Throughout the week, Dazai would occasionally catch sight of a pixie 's blue blur in the middle of a random Hogwarts hallway. It would be gone just as fast as it appeared. A few of the pesky creatures had evidently taken up residence in the building 's long corridors. When Dazai told Blaise as much, his friend burst out in uncharacteristically expressive laughter.

'Professor Lockhart still hasn 't caught them all? ' He chuckled, shifting closer to Dazai. 'Don 't let them near me, please. I 'd rather my ears not be pulled on... Neville 's ears are still red from the other day. '

Dazai grinned. 'Then don 't wander too far. '

They shared a friendly look 'one that bubbled warmly in Dazai 's chest. When it was just the two of them, Dazai could almost convince himself that everyone here wasn 't his enemy. Unfortunately, they weren 't alone often. Between classes and the halls, Hogwarts was buzzing with first-week energy. Students chatted and wandered about seemingly all throughout the days. Even in the Slytherin common rooms, Dazai couldn 't catch a break. Pansy must have rallied all of Slytherin against him by now 'not that she needed bother. The Daily Prophet was doing a good enough job of that on its own.

'Speaking of Professor Lockhart, ' Blaise said quietly, leaning back into his chair. The corner of the library they had settled down in was private, but Madam Pince would still chide them if they spoke too loudly. 'What are you doing about his detention? It 's in... ' he paused, eyes flashing to a clock on the wall, 'eight minutes. '

'So is my class, ' Dazai said.

Blaise hummed, considering the conflict.

Dazai had attempted on numerous occasions to explain to Lockhart that he wouldn 't be able to attend a detention at that time. Every attempt, without fail, Lockhart would tut-tut-tut at him for trying to get out of detention. Dazai grew tired of it after the third day. Since then, he simply let Lockhart go on with his nonsense. Dazai had given up on trying to explain himself. The professor would just have to deal.

Feeling petty, Dazai at once decided that if Lockhart wasn 't going to listen to reason, then he wouldn 't listen during lecture.

Needless to say, Dazai had accrued three more detentions on top of his first.

'Well, ' Dazai said, leaning forward to rest his head on an open palm, 'it can 't be helped. I 'll show up to class and skip detention. Snape and Professor Lockhart can fight amongst themselves about it after. '

Blaise nodded agreement. Then, indicating the time again with a shift of his eyes, he asked, 'Do you need help finding your way to the infirmary? '

'I think I can manage. ' Dazai shrugged off the offer. He had a general idea of how to find the infirmary from last year, assuming the hallways hadn 't rearranged themselves since. 'Unless you want to tag along? I might get lost and starve to death! '

'On your way to meeting with Professor Snape? That won't happen, Dazai. ' Blaise raised a brow. 'No thanks. Try not to be late. '

'We 'll see! ' He winked, then leaned back into his chair without a care. The clock ticked overhead, but Dazai didn 't budge.

Blaise shot him a look.

'On second thought, maybe I will come with. Just to make sure you don 't end up skipping class and detention

both. '

"Or

starving to death," Dazai added in for him.

'Ah,

Blaise is no fun. It wouldn 't be on purpose, anyway. Hogwarts doesn 't make any sense. ' He huffed. 'I need a map. '

'I don 't think any exists, since the stairs are always ' ' here, Blaise made a spinning motion with his finger.

Dazai sighed, having already reached the same conclusion himself. Navigation of Hogwarts was hopelessly illogical, and even a map couldn 't make sense of that.

Getting to his feet, Dazai turned an eye down on Blaise. After a second, his friend rose as well. They gathered up their things 'quills, paper, and a few textbooks. Once everything was collected, Blaise and Dazai walked past the many rows and rows of books. Dazai waved pleasantly to Madame Pince as they left. She barely looked at him.

As they walked, Dazai let his eyes wander around. People were giving him odd looks and keeping their distance. It wasn 't new at this point, but it still put Dazai on edge. He cast a surreptitious glance to Blaise. The other boy wore only his signature bored look, giving no indication that he was at all put off by the attention.

'Go home, Demon! ' Someone jeered.

Dazai 's head snapped in their direction, but he couldn 't make out who exactly had shouted at him.

His eyes eventually settled on a particular crowd of students. They shuffled nervously under his gaze. Dazai recognized a few of them 'he had seen them talking with Pansy earlier in the week. That told Dazai all he needed to know about their opinion of him.

'Ignore them. ' Blaise poked his side with an elbow.

'Kind of hard to do when we all live together, ' Dazai said with a chuckle. He looked to Blaise, then back again to the crowd. 'Are people bothering you too? You 're practically glued to my side. I bet they think we 're in cahoots. '

Blaise hummed, considering Dazai 's words for a moment before responding. 'It 's fine. And we

are

in cahoots, anyway. '

Dazai frowned. 'Want me to teach them a lesson, so they 'll leave you alone? ' He mimed a stabbing motion in the air.

'Don 't stab people. Besides, that would only make things worse for you, ' Blaise said, unimpressed. 'If people give me strange looks for talking with you... anyway, I don 't mind. '

'What a strange thing to say, ' Dazai said, briefly meeting Blaise 's eyes before looking away just as fast. He was wearing one of those too-honest expressions again. 'Blaise sure is weird. '

As they started walking up a tall, wooden staircase, the entire thing suddenly kicked to life below them. It spun, rotating from one floor to another. Dazai startled, gripping at the handrail with two gloved hands. 'Blaise, who had evidently anticipated the staircase 's sudden change in trajectory, merely continued walking up it.

'They should replace these things with elevators, ' Dazai grumbled. Only once he was sure of his footing did he hurry to keep up with Blaise.

If Blaise heard him, the other boy didn 't let on. More loudly, Dazai asked a question that had been bothering him since the first day of class, 'Draco isn 't avoiding you too, is he? '

Blaise raised a brow. He stepped off the staircase once it finally stopped spinning, then waited a few seconds for Dazai to do the same. 'He isn 't. '

Dazai smiled. At least that hadn 't gone awry. 'I haven 't had a chance to talk to him since Diagon Alley, ' he explained, 'I was thinking ' '

'Diagon Alley? '

Dazai blinked.

'Right. I didn 't tell you about that. '

He opened his mouth to explain, but stopped just short of saying anything.

Should

he tell Blaise about his meeting with the Malfoys? That would first require telling Blaise about the Port Mafia. And Mori had specifically told Dazai not to reveal the mafia 's involvement in Hogwarts ' affairs. He

could

tell Blaise. He trusted Blaise.

But...

Mori 's voice echoed in his head,

'You got too sentimental. Too attached to those school children. '

'I ran into him on my way out of the bank, ' Dazai said suddenly. 'I didn 't expect to see him there. Did Blaise think I was replacing him? ' It wasn 't a lie, but it wasn 't the full truth either.

Blaise looked at him for a second, expression considering. Abruptly, he shook his head, then turned his gaze back to the hallway stretching out before them. 'Did you want me to ask him something for you? '

'I 'd rather talk to him myself, ' Dazai said, unapologetic and blunt.

Blaise turned up a brow. 'That might be difficult, seeing as he 's avoiding you. '

'That 's true. I 'm bad for his reputation, ' Dazai said. Hanging around with Draco would only stain the Malfoy family 's name, thanks to the Daily Prophet. But as they walked past a moving painting, then a suit of armor, then a tapestry, Dazai was suddenly struck with a memory. 'Say, the club room we used last year is still around, isn 't it? '

'Probably... why? '

Dazai grinned. 'Can you ask Draco to meet me there? '

Blaise paused to consider the request. Upon realizing what Dazai meant, he hummed. 'A place like that, no one else will come barging in, ' he noted.

'Exactly! ' Dazai clapped. 'And he won 't have to worry about anyone else seeing us together. Draco 's precious pride remains intact. '

Blaise 's lip twitched upward in unmistakable humor. 'I can do that. Good idea, Boss. '

'You 're welcome to tag along, too. Make it a whole gang reunion. '

'We 'd have to invite the others for that, ' Blaise commented. He brought a finger to his lips, thoughtful. 'It 's been a while since we were all together. '

Dazai nodded. It had been even longer for him, having left Hogwarts in February rather than the expected May. And although Dazai had met up with everyone at least once since Diagon Alley, their interactions had been scarce. A wave to the twins in the hall. A few brief words to Hermione as they passed in the library. A joking remark to Ron in potions before grouping up with Blaise, instead. What with Hogwarts' increasingly hostile attitude towards him, Dazai 's movement had been a bit limited. It wouldn 't do to have a gang this disconnected.

'I 'll snag the Gryffindors myself, if you grab Draco, ' Dazai instructed. He pulled some authority into his voice 'not that it was really necessary. 'We 'll meet up tomorrow before dinner in the club room. '

Well, he supposed it was more of a gang room now. Or would that be a

gang office?

Either way, between Pansy and the rest of the school, Dazai doubted the Loyalty Club would be meeting there again anytime soon.

'Sure, ' Blaise said, easy-going as always.

As they turned another corner, the infirmary sign finally came into view. Standing beside the door, Snape had his arms crossed and a scowl written across his face. And for once, Dazai wasn 't the only person people were avoiding. All the other students in the hall, upon noticing the particularly dark expression Snape wore, apologized to the air and scampered away hastily.

'Ah...

I 'm not late, am I? '

Snape must have heard him ask, because the professor 's head snapped in their direction immediately.

'No, ' Blaise said. He looked between Snape and Dazai. 'I 'll leave you here, then. Good luck with class. '

'Good luck with Professor Snape, you mean. '

'Well. That too. ' He shot another surreptitious glance the glaring professor 's way. 'Come find me after class? ' He asked quietly.

Dazai nodded.

'Try not to get lost, ' Blaise said in parting, before turning on his heels to head back the way they came.

'Don 't get attacked by a pixie while I 'm busy, Blaise! ' Dazai called. A few students

jumped at his shout.

Hearing this, Blaise 's eyes immediately shot from one end of the hall to the other, as if one of those blue maniacs would appear the second Dazai was gone. '...I 'll try my best. '

Dazai waited until Blaise disappeared around a corner before turning back to Snape.

The potion master, who had watched their exchange without making a sound, now snapped, 'Are you done? '

'Bad day? ' Dazai asked instead.

'Don 't be cheeky, boy, ' Snape ground out. Then, pinching the bridge of his nose, he admitted, 'I 'm fed up from dealing with troublesome students all week. Yourself included. '

At those words, Dazai recalled the rather explosive potion he had brewed just yesterday in class. It was a real beauty 'all snapping orange bubbles and corrosive, curling vapors. It had almost melted Dazai 's hand off when it burst a hole in the cauldron. Snape 's anger had been palpable. And, it seemed, that anger had yet to fade since.

Dazai resisted the urge to tease his professor, but decided against it at the last minute. Snape had a way of prying into Dazai 's personal life and he didn 't want to give the man any motivation to do so now. Moreover, it would be nice to have Snape happy with him when Lockhart inevitably complained about Dazai missing detention. Speaking of '

'You wouldn 't happen to be on good terms with Professor Lockhart, would you, Sir? '

Snape narrowed a sharp gaze at him. 'Why? ' he asked, suspicion dripping off the word. 'What have you done now? '

'Ah... '

Dazai trailed off. 'Nothing. ' Yet.

'Good. Let 's keep it that way. '

Dazai nodded, silently considering whether he should explain the detention situation to Snape or not.

Seeming to take Dazai 's silence as question, Snape opened the door to the infirmary. He motioned Dazai in. 'In. Otherwise I 'll mark you tardy. '

'But... ' Lockhart was in his office right now, waiting for a student that wasn 't ever going to show up. Should he mention..?

Well, Dazai would just let the cards fall where they may.

'Yes, Sir. ' he slipped past Snape and into the infirmary.

The infirmary looked just like Dazai remembered it. Soft, white light peeled in from the windows. Cots lined the wall, topped with white sheets and sun-warmed pillows. All of the beds were empty at the moment. The infirmary always smelled of linen and herbs. On the shelf, row upon row of colorful, magical cure-alls were lined up. Magic oozed off of them, but Dazai was still unable to recognize what they did from sense alone.

The only thing Dazai didn't recognize was the massive crack in the wall beside one of the cots. It was big enough he could see through to the plumbing behind 'including what looked to be an infested mess of spider's web. Dazai had to stop himself from laughing. That was

definitely

the prank Fred and George had mentioned on the train! A crack in the wall and exploding pillows. Dazai eyed the pillows there, now. If they were still charmed, and he laid down on them... his head would just blow to bits! Instant!

Or would that be too painful a way to die..?

Movement caught his eye.

Madam Pomfrey was standing by a long, low table. As always, she wore a tall, red and white robe. Curly grey hair hid below the matron 's cloth on her head. Squinting, she held up a tincture of blue-green liquid, swirled it, then set it back down. Pomfrey wrote something down, then lifted a different potion for inspection.

Snape cleared his throat.

'Oh!

There you are, dears, ' Pomfrey jumped. She set the vial down and turned to face them. Her eyes found Dazai first, then flicked to Snape. Upon seeing him, her lips immediately quirked up into an amused smile. 'Still have that headache, Severus? Did you take the medicine I gave you? '

Snape grunted, shutting the door behind him. He didn 't humor Pomfrey with a response. 'Where will you have him sit? '

Pomfrey, evidently unperturbed by Snape 's frowning demeanor, merely gesture to the cots. 'Anywhere is fine. Let me just ' '

Snape gave Dazai a light shove, urging him forward.

Dazai sat down on the first bed he saw. Snape stayed standing above him. The whole arrangement felt very familiar.

Meanwhile, Pomfrey had crossed the room and vanished into her office. Not a second later, however, she returned with a brown cardboard box trapped between her hands.

'How are you feeling, dear? '

Dazai eyed the box curiously as she set it down on the table beside an empty glass cup. Though he was unable to see what was inside the box, Dazai knew it was something magical. The item 's magical signature wasn 't very descriptive 'it lacked the telltale

snap

of incendio or the expectant

buzz

of Cornish Pixies. But Dazai could still sense a kind of magic within. Interested, he leaned forward to try and steal a peek.

'Behave, ' Snape told him.

Dazai glanced up at him, sheepish.

'Dear? '

Dazai shook himself out of his thoughts. Right. He 'd been asked something. 'I 'm fine. '

Then, recalling some of their previous interactions, Dazai hastily looked down to check '

Good

'his gloves and sleeves covered up any bandages. He was not in the mood to humor questions on his scars today.

Or any day, really.

Seemingly content with such a non-committal answer, Pomfrey merely hummed, 'that 's good to hear. '

Without further ado, she reached into the box and pulled out a small, round object. It was covered over with a light blue cloth. And, now that he could see it, Dazai was sure: this was the object he was sensing. Although, looking closer, there were at least a few other magical objects still in the box.

Unable to control his curiosity any longer, Dazai asked, 'What is that? '

Pomfrey set the mysterious item down on the table. 'After I reached out to St. Mungo 's last year, they also became quite interested in your condition, ' she explained.

Immediately, those words spawned some trepidation in Dazai. He was trying to remain low-profile, at Mori 's request. Involving more people in his life was only asking for trouble.

...Well, as low-profile as one could get when the Daily Prophet was writing daily articles about you.

Dazai blinked out of his thoughts when he realized Snape 's eyes were on him, brows furrowed. 'They don 't have your name, if that 's what you 're concerned about. '

'Oh, of course not! ' Pomfrey shook her head, looking apologetic for not having specified earlier. 'All St. Mungo 's knows is that a student from Hogwarts has an unknown magical ailment. We take student confidentiality very seriously here. Unless there is an emergency, you shouldn 't have to even step foot in St. Mungo 's. '

Dazai nodded. That was actually good know. He felt himself relax a bit. The closer people investigated No Longer Human, the closer Dazai was to spilling the beans about the Port Mafia. He could outmaneuver Snape and Pomfrey well enough. But a whole hospital full of magical-medical specialists? Dazai would need to maneuver that situation

very

carefully.

'That 's good. I 'm not the most popular, these days, ' despite the gravity of his words, Dazai 's voice carried a certain humor with it. 'They would have turned you down if you used my name. '

The lines of Snape 's shoulders immediately snapped straight. Shock was written across Pomfrey and Snape 's expressions as if they hadn 't expected Dazai to broach the topic.

'I should hope not, ' Pomfrey said, certain and sharp.

That 's right,

Dazai realized with a start. If anyone knew the truth about what happened with Quirrell, it would be these two. Pomfrey had cared for him after Dazai and Quirrell 's fight, and Snape had spoken with him shortly after the affair. Unlike the rest of magical society, Pomfrey and Snape had (most of) the full picture.

'Now, ' Pomfrey continued, gesturing towards the box in a motion that shook off any of her remaining anger, 'St. Mungo 's sent me a few things they thought might help to get a baseline on your condition. Rather than have you shipped off the hospital, I managed to convince the staff there that I could do so here. All it took was some... encouragement. '

Dazai raised a brow. He didn 't want to know what the matron 's idea of

encouragement

was, using a tone like that.

'Compared to muggle hospitals, St. Mungo 's utilizes a wide variety of magical artifacts and items in their practice. Certains spells are often used to diagnose curses; artifacts used to get an idea of the patient 's mental state. '

Dazai nodded along, listening with great interest. Magical medicine seemed a lot less invasive than muggle medicine, with their scalpels and what-not. Dazai eyed the unknown, clothed item beside Pomfrey. Maybe he could steal it and gift it to Mori? As a doctor, he might appreciate it.

'For your first lesson, ' Snape said, grunting as he crossed the room to Pomfrey 's side. His hand clapped down onto the strange object. 'We thought it most prudent to get a grasp on your limitations and abilities. Once I know exactly what you are capable of, we can work on safely training your magic. '

Dazai 's eyes fell again to the orb-like object. 'This artifact, ' he tilted his chin in its direction, 'will tell you how much magic I can use before I pass out? '

'Not quite. ' Amusement twinkled in Pomfrey 's eyes.

At the same time, Snape asked, 'have you read any of your textbook yet?

The Biology of Magic. '

'Most of it, ' Dazai told them. It was an interesting read, for sure. Dazai hesitated just shy of asking Snape for recommendations of similar books. Perhaps, if he delved deep enough into the subject, he might find at least one mentioning of Special Abilities. If not, at least Dazai would have a better grasp on how magic interacted with organic material. Seeing as he could destroy that connection with a single touch, it felt prudent to learn.

Maybe he 'd ask Hermione for help looking, later.

Pomfrey and Snape shared a look and a silent communication.

Then, Snape pulled the cloth from the orb, revealing what lay underneath.

'What do you make of this? ' Snape asked. There was an intentional pause in his voice, as though he were expecting one answer or another. Beside him, Pomfrey similarly watched for Dazai 's response.

A crystalline orb sat on the table. It was no larger than a bowling ball and had a perfectly smooth body.

The Biology of Magic

didn 't have pictures, so Dazai couldn 't quite place what the item was. But looking at it...

It was certainly quite an interesting orb. It wasn 't glass 'the body not clear or transparent in the slightest. The orb was a bright, glowing white color. No 'that wasn 't right. The more Dazai looked, the more he realized it was closer to a milky-white. As if a swirl of clouds were spinning within its body. Pushed around by an invisible breeze, those strange clouds filled the entire orb. When Dazai squinted to get a clearer view, he realized there was something else inside as well. Something behind the clouds.

What was it..?

'Well, boy? '

'It 's an orb, ' Dazai said blankly.

He peered further into its depths, brows furrowing as his focus deepened. The clouds seemed to part, if only for a second. He caught another swirl of cloudy movement within. But it was too fast. Dazai needed to get closer to make anything out. Or maybe glasses. Everything was too blurry to see properly.

'What else do you notice about the orb? ' Snape repeated, clearly unimpressed with Dazai 's first answer.

Did they want to know what was behind the clouds? Dazai leaned forward on his palms.

A splinter of motion behind the blurring white. Another swirl of clouds like the first. But darker. Like a storm cloud. Squirming, slithering...

A wash of white blotted the whole image out again.

'This is not a difficult question, ' Snape snapped.

Dazai blinked repeatedly, feeling disoriented to be abruptly torn from his focus. A frown worked its way across his face. Snape could say whatever he wanted, but he wasn 't also working against No Longer Human. Just as he thought this, the clouds parted and his ability flared painfully in his skull.

Pomfrey elbowed Snape.

'What color do you see? ' She asked Dazai gently.

'Oh, ' Dazai said, glancing at the orb then back again. That was a much simpler question. Although... 'Can 't you see for yourself? What kind of question is that? '

'Behave, '

Snape reiterated. 'And answer the question. '

'Severus, relax. This isn 't exactly a common object. Especially not to a muggleborn like Mr. Dazai. '

In the orb, clouds continued to spin around lazily. Tired white and stormy gray.

Regardless of what Snape and Pomfrey were trying to get at, the answer was obvious. The color of the clouds was unmistakably white. It was what lied behind them that had Dazai considering his answer more carefully. The thing behind the fog was so dark as to almost be black. But it only came in brief flashes when the clouds deigned to part. Hesitantly, Dazai decided, 'it 's white, isn 't it? '

There was no response.

Dazai tore his gaze away from the orb.

Pomfrey and Snape stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Their jaws dropped open.

However, Snape 's gape quickly settled into a peeved scowl. He leveled Dazai with a particularly harsh glare.

'Quit playing games, boy. What

color? '

So they wanted what was behind the clouds, after all. Dazai felt himself growing annoyed now, as well. They could have said so earlier and saved him the trouble. 'Black, then. '

Blood rushed to Snape 's face, bitterly angry over something or another. He took a stomping step forward. 'Listen here '! '

Dazai flinched.

Immediately, Snape froze in place.

Still standing by the orb, Pomfrey made a sound of concern 'one that had Snape taking a deep, calming breath. His hands flexed at his side, but he didn 't take another step forward.

'This is important, ' Snape said, words slow and intentional but still retaining that hint of a growl it always seemed to have. 'Stop attempting to guess at the correct answer. '

'There is no correct answer, ' Pomfrey added with a subvert glance in Snape 's direction. She cleared her throat. Then, with careful and slow movements, lowered herself down into the cot directly across from Dazai. 'Severus, perhaps it would be helpful if you explained everything first. '

Dazai looked between them, then back to the orb.

A white mist covered the darkness within. He wasn 't lying, so why did they think he was?

His eyes narrowed and his shoulders squared back.

Dazai was starting to think he should have just kept his mouth shut.

Snape took in another long breath. With it, most of his anger melted away. Still, tension lined his entire body. 'Tell me what color you see first, then I will explain what this stone is. ' He rolled his shoulders back. With them, the last of his anger rolled away as well. 'Poppy is right 'there are no right or wrong answers. There is no need to guess at what we would like to hear. '

The frown on Dazai 's lips didn 't let up. He brought his hands together, aiming to pick at the loose flesh of his fingers, but stopped short when his gloves got in the way. Instead, his hands fell limply and uselessly at his sides.

'Mr. Dazai ' '

'White, ' he repeated. 'That 's the truth. '

Snape and Pomfrey stared at him, as if expecting a

'Gotcha! '

to follow.

None did.

'I wouldn 't lie about this, considering I don 't even know what

this

is, ' Dazai said, emphasizing his ignorance with a pout. Uncomfortable under their intense stares, Dazai 's fingers kneaded against the blanket for a second before falling deathly still.

Pomfrey blinked once, then twice. Slowly, her eyes widened as if in realization. A wave of her hand sent a quill rising into the air. It flew to her, whereupon she hastily scrawled down a frantic note onto her pad of paper.

Beside her, Snape 's face had gone perfectly blank.

'Does it change color depending on who 's looking? ' Dazai asked, having guessed as much a few moments earlier.

His question seemed to tear Snape from his thoughts. 'In

The Biology of Magic

, this item is referred to as a Sensing Stone, ' he explained. 'The color a wizard sees within the Stone correlates directly to their Magical Sensitivity. '

Dazai ruminated on that for a second. 'What does it mean if it 's white, Sir? Is that very sensitive? '

The matron looked up from her notes. 'Darker colors, like blue or red, indicate a very low sensitivity to magic. That 's something you might see in a muggle. The majority of witches and wizards are able to see a color somewhere between orange and yellow. I myself can see yellow. '

It didn 't escape Dazai 's notice that Pomfrey had neither mentioned white nor black. Both colors, a quick glance again revealed, he was currently able to see within the Sensing Stone. The tightness in Pomfrey 's eyes suggested that this was no mistake.

'Are you absolutely certain you see white? ' Snape asked. He waited until Dazai looked up, locking eyes. 'No color at all? '

Dazai tilted his whole body away from Snape 's blistering stare. Despite his obvious discomfort, however, Snape didn 't lighten up. A gravity Dazai couldn 't understand weighed heavy on the situation.

Dazai turned his focus back to the orb. Still milky white. Not a drop of color to be seen. Behind it, the black shadow moved. It wasn 't white, but it held just the same lack of vividness. Dazai shook his head. 'It 's white... '

Pomfrey 's quill stopped over her notes. 'Is there something else? '

Silently, Dazai cursed himself. He hadn 't meant to trail off, but the Sensing Stone had captured his attention once again. The pull of a curious magic distracted him from the more pertinent conversation.

White 'indicating a strong sensitivity to magic.

Black 'indicating no magic at all.

No Longer Human itched behind Dazai 's eyes, a contradiction. This strange thing he was seeing must have been a result of his ability, right? Dazai could think of no other conclusion. Though perhaps he was simply lacking in information. He resolved to prod for more context.

The clouds mixed.

'No, sorry. It 's just white, Ma 'am. '

'Just white... '

Snape scoffed to himself.

When Pomfrey returned to her note-taking, Dazai forcefully pried his eyes away from the Sensing Stone. 'Professor Snape, what color do you see? '

Snape stared at him for a second before relenting with a sigh. 'Yellow. The same as Poppy. I suspect most of your professor would see the same. ' At Dazai 's curious expression, he continued, 'Yellow is considered the upper-range of Magical Sensitivity. Being in a position of teaching magic, a professor must have a certain level of control over their subject. '

That made sense. If a wizard could barely sense magic, they wouldn 't have the skill to accurately control it, let alone teach others how to control it.

Dazai himself had very little control over magic, but sensing it? That was another matter entirely.

Based on that alone, Dazai had a pretty good guess as to what the colors in the Sensing Stone meant about him. Despite this, he still had to ask. 'Just how sensitive to magic am I to see white? '

Snape crossed his arms, levelling Dazai with another long stare. 'Theoretically. '

Dazai blinked. 'Theoretically..? '

'The ability to see anything in a Sensing Stone brighter than pale yellow is strictly theoretical, ' Snape said, drawing the words out carefully. 'To date, no wizard has seen anything near to what you are describing. '

'Ah... '

Dazai 's eyes flicked to the Stone again, then straight back to Snape before he could be drawn into its depths once more. 'Is it too late to say I can just see yellow? '

To say Snape looked unamused would be an understatement.

Pomfrey scrawled a final remark onto paper before tuning back into the conversation. 'I 'd like to propose an experiment. Severus? '

The potions master nodded affirmation.

'Dazai, dear, I 'm going to close the curtains around you, ' she explained, standing up. 'I 'll ask Severus to cast a few spells of different magical intensities. All you need to do is to let me know when you can sense the magic, okay? '

Dazai looked to Snape, who was already withdrawing a wand from his robe. There wasn 't really any harm in this test. Moreover, Dazai was actually curious himself about just how far his magical sensitivity went compared to others. He nodded.

Pomfrey stood. She muttered an incantation, magic grabbing the curtains around Dazai 's cot and swinging them mostly shut. Like this, Dazai 's view of Snape and the Sensing Stone was entirely blocked. Pomfrey stood just at the edge of the cot, able to see both Snape and Dazai simultaneously. She gave Snape a 'ready ' gesture, then turned her full focus on Dazai.

'Alright, dear. Say something if you can sense Severus using magic. '

'Does he even know what it

feels

like to sense around for magic? ' Snape asked from nearby.

Pomfrey shot Dazai an apologetic look. 'It might help to close your eyes, hun, ' she told him. 'Try and focus on your surroundings. Since you can see white... Severus ' magic will probably feel like a slight tingling to you. Maybe something a bit stronger."

Dazai hesitated, but after a few seconds, he forced his eyes shut. Darkness took over his vision. He placed both hands on his lap and curled his fingers over the hem of his robe.

The second he shut his eyes, he understood what Pomfrey meant when she said it might help. The magic around them 'latent and aimless 'suddenly become sharper; more vivid. Like he could pick out every biting sensation of magic, if he just focused hard enough. And what magic he felt in the Sensing Stone was at once clearer. He could see its position clearly in his mind 's eye. The Stone 's magical signature, which he had originally perceived as nondescript, now seemed to have an underlying distinctiveness to it. It felt dark and damp.

'Mr. Dazai, are you ready to start? '

He startled. This new and brilliantly clear sensation had distracted him from the present again. 'Yes. ' Cheekily, he added, 'go easy on me, Professor Snape, Sir. '

Snape grunted.

Everything was perfectly still for a few seconds. Then...

A sudden boon of magic burst from where Snape 's voice last came from. The air went from stillness to a thunderous explosion in zero-seconds flat. He jumped.

'Well, he felt that, ' Pomfrey said, laughter in her voice. 'I think we

all

did, Severus. A little less now, please. '

'Merely giving Mr. Dazai an example of what he should be sensing for. ' Dazai thought he heard a hint of humor in Snape 's voice as well.

The ringing in the air abruptly died down.

Dazai let out a breath, trying to still his nerves.

With his eyes closed, Dazai felt too vulnerable. The only thing keeping him from curling into himself protectively was this newfound Magical Sensitivity. Now that Dazai's vision was absent, his sensitivity had increased ten-fold. When he focused, he could even feel the slight buzz of energy coming from Snape 's inactive wand.

Magic roiled again.

'I felt that, ' Dazai said, keeping his eyes closed. He twitched at the sensation.

Pomfrey hummed.

A moment of pause, then another jolt of magic.

'Felt it. '

Again.

'That, too. '

And again.

'Mhm. '

Snape continued casting spells, each one minutely less powerful than the last. Pomfrey's quill scratches were the only other sound in the infirmary during the tests. And the longer the tests drew on, the more frantic her writing became. Meanwhile, Dazai was running out of different ways to say 'yes. '

After the twenty-sixth spell, the spellcasting suddenly stopped.

'Are we done? ' Dazai asked. He kept his eyes closed, still having a fairly good idea of where Snape was standing based on his wand 's magical signature.

It was silent.

Dazai pried his eyes open.

Madam Pomfrey was hunched over her notes with wide eyes. 'That 's... '

Just out of sight, Snape drew in a staggering breath. 'I can 't put any less magic into that spell. Any less and I won 't be casting at all. '

Dazai heard footsteps, then Snape was tearing the curtains back with force. His eyes immediately zeroed in on Dazai.

'You could sense all of them, ' he said without inflection.

Dazai glanced to Pomfrey for confirmation before nodding. Every single spell Snape cast had been easy to sense. More than that 'the difference in magical intensity was negligible at best. Between the strongest and weakest spell, the only difference was that Dazai 's skin buzzed a little less. At no point had he considered that Snape was barely using any magic at all.

'That should be ' ' Snape suddenly cut himself off.

Pomfrey carefully set her quill down. 'He reacted promptly to every single cast. ' Her gaze slipped to the Sensing Stone, still a pearly white. 'Mr. Dazai 's Sensing Stone is white, ' she determined, breathless.

Dazai shifted in place. The quiet, serious looks Pomfrey and Snape kept sending one another were more than disconcerting. Even though he was, for once, just being honest, it felt like he 'd mis-stepped somewhere. He 'd been hoping not to back himself into a corner with an unsustainable lie, but it seemed the truth was just as absurd.

Snape seemed to be staring straight through his soul, dissecting him with two glaring eyes.

Mori,

Dazai 's brain whispered.

'Sir, ' Dazai said, forcefully shaking away the unwanted comparison, 'what spell were you casting just now? '

Snape raised a single brow.

'Aqua Eructo.

The water-making spell. '

Dazai nodded to himself. That explained why he couldn 't recognize it 'that wasn 't a first-year spell. He mentally catalogued the spell 's feeling in case it became relevant again later: cold and smooth, like an arctic lake. A quick glance to the table revealed that the once-empty glass there was now so full as to almost spill over.

Pomfrey consulted her notes one last time before looking up to meet Dazai 's eyes. 'I 'll have to do some reading to confirm, but I think this has cleared up quite a lot about your condition. '

Dazai blinked in surprise. 'It did? ' he asked. There was no way Pomfrey had gleaned information about No Longer Human from that exercise, but she looked certain of

something

. Snape was still looking stony and serious.

'Most wizards are not able to detect the presence of magic until it is significantly more concentrated, ' Pomfrey explained, this time looking between both Snape and Dazai as she spoke. This was as much an explanation for student as it was for teacher, it seemed. 'That you could sense Severus ' spell even when he created nothing more than a single drop of water tells me your sensitivity is well above average. I wonder... dear, what did it feel like when he cast that last spell? '

'The weak one? ' He asked. When Pomfrey confirmed, he said, 'cold. ' Like slowing a waterfall down to a trickle. But still unmistakably bubbling right beside him. 'Weaker than the other ones, I guess. '

'Cold..? '

Pomfrey mouthed to herself.

'You

guess? '

Snape 's whole mien oozed annoyance.

Dazai nodded. 'Each spell was about the same as the last. ' He paused. 'Sir. '

Snape 's eyes flew wide open.

Pomfrey, however, nodded as if she had expected such an answer.

'Magic Sensitivity is just like any other sense: too small and it can 't be felt, too much and it can be overwhelming. For most wizards, casting a spell means focusing on their magic long enough to successfully change its shape. The wand does most of the work, but there is still an unmistakable sensation of magic one feels when casting. '

'The

tingling

you mentioned before, ' Dazai guessed, although magic felt like a lot more than just tingling to him. It was roiling in his guts, or screaming in his skull, or pounding at his eyes.

Pomfrey nodded. 'But you aren 't

most

wizards, dear. You 're someone with a white-level sensitivity to magic. What feels like tingling to everyone else, I suspect, feels like

fire

to you. ' She flipped a page in her notes. 'Simply put, the reason you get sick after casting magic is because you 're overwhelmed with sensory input. '

Dazai blinked, taking in the information.

Pomfrey must have read the expression on his face as uncertainty. 'It 's just a theory right now, mind you. But not an unlikely one. ' She paused. 'Overstimulation can happen to anyone with any sense. To sense Severus ' magic so strongly, I can only imagine how intense it must feel to cast yourself. '

'Is there any way to fix it? ' Snape asked suddenly. At some point, he had pulled up a seat beside Dazai 's bed. 'Or lower his sensitivity? '

The Biology of Magic

had explicitly mentioned that magical sensitivity was innate and could not be altered. Snape must have already known that as well. Dazai raised a questioning brow in his direction.

As expected, Madam Pomfrey shook her head. 'Not to my knowledge. ' Something in her tone told Dazai that wouldn 't stop her from researching the subject further.

Dazai considered Pomfrey's theory.

It was possible she was right, but he also knew she could be completely and utterly

wrong

. Until Pomfrey knew about No Longer Human, she would always be working off of an incomplete picture. Perhaps Pomfrey was right 'or half-right 'or totally and completely off-base. Either way, it was clear yet again that Dazai was an anomaly. An outlier.

No Longer Human ate magic up, and yet, Dazai could spell cast. More than anything, that contradiction was what boggled Dazai's mind. Still...

A question popped into Dazai 's head suddenly.

Could everyone else not sense magic from way across the room? Was that why none of his classmates were worried about the Cornish pixies before their release 'they couldn 't sense the violently buzzing magic?

Dazai opened his mouth to ask, but stopped short at seeing Pomfrey and Snape 's still incredulous expressions.

Snape let out a long breath. He ran a hand over his face, and that shock now looked something haggard. He met Dazai 's eyes.

'I have to apologize. '

...what?

Dazai blinked several times. 'Apology accepted, Sir. ' He paused. 'What did you do now? '

Snape let out an exasperated breath before turning pensive once more. 'For a year now, Hogwarts has been teaching you in a way that is actively harming you. I must apologize to you on Hogwarts ' behalf for that. '

Dazai shifted in place. Half of what Dazai learned, he learned in pain. In the Port Mafia 'with his father being who he was 'that was normal. To hear Snape apologize for doing so, even accidentally...

'Ah, '

Dazai drew some good humor into his voice, before the lapse in his focus could become evident, 'Professor Snape didn 't seem the type to apologize. I guess even you have soft spots. '

However, instead of rising to anger like Snape was so often prone to, the potions master sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking deeply exhausted. 'It is not a matter of character, ' he said, certain. 'Hogwarts has done you a great disservice. Any professor who would overlook the harm done to a student in their care is not fit to be a professor. '

Again, all Dazai could do was to stare.

It felt like someone had poured cold water over his head. With each second Snape 's earnest stare bore into him, the jarring feeling only grew. It was colder than the trickling feeling of aqua eructo and more entrancing than the mysterious pull of the Sensing Stone. Snape genuinely looked to be sorry.

It was disarming. And no small amount unnerving.

Remembering himself, Dazai folded his hands in his lap and shuttered closed whatever expression might be on his face. 'I guess I 'll forgive you, ' Dazai 's tongue spoke for him, 'in exchange for less homework. '

'Absolutely not. '

'You 're no fun. '

The sound of paper rustling tore Dazai and Snape from one another 's focus.

Madam Pomfrey stood, skimmed through her notes, then set them down beside the Sensing Stone. 'Now, now, you two. '

Snape grumbled about being told off, but otherwise did little but to stand as well.

'I originally had wanted to run a few more tests, but... ' Pomfrey 's eyes fell to the Sensing Stone. She considered it for a second before draping the cloth back over it.

Before the Stone disappeared, Dazai caught a final glimpse of that dark something behind the clouds. A flash of black, slithering in place like the sky before a downpour.

'After this, I want to do a bit more research before moving forward, ' Pomfrey finished. Dazai 's eyes snapped back to her. 'Severus, I hope what we 've learned today will be enough for you to work with for now? '

Snape nodded. 'Plenty. Thank you, Poppy. '

'Is class over, then? '

'For today, ' Snape said. He waited for Dazai to stand before saying, 'for next week 's lesson, we 'll meet in my office. '

Curious, Dazai asked, 'what are we doing next time, Sir? Not looking at the Sensing Stone again, I assume. '

Snape shook his head. 'I 'll have to do more research myself before finalizing your lesson plan. Just don 't be late, Problem Child. '

Dazai nodded. That made sense. He just hoped whatever lessons Snape came up with were worth his time 'unlike Quirrell 's redundant (and often mentally taxing) lessons a year prior.

Seeing as the lesson was now complete, Dazai dipped his head in a quick goodbye. He walked past Snape on his way to the infirmary door. He grabbed the handle but stopped before opening it.

'Go on, hun. ' Pomfrey said after a second passed. 'Severus and I need to have a quick chat, but you should be on your way. I 'm sure your friends are waiting for you. '

Outside of Blaise, Dazai doubted that. Still...

He glanced back at the Sensing Stone. Its magic lapped lazily at the air. Behind the blue cloth, behind the yellow Pomfrey saw, behind even the murky white, something dark was writhing. A feeling of foreboding licked at Dazai 's mind.

-

'It 's impossible, ' Severus declared the second Dazai was gone.

Poppy sighed. She leaned back into the table. 'You witnessed the same thing I did, Severus. Even when I could not sense your spellcasting, Mr. Dazai was able to instantly react. I 'm sure of it: he can really see the Sensing Stone as white. '

'No one

can see white. '

'And yet, here we are. ' Her notes stared back up at her, detailing each and every one of Dazai 's words and reactions. What had started as an ordinary check-up had very quickly spiraled into the realm of impossible. Severe, she turned on Severus. 'This level of Magical Sensitivity is unheard of, but it makes sense. '

'Begrudgingly, I have to agree. ' Severus squeezed his eyes shut. "I know we discussed that he likely had high sensitivity, but this..."

Poppy frowned. Severus always started the years off stressed and tired, but this was something bigger. 'Did you take the medicine I gave you for that headache? '

His hands, before rested on the table, now reached out for Poppy 's notes. He skimmed them. At the top of the paper, rather than writing out Dazai's full name, she'd instead written

Problem Child.

Severus' lips curled up briefly in amusement, though he didn't allow the humored expression to last more than a few seconds. 'An hour ago. There 's no need to fuss. '

Poppy rolled her eyes. 'I 'll stop fussing when you stop pushing yourself too hard. Come now, Severus. What 's the matter? '

Severus ' eyes didn 't lift from the paper. A furrow in his brow told Poppy he was deep in thought. 'Take your pick. '

'Severus. '

He blew out a hot breath. 'The students are just as rowdy as always, Gilderoy Lockhart exists, one of my snakes is currently defying everything the wizarding community knows about Magic Sensitivity. ' He looked up from the paper, face deadpan. 'Etcetera. '

Poppy smothered her laugh with both hands.

'Gilderoy Lockhart exists? '

She echoed, greatly amused.

'Unfortunately. '

'He just needs some time to adjust to life as a teacher. I 'm sure he 'll settle down soon. '

Severus raised an unimpressed brow. 'Did you not hear of him unleashing a horde of Cornish pixies on the student body? '

She most certainly had. Since the first day of class, Poppy had seen to at least two-dozen students for pixie-related injuries. 'Give him time. '

'His ignorance is dangerous. ' Severus paused. Gravely he added, 'in more ways than one. '

Poppy immediately knew what Severus was referring to. The Daily Prophet article had shocked her to her core: Lockhart and young Dazai meeting in Flourish and Blotts, and everything that had transpired after. She could hardly believe a professor would threaten a student, but the Daily Prophet certainly knew how to spin a tale. It was no wonder people were so quick to lash out at Dazai after what the papers were saying about him. Poppy tutted. 'Albus won 't give him a talking to? '

Severus shook his head. 'You know where the headmaster 's priorities lie. '

Poppy sighed.

With a quietly cast spell, she levitated the Sensing Stone back into its box. 'Well, ' the box lifted into the air and floated towards her office where it found a place on the bookshelf. Her voice dropping into something lower, more serious, she said, 'that 's what you have me for. Between the two of us, we 'll get to the bottom of things. You know I can 't bear the thought of a student being hurt any more than you can, Severus. '

Severus hummed, but didn 't look especially comforted. There was still a tired pinch to his brows and a drag of dark rings under his eyes. 'Did you notice anything else about the boy? Injuries? Odd behavior? '

'You mean aside from what he saw in the Sensing Stone? ' She asked lightly. When Severus ' severe expression didn 't shift, she sighed. She glanced to her notes, in Severus ' hands. 'I didn 't see any obvious wounds 'though he was wearing gloves and long sleeves, so it 's difficult to say. ' The gloves had briefly caught her attention earlier. But between the Sensing Stone and their subsequent experiment, Poppy had promptly forgotten to wonder over their existence. 'The gloves are new, ' she said as an afterthought.

'In the papers a week ago, he had bandages on his face, ' Severus pointed out.

Poppy shrugged. 'If he was injured, the wounds have healed over by now. And he didn 't seem to be in any pain, aside from some tension. I thought about asking, if he didn 't look so on edge already... Although, I 'm more inclined to say he was just nervous to be the focus of so much scrutiny. ' She paused. 'Anyone would be with how you 're glaring, Sev. '

His scowl only deepened.

'There wasn 't much I could glean from his behavior. That boy chooses his words very carefully, you know. And he tends to keep very still. '

'He fidgets, ' Severus said, miming something with his hands in example. 'When he 's nervous. '

She nodded, having noticed that as well. 'There were a few things he said, though. ' She paused, considering. 'For one: he mentioned your spell felt

cold. '

Severus raised a brow. 'Am I meant to know what that means? '

Poppy shook her head. 'My point exactly. It 's such an unusual way to describe magic, isn 't it? Magic feels like a light tingling on the skin only when its especially potent, and yet he thought first to call it cold. '

'Curious, ' Severus said. 'Does that mean something to you, as matron? '

'Not necessarily. It did catch my attention, is all. ' Something to research later. If her books turned up nothing on the subject, Poppy knew she would have to send another letter to the staff at St. Mungo 's. Perhaps the unusual descriptor of 'cold' would mean something to them.

Severus consulted the notes one final time before returning them to Poppy. 'Anything else? '

'Just one more thing, really. ' But first... She shot him a look. The worry had been hanging over her for a while now, 'I take it your investigation into Mr. Dazai for Albus isn 't going well, if you 're hounding me for answers like this. '

'You

are

the investigation at this point. Yokohama 's records are kept tighter than the vaults at Gringrott 's. If I want to do something to help him, I 'm going to have to do it without Yokohama 's consent, it seems. ' Severus sneered. A troublesome thought furrowed his brows. 'Regardless, I think you care more about the boy 's welfare than Albus. If anyone should be consulted in this investigation, it should be the school 's matron. '

Poppy very much wished that weren 't the case. She had known Albus for quite some time now, however, and knew how the man could get. She shook the thought off, feeling privately treasonous. 'I 'm not sure my medical knowledge will be much help, I 'm afraid. For now, the most I can be is an extra pair of eyes. '

'And? What more have you noticed? '

'It might have been nothing, ' she said slowly 'After all, Mr. Dazai did seem somewhat distracted. '

'He wasn 't distracted, he was scheming, ' Severus retorted automatically.

Poppy rolled her eyes. 'You always assume the worst. '

'What did you notice? '

She paused to collect her thoughts. Then, 'It was just a little moment... but when you asked him what color the stone was, he trailed off after saying 'white. ' For a second, I almost thought he was going to say something more. '

'You can 't possibly think he saw something else in the Sensing Stone. ' Severus was not asking a question. There was no joking in his tone, as if the potion master was telling himself as much as he was Poppy. 'It 's not possible. '

Poppy looked him dead in the eye. 'Out of everything we just witnessed, what makes you think

impossible

is out of that boy 's reach? '