14 Chapter 13: Dusk’s Treatment

Dante spent at least 3 hours summarizing his life so far to the child in front of him. At some point, Aldar arrived with sweets and tea, which in turn attracted the phoenix Salaark. It was amazing how the mystical bird seemed to have a sensor for sweets. When he finished, the boy had a suspicious look of disbelief.

"Let me see if I understand, are you trying to tell me that you are some kind of magical creation and have memories of another world?" The child asked Dante as if accusing him of a crime, "well, sure we can summarize it that way" Dante replied to the boy confidently. The child said in a tone of disbelief and scorn, "yes sure, and I am Merlin's lost shorts, and even if it were true why would you tell all this to a child? I bet the Daily Prophet would love to know that the famous and mysterious Prometheus Esposito is an 11-year-old child." The thick eyebrows of the little boy were so raised that Dante felt uncomfortable as if "liar" was written on his forehead.

Dante stood up, even in his true form of 11 years old he was at least a hand taller than the child in front of him, and said in a calm and confident tone, "First, I can assure you that I don't lie to children. Well, of course, there are the little everyday lies, but I usually prefer omission… secondly, I don't intend to keep my story a secret forever, for now, it's enough that my facade lasts until the end of Hogwarts and finally you are free to tell whoever you want although I advise not to reveal, you will most likely be labeled crazy and sent to St. Mungus Hospital."

Finally, Dante extended his hand to the boy who was still sitting, now more thoughtful than disbelieving, "I'm not asking you to believe me just like that, I mean from orphan to orphan I know that I can't even imagine what you've been through, and that many times the world is a big mess, so what do you think about just once believing in my words and especially in my actions, what do you have to lose?"

The boy looked at Dante and sighed, a sigh of mental exhaustion that no child should give, and even looking at Dante's hand as if it was going to bite him at any moment, accepted help to get up. Seeing that the boy was less nervous and seemed to accept the help, Dante gave a small smile while pulling the boy up, then remembered that he still didn't know the name of the child in front of him, "By the way, what's your name, boy?". 

The little boy looked at the ground, embarrassed for not having introduced himself yet, and said, albeit a bit quietly, "Dusk Hawthorn." After hearing the boy's name, Dante's childish imagination took over for a moment, and the image of a wolf trapped like a cat on top of a small tree formed in his brain. Quickly regaining his composure, Dante nodded, "Great, we are no longer complete strangers, now at least we are acquaintances," Dante extended his hand to the boy again, now with confidence, "Let's try again, hello Dusk, I'm Dante, it's a pleasure to meet you." The boy held Dante's hand with some reluctance, as if deciding whether he was a weirdo or a cool guy, and concluding that he was a mix of the two, he nodded and introduced himself accordingly.

Dante clapped his hands as if to start a show, "Well, to business, Dusk, I need to examine your wound, I applied an anesthetic but had to wait for you to wake up to continue." The boy, looking at the now bandaged wound and smelling of herbs, interrupted Dante and asked with some curiosity, "Why didn't you heal while I was sleeping? The newspapers say that you are some kind of prodigy healer or something, and even the aunts at the orphanage can heal broken bones, I've seen it." Dante was not upset about being interrupted, on the contrary, he loved questions. The wizarding world only accepted things as truth, part of its technological delay was due to blind trust in magic and lack of interest in its mysteries, assuming a lecture tone, he began to explain.

"See, when we apply a healing spell, from the simplest to the most advanced, what we are doing is either accelerating natural healing by stimulating it or telling the body how to reshape itself. Well, in the end, it doesn't matter, what is happening is that the body is working as much as the spell. Healing is not much different from running or practicing any other sport, it requires energy, not even magic can break such a fundamental law of the universe. Of course, potions can supply part of the energy needs, which makes them great options, but your case is 'delicate' to say the least." 

The child was shirtless, the bandage covering most of his torso, shoulder, and arm. Then Dante pointed to Dusk's belly, more specifically to his extremely deep and marked ribs, which made the boy blush with embarrassment. "Healing a wound like yours will expend energy equivalent to running a small marathon, swimming for a few hours, and in the end, fighting a troll." Now it was Dante's turn to raise an eyebrow, "Do you really think that in your current state you could do that?"

Dusk fell silent, looking at his shoulder with sadness. Dante saw that the boy was trying to move his arm, which even with the anesthetic should be extremely painful. It was impressive, as his face only showed coldness and sadness. Dante tried to cheer up the boy, "Well, don't worry, you must have ingested a few thousand calories a few hours ago, which should be enough for us to start." The boy's reaction was to lick his lips, and his face seemed to express longing, "That soup was really tasty, and the sweets were very good." A bit of saliva fell from the corner of the boy's mouth as he remembered the meal and afternoon tea, this followed by an audible growl coming from the boy's stomach made Dante rethink his words.

"Well, just to be safe, what do you think about having dinner before I make you as good as new?" Dante made a request to the elf for a large dinner, the very polite elf made a point of asking his guest if he had any preferences, to which young Dusk responded with a single and shy word like a whisper, "meat". In less than an hour, Dante's elf made a dinner worthy of a medieval fair in front of Dusk's increasingly puppy-like eyes. The amount of meat should be enough for 4 adult weightlifters, that is, of course, if Dusk alone hadn't eaten for 3. Dante was impressed and used his eyes and spells to assess the boy's physiology. Apparently, his werewolf part was actively trying to heal his wound, which explained his resistance to pain and how a small and malnourished child survived having his shoulder destroyed and blood loss.

The house elf Aldar, in turn, was enchanted. He looked like a mother or grandmother, putting more and more food on the boy's plate and watching him eat with fascination. Dante could swear that the elf's ears, which were wagging with joy at any moment, could make the elf fly away. The phoenix Salaark, on the other hand, looked at the boy with a strange mix of pity and caution. Through the rudimentary communication ability that the Hufflepuff Blood gave to Dante, he could perceive that the phoenix felt compassion for the boy while at the same time could feel a deep and corrupt magic that bothered her. 

At the end of the meal, Dante led Dusk to an empty room in his house. He noticed that the boy didn't feel very comfortable in the tower laboratory, which looked like a clinic. "Well, Dusk, I need to examine the wound, okay?" The boy seemed a bit cautious and kept looking at the door and window, which bothered Dante. "Look, let's do it this way, you're in control here. Say stop, and I'll stop. Say you want to leave, and I'll walk you to the door. But understand, even with your natural healing, the wound won't get better. It's possible that you could get an infection and die. Besides, when the anesthetic wears off and the adrenaline passes, the pain will be unbearable."

Young Dusk thought for a few seconds. He looked at Dante and his shoulder, seeming to decide whether he could trust the other boy in front of him. In the end, he decided that the boy seemed to genuinely want to help him. As a child, Dante's appearance was really trustworthy. Until then, he had shown himself to be different from the children who had humiliated him for his smell, shoes, dirt, or clothes. And most importantly, Dante was different from the adults who pretended he didn't exist or tried to kill him or use him when they found out he was a werewolf. For the first time in a long time, Dusk decided to trust another human being just for that night.

Seeing Dusk nod, Dante approached, but seeing the boy flinch when his hand got close to the bandage, he stopped his movement and said, "I need to remove the bandage to see the injury, are you okay with that?" Dusk looked at Dante's hand for a moment, then almost whispering, agreed.

Dante was as slow and gentle as he could be. Upon removing the bandage, he could see the wound. It was incredible how a child had survived this. The hole, most likely caused by some kind of spell, was the size of a baseball. It was simply a perfectly circular cut. The clavicle and part of the scapula seemed to have been cut with a laser, and only a part of the muscle and skin held the humerus to the rest of the boy's body. It would be easy to repair the bones with Skele-Gro potion, but the musculature, on the other hand, was a complicated case. 

Part of the reason Dante won the Merlin Medal was because before him, the regeneration of limbs or recovery from injuries caused by dark magic was said to be impossible. After spending years studying the human body and physiology in the magical world, Dante discovered that all beings in this world had what he came to call life force. It was unique to each species and slightly different for each individual. This force seemed to be the connection between magic and the body. For example, dark magic left a stain or mark on the life force, which prevented healing. In addition, birth defects such as deformities or vision and speech deficiencies were clearly distinguishable in their life forces. Over time, and thanks to the numerous specimens brought by the attacks on his life, he learned to manipulate this force at will, leading to the creation of a new branch of magic.

For Dante, healing Dusk's wound was relatively easy, although it would take time and probably leave a large scar. The main problem was the boy's poor physical condition. He was very thin and malnourished, in addition to infections and parasites, not to mention his mental condition. Dante needed physical contact to activate the analysis and healing spell. His magic usually didn't need a wand, the senses played a much bigger role. Wizards like the head of the magical hospital and leaders of each sector, and of course Dumbledore, could easily cast the diagnostic spell without the use of wands. But in general, the average healer needed to put their hand on the patient's chest and use the wand to conjure the spell.

"Dusk, I need to touch the middle of your chest to use the healing magic, do you agree with that?" The boy, now with a little more confidence, nodded. Dante began treating the infection and repairing some superficial injuries. Dusk just felt a wave running through his body. It was neither hot nor cold, but it was comfortable like a hot tub. Pleasant ripples ran through his skin. Dusk could stay there all day if it weren't for the growing urge to go to the bathroom and the large amount of sweat dripping from his body. Gradually, the urge to go to the bathroom was overtaken by fatigue and exhaustion. Dusk could feel better as he felt more and more tired.

Dante removed his hand from the boy who was panting heavily and dripping sweat, and said as he handed him a towel and a change of clothes, "I think that's enough for today. It should take 2 or 3 days to fully heal the wound. The bathroom is in the door of the corridor next to the stairs. Your body needs to get rid of dead cells, fluids, and other substances. Not to mention that I basically increased your metabolism about 100 times during the healing. Take a good bath, I will redo the bandage and give you a potion for the bones and for the pain, maybe one to sleep. It won't be a very pleasant night, growing bones is extremely painful."

Dusk spent some time in Dante's luxurious bathroom, looking at his shoulder in the mirror. He still couldn't move his arm, but aside from the skin being much lighter than the rest of his body, as if it had never been in the sun, everything seemed normal. He was so tired that he almost fell asleep in the bathtub, awakened by Dante's knocks. Dusk quickly dried off and put on the extremely soft and new clothes. He spent some time rubbing his hand on the fabric of the shirt; it was so different from his old and dirty clothes that he felt out of place.

Dante accompanied the boy to the guest room where he would stay. It took less than 10 minutes to put a splint on to immobilize the shoulder, and to give Dusk a cup of Skele-Gro, in addition to an anesthetic potion of his own making and the standard dose of dreamless sleep. "Listen, Dusk, I just patched up the wound and created a temporary circulatory system. The Skele-Gro potion will regenerate your bones overnight, and tomorrow or the day after, I will redo the circulatory system permanently and the muscular system. I need you to rest and not tear off the splint. The other two potions should help with that. Any questions?"

Dusk hadn't understood half of the other boy's words. He had no idea what a circulatory system was, but he could feel that he was better. At least now he didn't smell like death. Over time on the streets and after being infected with lycanthropy, he learned to sense this smell. It was like a sixth sense. He could sense it in the elderly, adults, animals, and children, all of whom didn't last long. So Dusk nicknamed his ability the smell of death. He would never have sought help from an adult like Prometheus if he hadn't been in panic from sensing this smell in himself.

Dusk had gone through a lot in a very short time. In less than 3 days, he was hunted and injured like an animal, witnessing the worst of humanity, not that it was the first time. And then he thought he was going to die, and when he had lost hope, he found a strange boy who spoke complicated things and who undeniably saved him. At that moment, Dusk only had one question and expressed it in a tired voice, "Why?"

For a moment, Dante raised an eyebrow at the vague question, but for some reason, he understood the thousands of questions expressed in that single phrase: "Why did I help you? Or why does life have to be so hard? Or why should you trust me? Why does everyone hate werewolves? Why do they seem not to see you? Or why did they hurt you? Why did they hurt you to the point that being touched by any other human being hurts?" The boy's eyes began to tear up, but he didn't cry at any moment, still waiting for the answer.

Dante turned to the door but continued speaking, "We could spend all night asking these questions. I could answer some and not others. For example, I helped you because for me it was the right thing to do. I know it's hypocritical and that at least a hundred children out there are in the same conditions you were in, but you were within my reach. For the next questions, well, life shouldn't be so complicated for you. I, on behalf of humanity, apologize. You suffered much more than a child your age should. The issue of werewolves is easy, people fear what they don't know. As for whether you should trust me, it's not me who has to answer that, but you. Now, for the last questions, I don't have an answer. Maybe some people are so broken that they want to break the whole world so that everyone becomes like them. I honestly try not to think too much about it. Now, I advise you to try to sleep, Dusk. You are exhausted both physically and mentally. It's not the time for these questions. I'll be in the room next door if you need anything, and Aldar will take care of you during the night. You can also call him." The elf bowed to the boy and after Dante's goodnight, both the elf and Dante left the room, leaving the exhausted Dusk to shed a single tear and finally fall asleep from exhaustion.