No one expected that the snowstorm would last all day and stop early the next morning. Today, the thick clouds in the sky miraculously moved away, and the sunshine that had not been seen for a long time shone on the earth again, and also shone into the window of the ward.
The golden sunlight looks particularly beautiful indoors. In the beam of light coming from the window, tiny dust particles sparkle with brilliance, giving people an indescribable sense of sanctity.
This is the Cursed Injury Department of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, located on the fifth floor of this building. The windows in the ward are bright and clean, and they are cleaned every day to maintain the most basic comfort and cleanliness.
However, in such a pleasant-looking ward, there is only one thing missing, and that is the patient.
"Miss Lovegood?" Tonks looked around, and then asked in surprise at the blond girl sitting by the window, "Where is McClane? Where did he go?"
Yes, right by the sunny window, Luna was holding a magic book and reading it with gusto. Her long pale golden hair was bathed in the sun, reflecting a soft luster.
Ever since Maka was sent to St. Mungo's yesterday, she has been here with her and has never left once. But now she is still here, but Maka, who was originally the protagonist today, has disappeared, and Tonks looks surprised.
"Maka?"
Luna heard the sound, raised her head and glanced at Tonks in a trance. But then, as if she just understood what Tonks said, she tilted her head and looked blankly at the hospital bed.
"Oh... where did Maka go?"
"Hey, Miss Lovegood," Tonks said speechlessly, "I'm asking you - haven't you been with him all the time? Why don't you know where he is?"
"Hmm..." Luna sat in the sun, squinting her eyes and thinking for a while, then shook her head and said, "It seems... um, it seems Maka said she was going to the next door?"
As she spoke, she seemed to notice someone behind Tonks, and stretched her neck to look curiously.
"Hermione?"
Hearing Luna call her name, Hermione was about to say hello, but before she could say anything, she heard Ron's call from the next door.
"Is Maka really over there?" Hermione glanced at Luna and seemed to hesitate, but finally ran to the next door first, "Maka? Ma—"
To be honest, Maka's condition didn't look good, because his face was still pale and he would cough from time to time. But now he was still standing between the two hospital beds, talking frequently with a witch in green robes.
When Hermione saw it, for some unknown reason, a ball of anger burst out in her heart. She immediately withdrew her call and strode into the ward with a dissatisfied look on her face.
The other people who came with her stood at the door of the ward, looking at each other, wondering whether they should follow or not.
"... Yes, this... ahem... this is no longer damage to the soul. The Cruciatus Curse lasted on them for too long, causing considerable damage to their brains... "
"Maka!"
Maka, who was communicating with the female therapist, was interrupted by Hermione's shout. He blinked, then turned around helplessly, and smiled at Hermione.
"What's wrong? Ahem... Who made you angry?" Maka looked at her innocently.
"Who else could it be?" Hermione frowned and said angrily, "Why don't you just lie down on the hospital bed? Instead, you came here to chat with others... Don't you remember how you were carried here?"
"Oh, my injury has nothing to do with standing or lying down..." Maka spread her hands and said, "Ahem... It's okay..."
"Look!" Hermione pointed at him angrily, "Does it look like everything is fine? Look outside the door again. Everyone is here to see you. How could they know that you are still running around when you are sick! Patient You should just lie down on the hospital bed!"
After hearing this, Maka couldn't help but turn her head and look at the door, and found that a large group of people had really come. He nodded apologetically in that direction, and then returned his gaze to Hermione.
"Okay, okay, I understand! Ahem..." He stretched out his hand and said, "Let's go! I'll go back..."
Seeing that Hermione was not moved at all, just staring at him with her lips pursed, he couldn't help but smile helplessly again.
"Ms. Straw, I have learned a lot from communicating with you. Thank you for chatting with me... Ahem... Then I will go back to the next door with them first..." Maka turned around and nodded politely towards the witch.
"No, I am... I didn't expect Mr. MacLean to have such in-depth research on soul damage. The views you just mentioned have inspired me a lot. I believe that even if the Longbottoms cannot recover from this, they will still be able to recover in the future. It will definitely bring a lot of hope for recovery to other patients!”
The female therapist looked quite gentle, and there was a special warmth in her conversation. She was a witch who made people feel as kind and trustworthy as a mother. In fact, even Maka felt that she was simply a wizard born to be a healer.
After the two said goodbye to each other, Maka followed Hermione who looked unhappy and walked towards the door.
However, as soon as she walked to the door, Maka found Neville standing outside in a daze. And the other party's eyes obviously always stay on him.
"Neville?" Maka called him.
"ah!"
Neville seemed to be startled. He came to his senses and opened his mouth to Maka again, but nothing came out.
"Are you concerned about the conversation I had with Ms. Straw just now?" Maka turned back subconsciously, because he had already guessed some of Neville's thoughts.
Just now he was discussing the situation of Neville's parents with Meriam Straw.
In fact, many wizards in the magic world know about the Longbottoms. At the beginning, Neville's parents were both quite famous Aurors in the British wizarding world. In terms of strength, they were not inferior to Kingsley and other elites. They even successfully escaped from Voldemort three times.
It's a pity that things are unpredictable. After Voldemort suddenly fell at that time, they were captured by those fanatical Death Eaters who were gradually going crazy in search of their master. Two Cruciatus Curses that exceeded the limit tortured them to the point of leaving permanent brain damage.
Since Maka was admitted to St. Mungo's this time and lived in the ward next door to them, she naturally wanted to stop by to see the specific extent of her injury.
Looking at Neville who was a little silent, Maka could only shake her head slightly.
He believed that the conversation he had just had with Ms. Straw must have given Neville some expectations. Even if there was only a tiny bit of hope, he would definitely not want to miss it.
"Sorry, there's nothing I can do." Maka said frankly, "It's not just magic damage, but also... too much time has passed."
"Yes." Neville lowered his head with a gloomy expression and responded softly.
His parents have been like this since he was a child. It is conceivable that although his close relatives are still alive, they still do not recognize him. This feeling is a crueler reality than Harry losing his parents.
But no matter how cruel the facts are, they will gradually become dull as time goes by. To be honest, he was actually used to it.
He was used to his father not paying any attention to him, and he was also used to his mother being in a daze all day long. This habit is not to take it lightly, but an escape based on self-numbness.
However, when his father occasionally glanced at him, and when his mother occasionally handed him a candy wrapper, the pain and grievance that made the tip of his nose sore made the sadness suppressed in his heart always burst out, leaving him covered in bruises.
Grandma always asked him to throw the candy wrappers handed to him by his mother into the trash can, but he never threw them away, but quietly stuffed them into his pocket. Although he is not good at words and sometimes very stupid, he also knows that there is nothing wrong in what grandma wants him to do.
He had heard his grandma say before that both his parents were strong and brave Aurors, and that they could sacrifice everything in order to fight against evil, which was the pride of her mother. As their child, I should inherit their courage instead of showing weakness just for a candy wrapper.
But Neville still put each candy wrapper into his pocket and kept them one by one. This is simply because that is the only "gift" he has received from his parents since he was a child.
"Thank you, Maka..." Neville suddenly came back from the silence and nodded solemnly towards Maka, "But it's okay. It's been so long, and I know it's probably impossible to recover."
After that, he looked into the ward again, but there was no feeling of wanting to give up in his expression.
"Maka! Neville! Come here!" Hermione seemed to notice that they were not following her, and suddenly turned around and shouted again.
"Ah! It's coming, it's coming!" Neville seemed to have come to his senses, and his expression returned to his usual clumsiness, and he hurriedly ran over there, "Maka, let's go! They are here Call us!"
He couldn't help but smile knowingly when he saw Neville running for two steps before he remembered him. Maka stopped thinking about it, responded, and then walked to the next door.
Neville and Snape, these two people cannot be compared together, but just now Maka thought of Snape in Neville.
Also missing his loved ones, Snape could desperately try to find another opportunity to meet him, but Neville might not make the same choice as Snape.
This kind of similarities and differences between people is probably what Dumbledore is exploring. But even if the path of magic is abandoned, the subtle changes are still mysterious and worth pondering.
"Ahem...yo, so many people?"
As soon as Maka entered the door, she found that her ward was already filled with people, and the room that originally seemed quite large actually seemed a bit crowded.