Leo's blank expression slowly changed.
That was important.
Although he was lazy, and although part of him wanted to give up and lie flat, at least thinking about Dumbledore reduced the random thoughts invading his head.
Otherwise, he genuinely felt like he had split personalities and developed some bizarre magical illness.
"Leo?"
Carlotta waved a hand in front of his face.
"You froze again."
Draco frowned.
"You're doing it more often today."
Leo snapped back to attention.
"I'm fine."
Neither of them looked convinced.
Unfortunately, Leo wasn't convinced either.
The laziness wasn't normal.
At first, he had thought it was simple exhaustion. Then he had blamed the magical growth Dumbledore mentioned. But now it felt more complicated than that.
The thoughts weren't his.
Or rather, they were his, but amplified.
Every desire to rest became ten times stronger.
Every dislike of effort became overwhelming.
Every small inconvenience felt unbearable.
Worst of all, the thoughts carried a strange logic that made them sound reasonable.
Why study if you already know the answer?
Why walk when you could sit?
Why practice when you already understand the spell?
Why bother making friends?
Why care?
The questions seemed harmless individually.
Together, they felt dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Leo rubbed his forehead.
No.
This wasn't normal laziness.
This was something else.
Something magical.
Something connected to whatever had happened in his dormitory yesterday.
He glanced around the corridor.
Students passed by in groups.
Portraits chatted among themselves.
Ghosts drifted through walls.
Everything looked normal.
Yet Leo couldn't shake the feeling that something inside him had changed.
"Maybe Madam Pomfrey missed something."
Carlotta immediately brightened.
"See? I knew it."
Draco nodded.
"You should tell a professor."
The lazy voice instantly whispered:
Too troublesome.
Walking to a professor is troublesome.
Explaining is troublesome.
Being examined is troublesome.
Just ignore it.
Leo's eye twitched.
There it was again.
The moment the thought appeared, another image entered his mind.
Dumbledore.
The old wizard smiling calmly from behind half-moon spectacles.
Almost immediately, the lazy feeling weakened.
Not completely.
But noticeably.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
It was like shining a lantern into darkness.
The shadows didn't disappear, but they retreated.
"What are you thinking about now?" Carlotta asked suspiciously.
"Dumbledore."
The answer slipped out before Leo could stop it.
Carlotta blinked.
Draco blinked.
Both of them looked increasingly concerned.
"Leo," Draco said carefully, "that's not helping your case."
Carlotta nodded vigorously.
"Not helping at all."
Leo sighed.
Trying to explain would only make things worse.
Fortunately, the bell rang.
The corridor immediately filled with moving students.
"Come on," Draco said. "Defence Against the Dark Arts."
The three followed the flow of students through the castle.
As they walked, Leo quietly observed his own condition.
The laziness never vanished completely.
It came in waves.
Sometimes strong.
Sometimes weak.
Whenever he focused on something genuinely important, it receded.
Whenever he relaxed, it returned.
By the time they reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Leo had reached a tentative conclusion.
Whatever was affecting him seemed tied to his mental state.
Maybe magical growth.
Maybe his spiritual power.
Maybe something connected to the strange event in his dormitory.
Whatever the cause, he needed information.
And information meant research.
Unfortunately, research required effort.
The lazy voice immediately protested.
Research is troublesome.
Books are troublesome.
Thinking is troublesome.
Leo nearly laughed.
At least the problem was becoming easier to identify.
The classroom door opened.
A powerful smell hit them like a physical attack.
Garlic.
An overwhelming amount of garlic.
Students throughout the corridor recoiled instinctively.
Carlotta covered her nose.
"By Merlin."
Draco looked horrified.
"What died in there?"
Leo felt a brief surge of sympathy for the garlic.
It had done nothing to deserve this.
Inside the classroom, strings of garlic hung from walls, windows, and ceiling beams.
More garlic sat in baskets.
Garlic wreaths decorated the blackboard.
There was enough garlic present to repel vampires, werewolves, dark wizards, and probably several minor governments.
At the front stood Professor Quirrell.
He wore his familiar purple turban and smiled nervously as the students entered.
"W-welcome, students."
His voice trembled.
"T-take your seats."
The first years obeyed.
Leo sat between Draco and Carlotta.
The smell somehow became worse.
He wasn't sure how that was possible.
Professor Quirrell began introducing himself.
Every few sentences, he stuttered.
Every few minutes, he adjusted his turban.
And throughout the entire lecture, he appeared more frightened than any student present.
Leo quietly observed him.
The man looked harmless.
Pathetic, even.
Yet beneath the nervous behaviour sat one of the most dangerous situations in the entire castle.
A Dark Lord was literally attached to the back of his head.
Nobody else seemed aware of it.
Not Draco.
Not Carlotta.
Not the other students.
Certainly not Professor Quirrell himself, if appearances were to be believed.
Well.
Not entirely.
Leo shifted his gaze away.
The less attention he paid to that situation, the better.
Unfortunately, the lazy voice chose that exact moment to return.
Don't worry about Voldemort.
Too troublesome.
Don't worry about danger.
Too troublesome.
Don't worry about anything.
Just sleep.
Leo's eyelid twitched.
Sleep.
Actually...
The classroom was warm.
The lecture was boring.
The garlic smell was strangely numbing.
His eyelids began feeling heavier.
No.
Absolutely not.
He slapped his own thigh under the desk.
The sudden sting helped.
Beside him, Carlotta glanced over.
"Why did you hit yourself?"
"Training."
"Oh."
She accepted that answer immediately.
Which somehow worried Leo more than if she had questioned it.
At the front of the classroom, Professor Quirrell continued speaking about dark creatures.
Most students listened politely.
A few took notes.
Others struggled to stay awake.
Leo fought a far more difficult battle.
Every minute felt longer than the last.
By the time the lesson finally ended, he felt as though he had survived an assault.
The bell rang.
Students practically fled the room.
Fresh air had never smelled so wonderful.
Carlotta took a deep breath.
"That was awful."
Draco nodded immediately.
"The garlic nearly killed me."
Leo silently agreed.
For once, even the lazy voice seemed less active.
Perhaps it hated garlic too.
That would be useful information.
As the three walked toward their next destination, Leo looked out one of Hogwarts' tall windows.
Sunlight poured across the grounds.
Students crossed courtyards below.
Far in the distance, the Forbidden Forest stretched across the horizon.
Everything looked peaceful.
Normal.
Yet deep inside, Leo knew something had changed.
And sooner or later, he would need to discover exactly what it was.
....
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