When he opened his eyes again, Noah found himself in the far corner of the clinic, behind the curtains. Of course, none of the students should have any idea what might have happened to him.
When the young man woke up, his head hurt incredibly badly. He thought he had been hit in the jaw, but apparently that wasn't the only blow he had received.
His nose hurt just as badly as his jaw.
It was even a little difficult to breathe.
This was quite normal, given that Noah healed much, much slower than a normal person, but still, the young man didn't know what to do.
"Madame Pomfrey..." he said gently, and as he did so, the curtain suddenly opened.
Noah turned his eyes to the old woman looking at him. The old woman seemed worried, but she also seemed pleased that Noah had opened his eyes.
"Don't try to talk, young man, you're in bad enough shape already. I can't understand how someone like you suffered such a great injury," Madame Pomfrey said gently.
"You've taken a solid blow, a blow that travelled from the right side of your nose down to your jaw. Whoever cast this spell on you must be an excellent wizard," Madame Pomfrey added to her own words.
After these words, Noah replied, "I was punched... It wasn't magic," which further increased the old woman's astonishment.
"What kind of madman could throw such a terrible punch and cause damage to two different areas?" the old woman muttered.
Noah really couldn't say anything.
Although he had been struck dozens of times before, those blows were related to magic; due to his race, like giants, magic itself did little harm to him. It could be said that for the first time in his life, he had been punched like a... human.
"Does Professor Dumbledore know?" Noah asked, clearly remembering that he wanted her to inform him.
At Noah's words, Madam Pomfrey shook her head and replied, "Yes, dear, he is aware of the situation to some extent. Still, what you need to do is REST, don't make me repeat myself, alright?"
Immediately after saying this, the old woman placed an ice pack on Noah's nose as if nothing had happened and then said, "You'll be fine soon. Healing charms don't work on your kind, so you have to rest."
Noah closed his eyes again upon hearing these words. He really did need to finish the potion recipe he was trying to create as soon as possible.
Madame Pomfrey actually thought he had suffered a concussion.
Thanks to Noah's race, he was immune to almost every curse, they say, including the Killing Curse itself.
Some even claimed that the Death Curse had been created by High-Arch Vampires, but even the ancient members of the race did not know if this was true.
That was why his race existed even before wizards existed as wizards.
It was all true. They really couldn't be hunted by the killing curse, but even if they are in danger, they were practically gods that could get hurt and killed at the end.
This was the exact reason why there were literally thousands of Death Eaters and their allies against a couple of hundred High-Arch Vampires, and despite that, they almost won the whole thing.
Their strongest weapon, the Killing Curse, Avada Kedavra, wouldn't take them down. Under normal circumstances, he could have been immortal, but the moment he realised he was in the midst of a battle, he had essentially met the conditions for his own demise.
Even if that killing curse can not kill him, the continuous battle he was in could, tens of spells that he was getting hit by could.
Still, they were living beings, and everyone was going to fall when their time came. This was the exact thing that happened to his blood.
After all, legends existed to be legends, so it was hardly possible to speak directly about these matters or say anything definitive.
Some said those vampires taught Great Wizard Merlin everything he knew; some said they were the ones who created countries and more.
Literally, many of the legends were written in their name, just some...were not believable, just like the killing curse.
After all, who can be fully immune to a spell, a curse that can kill you instantly, without any pain?
He was simply... quite resistant to those curses. And since he was an immortal and could die in a 'fight or duel', he was being quite untachable, just like the rest of his race was.
Just like some wizards say:
"Even the Gods can fall; the only thing needed was time."
Still, that didn't mean he hadn't taken damage. The fact that he was nearly knocked out by a single punch made that abundantly clear.
He wasn't unkillable; he was just unkillable by that one curse.
Somehow, he had taken a blow from his nose to his chin, perhaps even two punches to his face at hyper speed, and ended up like this.
He was just like a human, pitiful, a person who can get hurt easily, but only under the right circumstances.
Maybe it was trauma that he wasn't like a full High-Arch Vampire. Or he was...simply weak within his physical body.
He only needed a few days' rest; it wouldn't take Madame Pomfrey long to fix Noah's broken nose. He just needed his internal blood vessels to heal properly.
Noah had been caught off guard.
For so long, he had been the hunter, but now he had become the hunted. He was fortunate to have acted quickly.
If it weren't for the duelling lessons he had received from Minerva McGonagall and, earlier, from Remus Lupin and Severus Snape, and even Alastor Moody, he would most likely have been killed in that moment when he was caught unprepared.
After all, killing him, one way or another... wasn't exactly easy.
Death was not in the nature of a High-Arch Vampire.
Well...not in the direct nature at least, as everyone knew.
"I'm leaving the curtain open so the sun and moonlight can hit you directly. It will be difficult for you to sleep, but you will heal faster, as is the nature of your race. So get some rest, young man," said Madame Pomfrey, and with that, she actually drew the curtain and left Noah to rest.
It didn't take long for the young man to fall asleep. Five minutes after closing his eyes, he managed to enter the realm of dreams.
Still... his dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
When Noah opened his eyes again, he found himself in that place he didn't want to remember... Ankara, Turkey.
More precisely, it was a region in the land of wizards, accessible only after a long journey through the city's portal.
It was the region where Noah had been born and lived until the age of six, until his apocalypse had befallen him.
Not like they were Turkish, they were just living there, after all, it wasn't as loud as the other 'wizard' settlements, it wasn't too quiet either. It was simply as peaceful a place as can be.
The Dawnbringer settlement.
The surname Noah had left behind was now written on the sign in front of the settlement.
The young man had never had a dream like this before.
Yet he had begun to hear those things he never wanted to hear again.