Hogwarts Mystery Year 7

Time's Up

Dumbledore insisted on Sarah being given dry clothes, a blanket, and a hot chocolate before answering any questions. Madam Pomfrey had also been summoned to examine her. She healed the bitemark, and Sarah was deemed to not have anything seriously wrong with her, so she sat in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, a blanket wrapped around her, taking sips of hot chocolate as she filled them in on everything that had happened that evening.

"Does Azkaban have dogs?" she asked, partway through her story.

"Dogs?"

"Or wolves or something. We kept hearing howling while we were down in the prison. It's probably the only reason I made it out of there."

Moody scowled. "No, there aren't any animals on Azkaban. Or at least, there shouldn't be. I'll look into it."

"Go on, Sarah," Dumbledore urged.

Sarah finished her story. She admitted to Moody that R probably knew that they were onto them about the potion ingredients, but it didn't annoy him as much as she thought it would. Moody left shortly afterward to finish dealing with Burke, but he apologized once more to Sarah for putting her in danger and promised to find out how Rakepick had gotten out of her cell.

That left her alone with the Headmaster. Dumbledore eyed her gravely.

"I am so sorry you had to experience all of that, Sarah," he said. "I never should have allowed this trip. I can't impress upon you how deeply I regret it."

"I don't, Professor," she said. "If I hadn't gone, we probably wouldn't have stopped Burke in time. We wouldn't have captured a member of R, they'd be one step closer to fulfilling their plans, and a dragon would be hurt, if not worse."

Dumbledore smiled at her. "You are a truly remarkable student, Sarah."

"Thank you, Sir," she said sheepishly. She took a sip of her drink to break eye contact.

"Nevertheless, I can't imagine your experience in Azkaban hasn't had a profound effect on you. Especially you're run-in with Rakepick."

She nodded. "It was scary," she admitted. "And it definitely brought back...upsetting feelings, but really, I kind of felt sorry for her. I...I almost regret leaving her there for the dementors to get her."

Dumbledore nodded. "Those feelings are natural, Sarah. They make you human. It is difficult to witness the effects dementors have on a person, even our worst enemies. Please know that if you ever want to talk more about this, you are welcome to come see me."

She nodded.

"But now, I imagine you could do well with some sleep."

"May I look for my friends first, Sir? They'll be worried about me."

"Of course." Sarah rose from her chair and let the blanket fall from her shoulders. Dumbledore raised a finger as she set her mug on the desk. "Although, I ask you to use discretion when it comes to reliving your experience for them. It can be most upsetting to learn exactly how Azkaban operates, especially for those who have a connection to it."

"Yes, Sir."

Breakfast was over by the time Sarah arrived in the Great Hall, but she found her friends gathered around the fountain in the courtyard, whispering anxiously.

"There you are," Penny said, crushing her in a hug. "Ben and Charlie told us you were sent to Dumbledore's office, but you never came back."

"When you didn't turn up at breakfast, we thought you must have been expelled or something," Charlie added.

"Not expelled," she said taking a weary seat next to Barnaby, who gave her a one-armed squeeze. "Just a bit of a wild night."

"Well?" said Andre and Tonks together.