𝘋𝘈𝘕𝘊𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘞𝘐𝘛𝘏 𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘏𝘈𝘕𝘋𝘚 𝘛𝘐𝘌𝘋/𝘵𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦 (English version)

Chapter 24

"You won't be able to run from them forever, you know that, Sarah?"
Hermione was folding her clothes with extreme care, listening intently to her friend's words about what had happened on the train.
Black sighed, tossing one of the trunks onto the bed, opening it to also put her things in the wardrobe.
"What am I supposed to do, 'Mione? Pretend like nothing happened? Look at them as if nothing's changed? Let me remind you that Draco's father was there that night. And what if the others are on his side, too? What if Draco himself is one of them?"
She shook her head, feeling nauseous at the thought.
"Don't let what Harry thinks influence you; he hates Draco, and that leads him to wrong conclusions."
"And what if it's true?"
Sarah looked at her with her hands on her hips.
In fact, there was nothing to prove he was a Death Eater, but there was also nothing to disprove it. Ron and Hermione thought it impossible, for them Malfoy was too stupid to be chosen by the Dark Lord. But for Sarah, nothing could be ruled out anymore.
"Just try not to cause too many problems with them, that's all. They were still your best friends, after all."

After putting everything away, Sarah decided to take a walk around the school. Everyone was out and about on that sunny Sunday.
Leaving the common room, she took the stairs leading to the large square garden that connected to the various classrooms. Many students were walking along the corridors, some trying to get familiar with the surroundings, while others were simply enjoying the last hours of freedom before classes started the next day.
She greeted those passing by her in haste; all she wanted was to find a quiet place to read peacefully, but at that moment, nothing seemed to satisfy her.
She had to walk a long way before sitting under a tree that shielded her from the morning sun. A light breeze made the air cool but perfectly bearable.
Sarah opened the book right where she had left off the previous night.
She didn't even have time to read two lines before a group of boys sat not far from her.
The girl rolled her eyes, annoyed: even that little spot wasn't the right one. She heard them laughing, and didn't realize one of them was watching her with interest.
Cormac McLaggen had a small smile on his face and paid little attention to his friends. They had never spoken before, their circles of friends were completely different, and neither had ever sought to get to know the other better.
But Cormac had always found her interesting, another conquest to add to his already long list.
Sarah looked up and found the boy's eyes already fixed on her. She returned the gaze but without the same interest, wanting him to stay as far away as possible from her personal space. She had heard too many things about him, and everyone painted him as a big jerk to avoid.

Sarah stood up, brushing off the dirt and grass from her robe.
Cormac decided to approach, excusing himself from his friends and taking a few steps until he reached her.
"Black," he said, leaning his shoulder against the tree trunk.
The girl sized him up before replying, "McLaggen." She grabbed her bag, put the book inside, and looked up at the boy standing in front of her.
"Alone? Strange, all these years you've always been surrounded by your gang of boys," he joked, laughing at his own joke.
Sarah looked at him, bored, wanting to leave.
"Well, I don't need a guard or a bodyguard, as you can see, I can manage things on my own."
Cormac nodded, running a hand through his blonde hair.
"Right, you can't always rely on your friends, you need to be independent... am I wrong?"
Sarah shook her head absentmindedly, her eyes actually focused on the corridor behind the boy, trying to figure out a way to leave as soon as possible.
She took a step back.
"I'd better go, I have a lot to prepare for tomorrow."
It was the first excuse that came to mind.
However, the boy didn't even give her time to take a few steps before catching up with her.
"I'll walk you; I'm heading to the common room too."
Sarah was forced to nod. They walked a short distance together in silence, at least until the boy started talking.
"So... Black, are you free?"
Sarah quickly turned her head to look at him.
"What do you mean?"
Cormac laughed, showing off his pearly white teeth, running his large hand through his thick hair again.
"No boyfriend... or anything like that?"
Sarah stopped, forcing him to stop as well.
She raised a hand, bringing it to her mouth as if she were thinking.
"Cormac, I have no interest in you. I hope that's clear enough, super clear, even!"
But the boy, wounded in his pride, tried to recover.
"Oh come on, just one chance! Even just a trip to Hogsmeade together."
Sarah looked around, noticing several students casting glances their way, but none dared approach or interrupt.
"You're kind, really, but I'd rather not. I'm not really in the mood to get to know anyone."
"Even just a tri—"
Hands covered her eyes, and she placed a hand over her chest, startled, but went along with it.
"Who am I?" Pansy asked, looking at her friend, amused.
A wide smile spread across Sarah's face; she was thanking all the gods for sending Pansy Parkinson at that very moment to rescue her.
She quickly turned around and showed her happy face to the girl, who was confused by her friend's excitement.
"Pansy, oh my god, I was just about to come to you... well, we..." she took her arm, inviting her to walk.
The girl looked at McLaggen and then at Sarah, seeming to understand everything and decided to play along.
"Oh yes, we really have to go! Gosh, it's also late, how absentminded."
Sarah turned to Cormac, who now looked confused.
"See you around!" she said, wiggling her fingers in a quick, ironic wave, and soon after, the two of them started running down the school's corridors.
They laughed as they passed the rest of the students, heading in no particular direction.
They only stopped when they both realized that Cormac was far enough away from them, Sarah leaned against the marble wall to catch her breath.
Pansy looked at her, hands on her hips, also tired from the run.
"Wh-why?" she asked, out of breath, referring to the boy.
"He wanted to go out with me."
They looked at each other, and shortly after, they burst into laughter.
"You? Seriously, Sarah, he really asked you?"
Pansy covered her mouth, unable to stop laughing.
"Please! He started talking about weird things like friendship and independence."
They sat on an empty bench, both still exhausted.
"We should hit the gym... I feel like I need oxygen after that run," Sarah said, still panting.
"I remind you that we even tried: running for half an hour outside the school, and it lasted two days."
They laughed again, remembering the experience from their fourth year.
Slowly, the laughter faded, leaving space for silence as they both stared down the empty corridor.

Pansy turned to observe her friend, and the memories of the previous day immediately overwhelmed her.
"I... I need to understand, Sarah... I wrote to you all summer. Not just me, really, all of us."
Sarah sighed, knowing she couldn't avoid a confrontation for much longer.
"I needed to recover, and I wanted to do it without hearing from anyone, but I read all your letters, really! It's just... just something was holding me back."
Pansy nodded, trying to be understanding of her friend.
"I don't want to say you were wrong, Sarah. What you've gone through and are still going through is something no one would want to experience. Just, don't distance yourself from us like this."
At the word "us," Sarah immediately understood that Pansy was also referring to the other Slytherins.
She shook her head firmly.
"No, Pansy, not them. How do you expect me to be in the same room with Draco? How do you expect me to be in the same room with Theo? I mean, their fathers were there. Try to understand me, I can't just distance myself from some; if I have to, I have to do it with all of them."
"Even from me?" the Slytherin asked, without giving her time to finish her last sentence.
Sarah shifted her gaze to the wall in front of her. What was she supposed to do?
"I feel trapped, overwhelmed, you understand? What should I do? I don't even know how to handle my choices and my life anymore," she said, running a hand over her eyes.
Pansy understood how difficult it was for her friend and tried to lighten the conversation by changing the subject.

"You should've seen Tom's face when you left yesterday."
"What do you mean?"
Pansy smiled, crossing her legs to sit more comfortably on the bench.
"That boy has had a crush on you since third year, and I wonder why he still hasn't asked you out alone."
In fact, their outings had never been one-on-one; someone from the group had always been there.
"Maybe it's because you're simply wrong? Tom doesn't even know what love is, and he probably looked at me like that yesterday because, after years, I've been added to the list of people he hates or wants to kill."
Pansy laughed, shaking her head.
"You didn't see him. Actually, you haven't seen him in the past few years either!"
And it was true. Not even with Mattheo could Tom be sweet, as if those things just weren't for him.
Sarah opened her mouth to respond but closed it shortly after. She was right; maybe the two had a different relationship than what normal friends would have.
Pansy noticed her friend's silence.
"See? Well, think about it. And think about everything else, Sarah. Somehow, you'll have to face both Tom and Draco."

As if summoned from nowhere, the group appeared at the end of the corridor, talking among themselves.
Sarah cursed the gods this time, feeling they were punishing her in that very moment.
Pansy stood up and gestured for her to follow.
"At least just a hello, pleeeease."
The girl sighed, crossing her arms as she stood by her side.
"I'll see."
The tension was palpable after the previous day; everyone was afraid of saying something wrong.
Blaise smiled at the two.
"What brings you to such a remote corridor of the school?"
"Oh my god, I just saved Sarah from Cormac McLaggen," Pansy said innocently.
Everyone turned their gaze to the girl, and Tom, who had been leaning against the wall, stepped toward the group.
"And what did you tell him?" he asked, his unusual interest sparking everyone's curiosity.
Pansy moved closer to Blaise with a smile on her face.
"Tom jealous? He unlocked a new personality over the summer."

"No! Of course not! I would never go out with him," Sarah said.
Tom relaxed at her words, immediately looking off toward the garden, trying to appear as neutral and calm as possible.
An awkward silence fell over the group. Sarah stared at the tips of her shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world at that moment.
Mattheo looked at them one by one.
"Wow, guys, we've known each other for years, and this is the first time we've been this awkward! Incredible!" he said, breaking the silence but not improving the situation.
The Gryffindor cleared her throat and picked up the bag she had placed on the bench.
"I'd better go; they're probably looking for me."
She raised her hand, giving a general wave to everyone before starting to walk toward her common room.

"Black!" Draco called out when she was already far from the group, making her turn back toward him.
"When you're ready, I'd like to exchange a word with you, alone."
The girl gave a forced smile before walking away for good