Harry's fingers twitched, and then he slowly opened his eyes. Though his eyes were still somewhat uncomfortable, it was nothing like the bur
Harry's fingers twitched, and then he slowly opened his eyes.
Though his eyes were still somewhat uncomfortable, it was nothing like the burning sensation he had felt that morning.
He tried to clench his hand—it was weak and limp, like a wad of cotton.
Harry blinked a few times. Once his vision adjusted to the darkness, he began surveying the room.
The surroundings… they looked like the hospital wing.
Propping himself up on his elbows, he tried to sit up.
His movement stirred the girl who had been resting with her head on the edge of his bed.
Still half-asleep, she blinked in confusion and shook her head to clear the haze. When she noticed Harry was awake, she quickly asked,
"Harry, you're awake! How are you feeling?"
"Cho?" Harry hadn't expected her to be the one by his bedside.
"I'm alright. Nothing serious. What… happened to me?"
Cho helped him sit up. They were so close Harry could catch a faint milky scent from her hair.
"Madam Pomfrey said you had a dangerously high fever. She'd never seen anything like it—it nearly became life-threatening."
Harry's mouth fell open. Of course he knew exactly how it had happened.
Falling into a freezing lake, warming up by the fire without changing out of his wet clothes, and then taking a hot shower on top of it all…
No wonder he got sick.
But then again, no one ever expects to get sick until they already are.
Harry had known full well that his actions could lead to a fever. He just didn't believe it would actually happen to him. That blind confidence had come back to bite him.
"I didn't see you this morning, and I couldn't find you anywhere," Cho said softly. "Then I went to Hagrid's hut—just in time to see him carrying you in his arms, running full speed to the hospital wing."
Harry wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but once the surprise faded from her face, Cho seemed… a little distant.
"My carelessness played a part in this," she said with guilt. "If I'd insisted you see Madam Pomfrey yesterday, things might not have gotten so bad."
"How is it your fault? It's clearly mine."
But Cho looked back at him stubbornly, unwilling to budge.
She believed that since she'd noticed something was wrong with Harry yesterday but hadn't insisted, she was partly responsible for what happened today.
That classic "you saw it, so you're involved" logic.
And Harry could see it in her eyes.
…
The room fell quiet.
Neither of them knew what to say.
Eventually, Cho stood up.
"Well… since you're awake now, I'll be heading back."
Harry thought for a moment. He realized there wasn't really anything else to say, so he replied,
"Okay."
What else could he do? Ask her to stay and chat through the night? Then tomorrow they'd both be patients in the hospital wing.
Cho slowly walked toward the door, her figure just about to disappear from his view when—
Harry blurted out, almost without thinking:
"Will you come back tomorrow?"
The moment he said it, he felt like it was a silly question. Of course she would come.
Cho stopped in her tracks, her back still facing him.
She stood there for a long while.
Then slowly, she turned around.
Her dark eyes were deeper than the night—like two black pearls. There was something in them Harry couldn't quite read.
She said softly,
"I will…"
And then she disappeared through the doorway.
Harry had a strange feeling… like something about Cho had changed—but he couldn't put his finger on what.
Maybe he was just imagining things.
But just then, something startled him.
His magical awareness—it had grown stronger. A lot stronger.
When he first woke up, he'd noticed how sharp his vision had become. He could see the ceiling decorations clearly, even in the dark.
Now he understood why.
His mental strength had surged—doubled, even.
And what did that mean?
It meant he could now control and channel far more magic than before.
The more spells a wizard cast, the more mental energy they burned—and the more exhausted they became.
Even if a baby knew every spell in the book, they couldn't even cast a basic Lumos if their mind wasn't strong enough.
But despite how crucial it was, magical society had never really studied mental strength.
Wizards simply let it grow with time and experience.
So for Harry to gain such a massive breakthrough… just from falling ill?
He hadn't expected that at all.
Feeling oddly content, he drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep…
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⚡ The Rebirth of Harry Potter
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