Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 304 Engagement

The dream eventually ends.

Thea woke up in a spacious carriage.

The clothes around me were warm and comfortable, clearly having been carefully cleansed with a cleansing spell. There were also warm pastries and sweet soup nearby, and a faint sweet fragrance filled the carriage. It was as comfortable as a dream—if it weren't for the throbbing pain in my arm.

Theodore?

Thea tentatively called out, and the carriage stopped. Through the carriage wall, Thea heard Theodore's response.

"you're awake?"

"You slept for five hours, and it's six o'clock in the afternoon now."

"We are about two days away from the Riddell mansion."

Thea, inside the carriage, leaned against the side wall, listening to Theodore's reply while silently making her own calculations.

After a long silence, she whispered, "I don't need a carriage; carriages are too slow."

Outside the car, Theodore remained silent for a longer time. When he spoke again, his voice was muffled, "But as a pharmacist and a friend, I can't watch you risk 80 percent of your life to Apparate."

Upon hearing the reasons for the opposition, Thea pursed her lips and ultimately remained silent.

Never mind, I'll just take a break.

Thea fell into a deep sleep again.

Hearing that Thea did not refute, Theodore finally felt relieved, and at the same time, the little flower in his heart bloomed even more brightly.

Perhaps even God couldn't bear to see Thea idle.

A letter made Theodore frown slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he gently knocked on the carriage.

Thea responded quickly, as if she hadn't slept at all.

"what happened?"

“Gella has sent a letter.”

Theodore handed the letter through the half-open car window.

Looking at Thea's almost nonexistent crescent-shaped nail tips, Theodore's expression darkened.

A moment later, Thea spoke up, "Let's not ride in the carriage, let's Apparate."

Unlike his previous refusal, Theodore was unusually obedient this time.

Ten minutes later, Thea got off the carriage, and the Death Eaters who had traveled with her gathered around.

Thea looked around and saw that most of them were her die-hard loyalists among the Death Eaters.

"Everyone split into two groups: one group Apparates to Riddle's old house, and the other goes to the Ministry of Magic."

At Thea's command, everyone moved silently like midnight ghosts.

There will always be people whose desires are insatiable.

Standing next to Thea, Theodore opened his mouth, but ultimately couldn't get any questions out.

But he didn't ask; Thea told him on her own initiative.

“Gella sent a message saying that the Potter trio has reunited.”

Theodore was startled, but didn't doubt the authenticity of the news. Instead, he pondered, "Do they have special communication methods? How could they reunite after being separated for so long?"

"I don't know, maybe it's fate?"

Thea smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Let me tell you something else interesting: Remember the Weasleys' youngest son? He's improved quite a bit. Not only did he take on five opponents single-handedly, but he also disarmed one of the useless wands and escaped unscathed..."

what?

Theodore was genuinely surprised to hear this.

Ron was basically seen as a savior's sidekick in his eyes, but he never expected that he would have such abilities.

However, since they were on opposing sides, Ron won and the Death Eaters lost, resulting in a crushing defeat.

Such a record was enough to enrage Voldemort.

"As expected, he's a piece of trash."

In the end, Theodore could only offer a dry nod, his heart filled with trepidation about the return journey.

Voldemort is in a bad mood, so what will happen to Thea?

Her injuries haven't healed yet!

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.

Before entering Riddle's old house, Theodore, filled with anxiety, had been thinking about how to concoct a new potion, hoping to stabilize Thea's condition and at least plug the funnel.

but………

"Old Nott, you have a worthy successor!"

Looking at the young man and woman who were coming together, Voldemort spoke in a neutral tone, and his ambiguous words made old Nott break out in a cold sweat.

"Thank you so much for the praise, Master. Your son..."

Under Voldemort's emotionless gaze, old Nott couldn't utter a single complete sentence.

Just as Lucius was weighing whether or not to help old Nott out of his predicament, Thea spoke first.

"Father is so biased. It was clearly Thea and Nagini who made the greatest contribution this time, so why does Father only praise Theodore?"

Thea's rare display of coquettishness and complaint perfectly diverted Theodore's attention.

Voldemort had no interest in continuing to gloat over Old Nott's predicament, and he immediately shifted the conversation to the Death Eater traitor.

"Traitors deserve to die!"

"It's the young master who's clever; he saw through the traitor's true colors beforehand!"

"With the young master around, what is Potter? Is he worth that old madman Dumbledore teaching him everything?"

"Maybe he's just getting senile!"

Once Voldemort revealed the identities of those Death Eaters as traitors, the other Death Eaters began to echo his sentiments.

For a moment, they seemed to forget how ruthlessly Thea had plundered the wealth left by their family, and all the praise they received was directed at Thea.

Thea was happy to play along, putting on a humble act, saying things like, "Your son/daughter is also quite good," and "Your father has done a good job teaching them."

She was truly adept at navigating social situations and was incredibly skilled at social maneuvering.

As the meeting reached its climax, just when everyone thought it was merely Voldemort's routine reprimand of his subordinates...

Only Thea seemed somewhat uneasy.

The reason is simple: Voldemort's gaze was just too strange.

He shouldn't be so happy; he should be furious and use the Killing Curse to severely threaten his pack of savages until they kneel down again and promise not to betray him!

This is just his style!

However, Voldemort's subsequent remark plunged Thea into utter despair.

"I remember... Nott and Thea were classmates, right?"

As soon as Voldemort spoke, everyone fell silent. The experienced veterans had already discerned that Voldemort's true intentions were not what they seemed.

No one spoke.

"Yes, Father."

Thea spoke, facing her father.

“Thea,” Voldemort’s tone was gentle, which almost made Thea tense up.

"Theodore went through a lot of trouble for you this time..."

"or--"

As Thea watched Voldemort's lips move, her composure nearly snapped.

"You two should get engaged—"

"Clang!"

In the silence, Thea heard the sound of her reason snapping.