What a wretched day.
That was the first thought Neville Longbottom had as he opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of the hospital wing.
"Ah, you're awake? Thank goodness."
Sensing movement, Lupin, who had been standing by the bedside, spoke with a look of relief.
"Do you happen to remember how you got here?"
Neville searched his memory for a moment before answering, "Well… during c-class. We were learning how to deal with a Boggart, and, ah."
Ah. That's right.
Bellatrix Lestrange.
The Boggart had taken her form.
And he hadn't been able to do a thing.
In the end, he had been brought to the hospital wing, even fainting pathetically on the way.
Seeing the disheartened Neville, Lupin, who was beside him, spoke carefully.
"I'm sorry, Neville. I should have considered your circumstances. It was my oversight."
Neville said nothing, just quietly nodding his head.
"…Alright. When you feel a bit calmer, go back to the dormitory and get some proper rest. I'll be on my way now."
"P-Professor."
Neville called out to Lupin as he was about to leave.
"…If I ever meet Lestrange, what should I do?"
Lupin paused to think for a moment, then answered in a firm tone.
"You must run. You must run and call for us."
It was a reasonable answer, and one Neville had expected.
At the same time, it was an answer that drove home the fact that there was currently nothing he could do against Bellatrix.
Hearing that there was nothing he could do against his parents' enemy, Neville couldn't help but flare up.
"You know what that witch did, Professor. And you still think I should run away?"
The aggressive tone startled even Neville himself.
Given his usually timid nature, he couldn't believe such combative words had come out of his own mouth.
He shrank back, about to apologize to Lupin, when Lupin replied with a gentle smile.
"Yes. You must run. For now, that is."
"For… now?"
"I'm sorry to say this, but Bellatrix Lestrange is a fearsome witch in many respects. Her cruelty, her ruthlessness, her decisiveness. And the skill to back it all up. But you have at least one advantage over her."
"W-what is it?"
"The fact that you are a student."
Lupin gave a hearty laugh at Neville, who was looking at him as if he couldn't understand how that was an advantage at all.
"What that means is that you have a bright future ahead of you. It means that you have nothing but days of growth left."
Neville answered with a dark expression.
"But Professor, if I have time to grow, doesn't that mean it will take a long time to mature? A-And! Even with time, there's no guarantee I'll be able to grow stronger!"
"Of course you will grow, Neville."
Lupin nodded with a firm tone.
"Of course, Neville. People with a goal always grow. So don't be impatient."
"But…"
"The one who's short on time is Lestrange, not you. Time is a student's privilege. So take it easy."
"…Okay."
Neville forced himself to accept Lupin's words.
Thinking it over, there wasn't a single flaw in what he said.
He needed to calm the emotions that had been overly agitated by Bellatrix's escape.
Even if she had succeeded in breaking out, Bellatrix was a criminal, while he was a student at Hogwarts.
It would be difficult now, but if he just let time pass… he would surely be able to defeat Bellatrix and avenge his parents.
The only sticking point was the sorrow of not being able to avenge his parents right this instant.
The reasonable thing to do was to suppress that emotion and use it as fuel for his future growth.
As he finally managed to organize his thoughts, he felt his heart grow much lighter.
When the mind is tired, the body follows. Neville buried himself up to his head in the hospital bed's covers and closed his eyes.
When he woke up, the first thing he would do was review what he had learned today. That was how he would grow, one step at a time.
…And when Neville woke up, he realized that time was not on his side.
***
"Is this the Nightmare Hat that Harry was talking about?"
"Nightmare Hat? Call it the Magic Training Hat."
In the room beyond the gargoyle statue, the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, one student and two professors were sitting around, chatting idly.
One of the professors, the one with stark white hair, Albus, picked up the hat and examined it from all angles.
"Hoh, this is quite… Hmm, and this part here? Uumm, this is, hoho!"
After scrutinizing the hat for a long time, Albus put it down and clapped his hands in admiration.
"I never imagined it was possible to create a device that could interfere with a person's consciousness to this extent without using Dark Magic."
I grinned and nodded.
*Damn right.* I'd put so much effort into making that hat.
It had truly pained my heart all this time to have no one recognize its brilliance, only for it to be disparaged as the 'Nightmare Hat'.
But meeting someone who appreciated it like this couldn't help but lift my spirits.
"But sunbae-nim, if the trials are conjured from the user's consciousness, isn't there a limit to how strong they can become?"
"Ah, a good question. That was solved by taking a cue from how memories viewed in a Pensive can be manipulated, and altering the consciousness with a simple interference…"
"Aha, I see. In that case, this…"
"That works because this part does…"
"…"
"…"
"*Ahem, hem.*"
Having a discussion with someone on a similar magical level for the first time in a while, Albus and I had forgotten our surroundings and debated for over ten minutes before a cough brought us back to reality.
The owner of the cough was the last person in the room: Severus Snape.
Albus looked at him apologetically.
"Oh, Severus. My apologies. As you know, an experience like this is a precious one."
"N-not at all, Headmaster. I understand completely."
Though Snape's reply to Albus was polite, his eyes held an unmistakable wariness directed at me.
I had thought the fear he held from our first meeting, when I had pierced through his Occlumency and read his innermost thoughts, had faded considerably over several years of special lessons.
But it seemed that seeing me engage in a magical debate on equal footing with Albus had brought back the memory.
He had his Occlumency shields up so tight that I couldn't read a thing, but from the way he forced himself not to look away from me, I thought he looked like a chihuahua trying to puff up its fur.
But that, too, was brief.
Not long after my gleaming golden eyes reflected in his pupils, Snape subtly turned his head and spoke to Albus.
"Headmaster. I have come to keenly appreciate that Aisen Potter… no, Knightly, is a formidable wizard. But is there a reason for me to be here?"
It was not Albus who answered, but the portraits hanging behind him.
"My, my. Listen to his tone. What dreadful manners."
"The successor's personality has certainly improved. A hundred years ago, if a Dark Wizard had spoken like that, he would have killed him on the spot."
"*Tsk, tsk,* how the world has changed. You would do well to show some respect for Dumbledore, young man."
Just as Snape's mind was about to go blank from the collective scolding of the former headmasters, Albus intervened.
"Headmasters. That will be enough. Snape is like my own right hand."
At Albus's firm tone, the headmasters went quiet, though they continued to grumble.
Albus spoke in a gentle voice.
"Severus. The reason I called you here was to ask if you would try on this hat."
Snape flinched and replied, "Are you asking me to wear that hat?"
"That is the favor I'm asking."
"…It is not my area of expertise, and I couldn't understand half of what you two were saying, but I did hear clearly that the hat's nickname is the 'Nightmare Hat.' And you still expect me to wear it?"
I cocked an eyebrow at Snape's snarling reply.
Seriously. He had completely ignored all the praise Albus and I had just heaped upon this hat, and was refusing it just because he was fixated on that ridiculous nickname?
I didn't like his tone, either. Maybe I should just force it on his head.
As if sensing the twitch of impulse within me, Albus frantically signaled with his eyes that he would handle it.
"Severus. Of course, if you do not wish to, you don't have to wear it."
"In that case…"
"However, Severus. This hat could provide an experience that might one day save the life of a member of our Order. But no one will use it unless you can verify it. Of course, I could wear it myself, but as you know, I am… different from the others."
"…"
"I'm asking you, Severus."
After a moment of silence, Snape took the hat from Albus's hand and sighed.
"At times, I truly detest you, Dumbledore."
He glanced at Albus's smiling face, then pulled the hat down low, completely covering his eyes.
For the record, unlike the Sorting Hat, the one I made is enchanted with a cleaning charm, so it won't be sullied by Snape's greasy hair. Ha-ha.
After putting on the hat, Snape went still, as if he had fallen asleep.
Watching him, Albus asked me, "How long will it take, sunbae?"
"Well, it varies from person to person, but for a light experience, thirty minutes at most?"
"That's a reasonable time to wait."
How long did we wait? Twenty minutes? Thirty?
Snape twitched, then sat up. He fumbled for the hat on his head and pulled it off, then stared at it with a strange expression.
Albus asked him, "Severus, how was it? Were there any problems?"
Snape looked down at the hat, dazed and unresponsive. It seemed he was still groggy from sleep.
Then, with a twist of his hooked nose, a crooked smile appeared on Snape's face.
"I spent a most enjoyable time dealing with some most irritating people."
Albus's eyebrows twitched for a moment. Then he smiled and said, "In that case, it seems there are no problems. If possible, I should have the others try it on as well—"
*CRASH!*
At that moment, before Albus could finish his sentence, the sound of someone violently throwing the door open echoed through the room.
"Professor, there's been a major incident at Hogwarts! …Aisen?"
The owner of the voice was none other than Professor McGonagall.
She had burst into the Headmaster's office, her hair disheveled, clearly with urgent news for Albus, but seemed to be at a loss for words at the sight of me and Albus observing Snape, who was wearing a strange hat.
I had to admit, it was a rather odd combination.
In any case, it must have been a truly urgent matter, as she quickly shook off her confusion and continued speaking to Albus.
"Professor. An intruder has appeared at Hogwarts."
Albus lifted his glasses and asked, "The intruder's identity?"
"We were unable to capture them, but we have confirmed who it is."
"…Professor McGonagall, seeing as you've come all this way, I have a good idea who it might be, but I will ask just in case. Who is this fiend?"
"…Bellatrix. Lestrange. It's that witch."
This year, as always, dark clouds gathered over Hogwarts.
***