Hartford and the Nurse
By Montley
"Swish and flick. Swish and flick," she muttered repeatedly as she rocked her body back and forth against the white, cushioned wall. "Swish and flick! Swish and flick!"
The door to her room opened, but she kept screaming the same words, over and over even as she sensed the new presence among her. Her mind was whispering the same words to her in an endless pattern, and she knew that she must repeat them, again and again until her mind told her differently. Two people dressed fully in white had entered the room, her room, her special place as her mind knew it as, carrying two white clipboards inside the cushioned room.
"Arabella is one of our most recent patients. It was reported that she was proclaiming the existence of magic, trying to perform it in the streets, but obviously failing, consequently hurting herself and others. Her neighbors reported her lunacy, and since she arrived, her mental state has slowly deteriorated into these 'swish and flicks.' We brought her in here earlier this week to get her to calm down, but the only time she is calm is when we force her to sleep," Doctor Hartford told the nurse, whose black hair was pulled up into a tight bun under her nurse's cap.
"Any known family members?" the nurse asked.
"None that we could find," Hartford responded with a small sigh. "It's possible that someone is out there for her, but whereabouts and existence are both unknown.
"I see. It's a shame." The nurse sighed and scrutinized Arabella, whose grey hair was frazzled and her face crazed. Her whole body was wrapped together in cushioned material, matching their surroundings. She rocked back and forth as she continued muttering, swish and flick, at her mind's orders as Hartford and the nurse spoke. Arabella stared at the far wall across from her, her dull blue eyes wide.
"Great shame," Hartford agreed, nodding his head. "She was completely sane last time her normal medical doctor saw her. I had to interview all of her past doctors, but no one knows what could have caused this lunacy. None of her medications and prescriptions are working either. There is no progression at all. Her condition is only worsening."
Then Arabella stopped talking in order to listen, and Hartford and the nurse stared at her, the woman with the wild face. Hartford carefully walked towards her and bent down until he was at the same eye level with her.
"Miss. Figg?"
Arabella breathed slowly, her breath tickling Hartford's mustached face as her dull blue eyes stared at him.
"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSIA!" she suddenly shrieked, causing Hartford to jump backwards.
"Poor dear," the nurse muttered.
Hartford quickly stood and jumped back next to his spot adjacent to the nurse. He limbered out his body for a moment before patting the nurse on the back.
"Well, she's all yours," Hartford said. "Keep track of her progress, and report any changes to me, like what just occurred. Write it all down. Anything that you notice will do."
The nurse nodded and watched as Doctor Hartford strolled out of the room, carefully closing the concealed door behind him. Once he was gone, the nurse took her nurse's cap off and undid her tight bun. She plopped herself down next to Arabella, who was still rocking back and forth and mumbling, Wingardium Leviosa.
"Hello, Miss. Figg, we've met before, but you probably don't remember," the nurse said. "I bought a cross-bred kneazle from you before, named him Bambino. He's very sweet, though that must be the cat side of him, don't you think?"
Arabella ceased her mutterings and listened to the nurse as she rocked back and forth. The nurse sighed and stretched out her body.
"I'm so sorry for what happened to you," the nurse continued. "I got here as soon as I could. It's hard these days, you know, what with the war and all."
Arabella began breathing heavily as her body began to shake. The nurse put an arm around the crazed woman's shoulders as she rocked. She rubbed circles on the woman's shoulders in an attempt to soothe the poor woman.
"I promise you that we'll catch whatever Death Eater did this when the war is over and we've won, which I know we will. Harry Potter's still out there, your neighbor. But I'm going to take you to St Mungo's. They opened a different office for injured war refugees, unfortunately not many people know about it. They know how to take care of you, unlike these muggles such as Hartford. Their medications might end up killing you with the constant, unnecessary usage," the nurse mentioned with a roll of her eyes. "St. Mungo's has two other patients just like you at the main hospital, more extreme case though, Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom. They were friends of mine."
The nurse sniffled at her memories of the two Longbottoms. She had only seen their son, Neville, as an infant, before his parents were driven to insanity through the Cruciatus, just like Arabella. A small tear ran down the nurse's face, rolling over her pink cheek.
"We should have hidden you with those Dursley folks. Took them into hiding a few weeks ago, before your incident. We should have known," the nurse told her. "Dedalus was unconcerned, I don't think your safety even crossed his silly mind. Though he's a sweet man, cares about everyone."
The nurse stood, propping herself on the cushioned wall. She walked in front of Arabella and bent down as she began to remove Arabella's fastenings.
"You don't need those, silly muggles, you're not going to hurt anyone," the nurse mentioned as the fastenings fell to the floor around them. "You're a strong woman, I don't think I could have stayed as sane or strong as long as you must have as your condition shows."
Arabella shakily brought her arms away from her body and stared at them, for they had not been free for days. She was like a new born child as she examined them, her mind yelling at her to move, to explore. Her eyes scanned the nurse's body, and her hands reached out in front of her, seizing the nurse's hands.
"Swish and flick," Arabella gasped. "Swish and flick."
She began swinging the nurse's arms back and forth as the nurse laughed with her. Arabella's mind was driven to that of a child's, innocent and eager.
"Wingardium Leviosa," Arabella said, as though those two words were the most precious in the world. She looked up at the nurse's eyes as her grip grew tighter. "M-my brother taught me th-those w-words. I'm g-gonna do m-magic. M-my p-parents are wrong."
"Oh, Arabella." The nurse sighed as she reached her hand to Arabella's head, smoothing some of her hair to a normal state. "Up now."
The nurse stood and carefully pulled Arabella to a standing position as the woman's legs shook, for they had not been used in days.
"I forgot to tell you, Arabella. One should get to know a person properly before letting them take them to a hospital." The nurse laughed to herself as another tear strolled down her cheek. "I'm Hestia Jones, Advanced Guard, and I'm going to help you."
Then, the door to the room opened once more, revealing a furious Hartford.
"Nurse Jones! What in God's name are you doing?!' Hartford spluttered, dropping his clipboard onto the white, cushioned ground as his brown mustache moved up and down.
"I received orders that Miss. Arabella Figg is to be transferred to a new, better and safer hospital," Hestia said with a smile brimming her features.
"Whose orders? As they are certainly not mine," Hartford questioned harshly.
"Mine! Now I recommend you leave, Hartford," Hestia said with a smirk. Hartford unconsciously did as he was told, shutting the door behind him. He ran his fingers through his hair, and heard a loud pop from inside the cushioned room. He opened the door once more and peered inside, seeing that it was now empty.
"Nurse Jones?" he called into the room.
And then Hartford wondered if Arabella Figg and Hestia Jones were a figment of his own imagination.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope that you liked it!
This was for:
HP Potions Competition: Essence of Insanity
Color Competition: White Negative