The heavier and taller you are, the harder you fall.
Adults certainly fall harder than children.
When a child falls, they often scramble up and run off immediately. But if an adult falls while running at full speed, they need a good while to recover before getting up. Some never get up again.
Rey's dragon form was severely "overweight" and "oversized."
So, after crashing into the ground, his massive body tumbled and thrashed several times before finally coming to a stop.
His path of destruction left a trail of flattened earth and crushed trees.
Most of the trees had been burning, but the sheer weight of his body extinguished the flames, creating a large, ash-covered clearing in the forest.
Rey tried his best to control his body. No matter how much he tumbled, he never let himself flip over, because Helena was still on his back.
His magical core was running dry, and his body was weak and limp. In the moments after impact, Rey couldn't even feel any physical pain—his nerves were numb.
The scales on his body dissolved into a faint black mist that spread outward, forming a large circle around him and Helena.
Wherever the black mist touched, the flames were instantly extinguished. Rey and Helena lay at the center of this safe zone.
As his flesh began to contract and shrink back to human form, the pain finally hit him like a tsunami.
Rey's breathing was shallow, his entire body convulsing in spasms. His expression was twisted in agony, heartbreaking to witness, yet he stubbornly refused to make a sound.
Transforming into a dragon had been excruciating, but reverting to human form was ten times worse.
"No... don't scare me. What's happening to you?"
Rey's reaction was so severe that Helena panicked.
" Reparo! "
" Episkey! "
" Rennervate! "
Helena cast every healing and restorative spell she knew on the agonizing Rey.
Pale blue and white magical lights flashed, flowing into Rey's body. But it was like throwing stones into the ocean—there was no effect whatsoever.
Soon, Rey fully reverted from his dragon form back to his human self.
But his condition didn't improve. He curled up into a fetal position, trying to suppress the racking pain.
Helena, now thoroughly panicked and sobbing, didn't know what to do.
All she could do was pull Rey into her arms, holding him tightly, hoping her embrace could somehow alleviate his suffering.
---
The sky over Hogwarts turned red. Even from a great distance, one could see the heavens glowing like fire.
The blaze lasted from the break of dawn until the setting of the sun.
After the sea of fire finally died down, countless particles of ash and smoke rose into the air, forming thick grey clouds that blotted out the sky.
"I can't see the Big Dipper or Vega and Altair you talked about," Helena said with a smile, looking down at Rey, whose head rested on her lap.
"Yeah... too much dust. It's blocking everything," Rey replied weakly, inhaling her scent as he adjusted his head slightly on her thigh.
Rey had been in pain for an entire day, and Helena had held him for an entire day.
Although the intense pain had subsided, he had zero strength to stand up, so she continued to cradle him.
"Hogwarts... is it safe now?"
Rey's voice was incredibly weak. His eyes fluttered open and closed, his mental state hanging by a thread.
"Of course it's safe. Countless elves died or were injured, and you drove most of them away with your fire. Without their numerical advantage, Madam Hooch and the others definitely handled the rest."
Helena kept her voice bright and loud. She pecked Rey gently on the forehead, kissing her hero.
"Don't you dare sleep. Once the battlefield is cleaned up and Mother returns from the Vatican, we have to throw a celebration for you, our great hero."
The light kiss brought a flicker of life back to Rey's dull eyes. Helena kept chattering, forcing an upbeat tone to keep the atmosphere lively. Her goal was simple: keep Rey awake.
Rey's spirit was fading. Helena was terrified that if he fell asleep now, he might never wake up.
So she kept talking, saying anything she could think of to stimulate his mind and keep him tethered to consciousness.
---
"Didn't you say you love good food?"
"Aunt Helga gave you a recipe book, remember? I've been collecting rare ingredients for it. I already have everything for a few dishes. Once you recover, I'll cook for you, okay?"
Rey didn't answer immediately, his gaze unfocused. As a food lover, hearing Helena's offer made him force a weak smile. It took him a long moment to gather enough strength to reply.
"Okay."
"Do you like my cooking?"
"I do."
Rey answered sporadically. Sometimes he heard her clearly and responded quickly. Other times, he saw her lips moving but couldn't process a single word she said.
Helena's face blurred in and out of focus. It was a sign that Rey's mental state was extremely unstable—a dangerous but necessary phase of his recovery.
It was perilous. Helena knew it, and Rey knew it too.
Rey struggled to lift his left hand, wanting to touch Helena's cheek.
Helena immediately grabbed his hand and pressed it against her face. Tears welled up in her eyes again; she had probably cried more today than in her entire life combined.
"Don't worry. I'm going to be fine."
Rey's spirit seemed to rally slightly. Though his voice was still weak, it wasn't as broken as before.
"Mhm. I know. I know."
Helena nodded incessantly, weeping tears of joy. Her intuition told her the most dangerous moment had passed.
---
Feeling her smooth skin under his palm, Rey's eyes began to glaze over again, eyelids drooping.
"I thought he was recovering?"
Helena's heart clenched in panic. Desperate, she lowered her head and kissed him gently on the lips again. Since earlier, every time she kissed him, his spirit seemed to improve significantly.
lips met. Suddenly, Helena let out a muffled "Mmph!" Her face flushed red, a mix of shyness and mock anger rising within her.
Rey's tongue had pried her lips open, deeply intertwining with hers in a greedy, passionate kiss.
"He's faking it!"
Helena realized the truth instantly. Embarrassed and annoyed, she pulled back and started pounding her fists on Rey's chest as he lay on her lap.
"You liar! You liar!"
"Haha... cough, cough..."
Rey tried to laugh and beg for mercy, but his body was still weak. Under Helena's "punishing" blows, his laughter turned into a coughing fit.
"Ah! Are you okay?"
Helena panicked. Rey had just survived a critical ordeal and was still incredibly fragile. If she accidentally hurt him, she would regret it for the rest of her life.
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Rey gave a bitter smile. He had recovered a bit, but after Helena's playful beating, his mind actually started to feel a little woozy again. It seemed his condition wasn't quite stable yet.
"Hmph. That's what you get for tricking me."
Helena glared at him, though with no real bite. She realized she had hit him a bit too hard. Seeing the poor guy looking so pathetic, her heart softened. She closed her eyes and, blushing, leaned down to kiss him again.