Chapter 111: Cure, Dreams, and Another Deal (2/2)
”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?”
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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.
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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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