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

Chapter 73

Nothing was the same anymore.

Within the school walls, they tried to keep control of the situation.
The Carrows' patrols had doubled, punishments had tripled.

The corridors were emptier and emptier, no one dared move more than necessary; the portraits had grown tense, suspicious.

The new Dumbledore's Army, which for months had painstakingly built a secret network of allies and safe places, seemed broken now.
Its most vital link had been torn away. And with her, everything was starting to crumble.

Neville had been staring blankly into space for over half an hour, sitting on the edge of a cot in the hidden refuge of the Room of Requirement.
The worn mattress sagged on one side and barely supported him. His shoulders were hunched, his hands clasped tightly. He had tried to sleep, in vain.
He couldn't shake the feeling that he had failed, as part of the Resistance, and even more as a friend.

It wasn't hard to admit that Sarah had been an essential part of all this. And now, without her, everything seemed even harder to hold together.

The Room was crowded: students huddled together, some wounded, others simply terrified. But all of them , without exception , waited.
For a word, an order, a plan... Something.
And they all looked to him.

Neville Longbottom: the boy who had taken up the reins after yet another disappearance.
But this time was different. This time, it was Sarah Black who was gone.

A voice broke the silence. "Neville..."
It was Seamus, standing in front of the passageway leading directly to Hogsmeade.
His face was drawn, his lip swollen from a recent beating. "Aberforth's at the Hog's Head. He wants to speak to you. Says it's... urgent."

Neville stood up slowly, exhausted.
He pulled his rumpled cloak over his shoulders and nodded. He didn't say anything, there was no need.

He crossed the Room, avoiding the others' eyes. Not because he lacked the courage, but because he feared seeing in them the same terror that was gnawing at him inside.
Sarah had been the light. The voice. The fire that had ignited it all.
And now her absence was a black hole threatening to swallow them whole.

The secret passage that connected Hogwarts to the Hog's Head was as always dark, narrow, and damp with mold.

When Neville emerged into the pub's cellar, Aberforth Dumbledore was already waiting for him.
Sitting on a rickety chair, a half-empty bottle on the table, his gaze weary but alert.
"Shut the portrait," he said gruffly, without getting up.

Neville obeyed and sat across from him.
"Well? Any important news?" he murmured.

Aberforth sighed, staring into his glass. "She's at Malfoy Manor. That's all I know."

Neville clenched his jaw. Predictable, but hearing it still hurt.
"Remus and Tonks know. So does Molly. Kingsley's trying to figure out if there's a way to act, but..." He hesitated. "There's no plan yet. We're... waiting."

"Waiting? For what? For them to kill her? There must be something we can do," Neville replied , despair plain on his face.

But Aberforth shook his head. "Absolutely not. It's too dangerous. From this moment on, stay out of it. The Order knows what to do."

Neville gave a bitter laugh at those words. "The Order? The Order is dead, Aberforth , and you know it. We're the ones who've been fighting the Death Eaters for months now. We're the ones still standing against them. You can't just take this from us , we have the right to fight."

"That's exactly what you need to do!" the old man burst out. "Do you even understand what's happening? They took her, easily. They have no limits, no restraints. Malfoy Manor isn't just any lair. It's a trap. A hell. And you'd send more kids in there? For what? To die?"