[Inside the Room of Requirement]
Newland had already stopped practicing the Patronus Charm. He obediently moved aside to a corner, giving up space to the remaining D.A. members who were still practicing.
He had already realized that he might have run into the exact same problem as Link.
Long-term research into and use of Dark Magic had long since left traces of curse power inside his body.
Now, strictly speaking, he could already be considered a Dark wizard.
Things like the Patronus Charm were naturally beyond his reach.
But he didn't feel all that disappointed.
In his view, the Patronus Charm was completely optional anyway. Not being able to learn it wasn't a big deal.
Looking at it from another angle, if he really did manage to learn it, that might actually be a bad thing.
After all, even his boss, Link, hadn't been able to learn the Patronus Charm, so if he, an employee, managed to do it instead…
That wouldn't end well.
"As an employee, you have to think about your boss at all times,"
Newland muttered to himself, feeling rather moved by his own self-sacrifice.
But just as his words fell, Sigefin's voice sounded beside him, "Don't use that kind of excuse to comfort yourself. If you can't use the Patronus Charm, just say you can't. Why bother making excuses?"
Having his thoughts exposed, Newland's face darkened instantly.
He turned sharply toward Sigefin and said through clenched teeth, "What are you doing here? Did you come just to mock me?"
"Of course not," Sigefin replied expressionlessly, still staring at the crowd practicing in the distance. "I can't use the Patronus Charm either."
"Tch! Don't try to comfort me with such a lousy excuse! I don't need it!"
Newland said coldly, only to realize that Sigefin had no intention of responding at all. He continued staring ahead, a trace of loneliness appearing on his face.
That expression… didn't seem fake.
Newland carefully studied Sigefin's face, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Pfft, hahahaha! So you're serious? You can't use the Patronus Charm? You, a guy who prides himself on being a righteous knight, can't use the Patronus Charm? This is the funniest joke I've heard all year! Hahahahaha..."
Newland's laughter was like blades, stabbing one after another into Sigefin's heart.
Sigefin frowned and turned to leave, wanting to escape the torture of that piercing laughter.
But that movement made Newland's laughter stop abruptly.
"What's the reason?"
Newland grabbed Sigefin by the arm and pulled him back down to sit beside him.
Sigefin still didn't say a word, only shook his head.
But with Newland's current level of knowledge, even without Sigefin saying anything, he could roughly guess the reason.
There were only three reasons why a wizard couldn't use or learn the Patronus Charm.
First, insufficient talent. Second, lingering curse power in the body that conflicted with the Patronus Charm. Third, a lack of positive emotions.
Sigefin was a genius, and a "righteous knight" at that, so the first and second reasons clearly weren't the main cause.
Which meant the real reason Sigefin was incompatible with the Patronus Charm was a lack of positive emotions.
And given how the Patronus Charm worked, that mainly manifested as, having not a single joyful memory worth recalling deep in one's heart.
Newland sucked in a sharp breath.
The thought alone startled him.
Logically speaking, a child born into a wealthy pure-blood wizarding family, and gifted to boot, should be the family treasure, pampered into someone like Draco, right?
Yet the reality was this cruel.
'That's just too miserable.' Newland sighed inwardly.
He felt that growing up beside a stinking gutter like he had was already miserable enough.
But even so, under his mother's care, he still had plenty of happy memories.
Especially after he had used the gold coins he had "picked up" from the Gringotts vault to move his mother into a new home, those joyful memories and hopes for the future only grew stronger.
Sometimes those positive emotions became so intense they even suppressed the power of his Dark Magic.
And Sigefin…
Newland stopped talking altogether.
In truth, he didn't know what to say either.
He had no experience comforting boys his own age, so he could only sit quietly beside Sigefin.
Perhaps that was all Sigefin needed.
Because once Newland fell silent, Sigefin also showed no intention of leaving.
He simply sat there quietly with Newland.
In the distance, the students were still practicing the Patronus Charm with all their might. Although most attempts ended in failure, their faces were still filled with happy smiles.
Silver-white light kept bursting into the air, blending with the glow of magical lamps and the firelight in the hearths, forming a soft light that seemed to shine straight into the depths of the human heart.
Even in the dark corner they were in, simply looking at that light made Newland and Sigefin feel warm all over.
It was a cheerful scene, one that made people feel happy and content.
Unfortunately, that happiness didn't last long.
Because in the very next moment, the door of the Room of Requirement was suddenly flung open.
Filch burst into the Room of Requirement.
Everyone's attention had barely been drawn over when they saw Filch limp forward at a brisk pace in a rather comical posture, rushing to Link's side and saying, "Lord Foley! Quickly, leave! Umbridge… Umbridge has discovered this place! They're on their way!"
As soon as he said that, the crowd exploded in uproar.
Filch was the lookout Link had arranged outside.
To allow him, a Squib, to enter the Room of Requirement smoothly, Link had even specially given him a D.A. coin that could assist in opening the door.
So no one doubted his words.
The lively Room of Requirement instantly fell silent.
Link straightened up and swept his gaze over the people frozen in terror, they were staring at Filch, who was panting heavily and on the verge of fainting.
"What are you waiting for?" Link roared. "Evacuate, now!"
Link's voice was like a starter pistol at a track meet.
The moment his words fell, the crowd surged toward the exit, bunching up into a mass at the doorway before some people finally managed to rush out.
Link and Emily and the others could clearly hear their footsteps pounding wildly down the corridor.
"From the sound of it, most of them seem to have chosen to run straight back to their house common rooms. What a stupid choice."
Emily shook her head. "If they had any sense at all, they'd go to the library or the Owlery. Both are much closer than the common rooms. And as long as they can hide there..."
"If even a few of them can react in time, that's already pretty good," Cedric said. "You can't expect everyone to stay calm in a situation this dangerous."
Link also said, "It doesn't really matter. Even if a lot of members get caught, it's fine. Umbridge won't hurt them, at most they'll just get scared."
"We can rescue them afterward. And it'll actually help with our next step."
"Alright, time's up. We should go too."
After speaking, Link took the lead toward another doorway concealed behind a painting.
Emily, Cedric, John, and even Filch, who had still been gasping for breath moments earlier, followed along with forced smiles.
At the same time, faced with such chaos, the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally snapped out of their brief daze.
Seeing the crowd still packed together in front of them, they knew this way of leaving was far too inefficient.
It could even cause a stampede, leading to even greater casualties.
So Hermione began actively helping Harry and Ron try to direct the crowd.
Unfortunately, in a situation like this, no one was willing to listen to them at all.
Even though just moments earlier they had been teaching these very people.
Before long, the three of them were instead pushed apart by the crowd.
Harry shouted with all his might, but his voice and strength were insignificant in the flood of people.
No matter how he yelled or struggled, the surging mass still carried him relentlessly forward.
By the time he finally broke free, he discovered, astonishingly, that he had been pushed straight out into the corridor outside the Room of Requirement.
"No! Hermione and Ron are still inside!"
Harry shouted and immediately tried to charge back in.
But it was futile.
Even though most of the people inside the Room of Requirement had already evacuated during that short time, the remaining wave was still enough to pin him in place, unable to advance even an inch.
BOOM!
A red streak suddenly shot out from the dark corridor, striking straight into the crowd and blasting several students, ones Link was fairly familiar with, flying.
This sudden scene only poured fuel on the fire.
The panicked crowd immediately surged even more frantically forward.
But the Inquisitorial Squad had no intention of letting these people go.
One figure after another, wearing armbands, emerged from the darkness.
They waved their wands, and the red light extending from them was like whips, lashing wildly at anyone trying to escape.
It wasn't that the D.A. members didn't want to fight back.
Some members who often trained together had even formed training formations at the very start of the battle, attempting a counterattack and breakout.
But their attacks were like leaves falling into water, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.
Those Inquisitorial Squad members, each an elite near-graduate who had already undergone part of Auror training, didn't even bother casting Shield Charms. They simply tilted their heads with mocking smiles to dodge.
Then, with a casual Disarming Charm, they sent the D.A. members' wands flying.
And so, within just a few dozen seconds of the battle breaking out, the D.A. members had already begun to despair.
Just then, a massive invisible force arrived with a howling rush of air.
In an instant, all the Inquisitorial Squad members blocking one of the D.A.'s escape routes were knocked unconscious.
"It's Link! Link is here to save us!"
Harry shouted excitedly along with the other D.A. members.
And before their voices even faded, Link's figure appeared before them.
His expression was cold as he casually redirected his wand, blocking spells coming from two other directions, while saying, "Go! All of you! I'll cover the rear!"
The crowd burst into cheers and began sprinting down the path Link had cleared for them.
Watching Link continuously wave his wand, blocking the pursuers, Harry instinctively wanted to stay and fight alongside him.
This was what he, as a Gryffindor, admired most, and had long dreamed of.
But his strong sense of reason kept him from completely losing himself in that fervor.
The people they were facing weren't true enemies, but the Inquisitorial Squad assembled by Umbridge.
You couldn't deal with a group like that by conventional means, because just being seen by them would bring huge trouble to the D.A. later.
A highly recognizable figure like him staying behind would only hold Link back.
Clenching his teeth, Harry followed the main group and ran with all his strength.
But unlike the others, he didn't stick to one path all the way.
After following for a short distance, he suddenly turned right and dashed toward a girls' bathroom.
Years of sneaking around at night told him that running straight back to the common room wasn't the best choice.
Such a long distance, with so much commotion, not getting caught was simply impossible.
Only by hiding in that girls' bathroom and quietly waiting for things to end could he escape this disaster.
Thinking this, Harry charged straight into the bathroom.
But just then, before he could slow down, he felt something catch his leg.
The powerful momentum sent him flying, and his head smashed hard against the floor tiles.
Harry felt a warm liquid pour out from his nose, and then his entire face went numb.
"Ha! I caught one!"
Draco's familiar voice rang out.
Harry struggled to push himself up and saw Draco hiding behind an ugly dragon-shaped decorative jar, laughing nonstop.
"Tripping Jinx, Scarhead Potter!" Draco said, laughing. "Never thought the one who stepped into the trap would be you. But that's normal, after all, you're just a self-important idiot!"
Umbridge hurried around the corner in the distance.
She was panting, but when she saw Harry sprawled at the doorway, a brilliant smile immediately spread across her face.
"Wonderful! Draco! Ha, excellent, five points to Slytherin!" Umbridge said gleefully. "You truly are worthy of the Malfoy family name. Absolutely outstanding!"
As she spoke, Umbridge glanced up at the sign on the bathroom door, then continued with some confusion, "But why were you staying here? This seems to be a girls' bathroom, doesn't it?"
At those words, the smug smile on Draco's face instantly froze.
He stood there rubbing his fingers together, stammering for a long time without managing to say a single complete sentence.
Thankfully, Umbridge was already completely overwhelmed by the sudden joy.
"Never mind, those are trivial matters! Capturing Harry Potter is what's most important! I'll take him away… get up, Potter!"
Umbridge waved her hand as she spoke, then bent down, reaching to grab Harry's arm.
Harry glared at the two of them with hatred, instinctively shrinking back to avoid her, but the intense pain in his face made even that movement extremely difficult.
And just as Umbridge's pudgy hand was about to grab Harry's arm, a voice suddenly sounded, "Let Harry go. I'll go with you instead."