Antonio woke up early in the morning and arrived outside Hogwarts' wards. Although he had an invitation of sorts from Minerva, he still had doubts about whether he would be able to enter the school premises or not. Albus Dumbledore, as the Headmaster, held full authority over the wards, and Antonio was not certain if he would be granted permission to cross them and step foot into Hogwarts.
He had already decided that if Dumbledore did not allow his entry, he would not create a fuss about it and would leave it to fate for his next meeting with Lily. It was not an appropriate time to quarrel with Albus Dumbledore.
With all these thoughts clouding his mind, Antonio raised his hand and touched the wards of Hogwarts. There was a faint ripple and then nothing.
He waited. A couple of minutes passed, and just as Antonio began to wonder if his access had been denied, he spotted Minerva McGonagall approaching him.
"Good morning, Lord Olario," Minerva greeted as she closed the distance and stopped near the wards.
"Good morning, Professor McGonagall," Antonio greeted back.
There was a brief silence between them as the wards rippled once more, and Antonio was granted entry. He exhaled softly, relieved, and stepped inside the boundary of Hogwarts.
"Welcome once again to Hogwarts," Minerva said with her usual stern expression, though there was the faintest hint of a smile hidden in it.
"Thank you," Antonio replied, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. This polite tone from Minerva was a bit unexpected and quite intriguing. It was as strange as her letter which she had sent to him.
"I had not really expected that Headmaster Dumbledore would allow me to step inside the Hogwarts premises when I have no blood relatives studying here," he remarked.
Minerva did not reply immediately. Instead, she turned around and began to walk toward the castle, and Antonio followed behind her.
"I would not want to comment on whether Headmaster Dumbledore would have allowed you inside or not," Minerva said as she continued forward. "But as the Vice Headmistress of the school, I have certain privileges."
"And your entry this time," she added matter of factly, "is part of one of those privileges."
"Oh!" Antonio said in slight surprise. He had not known that the Vice Headmistress possessed such authority but thinking about it logically, allowing someone inside was not really a major issue.
They did not speak further and continued walking in silence. It took them some moments to arrive outside the infirmary of Hogwarts.
"Miss Evans is most probably having her breakfast," Minerva said. "Please do not take too long. She still needs rest."
Antonio nodded. "Thank you, Professor."
"You're welcome," Minerva replied.
Antonio was about to turn toward the infirmary when Minerva's voice stopped him.
"Lord Olario," she called.
"Yes, Professor?" he responded, raising an eyebrow.
"After you meet Miss Evans, I would like you to come to my office," she said. "I assume you still remember the way."
Antonio gave a hesitant nod, uncertain about what she wished to discuss.
Minerva gave a faint smile and turned away, walking down the corridor with her usual measured grace.
.
.
.
Antonio entered the infirmary. There were only about half a dozen beds in total in the massive hall, each occupied by a patient. Lily was on the bed next to the wall directly opposite the entrance.
She was in a half sitting, half lying position, and a small table was placed across her lap. Two bowls were set on it, and Lily was quietly eating her breakfast with a spoon.
Pandora Quiver was sitting on a stool beside her friend. Amidst the curious stares of the other patients and their visitors, Antonio crossed the hall and stopped beside Lily's bed.
"Lord Olario," Pandora and Lily both said almost in unison, clearly shocked to see him there.
"Miss Evans," Antonio greeted with a polite smile. "Miss Quiver."
"Lord Olario," Pandora said. "You are here?"
Her tone was questioning as if asking his purpose.
"Yes," Antonio nodded. "I thought I should visit and check on your friend."
"Miss Evans," he continued, turning his attention toward Lily. "How are you feeling?"
"I… I am fine," Lily replied after a brief pause, her voice slightly hesitant.
Antonio chuckled softly at her response and took a seat on the spare stool next to her bed.
"I should have brought some fruit or perhaps a few herbs to help with your recovery," he remarked.
"It is all right," was all Lily managed to say. What was she supposed to tell him? That his presence was already enough? She did not know him well enough to say that aloud. Her mind raced, wondering why she had attracted the attention of this man.
Although, deep down, she was thankful that she had taken his earlier advice and officially filed a complaint against those who had attacked her. They had been punished swiftly. She might have expressed his gratitude if not for the occasion.
"Do not read too much into my visit," Antonio said, almost as if reading her thoughts. "Last time, it was just a coincidence that I arrived at Hogwarts with one of my familiars right after the attack and that is when I learned you had been injured."
He paused briefly before adding, "And then I decided to check on you personally. Besides, in a way, I am partly responsible that you were targeted during the attack."
"You were responsible that I was targeted during the attack?" Lily mumbled in a confused tone. "What do you mean by that? Dozens of students were injured. Two even died. Some of them suffered injuries as serious as mine, if not worse."
"What relation do you have with the attack?" Lily asked, frowning.
"No," Antonio shook his head. "Not with the attack itself but with why you were targeted during it."
"Look," he continued, leaning slightly forward. "It might have been pure coincidence that you were injured so grievously in the attack, but the way Professor McGonagall described the events to me, I am quite certain that you were specifically targeted. They were deliberately trying to kill you."
"No other student apart from you was attacked with such intent," he went on. "If the attackers had truly wanted to kill randomly, the number of casualties would have been far greater than just two."
And then realization struck Lily. She had never thought deeply about her own part in the attack, only about the event as a whole. But now, hearing Antonio's words, it all made sense. Four Death Eaters had surrounded her. No other student had been targeted like that as per Lord Olario. The few spells fired at her had indeed been meant to kill.
Her eyes turned toward Antonio, a flicker of confusion and fear mingling in them.
"How are you responsible for it?" she asked quietly.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter