Mrs. Longbottom and Neville were waiting here on purpose.
A few minutes ago, it seemed that Neville misunderstood Kael's words. Instead of finding a Healer, he went downstairs and started shouting about a werewolf, trying to get others to go to the second floor to help.
However, no one believed him, even though they had just heard the commotion from upstairs with their own ears.
Because werewolves don't appear during the day; this is basic common knowledge in the Magic Realm.
Moreover, this was at St Mungo's, a place full of talented individuals, where people with mental issues were abundant—just twenty minutes before, someone else claimed to have a dragon upstairs.
Just a werewolf, nothing to make a fuss about.
Furthermore, the Healers didn't believe this round-faced little chubby boy either.
They appeared on the second floor entirely because of someone else.
—That curly-haired intern Healer who had guided Kael before was in the ward where the werewolf was and personally witnessed the entire transformation process.
But fortunately, he was not bitten, perhaps because the werewolf had just transformed and was still muddled, casually swatting him into the wall.
After he pulled himself out, he immediately used St Mungo's unique method to contact other colleagues, telling them about the werewolf situation.
This then led to the previous scene.
On the other side, after Mrs. Longbottom learned of this, she hurriedly found Neville. After understanding the situation from her grandson's lips, the old lady immediately intended to take Neville to express their gratitude.
However, they were a step late, and by the time the two found Kael, he happened to have gone to the sixth floor with the Dean and Dumbledore.
So Mrs. Longbottom simply waited with Neville at the stair corner until they came down.
Afterwards, Mrs. Longbottom invited Kael to a room on the fifth floor.
Neville's parents were there, lying on the hospital beds, blankly staring at Kael.
"You saved Neville, and they also want to thank you."
Mrs. Longbottom turned to look at the hospital bed, speaking with a slight tremor in her voice: "Frank, Alice, the child is here."
But their eyes remained vacant, as if they hadn't heard Mrs. Longbottom's words at all.
"Child, don't mind," Mrs. Longbottom explained: "I can feel it, they really want to thank you personally, only they just can't express it."
While Mrs. Longbottom was speaking, Neville stood beside her, head down, seemingly very interested in his toes.
This kind of behavior, however, made Mrs. Longbottom very angry.
"Lift your head, Neville!" She said sternly: "You should not feel ashamed because of your parents' misfortune; you should be proud!"
"I'm not…" Neville retorted, his voice small but very firm.
Then Mrs. Longbottom looked at Kael again, standing straight with pride, and said: "They were tortured into madness by the Death Eaters using the Crucio Curse… Those mongrels wanted to find out where their master was, but they were wrong. The Longbottom Family never compromises with Dark Wizards!"
"Admirable..." Kael said respectfully.
"And you as well, child,"
Mrs. Longbottom said: "At such a young age to defeat a werewolf, not many can accomplish such a feat.
I hope that Neville can also have this courage in the future, to become an Auror after graduation, and restore the glory of the Longbottom Family..."
She glanced at Neville, suddenly frowning: "Stand straight, Neville, I've told you many times, stand up straight!"
After leaving the ward, Kael could still clearly hear Mrs. Longbottom scolding Neville.
He looked at Professor Cecily beside him, inquiring: "Is it impossible to heal the injury caused by the Crucio Curse?"
"It's very difficult; any problem involving the soul is hard to cure, werewolves are like that, and the Crucio Curse is no different."
Professor Cecily thought for a moment and said: "The Crucio Curse brings not only physical injuries but also the pain of a torn soul.
The wizard's body is fragile, like trying to piece together a shattered mirror on a tightly stretched balloon, a careless move would burst the balloon.
What we can do now is to barely piece together the outline of the mirror while ensuring the balloon doesn't break, waiting for more effective methods to emerge."
"Like the Wolf Poison Potion?" Kael pondered aloud.
"Exactly." Professor Cecily smiled: "We're waiting for a 'Wolf Poison Potion' that can solve the Crucio Curse and have been striving for it."
Kael said nothing further, continuing to walk silently.
Mentioning the shattered soul suddenly reminded him of a Horcrux.
Yes, a Horcrux… this device invented by the nefarious Herpo, the most evil Dark Arts Item in the world.
Kael remembered that to create a Horcrux, the first step was to split one's soul through murder, then enclose it in the Horcrux.
What if the soul was already in a fragmented state at the start… could this step be skipped?
Like the Longbottoms, their souls were shattered by the Crucio Curse, precisely meeting the requirements for creating a Horcrux, didn't they?
Kael fell into contemplation.
If you can't piece together a complete mirror on the balloon, why not just take the fragments away?
A Horcrux is a very special thing, it's like an extra body, or rather a bridge, connecting those fragmented souls.
And more interestingly, once this bridge is formed, each soul fragment becomes relatively complete, which is why Voldemort went mad even when six Horcruxes were destroyed.
Also due to these properties, it allows one to successfully achieve immortality.
In that case, could the Longbottoms' fragmented souls be made into a Horcrux as well?
By turning the soul into fragments, wouldn't the fragment problem be resolved without further consideration?
Of course, this was just a thought from Kael.
The current problem is that he hasn't read books about Horcruxes, and his understanding in this area is limited to his superficial memory, not really knowing if it's feasible.
Kael instinctively glanced at Dumbledore not far away.
The latter quickly sensed it and looked back with a questioning gaze.
Kael promptly shifted his gaze to one side.
Ask Dumbledore?
Forget it. He reckoned that the moment he mentioned Horcruxes, he would be bashed into the wall by the Elder Wand, which would be quite embarrassing if he couldn't be pried out.
If he cannot ask, he'll have to search for it himself.
Kael planned to check the Restricted Area after school started.
If he cannot find it, that's fine. There's a Diary next year.
As for the Diadem in the Room of Requirement… honestly, if possible, Kael did not want to touch that thing.
It's too dangerous, and it holds no benefit for him.