Muggle London. Aileen generally avoided it when she could. Today, however, she had more important things on her mind than avoiding unpleasant encounters with non-magical folk. Today, she had to visit St. Mungo’s in an attempt to remedy all the horrible things that had happened to her crew members in Egypt. Of course, the Imhotep Institute was doing their best, but they lacked the staff necessary to really focus on the problem. Aileen also suspected that the Imhotep Healers didn’t care much for foreigners cracking into Egyptian tombs and stirring up ancient curses. This was why she sought a second opinion, of sorts.

There was absolutely no way she was taking the Underground, so Aileen cast an illusion charm on herself and apparated to the alley next to St. Mungo’s. Bristling at the crowd a bit, she walked towards an abandoned red-brick building, spoke curtly to the dummy in the dingy window, and walked through the pane of glass without a second thought.

Once inside, she was met with the usual noise and bustle. Aileen joined the long queue that snaked around the reception area and let out a heavy sigh. She ignored the man sneezing out bluebells every minute, the young girl wailing about the bubblegum permanently stuck to her face, and the witch wandering around asking what year it was. Aileen thought about the owl she’d received yesterday, informing her that the second crew member who had slipped into a coma was near death, just like Sabine, who had passed away on August 6th. She didn’t like it. She didn’t want death hanging over her head. It made her feel responsible for everything that had gone wrong. So, ever since she’d come home she’d been burning the midnight oil, poring through her notes and the books in her library, until finally she’d received the grim news from the Imhotep Institute. It had spurred her to take further action, which meant coming here.

Finally, she was next in line, Aileen thought, lack of sleep making her especially irritable.

“Next,” the woman gestured her forward with a bored expression. “Name.”

Aileen answered.

“State your business.”

“I have an appointment with Jason Marren at 1:00,” she said, checking her watch to find that while she’d been waiting the minutes had ticked by to 1:04.

The Welcome Witch shuffled a few papers and then pointed her towards the right. “I’ll tell him you’re here. First floor, office at the end of the hall. Next!”

Aileen found his office easily, opening the door and taking a seat in front of his desk. She glanced at the tidy stack of papers and breathed in the smell of stale coffee without really noticing or caring about her surroundings. Her fingers drummed on the arm of the chair, betraying her impatience.

With all the drama hanging around Jason as of late, he relished in a good work day. Or threw himself into it head first without thought or care as to how he’d step out at the end of the day. Same difference really… end result was the same. He saved some people and creatures, did some paperwork, and tried to forget the rest. Of course, he did less of the actual saving and more of the paperwork… but still tried to bleach his memory once he left the familiar halls.

When he had someone make an appointment that wasn’t looking for a job or trying to find out if the Skeeter article was really true, or trying to beetle him up… well, it wasn’t very often to begin with, so he tried to make his office a bit more presentable for the guest. He straightened his desk of the files he’d had yet to sort through, set out a couple of mugs for coffee (or tea, if she was so inclined), and even wiped off the chair she would sit in. It had had quite a number of other occupants over the past few weeks, including more paperwork.

He hadn’t seen his office straightened up in a while. Probably since last time there was a walkthrough of his unit, come to think of it… No matter, it was done and looked rather nice. Smirking just slightly to himself, he realized he needed to brew some fresh coffee. Walking briskly from the room, he stopped only long enough to answer a couple questions from a fairly new on his own Healer. Then it was into the staff break room.

A few minutes later and he came out with half the pot of steaming hot black coffee. Jason was almost salivating at the aroma that filtered up into his appreciating nares. Yes… he would take some coffee and sugar. Nothing helped the rest of the day come to fruition like a bit of coffee in the blood stream. Licking his lips at the thought, he walked down to his office. Then he heard his name… Frowning, he glanced back at it. He had a call?

Stopping at the Healer station, he picked up the handy microphone; it was much like extendable ears, but allowed you an extendable mouth as well. His appointment had been sent up? Dropping the ear unceremoniously, he picked up the coffee, very nearly spilling it onto himself, stepping down the hall to his office. He was late for a very important date. Or… he assumed it was important.

Once he was at the doorway, he glanced in and tried to force his smile to reach his eyes; he hadn’t had such a difficult time doing that in so long. This was the summer to top the others for sure. “Miss Reid?” Setting the coffee pot on a waiting empty place on the desk, he stepped to her, holding one of his hands out. He was rather excited for this change of pace. Fixing his healer frock, he motioned to the chair. “Please. Would you like something to drink?”

When Jason Marren appeared in the doorway with a fresh pot of coffee and that familiar smile on his face, Aileen smiled back, though it was fleeting and lacked warmth. He had the same friendly expression that she remembered from Hogwarts, though he looked more mature now, with the scruff on his face and his slightly receding hairline. Aileen thought that she probably looked different, too. Or at least, she hoped so. She’d taken care to bury those old photos with the 80’s hairstyles where no one could find them!

She stood up to shake his hand and glanced at the coffee pot, considering. Normally she avoided caffeine, but she could use a bit of a pick-me-up after the last couple of sleepless nights.

“Yes, please. Coffee is fine. Black,” she added. Coffee wasn’t coffee unless it had a zing.

“Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Marren,” she said, while waiting for a cup. “I know it’s short notice.” Aileen had been surprised that he’d been able to fit an appointment in so soon, especially after she’d seen all the bustle in the reception area. St. Mungo’s was clearly well organized and staffed, she thought. It made her feel better, like she’d made the right decision to talk to someone.

Aileen took the coffee and sipped at it gratefully, trying to curb her impatience and allow him time to at least get comfortable. When it seemed he was all ears, she set the mug down and dove into business.

“You may have heard that I recently returned from an excavation in Egypt,” she began, mouth twisting wryly. Reporters were having a field day with the arrests of two crew members and the death of another. The only thing that got her through the paper each morning was a determination to know what people said about her, no matter how awful. Aileen had to know what she was up against.

“I just received word that two of my crew members are close to death,” Aileen said in a low voice, trying to keep her expression neutral, though she felt more frustrated than sad about it. “They both have the same symptoms as Sabine, the one who passed away on the fifth. Like her, they both slipped into a coma. The healers at the Imhotep Institute aren’t sure what’s causing it,” she shook her head and sucked in a breath. “They’re competent, but they just don’t have the staff or time…”

She took another sip of coffee and rubbed at her neck worriedly. When she realized that the gesture showed she was upset, she let her hand drop and went on. “What’s more, is that the members involved in the cave-in started exhibiting irrational behavior after we’d thought they had recovered. Jeremy attacked his bunkmate the same day that Sabine died, while Richard, the one who went home, attacked his sister. There must be something from the tomb that’s making this happen,” She sighed. “When I hired them I did background checks on everyone in my team. None of them had a history of unstable behavior.”

Aileen paused then, trying to find the best way to continue. She hated asking for help. “You must be very busy and I don’t want to burden you. But if something doesn’t change, if the healers don’t find out what’s wrong with them…” She trailed off, imagining the possibilities. Her job and reputation were at stake. Analiza would be happy to find any reason to fire her from her new position at Hogwarts, and she might never be asked to head an excavation again. Also, there was the grim matter of people dying.

When Aileen accepted the coffee, Jason was more than happy to oblige. Pouring her a cup of the coffee, he also made one for himself, added a spoon of sugar. He liked a little sweetness to his addiction. It was odd how at work he drank enough coffee to fill a bucket, but hardly did at home. It was the nature of the beast, he supposed, that idea that he needed it for the energy. Then, over time, it became partial habit, partial necessity.

“Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Marren… I know it’s short notice.”

Chuckling, he shook his head before offering her the cup. “It’s my pleasure, Miss Reid… And please, Jason is fine.” The controlled chaos that was St. Mungo’s became routine. What might appear to be anxiety forming for patients or visitors was actually perfect for the employees. When you were normally busy, you got used to that being your normal speed. So when things calmed down… it felt rather boring.

“You may have heard that I recently returned from an excavation in Egypt.”

By this point, Jason had settled into his chair, leaning back slightly as he sipped his coffee. As she started to talk, he set his steaming mug aside and crossed his feet at the ankles, spread out under his desk. His hands rested together lightly on his abdomen while he waited for her to continue. Come to think of it, he had read something about it in the paper…

“I just received word that two of my crew members are close to death.”

Frowning at that, Jason sat himself up slightly in the chair, tipping it forward so he could lean on the desk. As she went on, he tried to keep up with the story, though he wanted to call out ‘who is Sabine?’ Then she answered it, and he pursed his lips to the side. At least she cleared up that it was a female; he hadn’t been too sure on just hearing the name. Then, as she went into the healers, he started to realize why she might have come to see him. Just don’t have the staff or the time? He took in a slow breath and waited.

“What’s more, is that the members involved in the cave-in started exhibiting irrational behavior after we’d thought they had recovered. Jeremy attacked his bunkmate the same day that Sabine died, while Richard, the one who went home, attacked his sister. There must be something from the tomb that’s making this happen.”

He almost wished he had a pad of parchment and a quill out to keep up with this little spider web of issues. Or some sort of flow chart… Who had a sister again? He frowned slightly and nodded as she concluded her little confusing speech. There were always possibilities of curses and hexes and such in tombs, or long forgotten (or heavily guarded) areas. He’d had his fair share of dealings with them with his wife. Or… well, they weren’t divorced yet. Pursing his lips at that, he picked up his coffee and took a sip.

“You must be very busy and I don’t want to burden you. But if something doesn’t change, if the healers don’t find out what’s wrong with them…”

Shaking his head, he drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment before reaching across his desk for a spare piece of parchment, finally pulling out a quill from the inner breast pocket of his healer frock. “All right, let me make sure I have this right.” After a few minutes, he had his little diagram in front of him, albeit a few mistakes here and there.

Pausing as he looked over it, having the basic structure made out, he frowned. “Okay, tell me about some of the things they started exhibiting. Anything would be helpful, down to… maybe they started lacing their shoes differently. If you can remember it.” Pulling another sheet towards him, he glanced up at her. “I’m not too busy that I can’t help you at least get in the right direction. And I'm sorry about your crew.”

Aileen had to give him credit for hearing her muddled story through to the end. It was hard for anyone to keep track of all those names and afflictions, so that when he started taking notes, a hint of a smile appeared on her face. Like she’d remembered him from school, he was treating the matter with consideration and thoughtfulness. Aileen peered at the diagram he handed her, corrected a few of his mistakes, and then handed it back and tried to smile. He didn’t have to do this, she knew. If it had been the other way around, Jason calling on her for help, she might have claimed lack of time.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry too,” she replied when he offered his condolences for her crew. Aileen pulled out a folder from her large purse and handed it to him. “Here are copies of their patient records that the Institute finally agreed to send to me. That should help, at least, though they don’t describe everything that happened before the crew members were admitted to the hospital.”

With any luck, Jason wouldn’t care how she’d obtained the records, or look too deep into how much of the Institute’s antidote supply was being paid for in the next year. She took a sip of coffee and thought back.

“July 3rd was the cave-in. We’d already entered the tomb the day before, and the cave-in happened right next to the first side chamber. Richard and Jeremy were the two who suffered the most injuries and had to be sent to the hospital. Broken arms, ribs, those kinds of things- nothing that seemed caused by magic. A few weeks later, when they were released from the hospital fully healed, Richard decided to go home immediately, back to a safer job I presume, while Jeremy stayed on.”

Aileen paused and let out a small sigh. “But he wasn’t quite himself, Jeremy. Other workers would tell me that he’d stop in the middle of a dig and just stand there, confused. Unaware of why he was there or what he was doing, forgetful. I assumed he had some kind of head injury and sent him back to a healer, who couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him. But he wanted to stay. Insisted on it. So I cut down on his hours and… let him.” She shook her head slightly.

“Next thing I noticed, he seemed back to his old self. Working hard, doing more than he was asked. However, he soon started to snap at people, accusing them of doing their job wrong, not handling the artifacts with the proper respect. He claimed only he knew the real purpose of the items we found,” she resisted rolling her eyes at the memory. “Talking to him about it didn’t go over well. Eventually, as more crew members got sick, and I found him rifling around in files that he shouldn’t have access to, I told him he needed to leave in the morning. That night, August 5th, he attacked his bunkmate and was arrested. They got into an argument but I still don’t know all the details there.” She’d been a bit distracted, with Sabine dying, and then being told that she too, needed to pack up everything and leave with her crew.

“I might have passed if off as an isolated incident, except that in late July, the man who had gone home- Richard- was arrested for attacking his sister. Like I said, neither of them had any record of criminal or unstable behavior before the excavation.”

Aileen paused, thinking that she’d give him a minute to digest this and ask any questions before she told him more about Sabine and the ones who’d fallen ill. She wasn’t sure if anything could be done for Jeremy or Richard, but if they were connected in any way to the rest of her crew, it was important to tell Jason all the details.