Next Time Around

The chilling rain whipped against your face, each drop a reminder of the storm raging both outside and within. Sitting on the desolate beach near Shell Cottage, the last bastion of the Order of the Phoenix, you watched the waves crash against the shore. The taste of salt mingled with the bitter memory of battle, of screams and spells and the sickening thud of bodies falling.

Just days ago, you were fighting at Hogwarts, a battle that cost countless lives, including those close to you. The air still felt thick with the ghosts of the fallen, their absence a gaping wound in the fragile peace that had settled, if only temporarily.

The Order meeting earlier had been a stark reminder of the losses, empty chairs a silent testament to the price of war. Now, the weight of responsibility pressed down on you, the list of captured Death Eaters a heavy burden in your pocket. Tomorrow would bring interrogations, a task you dreaded but one you couldn't refuse. The world felt cold, the future uncertain, and the line between victory and defeat thinner than ever before.