Ginny coughed slightly as she stepped out of the fireplace and noted her surroundings grimly. It was definitely a men's environment, with the only two colors being beige and a dirty white. There was a distinct musty odor of cheaply bought cigarettes and cigars, sweat, and cheap aftershave. It was bad enough to make her throw up.

"May I help you?" a man asked from across the room, sitting behind a tiny wooden desk, cluttered with unattended paperwork.

Ginny turned to look and him and gave a tight smile, guessing he was the secretary or something. "Yes. I'm the new healer. I was told to report here today…" she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

The young man glanced down at the calendar and nodded slowly. "Virginia Weasley, is it?"

Ginny nodded.

He looked up and smiled. "Well, you're right on time. The General will see you now."

Ginny dreaded meeting this General. From what she gathered, he was an absolute asshole. She silently groaned, and turned to the male secretarial officer who was greeting her with some sort of politeness she hadn't expected. "Thank you." She said, before heading towards the crude wooden door, decorated with a simple gold plaque with General Stoppard carved into it.

She breathed deeply before she knocked on the door three times, waiting for the go-ahead from the General.

"Come in!" a gruff voice yelled out.

Ginny was becoming to really regret choosing her career in medicine as she opened the door and creaked it opened. She entered and closed the door behind her and immediately discovered the reason for the putrid stench of cigarettes and cigars. The General had one lit sticking out of his mouth.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded rudely.

Ginny tried to hide her disgust from this man, as she forced out a tense smile. "I'm your new healer."

The General sat up and looked interestedly at her. "You? You're our new healer? A girl?"

Ginny cringed at his derogatory tone.

"They couldn't send me a male, so they send me a girl healer?! Merlin, what is this world coming to?" he grumbled, as he scrutinized over the length of her body. "Not even a woman healer, but a girl healer! You look like you should still be going to Hogwarts!"

Ginny blinked.

"What is happening with all our strong, good males these days?" he continued his tyrant.

Ginny had enough. "Well, sir. I'd imagine they all turned into something like you." She said sweetly, forcing out a charming smile.

General James Stoppard stopped his tirade and glanced at her sharply. Never in his twenty-seven years as a military combatant had he been insulted in ten minutes of meeting someone…much less a girl! She had some nerve making a smart ass comment like that, when he had control over everything in the camp. "I'd be careful of what you say girl. I can break you like that." He warned, clicking his fingers.

Ginny regarded her new boss carefully. "It seems to me that you're threatening me sir. And I do believe that is absolutely against the law, is it not, General? Hmm…a bit disappointing. I had imagined that my new supervisor, a General none-the-less would be much more educated than that." She said smartly, her eyes hardening with loathing for him.

General Stoppard's face contorted with rage, and began to bloom into a deep red. "Now, you listen here, girl!" he snarled.

"I do have a name, General Stoppard. And I would very much appreciate if you remember that sir." Ginny intervened, slightly enjoying her momentary higher position in mental power. "I am most polite to you, sir, using your full credentials, or a respectable 'sir', but you seem to have a slight problem with remembering my name. It's Virginia Weasley sir. You can call me Miss Weasley, or Ginny. I not picky and I don't mind which."

"Now you listen here girlie - …"

"- Ginny." She butted in, correcting him.

"Ginny." He sneered. "I can make your stay at Portsmouth a living hell. Now, if you get that attitude away from here and fast, and you do as I say, you'll become to enjoy this hell hole."

Ginny calmly regarded him. "General Stoppard. If you really insist in stooping down to that level of blackmailing your healers, I can just refuse to work. I can do that, you know."

"You cannot just refuse to work! You're a healer! This is a military base camp. If you don't work, these men will die!"

Ginny smiled coldly. "I can, and I will refuse to work if you continue with your less-than-civilized method of encouraging your healers to work for you."

"Then you won't work here any longer!" he spat out, not believing the gall of this girl.

"Then, you'll be breaking section 52 of the Unfair Dismissal Act, and you'll be stripped of your supervisor entitlement. I do wish you would be more up-to-date with the law General Stoppard. It will really prove to be useful." She stated back, not really believing an ounce of the words that were coming out of his mouth. She could see why he had to blackmail new students to work at Portsmouth. After every year, they'd quit or apply for a transfer.

She started at him, waiting for what else he might have to offer and smiled inwardly. He had nothing more. He had never come across a healer who knew the exact unlawful procedure of his actions and knew what to do if he did happen to act out his threats. He was glaring at her, his right eye twitching every now and then from the blood pulsating around his head.

"All right, Miss-Know-It-All lets go for a walk. I'll show you around our superb campsite." He clenched out, after a few moments of composing himself.

Ginny smiled pleasantly at him. "That would be lovely General Stoppard."


The campsite was disgusting.

That was all that came to Ginny's mind as General Stoppard showed her around his 'superb' campsite. It was all dirt, mud, rocks; and life's simple luxuries were at a minimum. It was a wonder that she got her own lodge and bathroom. And they were both filled with dust, cobwebs and mud. She was really getting sick of the sight of mud. It seemed everywhere she went, everywhere she looked, there was mud and dirt. She could only imagine what it'd be like when it rained.

"I see you agree very well with our facilities." The General said delightedly, taking in her bland face and the dreaded look in her eyes.

Ginny slowly turned to face him. "Oh yes, General. I am a female, who, up to this point of time, greatly enjoyed life's pleasantries, like a clean bedroom and bathroom. And yet you think I agree with your facilities? You have one very troubled mind General."

The General's grin fell. This girl made him feel like a total imbecile one minute and a complete bastard the other. What was it with women?

Ginny turned back to stare at her room in complete disgust. How could they send her into some hell-hole place like this? She sighed and walked straight out the door and to the mud filled wonderland of the outdoors.

The General followed her out and looked at her questioningly.

"May I see where I'm going to working at?" she requested politely.

He nodded and stared at her. She was a weird one, that. She wasn't intimidated by all his threats, but she seemed repulsed and unwilling to be residing in a lodge with dust. It was only dust for goodness sakes!


Ginny sighed with relief when she walked into the pristine white halls of Portsmouth's medical clinic. Not a speck of dust could be seen…but then neither could be injured soldiers. The beds were empty with crisp white sheets, which was highly unusual for a military base camp.

"Uhh…General Stoppard. Where are all the wounded people? This is a clinic, isn't it?" she asked, confused, her eyes following the nurses as they scurried along the corridor.

The General grinned. "There aren't any yet. You wait a week or two though. Our Special Forces squad are coming back from their assignment." He told her gleefully. "You'd better appreciate this week the best you can, because after that, you'll be so busy you won't even have time to wipe your ass after shitting."

Ginny stared at him. "General Stoppard, I can assure you, even if there is a dying soldier on my hands, if I shit, I will make time to wipe my ass."

And the General's grin fell.