Hogwarts: Voldemort, don't stop me from studying

Chapter 1020: The Door
As the event ended and Harry walked back to the Gryffindor Tower from the Umbrella House, he almost jumped for joy.

He clenched his fist tightly, then turned to the person next to him and said:

"Great! It's passed unanimously!"

Harry grinned from ear to ear: "Ron will be ecstatic! I knew he could do it!"

Neville's face beamed with a genuine smile as he nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, no one objected, that's great!"

"Joining SSC is just the beginning. If you really want to become reliable, there's still a lot to do! The first thing to do is stop being perfunctory with your assignments!"

Hermione was also happy, but faced with this result, she couldn't help but start to worry: "Can Ron keep it up? Sigh, he doesn't even want to use punctuation when he writes papers."

“Don’t worry.” Harry was also a little worried, but he tried to be optimistic: “You know, once Ron makes up his mind, he’s more stubborn than anyone else!”

"I hope so."

Hermione checked the time, waved to the two at the crossroads, and said, "I still have to patrol a few corridors to make sure no students are still wandering around after curfew—Filch is worried that there will be more fights and dates among students during this time!"

Harry and Neville stood side by side waving goodbye as Hermione hurried away, her heavy robes billowing in the wind, much like Professor Snape's.

“Merlin, Prefect!” Neville couldn’t help but exclaim, “I thought this was an easy job!”

“That’s what I think too… after all, Percy used to be so proud!” Harry murmured.

He couldn't imagine how busy he would be, on top of attending classes, doing homework, participating in SSC activities, practicing Quidditch, and learning spells from Sirius on weekends, plus the prefect's daily work.

—Won't you be exhausted? Absolutely.

“Hermione is too serious and too responsible.” As he turned to continue walking back, Neville added objectively, “She always wants to do everything perfectly. I think Ron… and the other prefects are not as busy as Hermione.”

For example, when Filch assigns a task, the other prefects agree to it in person, but as soon as they are out of the sight of the castle keeper, they wander around for a bit and then go do their own thing.

But Hermione would carefully walk through every corridor she was responsible for, and she genuinely believed that this work was necessary.

Neville expected to hear Harry's complaints soon, but he didn't hear any response.

He turned his head and saw Harry standing by the tall, arched window, squinting as he looked outside.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked, looking out the window at the dark night and the lights shining from the other towers.

“Look over there…” Harry pointed to the tower diagonally opposite and said, “Isn’t that Wade?”

Neville looked over and saw a figure clearly visible through a row of windows in the corridor—

Black hair, tall and slender figure, steady gait. Even without seeing his face clearly, one could tell it was Wade, whom they had just parted ways with not long ago.

"It's him... but that's the opposite direction from the Ravenclaw Tower! The medical wing is ahead though..."

As Navei spoke, his face turned a little pale: "Was Wade injured? He didn't want us to worry, so he didn't tell us?"

The two looked at each other and reached a consensus instantly.

“Let’s go check it out!” Harry said decisively.

With curfew approaching, the two Gryffindors didn't have time to think and ran off in that direction.

Tonight, Hogwarts's wobbly staircases didn't cause them any trouble, but Neville still accidentally stepped on a sinking step and almost twisted his ankle.

When they reached a wooden door with light shining from underneath, panting heavily, they both bent over, hands on their knees, gasping for breath.

A faint voice came from inside, somewhat like Madam Pomfrey, but he couldn't make out what she was saying. Once he caught his breath, Harry reached for the door, about to go in, when he suddenly heard a faint voice:

"Wow... wow..."

The baby's cries actually came through the crack in the door.

Harry and Neville froze, exchanging a bewildered glance, unsure whether they should go in.

How could there be a baby at Hogwarts?
Driven by intense curiosity, the two tiptoed closer to the door, their eyes peering through the narrow crack.

This wasn't the large ward where students usually stayed; it was even smaller than their dormitory. Against the wall stood a carefully arranged crib, and above the crib railing, two tiny hands were indeed waving, and the sound of crying was coming from there.

In their imagination, Vader, who was being treated for his injuries, stood beside the cradle, looking down at the baby with his profile appearing exceptionally calm, even carrying a sense of solemnity that made people subconsciously hold their breath.

Madam Pomfrey bent down and gently took the baby's small hand in hers, while the wand in her other hand emitted a soft glow, enveloping the figure inside the cradle.

The crying stopped quickly, and the child began to whine softly, as if he were being affectionate.

Intermittent conversation could be heard coming from inside—

"...We've started with his left arm, and so far it's going well... He'll definitely feel uncomfortable, but from our therapist's perspective, being able to feel pain is actually much better than having no sensation at all..."

"Will he remember this later?" Wade asked softly, "—this experience of becoming a baby?"

Madam Pomfrey put away her wand, thought for a moment, and said, "It's hard to say, my dear... Memory is wondrous and unreliable, especially when it involves a jumble of time... Perhaps he'll just think of it all as a dream?"

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Vader asked. "If you're missing any rare materials or potions, I can try to get them for you."

"The only thing I need you to do right now is to get some rest. Remember, you are also part of the treatment process, an important reference for me, and you need to stay in good condition..."

As the two walked toward the door, talking, Harry was startled and hurriedly pulled Neville away like a thief, hiding behind a nearby statue. They pressed themselves tightly against the cold stone wall, not daring to breathe.

Harry didn't know why he was hiding, but he had a feeling that... Wade probably didn't want too many people at school to know about the baby, and now wasn't a good time to show up and ask.

He could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and the rhythmic footsteps growing ever closer…

"call--"

A surge of heat rushed out of the ward, creating a rapid exchange with the cold air in the corridor.

The door opened.

……

As Vader said goodbye to Mrs. Pomfrey and reached for the door, he suddenly paused and frowned.

He gripped his wand tightly, walked out of the ward with a calm expression, turned and closed the door, then looked around—

From the shadows behind the knight statue, half of a head with messy black hair sticks out; next to the sword leaning on its side, a familiar shoe is struggling to stand on tiptoe, like a chubby little boy learning to dance ballet.

The fierce look in Wade's eyes vanished. He chuckled softly, not exposing the two who were trying so hard to hide. With a flick of his wand, a window slammed open, letting in a gust of cold wind carrying snowflakes.

"Whoosh-"

With a whooshing sound, an old broom swiftly passed through the window, stopped abruptly, spun around, and then landed steadily beside Wade.

　I have something to do tonight, so this is only one update. I'll finish it tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)