"Professor! What happened to Harry?" Hermione's voice was already tinged with tears, trembling with panic. Her hands were shaking as she hovered them over Harry's unconscious body looking afraid to touch him.
Ron's face had gone pale as well.
"Harry is still alive," Adrian said briefly but firmly, trying to inject reassurance into his tone while quickly examining the wounds on Harry's unconscious body. His hands moved, checking for broken bones, internal injuries, curse damage.
After confirming that the external injuries were not immediately life-threatening just some bruising and minor cuts, he continued with grave seriousness, "Judging from the state of the room, the destruction of the furniture and the magical residue, there was an intense fight here."
"Who would fight with Harry in this place?" Hermione began, her voice was rising with confusion and fear.
But her words cut off abruptly as her sharp gaze fell on the scorched black marks on the wall, the patterns of dark magic burned into stone.
She suddenly shuddered, her whole body went stiff. "These magical traces... they're evil. Really evil. Like...."
'Very perceptive awareness,' Adrian thought with approval despite the circumstances.
He carefully hoisted Harry's body onto his back in a fireman's carry, adjusting the unconscious boy's weight for the journey ahead.
He commanded, "I'm taking Harry to the hospital wing immediately. You two go notify Dumbledore right now—don't waste a single second. His office is closest from here, just one floor up. The faster you move, the better. If Dumbledore isn't there, if his office is empty, go find Professor McGonagall instead. She'll know what to do."
The two students didn't need to be told twice. They hurried off at once and ran through the corridors.
Ten minutes later, after Adrian had crossed the staircases and corridors with unconscious Harry, Harry was lying on a white bed in the hospital wing.
Madam Pomfrey came from her office by Adrian's urgent arrival, gave Harry's body a thorough and meticulous examination. She waved her wand in complex diagnostic patterns, conjuring various colored lights that played across his unconscious body, checked his vital signs manually, peered into his eyes, listened to his heartbeat.
After several minutes of focused work, she made her professional assessment, "It's just unconsciousness from what I can determine, along with some minor abrasions and bruising. Nothing too serious from a purely physical standpoint. He should wake up naturally."
"If only it were truly that simple," Adrian sighed heavily.
Damage to the soul was an extremely serious injury, even one of the most severe a wizard could sustain.
This had already been proven tragically with Adrian's sister who remained in her endless coma.
Right now, Harry being merely unconscious was probably the best possible outcome given what had been done to him.
The fact that he hadn't died outright could already be considered extraordinarily fortunate.
On the other hand, someone like Voldemort, who could still be lively and active after deliberately splitting his soul into multiple fragments, was truly an abnormal existence.
But that was Voldemort, after all. He had always been exceptional in the worst possible ways. It was normal for him to be a bit special, a bit beyond ordinary understanding.
Or perhaps, Adrian thought, the effects on a person were different between actively splitting one's own soul through murder and dark ritual, versus having it passively split or torn away by external force?
That was an academic question worth exploring, if they all survived this.
Beyond this immediate concern, there was another extremely puzzling question nagging at Adrian's mind.
That was: why had Harry been able to survive at all?
Since the attacker and he was certain who that attacker was, had nearly delivered what should have been a killing blow, why not finish Harry off completely at the end? Why leave him alive, unconscious?
It made no sense. Voldemort wasn't known for mercy.
Mystery upon mystery, layers of questions without answers.
Just as Adrian was frowning in deep thought, his mind turning over possibilities and inferences, the door to the hospital wing was pushed open with abundant force to bang against the wall.
Professor Dumbledore entered first, moving with urgency. He was followed closely by Professor McGonagall with her lips pressed into a thin line of worry, and Snape whose face was even more shuttered than usual.
Ron and Hermione came up on their backs, both breathing hard from their sprint.
Everyone's expressions were extremely grave, filled with concern and suppressed alarm.
The usually quiet infirmary suddenly became crowded with people, the space felt smaller with so many bodies gathered around one bed.
Dumbledore's blue gaze fell immediately on the unconscious Harry, taking in every detail with those sharp eyes. "What happened here, Adrian?"
"Harry was attacked in the Room of Requirement," Adrian answered quickly and concisely. "About thirty minutes ago, perhaps a bit longer. I found him unconscious when I broke through the sealed door."
"The Room of Requirement?" Dumbledore repeated, his tone was sharpening with concern. That location added complications. "Tell me everything you saw, Professor Westeros. Every detail, no matter how small it might seem."
In reality, Adrian had almost no direct information about the attack itself as he'd arrived too late.
Harry had already been lying motionless on the ground alone, when he'd finally gotten there.
After briefly recounting what little he had witnessed—the sealed door, the destroyed room, the unconscious boy, the lingering magical signatures, Dumbledore's attention was immediately caught by a particular detail. "You said there were traces of dark magic present?"
Adrian nodded gravely. "And very strong ones, Professor. Powerful and malicious ones. Probably the Killing Curse, judging from the impact patterns and residual energy. Or possibly the Cruciatus Curse as I detected pain-magic signatures as well."
Dumbledore's already serious expression grew visibly graver.
"The Killing Curse? The Cruciatus Curse?" Professor McGonagall shook her head in disbelief, her voice was rising with indignation and shock. "Who would dare use Unforgivable Curses at Hogwarts? This is too brazen."
She knew full well what a catastrophic security breach it meant for this type of dark magic to appear on campus, in the very heart of the castle, in a student reserve.
Hogwarts was supposed to be safe, even said to be the safest place in Britain.
Snape, standing slightly to the side in the shadows as was his habit, looked at the unconscious Harry with an unfathomable expression. A flash of something complex seemed to pass through his black eyes.
"To be able to cast such powerful spells and infiltrate the Room of Requirement without detection... this is certainly not something an ordinary student could accomplish. This requires skill and power far beyond normal."
"Indeed, not something an ordinary student could accomplish," Adrian agreed, his gaze swept deliberately over everyone gathered in the infirmary before finally settling with intention on Dumbledore. "In fact, I already have a suspect in mind."
This statement instantly focused everyone's attention sharply on Adrian like a spotlight.
"Who?" Professor McGonagall pressed urgently, leaning forward. "Who would you suspect?"
"John Selwyn."
When this name emerged from Adrian's mouth, spoken clearly and with certainty, everyone froze for a moment in shock.
Madam Pomfrey even showed a confused expression as she felt completely unfamiliar with this name. "John who?"
"John?" Hermione was the first to cry out in shocked disbelief, her voice cracked. "How is that possible? That can't be right! Isn't he just a first-year student? He's eleven years old!"
Ron nodded vigorously beside her, his head was bobbing like a puppet, clearly equally shocked and disturbed by this accusation. "Yeah, he's our friend! He's just a kid!"
What kind of joke by Merlin's underpants was this?
John?
Quiet, studious, helpful John attacked Harry?
Hearing this unexpected name, Professor McGonagall also frowned deeply. "John Selwyn? The one from Slytherin House?"
She tried to recall what she knew of him—not much, he'd been unremarkable.
Adrian met everyone's surprised and skeptical gazes steadily, his expression was deadly serious.
He nodded with absolute conviction. "Though it sounds incredible, though I understand your doubt, I'm basically certain this matter is connected to him. The evidence points clearly in his direction."
Dumbledore didn't question Adrian's judgment or demanded instant proof.
Instead, he immediately turned to Snape with sharp command, "Severus, please go immediately and bring John Selwyn here to the hospital wing. Be mindful of your approach—don't alarm him or give him reason to flee but make absolutely certain he comes. Use whatever means necessary."
Snape looked deeply at Adrian for a long moment, as if trying to read something in his expression.
Without asking further questions or demanding explanations, he gave a slight, curt nod and left the room like a shadow melting into darkness.
After Snape's departure, a brief but heavy silence fell over the hospital wing like a suffocating blanket.
Everyone turned their attention back to Harry, lying so still and pale against the white sheets.
Hermione was the first to break the oppressive silence. She turned to Madam Pomfrey with desperate hope in her eyes and asked tremblingly, "When will Harry be able to wake up? Can you tell us anything?"
Madam Pomfrey stepped forward and checked Harry's eyelids and pulse again with gentle movements. Her face showed an expression that mingled genuine confusion with growing concern.
This appeared to be simple unconsciousness from magical exhaustion or stunning spell. But after Adrian's grave description of the scene, after hearing about Unforgivable Curses, she had become somewhat uncertain about her initial diagnosis.
"It's hard to say with certainty, dear," she admitted reluctantly. "Physiologically speaking, all his vital signs indicate he has indeed just fallen into a deep coma, similar to magical exhaustion. But..."
She hesitated, aware of everyone listening. "I think I'll need to continue observing him for a while longer before I can make any definitive statements. There may be... complications I'm not seeing."
At this moment, Adrian fumbled in his robe pocket for a bit. He pulled out a small transparent bag that caught the light.
Inside the bag were several crystalline, translucent, tender green leaves that seemed to glow faintly.
"What is that?" Madam Pomfrey looked at the unusual leaves with interest and asked in confusion. "I don't recognize that plant. What species?"
"This might have some beneficial effect on Harry's particular condition," Adrian explained vaguely, not wanting to explain the Tree of Wisdom's properties in detail. "It's worth trying."
These were ordinary leaves from the Tree of Wisdom.
He had recently discovered through careful experimentation that leaves from the Tree of Wisdom seemed to possess the remarkable ability to stabilize souls.
However, the specific effects and limitations would only become clear after actual use.
"I would strongly advise you not to administer unfamiliar medication carelessly, Adrian," Madam Pomfrey immediately frowned. Her tone became serious and authoritative as she tried to stop him, stepping forward. "We don't know what that might do. There could be complications—"
"It's fine," Adrian interrupted gently.
He didn't pause in his actions. He carefully took a single leaf from the bag, rolled it into a small ball between his fingers, and placed it into Harry's slightly parted mouth, sliding it past his lips.
Miraculously, the moment that green object entered Harry's mouth and touched his tongue, it transformed into a gentle green light that covered through his entire body. The leaf disappeared without leaving any physical trace.
A very simple and direct method of use.
But the effect was immediate.
Harry's body suddenly twitched slightly.
"Harry?" Hermione and Ron immediately rushed to the edge of the bed, nearly climbing onto it in their eagerness. Their faces were lighting up with desperate hope.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Harry slowly opened his eyes.
However, his gaze was somewhat unfocused and distant, as if he had just awakened from a terrible nightmare that still clung to him. His green eyes were clouded, struggling to process reality.
He blinked several times, his vision was wandering across the familiar ceiling of the infirmary for quite a while, still unable to focus properly on anything.
The world seemed blurred at the edges.
"Mate, are you all right?" Ron leaned in closer, his freckled face was filling Harry's vision now.
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