Struggling to survive at Hogwarts

Chapter 327 Pitiful

Only after she saw the note meant for Lucius fly out the window did Thea collapse onto the bed, utterly exhausted.

A blur of light and shadow filled her vision, while a faint, piercing scream, seemingly both sorrowful and resentful, sent another sharp, throbbing headache through Thea.

Differentiation.

To win them over.

Suppression.

Weaken them as much as possible.

She probably did everything she could.

Now all that's missing is one thing—time.

Seeds planted in spring always need time to sprout and eventually bear sweet fruit.

Wait a minute.

Hang in there a little longer.

Let time allow this achievement to develop an even better flavor.

Thea's mind was a jumble of thoughts, but she eventually succumbed to sleepiness and fell asleep on the bed.

It wasn't until she opened her eyes again that the overwhelming smell of the potion, so strong it seemed to drown her, brought her back to her senses.

Her illness this time seems, probably, perhaps not to be a common cold or fever.

"—Do you have a medical report?"

After a two-second silence, Thea gently reached out her hand to the person by the bedside, her manner so natural that she seemed to have never considered the possibility of being refused.

Gella: "..."

Gella was both angry and amused by Thea's shamelessness, but...

The hand hidden behind her back was clenched tightly, and four neat crescent moons appeared in her palm.

I want to see it.

"I have the right to know."

Thea's gentle demeanor gradually faded, revealing a sharp edge in her eyes.

“Gella, you know I’ve been in a bad mood lately.”

Three consecutive probing questions had cornered Gellar against the wall, and the atmosphere between the two in the not-so-small medical room was as cold as ice.

"I have the medical record book!"

The boy's clear voice grew louder as he approached, until he reached the bedside. Only then did Thea look up and see his face clearly.

In short—looking haggard but excited.

"Thea, you have no idea, I spent several days brewing this to make the best quality potion available right now!"

Before Thea could ask, Theodore blurted out the answer like beans spilling from a bucket.

While Thea looked down at her medical records, Theodore continued his rambling, from the various dramas that had unfolded at Riddle Manor over the past few days to the news from Nadraco and others at Hogwarts.

All of these things, in fact, are exactly what Thea most wants to know.

"Thank you."

After flipping through the thick stack of notebooks, skimming over the highly technical and difficult-to-pronounce terms, Thea pieced together four large characters that leaped off the page: "Incurable disease."

Thea: "…………"

Although she could guess something from Gella's behavior, Thea couldn't help but remain silent for a while when she actually found out.

For no other reason than that she began to suspect whether Gella had mixed a ton of Black Lake water into her revelation of her impending death.

"Is there any way to restore my mobility as soon as possible?"

Thea waved the notebook in her hand at Theodore, her words carrying a double meaning, "Now is not the time for me to lie down and rest in peace."

As expected, Theodore shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Please, have you forgotten how old I am? Even the physician at St. Mungo's..."

In the end, Theodore couldn't continue, only emphasizing one more thing: "You need to rest, at least half...ten days!"

Theodore eventually changed his mind under Thea's intense gaze.

Worried that he might be too soft-hearted, Theodore quickly made up an excuse and left the ward.

Only then did Thea have the mind to look around the room.

"Am I...at San Mungo?"

"Hmm," Gella nodded listlessly, then suddenly Thea cupped her face in her hands.

"Did I scare you just now?"

"……No."

I'm just sad, sad that I can only be a bystander, helplessly watching you struggle on the edge of life and death.

Thea clearly didn't believe Gella's words, but Gella herself started talking.

"Heaven knows how those doctors managed to snatch your life from Merlin's grasp..."

Next, Thea put herself in the shoes of the person in question and gave a 360-degree overview of her "great achievements" in San Mongol over the past few days.

These symptoms include, but are not limited to, a gradually decreasing heart rate, intermittent respiratory arrest, reopening of the arm wound with difficulty in stopping the bleeding, coughing up blood, fever, vomiting, etc.

After hearing all this, Thea looked on with suspicion. "But I have no recollection of any of this. I thought I had simply been unconscious for a few more days..."

"Things are not what you think they are now!"

Gella's sarcastic retort made his aura surge to 2.8 meters.

Thea was somewhat shocked, so she could only nod in agreement when given the following instructions.

"You're not allowed to read those thick books anymore!"

"it is good."

"And you're not allowed to look at any of those unimportant, miscellaneous messages either!"

"it is good."

"No more sugar in honey tea!"

"I can't drink three cups of coffee a day anymore!"

"Good good."

Gella: "…………"

For a fleeting moment, she felt that the woman in front of her, Thea, must have been replaced.

But she quickly regained her senses and began to push her luck:

"Don't go out, what if you catch a cold from the wind?!"

"Eat more, it's good to gain some weight!"

"No picky eating allowed, you have to eat everything!"

"And there's more..."

As Gella got excited, her speaking speed increased dramatically, and Thea couldn't get a chance to respond. In the end, she could only nod mechanically.

Until she felt a little dizzy—

Looking down, I saw a small red flower blooming on her quilt, and then more and more small flowers appeared—until everything in front of me was bright red.

"doctor!"

"doctor!"

Amidst Gella's frantic screams of terror, a group of doctors in white coats rushed into the room—

Chaos erupted in the ward.

Just before losing consciousness, Thea heard that familiar voice again.

Don't blame her for being nagging and strict; she... was genuinely frightened by you this time.

〔I know.〕

[And Theodore, don't be fooled by his smile. That kid's been incredibly busy these past few days, running between the Riddle estate and St. Mungo's Hospital all day, and... oh right, do you remember your engagement party? He's the one organizing that now.]

〔Remember.〕

[...]

My mind went silent for half a second.

When he spoke, the voice was surprisingly cautious.

[...Aren't you...returning your mind? That kid...is kind of pitiful.]

[So, are you trying to persuade me, a terminally ill patient, to pity another poor soul?]

Thea spoke calmly and deliberately.

[He's pitiful, but I'm not? Aren't those who died or were wounded in this war pitiful?]

[Suppress your misplaced sympathy. Instead of pitying a heartbroken Theodore, why not pity me, an orphan who's about to die... a minor?]

Thea practically clenched her teeth before uttering the last three words.

As Thea expected, the voice finally stopped as soon as she finished her sob story.

[I...I pity you too.]

After an unknown amount of time, the voice rang out again, but unfortunately, Thea didn't hear it—she had fainted again.