Chapter 67: St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries

"Today, I have an announcement for everyone. We have finally decided on a teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts, who has been absent for a long time. We have obtained permission from the Ministry of Magic to have Leonard Taylor, who was in charge three years ago, take on the role again. I hope everyone will learn well from Taylor."

During breakfast, the students gathered in the Great Hall were informed by Dumbledore that Leo had been appointed as a teacher again.

Defense Against the Dark Arts had been without a teacher since the start of this term.

Dumbledore had recommended Leo as a teacher, but it took this long because the Ministry of Magic was reluctant.

Many students who were worried about the absence of a teacher have already asked Leo for special lessons once a week, and many are happy to know that they can now learn in regular classes.

Even in Slytherin, there are students who couldn't participate in Leo's study group, but there are quite a few who are welcoming the fact that they can definitely learn now.

One day, just before the Christmas break.

Leo was visiting St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries with Ku, at the request of Dumbledore.

Apparently, Arthur Weasley, the breadwinner of the Weasley family, had been attacked by a snake during a mission.

He seemed to have survived, but he had to be hospitalized for a while. The Order of the Phoenix is short of hands and wants him to recover as soon as possible.

Arthur and Leo's father, Erskine, were former colleagues and seemed to get along quite well, so Leo decided to accept Dumbledore's request.

St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries exists in a way that is hidden from Muggles.

It is disguised as a department store under renovation and is located in the middle of a Muggle city without being noticed.

When Leo and Ku told the receptionist what they were there for, a passing Healer noticed them.

"Le, Leonard Taylor!?

Upon hearing those words, the healers and staff all looked at Leo at once.

As the area in front of the reception desk became even noisier while confirming Arthur Weasley's hospital room, an elderly healer who seemed to be the director approached Leo.

"You're Leonard Taylor, aren't you? It's an honor to meet you. Thanks to the many therapeutic drugs you've developed, many patients have been saved. We look forward to your future research achievements."

He said, extending his hand for a handshake.

After that, many healers and patients asked for handshakes, and it took quite a while to get to Arthur's room.

In front of the room were Mad-Eye Moody and Tonks.

"You're here. You're the real one, right?"

"Should we have some Veritaserum?"

"It won't work anyway, right? I just wanted to check. Who else but you would be wearing such protective magic."

Inside the room were the Weasley family and Harry Potter.

The first to react were Harry and Ron.

"Taylor! What are you doing here!?"

"Are you planning to use Dad as a guinea pig!? Get out!"

Before Leo could say anything, Fred, George, and Ginny complained to the two of them.

"Ron, Harry. Why don't you guys stop it?"

"Why do you always talk about Leo like that? Even Dumbledore admits he's amazing."

"He even helps us develop our prank goods."

"Yeah, that's what makes him different from ordinary geniuses."

"Haa... I'm fed up with both of you. I wonder if I can exchange Ron for Leo."

Harry tried to retort, but Molly told him to be quiet because it was a hospital room.

Ron was shocked by Ginny's words and just opened and closed his mouth.

"So, Leo-kun, are you here to visit? Thank you. Arthur has fallen asleep, but I'll let him know when he wakes up."

"No, I came to treat him at the request of Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Really? But according to the Healer, it seems to take a considerable amount of time to remove the poison from his body."

"Mama. Leo will be fine."

"That's right. Leo will do something about it. This is common knowledge for Hogwarts students."

"Leo. Please take care of Papa."

Leo and Ku approached the sleeping Arthur. Bandages were wrapped around his arm, shoulder, and leg, and blood was constantly seeping out.

They removed the bandage from his arm and checked the wound. It was clear at a glance that he had been bitten by a large creature. There was a hole several centimeters wide there.

"Ku, extract the poison from the wound inside the body. If you tell me the components of the poison, I will detoxify it."

"Understood."

Ku touched the wound. She extracts the components of the poison with the micro tentacles she has expanded inside her body.

At the same time, she merges her body with Leo's and tells him the details of the poison's components.

Based on that information, he uses one of his rings, "Healing," to decipher the method of detoxification.

"Alright. It was quite a complex poison, but I managed to do something about it."

He touches Arthur and shares the power of "Healing". As a result, the poison inside his body was instantly neutralized.

"Finish it off. Ku, heal the wound."

Ku's hair grows and touches the wound. From the tip of her hair, a minuscule amount of water of life is produced, restoring the cells. By the time her hair was removed, there was a perfectly healthy body without a single wound.

"Ugh... Huh? I feel strangely light."

Arthur, whose poison and wounds had disappeared, woke up.

"Arthur!"

"'PAPA!'"

Molly and her son and daughter clung to their father. Everyone had tears in their eyes. Of course, they were tears of joy.

"Whoa. What on earth happened? My body doesn't hurt and it's not uncomfortable. On the contrary, it feels like power is welling up."

"Are you okay? What about your wounds, your blood?"

"…It seems to be okay. Who healed me?"

"It was Leo, Papa!"

"As expected, Leo!"

"Leo? Oh, you healed me. Thank you. As Dumbledore said, you're amazing. Not only combat skills, but also healing."

"This was also a request from Headmaster Dumbledore. And it seemed that he was close to your father. He left a message for you to have a drink when you're discharged from the hospital."

"Whether it's a mission or whatever, my feelings of gratitude don't change. Thank you again. I won't forget this favor."

After that, there was a storm of thanks from the Weasley family. Ron also recovered from his trance and came to say thanks. This continued until a healer came to scold them for making noise in the ward.

"This is a hospital! If you're going to be noisy, go home… huh?"

The healer who came in with momentum stopped as soon as she saw Arthur's condition.

"Eh, what, eh? Why? He wasn't supposed to be able to move from the bed for at least a month. Huh? You!?"

As soon as she recognized Leo, her question seemed to be resolved.

"This looks like it's going to be troublesome. I'm going back to Hogwarts, so please contact me if anything happens. There probably won't be any problems, but just in case. Ku, hold on."

Leo and Ku disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Ah!? He's gone! There are still many patients who need treatment. The next time he comes, we have to somehow keep him…!"

If Leo is at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for a day, most patients will be discharged on the same day. As a healer, it would mean no work, but it's much better for the patients not to need treatment. That day, a long meeting was held in the hospital to discuss how to get treatment from Leonard Taylor.

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Leo and Ku returned to the study room at Hogwarts. Hermione greeted them.

"Welcome back, Leo, Ku. How was Arthur?"

"I'm home, Hermione. He's fine, he should be able to be discharged soon."

After that, they discussed plans for the Christmas holiday. They decided to go back once to improve the protective magic for Hermione's parents. This year, it looks like a Christmas party will be held with all the members of both families.

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Dumbledore was thinking. Arthur Weasley was attacked by a snake at the Ministry of Magic. It was probably Voldemort's beloved snake, Nagini. If so, there's nothing strange about it. He must have chosen Harry as his first target. He needed to enter the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic to get the prophecy related to himself and Harry. But the problem is that Harry witnessed the scene. And from the snake's point of view.

(…Indeed, Harry has a connection with Tom. Tom will soon realize that. As it is, there is a risk that our information will leak through Harry. That's not all. In the worst case, Harry could be taken over and manipulated. Something has to be done.)

As a countermeasure, he decided to have Snape give a special lesson in Occlumency. Snape is a first-class Occlumency and Legilimency practitioner. It might be a bit rough, but it's for Harry's sake.

(There are other concerns as well. Leonard Taylor goes without saying. There seems to be some movement among the Slytherin students. Draco Malfoy is frequently sending letters. Well, it looks like there's going to be a disturbance from now on.)

Dumbledore glanced at Fawkes, his long-time partner in the room. Phoenix. An existence that transcends death. Die and resurrect. He named it the Order of the Phoenix against the Death Eaters in order to overcome death. But now, there is a concern about what could happen because the phoenix is here.

(Leonard Taylor said he wanted to study Fawkes, the phoenix, as a condition for joining the Order. At first, I thought he was looking at it as an interesting research subject… What does he intend to do…?)

Voldemort, Leonard Taylor, Horcrux, Death Eater and Order of the Phoenix's strategy. And the future of Harry Potter. The great wizard, who was over a hundred years old, sighed that he still couldn't die.

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It was an immediate discharge from the Arthur attack.

If Leo is there, the curse can be lifted and Ku can heal the wound immediately

No need for St. Mungo's.

From the Arthur attack, Dumbledore confirmed that Harry is a Horcrux.

He thought about using Leo as a countermeasure, but he reconsidered because he was afraid of relying too much.

Dumbledore does not fully trust Leo.