Everything is J.K. Rowlings. I only claim the plot. Everything else is hers, all the characters and the magic, all of it. Please let me know what you think though, I encourage feedback of all kinds, just be nice about it!
Chapter 10
Flooing as a parrot wasn't any better than flooing as a human. In fact, Sia was sure it was worse. Zains grip around her hadn't lessened the whole trip and when they stepped out of the fireplace into the pristine white halls of St. Mungo's, he and Jamie delicately brushed the ashes out of her feathers.
The boys were acting so gentle and subdued, she had never seen them behave this way in all the years they had been friends. She knew it just showed how worried they really were about her and it was comforting to know how sincere they were, not that she blamed them in the slightest for what had happened. But she'd have to wait till she was human again to tell them that.
"Merlin...Merlin…" George muttered looking around the halls trying to decide where to go. As the boys fretted over her, Sia took a chance to observe her surroundings. She hadn't been in this building since she had first met Harry Potter, the day after her car crash with her last muggle foster family. It was eerie how little had changed. "Alright, lads, this way," George said gesturing to the left hallway.
Unquestioningly, Zain and Jamie trailed behind him. As the three made their way through the halls George called to one of the Healers that they passed. When the woman stopped it was obvious that he knew her. "Susan! Healer Bones! Merlin's beard am I glad to see you. Can you help me?"
The woman stopped with a gentle smile. Sia recognized her vaguely as being one of the Healers that looked after her during her first visit. "Of course George, what can I help you with?"
"It's Sia. The kids were at the shop with me and they got their hands on one of my products that isn't out on the shelves yet. Well the other two tried them and it was all fine but Sia hasn't changed back yet." The Healer, Susan, frowned slightly as she listened, looking as though she might reprimand George before glancing at the two boys and the purple parrot in Zains' arms. Her eyes widened and her Healer mode kicked in.
"Alright, right this way. Come with me. I'm no expert in this field, I'm trained for more trauma, but I know a couple of my colleagues who will be able to handle her properly on the fourth floor." Her lime green Healer robes swished behind her as she set off at a brisk pace towards the proper floor.
The woman soon had Sia registered and set up in a room. Zain sat on the small hospital bed still holding Sia in his arms with Jamie sitting beside him, stroking Sia's head. The motion was soothing but was making her drowsy.
As the two boys and the parrot sat on the bed, Susan and George stepped to the side. "Really, George? How could you still be so irresponsible?" Susan hissed.
"What are you on about woman? I haven't been irresponsible. The kids were helping me at the shop and swiped the candies from the back of the store room. Trust me, if I had known what they were doing I would have stopped them."
"Please, who leaves untested candies lying about for young children to readily grab? I've heard of the mischief this lot gets up to, how could you be so careless?"
"I was not careless! And how the hell do you know about this lot anyway?"
"I talk with Pavarti quite often since she married Justin and she tells me her sisters stories, plus I was with Sia when she first arrived here a couple years ago. I like hearing how my patients adjust."
"Well tell Pavarti to stop blabbing about stuff that doesn't concern her. And again I was not careless!"
"Oh please, given the current climate about people like her, you really thought it was safe to leave them unattended at all?"
"They were safe and together. Those two wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Plus, I refuse to restrict her childhood just because of some prejudiced bigots. We had that happen to us, I refuse to let it happen for her," he hissed. Susan averted her eyes at his words and huffed a sigh.
"I understand but still, you need to be more careful. Especially with whispers of these attacks." Having said her piece, Susan promptly left the room. Her absence was only momentary and filled soon by a male Healer.
"Hello I am Healer Jeffers and I'll be over your case today," the man said with a plastered on smile. He was well tanned with perfectly coiffed brown hair and his smile created little dimples on his cheeks. He looked like he should be on magazines not in a hospital room.
"Hi, George Weasley," George said, looking relieved that a professional had finally arrived.
"Pleasure to meet you. Now, who is the patient?"
"It's Sia," Jamie interjected mournfully.
"Sia? OK and who is Sia?"
"She is my sister," Zain said sadly hugging the parrot closer to him.
"You mean the parrot?"
"She isn't a parrot! She is my sister!" Zain said fiercely, glaring at the Healer with Jamie joining with his own glare. Given the defense her friends were giving her Sia decided to let out an agreeing squawk for good measure.
The Healer looked doubtful and slightly annoyed. He turned to George. "Sir, I understand this concept parents have about letting children believe what they will but honestly sir, when it starts encroaching on a professional's time a line must be drawn."
"But they are telling the truth!" George exclaimed. "The girl is the parrot. She got transformed."
Understanding broke across the Healers face. "Well you should have started with that," he grumbled.
"Where is she! Sia!" Shouting down the hall interrupted further progression of the Healers interrogation.
"We are in here!" George hollered much to the further irritation of the Healer who winced distastefully at the shouting. A few moments later Neville and Padma burst through the door.
The two had seen better days. Padma, elegantly dressed in a simple midnight blue robe that swirled about her feet, had rung her scarf into a rumpled mess around her neck with her fretting and worried hands. Her hair, usually elegantly smoothed back in the style of the day, had loose hair sticking out and frizzing up. When her eyes landed on the purple parrot in Zain's arms she let out a loud anxious cry and rushed over, kneeling beside her charges. "Oh my dears, what were you thinking? Are you all alright? Oh you are in such trouble when we get home! How dare you play with untested items. But it's OK, everything will be fixed soon." Her tone alternated between scornful and comforting with every breath.
Neville looked as though he had been gardening when he heard the news. His forehead was streaked with dirt smudges, he wore muggle jeans that were stained with dirt and his gardening gloves were tucked into his back pocket. His brown hair was sticking out in random tufts from him running his hand through it with worry. Sia felt twinges of guilt start to eat at her stomach at the realization of how much worry she had caused Padma and Neville.
"You two would be the parents?" the Healer asked with a disdainful eyebrow raises taking in the new adults appearances.
There was a moment of hesitation from Padma and Neville. "Well, actually... technically we aren- Padma began.
"Yes," Neville cut her off, giving a sharp look to the Healer. "We are their parents for all intents and purposes. Now are you going to help her?"
Something unknown and warm flickered in Sia's heart and she tilted her parrot head to exchange a quick glance with Zain who had a similar flicker in his eyes.
"Yes," the Healer ground out. "I was just about to start the questioning process when you….entered." His nose wrinkled like he was smelling something sour, Healer Jeffers pulled out his quill and brought it to his clipboard.
"Name of the patient?"
"Ambrosia," Padma answered.
"Ambrosia what?"
"Unknown," Padma replied, casting her eyes downward.
The Healer glared at the woman but continued, muttering to himself about the idiocies of parenthood.
"Age?"
"Ten," Neville said.
"I'm assuming the patient is female."
"Correct," Neville replied, eying the Healer with unconcealed annoyance.
"Can someone explain the situation of how the child became a parrot?"
"Zain? James? I think that's up to you two," George said, finally speaking up. The two boys exchanged a nervous look but nodded. Zain tightened his grip slightly and Jamie didn't stop stroking her head.
"Well see we were helping Uncle George at his shop," Jamie began. "And I went into the stock room to grab something and saw this bag of candies on the top shelf. It was labeled as animal shifting sweets. I thought it sounded super cool. So I...uh...climbed up the shelves to grab it."
"James!" George admonished with a disapproving frown. The boy ducked his head in shame but Sia touched her beak to his chin in an attempt to comfort her friend and he gave her a small smile before continuing.
"Anyway, I got the candies and went to find Zain and Sia. I said we should try them and they agreed. It was going to be fun, we were going to see what it felt like to be animals."
"So I tried the candies first," Zain picked up from his friend. "I turned into a rat. The candy tasted good though. And then Jamie went and turned into a frog. Well Sia was the last to try it and...and I picked out her candy," the young boys lower lip quivered as he announced his guilt.
"And then she turned into a parrot and she hasn't turned back yet," Jamie finished, saving his friend from speaking, throwing a friendly arm over the young Indian boys shoulders.
Having said their piece, the boys didn't look at the adults, falling silent and staring at Sia.
"While I'm thrilled to hear the first two candies worked perfectly, I'll admit I never made a purple parrot candy," George said with an interested tilt to his head, his mind already thinking on his products and the magic he had put behind them.
"You didn't?" Padma gasped.
"No, didn't think parents would like their little dears being birds and flying off. So I made the animals all relatively small and to make it last no more than a minute or two."
"Then why is she a bird!" Neville exclaimed, bringing a hand up to grip at his hair.
"Not sure, but then again that is where my job comes in I suppose," Healer Jeffers responded a tag smugly as he drew his wand and came closer to the children. "Now boys if you could back away from the parrot so that I may run some tests." The boys stared at him with refusal clear in their eyes. "Please, if you wish to help her then you must let me do my work." Sullenly, the boys left Sia on the hospital bed and stepped away but remained within arms distance.
The Healer began casting numerous spells over her and as this was being done Harry and Ginny Potter arrived, slightly out of breath. They stayed silent though and tried to call Jamie over to them but he steadfastly refused by stubbornly shaking his head. He wouldn't leave his friends side now. Harry and Ginny seemed to understand this because they went to stand beside George, Neville and Padma, and had some quick, hushed and harsh words with George. Ten minutes later, the Healer took a step back with a frown on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?" Neville asked, his nerves evident in his voice.
"Not sure...I can't determine anything being wrong. Does she have any pre-existing conditions? Any diseases or illnesses or genetic defects?"
"No! She's perfectly healthy," Padma declared, with a smallest hint of pride.
"Surely there must be something wrong with her," the Healer said dismissively. "That can be the only explanation. The magic of the candies must have negatively affected something in her." The Healer moved his eyes from the purple parrot to the group of adults who all seemed to exchanging questioning looks. "You have to tell me what is wrong with the child or else I can't help her."
"There isn't anything wrong with her," Padma insisted.
"But," Ginny spoke up uncertainly, "she is a metamorphmagus."
A sneer formed on the Healers lips. "Ugh, of course. You could have informed me before I wasted my time," the man said tucking his wand away and dusting off his Healer sleeves. "I'll redirect you to someone on the Creatures floor, though might I suggest a Magizoologist instead of a Healer? It might be more fitting."
The other occupants in the room stared open mouthed for a second. Then several things happened at once. Harry, George and Ginny drew their wands and all fired stunners at the man blasting him back into the wall, Zain and Jamie gathered Sia back up in their arms sputtering in outrage that she was their friend not an animal, and Neville broke free of the rest and charged forward. The Herbologist yanked the Healer up by his front robes and landed a punch on the Healer's face that sent the man flailing out of Neville's tight grasp, leaving some of the robes behind in Neville's hand, and crashed back into the wall.
"Don't you dare ever say such things like that again or you will suffer far worse," Neville threatened, his tone dark and his eyes swirling with anger. Fear shone in the Healer's eyes overpowering the dazed look as he brought a hand to his nose that was gushing blood and very broken and the other hand to his mouth that was filling with blood and spitting out a couple teeth. "I swear it."