Chapter 112: Cure, Dreams, and Another Deal

[The chapter is edited by my Editor: Alan_Loo/AlanL]

Astoria watched as Quinn's hand left her, the glowing veins disappear and the glow recede.

She lifted her hands and clenched her fists, and surprisingly, she was able to clamp them hard instead of the weak fist that she usually made while suffering from the blood curse. Her body also no longer felt weak and fatigued, like she was feeling a few minutes ago.

'... I feel strong, but how?' she thought and looked up at the reason this was happening, who was pulling down his sleeves and buttoning them back into place.

"... Astoria?"

She turned her face to her sister Daphne, still spinning from the shock and surprise.

"A-Are you alright? You're crying. Is something wrong; do you feel well," asked Daphne in surprise and worry.

Astoria touched her face, and indeed she felt her fingers stained wet with tears. "N-No, I-I am fine. Everything is fine," said Astoria, with her voice cracking with emotion.

And with that, the dam broke, and Astoria started to cry, startling both Quinn and Daphne.

Quinn, who was putting back his outer robe, became startled when he heard Astoria break down and looked at Daphne for assistance.

Daphne leaped into action to her sister's side on the bed and hugged her close to provide comfort. Astoria grabbed onto her sister and hugged her tight.

Quinn felt like he was intruding on a family moment, just as he did at the start of the year, so he once again stood very still to become invisible while his magic silently fixed his clothes.

Astoria calmed down and gently pulled herself out of Daphne's embrace. She turned to face Quinn and swiftly got off the bed to trap Quinn in a very tight hug, surprising the boy with the strength coming from the small figure.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you..." repeated Astoria while trying to meld herself into Quinn.

Quinn gently hugged the girl, who he felt was trying to perform a fusion with him and patted her on the back. "Don't mention it. Also, don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened."

Astoria nodded into his shirt and gradually stopped crying before separating from Quinn. She looked up towards Quinn and smiled as he had told her to.

"See, that looks much better," smiled Quinn and booped Astoria on her nose. "Also, we need to talk, so get back on the bed."

Astoria nodded before climbing back onto the bed, and from the way she was sitting, anyone could tell that she was feeling much better.

Quinn sat back down on his stool and spoke, "Now, I fulfilled what I promised, but-" He stared at both the Greengrass sisters and continued after a pause. "- you can't tell anyone outside your family about what I did."

Daphne and Astoria immediately had confused expressions on their faces. They couldn't understand why Quinn would want to hide the fact that he could erase the blood curse.

"I'm not supposed to know what I did. What I used to repress the curse isn't looked positively at by the world," spoke Quinn and rolled his eyes at the end of the sentence.

"What do you mean?"

Quinn knew that if he wanted to continue to treat Astoria, he would need to tell them what he was doing. She needed to know what he was using to help her. "The curse is called 'blood malediction', so I used the same branch of magic to repress the effects of the curse... I used blood magic."

Daphne and Astoria's eyes widened because they knew what Quinn was implying. Blood magic was considered dark magic and something not to dwell in; thag branch of magic was associated with evil sacrifices, to defiance nature in twisted ways, cruelty, and was seen as forbidden theurgy.

The blood malediction, as the name suggested, was a type of blood magic. It was the classic type of magic which was seen as dark magic.

"You might not know this, but I have been studying Healing Magic with Madam Pomfrey, so she especially can't know that I used blood magic to help you. If she knew what I did, she would definitely stop teaching me, and I don't want that," stated Quinn, and he was serious about the relationship that he had with Poppy and didn't want this to jeopardize what he had built over the years.

"Of course, we all know that blood magic is considered dark magic. But I couldn't give two hoots about that. Magic isn't dark or light; the labels are our creation. Your ancestor was cursed with blood magic, and now I used the same magic to cure you. This just shows you that magic can transform into whatever the user desires."

"Unfortunately, others and even you two might not see things as I do, and that is fine because I don't care. But I don't want others to know that I can use it because it will bring me a lot of trouble, which I would like to avoid," sighed Quinn when he thought about society's views. "So if you don't want to continue with this, I completely understand, but then I'd have to pretend that this never happened."

"When Madam Pomfrey returns, you can simply tell her that you are feeling better. She won't know why you suddenly feel better if she doesn't know what to look for, so if you don't tell her, this entire treatment will go unnoticed. She will scratch her head for a while but, after a while, she'll attibute this to the curse's unpredictability, and you will be free."

Quinn folded his hands over his lap and asked, "So what is your decision?"

"Any side-effects and/or backlashes that may come up because of this treatment?" Daphne inquired because of the nature of the magic.

"As long as I'm not kicked in the face while I treating Astoria, she will not suffer from complications of any kind."

The magic that Quinn had used on Astoria was a combination of his knowledge on three separate sources. He knew about blood magic from having studied for two years and he had never stopped learning it since then; healing magic was in his current active rotation; and the last was the most recent enlightenment in water magic.

One of the components that made up blood was plasma and constituted more than fifty percent of blood. And ninety percent of plasma was water.

Having mastery over water magic didn't allow blood manipulation because it was closely tied to magic and a being's life force. But because Quinn knew both blood and water magic, he could apply the knowledge about water's connection to life and transfer it to blood, which was also connected to the life force.

Quinn had a firm grasp on what he had done to Astoria; as long as he wasn't uprooted during the treatment, there were zero percent chances that he would fail.

Astoria, who was a first-year and didn't consider herself knowledgeable about magic, left the decision to Daphne.

Daphne thought for a while before answering, "We will have to ask our parents before we make any decision."

"Of course, I have no complaints if you consult your parents. Talk it out, and if you feel comfortable, I will continue to help Astoria out," nodded Quinn. "From my estimates, Astoria will be fine for another month and a week before the curse surfaces again. So get in contact with me before that."

The Greengrass sisters nodded in response.

Quinn got up from his stool, picked up the rabbit cage from the floor, and placed it on the bed. "Good, I think it's time for me to leave. When Madam Pomfrey returns, please pass her this cage and tell her that I dropped by."

But then he suddenly turned his head back and whispered, "Forget it, she is here." He turned back to the sisters and reminded, "Hush on what happened."

A mischievous glint sparkled Quinn's eyes as a grin made its way to Quinn's face. He picked up the rabbit cage in his hands and jumped out from behind the curtains that covered the view of the bed.

"Madam Pomfrey, I'm here~!"

Poppy, who had just entered the hospital wing after a trip to the dungeons and was thinking about the potion she needed to brew for the poor Astoria Greengrass, suddenly and unexpectedly came face to face with her student, Quinn West.

"Kyaaaah!"

A surprised cry filled the hall as the small crate of ingredients she had brought dropped.

Quinn, who wasn't expecting her to be holding things, moved very quickly and levitated the crate and all items inside it before any of them hit the floor and made them fly towards him. Now, he had the rabbit cage in one hand and the ingredient crate in the other.

Poppy calmed down and was now glaring death beams at Quinn with a palm above her heart.

Quinn blinked and half-chuckled in nervousness, "... Oops."

"Quinn... stand still and let me pelt you with stinging hexes. I promise it will hurt a lot, so just stand here," huffed Poppy and took out her wand with hands shaking in anger.

"Madam Pomfrey, you can hurt me later, but I believe you will want to check up on your patient. She tells me that her condition has suddenly changed," informed Quinn in an attempt to not get hit by stinging hexes.

Poppy's anger vanished in an instant, and she hurried towards Astoria's bed to check up on her.

"What happened? How are you feeling? Did it get worse," asked Poppy as soon as she laid her eyes upon Astoria and moved closer to observe her.

"No, no, it didn't get worse. I'm feeling much better," beamed Astoria, and her eyes subconsciously moved towards Quinn at the back.

Poppy frowned at the response, but as she checked the signs, she did see that Astoria's complexion had improved, and she looked much more lively. Poppy cast some spells to check on her condition, and similar results came up; Astoria had indeed recovered, and the previous signs she had diagnosed were no longer evident.

And just like Quinn had said, Poppy fussed for a while, but when she wasn't able to see any negative signs, Poppy concluded that Astoria was indeed healthy.

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"Stay here today for observation. If there are no complications, you can leave," concluded Poppy.

"That's good, isn't it, Astoria?" grinned Quinn before turning to Poppy and speaking, "Madam Pomfrey, here you go, this is the rabbit you gave me yesterday. I have cured and healed him, and he is ready to hop and hump like any other bunny."

Quinn suddenly set the cage into Poppy's hands and waved goodbye to everybody. "See you all later. Madam Pomfrey, I will drop by tomorrow." He had to get out here before Poppy remembered that she needed to kill Quinn with stinging hexes.

Astoria waved back before speaking to Daphne as she pushed. "I'm fine now; you should also leave." She faced Quinn and said, "Quinn, would you escort my sister?"

Quinn, who was about to bolt, stopped and nodded. "Sure, I wouldn't mind." He turned to Daphne and asked, "Shall we?"

"Are you sure you don't need me here?" asked Daphne.

"No, I'm fine, and Madam Pomfrey is here to take care of me," smiled Astoria and once gave her a sister a little push.

Daphne observed Astoria for a moment before nodding. She walked towards Quinn and the two left the hospital wing.

"Hmm, should I say it?" Astoria looked at the now-empty hospital wing and smacked her lips.

She then faced Madam Pomfrey and spoke with a mischievous shine in her eyes, "Quinn escaped from the pinching hexes."

"He thinks that, but when he comes back tomorrow, I'm going to get him," snorted Poppy as she went through the ingredient crate to see if anything was broken.

Astoria giggled before asking, "Anyway, Madam Pomfrey, what do you do in a day as the Matron?"

Poppy suddenly had a bad feeling, and when she looked up, she saw Astoria with a big smile on her face.

She immediately knew the reason for the bad feeling, and the reason was the smile on Astoria's face was the same one Quinn had had when he came to the hospital wing and wanted to talk.

"Oh, no. You're just like him, aren't you?"

- (Scene Break) -

Daphne and Quinn walked out of the hospital wing and, as Astoria had asked of him, Quinn escorted Daphne to the dungeons.

He looked at Daphne and noticed that there was a lost expression on her face.

"What are you thinking about?"

Daphne looked up at Quinn and stared at him for a few seconds before opening up.

"I want to become a healer."

"A noble profession," responded Quinn shortly because he could see that Daphne had more to say.

"I was seven years old when Astoria showed the first sign of the curse. Our parents clearly explained what the curse was, and it took a while to understand the seriousness of the condition. But when I did, I decided to become a healer so that I would one day cure the blood curse from Astoria."

There was a faraway look on her face while Daphne continued to speak.

"As the years passed, I saw Astoria get sick every month because of the curse, and that strengthened my desire to become a healer," she paused for a second and took a deep breath before continuing. "She is the complete opposite of me. So lively, cheery, bright. She's a person that always wants to run to discover new things. But she can't do any of that because the curse will reemerge if she gets too physically active."

"Her curse always gets in the way of doing the things she loves. She likes the outdoors but she can't go outside because she gets sick. She'd love to run around and fly on the broom all day long but she can't because of that curse," she turned to Quinn and looked Quinn straight in the eyes. "Do you know we were worried about whether she would be able to get around Hogwarts with all the corridors and staircase without the curse reemerging? That's how much the curse affects her. We even worried if she would be able to attend the school."

Quinn gently directed Daphne to the side of the corridor and stopped walking because Daphne was feeling very emotional right now. Something that surprised Quinn because this was the most emotion he had seen from Daphne.

"Are you sure that Astoria will be free from the blood curse as long as you continue to treat her?" asked Daphne, and to assert the seriousness, she grabbed Quinn's wrist and maintained firm eye contact with him.

"I'm assuming that you're wondering whether the curse will reemerge if she gets more active?" asked Quinn.

"Yes."

"No matter what she does, even if she somehow manages to move around so much that she collapses because of fatigue, the curse won't flare. As long as I continue to treat her, the curse won't ever reemerge. Daphne, if I continue to treat Astoria, she won't even face the fifty-year age limit; she will, without a doubt, live way past it and continue to her natural lifespan."

Daphne exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"I can tell you right now that if what you say is true, then our parents will agree no matter what. As long as this doesn't hurt Astoria, they will come to you and plead that you take care of her."

Quinn noticed that Daphne didn't have a smile on her face even though her body had lost that tension that she had before Quinn answered her question.

"What is it? Is there still something on your mind? If you have any doubts, then ask me because I can answer them."

Daphne leaned against the wall, stayed silent, and stared at the floor for a good while before starting.

"I wanted to become a healer because I could cure Astoria. But with you, I don't need to, do I? I… Now I feel a little lost and even though it might sound silly, a little sad."

Ever since she understood Astoria's condition, Daphne had made it her life goal to become a healer to cure Astoria. And even though she was happy that Astoria would live a healthy life, Daphne wanted to be the one who helped her, but now with Quinn, that was over.

"I think you are misunderstanding something here, Daphne," spoke Quinn, causing Daphne to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Astoria isn't cured. I'm simply repressing her curse, and that isn't a cure. If I stop, she will once again start to live as she has been until now."

Daphne frowned because she knew all this but wasn't following what Quinn was trying to say.

"Life is unpredictable. I can die on a random day, and that would start the clock on Astoria's life. She can be struck with a curse that might hinder my ability to work blood magic without making things worse. As I said, magic has infinite potential, and that also means that things can go wrong in so many ways."

Daphne's eyes widened, and she now got what Quinn was trying to convey. What Quinn had wasn't a permanent cure, and as he said, if things went wrong, Astoria would return to square one.

"So don't let go of that dream just yet because I have no idea how to actually cure Astoria. I might figure it out one day, but that day isn't anywhere soon. So, if you become a healer, you might be able to figure it out before me," shrugged Quinn.

He was learning magic from an all-around perspective and didn't have any plans to specialize. Quinn wanted to learn everything and master everything, but that would take a long time, and that would also delay the discovering of Astoria's cure.

"I have no plans to die and will continue to treat Astoria. And you know what? See this as an opportunity," smiled Quinn and put a different perspective on things. "I'm giving you time; I will keep Astoria healthy. So study, learn, experience magic while living your ideal life. And no matter how much time it takes, find the remedy and cure your sister."

Quinn put out a hand forward for a handshake and asked, "Deal?"

Daphne looked at the outstretched hand and then at Quinn. She thought back to the things Quinn said, and a determined light appeared in her eyes.

She grabbed Quinn's hand and shook it, "Deal."

"Excellent," beamed Quinn.

Quinn West - MC - Made another deal with another friend.

Daphne Greengrass - Future Healer - I will fulfill that deal.

Astoria Greengrass - About to start a new chapter in her life - "... So, then Quinn points at me. And when I saw it, I knew that he had betrayed me. I told him about Daphne in confidence!"

Poppy Pomfrey - Medi-healer - "No, no, no! Not another one!"

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