The ingenious Ms. Rowling owns Harry Potter and its characters. I claim only the plot.
I will not bow, I will not break
I will shut the world away
I will not fall, I will not fade
I will take your breath away
And I'll survive
~Breaking Benjamin
Unfortunately for Katie Bell, the fact that she needed to get a job in order to pay her medical bills snapped her rather forcefully out of her wallowing.
So she became a healer.
She knew what people were thinking: how did she of all people become a healer?
It wasn't as difficult a decision as some might have assumed. With her natural aptitude for charms and her careful precision in potion-making, Katie Bell actually had exceptional qualifications for the position.
It didn't hurt that she felt a certain sense of karmic retribution that St. Mungo's would have to pay her so she could pay them.
But more than that, she didn't want others to undergo the nasty experience that she had endured. She didn't want them to feel the deep desolation as someone carelessly tossed aside her lifelong dreams in a short second. She didn't want them to feel like a case number as a healer dashed in and out of the room to perform only the most perfunctory spells before rushing back out. She didn't want them to feel the waves of derision rolling off the healer as she asked about the possible helpfulness of muggle physical therapy.
She wanted them to feel cared about, as if she were their long forgotten sister anxious to make up all the lost time. And patients loved her for it. They anticipated her arrival, excited to tell her everything from personal anecdotes to comments on the hospital 'food' to the latest sordid gossip about various healers.
Yes, Katie Bell was damned good at her job.
Which was why her life was about to take a sudden turn for the unexpected.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"Damn it all to hell!"
Katie cringed as she watched Mediwizard Daniels dive to the floor. Letting out another string of profanities as he resurfaced, struggling with an object that was currently trying to wriggle out of his grasp. Reaching into the pocket of his robes, he quickly pulled out his wand.
"Immobulus!" he roared. The creature fell limply onto his desk.
Daniels rubbed a hand over his face.
"Bell, how the bloody hell did you manage to pass your Transfiguration N.E.W.T.?"
"I have no idea," she replied, though she strongly suspected that a certain head of Gryffindor house may have had something to do with influencing her examiner. Not that it had taken much convincing: as soon as the man had read her name, he'd seemed ready to pass her immediately. It had irritated her to no end that everyone had presumed she was 'in too delicate a condition' to be properly tested.
Clearly that was coming back to bite her in the arse.
"Bell," Daniels groaned, "this is elementary stuff."
"Hey, it wasn't that bad," she countered.
Daniels quirked an eyebrow.
"Bell, you're supposed to be turning a garter snake into a splint—there aren't even any limbs you have to deal with! And still you give me…this?"
He pointed to the ruler shaped object on the desk.
Katie examined it.
"It doesn't look so bad to me."
"Bell," Daniels sighed, "it slithered off the desk and nearly out the door. And it won't stop hissing at me."
"Yeah but look at that lovely snakeskin patterning. That's gotta count for something, right?"
"Bell, you need to pass your reexamination so I can say that you're certified."
"But sir, I don't even work in the field. I can just summon one of those in here!"
"Bell, you have to take the re-certification once every five years. Period. If not, they might have to consider letting you go."
Katie began to panic, searching for an excuse. Just as Daniels opened his mouth to order her to try again, the door flew open.
A trainee healer stumbled through the entryway. He blinked for a moment before pulling a scroll of parchment from his pocket.
"Is one of you Katie Bell?"
"Yes? That's me."
"Right. You are to report to the Chief of Medicine's office immediately. You may not stop at your desk or check on a patient or run to the ladie's room or stop for a bit of tea on the way or pretend you got lost. "
The trainee looked at her incredulously, but Katie merely flushed and shrugged her shoulders. Rolling up the parchment, he fled from the room.
Katie exploded.
"Sir, you don't really think he'd fire me do you? I love this job! I need this job."
"It'll be fine, Bell," replied Daniels, but even he had a worried glint in his eye. "Best be getting on then."
Katie rushed out the door, opting to take the stairs to the ground floor. With each step, she grew angrier and angrier, consumed by a fury that sent electric sparks down her spine. Reaching the landing, she marched down the corridor.
Katie burst through the doors of the office.
"Chief Meriwether this entire matter is completely ridiculous."
Chief Meriwether's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Why Healer Bell, I had no idea that you'd heard—"
"Too right I've heard! This is unbelievable! I am the best Mediwitch Spell Damage has seen in years!"
The chief's forehead creased in confusion.
"I know that Katie, but I think that it's high time I let you go—"
"Honestly! My patient satisfaction ratings are higher than the rest of my department's combined!"
"Ms. Bell, I am well aware, which is why—"
"Just because I can't turn a snake into a splint or a beetle into a bandage or what have you—I work on the fourth floor! When would I need to do that? Besides it's supposed to be sanitary for Merlin's sake!
"Healer Bell!" Chief Meriwether thundered. "I'm quite aware of your excellence and dedication to your profession!"
"Oh," Katie said, deflating. "Oh."
"I called you here because I've just received a request for an in-home healing assignment. The client is very adamant about maintaining his privacy and, given the circumstances of his injury, we've granted his request. Due to his, shall we say, eminence, we've decided to send the best we've got…and that is, as you so loudly mentioned, you."
Katie felt herself blushing for the second time that day.
"In addition," Chief Meriwether continued," he has asked that his identity not be disclosed to you until you sign some binding paperwork. I can assure you Ms. Bell," he pressed on, as Katie opened her mouth to interrupt, "that he is perfectly harmless and will not threaten you in any way. Having already met the fellow myself, I'm sure you'll find you both have a lot in common."
Katie could hold back no longer.
"Thank you, Chief Meriwether," she said. "I'll be sure to conduct myself accordingly as a representative of the hospital and I can promise you that you couldn't have picked a better healer for the job."
The chief rose and replied, "You have my full confidence, Healer Bell. The patient will be expecting you tomorrow morning. You may floo directly from here to ensure that you aren't followed."
Beaming, she reached out to shake Chief Meriwether's hand before turning to the door. As her fingers closed around the doorknob, his voice rang out one last time.
"Oh, and Katie? If anyone should ask, it is purely coincidental that I'm sending you on assignment on the deadline for you Therapeutic Transfiguration certification. We can give the board an absentee notice, but you will have to take it eventually."
For the third time that day, Katie flushed a deep crimson.
"Yes, sir," she said.
Then she fled out the door to salvation.
A/N: I promise that Oliver will show up soon! I will try to update often, but it probably won't be on a regular schedule. Any comments or constructive criticism is appreciated!
