#279 - Chapter 279 Awakening from a Dream

The Christmas holiday passed quickly, and after experiencing the tense mid-term exams, the young wizards threw themselves back into their busy school lives.

Neville practiced the Patronus Charm even more diligently, coming to Sebastian's office almost every evening after dinner to practice with Scabbers.

Sebastian naturally liked such a hardworking student and therefore guided him with extra care.

Thus, one was willing to teach, and the other was willing to learn. Although they were both tired, they were quite content and happy.

However, human joys and sorrows are not shared, and in the office, there was another person, or rather, a rat, whose days were not so good.

Faced with Sebastian's Cruciatus Curse and Obliviate combination, although Scabbers didn't remember what had happened, the pain in his soul was undeniable.

As time went on, even after being subjected to the Obliviate Charm, Scabbers would involuntarily tremble whenever he saw Sebastian.

Fortunately, Neville lived up to expectations and did not waste Sebastian's painstaking cultivation, nor did he waste Scabbers' "sacrifice."

His progress was very significant, from initially having no way to deal with the soul cracks to gradually starting to repair them, with new breakthroughs every day.

By the end of February, Neville was already able to steadily repair the cracks in Scabbers' soul.

Seeing such progress, Sebastian decided to take Neville to St. Mungo's every Saturday and Sunday for clinical treatment of his parents.

Initially, the healers at St. Mungo's did not believe that Neville, a third-year student, could do what they could not.

And Neville's grandmother was also worried that he would aggravate his parents' injuries due to clumsiness.

So Sebastian personally asked Director Bones to come forward and explained his treatment philosophy in front of everyone.

After witnessing Neville's powerful Patronus, Director Bones and the healer in charge of Neville's parents agreed to let Neville personally treat his parents, provided that Sebastian must be present to ensure safety.

And so, the days passed, and time unknowingly came to Saturday, April 2nd.

After breakfast, Sebastian once again took Neville to St. Mungo's, and when they arrived, Mrs. Longbottom was already waiting in front of the ward door.

"Professor Swan, thank you again," Mrs. Longbottom said gratefully with a smile, "I see that Alice and Frank both look much better, which shows that your treatment is effective."

"To be honest, I always thought that Alice and Frank would be like this for the rest of their lives, after all, there has never been a successful precedent in the magical world for saving someone whose soul is extremely fragmented."

"You are the one who gave this old woman hope. Whenever I think of Alice and Frank being cured, I feel that life is full of hope."

"Madam," Sebastian said gently, "I can't cure them by myself."

"It's all thanks to Neville. You should praise him more."

While Sebastian and Mrs. Longbottom were exchanging greetings at the door of the ward, Neville had already skillfully started tidying up the ward.

"Mom, Dad, the sun is good today. I'll open the window for a while to ventilate. The professor said that breathing fresh air is good for the body."

The ward was very quiet, with only Neville softly speaking to his parents.

Neville's parents sat on the hospital bed. Although their eyes were still dull, after hearing Neville's words, they could instinctively look at Neville, unlike before when they had no reaction to the outside world.

Looking at his quiet parents, Neville took out a bouquet of flowers from his bag.

"I bought these flowers for you in Hogsmeade. The professor said that the fragrance of flowers can keep people in a good mood."

Neville put the flowers in a vase and placed them on the small table between the two hospital beds, then sat next to his mother, took her hand, and told her about the interesting things at school.

"I didn't waste money. This money was earned as a teaching assistant in Herbology class. When you are discharged from the hospital, I will definitely buy you a big cake myself."

"My good friend Ron participated in the International Wizarding Chess Competition and won a bronze medal."

"His parents were overjoyed and took Ron and the others to a dinner in Hogsmeade. Ron has been so proud lately that his tail is up in the sky."

"As his friend, I was also invited," Neville's eyes showed a look of longing, "Seeing their family happy and harmonious, I am really envious."

"Of course, I believe you will get better soon. When you get better, I will treat you to a good meal in Hogsmeade."

"I have saved a lot of money now."

Neville patiently told his parents about the daily trivialities.

He heard the professor say that although his parents could not react, they could hear him, which would also have a positive stimulation on their souls.

After talking about the recent interesting things, Neville took out his wand and began today's treatment.

Seeing this scene, Sebastian, who was standing outside the ward door, walked in and stood next to Neville, carefully sensing Neville's treatment situation.

He found that after such a long period of treatment, the healing speed of Neville's parents was steadily increasing.

After most of the soul fragments were combined together, the remaining small fragments would involuntarily adhere to the large soul fragments.

Now the souls of the two people look much more complete.

Of course, since Frank suffered the deepest torture, he was also the most severely injured, so his healing speed was much slower than that of Neville's mother, Alice.

According to Sebastian's judgment, Alice will soon be able to regain her autonomy and get rid of her muddled state.

Suddenly, Sebastian's eyes narrowed, and he noticed that Alice's fingers twitched slightly.

This kind of twitch is like a person who has been sleeping for a long time, being stimulated by the outside world and showing signs of awakening.

So fast?!

Sebastian quickly increased the intensity of his investigation and found that Alice's soul, in addition to having dense soul cracks, had been completely completed.

It seems that Neville will be able to talk to his mother today.

Sebastian smiled, ready to witness the moment when the miracle came.

Alice felt like she had a very, very long dream. She felt that her soul was wrapped in a warm feeling, which also contained a loving call from a boy.

This feeling... is it my child?

She tried hard to wake up in order to respond to this call.

Gradually, her empty eyes focused, and a boy with a round face appeared in her sight.

In an instant, strong emotions surged into her heart. Alice used all her strength to weakly open her mouth and called out Neville's childhood name.

"Nal, is that my Nal?"

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