Seven: Magic School AU
Haruka was vaguely aware of the taste of bitter hemlock laying thick on his tongue in the few seconds before the darkness swallowed him whole.
He did not understand. What use was there in poisoning a student wizard, especially one as sickly as he was? It was well known that the illness he had, which attacked the heart and the magic of those who had it with all the ferocity of a curse, was rarely survived. If someone truly did want him dead, would it not have been easier to simply wait for the illness to take its course?
His classmate, Takane, would be terribly angry with whoever had done this. He did not envy that person, whoever it was. Though she wasn't a terribly studious witch, Takane had a frightening talent for hexes.
The next thing he was aware of was a sensation of weightlessness. He opened his eyes and found himself translucent, hovering above his own inert body.
Before him, he saw a monstrous snake, red-eyed and onyx-scaled, vaguely translucent against the white wall behind it.
He extended his hands in a warding gesture without thinking. Whatever this spirit was, it was certainly powerful, and he could hardly afford to let his guard down in its presence.
"Peace, child," the snake said. "I come here not to harm you, but to grant you a wish."
"A wish?" Haruka repeated, suspicious. Kenjirou-sensei had warned him that spirits such as this one often had their own agenda in offering to grant wishes. "And its price?"
"There is no price," the snake said. "Simply the act of granting the wish will be my reward."
That…still sounded suspect, but Haruka was not in a particularly good position for bargaining.
"And it can be anything?" he asked.
The snake inclined its head. "Few things are outside of my power to grant."
"Then my wish is to be restored to life," Haruka said levelly, arm extended in a gesture of command. "And to live that life in a strong body, one that is healthy."
"If this is truly what you desire, I will grant it to you," the snake said. Its lips stretched into something that could very nearly be called a smile.
A/N: This magic school isn't actually supposed to be Hogwarts, but you could turn it into a Hogwarts AU if you wanted. Takane and Haruka are still in a special class, and Kenjirou specializes in alchemy and magical history.