In the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, Jerry's eyes snapped open like a slumbering beast jolted awake. His sharp gaze swept the room, searching for his wand.
"It's all right, Jerry. You're safe. This is Hogwarts." Hermione's voice caught in her throat. She clutched his arm tightly, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Hogwarts?" Jerry drew a deep breath, his gaze gradually focusing on his surroundings. Hermione sat upright beside his bed, both hands clasped tightly over his. Seeing him awake, Pheobe hurried to offer him a cup of warm water. Catherine had been pacing anxiously beside the bed; the moment he woke, she rushed over, her eyes full of worry.
As his awareness gradually returned, Jerry accepted the cup, gently rubbing his fingers against its sides without drinking. To his surprise, every wound on his body—including the horrific injury on his chest—had vanished without so much as a scar. There was none of the weakness or exhaustion he would have expected after such a recovery. He felt full of energy, his magic brimming with life.
"Why did you take all my clothes off?" Jerry tried to pat the backs of the three girls' hands, signaling for them to let go so he could put something on. Before he had finished speaking, however, his body suddenly turned insubstantial, dissolving into a cloud of mist that slipped free of their embrace. Then, before their astonished eyes, the mist instantly coalesced again, revealing Jerry standing stark naked beside the bed.
"What... what's going on?" Jerry frowned at the faint black mist rapidly dispersing around him and at his body, which had re-formed from the Nameless Mist. What's wrong with my body? He quickly looked down... Thank goodness, it's still there...
"Jerry!" There was a note of panic in Hermione's voice. She spun around, her cheeks