Wayne spoke humbly, "It's Ho-Oh's doing—it really had nothing to do with me."
Ho-Oh lifted its head with pride, radiating an aura of haughty self-importance.
Though still young and not yet powerful enough to raise the dead, healing minor injuries like broken bones was no challenge at all.
Madam Pomfrey gave Cho a suspicious once-over, then began a more thorough check. After a good while of examination, her expression turned from skeptical to stunned.
"She's actually... fully healed? Is phoenix healing really this strong?"
She'd seen Fawkes save people before—but never with effects this immediate and complete.
Based on her thorough diagnostics, Cho was now completely uninjured. Her body showed no signs of trauma—as if nothing had ever happened.
"Madam, may I be discharged?" Cho asked hopefully.
"No," Madam Pomfrey said firmly, glancing once more at the regal Ho-Oh. "You'll stay one more night. If everything still looks good by morning, then you can go."
"Does that mean I can still play in the next Quidditch match…?" Cho didn't mind staying an extra night. What she really cared about was whether she'd be able to play next month.
Madam Pomfrey didn't answer directly. She only told Wayne to keep his voice down and not stay too long, then left the infirmary.
But her attitude made her position quite clear.
"Wayne—thank you so much!"
The moment she was gone, Cho threw her arms around Wayne, overcome with emotion.
"…So soft," Wayne mumbled quietly, feeling the delicate warmth of the girl in his arms, "Just a little small, though…"
Given how close they were, even a whisper didn't escape Cho's ears.
Her face flushed instantly—not with embarrassment…
But with anger.
"Wayne!!"
"Ah—wait!" Wayne realized his blunder a second too late and rushed to explain, "I mean—you've got so much potential! You'll definitely grow a lot more in the future."
"I—I'm only twelve!" Cho muttered, her voice barely audible as she tried to preserve what dignity she had left. "Of course I'll grow…"
The air in the infirmary suddenly turned oddly… charged.
Cho looked up. The boy had a proud, straight nose, long lashes, and bright, focused eyes. Somehow, her breathing quickened.
Wayne, too, felt his heartbeat speed up. Those soft eyes, like autumn waters, shimmered faintly, drawing him closer.
He tightened his arms slightly, pulling her even closer.
They were both too young to really understand love—but a taste of something sweet, a brief moment of closeness—was tempting enough.
They said nothing, but both knew exactly what was about to happen.
Cho closed her eyes. Her lashes fluttered softly. Wayne leaned in slowly—
BANG!
The door to the infirmary slammed open.
"Cho! I heard you were hurt—Are you… dead—?"
Hermione stood frozen in the doorway, her voice trailing off as she caught sight of the two clinging to each other.
Her eyes shifted, her expression growing… complicated.
Later, back in the Hufflepuff common room, Cedric called out as he saw Wayne return:
"How's Cho? Is she alright?"
"She's fine. Just needs a couple days' rest," Wayne replied calmly.
"Then why do you look so weird?" Cedric gave him a puzzled look, rubbing his chin. "Kind of disappointed… but also kind of… sleazy?"
"…Yeah. Bit of a shame," Wayne sighed deeply. "If only Hermione had come a few seconds later."
Cedric stared at him, utterly baffled.
What does Granger have to do with this?
Was she injured too?
Late that night, in the Room of Requirement, Wayne had long since left the awkwardness of the infirmary behind.
Whatever happens, happens. If it didn't work out today, there'd still be other chances.
Time was on his side.
Right now, the most pressing matter was strengthening himself.
According to the system's current assessment, Wayne at full power could already rival a professor.
But that was largely thanks to his raw talent and magical companions.
His actual foundation was still too shallow—he had only recently started learning magic.
He was still young, and his magical reserves were limited.
Those were real limitations he needed to overcome.
Being "professor-level" sounded impressive, but in truth, Dumbledore, Voldemort, and Grindelwald were in a league of their own.
They weren't just top-tier professors.
They were beyond reach.
"Above them, no one.
Below them… everyone."
The gap was simply too vast.
Wayne didn't feel even the slightest bit of arrogance.
If time was short, then he'd make up for it with effort. Talent only represented potential and upper limits—if it wasn't turned into actual strength, it was nothing more than an illusion.
Thanks to the Manaflow Band, Wayne could increase his magical power by leveling up his other spells.
So lately, his training goal had been to raise as many of his still-intermediate-level spells as possible to advanced.
The results weren't bad. In the past half month, he had already raised five or six spells to advanced level.
In the system's evaluation, his magic rating had increased from 0.8 to 0.9
"Deprimo!"
A blue spell hit a steel plate and shattered it into over a dozen pieces. Wayne's magical power rose slightly once again.
This meant his Deprimo had also reached advanced level.
Suddenly—
Just as Wayne was about to leave the Room of Requirement, he felt a sudden jolt in his heart. Ho-Oh's call had reached him.
From within the familiar glow of firelight, Ho-Oh flew out, letting out an urgent cry.
"A unicorn is about to give birth? You need my help?"
Wayne understood what she meant right away and didn't hesitate.
"Where? Take me there."
Ho-Oh grabbed Wayne by the hair and activated Apparition again.
The next second, they appeared deep within the Forbidden Forest.
[First-time exploration of the Forbidden Forest's depths — Reward: +50 points]
Wayne didn't pay attention to the prompt in his mind. His eyes had already locked onto the base of a tree.
There, lying on the ground, was a magical creature completely white all over, with a spiral horn on its forehead and a bulging belly—it was clearly the unicorn Ho-Oh had mentioned.
Ho-Oh flew above the unicorn and showered her with sacred flames to ease her pain.
"Neigh~!"
"Neigh~!"
The unicorn let out weak cries, seemingly in gratitude.
"Wait, how am I supposed to help with this?"
Wayne felt a bit numb. He'd never learned how to deliver a baby!
If Newt were here, that'd be another story.
But soon, Wayne realized why Ho-Oh had called him.
From within the dense forest came rustling noises. In the darkness, tiny lights began to appear—countless of them.
With a series of whispers and scuttling, a massive number of spiders began surrounding them from the trees and the ground.
These spiders were nearly a meter tall, each with eight eyes, eight slender legs, enormous venomous pincers below their eyes, and long, sharp fangs.
With such distinct features, Wayne instantly recognized what they were.
Acromantulas.
Classified as XXXXX magical beasts, the same level as dragons.
A single Acromantula was far weaker than a dragon.
But their terrifyingly fast reproduction rate—they could hatch a brood every six to eight weeks—and their deadly venom made them far more dangerous in large numbers.
Many wizards would rather face a dragon than encounter Acromantulas.
You could avoid a dragon by staying away from its nest, but Acromantulas... would eat people!
These spiders didn't attack right away. Instead, they moved in an orderly manner, completely surrounding the area. Their many eyes fixed hungrily on Wayne and the unicorn.
The primal hunger to feast was beginning to boil over.
Suddenly, the spiders parted to form a path.
An enormous Acromantula, as large as a house, crawled forward.
"Keh keh keh… A unicorn, and a little wizard too. How unexpected."
"Looks like tonight's meal just got bigger."
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