"Hiss... that hurts..." Su Er's eyelids felt terribly heavy. Enduring the protests his entire body sent to his brain, he struggled to get up from the bed.
"Where am I?"
By the faint light of the half-burned candle at the bedside, Su Er discovered that he was lying in a rather childlike room. It was small, with only a wooden bed and a few rather shabby dolls on the walls and in the corners.
Outside, the sky had already turned pitch-black.
"Creak..." Someone pulled the old wooden door outward from inside. In the dim candlelight, Su Er saw an old man with white hair and a white beard walk in carrying a tray. A bottle sat on it, its indigo liquid swaying slightly.
"You're awake?" As he spoke, he set the tray on the wooden cabinet, picked up the bottle of indigo liquid in his large hand, and handed it to Su Er. "Here, drink this."
Su Er accepted the bottle, puzzled. "Mr. Dumbledore, what happened to me?"
"Nothing serious. You just exhausted all your magic." The old man was none other than Aberforth. "Albus brought this potion over."
"Headmaster Dumbledore? He came here?"
"Hmph..." Aberforth's expression suddenly soured, as though mentioning Albus was unpleasant. "Yes, he did. Hurry up and drink your potion, then get some sleep. I'll take you back to the Castle tomorrow."
With that, Aberforth immediately moved to turn and leave.
"Wait, Mr. Dumbledore." Holding the potion bottle, Su Er hurriedly called out, "Did I... succeed? Ariana, is she...?"
Aberforth's expression softened at once. He turned back, his gaze becoming very gentle, and nodded, then shook his head.
What did that mean? Su Er remembered clearly seeing the door open before he passed out. Could Ariana have gotten stuck in the doorway?
Seeing the bewilderment on