Like a sweet post-battle melody, the wizarding world tries to guide its wounds towards healing, clinging to the fragile promise of a new equilibrium.
In the wake of the Battle of Hogwarts, ten years of calm have passed, giving the impression of a fr...
With my eyes half-closed, I was awakened from a deep sleep by a distant voice, letting out a slight blink. The pain I felt the day before seemed to have exhausted my body, although I feel nothing now except a slight alteration in my magic.
The act of relieving Mattheo of his pain had been like plunging my fingers into an electrical outlet, but despite this, I did not regret my act, only that I had not been able to take all of his suffering to relieve him further.
Gently rubbing my eyes, I turned around to notice the absence of Mattheo in the bed, around which the curtains remained drawn.
"No, of course not," Mattheo's feverish voice whispering in the dormitory made my eyebrows furrow, but I remained still, looking like I was still sleeping.
My natural curiosity led me to listen to their conversation, although I was aware of the intrusive nature of this practice.
"Have you thought about the consequences? If this gets out, you'll be sent to Azkaban," Theodore's muffled words hit me like a punch.
"I'll never let that happen, there's no way I'm letting it," Mattheo replied confidently, although I knew his tone well enough to discern his actual lack of confidence.
My hand instinctively went to my mouth, holding my breath, while the other held tightly to the necklace he had given me on my birthday. The touch of the jewel had become a comfort, an anchor in times of anxiety, but this conversation seemed anything but calming.
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"I know you did this to protect her, Matt, but you'll never be able to do it again if you get caught. People talk, and you know it," Lorenzo whispered, also trying not to wake me.
"They've been talking since I was born, man. I don't see what that's going to change," Mattheo replied confidently, but the conviction in his voice sounded hollow. I closed my eyes, absorbing the words exchanged in the dark of the room, letting them resonate in my troubled consciousness.
I had heard enough to understand that Mattheo had taken considerable risks to protect me, but the reality of the possible consequences weighed heavily on them.
The murmurs of the boys in the room continued, forming a constant background noise as I struggled to comprehend the extent of what Mattheo had done.
Lorenzo's words elicited a silent response from Mattheo, and I could feel the weight of uncertainty in the air. I lay there with my eyes closed, trying to control my own emotions while absorbing the implications of the situation.
Mattheo's bold choices had created a new level of vulnerability, and I knew we were both being drawn into a whirlwind of unpredictable events.
My eyelids remained closed, but my senses were alert, capturing every word exchanged in the semi-dark dormitory.
