Dudley was terrified. All hospitals had terrible lighting. This thought, which sprung on him quite suddenly, was very comforting. Whether you're a wizard or a muggle, you probably look terrible if you find yourself in a hospital. His toes were tapping and his brow was moist. Dudley Dursley did not enjoy uncertainty. He grabbed a brochure from the side table to his left to occupy his nervous hands.
Brochure was clearly titled, "Handy Contraception Potions for the Intermediate Witch". This was definitely not for him. He hadn't been on a date in ages. Also, he wasn't a witch… Or a wizard. He picked up the next one on the table and jumped when the picture moved. When would he get used to that? He thought it was possible that he never would, it was 2001, muggle technology wouldn't be there any time soon, if ever. This one was about love potions and consent. Again, this was nothing of his concern.
"Dudley… Dursley? Mr. Dursley?" His panicky inner monologue was interrupted by an indication that his doctor was ready. He jumped up, prompting the brochures that had been in his lap to take flight, and followed her into his physician's office.
"Healer Malfoy will be in any second". The nurse closed the door behind her and he was left alone for the second time. The table thing was the same, but no tissue paper. There were no posters or brochures in this room. There was a Hogwarts degree and what he assumed was the wizarding equivalent of a medical degree hanging on the wall across from him. There was a window from which you could see the entry to St. James Park. Next to the window was a green and silver tie inside of a frame. Otherwise, there was nothing personal about this office. It was minimalistic and clean. This felt severely more normal to Dudley, if not comfortable.
The door swung open and Dudley met the most serious looking man he had ever seen in his life.
"I'm Healer Malfoy. I will be performing a basic physical exam on you today. Do you have any questions before we proceed?"
"N-No", Dudley stuttered with the confidence of a moose in Cartier. Healer Malfoy lifted his want and began to scan it over Dudley's body, murmuring a spell as he went. Dudley deeply wished that his nervousness wasn't terribly noticeable, but he assumed it was hopeless. After scanning Dudley, Healer Malfoy sat in his desk chair and invited Dudley to sit up on the table.
"Mr. Dursley. I assure you that I do not carry on my family's past beliefs and do not practice with any prejudice at all. If my past concerns you, I suggest that you request another healer as these spells are less effective when you are under duress".
"Pardon me?" Dudley was flabbergasted. He had never met, or heard of this man in his life. How would he know about his past?
"You're clearly nervous and you will likely feel more comfortable –"
"Oh! Well you see sir, doct – healer Malfoy, it's just my first time at St. Mungo's. I'm the new Minister of Muggle's Relations Muggle Representative. I work for the ministry with the head of the department, but I need a magical health record in order to be applicable for… um… Booger insurance? I think… No, that's not quite right, is it –"
"It's Boggart Insurance, Mr. Dursley".
"Yes! That! Anyways, I've never met you before or heard about your past or anything like that, I'm just –"
"You've never heard of me? Why did you tense up like that, then?"
"This is all very new to me", Dudley sighed, "and I don't know what to expect".
"I see. Okay, I'll talk you through all of the procedures as I do them. Don't worry, it's painless. I'll have you out of here in twenty minutes, at the most".
Dudley sighed again.
"THAT'S IT, RONALD. I WANT YOU OUT OF THIS APARTMENT RIGHT NOW".
"Mione, come on! Please we can make this work, we need to! I need to!"
"IT IS OF NO CONCERN TO ME WHAT YOU NEED. I KNEW YOU WEREN'T READY FOR THIS. I KNEW IT. I JUST-", she looked across her at the couch where her boyfriend was slumped with his face in his hands. She softened and spoke again, "Ron, we need time, I need time to... think".
"That's a surprise" He said it bitterly under his breath, but she caught it.
"Ronald, I'm serious. Look, this isn't the end, it's... a break. We should take a break." She was staring at her hands in her lap, afraid to make eye contact. "Ron, please leave". She didn't look up until she heard the slamming of the door and the pop of apparation. She took a moment to feel the significant loss that she had just initiated in her life before she got up and prepared a cup of tea.
She spent the evening curled with Crooks reading Hogwarts: A History, feeling the deep fear and uncertainty that hadn't graced her conscience in years. It had been a long time since she had to make such a difficult choice. She was good at making difficult but necessary choices. She had done it at Hogwarts, she did it to survive the war, and she did it at work, but she never had to with Ron or Harry. She never thought she would.
Regardless, she knew life had to go on. She got out her cutting edge Nokia 8310 and made lunch plans for the following day. She couldn't expect the world to stop just because she broke up with her boyfriend, and she certainly was not going to wallow in her sadness and disappointment for more than an evening. She was in pain but she had a world to reform and had no time to focus on much else. Tomorrow would be a normal day, regardless of how she felt.