Leo slowly opened his eyes on a pristine white bed and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
"Where am I?" he muttered. "Wasn't I sleeping in my dormitory?"
His brows furrowed slightly. A second later, memory returned, and he almost sat up.
"Oh no. History of Magic."
He was about to throw off the covers and get out of bed when his body delivered a much stronger opinion.
Forget it.
He sank back against the pillow with a heavy heart.
He would lie down for a while first. Everything else could be considered later.
A familiar voice sounded nearby.
"Oh, child, don't rush. We can talk after Madam Pomfrey finishes examining you."
Dumbledore walked toward him in moon-coloured robes, speaking gently as he approached.
"And look outside the window. You aren't merely late anymore. You've already missed class entirely, so there's no need to worry about being late."
As he spoke, he popped a cockroach-shaped chocolate into his mouth and chewed it cheerfully. He even winked at Leo as though this were all an amusing little joke.
Leo looked at the old man, who seemed kind on the surface but had long since been marked in his mind as a cunning old fox.
"Hello, Headmaster Dumbledore," Leo said politely. "May I ask why I'm here? And where exactly is this?"
He had already guessed it was the Hogwarts hospital wing, especially after seeing the beds and smelling the sharp scent of potions in the air, but asking was still necessary.
"Lie still for now," Dumbledore said, pressing one hand gently downward in the air when Leo tried to move again. "This is the Hogwarts hospital wing. As for why you are here, I detected a large magical reaction from your dormitory. When I arrived, I found you unconscious on your bed and unresponsive no matter how I called you."
"All right, Headmaster," a stern female voice interrupted. "I think you should let the patient rest. I need to examine him properly."
A woman in a nurse's uniform approached Leo's bedside. She looked to be in her forties, with a brisk, professional air that made even Dumbledore seem willing to step aside.
"Mr. Nicholas, how are you feeling now?" Madam Pomfrey asked while checking him. "Does anything hurt? Is there any discomfort?"
Then she glanced at Dumbledore again.
"And Mr. Dumbledore, I think Mr. Nicholas needs quiet."
Leo watched this scene with quiet amusement. Seeing the greatest wizard of the age being chased away by the school nurse was surprisingly entertaining.
Still, he quickly stopped thinking too much.
His body felt strange.
Then his stomach growled.
Madam Pomfrey looked down at him.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Leo said, slightly embarrassed. "You can call me Leo. I feel fine, and nothing hurts. But I might need some food to comfort my stomach."
"In that case, Leo, I'll have a house-elf bring something later."
Seeing that he was indeed awake and responsive, Madam Pomfrey handed him a cup of unknown potion.
"But first, you need to drink this."
Leo looked at the potion.
Madam Pomfrey continued, "According to Headmaster Dumbledore, this may have been your first magical outburst. You'll need to stay here overnight for observation."
The first magical outburst?
Leo turned his head and looked at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore was watching him thoughtfully. When their eyes met, the old man tilted his head slightly and smiled.
Leo knew this had not been his first magical outburst. That had happened a month ago, and there was no reason for another one to occur so soon.
Besides, according to what he knew, the first uncontrolled burst was the dangerous one. In extreme cases, it could even be linked to an Obscurus. Later magical growth was usually different. It was more like an increase in power, and it brought benefits rather than harm.
"It's all right, child," Dumbledore said gently, perhaps thinking Leo was worried because of Madam Pomfrey's words. "As long as Madam Pomfrey says you're fine, that is what matters."
He adjusted his half-moon spectacles.
"You seem to have passed your first stage of magical growth already, so there should be no major problem. Don't worry too much."
Then Dumbledore stepped aside, revealing a group of children standing near the hospital wing entrance.
"I believe these children are worried about you. Perhaps you should speak with them first so they can return to their dormitories and rest peacefully."
He turned toward Madam Pomfrey, silently asking permission.
"Come in," Madam Pomfrey said, looking at the concerned children. Her face remained serious, but her voice softened. "Ten minutes only. After that, Leo must rest."
"Leo, are you all right?"
"We didn't see you in class this afternoon. Draco said you weren't in the dormitory either."
Hermione and Carlotta rushed to the bedside first, with Draco and the others following close behind.
"Yes," Draco said quickly. "When I returned to the common room and the dormitory, I couldn't find you anywhere. You didn't appear in class either. After class ended, Professor McGonagall told us Headmaster Dumbledore said you had been brought to the hospital wing."
Harry stepped forward, concern clear on his face.
"We ran into Draco while looking for you. Carlotta and Hermione were searching too. After we heard you were here, Ron and I came with them."
Compared with the others, Hermione and Harry's worry carried a slightly different weight.
For both of them, Leo's situation felt familiar. He had grown up in the Muggle world, suddenly learned about magic, and entered this strange new place just as they had. That similar experience made them instinctively feel closer to him.
"Thank you," Leo said with a broad smile. "Little Draco, Carlotta, Hermione, Harry, Ron. I'm sorry I worried you, but I'm fine."
He paused and glanced toward the dark windows.
"It's late, and curfew is almost here. You should go back, or you'll lose points if you're caught. I'll see you tomorrow."
"All right, Hermione," Carlotta said, taking Hermione's arm. "Leo's right. He doesn't look like he's in danger, and Madam Pomfrey said he only needs to stay here overnight for observation."
Hermione hesitated, then nodded.
"According to Hogwarts rules, students caught wandering after curfew may be punished severely. Some sources say they might even be sent into the Forbidden Forest."
Ron's face changed immediately.
Harry looked uncertain.
Draco frowned.
The three Gryffindor lion cubs and two Slytherin snakes spoke with Leo for a little while longer, then finally said goodnight and hurried back to their dormitories. After all, Leo seemed fine, and none of them wanted to test whether Hogwarts truly sent students into the Forbidden Forest.
Leo watched the five leave, a faint smile on his lips.
Then his expression gradually calmed.
Dumbledore came over briefly to say goodbye and told him to rest well. Madam Pomfrey later brought food, then told him the house-elves would collect the dishes, so he didn't need to worry.
Leo ate the beef stew with potatoes he had been looking forward to since the afternoon.
It still wasn't quite right.
But it was close enough.
Right now, he didn't care much about food details.
Something was wrong with him.
The side effects seemed worse than before. His mental power, body, and even thoughts were shifting out of alignment. It felt as though his mind had become more active while his body and will had grown lazier.
The laziness that came after waking was one thing.
But when Hermione and the others had appeared, part of him had almost disliked the concern. It had felt bothersome. Troublesome. Too much friendship, too much social interaction, too much emotional effort.
Even his body had followed that thought.
While eating just now, he had briefly wished he didn't have to move his hands at all. It would have been best if the food could place itself into his mouth, or even go directly into his stomach.
There it was again.
That sudden lazy feeling.
Thinking was tiring.
Analysis was tiring.
Doing nothing sounded best.
Leo slowly leaned back against the pillow.
Was analysing the laziness making him even lazier?
Forget it.
He was too lazy to analyse.
Time to rest.
Far above, in the headmaster's office, Dumbledore sat in his chair and tossed another lifelike cockroach cluster into his mouth.
He quietly pondered the magical storm Leo Nicholas had unleashed.
It had been enormous and violent, yet fleeting. Like a spring breeze brushing across a face, it was both fast and slow, gentle and dangerous, simple and impossibly complex.
Then Dumbledore seemed to realize something.
He felt relieved.
At least the boy had not awakened the terrible curse of an Obscurus.
Meanwhile, in the dim night, the three little lions in Gryffindor Tower and the two little snakes in Slytherin were also thinking about Leo in their own ways.
Draco was still confused by what Leo had said at noon. He was worried too, though not too much, because Leo himself had said nothing was wrong.
Carlotta had overheard Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey mention a magical outburst at the hospital entrance. Remembering what her own family had done after her first magical outburst, she fell asleep while thinking about it.
Hermione and Harry worried that Leo was only comforting them and not telling the truth. They had heard Dumbledore mention magical growth as well, but they were still absolute beginners in the wizarding world.
As for Ron Weasley, he fell asleep quickly, worried but powerless.
And so, the night passed with seven or eight people thinking and worrying about Leo's situation.
....
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