During the years Wade had been at the school, Hogwarts, which had stood for a thousand years, had undergone many noticeable changes. Yet those changes seemed rarely to have reached the Hospital Wing.
As always, the air was thick with the mingled scents of Potions and Herbology. Having received advance notice, Madam Pomfrey had prepared a small bed with railings, covered in a soft blanket.
Dumbledore stood by the window, watching the snow drift down outside. Only when he heard footsteps did he turn around.
Madam Pomfrey had already gone forward to greet them. She wiped her hands and took the swaddling clothes with an expression of utter fondness. "Oh, is this the child? Good heavens, he's so adorable."
"Although he looks like a baby, he's actually a forty-seven-year-old man," Wade reminded her when he saw that Madam Pomfrey seemed about to give him a couple of kisses.
"I know that, Wade. I haven't forgotten why this child was sent here."
As she spoke, Madam Pomfrey still carefully touched the child's soft little hand before bending down to place him in the small bed.
Baby Hughes had his clear eyes wide open, curiously studying his surroundings. Perhaps because his arms and legs had finally been freed, he wore an unclouded, delighted smile.
"Merlin..."
Madam Pomfrey clutched her chest, looking as if the cuteness might make her faint.
After all, she had been the school matron for decades, and the youngest patients she treated on a daily basis were eleven. It had been a long time since she had seen a child whose entire body was less than three feet long.
Wade smiled helplessly. When he looked up, he met Dumbledore's gentle gaze.
"Wade." Amusement glinted in the Headmaster's eyes as he asked, "Did everything go smoothly?"
Wade smiled. "Other than