Who?
Characters: Poppy Pomfrey, Albus Dumbledore, & minor original characters
"Who in Merlin's name would want to be a nurse to whiny brats?"
"Who indeed!" Poppy answered in response to the resurgent-memory of her mother's snide question. When her mother had first asked the question, upon learning of Poppy's intentions to apply for the position of Hogwarts's nurse, Poppy answered exactly the same. Though, the first time, she'd answered with righteous anger, a sneer of her own on her lips.
Now, though, she was beginning to wonder if her mother had a point. Poppy had thought being a nurse to the students of Hogwarts would be easy. That she would get to sit in her little office, reading romance novels to her heart's content, occasionally leaving it to administer a Pepper-Up for a professor's cold or to fix a student's broken arm after a quidditch game.
So far, in the five months she had been training under Madam Spinnet's tutelage, all her preconceived notions had gone out the window. Almost from the first day of school, students had been coming and going from the Infirmary. From little things like paper cuts (ludicrous, it was simply ludicrous!), test anxiety, the sniffles, to not so little things like sprained ankles caused by tripping on the moving staircases, to burns from potions accidents, to Muggle Mumps, and the list went on. There was rarely a quiet moment in their hall and Poppy almost feared for the end of the year when Madam Spinnet finally retired.
When she did, Poppy would be all alone. She was going to go gray before age thirty! The things her mother would say then… Oh Poppy did not look forward to it at all.
Especially if being Hogwarts's lone nurse would be anything like this evening was turning out to be.
Taking in the two to three dozen students milling around the infirmary, Poppy thought once more, 'Who indeed! Who would want to be a nurse to these brats?' Some glanced her way as she brushed past them. A couple of the older ones frowned at her. Obviously they were quite displeased at her response time to their injuries. It wasn't fair. Poppy was trying to do her best! It wasn't her fault they all had injuries ranging from minor abrasions to second degree burns. No, the fault lay on Silvanus Kettleburn's shoulders. Poppy gripped her wand tighter as she wondered just how did she begin to treat them all? Who did she start with? Madam Spinnet would have known in an instant.
'You're not her, though,' Poppy reminded herself. She hardly had even an ounce of the experience her superior did. It was why she'd been given the job of treating students rather than helping poor, disfigured Herbert. The students were easy fixes. If only she could figure out the best way to fix them all! Poppy gnawed on her lip for a short while, thinking deeply about the best way to go about treating the students. Perhaps this would all be a little easier if she managed to create some order.
She nodded to herself. 'Yes, that's an ace idea,' Poppy told herself. Surely even Madam Spinnet would agree if Poppy were to run her plan by her. Feeling much more confident than just a moment before, Poppy threw back her shoulders. "Please line up! Would all students please make two single lines in front of the beds?"
They ignored her in favor of chatting and whinging to one another about the severity of the burns they had received from the fire. Feeling her face heat up in embarrassment, Poppy wondered if she hadn't just made a fool of herself. Would Madam Spinnet have shouted like that? Maybe. The children would have heeded her order if she had, anyway. Glancing toward the corner where she knew said woman to be, Poppy was made to sigh when she saw she was still entirely engrossed in trying to fix Herbert's head. There was no way she could assist Poppy right now with the students.
Damn that Silvanus Kettleburn.
Clearing her throat, she bellowed in what she hoped was a far more threatening manner, "Alright you lot! I want two lines this instant! Hufflepuff and Gryffindor on the right and Slytherins and Ravenclaws on the left!"
A few took notice and tried to do as she commanded, but gave up when others, again, ignored her. Hands beginning to tremble in fury at yet another failure to control her domain, Poppy let her gaze sweep over the students and professors milling around. Where was that idiot Silvanus Kettleburn anyway? This was his fault. If he hadn't given the students in the play that Engorged Ashwinder to use, she wouldn't have to deal with this bedlam!
When she found him, Poppy was going to hex him six ways to Sunday (her Healer's Oath be damned).
"Perhaps you should consider taking house points from students who don't comply."
Jumping, Poppy twirled around only to place a hand to her heart. "Albus!" she exclaimed. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that!"
The man gave her a less than contrite smile. "Quite sorry, dear."
Poppy nodded. Looking once more over the students, she asked, "How in Merlin's name would I even take points away? I can't even tell how many students of each house are in here!"
Albus hummed thoughtfully. "From the houses as a whole? One hundred from each for noncompliance to your request should do the trick."
She sighed heavily. What did she have to lose? Very little at this point. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she hollered, "This is the last time I'll ask you all to line up! Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs on the right and Ravenclaws and Slytherins on the left! Failure to do so will cause all four houses to lose a hundred points each!"
Over a dozen eyes looked in her direction. Poppy made sure to narrow her own in response. Older students began to prod younger ones in the direction they needed to go and a little less than three minutes later, there were two lines on either side of the rows of beds.
Triumph swelled in Poppy's breast.
From her corner, Madam Spinnet sent Poppy a quick smile before returning to work. Feeling her lips twitch with an elated smile, Poppy turned to face Albus once again. "Thank you," she said.
He winked. "It was all you, my dear."
Chuckling silently, Poppy nodded and turned back to the students. "Okay! I'm going to inspect you lot all individually and then organize you into groups depending on the severity of your injuries! I expect you to stay in those groups once you're assigned. Failure to do so will cause your house to not only lose points, but slow down the rate at which all of you get to leave the infirmary this evening!" Taking a step toward the Slytherin/Ravenclaw line, Poppy added, "You are welcome to chat amongst yourselves, but do keep it down please."
Relaxing, the children began to talk to one another once more. Smiling at her first patient, an older Ravenclaw student, Poppy asked, "Where are you hurt?"
The Ravenclaw pointed down at their bent leg. "I tripped on my way out, it hurts to stand fully on my ankle."
"Oh dear," Poppy clucked. "To the back of the infirmary of you, please. By my office."
They nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."
Moving on to the next, (another Ravenclaw) as Poppy asked what was hurting them, she recalled her mother's question once more.
"Who in Merlin's name would want to be a nurse to sniveling brats?"
"Me," she whispered. "I want to be a nurse to a school of whinging brats."
Maybe it was overwhelming sometimes. Maybe she wouldn't always know exactly what to do, but as she had proved to herself today, she could handle it. Someday, she might even thrive in chaos like this.
This is going to be a short series of canon-compliant, related and unrelated one-shots about Poppy's time as the nurse of Hogwarts.
Thanks so much for reading and please review!