Just as Leo was smiling bitterly at his incomplete Patronus, the enormous cloud of silver-white mist suddenly began to change.
The mist detached completely from the wand.
Then slowly gathered together in midair.
Silver light pulsed gently like a living heartbeat.
Leo's smile froze instantly.
His eyes widened.
The floating mist twisted continuously before gradually taking on a humanoid outline.
Leo's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.
Then—
The figure's appearance became clear.
"You...?"
Leo's voice trembled slightly.
"How can you transform?"
Because standing before him—
Was his father.
Or rather—
A silver-white version of Stock Nicholas formed entirely from Patronus mist.
The familiar face flickered gently within the silver light.
The calm eyes.
The slightly raised brows.
Even the faint smile looked exactly the same.
For a brief moment, Leo genuinely felt his father was standing right in front of him.
But before he could process the shock fully—
The figure suddenly distorted again.
The silver outline rippled violently.
Then instantly transformed into Princess Li.
His mother.
The misty woman tilted her head slightly before perfectly copying Leo's stunned expression, even raising a finger exactly like he had moments earlier.
Her long silver hair floated softly within the mist.
Her gentle eyes looked almost real.
Leo's mind completely stopped functioning.
This was no longer merely strange.
It was terrifying.
He immediately raised his wand toward the silver figure instinctively.
The moment he did—
Princess Li's misty form distorted violently again.
Then collapsed back into silver mist before shooting directly into the tip of Leo's wand.
Gone.
Everything happened so quickly that Leo almost wondered whether he'd hallucinated.
He stared blankly at the wand in his hand.
Confusion filled his eyes.
"No..."
He frowned deeply.
"I need to test this again."
Without hesitation, Leo raised his wand once more.
"Expecto Patronum."
This time, because he had already succeeded before, the spell formed smoothly.
Silver mist flowed from the tip of his wand immediately.
Yet unlike before—
The moment the mist appeared, it circled around Leo like a small silver serpent.
The shapeless Patronus twisted playfully around his body with surprising agility.
It genuinely felt alive.
Its silver-white body shimmered beneath the sunlight while continuously coiling around him.
Leo stared at the strange thing in disbelief.
The more he thought about it, the stranger it became.
Every description of the Patronus Charm he'd ever read stated the same thing.
A fully formed Patronus possessed basic instincts and protective awareness.
A mist-form Patronus?
Nothing more than unstable magical fog controlled entirely by the caster.
Yet this thing clearly possessed independent movement.
And possibly consciousness.
Leo immediately recalled Dumbledore's Patronus.
That magnificent silver phoenix.
Powerful.
Elegant.
Alive.
Meanwhile, the silver mist surrounding him suddenly detached entirely.
Then slowly rose into the air.
Its light intensified.
The outline of a phoenix gradually emerged.
Each silver feather seemed woven from moonlight itself.
Then—
A clear phoenix cry rang through the sky.
The completed silver phoenix spread its wings and soared upward.
Leo froze completely.
It actually transformed.
A real Patronus.
Before he could process the shock, excitement exploded inside him.
"Try transforming again!"
He pointed upward excitedly.
"Can you become me?"
The silver phoenix immediately responded.
With another cry, it folded its wings and dived toward him from the sky.
It struck the ground before him with terrifying force.
BOOM.
The impact generated such powerful wind pressure that Leo instinctively closed his eyes.
Several seconds later, the gusts finally settled.
Leo slowly opened his eyes.
A figure stood before him.
Tall.
Far taller than his current body.
Leo frowned instinctively.
"That's not my height..."
Then he saw the figure clearly.
And instantly froze.
Time seemed to slow.
Countless emotions surged through him all at once.
Shock.
Confusion.
Sadness.
Nostalgia.
The figure standing before him appeared around thirty years old.
Tall and slender.
Neither thin nor particularly muscular.
Its silver-white form resembled an old monochrome photograph brought to life.
The face looked calm and mature.
The eyes were deep and gentle.
Wise.
Warm.
A faint smile rested naturally upon his lips.
Not arrogant.
Not cold.
Just peaceful.
The kind of smile belonging to someone who had endured life's hardships and still chosen optimism.
The figure wore a dragon-patterned Zhongshan suit.
Elegant.
Refined.
And deeply familiar.
Leo stared silently.
Then finally muttered:
"How could I not recognize it..."
His voice sounded hoarse.
"How could I possibly forget..."
Because the Patronus—
Was himself.
Or rather—
The appearance from his previous life.
Of course he hadn't recognized it immediately.
More than ten years had passed since he had last seen that face.
Even he had grown unfamiliar with it.
Complex emotions flickered continuously through Leo's eyes.
Nostalgia.
Sadness.
Relief.
He lowered his head quietly before exhaling slowly.
The silver figure tilted its head after noticing Leo's strange expression.
Then—
Its elegant gentlemanly demeanor shattered completely.
The silver figure suddenly grinned like an idiot.
"Hahahaha!"
Its posture instantly became ridiculously casual.
"Hurry up and change back already!"
Then it pointed dramatically at itself.
"I can't stand looking at this face acting serious!"
Leo blinked.
The silver figure continued cheerfully:
"If nothing else, at least change into a tank top, shorts, and flip-flops!"
"This outfit is way too pretentious!"
For several seconds, Leo simply stared blankly at the Patronus wearing his old face while speaking in the exact tone he had used in his previous life.
Then suddenly—
He burst out laughing.
A genuine laugh.
The kind that escaped before he could stop it.
The silver figure immediately pointed at him.
"See? That's better."
"Much better."
Leo wiped at the corner of his eye.
"I didn't realize I was this annoying."
"Oh, you were worse."
The Patronus folded its arms.
"Far worse."
Leo laughed again despite himself.
Then he suddenly paused.
"Wait."
His eyes narrowed.
"Can Patronuses normally talk?"
The silver figure blinked.
Then scratched its chin.
"...Good question."
Both of them stood there silently for several seconds.
Then simultaneously said:
"Probably not."
The moment the words left their mouths, the two froze.
Then stared at one another.
Then burst out laughing again.
The silver figure pointed triumphantly.
"See? We even think the same."
"Because you're me."
"No," the Patronus corrected immediately.
"I'm the handsome version."
Leo's eye twitched.
"You're literally me."
"Exactly."
The Patronus nodded sagely.
"Which proves my point."
For the first time since recovering the memories of his previous life, the weight pressing on Leo's heart felt lighter.
He had always carried those memories alone.
The fear.
The regret.
The loneliness.
The death he could never fully forget.
Yet somehow, seeing this ridiculous silver version of himself standing in front of him made everything feel different.
Less frightening.
Less heavy.
The Patronus suddenly looked at him quietly.
Its expression softened.
"You know..."
The playful smile faded slightly.
"You survived."
Leo froze.
The silver figure looked toward the distant sky.
"Back then, we thought everything was over."
Its voice became gentler.
"But we're still here."
A breeze drifted across the lawn.
Silver mist rippled softly around the Patronus.
"We got another chance."
The words struck deeper than any spell.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then the Patronus suddenly ruined the atmosphere.
"So stop looking depressed all the time."
It pointed at him again.
"You've got rich parents, genius talent, two grandmasters teaching you, a magical pocket world, a phoenix taxi service, and enough future potential to make people cry."
The silver figure shook its head dramatically.
"Honestly, it's disgusting."
Leo couldn't help laughing again.
The Patronus nodded approvingly.
"There it is."
"That's the face."
Then it grinned.
"Now hurry up and figure out how to turn me into a dragon."
"A dragon?" Leo asked.
"Obviously."
The Patronus spread its arms.
"If we're going to break every rule surrounding Patronuses anyway, we might as well aim high."
For the first time in days, Leo felt genuinely optimistic.
Perhaps his Patronus wasn't incomplete after all.
Perhaps—
It was simply becoming something nobody had ever seen before.
....
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