"CRUCIO!"The word ripped from his throat like a curse from hell, echoing through the street as red light exploded toward Salix.
He saw it — a bright flash, faster than thought, faster than breath. The curse moved almost like light itself. There was no time to dodge. No chance to react. A heartbeat later, it struck him.
Salix didn't even have time to scream. He was stunned, breathless. Pain hadn't hit him yet—just the shock, the realization that he'd been hit.
And then came the second curse.
"AHHHHHH! AH—What's happening?!"Salix collapsed to his knees, clutching at his left chest with his right hand. Pain surged like wildfire through his body, raw and burning.
It was late afternoon. The sun hovered near the horizon, casting golden light over the rooftops. A scene that should have looked like the ending of a love story—Instead, it felt like the opening of a horror film.
Salix gasped hard, his chest heaving. It was like dragging in air through a blocked tunnel. His nose was useless. No air passed. The only oxygen came in desperate gulps through his mouth.
Salix was breathless, could barely see.
Footsteps. Slow, deliberate.
Malfoy approached.
He walked toward Salix like he was studying a caged animal. Without a word, he raised his long black wand—no, it looked more like a carved staff now—and used it to lift Salix's head by the chin.
Salix's tear rolled down his flushed, red cheek.
"Little mudblood animal... but handsome," Malfoy thought, amused.
There was something striking about Salix's diamond-shaped face, something that had caught Malfoy's attention before. Even now—his ocean-blue eyes half-closed in pain, blond hair tangled and matted with sweat—he looked handsome.
"Shame, really," Malfoy said softly."If you'd survived, you'd be the kind of boy girls would kill for."
He lifted the black wand higher, aiming it down at Salix's folded leg.
"Fuck you, you little animal," he snarled, driving the wand downward.
But he froze.
The wand hovered inches from Salix's leg—ready to stab, ready to carve—but Malfoy hesitated.
His gaze shifted.
"What's that... on your neck?" he murmured.
Salix couldn't respond. His lips parted, but no sound escaped. His eyes rolled back.
And he collapsed, unconscious.
⏳ TIME SKIP
'Ugh... my head… my hand... aah, my damn chest. It feels like a heart attack. Where… where am I?'A bright light poured into his eyes. Too bright. Too clean. salix thought
He blinked hard, trying to adjust.
"Salix, are you okay? Don't worry, Mom's here."
Mrs. William's voice was soft and trembling. She helped him lean back against the hospital bed, adjusting the pillows behind him.
Then she handed him a glass of juice, the color of sunshine.
"Vitamin, she said gently. "You need it."
Salix reached out with his right hand to take the glass of juice, but sudden, sharp pain shot through his body.
"Ahh!" he gasped.
"Careful! Your left hand is badly injured—your bone is broken," Mrs. William said quickly, guiding the glass gently into his right hand.
Salix still couldn't process what was happening. His mind was spinning, trapped in the horror of the night before.
"Mom... what time did you find me and bring me to the hospital?" he asked weakly.
"Baby, it's been five days... you've been in a coma," Mrs. William replied softly."Your father and I were driving down that same road. All of a sudden, my eyes landed on Toffee's dead body... and then on you."
Her voice cracked. A second later, she broke down crying, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Toffee is—" Salix tried to speak, but Mrs. William shook her head.
He didn't need to finish the sentence. She already knew. This wasn't a dream.
Losing their five-year-old dog was no small thing. Toffee had been with Salix since he first gained real memories—his first friend, his constant shadow. This was no pet. This was family.
'How the hell did I even survive that curse?''What was he saying to me? I could barely hear anything. Everything had gone dark—I couldn't feel anything at all.'
Mrs. William noticed him zoning out again and tried to bring his mind elsewhere.
"You need to get better quickly," she said with a hopeful smile. "I've planned a surprise vacation for you!"
Salix blinked. A vacation?He knew his family was rich—filthy rich, even—but not magical. Not enough to fix what had been done. Not enough to bring back the only living being that truly understood him.
"Ah, Mom... Let it go. It'll be expensive, and I'm not in the mood," he replied flatly.
At just eleven years old, Salix already spoke like someone much older. Mrs. William wasn't surprised—he had always acted like a twenty-year-old trapped in a child's body.
"Hey, don't worry about the money, okay?" she said, brushing his hair back. "We've saved so much for you. That money's yours—for your life. Don't stress, we're doing fine."
She kissed his forehead and helped him lie back on the bed.
"Try to get a quick nap while I handle some hospital paperwork, okay?" she said softly, then quietly left the room.
But sleep was the last thing on Salix's mind.
His thoughts circled back to Malfoy.To the way he treated Toffee.To the pain.To the humiliation.To the rage.
He wanted revenge. Not just a punch or a fight.
He wanted him dead.
With the Killing Curse.
"I WISH I WAS A WIZARD!" Salix shouted, slamming his fist into the bedside table, knocking over bottles of medicine.
And in that moment—
📣 SYSTEM ACTIVATED
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