HP : No way out of Hogwarts

Not good. Not good at all.

From the Slytherin side, Malfoy's smirk widened.

He said nothing, letting the growing silence speak for him.

"I can't believe this," Ron muttered beside me, his fists still clenched. "Bloody coward."

"Ron," Hermione hissed, her voice low and warning. "Don't make this worse."

But the damage was already spreading.

A small group of Ravenclaws—two boys and a girl—exchanged glances before reluctantly moving toward Thomas.

Their hesitation didn't stop the impact of their choice, and I could feel the room tilting further out of balance.

A younger Hufflepuff—second-year, maybe—started to follow them, but an older student grabbed his arm and whispered something in his ear.

The boy froze, torn, before stepping back into the Hufflepuff group with an expression of profound confusion.

"See?" Malfoy said; his voice smooth and self-assured. "Even they understand. Following Potter is a dead end. It's time for a change."

He's getting really annoying… I thought and moved back towards the Gryffindors.

I had to at least keep my own house from siding with Malfoy.

"Listen to me. All of you." My voice rang out, stronger than I expected. "This isn't about me or Malfoy. This is about all of us. Together."

I paused, letting the words hang in the air.

"I don't have all the answers," I admitted, forcing the words out.

"But I'll do everything I can to figure this out. And I won't leave anyone behind. Not a single person."

Another silence fell over the hall, but this one felt different.

Softer, maybe. Less heavy.

"That's easy to say," Malfoy said; his voice was as steady as a lake. "But words aren't going to save anyone."

"You're right," I said, surprising him—and maybe myself. "Words aren't enough. But actions are."

I turned to Hermione. "You've talked about the wards? Is there a way to trace their source?"

She blinked, caught off guard by the sudden question, but quickly recovered. "Yes. It's complicated, but if we can find the origin point, we might be able to understand how it came—or at least disrupt it."

"Then we'll start there," I said. "Anyone with strong spellwork knowledge or experience with wards, talk with Hermione after this. We'll need all the help we can get."

A murmur of acknowledgement spread through the room.

"But what about food?" a voice called out from the Hufflepuff corner. "What if we're stuck here for days?"

"A good question," I said, nodding toward the badgers.

A fucking great question actually. I can only hope that the house elves are still here or else…

"Ron, go check if the elves are still in the kitchen."

As soon as I finished my sentence, the redhead nodded and sprinted towards the kitchen's direction, his footsteps echoing through the stone corridor.

Most of the students watched him disappear behind the Great Hall's doors, hoping he'd return with good news.

"What if the elves vanished as well?" the same voice echoed from the Hufflepuff corner.

"Well, that will definitely make the situation more complicated, but fret not, we can still manage. We'll have to start organising supplies and grow our own crops. I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly a genius in Herbology, so I'd leave that to someone more capable. Anyhow, we'll inventory everything we've got—food, magical ingredients and medical supplies. We'll make sure we can stretch it if we have to."

"What about water?" someone asked from behind me.

I actually recognised the voice, it was a second-year Gryffindor girl that I talked with a few times on our house table.

I turned around and quickly spotted the short brunette.

"Well, that's pretty easy, Eva. In the sixth year, we learn a spell—Aguamenti—which can conjure water. For now, we can simply create banks of water in every common room and the great hall, and then try to teach most of you the spell, which brings us to my last point. Education."

"Education?" Hermione repeated, her eyes lighting up in that unmistakable way that told me she'd already begun thinking three steps ahead. "You're suggesting we organise lessons?"

I nodded. "Not exactly but if we're stuck here for any length of time, we can't afford to let everything fall apart. No one knows how long this… whatever this is… will last. We need to keep learning—magic and probably survival skills. Anything that'll help us stay strong and prepare for the worst."

A Ravenclaw boy raised his hand tentatively. "What if the wards are meant to isolate us permanently? What if… this is the worst?"

"That's exactly why we can't let panic set in," I said firmly. "We don't know the full picture yet. But we're wizards and witches. We have magic, we have knowledge, and we have each other. What else do you need? That's a lot more than most people have when they're faced with impossible odds."

The boy didn't look entirely convinced, but he didn't argue further.

"I'll organise the first session on wards for the sixth years," Hermione offered, her quill already in hand. "I think we should establish a cross-age tutoring system so that an older student teaches a younger student or a group of them."

"A great idea," I said, relief flooding through me.

I had just now realised how dependable were the people around me.

Each of them had stepped up without hesitation, ready to take on whatever role was needed…

Ron returned moments later, his face flushed and a little out of breath.

"Good news and bad news," he announced, his voice loud enough to carry. "The elves are gone, but we've got enough food stored to last us a while, so at least we won't starve right away."

Fuck me sideways.

"Neville, can you handle the food problem? We'll need someone to figure out what plants we can grow here and how quickly."

Neville straightened, looking surprised but pleased. "Yeah, I can do that."

I just hope we manage on time, or else…

"Perfect," I said with a forced smile and turned back to the group, scanning their faces for signs of dissent—or worse, despair.

Everyone had understood the gravity of the situation now, even that fourth-year from my house…

"This isn't going to be easy, and we're bound to make mistakes. But as long as we stick together and don't give up, we can figure this out. We have to."

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then, slowly, a few heads nodded. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep the flicker of hope alive.

"Now everyone, sit back at the tables and eat your food. It may be the last time we eat so carefree…"

As the crowd began to heed my words, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Hermione, her expression as serious as ever.

"You're doing well," she said softly. "But we need to figure out what's really going on here—and fast."

I simply nodded, tiredly.

After everyone ate, Malfoy suggested storing the remaining food—which was surprisingly thoughtful of him—so we did.

I got a bunch of chicken wings and put them inside a steel box I had just conjured, not forgetting the stasis charm.

I then proceeded to help others do the same thing…

It was a long night.

"We can continue this tomorrow morning, everyone. For now, let's go to sleep," I said to the crowd, wondering how long it would take before all hell broke loose.

As it turned out, it took less than a night.

.

From the next chapter onwards, the story is written from the third point of view.

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