Richie woke up three hours later.
The first thing he saw were three oversized faces staring down at him—Hagrid, Charlie, and Ben.
"Oh, he's awake!"
"Thank Merlin!"
"Ugh…"
Richie pushed himself up and realized he was lying in the sanctuary's medical room.
"What happened to me?"
His brain still felt foggy.
Hagrid gently propped him up and tugged the blanket higher, his face flooded with relief.
"You're in the medical wing of the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary."
"You nearly drained your magic completely."
Charlie reached over and patted Richie's shoulder, picking up where Hagrid left off, his voice serious.
"Magic exhaustion is no joke for any wizard—especially a young one. It's like running an ultra-marathon. It sucks every last drop of your energy and stamina. If you don't get proper treatment and nutrition right away, you can end up with permanent side effects."
"You might stop growing properly, and your spells could become unstable for the rest of your life."
Charlie paused, then added, "And honestly? It's incredibly irresponsible to your teammates."
"If you collapse in the middle of a dangerous situation, what's your partner supposed to do? Save you while they're still in danger themselves?"
"You should always keep something in reserve. That's how you protect both yourself and the people counting on you."
Most kids would have sulked or gotten defensive after a lecture like that, but Richie wasn't most kids. He listened carefully, his expression growing serious.
Stunted growth?
Unstable magic?
No way.
Those were two of the very few things he actually cared about—getting taller and mastering magic. He couldn't let something like magic exhaustion ruin either one.
He also agreed completely with the second half of Charlie's warning.
This time he'd gone all-out because he hadn't prepared the modified Lumos spell in advance and had subconsciously trusted that Hagrid would protect him. If anyone else had been with him, passing out could have gotten him abandoned in seconds.
Charlie was right—always keep something in reserve.
Richie looked at him with genuine gratitude. "I understand. Thank you, Charlie."
"Good." Charlie nodded, satisfied by the boy's thoughtful expression.
Now that the serious talk was over, Hagrid couldn't hold back any longer. He immediately shattered the mood.
"Oh, Richie, you don't know how scared I was! You went so pale, lying there with your eyes closed—I thought the worst!"
Hagrid scratched his shaggy head in distress.
Richie gave him a tired smile. "Relax, Hagrid. Just like we planned, it worked perfectly, didn't it?"
"Yeah," Ben chimed in. "Thanks to that Lumos spell of yours, the keepers in the main building finally noticed the tent was under attack by Thornhead—that Romanian Longhorn. Lina and the others got there in time and pinned it down with binding spells together."
"They're giving it the full treatment right now—sawing off its horns, removing its fire sac, the works."
Ben patted his chest, still shaken. "If it wasn't for your magic, they wouldn't have gotten here in time. I probably would've been smashed into pieces when Thornhead flung me around."
Then his expression turned to open amazement. "By the way, that spell was incredible. Something that bright usually takes five or six people working together. You did it all by yourself!"
"Oh, I don't think I ever properly introduced myself." Ben stuck out his hand, suddenly formal. "Ben Nigel, Gryffindor alumnus from Hogwarts. Charlie and I were in the same year."
Richie shook it. "Richie Harland, Ravenclaw. I'll be starting second year soon."
Ben's eyes widened. "Second year? So you're only a first-year right now?"
A first-year who could pull off magic like that? The kid was a genius.
"Hahaha, you just did Hogwarts proud!" Ben said with a wink. "We've got keepers from all over the world here—Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Durmstrang. We get along fine, but there's always a bit of friendly rivalry between the schools."
"With a performance like yours, it just proves that Hogwarts is still—"
"Ben Nigel!"
A bold voice cut him off. Everyone turned toward the door.
"Lina?" Ben shrank back instantly and whispered to Richie, "That's Lina Raymondes. She graduated from Durmstrang. She can wrestle dragons bare-handed."
"You better not be badmouthing me and Durmstrang again!" Lina strode over, hooked her arm around Ben's neck, and locked his head under her armpit. She ground her knuckles into his scalp.
"Ow! Mercy! I won't do it again!"
Charlie watched the two of them roughhousing with an amused smile and told Richie, "Lina was the one who led the team that saved you."
After giving Ben a thorough noogie, Lina let him go and turned to Richie, raising a thumbs-up.
"Ben told us what happened. Good call stopping this idiot from trying to play hero alone. Otherwise we'd be holding his funeral right now."
"Courage, brains, and power—you've got my respect, kid."
Richie nodded politely. "Thank you."
Charlie clapped his hands. "Alright, let's not keep bothering Richie while he rests. Get some more sleep. This afternoon the sanctuary will hold a small ceremony to thank you for your contribution."
Before Richie could reply, the group filed out of the medical room.
Once it was quiet again, Richie let out a long breath.
He never expected a simple visit to turn into something this dangerous.
Still… there was an unexpected silver lining.
Richie's eyes sparkled with excitement.
He felt like he had finally brushed against the edge of creating his own spell.