Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 279 Heavy Hope

Thea wasn't lying in the meeting room, and Mrs. Weasley can attest to that.

Because Moody really only had one breath left, and if they had been any slower, that last breath might have been gone too.

"Look! Mom!"

At that moment, everyone was gathered around Harry and Hagrid, who had narrowly escaped death, and they were eager to know what had happened to the other travelers.

Unfortunately, neither Harry nor his companion knew why the others were returning late.

Just as the atmosphere began to sink into a strange sadness, Ginny was the first to spot Moody falling from mid-air. Then, Harry, Hagrid, and Mrs. Weasley all ran toward the spot where he had fallen.

Harry ran especially fast, as if trying to break free from the invisible shackles called sacrifice behind him.

After finally reaching their destination, Harry was startled by Moody's miserable state.

He was no longer recognizable as a living person. There was hardly a piece of cloth on his body that wasn't soaked in blood. Half of his body was submerged in water. When he fell, he broke several water plants by the water's edge, and the fallen plants even pierced the cracks in his body, making matters worse.

"Don't do this...you can't do this to me..."

Harry frantically cast healing spells on Moody until the bleeding began to subside, then he forcefully dragged him out of the water. Moody's continued stillness terrified Harry.

"Moody! Harry!"

It's Lupin.

When he returned, he noticed some commotion. Before he could even enter the house, he cautiously crept over and was surprised to find that the bloodstains here resembled a large-scale slaughterhouse.

"He fell down, his flying broom broke, and his wound was still bleeding, but the bleeding was about two-thirds less than before."

Without time for reminiscing, Harry clearly and logically explained Moody's situation. He knew his own limitations and wouldn't blindly try to be brave.

“Okay,” Lupin nodded, but his hands did not slow down at all as he cast a healing spell and began to slowly try to float Moody back into the house.

Ultimately, Moody was safely transported to the infirmary only after Kingsley and Hermione returned and joined the transport.

It's called a medical room, but it's really just a pre-prepared cubicle filled with various healing potions and gauze.

"The situation is not good,"

Lu Ping walked out of the medical room with a solemn expression. Thanks to his long-term experience in the social circles of Fandao Lane, he became the most skilled person in surgical bandaging among everyone present.

"The bleeding has stopped temporarily, but the wound caused by Shenfeng Wuying is difficult to heal by ordinary means. I am worried that the wound will reopen later."

Upon hearing this, Harry clenched his fist tightly.

The divine blade is invisible.

When that name appeared, he knew who the culprit was—Blake.

Although the Half-Blood Prince is Snape, it wasn't Moody who encountered Snape tonight, but Kingsley and his group.

That makes things quite clear.

Black used his "Sword of Despair" technique on Moody, resulting in Moody's serious injury and leaving Mundungus in a state of uncertainty regarding his fate.

Harry suddenly felt that he was indeed inferior to Black. Whether it was ruthlessness or something else, she could shoot dark magic at people on flying brooms without blinking, while he couldn't even knock someone unconscious.

"...I...I'll go and look through that textbook again; maybe it contains the counter-spell for the Divine Sharpness Without Shadow."

Lupin hadn't intended to stop Harry. He was only a teenager, and after experiencing so much all of this, he needed a chance to catch his breath.

But then he remembered something else and called out to Harry.

“Don’t go yet, Harry,” Lupin said, turning around to check on Moody’s condition again before turning serious. “We need to review this operation.”

“Mundungus, has anyone seen him?” Lupin asked, but few answered.

“No,” Bill shook his head, “we only repeated a small part of our route.”

"We are too."

Tonks shook his head as well.

Harry's heart sank. Everyone's head-shaking seemed to be announcing that yet another person had sacrificed themselves for him.

He utterly detested this kind of sacrifice.

Harry felt heavy-hearted, but the conversation quickly turned to something he disliked the most.

They are speculating about who leaked the information.

Just as they were about to guess at a specific person, Harry abruptly interrupted them, forcefully rejecting their guess and firmly stating one point:

Spilled milk is gone forever, but dwelling on it too much will ultimately cause losses far exceeding the value of a glass of milk.

Ultimately, Harry's persistence garnered everyone's support, and he successfully pieced together the nearly broken hearts of the people.

“Harry, can you tell me about your situation?” Lupin asked, trying his best to be gentle.

“…I’m alright on my end,” Harry said, trying to recall the battle. He talked about being surrounded by Death Eaters and how they managed to break through; about a Death Eater recognizing him; about Voldemort catching up with him; about the cat-and-mouse chase and his desperate blow that saved his life.

Despite Harry's limited vocabulary, this did not diminish the glimmer of hope that gradually appeared in the eyes of others.

They will succeed!

With Harry around, it'll definitely happen!

Harry was really uncomfortable with their overly intense gazes; in Hermione's words, they looked at him as if he were the next Dumbledore.

He wanted to reject the attitude of everyone who regarded him as their hope, but thinking of Moody in the room and Mundungus who was missing, Harry silently lowered his head, letting those heavy hopes press down on his shoulders.

They need hope, a visible banner, and a reason to persevere.

Harry silently encouraged himself, and when he looked up again, he had become the savior once more.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Thea felt that Voldemort was acting very strangely lately, very strangely!

As was his habit, when Death Eaters failed a mission, they would either be punished with a Cruciatus Curse that lasted for more than ten minutes, or they would simply disappear without exception.

But this time is different. Even though their operation was almost a complete failure, Voldemort has not shown any sign of punishing them so far!

Voldemort's strange behavior heightened Thea's vigilance, but Voldemort's continued presence in that mysterious room left Thea helpless.

With no other option, Thea could only carry her wand and visit the homes of various Death Eaters. After all, she had nothing better to do, and what was wrong with getting along well with her colleagues?