diff --git a/tests/NATS.E2E.Cluster.Tests/Infrastructure/HubLeafFixture.cs b/tests/NATS.E2E.Cluster.Tests/Infrastructure/HubLeafFixture.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..252d280
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/NATS.E2E.Cluster.Tests/Infrastructure/HubLeafFixture.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,166 @@
+using System.Net.Http.Json;
+using System.Text.Json.Serialization;
+using NATS.Client.Core;
+
+namespace NATS.E2E.Cluster.Tests.Infrastructure;
+
+public sealed class HubLeafFixture : IAsyncLifetime
+{
+    private NatsServerProcess? _hub;
+    private NatsServerProcess? _leaf;
+
+    // Pre-allocated ports stored for restart reuse
+    private readonly int _hubPort;
+    private readonly int _leafPort;
+    private readonly int _leafListenPort;
+    private readonly int _hubMonitorPort;
+
+    // Configs stored for restart reuse
+    private readonly string _hubConfig;
+    private readonly string _leafConfig;
+
+    public int HubPort => _hubPort;
+    public int LeafPort => _leafPort;
+
+    public HubLeafFixture()
+    {
+        _hubPort = NatsServerProcess.AllocateFreePort();
+        _leafPort = NatsServerProcess.AllocateFreePort();
+        _leafListenPort = NatsServerProcess.AllocateFreePort();
+        _hubMonitorPort = NatsServerProcess.AllocateFreePort();
+
+        _hubConfig = $$"""
+            server_name: hub
+            leafnodes {
+                listen: 127.0.0.1:{{_leafListenPort}}
+            }
+            """;
+
+        _leafConfig = $$"""
+            server_name: leaf
+            leafnodes {
+                remotes [
+                    { url: "nats-leaf://127.0.0.1:{{_leafListenPort}}" }
+                ]
+            }
+            """;
+    }
+
+    public async Task InitializeAsync()
+    {
+        _hub = new NatsServerProcess(_hubPort, configContent: _hubConfig, enableMonitoring: true, monitorPort: _hubMonitorPort);
+        await _hub.StartAsync();
+
+        _leaf = new NatsServerProcess(_leafPort, configContent: _leafConfig);
+        await _leaf.StartAsync();
+
+        await WaitForLeafConnectionAsync();
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Kills the server at the given index (0 = hub, 1 = leaf).
+    /// </summary>
+    public async Task KillNode(int index)
+    {
+        if (index == 0 && _hub is not null)
+        {
+            await _hub.DisposeAsync();
+            _hub = null;
+        }
+        else if (index == 1 && _leaf is not null)
+        {
+            await _leaf.DisposeAsync();
+            _leaf = null;
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index), "Index must be 0 (hub) or 1 (leaf).");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Restarts the server at the given index on its original ports.
+    /// For hub (0): restarts hub and waits for TCP ready.
+    /// For leaf (1): restarts leaf and waits for TCP ready.
+    /// After either restart, call WaitForLeafConnectionAsync separately.
+    /// </summary>
+    public async Task RestartNode(int index)
+    {
+        if (index == 0)
+        {
+            if (_hub is not null)
+                await _hub.DisposeAsync();
+
+            _hub = new NatsServerProcess(_hubPort, configContent: _hubConfig, enableMonitoring: true, monitorPort: _hubMonitorPort);
+            await _hub.StartAsync();
+        }
+        else if (index == 1)
+        {
+            if (_leaf is not null)
+                await _leaf.DisposeAsync();
+
+            _leaf = new NatsServerProcess(_leafPort, configContent: _leafConfig);
+            await _leaf.StartAsync();
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(nameof(index), "Index must be 0 (hub) or 1 (leaf).");
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Polls hub's /leafz until NumLeafs >= 1. 30s timeout, 200ms polling.
+    /// Handles hub being down gracefully by retrying on network errors.
+    /// </summary>
+    public async Task WaitForLeafConnectionAsync()
+    {
+        using var http = new HttpClient { Timeout = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(2) };
+        using var deadline = new CancellationTokenSource(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));
+        using var timer = new PeriodicTimer(TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(200));
+
+        while (await timer.WaitForNextTickAsync(deadline.Token).ConfigureAwait(false))
+        {
+            try
+            {
+                var leafz = await http.GetFromJsonAsync<Leafz>(
+                    $"http://127.0.0.1:{_hubMonitorPort}/leafz",
+                    deadline.Token);
+
+                if (leafz?.NumLeafs >= 1)
+                    return;
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex) when (ex is HttpRequestException or TaskCanceledException
+                                        && !deadline.IsCancellationRequested)
+            {
+                // Hub not yet ready or per-request timeout — retry on next tick
+                _ = ex;
+            }
+        }
+
+        throw new TimeoutException("Leaf node did not connect to hub within 30s.");
+    }
+
+    public NatsConnection CreateHubClient()
+        => new(new NatsOpts { Url = $"nats://127.0.0.1:{_hubPort}" });
+
+    public NatsConnection CreateLeafClient()
+        => new(new NatsOpts { Url = $"nats://127.0.0.1:{_leafPort}" });
+
+    public async Task DisposeAsync()
+    {
+        if (_leaf is not null)
+            await _leaf.DisposeAsync();
+
+        if (_hub is not null)
+            await _hub.DisposeAsync();
+    }
+
+    private sealed class Leafz
+    {
+        [JsonPropertyName("num_leafs")]
+        public int NumLeafs { get; init; }
+    }
+}
+
+[CollectionDefinition("E2E-HubLeaf")]
+public class HubLeafCollection : ICollectionFixture<HubLeafFixture>;