HP Dual Masters and I had a blast in Hogwarts.

Chapter 312 No matter how strong a person is, they will eventually get tired.

I reached out and grabbed his restless wrist, then pulled him toward the bed.

Theodore staggered and slumped onto the dark green velvet bed, his dark green tie now askew and disheveled.

"Worried about me?" I knelt on the bed, my fingertips tracing his bluish eyelids, deliberately softening my voice. "But how did you know I went to Professor Black's place, and how did you know I didn't come back all night?" As I spoke, I pulled open his collar to reveal his collarbone, gently stroking his pale skin.

Theodore's Adam's apple bobbed, and his gaze unconsciously shifted away.

"Don't change the subject." His voice was still tense, but he didn't pull away from my leaning body.

I took the opportunity to straddle his lap, feeling his muscles tense instantly. "I'm really fine," I chuckled in his ear, my breath brushing against his reddened earlobe. "But you, you didn't sleep all night, your dark circles are practically down to your chin."

Theodore looked up abruptly, only to bump into my deliberately wide-open eyes.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but my lips suddenly pressed close and sealed his words.

The brief kiss left him completely stunned. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to deepen it, I had already nimbly jumped off the bed.

"I need to change, or I'll miss class today." I pulled a clean uniform out of the closet and started unbuttoning my shirt with my back to him. "I feel like I'm going to be late."

I heard the rustling sound of fabric behind me, and through the full-length mirror in the cabinet, I glimpsed Theodore bending down to pick up his wand from the floor, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the engravings on the wand.

"When you have time, you'd better give me an explanation." His voice still carried a threat, but he was already walking towards the door.

I breathed a sigh of relief after the door slammed shut, my back wound aching from the cold sweat.

Memories of last night flooded back uncontrollably—the black magic swirling around Riddle's fingertips, and his warm breath as he chuckled in my ear.

Shaking my head to shake off these thoughts, I quickly changed into my own clothes.

When I arrived at the classroom for my first class of the day, I was face to face with Sirius.

I sighed and facepalmed. I was so busy that I completely forgot I had Sirius's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Oh~ so Ayers is back~" He deliberately dragged out the last syllable of his voice, which was laced with barbs, and his wand drew a strange silver light in the air.

Some of the young wizards who had arrived in the classroom earlier stopped what they were doing and watched my conversation with Sirius.

"Yes, I came back early this morning." I understood Sirius's barbed words, but I was genuinely a little tired.

I was tossing and turning with Riddle all night and didn't get any sleep. When I got back, I was bombarded with questions from each of them. I really felt mentally exhausted.

Sirius approached slowly, one hand in his pocket, his black curly hair falling over his forehead, unable to conceal the turbulent undercurrent in his eyes. "I thought a certain warrior was planning to stay with someone and not come back."

Just as I was about to explain, my lower back suddenly pressed against the cold podium, and his wand had somehow touched my chest.

"Do you know how lively Dumbledore's office was yesterday?" He leaned closer to me as he spoke. "I almost tore down Dumbledore's office." The tip of his wand lifted my chin, the minty scent wafting past my ear. "And now you're back without even an explanation."

I forced myself to look at him despite my weariness, and out of the corner of my eye I caught the students' terrified yet curious gazes in the corner.

Sirius's wand was slightly hot, pressing against his skin through his school robe.

“I took him to Riddle’s villa,” his voice hoarse as if he’d swallowed shards of glass, “and spent the whole night dealing with Riddle. You think I didn’t want to come back?”

His pupils contracted sharply, but the wand remained motionless.

The dark clouds outside the window pressed even lower, and large raindrops pounded against the glass with a muffled sound.

“You should have come to me immediately.” His voice suddenly trembled, and his rapid breathing rippled at his collarbone, “instead of coming to my class as if nothing had happened.”

I grabbed his wand suddenly, and my fingertips touched the cold shaft, which sent a slight tremor through me.

The moment my fingertips touched the cold magic wand, I suddenly heard a gasp from the back row.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw more than twenty pairs of eyes staring wide-eyed, and the girls' whispering actions froze in mid-air.

Sirius's burning body heat was still on me, but I pushed him away as if I had been burned, the metal podium scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

"Professor Blake's concern will be remembered by the student." I clenched my slightly trembling hand, my nails digging into my palm, as if I felt no pain.

As he hurried toward the corner, he heard the rustling sound of fabric behind him. Sirius cleared his throat, his wand drawing an elegant arc in the air. The desks and chairs in the classroom were moved to the sides, making room for a large space: "Now that you're back, you'll be the one to demonstrate today's practical exercise."

Today I wasn't in class with Fred and George, and I didn't get along particularly well with most of my classmates. When they heard that Sirius wanted me to be their role model, they all kept their distance.

I carefully straightened the hem of my robe, digging my nails deep into my palms to stop the trembling from spreading to my shoulders. The wounds on my body hadn't been treated, and coupled with my physical exhaustion, it was only through sheer willpower that I didn't faint immediately.

The silver light from Sirius's wand was blinding in the twilight. Amidst the gasps that rose and fell in the classroom, I forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Very well, please guide me, Professor Black."

The moment I took out my wand from my backpack, it inevitably brushed against the wound on my arm, and I just frowned slightly.

Sirius's 'Exterminate Weapon' came without warning. I dodged to the side, the back of my neck brushing against my collar, and I frowned again.

He deftly deflected the retaliatory fire spell, sparks splattering onto his snow-white collar and leaving a few scorch marks.

After three rounds of combat, my breathing gradually became heavy.

Sirius's black hair billowed in the air currents stirred up by the spell, yet his dark gray robe remained as straight as a knife.

When his wand pointed at me again, I didn't exactly let my foot falter; I genuinely paused for a moment. The instant the Binding Charm precisely wrapped around my ankle, I heard my own heart pounding deafeningly.

The moment my back hit the ground, a dull pain shot through the back of my head.

The light and shadow before their eyes began to distort, and Sirius's exclamation seemed to come from a very distant place.

I counted the sound of his rapidly approaching footsteps, and before my consciousness completely faded, I finally fell into that warm embrace, just as I had hoped.

"Wake up!" The angry roar, trembling with rage, made my eardrums ache.

I forced my eyes open and met Sirius's dilated pupils.

He pressed his wand against my heart, the tips of his fingers glowing with the faint light of a healing spell.

The moment my fingertips touched his arm, Sirius suddenly grabbed my wrist with such force that it felt like he was going to crush my bones.

The warm light of the healing spell flickered in his eyes, reflecting a panic I had never seen before—his gray eyes, which always held a hint of mockery, were now bloodshot, and his black hair, sticky with cold sweat, hung down his forehead.

"Don't move." His voice was terribly hoarse, and the hand holding the wand against my chest trembled slightly.

"I'm really fine..." I'm just probably exhausted.

Sirius immediately withdrew his wand and instead supported me by the back of my neck, helping me to sit up.

He smelled faintly of burnt material, a mark left from when I struck his sleeve during our magical exchange.

"If you dare to do it again..." He suddenly stopped, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the rebuke that was about to come out.

I tried to get up by bracing myself on the ground, but he pulled me into his arms. My back hit his chest, which heaved violently, making my temples throb.

"I told you, don't move." This time his voice was softer, with a kind of stubborn tenderness.

Soon, the stretcher bearer was found by other students and was heavily placed aside. The sound of the metal supports clattering together broke the silence of the classroom.

Sirius seemed not to hear me, his chin resting on the top of my head, his breath so hot it almost set me on fire.

Sirius's Adam's apple bobbed violently once more.

He carefully pulled me closer to his chest, his wand hovering in mid-air, drawing intricate healing runes. The golden light fell on the wound, but was shattered by his own trembling hand.

"You stubborn fool," he suddenly muttered through gritted teeth, his voice thick with anger and lingering fear.

"It's okay, I'm just tired, I'll be fine after a rest." I felt like I had scared him, so I struggled to open my eyes and met the dark currents churning in his eyes. My tired face was reflected in his gray pupils, like a lone boat trapped in a storm.

The stretcher bearer in the medical wing tried to take me, but Sirius suddenly took a half step back, the hem of his robe sweeping across the afterimages of the spell on the ground.

"He's like this because he was practicing with me. I'll take him there." The unquestionable order came down, and as he turned around with me in his arms, I heard a muffled groan from his throat—the spell I had used to retaliate had ultimately left burns on his ribs.

Sirius's steps were so fast they were almost chaotic, each step making my wounds ache, yet I craved this warm confinement.

He would occasionally look down at my face, his loose black hair falling across his forehead and gently brushing against my cheek.

“You should let me get down and walk over by myself. I only have a mild concussion, I’m not seriously injured…” I said wearily.

“If you dare to risk yourself again…” he suddenly said, his words carrying a double meaning, his voice filled with gritted teeth and anger, “I’ll lock you in my office and won’t let you leave even a step.”

The corners of my mouth had barely lifted into a half-inch smile when a tearing pain exploded from my back.

Sirius suddenly tightened his arms, the leather wristbands digging painfully into my collarbone, his hot breath spraying onto the top of my head: "Shut up, close your eyes and rest!"

His voice was hoarse and panicked like never before, like a string of a musical instrument scorched by flames.

The bronze doors of the medical wing slowly opened before them, and Madam Pomfrey, wand in hand, exclaimed in surprise as she approached.

Sirius, however, stubbornly and gently placed me on the nearest hospital bed, his fingertips brushing against my sweaty temples, his movements as gentle as if touching fragile glass.

As the warm light of the healing spell enveloped my body, I heard his sigh fall beside my ear, mixed with a kind of almost pious murmur: "Thank God..."

“Professor Black, please allow me to examine you!” Mrs. Pomfrey’s rebuke carried an unquestionable authority.

Sirius's fingertips lingered on my forehead for half a second before he slowly stood up.

As he turned, the wind from his robe lifted the sheets, and I caught a glimpse of the charred curse marks on the inside of his sleeve—the spot where I had deliberately struck him.

Once the footsteps had completely disappeared, I forced myself to open my eyes.

Madam Pomfrey froze in mid-air, holding the silver spoon containing the potion. Her gaze swept over the faint bite mark on my collarbone, and she suddenly sighed heavily: "You child..."

“Don’t tell anyone.” I grabbed her wrist. “Even Dumbledore… those injuries…” Before I could finish, a dizzying sensation swept over me.

Madam Pomfrey's wrinkled hand touched my forehead, and the light from the tip of her wand suddenly softened: "Sleep peacefully. When did I ever reveal a student's secret?"

Pomfrev wouldn't readily reveal anything he needed to conceal from this good student who often helped him in the medical wing.

Before consciousness sank into darkness, the sound of arguing came from the end of the corridor.

Sirius's voice pierced through the door: "It's all my fault that he's like this. I'll protect him!"

"Is the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor so idle? This is class time, don't you have the students in the classroom to deal with?" Madam Pomfrey's cold laugh, mixed with the sound of locking the door, shut out all the disturbances.

As my fingers loosened their grip on the bedsheet, I finally drifted into a dreamland free of spells and pretense, enveloped in the fragrant aroma of medicine.

As the morning light shone through the stained glass and cast dappled shadows on the bedding, I lazily sat up and heard the soft rustling of bandages against the back of my neck.

Mrs. Pomfrey pushed open the door and entered, carrying a steaming potion. The clinking of the medicine spoon against the porcelain bowl was so crisp, as if she had timed it perfectly to coincide with the moment I woke up.

"You woke up right on time." She shoved the medicine bowl into my hand, her gaze sweeping over my subconscious touch of my collarbone, a knowing glint in her eyes behind her glasses. "Drink it. Valerian was added to relieve headaches."

As the bitter medicine slid down his throat, hurried footsteps suddenly echoed down the corridor.

Mrs. Pomfrey reacted quickly, pressing my shoulder down and pushing me back onto the pillow the moment the door was pushed open.

Sirius leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily. His black hair fell in disarray, and his robe was buttoned crookedly, clearly having been put on in a hurry.

A group of people followed behind him.

Sirius leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily. His black hair fell in disarray, and the crooked silver buttons shimmered in the morning light.

Behind him, Fred and George squeezed to the front, the twins' faces still covered in prank fluorescent powder.

Harry looked anxious, eager to see my current situation. Hermione, clutching a dog-eared book called "Potions of Magic," was stamping her feet in frustration.

Draco, who was opposite Harry, deliberately maintained an elegant posture, but his fingers unconsciously tugged at the tassels of his scarf.

Severus stood at the back of the crowd, the tip of his wand gleaming with a wary, eerie blue beneath his black robes.

"Stop right there!" Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at the ceiling, and dozens of potion lamps lit up at the same time. "The Medical Wing is not a tourist attraction!" As she turned around, I glimpsed Sirius slipping something under his pillow in the chaos, the lingering warmth of his fingertips seeping through the fabric.

"How is Ayers?" Harry peeked out from behind the bed curtains, looking at me with concern as I appeared exhausted.

Hermione immediately held up her book and added, "I looked it up; head injuries can cause memory confusion..."

“He’s perfectly fine, he just needs to rest,” Severus suddenly said, the serpentine silver clasp gleaming coldly on his throat.

He glanced at Sirius's crooked collar, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Some people, on the other hand, should be worried about whether they are worthy of the title of professor."