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

Chapter 86

Seventeen Years Later

London, September.

The air smelled of late summer, fresh and bright. A light dew veiled the rooftops of the neighborhood hidden from Muggles, among bewitched houses and gardens full of magic.
In the red-brick house at number seven, the windows were wide open, and the scent of toasted bread, strong coffee, and fresh parchment filled the morning air.

"If I don't find the other boot within ten seconds, I swear I'll blow this house up!"
The voice, shrill and theatrical, belonged to Marlene Riddle, just eleven years old, with eyes as clear as her father's and hair as black as her mother's. Her Hogwarts uniform was half on, half scattered everywhere: cloak on the sofa, gloves atop the owl cage, boots... who knew where.

Sarah laughed softly, kneeling to look under the sofa. "You know, threatening the furniture has never made a lost item appear any faster. But you can always try."
Her chestnut hair, once short and messy, now fell elegantly over her shoulders. Her eyes, however, were unchanged: intense, sharp, able to embrace and pierce all at once.

Tom entered the room carrying two steaming mugs. He wore a dark blue shirt, his tie crooked, which Sarah adjusted with a whispered spell.
He smiled faintly, then took her hand and kissed it gently. A simple gesture, yet one that carried seventeen years of shared choices.

"I don't want Marly to go."
On the threshold stood Sirius Regulus Riddle, six years old, round cheeks, a determined frown. "Who will play with me when it rains?"

Tom raised an eyebrow. "You could always summon a house gnome."

"I can't! You won't give me the wand!"

"Bureaucratic drama," he commented, placing the Daily Prophet back on the table.
His fingers lingered on a yellowed page: a commemorative article about the Battle of Hogwarts.
A photograph showed the faces of those no longer alive—Remus, Tonks, Fred—next to those who had survived. A memory that still burned, but no longer hurt as it once had.

⸻

At Platform 9¾, the locomotive's steam rose in a white cloud, enveloping the crowd like a curtain.

Everyone was there.
Harry, with a serious but proud expression, accompanying his children. Ginny by his side, calm and composed. Hermione fussing over Rose's uniform, while Ron clutched a pastry as if it were a treasure to protect.
Draco and Astoria, elegant and poised, watched Scorpius with pride shining in their eyes.
Neville greeted warmly, and Luna smiled dreamily under a hat that buzzed softly.

The group stood there, as they once had: the generation that had known war and loss, now seeing their children depart for a rebuilt, luminous Hogwarts.

Sarah approached, hugged Ginny, exchanged a joke with Ron, a knowing smile with Hermione. Harry stopped beside her, and for a few seconds they were silent.
"Your father would be proud," he finally said softly.

Sarah's throat tightened. "And so would yours."

A suspended, intense moment.
Then, as often happened among them, a smile broke the tension.
Harry gestured at Tom, watching Marlene with pure admiration.
"Who would have thought? Tom Riddle with a heart."

Sarah laughed softly. "I don't think anyone would have. But in the end, I did a good job with him."

The train whistle cut through the moment.
Marlene had boarded, finding a seat next to Scorpius. She turned to wave at her parents, a veil of tears in her eyes she couldn't hide. Beside Sarah, Sirius flailed his arms, sobbing helplessly.

The train began to move, slowly at first, then faster and faster. Steam rose, voices mingled, until the train was only a distant echo.

Sarah stood still, eyes fixed on the trail of smoke disappearing around the curve. Tom took her hand.
"I still can't believe it... our little girl at Hogwarts," she murmured.

"She'll come to love it, just as we did," he replied, squeezing her fingers.

Behind them, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, Luna, and Neville remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts. They were no longer children, nor soldiers. They were fathers and mothers, guardians of a world they had rebuilt together.

Sarah squeezed Tom's hand and turned to their friends.
"We fought side by side. We lost so much. But look..." she gestured at the now-empty platform, "this is the victory that matters. Being here today, knowing we truly made it."

A murmur of agreement spread through the group. Hermione nodded, her eyes glistening. Ron sniffled, disguising it with a joke. Draco bowed his head, serious, for once without words.

Slowly, the group began to disperse, each called back to their own life.
Only the two of them remained, and Sirius, still staring at the exact spot where the locomotive had turned.

Tom leaned toward Sarah, lowering his voice.
"I should have known from the very first word you spoke that you would be the woman of my life."

Sarah looked at him, her heart full. "And I should have known from the beginning that you would be my greatest weakness, Riddle."

He smiled, that smile that belonged only to her.
"I will be, until the very end."

And together, surrounded by friends, memories, and promises, they stood watching the September sky, certain that their story, their story, and everyone's, would never truly end.

The End.