The Wheelchair War God Speedruns Hogwarts

The next morning, when they woke up, a fine drizzle drifted outside the window, and all of Hogwarts lay shrouded in hazy mist.

After dinner, Harry and Hermione accompanied Vera to the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey looked a little surprised to see all three of them arrive together, but quickly resumed her professional demeanor.

"Miss Black, it's time for your routine examination," she said gently. "Miss Potter, Miss Granger, you may wait outside."

Harry gave Vera a worried look. "We'll be right outside. Call us if you need anything."

Vera nodded lightly and wheeled herself into the examination room after Madam Pomfrey.

The examination room was filled with the scent of herbs. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, coating the white sheets in gold.

Madam Pomfrey gestured for Vera to lie down on the examination bed, then began a series of routine checks.

"Your spine is recovering a little better than expected." Madam Pomfrey lightly passed her wand over Vera's back, its tip glowing softly. "But the nerve damage is still severe. As for your legs..."

Vera lay quietly, knowing there was still no sign of improvement in her legs.

"How has the new potion been working?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she recorded the data.

"Better than before," Vera answered softly. "It lets me sleep well."

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Miss Black, your condition is very unusual. Ordinary healing magic and potions have limited effects on you, but I believe that if you keep up the treatment, you'll gradually improve."

Though she knew those were merely comforting words, Vera still nodded politely. "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey."

Following the usual procedure, the routine examination should have ended at this point.

Afterward, Madam Pomfrey would update her medical records based on her latest condition, Snape would personally brew the medicine, and finally a house-elf would deliver it to her bedside table.

This time, however, Madam Pomfrey did not immediately update her records after the examination. Instead, she looked at Vera with some hesitation.

"...Is there another problem?"

For once, a trace of nervousness appeared on Vera's usually composed face.

No patient could stay calm when their doctor looked at them with a hesitant expression.

Some might even clearly recall every extra bite of ice cream they had eaten lately.

Seeing the change in her expression, Madam Pomfrey hurriedly said, "Don't worry, child. It's not bad news."

Well, that only made her more nervous.

Vera unconsciously gripped the armrests, instinctively taking a deep breath as she barely maintained her outward calm and waited for Madam Pomfrey to continue.

"It's like this," Madam Pomfrey said warmly. "The headmaster asked about your current condition yesterday. He also said that, if necessary, he could provide some Phoenix Tears as an aid."

Phoenix Tears?

Vera's heart skipped a beat. Even when she had written to Dumbledore during the summer holidays, he had merely sent Madam Pomfrey and Snape to examine her.

After all, he was the headmaster of an entire school. Aside from paying extra attention to Harry out of particular necessity, he had already done more than enough for an ordinary student like her.

But... she had already been at school for more than two months. She appeared in the Great Hall almost every day, and even after that strange incident, Dumbledore had shown no excessive concern for her.

Yet yesterday, Dumbledore had suddenly remembered to ask after her health and had even offered Phoenix Tears...

It did not look like a whim at all.

"The headmaster is... truly generous," Vera replied cautiously. "But this is simply too precious."

Well, from her godlike perspective, she knew Dumbledore had a Phoenix, and Phoenix Tears could be obtained whenever he wanted.

But for an ordinary young witch who knew nothing about Dumbledore, the ingredient truly was exceedingly precious.

Madam Pomfrey smiled gently. "Phoenix Tears have powerful healing properties. Combined with Professor Snape's potions, they may help you regain some sensation."

Vera lowered her eyes, considering Dumbledore's intentions.

Was he simply concerned about a student? Or had he... noticed something?

"I understand." Vera lightly clenched the fabric over her knees and said quietly, "I'm just worried... Wouldn't it be a waste to use such a good medicine on me...?"

"Don't rush to refuse, child." A trace of pity filled Madam Pomfrey's eyes. "Headmaster Dumbledore believes every student deserves the best treatment.

You can think it over first. Come find me whenever you're ready."

She turned toward the medicine cabinet. "I'll give you today's potion first. Remember to take it on time."

Vera nodded. Her face gave nothing away, but waves had already risen in her heart.

Phoenix Tears were indeed precious. If she could use this opportunity to improve her physical condition, it would undoubtedly be an enormous help.

Besides, what if Dumbledore really meant to test her?

Ultimately, what she had done on the Quidditch Pitch yesterday had been to help Harry. On top of that, she had not used any extreme methods. It could withstand scrutiny completely.

Her earlier hesitation had only been because she was considering the purpose behind Dumbledore's actions, while reminding herself to be more cautious in the future.

As long as he was not deranged enough to use Legilimency, which could read minds, on an eleven-year-old child like her, she had nothing to fear.

Still, saying that did not mean she could always place her hopes on others choosing not to use Legilimency on her. The key was to learn Occlumency herself, so she could resist the spell.

They would be going to the library with Harry and Hermione shortly, so she could try to find a related book and teach herself.

Vera accepted the potion, thanked her softly, and wheeled herself out of the examination room.

The moment she came outside, Harry and Hermione, who had been waiting there the whole time, immediately hurried over. "How was it? Are the results okay?"

"About the same as before," Vera answered calmly.

Seeing their solemn expressions, she added, "But Madam Pomfrey said my recovery is a little better than expected."

Harry visibly let out a sigh of relief. "Really? That's great."

"Yeah." Hermione also relaxed, patting her chest before bending down to look at Vera's usual calm expression. "You too, don't always keep such a straight face. Your body recovering is a good thing."

Vera sighed helplessly and could only lift the corners of her lips slightly. "Then... shall we go to the library now?"

"Of course!" Harry immediately moved behind her to push the wheelchair. "We need to find out who Nicolas Flamel is as soon as possible!"

Without even thinking about it, their search today was destined to yield nothing without any clues or keywords.

The three of them arrived at the library full of excitement, only to stare at the thousands of bookshelves before them and find themselves at a loss.

"Where do we start looking?" Harry's gaze swept across the rows of shelves, and she instinctively swallowed several times.

Hermione took a deep breath and quickly walked over to a row of shelves. "Let's start with books related to A History of Modern Magic. Nicolas Flamel was from the same era as Dumbledore."

Excellent. They had eliminated one wrong answer first.

Vera watched as they swiftly pulled several thick books from the shelves and began flipping through them, feeling a little helpless.

She hesitated for a long time, but ultimately gave up on saying anything.

There was no harm in reading more books.

She could only wheel herself along, glancing over the shelves as she went. It was not until she reached the depths of the library that she spotted an old-looking book on an upper shelf.

Its spine bore the gilded title, "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Occlumency," which was exactly what she needed right now.

But seeing that it was clearly higher than she could reach even with her arm outstretched, Vera sighed helplessly.

She looked around, confirmed that Madam Pince was nowhere nearby, then quietly drew her wand and pointed it at the book. "Accio book."

The book did not move at all.

It seemed the library books had all been protected by an Anti-Summoning Charm, probably to stop students from causing trouble.

A very good protective measure. It made her wheelchair turn around.

Vera pursed her lips and wheeled closer to the shelf, preparing to use a Levitation Charm to lift herself up.

If the mountain would not come to her, she would go to the mountain.

But before she could activate the Enhanced Levitation Charm on her wheelchair, a hand reached out from behind her and easily took down the book.

"Do you need this?" a gentle, unfamiliar voice asked from behind her.

Vera froze, then instinctively turned around and saw a girl in a Ravenclaw uniform standing behind her, holding "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Occlumency."

The girl stood before her, black hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall. When she smiled, two small dimples appeared on her fair cheeks.

She had a typical Eastern face.

Vera paused before softly saying, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The girl smiled and handed her the book. "My name is Cho Chang. I'm a second-year Ravenclaw. You're Vera Black, right? I've heard of you."

Vera took the book, blinking in surprise before realizing that, looking the way she did, it really was difficult not to become known in such a small, enclosed environment as the school.

As though she had guessed what Vera was thinking, Cho Chang explained kindly, "I heard Professor McGonagall mention you in Transfiguration class. She said you're very talented in this area."

Vera paused, realizing the other girl was kindly protecting her self-respect, and merely nodded lightly.

"This book is very obscure." Cho Chang glanced curiously at the book in Vera's hands. "Very few people are interested in Occlumency."

Vera's fingers tightened slightly. "I just happened to see it and wanted to learn a little about it."

Cho Chang noticed that she did not wish to say more, so she thoughtfully did not press further. Instead, she said politely, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Alright. Thank you, Senior Cho Chang." Vera nodded politely.

Only after watching Cho Chang disappear at the end of the bookshelves did she gradually loosen her grip on the book she had been holding tightly against her chest and let out a nervous breath.

She had started getting used to being helped by close friends like Harry and Hermione, who spent every day with her, but being helped by a stranger... even if she was a named character from the original story, it was still inevitably uncomfortable...

She sighed, lowering her head to stare at "The Basic Principles and Techniques of Occlumency" in her hands as her fingertips gently brushed over the gilded title.

The book was much heavier than she had expected. Its dark brown leather cover was somewhat worn, clearly having been read many times.

Vera opened the book and quickly skimmed through its table of contents.

Occlumency, as its name suggested, was magic used to close off one's thoughts and prevent them from being peered into with Legilimency.

Therefore, a wizard skilled in Occlumency could prevent others from using Legilimency to probe their thoughts and feelings, or from being influenced by it.

In the original story, the person most accomplished in this spell was none other than the famous double agent, Snape.

But aside from her family circumstances and physical condition being somewhat different, Vera appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary young witch in every other respect.

If she rashly asked Snape to teach her such advanced magic, not only would he mock her with his sharp tongue, but it would also needlessly attract the attention of Snape and even Dumbledore.

She could only teach herself.

Her fingertips lightly brushed over the yellowed pages as Vera frowned slightly.

This book was even more profound than she had imagined. Right from the beginning, it emphasized that Occlumency required tremendous willpower and long-term practice, and that those lacking willpower would only achieve the opposite effect by learning it.

"Focus your mind, eliminate distracting thoughts..." she softly read the key points in the book, her brow slightly furrowed.

This sort of abstract concept truly was difficult for a beginner to grasp.

Fortunately, she was a transmigrator. Though she could no longer remember many things from her previous life, at least her learning ability was considerably stronger than that of children her age.

Coupled with the boost from her Magic Circuit, understanding and learning this should not be too difficult.

After looking around and confirming that no one nearby was likely to disturb her, Vera adjusted her breathing, gradually calmed herself, and made a brief attempt according to the method described in the book.

She closed her eyes and tried to follow the book's instructions to clear away distracting thoughts.

However, the more deliberately she tried to empty her mind, the more miscellaneous thoughts surged in like a tide.

Her body, the mysterious Ancient Magic, Voldemort's potential threat, Dumbledore's probing, and... Harry and Hermione's faces.

Countless thoughts churned through her mind, making it impossible for her to concentrate. She had no choice but to open her eyes and let out a somewhat hurried breath.

"Of course it wouldn't be that simple..." she murmured, rubbing her slightly aching temples.

The core of Occlumency was controlling emotions, not suppressing them.

But her thoughts were far too complicated. Even if she could suppress them temporarily, she could not truly control them at all.

Harry in the original story had also struggled to get started when learning this technique, and in the end, he had simply given up.

It was only after Sirius died that he used his endless grief to drive Voldemort's thoughts from his mind.

But Vera could not possibly wait until someone close to her died, then rely on pure emotion to shield her mind.

If she wanted to achieve this, it seemed there was no other way besides practicing day after day.

She lowered her eyes and let out a quiet sigh.

Just as she was preparing to leave for the moment, faint golden light suddenly began to seep from between the stone bricks of the walls around her, centered on her body.