Keiran. He shouldn't have complained, which he knew, because he had been offered a brilliant spot that was exactly what he had been hoping for. That had helped, obviously, when it came to his mood as of late. But he didn't know that it was actually a bad thing to wish he had been asked to stay. At least by Theodore.

But he hadn't really registered that, at the same time, he wasn't exactly gone. He had agreed to hold a guest lecture if needed, for Merlin's sake. So he probably should have figured it out by then. But when Millie asked, he knew he had no right to say no or ask that the rest go without him. They knew Theodore the best, didn't they? Keiran didn't know for sure, but he figured it was a safe bet.

Oliver, on the other hand, was thrilled at this change in direction. He had given his piece, and now they were off to find Theodore, because Keiran had muttered his response: "I suppose we ought to. Better to give time for the potions to be ready. We can always have access to the potions storage, so we have options."

That meant Oliver could escape and talk to Alice, didn't it? Brilliant. He had purposefully left himself out of the plan, just as he had not offered a way out for Elijah. He didn't want to think about them both being there - at least, not until he had talked to his girl. Was it okay for him to be involved with this? She would be furious if he didn't warn or ask her, he feared, so he saw no other option.

"Right, then," Oliver began, dropping his palms to the table as a sort of preparation for pushing himself up. "You two work on that, and I'll-"

"Mate," Keiran cut in, "can you..?" The older man gestured towards the nursery sheepishly.

"The kids, right." Oliver replied quickly, not wanting to give anyone room to ask why he was acting so strange. Immediately, he pushed his chair back and left he room, leaving Keiran to turn his head and frown after him.

Once the author was out of hearing range, Keiran shook his head and sighed. "We'll figure out what's up with him when we get back," he decided, knowing the Hufflepuff wouldn't leave until they returned. "Or try to. But for now we ought to go."