Back to the Hospital Wing

★[Fragments of Merlin's Story]★

Another great battle was about to begin.

Merlin had already lived through too many great battles. She had witnessed countless deaths.

No matter how she changed the plot, people always died, and more and more of them died each time.

Why was she still going on? What was the point?

Her temples throbbed with pain, and her mouth was full of the taste of blood. She knew these were signs of severe magical exhaustion. The pain went on for so long that she grew numb to it. Eventually, Merlin could no longer feel any physical sensation or emotion, and the world before her grew hazy, as if veiled in blood.

Lily... she had died after all. Even though Merlin had held out until Harry's time, she still couldn't save her in the end.

The final battle was about to begin. This should have been the moment Merlin cared about most, but now she didn't want to move at all.

There was no point. No point. No point.

Her hand tightened around her wand.

If not for the things that had stood in her way, she should have been able to turn everything around.

Everyone who stood in her way deserved to die.

Yes. As long as she killed everyone who might get in the way, the outcome would surely be different.

A glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in her eyes. She stumbled forward, a faint green light glowing at the tip of her wand.

She should get to the battlefield as quickly as possible. It didn't matter if she failed this time; she could surely start over again.

When the time came, all she had to do was kill them all. Anyone who stood in her way deserved to die, no matter who they were.

"Bang!"

Her severely exhausted body was unsteady, and as she moved forward, she accidentally bumped into someone. Unable to keep her balance, she fell backward.

"Careful."

Before Merlin hit the ground, the person had already reached out and caught her. That single word also made her recognize who it was.

Antonin Dolohov.

This time, she was a fighter for Hogwarts and had nothing to do with the Death Eaters. Why had he come to help her?

"Thank you." She thanked him casually, expecting the Death Eater to take the opportunity to attack her from behind. But until she left, the person behind her made no move.

★

It was already midnight when I woke up.

The Hospital Wing was empty except for me. All the other beds were vacant, and only moonlight streamed through the window onto the head of my bed.

My temples throbbed with pain, and my mouth was full of the taste of blood. The feeling was all too familiar. I had thought I wouldn't have to experience anything so unpleasant again for a while, at least.

I didn't know whether it was thanks to Madam Pomfrey's healing touch or the system. I remembered coughing up blood before passing out, but now I couldn't feel anything wrong. At that thought, I began moving around. The pain in my head when I woke gradually faded, and my mind cleared, while the rusty taste in my throat also receded.

Still, that had been really dangerous. James had nearly come to grief. If I died, I could start over, but if he died, the plot would be thrown into chaos before our first year was even over.

As I shook my head and sighed, I noticed quite a few things on the bedside table, including snacks and little cakes. Several letters were tucked beneath the cakes. My friends must have left them because I still hadn't woken up and Madam Pomfrey sent visitors away in the evening.

With that thought, I started opening the letters. The first was from Lily.

Sure enough, Lily gave James a thorough scolding in her letter. She said she had always known he would get himself killed sooner or later, but she hadn't expected me to suffer the consequences instead of him. She was furious about it, saying that at the very least, she would have to beat James up until he was in the same condition as me before she could feel satisfied.

Lily's concern made my eyes sting, and thinking of James again... I really hoped that after this, he would at least stop wanting to explore the Chamber of Secrets.

Lily spent the second half of the letter expressing concern for me and telling me to get plenty of rest. Headmaster Dumbledore had already arranged for me to take the next few days off. She had also brought little cakes and milk, so I could have something to tide me over when I woke up.

So this really had reached the headmaster... I scratched my head. After causing such a commotion, the four of us would probably lose Gryffindor a huge number of points again.

I picked up the milk and opened the second letter as I drank. It was from Remus. Besides telling me to rest well, as Lily had, he also described what had happened after I passed out that day.

It turned out my move had worked. Once the plant was petrified, James had finally escaped with his life. When Sirius saw me cough up blood and pass out, he immediately decided to find a professor, but before he could move, a great crash came from the battered doorway. Filch and several professors then appeared outside.

"It was the first time I'd ever seen Professor McGonagall so angry. Then Sirius told her something had happened to you, and she nearly fainted when she saw you," Remus wrote. "When we got back, we found the Gryffindor Common Room full of people. Everyone said they thought something had exploded. I didn't realize we'd made so much noise. No wonder the professors all came."

If the professors had come a little sooner, maybe I wouldn't have had to pass out. I sighed at my bad luck, but I also noticed that Sirius had both immediately prepared to find a professor and been the first to tell Professor McGonagall what had happened to me. That was a little different from my usual impression of him.

I had always thought Sirius showed no mercy to people he hated and didn't consider killing anyone a big deal. Like later on, when he deliberately let Snape see Remus as a Werewolf. It was one thing for Sirius not to consider Snape at all, but he didn't even stop to think how devastated Remus would be if he actually killed Snape.

But this time, he had cared quite a bit about whether I lived or died, which surprised me.

I put down Remus's letter. There was another one underneath. It was unsigned, and when I opened it, there was only one line inside.

"I was wrong this time, but what you did was too dangerous too. Neither of us had to get hurt."

I knew at once it was James. Even his apology had a "fine, you can say I was wrong" sort of feel to it.

I was about to put the letter down when I suddenly noticed there seemed to be something on the back too. I turned it over and saw another sentence.

"I asked the House-elves to make some bread, and I'll take notes for you this week."

James had crossed out and rewritten that last part many times, repeatedly deleting and writing it again—it looked like he didn't think he could keep paying attention in class and taking notes.

After reading the letters, I put everything away and ate all the cakes and bread. While I was eating, I kept feeling as though someone was watching me, but when I looked up, the Hospital Wing was still empty. Only the door...

Wait, was the door open a crack?

Curious, I got up, went over and opened it.

Moonlight, broken into scattered fragments by the window lattice, lay across the floor. The corridor was empty, and all I could hear was my own footsteps.

Maybe a friend had come to see me earlier.

I closed the door.

I didn't know if it was just my imagination, but I couldn't shake the feeling that someone had been standing in front of me when I opened the door.

─────

[Author's Note]

★Tip★

The aftermath of each event will also differ according to unlocked achievements and affection levels;

Different choices will also change how you interact with different people.

★Side Quest Reminder★

*Congratulations on unlocking the Sirius romance main quest achievement-[Night Visit]