Veil of Time: Chapter 3

- Yes. You know, Minerva, we have been observing the Longbottoms for ten years now and trying to cure them. We have learned a lot, made great progress, it is a pity that so far it has been useless. One of the theories of our colleagues was that such severe dementia was caused by damage and disintegration of the soul, and the body's resources and magic, even with external support, are simply not enough to stop the process and restore it. In their case, the theory was not confirmed, but here it is.

"Wait, but does a soul exist? Can it be destroyed?" Hermione asked, catching a pause in the conversation. Catching her parents' gaze, she blushed slightly and lowered her head. "Sorry..."

— Nothing, nothing. A good question. The properties of the soul are still being debated, and there are many theories. Some believe that it is like some kind of endless pudding — cut and divide as much as you want. Others believe that it is like an onion — many layers, and deep inside is an indivisible core. There are many theories, but the problem is that each of them has confirmation, but some are mutually exclusive, hence the impossibility of coming to a consensus. But in general, yes, the soul exists, it can be divided... The only thing that is common to all theories is the connection between the soul, body and mind, the mental triad. Pull one — the other two change. So in Hector's case, all the resources of this triad are aimed at restoring the soul. However, he is very much lacking something.

A dramatic pause during which everyone eagerly awaited the continuation.

- Hector lacks magic. Magic as energy is a product of the interaction of the mental triad. Without one of these, there will be no magic. Given the state of the boy's soul, his magic is weak.

— It was enough to get her on the Hogwarts list. No outliers.

- So, the boy has a very strong mind, as well as a body, which partly compensates for the damage to the soul. The situation can be compared to building a sand castle. There are hands, there is desire, there is sand. But you can't build a castle from dry and unstable sand - you need water. So magic acts as water. It is not enough for him, that is why the process dragged on so long.

"How is all this even possible?" Robert rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. Emma had long since been thoughtfully leaning against the wall, and Hermione was listening attentively, memorizing new and unprecedented knowledge.

— Are you familiar with the phenomenon of stillbirth?

Receiving nods of confirmation, Smethwick continued:

— In addition to pathologies in fetal development, in extremely rare cases the soul may be the cause. It may be rejected by the body, it may decompose and leave it, there are many options, although cases are isolated in centuries of history. It so happened that something similar happened to Hector, but something stopped the decay, and now he is recovering.

- So what should we do?

— Place the boy in a more intense magical environment, give him a course of strengthening and stimulating potions. But even in the current situation, Hector will cope on his own by the age of fifteen, maybe a little later. He has passed the critical stage. With our help, he can easily recover within a year. Plus or minus.

"And where can I get this magical background?" Emma asked, tearing herself away from the wall.

"Minerva," Smethwick looked at the professor. "Talk to Albus."

— Do you want to place the boy in the Hogwarts hospital wing?

- Yes. At Mungo's, you'll have to create an artificial background, and that costs a lot of money. And Poppy will provide even better care than ours. She only has a few patients, and we have a whole hospital. The potions you need are the simplest, anyone can brew them, and the ingredients cost a couple of sickles.

That was all that was decided. Professor McGonagall spent about half an hour telling the parents of the two young wizards various nuances of life in the magical world, talking about the peculiarities of studying at Hogwarts, about the subjects, among which were general education ones. Only after the professor answered the questions that have been asked for many years by the parents of Muggle-born wizards, as if by carbon copy, did she accompany Hermione to the school for shopping. Smethwick had long since left for the hospital and was discussing the diagnostic data he had received with his colleagues in order to be two hundred percent sure of the correctness of the diagnosis and treatment method, and Hector, for no apparent reason, scribbled another chaotic pile of symbols and multidimensional structures on a couple of sheets of paper.

The following evening, a tall, grey-bearded old man in a purple robe with many runes and symbols came to the Grangers' house for a short visit. He introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. The purpose of his visit was simple - to transport Hector to the castle itself. Hogwarts rules usually do not allow anyone not related to the staff to remain in the castle during the summer holidays, but cases of medical assistance were always an exception.

Transporting Hector was quite simple. The adults wisely decided that the traditional method by train, fireplace or other methods could be detrimental and quite problematic. Therefore, Albus Dumbledore decided to use his phoenix, Fawkes. He is able to apparate with people so gently that it does not affect the wizard or cause discomfort. It is completely safe and Hector can be transported directly to the hospital wing. Some personal items, such as clothes, albums, notebooks and a mobile writing board, will be transported separately.

***

Time passed inexorably. The first of September arrived, new students arrived at Hogwarts, and the entire castle was buzzing with the arrival of Harry Potter in Gryffindor. The first classes, the first impressions of practical magic, the first successes and failures. On Halloween, a troll got into the castle, but deaths were avoided - Potter and the younger Weasley, in a fit of heroism, saved Hermione from the terrible monster, everyone is happy, except for the Dean of Slytherin.

Christmas, holidays, school again, Easter holidays, and now it's time for exams, and in the dungeon under one of the rooms of the Forbidden Corridor on the third floor, a heroic drama unfolded, a fateful meeting between Potter and the spirit of Voldemort, who had captured the body of the stupid and power-hungry Professor Quirrell.

All this time, in a separate room of the Hogwarts hospital wing, there was one young man with an empty look in his blue eyes. He came out of this contemplative state much more often than at home. No one in the castle, except for the headmaster and the mediwitch Poppy Pomfrey, knew that once a month the hospital wing was visited through the fireplace by Hector Granger's parents and the healer Smethwick. It would seem that it was worth expecting the boy's sister, but she was too carried away by new friends, studies and adventures, forgetting about her brother. Hermione herself carefully hid from herself the fact that she was glad not to have to look after and monitor Hector.

The children left the castle for the summer holidays, and the only minor in Hogwarts was Hector Granger, who regularly took potions made by a rather famous potion master both in England and on the continent, Severus Snape. The boy himself was not taken away on the insistent advice of the healers - they were afraid of regression, and therefore the Grangers regularly visited him.

However, they did not come in August, nor in September, at the beginning of the new school year, nor in October. First, they went on a long holiday to France with Hermione, then visited several resorts, saw various sights. Like the girl herself, the family experienced mixed feelings. On the one hand, they were glad to not have such a heavy burden as Hector. On the other, they were oppressed by a feeling of betrayal. But you quickly get used to good things, and at Hogwarts the boy was under the watchful eye of Madam Pomfrey, a very competent healer.

It was Christmas again, but this time there were even fewer students left in the castle for the holidays - everyone was afraid of the unknown Heir of Slytherin, and one petrified student and the caretaker's cat had already taken up residence in the hospital wing.

Time passed, the attacks became more frequent, panic was gaining momentum. Now Hermione was in the hospital wing, and even one of the Hogwarts ghosts. But a thorough examination and diagnosis of the patients showed that their lives were not in danger. Of course, for many it was strange that Dumbledore, as the headmaster of the school, did nothing, as if he knew something, and if he did not know, then he guessed.