"...Mr. MacLean?"
When she heard someone calling her, Maka immediately turned her head and nodded towards the person. He waved his hand casually, and the white cloth that had been floating before covered Sokas's body again.
"Mrs. Pomfrey, thank you for your hard work..." he said softly, "Are many people injured?"
"Not many. Most of the students were in various classrooms when the incident happened, and the students who took Care of Magical Creatures also came back in time -" Madam Pomfrey, the head nurse of the school hospital, shook her head gently and said, "Only two The student’s injuries are somewhat troublesome.”
"Who?" Maka asked hurriedly, "Is he petrified? If the mandrake resurrection potion is not in stock, I have it here..."
"No, no need..." Madam Pomfrey said softly, "After replenishing the reserve before, it has not been used much. There is still enough potion available."
If there is a staff member in Hogwarts that Maka admires the most, it is undoubtedly Madam Poppy Pomfrey.
Madam Pomfrey has been the resident therapist at Hogwarts for a long time. When Snape and others were still students, she was already the school nurse here.
Her rich therapeutic experience and proficiency in various healing spells, potions, mixed herbal medicines, etc. were enough for her to find a well-paying job at St. Mungo's.
But she stayed at Hogwarts for decades, treating every patient sent to her with both sternness and tenderness. Even though most of them were just minor injuries and illnesses, she never complained or felt bored.
By the way, the potions here at Madam Pomfrey generally have a weird taste. Some potions that are obviously sweet and delicious will turn into "bitter medicine" that is difficult to swallow when it comes to her.
I remember Madam Pomfrey once said this:
"If you don't want to drink these weird-tasting potions, then please don't get hurt and don't give yourself the chance to come to the medical room. Otherwise, you have to bear the consequences!"
Of course, I heard that she seems to be a little troublesome with illnesses caused by magic spells, but I don’t know if that’s true.
"It would be best if there is," Maka nodded, "Then, let me go and see the injured student."
"Well..." Madam Pomfrey's face became a little serious as soon as she heard that he was about to enter the ward, "Of course, I have also heard about Mr. Maclean's achievements in potions. If it were you, of course I wouldn't Question, but please be careful not to stay too long... The patient needs to take a good rest!"
"Yes, I understand. I was taken care of by you back then. As a former patient, I am equally grateful for your philosophy of protecting patients as the first principle."
Maka leaned forward politely, and then followed Madam Pomfrey to the ward.
When Maka walked in, there was a fire swaying in the fireplace. The warmth of the flames dispelled the cold outside and baked the whole room as if it were still spring.
The hospital beds on both sides are separated one by one by white curtains. However, there are very few patients at the moment, so most of them have the curtains opened. Only two beds are still covered to ensure that even if the patients wake up, they will not be disturbed by the empty ward. And feel uneasy.
Maka has been to this campus hospital ward several times, and the longest time she stayed here was probably when Luna was recovering in the hospital.
And it was here that he encountered an extremely significant turning point in his life.
After that, firstly, he basically no longer had the need to come here, and secondly, he actually had some inexplicable resistance to this place in his heart.
In this way, it seems that a while has passed since the last time I came to the school hospital. Now that he came back here again, he glanced at the window subconsciously for the first time.
It was there that he saw something he shouldn't have seen, so that after that, even the path he was determined to move forward took a huge deflection.
After a moment of dispersing the memories in her mind, Maka took a step forward and came to the foot of a certain hospital bed where someone was lying, and then her eyes fell on the patient on the bed.
That was Ron. At this time, his body still had a layer of grayish white, but in terms of petrification, he was obviously in the process of gradually recovering. After he returns to his original self, he should be able to be active again after taking some rest.
After Maka stood aside and checked him, she turned and walked to another hospital bed.
"Well?"
Another student was lying opposite Ron. As soon as he saw it, Maka couldn't help but let out a light sigh. Because in his opinion, this patient's condition is probably much more serious than Ron's.
"I remember she was -" Maka recalled a little and thought to herself, "... Well, is she called 'Helen Schon'?"
"She was bitten by an Acromantula. When I found her, the wounds on her body had already begun to heal. She must have received some emergency treatment on her own." Madam Pomfrey, who was following beside her, said softly, "But that It’s just a flesh wound, at the end of the day it’s all about the toxins.”
She paused, seeming to feel pity for this cute-looking girl.
"...To be honest, it is some kind of quite dangerous toxin. After discussing with Professor Snape, I first used fecal stone mixture to temporarily suppress the spread of poison. Now Professor Snape should be thinking of ways to prepare a poison for this kind of toxin." Targeted antidote to toxins.”
"...Really?" Maka nodded subconsciously, but her thoughts still stayed in the consideration of Helen.
His last blow in the spider lair really hit the guy pretending to be Sokas. Moreover, he was using the gift given to him by Snape - the Divine Edge Shadowless Curse.
Logically speaking, the effect of this curse created by Snape is quite extreme. Not only is it fast and highly concealed, it can ruthlessly cut through the enemy's flesh and bones like a sharp sword.
The most important thing is that the injuries caused by this curse cannot be easily healed by other means except the corresponding counter-spell.
Of course, this is not absolute.
If a person who is under this curse can be ruthless enough to cut off the flesh and blood at the wound, he can get rid of the alien magic attached to it. Unless the injury is too critical, it can still be recovered without knowing the counter-spell.
Because of this, Maka was suspicious. An injury is an injury. Apart from Ron, the only person sent to this ward was Miss Helen Schon.
But he was just suspicious. After all, the fake Sokas might have already escaped Hogwarts.
If Helen was the one who escaped, and she was able to use the poison of the alienated Acromantula to cover herself up while gouging out the flesh and blood from the wound and recovering...
"If that's the case..."
Being cruel to your enemies is nothing. If you can be so cruel to yourself, then you are a truly dangerous person. And this danger has nothing to do with its own strength.
Hazards that occur inadvertently are the most difficult to prevent.
"...Should we strike first?" Maka thought about it secretly.
"Mr. Maclean?" Seeing that Maca had been staring at the little girl in a daze, Madam Pomfrey couldn't help but remind her.
"Huh?" Maka turned his head and immediately saw Madam Pomfrey looking at him with dissatisfaction, and he immediately said, "Ah... I was just wondering if I would also go to Professor Snape later. A trip there."
"If you are willing." Madam Pomfrey nodded, "It would be a good thing for patients to have an additional pharmacist to refer to. But I think we must leave."
"Oh, of course." Maka immediately agreed, "The patient must have a good rest, yes, that's right!"
Maka naturally knows better than anyone else about the poison of the alienated Acromantula. When he transformed Aragog's bloodline, he had already conducted a series of tests and records on it.
This powerful poison that mixes the characteristics of the Basilisk and the Acromantula may not be much stronger than either of them, but it is quite reliable in terms of novelty and complexity.
He believed that even Snape, a master of potions, could not prepare the corresponding antidote in a short time.
Judging from the experience of Snape and Madam Pomfrey, it was a certainty to temporarily suppress the spread of the poison. The result of handling it properly is that the onset of toxins is postponed for a few days.
Therefore, Maka did not go to Snape's potion preparation room as he said, but returned to his own office first.
There are still many things waiting for him to deal with, not only the incident at Hogwarts, but there are also some tails that need to be cleared up in the American wizarding world. For example, Sirius Black is still recovering in bed, or the children he placed in the shack in Jackson Square.
In addition, he also felt that it was time to strengthen the defense strength of Hogwarts.
"... By then, Hermione will probably be the happiest, right?" Maka, who had just walked to the office door, smiled and shook her head, then unlocked the door and walked in, "Huh - let's take a little sleep first. I haven’t had a good sleep in the past two days, and I can’t rely on potions all the time.”
After closing the office door again, he lit the fireplace and cooked himself hot cocoa.
While waiting for it to be cooked, he still did not miss this little bit of free time. Instead, he sat in front of the fireplace and started to write and draw in his notebook while warming himself by the fire.
Ever since she entered this colorful but also ups and downs magical world, Maka found that she didn't seem to have much leisure time. But for him, this busyness is extremely fulfilling.
Because he can clearly feel that he is truly "alive" through this.