The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Mourning Comes

The following morning, Sarah sat alone on the couch again, staring blankly into the black screen of the television. Her memory of the previous night's events was clouded. She remembered coming back from the Weasley's house, remembered Barnaby declaring he was leaving, then her mind went blank until she stormed out of the house after him, only to find he'd already disappeared.

Penny had informed her what had happened in between, but try as she might, she couldn't see it in her own mind. What was happening to her? Had her brain deleted that memory to spare her heartache? But the truth was, her memory had been fuzzy for months now. She'd wake up and not remember everything that had happened the day before, or find herself standing in a place and having now idea how she'd got there. Perhaps it was the stress.

The rest of the house was quiet. Everyone seemed to be grieving in their own way after last night's events. Sarah wasn't sure if she wanted to think about it or if she wanted to stop thinking altogether. She just couldn't understand why this was happening. How could the world have become so dark, so hopeless?

Diego shuffled over, still in his pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers, and sat down with her. He held two mugs in his hands, and he handed one over.

Sarah took the mug and glanced down at its contents. Fire Whiskey.

"It's ten-thirty in the morning," she said. 

"Plenty of time in the day to have more, then," said Diego.

Allowing herself a small smile, Sarah took a drink. She felt the contents burn in her stomach and warm her up from the inside-out. It did little to dull the pain, but a little was better than nothing.

Diego drained his mug in one gulp, then flicked his wand back at the kitchen table and the bottle of fire whiskey drifted lazily to him. He poured more liquid in both their mugs.

"I'm sorry about Barnaby," he said, after taking another drink.

"You are?"

Diego nodded. "Truly. I don't know a lot about love, but I know enough to know what heartbreak feels like. It sucks."

"Did I hear right?" said Sarah, examining the contents of the fire whiskey bottle with suspicion. "Did the great romantic himself, Diego Caplan, admit he's not an expert on love?"

Diego chuckled. "Even I have to admit it's too complicated a subject for me. I reckon it is for everybody." He stared down into his mug. "When a witch or wizard is able to completely understand love, and they write a book about it, they'll be the richest person in the world."

Sarah nodded. Until a couple years ago, she would have disagreed. Back then, love had seemed like the simplest thing in the world. Now, everything had gone dark as a Death Eater's robes.

She wondered what Barnaby was doing right now. None of them knew how to get to Merula's family home. Their best hope was to wait for Dumbledore to contact them and tell them what he knew. Barnaby was powerful, but Sarah feared whatever awaited him on the path he was treading would be too much for him to face alone.

"Why did he have to leave?" she asked quietly. She felt like a child asking it, but it had been all she'd been able to think about since it happened.

Diego shook his head. "I guess he just felt like he had to. I don't know."

"Why didn't we go with him?"

This had been the most unhelpful aspect of her lapse in memory. So much had changed since she'd left Hogwarts that she supposed she was hardly the same person anymore, but she knew deep down in her gut that she wouldn't normally abandon a friend like that. Especially after Rowan died, Sarah had always made sure that her friends never had to face anything alone. So, why had she let Barnaby walk alone into so much danger?