7 Years Later
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"Welcome to St Mungo's for Magical Maladies and Injuries," the Welcome Wizard droned, looking utterly bored.
A man in dark green robes with silvery blonde hair stood in front of the Inquiries sign, looking dishevelled, clammy and frankly, unsteady on his feet.
"Um, I'm not feeling too well and I think I need to see a Healer."
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The Welcome Wizard's face turned even sourer than it was previously, what he had expected other than someone ill needing to see a Healer we'll never know... no wonder he had more wrinkles than he should have for his age.
Dipping his quill in an ink pot and hovering it over his parchment, he waited expectantly.
When Sam didn't say anything, he glared up, "Your name? So I can put you down on the waitlist…"
"Uhh, Scorpius is my legal name. Scorpius Malfoy."
"And have you been to St Mungo's before?"
Sam nodded, "Yeah, when I was a kid."
"Greeeeaaaat," he droned, as if it were in fact, not great at all... "We should have you on file. Take a seat and a Healer will come give you a preliminary examination before sending you to the appropriate floor."
Sam sat down at the closest row of chairs, too tired to venture further afield. He was slightly nervous about bumping into Rose, who he hadn't seen in 7 long years, but he'd been sick for weeks and he wasn't getting any better.
His parents had finally forced him to go in to St Mungo's when he fainted on the dining room floor this morning. He had had a rash stretching across his neck for almost a month, but he hadn't got it looked at, assuming it would go away on its own – it had only gotten worse.
As he waited for his name to be called, he inspected his surroundings to see if Rose was working. It was early on a Saturday morning, she probably wasn't on shift. What kind of person would willingly choose to work weekends?
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His eyes were wondering around the room when a voice from behind him confirmed exactly what he feared most.
"Sam Malfoy, what are you doing in Britain!? You should have sent me an owl to let me know you were here!"
His heart dropped. He was hit with a wave of fear, but also excitement. Or maybe that was just the lightheadedness from his mysterious illness...
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As Sam turned around to look at her, his breath caught.
She looked amazing.
Her hair was shaved around the back and sides, but long on top, with a side-fringe of curly red locks sweeping across her face. She was wearing the classic lime green robes all Healers wore at St Mungo's, but she had managed to make them look unique.
The sleeves were rolled up, badges and patches covered the breast pockets where her name was sewn. She was wearing black combat boots, the perfect combination of comfortable and cool.
And best of all, she looked… happy to see him?
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'She doesn't remember you Sam, not really, not us,' Sam reminded himself as he smiled back.
"Hey Rose, I only just got in and I'm feeling a bit crook," he laughed awkwardly, sort of petering off and looking away, his hand moving to the back of his neck - the most awkward bodily position he could have chosen really.
"Well come on into this exam room and I'll check you out, you do look a bit… well, sweaty," Rose grinned and Sam let out a more genuine laugh.
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When they got to the exam room Rose turned around and gestured to a hospital bed on the far side of the room and stood expectantly waiting for him to get onto it. A tidy mahogany desk with quills, ink and parchment laid out across the top sat opposite the bed.
Sam sat down on the bed and Rose immediately began examining him, "So what are your symptoms, what's going on?"
Sam's hand immediately went to his neck, "Well I have this rash that's quite itchy and sore, it's been there for… probably almost a month-"
As he spoke the quill dipped itself into the inkpot and started dictating notes and records onto the parchment.
"A month!? Sam, that's way too long to wait before getting something checked out!"
The words SYMPTOMS: OVER ONE MONTH, appeared in capital letters on the parchment, which embarrassed Sam even more. It was a judgy quill, clearly.
Sam sighed, "I know, I know, I just thought it would go away on its own, but then I started having trouble breathing sometimes, dizziness, lethargy – I'm probably just a bit run-down."
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Rose cast a barrier charm over her hands and lifted up the collar of Sam's robes, inspecting the rash, which had spread down across his collarbones and shoulders.
"Oh and I kind of fainted this morning," he said quickly, almost like an afterthought.
LOST CONSCIOUSNESS IN PREVIOUS 6 HOURS - appeared in capital letters on the parchment, Sam rolled his eyes at the quill.
"Can you get that quill to quit it, I don't want to see it writing notes about us."
Rose sighed in exasperation, "First of all, you might have wanted to lead with the fainting thing Sam, and secondly that quill writes what it needs to for your patient records and my diagnosis, so no, it cannot 'quit it'."
He was about to retort back with something smart when suddenly Sam's head swayed forward from dizziness.
He pulled back abruptly trying to regain some semblance of balance, "Ugh sorry I feel really queasy."
Rose grasped his arm to steady him. "That's okay, take your time."
After a few moments of waiting the feeling subsided and Sam nodded back to her that he was okay.
"Do you mind taking off your robes and shirt, I want to get a good look at that rash."
"Uh, sure, yeah okay."
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Sam tried to stand up but quickly stumbled, so Rose steadied him then sat him back down.
"Here, let me do it."
She gently pulled down his robes, removing each arm and letting it fall to the bed.
Sam didn't make eye contact with her but conflictingly, he felt both tension and trust (or again, it could have been the lightheadedness from his mysterious illness) as her hands unbuttoned his cream dress shirt and pulled it down to reveal the rash.
It felt strangely intimate but Rose made sure she was extremely professional, not touching him except to inspect the rash.
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"Do you still feel dizzy right now? Or just queasy?"
Sam's hand went to his head and the other grasped the bed.
"I definitely feel dizzy too," he could feel himself swaying again and as he looked up at Rose his vision started to blur.
Rose moved her hand to support his head, but he turned away, "Rose I think I'm gonna be sick."
She turned quickly to reach for her wand so she could summon a bucket but as she heard his retch, she knew was far too late…
The vomit hit her before she could even say Merlin.
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Rose let out a small wince of disgust. No matter how many times she was vomited on by patients, it never got easier.
When Sam was done, he wiped his mouth and started a stream of apologies, "I'm so sorry Rose, I was trying to aim away from you I swear," but Rose was staring at the vomit on her robes, not in revulsion but in shock.
The vomit was a light purplish colour, it immediately confirmed a diagnosis Rose had been speculating.
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"Damn it Sam, why didn't you come in earlier? You've got Scrofungulus! Rash on the neck should have been obvious, you work in bloody care of magical creatures and herbology, you should know this."
Sam let out a groan, "Oh blast, I'm so sorry, Scrofungulus is so contagious-"
"Yes, and you just vomited all over me! Tell me you didn't touch anyone coming in here."
"I didn't, I'm sure of it."
With that Rose walked over to the desk, grabbed her wand and with a flick sounded the alarm for contagion. The door to the exam room slammed shit and a lime green light flowed around the edges, sealing it.
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Pointing her wand at her throat, Rose muttered "Sonorus" and her voice boomed out across the reception area, "We have a patient presenting with Scrofungulus in exam room five at reception, no one leaves the area until they have been screened and doused for the bug that carries the fungus. Patient's family also needs to be screened, send out a team to the address listed on their file. Please move us up to Level 2 when the area is clear, the Healer has been compromised and may be carrying the contagion."
She glared at Sam in annoyance, but he'd started vomiting again.
"That's disgusting Malfoy," her voice boomed out again, "Quietus – shit!"
