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

Chapter 49

Malfoy Manor

It had been a long time since Dumbledore's death.

Since that day, Malfoy Manor had become the beating heart of Voldemort's power.
Tension was palpable every day within those walls, and the Slytherins, now openly declared Death Eaters, had settled into what had become a stronghold for them.
They spent most of their time in their rooms, ordered to leave them as little as possible, especially at Narcissa's insistence.
She couldn't bear the thought of seeing those young boys involved in something so dark and far greater than themselves.
Each of them coped with that period in their own way. Each of them hid their own suffering.

Tom sat on the large bed in his room, his gaze lost beyond the window. In reality, his thoughts were elsewhere.
Since arriving there, he had done nothing but think about the last time he had seen Sarah.
He would have liked to rebel, to make his voice heard, to prove that he wanted nothing to do with that world.

But it was too late now; the Dark Mark was engraved on his skin, burning every time Voldemort summoned his followers.
He shared the room with his brother, Mattheo.
They had never truly spoken about what had happened at Hogwarts—Tom refused to hear the others mention that night. He hated showing any weakness in front of them.

But they knew. They knew how much he was suffering.
He had heard nothing from Sarah since their escape; all he knew was that she had left Naples earlier than planned. They weren't allowed to know or ask anything. They were mere pawns in a game controlled by a single man: the Dark Lord.

The door to the room suddenly opened, revealing Mattheo. The boy approached his brother and placed a hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention.
Tom turned and noticed the serious expression on his face.
"We have to go downstairs; they want to talk to us."
Tom nodded, grabbed his jacket, and followed him with his head lowered.
They reached the main hall, now repurposed as a meeting room. The long table was surrounded by people with their heads lowered.
Tom immediately recognized the rest of his friends, Draco's parents, Bellatrix, and, at the head of the table, with Nagini slithering between the chairs:HIM.
The one who was the cause of everything: Voldemort.

Tom took his seat, avoiding eye contact with anyone. The silence was broken by the sound of firm footsteps.
Snape entered with his usual confident stride and stopped in front of the table.
He gave a small bow of acknowledgment to the Dark Lord, but his eyes lingered on something above. For a moment, he seemed confused, as if he did not immediately recognize the figure floating in the air.

"Severus," Voldemort's voice echoed through the hall, drawing the professor's attention.
"I was beginning to fear you had lost your way."
His white, skeletal hand gestured for him to come closer.
"Come, there is a place for you."
Now everyone was present; no one was missing. It was time to discuss more important matters.
"You bring news, don't you, Severus?"
The man took his seat beside him, his expression unreadable.
He lifted his gaze confidently and scanned the room.
"Yesterday, the new school year began at Hogwarts, my Lord. As expected, the number of absences is high. But there is one small exception."
Tom's interest ignited instantly, and he wasn't the only one.
The other young men also paid attention to Snape's words. After all, he was speaking of a place that had once belonged to all of them.
"Explain yourself, Severus," Voldemort prompted.
The man kept his tone neutral.
"Sarah Black has chosen to return. Alone."
Tom's heart skipped a beat. He closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face, trying to stay calm.
What the hell was she thinking?
Voldemort smiled and rose from his chair, beaming.
"Brave," he mused, pausing in thought.
"I must admit, I expected anything but this."
"She wants to die, pathetic!" Bellatrix whispered the words with contempt, but everyone heard them.

Voldemort shook his head.
"No, not pathetic. She has nothing left to lose in the end. I must say, I find Black particularly intriguing... but also irritating."
Bellatrix couldn't hold back.
"My Lord, she is a traitor. She could have chosen a better path, but she decided to follow Potter."
The hatred she felt for Sarah was evident to everyone.
Voldemort silenced her with a simple gesture before turning back to Snape.
"Keep an eye on her. She might prove useful."

And that was when Tom spoke, without thinking, without holding back any longer.
"For what reason?"
Everyone turned to look at him, but he did not regret it. He had remained silent for too long.
Voldemort moved slowly, approaching him from behind.
"Sarah Black is as much a threat as Harry Potter," he murmured, his voice a sharp whisper.
"She could be useful. Provide information on her friend. And you..." he leaned in even closer to the boy, "You could be crucial to this."
An ironic smile curled his lips as he returned to his seat, absentmindedly stroking Nagini.
"I want her alive. Keep an eye on her. When the time is right, I want her here. I am certain that a little reunion among friends will change her mind."
A wave of laughter echoed through the hall.
But it was abruptly silenced by Voldemort. From his robe, he withdrew the wand that had once belonged to Lucius Malfoy.
With a light flick of his wrist, he made the suspended body above the table float into view.
"For those who do not know, tonight we have with us Miss Charity Burbage, who until recently taught at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She specialized in Muggle Studies."

His bare feet paced the hall as he continued speaking about the woman, while Severus Snape watched the scene, his gaze almost indifferent.
"Miss Burbage believes that Muggles are no different from us. She would have us mix with them. To her, the mingling of wizard and Muggle blood is not an abomination but something to be encouraged."
Bellatrix Lestrange shuddered at those words, pretending to gag.
The woman wept in silence, but only when she was in front of the Headmaster of Hogwarts did she find the courage to speak.
"S-Severus... Severus, please, we are friends."

Those were her last words.

The green flash illuminated the hall. And before the eyes of those young men, terror became reality.

~~~~~~~

"What is she thinking? Does she even realize what the consequences could be?"
Tom paced back and forth in the room, his breathing labored.
The rest of the boys sat silently on the bed, listening as their friend verged on panic.
"She must have acted impulsively to make such a decision," he continued, his voice betraying both frustration and worry.

Draco, arms crossed, stared out the window.
"Would you have preferred to find out that she had vanished into thin air?"
Tom stopped abruptly, clenching his fists
"No! But Hogwarts is vulnerable, we know she could easily be attacked by the Death Eaters. And then... you saw it too." He turned to look at them, his eyes filled with tension. "He is interested in Sarah! She knows too much."

He let himself fall onto the desk chair, running both hands through his hair in a desperate gesture.
Enzo stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"We have to do something. If he had complete trust in us, maybe we could find a way to get into Hogwarts, or even be the ones assigned to keep an eye on her in the future. He knows that in the past, we had a strong bond with her."
"Are you so sure about that? And anyway, I have a feeling that if Sarah ever saw us, she'd take us down in two seconds," Mattheo said, exchanging a glance with Blaise.
"We don't have much time." Blaise crossed his arms, his expression darkening. "If we see that things are getting out of hand, we need to step in. She made a huge mistake by going back to school."

Tom didn't answer. He remained still for a few moments, then, without a word, got up and shut himself in his room.
He sat on the bed and took an old photograph in his hands: him and Sarah, during their fifth year.
Pansy had captured them in a carefree moment—they were smiling at the camera, unaware of everything the future had in store for them.
He ran his thumb over the image, lingering on the girl's face.
"I'm sorry..." His voice was barely a whisper.

He needed to see her.

He knew that earning Voldemort's complete trust would be difficult, but there was no other way.

He would not let anyone else watch over Sarah Black.

That was his duty.

And his alone.