The wolf's legs was first to start moving. It twitched around for a bit, almost as if it was a fake post mortem reflex when the entire body of the giant creature propped back up onto its feet.
The wolf's head ears twitched and a familiar growl emanated from the depths of its throats, reaching Weasley's ears and striking him with paralysing fear.
' It's still alive?'
' What? How?!!'
' Didn't it break its back from the fall? Monster or not, there's no way that it can survive from such an injury! That's cra..'
Weasley's mind blacked out in horror as he saw that the wounds on the wolf's body had began to heal to an unimaginable pace!
When it had stood back up, the wolf's body had been bent in a terrifyingly unnatural position! Its body from the abdomen upwards had seemingly been twisted forcibly to the right, out of alignment with the rest of its lower body.
Not only that, its body had also been badly riddled with small cuts from the sharp blades of wind that had been released in the spell that Weasley had casted.
But then, in the blink of an eye, all the damage that Weasley had almost given his life to inflict had vanished as if they were never present! With a sickening "CRACK!" as the wolf straightened its broken spine, it looked at Weasley with its one good eye that seemed to say that Weasley would die here today.
Alone. In this deep dark forest. With his only achievement in his short life being that he'd placed one foot on the stairs to join the ranks of mages. But now the wolf was about to send on a very different path of stairs.
The stairs to heaven that was.
Unleashing a guttural roar that seemed to shake the very earth, the wolf exploded forward and pounced. Its speed seemed as if it was greater than before but Weasley couldn't tell the difference either way. He was completely outmatched.
" SHING!!!"
A flickering blade passed cleanly through the Wolf's neck just as it was about to reach Weasley, decapitating it and sending the two halves of its body tumbling to the ground.
"SPFTTTTTTT!!!"
A loud gushing sound filled Weasley's senses, soon followed by a rusty metallic smell that seemed to permeate the air.
Weasley couldn't see much in the meagre limelight provided by the moon above but he was sure that the green grass beneath his feet was now dyed in a deep shade of red.
The wolf's head was carried the residual momentum of its earlier charge as rolled to Weasley's feet and bumped lightly into it.
Weasley, in a daze, absentmindedly looked down only to gaze into the depths of the wolf's surprised and lifeless eyes, caught completely off guard by whatever had killed it. His brain felt like it was lagging, like it couldn't comprehend the experience of living after some part of it had already accepted that he was going to die.
" RUMIUS!!!"
Weasley looked in the direction of shrill cry and saw two women running towards him. Their faces were pale with worry and one of them who had long silver hair that was as heavenly as the moon that shone above was running at Weasley which her arms outstretched.
A inexplicable feeling welled up in Weasley.
His legs moved on their own as he ran to meet his mother. He stumbled many times, tripping and slipping over rocks and sometimes even his own feet before reaching his mother's thin and loving arms.
And the minute he made contact with that warm sanctuary that's as his mother's embrace, Weasley cried. Weasley's wailed echoed across the forest from night to morning. He didn't know how long he stayed in the same position, just huddled against his mother's bosom and crying his heart out to her, who readily accepted his every grievance.
'It was scary. '
'The forest was scary.'
'The wolf was scary. '
' Death was scary.'
In the end, Weasley found that in this world, he was more like a two year old than he had thought.
Rumius, was more like a two year old than he had thought.
Weasley awoke to the happy chirping of birds and the warm, comfortable feeling of his silk sheets, something that had become familiar, and even natural for him over the course of his 2 year stay on this new world so far.
Weasley sat up and immediately winced in pain.
Gingerly pulling off his blanket, Weasley uncovered a compact, white, cylindrical object that tightly hugged his thigh. It was woven from fabric and covered Weasley's thigh from slightly above his knee to just below his pelvis and privates.
Weasley moved his left leg slightly as a test and regretted the action almost instantaneously as a sharp jolt of pain pieced the foundations of his very consciousness like a searing hot spear.
The previous night's events flashed through Weasley's mind as he remembered his close shave with death and the manner in which he acquired this injury. Funnily enough, he couldn't remember anything after seeing his mother and teacher rushing to him in the distance. Everything else was a blur.
' I guess I should go ask them for the details' Weasley mused before shooting a quick glance at his tightly bandaged thigh.
' If I can even stand up at all that is.'
Weasley took a deep breath and mentally braced himself. Gingerly, Weasley manoeuvred his one good foot off the bed while he sat in a sitting position with one leg hanging off the bedside and the other still within its confines in a L shape.
Just as he was about to make a second attempt at standing moving his foot, the door cracked open and a maid walked into the room.
" Young master! You're awake!" She exclaimed before he face paled slightly into look of worry as she rushed to his side.
Should I get the First Lady? Is there anything you need me to do?" She asked worriedly when she saw that Weasley was already awake and rushed to his side.
Weasley felt a small pang as he was peppered with questions.
' Give me back my determination dammit..' he thought. Waving off the maid's concerns, Weasley assured her that he was fine.
" In any case, can you help me get to the dining hall? I'm starving." Weasley finished off just as his stomach let out a audible grumbling sound, making his face flush slightly.
" Ah! Yes! Certainly!"
The maid stammered hurriedly and looked around in a panic, trying to find something for Weasley to use as support to lean on. She wasn't supposed to talk to the young master this much! She was just here to check on him! Was she speaking properly? Was she polite enough? Was her hair weird??
Seeing her panic, Weasley internally heaved a sign and fought back the urge to slap his forehead. His hunger coupled with the throbbing pain in his legs and head made him rather irritable and the maid's "incompetence" wasn't doing anything to help him either. However, he didn't want to yell at her, knowing somewhere inside that it was not her fault.
Weasley reached out and tugged on the maid's sleeves and made his best attempt at replicating the pleading expression of a toddler.
" Big sister, can I hold on to you?"
The maid's expression almost seemed to audibly say that this wasn't in the job description of a maid but she nodded her head furiously and stammered out her consent anyway.
Weasley held on to the petit arm of the young woman and used it as a platform on which to hold his weight before jerking his bandaged leg off the bed to join the other leg on the bedside.
A small cry escaped Weasley's mouth and he gasped in pain. Supported by the maid, Weasley eventually made it out of the room and to the the dining hall. It seemed like that was all he had been doing for the past few years right after waking up.
According to the maid, Weasley learnt that he had been asleep for a whole 2 days and had woke up just as breakfast was usually ending.
Everyone had also been high strung as rumours of the Young master being incapacitated spread throughout the mansion and even into the city. As such, there were a mixture of reactions from the mansion staff when they saw Weasley limping along, face contorted in agony and holding on to a young maid for dear life.
Some came forward to offer their assistance but Weasley politely turned them down through gritted teeth.
Eventually, Weasley made it to the big door of the mansion's main hall.
Propping and balancing himself up on one feet, Weasley stood to one side as the Young Maid helped him push open the giant door.
Weasley then proceeded to "play" hopscotch and hopped one legged into the room to greet his loved ones. It was not very noble-like but it was the best he could do at the moment.