When Orli walked downstairs, students had already begun making their way to the Great Hall for breakfast in dribs and drabs.
For them, this was just an ordinary day—waiting for summer holidays, waiting for final grades, discussing the latest school news: last night's hastily concluded finals and the curfew, spreading various rumors and gossip.
The castle seemed to come alive with these children's laughter echoing through its ancient corridors.
Orli changed into clean, normal clothes and followed the crowd to the third floor, then turned toward the Hospital Wing. Harry was sitting on his bed, apparently having woken up not long ago. Ron and Hermione were sleeping on either side of his bed, their heads resting wearily on the edge.
"Orli!" Harry called out in barely a whisper. But even this soft greeting stirred the other two awake.
"You're up?" Ron asked Harry, blinking groggily.
"Orli, you..." Hermione began, her voice tinged with concern.
Orli walked to Harry's bedside and settled into an empty chair. Hearing the voices of all three of them after what felt like an eternity was like a hand suddenly pulling her out of a gray shroud and back into the real world.
Her expression softened, no longer that cold, impenetrable mask. There was a piece of leftover chocolate on the bedside table. She casually broke off a bit, feeling her numb taste buds and hollow stomach—along with her entire body—slowly come back to life.
"Harry, how much have you told them?" she asked.
"Everything. After Sirius and the others left last night, I kept talking until one in the morning," Harry said, releasing a long, weary breath.
"Cedric and the others aren't here?" Orli asked.
A stiff mixture of embarrassment and discomfort colored Harry's face.
"Cedric was transferred to St. Mungo's last night—he's not in life-threatening danger, but his parents strongly insisted on taking him for another thorough examination," Hermione explained.
"As for Viktor and Fleur, after Madam Pomfrey gave them basic treatment, they returned to their ship and carriage respectively."
"Hermione, you're completely missing the point!" Ron interrupted with characteristic bluntness:
"Last night Cho Chang stayed by Cedric's side the whole time, and after he woke up, the two of them were practically glued together—constant snogging. From what Cedric's parents said, they're planning to get them engaged this summer. Makes sense, really—Cedric graduates next year anyway."
Harry's face turned an even more spectacular shade of mortification. Orli silently mourned his doomed first love and first kiss for exactly three seconds.
"Orli, where did you go last night? Are you alright?" Hermione asked, her sharp eyes taking in Orli's pale complexion and the shadows under her eyes.
"I'm fine. Just met with Dumbledore—nothing particularly important," Orli said curtly. The matter of Horcruxes should perhaps be revealed to Harry by Dumbledore, not by her. Moreover, Harry himself was a...
"Orli, Harry told us—about Snape," Ron suddenly said, his voice dropping:
"You knew all along, didn't you? That Snape was spying for Dumbledore. I was being a complete prat, suspecting you two like some kind of fool..."
"Ron!" Hermione reached out and gave him a sharp smack on the back.
"I don't really want to talk about this right now," Orli said flatly, taking another deliberate bite of chocolate.
That evening, Harry was discharged and returned to Gryffindor Tower. During the remaining few days of the term, most of the time the four of them stayed together, discussing other topics or quietly playing chess. Dumbledore seemed to have issued strict instructions forbidding students from questioning Harry about what had happened in the maze. This gave them a rare period of blessed peace.
The Triwizard Tournament had ended in such an abrupt, anticlimactic manner. By all rights, Harry had undoubtedly won the championship. But now the champion himself seemed to care least about this achievement.
Each of them was waiting—waiting for some signal, some snippet of news to tell them what was happening beyond Hogwarts' protective walls. Until they received definite information, making plans for the future felt utterly pointless.
The uncertainty hung over them like a storm cloud, heavy with unspoken fears and the weight of knowledge that their world had irrevocably changed.
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