Saving a Family

Neville was very light, as light as a feather. It was not the weight a somewhat chubby boy should have had. He Shenyan carried him through the corridors, his brow tightly furrowed.

Meditation was indeed dangerous, but this should never have happened under normal circumstances. The boy's condition could only mean that he had been living in severe pain for a long time.

He looked down at Neville. The poor child's face was as white as paper, yet his expression was utterly calm. There was not the slightest tremor of unease or pain to be seen, only peace. At the same time, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. It was a contradictory face.

And it meant he was in tremendous danger.

He hurried all the way to the school infirmary on the second floor and shouted before he even entered, "Madam Pomfrey! Please help!"

The elderly yet gentle face of the school nurse appeared behind the opening door. When she saw Neville in He Shenyan's arms, her expression immediately turned grave.

He Shenyan handed the paper-light Neville over to her and said urgently, "Forgive me, but please do not administer any treatment before I return. This is a symptom of soul-loss caused by meditation. He is very light right now, so you need to weigh him down with something heavy, all right? Do not panic, Madam Pomfrey. He'll be fine."

Madam Pomfrey's face turned pale as well. The moment she caught Neville, his abnormal weight frightened her. She nodded, and He Shenyan immediately left through a Portal.

He appeared instantly in Dumbledore's office. The old man had been eating snacks, but one look at his expression told him that something bad had happened. He Shenyan asked, "Do you know the student Neville Longbottom?"

Dumbledore set down the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans in his hand and nodded. "I do. He is an unfortunate child."

"Good."

He Shenyan made a gesture and said, "He lost his soul while meditating and has developed a 'floating' phenomenon caused by his soul nearly leaving his body. You should know what that means."

Dumbledore's expression grew solemn.

'Floating' meant that, in their subconscious, the meditator believed there was nowhere that could make them feel safe. Therefore, their soul would drift endlessly through The Void, searching for that place.

It was sad, was it not? Yet there were quite a few people like that. Some could still be saved, while others could never return.

"Come with me."

He stood and opened a Portal. Beyond it was a quiet hospital ward. The two of them stepped through, and Dumbledore lowered his voice. Pointing at the man and woman on the two beds in the center, he spoke with a complicated expression.

"These are Neville's parents. Frank Longbottom and Alice Longbottom. They were members of the Order of the Phoenix I told you about. During the war against Voldemort, someone used the Cruciatus Curse on them."

He removed his glasses and looked at the two people sleeping quietly. "They went mad. Many years ago. Neville's condition may be because of this. This is my fault."

Yet He Shenyan seemed to let out a breath of relief. He turned to look at Dumbledore, who was steeped in grief. "Do not dwell too deeply on the past, but do not forget it either. Mistakes can be remedied."

Dumbledore raised his head, hope blooming in his eyes, but He Shenyan merely waved a hand. "Neville still has family, doesn't he?"

"His grandmother, Madam Augusta, is his guardian."

"Good. Bring Madam Augusta to the school infirmary first. I'll come shortly."

Dumbledore did not ask why. He did as he was told.

He Shenyan closed his eyes, and the space around him rearranged and reassembled. Vast yet gentle Magic Power erupted from him, sweeping precisely over the unfortunate couple. They knew nothing of it.

Magic was not omnipotent. Conditions such as soul disorder and madness caused by spells lay beyond the scope of magical treatment.

But He Shenyan was.

He raised his right fist and clenched it. Black Magic Power gently lifted the two of them into the air, then entered their brains.

--

The Augusta Longbottom Dumbledore knew was a stern, hot-tempered woman, but at this moment she seemed utterly lost. She could barely walk, and Dumbledore had to support her as they made their way to the school infirmary.

Madam Pomfrey was using green binding straps to tie Neville to the hospital bed so that he would not float away.

She was already drenched in sweat. For a doctor, nothing was more agonizing than watching a patient suffer while being unable to do anything.

At the sight, Augusta Longbottom let out a brief cry of anguish.

She collapsed to the floor, and Dumbledore had no choice but to use the Calming Charm on her to settle her temporarily. Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore laid her on a bed directly opposite that of her grandson, Neville.

He had no solution either and could only hope that He Shenyan would return soon.

Ten minutes later, a black Portal opened inside the school infirmary.

Sensing the fluctuation of Magic Power, Dumbledore looked up at once. He saw He Shenyan emerge from it with two anxious people. His eyes became wet in an instant, and he had to lower his head to hide it.

They were Neville's parents, the Longbottoms.

The Longbottoms looked at him. With the situation so urgent, there was no time for reminiscing. They only exchanged a brief greeting.

He Shenyan led them to Neville's bedside and said, "Could you each give me one hand?"

Alice Longbottom, whose hair had already turned gray, exchanged a glance with her husband Frank Longbottom. They held out their hands.

He Shenyan took their outstretched hands and looked down at Neville. black Magic Power formed a vast shadow behind him, terrifying yet reassuring.

He closed his eyes. His soul sank down, and he began searching The Void with Alice and Frank for their son's lost soul.

--

Neville knew he had lost his way. He had read about this phenomenon in his professor's books and learned about it in class.

He was sad, but not for himself. He was sad for his grandmother.

Grandmother was a stern person who often scolded him. But every time they returned from visiting his parents at the hospital, Neville would see her crying silently alone in her room.

He thought, If I go mad too, what will Grandmother do? There was no doubt that Grandmother loved him.

But there was nothing he could do.

His soul drifted aimlessly through the endless Void. Here, he could see countless magnificent and wondrous sights. On a stretch of grass, he saw a cow grazing, but in the next instant, the cow transformed into an exploding star.

The light of the explosion reflected in his eyes before vanishing. What remained was a silent darkness. He tried to speak, but could only hear his own echo.

Amid the absolute silence, a creature whispered something to him, but he could not understand what it meant. So the creature left him and sent him away from that place, its movements gentle and friendly.

His soul arrived at a beach. A massive octopus extended its tentacles toward him. He could see the suckers on those tentacles, and within every sucker were countless happy faces saying to him, "Join us, you will be happy here."

Neville shrank back in fear. His soul did not need to obey the laws of reality. Therefore, the instant the thought appeared, a force carried him backward and sent him flying far away.

The scenes around him were dazzlingly colorful. He even saw an enormous purple butterfly flap its wings in The Void and stir up a storm. Yet the octopus's tentacles seemed endless. They continued pursuing him across tens of thousands of wondrous sights until he crashed into a warm chest.

Then he heard his professor's voice. "Begone!"

The voice was like thunder, sending black lightning rippling through The Void. The octopus's tentacles were severed in an instant and vanished. A cowering cry rang out from The Void, fearful and uneasy.

Neville turned around and saw his parents looking at him with tears in their eyes.