The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Unpleasant Greetings

Hold on, Pip!

Sarah laughed as she rode on her brother's back. The family had gone for a picnic in the countryside, a chance for the children to get some fresh air and for the parents to entertain them with some magical bubbles without the fear of being spotted by muggles. 

Jacob had let his sister jump on his back. He ran with her up the sloping hill, just to prove he could. Sarah laughed as she bounced along, throwing up her hands in pure joy, nearly causing  Jacob to lose his balance. 

Hold on, Pip!

Hold on, Pip. It's almost over. 

Jacob smiled at her, his face bruised and bleeding. He stepped in front of her, facing down the leader of R, their last obstacle toward a life of peace and happiness. Jacob defeated R, but he also fell, as he'd known he would. 

She remembered screaming, but little else. She remembered glassy eyes and cold hands, but a familiar face that would be forever frozen in a smile. It was all over. 

Hold on, Pip.  

She wanted to die. She wanted to forget who she was and sleep, and Jacob was carrying her away to the land of the dead. She supposed it was fitting. Death was where he'd always been leading her, ever since she'd stumbled across that icy, hidden staircase. 

Hold on, Pip. 

Sarah awoke in the same bunk bed she'd been sleeping in whenever one of their missions for Dumbledore kept them away overnight. She supposed she should get up, but she felt so relaxed, so warm. 

Last night's events (or had it been longer? She'd no idea how long she'd been asleep, but it felt like ages) came back to her mind, and she lifted her hands to her face. She was pleasantly surprised to see the rosy skin hadn't been permanently stained red.

Someone had removed her blood soaked clothing and placed her in an overlarge shirt that fell to her knees. Her hair had also been washed and brushed. Sarah sat up and heard gentle voices speaking outside of the tent. She closed her eyes and listened, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She thought she did hear running water; they must have been camped on a riverbank. 

She figured she better get up and let her friends know she was awake. She was surprised how good she felt after her near death experience. The sleep and a few potions must have done her a world of good. Standing up, she spotted her wand on a small, rickety table and used it to transfigure the large shirt into a green sweater and jeans. 

She walked across the floor of the tent and opened the flap to see a whole crowd of people talking in front of it. 

Diego spotted her first and stepped forward to hold her face in both his hands. 

"You're up," he said, smiling softly with shining eyes. "How're you feeling?"

But Sarah leaned around him to stare at the other people that made up the semicircle around the tent. They were all looking at her in various degrees of uneasiness.

Tulip was there, along with Talbott. That made sense. So was Penny. Sarah couldn't imagine what she'd done with Sophia, but it explained why her bangs had been French braided off her face.

Next to Penny stood Merula Snyde, looking bored. When her eyes locked with Sarah's, she sneered at her. Definitely Merula, then. But that meant...

When she saw him, she took an involuntary step forward, as did he. But they both paused and glanced at the woman holding Barnaby's hand.

Elena. She was as beautiful as ever.

"Ouch!" yelped Diego.

 Sarah looked down to see that she'd trodden on Diego's foot.