Tuesday, April 15, 2008
7:57pm

"ELLIOT!"

The Headmaster's booming voice heralded his entrance into the Hospital Wing.  He was half-dragging, half-levitating Kyle Gibson through the double doors. 

"Miranda, we have a small issue I'd like to discuss with you!"  As evidenced by the trail of blood and slime that followed behind them.  Knox looked around but didn't immediately see his new Head Healer.  He grimaced.  He did not want to have to do this himself - that's why the world had Healers! So that secrety disgraced former Healers would not have to face their painful past like adults and could remain whining babies and hide from their past sins.

Kyle Gibson was now literally the handful he'd been since his very first day.  The moment he boarded those little boats to cross the lake, he'd been Knox's cross to bear.  Sure, the responsibility was shouldered somewhat by his Head of House, and by his classmates and family, and the Auror who had to intervene one afternoon.  But good lord, would the boy ever leave him?  It was his seventh year and it seemed there was no rest.

He tried to get Kyle into a bed.  He bellowed louder. "Miranda!"

Who’d have thought that working in a school could be so draining? Miranda had come here because she’d thought it would be a change, probably a less stressful change. But with all the kids coming in, giving it their best to skive off lessons, or having just poured exploding boil potion on themselves, she hadn’t really had a chance to come into her office and just sit and think.

"ELLIOT!"

Having fallen asleep at her desk about 20 minutes before, Miranda stirred and sat up slowly, wiping the sleep from her eyes. What had just waked her up? Well, she’d have been questioning it further if the voice hadn’t pierced her ears and made her cringe once more. Knox.

Eyes widening, she stood up from the desk and quickly made her way from the small office and into the hospital wing just to hear the bellowing voice again. As she rounded the corner, she rolled her eyes slightly.

“I wasn’t deaf before Greyfriar but I think maybe-” The healer’s sarcastic speech was cut off upon taking in the sight before her. Her mouth opened slightly before she pulled her out wand and jogged over to the boy making a mess on the perfectly cleaned tiles.

“What in Merlin’s name did you do to him?” It was evident Miranda often spoke without thinking. She’d heard things about the bellowing headmaster and his method of teaching and wasn’t exactly afraid elude to these. Grabbing the boy’s legs with her cold hands, she helped heave him onto the bed, smearing fresh red blood over her smooth white robes.

Kyle, being the peculiar chap he was, was bellowing in laughter in the Headmaster dragged him into the Hospital Wing, an ominous trail of blood giving evidence to some serious injury. It had been a strange day for Kyle, he woke up in the morning in a glorious mood - the kind of mood that causes one to say to oneself  'I think I'm going to skip classes, and go adventure into the Forbidden Forest!'. Well that's just what he did, and after a long exchange of events that would be infinitely hard to explain to the bearish Headmaster he got himself injured, and badly.

"ELLIOT!"

The laughing may or may not have been due to the blood loss and the faintness Kyle felt, but it sure amplified the situation in one way or another. His wounds consisted of a large gash on his abdomen, and two broken rips which at the moment were sticking out of his skin. Kyle always had good pain tolerance, but to add to this he was probably going into shock. Blood was now trickling down his leg, and when the head healer grabbed him to help him on the bed, he stopped laughing. The pain was beginning to set in, so he grit his teeth a little.

“What in Merlin’s name did you do to him?”

"Ha! No, no, no, no no. It was I who did this to him. Me. Right." Kyle said abruptly, to move the situation forward. "It's going to take a long time to explain, so heal me up quickly eh?"

Knox bristled at the new Healer's accusation, but his mind was more occupied with Kyle's injuries.  For in addition to the gash on his stomach and ribs, there was brown slime seeping from somewhere on his head.  Once the boy was out of his hands, Knox stripped off his soiled gloves, threw off his cloak and began to undo the buttons on his sleeves to roll them up.

"That's a boy Kyle,  have your wand there lad?" Knox asked, calmer now that Miranda was with them.  "Hand it over to me for now and we'll keep it safe for you."  Knox had seen what kinds of spells shot from the mouth of wizards in pain - it was best they didn't have a wand when bones had to be set, or wounds scoured.  "Focus your mind away from your mangled torso, and towards the impossibly stupid things you did to get into the mess."

"Guilt and shame have a strong numbing affect."  The Headmaster tried a smile.

"Madam Elliot," he said, then.  "Madam Elliot, have you erm... got a handle on this?"

“Sure, lad.” The boy’s laughing and confusion pointed to a great loss of blood and Miranda needed to stop that before doing anything else. She straightened him on the bed and moved around to his side, pointing her wand at his chest. After a mumbled spell, the shirt ripped down the middle and she was able to prise it from his skin, a mixture of dried and fresh blood covering her hands. Now she was able to see the blood flowing from a large gash across his abdomen.

Well that explained the ridiculous amount of blood, but as her eyes quickly darted up to his head and the brown gunge oozing from it, she became even more worried. She bit her lip as she cleaned her hands with a swish of her wand.

“Are you feeling dizzy? Lightheaded? Excessive head pain?” Andy asked the boy quickly while pulling on a pair of latex gloves and reaching across to his head. Which problem did she tackle first? At the hospital, with a medi-nurse there, she’d have done the head and got them to stop the blood. But with a bumbling headmaster stood next to her she didn’t have that luxury anymore.

“...Elliot, Madam Elliot, have you erm... got a handle on this?"

Miranda glanced up, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open before she grabbed a swob and placed it against the part of his skull that the goo seemed to be emerging from. “Er...can you hold this here. Apply pressure and keep talking to him. I don’t want him falling unconscious.” and she didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t aware of what it was seeping from his head.

Snatching her wand back up once more, Miranda pointed it towards the wound, muttering a spell to cause her wand to start sucking up the free flowing blood. While suctioning, she glanced up at Knox. “I need to know what did this so I can treat his head.” She whispered urgently.

“Are you feeling dizzy? Lightheaded? Excessive head pain?”

"All of the above," Kyle commented now aware of how dire the situation had become. Oh the stupid things he did. Looking over at Knox, Kyle grimaced as he asked for his wand. Kyle wondered if Knox knew he had two wands, but decided to be safe and give him both. Pulling both wands from inside his coat -- one in a pocket, and another up his sleeve, he put them both in the Headmaster's hand. They looked strange together, one of intricate design colored white, and the other stained a dark ominous red. "Ye, there's both of 'em." He said slurring his words a little.

“I need to know what did this so I can treat his head.”

Kyle burst out laughing, squirming a bit but after a couple seconds settled down. "Haaa! Well..." He began loosely, "The gashing and cuts is from a backfired.. er.. don't kill me Knoxxy  -- Effodio spell. You know some basic dark magic... heh heh that's what ye get from speed casting, wasn't focusing much!" Kyle said in between chuckles. "The sludgyness is from a healing charm went wrong. See, my only true magical skill lies in dueling of sorts, so trying healing magic ended up like this." He said pointing to touching the liquid, and rubbing it between his fingers causing him to laugh some more. He was so lightheaded and confused he had forgotten about the pain, and waves of laughter were coming. His sanity was clearly waning. Though he knew in the back of his mind if he wasn't in such safe hands, he'd have his head -- like if it were a fight. Or was he messing with the two staffers of Hogwarts for the pure sport of it?

Taking up the gauze - very good gauze with embroidered runes of calming and luck - Knox pressed it against the throbbing knob on Kyle's head from which the dark brown ooze was seeping.  The young wizard wasn't holding still though and Knox had to reposition himself so he could use both hands.

When the boy began to answer Madam Elliot's questions, his laughter made him squirm even more, making it difficult for Knox to perform his task gently.

And so he did it more firmly, using a great deal of pressure to make Kyle lay back down.  "Still, Kyle, for Merlin's sake.  Bloody hell, boy, Effodio? Who showed you that one?"  The Headmaster shook scowled.  "You got just what was coming to you, messing with magic like that.  I ought to have left you to crawl your way back all on your own! Augh!"

The Headmaster ended his tirade abruptly with a bellow.  The sludge had already soaked clear through the gauze and onto his hands.  It reeked of rotten broccoli. 

"Madam Elliot, it just keeps coming out.  There's no stopping it - can we do something about his babbling? A silencing charm I think."

While the boy prattled on in the confused and drunk sort of fashion, Andy muttered a spell while pointing her wand towards the now cleaned gash to make the skin weld back together. When nothing happened she began to worry. At the mention of dark magic, she found herself knowing exactly why that damn wound wasn’t sealing itself up and her eyes widened. The healer hoped profusely that the potions cabinet stocked what she needed.

"You got just what was coming to you, messing with magic like that.  I ought to have left you to crawl your way back all on your own! Augh!"

“When I said talk to him, Headmaster, I didn’t mean make him anymore agitated. Distract him. Talk about the weather, I don’t care. Just don’t make him worse.” Andy quickly said to Knox while pondering on which potion to attempt first. Damn she hadn’t dealt with stuff in a while. Working at the hospital on a specific floor made you become specialised and she needed to get away from this. She couldn’t help worrying, still, but kept herself calm.

"Madam Elliot, it just keeps coming out.  There's no stopping it - can we do something about his babbling? A silencing charm I think."

“No, I want him to keep talking. Shows how aware he is.” Moving over to the boy’s head and touching her hands to it, she let out a long sigh. Her eyes then moved across to Knox. “Ok, in my office, there’s large potions cabinet. Can you open that and find me some blood replenishing potion. It’s a large clear bottle. Blue liquid. I also need Felix Felicis, (you know what that looks like? ) and there should also be a large jar of horned slugs, I need one of those as well.”

Miranda herself would have gone to get these things, but she didn’t want to leave the student in case his condition rapidly deteriorated. “Can you remember what spell you tried to heal the gashes, lad?” Andy asked, scooping some of the oozing brown gunk into her hand and rubbing it between her fingers to get a better look and feel of it. She found herself wishing she’d spent more time in permanent spell damage instead of escaping that area as fast as possible.

Nicola had been looking for Kyle when someone told her they thought he was in the hospital wing. That was when her worried state of mind when towards frantic, she thought the worst immediately. She thought that now he had done it crossed the wrong student and pissed them off. Now he was damaged in the Hospital Wing probably beyond repair. Nicola felt her heart racing at the thought of her best friend beyond repair. “Thanks,” she said to the person as she pushed them out of the way and ran for the first floor.

Nicola even tripped on the way, which was no surprising due to her clumsy nature she tried to hide. She fell hard on her nears tearing her jeans and cutting her knee. She just got up and continued on her way. She pushed some kid out of the way on the stairs not looking back to apologize.

She ran down the hall towards the Infirmary and when she got to the door she pushed it open panting as she attempted to catch her breath. She stood up and looked at Kyle. “Kyle you are an idiot what did you do this time.” She walked over to where he was looking a little frantic and confused, and concerned.

Hogwarts Healers in the past seemed to have been matronly, grandmotherly witches with advanced skills in coddling and doting.  For those were the kinds of treatments usually required at school.  But now Hogwarts had the distinct pleasure of playing host to one of the most skilled and intensely talented Healers in Britain today.  And she did not seem to have a high tolerance for shenanigans.

Knox went to the stores as he was bidden, and roughly pushed around bottles, vitals and small jars, quickly snatching out what he was looking for.  Despite the many years which had passed, he knew all the items well.  The blood replenishing potion was just how she had described it, in a clear vile marked "Sanguine Again".   The Felix Felicis was clear enough, a sparkling gold stored in small round vials in a little box.   And the slugs were in an old jar once used for pickled okra - Knox marvelled at how they were never confused.

Turning back to the mess, Knox's eyes widened at the new presence of Nicola Hames.

"No no no!  He's perfectly healthy, stand aside.  I'm sure you have a nice book to read, don't you?" Knox strode quickly to put his own body in her line of sight to Kyle.  He knew the two were close and the last thing he needed were more hysterics.  Then something dawned on him.

"You talk to him.  Madam Elliot suggests less accusatory tones and more discussion on climate. Hmm?" He gave her a little push towards Kyle.  "Don't be queasy."

"There now," he said then to Miranad Elliot, handing over the two potions.  He himself unscrewed the jar of slugs, and fished around with his finger for a good fat one.  "He'll live, I wager."

"Madam Elliot, it just keeps coming out.  There's no stopping it - can we do something about his babbling? A silencing charm I think."

Kyle chuckled. "Oh no no no sir! I am FINE!" He rambled on, then pretending to zip his lip. He looked around curiously, his senses coming back to him a little to hear the instructions given to the Headmaster. It was a shame he didn't pay attention in potions class, because know this stuff might have been helpful for the future. He decided he'd have to ask for what he took for future reference, because God knows Kyle can't do any form of healing magic. Yes, it seemed his talents only lied in destruction, not reformation. Pity.

Just then, Kyle's best friend Nicola came rushing into the room. "Oi! Don't slip on the bloods!" He said, of course more concerned for her safety than his own. Typical Kyle.

"No no no!  He's perfectly healthy, stand aside.  I'm sure you have a nice book to read, don't you?"

No, he actually had lost his senses. "BOOKS!" He shouted in awe, "Who reads those?!" He giggled. Perhaps the brown sludge draining from his forehead was a side affect of this insanity. Never ever ever must he try healing charms again. They're just no good. No sirree. "Oh Nicola, you're such a sweetie. Mhmm. You are. So cute with your concerned face. And the weather? Why its SPECTACULAR! Purple skies... never seen that before... oh no. No I have not." He said matter of factly, "So I have this tickling sensation around my abdominally area... is there a kitten there? I sure love kittens..."

Just then, Knox came back from the stores handing the healer two potions, then unscrewing a jar of slugs. "Slugs?! What? I don't like slugs Knoxxy! NO SLUGS!" He shouted hysterically.

As the Headmaster obeyed and headed for the store cupboard, Miranda was slowly giving up on making any sense out of what the boy was mumbling. A loss of blood made people think some very strange things. Andy wouldn’t have been surprised had he started reciting the school song in a foreign language. Stranger things had happened.

“Kyle you are an idiot what did you do this time.”

Miranda’s eyes shot up from the boy to the new visitor and she found herself rolling them. News travelled fast in this place. Too fast.

“He’s fi-” Miranda started but was cut off by the large man swooping over and pushing the young student out of the way. Sure, a kid seeing another kid with this much blood and looking that ill was quite…horrific, but one could not hide forever and avoid the facts of life. Maybe the overbearing headmaster was a little more, caring than he looked.

While she took the potions from the bear like hands, a small smirk graced Andy’s features. Children never read books. Well, except the weird ones like her. She turned to face the rambling boy and sighed before giving the small potions vials a shake. It would be fun getting him to drink these rather horrible tasting concoctions.

"Slugs?! What? I don't like slugs Knoxxy! NO SLUGS!"

“Hush….You don’t have to eat them. They’re going to eat whatever’s seeping from you.” Andy retorted before placing one of the vials on the small bedside table and taking his head with the now spare hand. “Drink this.” She put the first vial to his lips and tipped it into his mouth.

Nicola was just getting a look at Kyle when a figure got in her way. “I do have a book I could be reading but I am not going to now!” Nicola yelled out as she tired to look around the Headmaster as she wanted to confirm what she had seen, had she actually seen something seeping from Kyle’s head! Nicola needed to see if he was actually alright and was going to fight for her way and to her surprise the headmaster moved out of the way. “Thank you,” she said and nodded her head to go sit next to him and talk to him.

This was her chance to get a good look at him, and she wished she hadn’t. That was something seeping from his head. She felt like she was going to be sick. No, she wouldn’t be sick she had a stronger stomach than that. She just felt like it, or at least that was what she was determined to think. Nicola just had to focus on something else, not that stuff seeping from his head. Was it blood? “Is that blood?” She asked and shook her head. “Uh never mind.” It was her job to talk to Kyle.

“I do not have a sweet face Kyle nor am I cute?” She looked at him since it was hard to talk to him when she wasn’t looking at him, she would just have to deal with the seeping forehead. “Purple sky really Kyle? Tell me about the purple sky?” She didn’t know what to talk about he seemed completely nuts right now. He was going to be damaged and he wasn’t going to recover. Nicola’s head was running rampant with ideas of how he was going to heal.

“I didn’t know you loved kittens?” Nicola raised an eyebrow at him as she tried to come up with something to talk about. “So Kyle are you looking forward to the summer? Leaving school?” Merlin that was a pathetic topic to discuss. “Have you talked to Ciarra lately?”

Oh, well! If Nicola wasn't doing a valiant job!  Knox was busy preparing the vial of Felix Felicis, slightly betraying his previous training.  He shook the vial, making it glow brightly, giving its reagents a head start on their business.  A trick he'd learned from the little old witch who'd trained him.  He didn't even realize he was doing it, but when he did, he stopped abruptly.

He waited for the Healer to ask for it.  He kept a firm hand on Kyle's head, holding the Felix Felicis in the other, which now glowed brightly, casting a golden light on all present.  It make even the spell-pus coming from Kyle's head seem a bit sunnier. 

"Madam Elliot," he commented, "perhaps in lieu of our meeting we had scheduled this week, I could take the opportunity to welcome you now."  He had to speak loudly, over Kyle.  "I mean, rather exciting day isn't it! This is Kyle Gibson - I'm sure you'll be well acquainted before he leaves school this June!  How're you finding it her, Madam Elliot! Do you lack any necessities?"

“Hush….You don’t have to eat them. They’re going to eat whatever’s seeping from you.”

Kyle sighed with relief. "Oh, oh okay misses doctor lady know best huh?" Kyle asked rhetorically. It had sure been a strange turn of events. The situation would worsen when Knox found out that Kyle had been in the Forbidden Forest, and even angrier to know that he battled a magical creature. A couple weeks detention for it, maybe even longer. But it was Kyle's last year so none of it really mattered.

“I do not have a sweet face Kyle nor am I cute?”

Kyle burst out laugh again. "Cute?! Sweet!? Why of COURSE you are! Nicky dear you're ADORABLE!" Kyle yelled happily, with the joyous face of a child. "I am SO glad we're friends! So glad! Merlin's pants! What would I do without you?!" Kyle asked, eager to get up and give Nicola a hug but having enough sense not to. He didn't want Knox to throw a fit.

After a minute or more of foolish talking and joy, Kyle settled down. His eyelids were half closed, and for the first time in the last hour Kyle had stopped his rambling. He looked around surveying his surroundings, seeing Nicola with concerned eyes, the Headmaster bearing over him and the new healer as well. "Wait.. what?" He asked, fuzzy on what had happened having now come to his senses.