“This is unbelievable!
In all my years at Hogwarts, I have never heard of anything so ridiculous!” Madam Pomfrey stood with her hands on her hips, glaring furiously at Hagrid and Leo from beside their hospital beds.
“A first-year student gets into a fight with the gamekeeper, and the two of you beat each other badly enough to end up bedridden!” “Madam Pomfrey, we really weren’t fighting.
We fell,” Leo said solemnly, raising his heavily bandaged right hand.
“Exactly.
Why would I fight a first-year?” Hagrid agreed.
The movement pulled at the injuries on his face, making him wince.
Madam Pomfrey looked as though she was about to laugh from sheer disbelief.
“Then where did all those injuries come from?” “We fell,” the two answered in perfect unison.
“Then perhaps one of you would like to explain how you managed to fall hard enough to leave a handprint on your face?” “We fell together,” Hagrid explained earnestly.
“When I went down, I accidentally landed face-first on Leo’s hand.” “…I think I need to ask Severus for some Veritaserum.” Madam Pomfrey was nearly beside herself with frustration.
She already had more than enough students coming through the Hospital Wing with injuries from one mishap or another; the last thing she needed was a member of staff deliberately adding to her workload.
“Poppy, what happened?” Professor McGonagall hurried into the Hospital Wing.
She stopped short when she saw Leo and Hagrid laid up in neighboring beds, clearly baffled by the sight.
“Was there some dangerous creature loose in the Forbidden Forest?” “You can ask those two yourself,” Madam Pomfrey said irritably before turning away to tend to a Hufflepuff who had burned a hand while trying to cook something in the kitchens.
“Hm?” Professor McGonagall turned toward the two beds.
Leo and Hagrid silently pulled their blankets over their faces at the exact same time.
“What, precisely, have the two of you done?” “Professor McGonagall, let me explain…” Hagrid sighed.
As the adult involved, he reluctantly took responsibility.
“It wasn’t Leo’s fault…” Half an hour later, Professor McGonagall finally left, leaving behind two thoroughly lectured patients staring at one another across the Hospital Wing.
“Professor McGonagall is terrifying…” Leo said, still shaken.
“We did go a bit too far,” Hagrid admitted.
Just remembering the taste of Skele-Gro made his scalp prickle.
He and Leo had both gotten carried away once the fight really started, and if Harry had not urgently called a stop to it, they probably would have ended up breaking several more bones.
Three heads suddenly appeared from beside the beds.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been crouching nearby, looking anxiously at them.
“You two all right?” Harry asked.
“I’m fine.
Another day in bed and I should be good to go,” Leo replied.
“From what I know of Madam Pomfrey, I wouldn’t count on that,” Hagrid said, shaking his head.
“She won’t let yeh leave until she’s certain you’ve recovered properly.
We might be stuck here fer at least a week.” “Right.” Leo was already wondering how difficult it would be to sneak out.
“We’ve got our first flying lesson on Thursday,” Ron said regretfully.
“Looks like you’re going to miss it.” “I don’t care.
I’ve never understood why wizards are so enthusiastic about flying through the sky while straddling a stick that looks like it was specifically designed to make your backside hurt.” Leo genuinely felt no regret at all.
He could not ride a broomstick, nor could he walk through the air like Matthew.
The most he could manage was jumping far higher than an ordinary person.
If anything, this injury had given him the perfect excuse to skip flying lessons.
Otherwise, everyone else would be soaring around in the air while he stayed on the ground making a fool of himself.
That would have been far more embarrassing.
“I heard we’re taking flying lessons with the Slytherins,” Harry said.
He had been looking forward to learning how to fly, but the thought of Malfoy being there dampened his enthusiasm considerably.
“Brilliant.
I get to humiliate myself on a broomstick right in front of Malfoy.” “You don’t even know whether you’ll be bad at it yet,” Ron said reassuringly.
“Malfoy’s always bragging about how brilliant he is at Quidditch, but I bet half of it’s rubbish.” “Yeah, I know his mother, Narcissa Malfoy.
There’s no way she’d let him do anything too reckless.” Leo yawned.
The Malfoy family’s ancestor, Armand Malfoy, had come to Britain with William the Conqueror, while the William family descended from a collateral branch of the Conqueror’s bloodline.
Naturally, the two families were hardly strangers.
Then again, wizarding society was tiny.
Most of Britain’s pure-blood families were related to one another if you traced their family trees far enough.
For all Leo knew, even Harry and Ron might technically be distant relatives of his.
“I’ll come by and tell you what we cover in class while you’re here,” Hermione offered.
“…Thanks.
Truly.” At that moment, Madam Pomfrey noticed the three visitors.
She stormed toward them at once.
“The patients need rest!
Stop disturbing them and get out!” Harry, Ron, and Hermione were promptly chased from the Hospital Wing.
..
The next day, Leo spent almost the entire day in bed and ate two restorative meals.
By evening, his injuries had already healed almost completely.
“Morning.” He climbed out of bed and greeted Hagrid.
“Yeh heal frighteningly fast,” Hagrid said, looking at him with obvious envy.
“I’m young.
Good constitution.” Leo lowered his voice.
“I’m thinking of going out for a while.
Think you can cover for me?” “If Madam Pomfrey finds out, we’re both in serious trouble,” Hagrid warned.
“That’s why I need you to cover for me.” Leo looked at him.
“How’s your Transfiguration?” “My Transfiguration?” Hagrid thought about it.
“Not too bad, I suppose.
But I haven’t got a wand.” “That’s fine.
Use mine.” Leo handed over his custom-made wand.
Hagrid stared at the twenty-inch weapon in his hand.
“Blimey, this wand’s longer than mine…
Er, I mean, longer than my old wand.” “Good.
I’m counting on you.” “I dunno…” Hagrid still looked hesitant.
“This is definitely against school rules.” “We’re both Gryffindors, aren’t we?
Don’t embarrass the house now.” Leo immediately began egging him on.
Hagrid had been a Gryffindor himself.
How cautious could he possibly be?
Not long afterward, a dark figure slipped silently from the Hospital Wing, easily avoiding Mrs.
Norris and the professors patrolling the corridors before making his way into the Forbidden Forest beneath the cover of night.
..
Moonlight and starlight filtered through the trees, lending the Forbidden Forest a quiet, mysterious beauty.
“Centaurs, Acromantulas, werewolves, Hippogriffs, Thestrals, unicorns…” The farther Leo walked, the more excited he became.
He had not gone far when he suddenly stopped.
“Looks like it really is my lucky day.” Leo turned his gaze toward the distant woods.
Ancient trees towered overhead, their tangled branches weaving together into what looked like a natural wall of darkness.
He could not see what lay beyond it, but he could feel something approaching rapidly through the forest.
Something carrying a distinctly bloodthirsty presence.
‘It’s still too early for that noseless freak to start hunting unicorns, so what could this be?’ Leo rolled his wrists eagerly, a smile spreading across his face before he could stop it.
‘Don’t disappoint me.’