Their first meeting[1] had been impromptu, but this time around Arcturus received the notification with a little more graciousness than even he'd expected. He was killing time in his office now, waiting for the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation to arrive.

He wasn't sure what to make of this. Repeat meetings were usually not a good sign, and for the life of him he had wanted to never see this file on his desk again. But it was there, and she was here, and there was not a lot he could do to change that short of warping reality. What did she want to see him for now? He felt a pang of dismay. He'd wanted Johann to get off the blasted Sleeping Potion, but for all his reading up on the subject of addiction from both magical and Muggle viewpoints there was no fast or easy cure.

Yet they were back here again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly. He'd read the file. All those memories he really hadn't needed to remember had come back flooding in. And after last Sunday, well...the last thing he wanted to be reminded of was that none of his efforts had worked due to various unforeseen circumstances.

Someone was responsible for all this, and when he finally found out who he...wasn't quite sure what he was going to do, because right now this was really more important. A patient's health dropping again? Well, this was what he signed up for.

A knock sounded on the door. "Come in," he immediately responded, dropping his hand from his face and getting to his feet out of politeness, the doorstopper of a file sitting innocently on his desk.

1.	Impressionism Isn't Only for Art Galleries, Dec 12 2009

Gabrielle really had hoped the issues pervading her mind regarding her cousin would never warrant a follow up visit with Arcturus, that normality would occur for them all. That if she ever had to meet up with the healer again, they’d be grabbing fish and chips or meeting for a brief drink to discuss about the daily topics of their workplaces. They would share a laugh or two, perhaps even tell stories about one another growing up or embarrassing Johann stories. However, those hopes, wishes were dashed to muck as her hand turned the doorknob to enter his office, putting on a brave face to hide the disappointment she felt.

The potion abuse concerns were there but also were the facts that pertained to the death of his father, her distant cousin. Her smile, feeling absolutely plastic and forced, soon became a grim nod as she acknowledged the healer’s presence. “It’s good to see you again, Healer Hollingbury, considering all,” she responded softly, gently. “It would appear the sabbatical did well enough for you especially that the weather’s changing so rapidly.” The grim expression relaxed, becoming a better placed smile once more. “I know Johann really did miss you in your absence and I must say I have too, even if we haven’t spent much time around one another.”

Shutting the door, Gabrielle approached the healer’s desk, glancing to observe the surroundings, noting any possible changes to the environment. “Grandfather said he was pleased to have you back – after all, you seem to be one of his favourites here at Mungo’s.” The pleasantries were starting to feel forced, pushed even. “I suppose you know, gauging by the owl and the file folder nearby why I’m here more or less.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m really worried for him. Personal never should mingle with professional, but given the recent events he’s gone through, his mother included (and yourself, her brain argued), it’s clear that I needed to come to you, Arcturus.”

Arcturus was unsure if there had been anyone who was glad he was back save for the patients and some of his colleagues. Higher-ups generally didn't pay attention to the badger-haired healer (barring the Head Healer now). But he took it without any change to his expression, simply because he had no idea how to respond to that.

"Thank you, Madam Murray. Please do sit," he said, waving a hand in the direction of the chair. "It might not do much of a difference, but better to be resting our feet as we worry about Johann." He glanced back at the file. Zeus.

The healer took his seat and moved the file to one side of his desk. He'd read enough of it to memorise it by heart, and he needed the space to put his arms on the table. "I honestly would love to say that we have a cure for his addiction, be it in potion form or something else, but a lot of it is self-discipline and initiative to find his way out of it. He seems...resigned to the fact that he needs sleeping potion to function, when this isn't the case." Arcturus made a face. "I care about him as much as I care about all my other patients, but I cannot make him not repeat his behaviour, if you understand what I'm getting at."

He interlocked his fingers. "Does he not have a lot of support at home, or at least around him? Or is he just not likely to ask for help because he thinks this is entirely his fault?" He'd been reading a lot of this in Malaysia. Muggles had had very interesting comments to make on the subject, and he was realising fast that St Mungo's did not have that knowledge. But he wasn't going to talk about Muggle thinking - that would be the fastest way to get him fired, least of all having the Head Healer around. "Because he does need people around him reminding him that in the long run all he's going to end up with is a brain that's possibly going to deteriorate due to his excessive usage, and short of quarantining him in the hospital as a long-term patient - which I'm sure he will hate - there's not a lot we can do about that."

Everything Healer Hollingbury spoke about seemed to dwindle Gabrielle's spirits about making Johann see the error of his ways. Sure, she had spoke numerously to him about correcting the issues and really had try to make an impression of how valuable of a worker[1] he was to the department, but still. This was discouraging in the sense she felt responsible about her cousin's plight, even as Gabrielle knew his addiction had not stemmed from her personally. Sighing, the witch interlocked her fingers, trying to formulate an answer to a sudden cotton mouth that inserted itself in an instant.

"I— Could I get a glass of water or something? Please?" she finally croaked out, not looking to Arcturus for the current moment.

Was this an anxiety attack? Panic, even? Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Gabrielle felt her chest pounding away, tightening slightly. She began to fight back, to encourage the brain to settle down, her heart as well. Godric, why now? Why. This was absolutely not how Gabrielle had envisioned this meeting of sorts to go. Not at all.

1.	Begin the End | Oct 4th

With every word Madam Murray seemed to be looking more and more depressed. Arcturus regretted what he'd just said, but what else could he do? It was his job to state it as it was, there was no way he could make it sound better without a heavy coating of sugar, glaze and syrup - and he was fairly sure that was beyond his capabilities. Certainly not the right healer, but he was the one in charge of Johann's file.

Her tone rather alarmed him, but the only significant action that noted he'd seen her behaviour change was the quickness in his step as he immediately got to his feet and got a glass of water for her. Keeping a supply of water in his office was no big deal, since he occasionally made tea in his office.

The healer set the glass of water in front of her. "Are you all right, Madam Murray?" he asked worriedly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Taking the water glass shakily, Gabrielle drank from its contents slowly before nodding gently, working herself back down to a level of semi-normality. This sense of impending dread and terror had shown its face with Francis in September, namely that Sunday morning[1]  when she awoke with a sharp start. Looking to Arcturus with a grateful nod, Gabrielle soon was coming back around the bend to where she'd been before the pair began their speech about Johann.

A weakened smile.

"I'll be fine, yes. Just a moment of surprise is all," she lied with the words leaving easily from her lips. "Don't worry about me too much, Healer Hollingbury. We've got someone else to be concerned about, hm?" Her cheeks crept a rosy hue from the embarrassment she felt from this occurrence. "Now. As for Johann, he hasn't been in my abode for quite some time, I'm afraid. Not near me nor an iron skillet wielding servant to keep in him line. As for at work, I've tried numerous times to be positive, to encourage him. He was quite lucky when a co-worker found him months ago because of this. I'm not one to invade my workers' personal lives nor would I want them pilfering through mine, but I hope he does have someone. He deserves much praise and adoration and assistance with some sense of normality."

What with all that's happened to him and his kin, the voice in her head spoke up.

"Again, I'm terribly sorry for the scene I've personally caused. I haven't episodes like that. Not really since I was a young adult."

1.	would've been Oct 3rd

"It's not a problem," Arcturus assured her. Sometimes kin of patients tended to react badly to the news regardless of how you worded the facts. The truth had a tendency to be a bit searing, after all. Madam Murray's smile was wan, but he wasn't going to push his questioning any further. It was indeed about Johann, not her.

He sighed as he sat back down in his seat. Johann had not been back a lot at Diagon Alley enough for him to observe the man. This meant that he was going to be working off somewhat outdated advice. Generalising might happen.

"All I know is that Johann believes his condition is...well, out of his control. It's what he believes will help him cope through work and life in general." He drummed his fingers on the desk. "Unfortunately the long-term repercussions of living a life like he does are not worth the short-term gratification he gets from his coping, but I can't say he's ever considered them? He has not asked me, I'm afraid - either it has not crossed his mind, or he is ignorant of it."

He leaned forward. "You've been trying your best to keep him going, but he needs more than just that. Does he confide in anyone about his problems?" Balfour? "Or does he prefer to keep them to himself? If it's the latter, then perhaps there is an underlying reason as to why he doesn't see his condition as worth informing others...? What does he tell you, Madam Murray?"

What did Johann tell her about this.... addiction?

"Truth be told, Healer Hollingbury, Mr. Storm has told me in the past that he's "all right," "fine." That I "have nothing to worry about, really," that the addiction isn't anything to be too "concerned" about. But last I checked, isn't that the same as in Muggles when they are in denial about their own vices? Liquor, gambling, even the ones they would prefer no one know about?" Gabrielle remarked, sounding perhaps a bit angrier than what she should have displayed in her thoughts. "I want him to do well and will continue to monitor him as his department head. As....as for the family side, I can do the same. My worst fears though remain: what if he blows up, flies off the handle? I'm not saying I'd dissolve in-into a fit of tears if he ran off on me again, but it's his job and his life I'm more concerned about."

Grabbing the glass, Gabrielle drank slowly from it once more before continuing.

"What do you suggest are the best courses of action for me? As an administrator and as family outside of the work force?"

Arcturus had to suppress the urge to lean back when Madam Murray's tone got a little more upset than usual. It was not towards him, he knew, but it was still slightly unnerving. He let her talk without interrupting; it seemed like it was something she needed to get out of her system and usually it helped when someone needed to let off a little steam.

"I...honestly, you probably know him better than I do." He lingered on the word 'probably'. "But as far as I know, he doesn't realise that his problem affects the people around him and related to him even indirectly. He's lived with it as long as he can remember, and thinks that it's really no bother at all to him. Perhaps you might need to help him understand that even when he keeps his mouth shut, problems related to him will still happen."

Arcturus drummed his fingers on his desk. "I'm more worried that his addiction will consume him. He needs someone to keep an eye on him and report any behaviour out of the ordinary. But at the same time, he doesn't need people judging him or ridiculing him, it will only make him less inclined to share his problems with others. He thinks it's a problem for him, but trivial to others." He shrugs. "This kind of patient is the toughest for me because they don't realise that every action of their own, even if it affects them, still causes a ripple in the ocean. Can't see the forest for the trees, I suppose."

The healer glanced at the glass. Madam Murray was emptying it at a good rate. "Would you like me to get another glass of water for you?" he asked, looking at her. "This will be a trying time for you, and he will test your patience. He's already tested mine several times over. But the only thing you can do is persevere and not treat him differently. The root of his addiction should have been treated a long time ago, but it wasn't and now it's grown into a tree where the roots are well hidden. Getting to those roots will take a lot of patience and trust."

"Here in a minutes, yes," was all she could say about needing another glass of water, opting in for listening to the offerings Arcturus had for Johann's addictions. "I know of taking time to rid the roots if possible and of ensuring the situation gets better. I still feel as though I'm somehow responsible on some sort of level for this terrible mess. I know I didn't necessarily help him start it up nor encourage for Johann to continue partaking of the potion, but he is one of my workers, one of the very best in fact, but I still feel I should have some part of myself to blame."

Rubbing her forehead, Gabrielle knew however it wasn't her doing, her mishaps that had lead Johann to this slippery slope; it was Johann's alone. "I just don't know how to continue making sure I don't do anything really different than the ordinary. I don't want to see him die nor end in the hospital with a comatose state." Already bad enough I know someone with that and I know what it's done for their family, she thought to herself, avoiding eye contact with Arcturus at that particular moment. "That all said, I'm sure I can muster ways to keep him on his feet, Healer Hollingbury. Thank you for your offerings of insight."

She paused a moment, smiling weakly, but feeling reassured slightly.

"I just want him to be healthy, to be all right in the end. I know it may seem delusional, but considering I'm rather used to family falling ill by rather foreboding causes, I'd prefer to keep Johann alive for as long as possible. He deserves it especially after the events in September. Him and Camille both."

Arcturus shook his head. "I fear that these roots are a little too late to get rid of. If I'm not wrong, they started since he was young. Unless you can find some way to turn back time and change things, which I very much doubt, his condition is now here to stay. You don't have to blame yourself. A lot of it has to start with him making the first steps on his own, by his own choice."

He listened to her. It was the same for most kin of patients, really, but he listened anyway. Sometimes he could glean important information from relations about the patient, but this time Madam Murray genuinely seemed to know hardly of Johann's actual situation, or why he went down the route he was on now. Though she was family, she was not directly related. He'd have to keep his lips sealed for now.

"I know, Madam Murray," he said, his tone gentle. "They have been through hard times. But sometimes it's also good to give him space and respect what he wishes, as long as it isn't destroying him. He's an adult, he's intelligent enough to develop some manner of coping with it even if it's not a very efficient method. Keeping an eye out for him is enough."

Arcturus picked up his quill and quietly flipped open the folder. A copy of Johann's resignation letter lay tucked into an inner pocket. He'd read it several times over, and to him it had certainly sounded like someone needed some bereavement time badly. "I presume I've answered all your questions and given you adequate advice to act upon, Madam Murray?" he asked, in relation to her earlier gratitude for his insight. "Or would I need to elaborate further?"

"No, you've helped tremendously, Healer Hollingbury. I can't thank you properly enough for everything, including helping me unwind, de-stress with the situation at hand."

Gabrielle stood up, smiling in appreciation to the young wizard. "You're very good at what you're doing and I do hope you'll continue working here. Mungo's needs workers as yourself to keep up with the times," the witch responded encouragingly, the smile remaining on her features. "I should be going now. You've got plenty of other cases and whatnot to deal with; I've the same. So, I'll see myself out, but again, thank you, sir."

Grabbing her things, Gabrielle soon exited out of Arcturus' room, heading down the hospital's corridors and eventually out of St. Mungo's entirely, her feet carrying the witch back to the Ministry, prepared to take on the workload waiting for her there.

-Exit Gabrielle-